No no no no no.
Dorian could only stare as he attempted to keep himself calm and collected. It was like any other day, one of the ones where Elisa would allow the age to try some harmless spells on her. Something like energizing her or making her stronger, but he was in the middle of a weakening spell when it happened. The mage learned how to tune out the little noises of the library, and even the occasional runner so that he could focus on his research (or in this instance his spells) without being disturbed. Only one of Leliana's ravens had decided it was going to wreak havoc and caused some things to crash down from rookery and startle Dorian (even Kit was quick to dash under his chair). The unexpected loud noises caused the mage to lose focus, his spell went haywire and flashed brightly, and when he blinked away the black spots it caused, he found himself in his current predicament.
Namely that Elisa was staring up at him with big red eyes in her tiny little body. Dorian's weakening spell had distorted into some sort of age receding one, and the child (no older than 2 he surmised) at his feet held no recognition for him. As with any child, Elisa soon grew bored when Dorian continued to stare—he was making a very impressive impersonation of a fish—and grabbed one of the books on the floor to play with.
The mage clears his throat after his first attempt to speak comes out as a squeak, and tries again. "Sorora?" This didn't get anything from her. "Elisa?" Again, nothing. Dorian whines quietly (though he'll never admit to it) and brushes his hand through his hair to keep himself from panicking. "I can think of twenty things-" at this Elisa looked up at him, "-that this could have turned into but this was not one of them."
Dorian crouches down to Elisa's level and reaches out to brush some hair away from her face, but frowns when she flinches away. He knew that the spell had minimized her both physically and mentally since she did not seem to recognize him, but the flinch hurt him. It took him weeks to earn her trust, something that he prided himself in actually getting, and now it was gone. What hurt him more though was the fact that she had to flinch in the first place. He didn't know much about childcare but he was positive that a child would not react this way to the possibility of being touched. He was relatively certain one would enjoy the attention.
Then a thought crossed his mind and Dorian's heart shattered.
"He hurt you this young?"
Elisa continued to watch him warily but seemed to allow him to finish his previous motion. The look in her eyes told him that she so badly wanted to soak up his affection, but part of her was expecting the pain that wouldn't come. It only confirmed for him just how badly the scientist treated Elisa, and why it was so difficult to earn her trust in the first place. She had to learn to survive from a young age and that thought turned his pity into rage. Enough that sparks materialized around them and got a small whimper from the young ravenette, which quickly placated the mage as he dispelled the sparks and hushed her.
To think that something that had comforted her before, now scared her. Dorian didn't want to know what kind of torture she was submitted to as he threw all caution to the wind as he pulled the child into his lap after sitting on the floor. He curled protectively around her and hoped to the Maker that holding her head above his heart would still comfort her. She remained stiff as a board, but didn't fight him, so the mage took that as a good thing. He would sit there all night if that's what it took to show her that he wouldn't hurt her.
They sat like that for almost an hour—Dorian only knew this because of the candles—before Elisa began to finally relax in his arms. Only then did the mage speak softly to her in Tevene as Kit decided it was safe enough to come out from under the chair and sit next to Dorian quietly. It took another hour for someone to finally find Dorian in his near fetal sitting position and then notice the small human wrapped in his embrace. That someone happened to be Blackwall.
"The Inquisitor asked me to bring you and Lady Umbra to the gate," Dorian looks up at him in surprise, not having heard the man approach, and quickly shushes the girl in his arms when she whimpers again. "I'm thinking we might need to postpone our outing for a bit. We seem to have a problem."
The man motions toward Dorian's burden and the mage huffs. "Perhaps you could help gather everybody to the War Room?"
Blackwall merely nods and leaves to do just that, and Dorian uncurls himself just enough to look at Elisa. She still looked as if she was waiting for something to happen, but otherwise looked content enough to trust the mage for now, and that was enough for Dorian. She would likely not like the upcoming meeting with everyone and the mage hoped that Elisa trusted him not to let anything happen to her. As if he would let anyone do anything to her.
With a sigh, Dorian stumbles to his feet—while attempting to bring feeling back into his limbs—and grabs the blanket over the back of his chair that Fiona insisted that he have with how often he dozed off in the library. Elisa agreed so the mage kept it to indulge his sister. Now he was glad to have it since it served as protection from prying eyes as he covered Elisa with it and quickly makes his way to the War Room to find everyone already waiting.
He must have taken a little longer than he thought.
Cassandra sighs when the man finally arrives. "What is the meaning of this Dorian? What could be more important than-?"
The mage pulls the blanket off of Elisa and deposits her in the middle of the war table, effectively silencing the Seeker as everyone stared. Although Dorian was pretty sure the strangled inhale he heard had come from Cullen.
Nolan was the first to break the long silence. "This is a bit of a problem. What happened?"
Dorian sighs heavily. "I had a bit of a…hiccup during a spell. Leliana's ravens startled me and I lost focus."
A pregnant pause.
"She really is the baby of the group." Iron Bull grins.
Sera rubs her hands together. "So many pranks."
Leliana and Josephine coo over Elisa until the child cries out when the Ambassador gently pinches a chubby cheek. Both women freeze at the unexpected noise and Dorian quickly plucks his sister from the table and cuddles her until she relaxes against him.
"I should have said she has trust issues." The mage gently brushes the single tear that had managed to escape from Elisa's eyes.
Vivienne frowns. "She seems to trust you just fine."
"Not at first. This took two hours of cuddling to get to. She doesn't completely trust me yet either."
Dorian freezes at the thoughtful look on Solas' face. "Who hurt her?"
Everyone looks to the Tevinter mage and the necromancer swallows thickly. He didn't even think about the possibility that the others may ask about the why. Elisa's story was not his to tell, but after looking around the room and only finding expectant looks from everyone, he figured he had no choice. He made a mental note to apologize to Elisa once he fixed this mess, and then quietly tells them everything that the ravenette had told him all those months ago. How she came into existence, what the scientist did, her abilities…everything. By the time he was finished, the inner circle was looking pale, and in some cases…green.
"That's only what she told me…and I'm under the impression that she was sugar coating it."
Leliana frowns. "Why do you say that?"
"She flinched when I reached for her." Dorian ignores the strangled moan that definitely came from the Commander. "She also doesn't respond to her name."
"What does she respond to?" Josephine tilts her head at him.
Dorian winces as he recalls the moment Elisa finally looked up at him. "Twenty."
As if to prove his point, Elisa pulls away from snuggling his neck to look up at him and Cullen pales before rushing out of the room. No doubt to bring up his lunch. Dorian couldn't say he blamed him. The others all looked pretty damn close themselves, but Cullen was sweet on Elisa so the news probably hit him a little harder. Maker, Dorian probably would have himself if his heart wasn't breaking first. The mage just wanted to bundle Elisa up and hide her from the world while cuddling her fears away.
"Is this reversible?"
Dorian looks at Cassandra and nods slowly. "I believe it will wear off. I couldn't say when though so I will look into a spell just in case."
Nolan sighs and moves closer to Dorian to rub gentle circles on the base of his neck and the mage relaxes enough to bring his head down onto the Inquisitor's shoulder. "I'll take Solas and Sera with me instead. We'll make our trip quick so we can come help you." The man smiles at Elisa's wary glance. "Although she'll probably be back to normal before we get back. I have faith in your abilities."
Dorian huffs against his shoulder and then pulls away when the other stops massaging circles into his neck. A quiet rumble from Elisa's stomach draws a laugh from the two men and Dorian turns to the door.
"Sorora is hungry. If I am needed for some reason or another, you know where to find us." The mage's cheer slowly diminishes into concern after a few steps toward the doors. "Perhaps someone should check on our Commander?"
Varric, who had been surprisingly quiet throughout the whole exchange, lifts his hand up briefly. "I'll check on Curly."
Dorian nods and leaves the war room to get some food from the kitchen. After some advice on proper food for Elisa, the mage comes away with a plate full of food and climbs back up to his alcove and gently sets the baby on the floor. The ravenette was quiet during their meal. In fact, she had been quiet ever since the spell with the exception of her few whimpers, and Dorian was starting to wonder if she could talk. Didn't children start talking around her age? Surely she was at least able to say a few words if not sentences. Either way, the mage had to make sure she started responding to her name and not a number. He had a theory for what the number meant and he shuddered at the thought.
"Elisa." Dorian gently lifts her chin with a knuckle to imply that he was referring to her and hoped it was enough. "Finish your food and maybe later I'll see to getting you some pudding."
To Dorian's great relief, Elisa nods at him and turns her focus back to her lunch as the mage takes his place in his chair with a few books that would hopefully help him form a spell that would reverse this mess. He was able to work in relative peace for the next hour, Kit helping to keep Elisa's attention after she finished most of the food on her plate (enough that Dorian would keep to his promise of dessert), but after another twenty or so minutes, Elisa had begun to rub her eyes.
"Dorian…sleepy…" Well that was a bit of a relief. She could speak.
It took every bit of the mage's willpower not to coo at Elisa as she climbed onto his lap and curled into his side; instead he took the blanket he had been carrying and tucks it around her before leaning down and kissing the top of her head. Dorian hadn't failed to notice that she chose his left side. Taking comfort from listening to his heartbeat seemed to still be a thing and he was glad for it. It was likely why she grew comfortable with him after a couple hours of cuddling. That and the fact that he didn't hurt her.
Dorian swallows back the rising bile. He didn't think he could ever get over that.
"Don't worry sorora. I'll fix this."
Dorian straightens up again and Kit jumps up onto his lap to join the younger human in a nap while the mage returns his attention to the book in his hand.
If Varric found them all dozing an hour later, he didn't say.
Over the next week, to everyone's relief (and amusement to some), Dorian took to caring for Elisa very seriously. Making sure she ate well and took naps when she needed them, even when she was beginning to fight him about it. He had once again earned her full trust which helped in the long run when he needed a break from keeping one eye on her. He was sure that she would toddle over to the railing and poke her head through just to give the mage a heart attack on purpose. When she did this, he would literally drop everything and rush over to scoop her up and hold her close while he willed his heart to calm down. When she eventually laughed about the whole ordeal, Dorian put his foot down and would hand her off to someone so he could actually try to work on the spell to reverse her current predicament. Because Elisa trusted Dorian, she trusted that whoever he gave her to would not hurt her so she didn't fuss. Surprisingly, Cassandra was the one that had her most often; the Seeker keeping her occupied with folklore or other kid-friendly stories.
Sera and Iron Bull were not allowed to watch her, Dorian didn't trust the elf not to get Elisa into trouble and Elisa was a little intimidated by the Qunari. Krem was allowed since Elisa only ever went to sleep when she was spoken to in Tevene so whenever Dorian was too engrossed in his research to put her down for a nap, she was handed off to the mercenary.
Even Nolan took her care in stride. Even if Dorian didn't need someone to keep an eye on Elisa, he was more than happy to play with her whenever he found the time. Josephine and Leliana did eventually get on Elisa's good side again much to their relief. They had felt horrible for the incident in the war room.
Cullen was conflicted about it though. Recalling the story Dorian told all of them still made him queasy, but he also helped watch the baby. Currently he was doing so, with Elisa by his feet keeping herself occupied with some toys they borrowed from the few other children around Skyhold. The coming and goings of runners and scouts at first startled her, but it happened so often that she quickly grew used to the interruptions.
The Commander rubs his eyes as he reads another letter from an Orlesian noble that had likely escaped Josephine's notice before handing it down to Elisa. "Destroy this to your heart's content." Cullen smirks when she takes the paper and begins to rip it up and then turns his attention back to his reports. "Remind me to give you the letters when you're back to normal. Destroying them is much easier than responding to them just to turn them down." He eyes his quill. "I could always let you write them back for me. Maybe scribbles will be insulting enough to keep them away."
The center door opens and Dorian walks in with a smile. "Josephine would kill you if you sent a letter back that has obviously been drawn on by a child."
"I'm almost ready to take that risk."
"As much as I would like to see the outcome, I'm afraid I'm here to fix my little mishap. Where is sorora?"
Cullen leans over and picks Elisa up before handing her over to Dorian across his desk. "Thank the Maker. It will be nice to have help with reports again." The mage raises an eyebrow at him and the Commander looks at him sheepishly. "There's very little for her to rip up."
Dorian answers him with an amused snort as he backs away from Cullen's desk and it was then that the mage found out that his research had been in vain because just as he was about to put Elisa back down on the floor, there was a flash, and Dorian found himself on his back with a horrified adult ravenette sitting on his stomach.
"Dorian! I'm sorry!"
The mage holds up his hand to silence her as he waits for the room to stop spinning and grimaces at the growing headache originating from the back of his head. Thankfully his head had landed on the rug, otherwise he was sure his head injury would have been a lot worse. He could also vaguely make out the laughter coming from Cullen's direction and he painfully turns his head to glare at the man. It only made the Commander snicker into his fist.
Dorian turns his attention back to Elisa and reaches up to flick her forehead.
"Ow!"
"You made me do all that work just to turn back when I found the solution?! Fasta vass sorora."
He sits up when Elisa moves off of him to sit as his side and she quickly begins to fuss over his head injury as Cullen comes over with an elfroot potion. The mage takes it with a grateful look before downing it and sighing with relief when his headache tapers away to almost nothing. Only then did he notice the strange look on Elisa's face.
"What is it?"
Elisa blushes lightly. "I…I never noticed before but…your magic smells." Dorian gives her an affronted look and she shakes her head. "Not like that! I mean, in a way, it smells like you. Even if I don't see you, I can tell when magic came from you."
"That's… curious. What about Solas and Vivienne?"
"I can kind of tell…maybe I'm so accustomed to your magic that I can pick it out from everyone else."
"What brought this up?"
"I first noticed the smell after…"
Dorian stares at her. "You remember everything?"
The girl looks at the floor beneath them. "I'm…I'm sorry I flinched."
The mage couldn't believe his ears. She was apologizing to him? Elisa was the one who had been hurt! Dorian grumbles and pulls Elisa into his chest and props his chin on top of her head.
"You have nothing to be sorry for. I understand why. I should apologize for telling everyone your story. It was not mine to tell."
"It was necessary."
The Commander shifts uncomfortably beside them and Dorian pushes Elisa away just enough to get to his feet and dust himself off. The man had been silent during their exchange and probably either felt left out or that he was intruding. It was also possible he really was uncomfortable about the entire subject. So Dorian took pity on him and with a nod and a quiet thank you, he leads Elisa out of Cullen's tower and out onto the battlements by the small of her back.
"You remember but had no control I take it?"
"I felt trapped in my own body. It was like watching myself through someone else. I don't really know how else to explain it."
"Yet you were very precise about being able to smell my magic. What, pray tell, do I smell like?"
"Vanilla…cinnamon…and lately black lotus. Your magic always has hints of it."
Dorian chuckles as they pass though the rotunda and make their way toward the Inquisitor's room. "You continue to surprise me. I'm glad you're back to normal though. You were a stubborn little thing. Why children hate nap time is beyond me."
Elisa looks the other direction with a smile. "I don't know. You seem to like them well enough."
That made Dorian pause at the second door to the Inquisitor's quarters and look intently at the younger until she turns her smile on him. With an indignant sniff, he opens the door in front of him and ascends the last set of stairs.
"Again with your sass."
"I learned from the best."
"I don't know whether to be proud or insulted. Now let us tell Nolan you're back to your delightful adult body. He missed having us out on his little excursions."
Said man comes out of his bathroom with a towel around his waist and using a second to dry his hair.
"I enjoy unleashing a Tevinter necromancer and his scary sister on my enemies." Nolan smiles at them and Dorian rolls his eyes.
"That just proves we do all the work."
"Nonsense. You two just work that well together."
Dorian merely sighs a waves a ring adorned hand at him as Elisa turns around to give Nolan some semblance of privacy as he dresses.
"Flattery will get you everywhere Amatus."