My computer froze 4 times whilst editing this which means I've had to edit this 4 times so you better enjoy this chapter.
The moment I woke I felt peaceful, there were no nightmares or restless legs, just a dreamless sleep. The reason? Well, that would be because of the body lying beside me. After we had cleaned up the paints and moved my furniture back in its rightful place, Solas and I curled up on my bed and decided to go to sleep early. That was the first time he slept with me without sneaking into my room.
When I was more awake I decided to enjoy the tight and comforting spoon the immortal elf had me in. I thoroughly enjoyed the warmth he emanated as the room was cold due to the frosty environment outside. I had never dreamt of being in the position I am now, leader of an organisation, the only person who can save the world, an elf with ancient elf blood and magic powers and currently in a relationship with an incredibly handsome 8000-year-old immortal elf. If someone told me that would be my life I would have laughed in their face and then I would smack them. Coming to Thedas has been the best thing that has ever happened to me, it made me stronger, smarter and just an all-around better person. I hope that one day I can thank whoever brought me here.
I sighed dreamily when I felt Solas' arms pull me closer to him, he groaned into my neck and nuzzled it with his nose. I turned around and stared at his sleepy expression, his eyes fluttered open to stare into mine "good morning sleepy head" I said with a soft smile, he looked so sexy.
"Good Morning birds nest" I giggled at his rough voice and snuggled closer to his chest
"Do you know what time it is?"
"Quite early in the day I believe."
"Does that mean we have to get up?" the fade expert chuckled at my whining tone.
"We have no prior engagements so we may stay in bed for a little while longer."
"Yay," I replied childishly as I lent up to kiss his lips "I have to ask, why have you been sneaking into my bed and leaving before I wake up?"
"If I have offended you then I am sorry, that wasn't my intention. In the beginning, I thought it was best to keep our relationship a secret."
"And now….?"
He stared into my eyes intently with a suave smirk that always made my stomach flutter "and now I just don't give a damn…" he kissed me with all the passion he could muster, if his intention was to send my mind into a spiralling, jumbled mess he was doing an exceptional job. As his tongue intertwined with mine my body shifted so my thighs straddled his hips. His hands immediately went to my hips and pulled me forward so I ground against him. We both moaned at the friction it caused and repeated the action. "I am addicted to you" Solas sighed as I rolled my hips.
"I feel the same way about you" I replied as I leant down to kiss him.
"I need help Dani!" an unknown voice scared the hell out of both of us, Solas rolled over so I was under him and protected whilst he stared at the intruder.
"Cole, what have we told you about appearing in peoples rooms?" the fade elf asked the spirit sternly, he was not pleased by the interruption.
"I need to appear at the door and knock instead" the boy replied, "can I speak to Dani?"
I sighed and nudged Solas' chest so he moved and looked at the spirit "what's wrong Cole?"
"When I went to our garden I saw a dying flower so I pulled it out of the dirt to put it in sunlight but I think I made it feel worse" the poor boy looked positively agonised at the thought of being the cause of his flowers death. I took pity on him so I rolled out of bed, unfazed by Coles staring at my underwear-clad form.
"I'll help save the flower but I need you to leave the room so I can change hun, alright?" he nodded and disappeared, this time letting us remember that he was there. "sorry I have to cut our fun short Solas."
The elf got up from my bed and shuffled over to me, he pulled me against him and kissed my forehead "no need to apologise, you treat Cole as if he is your own son, I understand the need to make sure he's ok."
"He's just so sweet and innocent, I want to make sure he learns of the world the right way and not by Varric and Bull" They enjoyed telling Cole about the sexual side of the world and never any good things. I loved them but they weren't helping Cole at all.
"We better get dressed before Cole comes back in and sees something he shouldn't" I nodded and stepped away so I could put on a pair of brown pants and a simple baggy white blouse.
"Can I see you later?" I asked once I was completely dressed.
"I hope you come see me later, I'll be in the rotunda doing research or painting."
I chuckled "of course you will mister artistic fade expert" I pecked his lips and left the room so I could help Cole.
Cole all but dragged me down the stairs and to the garden, his panic about killing something innocent was causing him to shout whatever he was saying. Many people stared at us with weirded out looks as we passed but I paid them no mind, they would never understand Cole and did not need to.
We stopped at the private garden that was near the church but fenced off with a sign saying 'The Inquisitor's private garden, do not enter!' in thick black letters. Cole let go of my hand and raced to a patch of soil full of the spirits favourite flowers. I followed after him and watched him kneel down and carefully stroke the drooping and dull lily "No matter how much water I feed it, it won't be happy again."
I smiled reassuringly as I sat beside him "don't panic, it's not lost yet we have time" I brought a finger out and delicately stroked one of the dulling petals, it had liquid so it wasn't dried out but he no doubt tore its roots when he pulled it out of the soil. "I can reattach the roots you ripped and rejuvenate it with my magic." I continued to stroke the petal, giving it a little bit of my magic whilst I used my other hand to dig into the soil. I felt the earth around my hand and located the separated roosts and poured my magic into the soil, it acted like a wave of water and surged towards the roots. When my magic surrounded the broken roots I ordered my magic to touch the main roots connected to the lily, once they were touching I willed them to reattach and start taking in the nutrients from the soil and sun. "See? All better" the colour of the lily was back to its brightness and you could already tell that life was beginning to return.
"How do I keep it happy?" Cole asked as he stared at the flower with a cheerful smile.
"Water it twice a day, once in the morning and again in the afternoon, and only a small amount, if you give a plant too much it can drown."
"Will it stay alive forever now?"
"Nothing lives forever Cole. Like this flower, everything has an end. Sometimes you can prevent death for a while but it never stops coming. All you can do is make the passing as comfortable as possible."
"So all my other flowers will die too?" he looked so heartbroken but it was something I needed to explain to him. He doesn't live in the fade anymore, he lives in a world where something or someone could die without any warning so he needs to be prepared to face that heartache.
"Eventually yes but you have the power to make their lives wonderful, to make sure they are protected so they can live for many, many years."
He was silent for a moment, contemplating my words no doubt. When realisation struck him, he turned to me with a smile "so if I protect you, then you will live for many, many years?"
I smiled encouragingly "of course, if you are strong enough, both body and soul, you can protect everyone you care about."
"So that means I can help?"
"Yes, protecting someone is helping them to live."
He gave me the biggest smile he could muster as we both stood from the grass "then I want to help you live, I can't do that when I'm here so let me come with you when you go out."
I giggled "do you want to be my bodyguard?" he nodded "alright when I leave Skyhold you can come with me and help to protect me and others."
"I'd like that" he suddenly stopped talking and stared off into the distance "New people are here, they want to help," the spirit said abruptly. He pointed to the fence and saw Cullen walking towards it.
"Dani, I need you to come with me" I nodded and walked over to the Commander with Cole following dutifully behind.
"Is this something to do with the new arrivals?" Cullen blinked in surprise.
"How did you know" I pointed to Cole who walked away "oh, of course" he muttered plainly, he no longer hated Cole but he still did not trust him, all he saw was a demon and not a benevolent spirit whose only purpose was to help.
We hurried to the war room where the new arrivals were waiting. Once the door was opened I walked inside and saw two elves chatting happily with Leliana, both were incredibly attractive and incredibly armed. The amount of weaponry they had on them made me think they were assassins. "We're here" Cullen announced, the conversation stopped and everyone turned to me.
"Thank you for coming Inquisitor, allow me to introduce my friends" Leliana motioned to the female elf. She had long curly blonde hair that looked as though it was spun from starlight, diamond blue eyes and alabaster skin tattooed in Dalish markings. Solas was not going to like her. "This is Nodel Mahariel of the Grey Wardens."
She looked at me and shook my hand strongly "it's a great honour to meet the leader of the Inquisition. I've heard much about you."
"I've heard much about you, I think the honour is all mine as I get to meet one of the heroes of Ferelden."
"This is my Vhenan, Zevran Arainai" the man casually walked up to his love and wrapped an arm around her, he had golden blonde hair and honey coloured eyes that complimented his tanned skin nicely. He was the most beautiful person I had ever seen in my life, more so than even Solas.
"It is a pleasure to see such an exquisite and enchanting woman such as you, Inquisitor" he grasped my hand and kissed is softly whilst staring into my eyes seductively.
"Pleasure," I said as I turned to Nodel "do you always let him flirt with other women?"
"Yes, men too. I cannot change who he is so long as he remembers he is mine."
"I shall always belong to you Amore" the man kissed his love on the cheek. "My dear Inquisitor, we are here to help you stop the assassination of Empress Celene."
"Please call me Danica, I hate being called Inquisitor. If you don't mind me asking, how do you know about that?" I asked him.
"It was our lovely Spymaster who asked me to help. What better person to stop an assassination than an Assassin."
I guessed correctly it seems "assassin you say?"
"Yes, I was raised by the Antivan Crows before defecting during the Ferelden Blight, now I travel with my Amore."
"Thank you for offering your assistance, I'll have someone prepare a room for you wherever you like, I do have some business to take care of but I'd love to chat with you later tonight at the Inn if you'd like."
"We'd like that very much" Nodel replied kindly "Leliana, do you have time to show us around?"
"Of course I do" It was weird seeing the Spymaster so soft and…nice, she usually acts like a bitch "Inquisitor, If you have completed your design then please leave it on my desk so I can have a meeting with the tailor and anyone who wants to work on your dress."
"I will, so go have fun and take the day off."
"Thank you" she gave me a grateful smile and motioned for the other two elves to leave.
"That was interesting," I said to Cullen.
"I hope you are prepared to deal with Zevran. He is a sexual deviant."
"And you would know this how?" the man blushed.
"Women are not the only gender the man flirts with" I chuckled at the image of a flustered Cullen dealing with the suavest man on earth.
"Poor Cullen, having to deal with a sex god" I patted his shoulder comfortingly "now if you'll excuse me, I need some loving from my own sexy elf." I turned to leave the war room.
"What do you see in him?" I stopped at Cullens question and slowly turned to face him with a confused expression.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked challengingly, I crossed my arms and waited for him to answer.
"I just…he's always serious, never says anything about himself and barely talks to anyone."
"Look, Cullen, Solas is just an introverted guy and there is nothing wrong with that, I've had the pleasure of seeing the man behind the mystery and I can tell you that he is a great guy with a lot of emotions. Just because he doesn't like talking to you doesn't mean he doesn't talk to others."
"I don't believe he's a good match for you."
"And what, you are?" he blushed and looked away "oh, so I'm right! If you were a good match for me then we would be in a relationship but we're not, are we?"
"If you would have given me a chance" he stepped closer to me and grabbed my hand "I care for you a great deal Danica and seeing you with Solas kills me."
I yanked my hand away from his and glared at him, just because I thought it was cool that two attractive men were vying for him doesn't mean I like it when one of them thinks they have a right to me "you don't get a chance Cullen, I'm in a serious relationship with Solas and if you can't accept that then that's just too bad."
He looked at me sternly, brown furrowed and lips taunt "no, I can't accept that" without any warning he grabbed my shoulder and the back of my head so I couldn't pull away and smashed his lips against mine, I immediately struggled against him as I wasn't about to betray Solas by enjoying the kiss. I punched his chest and pushed at it but he was like solid stone. He moaned into my mouth as he sloppily kissed me, my lips were pursed so lightly that he was kissing around my mouth and not on it. Finally, he pulled away and looked at me with a tender expression.
I was so angry at his forceful kiss that I reared my fist back and punched right hooked his cheek. He went rearing back by the force and pain "if you ever do that again I will cut off your fucking balls and feed them to you!"
"Danica please" he pleaded as I turned to leave.
"Fuck off Cullen before I make it so you will never have kids" I threatened him darkly, with one last heated glare I slammed the door close behind me and stormed through Skyhold so I could get to the one person who could calm me down. Unlike most women, I'm not about to hide what just happened from my boyfriend. "the nerve of that oaf" I hissed to myself as I slammed the rotunda door open.
Solas turned around to see who may have broken the door and was surprised to see it was me storming in with a livid expression. "Vhenan? What's wrong?" Ignored his question and instead stormed right up to him "Danica?" without a word I smashed my lips against Solas' just like Cullen had done to me, only this time both parties consented and enjoyed the kiss. Once I was satisfied I pulled back and took in a calming breath though it did not really work. "what was that about?"
I huffed and turned away from him "I just got forcefully kissed by Cullen and I didn't agree to it" I growled.
"WHAT!?" I was grabbed by my shoulders and turned around so I could stare at his livid expression "that is not something to joke about Danica" he said to me sternly.
"I am not joking at all! If you want proof, go see his bruised and swollen cheek!" I pushed away from him and shuffled over to his table so I could sit on top, I sighed and rubbed my temples in the hopes of getting rid of a small headache that was forming.
Solas stared at me, he understood my anger but my stiff posture and hooded eyes suggested I took Cullen's actions way more personal than any person should. He walked over to table so he stood in front of me "you are not telling me something? Has something like this happen before?" he asked worriedly.
"Not by Cullen, no but…In the other world, rape and sexual assault runs rampant and assaulters can go free if they have money."
Solas stiffened at the implication "please don't tell me you have been raped…" he feared that would be the case and prayed it was not so.
I looked up so I could stare at his eyes "no I've never been raped but I've been assaulted many times. Men think that because I'm pretty and a girl they can touch me without consequences. If I ever went out to party with friends I would be groped and humped and even kissed without my consent. I hated it but there was nothing I could do…so when Cullen kissed me I just exploded."
Solas' frowned deepened "humans are disgusting creatures," he said darkly "and Cullen is a fool for trying to force you to do something you did not want to do" he brought his arms out and wrapped them around me "no one is worthy of you, even me."
"If you weren't worthy of me then you would not be dating me," I said cheekily, I was right when I said he was the only person who could calm me down "if anything I am not worthy of you, I'm mortal and your immortal."
He closed his eyes and sighed "please don't remind me, it is painful enough to know that you will die long before I do."
"Who knows, maybe I am immortal. I mean I was taken through worlds so it could be possible."
"It definitely could be though there is no way of knowing, you have strong magical reserves that suggests you are like me. If you are immortal your magic reserve tends to be stronger than mortals as you have no limit. If a mortal tries to use magic above their reserves limit they would die or be very close to it. You, however, have reached above your supposed limit many times and all you have done is weaken yourself for a day or so."
"Then maybe I could be immortal" I reached up and cupped his jaw "would that be a good thing if I was?" I asked hesitantly, doubt crept into my mind. Maybe he was looking for a relationship in this century and when I was dead he would go and get another woman.
"Of course that would be good…no, that is an understatement" he placed his hands over mine and looked at me with the most intense look "to be with you for all eternity would make me the happiest man in all of Thedas."
My eyes widened as I looked up at him in shock, I've never had anyone say something so deep and meaningful to me "are you…do you mean it?" my cheeks were blushing heavily, flirtatious words and seductive ministrations never affected me as much as Solas' sweet words.
"Yes, you are such an amazing woman that I find myself falling in love with you. I've never cared for someone as much as I care for you." I let out a soft chuckle, my eyes watered slightly at his sweet words "why are you crying?" he said with a smile.
"These are happy tears," I said with a sniffle "no one has ever said something so sweet to me. I think I'm falling in love with you too" he smiled and with a joyous laugh he grabbed my waist and lifted me into the air and twirled me around. I laughed just as joyously as him when I saw the pure joy he had shown so clearly on his face that he has never shown before.
"If there is a higher power then you are its greatest creation" I laughed and kissed him when he was bringing me back to the floor, he was the most amazing man I had ever met.
"You are amazing, have I told you that before?"
"Once or twice," he said cheekily and we both shared a laugh.