The wind assailed the party's back as they trekked through the snow, howling in their ears a song promising an icy demise. Cullen didn't know how long they'd been searching for the Herald. All the while his stomach had been in knots, his heart hammering with worry - at any moment they could find her lying frozen to death.
He shook the thought away as he coaxed himself to keep up with Cassandra's pace. The Seeker was just as determined to find the Herald as he, and he thanked the Maker for it. He didn't know that he could be the one leading them through this arctic wasteland.
The snow blowing ahead of them obscured Cullen's vision so much that he could hardly see but a few yards ahead. Finding the Inquisitor was next to impossible, but still, the party pressed on.
"Commander." Cullen turned his head towards Cassandra, who was now alongside him. It struck him now that even exhaustion had taken a toll on her, the ever-steadfast Seeker. Shadows were prominent under her eyes, and she wasn't carrying herself with her usual confidence. Cullen knew Cassandra regretted leaving the Herald. The Seeker had thought it her duty to protect the Herald and the people of Haven, but the Herald had been firm in her decision to stay.
"I can't rest knowing I sent her to her death," Cullen said. "We will find her."
"We will die of frostbite if we don't turn back now," Cassandra stated matter-of-factly.
"And she will die if we don't find her," Cullen snapped. "I'm not giving up on her."
"Neither am I, Commander, but we can't lose anyone else." She gestured towards the rest of the search party. "We should send them back, for their own safety." Cullen nodded his agreement. Cassandra went on,"I am just as worried as you. I can't stop thinking about her sacrifice - how… selfless she was. It seems impossible that she could have escaped, but I will not turn my back on her again." Cassandra turned around to issue the order that the majority of the search party leave. There were various protests, but the Seeker was firm and sent them away.
Those who remained carried on through the blizzard for a long while. The wind's savagery was relentless, but they did not falter; they endured. A figure stumbling through the snow brought the party to a standstill. Cullen's hand fell to his sword as he pressed forward to investigate. As he drew closer, he recognized the familiar face of the Herald.
"There! It's her!" he exclaimed and surged forward. The blizzard was nothing to him now, neither was the biting cold as he forged a path through the snow. All he cared about was reaching her.
Isena couldn't feel a thing as she trudged through the deep snow. At first the cold had taken her breath away and caused her to shake uncontrollably. Then it had settled into every crevice of her body, sapping away any warmth.
Now everything was numb. She no longer felt the wind that cut through her, nor the coldness that had taken root in her. She felt nothing, and yet there was a spark left inside that kept her going, one even the cold could not suppress. The spark yearned for warmth and a refuge, and so Isena wanted to find those things too.
Maker, if you're even there, send someone to me, she prayed desperately. For a Dalish to reach out to a God that wasn't one of her own must be unspeakable, but Isena had seen many unspeakable things - portals, demons, a beast that called himself Corypheus. After seeing these things, she didn't find it so hard to believe that the humans' Maker might exist.
The Herald thought she had certainly entered a dream when she saw a figure rushing towards her. As they drew closer, she recognized them. Cullen. She collapsed to her knees in relief and exhaustion. Her fight was over at long last, and someone had heard her prayer and answered it.
When Cullen came upon the Herald, she looked up at him. Her hazel eyes that so often reminded him of a bright forest were now dull, and her auburn hair had long since come unbound from its bun and whipped around her in wild tendrils. Her lips parted as though to say something, but no words came out.
He fell to his knees before her and grasped her shoulders.
"Isena," he breathed, but he didn't know if she heard him. She looked dazed as he sat there before her, as though she'd never seen another person before. She suddenly crumpled under his touch. He held fast and pulled her to him as she passed out.
Maker, no, I did this to her, he thought. It'd been his idea to fire to trebuchet into the mountains to cause the avalanche that would bury Haven - the avalanche that could have led to her death. Her blood could have been on his hands.
He removed his fur pauldron from his armor and wrapped it around the Herald. He tucked one of his arms under the elf's legs and positioned his other one to her back. He held her tightly as he stood and walked back towards the group, who'd stopped a little ways behind them.
"Is she still alive?" Cassandra asked.
"Just barely," Cullen said. "She's chilled to the bone."
"We must hurry back," Cassandra said, and with that gave a few short orders to the search party.
The journey back to the camp didn't take long, courtesy of the quick pace Cassandra set for the group. All the while there, Isena didn't stir. She lay limp in Cullen's arms, looking more and more ghostly each time he looked down at her.
This was my doing. The thought became a chant in his head, a demon perched on his shoulder. My fault, my fault, my fault.
"Commander." The chant dissipated and Cullen's gaze snapped to the side to meet Cassandra's. Her lips were pressed into a thin line to indicate her worry. The Seeker's perception was unnerving sometimes.
"I'll be fine," he assured the Seeker, but she didn't look convinced. Still, she nodded and left him, understanding that he'd rather be left alone right now. Cullen did appreciate her concern though; it proved she wasn't as cold as some made her out to be.
When they finally reached the camp, a message was immediately dispatched to Mother Giselle. The Mother arrived without hesitation and began leading Cullen to a healing tent. Refugees and soldiers followed them, maintaining a respectful distance. Murmurs of shock rippled through the crowd, and one woman even fell to her knees and wept with joy. Once they reached the tent and stepped inside, Cullen laid the Herald on a bed of warm blankets.
"Thank you, Commander, but I must ask you to leave. The healers and I will look after her," Mother Giselle said.
"Of course," he murmured. "Do everything you can for her." With a final glance at the Herald, he left the tent.
Isena awoke with a sharp gasp. She blinked rapidly, trying to get her bearings.
"You're awake," came a surprised voice from besides her. She jolted up and turned towards the voice. She sagged with relief when she found Cullen besides her, not the beast, Corypheus, who'd plagued her sleep. The commander's face was tight with concern, and she glanced down to see one of his hands was covering her own. He cleared his throat and pulled his hand away. "I, uh… we didn't know when you'd wake. Mother Giselle has been watching you for the past day, but there were many others with serious injuries that required her attention."
"I… I don't remember what happened," Isena said. She groaned as a spell of dizziness swept over her.
"You should rest," Cullen insisted, gently settling her back down.
She was about to insist she was just fine, but a wave of weariness crashed into her and engulfed her before she could fight it.
The next time Isena awoke, it was Mother Giselle who sat besides her. As she began to sit up, pain flared through her body. Mother Giselle reached out and assisted her, saying,"You've been through a great deal, child. Your strength has not fully returned."
"Evidently," Isena grunted. "How long have I been asleep?"
"It's been two days. You've only awoken a few times in that time, and you barely ate. Please, eat." The Mother turned around and lifted a bowl of warm stew. She handed it to Isena , who murmured a thank you. After a few sips, she put the bowl down, knowing from experience what happened if you ate too quickly when you'd been deprived of food.
"I remember waking up at one point… the Commander was with me," Isena said.
Mother Giselle nodded. "He sat with you for a long while. He was the one who brought you here." She nodded to the fur pauldron Isena had unconsciously wrapped around herself. Realizing it was Cullen's, a touch of warmth rose to her cheeks. It seemed a rather intimate gesture to leave it behind, but perhaps she was over-evaluating. He might have simply forgotten it with her.
"I should return this to him," she mumbled.
"At another time, my dear," the Mother said with a soft laugh. "For now, you must rest. You need to allow yourself to heal."
"I don't know that every part of me will heal from that experience," Isena said, shuddering at the memory of dangling helplessly before Corypheus as he crushed her arm.
Mother Giselle laid a gentle hand on the Herald's shoulder. "Only time will tell, child."
Cullen was discussing the current state of the refugees with a lieutenant when he noticed the Herald approaching him. He dismissed the lieutenant just as she'd reached him.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Better, thank you," she said with a smile. "Mother Giselle informed me that you were the one who brought me back here, and, ah… how you'd stayed with me. I just wanted to thank you for that. Oh, and I also came to return this." She held out his fur pauldron that was neatly folded, her gaze averting his momentarily.
A light blush touched the commander's cheeks. "I hadn't realized I'd left it with you. I, uh… thank you." He took the pauldron from her, and she nodded awkwardly. As she was about to take her leave, he rushed to say,"I'm glad you're alright. I… we were all worried about you."
She gave him a soft smile. "Thank you, Cullen." She then turned back towards the tent she'd been staying in.
This was the first time she'd said his name, he realized as he watched her leave.