Unspoken

Chapter 8

In the early morning hours they get up and get ready to leave the forest. They dismantle the tent and pack their stuff. Neither of them got a lot of sleep because of different reasons. For Morrigan it was the pain that didn’t really let her sleep. And Leliana didn’t get any rest because her mind has been restless all night.

She has been thinking of all the things she could or should have done. Not only during the battle with the red Templars yesterday but also back then in Ferelden. All those ‘what if’s’ are driving her insane.

After a long walk they can see the end of the woods. There are less trees and sun manages to actually shine through. Morrigan walks ahead, she likes the wilds but she cannot wait to get back to the fortress. At this point she’s definitely sick of the color green. She’s ready to step out of that bloody forest.

A few hours later they finally arrive at Skyhold. They are both tired and glad to be back.

„I’m going to deliver the shards to Dagna. You should visit our quarter healer and let her check on your injury.“ Leliana tells her companion and before Morrigan could even respond, shes already on her way to the blacksmith.

Morrigan sighs. She hates it when others tell her what to do but it does sound like a reasonable thing to do. But first she really wants to take a hot bath, she’s freezing from climbing the frostback-mountain to get back here and even though she wiped off most of it she still feels like she’s covered in blood. She gets her belongings to her room, then makes her way to the guest bath, Josephine showed her during her tour when she first arrived at Skyhold and prepares some clean clothes as well for when she gets out.

When the tub is full she enters and let’s herself slide into the water. It feels nice and warm and she’s able to relax for a bit. She rests her head against the edge of the tub and closes her eyes for a moment.

Then she cleans herself and gets dressed after. She still has to go visit lazaret. She spotted it somewhere near the training ring while wandering around the fortress. So she walks outside to find the healer there.

Leliana leaves the bathroom, a towel around her shoulders to dry her still wet hair when Josephine crosses her way.

“Oh you’re back! Thank Andraste!” the antivan immediately gives her a hug.

“Yes, we arrived maybe 2 hours ago.” The bard replies.

“I was worried about you, we received a letter from one of your spies that reported a group of red Templars is headed in your direction.”


“Mhm we met them.”


The ambassador’s eyes widen in surprise, then she seems to inspect her friend for any injury. “Did you get into a fight?”


The bard nods. “We did, I’m fine, don’t worry about me. Just a few bruises and scratches. It’s Morrigan who got injured pretty badly.” Her expression mirrors the guilt she still feels about that.

“How is she…?” she asks almost carefully.

“Luckily it seems like no organs got hit, lost quite some blood though, I sent her to our healer just to make sure.”

“That is good to hear!” She really is relieved to hear she’s doing okay as well, depending on the circumstances. “And…Did you speak to her?” she looks at her friend curiously.

“I… did. And there is a chance you might have been right.”

The Ambassador arches her brows, waiting to get more details about that talk.

The bard sighs. “Perhaps we had a miscommunication back then. But we also had an argument during the mission and I do not know how to fix this right now.”

“I’m sure you will figure something out, you always do. And I’m here if you need me, okay?”


“I know, thank you Josie.” The bard gives her a soft smile.

“Good, now get some rest!” she commands.

“Yes, Ma’am.” She teases her, then goes to her room.

Josephine shakes her head as she watches her leave.

Back in her room, she finishes drying off her hair, then hangs the towel over a chair on her desk to dry as well. She looks out of the window, she didn’t even notice how it’s already getting dark outside again. She feels the exhaustion and the bruises on her body she got during the fight. She really hopes she will get more sleep this night.

The moment she wants to lay down on her bed she hears a knocking on the door. She runs her hand through her hair and gets up again. Maker don’t let it be Cullen, she really doesn’t have the energy right now to discuss about red lyrium and whatnot. She opens the door and to her surprise it’s definitely not Cullen.

Instead the dark haired witch stands in front of the door, looking at her with her amber eyes. She does look better than in the morning and with better, she means healthier.

“Now before you assume I spied on you to find your room, tis not the case. Josephine told me which one it is.” The witch points out as a greeting.

“Why are you here, Morrigan?” the bard asks, arching her brows, but she steps aside to allow her to pass and close the door behind her.

Morrigan enters the room and takes a short look at it. It’s a nice place with big windows on two sides of the wall and a balcony on one side. There’s a well-organized wooden desk, a few shelves and a big bed.

Then she looks at the bard.

“I am here because I feel like I owe you an apology. What I said yesterday, during our argument, about the flirting? I… I didn’t mean it and I shouldn’t have said that, especially because you got us some important information in the process during the blight.”

Leliana looks at her slightly confused.

“You came here to apologize…?” she tilts her head.

“Well I did. And seeing your reaction now, I feel incredibly silly for doing so.”

The redhead looks at her, not sure how to react to this situation. Did that really bug her so much that the usually selfish witch of the wilds comes here to apologize? Does she really care that much about her? Of course her words hurt her deeply but she would have never expected her to realize that or even feeling sorry for it. In this moment she can feel her anger, which has been stuck for so long, fading. And it leaves space for something else.

Morrigan sighs frustrated at the lack of response she gets from the bard.

“You know what, never mind. Forget that I—“

She gets interrupted. Leliana steps closer and cups her face with both hands. Then she places a kiss on her dark purple lips.

Morrigan’s heart skips a beat when she feels Leliana’s soft lips on her own. Her pulse is racing and there’s a warm and tingly feeling running down her back. She never felt this before and the maker knows this is not her first kiss for sure. She could have never imagined what it would be like to actually develop this kind of silly feelings and yet… she finds herself wanting it – wanting her.

And she dares to kiss her back.

The bard pulls her closer the moment she realizes, Morrigan replies the kiss. How long has she been waiting to do that? It feels right and she is really happy for the first time in something that felt like forever.

Then she gently pulls away to look at her.

“Was that clear enough for you now?” the bard teasingly asks with a smirk on her face.

“I – Yes. I think that will do.” She replies, slightly overwhelmed.

Leliana smiles and gives her a tight hug.

“I missed you, Morrigan.” She whispers.

The witch is really surprised by this kind of affection and to hear those words from the spymaster but she cannot deny that she likes it.

“I missed you too.”