How it came to be

by

Silver-Eyed Rukia

Rated: T

Summary: What we saw at the beginning of Inquisition was not the true start of how things got set in motion. This is the untold story of how Adaar ended up being interrogated by Cassandra and Leliana.

Pairing: None, Adaar x Josephine friendship (hinted)

Note: This isn't beta-ed, so please ignore any mistakes. Or point them out and correct me, whatever you prefer.

The first thing she heard was the constant dripping of water as she slowly regained her senses. It was cold, a wet cold that seeped into her bones and chilled her despite wearing a coat suited for the icy weather. Her body ached, sore from abuse that she could only imagine because when she tried to remember what happened a pain as sharp as daylight pierced her skull and immediately prevented her from any further tought on the matter.

The horned woman could barely feel her legs as they had gotten numb from the pressure of sitting on them. For how long she didn't know, but judging from the heat her body had lost already she assumed it to be at least a couple hours. Her wrists were red and bruised from the chains tied around them. Her still somewhat pain-clouded gaze followed the chains up to the wall, looking for any way out of her misery. But before she could even regain control of her body her musings were interrupted by a door slamming open, announcing the arrival of someone who could maybe explain to her what had happened.

She frowned as one thought manifested itself inside her mind.

Or maybe someone was just here to finish her off. No matter what it would be in the end, there was nothing she could do, chained up to a wall, beaten and bruised from an incident she couldn't even remember.

Echoes of footsteps rang loudly in her ears and she wished for the noise to stop as it only intensified the already numbing pain inside her head. 'One person? Two? Even more? Can't tell...'. The sounds bouncing off the walls made it hard to pinpoint from where the steps were coming from, or even how many were approaching her. The barely lit dungeon cell was certainly no help either, as it was illuminated by only a single torch on the other end of the room and even that source of light was about to die out. For a brief second her cell lit up in a strange green glow and pain shot through her left hand, pain so intense it tore a scream from her throat, raw and animalistic as would be expected of a Qunari.

"Silence, you wretched creature", a voice sounded from somewhere in front of her, a shadow in the shape of a human standing just behind the iron bars of her cage. "You will not speak unless asked to", he started as he unlocked the door, motioning for another guard to bring a torch with her, "you will not move until pushed to do so", he continued as he entered the cell, looking down on the woman that would have towered over him if it weren't for the fact that her chains were so short that she couldn't even stand up, "and you will die, no matter what your answers may tell us about what happened. For it's the will of the Maker, His punishment for the death of the Divine."

If the guard expected a response out of the prisoner then he didn't show his surprise when none came. He was just about to release the chains from the walls as a piercing gaze fell upon him, an icy blue surrounded by a burning red staring at him, exposing him to his bare soul and a single word shattered the silence: "Katara."

A gloved fist connected with her jaw and the Qunari smirked as the dripping of the water was joined by the dripping of her blood that escaped the tear in her lip, knowing that she wouldn't even have needed to say anything: The young man was terrified by her presence alone, probably a recruit sent to retrieve the prisoner that was supposed to be chained down and harmless.

"Shut your mouth, oxman", he growled, spitting at her feet as he angrily left the cell. The female, a blonde, somewhat older than he was, entered with a rope in her hands, tying the horned woman's hands together behind her back before removing her iron shackles. "Get up, we don't have all day."

The taste of blood in her mouth was so familiar that it immediately kicked her senses into overdrive and she was suddenly aware of all the small details around her. The faint smell of ashes in the air, the unnerved expressions on the guards faces, the bad shape that the rope around her hands was in. Her blood ran through her veins at top speed, pumping adrenaline into her every fiber and she obeyed the command she had been given and rose from her stiff position on the floor, the pain and soreness pushed aside by the instict of survival. She bowed her head to avoid knocking it into the ceiling as she was way too tall for the human-shaped building they were in. The blonde woman looked at her before pulling the rope, motioning her to follow. She glared at the young man still waiting outside the cell and handed him the leash, taking the torch from his hands and leading the way.

"Watch it, Duke. Sister Nightingale needs her able to speak or she won't be of any use. If you need to blow off steam go punch the dummies. At least they don't scare the piss out of you with just a look."

Teeth grinding against each other and cheeks flushed with anger Duke violently yanked at the rope and stomped after his fellow soldier, muttering curses under his breath that didn't go unnoticed by the horned woman's sharp ears and she did nothing but follow, waiting for the split second, the perfect moment of carelessness. She knew if wouldn't take long.

They had just passed another set of cells when the blonde woman finally had enough of her underlings yapping, smacking him across the face. "Maker's breath, can't you shut up for 5 bloody seconds? We just lost thousands of people and all you can think of is your wounded pride? The commander should have let you stay on cleaning duty. Keep your piehole closed or I'll stuff it full of iron, got it?"

Duke unsheathed his dagger and held it up in front of him, hands shaking with barely contained fury. "Can you blame me for it?! We lost everything, all hope that was left on ending this stupid war and it's probably this damn prisoner's-", he managed to choke out before his words turned into a garbled mess of noise as the Qunari strangled him with such force that only a couple seconds afterwards his limp body lay on the cold floor, throat all but squashed under the pressure. In the roughly half a minute the argument had taken up the prisoner had used the distraction to jump over her bound hands, succesfully bringing them in front of her and using that advantage to take out one of the two guards. She heard more than she saw the sword coming her way as it sliced the air in its path, missing its target completely as the trained mercenary rolled out of harm's way, picking up the forgotten dagger from the floor.

"I told him he would die", Adaar calmly stated as she stared at the blonde woman in front of her who was unable to comprehend what just had happened. Before she even had the change to strike again though she joined her fellow soldier's fate and the Maker's side as the Qunari bore the dagger into her ribs so fiercly that it cracked them, shattering her sternum and rendering her completely unable to breath. Her final words were ragged gasps for air as her lungs filled up with her own blood and the Qunari ended her misery with a quick step onto her larynx before ridding herself of the rope around her hands.

Hatred, fierce and burning ran through her veins, demanding bloody revenge for the mistreatment she had endured in her tiny cell but she pushed it aside, years of training helping her clear her mind of her frenzy and instead focusing on finding a way out of her prison. Adaar picked up the sword from the already cooling body and hid the dagger behind her back, well hidden beneath her coat.

The sheer amount of information was overwhelming for her, another question forming inside her head before she could even answer the one that came before. Where was she? Who were her captors? Ben-Hassrad? Why had they been able to contain her if she had been travelling with her mercenary group? It was no use though, because she couldn't remember what had happened. A contract, the journey, the arrival and then...nothing. But strangely the nothing wasn't black as she would have suspected but...green?

Remembering an incident not too long ago she looked at her left hand, eyeing it with such an intensitiy as if that would make it speak. She knew. She had seen it light up in this strange hue of green that now filled her mind as the last thing she recalled. Adaar growled in frustration and instead of running circles inside her own mind chose to move again, trying to find a way out of whatever place she was stuck in.

A frown covered Leliana's already darkened face as she listened to Cassandra's angry shouts of discomfort about their current situation. Luckily for the spy she wasn't the target of her fury and she was content with watching as Varric Tethras endured the seemingly endless stream of angry words that came from the Seeker's mouth. The apostate, Solas, stood not too far away from the pair, eyes never leaving the ugly looking scar in the sky but still listening to everything going on around him. Her frown deepened as the sight of the elf reminded her of something that had nearly escaped her mind and she walked over to one of her spies who greeted her in respect as the former bard began talking.

"The prisoner was supposed to be delivered to us by now, it has been more than 10 minutes since I dispatched Duke and Roseline. Go and see what is keeping them so long, because if Cassandra doesn't get answers soon then a tear in the sky will be one of our lesser problems."

The spy nodded and hurried off into the main hall, closing the door to the War Room behind him. Leliana sighed and closed her eyes, praying silently for the safety of her love and for comfort from the Maker Himself.

Another 5 minutes passed and the redhead's suspicion that something had gone wrong grew bigger until she no longer had the patience to wait. She picked up her quiver and bow and exited the War Room, somewhat glad at being able to escape the constant shouting from Cassandra. She was greeted with a sight of absolue terror upon entering the main hall.

Amidst two pairs of dead bodies, the two guards that were patrolling the halls and the two other guards that were guarding the doors, stood the woman she had thought to be chained up and contained, grabbing a still living soldier by his coat and lifting him off the ground in the motion. Her horned head turned towards the archer's direction as she readied an arrow, pondering if she would be able to take her out without killing her.

"Let him go and surrender, then I shall consider letting you live for the crime you have commited against us." Her voice was loud and clear and for a moment she thought the Qunari unable to understand her as a look of puzzlement flashed over her face but that quickly passed as the soldier that was still dangling from her grip lashed out, trying to break the iron hold from the tall woman but to no avail. Adaar shifted, a move so swift that it might have been an elven rouge performing it and not a Qunari warrior such as herself, and dodged the careless swing.

"Tell me, human, as you are yet the only one willing to do something as simple as to talk to me. What crime is there to speak of? I defended myself against the injustice I endured because of your men", Adaar asked in a deep, strong voice that carried a serenity in it that the contrast between her voice and her appearance, her blood-stained skin and clothing, was even more extreme than the intelligence clearly evident in her eyes. An intelligence she wouldn't have suspected the Qunari had and that she now regretted not considering as it had cost her at least five good men under her command.

"You were supposed to be brought before us for questioning, there we would have spoken but you clearly are not willing to settle this on civil terms if the death that surrounds you is any indication."

The redheaded woman was angry, very much so, even if it wasn't clearly evident in her facial expression. Adaar didn't move, didn't reply as she searched her opponent's face for any hints: a twitch of a muscle, a moment of carelessness but she found nothing. Just as she was about to broker a treaty with the archer a door to her left swung open and out came a woman dressed in the finest clothing she had seen since her last contract from a noble from Orlais. Golden fabric framed the purple center-pieces of her attire and a big, golden necklace adorned her chest. Her toned skin was a stark contrast to the pale skin of the archer, as was her black hair. Her hands held a clipboard of sorts and a question was already forming on her lips before it died at the sight in front of her and turned into confusion.

"Maker, what happ-"

"Josie, no!"

Leliana sent the arrow that had been trained on the prisoner on its way as fear for her friend completely clouded her rational judgement. Adaar raised the soldiers's body up to shield herself against the attack, not even flinching as the arrow pierced the man's skull and left the tip inches away from her head. Another arrow followed and it didn't touch her again as the now limp body shielded her from the attack. She regretted the needless death of the man and for a brief moment she allowed her sadness to show as she dropped him unto the floor with a blessing in her native tongue.

"Ashkost say hissra."

Josephine, who had been too shocked to even react before, was now in full control of her vocal and physical abilities again. She yelled for her friend to stop the assault as another arrow had been readied, this time with a 100% certainty to hit its target.

"Leliana, don't. We need her alive if we ever want to find out what happened at the Conclave. I am unharmed so put away your weapon" the Antivan woman said as she held up one of her hands in reassurement, never breaking eye contact with the Qunari that stood nearly in arm's reach of her. Josephine was lacking in knowledge of the Qunari, their language and their beliefs but she knew a few things. One of those things was the meaning of the sentence the horned woman had spoken at the young man's death.

"Seek peace with your gods."

The former bard dropped her bow but unsheathed her dagger, approaching her friend in silence as she watched the exchange between the two.

"It's what humans do", Adaar replied and eyed the redheaded woman before returning her attention to the raven-haired diplomat next to her. She dropped her sword and the metallic clang was loud in her ears, painfully reminding her of the headache she had been ignoring up till now."You believe in the Maker, He is your God. You seek refuge by His side and fulfillment in death after a life of serving Him. It seemed appropriate because his death was unfortune, but not avoidable."

Silence fell upon them as neither Josephine nor Leliana knew how to respond. The later held up her dagger as a reflex as the Qunari moved but lowered it again when she saw that she was kneeling down, the back of her fists facing the pair and those unsettling intense eyes focused on both of them, seemingly at once.

"I will be questioned and I will answer. You may bind my hands if you promise me to talk on civil terms."

Leliana ignored the mockery and only turned on her heel, marching off towards the War Room to inform the Seeker that the prisoner was now to be interrogated in the dungeon. A spare dagger was placed on the ambassador's clipboard for protection but Josephine left it on her desk as she went into her room to grab a rope to bind the prisoner's hands together.

When she came back the Qunari was still in the same position she had been left in, kneeling and holding up her fists. Josephine approached her carefully, but with a certain curiosity towards the intelligent creature that sat before her. Even now her head was raised in unwavering pride, her stature intimidating and her eyes sharp as her hands were bound together yet again.

"You could have escaped if you wanted to", the Antivan woman said as she gently wrapped the rope around the already bloody and sore wrists of the Qunari, "you had the advantage. A defendable position and me as a possible hostage."

"There is no honour in harming innocents or killing them. All I did was defend myself, I didn't murder anyone nor will I start doing so. But your archer is good, a keen eye." A pause as Adaar thought for a moment and smiled. "Yet what disarmed me was the intellect of a bright mind. I have a dagger hidden behind my back, take it. I would prefer not to be beheaded upon its discovery."

Josephine took the compliment with trained ease and removed the weapon while doing so. "To answer your question, I have studied many things and I have stumbled over a few words and phrases in the native Qunari tongue along my way. That is how I knew you were sending Michael to the Maker's side and not spitting on his sacrifice."

"I never asked you."

The ambassador bowed her head slightly and retreated back into her room. She stopped just before closing the door, smiling at the Qunari as she was yanked off the floor by an angry Seeker and the spymaster. "Your mouth didn't, but your eyes did."

"Panahedan."

The door closed and Adaar was led back into the dungeon to be questioned. Questions that would soon change not only her but the whole world as she knew it. And it all began with eyes meeting and the willingness to understand one another.

Translations:

Panahedan - "Goodbye". Literally, "take refuge in safety"

Ashkost say hissra - "Seek peace with your gods."

This is what I thought happened before the opening scene of Inquisition. With how fiercly Qunari fight I doubt she would've just sit quietly in the dungeon awaiting her punishment or whatever she was going to receive. If my Adaar seems a little bit different from my other stories that's because she is confused about her whereabouts, doesn't remember anything that happened and is quite honestly just offended by the lack of respect from the guards. She is usually very calm and collected but sometimes...yeah. Everyone got their bad days^^

So yeah. No Sera romance here (Shocking I know) but at least some Adaar x Josephine semi-friendship going on because Josie is fcking awesome. So gonna romance her one of these days. Stay tuned for more if you are interested :)

Phrase of the Day

Beat me, Hate me, You can never break me

"They don't care about us" by Michael Jackson

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