Warning: Graphic scenes of torture.
Leliana had never seen the Inquisitor so enraged.
The usual calm demeanour of their beautiful leader was gone, replaced by something primal and dark. The scariest thing was that she didn't lose control. It would have been understandable if she had done so considering that she had just seen the love of her life get run through by an arrow right in front of her. But after a few minutes of holding his limp body in her arms, she had understood that there was nothing she could do for him.
Leliana had rushed down to the scene from her tower when she'd been informed of what had happened just a minute earlier, one of her scouts out of breath from running up the stairs to tell her. She flew down the steps into the courtyard just in time to watch the Inquisitor rise from Cullen's body, leaving him in Dorian's hands. Leliana could see that Dorian had already drained himself of all his magic, but Cullen didn't stir.
The look in Trevelyan's eyes alarmed Leliana. She knew that look, because she'd had it herself at several occasions in her life. This would not be pretty.
Trev started barking orders at everyone around her. To immediately lock down the keep, not a soul in or out, and search every inch, every corner of Skyhold and bring any suspects to the throne room to wait for her. Leliana nodded her consent when her scouts looked to her for approval, and she breathed a little easier, knowing how capable her people were, she knew the job would get done.
Trev spoke briefly to her shocked family members, who still stood frozen staring at Cullen's body. Whatever she said jolted them out of it and Lord Trevelyan took Rose's arm and led her towards the keep. Rose looked back at her sister over her shoulder, her face shocked and filled with worry.
The Inquisitor turned and marched towards the jail. Leliana felt compelled to follow her to make sure she didn't do anything stupid. She knew she was headed for Turner, but this was Leliana's area of expertise. For the Inquisitor's sake, she would hold her back if need be, to best extract the information out of Turner. Sometimes blunt force wasn't the best way, although she suspected that Trevelyan didn't share that particular view right now.
The way to the dungeon was heavily guarded, as it had been since Turner was thrown in there, to make sure no escape would be possible, but Trev dismissed all the guards and ordered them to participate in the search for the assassin. She did the same when she entered the jail itself, ordering the half-dozen guards away, Leliana following her closely.
The Inquisitor paused before Turner's cell came into view and turned her head towards Leliana.
"Stay if you'd like, but do not interrupt me."
Leliana only nodded. Words would be useless right now.
Trev walked up to the door of Turner's cell and fished up a key from her pocket. She stared at Turner, who was sitting in a corner of the cell, bruised and pale. He smiled when he saw her and Leliana saw Trev's hands start to shake as she tried to fit the key into the lock.
This was not a good sign.
Leliana approached her carefully and put her hand gently over hers.
"Let me." Trev surprisingly yielded and let Leliana unlock and open the door for her.
Turner stood up as the women entered. He looked at Trev with those shifty eyes Leliana despised so much, a smug expression forming on his face.
"What's the matter, my dear? You look awful. Did someone die?"
Leliana could practically feel the violence in the air. It was like waiting for thunder to strike, those breathless moments of anticipation before, making your pulse race even though, or maybe because of, you know what is coming.
She was surprised when the Inquisitor didn't strike him down right away. Her face was... frightening, calm but her eyes almost black.
She pulled out one of her daggers, slowly, the steel singing against the sheath. It was the zigzag one, a design Leliana was more than familiar with, being a rogue herself. It was not primarily used to kill, but to cause painful injury on it's target.
Turner snorted. "What happened, darling? Cat got your tongue?"
She closed in on him.
"I've got nothing to say. You will be the one talking."
Trev had him backed up against the wall now and he had nowhere to go when she kicked him hard in the groin, causing him to gasp and fall to his knees. Before he had time to catch his breath, Trev caught his hand and angled the tip of her dagger under one of his fingernails and drove it in. It all happened so fast Leliana could barely register it before a bloodcurdling scream rose out of Turner. He wailed over and over as Trev twisted her blade, blood spurting out of his mangled fingertip. Finally, she pulled her dagger out and Turner almost fainted.
"No, no, no, you're not getting away so easily. You're going to stay awake," she said and flipped the dagger around in her hand and traced a line down his cheek, cutting into his skin.
He screamed again, fully awake from the new source of pain.
"Maybe now you understand how this is going to work. You're going to tell me everything. Who did it, who was involved in any way, who their fucking mother is. You understand?" Trev's voice was low but resonated with authority. It was almost spellbinding, even to Leliana. When she spoke, you listened.
"I... I told you, I'm the only one for you. You think I didn't know how you carried on with him behind my back? How you violated our union?" Leliana listened to the words he spoke to her friend, disgusted. She couldn't tell if he was delusional, cruel or just plain crazy, but his words sickened her, as she was sure it sickened Trevelyan. He deserved all he had coming. "You're an ignorant, fucking whore if you thought I wouldn't make sure he would never get to touch you again, one way or the other. The Commander," he sneered. "I told you it was over between you, and I made sure I was right.
Trev finally snapped and with a snarl she buried her fingernails inside the wound on his cheek, as if she was trying to claw his skin out.
The screams he let out was like nothing Leliana had ever heard before, and she'd heard and caused countless men to scream. This wasn't bringing them any closer to finding out who'd shot the arrow at Cullen, and she put her hands around Trev, holding her back from doing any more damage. She fought her grip but Leliana shushed her.
"Come on, please calm down, he'll get what he deserves in a few moments, but we still need information from him. Justice, for Cullen's sake."
The last bit stopped Trev's fighting and she sank to the floor with Leliana's arms still around her. Turner was lying sprawled in the corner, wailing like a wounded animal.
Trev started breathing fast and loud and Leliana felt her heart clench as she saw everything hit her friend at once. She was panicking.
"He... he's dead, he's dead, isn't he? Cullen, my Cullen, he's dead. Dead?"
Leliana tightened her arms around her, stroking her head, trying to calm her down.
"We don't know that, maybe Dorian..."
"Dorian drained himself. I saw. It didn't help. Oh Maker help me, he was just lying there, Cullen, I just left him there on the ground!"
"Maybe he got help, we have a few other mages here in Skyhold. We don't know what's happened while we've been gone."
"None of them are half as good as Dorian and he couldn't do a thing. Maker, he's dead. I'll never get to feel his arms around me again, to feel his warmth against my skin..." Her head snapped up suddenly, her eyes fixating on Turner. "You. You did this. I don't care who fired the shot, you're the one who ordered this. I'll find them, every last one of everyone who's ever been involved. Everyone who has followed your orders in this. They're all dead men."
Trev got up on her feet and she walked up to Turner who was still lying on the floor but silent now, watching her as she approached him. She lifted him up by his collar, pushing him up into a standing position against the wall. Leliana felt him reek of fear, but he was too stupid to keep his mouth shut.
"So he is dead?" He smiled as much as his mangled face allowed him, a cruel and satisfied smile. "My deepest condolences on the loss of our great Commander, my dear."
His smile vanished as his wife raised her dagger and before Leliana could yell at her to stop, she pushed it against one side of Turner's throat and ripped it open. Blood sprayed out of him and the Inquisitor closed her eyes as her face became drenched in the thick, dark red liquid. She almost looked like she enjoyed it.
Turner's body fell to the floor, a look of shock still frozen on his face.
Leliana could hear Trev's breathing steadying after the adrenaline from the kill subsided.
She almost didn't hear her when she spoke in a low, almost whispering voice, still staring at Turner's body.
"For you, Cullen."