"Commander Cullen," said the newest templar recruit, Lucas, "James captured an apostate."
"Is that so?" said Cullen, the new Knight-Commander of the Templars ever since Meredith Stannard had been defeated by Hawke. "I'll remember that. Continue with the procedures."
"Well, the apostate is acting rather strange," Lucas explained. "When James told her to step down or he would be forced to resort to violence, she said that he would regret it if he captured her, but he took her anyway. All she said was, 'This should be interesting', and then went with him willingly. She even let him take her staff.
"Now she's refusing to do as we ask, and she's making outrageous claims. The other mages seem to be inspired by her. I know there aren't many mages left, but we fear that there may be a revolt of some sort if this continues. She keeps lying about who she is and is making up stories. We can't silence her, a-and threats don't seem to be working. She doesn't fear the Gallows at all like the other mages. She believes she can protect herself."
Cullen sighed. Another rowdy mage. But claiming strange things and lying about her identity? That was new. He'd never met a mage like that, even in Ferelden.
"I'll make sure she settles down," he assured the recruit.
Lucas nodded silently, and then the two walked out of Templar Hall and into the Gallows courtyard. They could hear James, a rather loud and angry man (even for a templar), shouting at someone.
"I told you: come with me!"
The woman across from him wore a hooded cloak that hid her face. Cullen couldn't hear her response, for she was much quieter. She wasn't whispering, she just spoke very softly. James, however, was as loud as ever. The templar kept shouting, to no avail, until she'd had it with him.
"That is enough," she said in a louder voice that was still very soft, and frankly, quite familiar. "This was amusing at first, but now it's just bothersome. I told you who I am, and now I am leaving." The woman turned and began to walk toward the exit of the Gallows, and the few mages that were left stared on in both wonder and horror.
James grabbed the woman's hand, and she stopped, only to release herself from his grip and continue walking. She stopped and put her hand out, and as if by instinct, the staff James was holding slipped out of his hand and into hers.
"You bitch," James spat.
Cullen had seen enough. This woman would stay as she was supposed to, and either cooperate or become Tranquil. "By order of the Templar, I command you to stop."
To the surprise of some of the onlooking templars and mages, the woman came to a halt.
"Who are you supposed to be?"
"I am Cullen Rutherford, Knight-Commander of the Kirkwall Templars," he answered, not intimidated in the least.
"Is that so?" the woman said with a small chuckle. "I suppose they'll make anyone Knight-Commander nowadays, won't they?"
Cullen knew better than to be angered by the mage's comment.
"Gregoir and the First Enchanter weren't very pleased, Cullen," the woman said.
Cullen went pale, feeling as though all the life had been drained from him. Both templars and mages stared at him curiously, wondering what it is that the woman had said or done to make him act that way.
"Blood magic?" came a whispered suggestion. That wasn't it. He knew who this woman was; he knew exactly who she was.
The woman took off her hood, and she turned to look Cullen in the eyes. "I thought you'd lost it," said the woman, Solona Amell.
She looked exactly as he remembered. Pale skin and shoulder length, fiery red hair, with bright blue eyes that seemed to see right through him.
She was managing to stay so calm. Though she always had, no matter what the situation was. He knew why she acted that way, what Solona had done before entering the Circle. She had done nothing; nothing but live. Everyone in Kirkwall knew the story of the Amells. They were a renowned family in Kirkwall, with Aristide Amell being an especially important figure in the city, so much that he had been a candidate for the position of viscount. His daughter Leandra ran off with an apostate, but Aristide managed to cling to his station. Not long after, his niece Revka's firstborn was discovered to possess magical abilities. It was this final event which decided Marlowe Dumar would be appointed viscount instead of Aristide. Revka's daughter, Solona, had been the last straw, the final incident that prevented the Amells from reaching the very top. It was also the tipping point; the point where it would all fall down.
Despite its struggles, her family was going to be the greatest of Kirkwall, but with the fluke that was her birth, their hope was lost. She'd left her mother crying in the streets, her family name poisoned from by her and Leandra's sins. Solona had to live with that guilt, and it ate away at her until she had to find new purpose. She had somehow managed to move on. She embraced being a mage, and she tried her hardest to master her talent. She was so strong. It was one of the reasons why Cullen had fallen in love with her all those years ago. She had been so much stronger than him, but that was then, and this was now.
The templars and mages were staring at Cullen, no doubt wondering why Solona had suggested that he had gone crazy. After Meredith, they no doubt wanted to keep crazy people out of the order.
"Commander, what is she talking about?" one templar asked.
"All of the Knight-Commanders are going insane, aren't they?" he heard one person whisper.
This wasn't good. If they found out why he had been sent to Kirkwall, they'd probably take away his position. Gregoir couldn't keep Cullen around because Cullen couldn't be in the tower anymore. Not without the horrible memories coming back. Those horrible memories of torture that killed his comrades and nearly broke him. He had to leave because he could not handle being there anymore. Cullen had heard that there were rumors that he'd killed some apprentices, and then escaped prison and headed to Kirkwall.
He knew Solona wouldn't believe rumors, but she had seen him in the Tower. Accidentally confessing his love to her while thinking she was an illusion, and even accusing the First Enchanter of being an abomination. The former Knight-Commander had accused Kirkwall's First Enchanter of being a maleficar, and if the people of Kirkwall found out that he had accused Kinloch Hold's First Enchanter—a distinguished mage who had been backed up by the Hero of Ferelden and the tower's Knight-Commander—of being an abomination, then they very well might accuse him of being just as unstable Meredith. As for unknowingly confessing his love to a mage? Well, that was just stupid. Not to mention forbidden.
"Nothing of your concern," Cullen said to the templar.
"Knight-Commander," the templar pressed, "what did you do?"
They weren't going to let this go, were they? No, so what would he do now? Tell the truth? It seemed that was the only thing to do.
"Nothing," Solona said before Cullen could speak up, pausing to smile sadly at him. "All you templars seem mad to me."
She was about to the exit the Gallows, and several templars began to approach her, ready to use any means necessary to keep her there.
"Stop," Cullen ordered. "That's the Commander of the Grey Wardens. I'm sure the Wardens, along with Ferelden, would be displeased if we were to take her."
The templars stopped dead in their tracks, their eyes widening. No doubt Solona had told them this already, and this was one of the "ridiculous claims" she had made.
"She's the one who stopped the Blight," he heard someone whisper. "The Hero of Ferelden!"
Solona then headed out the gates, but stopped midway, her hands clenched into fists. Not bothering to look back, she said, rather coldly, "Nothing comes without a price, Cullen."
Then she was gone. Solona Amell was gone. Again. Cullen was now the Knight-Commander of the Kirkwall Templar. All it had cost him was the woman he loved, and that's when he knew she was right: everything comes with a price.