Well Met

9:32 Dragon Late Harvestmere

Soris had thought that his wedding clothes would be the most uncomfortable outfit he would ever have to wear. How so very wrong he was. Here, decked out in nobleman's velvet in the royal court of Ferelden, he wished for the old set of raw silk he had worn on the worst day of his life. He didn't know how Shianni did it. His sister flitted among the assembled nobles like she belonged. Looking at her, it would seem that no human had ever regarded elves as a life form somewhere between gutter rats and the actual sludge of the gutters. In fact, the looks aimed at the reason either of them were there to partake in the festivities would lead to the conclusion humans worshipped them instead.

Kallian on her part looked completely unaware of all the attention on account of her engagement in what looked like a rather tense conversation. One that featured the lady of the hour herself, the king, the queen, and the queen's father. A volatile combination in any situation, forget a gala celebrating the first anniversary of the victory at the Battle of Denerim. From what Soris could make out, the argument arose from the former general's armor. Instead of the chevalier armor the country had been led to believe was his skin, he wore a dark colored set bearing the double griffon arms of a warden commander. Kallian had told Soris that she would be officially standing down as Warden Commander that night, with the Hero of River Dane taking her place. The king apparently had not been informed, and His Majesty was not pleased with the news. Soris had to shake his head; not a week since she had returned from Amaranthine and she was already turning the world upside down again.

Shianni was a noble now. Kallian a hero. He had no such qualifications. He didn't belong. Suddenly, he felt a desperate need to escape. After a quick glance to make sure that both women were still occupied with their own business, he slipped out of the great hall. Taking in the fresh air, he felt a bit more like himself. He decides to take a stroll around the king's rose gardens. He almost screamed when he turned the corner and noticed a figure sitting on a stone bench.

"He..hello," he greeted cautiously. The last thing he needed was to invite the ire of some noble who didn't want to be disturbed. To his surprise, the other figure startled as well before turning to him. Soris sucked in a large breath of air as the moonlight illuminated the face of his companion. The lady he had stumbled upon was quite the beauty. A human, but a beauty nonetheless. He actually preferred human women, but he had never told anyone aside from Alarith out of fear of Shianni's disapproval. Then he was married and it didn't matter anyways. And he would always be an elf and maybe that mattered more than anything else.

"Oh, I did not realize anyone else was there. I was merely taking break; stopping to smell the roses at it were," her voice was deeper than he would have expected from the lady's delicate frame.

"They are rather beautiful, are they not?" he had no idea what to say. He had neither Shianni's bravado nor Kallian's silver tongue.

"Indeed, and a good deal easier on the eyes than that horrid cacophony of colors that those fools in the great hall call fashion," Soris was made painfully aware of his own deep green ensemble that on it's own was rather subdued, but had had a rather unfortunate effect when juxtaposed to the bright red and yellows favored by much of the human nobility. He remanded silent. The lady continued, "Not that I helped. Only the Maker knows how awful my green dress looked against all those red gowns. It was like Satinalia!"

"I think green is a good color," smooth Soris, he thought to himself. Perhaps there was a bucket nearby he could drown himself in without anyone noticing.

"Thank you, kind ser. I am sorry you had to listen to me ramble about something as inconsequential as the coloring of my gown. I must sound like Habren right now," the lady sighed, "I supposed I am discontent because of the reason I am at court at all."

"Which would be?"

"Husband hunting. My brother insists that since the war is very much over, I should turn my attention to finding a proper match to continue the family line. I know my duty, but it feels all too soon."

"Did, did you loose someone during the war?" Valora's face rose unbidden in his mind.

"Not a lover or husband, if that is what you are suggesting," the lady's tone suddenly gained an edge. Soris recognized it from the few times he had been unfortunate enough to be in hearing distance of an argument between the king and his cousin. The arguments that tended to feature words such as "traitor", "king killer", "witch", and "baby" and often were only ended with intervention of the queen.

"I meant no offense my lady. I…that is, my wife…" Maker, this was hard. Why was he sharing this with some noblewoman who wouldn't care less about his story, even if she didn't know he was an elf? Still he felt like he should do something to rectify the situation. She did look so very sad. Not a lover, but perhaps someone else important. Kallian had told him many nobles lost their lives at Ostagar alongside the former king. "My wife died during the…the civil war, well, disappeared, but after a year of looking for her with the best informants money can buy, what else can one assume?" Kallian had tried her hardest once things had settled down to find missing elves. By the time the archdemon laid dead, the trail had long gone cold. Soris had felt terrible for being so relieved by Valora's absence initially. He had no wish to be married to her, but he would have given anything to save her from the fate that befell her. Where had the courage of his wedding day gone when the so called healers invaded the alienage? He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice that the lady was talking again.

"Oh, my sincere apologies. I should not have…I am sorry. Some days I forget that almost everyone has lost someone dear in the war. Brother always said I was too inconsiderate of others."

"There is no need to worry. Like your brother said, the war is over. My cousin likes to tell me that life moves on and we with it regardless of our readiness."

"Wise words," she sighed and worried the hems of her sleeve. "I should take heed and plunge back into the fray. Will you escort me back?" Soris offered his arm and was surprised by the strength in the grip that took it. "Thank you Ser…oh, I never asked for your name did I?" He wondered if she realized that he was elf now that they were on equal footing. Even with her slight frame, she was a good hand span taller than him. If she noticed, she made no comment.

"It's Soris my lady. Just plain Soris."

"Well, just plain Soris, it has been a pleasure. I am Elissa Cousland. Well met." They walked back arm in arm.

A/N: Bioware owns Dragon Age. Unbetaed, please notify me of any errors. Did anyone else think that he could have married non-warden cousland after reading Soris' epilogue slide? Next chapter, the city elf plot bunny that actually started the mess. A nug in the Deep Roads twitches it's snout and the world changes.