Alex flinched as the blade of her enemy sliced her wrist lightly, making a small cut and making her stumble back. From behind her, she could hear her companions fighting, and she knew she had to fight the Harlequin-clad assassin alone.

Unfortunately, the assassin was quick, her blades flashing in the moonlight as she charged at Alex. She barely had enough time to gather her mana to form a ball of lightning in her hand, when the assassin let out a strange gurgle of blood, and a sword pierced her chest. Alex blinked as the assassin fell down dead, and the person behind her sheathed his sword and lowered his shield, revealing the face of Cullen, sneering down at the killer.

"Alexandra!" Cullen exclaimed as she blinked, and he pulled her up before embracing her.

"Cullen! What are you doing here?!" Alex exclaimed as she separated from him, and he looked down at her wrist to see a thin line of blood forming. He cursed a little before grabbing a bandage from his pocket, wrapping the wound.

"I… followed you." Cullen admitted as he continued his administering of aid, "Your brothers…"

"Manipulated you into following me, didn't they?" She finished, and she sighed, "I told them to look after you. Not send you to me. Those daft tits…"

"They were worried for you, as am I." He said, "And it seems that I came at the most opportune time."

She sighed, and looked up at the man, "I was perfectly aware of who I was fighting against, Cullen. I could've finished her myself. I've faced far worse than that."

The man stopped moving, looking up at her, and his fierce look softened into that of guilt, "I… I know. I'm sorry, Inquisitor."

"Hey! He's running away!" Varric exclaimed, and Alex and Cullen turned around to see one of the assassins running off towards the hallway. The dwarf shot a bolt from his crossbow, but it narrowly missed as he turned. But suddenly, a knife pierced his head, and the man feel down dead on the carpet. Cullen turned towards the doorway, shielding Alex behind him as he drew out his sword, and they heard footsteps.

A green clad elf, with a mask on her face and pink wig on her head, smiled at her as she neared them, "Fancy meeting you here. So… you're Inquisitor Trevelyan. I'm surprised they got you sobered up and dressed for this party. We haven't been properly introduced, have we?" The elf smirked at her and bowed a little, "I'm Ambassador Briala."

Alexandra laid a hand on Cullen's arm, and the former templar reluctantly stepped aside to let her through, and she returned the elf's bow with one of her own. "I'm glad meet you finally, Ambassador."

She smiled, "Your reputation for getting results is well deserved. You cleaned this place out. It will take a month to get the Tevinter blood off the marble. I came down to save or avenge my missing people, but you've beaten me to it."

The elf headed to the balcony near them, and Alex followed, raising a hand at her comrades to stop them from following. Cullen stayed away, but he strained his ears to listen to their conversation. "So…" Briala spoke, "The Council of Herald's emissary at the courtyards… that's not your work is it?"

He saw Alex shook her head, "He was dead when I arrived."

Briala sighed, "I expected as much. You may have arrived with the Grand Duke, but you don't seem to be doing his dirty work. I knew his was smuggling his chevaliers, but killing a Council emissary? Bringing Tevinter assassin's into the palace? Those are desperate acts. Gaspard must be planning to strike tonight."

Alex nodded, "The Empress needs to know what's going on."

The elf smirked again as she crossed her arms on her chest, "You can try to warn her. She won't believe anything from me." She looked up and down at Alex, "I misjudged you, Inquisitor. You might just be an ally worth having. What could you do with an army of elven spies at your disposal? You should think about it."

Alex was quiet for a moment, before looking back at the elf, "I would consider such an alliance."

"We can help each other, Inquisitor." Briala spoke again, smiling a little, "We are both outsiders here, after all. I know which way the wind is blowing. I bet coin that you'll be part of the peace talks before the night is over. And if you lean a little bit our way? It could prove advantageous to us both." The elf turned towards one of the railings, "Just a thought."

Alex watched as Briala jumped off, down from the balcony, into the darkness of the garden below. She was quiet for a moment, looking down at where the elf had been, and Cullen thought it was safe to stand beside her again, "Alexandra, are you alright?"

She sneered disdainfully, "Gaspard points a finger at Celene, Briala points a finger at Gaspard, and so does Celene. This party is more fucked up than I thought."

Cullen chuckled, "You're spending way too much time with Bull."

Her sneer disappeared as she laughed a little, looking up at him, "I know. I'm sorry. But this… Great Game just got a bit more dangerous than I thought."

He nodded, "Indeed."

She sighed and turned around, and Cassandra, Varric and Dorian went to her, "We need to head back to the party. I need to speak with Briala again and Celene."

Cassandra crossed her arms, "Is it because of the locket we found?"

"Locket? What locket?" Cullen said, looking at her.

Alex took something from her pocket and gave it to Cullen, and he looked down to see a golden locket, glittering in the moonlight, with ornate vines at the cover of it. He opened it up only to see the portraits of a younger Celene and Briala, and he looked up in surprise at Alex.

"I found it in one of the vaults." Alex said, "I think it belonged to Celene."

"A keepsake? The Empress had been keeping this?"

Varric shrugged, "Red did say that there was a rumor that Briala had been Celene's lover some time ago."

"Most romantic notion, if it's true." Dorian agreed, "Perhaps the Empress still has feelings for Briala."

"Maybe, but we won't know unless we speak to her." Alex said, and she nodded, "Come on, let's head back to the party."

The three of her companions nodded, and Cullen took her hand as they headed out. Alex squeezed his hand and he looked down at her, "Cullen…" she started, "Thank you… for saving my life. But I need you to stay in the ballroom from now on, until we find out who the assassin is."

He blinked, "Alexandra, I can't…"

"You have to." She retorted, "The soldiers await your order on when to strike, and until I find out who the assassin is, you need to keep them out of notice from the rest of the ball. Please, Cullen."

He grit his teeth a little, but he sighed as he finally nodded, "I understand, Alexandra."

They made their way back into the Grand Ballroom in relative silence, with Dorian, Varric and Cassandra returning to their place, leaving just her and Cullen to enter. But as the doors opened, they were met by Gaspard's sister, who smiled at them, "Inquisitor Trevelyan. We met briefly. I am Grand Duchess Florianne De Chalons. Welcome to my party."

Alex raised an eyebrow before saying, "Why am I not at all surprised that you want to see me now?", and Cullen bit the inside of his cheek to stop from grinning. Alex was really starting to hate the Great Game, and it was starting to show.

The Empress smirked, "This is Orlais, Inquisitor. Nothing happens by accident. I believe tonight you and I are both concerned by the actions of… a certain person. Come, dance with me. Spies will not hear us on the dance floor."

Alex stiffened a little, "I'm already taken, Your Grace." And she reached up to Cullen's arm and grasped it, and he looked down at the Duchess. Her gaze lingered at her hand on his forearm, and he took it with his other hand, looking at her pointedly.

But the Duchess seemed to not care at their display, "Your lover has nothing to fear. This is business, not pleasure."

Alex and Cullen looked at each other, and he nodded at her before removing her hand on his arm. She nodded back at him as she let him go, and she strolled with Florianne towards the dance floor as he headed back up to his place in the sides, and she saw Josephine waiting for him.

"Commander." Josephine said, looking down at the dance floor and seeing Florianne and Alex, "What is the Inquisitor doing, dancing with the Grand Duchess?"

"Florianne wished to discuss the events of the evening with her alone… where spies couldn't hear them." Cullen said, but he scowled, "But I have a feeling she's trying to manipulate Al… the Inquisitor."

"I would not be surprised." The Ambassador said, and she smirked, "It's just so sad, to think that they could manipulate her for their own means."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, before this night is over, they will realize that they will be outplayed by the Inquisitor." Josephine said, "They think that they are manipulating her into just getting rid of Gaspard, but she's actually manipulating the whole court, not just the Empress. Our Inquisitor plays the Great Game rather well."

Cullen rolled his eyes as he looked down at Alex, and he could see her lips moving as she spoke with the Duchess. He saw her look up at him, looking slightly worried, but she returned her attention to Florianne as they danced around the floor, "Unlike you, I have no patience to play the Game you're speaking of."

Josephine laughed, "Obviously. Don't you worry, Commander. When this night is done, you will see how well our dear Inquisitor has played. It's quite obvious right now. Look at her. She dances so gracefully that all of court is becoming enamored with her."

Cullen looked around, only to see that Josephine was right. The whole ballroom was looking down at the two dancing women, complete mesmerized by their grace in their dance. The music was coming to an end, and he watched them as Alex dipped the Duchess, earning the applause of their audience. Their glided towards the sides, but he could see that Florianne was still saying something to Alex, before she left.

He and Josephine hurried towards her, with Leliana coming in from the other side, and Josephine smiled at her, "That was quite the dance, Inquisitor."

Alex shrugged, "Don't act so surprised, Josie. I danced when I was younger."

Leliana nodded, "And quite gracefully, I might add. The court loved it. But what did the Grand Duchess say? You seemed to be speaking quite a lot."

At this, Alex scowled, "She points her finger at Gaspard, but I think she is hiding something. She told me to look for Gaspard's mercenary captain."

Cullen blinked, "But the Empress is about to make her speech. It would be the perfect time for the assassin to strike."

"I know. But I still need to investigate it." Alex said, and she turned to Josephine, "Josie, speak with the Empress. Give us time. Delay her from making her speech if possible. Cullen, Leliana… prepare our people. If the assassin will strike while we are gone, keep the Empress safe. I'll take Cass and Varric and Dorian with me to the Royal Apartments again."

The three of them nodded, and Josephine and Leliana left. Alex turned around again to head to Cassandra, but Cullen reached out and took her hand. She turned around to look at him, and he placed his hand on her cheek, "I won't be there to save your life again, Alexandra. Be careful out there."

Alex's face softened, and she smiled reassuringly before coming forward and kissing his lips, "I will, Cullen."

He nodded at her, and she smiled up at him again before running off towards the palace vestibule. He sighed deeply, praying to the Maker that she'll be safe, before he turned around to keep his soldiers on alert.