Chapter 1 – A Helping Hand
Leliana hid a smile behind her hand as she looked at them across the war table. Having been a bard for many years, she had learned to notice the small things in people's behavior. Things that other people wouldn't pay any attention to. Because of this, it was clear to her what was going on in the inner circle of the inquisition, even before the people involved knew it themselves. As the spymaster, she knew the movements of the people within Skyhold and could notice the patterns before anyone else did. And some people seemed to be taking overly long routes to where they needed to go just to get a glimpse of someone else.
Leliana watched as commander Cullen stole glances at the inquisitor's face every few seconds when he thought no one was looking. She saw him smiling at the inquisitor every time she looked his way, which was quite often, come to think of it.
Leliana shook her head slightly in amusement as the meeting drew to a close. She had been watching this development for quite some time, and yet she doubted they knew what it was leading towards themselves. She doubted that the inquisitor had even realized that Cullen was vying for her attention every chance he got. She thought that Cullen, at the very least, must know why he was behaving like this. Although he probably thought he was too stealthy in his affection for anyone to notice. Leliana's smile widened at the thought. She loved holding all the cards.
Cullen wasn't the only one who seemed mesmerized by the inquisitor, though. Blackwall seemed to have trouble redirecting his gaze whenever they were together as well. And the Iron Bull made no attempt to conceal that his eyes were ranging appreciatively over the inquisitor's backside every time he walked behind her. And he always walked behind her.
Leliana was wondering if maybe she should intervene before this became a problem between the four of them. The Iron Bull was posing no problem, as far as she was concerned. He was straightforward with what he wanted and wouldn't hold a grudge if the inquisitor ended up with someone else. Blackwall and Cullen were cut from different cloths, though. Both of them showed enough interest in her for jealousy to become a problem once they realized that they had a rival. Whenever the inquisitor entered a room, they both became too absorbed with her to pay any attention to the world, or the people, around them. They couldn't see that another person was also vying for the inquisitor's affection.
The meeting ended and Leliana started making her way back up to the tower where she spent most of her days and nights. The thought of intervening a little, to avoid uncomfortable conversations and hurt feelings, was looking more and more tempting. Just a little nudge in the right direction. As much as she wanted to believe that it was all for a noble cause, the thought of a small game without the players' knowledge appealed to her more than it should have. Even if she didn't want to admit it, she had always loved games.
Leliana smiled as she walked out onto the small balcony in the tower. This will be interesting.