Okay, so apparently I am grabbing a fork and digging in with her.

It took her a little while to get back on her feet, but when she did I was approached about staying on and helping out. I could see the disagreement on everyone else's faces, and normally that would make me leave, but I didn't have anywhere else to go. When I agreed, Solas narrowed his beady little eyes at me more than the others. I muttered that he was an egg and I think I saw the Herald's lips twitch in amusement. Finally, someone who could appreciate good humour!

And she was beautiful to behold. She was a Dalish elf, with ears that twitched under the cold snow falling on them. They were partially hidden by her long black hair that matched her ebony skin. She looked so effortlessly graceful, despite her severe injuries after the fall. She had fought a dragon and lived to tell the tale. I had told her she would need to fashion a crown from dragon horns then, but she didn't seem to be too into the idea. I'd work on that with her until she concedes.

Now, we were on the move. We had no idea where we were going, but only that we needed to get away from Corypheus and his minions. His minions being, unfortunately, my own people. Regret tasted like a bitter grape on my tongue, exploding and drying my mouth out until I felt like I couldn't even speak about it. So that's what I did.

I silently marched alongside the others, ignoring their glares and quips in my direction. They didn't sting - it was something I was used to regardless of who I was around. I had absolutely nothing to say to them. After saving their lives, the only thing they could do was insult me for being me? Talk about gratitude!

"Hey," a gruff voice sounded behind me. "You the mage?"

I turned to look at who at spoken, "Ye- whoa."

That was definitely not a man. He was a Qunari. He was so tall I had to crane my neck up to see his face which was missing an eye. And he had a mustache. It wasn't as glorious as mine, but it was a fair effort. That tiny squiggle over his lip compared to the size of him came across as ironic rather than stylish.

"I get that a lot," he stretched his lips into what I decided must have been an attempt at a smile. I got the feeling he didn't do that a lot.

"Sorry," I held out my hand. "Dorian Pavus, mage of the Tevinter Imperium."

"That's quite the title." He took my hand roughly and awkwardly shook it. I'm guessing he wasn't used to that either. "The Iron Bull."

"The Iron Bull?" I chuckled softly, letting go of his hand. "The article definitely makes you sound important."

The Iron Bull shrugged. "People often forget it when they say my name, so I want to make sure they remember."

I glanced behind him and saw a trail of a few people. One looked up at me, shaking his sandy locks from his eyes and gave me a sheepish grin. "Bull likes to feel superior to others."

"I do not!"

"I'm Krem," the man continued as if Bull had never said anything. "We're his little gang of miscreants. Nice to meet you."

I nodded at them quietly, giving them what I hoped was a friendly smile. The Bull slapped me on the back, eliciting a gasp from me. "We saw you walking here alone and getting strange looks so we thought, why not get those looks together? They're a rag tag bunch of people, and now you can hang around with us."

"I think I'm getting strange looks because they've never seen someone as awe-inspiring as me." I joked, flashing them a smile to let them know I wasn't truly being arrogant. The Iron Bull let out a booming laugh that made me flinch. I wasn't expecting such a noise in the midst of so much misery and quiet. A few looked over again, disgust written on their face. I guessed that Bull wasn't exactly the most popular around here either.

"So, what's with..." I trailed off and motioned to the annoyed masses around us.

The Qunari shrugged his broad, grey shoulders. "They just haven't been around people who are different before."

Krem caught up with up, his breathing shallow from the sudden speed. "They really don't. But I think they just need to get used to us. Maybe then the stereotypes will disappear."

"I bet I have the best stereotypes of all," I preened.

"Sure, if killer mage is a fantastic stereotype."

I sighed. "I try to save everyone and I get slapped with 'killer mage'. At least be unique! Original! Find something that would really make my hair curl after hearing it."

Krem looked at me, disbelieving. He had a nice face - youthful and undamaged. So unlike Bull's who was riddled with scars and old injuries. I wonder if Bull protected Krem more than he should on a battlefield. Maybe, just maybe, there was more to the relationship than met the eye. After inspecting the two of them together for a moment, I ruled that out. Bull acted more like a father to Krem, proud of every step the other man took. I swear, he nearly patted Krem's back every time he stepped over so much as a twig.

"How long do you think we'll be walking before we get anywhere?" Krem asked suddenly. He shielded his eyes to look at where they were headed. While snow might appear to block the sun, the white sheet was reflective and painful on the eyes.

Bull narrowed his eye to look into the distance ahead of us. "I doubt that long. Solas and the Herald seems to know where we're going."

I craned my neck to see what he could. All I could see was a seething mass of people. I couldn't make out who was who. I wondered if Bull could see more than he let on with that obvious eye patch. Maybe he put it on to make people believe he had a limitation? Either way, he could see much further than I could.

"Bull!" A blonde woman with darting eyes reached us suddenly; I hadn't even heard her approach. "They've found something."

Another woman was trying to catch up with her. She was holding some papers and everyone seemed to want to ask her questions and for favours.

"Josephine," the blonde woman snapped. "Hurry up!"

Josephine scowled at the back of her head before politely finishing her conversation. I didn't know who I liked more, the sassy blonde or the graceful tutor. She joined us and gave me a tentative smile. "Hello, I'm Josephine Montilyet. You must be Dorian Pavus." She reached out and shook my hand, her grip tight and confident.

Both women seemed to have accents, but Josephine's was stronger. I could tell she was from Antiva, and most likely an educated sector judging by how she curled her words. The only people who ever seemed to come from Antiva were the rich or assassins. Was there an in between? Most likely, but I liked my stereotypes as much as they did.

"I'm Leliana," the blonde woman hastily added and I recognised an Orlesian accent, but it wasn't strong. She didn't hold out her hand. Instead, she simply tucked them under her arms and gave me a small frown. I felt like she was inspecting me for some sort of mistake on my face. I was ready to assure her that there wasn't when a cry rose up around us again.

"Come," Josephine motioned to us. "Come and see what we've found!"

I glanced at Krem as we followed the large Iron Bull through the crowd. We were like little seals, caught in our mother's slipstream and making it easier for us to move. We got to the front of the crowd where I met the Inquisitor's watchful gaze. I gave her a hesitant smile before looking out at the scenery.

At first, I couldn't see anything through the snow. It was falling too heavily and clouding my vision. When it cleared slightly, I gasped. Standing proud and tall was a large building that must have been some sort of castle once. We could tell it was abandoned due to the lack of people surrounding it and that half of it was in a crumbling heap.

But it was large - and it was ours.

I met the Herald's eyes again and she smiled, small wrinkles crinkling the edges of her eyes. She was young, but I wondered how quickly all of this had aged her.