Lavellan loves to smile, but finds it more difficult to as the years go by and Solas hasn't returned.
Smile
Lavellan was always smiling.
Usually to reassure, to show her happiness. When the situation calls for it, she's serious, but otherwise, Lavellan is always smiling.
She loves to smile and laugh with her friends. And she loves Solas.
She smiled with him more than anyone else. And then, he broke her heart.
He took her vallaslin (though she wasn't sure if what he said is the truth), telling her that she was free. She was free of her bonds, the slave brand on her face. And she could see now that he also meant that she was free of him. And that hurt her.
She still smiles, though it's not as bright, as Cole said.
And she keeps smiling, even when the news of his disappearance hurts her and tears at her even more.
But she keeps telling herself that she must endure.
So, she keeps on smiling. It gets harder and harder as the years go by, but she keeps on smiling. However, it isn't long before her smile begins to crumble until she just can't bring herself to do it anymore. No matter what her friends do, that can't make her smile return. She's locked in a box of eternal despair and can't bring herself out of it.
But one day, Leliana reports that they have found Solas' trail. And at that moment, Lavellan promises herself that when she finds him, after giving him a slap across the face and a harsh kiss, she'll smile a real, true smile.