Work Text:
Kling!
The bell at the door ring in the Book Haven as Varric quietly steps in. Varric surveys the bookstore and finds a handful of people looking through books. Even the attached cafe seems to be slow today.
At the entrance, books are stacked nicely to promote the latest hits. Varric approaches the display but finds none of his books.
Better luck next time.
He then ambles through the store, thumbing through some books that catches his interest and walks through the halls of books until he stops at the "Romance" aisle.
Varric has dabbled in romance for his previous book Hard in Hightown (and it was received quite well to his astonishment), and decides to take a look at it.
Varric walks into the aisle and sees a rather tall elvhen woman, reading a book with rapt attention. Varric couldn't help but be curious as to what kind of book would grab a person's attention like that.
As Varric draws closer to the elf, he notices the order in which the books were sorted on the shelves.
Q...R...S...T.
And Varric stops, close enough to spy on the book the elf was reading. It is his Swords and Shields. By then, the elf had noticed the drawf man standing two feet away from her, staring at, not her, but the book she is holding.
"Can I...help you?" said the rather tall elf.
The question pulls Varric out of his head.
"Why're you reading that?" Varric said while gesturing at the book with his chin. He genuinely wants to know why. Out of all of the works he's published, Swords and Shields was like a lucid dream that somehow turned real after a night of too much drinking and quite possibly, some enabling from his dear friend Hawke. But it was all for naught, because it wasn't received very well from both his usual critics and fans.
The elf looks at the book before responding with a small smile,"I'm a fan of the author so I'd thought I would check out his new book,"
"Fan?"
"Well, not of his romance books like the Hard in Hightown series though. But I really loved his Tale of the Champion and a friend of mine said Swords and Shields is something like it. The forums say that there's a reference to the Champion's ending in it but many fans are saying it's just a hoax."
Varric needles this fan of his, "But Swords and Shields was a miss though. I heard that the author did it for money. That's why the writing is so dry. Even fans panned it."
Then, the elf utters a small, dejected "Oh…I see.". For some reason, that made Varric feel like an absolute prick. The elf seems to genuinely like his books, even the lesser known ones.
"I hope he'll write what he likes again one day," the elf says while smiling shyly at Varric, dimples showing slightly. Damn, she's like a cute little halla. She places the copy of Swords and Shields back on its bookshelf and turns fully to Varric.
"See you around, stranger," she says with a little nod and leaves the aisle with her large coat and hair billowing in the air.
"See ya…" Varric says offhandedly as he watches the elf leave until she is out of sight.
She'd made a perfect model with that exit of hers.
For a while, Varric stands at the same spot and deliberates. He thinks of the elf's words. He quickly grabs the copy of Swords and Shields and rushes (as quietly as he could without alerting that witch of a bookstore manager Morrigan) to the cashier.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Yvanna stands in line at the cashier with a Dalish recipe book in hand. Though, she didn't buy the Swords and Shields as she had originally planned after what that strange dwarf had said. He's right. The book just didn’t feel like the old Varric Tethras.
"Next please," the line had cleared while she was lost in thought. Yvanna walks to the cashier and they exchange pleasantries. As Yvanna digs through her wallet for money to pay, the cashier says, "Oh, miss, a fellow customer gifted this book for you," as she pulls out a book from the shelves under the cashier. It is a copy of the Swords and Shields.
Yvanna is at a lost for words for the sudden gift but also surprised because she knew it was from the dwarf.
Yvanna pays for her book, took the gift and leaves Book Haven. As Yvanna walks to her car, she opens the Swords and Shields and at the first page, a note written in clear handwriting on a yellow post-it:
To Dimples,
You're right, my heart wasn't in it lately but I'll do better.
Give the book another chance and I promise I won't disappoint.
Tethras will be back in the game in no time.
P/S Turn to page 130. The Champion does survive at the end of TOTC with you-know-who ;)
- VT
Yvanna stands still and stares at the note, mouth slack-jawed.
"OH SHI-"
end.