Dragon Age One Shots

Dagger, Leliana & Dorothea

"You do not wish to do this."

Val Royeaux's seedy night nearly enveloped her words, the sea air attempting to tug the hood from her head. She glared upon the last man left standing, his hands stubbornly cinched to a box the rest of his gang already fell for.

"That's where you're wrong, Sister," the man chattered, refusing to release his prize, "This here's marked for her Holiness. Which means it must be worth something."

Leliana sighed, "It is worth everything." The last thief turned, as if he thought he could escape from her. She lunged, a dagger spinning from her hand. The blade sliced clean through the man's throat, causing his body to fumble back towards the choppy waves.

Rushing forward, her hands caught the closed wooden box before it hit the ground. Bleeding fingers tried to grip onto her sleeve, but they missed and the thief tumbled over the stone railing to the sea below. It didn't matter, he'd bleed out soon enough either way.

Leliana flinched. She hadn't planned this to go so poorly, certainly didn't want to have to kill so many, but...sacrifices had to be made.

A cacophony of bells struck through the still night and she whipped her head up. It was nearing eleven, the hour when the Divine retired behind her locked door until morning. She didn't have much time. Whistling for a horse, Leliana mounted quickly and kicked the steed into a gallop. Sparks erupted from the iron shoes ripping through the back alleys of Orlais' glittering jewel.

By the time she reached the Grand Cathedral, she spotted the templar guards pulling up the doorstops. The great arms of Andraste, carved into the doors of the Cathedral to welcome all, were closing. Leliana didn't even slow the horse but pulled around towards the side where the apartments of the Divine rested.

"Thank you Mother Constance," she whispered to herself while hooking onto a ladder. The Mother was known to nip out at night for a bit of fun in the bordellos, leaving both her window open and a convenient ladder to reach it. With the package secured in a pouch at her hip, Leliana began to climb.

It took her little time to dash through the Mother's room and out towards the gilded halls of the Divine. She spotted her in pristine white robes pausing beside her door.

"Good evening," the woman called to her guard, her bejeweled hand dismissing them. Leliana was still trapped in the shadows, if she wasn't quick enough she'd be missed. Running as fast as possible, she was about to call to the retiring Divine.

With a warm smile, the Divine turned her striking blue eyes upon the fumbling Left Hand. "I knew you would come."

"Don't I always," Leliana said cooly even as she fumbled in coming to a stop.

Tipping her head, the Divine invited her Left Hand into her private room. When the door closed, she excised her hat of power and combed through the white curls cut close to her skull. "You very nearly missed. The day was...tiring, but I am heartened to see you again."

Leliana patted her hands against the box, a lump catching in her throat. "If you need me to leave I can...?"

"Do not be silly," Dorothea settled on her bed, frail hands clinging to her knees. "This is the one night I know I can find my Nightingale."

"Here," she passed the box over quickly, worried that in the scuffle she might have broken what rested inside.

"A gift?" Dorothea was surprised, her snowy eyebrow raising even as her fingers quickly unworked the lock. As the lid of the box rose, hinges whining from the sea salt, she peered down upon a chocolate dagger specially made by the greatest chocolatier in Orlais. They'd thought it a great treasure for the Divine's coffers, from the chantry itself. Those thieves had no idea what they tried to steal away from her, what she'd never let anyone take again.

Leliana scooped her hand over the back of Dorothea's, their eyes meeting as she whispered, "A dagger in the dark."