Dragon Age One shots

Protective

Solas's P.O.V

It was a cold night in the Emprise Du Lion as Inquisitor Trevelyan, Iron Bull and Dorian slept in the tent behind me, snoring the night away. I was restless as I lay in a bedroll staring up at the stars, wanting the freedom of movement and the view of the stars. All is quiet until I hear the rustling of leaves nearby and sees the shadow of a short figure weaving through the trees with a limp. Feeling curious, I tell one of the other soldiers that I'm going to be back soon and the soldier simply nods. After quickly restocking supplies, I follow the trail of footprints for half a mile. Blood stains some of the trail giving cause for alarm, spurring for me to go faster. 

In the clearing I see a fire going, and a hunched over figure. As I approach quietly, I see that the girl is elven and 14 years old at most. What is she doing out here by herself?  Her head snaps up as I get close to her and I raise my arms in surrender. 

"I'm not going to hurt you, I want to help you. Can I approach?" After a hesitant moment she nods and I sit by the fire, seeing her auburn hair catch the light of the fire in an intriguing way. The girls storm grey eyes scream distrust as she looks at me, then flicker to her side; there is a trio of claw marks marring her ribs. "What's your name?" 

"Enlea, sir.." 

"Please call me Solas. Can I take a look at your wound?" She nods and lets me move closer, flinching as I touch the skin near the wound. "Why are you out here all alone?" 

"I'm not alone." Enlea replies quietly. Pulling a healing potion from my pack, I give it to her and she gulps it down surprisingly trusting of me. Perhaps it was out of necessity if nothing else, I wasn't sure. 

"Whose with you?" She gestures to her tent. Peering inside, I'm horrified to find a child sleeping inside, his brown hair messy and intelligible under the mass of blankets. "Who is this?" 

"My little brother Alrel." Enlea answers hesitantly, fear lacing her voice. 

"Why are you out here by yourselves?" Leaving him, I tend to her wounds.

"My mother died when I was six, my brother was two at the time. When I was 12, my father fell in love with a woman who wouldn't take care of us and didn't want the burden of children. So he left us." 

"How old are you now?" 

"14." I'm enraged that a parent could simply abandon their children this way. "My brother is ten."

"And the cities aren't safe for you." She nods and looks at the fire. "So you've been watching over your brother for all these years, without help." 

"Yes. I was out gathering food for us when a bear attacked me." We hear a pair of footsteps approaching and I turn to find the Inquisitor approaching us, her light brown hair tied back and under a hood; her eyes light up as she looks at me and she smiles. 

"I was wondering where you had gone off to Solas, who is this?" She kneels down in front of Enlea and slides the hood down. "What's your name sweetheart?" 

"Enlea, Inquisitor." 

"You know who I am?" Enlea nods. "Why didn't you go to us for help?" 

"One of the passing soldiers said the Inquisitor wouldn't help a couple of no good knife ears like us." If thoughts could kill, whoever told her this would be dropping dead about now.

"Whoever told you that was a terrible liar, the Inquisition is meant to help everyone regardless." The Inquisitor and I exchange a look. Alrel wakes up and stumbles out of the tent, going to his sister and curling up in her lap saying nothing. 

"Another nightmare?" Enlea asks rubbing his back, Alrel just nods and snuggles closer, unknowingly brushing against the wound. "I'll protect you from them, it's okay." It was clear by the shadows under her eyes she had hardly gotten sleep herself. The immense strength in this girl was amazing, the way she loved her brother enough to sacrifice everything for him even if it was her last breath. We sit in silence for several minutes until his light snoring is all we hear, she hobbles over to the tent and lays him down again, covering him. It's just now that I notice she has no blankets for herself. 

"Enlea, would you like to come to Skyhold?" The Inquisitor asks resting a hand on Enlea's arm, causing her to flinch immediately. "You and your brother would be safe there." 

"Come back for us in the morning, Inquisitor." She looks at the tent where her brother is peacefully asleep. "I'll have my brother ready for travel." 

"Get some sleep tonight, I'll come with my party tomorrow morning for you." The Inquisitor chuckles. "Come on Solas, let's go so the girl can rest." 

"Get some rest Enlea." She nods and as we walk away I see her crawl into the tent out of the corner of my eye.  

A/N: Part two will be coming soon, I don't want to drag this out too long :)