- Chapter Eleven -

Lasting Impression

"Solas has been asking about you. It's getting old."

Brianna tilted her head back against the stone wall. "I find that hard to believe."

"Not sure why." Neirah lowered herself onto Brianna's bed, jostling her. "You two used to be inseparable. Now you're just holed up in here all the time."

"He asked about me?"

"Of course he did, Peewee. He cares about you almost as much as I do." She shot Brianna a wry smile. "Don't give me that look. You did enough moping back in Haven. You've proved yourself ten times over by saving my ass in the Frostbacks."

Brianna squinted against the sunlight that shone through her narrow bedroom window. After their arrival at Skyhold, Neirah had given her a bedroom on the upper floor, and Brianna had immediately closed herself within, curling up on the dusty bed and not moving until the next day. "It's not enough."

"It won't be if that's what you keep telling yourself. You didn't even come to the celebration."

"I'm sorry, I should've. It was just… too many people."

"At this point, you know how much I hate people, too. I wasn't expecting to be named 'Inquisitor,' of all things. My first thought was how wrong it was. But I knew there was a reason they chose me, beyond the obvious fact that I'm the only one that can close the damn rifts." She hesitated. "All I'm saying is that it would've been nice to see you there."

Brianna lowered her head, hands fidgeting in her lap. Neirah slouched against the wall beside her, arms crossed, slivers of sunlight highlighting her grey skin. She had grown so much, become someone the world could look to for guidance and protection. But Neirah also depended on her, and that knowledge weighed heavy on her. Too much was at stake. She knew she needed to tell her eventually, what she had decided, but the words lodged in her throat. "I'm sorry, I should've been there. It was too much. I'm sorry."

"Maybe we're more alike than I thought at first," Neirah said. "I used to hide, too, but that didn't solve any of my problems. It just made it worse. Whether or not you believe it, we want you around. I'm not entirely sure where you came from, but you make a difference every time you walk into a room. I don't know what I'd do without you, and I mean it."

She bit her trembling lip. "I miss my mom," she whispered.

"Are you crying?"

Brianna pressed her cheek against her shoulder. "It hurts," she whispered. "It won't go away. I don't know how to make it go away…" Her shoulders shook, and all the trying in the world couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks.

Neirah wrapped one arm awkwardly around her shoulders, patting Brianna's head with her other hand. "I think you needed this. You can cry it out if you need to. I love you, Peewee. Snot and all."

"Sorry," Brianna mumbled, wiping her nose with the back of her sleeve.

"Let me get you somebody who's better at this than I am," Neirah said, a satisfied smirk on her face. "Come in!"

Horrified, Brianna stared as the door swung inward, revealing Solas standing just outside. Their gazes collided, and she ducked to hide her tears, but not before she caught the deep concern etched across his features.

"Well, I'll leave you to it, then."

"What makes you think he's better at helping me than you are?" Brianna gave her a pleading look.

Neirah only winked before disappearing out the door, leaving Brianna and Solas alone.

Brianna hugged her knees to her chest, looking everywhere except at him. Solas cleared his throat, and she risked a peek. He stood in the middle of the room, looking everywhere… except at her. Is he… nervous? She let out a slow breath and tapped the bed next to her. "Sit?"

Solas lowered himself onto the thin mattress, his back ramrod straight.

Her heart melted a little at the look of utter confusion on his face. She tipped her head forward to get a better view of his face, a small smile on her lips. "Hi."

"The Inquisitor asked that I help you, but it was unclear exactly what she had in mind."

Brianna took his hand. With an unreadable expression, he glanced down at her fingers wrapped around his. "Share something with me. Something that interests you."

He hesitated briefly before wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He leaned back against the wall, some of the tension leaving him. With a gentle tug, he pulled her gently towards him so that her head rested in his lap.

Her skin warmed every place he touched her. Maybe it was her imagination, her girlish fantasies out of control, that made her read too much into the littlest things. She held her breath as she laid against him, her cheek against his thigh. She almost asked what he was doing, but his fingers brushed deftly through her hair, eliciting a soft sound from her.

"There's someone who wants to meet you," he murmured.

She felt herself relax as his fingers trailed cool magic across her temple, drawing her down into the tranquil folds of sleep.

Her eyes opened to a windswept hill, dotted with towering, moss-covered boulders. Grassy plains stretched in every direction, sprinkled with copses of trees and lined with rocky creeks.

"Lethallin, you've come at last!" a lilting voice exclaimed. "And you brought her!" A wispy elven figure stood beside Solas, dark hair curling under her ears, eyes shining with a lambent glow. "I am Wisdom." Her ethereal features formed a smile. "From what Fen has told me, I owe you a great debt. I felt the call of the mages from the Exalted Plains, but because of your warning, I escaped a terrible fate. Since then, I have been asking that we be introduced, but he always said he was too busy." Wisdom gave Solas an incomprehensible look that could have been a raised eyebrow.

He didn't reply, but Brianna caught the tilt of his lips.

Wisdom placed a hand over her chest and held it out to Brianna. "You have my eternal gratitude, da'len."

Solas's attention was focused on Brianna, devoid of his usual guardedness. Without turning to the spirit, he said, "I am in Brianna's debt as well. Her foresight enabled us to avoid certain tragedy, and for that, I am grateful."

Wisdom glanced between them and the most beautiful giggle escaped her. "I see why you like her. She has a beautiful spirit."

Brianna stared at Solas. From his cheeks to the tips of his ears, his pale skin was stained a bright pink. "I think you've made him self-conscious." She immediately closed her mouth as her own voice wobbled.

With another bell-like laugh, Wisdom floated towards the crest of the hill. "It's good for him."

Falling into step beside Solas, Brianna stared at the ground, occasionally glancing at his feet. "Wisdom was the one who wanted to meet me?" she asked.

At the top of the hill, Wisdom turned. "I have been asking him to introduce us for a while. But I'm not the one he meant."

It was then that an enormous, reptilian form appeared out of the clouds, great wings beating the air as it landed on the hilltop before them. The red dragon stared at them, smoke curling from its mouth, before it transformed with a swirl of mist into a tall, white-haired woman. Wrinkles lined her sharp, amber eyes, and she gripped a staff in one hand, head high. The air itself seemed to shift around her as she said, "I am."

Brianna blinked as the imposing figure strode toward her, but kept her chin up. If Mythal herself was here…

"Now that the three of you have finished chatting, we can get down to business." Her bright eyes locked on Brianna. "Of course I know who you are, girl. But what interests me is that you already know who I am."

"Flemeth and Mythal."

With an amused smile, the woman said to Solas, "Where did you find this one, hm? She already knows what you are, what you've done, and what you plan to do. And yet she stays."

"I want to help him."

"Curious indeed. Why?"

"I didn't want him to be alone."

"You knew what it was to be without that unique connection to another person."

"I wasn't really alone. I had my family."

"And yet there was emptiness just the same. You may be right for him, but whether he is right for you is another matter entirely. You know his plans for this world. What makes you think a mortal could make any kind of difference in the vast plans of those who walk the immortal planes?"

"Flemeth and Mythal needed each other, didn't they?"

She regarded Brianna carefully. "Are you suggesting a similar arrangement be made?"

"No… But you of all people should understand that even gods shouldn't be completely alone. I may not be one of you, but that doesn't make my heart or my love worth any less."

Her arched brows lifted. "So you have spirit as well. When I saw you, I knew you would do this old world some good. It would seem I was correct."

"I want to help, but…" She dropped her gaze. "I can't use my knowledge of the future anymore. I just can't."

"Even more surprises. The loss of the templar was tragic, but such is the cost this life demands of us."

"I didn't want him to die. How did I even survive Therinfal? I should've been dead." Her hands fisted at her sides. "It should've been me."

"You lived so that you could go on to save Wisdom, the Inquisitor, and many others in ways you may never see. As unlikely as it may seem, you have a purpose here, and I don't believe it has fully come to fruition yet. You must be the one to discover where your path lies."

"Why did you of all people want to meet me?"

She laughed, loud and long. "Who wouldn't want to meet a girl from another world who knows what will happen in Thedas's future? Particularly one who attracted the attention of another of the Evanuris. You must be something quite spectacular indeed."

Brianna's cheeks flushed hot.

"Whether or not you continue to use your knowledge to aid the Inquisition, that is your decision, and one only you can make."

"I know the Inquisition wins in the end, but if I change things, I have no idea what the long-term consequences would be. I can't risk that."

"From what I've seen, I doubt the Inquisitor would disown you for such a choice. She still needs you. You were never seen by her as a means to an end. But keep a wary eye, young one. So much has changed with your appearance in this world, even beyond what you might have imagined possible. Do yourself a favor, and don't underestimate the influence you possess. You have already given the Inquisition a future by saving their leader. You are making history, Brianna, and will continue to do so in many more unexpected ways, I'm sure. Rest assured, I will be watching your journey unfold with great interest."

A dark mist swirled around the woman, returning her to her dragon form. It's eyes flashed as it met Brianna's stare, rising into the air with a beat of its great wings. It circled above them once before disappearing into the distance. She turned to Wisdom and Solas, eyes wide. "Did you see that…? Mythal?!"

Wisdom nodded sagely, her face wreathed in a knowing smile.

Solas was looking at her with something akin to pride. "It is only natural that someone as unique as yourself would attract a certain amount of attention from some of the more reclusive individuals in Thedas."

"Do you think she liked me? Do you think she would be okay with me not telling the future anymore?"

Solas's eyes danced with amusement. "I believe she admires you for what you have accomplished so far. There are often tales of people who can see the future, but few of those rumors are based in any kind of truth. You are a different story entirely. But she was correct. It is ultimately your decision to make, and no one should feel they have the right to sway you one way or the other. I believe you can continue to make an impact on the Inquisition, whichever you choose."