Authors note: I do apologize for the major delay in uploading this chapter. Depression and writers block are a terrible combination. Rest assured, this story, as well as my others will continue. Thank you all for being supportive and patient.
Cassandra eyebrows knitted together as she stared at the agent, shock morphed her features. Eva would have considered it a nice change if not for the current circumstance. "Protection from the Inquisition?" Cassandra repeated, as if hearing the statement was deception to her ears. Even Varric seemed surprised by the news. The only one who wore a calm expression was Solas, though that was always the case with the older elf.
The agent only nodded in response to the Seeker, before stepping aside, allowing them to continue their way down the long path into the city. It was nothing like she had ever seen. Everything was so crisp, clean, and shiny… It was as if the city itself glittered. It certainly was nothing compared to Haven.
"I will get to the bottom of this." Cassandra practically snarled. Her angered expression had citizens of Val Royeaux practically dodging out of their path as Cassandra lead the group through the main gates.
"Oh, I don't doubt that Seeker." Varric commented. Eva couldn't help the twitch of her lips, but she did well to contain her snort.
"She is a child." The woman snapped. "How is she dangerous? Why would the city need protection from her, from us?"
"The world has been thrown into chaos." Solas added calmly. "Chaos of the unknown will breed fear; their reaction is only natural."
"How is it natural?!"
They paused just outside a shop to witness a large crowd of people. Eva couldn't make out what they were saying, but it just sounded like typical bickering to her. "She may be a child," Solas continued and brought Eva's attention back to their conversation. "A child, an elf, an outcast of society, or is viewed as such. A child that has an army standing behind her and the power to crush anyone standing in her way."
Solas turned his attention to Cassandra who was openly glaring at him. "Had she been any other elf, any other Dalish elf, do you not think the possibility of abuse of power would come to their mind?" He asked. That seemed to stun both Cassandra and Varric.
"I knew I picked a good nickname for you, but now I'm starting to think 'mood killer' is more appropriate right now, Chuckles."
"What do you mean by that Solas?" Eva's gaze locked with his and for a moment, she felt her heart ache from his words. She already had enough issues in Haven for being an elf. Would things be worse for her now that she was 'leading an army'? "What's wrong with the Dalish that has everyone so angry at us?"
Solas huffed. She could see his features harden but his eyes gave him away. They went soft, sad even. Solas bent down to her level, bracing himself on his heels. "The world is complex as is its inhabitants. Everyone will have a different outlook when it comes to race. It is something you need not worry about right now." The warmth of his hand grazed along her cheek, gently brushing against her cheek bone. Just as quickly as it happened the older elf had withdrawn from her, standing tall once more.
"But I-,"
"I will explain in further detail when we return to Haven. We must focus on our current objective, Herald."
There was that familiar pang again. Was there something wrong with being an elf? Especially a Dalish elf? Her entire family was Dalish and the way Solas spoke about them made it seem like it was wrong, like it felt wrong to be Dalish. Eva fought back the urge to sigh as she turned away from him, her attention now back on the group before them.
"Cassandra, you know more about this situation." Varric said as he stepped next to Eva, throwing an arm around her shoulder. They were practically the same size. It was quite the sight to see them walking around together with linked arms around Haven, they always had questionable stares and whispers spoken about them, but they both learned to pay them no mind. Rather, Varric taught her not to think anything of it. "I think you should take the lead here."
"Agreed." Cassandra said before marching forward. The others simply trailed behind the woman. Solas was the furthest behind.
Then: Nothing at Val Royeaux went as planned, in fact it went in the furthest direction than Josephine and Cassandra had planned. A woman was knocked out by a very angry man, Lord Seeker something, Cassandra seemed to know him on a personal level; well at least on a name basis. He wasn't nice to Cassandra or her in the slightest and forced the Templars away from the city itself. Cassandra was the most disheartened out of them all, when they returned to Haven, Leliana proposed the idea of using the mages as an option for helping to close the breach. Cullen expressed his dislike almost instantly; and now here they were.
Eva sighed and ran a hand through her snowy locks for what seemed like the tenth time. It had been well over an hour now since the meeting started with her advisors, and at this point they were getting nowhere. Even she could she recognize that. "Look," Eva finally snapped as she interrupted Cullen's tirade about his knowledge of Mages and the destructions they can do. "We need to make a choice, you three have been going at it for an hour. Like a wolf chasing its tail." She was tired and cranky, and honestly, she just wanted a nap. Eva plopped down from her chair as approached the table, barely visible as the top of her head just met the top of the table.
"Cassandra, Lord Seeker seemed to have little interest in aiding us. Cullen, I understand your concerns about the mages, but if we can't get through to the Lord Seeker then what other choice we have?" Eva asked as she rubbed her tired eyes. "I will go to Redcliff in a weeks' time to see our options there, if nothing is heard back from Lord Seeker in a month then we go for the mages. That's the plan. Do you all understand?" The small elf asked with a slight edge to her voice, it was clear she was aggravated with them all. Though at this point she didn't care, she didn't even wait for them to give her a formal answer before spinning on her heels and swinging the door open with such a force that it slammed against the wall. She felt their eyes staring after her as she marched away from them, away from the Chantry, away from everyone.
"Hey, Do-, whoa, you alright kid?" Varric asked as she made her way near his tent.
"Where is he?"
"Who?"
"Solas." She snapped instantly. "I need to speak with him, now." Varric instantly pointed towards the gates of Haven and so that's where her feet took her. It took her no time at all to find him, he was speaking with the black smith about a weapon he had designed himself, and from what she could tell the human wanted pointers about the construction of the staff he now wielded.
"You knew all along, didn't you?" She asked suddenly, completely interrupting Solas midsentence. He seemed caught off guard briefly but quickly recovered as he schooled his expression.
"If you'll excuse me," he said to the others before offering her all his attention. He offered her his hand and after a few moments of staring at him suspiciously, she gingerly grasped his hand with hers as he led her away from Haven.
"You seem surprised." He said. Surely, he had to be kidding, of course she was. How else should she react? Any normal person would have reacted the same.
"How else should I reacted, Solas?!" Eva snapped, her gaze fixating on his as her head snapped upwards. She really had to lean back to meet his expression. Being short really inconvenienced her sometimes. His chuckle caught her off guard, it always did, and she always pouted in response. What else was he hiding from her if she didn't know about something as simple as this?
"I apologize, that was out of line."
"Cullen won't even look at me in the eye…" She mumbled softly; her voice barely audible over the howling wind. They ended up on a hill together, overlooking the frozen lake of Haven. The town seemed so small from here, her troubles just as small. Wishful thinking.
"Ah, I suspect he was just as surprised, if not more." Her frown was deepening; she could feel it.
"Then why didn't you say anything. If you knew from the beginning, why not have told them?"
There was a pause in the air at her question. She instantly knew he was contemplating the best way to explain this situation to her. As if she wouldn't understand the hard truth of things. She couldn't say she was over reacting; her response was as normal as it should be. What worried her was the townspeople reaction to her now. Cullen was a prime example of what to expect from now on. She heard rustling behind her and turned to see Solas had situated himself among the snowy ground, legs folded along one another as his arms crossed over his chest; he had the most pensive look on his face.
After a moment of silence his eyes finally met with hers, as he gestured for her to come over. Almost instantly she went to him, climbing into his lap as her back met his chest. He was warm, warmer than usual, which was nice because it didn't occur to her until now that she didn't have her furs with her.
"When you first came to me you were unconscious," Solas began, his voice soft as she felt his chin rest just slightly atop of her head. "The world had been thrown into chaos, you, the only survivor of the explosion rose questions to which no one had answers." Eva kept her gaze on the small town ahead, it was getting darker outside…Faster than usual, she could have sworn it was just a few hours after noon. The sudden change unnerved her. "Cassandra demanded answers to which I could not provide at the time. You were never going to wake up, how could you have?" That caught her attention as she turned her head just slightly enough to catch a glimpse of his shoulder.
"So?" Eva asked almost instantly.
A puff of hot air met the top of her scalp. She was being stubborn, but right now she was frustrated and didn't care.
"Had they suspected anything more…," Solas paused for a moment, she could feel his head shaking just slightly. "The outcome would have been grim."
"Meaning?"
"There would have been little I could have done to protect you, to revive you."
Eva tensed instantly, she felt Solas's arms tighten just slightly around her. "You mean they would have killed me? Just like that?" It was a breathless question that carried into the howling wind around them. Solas said nothing in response, but the tightened grip around her now was severely unstable. "What now?" She asked, her expression becoming grimmer than before.
"It will take time, patience, and not everyone will accept you." Her eyes narrowed at the statement.
"They already have an issue with their leader being an elf." She could practically feel anger bubbling just beneath the surface of her skin. The air around them grew colder though she paid it no mind.
"Lethallan." The name snapped her out of her trance. "You must control your emotions, steel your heart. Demons will come and you are susceptible prey for them."
"Surely you jest." Eva said, turning fully in his lap so they were now face to face. His eyes had a slight glow to them, as if the chaos of those stormy blueish hues intensified. "How can a demon stumble upon Haven? The guards would sound the alarm before it even reached the gates."
There was his chuckle again. Soft, delicate, full of happiness and yet somehow sorrow. "Where did you think we were?"
Now that caught Eva off guard. She stared at Solas for a moment, before glancing around at her settings. It looked like Haven, but it almost had a hazy feel to it, and there was no way it could already be after sunset, she would never voluntarily miss a meal. "This-This isn't real." He laughed again.
"That is a matter of perspective. All you have to do is wake up."
Eva shot up from her bed with a gasp, her face lined with cold sweat. It was a dream? Had the entire thing been a dream? She remembered speaking with the advisors, but surely, she spoke with Solas too… A sudden knock at the door brought reality flooding back into her.
"Come in."
"Ah, good!" Josephine said, "I was hoping you were awake. Eva just stared at her with utter confusion.
"I…Did we discuss the plans for Redcliff and the Templars?" She said in a questionable tone.
"Of course, it was your decision after all, we discussed it further and solidified a plan, but you had fallen asleep. Solas came in search of you and brought you back to your room."
"Of course, of course he did." Eva grumbled and tossed the blankets aside. She was still fully dressed in her gear; she really must have been really exhausted to have clunked out during the meeting.
"Where is he?"
"His cabin, I imagine."
"If you'll excuse me." Eva said politely as she plopped off her bed and made her way by the confused ambassador. It took her no time at all to find him, he was speaking with the healer, she never was good with names. This time, however, she waited for their conversation to finish. When he finally finished, he turned to face her fully, a smug expression on his features.
"Sleep well?"