She heard the swishing of his robes. He was trying to be quiet. She could tell. But he could never sneak up on her; and this time was no different.
She was sitting in her chair, head laid back and eyes closed. The room had darkened around her as the sun set behind the hills.
She smiled.
Silently, she waited patiently for him to make his way up the stairs, listening ever so closely to his bare feet carefully padding their way up each step. His steps were soft, agile, and quiet. They always had been. She was the one person he could never sneak up on.
Her smiled deepened as she heard him round the corner leading to the study. His footsteps were now deeply muffled by the carpets expertly draped on the floor. She only heard the swishing of his robes now.
"He must be trying really hard," she thought. "But an effort wasted." Her smile twisted.
This was a game they played often.
She started humming. Her eyes still closed and head laid back, she hummed the song that had brought them all together after the tragedy at Haven. It gave her peace. It gave her solace.** It kept her going. She was certainly not big on the Chantry and was definitely no expert on their teachings, but the hymn was universal; and it comforted her.
As soon as he heard her humming, he knew that he was found out. He sighed quietly and shook his head while smiling. He joined in, softly humming the hymn along with her now.
Adeptly, he managed to open the door and slip through without making any noise at all. He leaned on the now closed door; his head also titled back and eyes closed. He was content to let the moment sink in while he absorbed the emotion emitted by his lovely Inquisitor.
They continued humming in synchronization.
There were no words between them; and there didn't need to be. It's as if they were aware of each other's soul; and knew what the other felt or needed without any verbal or physical communication. It had always been this way.
The two finished humming the hymn some moments later, but neither had moved from their position and a smile still placed on both their lips. They sat like this for a few moments more.
The urge to touch her-to caress her skin; however, overwhelmed him and he padded his way over to her chair. He stood behind her, gathered her soft hair in one hand and gently stroked her neck with the back of his fingers. The feeling made her tilt her head to the right, allowing him greater access to her skin and without realizing, she let out a soft whimper.
"Are you glad I'm back?" he asked almost sternly.
"More than you know," she cooed back.
He placed his hands high on either of her shoulders and began to massage. He began gently at first, but then started to press harder with his thumbs to work out the knots.
"What are you doing here, sitting in the dark, with only one candle still lit?"
"I was reading through some reports, when I thought I should take a break." Her head rolled back as his nimble fingers began to work out a particularly stubborn knot.
"Is that so? Well, my dear Inquisitor, I feel it is my duty as one who is sworn to protect you that it is bad for your eyesight to be reading in such dim light," he told her playfully.
"Indeed you're right. However, it is MY duty to inform you that there were more candles lit when I was reading."
"Ah. That is good to hear. We can't have the Inquisition's best archer going blind on us," he paused; stilling his hands as he asked. "But Inquisitor, does this mean you have been lounging about, lost in your daydreams again long enough for-" he looked around at the burnt out candles. "at least 4 candles, by my count, to burn down?"
She smiled.
"Well sir, when one has a beautiful and talented mage as a lover, it is impossible to resist the thoughts and temptation that mage has put into a tired mind."
He clucked his tongue. "Tisk tisk, Inquisitor. What if it had been a demon that lulled you into such complacency? Would I be talking to a ghoul right now?" He put his lips just outside her ear. "Would I come back to see you, and everything you are, swallowed up-twisted and corrupted into something I know you can never be?"
She was briefly haunted by his words.
"I have such trust and faith in my mage, that I know he would never let a demon anywhere NEAR my mind, tired or not."
"Such a heavy burden to place on one person, Inquisitor."
She gently placed her hand on top of his. "I have a feeling he doesn't see it that way. He has willfully taken it upon himself to look out for the mind of his fearless leader. To be honest, I don't think I could get him to stop protecting me even if I wanted him to."
It was his turn to smile now. He pulled her head back gently by her hair and whispered, "How right you are," before choosing to place his lips over hers in a much awaited kiss.
**Author's Note: Haha. You see what I did there? ;)