Chapter 107
9:41
The news spread like wildfire. The Divine was dead, killed in an explosion at the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Emma shook her head sadly; she'd written to Leliana and asked her to try and stop the enclave, but it seemed that the Divine believed it was the only way forward, the only chance to stop the Mage-Templar war.
Aedan stretched out on the bed. "I guess it's time to return home?"
Emma leaned over and kissed him. "It is. We need to check in with Alistair, and I need to write a few letters."
"It's a shame, really. I was rather enjoying Antiva."
Emma chuckled. "You just like the sexy accents here."
"Oh, and you don't?" Aedan said in an excellent imitation of an Antivan.
"Don't tease. You know how much I love hearing you speak like that." He grinned wickedly and started to whisper all sorts of naughty things in the same sexy accent until finally Emma relented and fell back into bed with him.
Alistair greeted them with enthusiasm when they turned up unannounced at the palace. "You know, you two could have sent me more letters. I was getting worried, especially after Leliana came looking for you."
"Sorry, Alistair. That was precisely the reason we didn't send you much correspondence."
At the sound of Aedan's voice, Revek came bounding through a door, skidding wildly on the well-polished floor like a Loony Tunes cartoon character before finding his feet and jumping on his master. There was a surprised hmph followed by a loud thud as Aedan hit the floor. Revek stood on top of him, his tongue eagerly licking in an attempt to get past Aedan's raised hands. The two onlookers hung onto each other as they burst out laughing at the sight.
Aedan managed to raise his head an inch or so. "You know, instead of standing there laughing, you could actually get the dog off of me."
Emma grabbed Revek's collar, still chuckling as a dazed Aedan climbed to his feet. "I knew we should have taken him with us."
She nodded. "You might have been right, I just thought it would be a long journey for him."
Alistair scratched the mabari behind the ear. "Oh, he's been fine, He's just being manipulative again." The King led them into a comfortable sitting room, where they found a pregnant Alfstanna reclining against a pile of cushions. Aedan and Emma were both ecstatic for their friends, but especially for Alistair, who'd been worried about having an heir considering his Grey Warden blood. They spent the evening catching up, but the majority of the talk was about the murder of the Divine, which reminded Emma of what she needed to discuss with the King of Ferelden.
"Alistair, there will be a fairly large force gathering on the borders of Ferelden, but they're not a threat. I just don't want you getting worried."
He frowned. "I don't like the sound of that." The King leaned forward, his fingers clasped together. "Em, I trust you, and if it was just me I'd happily let it be, but I have to think of Ferelden too."
Emma took a sip of her wine, pondering his words before answering, "I didn't really think of it like that. Just... be nice, okay."
Back home, Emma wrote three letters; one to Cullen, one to Varric, and one to Leliana. In the correspondence, she told them of the danger to Haven and implored them to get everyone out as soon the rift at the ruins of the Temple had been closed. However, she also suggested that the Herald of Andraste and a few select friends stay behind with some soldiers to deal with the threat. Although Emma would like to have spared the Inquisitor a difficult time, it seemed to her that the fight in Haven was important; not just because it got them to Skyhold, but because it also revealed who the villain was, and that was knowledge the Inquisitor would need. She told them to speak to High Chancellor Roderick for a way out, and everything else would fall into place after that.
A month passed, and then three missives were delivered to Aedan and Emma. Commander Cullen's letter expressed his gratitude for the timely warning, and said that he was sure it had saved quite a few villagers' lives; Varric stated that this was 'some weird shit', and expressed a hope that the two of them would come to Skyhold, as Hawke would be there soon, and Leliana thanked them and followed up with some rather strong words about their sudden disappearance and if it would have killed them to let her know where they were. She then also asked them to come to Skyhold so that she could kick their asses, and of course, have a chat about what they'd all been up to.
"I guess that's our cue?" Aedan asked, still laughing over Leliana's letter.
Emma nodded. "I think we had better take Revek this time; I dread to think what he'd do to you if we were gone for months again." She sent a reply back to Leliana, asking if someone could meet them in Orzammar, as she wasn't really certain of the whereabouts of Skyhold. Aedan nodded his approval, declaring that if it was left up to Emma's sense of direction, they would freeze to death in the Frostback Mountains.
They waited on the outskirts of Orzammar for their escort, and soon a group of four rode down the snow-covered slopes. Emma saw Varric first, and after he'd dismounted, she ran over to hug him.
"How have you been, Bunny?" he asked affectionately.
"I'd love to know the story behind that nickname," a deep voice said from behind her. She spun quickly and nearly fell over when she saw The Iron Bull, large as life standing in front of her.
Words failed her as she took in the height and width of him. "Wow. You're... I mean... damn... you're..."
"Qunari?" he helpfully supplied.
Emma burst out laughing. "Well, yes. The horns are a dead giveaway. I was going to say, you're bigger than I expected."
He looked a little hurt. "This is all muscle, I'll have you know." He slapped his stomach to prove his point.
"What?! Oh shit, no I didn't mean that. I only meant you're really tall, and your shoulders are so wide, and... damn!"
There was a cough from behind her. "Angel, I feel this is a good time to remind you that your husband is here."
She turned quickly, a stricken look on her face. "Sorry, love. I was just a bit taken aback." She saw the gleam of amusement in his eyes and relaxed.
"Should I prepare myself for a lot of men hugging you again?" he asked in a resigned tone. She chuckled and brushed a quick kiss to his lips. "No. I promise not to hug anyone."
As she separated from Aedan, two large arms wrapped around her waist, and she let out a surprised squeak as Bull lifted her into the air. Aedan eyed the large Qunari, who grinned back. "Hey, she said she wouldn't hug anyone. There was no rule saying people couldn't hug her."
"I think I'm getting vertigo," Emma said as she looked down from her new height.
The Iron Bull laughed and placed her back on the ground. "It's nice to meet you, Bunny." She blushed as she walked back to Aedan, which just made Bull laugh even harder.
"Varric, you have to tell me why you call her that."
A slim, elven woman with short, strawberry blonde hair and large deep green eyes stepped forward to greet the Hero of Ferelden. "I'm Ellana Lavellan, it's a pleasure to meet you, Warden-Commander."
Aedan smiled and shook her hand. "The pleasure is mine, Inquisitor." She turned to Emma. "Welcome, Warden Cousland." Emma shook her hand exuberantly. "You have no idea how great it is to meet you. All of you. This is just amazing." The Inquisitor looked a bit surprised, but Varric just laughed. "She was like this when she met Hawke and everyone in Kirkwall too."
The fourth person was Cassandra, who eyed Aedan with a frosty look. "It is a shame you weren't around a year ago. Leliana was looking everywhere for you."
He shrugged and replied simply, "We had things to do."
"From what Leliana has told me, your wife probably had some idea that we would be looking for you. But even knowing that, you went and hid away at a time when we desperately needed someone."
Emma ground her teeth and stormed over to the Seeker. "And you have someone! The right someone to lead the Inquisition." She dropped her voice to a whisper and leaned in close. "And if you ever again insinuate that my husband's a coward, I won't just shove your sword up your ass, I'll include the shield too."
The Seeker stiffened at the threat and reached for her weapon. "I would like to see you try, Warden."
Aedan was there in an instant, his hand wrapped tightly around Cassandra's wrist, and a dangerous gleam in his eyes. "I would rethink that if I were you, Seeker. My wife and I did what was best for Thedas, so perhaps you should be more careful about throwing around veiled insults."
Varric stepped forward, an easy smile on his face. "Ah, come on, Seeker. Ease up. Emma knew you'd find the right person to lead the Inquisition, without any help from them. As she once told me, it's someone else's turn to shine now."
Cassandra blew out a calming breath and released the hilt. "I apologise. You are correct, of course. We do have the right person at the helm now." She looked at Emma for a moment and then held out her hand. "And I am sorry for saying that. I know that neither you nor your husband are cowards. The quick defeat of the fifth Blight taught us that."
Emma chuckled. "Oh, I am, but..." She looked up into Aedan's face, love and adoration clear in her expression. "But he isn't. It was his strength that got us through that time."
His face flushed. "Nonsense. I still remember you kicking that darkspawn in the balls."
She smiled and turned back to Cassandra. "Anyway, apology accepted. Now, with that out of the way, let me just say, it is an honour to meet you, Seeker Pentaghast."
The Inquisitor had thoughtfully brought two horses for Aedan and Emma to ride, and as everyone mounted up, Lavellan looked over to Emma. "By the way, do you know a golem called Shale? She turned up at Haven when this all first started. She told me she was waiting for you two to show up."
Emma grinned. "Ah, she remembered? That's excellent."
The Inquisitor glanced sideways at Emma. "Does she always refer to everyone as 'it'?"
"Only until she gets to know you better."