Birds In A Gilded Cage
…
Masks inlaid in gold and encrusted in gems turned round and round as pairs twirled together on the flawless floor of quartz-veined marble. To the beat of percussion and the melodious waves of flutes and lyre did the dancers rock and sway, keeping timing with the kind of music only heard in the Empress's court. The Nightingale observed it all from the second floor as her sinewy frame leant over the balustrade, hands clasped together before her. The masks revealed only eyes and lips and the Spymaster's attention flitted about settling on words and names that sparkled in her bright mind. She collected information like a bird collects baubles, turning it around and viewing every facet before storing it for later use. Keen, steely eyes flickered from one set of lips to another and picked up conversations when sound was lost in the din.
"Apostate." Sapphire eyes flicked to a noble holding his drink aloft allowing it to slosh out of the glass' rim.
"She is quite the charmer if you know what I mean." The nightingale turned her attention to the woman touching the noble man's shoulders.
"I hear the Empress is quite taken with her." Leliana read their lips keenly.
"She showed up one day, all fire and sparks." Another couple joined the conversation.
"Quite a beauty, though I hear she's a barbarian from that backwater place—hair dark, like a raven. Golden eyes, like a cat." Leliana's lips twitched at the corners, before she caught herself and schooled a cold stony expression once more. Clear eyes now eagerly scanned the rest of the ballroom, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Empress' new "Occult Advisor". She searched each guest, averting her gaze from all but the dark haired women. On her second pass, her eyes rested on delicate bare shoulders, framed by rivulets of raven locks. Gold and jewels adorned her graceful neck and a gilded gold mask hid everything but the point of a familiar chin. The woman wore layered red velvet, cut low accentuating the mounds of her cleavage. The dress tapered in sharply down her torso, revealing a slim waist. Leliana's hands hummed, her fingertips tingling from the memory of snaking her hands around an old lover's waist and pulling her close. The crushed layers fanned out fantastically from her hips and swept the floor as the woman she observed walked towards the grand staircase.
The Nightingale eyed the woman as she wended her way past dancers and noble merry makers, her stride rocking those hips side to side just as the Spymaster had seen countless times. Long fingered hands clutched at the skirt of her dress, lifting them slightly from her ankles as each slippered foot touched upon the steps. Closer and closer she came and the Spymaster's heart seemed to beat faster with each footfall on the carpeted stair. At the top of the landing, those delicate fingers glided along the rich wood railing as the raven-haired woman followed its curve around to the second floor. Sapphire eyes found those swaying hips again, Leliana's mouth becoming parched so that she had to lick her lips. The woman came closer, that railing would take her steps straight down the Nightingale's perch. Seeing her quarry approach made Leliana's stomach clench into knots like they had not in an eternity. Resolutely she turned her gaze back down the dancers on the floors, feigning indifference. Her heart, on the other hand could very well be beating out of her chest. The blazer she wore now constricted her breath and forced heat up and around her neck. The raven-haired woman a mere couple of steps away and it took all the Spymaster's nerve not to meet those golden eyes she was certain to find beyond that gilded mask. She took a secret deep breath, hidden as best as she could manage as the woman just about passed her by. Would that moment never end she wondered and she gripped the railing in her hand. Just when the possible encounter was all but over she felt it.
Long fingered hands graced the small of her back as the woman walked behind her. Caught by surprise she gasped and stiffened, turning her gaze to the woman now walking down the hall from her.
Morrigan, she mouthed silently and as if called by her name, the woman stopped a few paces from her and demurely turned her head to the side as if asking if she would follow. Heart in her mouth Leliana's feet moved of their own accord, falling in a step or two behind the raven. Almost together they walked the long hall in silence till the music dissipated from the room. The lights from the enormous chandeliers dimmed giving way to the soft glow of the sconces on the walls. The raven led and they entered a solid oak door second to last in the hall.
With the door closed behind them, the room was dark and Leliana slowed her steps to give her eyes time to adjust. Soft lips pressed against hers. Warm hands glided up and around the back of her neck pulling her closer as their kiss deepened. The Spymaster's own hands snaked around that familiar slim waist, her fingers running against the velvet's grain. A hot tongue spiced with wine danced with hers. Leliana drank her lover's kiss like the first draft of clear water after years of thirst.
Hastily buttons on her jacket were twisted open, and her shirt pulled up and over her head. Familiar caress cupped her breasts, thumbs running across her pebbling nipples. Heated lips followed them, searing them with an ache she had denied herself for so long. In the darkness, Leliana's hands cupped her lover's jaw as a trail of kisses blazed their way down her abdomen. Hands tugged away her contraband, unfastening her trousers and pulling them down off her hips. The raven pressed her against the door, her hands holding her hips and effectively the rest of her body against that hard surface while lips touched and teased at the hair on her mound. Hot breath caressed her aching nub of nerves. Her eyes had finally adjusted and the Nightingale looked down on those golden pools of light once more. Plum coloured lips curved in a smile and a perfect dark brow arched. Fire blazed between her legs as those lips touched upon her flesh for the first time in a decade. The Spymaster let out a long groan and a soft giggle tumbled from her lover's lips, followed by wet sounds of her kisses.
"Morrigan."
...
Prompt:
The pairing goes to a royal ball. They could be dancing, engorging themselves on posh food, or even just hiding from the others.