- Chapter Two -
Headway
"Forgive me," Solas said, "but I do not believe we are acquainted."
Brianna grinned sheepishly and ducked her head. "Right, sorry. You don't know me. You wouldn't." She was having a hard time thinking straight.
"And yet you seem to be familiar with who I am."
"It's complicated. I know about you, but I've never actually been here before. Well, I've seen this place plenty of times, but haven't been here in person." She caught the amused expression on his face and looked away, willing the heat in her cheeks to subside.
"Forgive me," he said. "You are attempting to explain something complex, but I assure you that I understand the unbelievable better than most."
She scooted closer to the fireplace. "Actually, I was kind of counting on that. I know you know a lot about the Fade and magic, so it made sense to find you. Anyone else would think I'm crazy. I mean, you might think I'm crazy, but it's less likely. I think." She was rambling again. Shut up. Stop. Talking.
"It would be helpful if I had more information."
Brianna hummed and paced. Solas silently followed her movements with his eyes. She tried to ignore him, but her thoughts were a hopeless tangle of uncertainties and a thousand questions. Her family would be wondering where she was. They needed her. She had to go back.
"You are distressed."
"I'm trying to find a way to get home and I have no idea where to start." She laughed shortly. "On a normal day, I'd pay to get here."
"Considering the recent appearance of the Breach, not many would share your sentiments." Solas turned his desk chair and sat, facing her.
She shot him a glance. "Sure. Get comfortable over there."
"So says the strangely dressed individual that let herself into my cabin."
"Point taken. I just don't know how to explain it. Coming up with a story would be so much easier."
"As is often the case when the truth is difficult to hear or understand. At least now I am fairly certain you were not awaiting my arrival with murderous intent."
She whirled to face him. "Of course not! I couldn't pull that off even if I wanted to."
"So you considered it?" He lifted a brow.
I can't. I'm sorry…
His voice drifted through her memory and she averted her gaze. I'm in so much trouble…
"If you have seen this place before, but have not been here in person, is it possible you are from the Fade or had any experience traveling through it?" he asked. "You do not appear to be a spirit."
She relaxed when she caught the tinge of curiosity in his voice. "I know what the Fade is, but I'm definitely just a person. Honestly, I don't know why I ended up here."
"You could begin with your name, seeing as you already know mine," Solas offered.
"Oh, sorry. Brianna. It's Brianna."
"A pleasure to meet you, Brianna."
The way he says my name... Wow.
"Are you here for the Inquisition?"
"Maybe? I didn't mean to come to Thedas. But I just fell here." For a moment, she considered mentioning the Eluvian, but decided against it.
"Your phrasing is curious," he said, studying her. "You are not from Thedas originally?"
"I'm from a different world than this one. My family is there and I have to get back to them. I'm not sure if I can, but I think you're my best bet."
"So you decided to seek me out because you know of me."
"To be honest, you seemed the least likely to kick me out because of an unlikely origin story."
"And why is that?"
"Because you're the Dread Wolf."
Silence snapped between them and Solas's eyes darkened.
Okay, why did I just blurt it out like that?
Solas crossed the room in three long strides, grabbed her, and shoved her against the wall. "Who are you?" he growled. He towered over her, his grip tightening. "How do you know?"
"I told you, I already know all about you." She lifted her chin, hoping to appear more confident than she felt. "I know what you are and what you've done, but I'm here to help."
Solas lowered his face within inches of her own. Tense and silent, he studied her intently, as though searching her soul for hidden intentions.
Peeking up at him, she knew she should've been afraid, should've feared for her life. He was an Elven god after all. She saw the lethal power in his shoulders and in the lean muscle of his forearms. But she remembered all the times her Inquisitor had romanced him, and just couldn't conjure the fear he attempted to induce.
His breath was warm on her face, drawing her attention to the golden freckles sprinkled across the bridge of his nose. Well, that's really not intimidating… Giddy at the proximity, she flashed him a grin. "I'm sorry, but you're really not that scary, especially since I know you're just a big, six-eyed puppy on the inside. I like your freckles."
Solas pushed away from the wall with a deep scowl. He paced, prowling across the floor like a caged animal.
Knowing his dark secret up front somehow made him seem less intimidating. But maybe she had spoken too quickly. I guess he has at least one person who knows who he is now, she thought. With a gusty sigh, she plopped down on his bed and crossed her legs. "So… Fen'harel. You gonna kill me now or what?"
He braced his arms on the mantle, eyes closed. "You look entirely too comfortable for someone who knows so much," he said, without giving any indication he had seen her.
Her eyes followed the curve of his back and she coughed, gaze skittering away. "Well, you look entirely too stressed about all your bad life choices. You really should accept the decisions you've made and move on."
"Wise advice from one so young."
Brianna snorted. "My soul is as old as yours."
He looked at her then, as if she were some kind of puzzle. "Tell me what you know."
Brianna gave him the condensed version of what she knew about Corypheus and the orb.
After, Solas held his head in his hands. "Impossible. He should not have survived. I intended for the explosion to destroy him completely."
"Technically, you're not supposed to hand over your most valuable possession to your enemy, just because you haven't found a way to unlock it yourself," she pointed out.
He gave her a look. "Much of my strength was depleted after I awoke from uthenera, but I knew I needed to free the Evanuris. They are my kin and what I did to them was unforgivable. I saw what had become of the elven people. The fault is mine and I knew I had to reverse what had been done. There was no other way."
"That's what they all say."
"Are you saying there is another way to unlock my orb? Is that something you have seen in the Fade?"
"It doesn't work like that," she said, wilting a little at his frustration. "I only know what happens in this timeline. Corypheus keeps your orb, and after the last fight with him, that's when you... "
Solas looked at her from across the room. "What do I do?"
She picked at the thread on her sleeve and whispered, "You leave."
"I leave Haven?"
"No… The Inquisitor! The Inquisition! Everything! You just ride off into the sunset by yourself because leaving is what you do. Just like Crestwood."
"Crestwood?"
"Nevermind." Her head dropped into her hands. "This is way harder than I thought it would be," she mumbled.
"Perhaps I left because I had accomplished my purpose. If the Breach is sealed, then you know that this is why I joined the Inquisition; to study the Herald's mark and learn how she and my orb were connected. What more could there be?"
"Everything…"Brianna groaned into her hands.
I wish it could, vhenan.
She was almost surprised when tears pricked her eyes. He hasn't left yet and I'm already a snotting mess. When she looked up, Solas was studying her gravely.
"Is there no way I can reclaim my orb from Corypheus?"
What could she say? He didn't know how much the Inquisition needed him. Guilt twisted her gut, and she averted her gaze. "I don't know…"
She yearned to reach for him. Take his hand. But she was no one. She was nothing to him, except a bringer of bad news. She could never be his reason to stay.
The fate of his orb weighed on her conscience. In the end, there was nothing for him here except the loss of the one thing that could restore his people. Her heart throbbed, and she clenched her hands in her lap.
Finally, Solas's eyes settled on her face and he must have seen something there that made him pause. "There must be a way to recover the orb. Do you believe this to be in the realm of possibility?"
"I don't know. Maybe? Changing the future may be possible, but it's not always a good thing."
"My orb is the culmination of years of effort beyond anything you could understand," he said darkly. "And now it is in the hands of a corrupted Magister. Wouldn't you do anything in your power to stop tragedy before it happened? This is not what I intended when I set in motion events that would change everything for the elven people, even to their very existence. They are mere shells of what they once were, completely unaware of the truth of their own history." He shook his head. "Corypheus must not be allowed to retain control of the orb."
"I know you're upset, but I'm not sure there's anything you can really do. My telling you this has probably already changed something." She pressed away the weight that lodged in her chest. "And I know what you're doing for the elves. You want to restore what was lost and right the wrongs of the past. I get that. The Elvhen were fighting so you locked them away and created the Veil. But it separated them from the Fade's magic, and they lost their immortality. I can't imagine how it must've felt to wake up centuries later and realize what happened. And that you caused it. So you can call me anything, just not ignorant."
Solas hesitated, then said, "I have not met anyone, much less a mortal human, who could begin to understand what happened. It has been… an isolated existence, to put it mildly."
"A lot of people see you as a villain, but I think you're just a person who was faced with a really hard choice. You made the best decision you could."
"The result was so far removed from what I anticipated. It should not have happened."
"I'm sorry. I really am. I don't know exactly what will happen in the future, but I want to help if you think it'll do any good."
He studied her with an inscrutable look. "It has been some time since I've discussed my history with anyone. I appreciate the effort you've made to assist me so far, and I would be pleased to see our partnership continue. In return, I would like to help you find a way to return to your world. I would not have believed such a phenomenon to be possible, and yet here you are. I would be more than willing to do some research on the subject."
"Partnership, huh? Thanks." She smiled, eyelids drooping. "I don't think you're going to find anything about interdimensional travel in the Fade, but you're certainly welcome to try." Slouching against the wall, she let out a long sigh. "I don't know what else to do. See it to the end? What if it doesn't end? As you can see, I have no idea."
"When you say 'the end,' to what are you referring?"
She blinked. "The Inquisition wins, but that's as far as the story goes where I come from. Maybe it would be the end of my time here, too. But I don't know."
Solas hesitated before standing and moving across the room. "It is late and I have kept you awake long enough. Either way, we will be unable to resolve these difficulties in one night." He removed his green wool vest from a peg on the wall and approached her. She stood and turned, allowing him to slip it over her shoulders. "I believe Minaeve has an available cot in her cabin," he said. "Several others bunk there, but I'm confident she wouldn't mind a guest." As Brianna turned to face him, he looked her over. "I may not have the answers you're looking for, but you have my assistance as long as you need it."
"Thank you. I'm just glad I don't have to do this on my own. For now, I want to help you. And hopefully, someday, I'll figure out a way to get home."
He opened the door for her, following her out into the night. Snow swirled around them. "If you inform the Herald of your circumstances, I believe she would be willing to assist you, and a place would most certainly be made for you."
Staying with the Inquisition? Telling them how she got here? Even if travel through the eluvian was limited to one direction, if anyone found it… It was too dangerous. The finality of that realization settled in her gut.
Solas walked with her across to Minaeve's cabin and rapped on the door. A few moments later, it squeaked open and a sleepy face squinted back at them, framed by tousled brown hair and pointed ears. "Solas…?"
"Mineave, this is Brianna." He paused. "An acquaintance of mine. She is visiting Haven for a time. Would you be able to put her up temporarily?"
Minaeve eyed Brianna's clothing quizzically. "Of course," she said, stepping back. "She will be taken care of."
"Thank you," Brianna murmured, shrinking under the elf's scrutiny. As Minaeve disappeared back into the cabin, Brianna turned to face Solas, who lingered just outside the door. Bits of snow clung to his tunic, his jawbone necklace resting against his chest. Her heart ached. She would not put her family at risk. Not when she didn't know the stakes. And now he was all she had, and he didn't even know her. The unknown shivered and snarled somewhere in the dark above their heads. Solas was the most familiar thing in this world, and she yearned for him to stay. "See you tomorrow?"
He nodded. "I believe we still have much to discuss. I can arrange an introduction to the Herald for you in the morning."
When he was gone, Brianna closed the door and easily found her cot against the wall. She slipped under the covers, curling into Solas's vest. As she pressed the collar to her nose, she inhaled the scent of earth and parchment that was uniquely him. What am I doing? In the game, he only ever has feelings for an elf. He wouldn't look twice at me. Good job, me. Letting him break my heart already. Tears rose unbidden in her eyes as the soft sounds of her slumbering bunkmates lulled her into a restless sleep.
