Chapter Text
Shadowheart twirls the diamond ring with her fingers, sitting at her father’s kitchen table while he prepares their tea. Her mother’s final request for her is etched in her mind. It had been an afterthought during the height of her grief, never the main focus for a long, long time.
She’s had the ring in her possession for several months. The one thing holding back, preventing her from proposing is the knowledge that her mother won’t be able to see her get married. Nevertheless, she feels like now is the time.
Arnell places the teacup down in front of her, sitting across from her with his own cup in his hands. Quickly, she stuffs the ring in her pocket.
“So,” he says. “You plan to propose to Sabrina?”
Shadowheart’s eyes widen. “How did you know?”
Her father chuckles. “Darling, I saw you fiddling with a diamond ring from the corner of my eye.”
Memories from long ago course through her mind, of her not-so-subtle attempts of trying to keep the Artefact hidden whilst fiddling with it.
She blushes. “Was I that obvious?”
Arnell nods with a smile. “I remember when you were around six, you’d tiptoe into our kitchen to steal a cookie before dinner, but would always leave some crumbs behind. Some things never change.”
Shadowheart recalls the memory, vague that it is, and smiles. “I remember that,” she says. “Well, sort of.”
“You were young,” her father says. “Some memories are naturally a blur.”
Shadowheart sips her tea. “You sound like Sabrina,” she says. “Who is the reason for this visit, which you already know. I…wanted to ask. How did you propose to mum?”
“It was her who proposed to me, actually,” Arnell clarifies.
Shadowheart is stunned. “Really?” she asks. “How?”
“Most people take their paramour out on a romantic evening before they propose,” he explains. “Your mother did the opposite. Was straight and to the point. She asked me and we spent our evening together strolling the streets of Baldur’s Gate.”
Shadowheart smiles warmly, stirring her tea with her spoon.
“That sounds like something she would’ve done,” she says. “But how should I do it? Frankly, I have no idea where to start.”
Arnell finishes his tea. “My advice,” he says. “Is to be yourself. Don’t overthink things. The specific gesture doesn’t matter, it’s you she loves. That is what matters the most.”
Shadowheart takes a moment to ponder his words. “I think I’ll make her dinner,” she decides.
It is not long before her face scrunches up in frustration, however.
“Damn it!” she curses, shaking her head while covering her face with her hands. “We’re low on cooking ingredients. I have to go to the city.”
“It doesn’t have to be today,” Arnell suggests.
“No,” Shadowheart says. “I’ve stalled long enough to do this. It has to be today.”
______________________________________________________________________________
Of course, Sabrina suggests she tag along with Shadowheart to Baldur’s Gate. She had no way to decline her offer without sounding suspicious, so Shadowheart obliges. They take their wagon with them, their journey ending up taking half the time than it would on foot to reach the city.
They stop at the general store, purchasing various spices, meats, and veggies. As Sabrina heads back to their caravan with the food, Shadowheart stays behind to browse at what the various stall vendors have on offer. The wind whistles suddenly, and a kid barrels into her.
“Sorry, miss,” says the kid, brushing past her clumsily. She’s half-elven with shoulder length brown hair.
As the girl picks up her pace, beginning to run, Shadowheart recognises the con immediately. The little brat had stolen her coin purse!
“Little shit!” she yells after her, jogging after the little street urchin. The girl begins to run, Shadowheart bolting as fast as she can after her. She smirks when she sees the child hit a corner down an alley, knowing the city from the back of her hand. It is a dead end.
It’s too late for the child once she realizes her mistake. She swiftly turns around and faces the half elven cleric. Knowing there’s no way out of it, she begins to panic.
“Please don’t call the guards!” she begs.
Shadowheart sighs heavily. “Why would I do that?” she questions. “Just give me my coin purse back.”
The child looks at her surroundings, fear creeping onto her face. It is that moment Shadowheart knows she’s desperate. Considering her options, most likely, she hands the coin purse back.
Before the girl can run away, Shadowheart reaches into her purse, pulling out five gold pieces.
“Here,” she says, handing the child the coins. “Buy yourself something to eat.”
The little half-elf gasps. “But I tried to steal from you?” she questions. “Why help me?”
“I was a kid once too,” she explains. “If you must know.”
Putting the coins in her pocket, the girl simply stares at Shadowheart, pupils widening and mouth agape. It’s then that the cleric realizes her mistake. The kid has become attached, much like what happens when one feeds a wandering cat.
She’s stuck in a staring contest with this kid, and it soon becomes apparent that she must make the first move. So, Shadowheart simply turns in the opposite direction, heading back toward her and Sabrina’s caravan.
Light footsteps inevitably follow her. “Wait!” the girl exclaims. “Where are you going?”
Shadowheart halts in place, quickly spinning back around to face the girl.
“Back to my caravan,” she says. “And then home. Why do you want to know?”
The girl becomes bashful, blushing as she stammers. “I-I…um. Well, it’s still cold at night, and…”
Shadowheart pinches the bridge of her nose in frustration. She never will understand why her prior self didn’t notice how un-Sharran-like she actually was, with her bleeding heart. Over and over again, Viconia had failed her mission, unable to root out the kind hearted virtues Shadowheart had always possessed.
“There’s two other people living on my farm,” she justifies. “I can’t just bring a random street kid home without their input, not to mention the fact it’s technically kidnapping.”
“It’s not kidnapping,” the child says, folding her arms defiantly. “Because I’m an orphan. There’s no kid to ‘nap.”
Shadowheart scoffs. “Yeah?” she questions flippantly. “Which orphanage did you run from? The one in Rivington? Or Baldur’s Gate? They would be who I’d hypothetically be kidnapping you from.”
The little half-elf kicks at the ground, scuffing up her shoe. “Not like they would care,” she says. “They forced me to run.”
Shadowheart is sure that is a half-truth. Or the girl is overembellishing her tale.
“I doubt that’s the case,” she says, and gives the most sympathetic smile she could muster. “I’m truly sorry, but I can’t. I must go now.”
Turning around, Shadowheart doesn’t look back. Despite her attempts to be truthful with her partner after all of these years, she decides Sabrina doesn’t need to know what truly kept her late once she arrives back to their caravan. Tonight will be about their dinner and Shadowheart’s planned proposal. Nothing more.
It’s evening by the time they arrive back to their homestead, sunbeams setting over the horizon in a way that’s blinding. The caravan hits a bump as the horses stop, the cart in the back letting out a quiet but definitely audible “Ow.”
Shadowheart whips her head around and groans. “For fuck’s sake,” she says.
Sabrina, certainly to have heard the child sized voice coming from the back of their caravan, looks towards her lover for answers.
“Was that a voice?” she asks. “A child’s voice? Shadowheart, you seem to be at least slightly aware why that is.”
She nods hesitantly. “This kid stole my coin purse back in the city. I was able to catch her, and my bleeding heart gave her some coins. She became attached and apparently has much better stealth than I do. You can come out now, kid. No point in continuing to hide.”
Both Shadowheart and Sabrina hop out of their caravan, the little half-elf doing the same. At least she has the decency to be mindful of our groceries in the back as she jumps off , Shadowheart thinks to herself.
It’s Shadowheart’s turn to fold her arms at the child before addressing her. “Did you really have to follow us all the way back to our home? Certainly, you have people looking for you.”
“I told you,” the kid snaps back. “They don’t care. Well, they do. But they’re angry with me.”
“Hmm, I wonder why,” Shadowheart mutters to herself.
The cleric looks to see Sabrina’s reaction, and to her surprise, she notices her lover staring at the child inquisitively.
“Why are they angry with you?” she questions.
“Because,” she says. “I froze the cook. Accidentally. Ice comes out of my hands sometimes. I don’t know why. I don’t know what the big deal was. He melted quickly ‘cause he works in the kitchens.”
Sabrina taps Shadowheart on her shoulder. “Shadowheart, this girl has Wild Magic. Like myself.”
In an instant, their situation has become so much more complicated. Her partner is looking at the child warmly, almost maternal in nature. While Shadowheart has never been opposed to adopting a child with the blonde, certainly she’d imagined marriage would’ve come first. At least for tonight, the perfect proposal would have to wait.
Shadowheart sighs, giving in.
“What’s your name?” she asks.
“Maeve,” the girl answers. “Just Maeve.”
“Well, ‘Just Maeve’,” Shadowheart says. “You can stay with us. But just one night.”