The Empress' castle was beyond anything that Talyn had ever seen. It's tall towers reached into the sky, curving into elegant points that stabbed the clouds threatening to cover the moon. In the courtyard there was an enormous fountain shooting water into the air and creating a fine mist as it splashed back into the pool of water, reminding Talyn of a waterfall.
Talyn recognized some of the Orlesian nobles from Alexius' sentencing as she climbed out of the carriage. At least, she recognized the ridiculous masks they all wore. Josephine explained to her that it was part of the Game, the ridiculous name that Orlesian's called their politics. They were all slightly different, and yet completely the same. A slight change of color around the eyes, or the jewels or feathers embedded into the masks was all the difference you could make out between the sea of masks.
Talyn was the only one wearing a dress. The council, Solas, and Cole all wore the same red and blue uniform that showed their ties to the Inquisition. Honestly Talyn would have felt much more comfortable in the red shirt and blue pants they all got to wear.
Although, she couldn't deny that her dress was beautiful. It clung to her curves, the long sleeves accentuating the lean muscles underneath it. There was a slit up the side of the dress that went almost to her hip, revealing the azure swirls that were branded into her skin. The material was black and virtually see through, except for the dark lace that was tastefully placed along the sleeves, chest, and hips of the dress.
She definitely stood out, and it made her uncomfortable. However, she was eternally grateful to Josephine that she hadn't put her in one of the poofy monstrosities the other women were wearing. At least she could move comfortably. She didn't understand how the others could breathe, with their corsets so tight they looked like they were trying to fit into a child's dress.
She couldn't help her smile whenever she saw Solas staring at her in it, his eyes glued to her.
Their conversation last night had made Talyn feel more like herself again. And now that she knew that Solas felt the same way she did, she felt light as a feather. It was difficult to keep her mind focused on the task at hand, when all she wanted to do in this moment was be alone with the elf man. She had to keep reminding herself that the fate of the world was much more important than her love life.
Duke Gaspard's mask was just pure gold. Simple, yet efficient. He was waiting in front of the fountain for her, and upon her arrival stepped forward to the door of the carriage. He held his gloved hand out to her with a smile on his face.
Talyn accepted his hand and let him help her out of the carriage.
"Inquisitor Talyn, it is an honor to meet you at last." The Duke greeted her with a thick Orlesian accent.
Talyn's sensitive ears picked up on all of the muffled gasps and shocked, angry whispers upon the duke's greeting.
"That's the Inquisitor?! An elf savage?!"
"Look at those tattoos, she's nothing but an animal!"
"What is she doing here?!"
"What on earth is she wearing? Is that what savages think is fashion?"
Talyn was glad that her pale hair was down, and that it was dark outside. She could feel her ears burning with embarrassment. But she held her head high and pushed through it. This was exactly how the Chantry had reacted when the people proclaimed her to be Andrasate's Herald. She had already been through this, and she could do it again. She could handle their hatred as many times as she would have to, if it meant that she could stand over Corypheus' corpse.
She smiled politely at the Duke. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you as well, Duke Gaspard."
"I must say you are the most stunning creature I have laid eyes on. The stories have nothing on the real Herald of Andraste."
Talyn laughed. "I'm flattered by your kind words."
"It begs the question if the rumors are true, that you truly battled an army of demons."
"I promise, the stories are true."
Duke Gaspard laughed. "Oh, that is wonderful. If you did that, imagine what the Inquisition could accomplish with the full support of the rightful Emperor of Orlais?"
Talyn just kept smiling politely. "I can see many benefits to such an alliance."
If he didn't stop looking at her like that, Talyn was going to slit his throat. She turned to look at Solas. He was standing behind her with the council, his eyes still on her. He gave her a discreet, encouraging smile.
"Keep the image firmly in mind. We may see it materialize by the end of the evening. I am not a man who forgets his friends, Inquisitor. You help me, and I'll help you."
His words were suspicious. Did he plan on murdering the Empress tonight? Talyn couldn't see the Duke in league with Corypheus, but it was clear that his greed knew no bounds, even with his family. Talyn couldn't take anything without a grain of salt tonight.
He changed the subject, stopping right at the steps that led up to the doors of the castle, with a playful smile on his face. "Are you prepared to shock the assembly as a guest of a hateful usurper, My Lady?"
Talyn grinned. "Are you prepared to be seen with the "savage" Inquisitor?"
Gaspard laughed again. "We are quite a pair, aren't we?"
Talyn smiled and linked their arms. "This is going to be a party that will be remembered a millenia from now."
As they walked up the steps, Gaspard whispered in her ear, "whatever reason you are here for Inquisitor, I advise you be as discreet as possible. I detest the Game, but if we do not play it well our enemies will make us the villains."
Oh, yes. Gaspard definitely detested Orlesian politics. That was why he was trying to gain Talyn's support for his right to the throne two minutes ago. Absolutely.
But she just reminded herself to smile.
Gaspard led her into the ballroom.
Talyn spotted the Empress standing at the balcony overlooking the dance floor, her hands resting on the ivory rail. There was a woman by her side, one with the same blond hair as her. Talyn guessed that the woman was related to her in some way.
Everything was so… shiny. It slightly hurt Talyn's eyes to look at all of the gold decorating the walls. She kept her eyes forward to avoid them watering. She descended the step onto the main floor, and waited for it to be her turn to be introduce.
"Introducing the Grand Duke Gaspard de Chalone." The servant up above read from a parchment.
The duke bowed, and then started to walk the length of the floor.
"And accompanying him, Lady Inquisitor Talyn."
There were more shocked gasps and whispers as Talyn bowed and followed Gaspard.
She heard him chuckle softly and say under his breath, "did you see their faces? Priceless."
As she walked, the servant said, "Herald of Andraste, Leasher of the Rebel Mages, and Vanquisher of Dragons."
That bothered her. No one actually knew if Talyn had killed the dragon, it had just been knocked out of the sky for a reason she couldn't explain. And she didn't like being called "Leasher of the Rebel Mages". She had to remind herself that shems were afraid and cruel towards the things they didn't understand, and that going into a fit of rage in the middle of their mission would mean the end of the world.
The servant introduced Talyn's companions as well. Cassandra's name was rather impressive. Talyn counted at least seven middle names.
"And Solas, the Inquistor's elven serving man."
That made Talyn's blood boil. She had to breathe in deeply in and out of her nose to keep the smile on her face, although her hands twitched with rage. She could feel them burning, although thankfully those strange fires on her palms hadn't appeared.
Solas was the wisest, most powerful mage she knew. And he was lessened to that of her servant.
"Cousin, sister." Gaspard greeted them unceremoniously.
Empress Celine was the epitome of grace when she replied, "my dear Duke, we are always honored when your presence graces our court."
She could see Gaspard roll his eyes. "Don't waste my time with pleasantries Celine, we have business to conclude."
Celine's smile was cold. If Talyn could see her eyes, they probably would have been cold as well. No matter what facade she put on, the hatred for her cousin would always be apparent.
"We will meet for the negotiations after we tend to our guests, dear cousin."
Gaspard turned and climbed the stairs to the upper level of the ball room without another word.
"Lady Inquisitor," the Empress turned to Talyn with an exceptionally warmer smile on her face, "your arrival is like a cool breeze on a summer day."
Talyn bowed. "Let us hope that the weather doesn't turn foul."
She was hoping that Celine would understand the warning in her words, that there was a threat in her court on this night. But whether the Empress truly knew the meaning behind her words, the woman didn't show any understanding.
"How are you enjoying your stay in Halamshiral, Inquisitor?"
"It is beyond anything I could have imagined, Your Grace."
"The Inquisition?" The woman by her side, Gaspard's sister, spoke up in surprise. "I had no idea the Inquisition would be joining our festivities tonight. We will have to speak later on, Lady Inquisitor."
Talyn smiled. "I look forward to it."
She bowed once more and exited the main floor.
The ballroom was gradually becoming more crowded, as the people from outside ventured in to greet their Empress and enjoy the food and drink. Soon, after all the greetings were over with, people started to dance, their glittering dresses and jewels reminded Talyn of something, an image that was right at the surface of her mind, but not close enough to grasp. Something from her past.
Unable to recall the image, Talyn made her way to the refreshments.
"You look lovely, Inquisitor." Cullen was leaning the buffet table, drinking wine like it was water.
Talyn smiled at you. "Josephine chose well, didn't she?"
"Every set of eyes has been on you since we arrived. I would also say that she made an excellent choice." He smiled back at her.
Talyn leaned over to grab a glass. "Is everyone prepared?" She said under her breath.
"Yes. We await your orders." He responded in a whisper.
A small group of excited whispers drew Talyn's attention. She looked over and saw four young women standing close to each other, the bottom half of their faces, where their masks weren't covering them, were red. They kept turning to each other and looking over at the two of them.
Talyn looked back at Cullen, who met her eyes and coughed uncomfortably.
"It looks like you have a fan club." Talyn teased him.
Cullen blushed, and gulped down his wine.
Then he said with dread in his voice, "I think one of them is going to ask me to dance."
Talyn had never seen this side of Cullen before. She had no idea that he was so shy.
Talyn set her glass down. "Well, they're going to have to wait. Your Inquisitor demands a dance."
She reached out a sapphire tattooed hand to him, and he stared at it.
"Inquisitor, don't you think that would be… inappropriate?" He asked her in a low voice.
Talyn rolled her eyes. "What is even more inappropriate is you rejecting the Inquisitor. Of the Inquisition." She leaned in and whispered, "your Inquisition."
Cullen took her hand with a look of relief on his face, which made Talyn laugh.
They joined the crowd of jewels and twirled with the rest of them. Talyn was rather proud of herself that she hadn't stepped on Cullen's foot once. But she could feel the eyes of everyone on her, watching every move that she made. Her abnormal hearing could pick up a few whispers about her, none of them pleasant. Talyn was finally beginning to understand what Josephine warned her about The Game.
"Thank you, Inquisitor." Cullen whispered in her ear.
Talyn laughed, and responded, "I was just trying to help you get away from those women, but I'm afraid I got you even more attention."
He smiled. "Well, if it's any consolation, you dance pretty well for a-"
"Elf savage?" Talyn laughed again, bitterness sneaking its way in there. "I do, don't I? Solas is a good teacher."
Cullen didn't say anything at first. He just stared at her with an unreadable look on his face. And then his eyes went around the room. And then, he leaned in close, and said softly, "I see no elf savage here, Inquisitor. All I see is the most beautiful woman in Thedas. And all of the people around her are green with envy because she shines brighter than Andraste herself."
Talyn was speechless. Before she could stammer out a reply, the song was over. Cullen bowed, and walked away.
For the love of Sylaise, where had that come from?
Talyn went up the stairs, where Leiliana met her, giving her no time to contemplate what just happened.
"Inquisitor, we need to talk." She said to her.
Talyn followed Leiliana out of the ballroom, into a room where there were less people. She weaved through the golden couches to the one on the farthest side of the room. They both sat down. It was only when they were seated that Talyn saw something dark glistening on one of Leiliana's boots.
"Leiliana, is that… blood?" Talyn whispered.
She nodded solemnly. "I was searching for suspects when I heard two servants speaking of blood in the Grand Library. When I went to investigate, I followed a blood trail that led me to a corpse in a storage closet."
"Do you know who it was?"
Leiliana shook her head. "He looked like a mercenary. There was a crumpled piece of parchment in his hand, with the words 'servants quarters' written on them. I cannot go look myself, I'm certain someone saw me find the body. I didn't see anyone, but I felt their eyes."
"And now you're on their watch list, whoever "they" are." Talyn sighed. "Alright, go find Solas. Tell him to meet me by the servant's quarters."
"You should bring Cassandra or Cullen with you as well." Leiliana cautioned.
"No, they'll attract too much attention." It would be a miracle if no one paid attention to Talyn slipping away from the party. "They all think Solas is just a servant, he won't matter to them."
"Then I will look for Cole too. He's good at being invisible. "
He was indeed. Talyn hadn't seen him once this entire time. She hoped Leiliana would be able to find him.
Leiliana left first, and Talyn stayed on the couch, reaching over to grab a glass of champagne from one of the serving elf's trays. She finished her own glass before standing up and also making her way out of the room.
Before she could go back into the ballroom, a tall, dark haired woman stepped in front of her. Her golden eyes glittered dangerously with magic, the neckline of her burgundy dress dove to her belly button, leaving very little to the imagination. She was beautiful, in a dark, seductive sort of way. She was smirking at Talyn.
"Your little spies have been scouring every dark corner of this palace, Inquisitor." She said to her.
Talyn raised an eyebrow. "I have no idea what you're talking about." She said to the woman politely.
She laughed at her. "Of course you don't. I was hoping that we could be hunting the same prey, but perhaps I was wrong."
The woman turned away, and Talyn grabbed her arm.
"Wait." Talyn said. "Maybe we are."
The woman smirked again. "I am Morrigan, the Empress' court adviser on the occult."
"And who are you looking for?"
"A snake in disguise." Was her response.
Talyn nodded. "The Empress is in danger."
"Yes, she is. And as I cannot leave her side for that reason alone, I thought that you might be interested in this."
Morrigan held Talyn's hand, and placed something in her palm. Talyn closed her hand around it.
"Now, go do what you're good at, Inquisitor." Morrigan winked, and then walked away.
Talyn looked down at what the woman had given her. It was a key.