AUTHOR'S NOTE: YES I KNOW NEW STORY I'M SO BAD!
Yes I know I should be working on my other stories *cough*homeiswhereyourloveis*cough* but I swear I just got this idea and I be ridin' this idea train. I sorta wrote this in one go but the creative juices were really flowing on this one, and also has some of my own feeling for the end of Inquisition scattered in there. As it said in the description this takes place three years after the ending to Inquisitionand involves my Dalish elf mage Nimwen.
Anywho, on with the story~!
Skyhold had changed very little since Solas last laid eyes on it. A few walls had been prepared, new fortifications along the ramparts added, but otherwise Skyhold was still the same impressive stone fortress it had been three years ago.
It hadn't been easy to remain hidden from the Inquisition spies searching for him. He knew that the Inquisition would send people out to locate him, and he was not foolish enough to underestimate Leiliana's spy network. It had been a challenge, but he had succeeded. Three years he managed to stay one step ahead of any attempts to find him, three years of a cat-and-mouse game he came to be the winner of. Until now, when he was about to forfeit it all.
The elf pulled his hood further over his head, to block out the bitter wind whistling through the mountains. He walked with his staff in his hand, the butt of the weapon thumping the ground with every step he took, ticking down the minutes until he was to arrive to his fate. He finally stood before the great iron gates of Skyhold, and was immediately approached by the guards stationed by the entrance.
"State your business," one of the armoured guards demanded.
"I must speak with Inquisitor Levellan." The name was bitter on his tongue, but his face remained stoic. The guard snorted.
"What makes you think you can just get an audience with her Worship unannounced?"
"I have vital information that must be brought to her attention."
"Hold on…" The other guard looked at him suspiciously.
"Let me see your face," he requested.
Solas removed his hood, and remained unfazed at the look of shock on the guard's face.
"Holy shit," the guard gasped.
"If you know who I am, then you know you should be letting me in," Solas said, voice hinted with warning. The guard nodded dumbly.
"Open the gate!" he shouted to the men on the wall. As the large doors slowly opened the mage strode through them, feeling a sense of nostalgia come over him as he stepped into the grounds of Skyhold. His nostalgia became tainted by dread as hushed voices and shocked whispers buzzed around him. He knew that his presence had already been alerted to the one he came to see, and nervousness knotted in his throat as he got closer and closer to the first and last person he wanted to see.
Her anger was apparent the moment he stepped into the greathall. The visiting nobles, flittering servants, and guards were gone, no doubt scattered by the terrifying entity that was the Inquisitor's anger. His steps echoed loudly as strode to the second to last door on the left. The war room: he didn't need to be told that's where he was to meet with her, and she knew it too.
He walked down the narrow hall, through Josephine's office-devoid of the Antivan woman-and walked until he stood outside the wooden doors to the war room. This was his last chance to flee, to go back into hiding where neither spies nor mercenaries could find him. Instead, he steeled his nerves and pushed open the doors with an ominous groan.
Three people awaited him, two facing him, the other with her back turned to him.
"I see the report was true," The words were venomous on the sweet sounding accent. Solas smiled hollowly.
"Hello, Leiliana."
The spymaster crossed her arms, now mimicking the stance Cullen had been making since Solas entered the room.
"Commander," the mage nodded to the ex-Templar. By the poorly-hidden glare on Cullen's face, the elf knew that the blond was resisting the urge to say something.
Solas' eyes turned to the woman who still faced away from him.
"Inquisitor," he said quietly. The one word made her posture stiffen, and slowly she turned to face him.
Nimwen.
She was almost exactly as he remembered her.
Her hair was longer. The raven black tresses fell to the bottom of her shoulder blades when before it just grazed the tops of her shoulders. Her fair skin still looked flawless over her round face, with the lightest of pinks dusting her cheeks and the tip of her nose. Her eyes were still the wintery blue that would transfix him with the simplest of gazes, and were still fanned by the dark lashes that noblewomen had to use cosmetics and tonics to emulate. She still had her lithe frame, but there was a subtle change in her hips and chest; more prominent, curvier, making her appear more like the woman she actually was.
Her eyes were blank, and her usually plump lips were pressed into a thin line. Solas felt his heart leaden at the coldness in the eyes that once held so much affection. He fought to keep his face passive.
"You came back."
There was no kindness in her words.
"I-"
She raised a hand, and he was silent. She strode over to him, the tail of her coat swishing against her legs.
"Three years you've been gone." In her voice was a brewing storm.
"Three years since you left without a word, without a goodbye."
Solas did his best to hide his flinch, but she saw it.
"Oh, does that bother you? Well, it sure was bothersome for me when I was spending nights searching for you in the Fade, and half the Inquisition's resources looking for you, not to mention the times hours I spent wondering if you were dead or just tired of me."
"Vhenan please I-"
"Din emma na vhenan!"
Cullen managed to grab hold of the Inquisitor before she could lunge at the startled apostate. Her stoic mask was gone, replaced by anger and hurt that made Solas feel like he'd been struck by a maul.
"Please, Inquisitor restrain yourself," said Leiliana. Though the Dalish women eventually calmed herself, the commander still had his arms around her waist in case she tried to make a move once more.
As the one level-headed person in the room, Leiliana addressed the mage herself.
"Solas, explain why you are here."
Shaking himself of his emotional stupor, Solas told them what had pushed him to return to Skyhold.
"After my…departure," blue eyes burned at him. "I began seeking out other elven artefacts that could prove a threat as the foci did, and recently I discovered something that could put everyone in danger."
The red-headed woman's eyes piqued.
"Go on," she said.
"There is a woman named Mordolwen who-"
"No don't go in there!"
All eyes turned as the doors were thrust open and a blur of yellow came bounding in followed by a frazzled Josephine.
"Maker, no," Cullen groaned.
"Josephine I told you to keep her out!" Nimwen screamed.
"I'm sorry, she got out of my sight and I tried grabbing her but…"
Solas paid no attention to the Antivan woman as she babbled out frantic apologies; instead he was looking at the one who had barrelled into the room like a charging bull. The little girl beamed at everyone and thrust her small muddy hands out to show the large carrot she was holding.
"Lookit! Lookit! I finally grew one! And-" The little girl noticed Solas' presence, and cocked her head to the side.
"Who're you?" she asked innocently. She turned to look at the Inquisitor.
"Who's that man, mama?"
AUTHOR'S NOTE: AWWW SHIT!
Yup. Problably didn't see THAT coming, did you Solas? How does our dear dread wolf react to this little tidbit, let me know if you want me to continue with this story, because I'm getting good vibes from this one.
Elvish
Vhenan: Love
Din emma na vhenan!: I am no longer your love! (Roughly translated from the list of Elvish on the Dragon Age Wiki, if it is incorrect let me know!)