Chapter 24: A Theory

Lavellan listened to the soft twittering of the birds outside, watching the light streaming in through the window. Solas's arm was still wrapped around her middle, trapping her in bed. Not that she minded. Last night had gone better than expected and she was enjoying the peace of the moment before Solas awoke and they had to discuss 'matters' more seriously.

She was trying to recall the words to the song that Solas had sung last night. Several of the words were not ones she recognized, though she did feel some familiarity with the tune. As she mulled over the songs and lullabies she could think of off the top of her head, she stared at various objects about the room.

She studied the mural, as she often did, wondering like she had before, precisely what Solas had been thinking when he painted it. She had watched him paint before, every move precise and methodical. There was an elegance to it. A calm organization of chaotic imagery that intrigued her. But seeing herself rendered in such a way by his hand, in the privacy of his own bedroom where only he would see it, was even more intriguing. The figure he gave her was flattering, but the style was not the same as the murals she had seen him do before. Here, there was a realness to her, a tangibility as if she were separated by glass. Or perhaps preserved beneath it, like an insect in amber. The figure with the orb in hand had a delicate, almost fragile appearance in the grace of her form. Though the crack in the wall severing her arm added to the tone. In the hand of the broken arm the orb released glowing green energy into the sky; powerful and fierce, yet beautiful as well.

The orb caught her eye and her thoughts drifted to the real orb: the one that had cracked and broken. The one that she had repaired and changed. Renewal: that was what she had called it. Her little pet project to keep herself distracted from the pain she felt after Solas left and Corypheus was defeated. Though his absence weighed heavily upon her then, there was more that she was dealing with as a result of her victory.

The orb had been an impossible task as well. But one that didn't really matter if she failed at it, which was what she needed. She could not afford to feel the weight of failure any longer. She needed to believe that she could fix things and make them better in a way that mattered.

Perhaps that was the answer to her problems now. Her eyes flicked to the orb, where it rested upon a small stand on the desk. Ideas began to form in her head and though it caused her a healthy amount of fear, she also felt the familiar glimmer of possibility shining in the dark.

Solas stirred and opened his eyes then, hugging her closer with a deep, contented sigh. "Good morning, vhenan." He kissed her shoulder and breathed in the sweet orange blossom scent of her hair. "Did you sleep well?" he asked, still keeping his own eyes closed.

"Well enough," she said, rolling over to face him and propping herself up on her elbow. "But we need to talk."

He opened his eyes a crack. "What about?"

"My personal guard." Solas made a non-commital noise and rubbed at his eyes. "Abelas should not be guarding me. For one, he is the commander of your forces and he has better things to do than follow me around. Secondly, and probably most importantly, he hates me. He thinks I trapped you into bonding with me. He thinks I'm a distraction from your larger goals. That I'm throwing off your plans and forcing you to take additional risks."

Solas sighed. "He's the only one I trust to keep you safe, vhenan. And I will speak with him about his… thoughts on our relationship. But…" He groaned, passing a hand over his chin. "Ma vhenan, things are different now. You have changed the situation. As has our baby. I must accelerate my plans to remove the Veil."

"But why? I don't want to be something that forces you to take dangerous risks. Ma vhenan…"

He reached up and touched her face. "I know. But there are some things in this world that are important. You are important to me. Our child is important to me. Bringing down the Veil may restore immortality to the elves or strengthen magic as a whole. If that is the case, if I can accomplish it in time, it may mean the chances of surviving the birth are better for you and the baby."

His words were like ice water dousing her body. "I didn't think you worried about that…" she murmured, pushing herself up and drawing her knees in protectively around her belly.

Solas tried not to think about it. He tried not to imagine the bloody bed of the woman from the tower that they had seen in the Fade. He tried not to remember what she had told him about her own mother's death in childbirth. But his nightmares plagued him nonetheless as his worst fears came to him in tortured images filled with despair and loss and grief.

"I do," he told her softly. "I am afraid I will lose you. And I am not strong enough, vhenan, to lose you."

She took ahold of his hand, bringing it to her cheek and holding it there, just to feel him. Something in her movements and the gentleness of her touch stirred a dull ache in his heart. She was so beautiful. Not only in her features, but in her character. She had a grace and noble spirit that was rare to see in this world.

"You will never lose me, ma vhenan," she whispered, her breath tickling his palm. "I am yours. And you are mine. I carry you wherever I go, right here," she said, placing his hand over her heart. "Ma vhenan…"

Pushing himself up, he threaded his fingers through her hair and pulled her close for a deep, slow kiss. "And you are mine," he said, bringing her hand to cover his heart before lowering his lips to hers again.

But he was selfish. He wanted her, all of her. To hold her in his arms as well as in his heart. She was real and tangible and his. Brushing aside her hair, he drew her closer.

She kissed along his jawline until she reached his ear. Her hot breath tickled his neck. "And you are mine. And I want you."

Propping a pillow behind his back and the headboard, she untied his robe and slipped a leg over him.

He ran his hands over her thighs, up her body. In his eagerness, he captured one of her nipples in his mouth as his hands kneaded her ass.

His lust spurred her as she rocked herself against his hardened length. She gazed down at him, his half-lidded eyes burning with a wanting she felt in her core.

He summoned a small vial from a drawer and it flew to his hand from across the room. Uncorking it, he poured the liquid onto his fingers and slipped them down between her legs. She shuddered at the tingling warmth as he spread the liquid over her most sensitive spots. Then he grasped his cock and coated himself in it as well, relishing in the added sensations. She bit her lip and a half-grin tugged at his cheek, for he could sense the rise in her desire as he touched himself.

"Hold steady," she said in a low voice, gripping the headboard and rising to take him in. He obeyed, holding his cock straight as she lowered herself onto him. A groan of ecstasy escaped him as the tingling sensations from the lubricant heightened every feeling. She began to ride him, feeling her own need grow as the pleasure intensified. But more than her own physical pleasures, she enjoyed the love-drunk gaze with which he looked upon her and the soft moans from his throat. Leaning over, she whispered in his ear. "Close your eyes. Feel me."

He did, letting his hands roam over her body. His thumbs grazed over the sides of her belly and the soft swell of her breasts. She took her time with him, starting off slowly, letting him touch as much of her as he wanted. And he wanted to touch all of her. But when her pace increased and she bent over closer, so that her breath tickled his neck and ear and her nipples grazed his chest, he found himself gripping her hips tighter and tighter as the sensations built. She adjusted just a touch and he felt his peak coming closer and closer. "More, vhenan, please," he groaned and she gave him what he wanted, increasing her pace until his nails bit into her skin and his hips bucked up before collapsing back down to the bed.

She felt the final pulse of him inside her, but she lingered, careful not to move too much while he was still coming down from his state of bliss. She kissed his head, ear, neck, and shoulder, licking her lips and the slightly salty taste of his skin. "Did you enjoy yourself?" she teased, wiping away a bead of sweat from his brow.

He smiled up at her, still lost in a cloud of euphoria. He pulled her closer and kissed her breasts before capturing her lips. "Thoroughly."

Down in the dungeons, Lavellan stepped carefully, moving as quietly as possible in the dark, a round object tucked underneath her arm. Something about the strange silence made her feel like the slightest sound might wake something lurking in the deep. When she turned down a corridor where the torches were no longer lit, she pulled the object from inside her cloak and held it aloft, activating it and using the pale blue light that glowed from it to see her way.

She waved aside the illusion of a stone wall before her and continued down the stairs into the belly of the dungeon. An eerie red glow came from down below. Memories of the tunnels in the future she saw at Redcliffe sprang to mind, sending chills down her spine. Her stomach twisted into a tighter knot with every step she took closer to it. When she finally reached the heavy iron door at the bottom of the stairs, the very air felt alive with energy, like lightning was about to strike. Extending her hand, she began to unwork the spells that locked the door. Sweat beaded on her forehead as her nerves grew worse. Just a few more and-

"What do you think you're doing?"

She whirled around, tucking the orb out of sight, to see Abelas standing there, his eyebrow raised in a disapproving sneer. She put a hand to her heart to stop it from racing. "Oh, Abelas. You gave me a fright. I was-"

"-Sneaking around where you're not allowed to be?" he finished.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm the one who brought this here. I have a right to study the idol if it can help the cause."

"I'm afraid your privileges have been revoked due to your condition," he said, glancing down at her stomach. "The idol is unsafe. Fen'Harel fears that you may be affected by its corruptive powers. You are not to come down here until he determines it is safe for you to do so," he said evenly, with a hint of a threat as he approached her. When he stood before her, he invaded her space, looming like a shadow in the dark, gesturing behind them to the stairs back up out of the dungeon. He was clearly telling her he would remove her forcibly if she did not comply.

She had a growing suspicion that Solas had chosen Abelas to act as her personal guard not because he trusted him, but because Abelas was not afraid of her and would follow his instructions, regardless of if she opposed them or not. "Solas are not allowed down here. This is my property. I need to study something. It will be quick," she said, turning her back on him and striding back towards the door.

A barrier went up and she stopped in her tracks, fuming. "Release the barrier, Abelas."

He refused, coming to stand behind her. "No. Return back up the stairs, my lady. If you have a problem with my directives, speak to your partner."

"Haven't you got better things to do than follow me around like a lost dog?"

"Yes. So why don't we go back upstairs so I can return to my other duties," he insisted, stepping closer to her.

"Because I don't take orders from you, Commander. You may go. You are dismissed."

But Abelas did not budge. "And I do not take orders from you, my lady. I take them from Fen'Harel. Now come back up the stairs," he repeated, a threatening note in his voice.

She narrowed her eyes at him, grinding her teeth as she switched tactics. "Please, Abelas. I'm trying to help save him. If I can't get near the idol, I won't be able to test my theory. If I'm right, it could help."

He shook his head. "No. My orders were clear. You are not to go near it."

She resisted the urge to kick him hard in the shin. For a brief moment the thought came to mind that he could enter the room in her stead to test her theory, but she did not trust him, nor was she going to ask favors of a person who so clearly despised her. Biting back the fury she felt, she raised her eyes and glared at him before shoving past back up the stairs. If she wasn't allowed to apply her theories in person, so be it. She had other ways of going about this. "Come along, Abelas," she called over her shoulder, still angry. "We're off to Skyhold."

"Oh my, he is a leech, isn't he?" Dorian murmured, plastering on a false smile and waving his fingers at Abelas, who glared cooly from the doorway.

"Like a tick beneath my skin. I can't seem to get rid of him. He even followed me when I had to relieve myself."

"No. Really?"

"Yes. He stood outside the room like it was normal."

"And remind me again why your husband insisted that his commander act as your personal protector? Isn't that a bit beneath him, following you around like a shadow all day?"

"That's what I said. But Solas is being insanely overprotective ever since Morrigan's attack."

"And we're certain she's after you and not the idol?" Dorian asked, trying to keep it all straight.

"I'm not sure, to be honest. I can't imagine what I did to piss her off. I honestly considered her a friend, but…"

Dorian laughed. "Yes, almost killing you with a fireball does put a damper on a friendship, I'd say. Though she has always been a bit power hungry. Do you remember her going on about the Well of Sorrows? I must say, I'm afraid to find out just what she's capable of now. She must be planning something."

"Leliana and Renna, Solas's spymaster, are trying to gather reports to find out what she's up to, but so far there's been nothing. It's like she's vanished into thin air. But given her history, I wouldn't doubt she disappeared back into Korcari Wilds or someplace else."

"Well, let's hope she stays wherever it is she's hiding. I don't like the idea of you getting attacked in another boat halfway around the world. What if something had happened to my little Dorian Junior in there," he said, nodding to her belly.

She laughed. It felt good to laugh after such a rotten start to her day. "Dorian Junior? I don't think either of us has ever been that drunk."

"Good heavens, no. But you have to admit, 'Dorian' is a perfect name for my little nephew. That way he'll always know who his favorite uncle is."

"Nephew? What if it's a girl?"

"Well then it would be Dorina or Dorianna. Yes, definitely Dorianna, I think," he said, settling on the decision as he stroked his mustache.

"So neither Solas nor I get a say in our child's name?"

Dorian let out a dismissive snort and waved the thought away. "Of course not. You can't name the child after him, 'Pride' is just arrogant. You can't have an arrogant name for a baby. You want the baby to be humble, don't you?"

"And my name?"

"Please, your name is boring. It's the equivalent of the name 'Helga' for the dwarves. No, you're definitely better off with 'Dorian' or 'Dorianna' for the good of the baby. Besides, it's a great honor. I wouldn't bestow my name to just any child."

"A great honor? Oh, yes, thank you all wise and powerful Lord Pavus. I'll be sure to let me and my far less impressively titled partner know of the honor with which we have been bestowed."

"Good. See that you do. Someone has to carry on the legacy of House Pavus."

She raised an amused eyebrow. "My my, Dorian, how much have you had to drink today? Are you planning on kidnapping my child and raising it yourself? I never assumed you were so paternal."

"Oh, don't worry about me. It's just the wine and self-loathing talking. The magisters my age all have an heir by now and it hasn't escaped their notice that House Pavus is lacking in that respect."

"I see. Are the ladies throwing themselves at you again?"

"Constantly." He winked at her and stroked his mustache, lost in his own thoughts.

"You could always adopt a child, you know: if you're considering becoming a parent. I know more than one of the orphans here has been enchanted by your magnificence. And if I'm not mistaken, you've taken a particular shine to a few of them as well." She smiled, her eyes twinkling. It was no secret that the children loved watching Dorian's fantastic displays of magic every time he came for a visit or a lecture.

Dorian raised an eyebrow at her, but then turned his attention to the window, as if suddenly drawn to the view. "Parenthood. No, I definitely wouldn't be any good at that. All evidence to the contrary, given my own family history." He was quiet then, eyebrows drawn together in introspection.

"Well, if we're going off family history, I will be a terrible parent. Did you hear about my bonding ceremony? My father tried to kidnap me and when that didn't work, he tried to kill me."

Dorian turned back from the window, a strange expression on his face. "Yes. Leliana and Josephine regaled the rest of us with quite the tale." Something in his face shifted and his tone lowered to something more somber. "I'm sorry that happened to you. I know you were hoping for… reconciliation or something like it. I'm sorry you had to join the club for all us lowly wretches."

He did not elaborate, but he did not need to. She understood his relationship with his father well enough. "I'm sorry things were never what you wished for, between you and your father, Dorian."

He smiled at her as if it were nothing, but his eyes held the pain he could not hide from her. "I had hoped they might improve when I returned to Tevinter. But alas…" He shook his head and let out a breath, low and ragged, for a faint hope he had held for far too long. "People can claim to want to change. Actually doing it is another matter. In Tevinter… a magister like my father could never afford to lose face in public." He set his lips together, mulling over it like a sour wine.

"He left you his seat and title, Dorian. Maybe… maybe he saw in you a strength he did not possess. To be a better man, more capable of changing things that should not be the way they are."

He looked up at her and for a brief moment she saw his eyes shining with tears, but the next moment he had blinked them away. "You're a good friend, you know. I'd like to think that maybe…my father and I... if we'd had more time…" he trailed off, sighing and shaking his head.

She reached across the table and touched his hand in a comforting gesture. An idea began to take root as his words echoed in her head. Her eyes lit up and she gripped his hand tightly, pulling him from his thoughts. "That's it, Dorian. Time. We need more time. I've been thinking about this all wrong. What if the answer isn't to change the idol at all? Or even use it?"

Dorian raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

She pulled out the orb from inside the pocket of her cloak. "This. The foci. Solas said that he wasn't strong enough to use its power because it had built up magical energy over the millenia while he slept."

Dorian rubbed his chin. "But the orb broke. All its original power was lost after you defeated Corypheus."

"Yes. That's true. But I repaired it and set it with new spells woven together from my own designs, remember? Spells with restorative magics. If we could apply the principles of your research with Alexius and create a containment spell with time magic, we could, in theory, build up the magical energy within it again. And this time, Solas should be strong enough to use its power-"

"-And bypass the need for the idol at all," Dorian finished, a sparkle in his eye as he grinned at her. "Oh yes. I like where your head is at. Now, let's see. How do we go about this without blowing anything up?" He opened his notebook to a blank page and began to scribble in it.

For the rest of the day and long into the next week, they discussed the possibilities and complications, plotting to create their own impossible miracle.