A/N: Sorry, ran a touch late again! Editing in easrnest is going to start on my novel that's slated to be published in 2018 so I might continue missing Fridays, but I promise I'll do my best to keep up even with life getting in the way!

Thirty-Eight

Blame the Flat-Ears

Something thumped against Rosa's knee and a voice above her said: "Wake up."

She opened her eyes, groaning as the world spun about her. A hazy shape came into focus above her but she had to blink hard several times to clear her eyesight before recognition dawned. Her mother stood stolid and steely-eyed over her. The bump Rosa had felt against her knee had been her mother nudging her with one foot.

"Mamae?" she croaked and started to sit up—only to freeze as she realized she was naked beneath the bear furs. "Damn," she muttered in a low voice. "I…I don't have any clothes. Why…?"

Halesta knelt and motioned to the scattered bits of armor laid haphazardly beside the bedroll. "At least some of your things are here. As for where the rest are? I haven't any idea." She sniffed, looking about the cave. "And your troublemaking brother is missing too. As is your lover and the flat-ear girl you brought."

"What?" Rosa croaked, scowling with worry. Her head was foggy and her body sluggish to respond as she tried to reach for the smallclothes beside the bedroll. She twisted as much as the bear furs allowed while still preserving a modicum of modesty and saw Lihari, Keeper Elan, and Fravun were sitting at the hearth nearby with a few other elves, poking at the fire and prepping breakfast. Light glowed pale blue outside, suggesting dawn had not quite broken over the forest but was about to.

"Our meal was drugged last night," Halesta told her in a low voice.

Feeling as though she had found herself in a nonsensical waking dream, Rosa gawped at her mother and again asked, "What?"

Halesta's lips pinched tightly together. "The meal we ate was tainted. I recognized the symptoms once I felt them for myself after Elan, Fravun, and I left for the meet. I know the mushrooms that cause this illness of the mind. Some people it makes sleep. Others it drives to madness." She huffed. "Your babae taught me the antidote years ago and I managed to make enough to keep Fravon, Elan, and myself sound of mind."

When she said your babae Rosa knew she meant the Keeper before her; Keeper Taeras. Not Felassan.

Rosa growled with irritation and flung off the bear pelt when she had too much trouble trying to keep herself covered and got dressed. She pulled the breast band over herself and wrapped it tight, then shamelessly rose to her feet and began to shimmy into some skintight breeches. She heard a few of the hunters chuckling at her expense but no one commented otherwise at the eyeful she must have offered everyone. Once she'd finished with the smallclothes Rosa began scrounging about for her finely woven chainmail, but already she could see she was missing pieces. What had happened to her last night?

"I don't think you've comprehended what I've said," Halesta told her stiffly.

"The stew was laced with bad mushrooms," Rosa muttered without looking up from her task. She found the chainmail for her lower body and began to pull it on.

"Yes," Halesta said, her tone one of thinning patience. "But Tal is the one who brought the meal to us."

"Yes," Rosa agreed. "And it was tainted. Did you know clan Ghilath's Keeper is an absolute atrocious ass? I expect he's the one who tainted it, or he ordered Enasa to do it and she just did it because the poor thing is like his thrall or his slave."

"I understand Keeper Sahren is an insufferable prick," Halesta agreed. "But Tal is the one who tainted that stew."

Now Rosa stopped looking over her armor and turned to her mother, frowning. "What?" How many times was she going to ask that? But this time her stomach clenched cold with dread.

"He didn't eat it," Halesta murmured. Her brow was furrowed and her blue eyes narrowed. "He claimed he had already eaten. And when Lihari began to fall ill from the mushrooms he blamed the drink to deflect our suspicions."

"No," Rosa protested, shaking her head. The world spun at that movement and she hissed through her teeth, laying one hand to her head. She wished she'd recognized the symptoms and known the antidote as her mother had. But, addled brain or not, she could not just listen to her mother impugn Tal with such…well, it wasn't exactly little evidence. But still. "It could still have been Keeper Sahren. Tal pranked and humiliated him as often as he could. Tal might have eaten beforehand and unknowingly brought the tainted stew to us. You can't jump to his guilt."

Halesta frowned. "And you cannot allow yourself to be blind to the obvious, da'len." Her blue eyes darted to the fire behind Rosa and then she edged closer, lowering her voice to little more than a whisper. "There is more. The meet last night was adjourned early because one of the clans was attacked and a relic stolen."

"What?" Rosa asked, stunned into staring stupidly. It seemed she would be endlessly condemned to repeating that one word in shock. Would that only be for this morning or would it last the rest of her life? Right now it felt like it would be the rest of her life.

"Yes," Halesta said, her expression hard. "This is just the sort of nefarious, underhanded trickery I would expect from Ivun. And it would appear Tal has fallen prey to the same behavior. Your lover and your brother conspire against the People together it would seem."

"Hold on," Rosa said, lifting one palm out to her mother in a stop motion. "You're jumping to conclusions. Solas had nothing to do with any of this. He's just here to accompany me, as is Sera. I was the one who hoped to rope him into something more."

Halesta was silent for several long moments before her features eased. "I believe you."

Rosa blinked as she realized that her mother had worried she was part of this imagined plot too. Her cheeks flushed with the heat of humiliation. "You thought I had something to do with this," she said through gritted teeth. "Have you shared these thoughts with anyone?"

"You brought them here," Halesta said. "I could not trust that you were innocent, but I have told no one else. I would not betray you like that."

"And do you still think I'm part of this imagined plot?" Rosa asked, gesturing to her still half-undressed self. "Do you really think I would stage this?"

Halesta's lips twisted up slightly. "No. I watched you eat the stew last night."

"Didn't you also see Solas eating it?" Rosa asked, snarling the question. "Because I saw him eating it."

"Yes," Halesta admitted. "But he is Elvhen. I would not be surprised if he knew a spell to counter the effects entirely."

Rosa rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure he had no clue." She strained her memory, shutting her eyes tightly to try and dredge up some inkling of what had happened last night. She vaguely remembered emotional pain tightening her heart and Solas' voice saying no. The sound of water tinkling came to her as well, along with the taste and smell of Solas' woody maleness. Well, that explained the nakedness then. But how had she come to be here and where was he?

"Solas was with me," she said then, nodding with confidence. "The last thing I remember was…well…"

"You're sleeping with him again," Halesta said and clucked her tongue with disapproval. "I hope you have created a charm this time to avoid unwanted children. Elvhen seed seems to be potent. I made you almost immediately when I laid with Ivun. With how quickly your brother came along I suspect the same was true for his mother."

Rosa groaned with disgust. "Really, mamae? Yuck." Lifting one leg she motioned to the anklet contraceptive charm she had been wearing since before the Conclave. "I am no fool."

"We shall see about that," Halesta retorted, her tone somehow managing to be both facetious and serious simultaneously. But, sobering entirely then, she added, "If he gives you another child I will take it. Do not wash it away."

"Mamae," Rosa said, frowning with disapproval as she shot another look over her shoulder, aware that the others about the fire were close enough they might overhear this conversation at their current volume—particularly inside the echo chamber that was this cave. Thinking of hypothetical future children always made her remember the one she lost and it made her heart ache. Better to push that aside for now. The last thing she, Solas, or any of them needed right now was a child. She sighed and spoke quieter now as she asked, "Is there anything else you'd like to spring on me this morning?"

Her mother grimaced and then said, "Unfortunately, yes. The clan who suffered the attack and the stolen relic is claiming it was Fen'Harel himself. The entire Arlathvhen is ready to disband and just wait for a year before meeting again in a different place." She clenched her jaw and narrowed her eyes at Rosa, speaking in barely more than a whisper. "I'm sure you can see why it would be disastrous to challenge their views on the Creators at a time like this. Ivun was well known for his eccentricities and questionable wisdom, as well as his heretical tendencies. With the Keepers as they are currently, it would be beyond foolish to spook them. They will stampede and trample you like a herd of halla if you do. You'll be banished. They'll blame you and your friends for the attack and the theft."

Rosa stared at her mother, her heart pounding and her hands clenching into fists. The terrible truth was that Halesta was right. Any dreams she'd had for strong-arming her people into greatness with Solas' help had been dashed by whatever had happened last night. Groaning, Rosa covered her face with both hands. "Fenedhis," she cursed and then, a touch louder and with more heat, she added: "Elgar'nan's flaming ballsack." A few gasps echoed from the fire behind her, but Rosa paid them no mind.

Halesta smirked but cuffed her daughter on the side of the head. "Watch your language, da'len. There has been enough blasphemy in the last day. We don't need your colorful cursing to add to the misfortune that has befallen us."

With a brief glare at her mother for the reprimand—the same sort she would have received ten years ago as a preteen for speaking out of turn among the meeting of elders and Keepers—Rosa returned with a fury to dressing herself. "I have work to do, mamae."

"Then I wish you luck," Halesta told her politely. They were Keeper and subservient now rather than mother and daughter. Rosa hated when they fell back into that relationship. "But Keeper Deshanna was searching for you. Please find her and check in with your clan."

"Yes, hahren," Rosa retorted, a touch bitter. "I'll make sure I do that."

"And if you need breakfast," Halesta added, softer now. "You are welcome here." With that she walked past Rosa and toward the fire to return to the others, leaving Rosa to finish donning what little she could find of her armor and to wonder what in the great beyond had gone wrong.

Solas woke to chilled morning air. His body was damp with dew over his bare chest. That was the first odd thing he noted. The second was that he was alone and not on a bedroll inside an Inquisition camp. He sat up and brushed at the dew over himself, then searched his memory for some hint as to what had happened to place him here.

Hazy memories swam to the surface: one of Dirthamen's spies speaking with him, plying him with sex, and then he'd encountered Falon'Din's assassin out here in the woods, but he was wearing Mythal's vallaslin. And then he had been in the Fade and he had felt hundreds of sleeping minds buzzing through the Fade, but their connections were faint and strained, as though all of them had dosed themselves with herbs to halfway block their dreams. As if they knew the Wolf prowled among them. He'd walked through dreams, spying and learning, but all of it was cloudy now. But where was he? And where was his shirt? Or his wolf-jaw pendent?

When he got to his feet Solas smelled the pleasant scent of wood smoke on the breeze and turned slightly to see activity through a clearing in the distance. Men and women moved about, sluggish with the recentness of dawn. They were dressed shabbily in homespun cottons and furs and makeshift armor, not the resplendent silks, gossamer, and fine-hammered plate armor he expected. No…this was…

Feeling how small his mana core was, Solas sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as reality returned to him. The "Great Betrayal" of both Evanuris and Forgotten Ones. The Veil. The fall of Arlathan and all of Elvhenan. The enslavement of the Elvhen people and now, thousands of years later, their slow glacial extinction as magic died and humans ground them into dust.

All. His. Fault.

And then he heard the quiet rustle of hunter' feet and lifted his head, tensing as he saw a trio of elves—Dalish elves—approaching. They used minimal stealth, but they were armed and wearing armor. The man in the lead was a rogue, carrying both knives and a bow over his back. When the man raised his head, even from many meters away still, Solas recognized him: Mahanon. Their eyes locked and Mahanon halted, signaling the elves behind him—one old man with large ears and a silver-haired middle-aged woman who must be the Keeper—to do the same.

"Flat-ear," Mahanon shouted to him, his tone one of wariness and irritation. "Where is Rosa?" Their group began to approach once more, hurrying now at a jog through the underbrush. Dried leaves crackled under their feet and ferns swayed.

Solas waited until they reached him before deigning to answer. "I…am uncertain," he admitted. "I believe I may have consumed too much wine last night."

"You and half the clans," the older man quipped, smirking.

The Keeper shot the older man an amused look and then stepped forward around Mahanon to extend her hand out to him in greeting. "You are one of Rosa's companions?" she asked, smiling politely as she waited for him to greet her in kind.

Solas considered refusing but knew that would be unwise. His memories were still disjointed and he could easily become confused. Best to behave courteously. He clasped the Keeper's hand and shook it briefly. "I am indeed. My name is Solas."

"Also known as Revas," Mahanon grumbled, glancing at the Keeper in a way that suggested he had discussed Solas with her previously and hoped to jog her memory.

The Keeper's eyes widened as comprehension dawned. She did not release his hand but her grip did seem to slacken before Solas let go of it. "A pleasure," she said and, surprisingly, she did not sound as though she feigned it. "Anyone helping my First protect Thedas from a Darkspawn Magister has my trust and respect."

The connection snapped inside Solas' mind and he smiled now more genuinely. "Ah. You are the Keeper of clan Lavellan."

"Yes," she confirmed. "Clan Naseral's Keeper, Halesta, told me Rosa was here, but I've not seen her." Her eyebrows shot into her forehead. "Have you seen her?"

Solas swallowed, remembering the warm, soft flesh of a woman under his hands the previous night. The taste of her was still in his mouth. He'd been confused about her vallaslin and taken her to be one of Dirthamen's disciples or a Dreamer enslaved to his care who'd been sent to spy on him. Now he realized that was Rosa. No wonder he'd let his guard down and lain with her despite his confusion and doubt about her identity. Then again, as a hot-blooded man who had always far preferred women warming his bed over men, he couldn't be certain that while inebriated he might not have lain with any one.

"I…am unsure. We became separated." That much seemed true. He frowned. "She did not seek you out?"

"No," the Keeper said, shaking her head. "Not yet. I was heading to clan Naseral's camp to see if she's there." Her brown eyes swept up and down his length for a beat before she hedged, "You are the man she escaped the Hasmal Circle with?"

Solas tensed, unable to keep his gaze from flicking to Mahanon and seeing the younger man had crossed his arms over his chest and now idly nudged at a small stone imbedded in the leaves and other underbrush. The Keeper's tone made it clear she knew the significance of Solas' answer. If he confirmed it she would know he had been the one to father the child Rosa had lost that spring over a year ago. The desire to defend himself was like an itch he couldn't scratch as he clenched his jaw and nodded. It would be unseemly to offer up some excuse or explanation, no matter how much he wanted to. None of it was relevant now.

"Well," the Keeper said, still smiling politely. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Solas. Now." She motioned forward. "Shall we be going?"

"Certainly," Solas agreed.

By the time they reached the other clan's campsite—which Solas did vaguely remember when he saw the banners on the boulders above the cave—it was clear clan Lavellan's Keeper was not the only one searching for Rosa. Mages, warriors, and hunters had assembled outside of the cave. All wore armor and carried weapons but, disturbingly, more than a few of them had those weapons drawn. They glared daggers at Solas and seemed to have nothing but suspicion aimed at clan Lavellan's people either. It seemed odd—but then again, everything had seemed strange this morning to Solas.

He tried not to feel self-conscious about his lack of a tunic as he edged past the other Dalish and down the slope into the dimness of the cave. Angry words echoed off the roof and walls and floor and Solas' heart leapt at the familiar sound of Rosa's voice even as he scowled at the other as it too triggered a memory. The words fell silent as he and the other members of clan Lavellan arrived but as Solas' eyes adjusted to the dark he recognized Tal's former Keeper, Sahren.

"What's going on here?" Lavellan's Keeper asked, looking perturbed as she stared at Rosa, Sahren, and Halesta where they stood at one side of the cave, away from the crackling fire of the hearth where Solas saw another two mages, some hunters, and a little girl who also sported a little stave on her back. Lihari, he recalled. The other two were…Elan and Fravun. Yes. His memory was definitely returning in force now.

Rosa opened her mouth to speak but Sahren beat her to it. "Your wayward First is sabotaging the Arlathvhen, Deshanna."

Lavellan's Keeper, Deshanna, shook her head and scowled. "You're going to lay the blame for last night's attack at Rosa's feet?"

Solas turned his head sharply to stare at the Keeper, alarmed. His heart began to hammer hard in his chest. Attack? Had he caused this?

Deshanna went on, "She is the Inquisitor! She is fighting to save Thedas. Why would she come here to antagonize her own people?"

Rosa's shoulders sank with relief. "Thank you, Keeper."

Halesta nodded in agreement. "Yes. And I can vouch for Rosa. She woke here and was in no state to attack a clan and steal anything."

"Yes," Sahren snarled. "Because your entire entourage, Halesta, allowed themselves to be poisoned by mushrooms. How convenient that everyone in your party was out of sorts and could not be capable of the attack."

Rosa held out her arms and gestured to herself. Solas realized then that she was missing her upper body chainmail and much of her outer Keeper armor. Her stave was nowhere to be seen as well. "Do I look like I made some kind of raid on another clan last night? Half my fucking armor is gone. So is my staff. Tillahnenn clan is clear on the other side of the clearing and still a ways through the woods at that. Do you really think I went to that kind of trouble to—"

"You are a heretic who has abandoned the People to serve the shemlen," Sahren spat. "You are a disgrace to the People, just as your father was."

Solas' hands curled into fists and his mana bubbled with rage on Rosa's behalf as the cave fell silent at Sahren's outburst. The crackling of the fire was the only sound. Long seconds passed and Solas could see Rosa was shaking slightly, glowering with outrage. Her hands had also formed fists, but she kept herself in check. It was Halesta who rose to her daughter's defense.

"You're out of line, Keeper," she said in a somber, stern voice. "Rosa has done no demonstrable wrong. Rather than condemning her in your hunt for a scapegoat, perhaps you should consider that we are as much victims of the mischief that occurred last night."

Rosa's head jerked toward her mother. "Mamae," she hissed in a tone of warning.

"What's this?" Sahren asked, sounding like a desire demon salivating at the first hint of its victim falling to temptation.

"I'm not going to let him implicate you when you've done nothing, da'len," Halesta said in an aside aimed at Rosa.

"No," Rosa growled. "No. I forbid it!" Mother and daughter glowered at each other a moment before Sahren drew everyone's attention by letting out a triumphant laugh.

"I see," he said, grinning. "You are protecting the little bastard."

Despite the darkness, Rosa blanched. Halesta appeared impassive. It was clear the mother would protect the daughter, regardless of Rosa's feelings on it, but even she did not confirm or deny the Keeper's impression. Solas' ever-quickening memory had already puzzled out who the Keeper meant: Tal. And, judging by the other man's wicked grin of twisted delight, this was the perfect outcome for him. At long last he would get to exact a revenge decades in the making against Felassan for stealing the heart of the woman he had loved and getting a bastard child on her almost immediately that he and his clan had then had to raise. It apparently did not matter to him that Felassan was dead. All of his hate had transferred to Tal.

"I will tell the others of this," Sahren said, somehow managing to both snarl and grin at once. "Where is the little snot?"

"You will not touch him," Rosa yelled, stepping forward and stabbing a finger at the earth.

"You have no authority here," Sahren growled at her. "You are an outsider." He turned his head slightly and shouted up the slope and out of the cave. "Taswin. Mora. Jeneth. Come down here and seize the Inquisitor."

"Stop this," Deshanna interrupted then, stepping forward and glaring at Sahren. "You do not have authority over my First without sufficient evidence of any crime or wrongdoing. Keeper Halesta has vouched for her as well. You will not take her."

Sahren harrumphed and went red in the face for an instant—and then his eyes flew to Solas and the gleeful, malevolent smile returned to his face. In that moment Solas wanted to crush the other man with a Veilstrike so powerful it would pop his internal organs like a grape between thumb and forefinger. His stomach twisted and he ground his teeth, certain he knew what was coming.

"Then the flat-ear," Sahren said, motioning to Solas. "He does not belong here. The Inquisitor should have known better than to bring him or the other flat-ear woman with her. If she had respected our way of life she never would have brought them here. And who better to commit the crime and theft against our people for her than a couple of flat-eared lackeys?" He turned and made eye contact with the three warriors he'd called down. "Seize the flat-ear."

"No," Rosa growled, darting forward to place herself between Solas and Sahren's warriors. "Have it your way, Sahren," she snarled. "We'll just leave. Will that make you happy? Driving away talented mages who could help you? Who would like to help all the People?"

Sahren shook his head. "No one is leaving until the relic is found and those responsible for the attack have been found and punished accordingly."

"They say it was Fen'Harel himself who stole the relic," Halesta protested. "Do you honestly expect you will find and punish the Dread Wolf, Sahren?"

Solas would have burst out laughing at that unknowingly ironic comment if the situation had not been so tense that it robbed him of breath.

Sahren snorted. "No, but I will put an end to those who bring chaos and who have broken our rules."

"And what rules have I broken?" Solas retorted, unable to stop himself. In all honesty he couldn't be certain he hadn't been involved in this so-called attack. But it just as easily could have been hooligans. One clan could have taken some petty revenge last night against another clan and, like an opportunistic vulture, Sahren was using it to his advantage to ream his own enemies. Pathetic.

"Your mere presence here is an affront," Sahren sneered. He glowered at Rosa. "Step aside, woman, or there will be violence."

"Let them take him," Halesta implored her daughter. "It is not worth you being outcast, ma'ashalan."

"Harellan," Rosa shot back at her mother. She was red faced and shaking with rage.

Halesta cringed but did not back down. "Please."

"Rosa," Deshanna said, her tone grave. "No harm will come to him."

Still Rosa would not relent as she glared at Sahren. "Solas was with me last night. He couldn't have done what you're trying to pin on him. He was drunk, like I was."

"Then why did he arrive separately?" Sahren demanded, smirking with his certain triumph. "Deshanna, how did you find this man?"

"Out relieving himself," the Keeper lied, unexpectedly rising to Solas' defense. "I suspect he had only been out of this cave a short time."

"Yes," Mahanon agreed, also surprisingly aiding Sola sans Rosa. "I know Solas. He would not have done what you claim he did."

"Well then," Sahren said, frowning. "Then it is a shame he must suffer for the crimes of another—but I will have answers. The People will have answers. And to ensure we get them from Felassan's sniveling little bastard son, who is so conveniently missing here, we will take this flat-ear and the other when we find her." He smirked at Rosa. "If you want him back you'll have to bring your precious brother to me and the others before sundown."

"Fuck you," Rosa bit out. "You won't have Tal and you won't have Solas. I will—"

Both Halesta and Deshanna protested, trying to calm Rosa and get her to submit, but it was Solas who silenced her by grabbing her bicep and pulling her closer. She was trembling with fury, hot to the touch and her face was red and mottled with the intensity of her emotion. Solas leaned close, touching his lips to her ear to whisper in elven. "They cannot hold me, vhenan."She shivered at the endearment and he felt her muscles relax. "Find your brother and Sera. Leave for camp. I will find you in the dreaming if we are separated."

She turned her head slightly, brows furrowed with concern. "No," she said, gentle but firm. "No. I won't risk you like this. They see you as nothing because you're barefaced."

He could pick out her unsaid meaning easily enough. Sahren and the others would not hesitate to kill him. The Arlathvhen was their holiest of events, the only time when the clans communed in a celebration of lore and culture—and someone had blasphemed it. Only Rosa's affection for him afforded any protection and it was clear Sahren's vendetta against the siblings and Felassan would strip that protection away entirely. Other Keepers might not even be told of his connection to the Inquisitor. As a result the Keepers would be all-too happy to use him as a scapegoat.

"They cannot hold me," he repeated the whisper in her ear.

Rosa gnashed her teeth, her eyes too bright with moisture, and Solas could see how the decision agonized her. Yet it was clear when she had made up her mind. She reached for him, wrapping one arm around his neck and pulling him to her for a fast, hard kiss. Solas returned it, curling one arm around her waist.

Sahren made a noise of disgust. "Take him," he ordered his warriors again. "I am sick of this."

Rosa released him as the warriors pressed close to do the Keeper's bidding. They snatched Solas' bare arms, pulling them behind him and binding them at the wrist with a cord of leather. Solas glowered at the Keeper a moment and then looked to Rosa, feeling his chest constrict at the sight of her tears. "I will see you soon, vhenan," he promised her as the warriors tugged him toward the slope leading up and out of the cave.

As Sahren's warriors hauled Solas out into the sunshine of morning, Rosa tried not to feel like she would throw up or explode. Her hands were hot, ready to fling fireballs at Sahren's head. When the asshole moved to taunt Rosa one final time she knew she was about to lose all control and kill him, but somehow she managed to stay still.

"Bring that little shit to us by sundown, Inquisitor," he said, meaning Tal as he smirked with smug triumph, "and we will set your flat-ear lover free. If you don't bring him…well, the flat-ear should have been killed trying to enter this sacred place of our people in the first place. I will right that mistake."

"You son of a bitch," Rosa roared and drew her mana, summoning fire into her palm. Everyone about her gasped, stunned or frightened that she would attack—but then Mahanon lunged for her, grabbing her forearm. The shock of his intervention aborted Rosa's fire spell. The light went out and she stared at Mahanon, taken aback.

"He's not worth it," Mahanon told her firmly, giving her a little shake. "Don't let him win."

She knew he meant the Keeper and swallowed her rage, tabling it. Dropping her hands to her sides, she let herself deflate, though her body still burned with fury. She had never cared for Sahren before, thinking him a bully and cruel for the way he had treated Tal. Now she saw he was a slimy, evil, conniving…

"Harellan," she spat at the Keeper. "May Elgar'nan's fire burn you alive. May Andruil hunt you down like the vermin you are and may Falon'Din leave your soul to wander the Fade for eternity. Dread Wolf take you."

"Go back to the shemlen," Sahren snarled at her and waved a hand at her dismissively. He turned on his heel and left the cave. The gaggle of other elves he'd brought with him also dispersed. They would be trying to understand why this flat-eared man had been apprehended and Rosa wondered what stories Sahren might concoct.

"I'm so sorry, da'len," Deshanna said softly. "This is truly awful. I have never seen its like before. What have we come to? Killing flat-ears who were invited into our midst by our own people."

"No one will kill him," Halesta insisted. "He is a powerful mage. A Dreamer. The Keepers will not blot out such a gift, even if he is just a flat-ear to them."

"Shut up," Rosa snarled at her mother. "You caused this mess by implicating Tal when you have no evidence. Just circumstance. Is it any coincidence that Sahren showed up here right away? What if he is behind all this?"

"There is one way to find out," Mahanon said, letting go of Rosa's arm. "We have to find Tal."

"Yes," Rosa agreed, clenching her jaw. "And Sera." Squaring her shoulders, Rosa pivoted back to the bedroll she'd first woken on at the start of this truly wretched morning and started gathering up everything there—including everyone's travel packs. When she'd finished she forced a smile onto her lips and nodded her head toward Fravun, Elan, and Lihari and the other hunters with them who'd watched the scene unfold with shock and horror. "I thank you all for allowing me to stay with you. Someday, if you come to Skyhold or any Inquisition camp, I hope I can return the favor for you. But this is goodbye. Dareth'shiral."

She hurried out of the cave, uncaring who followed behind her.

After a brief delay to visit the lover's waterfall to grab the rest of her armor—and to find Solas' shirt and wolf pendant, of course—Rosa set about finding her brother and Sera. Deshanna, Mahanon, and Halesta had accompanied her. Rosa refused to speak with her mother except to order her and Mahanon off to find Sera. Keeper Deshanna joined Rosa in searching for Tal.

Tracking Tal down was both easier and harder than she'd anticipated. Her first place to search was clan Manaria's camp where she readily learned from their war leader, Lanatriel, that Tal and Nola had reconnected the night before. They'd met after the commune between the Keepers and elders had been adjourned early. Tal had left to talk with Nola and no one in clan Manaria had seen him since. Lanatriel's smirk told Rosa easily enough what she thought the couple had wound up doing and why they were nowhere to be found.

With that in mind, Rosa expanded her search to the outskirts of the clearing where the clans had gathered. Everyone knew that outside the light of the bonfires couples melted into the woods and brush to make love. The Arlathvhen was supposed to be a fortuitous time to conceive a child. Men who never held interest in women, and women who had never enjoyed men sexually, would choose this time and place to roll the dice, picking a partner who wasn't a member of their clan to try and conceive. Everyone knew survival was a numbers game. All pureblooded children were precious, after all. No one could abstain from taking part in creating and raising the next generation. So it was actually difficult not to run across couples just outside the clearing, snoozing away and still tangled in one another's arms.

That was why it took some time before Rosa found her brother. He was halfway tucked under a bedraggled bush, wrapped up in a great bear pelt some fifty meters out of the clearing. He was sleeping with a smile on his lips and Manaria clan's Keeper tucked tightly against him. Both were clearly naked. Tal's shoulders were bare and exposed while Nola's right leg protruded from the pelt, displaying smooth olive skin that contrasted sharply with Tal's pallid shade.

The sight warmed something inside Rosa even as she felt pain and suspicion warring inside her. She wanted to let them continue sleeping. Tal was at peace. He was happy. Whatever problems he had had with this Keeper they seemed resolved for the moment. Interrupting it felt wrong enough that she stood over them, staring down for several long minutes without moving.

It was Deshanna who eventually woke the pair. The older woman walked through the underbrush and ferns, a confused look on her face as she neared Rosa. Doubtless, the Keeper was wondering why Rosa had stopped in this spot and lingered when she should have been searching. But as she drew closer she halted too and said, "Oh. I see."

Both Tal and Nola stirred at the Keeper's words, inhaling sharply and shifting beneath their furs. Tal blinked blearily at her, his deep brown eyes ringed by bags even as his plump lips curled into a warm smile. "Asamalin," he greeted her, grunting with pleasure as he stretched.

Nola also lifted her head, twisting slightly to spot Rosa and the Keeper. Unlike Tal, who showed little alarm, Nola squeaked and hiked the furs over her head—as if she could hide now. She murmured something softly to Tal and he nodded, yawning. "Yeah," he told her. "I'll get it."

Tal shimmied to free himself from the great bear furs without exposing Nola and rose to his feet with a shiver. He was completely naked and Rosa groaned with disgust, looking pointedly away. She had seen him naked plenty of times, of course, but in this context it was more embarrassing than usual knowing he had been having sex. And, naturally, he had a merry morning erection to make it extra awkward.

"Is that you under there, Nolava?" Deshanna asked, laughter making her voice warble. A timid, piping affirmative rose up from the bear pelt. Deshanna nodded and grinned. "Well, good for you."

Tal busied himself gathering smallclothes. He pulled on a set of loose breeches to cover up and then said to Rosa, "It's safe now, asamalin."

Rosa sighed as she turned her head back to the scene in front of her and then, frowning, moved to help. It seemed Nola had been wearing Keeper armor as well during their encounter. As a result there were countless parts scattered about wherever the couple had tossed them in their rush to disrobe. Tal have been dressed for relaxation though, a fact that reassured Rosa he couldn't have been the one to conduct the attack the clans were whispering about.

As Rosa gathered more parts of Nola's Keeper armor, Tal delivered her smallclothes to her. The young Keeper was more adept and patient than Rosa had been while trying to dress in the same situation earlier. Nola managed to dress inside the modesty of the pelts before emerging huddled and shivering to collect her chainmail. She began donning it, the metal ringlets tinkling musically. Tal waited on her, his eyes glued to her and making no attempt to disguise his interest in the way he stared. Rosa guessed that if she and Deshanna hadn't been present to interfere Tal would have been trying to seduce the Keeper back into the furs. He was still shirtless and with his belt missing, with no sign he intended to put them on any time soon. Nola, apparently, came first.

Unfortunately Rosa did not have that kind of patience. "Get dressed, Tal," she ordered and fought back the desire to grimace when his head swung toward her, brows furrowed with concern.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"We're leaving. Now."

"What about Sera and Solas?" Tal asked, eyes widening with mounting alarm. "And—hold up—what brought this on? Is it that Dread Wolf attack the Tillahnenn clan is going on about?"

Tillahnenn? Rosa stiffened, trying to keep from frowning. No one else had mentioned which clan was supposedly attacked, only Sahren when he first came to the cave to challenger her. Halesta had only known it was a clan when she'd first shared the news with Rosa. It was Sahren who'd first named the offended clan. Now Tal had done the same thing. Had Nola known too or…?

No, she pushed the cold dread rising in her chest down. Tal did not do this.

"As a matter of fact," she started, trying to keep her voice firm rather than shaky. "Yes. It is. Sahren has decided we must be to blame because we brought flat-ears into the Arlathvhen." That wasn't the full story, but…she found she didn't want to tell him all of it. That her mother had implicated him in front of Sahren and the Keeper of Ghilath had leapt at the chance to punish the boy he had hated so long, the son of his nemesis. So instead she skipped to the most important part. "He took Solas and he's going to take Sera and you if he can get a hold of you."

Nola gawked now at this news. "Truly? Keeper Sahren has lost his wits."

"That's what I certainly think," Deshanna said with a grunt. "The man was relentless, like a buck halla tailing a doe in her season. He would not leave without punishing you or Rosa or both. Taking your flat-ear companions was the closest he could come with myself and Halesta vouching for Rosa."

"I will vouch for Talassan," Nola said, standing proud as she finished securing her armor. "He is my First. Keeper Sahren cannot touch him."

"Plus I spent most of the night out drinking with Sera and then I was with Nola," Tal put in, grinning like a smug cat that'd gotten into the halla milk. "You can ask Sera about it when we find her."

"None of that helps Solas," Rosa pointed out, frowning. "Or Sera if she's caught."

"I will stand against Keeper Sahren," Nola said firmly. Nodding to Deshanna, she said, "Keeper Deshanna will as well."

"Of course," Deshanna agreed with a warm smile. "We cannot become barbarians who slaughter flat-ears. I have taken in several elves from alienages to round out our numbers when too few children were born and food was plenty. I know you have done the same, Nola."

"Yes," she agreed. "We won't let Keeper Sahren get away with this." The young Keeper had a fire in her Rosa had not seen before. Her dark blue eyes were as arresting as the Waking Sea. Something tugged inside Rosa—admiration. She had not known this Keeper well before, only that the woman was compassionate enough to offer to care for her when she was clanless and pregnant and abandoned by her lover. But now she saw the woman had a much stronger will than she'd let on.

Rosa fidgeted, glancing toward the trees where the golden sunshine slanted in through the tree trunks to check the time. "Solas told me not to try and get him away from them. He will escape on his own." She didn't bother trying to disguise her unhappy tone.

"We're really going to just leave him?" Tal asked, frowning his disapproval. Then, before she could answer, he suddenly saw the extra packs on her back and scrambled forward, reaching for them. "Do you have my travel pack? I need that. My—ah, my armor is in there. I want to be ready to fight that asshole Sahren."

The sudden switch of topic and slight sound of franticness in his voice made Rosa frown but she still shrugged off his pack and extended it out to him. "Here. All yours."

"Great!" he exclaimed, grinning as he immediately set it down amidst the ferns and underbrush. He rooted through it, snatching out his own Keeper robes, then hurriedly and clumsily pulled them on. Nola watched him, smirking with amusement and raw want.

"What will you do, da'len?" Deshanna asked her as Tal continued dressing.

Rosa clenched her jaw, trying to think. Solas had told her not to try to save him…but what if he had underestimated her people? He thought so little of them, after all, it seemed likely he would be vulnerable to that sort of miscalculation. And yet she knew he was very powerful, at least as much as Felassan.

When the Keepers had turned on Felassan at the last Arlathvhen they had threatened to arrest him as well, but had not gone through with it because they all knew of his power. Felassan had saved so many clans from bandits, bloodthirsty shemlen nobles, and even just wild animal attacks or dangerous arcane beasts. The Keepers liked to say that was why he named himself Slow Arrow. He was the unexpectedly dangerous weapon that could fell almost any threat. So although they would have liked to make an example of him, none dared. They merely declared him banished and chased him off because they feared the Slow Arrow turning on them.

But Rosa still remembered the pain tearing into her chest, the aching lump in her throat as she watched the Keepers spit and scorn her father. She had been a child then, unable to speak up. Her place had been to learn, to observe. Her mother had held her by the shoulders in a crushing grip as the Keepers banished Felassan. She had whispered in her daughter's ear not to bring attention to herself. No one must know she was connected to this heretical outcast or she would bring suspicion and shame upon herself and the clan. The cowardice of her silence, and the simmering resentment she felt toward her mother for allowing it to happen, had been a stain on Rosa's soul.

That was why she had fearlessly embraced her little brother afterwards when Felassan charged her with his care. She had to right the wrong of her silence, of her cowardice. Latching herself publically to Tal, calling him da'isamalin, little brother, announced loud and proud that they had the same father. Everyone knew Tal was Felassan's get, but no one had suspected Rosa was until then. It still wasn't widely known and Halesta would do anything she could to deny it, supposedly for Rosa's sake.

Never again, she thought. I will not run. I will not let sit idle while someone disparages and threatens those I love.

"I'm going to get him back," Rosa said through a hard, humorless smile. "Whatever it takes."

Next Chapter:

"I am Inquisitor Rosa Lavellan, First to clan Lavellan," she replied sharply and then waited as both her mother and Deshanna introduced themselves with formal titles.

"And why have you come?" the man asked, though again she saw the knowing gleam in his gaze—especially as he took in the fact that she had not brought anyone else with her.

"To confess my guilt for the attack and theft from clan Tillahnenn last night."

Endnote: Surprise! Rosa did it. Bet you never saw that coming, eh? Especially since you were all there with Tal when he did it. But you know, Rosa would never lie.

Many thanks to everyone who reviewed!

Cookie, I'm thrilled you liked that. I definitely had to add that in there. Addled Solas is still so, so dangerous. In fact, he's probably more dangerous because he has Tal pegged so thoroughly as one of Falon'Din's spawn. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to review! :) Always makes my day!

Sutet, yeah, I'm feeling the same way as I write these. Tal is our trickster right now and Solas is our tragic clown. I do still consider writing some short about dark world Tal. It's about fifty-fifty whether he'd fuck up the world or actually save it.

So next chapter is the culmination of my Arlathvhen plans. It also gave me a great chance to do a reversal of our usual canon...what I mean by that is in our usual fanfic canon Solas disappoints all our Lavellans because he breaks our hearts, refuses to give us sexy times, or runs away. This time...the "Lavellan" is going to be the one to disappoint our favorite egghead. *cackles evilly*