Work Text:
Jhana imagines that were they not in the middle of an Ancestors-forsaken Blight, her companions might falter more over the fact that she was, until very recently, a princess. It gives her pause, when confronted with the absolute deference that is required when speaking to Thedosian royalty, to consider that in a very similar time and place, she might have been on the receiving end of the same treatment.
Being the second child of the king was, truly, something of a mixed bag. Separation of castes generally meant she spent most of her days among the Nobles, and yet to them…
She was a woman. An eldest daughter to marry off with the guarantee even any female children she would have would be Noble. Perhaps more tolerated than Trian and more accomplished than he or Bhelen had ever been, and yet.
A woman.
When Bhelen had entreated her to side with him against Trian, Jhana wondered if he thought her a fool with gold in her eye. Kill Trian and become queen in her own right? It would be like Bhelen to never consider what being a female heir to the throne would entail.
The last Queen of Orzammar had reigned 200 years hence, and the Assembly had elevated only male heirs to the throne since. The fact was, even with her deeds and reputation behind her, the Assembly would have always turned to Bhelen as the Aeducan heir to assess for rule. Never her.
And everyone knew it.
Not that Jhana had ever wanted to rule, but she'd been young when she realized that her brothers would always come out on top when it came to inheritance, and she'd come to expect little from her nobility as a consequence. Being a princess might have meant something outside of Orzammar, but under the Stone, it held exactly as much weight as being Noble caste, and being Noble was something she recognized was simply luck, not worthiness.
But all of that was a ball of history tied back in a place she would most likely never see again, and even though she spoke of Orzammar and her family when such occasion called for it, she left out the knots of those messy truths.
"You were a princess!"
Leliana's exclamation is melodic even as it is startled, and Jhana can't help but laugh as she looks at her lover in the twilight.
"Yes," she answers plainly, smiling gently as Leliana grasps at her hand.
Leliana is flustered, though Jhana cannot imagine why - she'd mentioned her origins during the extended introductions of Leliana's first days traveling with them.
Leliana blinks, gazing at her wondrously. "But you- I… Oh, I hadn't put it together! Jhana!"
Her tone is scolding, and Jhana lifts an eyebrow in question. It certainly wasn't her fault if Leliana had let that information slip her mind.
Leliana ignores her and cups her other hand delicately around Jhana's jaw as if she's seeing Jhana for the first time. "A princess…"
Jhana sees the romantic notions of Leliana's heart flashing in her eyes, and she tries to soften the blow of reality with a kiss to Leliana's palm.
"A princess no longer," she murmurs into warm skin before glancing up to her lover. "Now, as common as anyone else."
A frown mars the skin of Leliana's brow, and Jhana sighs lightly. Or perhaps she was as common as most everyone else, for there was nothing common about Leliana.
"Don't say that," Leliana murmurs, and yet her tone is fierce and Jhana goes quiet in surprise.
"Don't say that," Leliana repeats, tilting Jhana's face up, "don't speak of yourself in that way. It hurts my heart."
Jhana's heart lurches, and she kisses Leliana's palm again, this time in apology.
"I am sorry," she offers, contrite, and the smile that eases out from under Leliana's frown pulls one from Jhana as well.
"All is forgiven," Leliana replies in kind before quickly tapping a finger to Jhana's nose. It breaks the somber mood, and Jhana laughs as Leliana giggles quietly.
Ancestors, she wants a lifetime of these moments.
She turns her gaze for a moment towards Lake Calenhad, visible from their hilltop camp and lit like molten metal in a forge, and before she can turn back, Leliana speaks.
"Do you ever wish for it back?"
Such a layered question. Jhana knows she's asking about more than simply her title, but the answer comes to Jhana all the same, and far more swiftly than she could have imagined.
"I have seen gold and gems whose beauty and breadth are beyond description. I've seen the wealth of Orzammar, the legacy of my people, laid before me. I've sat in its glittering halls, worn its grandest finery, been the most honored of daughters among its highest royalty."
She turns away from the lake to lift the hand Leliana left in her own and press a kiss to its knuckles.
"None compares to your heart, Leliana. For that, and that alone, do I wish for."
She lifts her head to gauge Leliana's response, but is faced instead with a desperate kiss Leliana catches her with. Jhana must make a noise of surprise, for her lips part, and Leliana presses ever-forward, sliding a hand to cradle Jhana's skull as she licks into Jhana's mouth.
They are not far from the rest of the camp, close enough that privacy is maintained only by a lack of attention from the rest of their companions, but none of that matters as Jhana moans quietly, wrapping an arm around Leliana's waist to tug her forward into Jhana's lap.
Leliana gasps softly, lips barely breaking away from Jhana's own, but that is only for a moment as Leliana kisses her once more, coming to rest firmly in Jhana's grasp, straddling her. Jhana could easily slip her hand down, cup the lush curve of Leliana's ass, lift a hand to brush at the underside of a breast, but Leliana's kisses taste of warmth, not fire, and Jhana simply tries to match the depth of emotion she feels with every brush of lips.
"My love," Leliana eventually whispers, tremulous, as her mouth presses to Jhana's cheek, her forehead, the line of her jaw, "mon cœur. My darling one, I- Je t'aime, Jhana. Je t'aimerai toujours."
Jhana doesn't need to know Orlesian to understand.
"My sky," she whispers in return, "my stars."
There is no returning to the Stone. The Ancestors have left her. But here, under these heavens she might have missed, under this love she might not have known, here is her new future.
"You should remember that one," Alistair calls out dryly from next to the fire, "probably will make your wedding vows easier to write."
They both freeze, before Leliana ducks her face into the crook of Jhana's neck as Jhana flushes bright red.
"We will- we'll keep that in mind!" Jhana calls back, voice cracking as Leliana begins to giggle furiously.
"Just looking out for you," Alistair drawls, and from somewhere even more distant Morrigan tsks at him.
Leliana cannot control her laughter, and after a while Jhana can't help but laugh quietly as well.
"The lost princess and the runaway bard," she murmurs with a grin as the thought comes to her. "A story for the ages, no?"
Leliana pauses, her laughter finally stopped, before meeting Jhana's eyes.
"I hope it is," she breathes like a prayer, love shining from every part of her, "Maker, I hope it is."