Chapter 24

Solas found himself wandering Haven's gloomy dungeon. He had fallen asleep during a pivotal scene where Michel de Chevin was breaking out his love interest and accomplice, a witch "of the wilds," who had been masquerading as a Chantry Sister. Climbing up the stairs, and through the empty nave of the Chantry, Solas recognized he was dreaming by the way the incandescent light surrounding him flickered. When he reached out to touch a heavy velvet tapestry hanging off the wall, there was no sensation except for the one he thought it should have; it was more of an essence than a material.

He hadn't experienced a lucid dream in a long time.

Haven was a strange place to find himself in, but he hypothesized his mind was reflecting the experience of watching the movie.

Resolving to explore the town, he walked out the doors, struck to find Ellana Lavellan standing in front of him, surveying the placid landscape, a lake reflecting a blue sky, surrounded by evergreen trees. Solas noticed she was wearing the suit she had on the morning they met, a cup of coffee held in her hands.

"I sat beside you as you slept," Solas said by way of explanation, even if perhaps there wasn't one as to why they were dreaming together. Ellana turned to look at him and smiled, two perfect branches tattooed on her high cheekbones. Something about the look in her eyes told him she was not a figment of his imagination, instead that they shared this space.

Did Ellana understand the significance of this ability?

Unlikely.

"Not for the first time," Ellana admitted, walking to stand opposite of him. If she realized that the two of them were actively dreaming in unison, she gave no inclination.

"No," he chuckled. "Although the circumstances of this evening are much better."

"Thank you for saving me that afternoon," Ellana replied. "I haven't forgotten the time you spent with me in the hospital."

"It was frustrating to watch you and be helpless. I had no faith in Morrigan, even if she did not deserve such a harsh appraisal. Really, it was you who held the key to your own salvation."

"All it took was a barrier spell. You never know when ordinary magic will save your life."

"No, you don't," Solas replied in a sad voice, for a fleeting second recalling his drop off the cliff edge. He wanted to tell her what he had done to reach her. Only Solas wondered again if she might be able to forgive him the whole story and the small complicit part he had played in her run-in with the Evanurius.

Ellana did not notice his dispair. Instead, she looked out again at the bucolic surroundings, the small cottages with thatched roofs surrounding them an exact replica of the movie set. She looked so beautiful in the strange sunlight that illuminated her features. He could hear her humming the movie's soundtrack to herself as she walked a short distance along the gravel road, her pumps floating rather than sinking into a swampy ground. A light dusting of snow appeared, dissipating into dappled rainbow shimmers before it could fall.

Solas followed after Ellana, only for her to grasp his hand, a static shock echoing out through the atmosphere. He took the opportunity to draw Ellana closer to him, a small flash of pleasure flashed across her face as he clasped her waist.

"Perhaps, I should flee considering the last time we met this way." Solas teased, nodding at the cup of coffee, which she chucked over her shoulder.

There was no sound of the cup hitting the ground; it had simply vanished into the ether.

"Where would you go?" She asked curiously, two playful hazel eyes staring up at him.

"A joke. That morning when we met, I felt the whole world change."

"Felt the whole world change?" Her voice was like honey, thick with anticipation as she repeated his words back to him like a melody.

"A figure of speech," Solas said, glancing away. He was nervous about what the dream might reveal to Ellana about himself. Although he felt cogent, the Fade made it hard to keep emotions and thoughts to oneself. Solas wasn't trying to keep his feelings for her a secret. Only the vulnerability made him uncomfortable. He was, after all, a private person.

"I'm aware of the metaphor, I'm more interested in the felt."

"You change- -everything ." He interrupted her, unable to keep his words in.

"Sweet talker."

Solas recalled the way her voice had tantalized him when she had asked him if he was one over the phone.

He wanted to kiss her, and was about to lean forward, when he felt Elana's touch, like a breeze, across his cheek as she drew him in for a kiss. Yearning filled the air, as her lips found his. It was everything, even without the concrete sensations of warmth of the waking world. Haven melted away.

Solas was lost to Ellana; in the Fade and any other place and time.

Stepping back to gather his breath, he saw Ellana shake her head, a downcast look flashing over her face. Her embarrassment hit him like a wave of steam. Red and bright.

Quickly, Solas pulled her back towards him, determined to show her how he felt. His first caress was polite, but as they lingered, he found it impossible not to deepen each subsequent kiss, determined to show her how much he cared for her.

How much he wanted her.

Ellana softly moaned when Solas swept his tongue between her lips. Her shudder ringing in his ears like a warm song. Her fingers wandered down his shoulders and lower back, a light pressure that tickled his skin.

Gradually, the kisses grew more hungry and reckless. Solas worried that he had gone too far when his hands gripped the roundness of her ass in a way that was not appropriate for a first date. Nor, perhaps the third.

"We shouldn't. Not here." He gently cautioned, drawing carefully back to look at Ellana.

"What do you mean even here?"

"Where do you think we are?" Solas teased.

"This isn't real?" Ellana searched, glancing around nervously. It appeared to Solas it was the first time she realized that she might be dreaming.

"That is a matter of debate. Probably best discussed after you wake up."