Epilogue

Antiva City

Bethany could not stop herself from literally bouncing against the ship's railing as she waited for the trade vessel to be moored in the Antiva City docks, then having to wait some more for the ramps to be extended and secured while she tried to spot a very familiar and dear face in the crowd of people gathered nearby. Sadly, the crowd of people was simply too thick for her to reliably identify Josephine, even if at times she was sure to have managed to spot her beloved, still forced to wait before she could disembark. Condemned to waiting, Bethany tried to relax, taking deep breaths of the sea air that she felt she had certainly gotten enough over the past few weeks, though somehow it still felt sweeter and more refreshing here in Antiva. The air truly smelled different here, though she did not quite know why, perhaps mixing with the scents brought in from the countless vineyards dotting the surrounding hills, or perhaps it was merely the view of those same vineyards as the ship came into the harbor to dock, bringing with it the unmistakable sense of being back home. The only slight smudge in this perfect scenery surrounding Bethany was the smoldering crater where the late King Fulgeno's palace had stood, but it still did not detract from the joyous occasion of her homecoming.

Not having traveled on a Montilyet trading vessel this time, Bethany was forced to wait some more for the many envoys of the trade princes to disembark first, many of them carrying heavy belongings that required help of the dockworkers to safely bring ashore. When at least half an hour later Bethany was finally allowed to descend the secured ramp, the gathered crowd in the docks had shrunk considerably and she no longer had any difficulties picking out Josephine amongst those waiting, her beloved wearing a stunning dress of the already familiar Montilyet colors of rich gold and dark blue, featuring considerably fewer ruffles than her ambassador's outfit, the fashion in Antiva far more elegant and practical at the same time, especially when compared with the excesses of Orlais.

Bethany tensed, about to rush towards Josephine, but then freezing when she noticed that her beloved was not making a similar move, merely watching her with a soft smile on her lips. Someone else, however, was already rushing towards Bethany for a wild greeting, a small girl of four years of age with an ear-splitting grin on her face, wearing a simple purple dress, twin pigtails of almost jet-black hair bouncing around excitedly. The girl was followed by an equally excited looking pet fennec, barking as it chased after the child. "Bethany!" little Constance raved, about to slam into Bethany's midriff, but the mage reacted quickly and scooped the girl up into her arms and pressed the child against her chest in a tight hug.

"Connie!" Bethany exclaimed happily, hugging the girl and spinning her around, trying to ignore Ser Fluffsworth affectionately trying to bite her ankles. "I'm surprised you still remember me, poppet," she spoke fondly, reluctantly placing the excited girl back on the ground as she watched Josie slowly approaching them, having to dab at the corners of her eyes to wipe away tears of happiness.

"Course I do, silly," Connie gave Bethany an admonishing stare. "Remember how we used to play back in Ri-… Ri-… umm…"

"Rialto," Bethany corrected the girl with a grin on her face. "Of course, and we'll be sure to play lots and lots once we get back to the estate, yes?"

"Yes!" Connie nodded excitedly. "Also… Josephine speaks about you a lot. Like… all the time!"

"She does, hmm?" Bethany smiled, facing her beloved as she had walked up to the others by now. "I guess she must be missing me a little, then."

"You better believe it," Josephine sighed, sliding into Bethany's embrace, the two starting to kiss and immediately forgetting the passage of time around them, breaking apart only when little Constance started to tug on Josephine's dress, demanding attention.

"One of those men looked at you and then dropped a crate on his foot!" Connie announced, pointing towards the ship where a swearing sailor was jumping back and forth, holding his flattened foot with his hands.

"Umm… perhaps we should save a proper reunion for when we get back to the estate," Josephine suggested with a deep blush on her face. "Frustrating as that might be," she added quietly.

"It's nice to know that we still possess the power of distraction, though," Bethany winked at her beloved.

"Yes, well, anyway…" Josephine appeared a little distracted, for a moment forgetting what she was about to say. "Ah, yes… I have hired a carriage to bring us back to the estate. Shall we go? We could be back at the villa in less than half an hour. Yvette and the others are looking forward to seeing you again."

"Even your mother?" Bethany could not help but to ask as she took Connie by the hand, the girl reaching out to seek Josephine's grip with her other hand, walking between them as Ser Fluffsworth continued to run circles all around the trio as they walked.

"I had a… talk with her, just the other day," Josephine spoke, her voice turning stern and steely for a moment. "I explained her some things in no uncertain terms. I believe you will find her attitude towards you drastically changed, Bethany."

"Oh… oh," Bethany blinked, then smiling broadly at her beloved. "Ah, to be a fly on the wall in that conversation…"

"Umm… yes, well, sometimes a little forcefulness is required, even if I have been taught to treat my parents with the utmost respect," Josephine blushed again as they eventually reached the carriage waiting for them, the pair helping Connie inside and then spending a few minutes trying to persuade and catch Ser Fluffsworth.

"Did you behave while the mistress was away, Ser Fluffsworth?" Bethany chuckled as the carriage slowly began moving on the meandering path away from the docks, the mage tickling the underside of the fennec's jaw with her index finger, Ser Fluffsworth looking exhausted but still delighted as he captured Bethany's finger between his teeth and began to nibble on it. "Of course, you didn't behave at all, which is only to be expected from a sneaky little fuzzball like you," she sighed at the little fox resting in her lap.

"We played lots and lots of hide and seek in the gardens," Constance spoke, nodding seriously as she sat next to Bethany in the carriage, constantly tugging on her arm. "I always lost," she added reluctantly, making Josephine sitting opposite to them chuckle as she regarded them fondly.

"No, I believe I always lost whenever I had the time to join you," Josephine grinned.

"Not enough," Connie shook her head determinedly. "You work too much, Josie."

"Of that we are in agreement, Connie," Bethany nodded. "Unfortunately, you'll probably be saying that about me as well. But what Josie and I are doing is very, very important, so… I'm afraid life can't be all fun and games for us."

"I don't like the sound of that," Connie announced with finality.

"How do you even argue with that?" Bethany laughed, looking at her beloved.

"You just don't," Josephine replied with a playful wink as the carriage continued on its way towards the estate, the pair simply exchanging fond stares as they listened to Connie ramble on and on about all the things she and Bethany and Josie would do together once they arrived back at the estate… only to go suspiciously silent a few minutes later, leaning in heavily against Bethany's side.

"She dozed off, didn't she?" Bethany whispered, mindful not to wake the precious little girl.

"Oh yes," Josephine nodded with a loving stare as she gazed upon Connie. "It was inevitable, I'm afraid. She spent the whole morning jumping and running around, overexcited about seeing you again. The backlash was sure to come soon."

"This gives us a chance to talk, at least," Bethany spoke. "Though… to be honest, I'm looking forward to more than just talking, though I suppose that will have to wait until the evening."

"I can't wait for it either, Beth," Josephine nodded, smiling at her. "To be parted from you for this long was more painful than I expected it to be. So yes, I cannot wait for the evening to come either. But I imagine we will have a lot to talk about before that, yes?" she asked, unable to stop her eyes from drifting towards Connie.

"Yes, I imagine we will," Bethany nodded seriously. And I can already imagine what one of the topics of conversation will be, she thought to herself as she turned to look at Constance, firmly asleep as she leaned in against Bethany's side. There is no way Josie is letting that girl out of her sight ever again, I can see it in her eyes. And to be honest… I don't mind. No, it's more than I don't mind… I want it as well. Just to feel her weight against me as she rests… it fills me with a feeling that this is somehow right. A feeling of being a proper family. I have no doubt whatsoever that Josie and I both want the same thing. Hopefully this works out and Connie can accept us as her surrogate parents.

"I take it that you agree with my decision not to tell anyone about who's behind the attacks," Josephine whispered at her, distracting Bethany from her more maternal thoughts.

"Oh… of course," Bethany nodded swiftly. "Nobody should want another war with the Qunari. Now, I'm sure the truth will come out sooner or later, but hopefully the qunari will be quick to condemn these attacks as a work of a splinter group, and hopefully the powers that be in the South will accept that explanation."

"It might be more helpful if the qunari didn't wait to be caught, but instead came out and admitted what happened before the inevitable happens," Josephine sighed. "But somehow I don't think they will."

"They won't, no," Bethany nodded in agreement.

"I will want to hear more about your adventures, Beth," Josephine then spoke a little more firmly. "You've barely told me anything about what you and Riona both went through to stop the qunari attacks."

"There's so much to tell that this short carriage ride is not a good place where to begin," Bethany replied.

"At least tell me about Merrill," Josephine insisted. "What was it like to meet her after all these years? How is she doing?"

"I…" Bethany began a little nervously, licking her lips as she wondered just how to phrase her reply. "She has changed, Josie. More than any of us could have expected. And… I'm afraid not in a good way."

"What do you mean?" Josephine asked, looking deeply surprised.

"The knowledge she has been studying over these past few years has made her very powerful, perhaps more powerful than Riona's and my power combined," Bethany sighed. "Unfortunately, while she has gained power, she has lost a great deal of her humanity. And I do literally mean humanity even if I'm talking about an elf."

"So, what happened?" Josephine pressed. "Did you part on bad terms?"

"You could say that," Bethany admitted with sadness crossing her features. "The girl I once fell in love with… I no longer see her in Merrill. She's all but gone now, and I don't truly know the Merrill that has replaced her. I don't think we can count on her assistance in the future," she added, deciding not to mention Merrill's ill-fated attempt of trying to lure her away from Josie.

"It sounds like there's a story behind all that," Josie remarked, looking more and more curious. "I think I'll want to hear about it in greater detail."

Bethany nodded at the words of her beloved, deep in thought as the carriage slowly pulled up to the gates of Villa Montilyet. So how much do I tell Josie about what happened, she thought to herself. Should I even tell her about the plans of Fen'Harel? If we are going to build a proper family around little Constance, should I burden her with knowledge of the Dread Wolf's plans to destroy this world? Josie is not an expert on the arcane… it's not as if she can help me with research of the elven artifacts. I could bring her in on the whole plot only later when I truly need her assistance.

Then again… how would she react if I told her all this only several years later? How would I feel if our positions were reversed, wouldn't I want to know the truth? I absolutely would, and I would be quite mad for being kept out of the loop. And can I even do it without Josephine's love and support throughout every step of the way? Perhaps I could… but it would be a much easier road with her backing me up… and besides, I would feel horrible for withholding something so important from her. No… no, there can't be any such secrets between us. It is a practice that only erodes a relationship.

"Bethany?" she snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of Josephine's voice, her beloved already standing outside the carriage and holding the doors open for her, Bethany quickly swooping the sleeping girl up into her arms and passing her over for Josie to carry, then stepping out herself while being mindful not to step on Ser Fluffsworth, darting around them and making a general nuisance of himself.

"Let's go inside and put Connie to bed, shall we?" Bethany whispered, wrapping her arm around Josie's waist and helping her carry the girl as they began to walk towards the entrance into the villa. "And after that, we'll sit down and I will tell you everything," she spoke, leaning closer to press a kiss against Josephine's cheek. "I wish I had better news to share with you, though," Bethany added with a sigh. "There is a conflict looming on horizon, and we must begin preparing immediately."

"Are you talking about a war with the qunari?" Josephine asked. "We might be able to stave it off for some time if we are careful…"

"No, I'm not talking about a war with the qunari… although I almost wish I was, because that conflict would be much more predictable than the one we're facing," Bethany attempted to explain, aware that her words did not make a lot of sense without proper context. "The war facing us will be very different, Josie. Instead of battlefields and city sieges, this war will be fought in ancient elven ruins, and instead of swords, bows and staves, it will be fought with knowledge of arcane and ancient elven lore."

"I don't understand, Bethany… who would we fight in such a strange conflict?" Josephine appeared very confused, something that Bethany could easily sympathize with.

"The ancient elven god, Fen'Harel… though we once knew him as Solas," Bethany spoke, smiling as she watched Josephine instantly coming to a halt and turning to give her a shocked wide-eyed stare. "No, I haven't lost my mind, Josie, and I will explain every little detail… and you will see that I am telling the truth. The Dread Wolf's shadow is spreading across Thedas… and we must be ready to face it."

THE END