The moment their group have dismounted before the large gates of Heaven Cullen finally let out a relieved sigh. To his surprise he was not even aware about that he half held his breath or how tense his body really was. But at last they were all accounted for and the mission was completed. For now. The Inquisition's commander handed the reins to one of the stable hands and turned to look back at the rest of his company. They looked bruised, battered and exhausted but as far as he could guess all of them had the same relief reflected on their faces. Well all of them except Ellena and Leliana.
A pang of guilt stabbed Cullen's heart when he looked at the two women who were presently carefully shifted from the makeshift cart and onto stretchers and hurriedly carried away through the gate. I should have done more. The ex-templar thought. But in the fight against a demon like Envy they all felt quite powerless and unprepared. If it wasn't for Ellena they all would have been probably dead.
The memory of her pale face stained with crimson blood as she layed motionlessly in the middle of the courtyard while the mark on her palm flared with jade light brought another painful stab to Cullen's heart. He wanted to follow the stretchers. He wanted to be there, with her, to hold her hand and to tell her that everything would be alright. But he was also the commander of their forces and right now his focus should be on preparations for the templars which will arrive to help with the breach soon.
If we can actually even do something about the breach, now that Ellena is...
Cullen balled his hands into angry fists and let out a frustrated growl. It was so unfair. She should not have even been there.
"Cullen..." He heard Cassandra's voice and turned to look at the Seeker. She regarded him with tired eyes before he felt her hand on his shoulder. "...go get some rest and then go see her. I will take care of the rest." His friend offered a supportive smile before she waved her hand towards the gate.
"I..." Cullen was about to protest but then he saw her eyebrows rise and her lips pursed into a thin line. "...very well. And thank you Cassandra." Was all he had said before his feet carried him through Haven towards the Chantry.
Twenty minutes later when he had dropped his equipment into his room and had changed into more comfortable clothes consisting of dark trousers and grey linen shirt, Cullen hurried out again towards the healer's cabin. The evening sun had just slowly disappeared behind the horizon when he lightly tapped on the door. His stomach in knots, Cullen waited for Adan's bearded face to appear in the window before the local healer cracked the door open. "Yes Commander?" He said in a hushed voice.
"I just came by to see how Leliana and Ellena are doing. Is there something I can help with?" Cullen shifted nervously from foot to foot.
"Well Sister Nightingale will need some time to recover. I treated her wounds as best I can but what I am truly concerned about is her mind. I read the report and if what it says is true I fear the Envy demon might've been too much for her to fight." Adan finally fully opened the door and let the commander in.
"Although only time will tell. For now I would like to request one of the templars when they arrive to stand watch over her. Just to be sure her mind is still her own, if you know what I mean."
"She is far too strong willed to get possessed Adan." Cullen frowned with a nod. "But very well I will see what I can do. How is Ellena though?"
"The elf will be alright. She is exhausted but I suppose that is the toll the mark takes from her, aside from that I treated her injuries but she should heal fine. In fact I would not mind if you took her to her cabin right away as I could use the extra room to care for Sister Nightingale."
Cullen briefly thought about reprimanding the man for his casual dismissal of Ellena as "the elf" but in the end decided against it. "Very well I will take her. And Adan?" The Commander measured the man with rather hard glare before he stepped inside the cramped compartment of the cabin.
"Yes?"
"Do whatever it takes to get Leliana on her feet again. Anything you need, just ask for it."
"I will keep that in mind Commander." The apothecarian said before he turned his attention back to his potions.
Meanwhile Cullen made his way over to the two beds in the opposite corner. He briefly looked at Leliana and muttered silent prayer to the Maker and Andraste for her recovery. The spymaster looked feverish and he noticed beads of sweat glistening on her forehead. Afterwards his eyes focused on the other patient. Ellena layed motionless and still pale as a ghost under her blanket. Her face was clean now at least but Cullen still noticed a thick patch of bandages covering her right arm and shoulder and he had to fight hard against his own feelings of guilt.
She had saved me...again. The ex-templar thought when he gently pulled the blanket under Ellena's chin and then carefully scouped her into his arms. He made sure her head rested against his shoulder but his mind already raced forward. The petite woman felt so small and light in his embrace and yet again Cullen felt that deep desire to protect her from harm.
Well really good job so far...Andraste preserve me if this continues I will not be able to live with myself.
Together with Ellena still unconscious in his arms the commander walked through now busy town, down the stairs and towards the small cabin nestled under a tall pine tree. He realized that this was the first time he had set foot there since he had learned about Ellena's change of accommodation in favor of Vivienne's high comfort standarts and demands.
The cabin appeared dark and rather sad. There were no personal belongings anywhere and with a bit of sadness Cullen realized that Ellena owned nothing, except maybe the clothes she wore which were a gift from Inquisition. An idea was born in his mind then and he felt a soft smile tug at his lips as he thought it through, various scenarios already playing in his thoughts.
But first I need to get her to the bed. The commander reminded himself and took few steps inside the little room and gently layed Ellena on her bed. He looked for a moment for a candle to get some light but there were none. Another thing Cullen added to his mental list of items he should get to make Ellena's living quarters a better place.
"Well that is done then." Cullen silently muttered for himself, his eyes still on the woman on the bed in front of him and for some odd reason he felt the back of his neck flush red. "Oh come on..." He chided himself. "So not only I am here nervous as a young boy but I also happen to talk to myself like some old woman. Brilliant." Cullen ran his right hand over his face and in the end decided to just sit down on a wooden chair next to the bed. He did not want to just leave her alone here, in the empty room. If she'd woken up he'd owed her at least an explanation and some reassurance. After a moment of hesitation Cullen looked around the room once more. Well waiting for her to wake up was one thing but he also needed something to pass a time with. It was right at that moment when a bit of light from the guard's torch outside illuminated a small table in the far away corner when Cullen had noticed a rather worn, small book laying on it.
A moral dilemma suddenly presented itself and the ex-templar shifted his gaze from the book to Ellena and to the book again. He knew that the it might be something private, but then again he battled with his feelings for this frail elven woman long enough to admit to himself that he had longed to know more about her. Anything would do even if the book proved to be a collection of old tevinter cooking recipes.
After around ten minutes of a silent inner war and several glances exchanged from his resting company to the table Cullen finally came to a decision. He silently rose up from the chair and slowly, crossed the room towards the corner. First glance at the book revealed nothing except that the leather crafted covers were dark and worn with frequent use. His hand reached almost on its own for the curious looking volume and picked it up lightly and with another quick glance towards the bed he opened it on the first page.
And Cullen felt his breath stuck in his throat as he browsed through page after page. It looked like a sort of diary. Each sheet of paper was covered with elegant, thin and neat handwriting. He had no idea what was written there as the language was probably Tevinter, although he was not really sure. The sentences and small paragraphs covered every empty piece of each page and where there were none there were beautiful drawings of buildings, animals and people.
The commander gently closed the thin volume and returned it to its place on the table before he resumed his seat next to Ellena's bed. Somehow this woman managed to touch him even through such a small thing as that book. As the evening proceeded Cullen had to fight with few yawns. He shifted slightly on the chair and busied himself with staring at the wooden boards which formed the cabin's floor. The tiredness and longing for his own bed brought another matter to the ex-templar's mind. His gaze shifted to Ellena once more as he mused when was the last time she ate anything.
When this blows over I should make sure we have dinner together.He heard his own voice say those thoughts in his mind before he noticed a stray strand of hair which fell over Ellena's forehead and without thinking Cullen gently brushed it off and let the palm of his hand gently coup the side of her face. Her skin felt warm and soft under his fingers and each stroke of his thumb which ran across that smooth, velvety skin had sent shivers down his spine. His morale screamed at him that this was wrong. She was not conscious and he had no right to do this. But the excited tingling slowly spread from his back to his chest and Cullen felt inconceivably drawn to Ellena's half parted lips.
Just one kiss. Nothing more. I just want to know if she feels the same as the last time at the lake.
Similar excuses rushed through his head as the commander leaned closer. Ellena looked so peaceful now. Some colour had returned to her face and he noticed the tiniest flutter of her long eyelashes. Her hair was slightly matted and she still carried over her the scent of the templar fortress. Prayer incense mixed with rain and familiar metallic hint of lyrium.
Cullen felt his cheeks flush and his heartbeat sped up as he studied her so closely. Her half parted lips looked almost like an invitation and he watched her chest slowly rise and fall with calm breaths. Just as he was about to win his moral back from the desire which sought to take control of him, Ellena shifted slightly underneath him and a barely audible sigh escaped her lips. That was the last straw which nudged Cullen forward. The ex-templar leaned in and closed the remaining distance between them. He felt his lips crush against hers, the warmth burned him like a hot iron and he felt insatiable desire burst aflame inside of his body.
Never before in his whole life had Cullen desired someone as badly as he desired Ellena now. He wanted to hold her tightly in his arms. To discover every inch of her skin. He craved to drown in the taste of her lips and at that moment, everything else could be damned. With mind enveloped by thick fog of desire and lust the ex-templar slid from the chair and found a new spot on the bed next to her. His hands moved with the will of their own as his right grabbed the blanket and threw it aside, the other meanwhile ran over her hair and down along her neck.
Cullen pulled out form the kiss, it left him panting slightly and after he looked down on Ellena's face he noticed a light pink flush spread over her cheeks. This prompted him more. His fingers trailed over the lines of her golden tattoos and just as before he was left wondering about just how far the design goes across her body. It took him only a moment to give in to his fascination and he leaned in again, this time following the intricate, golden lines with his lips in a series of light kisses. Down over her jaw, along the elegant line of her neck and over her right collar bone.
The fabric of her dress stopped him and the commander was reminded of his morale and the wrongness of his doings again. But just as before the thoughts were ultimately banished form his mind and with nothing else than throbbing dark desire pulsating through his whole body he unceremoniously ripped the top of Ellena's dress apart and with a small smirk continued his wet trail of kisses down between her breasts before his lips closed over the slight darkness of her right nipple with one hungry sigh
His tongue lapped over the slowly hardening circle of skin and soon enough he coaxed a soft moan from Ellena's lips. That sound wiped away any remaining restrain from Cullen's mind and he eagerly let his hands trail over the elf's stomach. Her form felt firm and Cullen groaned in appreciation when he found out how well her body fit into his hands. Without further thought he destroyed rest of the dress, revealing only remaining obstacle which divided him from sating his immediate desire. With another smirk he abandoned his play with Ellena's breast and after several wet kisses down her belly his lips stopped at the edge of her smallclothes.
"Cullen?"
The voice brought Cullen from the world of dreams back to reality with one shocked jerk of his body. He felt his cheeks burn as he blinked several times and quickly looked towards the bed. To his immense relief he spotted Ellena still under her blanket, with clothes intact, her large green and now slightly glazed eyes were looking at him with that confused expression he knew all too well.
"Shh I am here. We are back at Haven. You were hurt but you will be alright." Cullen blurted out all at once. He felt the flush from his cheeks spread over the back of his neck and tried without success to banish the vivid images of the dream from his mind.
I must have dozed off. The commander realized with a healthy dose of shame.
"How are you feeling?" He asked instead, for he was indeed curious and also he wanted the heavy silence which had appeared between them to go away.
"Tired and I am not really sure what has happened." Ellena replied and he noticed her eyes which darted between his face and the floor.
"You've sent the Envy demon back to the Fade with your mark. Before that, it almost overpowered us all. You saved everyone." Cullen smiled at her fondly and when she smiled back he swallowed part of his shyness and gently swept the stray strand of hair from her forehead.
"I remember the fight...Leliana...she...did she die?" Ellena suddenly asked and tried to sit up which resulted in a low groan from her lips as she collapsed back onto the bed.
"Hey, take it easy. Leliana will be alright. Adan and Mother Giselle are taking care of her. We also have the remaining templars as our allies, they will help us close the breach when you get better."
They exchanged few more looks but the silence again swallowed the room and as the evening progressed into the night the little cabin drowned in the increasing thickness of dark shadows.
"Wait here, I will fetch a few things." Cullen finally found his voice again and on swift feet left the room. The cold night air swept over his burning cheeks and the commander let out a small sigh of relief.
What the in the Maker's name is wrong with me?He had never ever had such a vivid dream about someone before.
"Cold shower it is tonight." He muttered under his breath silently as he made his way towards his own quarters to fetch some candles, food and water.
Leliana had opened another door, so far this place offered nothing of interest and she grew increasingly restless from the lack of things to focus on, to keep her mind occupied and her hands busy. She hated idle flow of time without having anything to do. This time the display which revealed before her left her frozen in place and the sharp breath she drew in stuck in the middle of her troat.
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise and her mind worked over time as she tried to come to terms with what was happening in the little, shaded room illuminated only with several flicking candles. There was no mistake that the woman in the room was Neria. She stood there, grinning with that mad mask reflecting her hunger for power, the sword she held in her hand had been already coated in blood.
Leliana let out a small gasp as the familiar scene unraveled before her. She knew what will happen next even before she looked at the second woman who stumbled against the wall and slowly slid down to the floor, leaving the rough stone behind her marked with long trail of her own blood. The spymaster angrily dug her fingernails into the wooden frame of the door she stood in and her eyes connected for a brief moment with the green eyes of the dying woman. Her own eyes, albeit younger.They exchanged one look. Ten or so years parted the two women but she could still recognize the pain of betrayal reflecting on the face of her dying younger self.
Yes Neria, her lover and at that time the only person whom she had ever truly trusted, stomped on that trust and her feelings and murdered her in cold blood, only to poison the Sacred Ashes.
"You envy Neria her power don't you. If you could, you would wish to be as strong as her. You could have avenged yourself if you were stronger."
A hissing voice suddenly breathed the words against her ear. Leliana felt a hot breath tickle her at the back of her neck but when she turned around to see who else was there, only emptiness of endless corridors greeted her.
"No, I don't care for what power Neria might have had." Leliana said finally. More to herself than to whoever had talked to her before.
"Is that so?" Neria suddenly turned her head towards still confused spymaster and smiled, in that beautiful, heartbreaking smile of hers. "So, there is nothing at all which bothers you about what has happened?"
"Not at all." Leliana crossed her arms over her chest. She had suspected a demon was at a work here. Even though her mind felt sluggish and slow from the wounds she had suffered she was now more than sure that someone from the Fade was trying to mess with her mind. But she could not point her finger on which kind of the demon it was, yet.
"I see, then how about this?" The fake image of Neria before her suddenly shimmered in lightly green light before the whole scene shifted. They were in the Winter Palace now. Nobles danced and talked along the walls and Leliana turned around a few times just to get a better look at the place. The palace looked different. She could not identify exactly what it was that made it feel so alien from how she had remembered the place before she realized that no one here wore the otherwise obligatory masks.
"Leliana, darling. Play us one of your songs." A soft voice echoed just behind her and she spun on her heel only to face Marjolaine who regarded her with a smile and an outstretched hand.
"No..this is not real." Leliana stumbled backwards, she felt her whole body grow cold as a terrible fear sunk to her stomach. Marjolaine was dead, she had killed her with her own hands.
"Is it not? Were you not jealous of the freedom I possessed? Of my skills and connections?" Marjolaine purred as she closed the distance between Leliana and herself. "Did you not desire the same amount of influence as I used to have? To send assassins after people you needed gone or who have irritated you?"
"No...I am not like you Marjolaine." Leliana finally regained some of her composture but the presence of yet another woman who she had thought at one time to be her lover and who betrayed her same as Neria did, deeply shook her confidence.
"Are you not? And what do you do now, you command the net of spies, you kill people who stand in your way and you keep telling to yourself that it is because of a greater good. But I do wonder my darling, just how much good there really is in you. Perhaps you desire the Inquisition for yourself?"
"That is not my goal. I serve the Divine!" The spymaster retorted with anger but the previous words already found their way to her heart and a deep seed of doubt was planted there.
"Tsk tsk, you serve to someone again. My precious little Nightingale it is time for you to spread your wings. You should have others serve you. After all you are so much better than those who pretend to command your hand." Marjolaine took the last step which separated them and the familiar scent enveloped Leliana's senses. She had felt so alone. Everytime she had given her trust to someone, they abused it and then turned on her.
Perhaps Marjolaine was right. Who were the people who ran the Inquisition. Cullen, a broken ex-templar who seemed too haunted by his own past to actually take control of his future. Then there was Cassandra. Too devoted, too hot headed. A glorified thug in the service of the Chantry. None of them had the qualities, the finesse or brains that could match her own.
"See ma chérie? You are so much better than them. But there is another person, someone who bears more power than you can have, someone who does not deserve it at all, am I right?" Marjolaine whispered and Leliana felt the burning lips of her former lover trail down her neck. A wave of heat emitted from her chest and she vaguely remembered that a wound from the previous battle was still there.
"Ellena?" The spymaster whispered, her voice strained with a soft moan as she felt the heat mix with excitement and a rush of fire ran down to her core.
"Indeed. The little slave who bears the mark. Why should she have this power. She is nothing, nobody compared to you ma chérie. But then again she looks a bit like Neria, doesn't she?" Leliana almost stumbled over her own feet when the soft and nimble fingers slowly slipped under her shirt and her mind clouded over as she felt erratic breaths escape her lips.
"Tell me, what is it that you would like to do to her, shouldn't she be punished for her behavior?"
The whole room shifted again and Leliana felt a pang of loneliness when Marjolaine had disappeared with it. She now stood in the middle of the dungeon under the Haven's chantry. She noticed Cullen who sat broken in one of the cells but before she could react to any of the things she saw a sound of heavy boots echoed from the stone walls and interrupted the silence.
"We have her Inquisitor." One of the guards which appeared behind her said with a polite bow of his head and it took Leliana a moment to realize that he was talking to her.
"Who do you have?" The spymaster asked finally and felt her lips curl into a smile. Inquisitor indeed had a good ring to it.
"The slave, she tried to run from Haven but we caught up with her in the mountains. Should I bring her in?" The guard waited for his orders and after he saw Leliana's nod of agreement he saluted and waved at his colleagues who drew half conscious Ellena into the room and tossed her onto the stone floor.
"Well well, time to show this little snake who is the one here who can bite, don't you think?" That hissing voice echoed in her head again but with it a rush of mixed emotions surged forward.
This was wrong. She was nothing like this. It was the demon's play. But before she could put her thoughts into any resistance a warmth spreaded from her chest. Leliana looked down and saw red crystals grow from the wound. They echoed through her whole being and that same distorted melody erupted inside her mind once more.
"Leliana, what are you doing?" That was Cullen's voice which interrupted her thoughts this time and the spymaster regarded him with one look of contempt before she turned her cold eyes towards the elf huddled on the floor.
"I will show you what will happen to those who do not obey me and the Iquisition. I know that this slave would seek to betray us all later. But I have learned a valuable lesson once. Never delay the inevitable. If you can strike, strike." Leliana felt a smile spread over her lips and the less she had fought against her thoughts, the better she felt. Yes this must be the right thing to do.
"Captain, have your men strip the prisoner, tie her to the table over there, face down and have someone heat up cobble stones in the fire."
Leliana watched with amusement as Ellena squirmed on the floor when the two guards walked over and proceeded to drag her towards the table in the far corner and the sight of them roughly yank the clothes from her prisoner had sent pleasurable shiver down her spine and an idea was born in her mind.
"I know what we can do while we wait for the stones to be ready. I know how much you cherish your looks. You think you are pretty right?" A surge of jealousy which still felt alien and new to her had invaded Leliana's heart as she regarded the girl before her. The elf was indeed pretty, with her bronze skin, the tattoos, the long, dark hair. Well she will be just a wreck when I am done with her.Leliana slowly walked over to the small stand next to the table and took hold of a shaving razor which layed there amongst other various instruments of pain.
"Leliana, stop this nonsense. Have you gone completely mad?" Cullen yelled at her desperately as she took hold of Ellena's strong hair and few cuts with the razor later she watched the dark mass cascade to the ground where it layed in scattered long locks. "Leliana!" Cullen cried again, this time his voice sounded less angry and more pleading.
"Oh no, you will watch, everything I will do with her. Because it was your fault. You tried to medle and make this slave into something she was not, now you will watch as I will break her completely. I should have had this power!" Leliana spat towards the ex-templar and with a new surge of anger and envy her hand roughly and without any ounce of care shaved Ellena's head bald.
"If you won't stop moving I will shave your eyebrows too, and trust me I will not be as gentle with them as I was with your head." A loud slap echoed through the room when Leliana's hand connected with Ellena's cheek and to her satisfaction she saw the girl go limp with fear.
"You do such a good job my pet. Just a little bit more and you can have everything which was taken from you before. Just let me in, show me who you are. I need to see more of you." The hissing sounded lauder this time and to her surprise Leliana realized that she had spoken those words aloud. Well it did not matter. The words were true. She wanted everything which others took from her. Her youth, her future, her freedom, her innocence.
"I wonder if you will still like the slave when I turn her completely useless. You know that there is a very nice way how to cripple someone? I will show you in just a few moments, but, let me explain first. I think that Ellena should know what will happen to her." The spymaster purred as she walked over to the far end of the table and lightly tiptoed her fingers across Ellena's thigh and towards the back of her left knee.
"You see, bones are not as strong as they might appear. Take for an example a large enough cobble stone which can fit under her knee. Heatet until it is white and tied in place as I bend her leg over it. It will sear its way through her flesh and when it does her joint will shatter into pieces. Brilliant, no?" Leliana laughed with a joy she hadn't felt for years and turned her gaze towards Cullen who clutched the bars of his cell until his knuckles turned white.
"Leliana, please. Stop this thing. This is not like you. I know you and you would have never done something like that." The former commander of the Inquisition pleaded but his words were banished by the song and the hissing voice in her mind. The song which started as annoying, odd and disharmonic now brought strange comfort and pleasure to the spymaster. With one fluid motion of her hand she unclasped a stiletto dagger from her belt and threw it idly at Cullen. The weapon buried deep into his shoulder and left him bleeding and slumped against the bars of his cell.
"The stones are ready Inquisitor." One of the guards announced from the door.
"Very well, bring it in, we can continue." Leliana leaned towards Ellena's ear lightly and noticed the tears of panic stream down the elf's face. "Shhh this is for your own good you know. We cannot have slaves act all mighty, that will just not do. The order of the world simply does not work that way." The spymaster pulled away and crossed her arms over her chest as she watched the guard drag in medium sized cobble stone between the iron pliers.
"Put that stone over the back of her left knee and then bend her leg over it, make sure it is fastened in the place, I don't want our lecture to go to waste should she trash too much." Leliana ordered the guard who only nodded and walked over to Ellena with swift steps.
The display proved as even a greater satisfaction than Leliana had hoped. The moment the red hot stone connected with Ellena's leg she heard a blood freezing cry of pain and the smell of burned flesh filled the room. The elf trashed across the table when they bend her leg over the stone and fastened it in the place with a rope. It was even more delightful to watch Cullen's reaction. The large templar looked ready to break through the bars in order to rush and help his pitiful slave. But the dagger in his shoulder left him in sobs on the floor. His cheeks were streaked with tears of anger and pain and he cursed Leliana over and over again. But the spymaster hardly listened. Her focus was back on Ellena who seemed on the verge of fainting from the pain.
"Kick the stone free." Leliana ordered the guard who did as she had asked. They untied the elf's leg and as the stone rolled out it took with it large chunks of burned flesh and left behind large and seared gaping hole and a swollen and shattered knee. At the same time Cullen finally fell on the ground, his head lolled to the side and his opened eyes looked empty and dull to the ceiling. With his death Leliana suddenly felt freed from any previous morale struggles which were still left in her heart. And the song which rang through her whole being reached its powerful crescendo.
"Good work my pet. I think you are more than ready.." The hiss interrupted Ellena's faint sobs and Leliana felt two large claw-like hands grasp her shoulders.
The cells, guards, Cullen and Ellena all disappeared and the room shifted once more. She stood at the courtyard of Therinfal Redoubt. The rain poured over her face and the pain in her chest and shoulder returned.
"No! How did you do it? I had you. All of you." Only now Leliana noticed the monstrous face of the Envy demon which hovered mere inches from her own and growled and spat its words to her face. "You are odd. You do not feel like others. It is the song. What is it?" The demon cried in utter despair and Leliana felt the weight of it's claws disappear from her shoulders.
The song...what did it mean? Oh of course. I died. Neria killed me. The lyrium...it was not Andraste but the lyrium brought me back. But now...the red crystals...
The spymaster had no idea what the sudden revelation meant but the demon did not give her much time for thought. It shifted on its long legs before it dove forward and buried it's claws deep into her stomach.
"If I cannot have you, no one will. I will find someone else. But you will die here, alone." It howled it's words in utter rage before Leliana's face when a sudden cacophony of noises burst all around them. Cries of anger and panic, swords clashed and spells sizzled around her. The demon let out one horrific shriek before it's claws yanked out from her and Leliana felt her legs gave up under her and as she fell to the rain stained ground she saw Cullen, Cassandra and others rush past her and all have launched themselves at the monster.
But the spymaster cared for one thing only. She had failed. The vivid images of what has happened before when the demon revealed her true nature haunted her mind. There was no excuse for what she did. It did not matter that all that has happened, was a delusional figment of her mind corrupted by the efforts of the Envy demon. She had truly wished for those things to come to pass. And Leliana rolled over onto her back and stared into the stormy skies. How could she continue now. The disharmonic song once more filled her ears but this time she willed herself to listen to it. It must have been the song of the lyrium. But it sounded wrong and yet she wanted to listen, to understand. It spoke to her. Of someone. Of someone who commanded. The Leader. Corypheus. Was the last thought in her mind before she had felt herself slip into the embracing darkness.
Two days had passed since, when Leliana woke up at last in Haven again.
Updated: 20.3.2016
