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“See something you like?” Wynona leaned back and smiled playfully at Solas.
He shook his head, “What? No. I mean- I was looking at your necklace. It’s nice.”
“You just made this situation ten times less fun than it could’ve been.”
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, “Then I apologize.” He became serious once more, “Does it have any significance?”
“Yes.” She reached up and took the golden acorn pendant in her grasp to admire it, “The charm was my mother’s.”
He leaned forward, curious, “You’ve never told me about your family.”
“I haven’t? Strange…” She coughed nervously; something Solas picked up on. “My mother was Dalish… Her keeper gave her the pendant after she received her vallaslin, I think. I don’t really remember the story she told; I was little when she gave it to me.”
“Ah, I see.” He replied.
She waited for him to ask more questions, to pry, but he did not. He saw how uncomfortable she had become, and didn’t wish to intrude or to stir up bad memories.
She let out a long sigh and moved to join him on the loveseat. She curled into herself the way Solas had seen her do before when she was frustrated or upset. It stirred worry inside him.
She sat quietly with focused intent written on her face before eventually sighing and turning towards him, “My accent.”
He raised a brow in confusion, “What about it?”
“Why haven’t you ever asked me why I don’t carry a Dalish accent?”
“I… never saw a reason to ask. Should I?”
She chewed her lip, “Yes? No? I don’t know!” She felt like a floundering fool, dancing around the subject as she was. “If I grew up in a Dalish clan, why wouldn’t I have the accent? Well, maybe because I didn’t grow up in a Dalish clan, yeah?” She looked at the ground to avoid seeing his reaction.
He said nothing for a while, but put a hand on her back to comfort her, “Why are you ashamed of this, vhenan?”
“All my life I have never fit in. I was either ‘that Dalish tramp’s daughter’ in my alienage, or ‘the flat ear from the slums’ within my clan. It’s not easy to escape who you are, or your past, I guess.”
Solas guided her into his arms and he held her. He could feel she was shaky, and he rubbed circles on her back. “You must trust me a great deal to tell me this. I apologize for stirring up any bad memories, it was not my intention.”
“I do. Trust you, I mean. You are the only person here whom I’ve let on anything about that part of my life, besides Leliana. She probably has a whole report on it or something.”
“Then thank you, for trusting me,” he said.
She held onto him for a long time and then finally let go, “I’m going to bed, It’s been a long day.”
“Dareth shiral, ma vhenan,” He kissed her on the forehead and she departed.
Solas’s bare footsteps were silent across the grass until a branch’s crack gave him away. Wynona jumped from her place under the tree and calmed when she realized it was him.
“I apologize, I did not mean to startle you.”
“It’s fine.” She sat back down at her place under the oak. The morning light streamed through it’s branches, casting dappled shadows on her skin. Solas tentatively approached her and sat down beside her when she accepted his company with a nod.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes. I just needed to be, I don’t know, away from buildings. Outside. I needed a quiet place to think.” She picked at the grass while a smile slowly tugged at her lips, “My Dalish is showing, isn’t it.”
Solas chuckled, “Perhaps.”
“My mother would've like to have heard me say that, I think…” She trailed off.
“Tell me about her,” Solas asked, taking her hand in his and giving it a squeeze as a sign of encouragement.
“She was a quiet woman, though I was told that was not always so. She was apparently much more lively in her youth. She was a huntress in training, barely seventeen when she met my father.”
“And your father?”
“I know nearly nothing, except that he was a dirty liar. Told my mother her loved her, and when she moved to the city to be with him, he took off. Left her heavy with me in her belly, cold and alone in the streets.”
“I am sorry,” He said.
“Don’t be, I don’t even know the poor sod’s name.” She let go of his hand and began picking at the grass again. “There are days where I wish my mother was still here. I sometimes wonder what she’d think of all this. Of me.”
Solas grasped her hand again and looked into her eyes, “I imagine she would see you for who you are. She would see you are beautiful, and strong, and unbelievably brave.”
“I-” She was taken aback, “I wish I could believe so. Thank you.” She kissed him, feather light, and curled up beside him.
“You do not give yourself enough credit,” He said. He waited for one of her typical witty retorts, but none came. She continued poking at the earth, dirt gathering under her nails. Solas was content to close his eyes and take in the morning’s solitude as she toiled.
After a time she said, “You know… I think she’d like you.”
“I am glad to hear that. It is a shame I will never have the pleasure of meeting her.”
“Yeah…” She began digging in the dirt and grass again.
“What are you-” He began.
“I’m looking for something.” She continued her search, ”Aha!” She uncovered an acorn and held it up to show him. She brushed the dirt away, admiring her find.
“Da’vhenan...” He gestured around them, “there are hundreds.”
She scowled, “They're all cracked. It must be perfect, not brittle, or too green.”
“Is there a reason-”
“Shh.” She cut him off again. She blew the remaining dust off the thing and polished it on the hem of her blouse. She gestured to give her his hand and he did. She gently placed the acorn in his hand and closed his palm around it.
“Acorns symbolize protection and strength.” She said softly. “You have been both for me. You have been there for me when I needed you. You inspire me to be a better person. Ma'arlath, Solas.”
The tips of her ears turned pink at the confession. She didn’t know why she was afraid to meet his eyes, but she was. He raised her chin so that her eyes met with his, and she found love there. “I love you.” She said the words again with a shrug and a smile.
“As I love you you.” He leaned in and kissed her. Their mouths met with the taste of elfroot smoked the night prior, and of honey in green tea in the morning, and parted only once the lack of air demanded it.