A/N This chapter's title was named for the song Rude sung by the band MAGIC! Please read, review, and hit that follow button!
Solas stared at the two elves sitting across from him. The woman had the same square-shaped face and small pointed nose as Elyssa, as well as the same ashen white hair. The man sitting beside her shared no physical features with Elyssa. It was easy to see where Elyssa had gotten her physical features, but neither of her parents had the small dimples that Elyssa did when she smiled. Neither of them smiled at all. They looked at him with hard eyes, their mouths set in identical tense lines of disapproval. He hadn't said much about why he wanted to meet with them because he hadn't wanted to alarm them over the phone. He figured it would be better to meet with them in person to discuss Elyssa's art, both for the upcoming competition he wanted her to join as well as the nature of it.
"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me," he began, "I'm Solas Wolfe, your daughter's art teacher," He extended a hand first to Elyssa's father and then to her mother. Neither of them shook it. He pulled his hand back to his side, the air thick with awkward tension.
"Mr. Wolfe, why are we here?" her mother asked with an irritated huff.
"You were quite vague about the nature of this meeting on the phone," the man beside her commented, his tone significantly less snappy than his wife's.
"Well, Mrs. Lavellan, I wanted to meet with you because…"
"It's Alerion," the woman interrupted him haughtily.
"Excuse me?" Solas asked, confused.
"Our last name is Alerion," she answered with a glare. It seemed she expected Solas to have known that though there was no way he could have.
"I apologize, Mrs. Alerion," he corrected with a sigh, "It was wrong of me to assume your last name was the same as your daughter's," He couldn't help the bitter edge his tone had taken at the woman's rudeness.
"Yes, well, now you know," she remarked. Her husband said nothing about his wife's attitude. Instead, he avoided looking at either of them throughout the exchange.
"Anyway, Mrs. Alerion," Solas got back to the important matter at hand, Elyssa. "I called you here because I wished to speak with you regarding your daughter's art,"
"What did she do now?" the woman practically growled. Her eyebrows furrowed and her thin mouth turned down into a hard grimace.
"Nothing she wasn't assigned to," Solas answered vaguely. The way she reacted to Solas mentioning Elyssa's art didn't bode well with him. "She is one of my best students," he threw the compliment at the woman with a glare. Hopefully, she wouldn't be so hostile if she knew Elyssa was an excellent student.
"I find that hard to believe," Mrs. Alerion scoffed, "you're sure you have the right girl?"
"Yes, Mrs. Alerion, I am," Solas bit back the anger that was beginning to boil in his chest. He took a breath to calm himself before responding to her insensitive remark. From what he understood from all of Elyssa's teachers, she was an excellent student. She had excellent grades in all of her classes and never gave them any trouble. So why would her mother think he had the wrong student?
"If you say so," she rolled her large brown eyes. Heat rose further in Solas's chest. This woman was being disrespectful not only to him but to her daughter as well and he didn't care for it. He couldn't, however, insult a student's parents. So he bit back a harsh retort and tried once more to get out what he had called them to his classroom for.
"Your daughter is incredibly talented," he began again, "and in a few months, there will be a Music and Art competition being held. The reward for winning the arts portion of the competition is a full scholarship to one of the nation's best colleges that has an excellent art program,"
"What does this have to do with Elyssa?" Mr. Alerion asked, confused. He didn't hold the same menace in his voice his wife did. He seemed genuinely curious about what the competition had to do with his daughter.
Solas turned with relief to answer the man, "I want her to enter the competition. I have every faith that she could win," he answered proudly.
"What does entering some ridiculous art show have to do with us being here now?" Mrs. Alerion asked with obvious distaste. She looked down at her nails and lazily picked at nonexistent dirt, her expression clearly saying that she would rather be anywhere but sitting here talking to him.
With substantial effort, Solas answered the woman politely, "Elyssa will need parental permission to attend the competition as the location for it requires a bus ride there as well as a weekend stay, as the competition is taking place over a few days,"
"So you want me to allow my daughter to go galavanting to Maker-knows where, and stay overnight for some silly drawing?" the elven woman asked incredulously.
"No, Mrs. Alerion," Solas huffed, "I want you to allow your daughter to attend a competition that could award her with a scholarship to attend one of the best colleges in the nation. An opportunity any senior should be grateful to have,"
"Why would we trust her to go to some unknown place without us?" Mr. Alerion questioned.
"Mr. Alerion, you'd be more than welcome to attend as well," Solas sighed, "I encourage it,"
"We have no interest in wasting our time at some silly art show," Elyssa's mother dismissed him. "Besides, I highly doubt Elyssa will be attending college,"
"Elyssa is an extremely smart and talented young woman," Solas defended his pupil, "she would excel in college,"
"She wouldn't last one semester before she dropped out," the woman scoffed, "and that's if she doesn't end up pregnant by some random frat boy first," Solas stood abruptly in anger, his chair falling to the floor loudly. He looked incredulously at the woman. Her husband next to her looked flabbergasted at his wife's comment.
"Mrs. Alerion, I don't like what you're implying about Elyssa," he growled. He braced his hands on the desk in front of him, his knuckles turning white with the strength of his grip.
"You don't have to like it, Mr. Wolfe," she shot back, "Elyssa is not your responsibility, she's mine until she turns 18 unfortunately. I don't care what she does after that, but while she is my responsibility and living under my roof, she won't be attending some useless competition. So you can forget about it." She stood up and turned to her husband. "Let's go," she ordered the man, "this was a waste of time." She gathered her large purse and waited for the man to stand as well. "I understand you're just doing your job," she sighed, "but your efforts are wasted on a girl like Elyssa." With that last comment, the cruel woman and her husband left Solas's classroom.
"Salem, that was terrible advice!" Solas exclaimed, storming into the qunari's office. "I met with that student's parents," he explained, "and not only were they the rudest beings I have ever met, but they also couldn't care less about their daughter!"
Iron Bull, Salem, and Krem turned to look at the elf that had just burst into Salem's office. Solas had been so upset with Elyssa's parents that he hadn't even checked to see if Salem was available before seeking her council.
"I'll… uh… let you deal with whatever this is, Kadan," Bull offered with a wave of his large hand at the art teacher.
"Thank you," Salem smiled fondly at her husband.
"Come on, Krem de la Krem," Bull threw his arm around the human boy, "let's go show the rest of the Chargers how a real man takes down his opponent." Together, father and son exited the office in laughter. Salem waited until the door closed behind them to focus on the elf in the room.
"Okay, Solas, start from the beginning," she ordered. Her liquid mercury eyes met his with a question, "Who is the student?"
"Elyssa Lavellan," he answered with a sigh. He took a seat across from the counselor.
"You're going to have to explain exactly what led you to believe she needed help," Salem said, "and don't be so vague this time."
Salem listened attentively while Solas explained in better detail what he knew of Elyssa and her artwork, save for the most recent. He told her of his encounter with Elyssa outside his home and the marks on her arms. The corners of Salem's mouth turned downwards as he continued. When he was finally finished, Salem glared harshly at him. "And the thought never crossed your mind that perhaps these were things that should have been explained the first time you sought my counsel?" Her voice was tight, strained as she refrained from yelling at him.
"I thought it best Elyssa remained unnamed at the time," Solas defended, "I didn't want her to be under a microscope, so to speak,"
"You didn't want her to be under one or you didn't want you to be under one, Solas?" Salem asked. Solas raised an eyebrow in question at her. "Solas, you care about her don't you?" she asked with a surprised but heavy sigh.
"She is one of my students," Solas answered, "of course I would develop some level of attachment,"
"Don't pull that shit with me, Solas," Salem threatened him with a slam of her palm on the wood of her desk, "I've known you for years. I know that you wouldn't be so angry with her parents, nor would you be taking risks such as inviting her into your house if you didn't care for her,"
"Salem… I," Solas struggled for words, a way to admit or deny the feelings he had for Elyssa.
"Don't, Solas," Salem ordered, "I know how hard this must be for you," She took a deep breath. "Solas, in all the time I've known you, no one has been able to penetrate the walls you put around your heart. Not since Andruil." Solas looked away from Salem so she didn't see the resentment and anger at those memories on his face. "Now you've found someone that has, whether you want to admit it or not. I'm not saying you should pursue it. In fact, I should be discouraging it, but you're my friend and I want you to be happy,"
"That's very kind of you Salem," Solas offered a half-smile to the woman.
"Just please, for the love of the Maker, do the right thing and wait for her to be out of school?!" Salem ordered.
"You don't have anything to worry about," Solas assured her, "I don't find it to be a likely occurrence that Elyssa would happen to desire being with someone ten years her senior,"
"I wouldn't be so sure," Salem commented knowingly, "I've seen the way she looks at you in the halls."
"Regardless, it wouldn't be right for me to take advantage of her right now. She's beginning to open up to me so I can help her. That alone shall be my focus," Solas decided, "whatever may come from that will be an issue dealt with at a later time,"
"Glad to hear it," Salem arose gracefully from her seat. She walked around her desk to stand in front of Solas, a clipboard in her hands. Suddenly and without warning, Solas was greeted with the sharp pain of the board against his bare head. "That's for being idiotic and being so vague the first time," she grinned wickedly at him. Solas let out a short burst of laughter. Only the wife of Iron Bull would pull such a stunt and live to talk about it.
"I assure you, I shall not be so feebleminded again," he reassured Salem.
"You better not," Salem spoke with authority, "now get out of my office and go be productive elsewhere." She waved her large grey hand in dismissal. Solas did as his friend instructed. Now that he knew Elyssa's parents would be of no help, he needed to figure out where to go from here.