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When Leliana woke, the other side of the bed was empty.
She was still getting used to sleeping on a proper mattress again, even so long after the Battle of Denerim. After so many months on the road, it was strange, to feel the soft down beneath her body. She knew Natia was having difficulty, as well. Her beloved warden, now the Hero of Ferelden, found the luxury now offered to her strange and almost offputting. It wouldn't be the first night Natia had woken up, uncomfortable and uncertain, and she doubted it would be the last.
She rose, pulling the thick blanket around her like a cloak, shivering as her bare feet touched the cold stone floor. The fire had burned down to cinders, and the window to the balcony was open, a cool breeze entering the room.
The quarters that the newly crowned King and Queen of Ferelden gave them were certainly opulent enough, she thought, likely meant for noble visitors. Well, Alistair would see them comfortable, and Anora had reason to be fond of them, as well.
They had put her on the throne, after all.
Leliana stepped out onto the balcony to see Natia, wearing only her nightshift, leaning against the stone railing, staring at the sky. She didn't startle as Leliana moved forward, silent though she may be, and simply sighed when she wrapped her arms around Natia's shoulders.
"You know, even after over a year topside, I still can't get used to the sky," she said softly. "Sometimes I still look up and expect to see the stone, like in Orzammar. Like I'm back in Dust Town."
"Thinking of home, my love?"
Natia gave a shrug, sighing.
"Orzammar isn't my home," she said. "I guess it never really was. It was just a place I lived."
"That doesn't mean you can't miss it sometimes," Leliana said, pulling Natia close.
"I shouldn't, though," Nadia sighed. "My life was terrible there. Half-starving, forced to work for the Carta. I was just a thug, really. I shouldn't miss anything about it."
Leliana was quiet for a moment.
"I miss Marjolaine, sometimes," she admitted lowly.
Natia inhaled sharply. They hadn't discussed Marjolaine since Natia had slit her throat, so many months ago. Leliana had never indicated that she blamed her for that choice, and Natia hadn't dared ask.
"For a time, she was everything to me," Leliana continued. "She was my sun, my stars, my everything. It's hard to let that kind of love go, I suppose. Even when it hurts."
"Yeah," Natia said. "But I wouldn't trade my life with you for all the wealth and power in Orzammar."
Leliana laughed, hugging Natia.
"Nor would I."