Unspoken

After something that felt like forever they arrived at Skyhold. Morrigan has heard of this fortress so high up the Frostback Mountain, it seems to be floating in the sky, but she’s never seen it with her own eyes. It is bigger than she would have imagined and no matter in which direction she looked, there is nothing to be seen around these giant caste walls but snow and mountain peaks.

“Tis quite impressive, Inquisitor” she admits as they enter the huge gate at the end of the bridge.

As she lets her eyes wander around, she realized it was not only a very remarkable fortress but also it seems to have some sort of a very small village within these walls. There are market stalls with armory, weapons, maps, books, fabrics and jewelries from all over Thedas.

Horse noises coming from the stables nearby mix with the clang of swords from the training recruits.

The mighty stone walls, who protected the many owners of the fortress from all kinds of enemies over the years – if not centuries, sure have suffered damage. Some parts have been destroyed, some of them clearly have been rebuilt not too long ago. And yet, they still look splendid indeed.

The Inquisitor chuckles by Morrigan’s words then climbs the stairs that lead to the entry of the main part of the fortress.

“Wait until you see the heart piece of Skyhold” She replies, before she pushes the big wooden doors open.

The heavy doors answer with a creaking sound.

A large hall extends in front of them. There are tables on both sides, some guests are talking.

Various fire bowls are placed around the hall as well. They give off a pleasant warmth which Morrigan appreciated a lot after traveling up the snowy mountains, the cold wind blowing mercilessly above their heads.

“I’m guessing you would like to warm up and rest for a bit?” The Inquisitor asks, walking through the hall.

“That would be nice, yes.” The witch agrees while looking around a bit more.

It seems Leliana has vanished already even though, she and the ambassador were walking behind her just a few moments ago. She really has that ability to appear and disappear completely noiseless. Morrigan has always acknowledged her specific skillset, but of course she never said that out loud.

Maybe she should have.

“Alright, let me show you the guest room Josephine prepared for you then” the Inquisitor continues

“Please follow me”

Morrigan gets rid out of her thoughts by this request and turns around to follow her through a door on the left side of the hall. The Inquisitor leads her to some sort of outdoor hallway where several mostly unused rooms await.

“Here you go” Trevelyan opens the first door and steps back to let her new advisor pass.

“Please feel free to make yourself at home, Lady Morrigan.”

“I have not acquired any titles, you may just call me Morrigan.”

“As you wish” she replies with an amused smile. “I’m not really a fan of any titles people tend to give me neither. But anyway, if you got any requests please talk to Josephine and she will take care of it immediately.”

“Thank you, this place seems just fine.” she assures as she takes a look at the guest room.

The room is bigger than it appeared from the outside. It has a window opposite the entry where most of the light is coming from, a shelf made of dark wood, probably walnut and a quite tall bed made of the same material. There is also a fire bowl in a corner of the room, similar to those in the great hall, slightly smaller, to keep it warm in those cold winter nights. Everything looks nice and clean, the ambassador seems to be very dutiful.

“I will let you rest now, see you tomorrow” The herald announces.

Morrigan nods in response and watches the Inquisitor closing the door behind her after she left the room.

The witch sighs then leans her staff carefully against the wall and let’s herself fall into bed. Her mind is racing, trying to find any sense in the way she’s feeling right now.

It took her quite long to admit to herself that she somehow developed feelings for that ridiculously annoying chantry girl, feelings she never felt before and confused the hell out of her to the point she couldn’t handle it anymore and forced herself to leave the group – to leave her.

She wanted to get rid of those feelings which made her feel weak and vulnerable. The racing heart whenever they got closer than usual, getting attached to that bard and the sudden fear she might get seriously injured or even fall during one of their many battles. She hated everything about it and only wanted to get back to be all by herself again like she used to be.

And after she left she was by herself again. But it was not as pleasant as she thought it would be. For the first time in her life she felt something one would call loneliness. She was stubborn enough to ignore this feeling though and with time it got less and less, almost vanished – until yesterday.

That unexpected meeting at the winter palace really caught her off guard. She could literally feel her oppressed feelings flare up the moment she looked at the redhead.
She even realized where she got the idea for that dress she wore that evening in the first place. It was her who suggested this specific look, years ago, when they were traveling through Denerim.

"You are very beautiful, Morrigan” the redhead randomly points out while walking around.

“Tell me something I do not know.” Morrigan replies slightly annoyed.

“But you always dress in such rags. It suits you I suppose. A little tear here, a little rip there to show some skin. I understand.”

“You understand I lived in a forest, I hope?” The witch raises her brows.

 
“Maybe we could get you in a nice dress one day. Silk. No, maybe velvet. Velvet is heavier, better to guard against the cold in Ferelden. Dark red velvet, yes. With gold embroidery. It should be cut low in the front of course, we don't want to hide your features.” She continues unbothered by the response.

 
“Stop looking at my breasts like that. 'Tis most disturbing!” Morrigan points out, trying to avoid eye contact at any cost.

 
“You don't think so? And if it's cut low in the front we must put your hair up to show off that lovely neck.” Leliana proceeds, looking at the dark haired woman.

 
“You are insane. I would sooner let Alistair dress me.” She replies to signal the conversation is over.

“It'll be fun, I promise! We'll get some shoes too! Ah, shoes! We could go shopping together!” The bard insists, remaining cheerful.

Morrigan sighs at this memory, she never understood her weird obsession with fashion … and shoes. In her opinion, clothes have their purpose in being functional, no more and no less.
But she has to admit, that Leliana’s fashion knowledge was the reason Morrigan could even live in the winter palace. If she were dressed like her usual self they would never let her inside in the first place. She would never say that out loud but she really learned a lot from the bard’s gossip, if she likes it or not.

She now notices how exhausted she actually is from the travel and the recent events so she decides to close her eyes and get some rest. She will take care of things tomorrow she thought to herself before falling asleep.

Josephine notices Leliana’s disappearance right after they arrive at Skyhold with confusion. She decides to follow her since she’s pretty sure where she’s headed.

And she was right – as she climbs the last few stairs to the rookery she can already spot the redhead, kneeling on the floor in front of her chapel.
Josephine quietly steps closer to her friend who’s deepened in prayers.

“Why did you follow me, Josie?” the bard asks, without turning around or opening her eyes. Her voice calm as usual.

“I was wondering why you disappeared this quickly, you didn’t talk much on our way back either” the ambassador answers, eyeing her carefully for any reaction at all.

“It’s her, isn’t it?” Josephine continues after a short break to let her finish her prayers. “I have never met her myself but this witch sure looks exactly like you have described her many times”


Leliana stands up now, putting her hood back on. 

“She shouldn’t be here. And I hope you have nothing to do with her presence.” She looks at the antivan in front of her with a warning glance.

“I assure you, I have not, neither has Cassandra, we were both equally surprised by the empress’ decision.”

“Good.” She replies, seemingly eased a bit to hear that she hasn’t been backstabbed by her closest friends.

Josephine looks at her slightly concerned, she has heard enough stories about that witch and how much she hurt her. And Leliana has gone through enough pain lately due the loss of her close friend divine Justinia. She almost lost her faith in the maker because of this and the last thing she needs right now is Morrigan stepping in her life to mess with her feelings again.

“Don’t give me that look, Josie.” She raises her brow. “I’m fine, I’m just gonna avoid that woman completely until she leaves again.”

“Are you sure this is going to work? You will certainly meet her at the war table at least.”

“I don’t know what else I should do, besides cutting her throat if this is another trick of hers”

“Niceness before knifes, Leliana” Josephine responds reproachfully. “Maybe… you could talk to her, get things clear?”

Leliana rolled her eyes at that first comment. “I would consider it if she ever stops being… Andraste forgive me, a selfish bitch.” She points out sharply.

Josephine sighs and accepts her defeat for now but she’s not willing to give up completely yet. She still has faith that they will eventually talk this out at least.

“Good night, Leliana” Josephine replies with an encouraging smile instead and makes her way to her own quarters, it’s quite late after all.

“Good night, Josie”