Trevelyan awoke with a start. He was unusually cold, something he did not expect when waking up in his private quarters. When out roughing it in the field it was a more likely situation but not here among all the fancy furs and feathery pillows that Vivienne had insisted on stocking. Sitting up slowly he turned to look at the empty space next to him. Where was Dorian?
Rubbing his eyes for a moment he rolled over to the edge of the large bed and swung his legs over the side. The light streaming in from the nearby window told him that it was a quite late on this clear summer's day. Perhaps Dorian just likes getting an early start he though as he made his way to the washroom to splash some water on his face.
As he stepped into the adjoining chamber his eyes fell on the pile of discarded clothes and towels from the night before. He grinned until he noticed that Dorian's robes were gone. Trevelyan thought this odd, seeing as the staff usually collects dirty clothes as soon as possible and he had given the Magister some spare clothes to borrow the night before. Frowning he turned from the room and strode out the door. As he stepped out he collided with the young girl assigned to clean his room.
"Oh, forgive my Inquisitor!" she squeaked in alarm when she saw who had run into her.
"It's quite alright, um_"
"Amber, my lord."
"Amber, of course. I wasn't expecting someone right outside my door is all."
"Again I beg forgiveness, my lord. I was just waiting to be able to clean your chambers. I probably should not have waited just outside the door." She stammered while quickly bowing her head.
"Don't worry about it." Trevelyan said with a smile to reassure her.
He made to walk past her but stopped suddenly and turned to her again. He could see that she was blushing deeply while trying not to look at him in his nightclothes. He thought about getting a change of clothes for a moment but decided that it could wait.
"Amber, have you seen the Magister this morning?" he asked.
"Oh, um I think he was in the mess hall a bit earlier, my lord." She said, bowing again.
"Thank you." He said before turning to walk down the corridor leading to the stairs. "And stop bowing so much, Amber. There really is no need for that. I am in my pajama's after all." He said cheerfully over his shoulder, hearing a giggle from the girl just before rounding the corner.
Dorian was nowhere to be found and this both worried and frustrated the Inquisitor. He ignored the looks he got from various members of staff at his disheveled state. He swiftly braided his hair to keep the wind from whipping it around as he stepped out into the main courtyard of the keep. Leliana was pacing the edge of the large square lawn the dominated the area. When she saw him she smiled and started towards him.
"Look at you, all dressed up for the day." She said in that silken voice of hers. The war may have hardened the woman's face a bit but it hadn't taken her voice.
"I thought I might try something different for once." He said with a smirk as she reached him.
"Well my dear, the clothes you can still get away with but what have you done with your hair?" the bard said as she moved around to stand behind him.
Trevelyan had expected this so he stood quietly and waited while she undid the messy braid. He heard her sign after a moment of silence.
"Come sit down." She said, pulling him to a stone bench nearby.
Trevelyan rolled his eyes but followed her without protest. As he sat she moved to stand behind him once more and started combing his dark hair with her fingers.
"It really is such a waste you know?" she said with another sigh.
"What is?"
"That a man should be blessed with such beautiful hair. Any woman would kill for hair like this."
Trevelyan chuckled.
"It's true!" Leliana insisted as she began braiding.
They stayed quiet for a while before she spoke again.
"So, had an enjoyable night?" she asked. He could hear the slight tone of disapproval in her voice as she spoke. She didn't like Dorian.
"I take it everyone knows then?" Trevelyan asked, not at all surprised that Leliana knew about it.
"Well the fact that you both missed dinner and breakfast and judging by Cassandra's red face every time anyone mentioned either of you doesn't make it too difficult to work out. And then there is all the moaning and groaning that kept half the keep awake." She said in a flat tone.
Trevelyan winced.
"Was it really that loud?"
"Not really." She admitted, making Trevelyan sigh with relief, "But the way Varric told everyone at breakfast it was almost as if anyone who heard were there in person." She added, making the mage splutter.
"Damn, should have known that dwarf would do something like that."
Leliana chuckled at this. Trevelyan sat silently brooding a bit while she continued to 'fix' his hair.
"Am I doing the right thing, Leliana?" he asked finally.
The woman stopped her work before moving around to sit down next to him on the bench.
"In terms of what?" she asked, looking him directly in the eyes.
"With Dorian. I'm asking you this because I know you don't approve of him that much so you won't be afraid to tell it to me straight."
Leliana sighed and looked away.
"Do you love him? Or at least do you feel something strong between the two of you? Other than lust, of course."
"I don't know how to describe it. I just feel more grounded whenever he is near, as if I'm a bit more centered. I feel like I can say anything to him and he won't judge me for it. Like he'll always be there when I need him and that I will always be there for him too. I'm just afraid that I messed it up by just jumping into bed like that. Not that I didn't enjoy it, of course." He said with a small grin, looking across the courtyard a moment before looking over at the silent woman next to him. He was surprised to see a glimmer of wetness in her eyes.
"Leli, whats wrong?" he asked, taking her hand. He could feel her flinch at his touch but he did not draw his hand away.
After a moment she sighed and closed her eyes, wiping at the tears before they could fall.
"How can I disapprove when I know exactly what you're talking about?"
"What do you mean?" he asked with a slight frown.
"I felt the same about someone once. I suppose I still do."
"Do you mean the Hero of Ferelden?"
Leliana smiled.
"Yes. He was the only one who believed me when most thought me crazy. He stood by me through my darkest moments and in return I stood by him through his." She said gazing wistfully into the past.
"If only he were here." She whispered, letting another tear well up and roll down her cheek.
Trevelyan reached up and wiped it away with a thumb.
"You'll find him again someday, Leliana. I'm sure of it."
She looked over at him a moment before pulling him into an affectionate hug.
"I'm sorry you had to see me like this. Not really fitting of a Spy Master to cry on an Inquisitors shoulder." She spoke into the fabric of his tunic.
"You may be my Spy Master, Leliana, but you're my friend too. I wouldn't want it any other way."
The woman tightened the hug momentarily before pulling away and wiping her eyes again. She stood and moved in behind him once more.
"It's all messed up again, should have tied it first." She muttered before tackling his thick mane of hair once more.
"He gave me a rose, a beautiful red one. On that day I knew I loved him."
"Oh?"
"He had found it in the chantry garden where I had been living. He said it reminded him of me."
"Fiery and beautiful, with a few thorns?"
"Well yes, I suppose," she said with a chuckle, "but he said that it was growing on a bush that seemed dead, just like the one I had seen in my vision."
"Your vision?" Trevelyan interrupted.
"Yes, I'll tell you about it sometime if you want to hear."
"I'd like that."
"Anyway, he said that it was like finding me, something beautiful in a world that seemed dead."
"Wow, no wonder you fell for the man. With lines like that…"
"Oh you should have seen him and Alistair, biggest bunch of fools when it came to romance. I suspect that they had a bit of a 'war council' before Amell had approached me, just to work out what he was to say." She said. Trevelyan could almost hear her smile.
"You really miss them, don't you?"
"Yes, unbearably so. But we all have a duty to fulfill first. If we get through this I will find them all again just to give each a crushing hug."
Trevelyan smiled. He had gone into this conversation being the one needing a person to talk to and had ended up being the person that Leliana had needed. He sat silently letting her enjoy the moment.
"Now, doesn't that look much better?" she asked after a while and produced a small mirror from who knows where, holding it up for Trevelyan to see.
"Well Leliana, If all else fails you could certainly go into the styling business." He said as he gaped at the intricate braid work.
"I second that." Said a voice from nearby.
Both Trevelyan and Leliana turned to see Dorian standing there, one arm behind his back. Leliana inclined her head ever so slightly in acknowledgement of his presence before turning back to Trevelyan. She leaned over and lightly kissed the top of his head.
"Thank you for the talk, Inquisitor Trevelyan. I think I really needed that." She said before turning to walk away.
"Goodbye, Leliana." He said, watching her leave for a moment before turning back to Dorian.
"I've been looking everywhere for you." He said as the magister approached.
"So I heard."
"I thought that maybe I had scared you off."
Dorian smiled before striding over and pulling the Inquisitor up off the bench and into a close, one-armed embrace.
"You'll have to try harder than a night of wild sex to scare me off, I'm afraid."
Trevelyan chuckled and kissed the Magister lightly on the lips.
"So, are you going to show me what you have behind your back?" he asked.
Dorian grinned before bringing his arm forward. Clasped between his fingers was a brilliant red rose.