His name wasn't Blackwall. It was Thom Ranier.
It's not as though Aubrey hadn't known something was wrong. Blackwall was always evasive when she asked about the details of his life, even after they had become romantically involved. She'd hoped it was something inane, like Iron Bull being Ben-Hassrath. At least that "secret" had offered some useful information for Leliana.
But she wasn't sure what to do with this.
Aubrey sighed as she reviewed the reports in her chambers. She mostly skimmed through the details, trying to pick out the most important pieces of information in the vast stack of papers Leliana had found after connecting Blackwall to Thom.
Thom Rainer had been a soldier in the Orlesian army - something Blackwall had been honest about. At some point, he had accepted a job to kill an Orlesian something-or-other. Only, it turned out there were children. Thom, not wanting his men to find out that the job wasn't exactly legal, didn't pull his men back.
He'd allowed for the murder of innocent people. Innocent children. Then he fled, leaving his men to take the blame.
When he'd taken Gordon Blackwall's name was unclear. She only knew that the real Warden had been killed in a darkspawn attack almost 5 years after the blight had ended (if Blackwall had been correct that the last blight was over a decade ago). Was that possible? It occurred to Aubrey that maybe the report of darkspawn had been a cover up for another of Thom's criminal acts.
As had the Inquisition.
And maybe even his relationship with her.
Faced with the facts of his lies and betrayal toward men who had trusted him and the horrific murder he'd committed, Aubrey was ashamed of her selfishness. There was more at stake here than her feelings, yet she let herself wallow in her sadness, upset that he had lied to her and left her without a word.
She had woken up alone in the loft above the stables this morning after a night of drinking and lovemaking. He had been somber last evening, but depressive moods struck him as unpredictably as the flare-ups that sometimes plagued the green mark on her hand. There had been no indication of his plans or that this night had been different from any other.
After she reported Blackwall's disappearance, one of Leliana's agents had found a report Blackwall had filched the week prior. Another man, Mornay, is now charged to hang as Thom Ranier in Val Royeaux in the next week. The agent said this was likely where Blackwall would be found. Leliana had already taken the liberty of preparing arrangements for a small group consisting of Aubrey, Cullen, Cassandra, and a few of Leliana's agents to begin their voyage today.
Aubrey's broken heart and pride aside, Blackwall had to be found. His involvement in the Inquisition was going to be a matter of question and possible political backlash. The solutions to which she hoped could be solved by her advisors.
A quiet tap on the door roused her from her thoughts.
"Enter," she said, her persona of Inquisitor fully established in her voice.
A small boy with red hair and a mouth his face had yet to grow into walked in. A servant, if Aubrey had to guess.
"The horses are ready, your worship, and the others are waiting." He spoke steadily, unlike some of the other servants who sometimes mumbled in their nervousness. Aubrey smiled.
"Thank you. Please let them know I'll be down shortly."
The boy left the room, the door barely making a sound behind him.
Aubrey gathered the reports on Blackwall and put them in her leather satchel. She walked to the space at the top of the stairs and examined the small weapons rack she had commissioned from Blackwall when they first came to Skyhold and she had learned about his talent in woodworking.
He had offered to do the job for free, saying he was happy to have something useful to do but she had insisted on paying him. He had saved that money, plus some extra he had won playing cards against new recruits, and gifted her a beautiful pair of enchanted daggers that gave her victims a nasty electric shock, as well as a cut or two.
Aubrey felt tears pool in her eyes thinking about the day he had given them to her. She had been carrying a small sword, not anything nearly as large or heavy as Cassandra's, until that day.
Blackwall had seen that she was trying to be faster and sneakier than the rest of the group during fights, but the sword was cumbersome and the weight made her noisier, giving away her position to enemies. The weapon was something she had picked off a dead bandit and it didn't suit her, though she didn't know any better at the time. He had seen better potential in her fighting style and had aimed the bring it to light with his thoughtful gift.
That was also the same day they shared their first kiss.
Aubrey decided to take her original sword with her, leaving the daggers behind. She wiped the tears from her eyes before continuing down the stairs to meet her companions, suddenly thankful that there were so many.