AN: THis one is dedicated to the lovely Willowsle in celebration of her support of my other fic, Lover's Knot: Unraveled & Entangled.
She asked for angst without character death - a challenge I took to heart! I hope you enjoy this little piece!
For all you other supporters out there - don't hesitate to send me a PM or find me on tumbr. Your prompts are always appreciate :)
Best,
Voi
There is a world where they meet only once.
He is not a man she would recognize, and she is little more than a face in a crowd.
War and the weight of godhood have turned him into a bitter man, tired of the decisions that have wrought such destruction on the People, the good intentions that ultimately lead astray.
A lifetime fleeing the aggression of humans has turned her into a timid facsimile of herself. A shivering child where she should have been a woman of strength, bravery.
The forest is her home, just as the Dalish are her people, and she has never had to know or learn anything else.
Never had to be anything else.
Their meeting in the mountainous region around Haven is a twist of fate, a single chance to discover all that had been missing, all that could be.
Amidst the chaos of the forest they see find one another and there is no missing the flash of recognition, the realization that they have met their kindred spirit. They only need to open their mouths, to say something and their connection might yet be made.
But they both remain silent.
He because he is done with love, and affection, and must think of his mission.
She because her life has always meant fleeing rather than standing and fighting for what she wants.
And so they pass each other by in silence, never knowing that in another world theirs is the love of legends, the thing that inspired her to stand against a god, that drove a nation to follow her and call her Inquisitor.
A love that drove him to undo the mistakes of his youth, to redeem himself and make him whole.
In this world their love is hardly a footnote, a 'what if' that goes unanswered, and they spent the rest of their lives silently wondering at the chasm in their chest, the hurt that lingers.
Only the memory of that moment remains, and that is not enough.