Hello everyone! So, this is a tribute to Leliana, I so wanted to see more of her in Inquisition especially she and the Inquisitor. She is kinda badass in the last game except when she mentions her beloved Warden.
Anyhow this is written in first person and it doesn't reveal the gender or the race so it could be anyone (except dwarf for the height matter), although I wanted such a moment with my F/Inquisitor. But you are free to imagine whatever you prefer.
Bioware owns the characters.
P.S In this story there are not imported choices so no romance with Warden or other similar things.
Also I apologize for eventual grammatical errors, english is not my first language.
Enjoy
"No rest for the wicked I see." A small chuckle left the redhead lips as soon as the words left mine.
"I would be a poor spy master if I wasn't always alert." Her smooth accent humorous even if her voice sounded tired.
It was past dinner time and she was still in the rookery at her desk in the same spot I saw her several hours before.
"And I would be a miserable commander if I wouldn't impose my most loyal advisors to take a break every once in a while in order to keep their sanity and regain their strength."
Her eyes finally rising from the scrools on her table to meet my gaze where I was standing leaned against the wooden rail.
Only then I could see the dark circles around her eyes and the paleness on her already fair skin. A frown appared beetween her brows when her eyes dropped to my hands where I was holding the forgotten meal for the redhead, wrapped within a cloth, and a bottle of wine from my collection.
"Uh... Right." Snapping back to myself I walked the small distance placing the cloth and wine on the table. "Nothing fancy.." I said with a shrug "Just some bread and cheese..." her frown replaced with a genuine smile when she spotted the other thing hiding inside "and.. That."
She picked up the small honey jar examining briefly it's bright color before putting it down again.
"Trying to steal my job, Inquisitor? I thought I was the one knowing all the secrets around and being the one whose secrets couldn't quite be detected."
I enjoyed the rare moments where the collected, professional and fatal spy master let her hood down showing just Leliana, the person, the young woman beyond any title.
Those were moments I never thought possible I could share with the former Chantry Sister back in Haven, when I was "the prisioner" considered responsible for the explosion of the Conclave and the death of hundreds of people, included the Divine herself, Leliana's mentor and guide.
My laugh was a little nervous "I wouldn't dream of it, spy master." I said rubbing the back of my neck. "Actually it was Cole's advice."
There it was again, that little frown on her features, the one that so hardly made appearance on her face and the one that told me that she was disoriented.
"I... Think I spoke with a young man named Cole, but I have a very confused memory about it."
She looked at me expecting further explanation but I just limited myself to chuckle.
A heavy tired sigh escaped her rosy lips while standing. "I suppouse everyone is still in the tavern listening to the last version of Varric's story about how Hawke managed to kill a High Dragon with a ball of twine and an old boot."
"And how she managed to recuperate her staff from its belly, you forgot to mention!" I concluded mocking a bewildered espression, and this time her laugh was loud and full of mirth making me laugh along with her until my face protested. "Ouch..." I winced.
Leliana walked around the table still chuckling, amusement written all over her face, and reached out a hand to my cheek taking a closer look to the scar that was starting to form across my left cheekbone all the way to my upper lip. Cortesy of the blade of a red templar during my last quest in the desert of the Hissing Wastes.
It wasn't so bad, it could have been much worse if I hadn't reacted immediatly, except that the split on my lip made me look like I was wearing a small sneer all the time.
She removed the gloves from her hands and gently moved my chin towards the light of the closest torch on the wall. The warmth and the softness of her hand set a warm feeling in my stomach that started spreading rather quickly across my limbs, making my fingertips tingle and causing my heat to rise.
Her delicate fingers traced the border of the healing gash, her eyes narrowed in concentration, never leaving their close examination.
"It keeps bothering you." It wasn't a question, she already knew it must have hurt like hell, but her voice held concern.
"Uh... Only when I laugh." I attempted to dismiss with a smile, hoping that she didn't notice my almost impercettible grimace nor the blush that was covering my face. She wasn't fooled, I should know better, I thought to myself, but she didn't seems to notice the blush though, or if she did she didn't say anything about it. And for that I was very grateful.
"You should be more careful during your combat, Inquisitor." Her hand dropped at her side and I missed the touch immediately.
"Ah well.. Then maybe Josephine would stop inviting me to every buisiness talk with all the nobles of Orlais. You know, my face in this state could seriously scare away some of them and then all the negotiations would be compromised." I even smirked for add credit to my lame excuse of a joke, just to attempt to steal a smile from that lovely face.
It worked.
Perhaps it was the warm light of the torch, but I like to think it was my sarcasm that made her regain the color on her cheeks and the light in her ocean blue eyes, which were absents just a few minutes before when I first went to see her.
Leliana took a small bite of bread and reached for a couple of glasses from a near table.
"And I assume that said Ambassador isn't the reason for you bringing me here raisin bread with my favorite Orlesian cheese, is she?" I followed her with the wine and food downstairs and outside one of the doors of the library that brought us on the lower balcony. Spotting a few boxes on the corner I put down the things I was carring.
It was a beautiful evening, the sky was particulary clear and the stars were shining like dust of diamonds on black velvet. The air was a little chilly but the wind was mostly silent bringing with it a faint scent of cinnamon and butter, cookies from the bakery, I thought.
"Josephine is just a bit concerned. She always looks after you."
It was true, the two young women looked after each other, but lately, especially in the last few weeks, the roles were inverted, and I suspected the reason.
Like if she was reading my thoughts, the former bard went quiet, gaze on the floor, her right hand playing with a thin silver necklace that was hidden a few moments before.
I slowly made my way toward the hooded redhead.
I never much enjoyed the way she looked with the hood over her head, it made her appear silent, invisible... It was a soft purple shield against her vulnerability.
The first time I saw her without it, it was in Halamshiral at the Winter Palace, and even then it was only for the explicit request of formal dresses. But my breath was stolen anyway.
Her fiery red hair, with a lovely thin tress on the side, her deep unreadable ocean blue eyes, the elegance of her neck; every particular hidden by the hood was on full display, and I couldn't do anything except drink in her beauty and try to steady my breath without making a scene in front of all the nobles of Orlais.
That was the moment when something shifted inside me. When I started looking at her differently, accurately... And before the night was over and I managed to unmask the plan of the Grand Duchess Florianne in front of the entire Court, I knew I was falling.
"Leliana?" my voice was a soft whisper, I didn't want to startle the young woman.
She however didn't seems to hear me, her eyes were distant, looking into something I couldn't see.
The only sounds were distant from us, a barely audible bustle from the tavern and the costant gentle hiss of the wind.
"Leliana..." I tried a little louder this time, resting a hand on her shoulder. She didn't flinch at the contact but I could feel her muscles tensing under my fingers. I was considering to remove my hand but before I could do anything, her muscles relaxed and our eyes met.
Since arriving to Skyhold my relationship with Leliana had changed somehow. She never saw me like a prisoner or a murdered from the beginnig like Cassandra did. She was in fact very kind to me, understanding. Even if all the evidences were against me, Leliana knew there was more going on other than what they were thinking.
How could she have had such faith in me when even I couldn't remember what had happened?
I don't blame Cassandra for how she treated me, but I couldn't understand why Leliana was so faithful toward me. She believed in me. She respected me. And even if her faith was damaged, she belived I was sent by the Maker to help and heal this fractured world.
And when we found Skyhold, she started to believe again, to believe in our operate, and in all the people we helped. In this fortress of hope, this shelter, I saw more of the person under the hood, developing some kind of friendship with the Orlesian beauty.
She was warmer with me, always professional and loyal but she let me see some fragments of her being.
Josephine told me what happened to her, I didn't want the details, that was up to Leliana when and if she would ever tell me, but knowing how many horrible things happened to her, how she found shelter in the Chantry after all the consequences of being an Orlesian spy, I started to understand every behaviour behind any gesture, behind any word. The mask she was wearing in front of the world, so she could hide her feelings, her pain, her insicurities... Her humanity.
But Leliana was a creature of art, a bard whose stories have been heard all over Thedas, whose music and voice could enchant more than a spell, and whose heart was puper than gold itself.
So when our eyes met in that quiet beautiful night on the balcony and I saw her blue orbs shine with tears and reflect the light of the stars above us where she belonged, I couldn't let her hide anymore. I cupped her cheek with a hand while the other pulled back her hood, leaving her exposed physically and emotionally.
Just like I had predicted she tried to pull back but I gently reconnected our eyes and I tried to tell her everything she needed to feel with my gaze, that she was safe, that she didn't have to endure this alone any longer... That she could be human again.
"Don't." My voice steady, not harsh but secure. "Don't hide."
She took her lower lip between her teeth, trying to keep her tears from falling, but that wasn't enough for me, I wanted to see her more than anything, see every scar, feel every pain of hers and make them mine so she could finally be free, and fly like a real nightingale.
Suddendly I knew what to say, to what she would finally let go.
"You'll find redemption in freedom, Leliana. Accept that what happened to Justinia wasn't your fault and you will be free. Leap and you won't fall. She will always be the wind under your wings." She closed her eyes and a single tear slid over her pale cheek, I wiped it away with my thumb. Taking her hand in mine and resting them above her heart I continued. "She will always watch over you, because she lives inside you."
A broken sob escaped her lips as she buried her head in my chest.
I held her until she didn't have nothing left, her mask was finally shattered, revealing the purity of the soul that she possessed, a soul covered with deep scars, but never deep enough to damage its precious core.
I continued stroking her hair as her breathing became more steady, enjoying the scent emanating from her, Andraste's Grace, I thought with a small smile, happy to associate the beautiful woman with the perfume of such delicate flower.
After a few more minutes she lifted her head from my chest never breaking the embrace, her eyes glowing with a new beautiful light of faith.
She focused on me.
I didn't realize how much we were close until that moment.
Her lips where slightly parted as were mine. We were breathing in each other essence.
I could feel the costant beats of my heart echoing in my ears. I swallowed but the sensation was still there.
Her blue gaze fixed on my lips for a few moments before meeting my eyes again. I leaned in slowly, by now we were a breath away, our lips almost touching.
I rested a hand on her cheek, closing the last inch separating us.
Our lips met in a tender, innocent kiss that held no lust or desire, a kiss meant to be a reassurance, a promise that everything would be fine, that she was healing, and that her wounds were finally stopping bleeding.
It lasted only a few seconds, but it was perfect. I desired nothing more.
With a sigh she rested her head against my shoulder while I embraced her with an arm. We stayed there looking at the stars, time didn't matter, the world around us didn't matter for once. I was just too happy to be a part of this important moment for Leliana.
The chains she forced around herself were now her wings. She was finally free.
After that night she returned to be her old self, the one I used to hear stories about but didn't ever think I could see with my own eyes.
Compassionate, merciful and more noble than every creature ever existed, mortal or divine.
When our duty ended we went our separate ways for a time, as it was meant to be.
I loved her since she was my spy master. I always loved her from a distance, even now, after all these years, I still love her. And I prove it to her every day, as I will for the rest of my life, not like a lover would, but like the advisor she deserves and the shoulder she needs to lean in every once in a while.
Divine Victoria it's just another name to add on an infinite list.
For me she will always be Leliana.
Thanks for reading everyone