A Candle in the Darkness (A Dragon Age: Inquisition fanfiction)

You Two

9 Wintersend, 9:42

Antonia hurried to catch up to Cullen as he was opening the door to Josephine's office. He paused, holding it open and smiling at her. "Good afternoon, Inquisitor."

Maker, she loved the way his voice caressed the syllables of her title. "Commander," she replied in the same tone. "I trust you're on your way to the War Room."

"As always." He closed the door behind them, his tone changing as he went on, "It occurs to me, actually, that we really ought to vary the timing of these meetings. Anyone in Skyhold could figure out where all four of us are going to be at this hour of any given afternoon."

"It's a good point," Antonia agreed, "but how are you going to manage changing up the time and still finding an open space in all our schedules? I suppose we could switch to sometime in the middle of the night, but then, some of us sleep occasionally."

"Careless of you," he said lightly, and she warmed to hear him able to make a joke of it. Between his determination to put away the temptation of the box of lyrium, her support, and the surgeon's powders against the fever, he seemed to be holding his own in the struggle with the withdrawal, and Antonia thanked the Maker for that. "I suppose you're right." He held open the next door, leading to the long hall between Josephine's office and the War Room, letting Antonia precede him through it. "The schedules would be difficult to manage. But it still bothers me that we're so predictable."

"You want to talk predictable, there's our nightly trips to the battlements." She grinned. "We could change those up, too."

"What did you have in mind?" His voice had gone all husky and he had stopped in the middle of the hall to look down at her.

"Do you really want to know?" Antonia winked at him, and Cullen cleared his throat.

"You are a wicked tease. You know that, don't you?"

"It's only teasing if you have no intention of following through," she pointed out. "So which one of us does that make the tease, hm?"

"There are intentions," he protested. "It's a ... long-range plan."

"Plans, now? Oh, that's romantic."

"Children! Are we starting this meeting?" Leliana called. She stood in the door of the War Room, tapping her foot impatiently, but her eyes were twinkling.

"Coming, Mother," Antonia said. She flashed Leliana a grin.

"Some days you make me feel like your mother. Poor Wynne—she was the mage who was with us during the Blight. I wish I could go back and apologize to her, now that I know how she must have felt." Leliana closed the door behind them.

"I remember Wynne," Cullen said. "She looked like somebody's sweet old grandmother, but she was scary."

"You have no idea."

"Ah, there you are." Josephine looked up from her portable desk. "I have a few things here you're going to want to look at."

And they were all business for a while, until they had gotten through all the new items on the list and reallocated resources where they were needed. Then, hitching her hip on the edge of the War Table and crossing her arms, Leliana said, "I think we need to talk about the Empress's ball. Inquisitor, Josie and I have been discussing clothing."

Antonia nodded. "Yes, I think we should. I don't have anything suitable for the Winter Palace."

Cullen tipped his head back, staring ostentatiously at the ceiling. "Do you ladies really need me for this?"

"Actually, yes, because what we decided was that all of us will wear formal uniforms."

Antonia felt a somewhat surprising sinking feeling in her stomach. She hadn't realized until just now how much she had looked forward to dressing up in a beautiful gown and feeling feminine and pretty ... especially knowing that Cullen would be there to see it. "Would you mind explaining your reasoning?" she asked, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice.

Josephine had heard it anyway, she could tell, because the ambassador smiled at her knowingly. "If we attempt to dress in Celene's grand style, it could place an undue strain on the coffers of the Inquisition, especially depending on who accompanies us."

"Varric," Leliana said.

"Exactly. And then, if we attempt to match the Orlesian styles and we make the smallest misstep, that makes us look inept, so we would be coming in to the situation already at a disadvantage."

"Not to mention," Cullen said, "if I may be practical for a moment, we don't know what we'll face. I, for one, would prefer not to have half our party hampered by impractical skirts and shoes, and a lack of weaponry, should there be fighting." He met Leliana's amused glance with a rather belligerent one of his own. "We're there to prevent an assassination. Best to be prepared for some type of fighting."

"Actually, that's a good point." Josephine sighed. "I had the perfect dress, but this is a better solution. We will all look like one unit, as well as sending an unmistakable message that the Inquisition is serious."

"Well, it sounds like you have a plan, then. I really can't argue with your logic ... and certainly not having to worry about wasting time with a dressmaker will be a nice benefit. I assume we're having the uniforms made up here?"

"Of course," Leliana said. "All we need to know is who you intend to bring, so that we can measure them properly."

"Well, Cassandra, of course. And Varric." She thought for a moment, then grinned. "And Dorian."

"Not Vivienne?" Josephine asked.

"Vivienne is too involved in the Orlesian court herself. I wouldn't want her own affairs to be a ... distraction."

Cullen nodded approvingly. "Is that all, then?" he asked, preparing to get up.

"Not quite." Leliana looked pointedly at Cullen and then at Antonia. "You two."

They glanced at each other, mystified, and back at her.

"For the purposes of the ball, we need you both at your most charming ... and your most unencumbered."

Cullen groaned.

"Yes, Cullen. Perhaps you are not aware that you are a particularly fine ... asset to the cause? You will make quite the impression on the ladies," Josephine said.

"And some of the men," Leliana added. Neither of them was joking.

"And our dear Inquisitor here may also need to charm some of those in attendance. If you two are ... your normal selves, we will miss some opportunities that we need to be able to take advantage of."

"Our normal selves?" Antonia asked.

"You know exactly what we mean," Leliana said. "No kissing, no touching."

"Don't even look at each other," Josephine put in.

Cullen and Antonia looked at each other. "They have a point," she said helplessly.

"What, this mission depends on my ability to flirt with random young noblewomen?" Cullen rubbed the back of his neck. "You know that means we're doomed, right?"

"Perhaps not to flirt, precisely," Leliana said, "but at the very least, to appear to be available to be flirted with."

"I hate this plan," he grumbled.

Antonia thoroughly agreed. "Look at it this way," she offered. "It'll be a good incentive not to stay in Val Royeaux."

Cullen groaned. "Some of us didn't need any incentives. Come on." He reached for Antonia's hand.

"Where are we going?"

"Making up for lost time."

"But we haven't lost it yet."

"All the better."