She entered her room and closed the door behind her, casually dropping pieces of armor on the floor. She carefully hung her enchanted silverite daggers and their harness on the proper stand but could not be bothered by the rest of her armor.
What was supposed to be a simple trek to meet several scouts in the field turned into a lengthy fight at an unexpected Fade tear. It was nearly sunrise and she had not slept a wink and the new day would surely be as grueling as ever.
She would deal with the mess of armor pieces later. Right now all she wanted to do was sleep. The Inquisitor plopped onto her bed and just lay there, not evening having the strength to change into her night clothes. The fresh linens were so soft and comforting she just wanted to snuggle into them and lie there forever.
She stretched her arms above her head and reached under her pillow to bring it closer -
She bolted up and flipped the pillow over multiple times. It was gone.
"What? No, no, no. Where did it go?"
She proceeded to tear apart her sheets and nicely made bed, desperately trying to find it. She even looked under her mattress but there was nothing there. It was just gone. No longer tired she quickly changed into a fresh pair of linens and made one final check of her bed and room before leaving to find it.
She marched down the hallways with a determined stride. The many agents and servants of the Inquisition nodded and politely smiled at her as she passed. The look on her face made it clear however that she was in no mood for small talk. Even Sera seemed a bit surprised at her very curt hello.
The Inquisitor was not upset with anyone, but she could not let anyone see it. She finally made it to the laundry down at the bottom of the keep. She entered and grabbed the first person she saw. The man was clearly startled that the Inquisitor herself was down in laundry.
"Where are the sheets from yesterday?"
"Um, they are over there." He pointed across the room. "But some have already been washed and put back in the rooms."
She cringed internally but just nodded and walked over. She began to search through the massive pile of linen, desperately searching. She was starting to panic as time went on. Where is it? Did someone take it? Or was it some how destroyed? She could not lose this. It was too important to her. And frankly a little too embarrassing for the others to see.
Feeling more than a little frantic she went over to wear the fresh linens were being folded. She began looking through the stacks of folded pieces when she saw movement from the corner of her eye. One of the older servants was giving a small wave. It was one of her old house maids from the Trevelyan house. She smiled at Inquisitor and handed her a small folded sheet that was a little lumpier than normal.
"My apologies my lady, but your pillowcase got mixed up with the others and I wanted to re-wash it for you," she said with a wink.
"Thank you Lena, you always know to look out for me." The Inquisitor smiled back at her and took the sheet.
She rushed back to her room and ensured the door was firmly closed before tossing the sheet onto her bed. She reached inside the pillowcase and pulled it out. It was an old, hand-knitted blanket made with multiple colors. Large enough to cover an infant or small child but was far too small and thin to provide any real warmth to an adult. But that was not its role. She squeezed the old blanket to her chest and buried her face in it. It smelled freshly laundered but it the soft texture was so familiar and warm.
Her grandmother had made the blanket for her about a month before her birth. Ever since childhood it had been her favorite toy. Even now it provided a sense of comfort and home, one she sorely needed during the hard days.
The leader of the Inquisition needed to be seen as powerful and unflappable in public. But in private, she could afford to be a little sentimental and curl up with her old blanket to sleep. It made the precious few hours she got feel a little better.