And here is the Winter Palace! It's a short chapter. Next chapter is going to be about 3000+ words! Enjoy!

The Winter Palace made Solas feel like he was back in Arlathan, the politics, the backstabbing, the sex, it was all too familiar. He had even managed to connect with his spy network. Everything was running smoothly, for the most part. None of the inner circle members present had made fools of themselves, not even Sera, who seemed to want to jump out the nearest window at the earliest opportunity, or Cassandra who was walking so stiffly in her dress that she would trip over her dance partner's shoes.

Leliana was in her element, she was watching as the Game unfolded in front of her, as well as judging the different outfits the other guests were wearing. Josephine was with her sister having a small family reunion. And then there was Commander Cullen. The man was completely out of his element and the Orlesians were enjoying playing with him. The poor man was going to have quite a few marriage proposals by the time they returned to Skyhold. Solas had seen Fenris once or twice, but the warrior was mostly shadowing Ellana and was surprisingly good at keeping himself out of sight at a ball. Then again, he was the only one out of all of them that was posing as a servant. His hair was dyed black and quite a bit of makeup was used to cover his markings. Solas knew that he had to be careful not to say something to his contacts while Fenris was in the vicinity.

Ellana had been the talk of the ball, not all of it good, but not all of it horrific. For the most part she had the nobles eating out the palm of her hands. She knew how to play her exotic charm as a Dalish Elf to these people. Many of the nobles were scandalized by her dress. It wasn't the overly large, frilly things that the Orlesians were obsessed with these days, but a form fitting, light floor length gown with accents that screamed elven in their design. The dress itself was a simple of white color with gold lace down the arms and around the neck. Nearly her entire back was exposed, traumatizing half the court. Not to mention that she didn't have shoes on, just traditional leather wraps around her soles. All and all, she looked stunning and the court didn't know what to do with her. That was, until she started talking to the nobles and charming them like she had known the Game all her life. Solas swore that he'd seen her actually rob one or two them. The court found her alluring and interesting, keeping their minds off of the true reason they were here.

She had stopped by to talk to him at one point, a flute of champagne in one hand, still completely full. He had been standing near an exit, in case he needed to make a quick getaway, just listening to the rumors that were being created.

"Did you know that I have been given sixteen different champagne flutes this evening?" She asked as she dumped the entire flute into the nearest potted plant.

Solas raised an eyebrow at the behavior. "Is there a reason it is getting thrown away?"

"I don't really feel like being poisoned this evening, so I'm avoiding eating or drinking anything not given to me by someone I know," she responded with a quick shrug that would have the Ambassador scolding her.

Smart woman.

"Enjoying the ball?"

Small talk, lovely. "I am. I always enjoyed events like these. The betrayal in the air always makes for excellent drama."

"And you tried to convince me that you weren't nobility," she teased, voice light and airy and for a moment Solas wondered what she could have been like in another life, one that was located farther into the past. The court would have loved her. Mythal in particular would have enjoyed her witty and ruthless nature.

"Well, I see nothing gets past you. Was there a reason that you came to talk with me?"

She leaned in, her voice a near whisper. "Yep, meet me near the servant's quarters in ten minutes."

And, that was when the ball became a battlefield, much more familiar territory for the group as a whole. They ended up running around the entire palace, solving one problem after another and finding clues of an illicit romance between Briala and the Empress. Ellana thought that it would be excellent blackmail or at least a half decent love story. Cassandra thought that it was rather romantic, and Sera thought that it was stupid.

Luckily, through some miracle, Ellana hadn't managed to bloody her dress and made her way back to ballroom to dance. It was what Ellana had been dreading the most. She didn't mind dancing with friends, but she didn't like being the center of attention. She was a rogue. She worked in the shadows, dancing where everyone could see you was unfamiliar territory. Despite everything she seemed to pull off the dance easily and even dipped the Empress' cousin, gaining more court support, much to the Ambassador's amusement.

The greatest part of the ball was when Ellana exposed Florianne. It was done in such a grand manner that it had Solas grinning ear to ear.

It wasn't until everything had calmed down that he'd realized Ellana had disappeared. Solas moved towards the balconies and found her and a guest, who he belatedly realized was Fenris, looking out into the distance. Solas kept himself out of sight, but close enough to eavesdrop.

"Enjoy the ball?"

"It's been a long night," Ellana admitted, rubbing her shoulders as a breeze blew by. Fenris wrapped an arm around her without thought. She turned back to him. "What did you think?"

"It wasn't that different from the ones held in Tevinter. Maybe with less blood sacrifices, but just as loud, and just as unnecessary with Elves being forced to do all the work behind the scenes. I'm not a fan of the hair dye."

She ruffled his now black locks, her posture relaxed. "Well, it's different from anything I've ever experienced. Did you learn anything from you adventures?"

"That the Inquisition is causing rebellion amongst the ranks. They see you as something to aspire to. An Elf with the power to change Thedas, a dangerous thought to have in their heads."

A low waltz began to play from the ballroom and he heard Ellana sigh wistfully. "Want to dance?"

Fenris visibly stiffened, "Here?"

"You danced in front of my entire inner circle. We're, for the most part, out of sight here."

The warrior took a step away from her and bowed slightly, offering his hand. It wasn't long before they were gliding across the balcony in their own small world, if only for a few moments. Solas had to admit that Fenris was a lovely dancer and he probably made Ellana's night by giving her a moment to dance.

Hey, I know this was a short chapter, but the next one is going to be a long one. It was originally going to be a three parter, but I'm keeping it together as one, which is a treat to you! The story is starting to come to a tipping point where my final and most jarring plot twist is going to come through. No one has guessed it yet. Someone came super close a few chapters ago, but they were only half correct. They're missing the other half of my twist. I haven't seen this kind of twist done before, so I'm not sure if anyone is even thinking about what I'm about to do. It's going to be told in the next chapter, so put all you're guesses out now. I love reading them.

So, review, follow and favorite. I love seeing all the new people that read this story. =)

See you all next week,

Animerocker