Siara had a head-splitting migraine when she woke up the next day. It took a lot to get her drunk, so the hangovers she got were generally pretty nasty when she got them. The light shining in through the window assaulted her eyes and she quickly rolled away, scrunching her eyes tight shut, a groan escaping her as she grabbed her pillow and hid her head beneath it. A nearby chuckle had her hesitantly removing it and glancing around.
"Solas and Cullen told me you could drink. I suppose here's my proof."
Before Siara stood a woman, who was (to say the least) very beautiful. She had long blonde hair that was so pale it was almost white, her eyes a deep blue-green, nearing aqua in colour. Her cheeks were slightly pink against her pale skin, her lips that shade of red-pink that was almost perfect. She had the smell of lyrium around her, but it wasn't strong enough to prove she took it. More likely that she hung around those that did. Instead she smelled... surprisingly nice, actually. Like cherry blossoms and... something almost similar to honey. In some ways it left Siara feeling almost jealous. She knew she didn't smell anywhere near as nice, had been told before she smelled of the deepest forests, like fresh spring water, but also blood, the tangy smell seemingly impossible to wash off.
Siara blinked a couple of times before slowly sitting up, mindful of her headache.
"Were you watching me sleep? Because that wouldn't be creepy at all..."
"I wonder if you said that to Solas when he was put in charge of watching you," the woman mused.
"I was too concerned with getting booze and figuring out what the hell was going on," Siara muttered. "So who are you?"
"Jacquelyn Trevelyan. It's a pleasure to meet you, Siara."
Her smile was so kind, so open, so easy going. The same smile that Siara used when trying to make people trust her. It bothered Siara, made her question if she truly could trust this woman.
"So, you went into the Fade?" Siara asked. "Like I supposedly did?"
"Yes," Jacquelyn confirmed, "though I don't remember much. Only what we saw near the rift, and running from something."
Siara sighed, standing up and walking over to a wash basin, a bucket of water sitting next to it, wrist pressed to her forehead.
"I have way too much to catch up on," she muttered as she poured some of the water into the basin before stripping off her shirt and splashing water over her face, then her bare skin.
"Indeed," Jacquelyn agreed. "It is most strange."
She had a small frown on her face when Siara glanced over at her before resuming splashing the cool water over her slightly flushed skin. It felt so nice...
"What is?"
"That you and I went through the same ordeal, and yet you were unconscious for far longer. Would you not agree that it is strange?"
"I guess," Siara shrugged, shaking her hands to dry them and looking around the cabin. She was pretty happy to see her stuff had been brought in. It would be nice to be back in her own clothes. Her top had a low neckline and was tight fitting, slipping on around the neck like an apron, the leather vest she wore over that top was tight-fitting around the neck, shoulders mostly free of any cover, straps and buckles over the chest and on the sides. She slipped on the shirt and then the armour, doing up the buckles, hair falling loose around her shoulders, curling ever so slightly at the tips, falling to about her waist. She looked around at Jacquelyn.
"Do me a favour and turn around?"
"Why?"
"I want to change my pants."
Jacquelyn silently turned away, Siara quickly changing, sitting back on her bed and pulling on boots made of soft leather that went to above the knee, maybe mid-thigh, though there were some metal plates sewn into them for better protection, though not in places they would impede movement. Pretty much everything she wore was dark brown, the armour with purple around the edges. Then she just eyed a green ribbon. Previously it had been in her hair, a gift from her brother on their birthday. She didn't want it in her hair anymore, so instead tied it around her neck.
"How much is there going on right about now?" she asked.
"You mean aside from the sky being ripped open?"
"Well... yes."
Jacquelyn thought for a moment.
"Divine Justinia is dead."
"Big whoop."
"Do you have any idea of the implications?" Jacquelyn snapped, then rapidly regained composure. "I apologise, I should not have snapped."
"Don't worry about it," Siara shrugged, tying up her laces. "I know the implications. Local distress, holy war, trying to figure out who is going to be the next Divine, and on top of all that there is still the war between mages and templars going on. I think I have a half decent idea of the consequences of Justinia dying. Any clue who did it?"
"She died as part of the Rift being opened, so whoever opened the Rift, that is our murderer."
"I could have guessed that," Siara scoffed, placing her feet flat on the ground and resting her elbows on her knees. "Any idea who it is, though?"
"All we know is that a man did this."
"Oh good. You narrowed the search down from one hundred percent of the population to fifty percent. Good job, you've practically cracked the case."
"We are trying," Jacquelyn ground her teeth together. Siara didn't move, just looked at the woman.
"I know you are. But this is a lose-lose situation for you. This guy has all the good cards. You? You only have threes. Most useless card there is."
"Why do you think we do not stand a chance? You do not even know us, do not know what we can do, yet you still judge us?"
"Pretty much," her eyes landed on the bracelet and a pang of guilt shot through her body. She hid it as best she could before she slipped it on, pulling her jacket on and pulling the sleeves down to cover it once again. Jacquelyn took a deep breath and sat up straighter, fixing Siara with her rather beautiful eyes.
"Solas said you told him you are a fighter."
"That I am."
"How good are you?"
"Ever heard of the Blade?" Siara looked up from where the bracelet was hiding under the sleeve, watching as Jacquelyn's already large eyes grew larger.
"You... you are her?" she asked hesitantly. Siara shrugged, then nodded. Jacquelyn regarded her more closely. Obviously she was thinking at a fast rate, but also thinking things through carefully. Siara raised an elegantly arched eyebrow.
"What?" she asked, rather grumpily.
"We need good fighters for whatever is coming," Jacquelyn weighed each word carefully before speaking. "If you are who you say you are... would you consider joining us?"
Now it was Siara's turn to think. She watched Jacquelyn closely.
"My fighting days are over," she replied eventually, "especially for people like you."
She stood up and grabbed her twin blades before leaving the room, now with pretty much everything she came with. Jacquelyn followed her out.
"It is not just us in danger, Siara. It is the whole world, as far as we know. There is no knowing how far this will go, we need all the help we can get!"
"I said no. I have better things to do than play soldiers. Especially if it's soldiers for a spoilt little rich kid who places every ounce of faith they have in the Maker who, chances are, doesn't exist," Siara turned and faced Jacquelyn again, the human woman stopping in the doorway. "It's obvious you like me even less than I like you. Stop making things more difficult for yourself."
Jacquelyn frowned slightly.
"Whether or not I like you has nothing to do with this. We need help. I am not too proud to admit that. Having someone around with your skill would be useful. And besides, I have not known you long enough to have any real opinions of you."
"I'm a sell sword, an elf, and it's pretty well known that my sister was a maleficar. Pretty sure you don't need to know me very long to decide you don't like me. No one ever does," she shook her head. "You should know that whatever you say, I'm not going to change my mind. I'm not joining your Inquisition. Whatever happened here has already taken my brother's life, I'm not going to let it take mine too."
"So you are a coward?"
"Excuse me?"
"Running away as soon as something goes wrong? That is the behaviour of a coward. Putting yourself before others? A selfish coward."
Siara smirked.
"You thought I was anything other than selfish? Everything I do is for myself. Survival of the fittest, honey. Not everyone is as good and selfless as your precious templars."
Then she turned and left, Jacquelyn not even bothering to try and persuade her to stay anymore.
Jacen sat near Siara on a roof, watching people passing by below. Somehow, she'd managed to swipe a pipe from someone and was puffing away on it rather lazily, little smoke circles floating up and away. Jacen had always hated this habit of hers. Whenever she got too stressed or depressed about something she'd turn to the pipe. Or drinking. Or both. It annoyed him. He sighed, looking at the horizon. It was a beautiful day. He half smiled.
"You remember the last time we were near here?" he asked, even though he knew she couldn't hear him. "Mara had to wear that stupid headpiece to try and avoid being recognized," he looked back at Siara. "We couldn't stop laughing at her. Then she said you had to wear one too," now he chuckled. "The look on your face was priceless. Kinda wish we could've had it framed."
Siara looked up, looking over the horizon, a far away look in her eyes. Jacen sighed, somehow at the same time as Siara. He kept watching her, then shook his head.
"I'm so sorry for leaving you on your own," he muttered. "If I could change it I would. I never meant to leave you on your own. Even though I know you can't hear me..." he looked down at the people passing below again, then frowned, Siara also looking down, the exact same frown appearing on her face. She stood up and took the pipe from her mouth, crossing to the edge of the roof as two raven-like birds flew past in opposite directions, Siara briefly pausing to watch them before jumping down off the roof and heading over to the dwarf that she and Jacen had spotted, Jacen not too far behind her.
"It's been a while, Varric," she greeted. The dwarf looked around, taken by surprise, then grinned.
"If it isn't the Blade!" he reached up and clapping her on the shoulder. "How've you been?" Siara shrugged.
"Been better."
"What's happened now?" Varric asked.
"A lot," Siara paused. "So why are you here, anyway? Right under the Chantry's nose, of all places."
"I managed to get caught."
"Oh, well done you," Siara scoffed, a small smile appearing upon her face. Varric nodded.
"Oh yeah. Great job," he frowned slightly, looking around. "So where's Jacen?"
Siara frowned, a small sigh escaping her while Jacen put a finger to his chin, thinking.
"I'm right in front of you, buddy. Only problem is I'm kinda dead and now a spirit, so you can't exactly see me for some reason. Or hear me. So technically even though I'm talking to you, I'm actually talking to myself. The joys."
"He's gone."
"Oh, Namasiara, I'm not gone. I'm right here. Not my fault you're blind and can't see me. Not exactly your fault either, mind you."
"Gone?" Varric frowned. "What do you mean, 'Gone'?"
"I mean he's dead."
"Well... shit," Varric looked at Siara apologetically. "I'm sorry, Spooks."
"One of us was going to get killed eventually," Siara shrugged. "Nothing anyone could do about it."
Varric nodded, understanding without being told that she really didn't want to talk about it.
"So, what are you doing here?" he asked.
"Had a job," Siara shrugged, "then the Conclave blew up. Wonder if the Job is still running around here somewhere or if he got caught in the explosion."
"You amaze me sometimes, Spooks," Varric shook his head, a small smile on his face. Siara raised an eyebrow.
"How this time?"
"Still thinking of finishing the job, even with the world going to shit."
"It's because the world is going to shit I need to do the job so badly," Siara shrugged. "Gives me something to concentrate on other than what's going wrong," She explained. Varric nodded, showing he understood. Siara clicked her neck, running a hand through her hair. Varric pointed at the pipe.
"Didn't know you smoked," he said. Siara shrugged again.
"Something to do while planning my next move," she explained. "What do you think of the Trevelyan?"
"Got something she never wanted thrust upon her, but gonna do what good she can with it."
"Mmm... I feel like she's going to try and play me at some point... I don't trust her."
"Don't you just love it when you have an immediate dislike for someone?" Varric grinned. "Really warms the heart."
"I'm serious, Varric," Siara muttered.
"It's possible you see way too much of yourself in that woman, Siara. That's why you don't trust her," Jacen muttered, rolling his eyes. Sometimes his sister could be blind in an excruciatingly painful way. Varric slowly nodded, taking her warning seriously.
"You gonna stick around?" he asked. "We could really use the Blade around about now."
"Trevelyan already asked me. Until someone offers me money for it, I'm not going to. Plus, I have another job I need to finish."
"That's just like you, isn't it," Varric shook his head, but was still smiling. Siara smiled.
"You expected anything less?"
"Nah, you're still that kid I met fifteen years ago."
"I always will be."
"Will you?"
"I can't exactly just turn the part that makes me Siara off, can I?"
"As much as I'd like you to be able to," Jacen muttered, but Varric just chuckled.
"That's true," they turned and watched as a crowd started forming, Siara and Jacen frowning slightly.
"Think we should see what's going on?" Siara asked.
Varric nodded and they slowly made their way to where the crowd was formed, pushing their way forward through the people to get to the front. Jacen followed behind them, looking up the steps at the collected group of people. He frowned slightly. Jacquelyn stood in the middle wearing simple armour, lightweight but would still offer some protection. Her hair was braided and falling over one shoulder, reflecting off the snow. She looked serious, but comfortable with the situation. Behind her stood Cullen and two women, one with dark skin and hair, one with a hood pulled up, hiding her hair. Beside Jacquelyn stood the short haired woman that had found Siara.
"They look like a formidable team, Namasiara," Jacen muttered. "You sure you don't want to rethink your position?"
Siara frowned slightly, even though she couldn't hear him. They were twins. They'd always be able to know what the other would be thinking. Well, almost. In situations like this, anyway.
"Anyone would think we're preparing for war," Varric snorted.
"That's because we are," Siara muttered back, Varric frowning and looking up at her.
"How do you know?"
Siara calmly motioned at the breach.
"The Fade doesn't just open," she explained. "Someone will have found a way to open it, I'm sure."
"You changing your mind?"
"No chance," she shook her head, Jacen sighing. "The world won't end simply because I turn away from the problem. I ain't a big shot hero."
"And you think I am?" Varric snorted again, Siara half smiling, though it wasn't a nice smile.
"You're still hanging around, aren't you?" she asked. "Besides, you seem to have a thing for adventure."
"That's true," Varric agreed, the crowd slowly dispersing. "Makes for better stories."
Siara watched for a moment as Jacquelyn turned to her commanders, sharing a quick word with them. She seemed different when with people who she viewed as equals. That didn't seem to be an uncommon trait in human nobility.
"I'll stick around," Siara said, "for as long as there are jobs here. I wasn't given a time limit for my last job, so may as well," she explained, though it was obviously just a poor excuse.
"You just don't want to go back to see that guy because you blame him for my death," Jacen muttered, folding his arms. It was mildly annoying how no one could notice him. Varric didn't say anything, just looked up as Jacquelyn beckoned to him, sighing.
"Glad to hear you plan on sticking round," he said, pointing a thumb in Jacquelyn's direction, "but duty calls."
Siara nodded.
"OK. Have fun with... whatever."
She started backing away, throwing a smile back at him before vanishing. Jacen sighed.
"This is ridiculous. You're ridiculous, Siara. And an idiot. And a hundred and one other things," he muttered as he stalked off after her, her silent and invisible guardian.
Nothing was stopping her. Nothing. So why didn't she just do the job she was meant to and… leave?
She sighed, continuing to search around the hut for whatever it was the alchemist doctor person was after. This was just boring. Of course, she couldn't hear Jacen scoff and tell her she brought this on herself. But she imagined that's what he would be saying if he was there. She found the notes and started looking around again. Perhaps there were other objects of interest in this area? Though she doubted it. She could still hear the bustle of Haven, even when she was right at the edge of the keep.
She sighed, sitting down on a slightly older looking desk, crossing her legs and staring at the notes in her hands, lost in thought. Her mind wasn't working properly, her judgement clouded. It was the only solution to her question that Siara could come up with. She wasn't sure how long she sat there, but she was starting to get stiff when she stood up, which hinted towards it having been a decent while. So she headed back, dropped off the notes, and got waylaid by Solas.
"Mildly surprised to see you're still around," he said in greeting. Siara shrugged.
"I could say the same about you. An apostate elf sticking around? What's keeping you here?"
Solas smiled.
"There are tears in the Vale. I've spent majority of my life studying the Fade. I suppose it could be helpful to others if I stick around for a bit."
"Perhaps," Siara admitted, "but what happens if you outstay your welcome?"
Jacquelyn appeared before Solas had a chance to respond.
"Solas, I would like you to accompany me to the Hinterlands," it was now she noticed Siara, smiling at the female elf, "Siara, if you want you could -"
"Nah, I'm good. I should let you lot discuss this and get ready. Chances are I'll be gone before you return, so thanks for everything, have a good life, good luck with the rifts, all that kind of stuff. Tell Varric I say bye, and... yeah, think that's everything. Nice meeting you lot."
"Siara -"
"No, Trevelyan. I am not reconsidering," Siara said, rather firmly, then walked off, waving without looking back.
"I wonder if she's always been this way," Solas pondered as they watched her walk off, Jacquelyn frowning ever so slightly.
"I believe Varric would be best suited to answer that question if you really wish to have it answered," she muttered, turning back to Solas. "Make sure you are prepared to leave within the hour. I would like to reach the Hinterlands as soon as possible."
"Of course."