Ellana found Lis back at camp, sitting apart from the others.

"We need to talk," she said, taking no time for greeting before she ushered Lis away by the arm.

When they were safely out of earshot and concealed by trees, Ellana told Lis about the new position Solas had offered her and her acceptance.

"You really can sleep your way to the top," Lis remarked with a slight giggle. She turned her eyes to Ellana and reddened as if she had only just realised she had spoken aloud. "That was a joke. Sorry. You're more than qualified, I didn't mean to suggest otherwise…"

Ellana took no offence. Her friend could be thoughtless at times but Ellana knew she had meant nothing by it.

"I'm happy for you but this means you're leaving! We might never see each other again!" Lis wailed as she hugged her close.

"Well actually…" Ellana started carefully. "I'm supposed to choose my own team. So I had thought that perhaps you could come with me…"

Lis turned to her with disbelief written across her expression. "I can't… You're sure you want…? I mean, yes!" she finally exclaimed, shaking Ellana violently. "This is going to be so much fun!"

"It's not supposed to be fun, Lis. We have a job to do," Ellana replied, trying her best to maintain some semblance of seriousness.

"Don't see why it still can't be fun…" Lis grumbled, the shaking less violent this time but ever present.

Ellana gave up arguing. The plight of her captured people still weighed heavily on her. She saw no reason not to tell Lis; after all, they were a team now. In her time leading the Inquisition Ellana had liked to maintain as much of an equal partnership as was possible. She valued the opinions of those around her and never wanted them to feel her views on a situation were law. She hoped to lead her new people in a similar manner. Now more than ever, she needed as much input as she could get. Ellana filled Lis in as best she could and they sat in silence, both thinking on their task.

Lis finally broke the silence, "So we only really have one choice, don't we?"

"And what is that?" Ellana inquired; keen to hear Lis's views on the situation. She was certainly out of ideas.

Lis shrugged. "We need a human. They won't suspect one of their own."

Ellana gazed at her wide-eyed. She had never known Lis to be much of a planner or at least, she had never been given much of an opportunity. Lis was more of a doer – getting on with orders and never questioning. Ellana had not expected such a practical suggestion so quickly and truth be told, she found herself somewhat aggrieved that she had not thought of it herself. It seemed so damn obvious now.

"But how do we get one?" Lis went on, seemingly oblivious to Ellana's surprise. "We could pay but that's a pretty big risk."

Ellana brushed passed her annoyance, intent on focusing on how beneficial her friend was already being. "We would have to pay them a great deal or they would sell us out to the Inquisition for more. I don't think we could beat them on price."

Lis threw up her hands. "You were their leader! Surely someone owes you a favour?"

Ellana could not deny that had helped a lot of people during her time with the Inquisition, many of them human. At the time she had tended to ask for nothing in return but now she was the one in need and that made her wonder.

"That could potentially work," she mused, a slow smile forming. "It would need to be someone I know I could trust and there will still be risk…" She was excited now, the prospect of having a plan thrumming in her chest. "But when is there not? If I could find someone suitable, it could work!" She got to her feet to pace as she always did when excitement and anxiety took her. "I need to properly assess the situation first. Maybe I could talk to the agent who came back?"

"Sounds like a good plan," Lis replied, watching her from the floor.

Not breaking her stride, Ellana paced off, eager to get to work.

"Thanks Lis. You're worth you're weight in gold!" Ellana shouted back.

"It's my pleasure, Commander," Lis replied, smirking.

Ellana did not wish to interrupt Solas and, in truth, she wanted to do this herself. So when she entered the tower, she was not looking for him. There was much more activity during the daytime than she was used to. With hindsight, it was obvious that such a large building could not be solely occupied by one man but she seldom saw anyone else and thus, presumed. It was only through conversation with Solas that she had come to understand that the rooms beyond the great staircase were always occupied during daylight. In fact, some of the tower's lower levels were made home by high-ranking officers – day or night. It amazed her that she had never come across anyone during one of her night-time excursions but glad nonetheless - she held no desire to be questioned. She also now knew that the main door and the central pedestal required separate access. Many more elves than Ellana had thought were allowed entry to the tower itself but far fewer could access the sixth floor like she could.

Still musing on her own ignorance, she approached a nearby agent, "Where is Varden?" She knew he was one of the people who made his home in the tower but had never thought to ask where.

"Second floor, the room on the right," the elf replied, appearing almost in awe of her.

Ellana stared at him for a beat too long in both confusion and dislike of his unexpected approach. She shook it off, hastening her pace up the staircase and away from her apparent admirer. The first floor appeared to be an open area with a broad window on each wall. Many agents milled about - some working in groups and others alone. The second floor was different. Nothing was open - the areas beyond concealed behind walls and doors. She assumed these unopen floors must be the officers' quarters Solas had mentioned. She thought to knock before entering the door on the right and heard Varden's voice welcoming her inside. She was met with a study similar to her lover's but significantly neater. Solas was often so distracted when he was researching that he neglected to tidy up after himself but Varden appeared to be the exact opposite. Every item had its place.

"Lady Ellana, this is a pleasant surprise," Varden remarked as his cold gaze passed over her.

"How wonderful, I have a title too," Ellana thought with an inward sigh. She tried to move past her new honorific, knowing it was pointless to correct him. "I'm sorry to disturb you but I…"

He cut her off, waving a hand dismissively, "Think nothing of it. You are a source of much interest, my Lady, interest I am loathe to admit I am not immune to. We have spoken little since your…occupation…of this place. I would be most interested to hear more of you. Tell me, what brings you to me?"

She smiled. He was trying to keep her off-balance; maintain control of the conversation by placing all the expectation on her. Solas had been right - he was good.

Even knowing it was all a ploy, Ellana still found herself choosing her words carefully. "I have need to meet with the agent who returned from the Inquisition. I have agreed to find a way to secure the release of our captured people and thus, I need to know everything." She conveniently left out the fact that she had practically begged to undertake this task.

He measured her with his gaze for uncomfortably long before speaking, "Very well. Her name is Shivra. She is resting in the east encampment. Ask around and I'm sure someone will gladly lead you to her."

"Thank you. I'll go to her now," Ellana responded, feeling so small that it did not even occur to her that the polite thing to do would have been to lead her there himself.

"I wish you every success. There are good people in that place - I would not see them suffer. I hope you will not disappoint," Varden remarked as she left.

Shivra was clearly a city elf. The scars of a life of hardship openly marred her bronzed skin. She had dark hair and even darker eyes and from a distance, Ellana could instantly tell that she was not a sociable elf. She sat alone, those around seeming almost afraid of her. Ellana approached with suitable caution.

"Are you Shivra?" she asked, taking a seat on the ground a suitable distance away from her.

The dark-skinned elf barely reacted, still resolutely sharpening whatever implement she held in her hand. "Yeah and who the fuck are you?"

"My name is Ellana. I am working to get our agents out of the Inquisition…"

"You?! You're the one they picked to get results? Well they're fucking doomed then aren't they?" The city elf laughed.

Ellana sighed internally. She was quickly coming to understand the other elves' avoidance of Shivra.

"Yes I am but I need your help. I can get them out but I need to know everything you know or else your friends will be doomed," Ellana replied with as much civility as she could muster.

Shivra's busy hands came to an abrupt halt. Recognition flashed across her eyes as she stared at Ellana. "Holy fucking shit! I knew I recognised you! You're the pissing Inquis…"

Ellana practically jumped out of her skin. She was taken by surprise but managed to shush her loudly before she could finish.

Shivra did little to lower her voice. "Do they know?! Shit, this is great!"

"It is not widely known but the people that matter know who I am," Ellana quietly replied after shushing her yet again. "I take it you were spying on the Inquisition while I was with them?"

"Yeah. Been there a while. You were pretty badass in your day!"

Taken off-guard by the compliment, Ellana shifted uncomfortably. "Thanks, I guess?"

Shivra ignored her entirely. "Fuck! You know things really went to shit after you left? That redhead went fucking mental. The place is a mess."

"Leliana?"

"Yeah, that bitch. Look, if you want my help you've got it, Inquisitor," she said, whispering the last word mockingly.

Shivra proceeded to tell Ellana everything she knew. She painted a bleak picture - elves imprisoned with no provocation; some interrogated regularly. Those that succumbed and admitted their involvement with Fen'Harel, true or otherwise, were imprisoned indefinitely. Ellana was deeply saddened to hear this. She could understand the paranoia but these were her people, they deserved more. Before she left, Shivra insisted she wanted in on the plan. Ellana told her she would think about it. She found Shivra's resolve commendable but what gave her pause was the thought of working with Shivra in the long term. Spending this short time with her had been irksome enough.

Ellana had spent the afternoon trying to determine who she could call on to help her trapped elven brethren. She had drawn out a timeline and framed it with the contacts she had obtained during her time with the Inquisition. She had just started crossing off unsuitable names when Lis interrupted her.

"We need to tell Daman."

"Tell him what?" Ellana asked, not thinking.

"Tell him we're out of the group. I've already had a word with Lori and Garith - they weren't pleased but they get it. Apparently when they get to Orlais the group is going to get bigger anyway so we shouldn't be missed too much." Lis shifted nervously. "Couldn't tell Daman though…"

"You're probably right," Ellana sighed. "Let's get this over with."

With Lis's help Ellana gathered the group together. True to Lis's word, Lori and Garith seemed to know what was coming but Daman looked completely perplexed.

"We need to talk," Ellana started seriously, "Over the last year you've all been great friends to me and we've done some amazing things. I love you all as brothers and sisters and I wish we could stay working together but…"

"You're leaving," Lori interjected blankly.

"Yes. I've been offered a new position working my own team and Lis has agreed to stay and help me. So…" Ellana paused before continuing, "We won't be going with you to Orlais."

Daman scoffed spitefully. "Of course you fucking have!"

Ellana powered on, "I don't want to abandon you all and I hope we see one another again but this is what I have to do for the good of our people."

"Bull shit," Daman sneered. "You're doing this to…"

"Give her a break!" Lori exclaimed, cutting his thought short. "We're all going to miss them but we all knew someone was going to whisk her away like this! You said so yourself - she's not the following type!"

Daman grunted in response, remaining silent but not dropping his attitude. While Ellana could not say she held him in high regard, Daman was probably not foolish enough to think she could continue to work with him after how he behaved. More than that, he could hardly argue. With him placated for now, the rest spent some time discussing her new role and how much they would miss each other. Garith was accepting, Lori was depressed and Lis cried but everyone knew it was necessary. After all, they had a job to do.

With the difficult conversations ended and the daylight waning, Ellana was exhausted. She wished for a night free of worry but as she neared the doorway to Solas's quarters she heard voices and her heart sank. After knocking, she opened the door to reveal both Solas and Varden draped in telling silence.

Solas rose as she entered. "Ellana…"

"We were just talking about you," Varden interjected.

Solas sighed with a slight glare in Varden's direction. "Elris tells me you spoke with our agent from the Inquisition. Any progress?"

She looked down at the notes she had been working on earlier. She felt oddly nervous. "Some. We think our only hope of success would be someone outside the organisation – a human."

The two exchanged glances in front of her. Varden spoke first.

"How could we ever trust a human to save our people? They are the reason we are in this mess to begin with! My lord, if you would just…"

Solas interrupted, sounding strained, "For the last time - no. I know you value your people a great deal but if I were to personally intervene it would mean war. More would die than would be saved. Such rash action would be ultimately pointless."

They all knew Solas was more than capable of taking his people back by force but that knowledge made his point no less valid.

Ellana interjected before Varden could argue, "In my time as Inquisitor, I gained many contacts; contacts who owe me favours."

Varden did not flinch with this admission of her past. Ellana no longer needed Solas to confirm that he clearly knew just about everything.

"If I can convince the right person - a person we can trust - then we will have a chance of saving those people," she went on.

Varden appeared to be stifling a scoff at that, a courtesy Ellana was certain he would not have offered without Solas's presence. "I have yet to meet a human our kind could ever truly trust. When it comes down to it, they always side with their own kind. I pray for my peoples' sake that you can prove me wrong."

He left without another word and Ellana could not help but feel deflated. The second they were alone Solas pulled her to him.

"Apologies are due, vhenan. He has been in a foul mood with me all day and I fear you have taken the brunt of it. Do not take it personally."

She smiled up at him. "Easier said than done. I suppose I will just have to prove him wrong, won't I?"

"And you will," he added, fingers sliding through her hair. "You always do."

Ellana threw her notes to the desk, freeing up her hands for him.

"Perhaps it is trivial but one of my greatest regrets is the loss of your hair. The length certainly had its benefits," he mused, smirking to himself as it fell through his hands. "Do you intend to grow it out again?"

"I guess," she replied, not really paying attention as a name caught her eye amongst her cascading notes.

She focused on the name just as Solas's lips grazed the length of her ear but she was too far gone to notice.

"Fairbanks…" she whispered.

"He's an honourable man! He would want to help because it's the right thing to do, not just because he owes me. And he seriously owes me! Not only did we save the entire fucking Emerald Graves for him, I kept his heritage secret. He's bloody perfect!"

Ellana had been pacing the room ranting to herself for much too long. Solas had given up and now sat reclined behind his desk, feet up on its surface. He was pleased she had found a solution and from what he could make out, it sounded like a good one but trying to listen to her in this state was a lost cause. In the past, he had tried but she was completely unreachable when she got like this. He could not help but sulk a little. He had hoped they would be occupied with something very different by now. Wracking his memory, he could barely remember Fairbanks. They had met so many people during their travels, he could not be expected to remember them all. He thought he had heard her mention something about the Emerald Graves. It had been a peaceful, quiet place by the time they had finished there all those years ago. Sadly, he knew that places of peace rarely remained that way for long. He could feel his eyes growing heavier with each passing moment he mused. It had been a long day.

"What do you think?!" she suddenly asked.

Her raw enthusiasm awoke Solas from his thoughts.

"Uh, I… It sounds like he could be a potential candidate, vhenan," he replied, trying rather pathetically to hide his lack of attention.

She appeared pleased enough with his approval.

"Regardless, we cannot do much until morning so…" He deeply hoped she would take the hint.

"I suppose it is a bit late… I guess it can wait until morning," she replied, with a dissatisfied sigh. Smile wide, she practically skipped towards the bedroom but stopped short. She turned back to him, tapping her foot impatiently. "Well come on then!"

Solas groaned as he got up. She could be exhausting at times; he remembered this well from their time in the Inquisition. Pleasingly he also recalled that she tended to be an even better lover when she was this motivated.

"You take the bad with the good," Solas thought as he closed the bedroom door behind them.

With dawn approaching and Ellana suitably calmed, she was finally able to relay her plan with clarity. It was simple enough. She would go to Fairbanks in the Emerald Graves and ask him to help her free the agents. His men could enter and leave the Inquisition without suspicion and while people would undoubtedly begin to realise the elven spies were going missing, it was exceedingly unlikely anyone would even think to suspect Fairbanks. The problem would be getting him to agree. Although Ellana had personally helped him, he also had strong ties with the Inquisition itself. He would find it difficult to choose sides. Ellana hoped he would be more willing if she told him what the Inquisition was doing to their people. Fairbanks was a good man; a man who would not want to walk away from injustice. He did not need to know he was saving spies. These facts along with his gratitude toward Ellana would hopefully be enough to persuade him to aid her. It was a workable plan. Fairbanks was too honourable to betray them. If he agreed to help then it would be done. They just needed him to agree.

"To Orlais then…" Solas finally said.

Ellana gazed down thoughtfully.

"You cannot very well ask him this by raven, vhenan," he continued, stroking her arm as if by habit.

"I know…you're right. I guess I have little choice but to go. I'll take Lis and I'm sure Shivra will insist on coming..."

"Good. I would not want you to do this alone," he interrupted, head pressing firmly in to her lap. "The Graves have become a shadow of what they once were. Bandits hold much of the land."

She reached down to touch the angle of his jaw, still thoughtful. "I can deal with some bandits."

"I know," he replied as he took her hand lightly in his own. "I would still prefer you had company; you are important to me."

Ellana smiled down on him. "As you are to me."

He gazed in to her eyes and Ellana could feel the tension building.

At the last moment, he caught himself. "Your old team head for Orlais this afternoon. You could travel with them – a chance to say your final goodbyes."

"Either way I will ensure I have that chance but the journey will be long, having more help couldn't hurt."

"No. It won't be long at all," Solas said, chuckling.

Ellana stared down on him in confusion. Leaving this place through the mirror would take them back to Ferelden. They would need to cross the mountains in to Orlais - a journey that would take days.

"With their promotion, your old team have been granted access to the Crossroads. Access you obviously share. One of the Eluvians leads directly to ruins in the Emerald Graves," he laughed again, "You shall be there within minutes."

"Oh," she breathed, reddening slightly at her lapse in memory. "Of course we will."

Ellana had spent the day with Lis preparing for their journey. As she had expected, Shivra insisted on joining them. Oddly, Lis seemed to get on quite well with her. Ellana wondered if it was due to their shared experiences as city elves; it certainly was not due to their dispositions. Lis could be crude at times but Ellana never knew her to get angry easily. Shivra was a different story entirely – anger seemed to be all she knew.

The more time she spent in the encampments, the more Ellana noticed that the other elves were treating her differently. Some seemed to avoid her and others approached her with what appeared to be reverence. She was followed by hushed whispers wherever she went and she hated everything about it. She had even heard one elf refer to her as 'Fen'Asha' or 'She Wolf' in the human tongue. Rumours about her relationship with the great Fen'Harel had clearly gripped the camps and, much to her disappointment, they were running with the idea.

Ellana spent much of her time hidden away until they were almost due to leave. She departed her teammates for the tower with nearly an hour left to spare. There was no reply when she knocked on the door of the study but she had expected as much. It was much earlier than when she usually stopped by so she entered the study with caution. It was empty but the door to the left stood ajar and voices emanated from within. She peeked inside, not wanting to interrupt but too curious not to. The room resembled the war room Ellana had kept back at Skyhold. Varden, Solas and five other individuals she did not recognise stood around what looked like a huge map of this world carved in stone. Against her better judgement, she listened for a moment - hearing talk of a Dalish clan in the Exalted Plains. Unfortunately, Solas saw her before she could duck away from the door.

"You each know what you must do. I look forward to reports of success," she heard him say with finality.

Led by Varden, each filed out of the war room. Those that saw Ellana as they passed regarded her knowingly. The fact that everyone seemed to know all about her private life was really starting to annoy her. Solas appeared last and once she was certain the others were out of earshot, she felt she had to explain herself.

"I came to say goodbye. We're leaving shortly and I could not leave without a word."

"I presumed as much." His eyebrow was raised the slightest amount, enough that Ellana knew he wanted to question her eavesdropping but clearly thought better of it. His expression fell, amusement ebbing away. "How long are you expecting to be gone?"

"Hopefully a day or two. I will send a raven if it's going to be much longer," she replied as she leaned in to him. "Solas, I am going to miss…"

He pulled her in to an embrace, cutting her short. "I know, vhenan. I will too."

They stood, locked in that embrace until Ellana had to leave. They said little else to one another. They needed nothing else.

"Do you truly think this plan will succeed?" Varden asked, seated in a chair in front of the Dread Wolf's desk.

As their work wore on, the two of them had found themselves relying on one another for support more than either would have liked.

"Your doubts are misplaced. Ellana is more than capable and I say that without bias. I am certain she will not fail us."

"This emotional entanglement you find yourself in, do you think it is wise?" Varden went on, choosing his words carefully.

Solas smiled to himself. "Not at all but what man can say he has not done something foolish in the name of love?"

Varden chuckled lightly. "I suppose you're right."

"My friend, when this inevitably leads to regret, you can feel free to remind me of your warning," Solas uttered, shaking his head.

"I hope, for your sake and our own, that it never comes to that."

A/N - Updated on 20/02/18 for reasons.