With Solas's approval, Evelyn slowly stood, gingerly putting her weight on her injured leg. Encouraged by the lack of pain she took a few steps, wincing slightly from the tightness in her muscles.

"You will have to stretch the soreness out Inquisitor, but after a few weeks you should be completely back to normal. I would advise you to take it easy until then and truthfully, I would prefer you stay out of the field but, sadly, that decision has been taken out of my hands. Your advisors have had more and more reports of new rifts opening and you are needed elsewhere."

Evelyn watched as the mysterious mage bowed his head and slowly exited her quarters. After months of traveling and talking with the apostate, she still had no idea what made him tick. There was something soothingly gentle about his demeanor but she sensed a hidden rage deep within. Normally she would have pressed for more details about who he was and why he had decided to join in a cause that normally would have meant nothing to him. His knowledge concerning the Fade was far too valuable though. Evelyn feared that pressing the elf into a corner would cause his immediate departure; and that she was not ready to risk – especially when a part of the fade was a permanent mark upon her person. She looked down at the glowing green break in her skin. All the potions she had been forced to drink in an effort to heal her leg more quickly had blissfully, dulled the pain she normally felt from the mark. Now that she was potion free the dull ache was beginning to make itself known. She traced her finger around the edge of the torn skin absentmindedly as she walked around her quarters. Evelyn was still stymied on how best to approach the whole "courting" thing. She knew the Seeker wanted romance but the thought of presenting the warrior with flowers made her uneasy; besides she had no idea which flowers the complex woman would like best. The Inquisitor had never heard mention of any favorite bloom nor even a favorite color. In fact that only thing she knew that Cassandra liked, beyond a doubt, was smutty literature; having caught the seeker in the middle of reading one of her favorite series one afternoon.

The pacing stopped as an idea formed in her mind. Considering the fact that one of the seeker's favorite authors just happened to be a part of the Inquisition made the scheme even more plausible. Evelyn grinned in delight. Oh, it would be perfect and it was something that Cassandra would never see coming. She turned, anxious to find the dwarf and commission his help in her latest endeavor. Her grin faded slowly to a grimace as she remembered all the stairs she would have to climb down and all the subsequent steps she might have to take in an effort to locate Varric. Evelyn set aside the possibility of discomfort; the risk of pain was minor when compared to the potential reward. She gripped the railing and slowly took the first step. She hoped Varric would be in his usual spot in front of the fire, if not, it was going to be an exceedingly long and laborious day.

Varric groaned as he read another letter from his shady editor. As much as he hated to take advantage of the vast resources commanded by the Inquisition, he was going to have to beg another favor from the Inquisitor in order to get this literary mess straightened out. As if she had read his mind, he looked up to see said Inquisitor hobbling her way towards him. He stood up, quickly moving to the front of the table to pull out a chair for his commander and friend.

"Are you crazy! Have a seat, what are you doing down here? You know the moment they realize you are back they will just put you back to work!"

Evelyn found herself chuckling at the dwarf's response, grateful for the offered seat. Her muscles were on fire from her slow decent down the stairs. It was amazing how weeks of inactivity could wreck havoc on ones physical abilities. She bade her companion to sit, amused when he called for a mug of ale. The dwarf seemed to drink like a fish but Evelyn had yet to see him inebriated. If anything such a beverage might make him more amiable to the task she had in mind.

"Have you started the next chapter of Swords and Shields?"

Varric halted his drink in mid-air and stared at the Herald. He had never pegged her for the bookish type, especially not that sort of book. He snorted as he took a long drink and shook his head.

"Hell no. I wasn't planning to finish that series; the last chapter barely covered the cost of printing. Nobody reads those things, they're horrible."

Evelyn laughed, "But you are the one who wrote them. How can you think they are horrible?"

Varric shrugged and took another drink, "Have you read them?"

The Inquisitor shook her head no. Her adventures over the past few years had scarcely afforded her time for pleasure reading and even so, romantic novels were not her thing. Until she had caught Cassandra reading one, the idea had never even crossed her mind; she much preferred playing the role of the lover versus reading about one. Remembering the seeker's acute embarrassment on the matter, Evelyn thought it wise to proceed with caution. While she was sure she could order the dwarf's silence on the matter, she would prefer he not know that the fierce warrior he was so wary of offending was a huge fan of his writing. If he did, Cassandra might never live it down. So she lied.

"I've heard mixed reviews on them and wondered what all the fuss was about. The next few missions are going to be pretty low key so I thought that if you were writing the next chapter, now would be the perfect time to finish since I am planning on taking Iron Bull, Solas and Sera with me for the next few weeks."

Varric studied the woman across from him. Her face betrayed nothing, but something in her explanation wasn't adding up for him. She had never shown any interest in his writing before, nor had she cared that he might need extra time in order to continue his literary hobby. He narrowed his eyes over the half-empty mug of ale as a thought dawned on him and grinned slyly.

"You're not telling me the entire story are you?"

Evelyn raised an eyebrow at the self-assured man who was far too astute for his own good. She smiled and shrugged, "A lady never tells."

Varric laughed at that and took another drink as he mulled over the idea. Truthfully he was not enthused by the suggestion. The series had been much harder to write since he had left Kirkwall; especially since the inspiration for his main character was no longer around for him to rile with his bawdy humor. It was a waste of ink. However, in light of the recent missive from his editor and the fact that he was going to have to ask the Inquisitor for help in the matter, Varric did not see the harm in a little quid pro quo.

"All right Inquisitor, you have yourself a deal just so long as I can get you to look into a small matter for me in Kirkwall."

Evelyn grinned, wondering if the next part of her request would be as easily received as the first. She cleared her throat and leaned forward, lowering her voice.

"Done! Although…. there is one more demand I must make of you before we call this a deal."

She paused as the dwarf frowned back at her and crossed his arms over his hairy chest, "Go on."

She took a deep breath; there was no easy way to broach the subject so she dove right in.

"I have a minor request to make for this latest chapter and its one that might seem…. unconventional depending on where you left the story off…"

Now he was really intrigued, this favor was getting interesting. Varric leaned forward, resting his arms on the well-worn wood of the table, his mind delving into disturbing arenas of thought.

"Unconventional how? Like… with animals and chains or are we talking more fetish related stuff?"

Evelyn felt her mouth drop in surprise and shook her head vigorously.

"Maker no! Do people really write about that sort of thing? Never mind, I don't want to know. I meant more like a scene… a romantic scene between two women…"

She trailed off as a lecherous smirk tugged at the dwarf's mouth and frowned as he gave a knowing chuckle.

"Oh, I get it now. This is about you and the seeker!"

The Inquisitor flushed, she had no idea that anyone other than Leliana had a clue about her feelings for Cassandra. Apparently it was more evident than she realized. She scowled back at the writer.

"This has nothing to do with Cassandra. I don't know what you are talking about. I just thought, that if you hadn't written one like that before, your readers – few as they may be – would enjoy a change in scenery. That's all"

Varric let the young woman tell her lie. He had seen the way the two of them looked at one another and he had noticed how the Trevelyan noble had begun to clean up her act after she and the seeker had dueled. Although he had it on good authority that the sparring match had ended up being decided on an entirely different sort of playing field. He chuckled to himself, wishing he had been around to see such a thing, as he stood up and cracked his knuckles.

"Challenge accepted Inquisitor, although I've never written that particular brand of smut before so don't blame me if it turns out horribly. It can't be much worse than what I've already written."

His mind was already cranking out different scenarios where he could work such a request in so he barely caught the sigh of relief and the warm thank you given to him by his fellow rogue. He waved it off, reminding Evelyn to just setting her ambassador or the spymaster on his editor would be thanks enough.

She watched him strut away, relieved that it was over. She was looking forward to reading what he came up with.

0000000

Cassandra was furious. She attacked the training dummy with renewed vigor as her mind supplied, once again, the reason behind her rage. Less than a week after being cleared for duty by Solas, the Inquisitor had sanctioned a mission to the Hinterlands. What made it worse was that she had left the seeker behind without a word of explanation. One minute Trevelyan was there and the next Cassandra had to witness her riding out from Skyhold at breakneck speed.

"Damn her," she growled as she swung her sword once more. Her last conversation with the rogue had left her feeling light and hopeful. Foolishly she had waited, like one of the simpering noble girls she had always despised, to be given a sign of affection only to close her eyes at the end of the day in disappointment that none had shown. A fresh wave of anger washed over her and with a cry she lobbed off the head of the training dummy, jerking her head towards the direction of light clapping that followed the unexpected beheading.

"Brava Seeker," a familiar lilting voice greeted her from beneath the habitual cowl. Cassandra scowled before sheathing her sword; her hands still humming from the impact.

"Leliana," she replied in a clipped tone. She was not feeling very generous towards rogues at the moment, especially red headed ones. The warrior leaned back against the wall of the keep and crossed her arms over her chest as she watched the spymaster lower her hood, blue eyes twinkling in the moonlight.

"As much as I hate to halt your destruction, a letter arrived for you moments ago. Come, you can tell me all about what this poor training dummy did to deserve its beheading whilst I retrieve it from the rookery."

A letter? Cassandra's curiosity was piqued. She rarely received correspondence now that she had committed herself to the Inquisition, except for the occasional update from Nevarra concerning the titled lands she cared nothing about that remained in her possession, but Leliana knew to throw those away. The warrior sighed and moved to follow the former Left Hand towards her tower, listening as the melodic voice of the former bard filled the silence with idle chatter. The name Varric caught Cassandra's attention and she halted.

"Wait, what about Varric?"

Leliana gave a light laugh and smiled at the scowling seeker.

"You haven't been listening to a word I've said have you?

Cassandra huffed and gave the rogue a pointed stare, "I'm listening now."

Leliana shook her head and turned the corner to ascend the first flight of stairs before continuing.

"I am sure it is of little importance to you but I mentioned that I had the strangest conversation with Varric the other day. He was asking all sorts of questions about the Warden and myself – odd because he has never sought me out for conversation before and the questions he was asking…"

The seeker frowned, "What sort of questions was he asking? Is he going to write a book on the Hero of Ferelden now?" She was surprised when her question wrung another light chuckle from the spymaster and stared at the woman quizzically as she came to a stop at the last flight of stairs. "What is so funny?"

Leliana eyed the mages that littered the second floor of her tower and grinned as she shook her head. She began to climb the stairs, "I will tell you when we are out of earshot as you can imagine I prefer my secrets held close."

Cassandra snorted as she followed her former counterpart. While it wasn't common knowledge that the Warden and Leliana were lovers, it hardly qualified as a secret. Still, why Varric of all people had thought to ask the spymaster about it was intriguing. As they reached the last landing, Cassandra looked around. She had never been to this part of the keep, never had a reason to before now and was surprised by how quaint she found it. It was not truly quiet, not with the din of noise coming from the mages researching below nor the occasional warble of one of Leliana's birds but there was something relaxing about the atmosphere. Her eyes fell on the candle-lit statue of Andraste that resided in the corner and felt the corner of her lips turn as she looked over at the spymaster.

"I am glad to see you still keep our faith Leliana."

The former bard turned toward the seeker, noticing where her gaze lay. She knew why the warrior found her altar so surprising. Cassandra had been one of the few people who knew how hard she had taken the death of Justinia and how the loss had shaken her faith in the Maker. Justinia had been the one who had saved Leliana from the darkness Marjolin had fed her. It was the former Divine who had assisted in freeing her from the prison beneath the city as well as her thirst for revenge. It was she who had accepted Leliana into the Chantry, giving her safety and succor. Her senseless and untimely loss had destroyed the bard's faith causing her to question the very foundations of her beliefs. It was Cassandra's unshakable faith in the rightness of their cause and in Justinia's vision that had brought Leliana back from the precipice she stood so close to falling from. She turned and set at her desk, motioning for the seeker to do the same.

"I do Cassandra, but not without reservation. My belief in the Maker has suffered, yet I must believe that there is a greater plan that you or I can see. I seek atonement for what must be done and for the events I set in motion with just a few scratches from my quill. I pray for the return of the one I love and hope that we can forgive the years we have missed together as we each sought a completion to the tasks set before us."

Leliana paused and shook her head, "Enough about me, I brought you here to deliver a letter no?"

Cassandra nodded as she sat down, "And to tell me what Varric was pestering you about."

The spymaster stopped her search through the neatly stacked piles of missives on her desk and gasped lightly, "Oh you are right! Well as I said it is nothing of importance to you and to answer your earlier question as to whether or not he is writing a book about the Hero of Ferelden, I would say no. He wasn't asking about the Blight or the battles or our companions; he was asking about the Warden's and my… personal life."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow, "Personal life? Why would he care about your personal life?"

Leliana drummed her fingers against the top of the desk and shrugged, "Exactly why I thought it odd. I asked him why he was so curious and all I could get out of him was that it was research for a new chapter he is writing."

Cassandra felt her mouth tighten as her mind struggled to find reason behind the dwarf's strange behavior. What sort of chapter was he writing and what would Leliana's personal life have to do with anything. Suddenly an idea dawned on her.

"Perhaps he is starting some new series about bards and wanted to get an inside view from you on the matter."

Leliana shook her head, "No. I do not think that was the case. The questions he asked were more specific to other aspects of my personal life."

The seeker frowned, "What aspect?"

Cassandra watched as the spymaster shot her a devious grin, struck by how much the look reminded her of a certain Inquisitor whom she was trying to forget existed.

"He wanted to know how things were in the bedroom."

For a moment Cassandra wasn't sure she had heard the former Left-Hand correctly and then she puzzled on why that would be an aspect of the bard's personal life. Then it hit her and she felt her face flush with a mixture of embarrassment and outraged disbelief.

"What!? That's… that's… none of his business! How is he still breathing and walking after asking that of you?"

Leliana chuckled at the pinkish tint that stained the beautiful woman's prominent cheekbones and shrugged.

"Oh Cassandra, it's nothing I am ashamed of. I answered his inquiries and sent him on his way."

Cassandra looked at the rogue, horrified by the admission and by her own personal intrigue at wanting to discover what the dwarf had found out. She realized that her shock at the bard's admission had caused her mouth to hang open slightly. She shut it, feeling even more foolish as she glared at the other woman.

"Why would you answer those questions? Do you not care that your… experiences could end up in some wildly spun tale by that despicable man?"

Leliana smiled, "I am not worried about that. I have his assurance that there will be no such thing."

Deftly she pulled out a letter from the middle of the stack and offered it to the seeker.

"As promised, your letter Cassandra."

Cassandra snatched the letter away, her mind still reeling from the capricious turn of events. She glanced at her name written in neat penmanship and flipped the letter over, stunned to see the Inquisitor's family seal affixing the wax that held the paper shut. She fixed the spymaster with a hard stare, her voice icy.

"Have you opened this?"

Leliana chuckled at the unspoken accusation and shook her head, "No. You are one of the few people I know I can trust. I have no need to pry into your secrets, not when I can easily guess them."

Cassandra, who had been running her finger along the edges in the wax created by the seal, looked up sharply. "I have no secrets, my life has always been an open book."

The spymaster stared back into the familiar hazel eyes and smiled cryptically, "Until now I would have agreed, but let us not pretend that there isn't something going on between you and the Inquisitor."

Cassandra looked away and then down at the letter in her hands; her fingers tracing the curves of her carefully written name as she toyed with the idea of coming clean. This was the opening she has been looking for. She wanted the spymaster's advice but the idea of talking about her feelings for the Trevelyan noble to another person, was almost too daunting to bear. She felt a hand cover her own and looked into blue eyes shadowed beneath the ever-present cowl.

"I know how private a person you are Cassandra. I didn't say that to force a confession. If you are able to find happiness amidst all the constant tragedy then I say be happy. If you ever need to talk, I am here."

The hand was gone just as suddenly as it had appeared and Cassandra watched as the spymaster stood and stretched her arms towards the heavens.

"Now, I think I have taken enough of your time. I have much to do and you have a letter to read."

Cassandra stood as well and walked towards the spiraling stairs. She turned and looked back at the former bard as the woman leaned over her desk, her quill scratching away. She shook her head and descended the stairs, making a beeline for her room above the forge. Her earlier irritation with the woman was forgotten as she wondered what the Inquisitor could have written her.

0000

Evelyn darted forward slicing the bandit open. She narrowly missed the responding slash, grateful that Solas had frozen the man in place. Quickly she slipped behind the man as the spell faded and slit his throat. She looked around at the dead bodies that littered the open field. Her muscles shook from fatigue and the healing wound on her leg throbbed from the exertion. She had planned this mission for the sole purpose of gathering more medicinal herbs for the party. She had chosen the Hinterlands because they had already cleared the land of the majority of enemies, or so she had thought. There had been attack after attack since their arrival. First it had been a group of blood mages, whose tinted red eyes reminded her of that night in the Hissing Wastes, second had been a group of red templars made horrific by the lyrium that jutted out from their bodies and now they had been attacked by a group of bandits. She regretted her decision to leave Cassandra behind. While Iron Bull was a powerful fighter her did not possess the same grace and awareness that the seeker had on the battlefield. Twice now he had almost caught her in his berserker fury. Sera was hardly better with her arrows flying every which way. She lacked the timing Varric naturally had. Evelyn sighed as she rubbed her neck; she supposed it would simply take more time and more battles for all of them to adjust their fighting styles to benefit the group as a whole. She took a seat on an overturned log, closing her eyes as she took a long drink from the waterskin. She felt a shadow on her face and looked up to see the concerned expression on Iron Bull's face.

"That leg is really taking a toll on you huh boss?"

Evelyn nodded and dragged the back of her hand across her brow to rid it of the sweat she had worked up during the battle.

"I'll be fine Bull, I just need to take a breather and we can be on our way."

She found it ironic that she should miss her solitude when it was the very thing that had driven her crazy during the long weeks it had taken to regain use of her leg. Evelyn missed the time she had been able to spend with Cassandra, getting to know more about her in the late hours of the evening. The more she learned the deeper she fell and the thought disturbed her more than she cared to admit; especially when so little was known about Cassandra's feelings towards her. The seeker wanted her, she had admitted that much at least, but was it just physical between them or something more? Evelyn had no idea and reading the stoic warrior was nigh impossible. She knew the woman had to have been furious at being left behind, but Evelyn needed to think and she needed to know that her prowess in battle would not be affected by the seeker's absence. It had been an impulse that made her write the seeker and she had sent the message with one of Leliana's spies with the hope that the spymaster would allow the message to remain private. Evelyn paused in her train of thought as she realized the shadow upon her had not moved and she found herself chuckling at the Qunari's protective nature as she stood once again. The sooner this mission was accomplished the sooner she would see Cassandra again. The thought gave her new strength and the Inquisitor moved forward to inspect the stash of herbs the scouts had gathered. One more week and the mission should be over. Until then she would take this time to learn her companions and rework her battle strategy in order to maximize their effectiveness. A stab of pain caused her to halt and she looked down at the opening in her palm. She caught the questioning look that appeared on Solas's face and dropped her hand to the side as she flashed the elf, what she hoped, was a reassuring smile. Sooner or later she was going to have to seek his help, but until she confirmed a few things about him with Leliana she was content to keep her distance.

00000

The excitement and intrigue felt earlier had slowly faded into hesitation and trepidation as Cassandra stared at the unopened letter. She had resisted opening it the moment she returned to her room above the forge, instead busying herself with the chore of cleaning her armor and repairing the nicks in her sword. Now it sat there on the table, mocking her cowardice. Cassandra scowled and reached for the parchment, pulling her dagger out of the wooden table. She gently slid the point beneath the crease of paper, applying pressure to break the wax seal. Heart pounding she slowly unfolded the letter and began to read.

Seeker Pentaghast,

It is my third night here in the Hinterlands and I find myself thinking of you again and of our conversations. I regret that I left you behind, especially without a word of warning. I can only say that I knew you would be angry and I sought to escape that assured wrath. Cowardly I know and behavior unbecoming of the Herald of Andraste – an idea I still do not wholly believe but one I wish to live up to if for your sake alone. There is much that has been left unsaid between us but those are words best saved for when I return. I know I promised you a courtship and I have a few things in the works but for now, I will leave you with this:

You are with even when we are apart. Somehow you've slipped under my skin and in the rare moments when you smile, I see something more beautiful and precious than all the stars in the heavens above.

I am sure this is not the poetry your heart desires but these words echoed in my mind as I stared up at the night sky. Forgive the formal tone of this letter; I wasn't sure if it would escape our spymaster's perusing. I look forward to coming home to you, until then.

Trevelyan

She felt her face flush and thanked the Maker that Leliana had not opened it. She'd had no expectations when opening the seal but now, having read what it contained, the words seemed perfect. She could hear the Inquisitor's tone behind the words, almost as if she were standing there saying them aloud. Cassandra found herself smiling as she read the words again. True, the poetry – if you could call so few words poetry - was not anything she had imagined and yet, she had never read anything so romantic. She leaned back against her chair, lost in her thoughts about the younger woman. The seeker thought back to her first impressions of the rogue, embarrassed by how unfavorably they had begun this journey together. It had not been until the duel that Cassandra had seen that there was more to the woman than just a pretty face and loose morals. Every conversation since had revealed more and more of the complexities that lay beneath the amiable surface. Slowly, over time, the Herald had proven to be an able warrior, a fair and just commander and one of the few people who could make the seeker forget the seriousness of the world. Cassandra traced the last sentence of the letter before folding it again and tucking it away. She lay on the floor and closed her eyes, whispering in the silence of the forge, as the fatigue from the day weighed down on her, "I look forward to it too."