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It was a testament to Josephine’s professionalism that she did not immediately burst into laughter upon walking in on Ashra Adaar with Inquisition formalwear tangled around her horns.
The dressing room looked as though it had been ransacked; torn clothing littered the floor and a lounge chair was knocked over and shoved in a corner. It was a large room by all accounts, the Winter Palace was grand and sweeping, but it was still not designed to fit a qunari. Especially a qunari who was not accustomed to dressing in human-styled garments.
“Oh dear.” Josephine cleared her throat. “Um. Can I be of any assistance, Herald?”
Ashra tensed, velvet jacket still caught on her horns and covering her eyes. Her arms were stuck through the sleeves, held up in the air.
“Josephine? Uh, no, I’m… fine," she said, voice muffled under the jacket.
“Are you sure? It seems to me you’ve run into a bit of a… snag.”
“Okay, now you’re just making fun of me.”
“I’m sorry, dear, it’s just… you’ve made yourself such an easy target.”
“Hey! Now you’re calling me fat.”
Josephine giggled. “I most certainly am not. You just…” she trailed off, trying not to offend the Inquisitor. Instead of figuring out the right words to say, she reached up and pushed the garment off Ashra’s horns, smoothing the grain of the velvet and settling the fabric over her broad shoulders. With a series of tugs she managed to pull the jacket into place and began to close the gold clasps. That done, she settled her hands into Ashra’s.
“There now. All better.”
Now that she was free of the cloth, Ashra leaned down to press her forehead against Josephine’s. “Thank you, Josephine. I just can’t get a handle on all of this. I’m not built for formalities and royal intrigue, and I’m certainly not built for this formalwear.”
Josephine took a step back to assess the Inquisitor. She looked her up and down with the air of practicality before nodding as if a decision had been made.
“No. You look absolutely dashing. Come now, I can’t keep you to myself all night. It’s time to show you off. Just remember all the tips I gave you, try not to offend anyone, don’t step on anyone’s toes and you’ll be just fine.”
“Right, so if I ignore every instinct I have, I’ll live through the night. Good plan.” Ashra braced herself and swallowed hard before trailing after the woman who made it sound so easy, ducking to fit through the low door.