To err is human BY Vincent Valathrian

Vincent/Maeve reunion

Vincent could remember with crystal clarity the last time he’d seen his sister, the day she’d left with just a note explaining herself. Sometimes it felt like only yesterday, other times it felt like an entire lifetime had passed. Despite the years that had passed, Vincent still felt slightly bitter about the whole thing. Being left behind, not even discussing her plans, he didn’t like change.

Vincent wasn’t sure how he felt about seeing her again, so much had changed, he didn’t even feel like the same person, would she recognise the man he’d become, would she apologise for abandoning him, did it even matter any more.

Vincent found a seat at the tavern near the door so he’d be able to see her when she arrived. He drummed his fingers nervously and nodded at the waitress that brought over a pint of ale. This was fine, everything was fine, nothing to obsess about.

Maeve toyed with the little trinket that she had in her bracelet, as she made her way to the meeting point. The former bard tried to calm herself, by saying that she had no reason to be nervous, that Vincent would forgive her because he loved her, but it didn’t fully work; she knew that her twin had all the reason to tell her to fuck off for what she did in the past, for her mistakes, for not being the sister she had been supposed to be.

The brunette chewed her lip as she finally arrived, and spotted him quickly. It was likely because they were twins, but despite of the fact that he was full grown there were details on his face that felt extraordinarily familiar.

“Vin!” she said as she sat down, trying to look composed, and mostly managing it even if some childhood nervous habits were showing, like the way she couldn’t stop palying with the trinket “How has life treated you!? Look at you all grown up!” before he could speak she added something in a lower voice “For personal reasons, I go by Maeve instead of Valerie now”

As Maeve arrived Vincent felt some of the nervousness fade slightly, there she was, in the flesh. She looked different and the same all at the same time. He could tell she was nervous, the way she was playing with the trinket, in some ways he was glad that she was so nervous, after how she had left things. He tried to push that out of his mind, he wasn't there to remind her of what she had done, even if it did still sting a bit.

Live's been uh, interesting. I'm not the only one grown up, look at you! He raised a curious eyebrow at the whole name thing, he wasn't sure he understood why she'd changed it but it was what it was. Well, Maeve it is I then I guess. How's life been for you? He hadn't gone into details about how life had been, but between the mess with Duggan and the Grey Wardens, his life hadn't exactly been easy.

Maeve ordered a glass of wine for herself, as she thought as the most honest yet not over detailed way to ask that question. “It has been…complicated” the brunette said as she tapped the table, deciding that a brief summary was the best way to go “First I was a bard, then I loathed it, then I became a mercenary and…” and now she was close with Lucien?? Was intelligent to add that bit of information? Or it was better to just zip her mouth?
The best truth was always a middle ground “and now I kind of travel around and help Monsieur de Beuvais to get his status back going; he has gained back his state but there’s a lot of work left with connections and all I fear”

“But what about you dear? I am sure of that you have much more to tell, I’d love to know a bit more” said Maeve as she sipped the brought wine. Maeve hesitated for a moment before extending her hand to touch his slightly and retining it by closing her fist again.


Too soon, too little, too late in a way too.

Complicated, from her tone he suspected her complicated was an awful like his 'interesting'. He had a hard time picturing her as a bard and an even harder time picturing her as a mercenary. When she mentioned the name Beauvais, he perked up a bit. That name was familiar, but at the moment he was having a hard time placing why that named sounded familiar.

Wait, Lucien Beauvais? Wow when they say the world is small they aren't exaggerating. I know Lucien, I used him as a fence back before I became a Grey Warden!!! It was funny really, they'd been estranged for years, yet still ended up with people in common. Then as she questioned him for more details he hesitated. He didn't like talking about Duggan and how stupid he'd been to let himself get fucked over.

Well the short of it is my luck ran out and it came down to joining the Grey Wardens or hanging, as you can see I opted to live as a grey warden than die as a thief.

“Do you know him?” asked Maeve with a surprised expression “But yes, that Lucien. We are…” for a moment she hesitated, her bard instinct telling her to share nothing since she gained nothing for it, but her inner voice telling her to quit the fuckery since he was just her brother. “We are involved” a clean and non detailed way to put it, a reasonable middle ground in her opinion "That's good, if you know him I don't need to do introductions

Her face hardened in grief “I sent you money…was it not enough? You could have written me! I could have sent more!” her mind started to run, as she thought in ways to fix the situation, one thing was if he had chose that fate but another very different if it had been forced upon him “You can’t quit? Can I do anything?”

Vincent briefly raised an eyebrow as Maeve said that her and Lucien were involved, not that there was anything wrong with Lucien but now that he was finding this out he was suddenly seeing Lucien in another light entirely. He nodded his head.

I hope he's doing well, I know last time I saw him things were getting pretty bad between him family and some other family, honestly it's been so long I barely remember. The conversation took a turn when she started asking if the money hadn't been enough, he sighed and shrugged. At first it was enough, but you know why I started stealing obviously, but at some point it became my life and wasn't about money any more, but it's the life I chose so I accept the consequences. As far as what can you do, unless you can cure the blight, not much.

“He’s doing well now…shit went down but it’s fixed nowdays, since it’s Lucien’s personal history I am not comfortable about talking details about it, but you should met him someday! I can arrange a meeting, I am sure of that you will like each other” offered Maeve; a selfish part of her wanted for them to get along in order to have close the two people she cared more about in this world.

“If it wasn’t money then what was the problem Vin?” said Maeve softly, in a tone that reminded her of when they were young and discussed all these worries and wonders that seemed so juvenile and innocent if compared with the problems that came later “I’d have helped you without a doubt. I made my own mistakes, and fucked up my share of shit but I want you to know that everything that I have ever done was to help you.”

“I know shit about the blight, but has no one ever researched it? Like a way to ungrey the warden, or whatever fixes it?” asked Maeve curiously, mainly because it affected her brother but also because admittedly her knowledge about the order was quite small.

Vincent nodded about Lucien, he understood not wanting to go into great details and it's not like he and Lucien had been best of friends back in the day. It had been mostly business. He was glad that Lucien was doing well. Then she was asking what the problem had been, he slumped his shoulders slightly and rubbed the back of his neck.

With Duggan there was always more, more things to steal, more power to grab. He was relentless and I was blind to his faults since I'd just been a naive kid when I first got mixed up with him. Things went too far and in the end Duggan let me be the scapegoat, totally left me hanging out to dry. I don't know, maybe he thought the authorities would go easy on me, but the people I'd stolen from had a lot of influence and demanded my neck to hang, and here we are....

“I had a Duggan too you know” said very quietly Maeve “I arrived to Val Royeaux, and someone promised gold, pretty dresses, parties and that the only thing that I had to do in return was to mingle, bat my eyelashes and look pretty” The brunette remembered how it had sounded too good to be true, but in the beginning it had been like that “And then shit got complicated, first it was just that but after it became about stealing information and the like. I ran away and drew the line at murder, which was when I ran away”

“We are really more similar than what we thought huh?” said Maeve grabbing his hands now fully “And I am sorry, and Im gonna do my fucking best to make up for what I did”

“But it can’t all be about Grey Wardening, or do you enjoy the wandering life and doing missions in different places?” asked the brunette curiously “Not judging, just curious”

It was kinda funny how they both had ended up in a bad crowd, though it was as bit hard for him to imagine his sister like that. He smiled as she grabbed his hands and apologised, he wasn't sure what he expected to feel but somehow hearing her apologise made him finally realise, she really had nothing to apologise for, that he'd really forgiven her a long time ago and just not realised it.

I get why you did what you did, it just hurt you leaving without discussing it with me. Up to that point we'd been a team in everything. Us against the world.

When she asked about the Grey wardens he smiled and shrugged.

Honestly I really like being part of the Grey Wardens, I mean aside from the whole being blighted thing. It's like being part of a family, everyone looks out for everyone. For the most part I just travel around Orlais, but I did get to the Anderfels once, they've fallen now though. All the Grey Wardens are sort of on their own, no more oversight, oh and don't get me started on the crazy shit Clarel, our former warden-commander, got up to a few years ago that the Inquisition ended up having to save our arses.

“What I did was fucking stupid. We will be a team again, as it’s meant to be” promised Maeve as she smiled fondly at her sibling. She was glad of that apparently he was no longer mad at her, for Maeve the worst scenario today would have been to not be forgiven by her brother.

“Well, then I am glad of that you feel good with them, although now that we have met again I hope that you don’t forget about little old me; prepare for invitations over for festivities, diners and all the typical pack. Don’t worry, no need for etiquette in those” said Maeve with a wink as she sipped from her drink

Of course I won't forget, how could I, and besides I've recently been promoted to warden-constable so I have even more freedom than I had, though I also have more responsibility, but.....eh... It still felt strange to be Warden-constable, he never imagined himself as someone that would move up the ranks, but the events with the Inquisition had devastated the ranks of the Orlesian grey wardens.

“Oh! I have no idea of how the warden ranks go but I am going to assume that being a warden-constable is a big thing so congratulations brother” said Maeve with a grin before rasing her mug on his direction. “I knew that you’d go very far, even if the warden bit was a surprise”

She finished her drink before directing a warm smile at her brother “I am glad to see you Vincent, and thanks for forgiving that stupid teen girl” her voice broke in an almost imperceptible way. Life would not be easy, it never was but now she had her brother by her side again.

He grinned and shrugged as Maeve commented having no idea how the Warden ranks went, when he'd first joined he hadn't really cared about ranks, back then all he'd needed to know was that he was the lowest rank, well lowest above Recruit rank.

The only thing above me now is Warden-Commander, well technically speaking. After warden-commander there's supposed to be ranks that go over all Grey Wardens in all kingdoms, but since the Andefels fell to the darkspawn, things have been chaotic where our oversight is concerned, we're still not even sure who survived. It was a serious matter, but one that Vincent could do nothing about, so he didn't really dwell on it.

He smiled warmly as Maeve said she was glad to see hi and thanked him for forgiving a stupid teen girl.

The wardens have really shown me how important family is, I was upset then but you're my sister and that's what really matters in the end, not my petty feelings about you leaving me behind when we were just kids ourselves.