Moments

A Little Grand Adventure

Just a bit of utter adorableness as all the companions spend a bit of time with the daughter of Cullen and the Inquisitor. At the fifth year anniversary of closing the Breach, all of the old gang gathers together but they find themselves with a new mission - entertaining a three year old with her father's looks and her mother's ornery streak. May the Maker have mercy on them all.

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Her pudgy fingers gripped tight to the soldier's greaves. Sounds of triumphant laughter echoed down the scrubbed streets, shredded banners floating in the wind. But she didn't care for any of the revelry across Val Royeaux, her eyes were focused only on the woman in the center of a mass of armed guards. Despite her being covered in strange clothing, like she threw on a bed sheet to scare people as a ghost, Lila recognized the scowling face below the gigantic hat. Pressing deeper into the ring of men until the soldier coughed, she asked, "May I see Cathandra?"

The guard shook his head, unmoved by her plea, "Divine Victoria is preoccupied at the moment."

Lila stepped back trying to stare up at the man's face, but it was masked off by a gate of metal. Helmets were no strange sight for the girl. Her father even had a small portrait done of her as a baby curled up inside one fast asleep. It was pulled out every Satinalia for guests to coo over. "I don't want to see Divine, just Cathandra."

Sighing, the guard answered, "Cathandra, I mean Cassandra is Divine Victoria."

"Oh," Lila accepted the uninteresting news, peering through the gapes between the soldiers. Cassandra paced back and forth with some other women in funny outfits but slightly shorter hats. The Divine was too caught up in her heated discussions to notice the small girl waving to her.

After a moment, Lila asked, "Is she done now?"

"No," the guard said, sliding his leg wider to cut off her view.

Lila stepped back again, still squinting to see if the face through the bars was familiar. Exasperated, she pawed at her blonde curls just unruly enough to turn her adorableness dangerous. Normally, her hair combined with her massive amber eyes could get her whatever she wanted but this man seemed as unmovable as stone - or her Mummy.

"Can I see her now?" Lila wasn't about to give up. It was a trait that exasperated and didn't surprise anyone that knew her parents.

The guard finally broke from his stance. Dropping to a knee, he eyed down her wholesome face, "Young lady, the Divine is very busy with important matters and won't have any time for you."

Lila nodded solemnly at his words The guard began to rise at her seeming acceptance, but that gave her the perfect chance to dash past his now open side. He twisted to nab her, but she was too quick, her thin body slipping out of his grasp and her stubby legs paddling towards the woman in the massive white robes.

"Get back here!" the guard shouted, but Lila was too close to her target now.

"Cathandra!" she shouted, throwing her arms wide around the chantry skirts.

"What is --" Cassandra started, before turning to spy the little girl clinging to her leg. The blond curls twisted away as Lila looked up, her smile stretching from cheek to cheek.

"Found you!" Lila shouted as if they'd been playing a game.

"So you have," Cassandra chuckled. Despite being surrounded by grand clerics, she dipped down to scoop the child into her arms. Lila knotted her hands around Cassandra's neck, hugging her face tight. "Oof, you grow larger every time I see you." Lila laughed at that, her fingers sliding down the sides of the Divine's hat and leaving chocolate stains in their wake. "Soon you'll be large enough for your own set of armor. Have you begun combat training?"

"Daddy thays I'm too little for a sword."

"Nonsense. Anyone can learn the steps for a proper defense," Cassandra shook her head, causing her hat's sheets to undulate, much to the girl's amusement.

The guard finally caught up to the proceedings and dipped down to a knee, "Your Perfection, forgive me, the child slipped past my grasp."

"She's like trying to hold onto an eel," Cassandra said, drawing another laugh from the girl.

He reached out to take the errant Lila, but she clung tighter to Cassandra, not about to let go without a fight. Cassandra held a hand out, stopping the man, "It's all right. A little girl isn't about to assassinate me."

"Your worship?"

"But," Cassandra leaned back to look Lila in the eye, "I find myself wondering where your parents are."

Lila shrugged, her fingers now tugging on the bodice of her shift dress sewn from excess fabric off the skirt of a templar uniform. Hugging tighter to the girl, Cassandra sighed. To the guard she ordered, "Return to your post. The child is safe with me." The guard saluted, still eyeing up the strange girl who looked more like every random street urchin than someone clinging tight to the Divine. Cassandra tried to catch the girl's attention, "You cannot remain with me long."

"I only wanted to say hi," Lila insisted, gripping her hands around Cassandra's neck so tight for a moment the Divine choked upon her exuberance and love.

"I am glad to see you again," Cassandra said. "Our time apart grows ever longer despite my attempts at the opposite."

Lila stared at her for a moment as if taking in the woman's heartfelt words before she asked, "Can I wear your hat?"

Cassandra chuckled and hugged her tighter.

"Maker's breath! There you are!" a voice broke through the crowd of skirts filling the streets. She tried to barrel past the guards, but they threw up their pikes. A little girl was one thing, but they could at least hold back a fully grown woman from assaulting their Divine. Josephine sneered at the men, but stepped back, always aware of the situation and how it appeared to the outside. Looking up she shouted, "Lilandra Mia Rutherford! Get back here this instant!"

"No," Lila cried, smooshing her face into Cassandra's.

The Divine sighed, "Ah, that would explain things." Still holding the girl up, she walked towards Josephine who was now nursing a stitch in her side, rolling her fingers against the skirts chosen for their elegance and not pursing an escape artist child across the festival streets.

"I don't know what happened," Josephine cried, her voice cracking from stress of her first turn at baby sitting, "I turned my back for only a moment to greet Lord Cyril, and when I looked up she vanished."

Cassandra chuckled, "She does that. I once had to chase her across the chantry grounds while a nappy flapped wild upon her head. There is much of her mother in there."

Josephine finally rose up from her shame and pain to shake a finger in Lila's face, "What were you thinking? You could have gotten yourself hurt or worse! Your parents would never forgive me. I could never forgive me."

Lila clung tighter to her third favorite person in the world, "I wanted to see Cathandra."

Josephine sighed, "Very well, you've seen her." She held out her hands, "now let us return to your room."

"No," Lila cried, shaking her head. "It's boring, you're boring. I want to see things."

The ex-ambassador glared. "Too much like her mother," she muttered snaking her arms away.

"You can't remain here, child. I have to spend hours in mind rotting discussions with men whose breath reek of fish. It will not entertain you by any means. Return with Josephine. She's very nice," Cassandra tried, but Lila could see through that trick. Nice meant boring, and after a three day carriage ride the last thing she wanted to do was spend her day locked inside a marble room getting shouted at for touching things.

"How about I take the kid?" a new voice oozed up from the ground. Lila peered off Cassandra's shoulder to spot the source scooting around Josephine's legs.

"I'd sooner toss her to the wolves, Varric," Cassandra said.

"Come now, lady Divine, if you can't trust the Viscount of Kirkwall who can you trust?" the dwarf smiled wide. He wore a half cape across his shoulder, the symbol of Kirkwall embroidered upon it in golden thread, but he still had that same crimson tunic cut so deep it should be scandalous if everyone didn't find it charming.

"She's a child, Varric. She needs structure," Cassandra said, ignoring the fact said child just broke away from her structure to leap into her arms.

"No problem, I can provide tons of that. I'm a very structural man," Varric said patting his stomach. It'd expanded in the years, but in that comforting way that ensured more pillowy hugs. "What does the kid want to do?"

Lila blinked her eyes from the one she wanted to stay with but couldn't, back to the one her parents left her with that bored her to tears. She wiggled off of Cassandra's shoulder, the Divine assisting in putting her on the ground. Once her shoes hit the stones, she turned to the man and found she only had to look a bit up to meet his eyes.

Slowly she stuck out her hand to the dwarf, he took it and shook it. He was about to drop it, but she gripped tighter. "No, you're supposed to hold it."

"Right, of course," Varric said. He turned up to Josephine, "Don't worry Ruffles, I can vouch for you."

Josephine danced on her feet, wanting to be rid of the problem but not wanting to shirk her duties, "I do have much yet to accomplish today and without her underfoot..."

"Get to it then, we'll get on just fine," Varric said. He clung tight to Lila's fingers, a comforting smile filling his face.

"Lila," Cassandra said, dropping to a knee, "be good and don't listen to Varric."

"Aren't you supposed to encourage children to honor their elders?" he snickered.

Cassandra glared at the dwarf before adding "And don't repeat a word of what he says to your father."

"I will," Lila said, bobbing her head, then snaked her other arm around to catch Cassandra's neck in a hug. "Bye bye, Cathandra."

"'Cathandra?' Oh I am so writing that one down."

Cassandra rose, her cheeks blooming from the child's love, but she turned a viper's glare on the dwarf, "Harm one hair on her head and I'll declare an Exalted March on Kirkwall."

Varric parted his one hand, the other still clutching tight to the girl. "We'll be sweet as apple dumplings, right?"

Cassandra looked as if she wanted to snatch the girl back up and whisk her away somewhere safe but the grand clerics, already put off by the interruption, were tapping their feet and shuffling harder than before. "Very well. Take care, child. I will see you later...when you can try on the hat."

Despite Lila's squeals of excitement, her Cathandra left her to return to the world of adults and boring. Her new friend smiled, gripped tighter to her fingers, and tugged her into the crowd.

"Are you a dwarf?" Lila asked, toddling to keep up. Her boots were a size too big, but everyone insisted she'd grow into them. That's what they were always saying, one day she'll be big and be able to do all the fun things just out of her reach. But getting bigger took so long.

"What gave me away?" Varric asked back. Despite being someone important with his own fancy cape, he had no guards beside him, and people only moved out of the way when he'd barrel through them dragging the girl with. He didn't seem like the other fancy people her parents brought home, forcing Lila into a dress and to stand still for a moment.

"I know a dwarf, at home. He's so silly sometimes with his words. He made me a wooden dragon."

Varric turned back to the girl, "Huh, I didn't realize they were taking in lyrium addled miners in their refuge. Unless it's a good way to keep a grip on the lyrium trade as well. Wouldn't put it past your mother. Okay," he paused in their walk, and pointed across the street. A cavalcade of horses drew wagons slowly down the crowded path in a macabre parade. Corpses decorated like the fallen enemies of the Inquisition were propped up in the wagons while spectators threw rocks and rotten produce at them. Knocking off helmets earned someone ten points.

"See that man over there, the one that looks like someone sewed his ass shut?" Varric asked. Lila shook her head, uncertain she'd ever seen someone with that issue. "He's in the green nobby mask and britches."

"Oh," Lila nodded, "I see him."

"Good," Varric grinned, then placed something in her hand, "I need you to slip over there and plant this in his pocket. Think you can do it?"

Lila blinked twice at him, her fingers throbbing against the key. A twisted grin lifted her face and she nodded. She broke rule one of her parents and let go of Varric's hand. Gathering the end of her dress in her free hand, she dodged under legs and around skirts of adults too focused on the parade to spy a little girl with a mission. As she approached the man, he launched a rock at the passing wagon of a scarecrow embedded with quartz crystals painted red. It nicked at one of the crystals on its shoulder but failed to dislodge it. Grumbling, he reached into his pocket to grab another rock.

With a grace some adult humans couldn't hope to possess, Lila slid beside the man. As he focused on lining up the next shot, her tiny fingers wiggled the key along the side of his sewn shut butt and she dropped it in. He scored a proper hit, his exuberance failing to notice the child slipping back into the crowd. Once a few steps away, she held up a thumb to Varric. He returned it in kind and then whistled.

As if appearing from thin air, three guards faded out of the crowd and grabbed onto the man. He twisted about, his face raging as he demanded to know what was going on.

"Sir, we have reason to believe you have been working in conjunction with the dark wolf."

"What madness is this?" the man railed, but the guards were already patting down his chest, one honing in on the pockets.

What's this?" the guard extracted the key Lila just planted.

"I don't know! I've never seen it before!" the man shouted, trying to break free.

"A key to the library where a member of the merchant's guild was just found murdered. As we suspected. Take him into custody."

They picked the man up like he was a sack of flour, even as he kicked and screamed that the key wasn't his. Lila ran back to Varric and held out her hand. He took it and smiled, "That was beautiful. Great job, kid. I should hire you out for a couple months, but Curly'd probably try to take my head. Speaking of..."

Varric glanced about the crowds thinning as the last of the wagons rattled past, the parade finishing until the next hour. "Do you know what a secret is?" Lila shook her head. "It's a very special thing you share between only two people, or one if you're quick on the draw," Varric said.

"Thspecial?" Lila repeated, excitement drawing out her lisp.

"Just you and me, no one else needs to...should know about our little bit of fun today. Not your mom, not your dad."

"Cathandra?"

Varric grimaced and glanced back to where the Divine stood earlier. "Only if you want fricassee dwarf for your next meal. No, not her. Just you and me. Real special like. You understand?"

"Yes 'um," Lila nodded her head so violently her curls fell across her face. She'd never been privy to a secret before, her parents always putting her to bed or sending her out of the room when someone with red dripping down their shoulder showed up. This was exciting.

"You and me kid are gonna do great things," Varric said. "Though I could really go for a drink right now. How about you? I assume they got you on the light stuff, whiskey, rye? One of the old bottles of Dragon's Piss your mom collected for shit knows why?"

Lila giggled at the funny names, her sponge brain memorizing all the new curse words she could try out later. "Tell ya what, I know a place that's got cream pouring out a fountain. They even have strawberries laid out to dip into it. Sound good?" Her eyes grew so wide, the dwarf feared they might consume her face. Gripping her hand, Varric began to guide her down the streets, the pair dodging close to the storefronts. Blue banners flapped above their heads while pert flower stands filled every front stoop or errant lion statue. For whatever reason, Orlais celebrated everything by covering it in foliage, strips of fabric, and -- in the later hours -- vomit.

Turning a corner, Varric pulled Lila up a set of seeming never ending stairs where a massive series of white columns stood at the top, fabric fluttering above to provide a roof from the sun. While he tried to charge up the center, she dashed off to the side, her free hand digging into the railing to guide her shorter legs up the incline. Varric chuckled, but let himself be anchored by the child.

Huffing together, the shorter pair finally reached the landing where more skirts butted into each other. She'd asked her mother about the strange faces on the people, and after hearing a detailed explanation of the history of masks in Orlais that made no sense, Lila asked her father. "They're stupid, ignore them."

The lattice ones didn't bother her, some even reminded her of the people who'd visit her home in full armor needing medicine for boo-boos. It was the masks across the whole face that didn't move save the twitch of an eye below that terrified her. One watched her disembark from their carriage the eyes never wavering off her, the face frozen as if in death. Lila screamed so loud her mother ushered her safely from it before the creature could whisk her away to eat her bones.

Varric seemed unbothered by the masks as he shoved around the nobles coming as close as they did to loitering. "I swear that fountain was just around here. Even had marshmallows. You ever have one of those?"

"No," Lila squeaked. Three of the green masks swiveled to her, the faces frozen in hunger for little girl blood.

"I'm gonna get you your body weight in 'em," Varric said. He tried to rise on his own toes to see around the Orlesians, but it was nothing but skirts and frilled waistcoats between the pillars.

"This is boring," Lila moaned.

"Or was the fountain at the other square? Why does every damn thing in this stupid city look the same? Kirkwall's not this bad!" Varric complained back, ignoring the girl. She tugged on their tether, stretching to see how far it would go but he had a tight grip.

"Viscount Tethras! Your...shortness," a man cried out from the crowds. He sighed in between what had to be a title request from Varric.

The Viscount himself twisted about, then spotted the voice's owner, "Shit, run!" But it was too late, Bran was already circling around him and had another two of Varric's dodged guards cutting off the exit.

Varric accepted his fate and froze in his tracks, "What is it, Red? Can't you see I have important business here?" He gestured to the girl still clinging to his hand.

Bran snarled from the nickname. "You've decided to adopt a street urchin, wonderful, but this is urgent business."

Varric rolled his eyes, everything was urgent business. If Bran ever found a hair in his breakfast gruel he'd declare an emergency and shut down the city.

"We just received word from the Nevarran ambassador that the rebel group has taken up residence on the Storm Coast in Ferelden."

"And this is my problem because..." Varric drew it out.

"Technically, we're supporting both the Nevarran crown and the rebels. Though under orders both remain within their borders."

Varric shook his head at the bullshit and was about to speak but Lila beat him to the punch, "You said we'd get marthmallows."

He pointed at the girl, "She's right, I did promise her marshmallows. And a fountain of whipped cream. Which I can't find. Have you seen it?"

Bran dug into his pockets and dropped a handful of broken peanuts into her hand. "There, food. Now we need to solve this before it breaks into all out war."

"You always say that."

"Because it's always true."

"All right, we tell King Barking Mad..." Varric launched into a list of schemes and plans he'd probably been working on before even leaving Kirkwall, but all Lila heard was a low pitched whine. More of the creepy masks were watching her. At one point Varric dropped her hand so he could give Bran a particularly involved gesture. That was enough of a hint for the child lost to utter boredom. At first she only slid a few inches away, then a whole step. When no one yelled at her, she crab walked away, always keeping an eye on the viscount trying to stop and/or start a war.

The skirts blocked off all of Lila's sight, but she found a door partially opened to the left of the festivities. Massive and carved with a relief of a woman standing in fire, her pudgy fingers had to heave against it to get it to move. Even then, she twisted to the side to fit through the narrow hole.

Greenery bloomed in this new area where trees and shrubs mimicked the columns of the last room. Lila smiled, it reminded her of home or the trips her mother sometimes took her on, just the two of them "getting forest under their feet." Another of those statues of the important woman was so massive, even with her head cranked back, Lila could only see up to her outstretched hands. Water poured off the fingers, splattering into a pool below that then streamed around the room in a circle. Feathers fluttered across the open sky as a magenta bird landed upon one of many tables scattered across the garden. It clucked its beak at her, and Lila dropped the peanuts Bran gave her. One yellow eye kept tabs on the girl, while the bird hopped over, nibbled open a nut, watched her again, then gobbled the rest.

A whistle echoed in the green room and the bird took wing. Lila rose from the peanut remains and toddled after the whistle. A woman dressed all in white stood at the center of the garden, her hand outstretched for the bird to land upon. She smoothed down the bird's breast feathers, then glanced up at the girl standing in her gardens.

"I see you've fed my pet," Vivienne spoke, gesturing to the bird clinging to the leather and bejeweled gauntlet on her arm.

"It was this," Lila said holding out her hand to show the last nub of a peanut. The bird squawked breaking free from its mistress' hold to zip over the girl and, with the softest nibble, snatch up the last of the nut. She squealed at it, clapping her hands from the trick.

Vivienne's eyes narrowed at the display, sizing the child up. "I am Madame de Fer, Grand Enchanter of the circle. And who, my dear, might you be?"

"I'm Lila," she said, holding out her hand now free of nuts.

Vivienne only clucked her tongue, "No, that is what you tell people while you're waist deep in muck courtesy of the dreadful floor in a bawdy establishment. You will address me with your full name."

"Oh..." Lila paused, screwing up her eyes to try and remember it all, "I'm Lilandra Mia Rutherford Lavellan."

"I see," Vivienne said.

"But I'm not supposed to tell anyone that," Lila said, her mother and father whispering in secret and then repeating the instruction to her while bundling up her favorite nug toy from the bird lady. Her daddy did not want to come, but mummy insisted and there was never any disagreeing with her, even when one wasn't tired and didn't need a nap.

Vivienne smiled, her eyes sparkling, "Your secret is safe with me, darling." Lila nodded, then gulped, her fingers digging into her frilled bodice. "What is it, child?"

"You're really pretty," Lila whispered, in awe of the glitter of her dress as well as the regal shine of her skin. "Like a queen."

"Well," Vivienne leaned back, smiling, "it's nice to know they're teaching you some manners in whatever backwater swamp they've squirreled you away to. Here, let me look at you properly." The Grand Enchanter stepped over to the girl, dropping to one elegant knee, and squared Lila's shoulders up. "We'll have to do something about this lackadaisical attire. Ruffles are to be in the season next, an undulation of pink and yellow would work best with your skin tone."

Lila stared into those calculating eyes and asked, "Could I wear armor?"

Vivienne smiled at that, "That's an excellent idea. There was a set made for Gaspard when he was a boy, perhaps not in the same style for you, but similar in scale and motif. Your mother must have a coat of arms by now, an elven styling across the breast plate. Yes."

Lila took the knowledge of her mother in stride. Of course everyone knew her parents, that was normal. She had another burning question in her heart, "Do you know Cathandra?"

Vivienne's smile fell, "You refer to Cassandra?"

Lila nodded, unaware of the change in demeanor, "Cathandra!"

"No, it's pronounced Cassandra. Draw out your s. Ca-sand-ra."

"Ca-thand-ra," Lila said, grinning wide.

Vivienne rose from her lean beside the girl, "Your change in clothing shall have to wait, for now we must attend to elocution."

"Electrocution?" Lila asked, the word sparking from discussions she shouldn't have overheard.

Vivienne tutted her and unearthed a long pointed stick from a lectern at the focal point of the garden. "No, dear. Elocution. The proper pronunciation of words. People must understand you whether they stand beside your lips or at the back of a theater. Your message should be all that they focus upon, not the words or bungling thereof. Do you understand?"

Lila wanted to nod and impress the fancy lady, but she shook her head sadly.

"No mind, let us begin with the vowels. And stand up straight. You're liable to give yourself a swooped back with that hunching."

Someone slammed the door where Lila entered and a man appeared inspecting a bottle in his hands. "I'm afraid the best I could liberate was a 7:35 Antivan Red. What is it with Southerners and their piss they confuse for wine?" He skidded to a halt at the sight of Madame de Far waving her stick just above Lila's head to the tune of Orlesian vowels. "Why Vivienne, I didn't realize you took to breeding? Or is the chantry handing children out as parting gifts now? Maker, I hope there's not one sitting in my gift bag. I haven't a clue what you feed them."

"Magister Pavus," Vivienne said, waving her hand towards Dorian who held the bottle upon his hip as he smoothed down his mustache. "This is Lady Rutherford Lavellan."

"Oh, so this is her!" Dorian dropped fully down to his knees to meet Lila in the eye. "Yes, I see it now. Striking resemblance to her father, even has that same sneer he'd get when we'd talk about him in front of his back. A pleasure to make your acquaintance," Dorian held out his hand, which Lila took gingerly. He shook it as strongly as if she was any chevalier which drew a smile from the girl. "Call me Dorian. I know your mother."

"Everyone knows Mummy," Lila said, unimpressed.

Dorian snorted, shaking his head, as he rose back up, "Maker, it's as if they miniaturized Cullen and dropped a wig upon his head. How did she wind up here?"

"I haven't a clue," Vivienne said snatching the bottle of wine from Dorian's fingers before it'd crash to the floor. "She appeared unaccompanied and baring nuts."

"If this is some scheme of your mothers, it's beyond me," Dorian said to Lila.

"We've been working on elocution lessons," Vivienne said, smiling at Lila.

"Andraste's breath, and you're going along with that?" Dorian asked, his sparkling grey eyes focusing fully upon Lila.

"It is vital that a young lady learn how to navigate the political waters of..."

"Forget that," Dorian said waving Vivienne off before focusing back on the child, "I happen to know a small bakery that's got a cake three times your height. Doesn't that sound better than reciting the chant backwards while balancing a book on your head?"

Lila glanced at the Grand Enchanter who stared magnanimously at the pair of them. The child whipped back to Dorian and smiled wide, "Yes!" Once again the allure of sugar beat out schooling.

Vivienne sighed, accepting defeat. "Be careful with her, Pavus. The eyes of an empire are watching."

Lila gripped tight to Dorian's hand. He twisted it around, trying to figure out why she was so clingy, but shrugged and held back. "Don't worry, we'll be back before anyone even realizes we've gone."

Together the pair slipped out of the gardens towards the town leaving Vivienne alone with her thoughts and her pet bird. Lila's shoes paddled at first against the ground, then air, as the funny man pulled her down the gilded streets and turned a corner into a darker alley. Revelers tramped through here as well, but they wore less glittery finery and were deeper into the spirit of the day.

Dorian smiled at them, offering some encouragement at a pair headbutting each other against the wall - or that's how he explained it to the little girl digging tighter to his hand. "By my honor, I swear that bake shop was just around here...Ah!" Reaffirming his clasp, he yanked Lila towards a storefront that had probably been quaint in its better days. Despite the torn and drooping banner and molding flowers in the sill, a string of bunting spruced up the grey fogging the window. A jolly bell rang from the door, catching Lila's attention. She tried to reach up as if she could get it to jangle herself, but Dorian was too focused on the accoutrements of the shop to notice or assist.

Giving up on the bell, Lila turned to take in the bakery. A handful of tiny tables circled the floor, most covered in half finished bottles from the parade that passed through an hour past. Something sticky coated the floor, trying to adhere Lila's oversized shoes to it. She jumped up and down, refusing to submit. The back of the tiny shop held a massive counter displaying small cakes, each one decorated with drizzles of various colors and frostings and topped in a sigil of the Inquisition formed from fondant.

It drew the child like a demon to the breech, she didn't even realize she dropped Dorian's hand until she was almost nose first into the cake. Her pudgy fingers reached out to one that looked like her aunt's spice cake but with bright red glaze dripping down the sides. Something sizzled alive, holding her hand an inch from touching the treat. The noise drew the attention of not only the lone shopkeep who'd had her back turned to them, but Dorian.

"A phasic barrier, fascinating," he said, prodding his own finger into it, "and all to protect a few cakes from children's grubby fingers. Such an elaborate display of magic wasted for a mere parlor trick. And here I thought I left Tevinter."

"I want one," Lila said, still pointing at the cake designed to mimic spilt blood - whether it was of those sacrificed in duty or the Inquisition's enemies depended on who did the buying. But all the girl saw was something tasty and sugary. After a day with Josephine insisting she smile and curtsy to every foul smelling person in scary masks, she felt she deserved it.

The shopkeep finally approached them, wiping her hands down her apron, "Can I help you?" She'd styled her hair with braids running along the sides to emphasize the tips of her ears. A sense of elven pride floated through the city which set some nobles on edge, but not enough to voice their complaints as they cast a careful eye towards the Inquisitor.

"Yes," Dorian said, rising up to meet her. Lila continued to press her hand into the barrier, enjoying the tingle it sent up her arm. She reached up to find her curls rising with every zap of the magic. "I was in here earlier, at least I believe it was here. Orlesian architecture is a haphazard disaster you call purposeful. As if someone dumped a mass of a blocks out of a box and arranged them all according to height."

"Do you have a point, Monsieur?" she cut back, frosty at the mage putting down her homeland with the child draining her barrier.

"Was this the shop with the massive cake? The one nearly six feet tall?"

Pride beamed from the woman as she nodded deeply, "Yes, it is. I was dotting on the finishing touches before delivering it to the banquet."

"Splendid," Dorian said, clasping his hands and patting Lila on the back. She looked up at him watching as her fingers drew up the barrier. From the contact the magic lifted Dorian's hair straight on end, tufts towering off his forehead . He looked like Puddles after a bath, while Daddy chased him around with a towel before giving up.

Dorian missed what was occurring upon his head as he held the baker's rapt attention, "I promised this charming girl here a slice."

The smile dropped to a frown, the baker shaking her head vigorously, "I'm sorry sir, this cake is meant for the Inquisitor and the feast in her honor. If you wish a slice, you'll have to get an invitation."

Dorian chuckled and picked up Lila, breaking her contact with the barrier. She sneered at her toy taken away but he lifted her up to meet the elf in the eyes. The baker stared with one eyebrow raised at the girl then looked back at the Tevinter Magister. "You must be aware of who this is," he said, twisting Lila around. She giggled from his fingers poking into her sides.

The baker was less impressed as she shook her head no.

"Come now, that chin, those eyes, her father's favorite sneer, mounds of blonde hair corkscrewing all over the place. This is the Inquisitor's own daughter."

That drew a bark from the baker and a sneer of her own, "The Inquisitor is an elf, and that is a human child."

"Well, yes, but..." Dorian tried to explain, but the woman glared through him.

"Unless you intend to purchase something, I suggest you stop wasting my time lest I call the guards to deal with you." She snapped up her piping bag and returned to the massive cake kept far behind the counter. Lila tried to scrabble out of Dorian's hands to get a better look at the promise yanked away. It had to be at least fifteen layers, offset with columns of various shapes to mimic the Temple of Sacred Ashes, the Winter Palace, Adamant, and finally Skyhold towards the top. They were all places Lila had never been but heard others talk about often in wistful tones. The baker took great care to paint a scene of the mighty Inquisitor vanquishing a foe on each layer, but at the top she changed it up. Greens and blacks mimicked either the forest ground or the fade itself while tiny gold markings bore a striking resemblance to the Inquisitor's blood tattoos. A small green ribbon wrapped around wire hung just above the cake itself as a lone figure stood at the top, arm outstretched to close it all.

It was a true marvel, and something Dorian was sadly dragging her away from. He placed Lila upon a table and she turned to him, her eyes watering, "No cake?"

"I'm afraid not. It seems the criers in the south do a lousy job of informing the public who is and is not important in this barbarian land."

Lila crossed her arms, glaring at the man who lied to her. "You promised."

"Life is full of heartache, child. Best to learn it now before some demon is gnawing on your foot," he tried to shrug her accusation away, but his grey eyes dipped low in pain.

A wrathful three year old is not easily tempered. Crossing her arms again for emphasis she struck out with, "I bet you don't even know Mummy!"

Dorian whipped to her, "I do, of course I do. She must have mentioned me to you, numerous times. We're the closest of friends, despite the distance..."

"You're a liar," Lila said, waving her finger under his nose.

"Maker, it's Cullen all over again stumbling upon my stockpile of...things that are not important," Dorian said, trying to smooth down his mustache from where Lila's barrier game lifted it. After a moments thought he snapped his fingers, "I can prove I know your mother, and father for that matter."

"Oh?" Lila shifted on the table, wobbling it until one of the bottles tipped over and rolled into her back.

Dorian dug into his pocket and lifted up a bright white crystal with a thread of leather dangling from the top. Lila cracked an eyebrow at him, still unmoved by his plea despite all the shiny things he had on him. Rising up as if steading himself to address the magisterium, Dorian touched the crystal. A pink glow pulsed from the middle as he spoke, "Hello, dear friend. I wished to check in to see how things are going at your end. They say there's to be a magnificent feast tonight in your honor."

Lila watched him intently, her eyes piercing to find this another lie. The man who'd faced down Corypheus and broken through time itself began to sweat under a child's gaze. Suddenly, the crystal throbbed a blue and a familiar voice said, "Dorian, now's not the best time."

"Mummy!" Lila shouted, kicking her legs into the table and scooting closer. Her fingers grazed across the crystal as she peered deep into it, trying to see her mother.

"What the...Lila? Is that you? What are you..."

"We're enjoying some refreshments together," Dorian said, a grin stretching his face. "Just a few dozen cakes before bedtime, right child?"

"Yup!" Lila said, kicking her legs even higher in anticipation.

The crystal fell silent and white for a moment before an even darker blue blared her father's voice, "Pavus! Whatever you're playing at, return Lila to Josephine this..."

"Oops," Dorian said, dropping the crystal into his pocket and severing the connection. "See, I told you I know your mother," he crowed to the girl. "Now, let us discover a way to do good on getting you that cake..."

The bell jangled again, getting a squeal from Lila, and another elf entered - her blonde hair shaggy and nearly down to her eyes. She parted it and eyed up the two of them on the table, "Shite's stacks, look at what the evil curtain nobs drug in. Didn't think you'd come all the way down here for this pish."

Dorian grinned at Sera, "And pass up an opportunity to have Southerner's throwing themselves at my feet in idolization? Perish the thought."

Sera nodded her head once at the baker, who returned the look. She snatched up one of the half finished bottles on the table and sniffed it. Finding it appealing enough, Sera upended it into her mouth, a stream dribbling down the side.

Dorian grimaced, but asked, "What brings you here? Didn't think noble celebrations and political machinations were your area expertise?"

"Ain't," she said, then burped loud enough to bring up the barrier, "But you get enough noble pricks in town and someone's gonna need a Jenny. Thought I'd swing by and see her too, been awhile with all this Fenny shit in the air."

"Ah, yes, speaking of the Inquisitor," Dorian said, stepping to the side to reveal Lila, "this happens to be what sprung out of her."

What color Sera managed drained from her face at the child waving to her. "You, you're the little, you just stay there. Way over there." Sera inched away, crashing into a table.

Dorian looked back at Lila, then the woman scrabbling away as if her life depended upon it, "She's a child, not a hungry bear."

"Bear I can deal with," Sera said. "Whatch you doing with her, anyway?"

"I was attempting to get her something to eat, but the purveyor found us less than acceptable..." Dorian said.

"Hey, Elise!" Sera shouted, waving her hand up. "It okay if I nick a few cakes for my friends?"

"Sure," the baker said. She waved her hand over a panel on the wall and the barrier shimmered for a moment before dispersing. Sera reached in, piling up plates of cakes upon her arm. She stuffed one into her mouth, tipping the empty plate onto the floor, before adding another two to her grabbing arm. "-Fanks," Sera shouted, crumbs splattering on the ground.

"No problem," Elise said. She lifted the barrier and undid her apron, finally wheeling the Inquisitor's cake towards the massive palace out the back door.

Sera let Dorian pick a cake off her arm as she slid two onto her table. She eyed up Lila, then with trembling fingers, held one to the girl just out of reach. Lila leaned so far forward, Dorian placed a hand upon her stomach so she wouldn't fall to the floor. Finally, Lila's fingers dug into the blood red frosting oozing it over her hand before smashing the wad into her mouth and savoring the jolt of sugar. After swallowing, she smiled at the new friend and said, "Thank you."

"Yeah, you just keep your thanks over there," Sera said, mashing her own haul into her mouth two at a time.

Dorian was the only one to use a fork, slicing off tiny sections. After a few bites, he said, "I've always wondered if your little friend network extends north into the Imperium."

"And I'd never tell you," Sera smiled. "But best not to be shits to your servants lest you wind up with a Jenny in your midden."

"I shall bear that in mind," Dorian chuckled. He glanced to Lila whose entire mouth was crammed full of cake, tears streaming down her eyes as she struggled to chew it down. "Dear Maker, don't go choking upon it. Smaller bites child."

"Is she dying?! She's not dying, right? You better not be dying!" Sera cried.

Lila managed to jam the bolus of cake down her throat, and reached for a second round before Dorian intercepted her. Using his fork, he cut her a smaller bite. "No, I believe she will live for the moment."

"Psh, don't go scaring me Dorian," Sera said, wiping real terror sweat off her brow. The Tevinter Magister watched her in confusion.

"You're quaking in fear over a small girl, and I've watched you try to climb on the back of a dragon," Dorian paused, "multiple times."

"Dragons is easy, you shoot 'em, they die," Sera explained, waving her hand at the three year old lapping frosting off her fingers. She wiped back at her hair, accidentally coating her blonde curls in the red dye. "But kids, they're so...bwahah!" Sera shuddered, knocking over another table.

"Fascinating," Dorian said, eyeing up Sera as if she was an ancient relic, "I'd have assumed due to the fact you share about the same mental age as a child you'd find comfort around them, but it's the exact opposite."

"Don't be judging me," Sera shot back, eyeing him up.

"Far from it," Dorian said. "Merely trying to ascertain what drives you."

"Mages always asking big pushy questions," Sera said, "and then they get arrows in the face." She didn't draw her bow, but the threat wasn't entirely without teeth.

Dorian only laughed at that, then turned to Lila, "What about you, child? Are you afraid of her?"

She paused in trying to get sugar out from under her fingernails to look up at him, then Sera. Blinking her massive brown eyes in thought, she said, "You're an elf."

"Yeah..."

"So's my Mummy!" Lila shouted clapping her hands as if she'd solved a puzzle.

"Great, fantastic, that's real helpful Dorian. Really fixed the creepy factor there with the kid."

Dorian only shook his head, then finally saw the mess Lila created across her hair, face, and dress. He unearthed a small kerchief from his person and tried to dab it across the dye. Unfortunately, this only smooshed it around, giving Lila the countenance of someone dying from crimson fever. The girl kept trying to push his hands away, unhappy with the poor washing.

Suddenly, a small pin on Dorian's shoulder lit up in a flashing red. Lila clapped her hands, expecting to hear her mother's disembodied voice again, but Dorian panicked. Tapping his pin, he whipped his head around the room. "Fasta Vaas!"

"Wha now?" Sera asked. "You never told me what that one meant, you know."

"Not the time," Dorian waved her away. "I should have known he'd be here. All my luck, naturally I'd run into one of them strolling through Orlais as if they still owned it."

"Dor-I-An!" Sera shouted, trying to draw his attention, "What are you on about?"

But he didn't answer her as he sidled up next to the doorframe trying to peek around the window. "No time. Sera, I need you to take the child."

Sera snickered, "Good one."

"I mean it. She cannot remain with me while I deal with him."

"Just tell the guy you want to see other people, it's you not him. Also his butt looks fat," Sera sighed, picking at another half empty bottle.

Dorian shook his head, "This isn't...the child would be in danger with me. You can handle it, she won't bite your head off. I have to finish this, and we can meet up later at the feast. No problem." He ended on a cheeky grin, but a glint sliced across his cheeks sagging from age and wear. Unearthing his staff off his back, he dashed out the door before Sera could form a proper response.

Horrified beyond measure, she watched Dorian run across the windows and vanish down the street, her nose pressed to the pane. Slowly turning back, Sera gulped as the kid picked at the edge of her dress then looked up.

"I have to go potty," Lila said, drawing a massive scream from Sera.

Finding a useable midden was easier than expected, and Sera only cursed four times standing outside waiting for Lila to finish and/or not die. "Shiting arsebuckets crap balls! What am I going to do? Not supposed to be dealing with this. Ever! This is real bad." Going against every fiber of her being, Sera sidled up next to the closed door and knocked. "You done in there, or what?"

Only a small gurgle answered back. Visions of the child laying across the ground, blood splattered everywhere flashed across Sera's mind. She knocked again, shoving her side into the door to dislodge it. "Fuckity shit holes!" Drawing back, she kicked with all her strength, smashing open not the lock, but one of the door's hinges. Without pausing, she kicked again, shattering off the second rusted hinge, and yanked the door back to find the kid's hands in the water basin, her massive eyes staring at the elf.

"Whatcha doing that for?" Sera shouted, as if she hadn't just destroyed a door for no good reason.

"Washing," Lila said, then proceeded to splash her hands in the basin, some of it splattering back onto her face and streaking the dye down it.

"Right, right," Sera nodded, "I can't deal with this. This isn't good. You need someone else, I need to find someone who can take you." She turned to try and exit out of the obliterated door, but the kid stood firmly beside her water toy. "Whatcha waiting for? Let's go."

Lila stuck out her hand and grasped at the air. Sera stared it down as if it was poisonous. "Not supposed to go anywhere without someone holding it."

"Fine, fine," Sera reached out, and yanked upon the slimy thing now leaving streaks of red dye across her own fingers, "whatever it takes, just don't die on me, ya hear? Keep living."

Lila blinked her eyes, struggling to keep up with the woman hauling ass through the alienage of Val Royeaux. More elves than Lila'd ever seen bustled through the narrow streets. Some stood around the murky walls conversing at their leisure, but just as many moved about unaware that it was a day of celebration. Or, more likely, they had to work twice as hard because of it. That bunting didn't hang itself.

The girl wanted to stop and listen to them. She only got to spend time with elves when visiting her grandma, hearing scary bedtime stories and eating that spicy bread her Mummy loved. But Sera didn't slow in her mad search for anyone to take this terror off her hands. At first she ducked through a livery, the horses all glancing up. "No good," Sera muttered. As Lila reached to pet one of the horse's noses reaching down to investigate the child, Sera yanked her on.

Past the livery was a blacksmith shop and, judging by the smell, a tanner was nearby. At first Sera eyed up the kid, "Here might not be so bad for..." Fire burst from the forge, the smith smashing on the bellows. Sera yanked Lila away from the burn, depositing her right next to a line of recently sharpened swords. "Not good, could die here. Probably. Right? Lots of death in these places. Ah!"

Little fingers reached to run along the shiny edge, but the elf yanked her onward before she could touch it. Perturbance grew inside the child at Sera whisking her away just before she got to do anything fun. She slowed her steps, trying to stretch their link as far as she could. Despite holding the kid like she was a poisonous snake, Sera wasn't about to let her go until she was certain she'd found someone that could reasonably keep her alive.

"There, that's got to be something," Sera shouted. Dashing across the courtyard, Sera dragged Lila past the massive tree that filled all alienages. Ribbons dangled off the branches, green as that cake, and Lila wanted to tug one off. She pulled back on the bond, but Sera wasn't having any of it. Her crystal eyes were honed on a set of doors hanging ajar from their frames. A few elves stood outside, but it was the massive body squatting in the chair - his head slumped forward in sleep - that drew Sera's attention.

She skidded to a halt, then twisted back to check on Lila, "Still alive right? No dying during the walk?" Finally, she released her hold on the girl and eyed up the mess on own hand, "Ugh, sticky without any of the fun." Wiping the dye down her own shirt, Sera kicked the leg of the man passed out on the bench.

He didn't shift, only a light mumbling gave away the fact he also wasn't dead. Lila watched the display for a moment before realizing that the elf woman wasn't watching or holding her. Slipping away with an assassin's skill, she ran for the tree.

Sera didn't notice, she was too busy re-enforcing her whacks to the man's leg, "Get off it and wake up! I know you're in there."

He didn't look up at her from his one good eye, only snorted and said, "You gonna stop kicking me or what?"

"Only if'n you keep making me," Sera said, though she stopped her kicking. The Iron Bull shifted in his seat but didn't raise his head off his chest.

"So, did you want something or is this another of your games?"

"Yes, you have to watch this kid."

Bull chuckled, "What part of Tal Vashoth mercenary says perfect baby sitter."

Sera threw her hands up, "Don't matter. You just do that guarding bodies thing of yours. I can't..." she shuddered again, the entire notion of placing another life in her hands shaking her to the core. "Nope, you do it, you'll be great."

"Okay," Bull said, still not glancing up, "Where's this kid?"

"She's..." Sera whipped around, realizing that her hand was no longer clutching to her charge, "Fuckity balls in crotch sauce!"

"That one's new," Bull chuckled.

Sera jumped forward, shaking his harness, "You don't get it, she's very...we have to find her!"

Bull sighed, "What's she look like? Blonde hair? Brown eyes? Wearing a shift with that pattern the templars have and brown shoes now covered in red dye?"

"Yes!" Sera shouted, far too freaked out to be impressed with his new found psychic skills, "We have to find her!"

"She's over by that big tree." From Sera's glare he shrugged, "Ben-hassrath, remember?"

Sera cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted, "You, child thing, get over here!" But Lila ignored her, she'd managed to shimmy halfway up the tree, her tiny fingers finding the knots better than most adults. One of the ribbons dangled enticingly out of reach. "Don't make me do the bad thing!" Sera shouted, her voice raising in terror, "Like send you to supper without bed!"

Bull sighed, rising from his seat. Carefully, he wiped his hands down his pants while walking towards the tree. He cracked his neck twice and plucked up Lila as if she weighed nothing more than an apple. The girl squealed from losing her grip, but in lifting her up, her fingers grabbed one of the ribbons, tugging it free. That was enough to calm her as Bull flipped her around to look him in the one eye.

"Who are you?" she asked, her fingers running across the ribbon.

"The name's The Iron Bull," he said, "and who might you be?"

"I'm Lila," she said sticking out her hand.

Bull chuckled at it, and shifted the girl over to his one hand while gently shaking hers with his other. "Aren't you terrified of the giant ox man?"

Lila screwed up her face, thinking so hard her tongue stuck out. After a few beats she shook her head and smiled, "No."

That drew an even heartier laugh from Bull as he lowered her to the ground. She wadded the ribbon in her hand, not about to let that hard fought treasure go.

"All right, Sera, I can..." Bull turned around to find her, but Sera was already long gone. The qunari sighed, "Guess it's just you and me kid."

Lila held out her hand and waved it in his direction. Bull eyed it up, then sighed, "Right right, come on." The child holding loosely onto only one finger, Bull led Lila into the tavern.

There were many fine and upstanding establishments across Orlais that were happy to welcome the masses celebrating the anniversary of the Inquisition's closing of the breach. This was not one of them. Alcohol didn't just permeate the air, it oozed from every drop of moisture -- spoiled beer actually condensing outside filthy glasses. Lila scrunched up her nose at the smell, far too much like that room her parents kept her away from where the screaming was worst. But Bull either didn't notice or became blind to it. Shaking his head towards the corner, he stomped past the piles of tables made from what looked like stolen wood. One still had "property of the Merchant's Guild" burned across the top.

Few of the patrons looked up at the massive Qunari guiding a little girl, they were either deep into their own sorrows, or had seen far more interesting things than that. The Iron Bull stopped at a table where a few people sat.

"Where's Krem?"

Lila tried to see over the top of the table as an elf spoke. She had the same lilting accent as the bird lady Mummy sometimes visited with. "Chatting up one of the waitresses."

"Shiiit," Bull said, drawing out the swear, "I swear, he gets more action than me."

"Sir," Stitches jerked his chin, the first to notice the child clinging to his hand, "who's that?"

"A new member of the Chargers!" Bull shouted. With one hand, he raised her up high. Lila giggled, waving at all the people looking up at the child as if she was a barrel of gatlock about to explode. Bull twisted the kid to look into his one eye. She reached out, steadying herself by grabbing onto his horn, "We gonna need a nickname for you, kid? Hm..."

The qunari gazed around his troops strung across three tables. He spotted a chair higher than the rest in the place. It might just be perfect. Dropping his voice to as low of a whisper as the qunari could manage, he asked the kid, "You know cards?"

Lila nodded her head, her curls bouncing in the guttering candle light.

"Okay, here's what we're gonna do. I'm gonna sit back there and if you see the people in front of you have a good hand, you give me a signal like..." Bull spotted the ribbon still dangling in her fingers, "wave this about."

Lila twirled the ribbon in her fingers, enjoying the feel of her hard won prize.

"Right, like that, but only if they got a good hand. Get it?"

"Yeth, thir," she said, then saluted.

Bull chuckled and returned the salute. Holding the child away from his face so she wouldn't go deaf, Bull shouted, "Hey guys, I think we should call the new one Ace! You like that?" Moving his mass around the table, Bull placed her upon the chair and winked. Lila giggled, squaring in her seat for her very important mission. "Ace'll be a great addition to the Chargers. Enemies'll never see her coming. Now," Bull smacked his hands together, "let's get some cards going over here!"

Dalish and Stitches hovered in the far back, sharing a drink and perhaps something a bit more, while Rocky kept bumping into the wall as if he expected a door to appear. Only Skinner and Grim were willing to play cards with the boss. Bull smiled wide, stretching out across the bench and nodding once at Lila.

"Come on, Skinner. We ain't got all day here."

The elf glared but cut the deck, her fingers flicking through the cards and folding them in and out faster than the eye could follow. Clucking her tongue, Skinner passed out seven each to the three playing and raised her own to her eyes. Lila clapped her hands, wiggling in her seat to get a better view of the pictures.

Despite having an Ace in the chair across from him, Bull's game went south fast. He grumbled every time Skinner pulled a surprise card from the slump, or managed to get an entire set of cups. Even Grim, who usually sneered at his cards, then threw them all away in disgust managed to win a game on the Bull.

Midway through the fifth set, when Bull held his hand so close to his eyes there was no way he could see them, Krem appeared. He hovered behind the Iron Bull, "How's it going, Chief."

"Mumf," Bull mumbled, then threw a card down.

"It can't be that bad," Krem said, trying to peer over his shoulder. Bull snorted, steam almost puckering out of his nostrils, as he tried to protect his hand from prying eyes. Grim changed out one his cards for a new. Across from them, Lila waved her little green ribbon with wild abandon.

"Shit," Bull said. Krem watched his boss reshuffling his hand, then got a better look at the young accomplice.

"Is that..." Krem stepped around the piling mugs and sweet wrappers from Bull to the girl rolling on a short-legged stool. He dropped down to a knee to meet her face to face. "Chief!"

"Busy here, Krem," Bull shouted, trying to save himself.

"What are you doing here, little one?" Krem asked, holding a hand out.

"It's my job to watch the cards," she said, rising up in her seat.

"That so? And who put you up to it?" Lila pointed a finger at Bull, drawing an eye roll from Krem. "Of course he did."

"I's suppothed to wave my ribbon whenever I see a good card."

Krem twisted back to watch Bull fail once again at another hand. A cruel smile twisted his lips, "Do you know what a good card is?"

"Sure," Lila said, bouncing in her seat, "it's one that's really pretty. I like the lady in silver the best."

Krem snickered then held his hands out to the girl. She scooted forward and jumped into them, her weight catching him off guard as he repositioned from the exuberance. "You wouldn't happen to be Lila, would you?"

"Yup," she nodded, screwing up her eyes as if she needed to remember.

"I feared as such," Krem said to her before turning around and to Bull, "Chief!"

"WHAT?!" Bull screamed back, dumping a tankard down his gullet.

"Don't you know who this kid is?" Krem asked while Lila tried to thread her ribbon through his shoulder guards. Bull shrugged. "By all the...this is the Inquisitor's child. Remember? We met her a year or so ago."

The other Chargers all sat up from their stupors and stared at the girl, most nodding their heads and spotting the similarities through the dark haze of the tavern. Much like an optical illusion where someone pointed out what was the eye and that that swirl is the chin, it was impossible to not see her parentage now.

Bull's head snapped up and his eye searched over the child with new depths, "Your Mom's the Inquisitor? No wonder you're shit at cards."

"Chief!" Krem shouted.

"What?"

Krem jerked his head at the child, "Be careful what you say around little ears."

"Wha', you think she might be a spy?" Bull laughed.

"No," Krem responded. "You don't want her repeating any new bad words she learned to her mother."

Bull snorted, waving his hand at the absurdity. Her mother already knew all the good ones anyway. He took another deep drink then twisted back, a beady eye on the child trying to tie a bow around Krem's head. "If that's the Boss' daughter why's she not look a thing like her. You hiding any pointed ears somewhere, kid?"

"She's the commanders as well," Krem said, as if that should be as obvious as the color of the sky.

"So Cullen finally figured out to do with that sword of his beyond playing with it."

"Chief..."

"What? With those two it seemed like they'd spend the whole night hugging and call it fuc-"

"CHIEF!"

Bull tipped his horns up and down, tired of being chastised for every other word. After a moment he held out his arms and said, "Come here," to the kid.

Krem lowered Lila to the ground, then undid her ribbon and passed it back. She snuck under the table, her knees meeting with Maker knew what breeding below, to pop out in front of Bull. He picked her up and stood her on the bench beside himself, staring into her eyes. Unafraid Lila stared back, her hand holding onto his horn so she wouldn't fall.

"Aren't you like four or some shi-" He felt Krem's glare and rolled his head, "some thing like that. Shouldn't you be a lot taller?"

"She's not an oxman," Krem said. "Humans don't shoot up to six feet tall before we're weaned."

Bull stared at the girl before leaning back and snorting, "Some of you ain't even weaned yet. Heard what you were getting up to all cozy behind the counter. Krem, is this gonna be another broken heart?"

"This isn't really the, uh, Chief, the kid."

"What?" Bull twisted around, "she's still here."

"There you are!" a gruff voice broke through the dank of the tavern, the light outlining a man in the same mottled armor and even mangier beard. Thom Rainier stepped forward, dashing as fast as he ever did to the girl.

Bull's shoulders fell, but Lila twisted around, almost taking a step off the bench in her excitement. Luckily, the qunari was there to catch her, his hand steadying her in place.

"Beardy!" Lila shouted, her arms trying to reach for the man blushing underneath his hair.

"Beardy?" Bull asked, turning to him.

"It's just a...nickname the child came up for me. That's all," Thom said. "We traveled together for a time in the same caravan."

"Beardy is so funny!" Lila continued, extolling his virtues.

"Are you sure you're not thinking of another beard?" Bull said, drawing a few guffaws from his Chargers.

"Come here," Thom reached out, picking Lila off her teetering stand. She wrapped her arms around his neck, the ribbon burrowing into said beard. "Sera sent me to find you. Girl was in a tizzy about you not dying," he paused and looked around at the establishment, "and I can understand why. Well, I should be getting you back to your parents. Especially before your father starts a war."

Lila shook her head, wanting to stay with the fun and keep waving her ribbon, but then a yawn threw open her mouth so wide she had to lean back. Thom reached forward to keep her steady and her head from smacking into the tavern's overhang. "Mmkay," she said, exhaustion answering for her.

Thom shifted her in his arms, her exhaustion somehow making her twice as heavy, then got an idea. He dropped her onto a table, which was enough to wake the girl. Then he twisted around and patted his shoulder, "Climb up here, it'll be easier."

Giddy from the new game, Lila plunged forward, her tiny hands knotting across Thom's neck. He yanked her fingers up so they were locked tight onto his beard and not cutting off his air supply. With Lila safely on his shoulders, he dipped down and worked towards the exit.

"When you're done," Bull shouted from his corner, "you should swing by for a round, Beardy!"

Thom snorted at Bull's offer as he kicked open the door and emerged into the shadowed alienage. The setting sun's rays were blanketed by the massive buildings walling off the unwanted masses. "Sera," he shouted, "you here?" But the woman that yanked him from his lonely bench with her harried words of how he had to help vanished into the night. "The only way to keep track of that girl is nailing her to the floor," he muttered. "You okay up there?"

Lila shook her head, "Yes'm." Her voice softened from its usual ecstatic roar, another yawn dancing around it.

"Try to not fall asleep on my head. Now to find your parents," Thom set off down the twisting alleys, dodging past elves and less than savory humans sharpening their blades for a good night of work. A few looked up at the child cooing from her perch, but at the steely glare from her ride backed off.

Outside of the alienage walls, mages prowled up and down the streets, alighting the lamps. Purple light flared below lines of blown glass casting a haunting glow to the procession of people moving towards the palace gates. Thom couldn't remember which one it was for, nor did he care. They were all the same in the end. If it weren't for her invitation, he'd have never set foot in Val Royeaux again. But a chance for a reunion was worth it...as well as getting to watch Sera lob bags of rancid butter off the roof at the gentry passing by on their horses.

Lila's hands slipped off his beard, her head bobbing. Thom jiggled his shoulders and she snapped back awake. "Not too much further, okay."

"Kay..." she murmured, her voice lulling off.

"How about I tell you another story. You like those, right?"

"Yeth!" Lila shouted, her lisp slipping back in.

Thom fell in behind a pair of nobby Orlesians both wearing an outfit covered in glittering green sparkles. It seared his eyes, but they distracted from the unkempt wildman attempting to pass through the gates. "I was in the woods once, trying to escape from a chevalier hell bent on slicing me down."

Lila's fingers gripped tighter to his face, pinning his cheeks back into an almost terrifying grin. Through the rictus, he continued to talk, scaring the scaled off the first gate guard that waved them both through. "Didn't think much of woods and trees. Not as bad as the Deep Roads, but somehow I got separated from the others in my company. Snap of a branch below my feet and, woosh, I found myself dangling upside down off a tree."

"Eee," Lila squealed, "that's fun."

"Maybe for you," Thom said. "It's not something I'm a fan of. After about an hour of the blood pooling in my head, I spot a set of feet approaching - bare feet. Shaggy red hair pops into view along with the tattooed face it was attached to. The Dalish elf..."

"My Mummy's Dalish!" Lila crowed, kicking her feet in excitement.

Thom reached up to steady her, but took the blows with aplomb. "You don't say. Well, this Dalish elf was less than friendly, eyeing up the strange man dangling in her snare like I was an invading bear. I tried to convince her I had no beef with her people, just needed to get through, but there was no doing."

Their cover veered off towards a fountain now sparkling a haunting green light from the mages hovering beside it. "Maker's balls, why are they trying to remind everyone of the breach? Do Orlesians chuckle about beheadings with the widow too?" Thom muttered to himself while heading through the final door into the palace.

"Pardon, messere," a hand snaked out in front of Thom, cutting him off.

He twisted around, dragging Lila with him, to eye up the Orlesian soldier hidden behind a mask. The child shuddered, burrowing her face into the back of Thom's head. Good thing he'd been keeping up with that anti-lice routine.

"Only preferred people are allowed entrance at this time. Perhaps you can return later, when the festivities are more...common."

Thom sneered, wishing he didn't need to get through. Sera'd made a plan to nick all the best grub at the banquet and head for the scuzziest tavern in the place to share. Which, on second thought, was probably the one occupied by Bull and his men.

"I am one of those people."

The guard's eyes trailed down the armor with mud still worked into rivets, cloth hems tattered, and a massive chocolate stain Lila left after their last encounter. "Is that so?"

"I'm Thom Rainier," he said, the wince finally gone from speaking his real name.

But the guard was unmoved. "Perhaps you are unaware, but this gathering is only for those who served intimately with the Inquisitor. Anyone else is encouraged to remain outside."

"Lila, cover your ears." The child did as told, and Thom leaned into the man, "I did fucking serve with the Inquisitor. While you were pissing your pants standing guard outside some lord's breakfast nook, I was neck deep in shit that'd send you scampering back to your mother's skirts."

"Really?" the guard said, but there was a new squeak to his voice. "I don't remember the tales of a Thom Rainier fighting beside the Inquisitor's side."

"No, you wouldn't. Because I was Blackwall then."

"Oh..." color drained from the speck of flesh visible beneath the mask. "You're...uh, of course, Sir. You can do right in." He stepped back, giving Thom a wide berth.

Snorting once at him, he continued up the steps. Then he paused and turned back to the guard, "Hey!"

"Yes, Sir?" the guard saluted, snapping his hand up so fast it smacked into his forehead.

"Do you know where Lavellan is?"

"The Inquisitor's in conference with the Marquis until the dinner hour." At Rainier's continued glare, he tacked on, "Go through the door, take a left, and it's the third door on the right."

"Thanks," Thom said, nodding once. Behind him, the guard sagged to the ground, praying to Andraste to save him. Thom ignored him as he threw open the massive door and followed the terrified guard's instructions. Some people would probably find the hall impressive, but all he saw was a waste of time, money, and perfectly good metal that could have been put back into the armory. At least the statue of Andraste was tasteful, even if the poor lady never seemed to find a dress that properly fit.

"Beardy?" Lila asked, "Can I take my hands off?"

"Sure," Thom said, then shouted it again in case she didn't hear. Twisting down the left hall, he counted down the doors.

"What happened with the elf lady?" Lila asked, one hand clinging to his forehead.

"She said she'd cut me down if I could best her in a game of riddles."

"And you won!" Lila finished, very much enjoying this story.

"Not really, after a day hanging upside down I could barely remember my own name," Thom stopped outside the third door and dropped to his knees. Lila slid off her perch, but kept a hand locked around his. "She flitted back into the forest leaving me alone. I thought for sure I was going to die there, when out of the trees an arrow zipped through the air and snipped the rope clean. Hell of a landing and I never trod through Dalish territory again."

Thom knocked once on the door, then pushed it open. At first only a man dressed in the same frills as every other noble was all that was visible, but leaning deeper a familiar woman emerged. She had on a fancier version of her favored armor, while a cloak knotted around her left arm, obscuring the missing mark. Both were in a heated discussion which fell away at the interruption.

"Mummy!" Lila cried, dropping Thom's hand.

"Emm'asha," The Inquisitor called back, dropping to a knee. Lila dashed into her arms, the ribbon fluttering to the floor in the excitement. Her mother hooked her right arm tighter around the girl pulling her into a hug and then lifting her. Lila helped, knotting her hands around her mother's neck while the Inquisitor's left arm steadied her as best she could.

"Cullen!" Lavellan shouted to the door on the left, then turned to face Thom. "Do I even want to know where you found her?"

"Probably not," he said, shaking his head. Lila only laughed, then grabbed her mother's cheeks and kissed her twice.

"Don't think you can wiggle out of this one, young lady," her mother warned even as she gripped tighter to her daughter. Lila smiled, blinking those massive lashes that framed her doe eyes.

Cullen threw open the door, a scowl etched into his face. It faded into shock at the sight of Lila holding tight to her mother. "Thank the Maker!" He dropped all pretense and ran to his wife and daughter. "You're here...are you all right? I was so worried," he said. Lila scurried out of her mother's waning arms into her fathers. He plucked her up as if she weighted nothing and hugged her tight while her mother tried to pick through her knotted curls. She frowned at the red dye blooming up the ends.

"Never, ever, ever do that again. Unless you want to kill your father," Cullen muttered. She giggled, her face buried deep in his red finery. The child missed a few tears of joy tumbling down his cheeks, pent up emotion flaring as quickly as a mage's fireball.

Still pinning Lila to his chest, Cullen turned to Thom and stuck out a hand. Rainier dipped his head from the gallantry and crossed to him. Gripping it, Cullen said, "Thank you for finding her, she's..."

"I know," Thom said, shaking his hand, then letting go. "Little one," he said, drawing Lila's attention. He dangled out the ribbon, "You forgot this."

She yelped, then reached for it. Thom laughed as she ran the ribbon through her fingers, then slipped it behind her father's neck. Rainier felt the Inquisitor's curious eyes land upon him.

"She's taken a real shining to you."

Thom shrugged, "I've got two of my own back at home."

"Two? Already?"

"Well, I didn't have a hand in making 'em, but they're mine all the same."

The Inquisitor beamed at that, drawing a blush below Thom's beard. She turned to her daughter, pulling her curls back to see her eyes. "And you, little lady. Just what have you been up to all day?"

Lila tried to tie the ribbon one more time around Cullen's neck, only to have her pudgy fingers fail. "Let me think..." she said, drawing out her sentence as her fingers wadded up the ribbon, "I hugged Cathandra who was in funny pajamas. Then a dwarf, but not the dwarf from home, let me return a key. A pretty lady taught me electrocution. She said I could have armor!"

"No," the Inquisitor interrupted, "you're not getting any armor. The moment it's finished you'll be too big for it." She turned from her daughter's begging eyes to the rest in the room and explained, "An endless argument for us."

Lila harrumphed from her mother's word, but she had more story to tell. "I got cake from an elf, but didn't get to eat the big one I was promised. After I didn't die, I climbed a big tree to be an Ace and then Beardy told me a story!"

"What a delightful imagination the child has," the Marquis chuckled.

Her parents shared a look. "Yes," the Inquisitor said, "imagination."

"I'll have some frank discussions with our friends later," Cullen said. "And you," he lifted his daughter higher so she could look him in the same colored eyes. "You know you're not supposed to leave Josephine's side. I gave you explicit orders."

"I know, Daddy," she said, bowing her head. "I'm sorry," then she reached forward, wrapping her arms around his neck. Cullen's resolve stood unbending against blood mages, a crazed Knight-Commander, and a would-be god, but he crumbled from a three year old's hug.

"She is adorable," the Marquis said. "When do you plan to have another?"

Now the parental shared look switch to one of horror. "I don't know if that's advisable," the Inquisitor said diplomatically.

Cullen snorted, "All of my grey's already named Lila. Throw a second in there and I'll be white before harvestmere."

Lila smiled from her name and possibly pushing her father just far enough to drain the color from him. Her little fist waved in front of her mouth as another massive yawn twisted up her face.

"Right," the Inquisitor said, "you're off to bed."

"But Mummy, I had to see the cake and wave to the good cards."

"Uh huh, you can do that tomorrow. I'm certain all your new friends will still be around and more than happy to see you then." She nodded to Cullen, who wrapped Lila tighter to him and turned to leave.

"It's nice to see you with something good," Thom said.

"Even with the wolf clawing at our door," the Inquisitor responded, never able to step back from what hung above them all.

Lila crawled up her father's arms to peek above his shoulder and see everyone. "Night, Mummy," she said waving goodbye, "Night, Beardy!" Giving one last squeeze to her father she shouted loud enough for everyone to hear, "I love you."

***

A shock of curls lay across the pillow beside her, slowly turning the sheets red as Lila snuggled into her happy dreams. Huffing in sleep at her feet, and taking the rest of the bed, was a mabari with a bright green ribbon tied around his neck. Whenever Lila shifted he'd lift his head, check for danger, then slip right back to sleep.

"Where were you three hours ago?" Cullen muttered to the dog normally glued to her side.

His wife slipped her arm around him, rising up to kiss him on the cheek. "Hush, it's all well. She went on a bit of an adventure is all."

Cullen grumbled, "An adventure in Val Royeaux where Maker knows what could be waiting to pick her off at any minute."

She smiled, brushing her lips against the back of his neck. "We may have enemies, but there are just as many friends willing to watch her back."

Cullen turned from his vigil over Lila. It'd taken all his wife had to talk him into attending the damn feast they were there for in the first place. They needed to test their allies strength, see what state the world of Orlais rested in. He knew that, but after the scare, Cullen spent the entire night antsy to rush back to Lila's side. Josephine tried to apologize about twenty times, before the Inquisitor pulled her away, telling her to just wait it out.

Sliding a hand up his wife's arm, Cullen adjusted the strap of her nightgown. It was far too large, borrowed during their wanderings, but somehow there was never time to fix it or find a new one. As she blinked up at him, a coy look from the contact, her wondered if maybe she didn't leave it that way on purpose.

"What did you learn from our...compatriots?"

"Cassandra promised her she could wear the hat." Hhe chuckled, "She'd probably let Lila sit on the sunburst throne if she asked."

"Maker, let's not give our daughter any ideas."

"After that Varric watched her for a time..."

Cullen caught the dangling thread from her, "And what was that about some key?"

She shrugged, the errant strap dropping again, "Not a clue. Varric hemmed and hawed then blamed Bran. Whatever the truth was, it couldn't have been that dangerous."

"I'm going to kill that dwarf," Cullen sneered.

She patted his cheek. "No you won't. He kept an eye on Lila, passed her off to Vivienne -- who was the electrocution part."

"Andraste, she was teaching our daughter magic?"

"No, elocution. She was also the one to promise Lila armor..." a sneer rose from that.

Cullen was the one to chuckle now, "You know it'll happen one day."

"Perhaps, at least it's not that baby griffin Lila wanted so terribly. Dorian actually saved a slice of cake for Lila."

"That's nice of him." The rage for disemboweling Pavus disintegrated once Lila was back in his arms, though the mage somehow managed to keep missing Cullen at every turn of the feast.

She rolled her eyes, "It's over fifteen layers. If we let her near it, she might be able to fly. After that Sera passed Lila off to Bull for a bit and then found Rainier to bring her back to us. See," she gestured to her sleeping babe and snuggled closer to Cullen, "she was never in any danger."

Cullen's sneer wasn't about to fade any time soon, but he gave in to her, wrapping his arms fully around her body and holding her tight. Softly kissing her neck, he said, "I blame you."

"I seem to recall it was you who suggested Josephine watch her."

"Everyone knows where that attitude of hers comes from, and it's not the Rutherford side."

She chuckled, her hand sliding along his arm. "Instead of glaring everyone to death with following her rules, she's sneaking off and making friends."

"And nearly putting her father to the pyre," Cullen added, getting another laugh from her.

Lila stirred for a moment, her fingers reaching out in the darkness as if to grab a hand. When they couldn't find purchase she slipped back to sleep. Her mother's stump wandered towards her stomach, and she said, "At least she hasn't wandered into a wolf den yet."

Cullen chuckled, then his face fell. "What do you mean, yet?"

She shrugged, "I may have been even more adventurous than Lila as a girl...and when I was five-- Surely my mother told you this story."

"Your mother does her best to never speak to me. If she were on fire, and I the only one with a water bucket, she'd probably run a mile to find someone else to put her out."

The Inquisitor sighed at the apt description. "There was a cave near where the clan camped, a few miles into the woods, that still had some wolves in it."

"Maker's breath," Cullen sighed, hugging her close during her story to remind himself whatever horrible fate befell her as a child she was here now. "How in thedas did you survive to ten?"

She stared at her daughter, so human to anyone who didn't see the elven glint in her eye, the small point in her ears, or the wilderness calling to her heart. "My brother, he was always there watching over me, keeping me safe. It was the first time he ever threw a spell, to scare off the wolves. Mother told the story more out of pride for him than to mock my own curiosity. I doubt I'd be alive if it wasn't for him watching my back."

Blinking back a small tear for her brother, she turned in Cullen's arms to smile into those beautiful amber eyes. Her face twisted into concentration as she threaded her fingers through his hair. "You know, I think you'd look good in silver hair."

He chuckled, holding her hand, but something in her face gave him pause. "Wait. Are you..." his head slipped down to stare at her still flat stomach, "Is there going to be another?"

"Surprise," she said flippantly, but there was caution in her eyes. Lila had been an accident, a happy one, but something they feared with dark times always looming around the corner. She'd been summoning up the courage to tell him for a week now, after swearing their healer to secrecy upon pain of death.

Cullen choked on a sob, or maybe a laugh, and wrapped his arms tight around her. "That's wonderful! Oh Maker, I didn't even, how far along? Are you okay? Is it okay?"

She rose up on her toes, wrapping her arms around his neck. Through tears of joy she tried to answer as best she could, "Yes, it's all fine. Don't let me near pasta, the smell still churns my stomach. It's barely larger than a bean, remember. We've done this before."

"I know, but another one. I never thought, expected...a sibling."

"Perhaps it'll be just like her father, keeping Lila grounded and in place," she said.

But Cullen shook his head, "No, no, I hope they're all as wonderful as you, emma lath."

She ran her fingers across her husband's greying stubble, savoring the prickle once so strange that now filled her heart. Sliding close, she met his lips for a soft and yearning kiss.

In her dreams, Lila snorted, her tiny voice breaking through her parent's joy. "Cathandra, can I wear the hat now?"