"Maker's breath, they're looking at us as if we're Maferath himself." Amell whispered; Kit and I nodded in agreement.

"If not worse." I muttered, "After all, we sacrifice virgins and sweet little kittens to our demon overlords." Amell let out a humorless chuckle,

"And let's not forget the devouring of our opponents flesh and the drinking of their blood." Kit sighed softly,

"Must you two be so gruesome? This will pass in time, like before."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Amell said, "This seems more serious. They won't screw around anymore. This the third time the talk of blood magic surrounded us. We're going to be in some serious shit." I groaned,

"Don't remind me." We quickened our pace, "Wonder why we got to do our Harrowing though, it would be easier to make us Tranquil if we weren't harrowed."

"Do not forget that if there is a trail, our Harrowing won't mean a thing if we're ruled guilty. Our Harrowing does not mean we are invincible to Tranquility, it just means it'll be more difficult to be processed." Kit informed us; her voice filled with worry and doubt. I wrapped an arm around her shoulder,

"Hey, we'll figure something out. No one's going to become Tranquil, not if I can help it." She bit her lip,

"You can't promise that Grace, no one can." I tightened my grip on her,

"Yes I can, even if it means I have to figure out how to perform a levitation spell so we can all go jumping out a window like madmen." This brought on a giggle, but even then I knew that the knot of anxiety in all of our stomachs was still tight. Please for the love of anything left holy, Duncan be here!

"Oh look, if it isn't our resident maleficars." We tensed,

"Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me." Amell groaned.

"What do you want Lucille." I growled as the red head made her way towards us; her lackeys trailing her like obedient little puppies. It seems no matter where you are, there will always be a pecking order, and these a-holes were on the top.

"Nothing Grace, why are you so hostile? I just wanna talk." She said; her green eyes filled with mock innocence.

"If by talk, you mean verbally rip us into pieces, no thanks." Amell replied and took hold of Kit's arm and mine. "Come on girls, First Enchanter Irving is waiting for us." Pushing past her and her crowd, we almost turned the corner but froze when she said,

"I'd be more respectful if I was you. It would be such a shame if some…incriminating evidence about your friend Jowan fell into the Knight Commander's hands." I was on the bitch in seconds. Her yelps filled the air as I grabbed hold of a chunk of her flaming hair,

"Listen here you cow," I snarled, "fuck with me, we have problem, fuck with my friends? I'll be sure that you'll have to wear a bag over your face for the rest of your fucking life. Do you understand!?" She whimpered and nodded; tears filling her eyes, "Good." I got up off of her, "And I'd get some new friends if I were you, ones that'll actually try to save your sorry ass, because the way you're going now, you're going to need it." She got up and wiped her eyes while fixing her robes,

"You, you whore!" She yelled and lunged, Amell intercepted her.

"You already lost Lucille, so get the fuck out of here before I let Grace cause some permanent damage." With a shriek she stalked off; screeching at her 'buddies' for not backing her up. Breathing hard, I turned to Amell,

"Thanks mate." He nodded,

"No problem, bitch deserved it anyhow."

"That, I agree with." Kit said, "But you mustn't provoke her more than necessary Grace. She comes from a powerful family that has influence on the Chantry, she can cause serious damage. You'll be okay for now, since if she does anything, they'll assume it'll just be revenge. But she'll remember this, and wait until we are all lulled into a false sense of security and then she'll strike." The three of us watched as she disappeared down the hall and I shivered. Lucille has never liked me, but we weren't enemies, not like this. However, I think Kit was right, I've done fucked up and I knew that she wouldn't be playing nice forever.

Kit tugged on my sleeve,

"But we must not worry about it now, the First Enchanter is waiting. We mustn't dally any longer." We nodded and went on our way; hopefully not running into any other distractions.

Cullen, dear sweet darling Cullen. I really wanted to strangle him at this moment. We were walking past the library when he caught a hold of my arm.

"Grace, I uh, need to talk to you." He stuttered; his face bright red. I looked over towards Amell and Kit, and they shook their heads.

"Maybe later? I need to talk to the First Enchanter." His grip on my arm tightened,

"It, it won't take long. I promise, I just need a minute." Looking between him and the others, I finally sighed and nodded my consent. Looking over to Amell and Kit I mouthed,

'Five minutes.' He sighed and Kit gave me this mystifying little smile. Confused, I allowed Cullen to drag me into an unused storage room.

"What did you-MRMPH!?" The rest of my sentence was cut off, and thoroughly forgotten, when I was pulled into a sudden lip lock with my favorite Templar. Blinking, I kinda sat there, unsure what to do. I mean, this wasn't my first kiss, but I will admit, I've always been prepared and ready for them. I have never, in my life, been dragged into a room and kissed without the knowledge it was going to happen. Never. I'm a Gemini, it was my job to know things and when and where they were going to happen. I was a wreck otherwise.

Without really meaning to, I let my body go into auto-pilot and slowly let my eyelids flutter close before bringing my hands up to rest on his shoulders, slightly cupping the sides of his neck. And I'll admit, it wasn't the greatest kiss in the world, there were no fireworks or anything, but it was nice. Really, really nice.

He pulled away, and I was left there still not sure what had happened.

"Uh, um, what the hell was that?" I asked and he blushed.

"Sorry, I was um, I've been wanting to do that for a while." I touched my lips,

"Really? I couldn't tell. The whole dragging me into a dark room and ravishing my face off wasn't obvious enough." He blushed even harder,

"Er, um…I guess you didn't enjoy it." He looked so heartbroken; I had to laugh. Cupping his chin, I dragged him down to my height,

"I never said that." Standing on my tippy toes, I gave him a quick peck on the lips before jumping back. "I better go, before Kit and Amell get ideas…if they haven't already. See you later?" He nodded,

"Um, hold on. The, uh, the, um, kiss wasn't the only reason why I brought you here." He looked around before stuffing something into my hands. Looking down, I couldn't withhold my gasp of shock.

Rite of Tranquility—Jowan, Grace, Katrina, and Kias…I looked up,

"Oh God." He nodded; eyes downcast. "How'd you get this?"

"I was stationed in the First Enchanter's office and I noticed a file with your name on it. The Knight Commander came, saying he had to discuss something and they left. I, I couldn't help but look and well, there you have it." Mouth dry, I only nodded. Suddenly fierce, Cullen grabbed hold of my shoulders, "Tell me it isn't true. Tell me you aren't a maleficar Grace. Please." Of course not, I wanted to say, but, but I couldn't force the words out. All I could manage was a nod and Cullen let out a moan of despair. "Maker no…" I looked away,

"We're not monsters Cullen. We have, we have limits and rules and, Cullen we're safe! We've never summoned anything, we've never taken control of anyone, Cullen we only use it for our spells. Just, just a boost. That's all! Please believe me!" He backed away,

"I, I shouldn't, but I do…Andraste's blood. Go, just go before I change my mind." I stepped forward,

"You won't tell?" I asked. He nodded; face pained,

"I should, but I won't because I know it'll kill me if I have to watch as you walk these halls, eyes dead and emotionless. Maker preserve me, I love you too much to let that happen." Now it was my turn to backpedal.

"Excuse me?" Love, dude, that's, that's a little extreme don't you think? It was just one kiss. He turned away,

"You really haven't noticed?" Notice what?

"Notice what?" He laughed harshly,

"Andraste's ashes, the flowers, the ribbons, Maker I even wrote letters!" I blinked; then blushed,

"That was you!? Jesus, I thought that was Anders trying to screw with me when he said they were from…I didn't realize he was telling the truth!" He gave me a rueful smile,

"He said you were suspicious, but…he also told me you kept everything." I bit my lip, damn you Anders! When I get my hands on you, I'm going to gut you like a fish!

"I couldn't help it, I found it flattering that I had a secret admirer." He brushed a strand of loose hair behind my ear,

"He also told me you magically preserved every blossom and wear them on a chain around your neck and in your hair. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes when I brought you back from your Harrowing." His hand drifted to my neck; fingering the silver chain links, "It fell out of your robes when you collapsed. Scared the living Void out of me when you did." I began to gnaw on my lower lip,

"Who are you and what have you done to my Cullen? 'Cause my Cullen would have never had the courage to do what you're doing now." He tensed and, as if realizing what he was doing for the first time, snatched his hand back. His cheeks turned an impressive shade of red,

"S—sorry." He mumbled. I smiled sadly,

"I am too." Sighing, I turned around, "I better get going." I heard the clanking of chainmail,

"I should too." Turning my head I said softly,

"I appreciate what you did, ya know? It couldn't have been easy, so thank you. I mean it." Clenching the parchment in my hand, I stuffed it in my robe and was about to rush out when he asked,

"What did you mean?"

"What?"

"What did you mean when you called me 'your Cullen'?" I paused;

"Shit," I cursed, "Damn, I was hoping you wouldn't catch that." I laughed nervously and ran a hand though my hair, messing up Kit's braid, "Um, well…what it sounded like. You are my Cullen, ya know? Kinda like how Kit's Amell's Kit, it's just how it works." Before he could say anything else, I ran out of there like a bat out of hell; completely ignoring the vivid green eyes that seemed to glow in the darken corner of the corridor.

"Well, well, well. Wasn't that an interesting conversation?"

Kit and Amell were waiting for me. And from the looks of it, I was gone longer than I thought.

"That was a very long tryst Grace." Amell commented and I gapped.

"Excuse me!?" He shrugged,

"You cannot tell me that the Templar wanted to just talk." My jaw dropped and I shook my head,

"I can and I will!" Looking around, I quickly looked around and then pulled the two of them into a darken alcove. "Besides, look at what Cullen gave me." I thrust the paper towards them.

"I would love too, but sadly I don't have night vision." Amell said dryly. Flustered, I summoned a small flame and almost singed the tip of Kit's nose.

"Shit! Sorry." Lowering the intensity of the flame, I allowed them to read what was written. Amell swore while Kit gasped.

"No…." She whispered.

"They're, they're going to make us Tranquil." Amell looked at me, "You said the Templar gave it this to you. Did he know?" I couldn't meet his gaze,

"He, he asked…and I, I told him." Amell exploded,

"You what!?" I flinched,

"I told him, but, but he's not going to tell."

"How in the name of the Void do you know that!? For all we know, that Chantry pup is going to Greagoir right now and telling him everything." Amell snarled. I glared at him,

"Like hell he is!" I snapped, "You don't know Cullen like I do, he's trustworthy, he'll keep his word." Amell shook his head in disgust,

"Maker I thought you were better than this Grace. I didn't realize you were the kind of girl who would give everything away the minute any man said he loved you. Andraste Grace, you're smarter than this! You should've knew he was just trying to manipulate you!" I withheld the urge to backhand him,

"Manipulate!? Manipulate!? Cullen wouldn't know what it meant to manipulate someone's feelings even if it came and gave him a swift kick to the ass!"

"Oh? And how do you know this, pray tell?" I flushed,

"Because I've known him for the past three years and he's nothing more than sweet and innocent to the point that he'll give you diabetes! God, Amell, please just trust me on this! I've never led you guys astray yet have I? He's not going to snitch, I swear." Kit, ever the peacemaker, apparently had had enough and came in between us,

"Amell, calm yourself. Like most men, you are oblivious to the feelings of others and have not seen the looks that Templar Cullen has given Grace over the course of the three years he has known her. He is, quite obviously, head over heels for our resident entropic and spirit mage." I blushed, "Yet you do have reason to be angry." She turned towards me, "Grace, you should have consulted us before telling Templar Cullen what you have. This involves all of us, and I know what you feel for him, but still we should have been informed of your intended actions before telling him." I looked away,

"Sorry." I muttered and Amell turned; hands shoved in his pockets.

"As am I." Kit smiled; pleased,

"Now, let us go face Fate, we have been keeping It waiting long enough I suppose." With that, she turned; leaving us to follow.

Thank God, thank God, thank fucking God! Duncan was here, we had a chance. We had a fucking chance at life! Trying to calm my beating heart, I accepted my Enchanter's robes, spirit ward, and staff as did the others with as much grace as possible…all the while stealing glances at the Warden Commander.

"Now, would someone please show Duncan his quarters." Irving asked and I accepted faster than the Roadrunner on steroids.

"I will!" I gestured to the door; ignoring the perplexed looks from everyone else, "This way Sir Warden." He nodded and walked out, me following like a shadow. The minute we were out of earshot I said,

"I know you're here to Conscript." For his credit, all Duncan did was raise an eyebrow.

"And how do you know this, may I ask?" I frowned,

"You took most of our Senior Enchanters, there would be no reason to come here unless you needed more than temporary mages. You need Wardens and I can give you them." Duncan looked at me,

"I assume one will be you?" I shrugged,

"That's the plan yes, but if you have a carrying capacity then at least take my friends. There's three of them. The two Enchanters you saw with me and an apprentice." I turned and stopped, "At least take them…and I'll come up with something, I always do." He gave me a look,

"Why do you four wish to leave so badly? Especially you three, you have just been Harrowed. Or so I've heard." I bit my lip,

"Must you really ask?" His eyes lit up with realization,

"Maleficars." I gave a bright, fake smile,

"Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner."

"And they know." He said.

"They suspect, and they are correct." I leaned forward, my voice barely above a whisper, "They're going to turn my apprentice friend Tranquil and they're going to hold a trial for the three of us. A trail we're going to lose." Another eyebrow raise,

"How do you know that? They could rule in your favor." I narrowed my eyes,

"Don't be naïve! A Chantry court rule in the favor of mages? That is absurd! If the Chantry had its way, every mage here, Harrowed or otherwise, would be Tranquil! No more apostates, no more maleficars, no more problem! No matter what the Grand Cleric says, mages will never be viewed as people! Forever, we'll be seen as nothing more than pests that must be locked up and forgotten! I have seen children no older than four years old be tossed aside by their mothers into the arms of Templars who couldn't give to shits about what happens to them!" I gestured to the walls around us, "This is no safe haven for us, this is a living hell!" I snarled; breathing heavy. Swiping my bangs out of my face, I suddenly turned sheepish when I realized that I had, in fact, started to rant in front of the Warden Commander of Ferelden. Looking away I muttered an apology, "Sorry." He chuckled,

"No need for apology, it is interesting to hear the opinion of someone who has lived in these walls and do not fear repercussion from their words as you have showed." He hummed, "I'll take your request into thought. I promise nothing, but I will try to help you and your friends. Now," he offered me his arm, "shall you please escort me to my quarters." Dumbfounded by his…gentlemanliness, I accepted and nodded.

"Yes, of course Sir Warden. This way."

Twenty minutes later, with all my questions of the Wardens answered and a small glimmer of hope in my chest, I went off looking for Amell, Kit, or Jowan. Instead I found Cullen…and Greagoir and Irving and a group of twenty or so other Templars.

"Oh shit!" Was all I had time to say before I was smited by the Knight Commander himself. I dropped like a stone.

It hurt to breathe, it was like taking a breath of air in icy cold weather. And I was cold, really fucking cold! Not to mention, I couldn't call upon any magic whatsoever. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! I heard the ringing sound of mail boots as Greagoir made his way to me,

"Filthy maleficar!" I tried to retort, but my vocal chords wouldn't cooperate with me. He drew his sword, "We have evidence from Sir Cullen that you have admitted to the practice and use of blood magic, along with Kias Amell, Katrina Surana, and Jowan Morse." I legit felt my heart shatter into a million pieces. Forcing myself to look up at the blonde, he met my eye and shook his head; eyes filled with panic,

'I didn't do it, I didn't do it!' I looked away, if it wasn't you? Who was it? The sound of rapid footsteps filled the air.

"Gra—" NO KIT! "Oh!" She yelped and a dull thud followed. I heard the crackling of a fireball,

"Don't you touch her you sons of bitches!" Amell roared and could feel the intensity of the flames as it flew overhead and collided into the group of Templars like a bowling ball colliding into pins. Amell's strangled snarl filled the air soon afterword's and I knew that he too was smited.

"Blast and damnation!" Jowan shouted and I suddenly smelled the scent of blood. I gagged.

Fun fact, despite being a woman and blood mage, I can't stand the smell of it. It made me sick to my stomach.

Energy coursed through the air and everyone who wasn't already down, was knocked flat on their asses. I heard Jowan run over and felt him tug me up.

"Maker preserve Grace." He whispered and uncorked a bottle of lyrium, bringing it to my lips. I downed it, some trickling out of the corner of my mouth and sliding down the hollow of my throat. His soft, slender hand made its way to my wrist and he clutched it. "I'm sorry, but I, I…." He trailed of; I nodded.

"Do it," I whispered; voice hoarse and unpleasant to the ear, "I trust you Jowan, do it." He looked away and reached for his dagger; running the blade over the palm of my hand, I waited for the sensation of the sharp blade cutting into my soft flesh. He applied more pressure,

"Forgive me." He murmured.

"ENOUGH!" Duncan's voice roared; echoing through the halls. "Put the blade down son!" Jowan did as he was told and slipped it back in its sheath. Adjusting his grip on me so I was leaning back on him and not forward, I was able to see the damage that was caused.

Scorch marks from Amell's fireball were on the floor and walls while blood was dripping from Jowan's wrist and staining both of our robes. Kit and Amell were lying on the floor, moaning as was Cullen, Irving, and Greagoir. Cullen. Panic seized me when I caught sight of him sprawled across the floor that only eased when I saw the falling and rising of his chest. He met my gaze and I looked away; burying my face into Jowan's chest trying to withhold sobs of hurt and anger and fear.

Greagoir rose to his feet shakily and snarled,

"This is none of your business Warden Commander." Duncan's gaze was harsh and I shivered; tightening my grip on the front of Jowan's robe.

"It does when it involves my Warden recruits." Time stilled.

Cliff hanger! Anywho, who enjoyed my little Templar stand off? Grace didn't do much, but then again she was jumped. Anyways, question of the day:

I just bought Inquisition and I haven't started it yet because I don't have my PS3 with me. Who would you suggest I romance? My Inquisitor is going to be a female elf so, type away!