and all that is left is sin and a gaping hole where the heart should be,

[ipseite]

WHO: Anders + Petrana
WHAT: A conversation.
WHEN: Currentish.
WHERE: The Gallows, Kirkwall.
NOTES: Discussing of abortion, unwanted pregnancy and strongly implied marital discord.

Anders had been kind to her.

Shortly after arriving, her first use of magic in this strange place - and it felt different, she thought, than it had done at home - he had been there, and kind, and patient. He had explained what he could about the situation in which she now found herself; he had given her what he could not have been expecting at the time to be assurances. And he had told her that she was not alone.

As much as she welcomes hearing it, it is hard to feel. The eyes of strangers feel heavy, and her back exposed; she has been lonely for so long it's nothing new, but always before there was at least...

In a month's time, she'll be sure, regardless. But there are healers here with abilities strange to her, and those weeks interminable, and she needs to know sooner than that what options are open to her. Anders was kind. Anders, she thinks, might be kind again -

and discreet.

It is not difficult to find where the healers are.

"Might we speak - privately?"