Author's Notes: This one is inspired from the banter between Cassandra & Vivienne, in which Vivienne told Cassandra how half of the court was already talking about her dance with the Inquisitor even before the song ended. I love that line.

Finally it is done, the Inquisitor said to himself. It was a long, grueling night filled with blurs of fancy dresses, plotting whispers behind masks, endless music and dishes enough to feel sick of and behind all that, a maze of a palace garnished with gold, shadows and blood stains. Truly, so much blood was spilled that night and yet even then the party still continued. Orlesians.

Eagon Trevelyan found himself slouched at the railings of the balcony at the far end of the palace. The arcane advisor to the Orlesian throne, Morrigan, just announced herself as the liaison to the Inquisition. She sprang that info at him without much preamble and then strutted away just as freely. Eagon had heard what the court had whispered about her tonight and while he firmly supports mage freedom, he couldn't help but feeling wary. She's obviously different compared to all the mages he had encountered. It's one more concern to throw on top of the pile of all other issues he had dug up that night.

The Inqusitor drew a long breath and let his body slouched even further on the railings. He had his eyes closed when he heard footsteps behind him. He cursed inwardly, thinking it's another member of the court approaching to congratulate him upon his feats, that he had "saved Orlais from an impending doom", or some other combination of words of praise that have been thrown at him numerously that night. The man readied himself, trying to paste his Inquisitor look and smile to greet whoever it is, when a voice that he didn't expect reached his ears.

"I can't believe you escaped before me. A fat count insisted on talking about soup for fifteen minutes."

Eagon swiveled his head and the sight of Cassandra Pentaghast, his lover, standing at the threshold of the balcony with arms folded across her chest, entered his sight. She's still wearing the formal uniform that Josephine had issued to all of them a few days before they depart to Halamshiral.

"We can't attend an Orlesian ball in full armors. Too intimidating and not… classy. We have to make sure we're sending the right message to everyone in the ball. So, I asked one of the best tailors in Orlais to make these uniforms. Nothing too fancy, not too drab and they still give us a distinct look as a force while also reflecting class and authority, even when we have to mingle among frilly dresses and freshly pressed suits of the Orlesian nobles ", she had said while handing the uniforms to the members gathered in her office.

Vivienne managed to only look slightly offended at the prospect of going to a ball without a proper dress that reflects her stature as the court enchanter. Sera made some snorting and gagging noises until Eagon shot her a sharp glare, while Cassandra, although looking rather dejected, received her uniform without much protest. Eagon himself is not a fan of fashion and fancy suits, but wearing a uniform that looks like it's going to rip once he swings his daggers while trying to prevent a regicide? They could have done worse.

Snapped back to the present, Eagon couldn't help but thanking Josephine inwardly for the uniform, if only because it enabled him to see Cassandra in something that doesn't resemble the armour that she always wear, even when in Skyhold. He had to resist the urge to punch something back in the ballroom when he heard some ladies whispering about the shame of an attire that "Lady Pentaghast, the royal princess of Nevarra" is wearing.

She walked closer to the edge of the balcony and stood next to the Inquisitor. He could almost feel her body heat through their similarly red uniforms in the chilly night.

"Is something wrong?", she asked, voice tight with worry once she saw that Eagon didn't answer her annoyed remark with one of his witty returns as he usually do. One of her hands settled lightly on his shoulders.

"I'm fine. It's just been a very long night", Eagon tried to muster a half smile and if Cassandra noticed him faking it, she didn't press about it.

"It is, isn't it? And we still have long ways to go after this", she sighed and moved her eyes to the dark silhouettes of the towers of Halamshiral before them.

The Inquisitor didn't answer and for a few moments it's just the two of them, with the white stones of the palace balcony, the silvery moonlight and the faint music drifting from inside the ballroom.

Slowly Eagon looked up and gazed at Cassandra's face, for a moment studying her face under the night sky. She's not what most people would describe as a beautiful woman, with her high cheekbones and wide jaw and a visible scar across her face. It also doesn't help that she's also a strong-headed bull of a woman who couldn't care less for any sort of vanity and she surely can beat any man to a pulp if she wants to. Yet to him, all her strong features and her scars, be it the one on her face and the many more that adorn the skin across her body only serve to remind him how beautiful she is to him in her own way. Besides, he knew that behind the disciplined warrior there's a passionate woman that is hidden from almost everyone but a few. It only made him love her more.

Apparently his staring didn't go unnoticed and Cassandra cleared her throat nervously to divert his attention. She could feel heat creeping up on her face.

"With all that happened today we should put the soldiers at Skyhold on alert. Just to be safe. We can return whenever you like, the sooner the better", she said carefully while trying to maintain a serious face despite feeling rather hot at the moment.

She started to move to get inside and tell the others to get ready when suddenly a grasp at her arms stopped her movement.

"Wait, there's still one more thing we have to do."

Eagon grinned and Cassandra narrowed her eyes at him which only made him grinned wider. He stepped back and stretched out her right hand to her,

"May I have this dance, Lady Cassandra?"

He bowed once and then gazed straight to her with expectant eyes, the grin still plastering his face.

"A dance? After all we've been through tonight?"

"Can you think of a better way to celebrate? Do you think I was joking when I asked you back there? I've been waiting all night for this, you know."

Her lips curled into a smile at the words. She placed her hand on top of his and let herself be pulled to him. The music from the ballroom is faint as it is on the balcony, but just enough for them to dance to. Not that any of them are dance champions anyway. Eagon recalled her dance with the Duchess and how it was basically pure luck that he didn't trip on her dancing partner's dress or his own feet. He'd never been a fan of dancing despite his noble birth. Being the youngest of his siblings also means his parents hadn't been too pressing on him to be the master of everything. If he guessed it right, Cassandra's also not exactly an expert in this activity. Still, he wouldn't want to miss this chance to dance with his Lady Seeker.

As he grasped one of her hands, with his other one slipped to her waist and held her close to him, and her other hand rested on his shoulder, somehow he felt that maybe it's going to be alright. They started to move in small steps while keeping their bodies close together, the faint music guiding them. It's nothing like the large, elaborate moves he'd seen performed by the Orlesian nobles in the ballroom, but with her, it felt so much more satisfying. A few steps later, he could see that her face, just inches from his, started to blush and he's more than sure that his looked just the same. What an awkward sight they must have been; a man and a woman, both wearing military uniform, dancing on a balcony with almost non-existent steps that could only be described as boring. Suddenly all the remains of his wandering thoughts left him as Cassandra rests her head on his shoulder, her breath heating the side of his neck. It was an intimate gesture that he didn't really expect her to do, especially not in such place and time where the gossip-prone Orlesian court nobles were just a few pace away.

"I suppose this isn't… terrible", she said in an almost whisper. Eagon felt something in his chest constricted at her words, at all this, and he found himself tightening the hold he had on her waist, drawing her body flush to his. He couldn't care anymore if any of the nobles spotted them in this position. They would gossip about them either way.

"Of course it's not. We should do this more often", he answered softly and then landed a kiss on top of her head. He heard her almost soft sigh and knew that she enjoyed this as much as he did. They continued their little dance in silence and he said to himself, not for the first time, that he truly loves this woman. That he would never let her go. The road before them might still be very long and perilous, but as long as she's beside him, they would endure it all.

Vivienne entered the ballroom after she finished treating the wounds on Sera. The girl's excessive distrust towards anything magic didn't exactly help to make the process go smoothly. Exasperated, the court enchanter strolled towards one of the wine tables to pick a glass for herself. Standing with a glass of wine in one hand, she eyed the people around her and listened closely for any interesting bits, hoping to gauge the nobles' immediate reaction to what happened that night.

"Did you see that?"

"You mean the Inquisitor and Lady Pentaghast?"

"Can you imagine such a pairing?"

"I wonder if we'll get a date soon. I have to decide what to wear."

Vivienne raised one of her delicate eyebrows. What could they be talking about? Of course, she already had a suspicion since one cannot be a good player of the Game without noticing the awkward courting between the Inquisitor and the Lady Seeker. If that could be called courting, she rolled her eyes inwardly. That's when she caught a glimpse of a small number of nobles positioning themselves near the northern balcony of the palace. She glided closer and her eyes caught the scene that caused all the fuss through the half-closed door. She almost broke into a smile yet at the same time her mind started to reel, knowing that the Inquisition could utilize the unavoidable spread of gossip to attract even more support. Yet, for now, she'll let the pair enjoy their moment. They have more than deserved it after all.