All Leliana could do was run, as far and as fast as her legs could carry her.
Thorns scratched at her already open and scarred skin, making healed wounds re-open as she hurtled through the dark forest and away from the dungeon that had held her captive. From what she could gather, she was in her prison for at least five months, the cold icy patches on the ground telling her it was long since summer, the goose bumps on her bare skin becoming unbearable against the cold.
She didnt know where she was going, she just had to get away, and quickly. She knew her torturer's method of tracking, and he was no doubt after her that very second, playing a very cruel game of cat and mouse, Leliana playing the latter, something she had not done in years. Not since she had fled from Orlais... With the vision of the Orlesian Guards hot on her heels, she pushed on harder, more swiftly across the ground. Leliana knew that this would not last for long, however. She knew the limits of her body, especially when she was near exhaustion; she tired easily and got careless.
Soon, her quick movements throughout the eerie forest turned to stumbles as she became lightheaded, her sight becoming blurred as she heaved for breath. She stopped against a tree, leaning on the rough bark as she checked herself over. She was in bad shape, so much that she was beginning to believe she would not survive the night.
Then she heard it; the howl of a Mabari War Hound. The True Chase had begun.
Picking up her pace again, she clumsily fell through the trees, fear that her tormentor would find her. And to make matters worse, Leliana could hear the loud pants and heavy paw prints of the Mabari gaining on her hastily, thudding on the snowy ground as he caught her scent, howling to his Master and the rest of his pack as he got closer and closer to his prey.
So she ran, her body near collapsing as her lungs felt as though they were on fire, her body stinging from head to toe in bloody wounds. She felt her feet give way under her as she tripped, her body falling against a lone tree, only to fall roughly to the floor seconds later.
This is it, she thought, the sight of the Mabari Hound hurtling towards her bringing an icy shiver down her spine as she prepared for her inevitable death. Closing her eyes, she gritted her teeth as the Divine came to her mind. She'd failed her, the Inquisition... she'd failed her... her Warden...
Opening her eyes, she was shocked, to say the least. She did not hear the halt of the Mabari's steps, her brow frowning in confusion as she studied the blurred hound in front of her, who for some reason, had not started mauling her yet. Listening as the Mabari's Master quickly began to catch them up, the sound of them ripping past the leaf-less twigs, Leliana began to realise that, through her hazed vision, she recognised this animal.
Under the dark paint that plastered his coat, she saw the unforgettable markings around his front legs, she saw the unusual gentleness and happiness in the Mabari's big, brown eyes as he stared at her, his short tail wagging as he gave a sharp, loud bark. The thumping of the ground got nearer as Leliana, be it either out of braveness or stupidity, extended her hand, placing it in front of the hound's nose. The Mabari didnt even need to take in her scent, pressing his large mussle against the palm of her hand.
"Hunter..." she said in a broken voice, the hound giving her a happy bark as he nudged her hand further onto his head, Leliana feeling her consciousness leaving her as the thumping of foot steps vanished, the tree twigs splitting open to reveal a large figure, garbed in a cloak, their face darkened and non-recognisable under the baggy hood. In the figure's hand was a bow, knocked against the fine wood an arrow, aimed directly at the red head sitting in naked in the cold snow.
Time seemed to slow for Leliana. Hope and happiness filled her as she held onto that last shred of life left, just enough to remember the Mabari in front of her, which was always inseperable from his Master... Leliana's lover... The figure loosened the bow, strands of hair dropping from the dark hood as they stepped closer to study the small woman in front of them, but all too late. Before Leliana could acknowledge what had happened, she felt her body go limp as she fell into the snow, her eyes closing as the figure jumped to her aid.
At first, when she awoke, Leliana could have sworn she had left her earthly body, leaving to be at the Makar's side, to reunite with her mother up where the souls of the dead gather. She was so warm, a luxury she hadn't missed until that waking moment. She slowly opened her eyes, her sight resting on the fire not to far from her, the flames feeding her the cozy sensation she was floating in.
She quickly found she was on her back and staring up at bright stars, which in return twinkled down at her. She heard a faint rustling just by her head, but found she had no energy to move. Instead, she just lay there, waiting as the memories came flooding back to her. The dungeons of Redcliff Castle, her escape, her run in with Hunter...
Her eyes snapped open as she pushed herself foreword, grimacing in pain as she hissed through painfully gritted teeth. Every bone in her body felt broken, every muscle felt as though they were about to explode, and every inch of her body just hurt, stung in pain in ways she had once thought she'd never feel again. The rustling behind her quickened, a hand placing itself on her shoulder gently, pushing her back down onto her back. "Some of your injuries are still open," came an angel's voice, barely a whisper, yet that small echo gave a melody to Leliana's ears. "Just give me a few moments, and try not to move too much."
The cloaked figure came to her side, a bandage wrap in their hands as they kneeled down. Leliana could do nothing but stare up at the now visible face of her rescuer, her voice suddenly leaving her as she watched the figure get to work on her abdomen. Leliana wanted nothing more than to reach up and touch that face, to trace her fingers along the tattoos, to rub the cheek bone lightly with her thumb. Instead, as she felt their magic seep into her skin, giving her the most unreasonable sense of peace and relief. She grasped one of her healers hands in hers, watching their face quietly in anticipation. The magic had stopped, replacing the positive feelings with a pain that nearly made her groan, but she didn't care.
Finally, a pair of sparkling green eyes- eyes that had raided her dreams and taunted her- met with her own sea blue ones. In that moment, Leliana felt content; happy. Happiness that she hadn't felt in a long, long time. She quickly made the decision that if the figure were to lay down beside her so that she could entwist her arms around them, she would die without a worry in the world. "Neria..." she muttered quietly, receiving a small squeeze from the woman in question.
Neria gave a smile, looking down at the near naked woman below her. "In a minute... please," she begged, her spare hand tightening around the bandage wrapping in an almost desperate manor. Giving her a tight smile, Leliana released Neria's hand, who gave her a look of appreciation in return. She returned to the task in front of her, summoning her magic as she focused on healing the damaged woman, who now lay silent once again.
Leliana... wasn't quite sure of what to say. This wasn't exactly how she had envisioned Neria returning to her; in fact it was the complete opposite. Sighing as the content feeling of her Warden's magic returned to her, she looked up towards her yet again, noticing the tiny little changes about her since they had last spoken. The first thing she realised was that Neria was tired; exhausted even. Looking into the field of green above her, she saw the bags that hung under her eyes. From there, she saw a faint line of white, plumbed up tissue, which ran from her eye brow down to her cheek. One thing that hadn't changed about that beautiful face, Leliana noted happily, was that the tattoo ink hadn't dulled or faded in its age. Neria was always proud to be Elven, even though she had spent her life in the Circle Tower.
Showing everyone who she was... it was never something Leliana was very good at doing, and it made her admire Neria all the more for it. She even believed it was one of the many reasons why she fell in love with her. Neria had shown her she didn't have to be afraid of telling people that she was once a Bard, the things that she had done. She made Leliana feel less shameful of herself, helped her realise that that life was gone.
Leliana smiled softly as she recalled the memory of her old Bard Master's death; the moment she realised she was deeply in love with the Elven Mage.
It was soon after they had confronted Marjolaine, after the woman had died on Leliana's sword. She had kept to herself until the party had reached camp, where Neria had offered her shoulder; offered her a person to talk to. She had given her a look that could only be described as concerned, loving even. When Neria had turned to sit by the fire, Leliana had retreated to her tent, hardly believing that the Elf still wanted her amongst her presence, even after she had informed her that she relished the moment when Marjolaine fell on her blade.
Instead of chastising and belittling her, she comforted Leliana, tried to help her understand that she was who she was, not Marjolaine, that the woman had done her a great injustice and it was relatively normal to feel some form of satisfactory. It was that moment then, when Leliana realised her feelings for the mage. Even when she was doubting herself, believing that soon her life would be destroyed exactly the same way Marjolaine's had, Neria was there to pick her up, to tell her she wasn't like her Bard Master, and to show her that not everyone was as cold and heartless as Marjolaine. At that moment, she was the happiest she had been in a long time.
Over the two that had passed since Marjolaine's death in Denerim, their relationship had built, strengthened over each passing day. They stayed together in the castle in Denerim, Neria helping Alistair become Fereldan's new King, helping him in deciding the courts and guiding him through each decision he made. It wasn't until Leliana woke up one morning to find that her tranquillity and peacefulness had ended and her heart broken. Sat on Neria's side of their bed sat a tightly wound scroll, the contents of which had Leliana in tears by the time she had finished reading it. In minutes, she was dressed and in Alistair's quarters, demanding he sent people looking for her.
It was then that she turned to the Divine. She had offered Leliana a permanent place at her side, which Leliana had always turned down. It wasn't until Leliana had spent a tearful week in her... their bedroom that she considered taking the Divine's offer. She wasn't just going to allow Neria to walk out of her life, especially not after reading her delicate hand writing, telling her that she still and would always hold Leliana close to her heart; but she had to leave.
Travelling and working for the Divine had given her a chance to search for her lost love, as well as serving the Chantry. As the years flew by, Leliana found that by the time war had broken out between the Mages and the Templars, she no longer asked people whether they had seen the Hero of Fereldan. In the end, she was tired of having her hopes crushed and saw that the chances of finding Neria were very slim, near impossible. Taking the battered letter out time and time again, Leliana promised herself that she would reveal herself soon. By the time she had joined the Inquisition, she had given up looking for her, now telling herself that she would show herself when she wished.
Looking up at her now, Leliana realised that it was only when she had given up looking that Neria had come back to her. Ironic.
"Can you sit up?" Neria asked, holding the bandage wrap in her hand as she finished the wounds on Leliana's abdomen. "I haven't done this in a while. I'm afraid I was only able to close some of them, not heal them all." Taking a gentle holding of her shoulders as Leliana struggled to get into an up right position, Neria gave her a comforting smile as she began wrapping the material around the woman's stomach, Leliana relaxing as she felt the Elf's arms around her. They were so close, their noses almost touching.
When Neria had finished the bandage, Leliana kept hold of her forearms, keeping her in place. It was Neria that leaned forward, touching their foreheads as Leliana sighed at the contact as she closed her eyes in what seemed like sheer bliss. She had missed this so much. The amount of nights that she had cried herself to sleep over the loss of her lover were literally un-countable. Gingerly, Leliana began to slide her hands up to Neria's neck, rubbing there softly as she felt more than heard her swallow deeply in anticipation. Leaning foreword, Leliana hesitantly pressed her cold lips to Neria warm ones.
The effect wasn't immediate; both women, after years of having no such contact like this, found the action... foreign. It was awkward more than satisfying or comforting. Neither of them moved for an eternity, which in actual fact was only a minute or so. When Leliana felt Neria exhale slowly, she pulled away, however, keeping her within her embrace. "Neria..." she muttered quietly, breathing in the woman's addicting scent.
With that alone, something seemed to snap in the Elf. Taking firm hold of the red-head's neck, she pulled her foreword, smashing her lips with her own, more fire and confidence evident in the kiss. Leliana responded easier this time, the instinct of what to do coming back to her quickly. Lying back down on her back against Neria's soft bed roll, she felt her tongue probe her soft lips, as if begging for entrance. The couple stayed like this for a long while, only separating for the need of air. Neria rested her head against Leliana's shoulder blade, kissing the while flesh every so often as Leliana caught her breath back, clutching the heavily garbed woman to her tightly.
"I've missed you," Neria croaked,her voice muffled. Her lips moved to Leliana's neck, nipping at the skin softly as she exhaled sweetly. Leliana ran her hands through the short, brown hair, twisting some of the ends between her fingers. "Then why did you leave?" Leliana asked quietly.
"I had to," she replied, getting up on her elbow's and looking down at her love. "If I had told you why I had to leave all those years ago, you wouldn't have believed me- and I had to go alone- that's the one thing you wouldn't have let me do," she continued, lightly fingering the faded scar just above Leliana's left eyebrow. "I wasn't expecting to be away for so long. By the time I went back to Denerim to find you, you had already gone with the Divine." There was a brief silence, Leliana thinking that it was ironic that she was looking for Neria while the Elf was doing the same. "I still had work to do, but I just wanted to see you. I tracked you down to Kirkwall and... well, I kept an eye on you for a little while," Neria ended with a small chuckle.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Leliana replied. That wasn't fair. Neria... she knew that she was being looked for. She had even seen Leliana asking for her; yet chose to stay hidden. "Why didn't you let me know you were alright?"
"Because you wouldn't have let it go, you wouldn't have stopped searching for me," Neria returned, more harshly than intended. "I saw it, in your eyes, the hope that was there every time you asked someone about me; how your face would drop with disappointment. I-" Neria cut herself off, tears bouncing to her eyes as her voice broke. She stared down at Leliana's shoulder blade, refusing to meet her eyes. "If you had known I was watching you in Kirkwall, you would have found me... I wouldn't have been able to walk away again, Leli..."
There was another silence that enveloped the two woman. Neria had dropped from her elbows onto her side, exposing Leliana's body to the warm air. Even though the air was quite cozy and inviting, she felt herself shiver at the loss of contact. Taking a deep breath, Leliana spoke again. "Why come back now then?"
Neria grunted a stiff chuckle, taking one of Leliana's hands in her own and playing with each of her fingers. "Because the war has begun," Neria replied. "I was told of the fighting between the Mages and Templars years ago. I was sent to try and stop it before it had actually begun. Well, you can see how well that worked," she laughed bitterly. Neria then focused her attention on a nearby bird which, had landed on Hunter's hind leg. The Mabari lifted his head to look back, then dropped his head again as he attempted to fall back to sleep.
"I went away for a little while again, when I came back I had no idea where you had left to. After I heard you were captured, I was planning to get you out. As a matter of fact, it was going to happen tomorrow morning. I sent Hunter after you earlier because I thought you were one of the scouts. You got too close to my camp, as they all did. When I saw that Hunter wasn't ripping you apart, I figured it out from there; although you were nearly unrecognisable when I found you," Neria ended, dropping her hand to run it through Leliana's fiery hair, the woman herself staring out into the glittering sky as she took it all in.
As Neria ran her fingers through the red locks, Leliana's mind wouldn't stop. She was happy, tearful and angry all at the same time. She wanted to kiss Neria, have a passionate night with her and hit her all at once. But despite what she wanted, there was a question on the tip of her tongue, which she was fearing to ask. Biting her lip, she breathed out her fear. "Are you going to leave again?"
As Leliana stared off towards the forest that surrounded them, she felt a hand cup her cheek, a thumb running over the bone. "Leliana, look at me," she heard Neria beg. "Please..." Biting her lip again, she looked above her to see Neria's green eyes staring into hers, an intense and fixed looking on her face. "I'm never leaving your side again," Neria whispered, taking one of Leliana's hands in her own, giving it a squeeze. Leaning down, she pressed a chaste kiss to Leliana's lips, as if sealing the promise. She pulled back seconds later, a smile spread across her face. "I know we can't just pick up where we left off. I've missed the past ten years of your life; your working for the Divine, joining the Inquisition, all of it. I want to make up for my absence, if you'll have me."
As Leliana listened quietly, a smile appeared on her face. Wrapping her arms around the Mage's neck, she pulled her down, quickly kissing her cheek before pulling her into a tight, warm embrace. Neria relaxed immediately, the fear of being rejected washing away as she melted into the red head's arms. She snuggled in her neck, a pleasuring chill running up her spine as she felt Leliana's fingers take her cloak off.
With a devilish smirk on her face, Leliana bit Neria's ear lobe lightly, remembering how sensitive her ears were, how willing she would be to succumb to every one of her wishes whenever she gave them a slight nibble. She ran her tongue along the Elf's jaw as she exhaled slowly, her breath becoming out of sync. Pulling back to look her square in the face, Leliana muttered seductively, "One would think now would be an appropriate time to 'make up for your absence', no?"
A.N: I'm not 100% on the ending, but I hope you enjoyed reading :3 But seriously, If Inquisition turns out to be as awsome as it looks in the trailer, i WILL find a way for It to have my babies...