When they returned to Skyhold, it was already drowned in hasty preparations. The invitations for Orlesian Ball had arrived and Josephine was at her best to arrange everything.

She took the Inquisitor by her arm as they left the first War Council meeting after the return and led her to her desk to explain things about the Ball.

"I have commissioned the best tailors I could find, and madame Vivienne was most helpful," Josephine began sitting down gracefully in her chair. She took some sheets of paper from a neat stack and continued: "I acquired a dance teacher. He is waiting for your attention, Inquisitor, and I suggest you begin your lessons as soon as possible." Josephine finally chose the papers she was looking for and invited Lavellan to sit beside her.

Ellana obliged, her face showing the anxiety caused by the overwhelming rush of new responsibilities.

"There is still another matter to discuss. You are allowed a small party to take with you to court. You should choose wisely." Josephine stated. "This is not a battle of arms that awaits you, and you must be appropriately prepared." The Ambassador gave two pieces of paper to Lavellan. "I prepared two lists of your Inner Circle companions – the ones that you should take with you, and the ones you should not. In my opinion, of course," she added politely.

Ellana scanned the lists rapidly. The one with "recommended" was shorter: Cassandra, Vivienne, Varric, Iron Bull.

"Bull?" Ellana asked in surprise.

"I hesitated about him, but… he's the best spy in the Inquisition besides Leliana, and his skills would be useful. Considering that Orlesians see Qunari as mindless cattle, they would loosen their guard around him too." Josephine explained.

"All right. Now please explain me why the others are not suitable," Ellana inquired, putting the shorter list on the table.

"Of course, Inquisitor. Please bear in mind, that I do not mean any offence to your companions or you, when I say it." Josephine hurried to smile apologetically. "Blackwall will simply be of no use to you, honest and straightforward man as he is. Cole can read minds, it is true, but he too is open and sincere, and he will not understand the necessity of deceit." The Ambassador reasoned, going through her alphabetically organized list. "Dorian is Tevinter, and believe me, he will not be welcomed in Halamshiral. Sera and Solas are elves, and, forgive me, but two elves in your party will be too much, even if we are to appease the elves of Winter Palace."

"I see your reasons, but you forget one thing. I'm a Dalish elf, and probably the least welcomed person of the whole Inquisition to the Orlesians." Ellana sighed. "Dalish relations with flat-ears, as we call them, are tense to put it mildly. And so, my presence will do nothing if not less to strengthen our influence on Briala and her elves." Inquisitor confessed and stood up, still in doubts. "You may reconsider your thoughts about Solas or Sera in my party."

Josephine frowned and bit her lip. She had mastered human history and social relations, but elves' affairs were not as known to her.

"You may be right, Inquisitor. Then… what if we present one of your elven companions as an elven servant? That will surely give Briala's men some solid reasons to trust that person." Josephine elaborated the thought.

"I think I should ask Solas. Sera would never agree. And his manners are much more refined." Ellana suggested. 'And I want to take him with me.' She added in her mind. Their love was a new blossom, and she could not imagine leaving him out of her party at the moment. She was but a young girl, after all.

"I wish your luck in persuading him, Inquisitor." Josephine nodded appreciating. "I will think about some adjustments in his uniform to indicate his subordinate position in the meanwhile."

Ellana nodded lightly and was on her way.

Lavellan entered Solas' room and found him sitting at the desk with a book and a quill, writing down some notes, copying sentences from the opened page. Her heart fluttered in her chest, as she remembered how he confessed he was interested in developing their relationship. She was glad to see him that relaxed as he appeared. Since that talk, she found him more comfortable with her and his features often softened when he looked at her during their journey back. It was only deep in his eyes that Ellana could still notice some restraint that he wore so openly before.

She wanted to come up to him and wrap her hands around his shoulders, but she did not dare. He was very subtle in his attention to her, and that often made her feel as an intruding one.

"Hi." She said, her voice tingling with joy of seeing him again.

Solas rose from his chair slowly, wiping his ink-stained hand with cloth. He smiled easily, and Ellana noted she had already forgotten how handsome he was. "Lethallan."

"We are invited to Halamshiral, for a ball." She began, urged by his questioning look. "We…ah, Josephine suggested that Inquisition should address all powerful parties – the Empress, the Grand Duke, and this elven woman, Briala." Ellana swallowed nervously. The idea to put all blame for the elven servant idea on Josephine was nice, but she still had to voice it herself. Solas was so proud, as his name suggested, and she was not sure how he would react.

"That is most wise." He agreed, crossing his arms at his chest. "How can I be of assistance?"

"Well… the idea is… we need someone to put the elves confidence in…" She hated how her voice failed her. "Can you play the role of an elven servant?" She blurted out, abandoning all effort to word it out nicely.

His eyebrows arched a little, but aside that he remained still.

"It is possible, yes." He replied in an amused tone. Playing the role was not at all unfamiliar to him.

"I would do it myself, but they know I'm the Inquisitor and the vallaslin…" Ellana hurried to apologize. "And I thought you would be more convincing than Sera if she even agreed…"

Solas smiled again and put his right hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her.

"It is no problem to me, lethallan. Do not burden yourself with it. A little play is always thrilling and rewarding in itself." He assured her, grinning wickedly.

Lavellan seemed to be convinced. "Thank you," she said, "I was afraid I would hurt your pride with the suggestion."

Solas frowned at her words, and withdrew his hand slowly. "My pride can not be hurt, lethallan." He stated turning his eyes away from her. 'Not any further. Not by you. How can a mortal overdo my own effort at that?' He thought bitterly.

Ellana noticed the change in him, and she was saddened by it. Of course, it was not an easy decision to him, to be humiliated like that in front of the court, where elves were treated as pieces of furniture at best. To him, who dreamed of ancient elves, of their power and glory.

But he accepted what she'd asked of him. He did not hesitate. Ellana admired his readiness to aid her in her task. She should not have pressed him with her apologies.

"Thank you, Solas." She repeated once more, and leaned in to place a quick kiss on his cheek, pressing herself to him for one moment. Yet, his scent and the firmness of his broad chest sent her into the state of lightheadedness, and she found it difficult to part from him.

Solas watched her attentively, caught off guard by her tenderness. She did not deserve to be blaming herself for his mistakes. Circling his arm around her waist, he whispered: "I'm here to help you, Ellana. And that is little pay for accompanying you to Halamshiral." His lips curled up slightly. Moving his other arm to the back of her neck, Solas placed a chaste kiss on her forehead, and then released her gently.

"I believe you have many tasks awaiting you." He explained. "I too have to conduct a small study to play my role convincingly."

The Ball was huge, much bigger than Inquisitor could imagine. It was like the Conclave and she found herself following trails, hunting for information, setting traps to get the blackmail material. And she was quite the hunter.

Soon it came to the real battle, and Ellana was grateful she took Cassandra and Iron Bull with her. They finally met Briala, and Lavellan was convinced to side with her. The Empress had to die, as did the Duchess.

The peace finally announced, Ellana found the desire to retreat to some dark corner, so tired with all the intrigue and bloodshed. She chose a nice, quiet balcony, leaning on the railing, inhaling the night air, calming her mind.

She was surprised when Solas joined her. "How are you holding up, lethallan?" He asked quietly, taking a place at her side.

"It's been a long day." She answered simply. His warmth was more than welcome.

"It is true. For everyone, I imagine." He agreed. Then he straightened himself up to step away and said: "Before the band stops to play, come, dance with me!" And he stretched out a hand, inviting her.

Excited with the thought she accepted his invitation at once. And he closed his right arm around her, bringing her into a tight embrace. Waltzing with him was so easy, as he led her confidently. His upper body was still, hard as a rock, unmoving, while his legs spun around almost effortlessly. He stepped forward, his right leg between hers, and she stepped back, not even thinking about her next move, as she did with all other partners.

She never left her gaze from his eyes, so rich in color, as they danced in silence. The time itself seemed to stop. When the music stopped, he did too, stepping away from her and bowing his head as the dancing etiquette required. Ellana did her best to curtsey gracefully.

When she looked back at him, she was relieved to him content. He enjoyed the dance as much as she.

"I love it when you bow," she confessed breathlessly.

Solas grinned at her. "I did not know you're so drunk on power, Inquisitor." He replied mockingly.

Ellana laughed at the joke. Walking away to face the balcony railing again, she explained:

"I mean, you do it with such dignity. As if saying, I bow because I chose to, not because I feel myself obliged." She sighed. "I wish I could do the same. That would have shown them all."

Solas' steps were light behinds her back, and she felt his hand resting on the small of her back as he came up to her. He kept quiet, but the gesture was still assuring.

"I just thought… all this day… The Dalish do not bow, not to humans. And I did, a hundred times today, and I'm not ashamed." Ellana expressed the thoughts that were troubling her. "I'm not even sure I think of myself as a Dalish anymore." She whispered, frightened with her own admission.

"It is inevitable." Solas answered calmly. "Your path is now your own." He did not expect her to realize that so soon. There was little comfort he could offer her in that, the pains and burdens of the lone path so well known to him.

Ellana lowered her head for a while, caught in her inner struggle. Then she gazed into the night again and continued, her voice strained with pain.

"All that we did today… it was a success. And Dalish would never succeed here. We had only one tactic to deal with humans – attack, and if the enemy is stronger, die with your weapon in hand, unyielding. And there were times I believed it to be correct." She took a breath, her hands clutching the stone desperately. "Now I don't. It seems so close-minded and barbaric. Is it how you see us?" She asked, the words bitter on her tongue, herself on the brink of crying, not able to face him, not turning her head.

Solas inhaled sharply. She was indeed becoming wiser.

"Yes." He replied curtly, removing his hand from her to clasp his arms together. His words cut a deep wound in her soul, even if she knew the answer before he voiced it. And without the warm feel of his fingers, she was left alone in the dark and cold night, bleeding and helpless.

"I still dream of returning to my clan," Ellana lamented, "but those dreams are of the past and not of the future." She felt the tears burning on her cheeks, as her pain consumed her.

Solas did not say anything. Why was he so cold-hearted with her? She thought he cared about her.

"Are you not going to give me some comfort?" She asked, her desperation transforming into an impotent anger.

She'd lost her future with the Dalish, he saw it very clearly, and she wanted to have a new one, the future with him. But he could not offer her it. He would not deceive her with the false hopes. He would not deceive himself with false hopes, no matter how much he wanted it.

"I can't." He said in a quiet, pained voice.

Ellana finally spun around, her burning eyes boring holes in him. She felt betrayed, but he could do nothing to ease her anguish.

"I should have expected it," she spat at him and left, her entire body trembling with the single thought. She'd lost him, she'd lost everything.