Chapter Text
"Oh, come on Cass! No one has complained about this.”
"And are you going to wait for them to do so for you to calm down? Don't you realize how irresponsible you are being? It is not appropriate-"
"Ughhhh! I know, I know. It is not appropriate that I am doing this.”
"There is that, and also the fact that you could have hurt someone." The young woman frowned and looked at the ground.
“It wouldn't have failed if it hadn't been for the cat. I already told you that it wasn’t my intention.” She looked up, she had those damned puppy eyes that were even more benefited from having huge honey-colored eyes. Cassandra rubbed the bridge of her nose.
Talking to Vena was definitely not easy. Cassandra knew that very well. The mischievous young woman used to roam Skyhold looking for targets that were of significant difficulty for her trick shots. She had a talent with the bow that rivaled that of Leliana, with whom on more than one occasion they had been tied in their private competitions.
Luckily, Vena was mindful enough so she wasn't shooting arrows left and right in the fortress, but her habit of throwing daggers, blunt thank the Maker, was almost as dangerous. She usually only carried a couple of those daggers with her, but with the mysterious "discovery" of a barrel full of daggers, there was no way she was going to miss out on making her most interesting throws.
All the tricks had gone perfectly, but by a tight margin. Until, on the last launch, one of the cats passed between the girl's legs, breaking her concentration and balance. The dagger, whose destination was the apple placed on one of the branches of the tree near Cassandra's training place, came out with an almost undetermined course, landing on the head of one of the dummies, who coincidentally was the one with which the Seeker was training.
Cassandra had already spoken to her multiple times about her dagger throws, but since the young lady only carried a couple of daggers, that greatly limited the number of throws she could do before other more important duties claimed her attention, she let it pass. Also, the tricks were highly appreciated by the soldiers, raising morale among the troops, and she had never damaged anything other than apples. Even Cassandra had to admit that she loved watching the young elf pull off the most unlikely shots with her daggers.
She might had hurt someone. Although puppy eyes were Vena's favorite tactic to get out of trouble, after so long they lacked the power to convince Cassandra, although seeing them made the Seeker feel a little fuzzy inside. She sighed. Vena had made her move, now it was her turn. Two can play the same game. With the most serious and sad tone she could, she looked directly into those honey eyes.
"Alvena." The girl's face changed immediately. Now those eyes were on the defensive, Cassandra only used her full name when they were alone or was something extremely important. But this time Cassandra had planned to use it more tactically, and continued with the sad tone. "I know you are better than this."
"I..." Vena was speechless, out of balance from Cassandra's words. I can't believe it worked. The young woman took a while to complete what she was saying, her face now reflected regret.
"It's just that we've been weeks stuck at Skyhold, I'm not good at standing still, and the troops seem to have fun watching my tricks.” Vena sighed and dropped her shoulders in defeat. Cassandra was smiling inside. Here comes the apology. But the girl apparently had another idea. Grinning mischievously, she glared accusingly at the Seeker.
"Also, I perfectly remember a certain Seeker of Truth who kept watching me holding her breath every time I threw a dagger into the air."
Now it was Cassandra who was out of balance. The rogue smiled triumphantly at the surprised face of the warrior who was trying to hide the colors on her face. The Seeker's frown furiously furrowed.
“I was holding my breath because I was afraid of what might happen if you failed. What you do is irresponsible and dangerous and puts not only you, but those around you as well at risk.” The elf's face twisted as if she had just received a low blow.
"Are you saying I don't know what I'm doing?"
“I'm saying you don't think before you act! Your actions not only affect you, Vena. Be aware of that.”
"I know what I'm doing Cassandra! Why are you the only one who finds it wrong?”
“Your irresponsible acting is not only limited to your tricks! Why-?"
"I-Inquisitor, message from Ambassador Montilyet." Cassandra was suddenly silent at the arrival of the runner, looking around them for the first time since the discussion had begun.
The situation had heated up more than either of them had expected, the people looked awkward and surprised as the Seeker argued with Vena, the Inquisitor. Noticing that detail, Cassandra swallowed what she was going to say, rubbing the bridge of her nose trying to calm herself. Vena seemed to notice the people around her, too. Sighing frustrated, she took the letter, opening it she turned to retire, stopping a couple of steps ahead. Cassandra looked at her strangely.
"Inquisi-"
"We will have an expedition in a couple of days." Vena cut in a dry tone, and folding the message she left. Frustration began to build up in Cassandra, who took her sword ready to blow off her training dolls when a warm voice with a pretentious tone surprised her from behind.
"Well that could have gone better."
"What do you want Dorian?"
"I was simply admiring the qualities of our Inquisitor until that unpleasant incident occurred, and I’m not talking about the cat incident."
“She must learn that her actions have consequences. She cannot do what she wants, she is the Inquisitor. She must-"
A sound cut the air followed by a loud "thud" interrupted her. Looking in the direction where the sound came from, they saw an arrow nailed to the wall, right at the intersection of the rock blocks… going through the apple that was the target of Vena's last trick. Cassandra and Dorian turned to see a surprised Scout Harding receiving her bow back and a furious Vena heading for the canteen. Dorian looked at the Seeker. The mage had never seen a frown so deep. Cassandra tightened her grip on her sword. Not willing to become the training dummy, Dorian made a gracious retreat.
Oh, this trip will be excessively long.
"Why didn't you bring Solas?"
Here we go again.
They had arrived the day before at the Forbidden Oasis. The place was a multi-level maze united and separated at the same time by the incredible network of mines that crossed the entire place. Dorian hoped that the trip would release the accumulated stress of several weeks locked up in Skyhold of Vena and Cassandra, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Since the cat and barrel of daggers incident, they had been avoiding each other, an easy thing in a huge fortress, but on a journey of several days on horseback, hearing endless arguments or deafening silences was beginning to take its toll on the sanity of the poor mage. If it wasn't for the fact that at least he had Bull to speak, he probably would have already jumped off the first cliff they found at the place.
He would normally have taken Vena's side in the discussion, but he had remained neutral this time, since the elf's behavior had been far from exemplary. During the trip they had found a way to argue over any minor detail. But this time, he had to admit the Seeker had a point, the bald elf would be most helpful in deciphering the meaning of the strange markings on the temple door before them. Nor was it like the mage was going to admit it, of course, he had a pride and reputation to uphold.
Also, it seems like I already found out how this door works, we just need-
"Why do you question every decision I make?"
Right, first: deal with the stubborn and stubbornest dynamic duo.
Disgusted by the sensation of the sand sticking to his face when rubbing it, he turned around where he saw an extremely bored Iron Bull sitting watching the women arguing. He approached the qunari, who commented annoyed.
"Please tell me that you already know how to enter the temple."
"But of course, I am offended that there was any doubt about that." Bull looked unamused at the mage and let out a sigh.
“We won’t be able to work if they continue like this. Yesterday we were barely able to set up camp after getting lost in that maze of tunnels.”
The day before had certainly been horrible. Not only were they lost for most of the day in those tunnels that apparently covered the entire area, but during all that time Cassandra and Vena were arguing about where to go, walking in circles in half the cases and ending in the opposite direction to that desired in the other half.
"You are acting like a child!"
Oh for the love of-! This has lasted long enough! Luckily Dorian now had a plan.
"I think I have an idea that can bring us a little peace."
"Anything to keep me from listening to them argue." Said Bull rubbing his face.
"And you as a bitter woman from the chantry!"
The Seeker's face lit up even more and the volume of her voice increased.
“At least I behave according to what I am! You are the Inquisitor! It is time for you to act as such!”
Vena twisted her face as if she had been hit, remaining silent. Dorian's palm quickly found its way to his face. And she had to say it, right? If there was one thing Vena hated it was being called Inquisitor, at least by any member of her inner circle, with the exception of being in public where they had no choice but to call her by title. The mage observed the scene, now both women were finally silent, but that was not necessarily an improvement. Sighing, he walked towards them to set out the plan to open the temple door.
"Ladies, excuse the delay, but I have found a way to enter the temple."
Satisfaction was reflected on Vena's face as she directed a glance at Cassandra. The Seeker didn’t omit a disgusted noise as she rolled her eyes, turning her gaze to the opposite direction from the young woman. The mage cleared his throat and continued.
"We need more of these fragments, we only have four at the moment, apparently one more should be enough to enter. And if I'm not mistaken, here are several ocularum, it probably means that inside the temple there will be more doors that require the fragments as keys.” Dorian pointed to the nearby ocularum, Vena stretched, and for the first time since they left on the trip, smiled wide.
"Let's start then! To the hunt of keys!”
They had begun the hunt for the fragments with great enthusiasm, but as the hours passed and the tunnels and passages diverged more and more between the levels of the demonic geography of the oasis, their emotion and their spirits began to plummet, until finally they found one of the fragments indicated by the ocularum. There was only one small problem.
"How are we going to get there?"
The fragment lay on top of what appeared to be a sealed entrance to a mine located on the ground of a ledge of the cliff where they were located. Everyone looked down trying to figure out how to reach the fragment. The ledge was about fifteen meters from the edge of the cliff, the rugged geography of the area made it difficult to think of descending the wall of the cliff.
“There is a mine entrance, perhaps we should look for the mine. It is the safest route.” Cassandra said after a few moments of planning, addressing the others. Dorian brushed his mustache analyzing the proposal, while Bull continued to look down the cliff. The mage finally nodded. The Seeker headed toward Bull.
"Bull, we'll look for another route, what are you looking at-?" Cassandra's face turned pale as she saw what the qunari was observing.
"Inquisitor!"
The young elf was descending the rocks with great agility despite the rugged terrain. The woman's insides turned upside down when one of the rocks the girl leaned on came off, but luckily her agility allowed her to settle on another rock.
"What do you think you're doing?" Without looking at her, the young woman replied.
"Do what we came here to do, Seeker."
Another rock gave way under the elf’s weight, and she settled back into another, not as easily as the first time. Cassandra had seen enough.
"Bull, a rope!"
The quinari took a rope from his backpack, holding on one end and the Seeker took the other, tying herself to it and starting the descent. Vena was still focused on her path, at least ten meters in free fall separating her from the entrance of the mine and the fragment. Cassandra swallowed hard with every rock that fell off in Vena’s way. Then, disaster struck.
A great explosion shook the earth. Dorian's shout of alert came from above. "Venatori!" Another explosion on the cliff was followed by the worst possible scenario. Everything moved in slow motion. Rocks falling off, falling on top of them. Rocks breaking the entrance to the mine. Vena losing her grip due to the hit of a rock against her. Vena falling through the mouth of the mine, disappearing into the darkness of the cave. Cassandra's scream muffled by the sound of a new explosion. Cassandra falling on the ledge after Bull released the rope. And then, darkness.
With her ears ringing, Cassandra found herself with the face on the floor of the mine. Shapes and figures danced before her eyes as she tried to focus her gaze, finally managing to locate the only available light source in the place. Sunlight peeked through the mine entrance. It hadn't been too long since the fall, dust yet floatting in the air. Getting up proved to be a difficult accomplishment, her battered body complaining with every move she made. Then her eyes saw her, the Inquisitor's motionless body, lying amid the rubble as if she were a ragged doll. The mark on her hand flashed green light intermittently, as if launching an emergency signal.
"Vena!"
The Seeker stood up, her movements torturously slow from the blows and the weight of her armor on top of her. Approaching the rubble, her gaze focused on Vena's condition and her stomach twisted.
Splinters of various sizes of what were once the planks that blocked the entrance to the mine, were now embedded in multiple parts of the young elf's body. Her right arm was under a pile of rocks that had fallen after her, the position of the arm was definitely wrong. But what took the air out of her chest was the state of her left side. Apparently, she had fallen on top of the beam supporting the now shattered mine door, leaving a hole in her side, as if a hyena had ripped a large chunk of meat, blood gushing from the wound into a pool that was growing larger and larger.
Cassandra kneeled immediately, placing her hands on the wound on her side trying to stop the bleeding. The young woman's body shook at the pressure of Cassandra's hands, tensing with the pain, whimpers erupted from deep in Vena's throat and her mark glowed even stronger. However, the flow didn’t stop, the blood drained from Vena's body, dripping between Cassandra’s fingers, impossible to stop.
No! Stop! Maker please!
The pool of blood mimicked the girl's red hair, which stood out even more in contrast to how pale and ash her skin had turned. Her breathing was short and shallow, indicating more problems than could be seen with the naked eye. Her frown, furrowed by the pain she felt even unconsciously, was covered with beads of sweat and blood. Tears welled up from her closed eyes. The feeling of guilt was growing inside the Seeker.
This is all my fault.
Frustration, helplessness and pain. Those feelings swirled inside Cassandra. The blood wouldn't stop, there was no way to save her. Taking the ashy elf’s face in her hands, she brought her forehead to hers.
“I'm sorry Vena, I didn't stop this from happening to you. I couldn't protect you.”
"... I...-rry…Cass, yo- …right, you-… always..."
The girl's breathy words startled the Seeker.
"Vena! Come on, wake up! Please!"
Slowly, the elf's eyes opened up. A light of hope lit up in Cassandra's heart. Vena's barely audible voice was raspy as she spoke to her.
"Hey."
"Vena. Thank the Maker. ”
"You're not… going to get rid… of me so easily, Cass."
The slight smile on Vena tore through Cassandra's heart. In spite of everything, she continued fighting, and if Vena didn’t surrender, neither will she. Then she saw it. Red, singularly bright, Vena's favorite grenade lay in place on the belt secured to the young elf's chest.
Antivan Fire.
Cassandra wasted no time. She gathered a good amount of wood, arranging it in a corner of the cave. She took the daggers from Vena's belt, placing the blades in the middle of the timbers, leaving the handles out. And finally, taking the grenade in her hand, she threw it against the wood. Fire burned like spit from a dragon's mouth, burning the wood and lighting it, raising the temperature of the blades until they became the same color as the flames.
Turning to the pale elf, Cassandra placed the handle of her own dagger between the teeth of Vena, who in a state of semi-consciousness seemed to know what she was about to do. When Cassandra approached with the red-hot daggers, a slight nod of her head indicated that the young woman was ready for what was coming. The Seeker sat on top of Vena, holding Vena's legs with her own, pressing down on her weight to keep her from moving during the procedure. Cassandra brought the red blade closer and Vena closed her eyes tightly.
"Sorry."
The first blade made contact. The hiss of boiling blood was muted by the muffled scream that came from Vena, her body moving instinctively, shaking and trembling, trying to flee the boiling iron. Her clenched fist tighten to the point of turning her knuckles white, but even this didn’t prevent her mark’s green lights from flashing throughout the cave. Cassandra retired the blade only to reposition it a few centimeters farther from the first contact point, the entire cycle repeating itself every two or three seconds until the first blade stopped glowing, being replaced by the second blade, repeating the agonizing process by rest of wound.
The smell of burnt blood filled Cassandra’s nostrils, who, with a steady pulse, fought with all her might to successfully complete the procedure as quickly as possible. Skin and muscle turned bright red after the blade's repeated contact with them. What had seemed like hours of suffering actually ended in a matter of just a couple of minutes. Vena had lost consciousness by the time the second blade touched her side, her still trembling body was covered in a layer of icy sweat mixed with the blood from her other wounds. Setting the daggers aside, Cassandra examined Vena's red side, letting out a big sigh. The wound was completely sealed.
Now there was no time to lose. Rising from on top of Vena, she moved the young woman carefully, avoiding forcing her right arm, bringing her closer to the fire. Her body was decompensated by the blood loss and the enormous stress to which she had just been subjected, it was necessary to keep her temperature stable.
She gathered more wood to keep the fire alive, enough to last a couple of hours. Exhausted, she sat next to Vena, placing her head on her lap, wiped the sweat from her forehead. The girl's frown furrowed a little.
"... Cass?"
Mechanically, Vena attempted to get up, being stopped by the Seeker's firm hands on her shoulders.
“Hey. Don't get up, keep resting.”
Ceasing to move, Vena relaxed a little under the Seeker's hands, sighing deeply. Not a very good idea. The pain in her ribs caused a coughing attack, the sudden movement of which caused the pain in her wound to shoot up again. Her body trembled uncontrollably, icy sweat once again scattered on her skin. The mark on her hand flared furiously, increasing the tension in her. Reflectively, her left hand reached for Cassandra's hand, who immediately entwined her fingers together, squeezing her hand, trying to comfort her, even a little. Tears began to flow again from Vena's eyes, pain and exhaustion reflected in her gaze.
“Breathe slowly, it will pass. I'm here."
Vena nodded and closed her eyes, breathing slowly, until her body stopped shaking and the mark on her hand calmed down. She kept her eyes closed until she felt something on her forehead. Opening them, she could see the Seeker's closed eye and her cheek, red with blood from a cut on it.
"You are hurt." She said in a raspy and tired voice.
Cassandra couldn't help but laugh bitterly at the statement. I am hurt? Have you not seen yourself? How can you worry about-? Vena squeezed Cassandra’s hand, stopping her train of thought.
"Cassandra… this isn’t your fault."
"But-"
"Cassandra-" Vena hissed as she raised her voice, however, she swallowed hard and continued. "It's not- your fault. I know you. That head of yours- never ceases to be overthink. I made this. I got in trouble, and you- you got dragged into them. You came to save me; as- you always have.” She released her hand and brought it over Cassandra's head, pressing her forehead a little more against hers, closing her eyes. "I’m sorry."
"I'm sorry too."
"You did nothing wrong. I've- I've acted like a child. You're right. I need to- think before I act. I was irresponsible, and you-” Vena's voice dropped in volume with each dragged word, the grip on Cassandra's head began to weaken. Her eyelids flickered slower and slower.
"Vena-"
"I- I'm sorry. I’ll change. I’ll be responsible. I’ll be- the Inquisitor you need.” Her hand began to slide down Cassandra's head, who caught it before it fell to the ground. Eyes closed, Vena said almost imperceptibly. "I promise."
Cassandra raised her head, the mark on Vena's left hand was softly glimmering, indicating that her user had fallen asleep. The Seeker looked at the elf in her lap, thinking of her words. Change? Yes, Vena was impulsive, but Maker, she was so young. And that never stopped her from making decisions that would mark Thedas's history. It was obvious that if she was the Inquisitor now, it was because she was the right one for the position. Always trying to learn, always trying to help.
"You don't need to change." Letting out words she wouldn't normally say, the Seeker planted a kiss on the girl's forehead. “You are learning, growing. And I must remember that.” And taking the elf's in her hands, she began to pray.
The silence of the cave was interrupted after a few moments, however. A torch appeared from the entrance to the only tunnel leading into the mine.
“Bull! They’re here!"
Dorian's figure appeared after the torch. Cassandra had never been so grateful to see the mage, who immediately dropped to his knees and began to check on Vena. Bull later appeared, helping to carry Vena out of the mine. Cassandra immediately got up to follow them, but her legs failed her, however, Dorian caught her just in time.
"Apparently you're not exactly fine either."
"I'm fine." She replied, regaining her balance and pulling away from him.
The mage sighed, holding up his hands in defeat, and began to walk out. Cassandra sighed, lowering her head slightly and muttered.
"Thank you."
Dorian stopped dead. Turning, he stared at the Seeker in amazement. There was curiosity in his gaze, but as soon as he saw Cassandra's eyes, whatever question he was going to ask, he decided it was best to keep it to himself. Instead, he picked up Vena's daggers and pointed the way forward.
"Whenever you need it, Seeker."