Chapter 2: Judgment
The dawn did indeed come, and with it a loud fight between the two young women. They had argued through a quick bath, through getting dressed. Varric had knocked on their door, only to back away as he heard curses coming from within, and then the sound of something heavy, like books hitting the walls, rattled the door.
A pale, but composed Valissia came to the main hall later, whispering to Cassandra, who announced that someone had come to the Inquisitor, to be judged. A few minutes later, Christopher sat on that blasted throne, uncomfortable, and unhappy looking, flanked by Cullen, Leiliana, and Josephine, all three of them having come down to watch the proceedings. The Seeker had rounded up everyone who was present the previous night, when Talise and Valissia had been told of Jordan Montgomery's death.
The doors opened, and Talise walked in. Her dark head was held high, her long tresses twisted into a braid, that hung almost down to her waist. Bright blue eyes flashed a warning at Valissia, before she gracefully walked the length of the throne room, stopping at the bottom of the steps.
"Why are you here Talise?" Christopher managed to get the words out, his eyebrows steadily working their way up his forehead. To one side he saw Valissia, her eyes red and slightly puffy, her fingers twisting a necklace she wore around her fingers.
"To be judged", Talise lifted her trembling chin, refusing to meet Valissia's gaze, not out of anger, but because she would weaken and give in. Tears swamped Valissia's eyes, and she was forced to look at the floor, unable to watch her friend stand before the Inquisitor's throne any longer.
Cullen and Cassandra shared shocked gazes, the Seeker lifting a shoulder in confusion back at the Commander. For a moment, he caught a flash of bright blue as Talise looked at him, and her features softened, that something that had passed between them in the chapel squeezed painfully around his heart once more.
"Judged for what?" Christopher's question hung in the air, the room hushed and quiet.
Instead of an answer, Talise held out the book she had carried with her, gray leather, silver edged pages, and Christopher stood, flicking through a few pages, before handing it to Leiliana. The spymaster read several pages, then looked up at Talise, her icy blue gaze wide in shock, "No. You cannot be."
"Be what?" Cullen's voice was more than a little irritated as he spoke, his jaw tight with tension, and he folded his arms over his chest with an impatient gesture.
"Ghost. This book details the jobs taken by the Ghost of Ferelden" Leiliana spoke the words in a hushed whisper, her eyes still locked on Talise, "My agents have been searching for Ghost for years, with never a hint of who she was."
"The assassin?" Josephine nearly dropped the roll of parchment she was holding, her dark eyes wide, and one slender hand raised to her throat, "Even in Antiva she is famous."
"Where… where did you get the book Talise?" For a moment Cullen did nothing, his warm amber eyes locked onto Talise, until finally he moved from his spot and came to stand beside her, curling his fingers around her arm and tugging her to face him, "What are you doing?"
"Talise! Stop it!" Varric shouted from the doors, rushing down the length of the room, "Jordan would not want this, and you know it! Valissia needs you here. You can still do something to help."
"You knew?!" Cullen could not stop the shout that left him as he turned on the dwarf, his fingers curled tight around Talise's arm, torn between pulling her to him and pushing her away.
"Of course I did! I've known her for years", undeterred by the Commander's anger, Varric walked up the steps, "It wasn't my place to reveal who she is. And just what did you tell her last night, that has her here to confess and be judged? I sent you to her to help her!"
The Commander blanched, looking down at Talise, who met his gaze for just a few moments, before she faltered, and her sky touched gaze dropped from his, leaving him feeling oddly bereft, "You're really Ghost?"
Her head moved as she nodded, her lashes obscuring her gaze as she closed her eyes for a moment, steeling herself for the judgment coming, and suddenly unable to bear it. Cullen took a moment to look at Talise, looking past the delicate beauty, to truly see her. A short sword and long dagger were sheathed on her back, a brace of throwing knives strapped around one leather clad thigh, he could see the handles of stiletto knives sticking out of her boots. A scar ran across the back of one pale hand, and his fingers moved to the scar, tracing the milky white line with calloused finger tips.
"While you have been bickering and staring at her, we've been reading", Cassandra spoke then, her gaze locked onto Talise's arm, where Cullen's hand was still curled around it. She stood next to Christopher, and on the other side of him stood Leiliana, who held the book.
"You've walked a fine line. You've never killed an innocent, you chose to render guards unconscious, killing only when you are cornered and have no way out. But your kill list is made up of some horrible people", Leiliana gestured to the book she holds, "I am not sorry that many of these people are gone."
"I agree" Cassandra nodded, "You've done good work. You caught an insurrection as it formed in Denerim, likely saving King Alistair's life. Routed out a slaver network and freed elven slaves."
Christopher said nothing, but sat and stared at his clasped hands in front of him for a moment, finally he lifted his dark head, stepped from the throne he sat on, and came to stand in front of assassin, gently reaching for Cullen's arm "Be at ease Commander."
It took a moment for Cullen to remember that he is still held Talise's arm, and an even longer moment for him to let go, but slowly he did, moving to stand behind her, "She does not deserve judgment."
Josephine's raven eyebrows nearly touched her hairline as she watched the Commander argue for the life of one of the most well-known assassins in Ferelden. It was rumored her contacts extended to Navarra, to Rivain, she had worked in Tevinter, had navigated the courts of Orlais with ease. None of that seemed to matter as Cullen looked at Christopher, the Commanders hands clenching at his sides.
"He is right you know" Christopher looked down at Talise, finding himself studying her bowed head, "Talise Montgomery, I cannot judge you. You've done good in your life. I know you're hurting, and I know why you did this. But… the Inquisition needs you."
The air was sucked from the room, and the Herald lifted his green gaze to Valissia's, smiling at her shocked face, "You defended Valissia and fought against all that stood between you both and Skyhold, by yourself, with no warrior to defend you. We need your contacts and your talents and your strengths. I would like for you to join the Inquisition."
Talise blinked, once, then twice, sooty lashes covering her gaze, not as she considered her options, but in pure shock. She looked at Varric beside her, and then craned her neck, looking for Valissa, who had both hands at her throat in shock. The leather leggings she wore creaked softly when she turned, looking up at Cullen, his gaze entreating her to take the offer as he stared down at her. She lost herself for a moment, staring up at Cullen's face, it felt like he was tugging her from the shadows and towards him. Time ground to a halt as she looked up at Cullen, and she found herself agreeing to the offer, even before she looked away.
"If… if you think I'm worthy. If you think I have something to offer", Talise turned, pulling her gaze from Cullen's slowly, to the Herald, "Then yes. I'll join."
Long hours later, Cullen sat at his office desk, his face buried in his hands. The Ghost of Ferelden was a feared assassin, belonging to no guild, seeming to operate on her own terms, but sticking to a code of honor that was strict. She was unstoppable, no amount of guards or soldiers, no amount of running, hiding, magic, nothing else kept her from a target. Talise was patient, several times she had waited for years before making her move. He had read through the journal she brought, and knew many details from Leiliana; the Ghost never seduced a target, not even when in Orlais, never took a job that targeted children, she once had waited for a target's wife to recover from an illness before taking his life. Beneath Ghost, there was Talise, a young woman hurting for her brother, the last of her family, from the reports Leiliana had written this morning, her parents had died during the Blight, and shortly after she had started training, but no one seemed to know who had trained her.
"Maker's Breath. The Ghost of Ferelden has joined the Inquisition", he murmured the words to himself, still shocked over the events, and tipped his head back to look up at the ceiling.
As he closed his eyes he thought of Kirkwall, and remembered the crazed times; Knight-Commander Meredith spinning out of control, driven mad by a red lyrium sword, the final battle with her, the Circle there exploding. From Varric he knew Talise had been there, passed through several times, and had stopped taking any work within the city, knowing that any more deaths would send Kirkwall into chaos. With a sigh, he pushed himself from his desk, and left his office, searching for the room Talise shared with her best friend, only to be met with a letter.
Commander Rutherford,
Apparently I'm so talented that Leiliana has put me to work already.
I have no idea when I will be back, or if I will even come back, and I wanted to speak with you before I left, but the chance never presented itself. Maker's breath, I'm prattling on like Valissia does when she's nervous.
Thank you. Thank you for sitting with me in the chapel, for praying when I could not. Thank you for your defense of me this morning, when I sought to be judged by the Inquisition. Thank you for believing that I am not lost. If I find redemption, it will be because you reminded me to look for it.
The dawn always comes, right?
Talise Montgomery
"I make her nervous?" He whispered the words out loud, only to feel his cheeks heat in a blush, when Valissia chuckled at his words, he had forgotten the mage was in the room.
"Yes, yes you do. That was one of the things her and I argued about this morning." Stormy gray eyes met his gaze as he looked at Valissia over the top of the letter.
"You tried to talk her out of going to be judged then?" one gloved hand gestured down to the letter, and then gestured towards the main hall.
The mage nodded, her gray eyes serious as she looked up at Cullen, "Yes, I tried to talk her out of it. She mentioned that you had stayed with her in the chapel, that you had prayed with her."
"I… I did. She was hurting." Unable to take Valissia staring at him, she seemed to be seeing more than he wanted to give away, he looked back to the letter, rubbing the back of his neck with one large, powerful hand.
Valissia nodded, watching Cullen intently. Something has passed between Talise and Cullen, and her protectiveness of the assassin was clear in her gaze, "She's still hurting. But yes, you make her nervous."
"Why? The Herald was right, she is not a bad person." Carefully he folded the letter, sliding it in between his greaves and the quilted shirt he wore beneath it.
"No, not that. Because you see her. Everyone else sees Ghost, an assassin working in the shadows, someone to try and use for their own ends. But you saw Talise, the pain and the anguish." An auburn eyebrow lifted as Valissia watched the Commander tuck the letter away. He didn't hold it in his hand like he did reports, she had already seen him deep in talks with Christopher and some others, holding a stack of papers. Instead, he was taking care with the note, revealing more with a simple gesture.
Cullen had no words, and he nodded his thanks, walking down the hallway, and back towards his office.
"She's beautiful isn't she?" Varric speaks from behind him, and Cullen turned, frowning in confusion for a moment.
"Who?" He was not trying to be obtuse, but both women were pretty, and the events of the day had worn down on his mind.
"Well, they both are. Valissia is as fragile as a rose. And Talise", the dwarf sighed, "She is moonlight on water."
"She is… striking." Blonde hair gleaming in the torchlight, Cullen nodded in agreement as they made their way across the courtyard.
"Commander, I respect you, and you know that. But do not break that girl's heart." Varric frowned as he spoke, remembering the morning's events, "Whatever happened in the chapel last night obviously impacted you both, unless I miss my guess."
The planes of Cullen's face turned dark with a blush in the light, "I have…. I have absolutely no intention of doing that."