May The Dread Wolf Take You

Chapter Twenty Seven: Celebration

     There was cheering, laughing, smiling, dancing. There was eating, and drinking, and music. It was all so perfect. The party was huge. There was not a person in Skyhold that did not attend. Everyone wore comfortable attire but Solas and Maeve made it a bit of a point to dress slightly better than usual.

     Maeve was unsure at first about what to wear. Josephine had found her only an hour before the celebration and helped her pick something out. Being the Inquisitor, she had no shortage of clothes. This meant dresses as well. She'd wanted to stay in her tunic and leggings but they weren't "dressy enough", as Josie said.

     It wasn't until she pulled out an emerald green dress that Lavellan melted into the idea of not wearing pants. The dress was simple, made of a soft, dark, green velvet. It had long slim sleeves and cascaded to the floor without any poofiness to Lavellan's relief. It fit to her figure well, tightening at her hips and bosom as it should.

     The neck line was low and some what revealing which made her hesitant but Josephine assured her it would have all of the suitors fawning over her. This was not what Maeve wanted and was about to decide against the dress when Solas knocked and came into the room. A small smirk graced his face when he saw her. He wasn't dressed in anything particularly fancy. A long black tunic like shirt with some nice leather pants was his out fit of choice and it made him look bigger, more muscular than usual. Maeve wasn't sure how she felt about it.

     "I can handle it from here, Josie. Thank you." Lavellan excused her and she left without another word. Solas couldn't keep the smile from his face as he strode toward her. She was looking up at him from her place in front of the mirror. She'd been standing as she looked at herself but he was more mesmerizing than herself in any dress. "Turn around." He said softly. She did as she was told and turned around, facing herself in the mirror. She watched him as he moved her loosely braided hair to drape it over her shoulder. He bent and kissed the back of her neck once. She closed her eyes as a shiver went through her and she felt his strong warm hands on her.

     His crystal blue eyes met hers in the reflection when she opened them and he smiled before busying himself with the strings on the back of her dress. "Tonight is the night, Vhenan." He said whimsically as he tightened each lower level of the corset individually. "We may not be married this night but in the eyes if our company we are one." He looked suddenly grim and Maeve stared at him in the mirror. His hands moved slowly and gently, trying not to tug too hard on the strings.

     He tied the top methodically as if he were tying his own trousers. When he was finished his hand rested on her shoulder and he looked at her in the mirror. "You are so beautiful." He whispered. Maeve blushed, her cheeks and ears reddening immensely. She felt nervous under his gaze. She'd been with him in the most intimate way possible but still when he looked on her with such adoration in his eyes, she felt butterflies in her stomach. She looked down at the ground trying to hide her embarrassment. 

     "If you have any doubts about your decision, now is the time to voice them." He tried to sound calm but his voice came out shaky and uneven. He couldn't bear the thought of her turning from him now.  Maeve twirled around on her heel baffled by his words. She took his wrist, wrapping her thin fingers around it as she starred up into his dismayed face. "Solas, nothing in this world or the next could make me change my mind about this decision. I am in love with you and I am going to marry you. And I am ready for our friends to know." She told him. Just like that his spirit seemed to return to him. All he needed were some words of encouragement. He loved her so but he often felt as though he was undeserving and that she would slip through his fingers easily.

     When they arrived at the party hand in hand, it was not unnoticed. Many a man gawked at the two of them and it took much restraint to hold back their amusement. None of their companions seemed surprised to see them together though. It didn't really bother them. Everyone had been suspicious of it, they just wouldn't admit it.