A warm and gentle voice flowed through Varric's sleeping ears. It felt peaceful and familiar. Whose was it? His brows furrowed as he began to wake, the voice becoming clearer now that he was conscious. As he sat up, his vision slightly blurred by sleep, he looked over to his right to see the figure of the voice's owner, illuminated by the morning rays shining through the window. Varric rubbed his eyes, as his vision began to clear, and he could clearly see her. The mocha skin and pastel hair, now adorned in a white gown. The woman looked over to Varric and smiled, overjoyed to see his face.
"Good morning, Varric!" She greeted cheerily, her face much more relaxed and radiant than it was the night before.
"Well then, that's one way to wake up. Good morning." He chuckled. There was something else in the room, a smell. Food? "What's that smell" Varric asked, as he stood up, a little sore from sleeping on the floor that night. Rosella beamed at the question, she was extremely excited for him to see what she had done for him. The elf almost hopped out of bed with joy as she walked over to the table.
"I made breakfast for you, to thank you." The elf played with her cotton waves absentmindedly as she waited for the Dwarf's reply. "I-I hope you like it."
"Wow, this is a first." The Rogue sat down at the table and observed the spread before him. It was a basic breakfast, bacon, eggs, the works, nothing too special, but much unexpected. "When did you…?" He trailed off in question.
"Well I woke up this morning and you were still asleep, and I thought I would surprise you so I borrowed the inquisition's kitchen and made you breakfast." she looked to the side her smile softening. "I used to do this for the bandits, but I wanted to do it for you."
Varric nodded, and then noticed the gown Rosella was wearing, she hadn't been wearing it the night before. "Where did you get the dress?" He asked with a puzzled expression.
"Ah!" She perked up "Josephine gave it to me after she noticed me wearing the cloak the inquisitor made." She gave him a small twirl looking quite pleased. "It's been so long since I've had proper clothing, I'm so happy." She smiled at him. "Do you like it?"
The dwarf would be lying if he said he didn't, the dress accentuated her natural assets perfectly why leaving a lot to the imagination. "It suits you." He nodded as he took a bite of the food she had made for him. "Mother of Andraste, this is great!" This made the elf grin with accomplishment.
"All of it" She confirmed, extremely proud of herself. "And I can do it again tomorrow, if you'd like."
"Yes, if you don't mind." Continued eating and then paused. "What about you, aren't you going to eat?"
"Oh, I already did earlier." She replied, now taking a seat at the table. "I was waiting for you to wake, and kept your food warm with magic." The elf began to play with her hair again, her blue eyes moving their way up to Varric's.
The dwarf grunted in acknowledgment. "Thank you."
"You're welcome" She said with a soft smile. She had had a busy morning. She had been questioned by the inquisitor, and grilled by the Ambassador. But it was worth it, she was happy, she hadn't known this kind of comfort since she had been with her parents years ago. It was all thanks to the man sitting before her. She was thankful to Varric, the dwarf had risked his very life to save her, he was a good man. Her eyes wandered over his face, the dwarf didn't look that bad. His eyes were soft, but not very revealing. She tilted her head when she noticed the scar on his nose, but decided that was a question for another time. His jawline was rugged, and the stubble that adorned it, attractive. She couldn't stop herself from staring now that she's getting a better look at him, and her mind free from doubt about her current situation. Her eyes traveled further to his chest and the hair that adorned it, she started to wonder it would be like to run her fingers through it, the thought brought a bit of heat to her face. She couldn't tell what she was feeling, heat travelled from her face towards the pit of her stomach. It was foreign to her. Her eyes move back up to his face, to find his looking right back. This made her jump a bit, and look away.
"Uh, are you alright?" The dwarf asked, noticing the odd behavior.
"Y-Yes" she blurted, embarrassed that she had observed her liberator in such a way. What was wrong with her? Still, she couldn't ignore this feeling. "Um, anyway," she started, trying to change the subject. "What do you all usually do here?" She asked.
"Nothing usually" he replied, finishing the last of his food. "Unless the Inquisitor needs us, we usually just hang out around Skyhold. Sometimes drinking ale and playing an occasional game of Wicked Grace."
"Ah, I see. " She said, looking around the room. She noticed the various amount of books around, and decided it was time to get to know him. "You have quite a bit of books around here, do you enjoy reading?" she asked, resting an arm on the table.
"Actually, I write them, these are all my stories." He smiled, marveling at his works.
"Really!?" She exclaimed, almost jumping out of her char to take one of the many books off the shelf. "That's amazing, Varric!" She marveled the cover, looking at his name gracing the cover in awe. "Hard in Hightown?"
"Ah yes, one of my most popular books." He responded, leaning back in his chair. "I can't turn around without people talking to me about it."
"Amazing." She remarked to herself, as she returned the book to the shelf and sat back down at the table with Varric. "That reminds me, I don't know anything about you yet. I mean…" She began to comb through those pink tresses in comfort. "It would be nice to know the man that saved my life." She gave him a soft look, her face as genuine as ever.
"Tell you what" Varric began, "Later today we can go to the tavern and I'll let you ask me any questions your little elf heart desires." He said with a wink which lit a small fire in Rosella's heart.
"You have a deal." She agreed, another rush of heat making its ascent towards her face once more. "S-So then, what did you want to do in the meantime?"
"Well, I talked with Inquisitor when you first came to us, and described what your singing had done, he wanted to see what you could do, and also how well." The dwarf said.
"Alright," She nodded in agreement. "Does this mean he accepts ne into the Inquisition?"
The Dwarf chuckled at her question. "Well, it's not like he can really turn anyone away right now. That's how we got Tiny and Sparkler" He began. "And besides, I'd say you fit right into our group of weirdos. Just don't make Cassandra mad, shell throw you in a chair and shove a knife through your book," The dwarf laughed
Rosella smiled, the dwarf always knew how to calm her nerves. "So, when can we start?" She asked as she stood up from her seat.
"Well, seeing as you're already standing," He teased. "I'd say we can start right now," He said as he got up, putting on his coat and gloves, and grabbing Bianca as he made his way to the door. "You ready, lady?" Asked the Rogue.
"A little nervous, but ready as I'll ever be." She replied as she walked over to him. Lady? Was that her name now? She'd have to ask him later after all of this was over.
The two stepped out the door and made their descent down the short stone steps to the courtyard. Two members of the Inquisition awaiting their arrival. The Inquisitor, and Cassandra looked over to the pair as they arrived. All were wearing their respective armor, leaving Rosella the odd woman out, as if a pink-haired elf didn't stand out.
"Hello again." Rosella chirped to the Inquisitor who nodded back to her in response. Rosella looked to the rest of the party. "I feel quite under dressed for this occasion." She jested in nervousness, still unable to feel calm around these people.
"I have already had armor prepared for you, come," Cassandra said as she addressed the elven woman, her voice authoritative as ever, much to Rosellas unease.
Rosella waited for Cassandra to be out of earshot before speaking to Varric in a hushed whisper. "I'm guessing this is the Cassandra you were speaking of?"
Varric grinned knowingly and laughed. "Yep, the stone-faced lady of the Inquisition. You'd better hurry." The dwarf said with a wink.
"Oh dear," The elf muttered to herself as she hurried towards Cassandra, not even trying to see what the Warrior's wrath could do.
Varric watched the elven woman leave with amusement. She would certainly fit in here. Once she was out of sight, the dwarf turned to the rest of the group and spoke. "Well, should we start setting up, I have a feeling this could be messy."
"Agreed. We will need to make sure anything of importance is out of harm's way." The Inquisitor replied, as he surveyed the area.
The group began clearing out the battle area while the two women were away. They set up multiple tests of different terrains and elements to better gauge the woman's abilities and limits, while also setting up protective countermeasures so that nothing at Skyhold would be damaged. After a while, the women returned, Rosella now adorned in emerald green mage armory, with her long hair now put up into a short combat appropriate style of braids. In her hand was a basic staff that they would use to gauge her skills. Rosella walked up to the group, her face showing obvious nervousness behind a forced smile, Varric noticed and moved in closer to speak to her.
"You'll do fine, alright?" Varric assured with that warm smile of his, it filled Rosella's chest with butterflies. This man was too charming for his own good.
Rosella smiled and faced the Inquisitor, "I'm ready. Cassandra already filled me in on that I should do," Her voice a little more confident than it was earlier.
"Good," The Herald replied, walking with her over to the beginning of the series of obstacles they had prepared. "We need to see the limits of your powers in as many situations as we possibly can. We are facing a threat unlike any other, and we want to make sure you are prepared for anything," He then turned to face Rosella. "If at any point this becomes too much, feel free to stop. You can begin at any time."
Rosella nodded and took a breath in as she focused, and started her trial. The elven woman had complete a series of attacks, both in song and through casting. First up was her singing longer ranged abilities. She had to hit various targets at different distances, using different elemental magic to test the reach of her singing, but she also had to keep it up for as long as she could to test her endurance as well. The elven woman wasn't well versed in using her voice for destructive magic, so this was quite a challenge for her, and unfortunately the most important one. She didn't want to disappoint the people that saved her, so she gave it her all. In a line of twelve training dummies ten feet apart each, Rosella only could manage to hit first four with fire, six with lightning, and five with ice, however, she was able to hit ten with a wave of sound, it knocked over the dummies and broke the very sticks they were standing on. The three watched over her as she completed her trials, Varric watched almost proudly. He saw the effort the Elven put into what she was doing, and it filled him with admiration. Rosella moved onto her next trial, with her staff in hand, she used her magic to hit several targets to test her accuracy. She passed this trial with ease, she was much well versed with a staff than her voice, and still remained standing through her fatigue. She felt incredibly proud of herself. The day turned to a warm sunset as the trials ended. The rest of her trials went off without a hitch, she stood through each one until the very end, and when she finally reached the end she put down her staff and sank to the floor, her hair falling out of place as she breathed shallow breaths. Using magic had taken a lot out of the woman, she hadn't used her magic this way in years.
The Inquisitor walked over to Rosella and extended his hand out to her, for once the man was smiling, it was faint, but still a smile. "You've done well, Rosella," The man praised as she took his hand and stood. "That will be all for today, thank you for your effort."
Rosella nodded, still trying to catch her breath. "Th-Thank you," She stuttered out. "I'm glad I could be of use to you," She beamed with pride.
"You should get some rest, you've earned it" The Inquisitor suggested as he turned and walked away, Cassandra following him to talk about the trial in the war room no doubt.
Once the two departed, Varric came and stood beside her. "I think he's happy with you," The dwarf said.
"I thought my heart would explode, I was so nervous," She replied with a laugh.
"I'm glad it didn't, we still have to get those drinks, remember?" He said, giving her a nudge.
The elf perked up, excited she would finally get to hear about the dwarf. "Of course I do! Ah, wait." She paused as she looked down at herself. "You go ahead, I would like to change. Armor is surprisingly uncomfortable."
"Yeah, it can be," Varric agreed. "I'll meet you at the tavern then, don't get lost," He said with a smirk.
"Wouldn't count on it," She said rolling her eyes playfully before she turned and went on her way to change.
Nearly an hour later, Rosella finally found her way to the Tavern after haven gotten lost. The joint was lively, tonight was talent night, and many people were showing off their skills from singing, to knife juggling, to simple illusions. She was back in her white gown, her hair back to its long unruly mane-like state. Blue eyes scanned the crowd for the dwarf, when she heard a voice beside her.
"Let me guess, you got lost, didn't you?" The voice of Varric came as he stood beside and greeted her. To this Rosella looked off to the side in a pout, her cheeks turning red in response to his words. Damn that dwarf. "Your face says it all."
"I-I did not get lost. I just couldn't find my clothes." She muttered and folded her arms, trying to keep her pride intact.
"Yeah, and I'm a giant," Varric retorted in a playfully sarcastic tone. "Do all elves get lost this easily? I'm gonna have to get you a ball of twine so you don't get lost too,"
"I did not get lost.," Rosella insisted, getting a smirk from the rogue. "Wait, too?"
"You're persistent, I'll give you that." He chuckled and sat at the table adjacent to them, dismissing her question. "Now, do you want some answers or not?" Of course she did. Rosella sighed and took a seat, she couldn't outplay the dwarf, he was way too perceptive for her. "Now then, Lady. You've earned yourself some honest answers to your questions," The dwarf said as he took a drink of the ale he had ordered earlier.
"Honest questions? Does this mean you'll lie about things later?" Rosella said with a squint.
"Not lie, just decorate the story a bit," Varric replied smoothly with a shrug.
Rosella's facial expression did not change as she asked her first question. "How did you end up with the Inquisition?"
"Ah, asking the important questions first I see," He said as he downed the lass bit of ale he had and leaned back in his seat. "It really starts with when the Kirkwall Chantry was destroyed. The guy responsible was an old friend of mine. The seeker had questions about that, and I had answers."
"Kirkwall? Are you from Kirkwall, Varric?" The elvish woman asked, tilting her head at the man.
"Yeah, I am. Born and raised there. And no, it's not as bad as everyone says it is," He nodded. He then gestured to the passing waitress, ordering them both drinks non-verbally. "Anyway, me and Bianca had a lot of fun there, before shit got weird anyway."
"Who is Bianca?" Rosella asked. "I hadn't met Bianca yet."
"Oh right, I never told you!" Varric laughed. "Bianca is my crossbow, one of a kind, and the best one you'll find in all of Thedas."
"Why Bianca? Is Bianca named after someone?" The waitress came back with their drinks and set them in front of the two, nodding, and walking away.
"This will disappoint you, but that's the one story I will never tell."
"And why is that?" Rosella replies, eying her drink.
"It's complicated, I made a promise, let's just leave it at that," He sees her looking at her drink, and decides to be the one to ask a question this time. "What's wrong, do you not like ale?"
Rosella shook her head. "It's not that. I've never… you know," She trailed off, twirling her cotton candy colored tresses between her fingers sheepishly.
This piques the Dwarf's interest, he couldn't pass this moment of teasing up, not a chance. "You've never had a drink before?" He asked, stifling a chuckle.
Rosella's auburn skin flooded with red as she hid her face from view with the table. "Don't laugh at me!" Her muffled voiced begged.
He did anyway, it was too fitting for her, it was laughable. "I knew you were an innocent woman, but this," He remarked, wiping a tear from his eye. "Why that's almost adorable. I knew I was right about you, Lady."
"And why do you call me that?" Rosella whined, her blue eyes peeking up to the dwarf from the safety from the wooden table.
"Because you're innocent, and fun to tease. It fits you perfectly," The dwarf reached over and patted her head. "I'm glad you have the luxury to be after what happened to you." He said with a genuine smile.
Rosella looked at the man in surprise, and awe. His smile was gorgeous, she couldn't help but be gripped by it. Rosella relaxed into the dwarf's touch, and let out a sigh of relaxation. Even when he was being an ass and teasing her, he always made her feel safe and calm. She loved that about him. Wait, love? The invasive thought snapped her from her daze, her eyes now staring widely at the man before her in her realization.
Varric noticed and shot her a puzzled look. "Uh, Lady?" He questioned.
Rosella jumped a bit in surprise before coming back to her senses. "Ah, sorry! I got a little lost in thought." She said awkwardly. She tried to distract from it by taking a sip of ale, only to grimace at the liquid. "Oh, that's foul." She cringed, pushing the glass away.
The dwarf snickered "I should have warned you, it's an acquired taste." He gave her wink as he finished off another glass. Rotten dwarf.
"Thanks for the warning," she said in a glare.
"You're welcome." Varric smirked, taking her glass. He then proceeded to order her a glass of wine instead. "Here, I think you will like this one better." He said as he handed her the wine.
Rosella stared at suspiciously. "What is it? This isn't another trick, is it?" The dwarf's teasing has made her skeptical.
"Just try it," He said, looking at her expectantly, resting his chin in his hand.
Rosella hesitated for a few more seconds before taking a sip of the red liquid, and finding herself pleasantly surprised. "Oh wow, that's really good, it's sweet."
Varric nodded. "I thought you would like that, I took you for a sweets person."
"Know-it-all," Rosella mocked. She did enjoy the wine, thought. It was less offensive than the ale she had previously.
Before she knew it she had finished the entire glass. And then another. How many? She was having so much fun trading quips with the dwarf that she didn't keep up with her drinks. The world around her became blurry as her head was swimming. Her body felt heavier than normal, she rested her head on the table once more.
Varric noticed and laughed, he was much less drunk than she was, but still a little drunk. "Alright, Lady, time to go home." He got up and helped the elf out of her seat.
Rosella giggled, as Varric put her arm over his shoulder. "Aren't you too short to carry an elf?" She teased.
"Aren't you too drunk to worry about it?" Varric retorted, he began to walk her home. He would admit, it was a challenge to drag her up to their room, but he managed. He kicked open the door and dragged her over to the bed. He tried to lay her down on the bed, but when he did she drug him down with her. He found himself unable to remain stable in his drunken state, and found himself on top of her.
Her half lidded eyes looked into his as she wrapped her arms around his neck, she then brought her lips to his ear and whispered "You're so mean to me, you know," She whined, moving a hand down to his chest, her fingers running through the hair. "But…you make me feel strange, like butterflies trapped in a bottle…"
"Maybe you should sleep, Lady." Varric said, gently removing her hands from his body. "That's the wine talking. Your thoughts should clear up in the morning."
Rosella looked to him, her eyes slightly saddened. "Is this feeling wrong?"
The dwarf didn't know what to do. It wasn't like he didn't feel anything, her touch stirred something within him, but he wouldn't take advantage of a drunken woman, and also that and he still wanted someone else. "If you still feel the way you do in the morning, we'll talk about it then, alright?" He replied, praying she was drunk enough to forget.
The elf wanted to object, but she was much too tired to go into it, she settled and nodded to him. "Okay…" she whispered before fading to sleep.
Varric put her to bed properly before sitting beside the bed, now alone with his thoughts. He wondered if he had made the right choice, if he hurt her. Regarding him, it probably was, he was still in love with Bianca, after all. If he let her continue, she would only get hurt.
"Well, shit."