-Chassidy Trevelyan-

"Welcome back, Inquisitor," saluted a soldier as I made my way into Skyhold's courtyard. All I could offer back to him was an attempt at a smile. The forces of the Inquisition were a day or so behind me and companions. We had just recruited the Grey Wardens into our ranks, but the process was…horrifying. I tried to push the thoughts from my head, but the more I pushed, the more they resurfaced. All I could see in front of me were the midnight scales of the dragon as they ripped apart Adamant Fortress like parchment; the flash of green as we had been swallowed by the Fade in a final attempt to stay alive; the massive hulking demon that in the end claimed Stroud as Garrett Hawke had practically dragged me from the Fade.

It had been on my mind throughout the entire march across Orlais, and it was still on my mind as I climbed into my bed. The sun said that it was only mid-afternoon, but my body told me that it was deep into the night. I had sought no one to speak to upon my return-I was simply in no mood for speaking. Even if the Commander had been here, I probably wouldn't have sought him out until the morning.

No, that wasn't true.

I remembered the look pure relief that had washed across Cullen's face when we were reunited. After he had issued orders to the soldiers about helping to prepare the Grey Wardens for departure to Skyhold, he had found me sitting alone on a piece of rubble, staring as the green lights of my hand flickered and jumped from finger to finger.

"It wasn't your fault," he had said while sitting himself down next to me. "The Wardens are taught to make sacrifices. It was his duty."

"We could have run!" I said stubbornly, still staring intently at my hand.

"That could have made it worse," said the Commander. His hand was on mine, examining its power just as intently as I was.

I said nothing. I refused to believe that his words were true.

"It glows when you're afraid," he remarked as his fingers danced over my palm.

The intensity of the light dimmed as I was flushed with a warm feeling. "I…hadn't even noticed that," I said, astonished. It was true, nevertheless. Fear had illuminated the mark on many occasions; when Cassandra had threatened to kill me upon our meeting, when Corypheus had deemed it my time to die, and, most recently, when I was hurled into the abyss on Adamant.

"You don't need to be afraid, Chassidy," he whispered as his arms wrapped themselves around me. I hadn't even noticed that I was now crying in his lap like a baby to its mother. For a few moments, we sat there as I fought the tears and he wiped them away. But my thoughts still lingered on his words…
"Cullen?"

"Yes, my dear?"

"I think…I think that was the first time you addressed me by my name. Not 'Inquisitor', or 'Trevelyan', but by Chassidy…thank you,"

"Why are you thanking me?'

"Because when you call by my titles, I feel like I have to represent something else to you…like I have to be something else. It's nice to be reminded that beneath the Inquisition, I'm still myself. I'm still Chassidy, and I want you to see me that way."

"I see," he said as he brushed a streak of golden hair gently out of my eyes. I looked up at him, into those beautiful amber globes. That was the moment my hand stopped glowing. We sat there for nearly an hour, just the two of us silently getting lost in each other's eyes and ignoring the world around us.

With that happy thought in mind, I drifted off into a restful sleep.

"Inquisitor, I…I have been thinking. You remember everything now, yes?" asked the Spymaster with a note of sadness that I had never heard from her before. "The explosion at Haven, the Fade, escaping the Breach? In your report, you said Justinia was with you, but only you emerged in the end …why? " Leliana was genuinely confused as she implored, "Why were you the only survivor?"

I recalled the ghostly figure of the Divine ordering me to run as the demons held her back. I had tried to reach out to her, but I had failed. I told her, "She knew it was either her or me, and she wanted me to live."

Leliana sighed sadly. "Of course…of course she did. That's just like her. Her message to me…'I failed you too'…I'm not sure I understand what that means." I remembered how confused and hurt she had looked when I delivered the message to her upon my waking. It seemed she still was just as confused.

"Did she say anything else? Anything at all?" Her eyes sparkled as her voice waivered, trying to fight back the tears as she begged, "Please, if you remember…."

"Wait," I said, confused. "You don't know what she meant either?"

"There are no answers in the Fade," she whispered with regret as she rose from her chair and began to pace towards her altar. "Only illusions…a warped mirror. Justinia has never failed me." At this point, she was talking to the altar, and I got the feeling her voice was directed at something far greater than myself.

"I was her Left Hand. And now she is dead. I failed her."

Before I could speak any words of comfort, a sudden outcry from the courtyard below signaled the arrival of the rest of the Inquisition. Soldiers began to tiredly pour into the courtyard, and some of the new Grey Warden recruits stared amazed at the towering turrets of Skyhold that rose before them. I caught sight of my Commander watching them all flock in under his careful gaze. I longed to go talk to him again.

"I see that they have returned," said Leliana, breaking her attention away from the altar. "You should go down and see them, Inquisitor. I'm sure there are many who want to deliver their thanks."

I left, but not to see the soldiers. Instead, I made my way to the battlements, right in Cullen's line of sight. It was our meeting place. We would slip out at evening to talk about our troubles and watch the recruits and kiss under the warm rays of sunset.

I managed to catch his attention, and within several minutes he was by my side. We were alone, just the two of us, watching the birds fly amidst the snowy peaks of the mountains.

"I was so afraid that I had lost you," he whispered as he slowly made his way behind me and his protecting arms wound themselves around my waist. "When the soldiers claimed that you had fallen into the Fade…I thought that was it."

"I would never leave you, Cullen." I said, leaning into his warm embrace.

"Sometimes, Chassidy," he said. I shivered as he said my name. "We cannot keep those promises. But that is for another day."

I leaned into him as his lips locked with mine, and the whole word melted away. I would gladly trade all of my responsibilities to the world to just remain in his embrace for eternity.

But as always, there was something more.

A flash of light caught my eye from the distance as we were walking back to his quarters.

"Perhaps a mage recruit?" he asked, although we both got the feeling there was something else going on here. As we walked closer, my nerves began to prickle and my hand flashed green, humming with energy from the Fade. The green light from it illuminated a crumpled figure on the stone floors of the battlements.

"By the Maker, who is that?" Cullen gasped as he ran to check on the figure. Lifting up a robe, I caught a glimpse of her unfamiliar face. She was a maiden of about twenty, I assumed. Her likeness was extremely similar to my own; pale skin that was as tanned as pale skin could get, a full rose blossom of a mouth, and beautiful blonde hair that whipped her gaunt-looking face in the breeze. Even in this state, she was strikingly beautiful. Not in the typical good-looking manner that women all across Orlais styled themselves after, but in a fierce way.

Her armor looked to be made of pure ebony. Cullen's eyes were drawn to it like mine were drawn to her face. It was flawlessly crafted to look like a dragon's scales. Each piece coiled flawlessly around her body. Her form was strong, yet womanlike. I could tell that she was definitely not a full-time warrior like myself, but I could tell by her triceps that she knew very well how to use a sword. Her body was crackling with green magic, similar to the magic from my hand. Very carefully, I reached down to feel for a pulse. One…two…her neck was very cold. But there was still life in her. It was very faint, but present nonetheless.

"She's alive," I said to Cullen. "Can you carry her down to the infirmary? Tell them to care for her right away!"

"Of course, Inquisitor," said the Commander as he hoisted the limp body of the girl onto his shoulders. As I watched him make his way quickly and carefully down the battlements, my hand started to crackle.

Something is definitely not right about this, I said to myself, agreeing with the mark for once.