Ren & Leliana

1. After the Conclave...

The war table within Haven's Chantry was quiet save for the chilled winds pelting the windows. All eyes had fallen upon the Hero of Ferelden, freshly arrived and whose pointed ears held a slight shade of red from the cold.

Cullen remained dumbfounded as the one who had opened the door while Cassandra wore an expression shifting between annoyed and relief.

It was Josephine who read the room enough to speak, "Perhaps we should reconvene later for this matter?"

The room emptied in a awkward and disoriented hurry, leaving only Leliana, Ren and the space between them.

"I came as soon as I could..." He said as the door closed behind him. "Leliana, I'm so-"

The bard crossed the room, half angry and close to losing what composure she had spent weeks building up. She buried herself into his arms, her hood falling beneath her short red hair.

Ren held her tightly, as if to keep the sky from ripping her from his grasp. "I'm sorry."

Leliana parted from his breast, her hand raising his chin, "You're here... that's enough."

2. After the Herald meets with the Chantry...

"The Herald is off to meet Fiona." Ren explained as he leaned against the tent pole, flicking a spark of magic between his fingers. "I hope Alistair's old Templar instincts aren't rousing the mages too much."

Leliana stared out from their tent, "A knife finding the Lord Seeker's throat while he sleeps would better keep the peace."

Ren ceased his act of self amusement and walked to her side. "Leliana, I know we've killed worse than him but isn't that a bit much?"

The spymaster sighed as she cast her eyes to the ground, "Justinia is dead. What good are ideals if they can't save the ones we care for most?"

Ren brushed back her hair, soaking in the sadness in her eyes, "She died for what she believed in. And so long as we carry her memory, she lives."

Leliana nestled against his familiar hand and offered a brief smile. "I want to believe that, Ren. But I fear Marjolaine's words still haunt me."

"You're not Marjolaine. Evil doesn't worry about being good, remember?"

"And if being good isn't enough to survive, what shall I do when I lose you as well?" She interrupted him before his reply. "Pay me no mind, my love. I am not myself, lately."

Ren relented on the issue, crossing his arms with a sigh, "You know... I hear there's a lost Orlesian merchant selling shoes near the stables... we could still catch him before he leaves."

"You think my happiness can be bought with a few trickets?" She teased.

"Is that a no on the shoes?"

"Not on your life." She said, sauntering past him with a smile.

3. During the events of the Winter Palace...

The Hero and his bard lingered on the balcony, away from the gradually fading festivities.

Leliana felt a twang of nostalgia at her heart, "The stars are out."

"They are... and over there, is that Alindra and her soldier?" Ren wondered as he turned to the sky.

"I didn't think you still remembered that story." She admitted.

"I think about it whenever we're apart." Ren said as he traced the dust on the stone. "I always imagine you're out there, somewhere, staring at the same sky."

"I do too." Leliana rested on her hands as her elbows stayed fixed to the rail. "Though now, I wonder how many more tears Alindra must cry before she is reunited with her love."

"Really?" Ren asked her. "I always assumed they had been."

Leliana raised an eyebrow at him, leaning back. "What makes you think that?"

He pointed up, "Because the river doesn't divide them, it connects them. Without it, there would be no constellation. It was their struggle that brought them together as stars."

"And you say this is their reunion?"

"Well... I don't think they were ever really apart, to be honest." Ren came behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist. "Like when you would fall asleep on night watch. Just because you closed your eyes, doesn't mean I wasn't there."

Leliana giggled, prompting a confused look from her love, "You're impossible, you know this, yes?" She teased. "No matter how far I feel, you bring me close again."

"That's my job." He postured. "Well, the Inquisitor helped a bit too."

"I've kept you busy, it seems." Leliana admitted with regret. "If we are to stand against the darkness, then I have to trust in my heart to guide me."

Ren stood with his back to the archway, a hand offered for one last dance. "And if you get lost, I'll be there."

She took his hand and felt the truth in his words.

4. After Leliana returns from Valence...

With his back to the well by the stables, Ren had been reading one of Varric's books through the twilight hours of Skyhold. Losing track of time, he eventually decided to nap. His right ear twitched as a familiar scent woke him, flattening a patch of uncut grass as they sat close by.

He opened his eyes, stretching out his limbs as Leliana savored the look on his freshly woken face. "Your eyelashes, they still flutter like butterflies when you sleep."

"Old habit..." Ren blushed. "How did it go?"

Leliana released a sigh, "An enemy of Justinia and the Inquisition was waiting for us... and I let her go on the Inquisitor's orders."

"Really?" Ren responded. "And what had Justinia left for you to find?"

"A box, with an inscription that released me from the burdens of being her left hand. It is what her spirit in the Fade had referred to, I think. She worried that in using me, I would lose sight of who I am."

"Was she right?" Ren asked.

"I almost did..." She turned to him. "Thank you for trusting me to go alone with the Inquisitor to Valence. It would've been easy to look to you for an answer."

Ren relaxed against the well, trying to contain a laugh. "Funny; whenever I find myself stuck with indecision, I think about what you would do."

"Liar." She chided him with a swift elbow. "It's unbecoming to tell a lady sweet nothings."

Ren stared up into the golden clouds, tinted by pink edges. "If I have nothing to give, it's only because you're already my everything."

"Ren..." Leliana spoke softly. Her hand found his chin, pulling him towards her as their lips met. She parted no more than a few inches from him, "After this is over, there will be no more distance between us; you, me... or Corinne."

The hero smiled at his bard, "We'd better defeat Corypheus quickly then. Any more distance and that daughter of ours will prefer her sitter to her own parents."

5. After Leliana bids for Divine...

Among the rousing celebration of the Inquistion's defeat of Corypheus, Ren sat in Josephine's waiting room where he read a letter. Leliana entered, closing the door behind her as she left her lantern on a hook. Fireflies floated outside the windows as the fireplace cracked the air.

"Corinne seems well." Ren offered the letter to the bard. "Though, she's anxious to leave her cloistered surroundings."

"Like her father, I'm sure..." Leliana began as she took letter. She stopped to notice the forlorn look on Ren's face. "What's the matter?"

The Hero sighed, "I know I said I'd support your efforts no matter what... but being Divine..."

Leliana crossed her arms, "Is it any different than becoming warden commander? Or joining the Inquisition?"

"Being Divine is bit more permanent than either of those."

"We've both answered higher callings before, Ren. Think of all the good I could do." She urged him.

"I'm not worried about your ability, Leliana. I'm worried about how half of Thedas will see Corinne or you because of me."

"What do you mean?"

"If word gets out that the Divine has a half elven, mage child or that her husband is a grey warden apostate- I mean, are you even allowed to marry as Divine?"

She calmed his frustration by taking his face in her hands. "My love, be still. It is for those reasons that I should be Divine. You say apostates and I will show them a good man and his beautiful daughter."

Ren continued, "If the Circles return-"

"I will not see the two people I love most locked away in some tower." Leliana said fiercely. "No one should be punished for the crime of being born. Mages have suffered enough... you have suffered enough."

Ren admired the fire in her eyes, the undaunted courage his love held for what mattered most. "I don't want you to suffer on my behalf."

"Ren... you are my heart. Ma vhenan." After teaching her the elven word for heart, she had never spoken it lightly. "But I would rather suffer a thousand slings as Divine than see the world take our daughter's right to live happy. Wouldn't you?"

"I would." Ren admitted. "I just never thought this opportunity would come through the Chantry or my return to the Circles."

Leliana smirked, "What is it you said about the Maker's will? 'He shows himself as an opportunity, but we are the ones who must choose to take it.' There is some truth to it, no?"

"That's a cheeky way of saying I've only myself to blame for this irony." Ren replied.

She kissed his forehead, "But at least it is sweet. Besides, I doubt you will be at the new Circles much. I will still have need of your... intimate counsel."

"Really?" He humored her. "I didn't think the Divine needed such counsel."

"You would be surprised." She said as she took his hand and led him on. "But come, we have some time before Corinne arrives."

"And where are we off to, exactly?" He asked warily, following nevertheless.

"Somewhere we can just be Leliana and Ren. No heroes or mages, no bards or spymasters; just you and me." She promised.

"Sounds like enough to me."