When in Val Royeaux...

For the Morrigan LJ community's (tis_only_I) Seven Deadly Sins challenge. I picked Greed. Thanks to Lehni for the beta and Clafount for editing ideas!

Leliana arrived in the court of Empress Celene, lute in hand and ballad rehearsed. She sat in the back as she tuned her instrument, waiting for court to end so that she could entertain the Empress in private, as she had been invited to do. It was only after she had the lute prepared, that she glanced about the room and recognized a dark haired woman standing next to the Empress. She was far enough from her that she could not speak to Morrigan, although she could see some of the changes the years had wrought in the other woman. Her hair was longer than before, her figure plumper. Most of all, her dress was completely different. Rather than her torn and tattered robes, she wore a gown of fine silk and enough jewelry to outfit four women.

Although her look was more conventional than it had been several years ago, it was not an improvement over her former style. The dress was of a cut that had not been popular for over three seasons, the shoes were so dowdy that only a Fereldan would think them stylish. True, her jewlery was individually lovely, but she wore far too much of it. The colors of the gems clashed with her gown, and it was obvious that Morrigan did not understand that certain gems were meant only for the evening, not for the afternoon. It made her entire outfit look cluttered and childish, rather than elegant and sophisticated, as was required for this court.

It was with this that Leliana knew what she must do. She had to stage an intervention.

DA:O

Leliana reached Morrigan shortly after her recital, which was met with praise from even the Empress herself.

"What do you want?" Morrigan hissed, as Leliana approached her.

"I just wanted to say hello," Leliana said. "And to catch up. Maybe over tea sometime?" It had been years since they'd last spoken.

"I cannot imagine that there is anything I would have to say to you," Morrigan said, turning away from her.

"But we ought to catch up," Leliana said. She never had understood why Morrigan insisted on being so aloof. It was no way to make friends. "We're probably the only two Heroes of

Ferelden in Val Royeaux. You miss the old times, no?"

A look passed over Morrigan's face that Leliana thought might mean something, so she continued to press.

"We could discuss our adventures. Talk in Fereldan again. It would be just like old times."

"With us squabling over Aedan?" Morrigan asked, her lips tightening.

Well, yes, there was that. But there had been so much more to their lives than a mere man. They had saved the kingdom, perhaps even the world. Their adventures had become the stuff of story and song. In comparison, rivalry over the love of a man was a trivial thing, no matter how great a hero he had become.

"He left both of us," Leliana said. "When he chose to marry Anora."

Morrigan's shoulders stiffened. "I left him."

"You left all of us," Leliana said. She had ceased to hold a grudge about Morrigan and Aedan's affair after he had announced his intention to wed. And had felt foolish since, about having held it for as long as she had. She had wanted to apologize to Morrigan, but the woman had vanished before she could find the appropriate words. Even Aedan had insisted that he did not know where she could have gone.

"Why do you persist in this? We were never friends. And we never will be."

Because she had seen that no one else had bothered to teach Morrigan how one was supposed to dress in the court of an Empress? Because even here, Morrigan seemed alone?

"We could try," Leliana said.

Morrigan stood completely silent for a long minute, before saying, "I do not take easily to friendship."

"You might, if you wanted to," Leliana said. Surely anyone could learn most anything, with enough practice. "But we don't have to be friends. I was just hoping to catch up. Talk about old times. Maybe go shopping. Val Royeaux has the best clothing and jewelry in the known world."

Morrigan seemed to think about this, for a long time. "You will pester me until I agree. I can already see this."

Leliana smiled. "Does that mean that you'll join me for tea?" She paused for a second, and when Morrigan did not say no, took it for assent. "Oh, I know the perfect place! It is just so cute, and has the most adorable lace curtains, and wallpaper with angels that look like the sweetest, most darling babies with little chubby cheeks. I'm sure you'll love how it looks! Plus, the food is absolutely to die for! Little cakes with flowers in icing, pastries so flakey they melt in your mouth! And it's right by the shopping district, so we can go out and buy beautiful clothes as soon as we're done with tea, without even having to catch a carriage!"

She heard Morrigan sigh, but knew that it was just a way to protest that she was far too serious for fashion. After all, didn't every girl love a pretty dress, deep down inside?

DA:O

"Just choose one and let us leave this place," Morrigan said, after trying on four gowns, all in the newest styles, with colors that Leliana thought flattered her. A dress of gold brocade to match her stunning eyes, a daring red silk that would make her stand out in any crowd, a soft green cotton, light as sunlight, that recalled the Brecilian forests, and a simple brown with an elegant cut that gave it an understated elegance.

Leliana considered the gowns. They were all beautiful, but in different ways. "The brown would work best for a daily dress, but the gold is the most lovely on you I think. Then again, the red is the most striking. What do you do on a regular basis? What are your duties at court?"

"I told you that I advise the Empress," Morrigan said. "I do not see why it matters what I wear to do this."

Oh, fashion always mattered. It influenced so much about how one was perceived! Besides, it was so much fun. No one should be deprived of that pleasure. "But what kind of gowns do you need?" Leliana asked. Morrigan truly was hopeless.

"I need nothing and no one," Morrigan said, although Leliana noticed that she glanced back at the dresses as she said this, particularly at the spectacular red one.

"But surely you understand that one must dress well in the court of an Empress," Leliana said. She drew near Morrigan, so that she would not embarass the other woman by speaking too loudly in public. "And I hate to say this, but the dress you're wearing now...well, it's almost dowdy."

"Dowdy?" Morrigan asked. She looked down at herself.

"It's so very Fereldan," Leliana whispered. "Not that this is bad, but it just will not do for an important official in the court of the Empress herself to be wearing something so drab. You really ought to dress better, to make the right impression. Considering your grand station, and all."

Morrigan seemed to consider this. "What would you advise that I wear?"

Leliana smiled. The intervention had succeeded! Or would have, as soon as they were done today!

"Well," she said. "Someone as important as yourself ought to have a dress for all occasions!" She turned back to the dress maker "We'll take all four," she said, then tugged at Morrigan's arm. "You don't want to wear the same dress more than a few times, or people will think that you are out of favor with the Empress, that she has reduced your pension to where you can hardly afford clothing. Come now, we have a lot more to buy if we want you dressed like the grand lady you are."

DA:O

The day passed in a flurry of shopping. They acquired twenty more gowns in addition to the four at the first shop, ten pairs of shoes, a dozen hats, stockings, gloves, and even a little more jewelry, although Morrigan seemed to have quite a lot of gems already. Once Morrigan let go and starting enjoying it, shopping with her was quite fun. She had a lovely figure, and delightfully clear skin that made everything she tried on look absolutely stunning. Plus, with a bit of coaxing, she showed at least some taste in fashion, and some interest in looking like the lovely young woman she was, even if she pretended to despise being dressed up like a doll often and loudly.

They made it back to her apartments later that evening, followed by a carriage full of clothing. Leliana asked the porters to bring them inside, then paused at the door.

"I suppose that you persist in remaining by my door for a reason?" Morrigan stated.

Well, yes. It would be miserly to not invite her in, after spending the entire day together.

"I was wondering whether you would like to invite me in, so that I can help you accessorize," Leliana said. "Your jewelry is so lovely that it really ought to be shown off to its best advantage with all of your new gowns, and I can help you determine which gems and hats and gloves and shoes go best with which dresses."

Morrigan nodded, after seeming to consider the proposition for quite a long time. "I suppose that would be helpful," she said, standing aside to let Leliana inside.

The house was enormous, considering the expensive part of town that it was in, but was nearly completely empty, at least in the first few rooms. Morrigan led Leliana up through the building, to the living quarters on the second floor. Only there did Leliana see any furniture at all. A narrow bed and a single chair. Other than that, the house contained no decorations, or even other utilitarian items, like a setee or table. In short, it was the most depressing place that Leliana had ever seen.

She supposed that this was one more problem of Morrigan's that she would have to solve later, but decided that she would start with the issue of dressing properly, as Morrigan had at least expressed an interest in changing this aspect of her life.

"Try on the green dress, first," Leliana said. "So we can accesorize it!" Best to start with a challenge, as something like the red dress would almost tell her what bits and baubles needed to be worn with it.

Morrigan unbuttoned her current gown, and slipped it from her slender frame without even bothering to step behind a partition. Leliana's eyes widened. While she had a good idea as to what Morrigan's body looked like beneath her clothing, seeing as she had worn so little on their adventures, she still had not seen the woman completely naked before.

Suddenly she knew exactly what Aedan had seen in the witch, even if she had wondered why any man would desire a purely physical relationship with Morrigan when he could have had the emotional satisifaction of a loving one with Leliana. It was just that there was something beyond Morrigan's perfect figure that made her attractive. A quality that extended to the cat-like grace of her movements, and the peculiar disregard in which she inhabited that lithe frame. She was like a wild animal, exotic and untamed. But unlike a wild animal, too, in her strange posessiveness of a man she'd claimed to want nothing from but physical pleasure.

Before she could consider Morrigan's qualities for much longer, Morrigan finished dressing in the green gown, and Leliana glanced at the pile of jewelry, trying to determine what would go best with it. Something simple, surely. Then again, her job here was not to dress Morrigan, but rather to teach her to dress herself.

"What do you think would look best with this dress?" Leliana asked.

Morrigan looked at her jewels, and took four pendants, one with a ruby surrounded by sparkling diamonds, one with a single emerald, a long rope of ivory pearls, and another that had a large golden topaz surrounded by pale blue stones, then put them all on. Together.

"Hmmm," Leliana said, pretending to think about the look. "I think it may be a bit too much."

"Too much?" Morrigan asked. "But I thought I was to look powerful and wealthy in the Empress' court."

Powerful and wealthy, yes. Color blind, no.

"It's a fashion rule to only wear one type of gem at a time," Leliana said. "And no gems during the day. Only pearls or plain metals."

"That makes no sense."

Leliana shrugged. "Fashion is fashion, no?" she said, which was to say that it made no sense. Many delightful things did not. There was no need to display all of one's jewelry at once. It seemed vulgar, ostentatious. Just as sometimes Morrigan had, in those barely there robes and bird plumage.

"And I suppose this is to be a daily dress?"

Leliana nodded. "Its cut is high and its color is more appropriate for morning and afternoon than evening. Now with the red gown, you could wear gems. Try it on next!"

Morrigan did, and the effect was stunning. The color was the perfect accent to her skin and brought out the dark glossiness of her hair. Beyond that, the lines were perfect, and the fabric hugged her body like an old lover before it fell to her feet in a waterfall of color.

"What do you recommend I wear with this?" Morrigan asked.

"Oh, the saphire set, of course!" Leliana said, completely forgetting that she was supposed to let Morrigan pick and correct her choices.

"Saphires?"

"Red contrasts well with blue," Leliana said. "So the colors in the gown bring out the beautiful blue of the saphires, and vice versa."

Morrigan nodded slowly, and put on the necklace, then the bracelets. Leliana was right. The colors contrasted perfectly, the blue gems helping to make the scarlet of the dress even more intense, while the gems practically glowed against the cloth.

Morrigan gazed at herself in a mirror for a long minute before she said, "This makes sense."

DA:O

The two continued to dress Morrigan until late in the evening, trying on each of the gowns, and even some of her old ones (which Leliana suggested be remade by an experienced dress maker, as most of the cloth was still servicable). By the end of the evening, Leliana noticed that Morrigan had relaxed enough to smile. It was an unusual expression, for one so chary with her emotions.

When she rose to go return to her apartments for the night, Morrigan walked with her to the door. She opened the door, then paused by the frame for a minute, neither inside nor outside. Leliana waited for a long minute for her to say more, feeling that there were still things left unsaid between the two of them.

"Thank you," Morrigan said at last, just after Leliana turned to go.

"Oh, it was my pleasure," Leliana said. It had been. She hadn't had so much fun in ages. And it was nice to see Morrigan smile, to be friends with her, after years of resentment and quarreling.

"No, thank you. Really," Morrigan said. She glanced away. "You were very kind in...this. I wonder if," she paused and drew a breath, staring at her feet. "Well, if perhaps I had misjudged you."

Leliana thought that she might have done the same. It had been foolish of her to so easily disregard Morrigan, to cling to shreds of affection with Aedan, rather than lavish love and friendship on any who might require them. Particularly when she realized that Morrigan may have needed her far more than Aedan ever had. "I think we may have both been too hard on each other."

"We wanted the same thing, and neither of us wanted to share what we thought we could have for ourselves," Morrigan said at last.

"And so neither of us got what we wanted," Leliana said. It was something she had come to terms with long ago. Cling too tightly to treasures, and they were taken from you, as the old song said. As a bard, she ought to have known better.

Morrigan nodded. "I hated you for that, you know," she said. "You took what had been completely mine."

"I'd never thought that you'd cared," Leliana said. Morrigan had never seemed to have an interest in anyone other than herself, or in anything other than obtaining her goals, at least as long as Leliana had known her.

"I could not allow myself," Morrigan said. She turned to focus those uncanny yellow eyes on Leliana. "And yet I did."

Leliana patted her on the shoulder. The poor woman, to not appreciate the generosity that love can bring. "It is a good thing to love another, Morrigan."

Morrigan shook her head. "Not as I did. It completely derailed - well, 'tis another story for another time."

"I know he cared for you," Leliana said. Years later, with him gone from both their lives, it was easy enough to admit what she had refused to accept before. "You are the most beautiful and exotic woman I have ever met. I would imagine that dozens of men desire you."

Morrigan gave a ruleful smile. "Desire, yes. Love, no. In the end, he refused me the only thing I asked."

Leliana waited, hoping she would continue. What boon could Aedan possibly have denied this exotic and lovely woman? But when Morrigan did not speak, Leliana decided that it was unwise to press.

"And so I am here," Morrigan said. "Alone."

She was alone. Her actions in court had spoken of that plainly enough, and her home made the point even more clearly. But being alone, especially in a city as large and delighful as Val Royeaux, was a choice one could make, or not make, as he or she chose. If Morrigan did not understand that, Leliana obviously had more to teach her than how to dress. And she could afford to extend her generosity to the other woman.

"Not alone," Leliana said. She caught Morrigan's eyes with her own, and smiled as warmly as she could. "I was asked to stay on as a ministrel by the Empress Celene herself. So I will be here. And would be happy to see you whenever you desire company."

She thought that Morrigan would protest, as was usual for her. So she was surprised when Morrigan instead smiled and said, "I might like that."