A/N: As always, I apologize for never posting anymore, really. I have been on a Dragon Age kick lately (playing through DA: I for the third time). I can't promise I'll finish this, but I really wanted to write it down! I was very sad (as I am sure we all were) with the outcome of SolasxLavellan romance, and the end of the game. DAMN YOU, YOU EGG-HEADED BASTARD. So, this is my attempt at coming up with a fluffy, smutty, angst-ridden, adventurous version of what will happen after the events of Inquisition. Set about six months after the game ends, and onwards. Enjoy!

Chapter One:

Atisha e Abelas

Skyhold was so beautiful in the springtime. Despite the sometimes harsh, cold winds that blew over the stone walls and into the courtyards, the flowers in the gardens and on the sills still bloomed, and the smells wafted into the air, making Neriah Lavellan think of her time living with her clan in Northern Ferelden. It had been over a year since the Dalish Elf has come into the position of the leader of the Inquisition. The Inquisitor, the Herald of Andraste, and sometimes even knife-ear (though those who called her that were usually taken care of rather quickly by her companions, despite her meek protests); Neriah had many names, and for many she was still getting used to them.

After the defeat of Corypheus, the world of Thedas had settled into relative peace. After they had aided the Inquisition during the final onslaught against the monster, the Grey Wardens had left the Inquisition, in order to continue to attempt to rebuild their ranks. They had had a great deal to atone for, and Neriah had let them leave with her blessing, thanking them for all their help in defeating Corypheus, despite disapproval from certain members of her party. Now only the Creators knew where they had gone, and Neriah preferred it like that. Despite their aid, she was still mildly wary of the Grey Wardens. Though their cause was a righteous one, the amount of damage they had nearly caused Thedas was unforgettable. After they had departed, Neriah had instructed Leliana to make sure her agents were vigilant of the Grey Wardens, in the event that they either required aid or, in the worst case scenario, something went wrong again.

It had been nearly six months since the defeat of Corypheus, and the rebuilding of the ruined parts of Thedas from the Rifts and the Breach opening. Demons still lingered here and there, and the Mage-Templar war continued the rage on, despite the reparation of Thedas since that nightmare had ended. Neriah had done all she could to clean up the remaining demons, and did her best to help those in need, and danger, of the constant struggle between the mages and Templars. Being a mage herself, Neriah knew she was a topic of controversy among nobles and commoners alike, and most especially because she was an elf. She tried not to let it bother her, but there were times where she felt the weight of the prejudice and scrutiny upon her.

In this time of peace, one would assume Neriah would be glad; that she would take this time to relax her mind and ease herself into a state of potential happiness, despite the evident conflicts that still existed around her. Her companions had taken these months of relative peace to make Skyhold a more permanent home for themselves. Keep in mind that this peace being that the world was not going to come to a grim end – the Mage-Templar war was an obvious threat, but at least the world was not going to explode any time soon; they hoped so anyway.

Blackwall had remained with the Inquisition per Neriah's request. Despite the fact that the man had used another's identity, and impersonated a Grey Warden, had atoned, in Neriah's eyes, by aiding the Inquisition to fight the good fight against the demons and Corypheus. That, and Blackwall was not a bad man; Neriah believed him to be a good soul, in spite of all that had happened. He and Neriah got along well, and she felt that she had a true friend in the warrior. Not to mention he got along well with her other companions, particularly Varric.

Varric came and went as he pleased between Neriah's companionship and that of the Champion of Kirkwall, Alleria Hawke. Varric would always be loyal to Neriah, but she knew that Hawke was one of Varric's dearest friends, and if the opportunity came up to leave with her, he would. He came back from time to time to visit with Neriah, and help out with certain missions, as well as harass Cassandra by dangling a new volume of his new romance series in front of her nose.

Cassandra had remained with the Inquisition, aiding Leliana, Josephine, and Cullen in leading it along with Neriah. Neriah valued the Seeker's input in all her decisions, and was glad to have her grumpy, prominent cheekboned-self with her, though she would never tell Cassandra that directly, lest the Seeker turn a lovely shade of red, and stomp away angrily. Neriah had to admit, teasing her friend was a very pleasant pastime.

Sera, the master-teaser and prankster of the group, had also remained. Neriah was pretty sure she wouldn't leave even if she wanted her to. Sera was loud, brash, and hilarious, and Neriah adored her. Not only was the elf a great archer, but she also had excellent connections with Red Jenny, and both she and Neriah knew that the Inquisition would benefit greatly from their agreement. That, and Sera liked Neriah and her companions, though she'd never admit it.

Iron Bull and his Chargers had stayed in Skyhold, as well. Bull had decided long before that Neriah and her cause could use the assistance from him and his friends, and had basically not taken no for an answer, to which Neriah was glad. The huge Qunari had become a good friend of hers, and she greatly enjoyed his company and quips every time they went out on a new adventure into Thedas.

Another person who had stayed was Dorian, but that was not simply because of Neriah and her Inquisition. He and Iron Bull had become rather friendly towards the end of the battle with Corypheus, and the mage had elected to stay in Skyhold, rather than return to Tevinter after the battle was over. Neriah was very glad her friend had decided to remain in Skyhold, not only because she adored his relationship with Iron Bull (as she was sure he did as well), but also because the two had become quite close during their adventures. Dorian's flamboyant and sometimes overbearing personality was his greatest asset, along with his fabulous mustache. Neriah adored him.

Vivienne had left to become the newest Divine, Victoria, after Neriah had recommended the former Enchantress. A mother-like figure to all in her company, Neriah received a letter at least once a month from the new Divine, chronicling her events, and always adding suggestions to improve Skyhold's layout, or sending new dress patterns for Neriah to have made for her. Neriah missed Vivienne greatly, but felt that she had made the right decision in suggesting the mage as the new Divine.

Cole was still lurking about Skyhold as well. The now more humanized Spirit Boy still popped up out of nowhere some days, nearly giving Neriah a heart attack every time. The skinny little rogue seemed very content staying in Skyhold with Neriah, and she having him there. Everyone in their company was very protective of the Spirit Boy, despite the fact that he most likely knew more than any of them combined, given his powers as a Spirit, and his attune sense of individuals' emotions. None, perhaps, except one.

Solas.

Even thinking about the elf caused Neriah's heart to hurt. She absently touched her face, where her vallaslin had once been. One of the last times she and Solas had been alone together, he had offered to remove the elvish markings from her face, telling her that they, apparently, had been a mark of slavery in the Dalish culture. It had broken her heart to know that this was another thing that the Dalish had gotten wrong, and had agreed to allow him to remove it. After that, Solas had broken her heart, in more ways than one.

It had been nearly six months since Solas's disappearance, and Leliana's agents had found no trace of him. Neriah wasn't sure what hurt more, the fact that Solas had broken off their relationship so abruptly with no explanation, or the fact that he had left without so much as a goodbye. All of their friends had seen it after he'd left; they had seen how broken up Neriah had been, and still was, over him. For the first month, she had been relentless, sending agents after agent to scour Ferelden and Orlais, trying in vain to find him, and they had all returned unsuccessful. Leliana had gently told her, if Solas did not want to be found, it was unlikely they would find him. Neriah didn't know if this made her more angry or sad, so she elected to attempt to feel nothing at all.

Even now, six months later, with the world being still and calm (relatively) she could still find no peace of mind when it came to the elven mage. Though she and Solas had never laid together, she had still felt such a strong connection to him, and it had seemed he felt the same way towards her, before leaving her. She felt she knew Solas, and hoped somewhere in the back of her mind that he had had a reason to leave as he did, though it was hard to imagine, and it only caused her pain.

The day her friends realized Solas had vanished, a few had gone ballistic. Iron Bull was furious that he had simply left, and Sera threw a fit of rage. Both had had to be calmed down by Varric and Dorian, though even they seemed put off by Solas's disappearance. Blackwall had tried to explain that sometimes people had to do things without explanation, which had caused Sera to make a snarky remark about his previous lies, which caused Blackwall to try and take a swing at her, which caused Iron Bull to threaten Blackwall's life, which made Dorian try to restrain him, which made Cassandra threaten to throw them all in the stocks until they calmed down. Once they had all seen the look on Neriah's face, they had settled down, and none of them had spoken about it since. Once or twice, Cole would visit with Neriah, and she would tell him of how she was feeling. Despite his serious lack of social skills, the Spirit Boy was an amazing listener. He had helped Neriah learn to not blame herself for Solas's leaving, and help her to understand that the elf had probably had his reasons. Oddly enough, it had seemed as though Cole had known something about Solas, but for the first time since meeting him, Neriah had found the boy had actually forgotten something. She had worked with Cole and now, many months later, she felt a little better, though it still hurt some days. Alright, most days.

Neriah had kept herself busy with missions, and attempting to rebuild more of the Inquisition, as well as do her best in dealing with the Mage-Templar war, though at this time it felt like a lost cause. Each side was so corrupt, and filled with so much hatred that it was near impossible to get a word in edge-wise. For now, Neriah would do what she could from a distance, and involve herself when necessary.

Neriah stretched her thin limbs, and rubbed her silver eyes. The sun was still high in the sky, but she felt exhausted. The wind ruffled her short, silver hair slightly as it blew by. She turned away from her balcony that overlooked the Frostback Mountains, and re-entered her room. She wandered in circles for a few minutes, mulling over in her mind what to do today. She had no immediate missions or issues that needed attending, and wondered vaguely how she was going to pass the time.

She was just about to lay down and try to get a nap in before she descended for supper, when there was a loud knock on her door. Curious, she slowly descended the stairs, and opened the large, wooden door to her room, only to find the familiar face of Varric standing there. This was a time during the months that the dwarf was visiting Skyhold.

"Varric," Neriah greeted her friend warmly. "What can I do for you?" She noted the strained look on his face. "Is something wrong?"

The dwarf sighed, looking up at her. "Not sure, Quizzy; but you might want to come with me. There's something you should see." He didn't even wait for her to reply, he merely turned around and walked down the steps that led to the door which would take them to Skyhold's Main Hall.

Neriah cocked her head to one side. "Varric," she called, hurrying down the steps after the dwarf, "What's going on, is everything alright?" When the rogue didn't answer again, she felt a prickle of annoyance. Varric was not normally this cryptic about anything, and she wanted to know what the hell was going on.

They entered the Main Hall, the door swinging open loudly, causing an echo to ring across the room. Neriah looked around; the usual nobles who mingled in the hall were nowhere to be seen, and Neriah felt a sense of nervousness begin to form inside her. She looked to the end of the hall near the door, and saw her other companions gathered there. One look at their faces and the knot in her stomach tightened. Dorian looked grave, Cole looked a little scared, Blackwall's face was darkened, and Sera and Iron Bull looked livid. They turned towards her when she and Varric approached.

"I found her," Varric said as they walked up. "Remember, be gentle. She isn't going to take this well." This caused Neriah to stare down at him, then back up at her other friends.

"Would someone tell me what the hell is going on?" She demanded, not even bothering to hide her annoyance now. The looks her friends were giving her and each other was becoming very unsettling. "Has something happened? Is anyone hurt?"

"See for yourself, yeah?" Sera said, her normally giddy voice filled with contempt, gesturing behind Neriah. The sound of the door to the War Room opened, and Neriah turned to look behind her. Cassandra was approaching, and she was not alone.

Neriah felt her blood turn to ice.

It had been six months; six months since his grey-navy eyes had caught hers. Six months since she had seen his familiar, graceful walk; and six months since she had heard his voice.

"Inquisitor."

As her lips formed his name, it felt as though she was speaking a foreign language.

"Solas."

A/N: Okay, so this first chapter is done! I haven't written this much in quite a while. I hope I am not too rusty. I don't really know where this is going – I mean, I know where the SolasxLavellan story is going, but I am still trying to work out a plot that makes sense for what I want to do with this. We all want smut, but it has to be smut with a plot, dammit! I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter!

Elven Meanings:

The chapter name means "Peace and Sorrow" – I didn't know the elven word for "and", so I had to make one up. I hope it sounds okay! The title of the fic means "My Heart, My Sorrow" – again, I felt it was very relevant to all the angst that went along with this goddamn romance between these two. –tear- Enjoy!