A/N: All characters except my Inquisitor belong to Bioware. I just had this story brewing in my mind for awhile, and I had to write it down. Please read and review and more chapters will be up soon.
Cold. Heart pounding. Darkness.
A short fall and a soft thud. Then silence.
Ice blue orbs, the color of the glacial drifts of the North, slowly opened wider. Her vision was blurry, unfocused. A shallow thumping of discomfort moved through her skull and she reached up to rub her temples, only to find herself unable to. The world begins to sharpen in focus as she looks down at the vice-like chains binding her aching form to the stone below; and the wary glances of the guards that surrounded her.
However, that wasn't what she was focusing on; instead she could only stare as the unearthly green glow emanated from her palm.
Where..? What..?
A searing pain shot through her body, interrupting her thoughts, and numbing her mind. A yelp of pain erupted from her lips while her body doubled over.
Her eyes watered when the door at the far end of the cold dungeon opened, the brightness of the area beyond overwhelming her senses that were already made fragile by the receding pain. She managed to straighten her posture when she noticed the two figures enter the room. They were silent and circled her like hungry sharks surrounding their meal. Suddenly, she felt hot breath on her neck.
"Tell me why we shouldn't kill you now."
The woman moved into her vision.
"The Conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead."
The woman's gaze fell onto her, piercing daggers into her soul.
"Except for you."
She just stared at her silently, blue eyes meeting walnut hazel colored ones in a battle of wills. The woman grabbed the faintly glowing hand at her side.
"Explain this."
"I can't."
"What do you mean you can't?"
The women began moving around her again.
"I don't know what that is, or how it got there."
"You're lying!"
"I agree with you Seeker Pentaghast." A dark figure remarked coolly from the doorway, his figure broad and imposing in the firelight. "She must be punished; must be made to pay for the lives she has cost us."
Why did that voice lift her up only to break her heart? Who was this man, and why did he have this effect on her?
Heavy footed steps reverberated around the room as he approached, the sounds emboldened by the additional clink of his armor. In the dim firelight, his golden eyes and equally as golden hair appeared to be set aflame themselves. She felt her heartbeat quicken at his nearness, which only led to further confusion in her thoughts. The fur draped around his shoulders added a ferocity to his already intimidating appearance.
"Commander Cullen, I think the world would be far better off if we rid it of this elven nuisance. She makes decision after decision that ultimately would lead us to our doom. Life after life lost…for what? For her pathetic attempts to thwart Corypheus?" Leliana mused, a dark smile on her face.
"We all know that she'll fail."
"Best to kill her now and just be done with it."
"…Itha?"
She jolted awake, her eyes searching the room in shock. She felt warmth encompassing her and golden eyes staring down at her in concern. Itha Lavellan rubbed her face as the memories flooded back into her conscious mind. Corypheus was dead. The war for all of Thedas was won. She smiled weakly at the man holding her petite frame protectively as they lay in bed. "It was just a nightmare."
Cullen's expression didn't change. "It's never just a nightmare." He stroked his thumb across her caramel colored cheek, and brushed a loose dark brown curl off her slight sweaty forehead. He then sighed at her silence. "If you don't want to talk about it, we don't need to; I just want you to know that you can always tell me about these things. No matter what."
Itha smiled at him again, more convincingly this time. "Oh, ma vhenan…" She took hold of his hand and kissed his palm gently, the rough callouses feeling oddly comforting against the smoothness of her lips. She contemplated briefly before she decided to speak. "It was that dream again. The one where I'm still imprisoned after the Conclave…"
"That's the third time in the last week that you've had that nightmare. There must be something plaguing your thoughts for it to reoccur so often."
"I guess…" Itha sat up a bit on the bed, internally lamenting the fact that she was no longer fully entwined in Cullen's embrace. "…I can't believe it's all over…" She looked down at her lover while he reclined lazily on her comfortable Orlesian bed. The dim sunrise only served to make him look even more like an Adonis in the flesh. He'd been so uneasy to show his body to her, even when they'd first made love. He was ashamed of it; thought she'd turn him away because of the numerous scars that dotted across the hills and valleys of his toned body. She'd made him stand before her when she'd realized why he was so hesitant. She let him see just how much she desired him, and he wasn't so ashamed after that. The sheer relaxation of his posture now brought her happiness. She wanted him comfortable around her, at ease.
"Itha."
"Hmm?"
"You're staring at me."
She felt a warm blush creep up her neck and into her cheeks as she cleared her throat while glancing away. "Can't help it sometimes..." She murmured, unsure if he had heard her. She got her answer by the warm hand on her lower back that rubbed small circles into her skin.
"So you can't believe that you defeated a crazed ancient Tevinter with a God complex? What's so hard to believe about that?" Cullen joked, his earnest chuckle bringing a grin to Itha's face.
"It's the stuff of stories and myths."
"Well now, you are too." Cullen pulled her down and into his arms, placing a soft kiss into her curls. "The Inquisitor was the bravest woman in the history of Thedas. She stared down evil and didn't even blink." He announced in an over-the-top reverent fashion, causing a giggle from the elven woman he loved.
"IF there are stories, they won't be told like that."
"You don't know that for sure. Have you read anything that Varric writes? It's way worse than that."
"Oh, so you do read his books. I thought you were above them considering that they're mostly terribly cheesy romance novels."
The blush that rose to Cullen's face made her giggles turn into laughs. She was soon silenced by a deep kiss from a scruffy cheeked commander. "Kiss me like that again and I won't be able to leave on time for the journey to Crestwood."
"Is that such a bad thing? You're going to be away for how long again? Two weeks?"
"Three actually." Itha sighed and moved away from Cullen. "Josephine has me dealing with trading treaties and keeping the peace or something." She shook her head and stood, stretching her nude form in the early morning sunlight. "I can practically feel your eyes on my bottom, Cullen." She heard soft and slightly flustered muttering behind her as he shifted to the other side of her bed. She bit her lip to suppress a giggle and set about getting dressed in her most comfortable traveling clothes.
When she finished braiding her hair into a long plait down her back did she take a moment to assess that she had all that she needed.
"You finally get all that hair off your ass, Inquisitor?" Dorian asked rather loudly, chuckling as she glared at him.
"You know she just wants the Commander to get a good final view of what he'll be thinking of on those cold and lonely nights. He needs something to keep hi-Ouch!" Iron Bull scowled and glanced around to see who had thrown the large rock at the back of his head; unfortunately for him, he didn't see Cullen sneaking away with a grin on his face.
"If you two have had enough fun, can we leave now?" Cassandra asked impatiently, mounting her darkly colored Nevarran stallion.
Itha mounted her red hart, rubbing the top of his head affectionately and looked over at Cassandra. "Are you positive that you want to come along? You know it's only going to get worse the farther we get from Skyhold."
"You need to be constantly vigilant, and with those two accompanying you, I worry for your safety. I feel I must stay with you."
Itha shrugged and tapped her mount to begin moving forwards. "Okay, it's your choice. However, I would recommend pitching your tent as far from theirs as you can if you want any sleep."
"What? Why?"
"You'll find out really soon."