Bard, spymaster, Left Hand of the Divine. Sister Nightingale, Red, Shadows of Birds. She was known by many names, many identities, but only one truly mattered to the slender red head. Of the many roles she had played, only one held any meaning to her, and it was the only role she would play for the rest of her life, that of companion and lover. It had been so long since she had seen her beloved, so very long since they had been seperated, sent down different paths each with her own life or death quest to accomplish. Now Leliana's quest had ended, the Inquisition had won its battle, vanquished Coryphaeus and his minions. A new Divine had been chosen and Leliana had no doubt that Cassandra was just what the world needed. Thedas was safe and now the Inquistion Spymaster was determined to track down her lover and never leave her side again. She reined in the proud Orlesian courser that had been a gift from Josephine. Her plan had been to leave Skyhold on foot, to travel as she had always traveled, but Josephine insisted she must have a mount that befitted her status as a hero of the Inquisition. The bard allowed herself a slight smile as she thought of her friend. She was happy for Josephine, the young woman deserved all the happiness she had found in the arms of the Inquisitor. The smile quickly faded though and Leliana furiously swiped at her eyes. She had fought an archdemon at the side of the Hero of Fereldon ending a blight, she had been the Left Hand of the Divine moving in shadows, doing what others could or would not do, she was the Inquisition Spymaster and Inquistion Spymasters did not cry. Then again, she was also a woman who was missing half of her heart, half of her soul: the Warden, the Hero of Fereldon, her beloved.
The pain of their seperation was almost physical and she had come so close to finding her so many times only to be disappointed, to be told that her lover had been there but she had missed her by a matter of days. At the last village she had stopped in the innkeeper told Leliana that the Warden had stayed there for almost a week studying some local ruins and had left only three days previously. When she asked him where she was heading when she left he said, "She carried a big sword and looked very capable of using it. You don't ask a woman like that her business." It almost made Leliana laugh. She knew how scary her lover could be. She had seen her face off against nightmarish creatures her green eyes alight with an inner fire that burned so strong, so bright it had caused ogres to flinch. She also knew the soft side of the Warden. The gentle, attentive lover who would do anything for the woman she loved including embarking on a long, arduous quest because it broke her heart every time she caught Leliana looking at her with sad eyes thinking about the day the Calling would claim her.
Now Leliana sat astride her Orlesian courser outside of yet another tiny village in the middle of nowhere hoping that this would be the day she would find herself once more in the arms of her beloved. She clicked to her mount and he moved forward as she guided him to the tavern that was sure to be the main gathering place for the people of the little village. The big horse came to a halt and the red headed bard slid from the saddle. She let the reins drop knowing the well trained courser would not move until she came back for him. She opened the door and slipped inside. All eyes turned to Leliana and an uneasy silence filled the room. Even in the poor lighing she could see the unfriendly looks the tavern patrons were giving her and it was clear that strangers were not common and not welcome here.
"Go back to your drinking and leave the poor woman be or there will be no more ale served here tonight." The voice came from a dark corner and brooked no argument. Leliana peered into the shadows and was surprised to see the barmaid grinning at her. "They're harmless really. Threaten their ale intake and they become model citizens."
She was a pretty little thing and Leliana couldn't help but smile back at the girl. "Thank you. I didn't mean to upset anyone, I'm just looking for a friend."
The barmaid gestured for the bard to sit. "Aren't we all? I'm Ella and you are Leliana."
Leliana couldn't hide her surprise. "How do you know my name?"
The girl laughed. "Because when I offered to share my bed with the 'friend' you are looking for she proceeded to regale me for hours with tales of the beautiful red headed bard who had stolen her heart, filled her life with happiness and was the only one she would ever love. I should have been offended at being turned down flat, but it was so sweet how her eyes lit up when she spoke of you, tearing up when she thought of how far away you were. But I guess you weren't as far away as she thought."
Leliana felt her eyes fill with tears and her heart fill with hope. "Is she still here or did she move on?"
"She was going to look at some ruins today. She said if they held any promise for her research she would be staying for a while if not she would move on. I haven't seen her since last night so I'm not sure how she fared at the ruins. If she's still here she will be at the inn, second floor the room at the end of the hall. And don't worry I only know what rooms she's in because the innkeeper said she needed the biggest room to accommodate that hound of hers."
Leliana lept to her feet. "Thank you, Ella." Then she was out the door and running toward the inn. Her startled mount snorted his disapproval then trailed after his mistress.
Second floor, the room at the end of the hall. Leliana paused, her heart racing. Taking a deep breath she knocked on the door.
The Hero of Fereldon was tired. She had spent months chasing after leads and now, finally, she felt like she was close to finding a 'cure' for the Calling. The traveling itself was not tiring, she actually enjoyed it. She had seen lands she never even knew existed. From mountains to desert to rolling plains, each one leading her to the next, closer to her ultimate goal. What was draining her, breaking her, was being away from the woman she loved. Now, she lay in another bed, in another inn, in another village she did not even know the name of and she missed her lover with every breath she took. Her Mabari hound gazed soulfully at her, his sad eyes matching her own as he picked up on her mood. "I'm sorry, boy, I just miss her so much." The hound whined and wagged his stub tail as his mistress scatched his ears. Then his nose caught a familiar scent and his whole body quivered with excitement as he stared at the door. The Warden sat up. "What is it boy?"
The knock at the door sent the Mabari into a frenzy of barking. Leaping and cavorting like a puppy he raced to the door. The Warden sighed and followed him reaching for the handle, pulling the door open. In the past months she had seen sights most could only dream of. Beautiful mountain meadows covered in wildflowers, snowcapped peaks, desert landscapes that were anything but barren, but only one sight had ever taken her breath away. "Leliana."
As the door opened Leliana stood frozen. She was a bard, music was her trade but nothing had ever sounded so sweet, so melodious as that breathless whisper calling her name.
Time stood still for a moment as the Warden stared unbelieving at the woman in the doorway. "Am I dreaming? If I am, I never want to wake up."
Leliana could feel the tears streaming down her face but she didn't care. "You're not dreaming, my love, I'm here, I found you." Then she flung herself into the arms that she had longed to feel around her since the day they had parted ways.
The Warden held her lover in a tight embrace her tears mingling with Leliana's. "We have so much to talk about but right now all I want to do is this." She tilted Leliana's face upward losing herself in the blue depths of her beloved's eyes, then she leaned in her lips meeting the bard's in a sweet, lingering kiss. Pulling Leliana into the room she kicked the door closed and her kiss became more demanding. Her lover responded, tangling her hand in the Warden's hair, pushing her toward the bed.
Leliana's musical laughter filled the room as a cold nose wedged itself between them. Kneeling down she took the Mabari hound's head in her hands. "I'm about to rip all your mistress's clothes off and do things to her that you might not want to see. I promise when I'm done I will give you the best belly rub you have ever had." The hound gave her a long-suffering look then fled to the other side of the room hiding his head in his paws. Leliana turned back to her lover. "I love you. Being without you has been the worst form of torture I have ever had to endure. Now that I have found you, I am never going to be seperated from you again. The Maker Himself could not tear me away from you."
The Warden reached for Leliana. "No matter what happens, no matter what the world needs to be saved from next, I will never leave your side again. You are everything to me, Leliana. I have loved you since the day I met you. Everything I do, I do for you, my love." She kissed the bard, trailing down the slender neck, eliciting a moan of pleasure from the beautiful red head. As the Warden pulled the bard onto the bed, green eyes met blue and both held a promise of eternal love.