A/N – Warning: apparently this chapter is 'tediously lovey-dovey' so if you're not in to that shit, look away! Personally, I like a bit of happy every now and again. Also, Solas is apparently a 'whiney douche' in this one. Do I sound bitter? I get a bit bitter when it comes to him. Anyway – ONWARD.

If Ellana had been lost, he would have razed Tevinter to the ground in vengeance - Solas knew that now. He had pondered it long and hard over the last few days, wishing that he could attribute it to some outside influence. That was a lie; it was all him. The monster had been waiting inside this entire time. Inescapable but dangerous, the fear floated permanently in the back of his mind and he knew that with only a moment's weakness, he could lose himself to the depths.

In spite of all it had shown him, the operation had gone surprisingly well. Ellana was forced to render two soldiers unconscious but, by her estimations, they had not seen or understood who had attacked them. The Imperials would certainly have suspicions given the timing of the attack and all too convenient escape but nothing concrete. Solas hoped they had done enough to maintain their safety for the near future but he never intended to rest on his laurels. The Imperium was an unknown element and thus unpredictable - a fact he loathed. There was little way of even guessing when they might strike or how it could be avoided.

None of the prisoners had been severely injured which had been both a relief and a worry. In Solas's experience Tevinter soldiers were rarely merciful. To see only superficial injuries immediately made him question but he did so silently; that was until Shivra joined him in his scepticism. She was trusted, not 'intimidating' as Ellana claimed he was, so she easily gained far more detail than he could. The group had been ambushed while preparing to make camp; seemingly out of nowhere. Each prisoner was then taken off and questioned. Refusal led to some light torture and then they were returned to their chains. Solas thought the idea laughable and Shivra agreed. By her assessment and what she gained from Miris, it all seemed like an act – a token ambush, token questions and token torture - all veiling some kind of true purpose. She seemed convinced that the Dalish girl was to blame citing the fact that she was taken for questioning more times than any other. Solas doubted that. In his mind, it was more likely that she simply gave them answers. Not that it mattered; the girl knew far too little to be considered a threat. He advised Shivra to recruit Miris against her. It seemed like the easiest way to placate her and it could not hurt to have two sets of eyes monitoring the situation. Over the past few days, he had kept a rather close eye on everything himself too. If not anything else, it kept him distracted from his own concerns.

Ellana had been spending much of her free time with her friends. Solas could understand but he still wished she would not. It was selfish but the only time his mind was quiet was with her. He had started to welcome the visits to her mother. They were tiring with all the fervent discussion of their imminent bonding but strangely comforting nonetheless. Sleep had once been his constant – walking the Fade, his greatest solace. It had been the one place he had always felt at home, felt strong but now it was there he felt at his weakest. If he could have avoided sleep entirely then he would have but he settled for only as much as was necessary. Even still, losing that comfort was painful. All he had now was Ellana. He needed her distraction so badly but would not ask for it. His pride had always been his downfall.

Head in his hands, Solas sat at his desk. Emmaera had been asleep for the last hour and Ellana away for even more. He knew he should be working but every time he tried, the whisperings of his mind interrupted with words of doubt, loss and his greatest fear - failure. He wandered over to the window and gazed out blankly. He had done this to himself; that was the worst thought. He turned back to the door suddenly, a smile overtaking his gloomy features. He had heard her laugh, uncontrolled and ugly in a way but definitely hers. Ellana careened through the door without a thought. She had clearly been drinking.

"Oh my! You are just too handsome!" she slurred much too loudly as she reached him.

Lis slowly wandered in behind her looking sheepish. It was a rare thing for her to come to the tower but she must have been charged with ensuring her drunken friend returned home. Solas raised an eyebrow to her as Ellana wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Mmm…I like you," Ellana purred, the smell of alcohol from her overwhelming. She lowered her voice slightly but not nearly enough, "We should fuck…"

Lis let out a groan but Solas just laughed. He shifted Ellana to the side so he could speak to her more sober companion.

"How much has she had to drink?" he asked, eyebrow still raised accusingly.

Lis gave him a look that suggested he probably did not want to know. Ellana tutted loudly.

"Some!" she slurred, convincing no one. She ran her palm along his jawbone a lot less gracefully than she likely intended. "Come on…you know you want to…"

He stifled another laugh and gazed down on her warmly. "Get in to bed and I will be there shortly." Her eyes widened with unrestrained desire. "Go on…before I change my mind."

Ellana skipped off in to the bedroom and Solas turned back to Lis with a sigh.

"I hope you're not planning on taking advantage of her; that would be most…unbecoming…" Lis remarked, a hint of joking in her tone.

Solas was somewhat taken aback, joviality between Lis and him a foreign concept. He chuckled lightly. "I can guarantee that she will be fast asleep and snoring long before I get in there so no, her chastity will not be threatened this night."

Lis allowed herself a brief giggle but said nothing, watching him carefully for much too long. Solas hardly even noticed. He had needed Ellana and now the drink had rendered her apart from herself – it was disappointing.

"You okay?" Lis asked, watching him now with concern.

"Of course. Just…" He ran a hand across his head. "…tired."

Her brow wrinkled with obvious scepticism but she shrugged. "I bet you are. Look, I won't keep you much longer but I…" She moved cautiously closer. "There was something I have been meaning to ask you…for a while now…"

Attention blissfully focused on something other than his own mind, he considered her warily. "Regarding?"

"El talks about you…" She giggled again. "…as I am sure you can imagine. Doesn't say much, mind you but I can put some of the pieces together. You can manipulate dreams, can't you?"

"To an extent," Solas answered, head tilting slightly to one side but still guarded in his manner.

She smiled before turning fretful again. She seemed almost ashamed to be asking anything of him. "It's not for me! It's…well… It's been happening for a while now; Shiv wakes up screaming and I... When El mentioned the stuff you do with her dreams, well I…I just thought maybe you could help her?"

Solas's eyes softened but his desire to probe overcame the feeling. "What did Ellana mention exactly?"

Lis looked jarred for a moment. "Nothing major, don't worry. She never says so directly but some of the stuff she talks about only makes sense if someone was doing them and…well…it's not going to be her, is it? Look, if you don't want to help that's fine…"

"No, I will. Leave it with me," he interrupted.

Lis appeared so pleased he worried she might try to hug him. Luckily, she seemed to think better of it. "Thank you! I don't know if you can really do anything but if you could even try... Shiv would really appreciate it - I'm sure! Although…don't tell her! She would not be pleased that I asked you to meddle."

"I can imagine. She will likely be aware that someone has done something but do not hesitate to blame it on me. She keeps informing me we are 'mates' - whatever that may mean - so I doubt I would suffer the same retribution."

"Don't bet on it," Lis said with a laugh. She made to leave, only to partially turn back at the door. "When she wakes up, tell El she needs to stop drinking – from me, okay?"

He chuckled. "I will add your name to the list beneath my own."

Lis grinned back at him before passing out through the door. As he had predicted, Ellana was already snoring lightly in the bed still fully clothed. After checking on Emmaera, he slid in to bed alongside her with a gentle kiss to her forehead.

It was as if Ellana were in a fog of her own design. The moment she had woken this morning, she regretted allowing so much as a drop of alcohol to pass her lips. She was not sure she would even be upright if it were not for Solas standing at her back. The words spoken around her floated, almost consumed by the fog in spite of the importance she knew they held. It was going to be a rough day.

"If they have a grievance then I would hear it," Solas said, his voice rumbling against her back every time it met his chest. "We cannot afford upset and quite clearly, you cannot handle this simple task."

Ellana still could not be certain what the specifics of the discussion actually were but she was aware of Solas's tone and Cyrrian's dumbfounded reaction to it. As he struggled to form a suitable response to such contempt, Ellana laced her fingers with Solas's beneath the table. Leaning back in to him very deliberately, she gazed up and the annoyance in his eyes gradually lessened.

Even suitably calmed he could not offer a full retraction but allowing an escape from the discomfort he had created was at least something. "You have one of their number here?" Cyrrian nodded in response. "Bring them in; I would speak with them. Once that is done, you may proceed as you see fit."

Ellana raised an eyebrow as Cyrrian left and Solas smiled down on her from above.

"You are too lenient, vhenan," he commented, hands travelling up her waist until they brushed against the tempting boundary of her chest.

"Am I?" she added with a calculated flick of her hips against him. "Perhaps you are simply too cantankerous."

He scoffed, hand gently but also very deliberately finding her throat. "As you are insolent…"

Breath left him as she swayed her hips yet again. "Both soft and insolent? Why that cannot be! Surely some measure of tenacity is needed for my kind of insolence?"

"This is…" he started, voice broken again by the sensation of her movements. "…not a…negotiation…"

She quickened her snaking hips. "Oh of course not! Gods forbid you might be losing…"

He grasped her arm, turning her roughly to him. His lips met hers before she could say anymore. She whined softly as his hand found her hair, tugging on it ever so slightly to raise her chin. A step towards her pressed her back in to the table. She relieved some of her weight against it, legs parting so he could be closer to her. The sound of voices in the office beyond ended it there. They pulled apart, the tips of both of their ears still pink from the tension.

"What you do to me, vhenan," he commented, running the fingers of a hand through her likely tousled hair.

She giggled. "Perhaps now you might be less of a grump."

He stopped fixing her hair to glower at her, annoyance and adoration clashing beneath his eyes. "Perhaps…"

Without a customary knock, the door opened and Cyrrian stared at them from the doorway.

Solas pried his eyes away from Ellana. "Yes?"

"I have the man you asked for," Cyrrian started. He took a slight step back allowing his charge to come forward in to view. "One of the Rebel Mage's band."

It took her a moment but with some thought, Ellana did recognise the elf. When she laboured to save those taken prisoner in Tevinter she had been focused on her own people but they were not the only ones to benefit from her actions. Before that, Ellana had held little interest in the actual task that led her friends to their predicament. The specifics of anything related to Tevinter were, after all, above her remit but now that she was already involved, her interest piqued. Cyrrian had contacts - those he had once believed were lost but it seemed one still remained. Aemilia was her name – a slave like himself but freed in her teens due to magical talent. She had used her freedom well, fighting with a makeshift army to topple those that called themselves masters. Finding her people had been the task. The elf that now stood before them was one of this 'Aemilia's' people – captured along with their own soldiers and then saved all the same. She remembered him from the cages; he had been rather fearful, even when released.

He came forward, less fearful now but unwise in that decision. "Galus is my name. On behalf of my brethren, I ask that we be allowed to leave." Solas's expression instantly darkened and the man rethought his approach. "We appreciate all you have done for us, surely, but we cannot remain here. Our queen needs us to…"

"Your queen?!" Solas interrupted.

His disdain was so obvious that hurt showed across the man's features and Ellana had to resist the urge to intervene.

"Yes," the elf replied in a defiant tone. "She needs us. Our numbers cannot be said to match your own and with us gone…the risk is just too great."

Solas ignored the glare Ellana was giving him. "You have been allowed to make contact with this 'queen', have you not?" He shot an accusing look in Cyrrian's direction. "Surely that is more than enough…"

"That is not enough!" the elf interrupted, earning the Dread Wolf's ire but seeming unaware of what that meant. "We have done what you asked of us! You cannot expect us to remain here, hostage until you get what you…"

"You will remain here," Solas interjected. Measured as he so often was, few would normally catch on to the subtle hints he allowed but now was not one of those times. Even the relative stranger no longer made a sound. "I asked that you arrange a meeting with this queen of yours – has that been achieved beneath my notice? Doubtful, given what little time you have had." He was advancing on the elf; gradually enough that threat appeared absent but yet, the man remained stock-still. "Until that is done, you will remain here; indefinitely, if need be. Is that understood?"

This elf likely had little experience of Fen'Harel beyond the rumours. He did not know what Solas was capable of or even that he was more than your average elf but instinct seemed to be telling him just that. He would not meet his eyes nor did he appear able to speak. Ellana saw the value in this Solas – his cold, malicious side had earnt them much. She even found it attractive given the right circumstances but not now. She came forward; a hand finding Solas's upper arm; her eyes imparting apology to his victim.

"Our leader simply means that the protection of your people is our paramount concern." Solas's eyes snapped to her, aggrieved by the interruption but notably curious. "We share your concerns but to allow you to make such a journey alone, the risk - for you - is too great. Your queen would wish that you return to her safely and we hold that wish as well. Once a meeting has been arranged between our people, then we will be in a position to personally escort you all back to your queen and ensure you make it in safety."

The elf considered her for a long moment. At her side, Solas's eyes turned back to him expectantly with a slow smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"But arranging a meeting could take days," the man finally replied. "Days we cannot possibly…"

"Not necessarily," Ellana interrupted, slightly too keen. She softened her features and her voice to compensate. "Lines of communication can be expedited and your continued service - is it not valuable enough to warrant a few days caution? Surely your queen would understand. Besides, travelling beneath our protection will afford you a faster journey so perhaps you will make it sooner, even with the initial restraint."

The elf's eyes broke from her, appearing deep in thought. Ellana presumed he was likely recalling the Eluvian he had passed through following their liberation and the undeniable speed with which it had allowed them to travel.

His eyes met hers once again, no longer wearing any of the fear he had held with Solas. "So if we agree – my people would travel in the company of your own directly to our destination? The agreed meeting point?"

"Yes, of course," Ellana replied with a calculated warm smile. "With the added haste and, of course, our protection. We would not have you suffer any less, not as our guests."

A silence passed as he considered; both the Dread Wolf and Ellana's hopeful stares trained to him alone.

"Very well…" he slowly replied.

Ellana had to resist the overwhelming urge to bounce in relief. Solas, however, did not appear to share her enthusiasm.

"Arrange it," he ordered with only the slightest of glances in Cyrrian's direction before turning his back on the man and taking Ellana with him.

She glanced back to see both of the abandoned men taking the hint. Solas spun her to him.

"Where were we?" he purred, a half smile overtaking his features.

With a hand to her back, he moved in to kiss her but she ensured he did not make it – palm to his chest imposing distance between them.

She shook her head. "Uh-uh-uh. An explanation would be welcome."

"For what?" He simply stared at her until the insistent look she gave him in return made him relent, "Impatience predominantly…the want for haste outweighing the wish to behave respectfully…"

"Haste? What happened to the desire for respite?"

His gaze gradually fell away from her. "I still hold that desire but…I need this to be over, vhenan. Delays or resistance is…well…frustrating." Finally, he granted her his eyes once again. "It does not absolve me of my conduct; merely an explanation as requested. What flaws I did display, you more than made up for." He pulled her in closer. "Regardless, it seems a few days respite are ours. I would wonder how you would have us spend them? Punishing my poor manners?"

She raised an eyebrow. "As enjoyable as that sounds, that would be an activity best kept between us and somehow, I doubt we are going to get much alone time if my mother has anything to say about it." He groaned, burying his head in her neck. "Is the idea of bonding yourself to me truly that tiresome?"

He barely even moved; breath warm against her neck. "In the ceremonial manner with which it must be done – yes, time could be better spent. In the sentiment I surmise you actually mean, of course not. Your mother wishes it, you wish it and so, I wish it but what I do not wish for is the needless hours – hours of preparation, hours of ceremony, hours of celebration. Is the tradition not based around the joining of two individuals? Should those individuals not be allowed a moment to spend with one another? Is consummation not…"

"Ah ha! There it is," Ellana interrupted with satisfaction.

He pulled away from her, brow wrinkled in annoyance. "I meant that this is supposed to be about us. Given the choice, what would you do with the little time we have?"

"Definitely not anything my mother has planned," Ellana replied with a slight laugh. "Sleep. Talk. Actually spend some time with my daughter. Walk the Fade; it has been so bloody long! Bathe unnecessarily. Read that damn book that has been sitting on my table for the last month. A bit of consummation is probably up there too…"

"There it is," he interrupted, kissing her lips before she could list off anymore.

Ellana gazed at herself in the mirror as she spoke the elvhen words. This was the fourth time she had recited them so far today and each time, she did not have a word wrong. Still, she wanted to be certain. Every time she watched Solas dutifully learning her clan's traditional vows, she felt she had to repay him somehow and that was where the idea had first sprouted. She wrote out her own version - vastly untraditional but personal and written in the elvhen he knew. She hoped that her mother would not be too angry and most of all, that he would like it.

Once she spoke the final word, Ellana stared at her reflection in silence. The dress she wore was one Solas had never laid eyes on - white silk fabric clinging to her form and gold accents snaking up her neck and down her bare arm. Her other arm was covered; seeing it in all its blackened glory not something her mother enjoyed. Ellana did not really care either way. She just wanted to see the look on Solas's face.

"Perfect again, from what I can tell," Lis commented from the bed, still scanning Ellana's notebook. "Your handwriting is just terrible."

Ellana said nothing. A part of her wanted to cry as she stared vacantly at herself. This was going to change nothing and she knew it. He had said as much himself, as a reassurance of all things. Mirwen's words flitted through her mind and she wished she were here with her now.

Lis rose from the bed. "El, you alright?"

Ellana kept her eyes fixed to the mirror. "I… I just… I used to dream of this day when I was just a foolish little kid and I always imagined that afterward…that would be it - I would live happily. That marriage would be the end…"

Lis sighed sadly. "I know… Seems so stupid now, doesn't it?"

"Really stupid." A weak smile formed across Ellana's features. "What comes after is all that matters, always has been. If only it were so simple?"

"If only," Lis mirrored wistfully. "You sure you want to do this?"

"Well, I've never wanted a person more in my life…if that's even a good thing," Ellana mused, releasing her hair from the tie that held it. She scrutinised herself as she combed a hand through her now fully silver but also shortened locks. "I really wish Mother had let me keep it longer. He's going to miss it…"

"He won't. He can be quite accommodating," Lis added, surprising Ellana with the unexpected compliment. She paused. "Actually I… I need you to thank him for me." Ellana's look turned quizzical. "I asked him to do something and well…he went above and beyond…"

She trailed off but Ellana was having none of it. "Elaborate…"

"He did something for me, something wonderful that I… I didn't even ask for it." She locked eyes with Ellana, depth of emotion shining out. "He let me see my child…in my dreams…he…he…"

"How do you know it was him?"

"I know he can. I…I asked him to do it for someone else and then that night I have everything I could ever dream of? It had to be."

Heart heavy with pride, Ellana struggled to find the words. "That is…beautiful."

A long silence passed between them in which both took an opportunity to brush the beginnings of tears from their eyes.

"So, thank him for me, will you?" Lis finally said with a slight waver in her voice. With her free hand, she ruffled her friend's hair lightly. "I have to say, I miss the black. It's like the last bit of the old you, gone. Kind of sad in a way…"

"Aww, da'len! Aren't you sentimental?" Ellana teased as her friend shirked away from her.

A knock at the door interrupted their merriment and Lis departed to see who it was. Ellana stared back in to her own reflected eyes.

"You just can't keep away, can you?" she heard Lis scoff. "Where in damnation is Shivra?! She was supposed to be guarding the door!"

Ellana rounded her regard to the commotion and heard Solas's welcome tone, "Perhaps the worst person you could have chosen to guard against me." He chuckled. "Right?"

On cue, Shivra's loud voice piped up, "Fen'Harel? Here?! Nah, never seen him!"

Lis grumbled and glanced back to Ellana with a glare.

Solas chuckled again but quieted beneath the blonde girl's ire. "I do not intend to break the rules; I need not see her. Just… Vhenan!"

Ellana skipped forward a few steps. "Yes, ma lath?"

She did not need to see him to know that he would be beaming. "How is my little one?"

"Still asleep but she missed you last night," she shouted from beyond the door.

"And you?"

"Sadly not the former…" She grinned to herself. "…but much the same on the other front." Lis groaned and Ellana gave her a light slap across the shoulder as she came within arm's length of the door. "Are you keeping well? You shouldn't be here, Solas, if my mother catches you…"

"That is why I came, vhenan, to warn you before her arrival," he interjected. "We shared a rather unwelcome but not entirely unforeseen discussion and she seemed intent on accosting you next, if…"

"My mother spoke to you? Wonderful."

He laughed lightly. "Yes she did. She 'wished to ensure I was worthy' or some such. I cannot claim to protest the sentiment but…well…steel yourself; if you catch my meaning…"

Ellana giggled at the thought of her mother chastising Solas. "Ha! Thanks for the warning but that's just my mother." She could hear him shifting beyond the door and knew she should leave it at that but she did not want him to go. "So tell me, my love…"

"Yes, vhenan?" he called out, loud enough that he must have been back within reach.

She stretched a hand through the small gap between the door and the frame, hoping to find him.

"Did she find you worthy?" she asked, pleased as she felt his hand on hers guiding it to his cheek.

He grinned beneath her fingers. "She will be eager to tell you herself but the fact that I am here now is heartening. Vhenan, I wanted to…" All too suddenly, he pulled his warmth away from her and she heard muffled swearing. "I knew I should have brought the stairs up to this level," he muttered as he returned to the door.

"She's coming, isn't she?" Ellana asked, already knowing the answer. Before he could respond, she had nudged Lis aside and dragged him through the door. "All that power you hold and you cannot escape an old woman."

"I could…" he started, stopping as soon as his gaze fell on her fullly.

With a palm to his chest, she forced him in the direction of the war room. "Get in there so she doesn't see you. That's another one you owe me!" She shut the door behind him before he could protest. "And for the record, you're an ass," she called through.

"Such sweet words, vhenan."

She kicked the door. "But definitely true."

Lis groaned again. "Will both of you just shut up, it's sickening." Beyond the door, Solas did the opposite and to which Lis hammered her fist against the wood surface. "Do you want an old Dalish woman beating your ass?! I said both of you!" An angry growl permeated through but only quiet followed. "That's better!"

Ellana could hear her mother's piercing voice waylaid by Shivra. She turned to Lis, amusement gone. "Act natural."

She padded off in to the bedroom with haste. As her mother entered, she reached the nursery and lifted Emmaera from her crib.

"Where is she?" she could hear her mother asking of Lis. "Where is my little girl?"

"I'm here, Mamae," Ellana responded, emerging from the bedroom with her own little girl fussing in her arms.

The elder Lavellan took the baby from her without as much as a word and sounded a long gasp. "My…just look at you," she breathed, taking Ellana's hand in her free one and gawping at her. "My little girl…"

"Oh, Mamae," Ellana whined as her mother compelled her in to a slow turn. "Don't start…"

Tears welled in Siona's eyes. "But just look at you! I remember when you were a little thing, dressing up and dreaming of this day and now here you are! Your father would have loved to see you this way…"

"Mamae, please don't or then I'll…" Ellana tried, voice cracked with emotion at the mere mention of her father.

Her mother pulled her in to a crushing embrace. In the background, Lis left them alone; the click of the outer door all that heralded her departure.

"Have you seen him?" Siona asked, pulling free of the embrace so she could see her daughter's expression.

"No, Mamae," Ellana lied. "Have you? How is he?"

Siona's eyes narrowed slightly. "Well…" Her eyes widened again and Ellana let out an internal sigh of relief. "That boy is a tough one to crack. You would think nothing ever affected him…"

"I know, Mamae, he's…that's just him." Ellana gazed imploringly at her mother, hand to her shoulder. "Mamae, you weren't…you weren't harsh with him, were you?"

She pulled away instantly, complete indignation written across her features. "Harsh? Me?" She jostled Emmaera lightly in her arms. "Do not worry, he took it all in his stride." She handed the little one back to Ellana with a smile. "I had concerns, as I always do but he assured me that you are in safe hands." She sighed. "Your choices are your own, my girl, just as I told you the day you left. If this is the life you want then who am I to question?" She came back to Ellana's side, arm wrapped gently around her back. "This is what you want?"

Ellana stared down at her little one. "Yes…it is…" She avoided her mother's questioning look. "Sometimes I wish we could get away from all of this, live a simple life but… I want this, I do."

Her mother took Ellana's chin between her fingers, raising her eyes up to meet her own. "Something worthwhile is never simple to attain – that is what your father used to say. We cannot get what we want without work." She sighed again as Ellana looked away. "I know how hard you find it, Ellana, but you must talk to him. He cannot know what you want just from you wishing."

"I know, Mamae," Ellana uttered quietly. "I know. I'm not even sure I know what I truly want… All I am certain of is how much I love him."

"Then that is all you need and the rest…well…that takes work but you are more than capable – you know that." She took her daughter in to a warm embrace before taking the baby from her arms. "Good luck, my darling. We will see you down there and Ellana…thank you for this – it means so much for me to see you happy."

Ellana nodded, smiling weakly as her mother left the room. She gazed out of the window at the crowd already building below before she remembered. She strode across the floor and opened the door to the war room to find Solas sat on the table, contemplating out of the window as she had been.

"Sorry if you had to hear any of that," she muttered.

A corner of his mouth rose as he did. "I heard nothing. I can imagine it was…" His words trailed off as his eyes fell on her again. "Vhenan, you look…" He exhaled a single note of a laugh. "Even after all this time, you never cease to astound me."

He gazed down on her as his palms found her waist.

"Sweet talker… You look pretty good yourself," she added, smirking up at him.

He turned away from her slightly and she swore she saw him redden a tiny bit. He gestured towards the window. "Quite a crowd is forming… Your mother's doing, I suppose? Perhaps it is merely our seasoned admirers ignoring the request for privacy."

Ellana giggled. "Perhaps? I would say undoubtedly. Who could resist the allure of the great Fen'Harel taking a Dalish bride? Such drama; such intrigue! Whatever will they do next?!" She sighed. "At least they find some enjoyment in this life, even if it is at our expense."

"Too true, my heart." His eyes broke from hers. "We should not keep them waiting…"

"No," she said with just as much disappointment. "You go first; you are the one they're waiting to see after all." His lip curled at that and she touched a hand to his neck. "Try and take pleasure in their adoration, my love, for this day at least."

"For you, I will try." He turned away from her and finally made for the door. He stopped and turned back. "Their reverence is for you too, vhenan; more so than you think." Ellana raised an eyebrow in scepticism. "Without you, I am nothing..."

"To them you are hope, Solas, and that is everything," she said, meeting him in an embrace. She fixed her eyes to his. "But no matter what you are to them, they can never love you like I love you."

His eyes closed and his brow wrinkled before he kissed her.

The ceremony in and of itself was little more than a Dalish farce but it meant something to Ellana. Solas never expected it to mean anything beyond that but as soon as the elvhen words tumbled forth from her mouth, his indifference was broken. Tears had fallen from him and he was not ashamed to admit it. The words themselves were more than enough but the sheer effort it must have taken her was what really got to him. He had agreed to this as a form of courtesy; a means to bring her and her mother some happiness but yet, she had put all her effort in to making it something so much more than that. She never ceased to amaze him.

The part afterwards had been tedious. He would have loved nothing more than to return to the tower with her and his child but that was never going to be. Droves of elves came to congratulate them, oddly openly now that Ellana and he were considered joined as one. She always had a more approachable air with the people and it seemed her influence inspired a similar reaction to him. By the time all was said and done, it was evening and they were both exhausted. Daughter resting on her, Ellana had planted herself on top of Solas; back laid against his chest as they sat surrounded by those that mattered to them. It seemed the people would take any excuse to celebrate and so wine and dancing were in full flow around them. Earlier in the night and still on a high the couple had joined them – flowing together as they did so easily; showing off for all to see but neither had the strength remaining anymore. Solas stifled a yawn.

"Tired, ma lin?" Ellana purred; gentle fingers touched lightly to his cheek from below.

Some of the elvhen words she had spoken brushed past his mind – "Not just my heart, you are my blood flowing through me and giving me life. Once it was my own and that of my kin but you made it yours and with it, all of me…" – and he felt a swell of emotion but his mind stayed blissfully quiet.

She giggled softly. "Our little one is too."

He sat himself forward, careful to ensure a well-placed arm kept Ellana secure against him. He gazed down on his daughter, her eyes blinking so slowly with the weight of exhaustion. Ellana smiled up at him as he took the baby in his arms and as her lilac dappled eyes gradually opened with the movement, little Emmaera smiled up at him too. She reached out a tiny hand to touch his face, falling short but she was not deterred. She babbled away quietly to him.

"So much to say, just like her father," Ellana happily mused as she watched. "It's well past her bed time. You could take her home if you like? I need to say goodbye to Mamae but…I would not be long…"

Grasping her chin lightly beneath his fingers, he pressed his lips to her. "I will wait for you, ma vhenan."

The corners of her mouth quirked up and a hum of satisfaction rumbled free of her chest. "You always do…"

She rose from him, taking her warmth with her until he joined her, a hand to her back.

"I will wait for you," he repeated as an almighty yawn escaped him.

"Maybe in my dreams," she added with a doubting laugh before kissing him one final time. "Until then, my love."

Solas watched her leave for as long as he felt he could, stalking away through the crowd not long after. Rocking with the movement, Emmaera's babbling slowly quieted to nothing. At the outskirts he saw an unwelcome face, as if she had been waiting this entire time. He did not want to stop but some desire deep inside made him. Her blues eyes twinkled knowingly in to his cold ones.

"Dread Wolf, it has been much too long," Mirwen remarked as if greeting an old friend.

He glared down on her. "Speak what you will and leave me be." She gazed up at him questioningly and he mirthlessly laughed. "You fool no one. Never do you come to me without purpose and now is undoubtedly the same." It was difficult for him to keep his tone measured but somehow he managed it.

Even still, Mirwen took a step back as though she knew of his toil. "Concern this time not purpose. My purpose is almost done – yours set in motion. Still I feel the tug of fear; it was unwise to come to care, foolish even. Always a weakness of mine - one you could have played beautifully if I had allowed it." She reached out a hand to the child in his arms but reconsidered when he flinched. "You are beyond that now. So far beyond…and I find myself wishing it could be different but… Can it hear me?"

Solas stifled the sudden surge of anger he felt and nodded slowly, words far out of reach.

Mirwen took a step forward. "You are necessary," she stated, each word punctuated with certainty. "But you will never be anything more than a means to an end."

Energy built around them, snapping at the air and sparking out of nothing. Grasping his daughter to him tightly, he made for the tower and away from the Keeper as fast as he could without running.

Ellana had been right; Solas did not make it to her. She had expected to find him fast asleep on her return but he was nowhere to be found. She did not think to worry; some admirer would have simply waylaid him. The day had been a long one and while she fully intended to wait for him, her exhaustion had not been willing to suffer the waiting. A moment was all it took for sleep to find her.

She strode in dreaming. Solas was beside her, not the true one but some long remembered version eagerly spouting knowledge. Sunlight cut through the grey sky to the white mounds of snow on which they walked but Ellana scarcely even noticed her surroundings. She was only aware of the moment - the overwhelming urge to kiss him and finish what they had started in Haven but somewhere in the back of her mind she was waiting. She occasionally felt the tug of expectation, the idea that perhaps she desired something more than this moment. Lacking the power needed, her conscious self could do little more to try and remind her that this was not the Solas she wished to see. Then she felt it – the shift, the overriding sensation that something had been changed but she could make no sense of it. Without her awareness, she just knew that something was wrong. In the back of her mind her conscious-self tugged – trying to remind her, tell her that she knew this feeling well and somehow she got through. Unable to move, Ellana could not gaze expectantly for him but she thought it, so strongly that speech became possible.

"Solas?" she called out in to the barren land.

The remembered image of him was long gone along with much of the sunlight but she missed neither. At least until she felt the dread. She knew what it meant almost immediately, memory of that fateful night suddenly returned. She wanted and wished for light, company or anything that might bring her some comfort. She released one long ragged breath.

"I must stay conscious."

She could not be certain if she spoke them or merely thought them but either way, she ensured the words kept repeating.

"I must stay conscious."

She did not know where the mantra had come from but in some way, it felt familiar. It was a calming thought while it lasted. Her gaze fell all too swiftly on the blackness, red eyes splitting the dark as it regarded her.

"I must stay conscious."

The more they stared at one another, the more drawn the beast seemed to become. Screams ebbed and flowed in the background of her very being but never enough to retract her focus.

"I must stay conscious."

Clawed feet stirred towards her, fur like smoke trailing behind as if with a mind of its own.

"I must stay conscious."

Hesitant in every movement, the dark was conflicted. It stopped, shaking its great head and for a matter of seconds, it flashed to smoke. Within the swirling depths another form stood shrouded by the shadow. The screams turned to silence.

So transfixed by her desire to see, Ellana's mantra fell away, "I must… I must…"

She missed her chance and the many-eyed wolf reformed but she was willing to wait however long it took.

Jarringly loud in the relative quiet she had created, a female voice screamed, "Wake!"

The last thing she saw before she woke was red eyes against black inches from her face.

She sat up in the bed with a start. She reached out a hand to Solas slumbering at her side. Even with her touch, his expression remained vacant. It had been so long since they had walked the Fade together and tonight, it seemed, would do nothing to change that.

A/N - Yeah, I took some pretty serious liberties with the whole bonding thing but I dunno, it's what came. So next one is almost done so should not be long. I've been on a major writing binge of late but not so much on the editing side. May be a bit of a lapse as I've got some real life shit to do but at least I have the bones of a few chapters to work with! Anyway, hope you enjoyed and hope to see you next time!