The trek back to Redcliffe was a grim one. No one was thrilled with the options available to them, but Alistair and, strangely, Amell were taking it harder than Elissa would've thought.
Upon entering the room where Teegan and Isolde waited, waves of hate emanated off Amell. Elissa let it go for the moment, reminding herself to ask the mage about it later.
"The circle of magi fell," said Elissa, feeling a tinge of pity as she saw the hope drain from Isolde's eyes. "If we want to save Connor, we'll have to do the blood magic ritual."
"What?" asked Joawn, sounding horrified and looking to Amell. "But you're here! You're here to do the lyrium ritual. Irving must've sent you –"
"Don't you dare," snarled Amell, face an ugly mask of hatred. If Elissa didn't know better, she would have thought Connor's demon possessed the woman. "Don't you dare pretend that you care, that you didn't know."
"Of course I didn't!" exclaimed Jowan, looking genuinely upset. "How could I have found out?"
"Where'd you learn blood magic?" she asked, voice low and shaking. "From Uldred? No, you're not worth it. From one of his lackeys, I'm sure." Jowan opened his mouth and Amell snapped, "Shut up. Shut your mouth. You knew there were blood mages and you didn't tell, so you are responsible for every death in the tower, for Cullen –" she cut herself off. "Enough. We'll talk after we save this child."
"Are you still able to do this?" Elissa asked quietly. She should have assumed Amell would know him – not, perhaps, that she'd hate him this much, but that there was the possibility. Letting the mage know about Jowan ahead of time might've solved some of these issues.
"More than." Amell replied, her eyes not leaving Jowan.
"Okay," she said, putting a hand on Amell's shoulder and lightly squeezing it before turning to Teegan and Isolde. "Are you ready?"
Elissa kept a close eye on Amell as Jowan set up, watching her for any sign of weakness. A dead mage and a live demon were the last things she needed. All she saw on Amell's face, however, was a grim determination.
At a gasp from Isolde, she tore her gaze from the recruit to watch Isolde's last moments. She felt… sadder than expected. After Alistair's description of how Isolde treated him, she hadn't pitied the woman.
Alistair's cry of, "Solona!" brought her attention back to the girl who had collapsed.
"What did you do?" Elissa asked, staring Jowan down.
"It's all right!" he said, "She's in the Fade, she won't wake up until she's killed the demon." He fell silent as servants came forward to take Isolde's body away. Alistair was quiet, and Elissa bowed her head.
There was a somber silence that was occasionally broken by a grunt or spasm from Amell's body. Alistair watched her carefully, hand almost unconsciously resting on the hilt of his sword. Elissa wondered vaguely if he'd ever been trained to stand over a mage at her Harrowing – from what Amell said, it seemed that this was what it was like.
"How much longer?" Elissa asked, watching Amell's face scrunch as though she were puzzled by something.
"I don't know," Jowan said hesitantly. "Cullen said her Harrowing was the quickest he'd ever seen, but this is a desire demon… And she has to find it first." Elissa could tell he was fishing for sympathy when he added, "We… we were friends. I don't want her to get hurt."
"Save it," replied Elissa, staring down at Amell. "If you really want any sort of forgiveness from her, you have a lot of groveling to do when she wakes up."
About five minutes passed in silence before Jowan hesitantly asked, "Is Cullen dead?"
"Do you remember what Amell said about you shutting up?" Elissa asked. "You don't talk until she wants you to." At a look from Jowan, she added, "Even while she's unconscious."
The silence after that was less somber and more tense, until Solona woke up with a gasp. It was as though she surfaced from near-drowning. Alistair dropped to his knees behind her, helping support her as she tried to sit up.
"What happened?" Elissa asked.
"Desire demon," Amell panted. "Tried to barter with me. It's dead now."
"Good work," Elissa said, watching her shake. "Are you…"
"Fine," she said, leaning against Alistair with her eyes closed. She took slow, steadying breaths. "I'm okay. I just need… I need a moment."
"Thank you, Solona," Elissa said, and the mage smiled weakly.
"Check on Connor for me?" she asked, and Elissa nodded, turning to Teegan to come with her.
After a quick confirmation that Connor was fine and no longer possessed, Elissa left Teegan alone with Connor to tell him the news about his mother. She was surprised to find Alistair alone.
"You're back! Thank the Maker," he said, smiling but a little more subdued than he usually was, "Jowan asked to speak to Solona alone and now there's shouting. The Chantry doesn't train you on how to handle shouting mages."
Elissa half-smiled. "So you were waiting for me to separate them?"
Alistair sheepishly grinned. "I think we've got a good system going for handling her. You get her out of danger, I talk her through it after. Teamwork, right?"
Shaking her head, Elissa chuckled. "Whatever you say, Alistair." She paused, wavering a second. "It's odd. She hasn't undergone the Joining, but still…"
"She feels like one of us," Alistair responded softly. "I know."
Something shattered on the other side of the door, pulling both Elissa and Alistair back to the present moment.
"A mystery for another time," the warden said wryly, pulling open the door to find a furious Solona and a not-quite contrite Jowan.
"I was just trying to help!" Jowan said.
Solona's face was cold. "Irving is dead, the circle was annulled, and a child was possessed because of you. Stop. Helping."
"Solona," Elissa said, and the recruit turned to look at her. "Alistair needs help."
"With what?" the mage snapped.
"Grey Warden business. I can't say in front of someone who isn't a Warden," Elissa lied smoothly, and she could tell she piqued the other woman's interest.
"Oh," she said, mollified for the moment. Solona cast a glance at Jowan. "Stop using blood magic, and stop hurting people, and maybe we can talk about me not hating you." And with that she left. Elissa stared the mage down. He seemed contrite, but she supposed her recruit knew him better than she did.
"I told Teegan to leave your fate up to Eamon," she said, "So you'll have plenty of time to do what Solona asked from your cell." Elissa left without another word, wandering until she found Alistair and Solona.
The two sat next to one another on a bed in what appeared to be a guest room. Solona's face was buried in Alistair's neck (Elissa noted that it looked incredibly uncomfortable, due to the latter's armor), and he held her as her shoulders shook with sobs. Alistair looked up and opened his mouth, but Elissa pressed a finger to her lips. She wasn't the type to hug things out; there wasn't really anything she could contribute, if Solona needed to cry. Elissa quietly left, waiting just down the hall until the two emerged, Solona looking tired but no longer upset.
"What next?" she asked.
"We head to Orzamar. But first we'll find you your first darkspawn," Elissa said, and Solona looked surprised and pleased.
"Really?" inquired the mage.
"Really," confirmed Elissa. "It's a Warden rite of passage. Kill a darkspawn, get a vial of its blood."
Solona wrinkled her nose in distaste, and both of the Wardens laughed. Elissa led them out, listening to the two of them chatting about the logistics of creating phylacteries for darkspawn.
Elissa didn't know much about mages or the circle, but it seemed to her that Solona felt much the same way she did – her family was slaughtered, and she could do nothing now but seek revenge. Perhaps giving her a family in the wardens would give Solona a peace Elissa had yet to find.