Thank you all for reading! Special thanks to suilven for her thorough and speedy betaing!
The Inquisition party assembled at a mansion near the palace. It was owned by a friend of Josephine's, who had been quietly persuaded to lend it to the Inquisition for the occasion. Leliana had been of two minds about staying off of the palace grounds. On the one hand, it lent them more privacy. On the other, it kept them necessarily separated from the other guests and limited the amount of mingling they could do.
Naturally, she already had quite a few operatives working at the palace, and Sera, who had come along for the journey, had slipped out as soon as they arrived to send messages to some of her "friends". While the elf's methods were entirely different from her own, Leliana couldn't help appreciating the ingenuity of the plan—multiple fail-safes, no one ever knew who the other friends were, and organizing those who were all too easily overlooked and had reason to want to get back at those who did the overlooking was a clever idea.
She wanted more hooks, however. The Game required as much information as possible. And while the Inquisitor was well-trained in sneaking, and had a natural charm that would serve him well, he would be walking into the Winter Palace already at a disadvantage because he was a dwarf, and the Orlesian nobility were in a communal state of disbelief that Andraste's Herald could possibly be a dwarf. Additionally, Thule had never been trained in the Game, or in the intrigues of nobility outside Orlais to begin with. Leliana and Josephine had worked with him as much as they could, given the limitations of time and the numerous other responsibilities the Inquisitor bore, but he would need all the help he could get.
Leliana had hopes that Alistair would prove to be a distraction. She wasn't sure if he knew that he had been brought along to act as a shiny irritant for Celene—and that the same applied to the former Champion of Kirkwall, and to a lesser extent to Cassandra, with her Pentaghast lineage, and to Vivienne … although the mage no doubt had agendas of her own, which Leliana would have to anticipate and work around.
The challenges of the days to come had her blood humming in excitement. This was the arena in which she had first whet her blade, and she was ready to test her mettle against it once more.
It was with that excitement thrumming in the back of her mind that she knocked on a door to set the last piece of her plan in motion. "One moment," called the voice on the other side. She couldn't hear his steps, and so it seemed that the door opened of its own accord. Nathaniel Howe stood looking down at her, a towel draped over his shoulders and a faint trace of shaving soap still remaining on his cheek. "Sister Leliana," he said in surprise.
"Just Leliana will do." She pushed past him into the room. "I wish to speak with you."
"So I gather." He closed the door behind him, leaning against it and crossing his arms on his chest. "What can I do for you?"
"As the representative of the Grey Wardens, you will be much sought after." She eyed his long legs and muscular arms. "Between your mystique and your physique, I imagine you will be quite the hit."
"I would say thank you, but I suspect that was less a compliment and more a lead-in to an unpleasant task."
Leliana smiled. "It's possible you will not find it unpleasant, depending on your point of view."
"And what point of view am I to espouse? I'm sure I needn't point out to you that the Grey Wardens' alliance with the Inquisition marks me as one of your party, even if half of Orlais hadn't observed me arriving with you."
"Naturally," Leliana agreed. "But that doesn't mean you have to be happy about it. I merely suggest that you let it be known—discreetly, of course—that you are unhappy with the Inquisition, that you wish the Grey Wardens could be free of it."
"You think that will convince people to speak more freely? I think it will only make them distrust me."
"Perhaps. But it is best if you seem unwilling to be connected with the rest of us. Aloof."
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth and lit his eyes. "Aloof I can manage."
"I am certain you can," Leliana agreed, "or I would not be asking it of you."
"I suppose that means a dance is out of the question."
"You suppose correctly. We are not here to enjoy ourselves, Warden."
"Please, Nathaniel will do." A spasm of pain crossed his face, his eyes darkening. "I believe I need to earn back the other title."
"No. You needn't. Wardens make mistakes; trust me, I know that as well as anyone." She saw Leyden's blue eyes again, heard her former lover's emphatic denial of the offer that would have saved her life, and the cool drawl of the woman she had tried so hard to forget. Of all the things that might occur at this ball, the near-inevitability that she would run into Morrigan was the one Leliana dreaded the most.
Nathaniel was looking at her closely, his keen dark eyes seeing too much, Leliana feared suddenly.
"So you will do it?" she asked, her voice deliberately brisk.
"As you ask." He gave her a courtly bow that had only the faintest hint of mockery—but whether he was mocking her, himself, or the situation, she could not have said.
Alistair found Thule in the parlor, pacing back and forth in front of the ornate fireplace, while Josephine and Cullen gave the Inquisitor a reminder of what faced them. Taking a seat, Alistair decided to listen, as well, since Teagan's last briefing on the state of affairs in Orlais had been so filled with venom Alistair had had a difficult time discerning what was the truth, what an exaggeration, and what an outright lie.
"Do not forget that the purpose behind the ball is the peace talks between Celene and Grand Duke Gaspard, with an eye to ending the civil war between them," Josephine was saying.
"That seems like an odd reason for a party; wouldn't it be safer to carry on peace talks somewhere more discreet?" Thule asked.
Josephine chuckled. "Not in Orlais, certainly. Everyone would know, anyway. Better to invite them all, and therefore everyone will be watching everyone. In Orlais, one is often safest and most secret in a crowd … if one can ever consider oneself safe or secret at all, which is doubtful."
"Good to know."
"Let's not forget Ambassador Briala," Cullen interjected. "We don't know what her agenda is likely to be, or which way she and the elves she represents will go in the negotiations."
"Aren't we here to stop an assassination?"
"Of course," Josephine agreed. "But we also have an interest in the outcome of the peace talks."
"If I were to guess, Corypheus may well have chosen either Gaspard or Briala to undertake his assassination scheme. Each has a grudge against Celene, each wants power for themselves," Cullen added. "Gaspard resents his cousin for having taken the throne when he was first in line for it; he has nearly bankrupted himself fighting her. His troops love him, and most of the chevaliers are on his side."
"Why is that?" Thule asked.
From his chair, Alistair said, "They see Celene as antimilitary, because she hasn't invaded Ferelden."
Cullen looked over at him in surprise. "Exactly. Additionally, she has improved relations with Nevarra." He shrugged. "The chevaliers like to fight, and they see no wars in the offing under Celene's rule. Naturally, they prefer Gaspard."
"They're not the only ones," Josephine said. "The Orlesians in general tend to view peace as complacency."
"I'm surprised to find the elves of Orlais unified enough to have an ambassador," Alistair remarked.
"Briala is a surprising woman," Josephine told him. "Rumor has it she was once Celene's lover. The two of them … ceased their relationship, and the next thing anyone knew, Briala was organizing the elves into what amounts to an underground army. Celene is no fool—she understands that the elves are in a precarious state. She invited Briala to be part of the peace talks in order to gain the elves' alliance."
"Sounds more like this is her best hope to keep them under control," Thule observed.
"That, too, Inquisitor. Remember that in Orlais, no one does anything for just one reason. There are always layers."
"So Briala could hold a grudge either personally because she was rejected or on behalf of the elves in general?" Thule asked.
"Yes. She seems a promising lead. Although she is also highly intelligent, from what I understand," Josephine said, "so perhaps she would be more difficult for Corypheus to bring under his sway?"
Alistair got up from the chair. "Isn't the Empress constantly surrounded by guards and servants?"
"Not to mention courtiers and vassals and influence seekers," Josephine said. "But any one of them could be an agent of … anyone's. What better place for an assassin to hide than right next to their target?"
"Surely the Empress is used to her life being in danger. She's one of the most powerful people in all of Thedas."
"Ah, my dear Inquisitor, but then, so are you," Josephine pointed out. "And do you look at the people in every room you enter and see potential assassins?"
"I'm from the Carta. I always assume someone's out to kill me."
"Then there you have it," Cullen said. "Celene is on her guard at all times, but any attempt of ours to warn her would likely only make her suspicious of us. We have to save her life without looking as though we suspect anything untoward."
Alistair grinned. "That's my specialty."
Josephine smiled at him, the corners of her eyes crinkling. "Why do you think we encouraged you to join us, Your Majesty?"
He sighed dramatically. "And here I thought it was my winning personality."
Cullen rolled his eyes and Thule chuckled. "As long as no one assassinates you. The last thing we need is war between Ferelden and Orlais."
"Yes," Alistair agreed, the smile fading from his face. "Let's please avoid that at all costs."