"You remind me of myself, when I was your age, darling," Cullen heard Vivienne tell the Inquisitor as he approached. For reasons he could not quite fathom, the idea of Lady Trevelyan becoming Madame de Fer la deuxième sent a shiver down his spine. Not that he held any adverse feelings towards the First Enchanter… only uneasy ones.
"You flatter me, Lady Vivienne," the Inquisitor replied smoothly. "Your refinement is certainly an inspiration."
"You are charming, my dear," Madame de Fer smiled, then took her leave graciously from both the Inquisitor and Cullen.
The Commander was ready to recite his report, but was held back by Lady Trevelyan's quiet chuckle.
"Dare I ask what it is that you find so amusing, my lady?" He inquired, cocking a brow.
"Dare I tell you?" The question was accompanied by a wry smile that promptly made his stomach drop to his knees.
Could there ever be anything the Inquisitor would not dare? A counter equal to Lady Trevelyan's mischievous tone, yet all that Cullen managed was an embarrassed cough.
"Why not?" He finally asked lamely.
"For fear of being diminished in your eyes," the Inquisitor replied languidly. "I cannot very well afford to lose the respect of the man in charge of my army." She paused, and studied him with open curiosity. "You heard how I apparently reminded Lady Vivienne of her younger self? An amusing notion, given that I presently have the most atrocious hangover. I'd dive into a tub of orange juice, and blot out the sun for the day, were it in my power. Could you imagine Madame de Fer in such a state?"
"You have a hangover?" Cullen stammered, disbelieving. Madame the Fer was completely forgotten. "But how?"
"The usual way," the Inquisitor shrugged. "Drinking copious amounts of alcohol. I'd recommend against taking on Bull, though."
"You had a drinking contest with Iron Bull?" The Commander asked flatly. There really was nothing the Inquisitor would not dare. The thought had lost its charm somehow.
"It was for a noble cause, I assure you," the lady said defensively. "I had a hypothesis that needed testing. I wanted to see whether I could successfully break down the alcohol in my bloodstream with magic, and stave off inebriation. A useful trick when you need to keep a clear head at a party, wouldn't you say? Unfortunately, I have never been particularly good with chemistry. I changed something, I just don't know what."
"And you know that because – "
"I can hear colours," the Inquisitor replied, eyes going wide.
Silence stretched between them for a few long moments. Then the Inquisitor's face brightened, and she burst into mirthful laughter.
"Commander, you look positively horrified," she said between giggles.
"Forgive me, my lady, but your sense of humour can be a little – " he gestured, but could not find an appropriate word to describe just how he felt.
"Yes," she agreed with an ear-to-ear grin.
"I never know what is really happening in that head of yours," Cullen murmured.
And suddenly the jester was gone. But it was not the Inquisitor that took her place. This was the woman whose smile turned his insides to mush, and filled his mind with cotton.
"I think you do, Commander," she replied quietly.
"I, uh – So you are not –… in need of hydration?"
The Inquisitor shook her head bemused, then took his arm.
"How about you give me your report while we walk to the larder? If I can have petit fours with my coffee, there better be a damned orange in there somewhere."