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@honnleathrose || the winter palace.

It was a bit overwhelming. Ellis rarely had to make any public appearences before & it had been over half a decade since he had stepped foot in Orlesian court. It was clear right away that nothing had changed. Everyone was draped in finery, trying to outdo their peers in some kind of testimant of wealth. There were so many sugar-coated lies being exchanged that it made his toothache. There were so many unknown variables to the night that he nearly hadn't asked her to join him.

After the mess with the Orlesian grey wardens, he or lily needed to make some kind of appearance. As an advisor of the inquisitor, it made sense that it would be Ellis. Though it wasn't a pastime he would have chosen, he had spent the earlier part of the evening navigating the game. It wasn't difficult to mirror the people they socialized with. Rosalie was good at reading people, bringing her goals to fruition. She had fit right in. He couldn't imagine the evening without her... despite the thinly veiled criticisms & constantly shifting perceptions, she made it strangely magical.

The inquisitor had entered the ballroom first & Linni's name was on every mouth. The chattering had persisted through the introductions of her other advisors, the court amazed & appalled by the girl. They weren't sure what to make of the Dalish rogue, but they were intrigued. It was likely the most exciting thing they had seen in years. Still, when Ellis entered with Rosalie on his arm, the gossip fell into an astounding silence.

Perhaps it was the way the light sparkled in her eyes or the shade of blue on her dress that so perfectly complimented her hair, but she demanded the attention of every set of eyes in the Orlesian court. Her ballgown trailed behind her, a sea of sparkling fabric that seemed to shimmer with every step. It sparkled like her eyes, reflecting the light of the chandelier that hung over their heads. She seemed like a song, the sort of person people only dreamed of. They seemed to breathe with Rosalie, as she tentatively took in the attention around her.

They approached the empress & bowed before her. Ellis was sure he could see a sort of interest from even her & he couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated. The tension on the air was indescribable, as they took their place with the partygoers. Some were still in awe, some were jealous of the girl's beauty... Ellis was still taken aback himself.

" They're all looking at you. " Ellis' words poke at Rosalie as he tries to take some of the weight off of her shoulders. Where Cullen seemed overwhelmed by the splendor, Rosalie fit right in. She was like art, sparkling in a menagerie of faces... but perhaps it was his imagination. Or the pins in her hair. He spares her a smile, a small gesture of comfort.

            it took a little convincing --- rosalie had begged cullen to let her attend the ball taking place at the winter palace, but he wouldn’t budge. josephine tried talking to him and even leliana’s attempts fell short, which almost made rosalie lose hope. he kept on claiming he was worried about her safety. anything could happen at any moment. they were at war and, worse, amongst orlesians (his words). 

            unbeknown to her, ellis paid her brother a visit. they talked, although she wasn’t there to know everything that had been said, but after it was over, cullen (reluctantly) told her she could go --- IF she behaved. that meant not leaving ellis’ sight and, if it was necessary for her to do so, to follow his instructions on where to go to be safe. 

            rosalie was ELATED. from the moment she stepped inside the winter palace, everything felt like a fairy tale --- one of the many stories she had spent so much time reading and dreaming about living. it was finally happening. in fact, ever since she had met him that day on the road to skyhold, everyday had been an adventure.

            of course she noticed people looking at her and rosalie basked in the attention. although she had a mask on (a slightly more delicate design than the orlesian ones, that only covered around the area of her eyes), people still knew who she was --- and that was because they knew the one she was with. the hero of ferelden. and although it had been a decade since his legendary deeds, everyone was still mesmerized by him. she certainly was.

he sighed as she asked all of the questions in rapid succession. “well let me answer these one at a time,” 

he thought of arri and smiled a little. “well, it is recent. fairly recent, started after we came to skyhold. as for serious, i think so, it is on my end. however i cannot say for her end, i hope it is.” he regretted giving her so much leeway to ask questions. “she is clever, and kind, and loves animals. as for whether or not we are getting married it’s far far too early to say that sort of thing.” he didn’t add that he hoped it would lead to marriage. 

       ‘i hope it is.’ 

        despite the way he had said it, so matter of factly, there was still a romantic notion to it. one of hoping that the one you loved felt the same for you. rosalie thought she’d have to pull some teeth to get cullen to talk about any aspect of his life --- the fact they were talking about LOVE was definitely a victory.

     Yvesse sighed, rolling her eyes at the question. “If only they were interesting conversations. They truly only want to speak to me because I am the Inquisitor and I might be able to get them something they want.” And the moment they laid eyes on their Inquisitor, most Orlesian nobles were disappointed in what they saw. Josephine had attempted to get Yvesse to wear a dress when speaking to foreign dignitaries, but the brunette had refused. Nobody. Absolutely nobody. Would be able to get her in a dress, least of all Orlesian nobles.

     “If you can manage to make these talks more fun, I would forever be in your debt, Rosalie.” She stretched, cracking her neck left and right, and stared at the door into the large hall of the castle, hoping that perhaps the world might end one more time, so she wouldn’t have to do any of this. “Let’s do this,” she said, breathing deeply and stepping into the main hall, immediately setting course to the throne Josephine insisted she sat on. On her way up, she told one of the servants to draw up another chair so Rosalie could be seated nearby.

     Almost from out of nowhere, Josie appeared at the bottom of the steps up to the throne to read off the names of those there to speak to Yvesse. The brunette leaned back in her seat, crossing her legs and shooting an exasperated look at Rosalie when the first name was called. Not that she knew who it was, but it was /clearly/ an Orlesian woman who felt herself too good to be there.

          well, maybe rosalie was alone in this opinion, but what could orlesian nobles possibly want with the inquisitor that they couldn’t get themselves? not that yvesse wasn’t an important piece in the game, but how far did her political influence reach considering the inquisition was a fairly new organization? 

        file those questions away for later.  

        ❝ well, dear yvesse: consider your challenge accepted. ❞ and if rosalie was allowed to toot her own horn, she exceeded expectations. from noble to noble she made up a different story to make them gasp, a different game to make yvesse laugh (although josephine didn’t seem too amused). whatever it took to keep things interesting, even if she had to lie through her teeth --- although it was more challenging if the lie was somehow believable.