Chapter Ten: No More Games

When she'd left Val Royeaux to attend the conclave in Haven, Rosalie had never imagined it would lead her here, to this moment. Grand Duchess Florianne de Chalons gasped as the dagger pierced her heart. "That was for my sister," Rosalie snarled as the woman's arms went limp and her bow clattered to the ground.

She had meant to gently lay Florianne down on the cobblestones, but her tired arms refused to do anything but simply let go. The woman stumbled back and fell into the courtyard fountain, quickly turning the water red with her blood - not the most elegant end. Still, it was over.

As Rosalie caught her breath, she felt Bull's hand settle on her shoulder. It was a silent reminder that everything was all right and that she wasn't alone. She wasn't ready to speak yet, but she settled her hand atop his to squeeze it in gratitude.

"Inquisitor," someone called from the gate that led back into the palace. It was Charter, an elf Rosalie knew was one of Leliana's most trusted agents. Patting a bundle of cloth under one arm, she said, "Leliana thought you might be needing this."

Before Rosalie could ask what it was, the bundle was tossed to her, allowing her to unfold it and see for herself. An Inquisition dress uniform to replace the one she had given to her sister.

"You'll need to get back inside, Your Worship," Charter said, prompting Rosalie to move behind Bull and begin to change - he was about the closest thing she could get to a privacy screen just then. "The peace talks can't continue without the woman who saved the Empress, after all."

Only then did it hit Rosalie that everyone in the ballroom thought they had seen the Inquisitor take a knife for their Empress. The Herald of Andraste would be coming back from the dead again, it seemed. If that didn't garner a bit more court approval, she wasn't sure what would.

"Did Leliana have any news for me?" she asked the elf urgently. She couldn't just come out and say she was worried for Lila, of course, since she wasn't sure whether or not Charter was in the loop on that piece of information.

"Just that one of ours was hurt and is being taken care of," Charter answered, face too neutral to give anything away.

The Inquisitor had hoped for something a little more comforting, and a grim voice within warned that even if her sister were dead, Leliana would probably keep the news from her to ensure that she focused on salvaging some sort of peace for Orlais in the meantime.

"Thank you," she told Charter, then turned to look at her party. They all appeared to be about as weary as she was. "And you three. You really saved my ass back there."

Bull stepped forward to cup her face with both hands and kiss the top of his head. "You've got this, boss."

She smiled nervously, hoping he was right, then nodded and turned to follow Charter back inside. With every footstep, she forced herself to get into character. It would take a strong voice to make them listen, and only their cooperation could hurt Corypheus' plans now.

Leliana did try not to pace up and down in the hallway, but it couldn't really be helped. Too much was being decided behind closed doors in that very moment. The fate of Orlais, of Gaspard, of Rosalie's ties to the Game and her family, of Corypheus' plans to spread chaos in the south. What was more, even with Florianne dead, they couldn't discount the possibility that there were still Venatori working within the palace to undo the efforts of the Inquisition.

Most of that was in Rosalie's hands now. All Leliana could do was plan for as many outcomes as possible while she waited. At least she was out of sight for the moment, and wouldn't need to worry about keeping a smile on her face. Cullen and Josephine were still in the ballroom doing what they could to keep people calm and to help the wounded. Leliana could have been helping with that, of course, but it seemed more important to guard the door to the guest room she was currently standing outside of. She was guarding the Inquisitor's big secret, after all.

After what seemed an unbearable wait, Morrigan poked her head out and asked, "Will you come in, or is walking pointlessly up and down the corridor part of some very important Inquisition business the details to which only a precious few are privy?"

Leliana just sighed, then followed Morrigan inside without a word.

"She will live," Morrigan announced, moving back to the bed. Her patient was out cold but her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm that indicated she was simply sleeping at this point. "Though 'twould have been otherwise without my aid."

That made things both easier and more difficult, in truth, but Leliana couldn't help but feel relieved that Rosalie would not have to lose a sister that night. "Morrigan, there's something you should know..."

"This is not Inquisitor Trevelyan. I had noticed." When Leliana looked confused, the witch smirked. "When we met earlier this evening I felt the pull of magic most keenly." She picked up Lila's hand and turned it so that the palm was facing up. "This is just an ordinary hand on a woman remarkably similar in appearance."

Leliana nodded. "A twin sister. One even the Inquisitor's other advisors don't know about."

"The secret is safe with me," Morrigan promised with a shrug. "Whoever she is, she saved Empress Celene's life. I was ordered to return the favour."

"Thank you," Leliana said sincerely. It didn't seem like enough, but she knew if she said much more than that, Morrigan would grow impatient and roll her eyes. "I should let the Inquisitor know the good news."

There were surprised gasps as Celene stood before her court and announced that Gaspard was to hold a place of honour in her cabinet. "We must stand united or we will fall alone," she declared. A strong statement considering how close Gaspard's own sister had brought her to death.

It felt so surreal to stand side by side with the woman and address the nobility. "We will save Thedas from calamity, but only together may we accomplish this," Rosalie added.

"We will heal our wounded country. A long road of reconstruction lies before us," Celene went on to say. "But tonight, we celebrate the arrival of peace. Let the festivities commence!"

From that moment, Rosalie's mission in Halamshiral was completed. She was free to enjoy the party if she chose, but with all that had happened, she wasn't in much of a mood for celebrating. Her feet carried her to a hallway filled with statues in the guest wing, a place few people seemed to stop. The quiet suited her fine, since the night had left her with quite a lot to think about.

She was so tired and lost in her thoughts, in fact, she didn't notice Mathis approach her until it was too late. His hand enveloped her throat and pushed her forcefully into the wall. "I wonder if you will be quite so bold without your oxman bodyguard, Miss Trevelyan," he hissed. The suddenness of it made Rosalie's heart race in a panic. The usual warmth was gone from his voice and there was a severity to his glare that she had never seen before. It was as though the mask had slipped from his face and she was seeing the true Mathis for the first time; a monster she'd only glimpsed in the past.

"You united them. You let Gaspard live when you could have pushed for his execution. Why?" he asked, easing his grip just enough that she could answer.

"I followed my conscience. I did what I thought was best for Orlais," she answered. Her voice didn't sound particularly strong - it couldn't given where his hand was - but she kept her chin lifted and pointedly avoided his gaze, trying her best could to sound certain when she felt anything but.

"Is this how weak you've become without my guidance?" he asked harshly. "I did not train you to have a conscience."

Rosalie somehow found the strength to look him in the eye. "Then apparently you didn't train me very well."

When his hand pulled back, she thought he was letting her go, which was why it was such a shock when he hit her across the face with the back of his hand. The force of it knocked her off balance. It was strange how clear the assault made things seem. He wanted to shock her, to frighten her into doing his bidding again. All it truly accomplished was to let her see the man she had really been serving all these years, someone whose kindness had only been offered so long as she was willing to do whatever he asked. Someone who saw her more as a pawn than someone to care for. Someone who would lash out when disobeyed.

She staggered back, clutching a hand to her stinging cheek. It was only then that she saw Leliana standing behind him, daggers drawn. She wasn't facing this monster alone.

"You have a choice, Mathis," Rosalie said, keeping her eyes locked on him as she straightened up to full height. "You can return to Val Royeaux with your tail between your legs. You can go back to playing your petty Game and doing what you can to aid your patron, Gaspard. Or you can choose to be a threat to the Inquisitor and her work, and we'll show you exactly how the Inquisition responds to threats."

Taking that as her cue, Leliana moved in behind him and pressed a dagger to his throat. Mathis stilled immediately.

When he didn't answer, Rosalie glanced down at his trembling hands. "You're shaking, Mathis. Could it be that your decision to strike me was a bit too hasty? Did you let your emotions get the better of you? That's how bards end up dead. You taught me that."

"What of your sister?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Rosalie let out a bitter laugh. "You think I'd let her stay with the man who just tried to strangle me? She's coming with us."

Mathis was silent for a moment as he considered that. "And if I give you my word that I will not harm either one of you or hinder the efforts of your precious Inquisition, I am free to go?"

"The Inquisition has bigger things to worry about than what the bards of Val Royeaux are up to," she assured him.

Mathis pointedly avoided her gaze as he said, "Then I promise to stay out of your way."

Satisfied with that, Rosalie nodded to her Spymaster. "Let him go."

Leliana hesitated for a long moment, and Rosalie feared she would go ahead and cut his throat anyway. In the end though, she released him and stepped back.

Mathis glanced uneasily at Leliana, then turned back to Rosalie and bowed stiffly. "Inquisitor."

"Messere Travére," she replied, just as coldly. It saddened her, but killing him would have felt worse.

At that, he withdrew, leaving Rosalie alone with her Spymaster.

"Do you truly think you've seen the last of him?" Leliana asked. "He is a veteran of the Game. If he decides to stand in your way, he might make things difficult for you later on."

"Did Marjolaine ever do that for you?"

"No," Leliana admitted. "But then I have never been quite so noticeable as the Herald of Andraste." That she said in a lighter, more teasing tone.

For a moment Rosalie looked in the direction Mathis had gone, then turned back to Leliana and smiled faintly. "It's nothing you and I can't handle. We've proved that already."

That, in turn, made Leliana smile. "True enough. Anyhow, I was wondering if you could spare a moment to visit with the hero of the hour? She is out of danger now, and her healer thinks she will wake soon."

It was the best news Rosalie had heard all night. "Thank the Maker," she breathed.

Lila was sitting up in bed when they entered the room, looking a bit more tired and frail than Rosalie was used to seeing. But she was alive, that was the main thing. A weak smile came to Lila's lips as she saw them enter, and she set down the cup of tea she'd been nursing and offered her hands out to Rosalie.

"It's a relief to see you alive," Rosalie said warmly, holding Lila's hands in her own as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I didn't mean to worry you. I just… I had to prove that I was on your side."

Rosalie hung her head. "You shouldn't have had to prove it so dramatically."

Lila let out a weak chuckle. "It was all I could think to do." Tilting her head, she went on to ask, "Did you see Mathis? Was he cross?"

"I did. I'll tell you about it more when you're feeling better, but you don't need to worry," Rosalie promised. "He agreed that you should come with us back to Skyhold. There might be times when we need you, after all."

Leliana interrupted with a polite cough before saying, "Though we'll need you to wear a mask in public. The Trevelyans have been playing along with Rosalie's deception to save face, but we wouldn't want to upset that by having a twin sister nobody knew about suddenly showing up."

"I can do that," Lila promised. "I'm used to it." Beaming up at Rosalie, she added, "I'm just so glad we'll be together again."

Rosalie smiled fondly, then leaned in and pressed a kiss to her sister's forehead. "So am I, ma soeur."

By the time Bull found Rosalie, she was standing alone on a balcony, leaning on the railing and staring up at the stars. After everything that had happened that evening, he wanted to check in on her. He hoped he'd be able to tell if she needed time alone rather than him there to help her relax.

"They ran out of that cheese dip," he announced as he drew up beside her. "Asked for more and they gave me this look, the assholes." He leaned against the balcony railing and tilted his head to look at her. "How ya doing?"

She spared him a glance, then looked back up at the stars and sighed. "It's been a long day."

"At least we got to the end of it alive. That's more than some can say. Cullen's giving orders now, we're just about good here." He straightened and offered her his arm. "Come on. The music's finally got enough of a beat to dance to."

Rather than linking hands with him, she settled her hand on his forearm. "I wouldn't mind some company. Unless you'd rather rush back to the ballroom?"

The request made Bull smile. She wasn't usually good at saying what she wanted, for which he blamed her training. Maybe that was something the two of them could work on together. "Nah. They're out of food," was all he said as he moved in close to wrap his arms around her waist from behind.

Bull head dipped down until his lips found her neck. He had learned early on in their relationship that Rosalie was particularly weak to his breath against her nape and his teeth grazing the skin at the top of her shoulder. Given all that had happened, it would have been completely understandable if she wanted to shrug away the attention, but it was a pleasant surprise when her head tilted to one side to give him better access. It didn't take him long to light the fire from there.

After several minutes of neck kissing and nuzzling, he moved his lips up to her ear and breathed, "Tell me what you need, boss."

She murmured just one word. "You." And it became clear that he needed to get her to the nearest bed.

Their journey to the Inquisitor's suite in the guest wing seemed to take forever, since every time they found an empty corridor or a stairwell where nobody seemed to be lurking, one of them would take the opportunity to kiss or shamelessly fondle the other. It was too easy to distract her, and far too much fun to press her into the wall when no one was looking. The fact that it only served to postpone what they both really wanted just made it more fun.

Once they were inside the room, and once she'd turned the lock into place, he lifted her up and pressed her against the door, smothering her initial squeal of protest with a kiss. She surrendered to his lips with a soft mmm, and he smoothed his hands up her sides to cup and fondle her breasts as that kiss deepened.

His hands dropped to the leather belt at her waist and began unbuckling it. "The watchword. Just once for me, to make sure you're not so tired you've forgotten it," he breathed against her lips. She'd been harder to read than usual for much of the night, and more than ever he needed to know he was giving her what she wanted.

"Katoh," she giggled, sounding almost nervous with anticipation.

"Good," he told her, voice dropping to a low rumble. The belt was pulled away, but slung over one of his shoulders rather than discarded. He turned his attention next to removing the blue silk sash that wrapped around her waist and over one shoulder. He kept that too.

"What are you pla–" she began to ask before Bull interrupted the question with a kiss.

He lifted her up before the kiss ended, and smiled against her lips when she automatically wrapped her legs around his waist. Tamassrans and casual partners were fun, but there was something to be said for learning the other person and being learned in return, and the way it started to feel like more like teamwork each time.

Rosalie gave him a look of confusion when he set her down on her feet beside the four-poster bed, instead of laying her down on the mattress as she'd undoubtedly expected. "Should I lie down? Did you want me to undress you first?" she asked reaching for his belt.

Bull grinned, catching her hands to pin them up above her head. "All in good time, boss," he murmured, taking the blue sash he'd removed from her uniform and using it to tie her wrists to the bedpost.

In this position, he couldn't remove the red jacket she wore, but he could pull it open and plant a trail of kisses from the hollow of her throat all the way down to her bellybutton. And he could certainly tug down her breastband to free and fondle her breasts.

Kneeling before her, he worked on removing her boots and her pants, taking special care to stroke her hips and thighs, and even that sensitive spot at the backs of her knees that he'd discovered. He adored watching how a slow and careful buildup made her squirm, and how sensitive it made her to his every touch.

Then he took the belt he'd removed and used it to bind her ankles to the bedpost as well. Now she was truly at his mercy, and quite the sight to behold, dressed in nothing but a jacket and her underwear. He gave her a teasing bite on the outer thigh, then rose to his feet to look down at her with a slow grin. "Comfortable, boss?"

"Fine, thank you," she answered, tugging at her bonds to test them and finding herself quite trapped. "Though I wonder if this would be more fun for you if we were in the bed."

She whimpered as he slid a hand into her smalls to circle his thumb around her nub, finding her slick with anticipation already. "I'll make you a deal, boss," he murmured. He lifted his free hand to tuck a finger under her chin and make her look him in the eyes. "No games tonight. We'll do what I want first, and while we're doing that, you're going to tell me what you want. Sound good?"

"Wha… What do you want?" she breathed, hips squirming in response to his torment.

He smiled, stroking his hand down her cheek. "I want to make you come so hard right here that your legs go weak and all that's still holding you up by the end is the rope around your wrists and my hand right here," he answered. Given that he couldn't part her legs, he had to shift his hand to a slightly awkward angle in order to slip a finger inside her. Rosalie moaned, her eyes closing tightly. "What do you want?"

"Mmmm, yes, that," she gasped, head turning to one side as a flush came to the apples of her cheeks.

"Ah, ah, ah," he chided gently even as his thumb and finger worked to make her moan. "That's cheating." A tug on her hair forced her head back into position to look up at him, but that didn't help while her eyes were still shut. "You have to look at me and tell me what you want."

When she only whimpered happily in response, enjoying his fingers too much to really respond properly, he stilled his hand and let his voice drop to a low growl. He wasn't going to let her come until she'd given her answer. "What do you want, Rosalie?"

He watched her fight heavy eyelids to meet his gaze. "I… I… mmm…" He could tell just by the flush spreading down her neck and the way her thighs quivered that she was close to coming.

"No more games tonight, boss. If you want something, you have to ask for it." he urged.

"I want you to call me by my real name," she answered, breath coming shallow now. "Not Rosalie. He named me that."

His eyebrows rose in surprise, since that wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind. He could tell the request was significant for her. "What's your real name?"

It took her several breaths to find it in her to answer, "Annarose."

The name made her smile. It suited her better somehow. It fit the person she showed him when they were alone together, and he was touched that she would share it with him. "Well then…" He leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Won't you come for me, Annarose?"

At that, his fingers began to move again, urging Rosalie towards a swift climax. The sight was spectacular.

As dawn broke the next morning, Rosalie lay on her side, one arm stretched up so that she could idly trace her fingers along one of Bull's horns. His arms were wrapped around her snugly, making her feel warm, safe and cherished. Making her feel like she could relax and let her worries go for as long as he held her.

She found herself thinking about how grateful she was for Bull and how much he meant to her. She found herself pondering the three words she wished she could say to him, only she wasn't sure he would know what to do with them. She wasn't even sure she knew how to say them and truly mean them. They were a pair of liars trained to disbelieve every word spoken to them, not to mention that Bull came from a people who didn't really do romance.

For someone you really care about, there is this old tradition, she recalled him saying once in the tavern. You find a dragon's tooth, break it in half, and you each wear a piece. Then, no matter how far apart life takes you, you're always together.

At the time, she hadn't pondered it too closely, but now that she thought about it… Bull was a person who chose his words carefully. If the thought of that kind of gesture made him uncomfortable, he wouldn't have mentioned it.

"You know, we should probably do something about that dragon we saw near Redcliffe the next time we're out that way," she murmured, squeezing herself a bit closer to him.

Bull looked at her with a raised eyebrow, and she couldn't tell if he knew exactly what she'd been thinking or was just stunned that she'd actually suggested that they fight a dragon. Suddenly a grin split his face and he said, "You sure we're ready for that, boss?"

Rosalie had to chuckle at how little that answer gave away. "After this place? I feel like there's nothing you and I can't take on together." She truly meant that, too. With Bull's support and their success in stopping Florianne, she felt more secure in her role as Inquisitor than ever before. Corypheus was going to need to watch his back.

"I'm glad you feel that way," Bull murmured, squeezing her closer as a hand moved down to stroke her bare hip.

She lifted her head to meet his gaze. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Bull nodded to the ceiling above them. "Because I have an interesting idea involving some rope and that chandelier up there, if you're feeling brave," he said in that low voice, the one that made her toes curl in anticipation.

Suddenly she got the feeling that the Inquisition was going to end up paying for a few repairs to her suite before their return to Skyhold. Not that she really cared in that moment.

Author's note: Thanks to everyone who gave this a read. I hope you enjoyed the story! Special thanks to tklivory for being my beta on this. That's the end of Rosalie's tale for now, but if you'd like to read what happens when they kill the dragon, you can check out my short story, Tent Time.