Josephine Montilyet had been taking a morning stroll when a servant came rushing up to her.
"Lady – Montilyet," panted the servant, "Letter for you," and so saying, handed over the scroll. It bore the seal of the Divine. Josephine returned to her office before she dared open the letter.
'Dearest Josie,
Do not be alarmed, but I have seen the Hero of Ferelden. She has been travelling through Orlais and will shortly return to Ferelden. However, I have suggested that she break her journey at Skyhold. She has not yet met Inquisitor Trevelyan, nor yourself, and I should like my dearest friends to become acquainted. She has happily agreed, so I send this letter to apprise you of her impending arrival. She bade me to advise you, Josie, not to go to any unnecessary pains on her behalf in regards to lodgings. She has spent so long on the road that she cares little for anything more than minimum comfort.
Give the Inquisitor my love.
Leliana.'
Josephine read the words quickly. The normally unflappable ambassador began to feel nervous. The Hero of Ferelden, coming to Skyhold!
"I must have rooms made ready immediately!" she cried. She inwardly cursed the fact Leliana did not give concrete information on the Hero's arrival, but she was too polite to voice these curses aloud. She began making notes of preparations that were necessary. Madame de Fer's old rooms had been left unused since the lady's departure for Orlais. Josephine decided she would have new soft furnishings added in, and to organise pulling staff into the kitchens to prepare a banquet for the Hero's arrival. After making her notes she called her servants in and gave instructions to each. She had only to break the news to the Inquisitor.
Inquisitor Adela Trevelyan was playing chess in the garden with Cullen when she spotted Josephine's approach.
"Josephine, are you going to play a game too? Give me ten minutes and I'll have routed the Commander -"
"Inquisitor, you mean you'll have been routed," interrupted Cullen, causing Adela to laugh.
"No, my lady. I have news from Divine Vic - Leliana."
"Is she bored yet? Does she want to come back and be our spymaster?" asked Cullen, picking up a chess piece to play his next move.
"I don't think Leliana could ever be bored of being Divine. She sends her love, and to advise that we will be receiving a guest - the Hero of Ferelden." There was a crashing noise as Cullen accidentally bumped the chessboard and knocked the pieces off.
"Maker's breath!" he exclaimed.
"Is she? Very well, make ready for her. I suppose we'll be rolling out the tapestries - the good ones - and the red carpet?" Adela asked. Josephine nodded.
"All in hand, my lady. I don't yet know when she'll arrive but we'll be ready."
Cullen was busy picking the chess pieces off the floor as Josephine walked away.
"Are you alright, Cull? Or did you just realise you were going to lose the game?" Cullen gave an uneasy laugh.
"I'm fine, Adela. Don't fuss. I was just surprised to hear she was coming this way. I knew her once."
"When you were a templar in Ferelden's Circle? Of course. I remember now, you told me you had known her. Didn't you have a crush?"
"Youthful infatuation, sweetheart. Don't be jealous."
"I'm not!" cried Adela, but the pout that was starting to show on her face told a different story. Cullen laughed, and taking her chin in his fingers, pulled her towards him slightly.
"Adela, I love you," he whispered, before softly kissing her.
Later that evening, when Cullen was back in his office, he sat with his head in his hands. He remembered Raven Amell. She had been the first truly beautiful woman he had seen, with her glossy black hair, brown eyes and a cheeky smile perpetually playing around the corner of her lips. He had fallen head over heels for her the first time he saw her, watched over her carefully during her Harrowing, hoping, praying, that she would be safe. How she had teased him and flirted with him.
"Maker's breath," he sighed, as he remembered how he'd actually run away from her. He had been so shy back then and couldn't admit how he felt. And then she was gone, taken by the Grey Wardens. He hadn't expected to see her again, and then the Circle fell to the abominations. He still had nightmares about what Uldred had done to him - to the other templars, his friends. And then she'd come back. He thought she was part of the nightmare, part of the torture. He thought he was being punished for the sin of wanting a mage, and he had said some terrible things to her. He wasn't himself anymore though. How could he be? The torture had almost - no, it had broken him. Cullen Rutherford wasn't afraid of seeing Raven Amell because of the way he used to feel about her. He was afraid to see the woman who had saved his life, and been repaid for it with hatred and venom.
The bell at the gates suddenly began to clang. The Hero of Ferelden had arrived.