"Well, if he wants me." Alexandra pushed her weight off her staff, expression grim. "Then he shall have me."

"Lex-."

"Don't try to talk me out of it, Cassandra." Her gaze swept over the worried faces of her companions. "Any of you. This is what has to be done or innocent people will die. As long as there is breath in my body, I will use it to hold this Elder One back so as many people can escape."

Cullen frowned. "There has to be another way."

"You should know better than anyone, Commander, that we've been boxed in. We only have one shot at getting these people out alive and that's for me to go out there." The Herald stated and watched the former Templar concede to her point. "Get going. We don't have time to be sitting around for you to try to talk me out of this."

"We will show you the way." Cole helped lift Rodrick to his feet. "He knows."

Cullen nodded and the two lumbered off along with a string of others. The Commander took a moment to look at the Herald. "May the Maker protect you, my friend."

Alex did her best to smile. "Same to you, Cullen. Now go. All of you."

Cullen complied only to stop a few feet when he realized that the Seeker wasn't behind him, "Cassandra?"

The woman in question met his golden gaze. "I'll be right behind you."

He hesitated, concerned by something he heard in her voice. There was a feeling in his gut that told him to take her arm and drag her with him. But, he knew Cassandra well enough that she would just knock him flat on his ass. So, Cullen pushed the feeling aside and prayed to the Maker that was the right thing to do. "I'll see you soon."

Alex also knew the Seeker was up to something and she too knew the woman well enough to know exactly what that something was. "No," She hissed so Cullen couldn't over hear. "You're going with them."

"You're not going out there alone," Cassandra simply stated, glancing back quickly to make sure that Cullen was gone. "I vowed to you the protection of my sword and shield. And, as you put it, as long there is breath in my body, I will uphold that vow."

The mage held steady. "You will not give your life for mine."

"If it's that's the Maker's will, then so be it." Cassandra drew her sword, effectively silencing any further argument. "I'm staying with you, Alexandra. You will not face this alone."

Sighing, Alex readied herself for battle. And possibly her death. "Thank you, my friend."

0oo0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The Herald stirred, finding herself surrounded by the dark and the cold. Everything hurt. Alex tried to move, only to howl in pain. Something was broken. Or maybe two somethings. She pressed a finger gently to her left side and found one of her lower ribs broken. And she had no mana nor strength to heal one of her many superficial wounds, let alone a broken bone.

A moan filled the cavern.

"Cass." Alex remembered now. The Seeker had thrown herself in front of her to block what would have been a killing blow from the Elder One. They both hit the trebuchet with enough force to nearly rattle the teeth from their head. It also had been hard enough to set it off, sparking the avalanche that buried Haven. And hopefully Corypheus. "Cassandra."

The Seeker moaned.

"C'mon, Seeker." Alex forced herself onto her hands and knees, biting back her scream of agony. Leg was broken too. That wasn't good. "This is no time to slack off."

"I beg to differ," Cassandra whispered fighting to stay conscious. She touched a hand to her temple and came away with blood. "What in Andraste happened?"

"You did something incredibly stupid and took a blow meant for me. Then we dropped a mountain on our heads and was blasted down a cavern," Alex sarcastically informed causing the Seeker to chuckle. "Can you move? Anything broken?"

Carefully, Cassandra tested out her limbs. There was pain, incredible pain, but everything seemed to work. "I think I might have broken a rib or two, but nothing too serious." She rolled to take in the disheveled mage. Her pale face was branded by scraps and dirt, with a nice gash on her temple. The cold help slow the blood flow. The muck on Alex's robes made it hard for Cassandra to tell if she was badly injured anywhere else. "How bad?"

"A rib and my leg." Alex was afraid to look down. Even after months on the battle field, she didn't do well with the whole blood and guts thing. "It hurts like a bitch."

"Can you heal yourself?"

Alex shook her head, "Too weak." In fact, she couldn't even hold her own weight any more. Alex happily laid back down on the cold hard ground. "Think they made it?"

Cassandra's mind drifted to Cullen and she had to close her eyes in order to trap her tears. She wished she had given him a proper goodbye. Knowing she in the end hurt him with her lies made her heart ache. Hoping to ease it, she focused on the man's crocked smile and his cedar scent. "Yes."

"Maker tell you that?"

The warrior rolled her eyes. "Doesn't work like that, Lex. I just have to hope that they did."

"Guess if they didn't, that would mean our sacrifice would've been for nothing."

"What sacrifice?" Cassandra demanded. "We're alive aren't we?"

Alex laughed then cursed. "I don't know if it's escaped your notice, Seeker. We are stuck in some dark cavern and we've knocked half a mountain on us. Trying to find a trail would take a miracle."

"And who says we don't have another one waiting for us."

"What about the little problem of my leg being broken?" Alex wondered, a smile playing in her voice. "I don't suspect you're going to carry me through all that snow."

"If that's what it takes."

The Herald looked up, "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Are you ready to die yet? Because I'm not." Cassandra thought about all that was left unsaid in her life. Thought about Cullen and the way her heart fluttered whenever he was around. Thought about all those times she wanted to tell him everything that was in her heart, but held her tongue. She had to find him. To tell him how stupid she was for thinking matters of the heart weren't important. Putting duty first ruined what she had with Galyan. She was a fool to do that again with Cullen.

Alex spoke after a long moment of silence, "No. I'm not."

"Then…" Cassandra used what strength she had to push to her feet, "Let's get you up."

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Where was she?

Cullen issued another command to another nameless person as he scanned the growing crowd for the Seeker. The tail of the caravan was starting to settle in, so that should have meant Cassandra should be here by now. Struggling to keep a level head, Cullen scrubbed a hand over his weary face. Everything was fine. She was fine. There was no way that she would do something noble like stay behind.

Of course she would. Cullen's heart sank straight to his stomach. He should have known. he should have forced her to come with him. Deep down, Cullen knew that Cassandra would never leave the Herald's side. Even facing death, she would have stayed. Would have fought to keep Alex alive. How could he have left without her?

"That's the last of them."

The Commander spun around, "What?"

Dorian glanced down the path they came to find it empty. There were no more torches to see. "Anyone else who have been buried in the avalanche. I barely made it out in time."

"No." All the sudden Cullen's knees felt weak. He braced against the mage before he fell face first in the snow. "Cass…"

Dorian frowned. "I'm sorry, Cullen." He felt the warrior's grip tightened around his arm. "She stayed behind with Lex."

Maker in heaven. Tears burned the back of Cullen's throat. He wasn't strong enough to hold them back. Not when his heart was breaking into a thousand pieces. Losing the woman he loved was the punishment he deserved for the sins he's committed in his past. Didn't it matter that he was trying to atone? That, since the moment Cassandra found him in Kirkwall, he was trying to be a better person because she believed that he could be.

"Cold. So cold." Cole appeared beside the two men. "How can it be so cold?"

Cullen pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't have it in him to deal with the boys rambling. "Go away."

"They're cold and lost. Been wondering. Feels like hours. Feels like she's going to die." Cole ignored Cullen's command and continued to gaze down the mountain. "Won't give up. Not until the Herald is safe. Not until she finds you."

"What are you saying?" Cullen demanded, taking Cole by the shoulder to make him focus. "Are you trying to tell me that you can hear them? That Cassandra and Lex are alive?"

Cole nodding, bangs falling in front of his ghostly eyes, "Wondering through the cold. Surrounded by white. Full of anguish. Regret." He gazed at the Commander. "Her heart is full of regret. Should have told him. Should have-."

"Focus!" Cullen screamed, "Is Cassandra alive?"

"They won't be for long."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Feeling Alex start to sag, Cassandra readjusted her grip and hauled the mage back up. Their pace was slowing and the howling snowy wind was not helping. If they didn't find some type of shelter soon they were going to freeze to death.

A wolf's cry carried through the wind.

Alex's head lolled to the side. "Wonder what's better." She struggled to keep her eyes open as Cassandra dragged her along. "Being eaten or being frozen to death."

"I don't intend to find out the answer to that one." Cassandra's muscles quivered under the Herald's weight. "And neither are you."

"You would have a greater chance to live if you weren't dragging my sorry ass through the snow." But Alex knew that Cassandra rather chew off her own arm then leave her behind. She already proved that one.

"You're heavier than you look."

Alex scoffed, "Are you calling me fat, Seeker."

"I'm saying no such thing." Cassandra forced herself to put one foot in front of another. A task that was becoming increasingly hard. Everything hurt, something she was struggling to mask from the Herald. Her injuries were a bit more serve than she first let on. More than just a rib was broken. "C'mon, Lex. We've gotten this far."

The Herald let out a soft mummer.

Cassandra shook the woman until her eye lids snapped open. "Keep talking to me. You've got to stay away."

"It's so cold."

"That's why we have to keep moving."

"This is a good place as any to die."

"We're not going to die." Cassandra hiked up Alex again. "They're going to send someone to look for us."

Alex's huffed, "They think we're dead."

"They might, but that won't stop them from looking."

"Do you love him?"

The question took Cassandra by surprise. "Excuse me?"

"Cullen. Do you love him?"

"I-I." Cassandra swallowed the lump forming in her throat. "I think I do."

"He loves you," Lex informed, resting her head on the Seeker's shoulder. "I can see it when he looks at you. He stares when you're not looking and he gets this look on his face. I've been trying to give him a push, but he doesn't think himself worthy to be with a woman like you."

"He's bound by the ghosts of his past." Once they found camp, she was going to go straight to the man and make him see differently. "Hey-Hey. Stay with me, Lex."

"I'm trying."

"Find something to hold on to." The mere thought of seeing Cullen was what Cassandra was clinging too. It was what drove her on through the blizzard when all she wanted to do was sleep. "Think about Blackwall."

The corner of Alex's mouth twitched. "How'd you know?"

"I'm a Seeker," Cassandra stated on a laugh, "It's my job to notice things. You've been finding your way to the training yard more and more. Especially when a certain Warden takes to chopping wood."

If it was possible, Alex flushed despite the fact her face was frozen. "I wish he was as attentive. I keep trying to hint, but he hasn't caught on."

"Well." Cassandra pulled Alex back up. "That just means you have to make him see it. I think if you can face a bloody archdemon and a half god, then you can tell a man how you feel."

"I'll make you a deal," Alex weakly spoke, her eyes drifting closed. "You tell Cullen, I'll tell Blackwall."

"Lex, open your yes. Lex! Damn it." Cassandra stumbled under the Herald's dead weight and hit the ground hard. Cursing, she rolled the mage onto her side to get her battered face out of the snow.

The wolf's howl grew closer.

Hands trembling, Cassandra pulled her dagger from her frozen boot. Neither the cold nor damn wolves were going to take her down.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0o

"This is crazy." Dorian shouted over the roar of the wind. He drudged through the snow along with the small search party of Inquisition soldier's, Blackwall, and a very determined Cullen. The Commander wasn't going to stop searching until his heart stopping beating in his chest. "We won't find them in such a condition."

Blackwall pulled his cloak tighter, though it did very little to warm him. "You're free to turn around, mage." The warrior was just as determined to find the pair.

Cullen forced himself to block out the voices as the two men continued to bicker back and forth. They had to find them. They had to be out here. Cassandra was to stubborn to let something like snow keep her down. But what if she was too hurt to move? Or if Alex was? Cassandra wouldn't leave the Herald alone. He shook the thought from his head. He wouldn't stop. Even if that meant they had to hike back down to Haven.

"Everyone be quiet." Cullen barked and soon the only the howl of the wind could be heard. He squinted his eyes, scanning the darkened tree line. There was something, a voice maybe, faintly carried on a heavy gust of air. It sounded almost like the Chant of Light. A flash of green caught his attention. "There!"

Blackwall sprinted off towards the light cutting through the darkness. "It's them."

"Thank the Maker." Cullen was close behind. "Cassandra."

Navigating through the trees, Cassandra stumbled under the Herald's dead weight upon hearing Cullen's voice. Could it be? Had the Maker given them another miracle? She swayed, blood staining the white snow at her feet, and waited. Cassandra didn't trust her senses. She was fat too delirious from the loss of blood and energy.

"Cassandra!"

There it was again. This time crystal clear over the wind.

Tears burning the back of her throat, Cassandra collapsed to her knees, catching Alex before the woman slid off her shoulders. "They found us," She whispered even though the Herald was unconscious. "By Andraste, they found us."

Both males dropped beside the pair. Grimed face, Blackwall tried to relieve the Seeker of Alex's weight.

Cassandra jerked away. "No," She weakly protested. "She's hurt. Needs a healer."

"Look at me." Cullen brushed his gloved hand over Cassandra's frozen cheek. Glassy brown eyes flickered up to his golden ones. "It's alright. It's safe. Let Blackwall take her."

Still, Cassandra didn't loosen her grip. "I can get her there."

"You kept her alive," Blackwall softly argued, fighting his instinct to take the unconscious woman into his arms. "You did your job. Now, please, let me get her to camp."

Cassandra looked to Cullen. "We made it?"

"Yes," Cullen assured. His heart clenched at the alarming amount of the Seeker's blood pooling in the snow. "I got you now, Cass."

Seeing Cassandra start to sag, Blackwall carefully plunked the limp Alex off her shoulders. He brushed her golden hair from her pale face. "Alexandra." She stirred at the sound of his voice. Relieve flooded his voice. "Hang on, do you hear me?"

Alex's eyes fluttered open for a moment. "I hear you."

"Get her to camp," Dorian demanded. "Get her straight to Solas."

Cullen caught Cassandra's falling form. "Don't you dare think about giving up now." He frantically began to search for the source of her excessive bleeding. Her armor, or what was left of it, was tarnished and drenched as well. Praying, Cullen peeled up her frozen stiff tunic and found a large chunk of skin missing from her left side.

"Cullen." She could only muster the strength to bunch her hand in the fur of his cloak. Her mind was fading fast. "I need… Need to tell you something."

"No." Cullen shook his head, fighting tears. "You're not going to tell me like this. So, you just have to hold on. Dorian, help. Please."

The mage pushed the Commander's blood soaked hand away to inspect the wound. "Hold her tight, Cullen. This is going to hurt."

With one hand cradling her cheek, Cullen held her tightly against his chest. "Keep your eyes on me," He pleaded in desperation. The light was starting to fade from her dark gaze. He felt her tense as Dorian's magic began to flow, followed by a soul shattering scream of anguish. Helpless, Cullen buried his face in her neck trying to sooth the best he could. Seeing her in such pain was almost too much for him to handle. "I got you. I'm never letting you go. Do you hear me, Cassandra? I don't care how much you fight me. I'm going to show you there is always time for love."

"There," Dorian whispered. "It will do until we get back to camp."

"Cullen." Cassandra fought to stay awake a moment longer. "I love you."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0o

One day slid into two and two turned into three. Cullen stayed by the Seeker's side as the sun rose on the fourth one. By some miracle, Cassandra had dragged both herself and the Herald through miles through the snow with a fracture hip, broken rib, and internal bleeding. She shouldn't have survived. That's what Dorian said the night they found her. The mage couldn't even promise that Cassandra would pull through given all her injuries.

Thinking about life without her, Cullen leaned forward in his chair to take her hand in his. He could hear camp start to wake outside the tent, but he put all of his efforts in willing his life into the Seeker. Dorian was wrong. She was going to make it. Cassandra was the strongest woman in Thedas. For bloody sake, the warrior took down a horde of dragons and saved the Divine's life. And she put up with the likes of Varric without killing him.

"Blessed be the Maker, hear my cry. Guide me through this blackest night." Recalling Andraste's prayer from the Chant of Light, Cullen brought her hand to his lips. The skin was still cold to the touch despite the fact the Seeker was buried under several layers of furs. He even draped his cloak on top, holding on to the hope that maybe his scent might help draw her from the darkness. "Steel my heart against temptations of the wicked. Make me to rest in the warmest of places. My Creator, judge me whole. Find me well within your grace. Touch me with fire that I be cleansed. Tell me I have sung to your approval."

"For you are the fire at the heart of the world. And comfort is only yours to give."

Cullen turned at the sound of the Herald's voice to find her standing just inside the tent. With the exception of the healing gash on her temple and bandaged arm, the mage looked in good health. The same couldn't be said for the Seeker. Cullen couldn't push down the bitterness at seeing her standing there while the woman he loved laid still as death on a cot, fighting for her life. "You're looking better."

Alex studied the man's haggard face, frowning at the deep bags under his tired eyes. "And you look like shit, Commander."

He felt like it too. Cullen turned his attention back to the Seeker. "Have you decided where we are to go from here?"

"There is a place high in the mountains."

"When will we move out?"

Alex moved beside the Commander and touched a hand to his taunt shoulder. She was surprised the man didn't shrug it off. Maker knew, she deserved his coldness. His anger. His hatred. After all, she was the reason Cassandra was in her current condition. "We're not going anywhere until Cassandra wakes up," Alex softly vowed. "She refused to leave me behind, so I won't leave without her."

A silence felt between them.

Until the Herald couldn't stand it anymore. "I'm so sorry, Cullen." Emotions filled her throat as she fought tears. "I tried to convince her to follow you, but she wouldn't."

"Because she's stubborn." A small smile touched Cullen's chapped lips.

Alex laughed. "It's what got us through the snow. She wouldn't let me give up even though it would mean her guarantee survival." She dug into her satchel and placed three potion vials near the cot. "Dorian said this will help with the pain and soreness."

"Thank you Lex," He whispered as the Herald left.

"She's right, you know. You look like hell."

Cullen's gaze snapped up and his heart leapt straight into his throat. "Cassandra?"

Weakly, Cassandra brushed her finger over his bearded chin. "Do I look as bad as you?"

Shaking his head, Cullen bent down to touch her scarred cheek. "No." A tear slipped passed his guard. "You're beautiful as always."

She scoffed then cursed in pain.

"Here." Scooping up a vial, Cullen used his teeth to pull the cork free and held it to her wind burned lips. "Drink. It will help."

Using what strength she had, Cassandra lifted her head to drink. Almost instantly it became easier to breathe and form coherent thoughts. "Alex?" She softly asked searching for the mage in the tent. "Is she okay? I thought I heard her voice."

"She's okay. You protected her."

"And you're mad at me."

Cullen gripped her hand. "Furious."

"I had to."

"I know," Cullen assured brushing his lips over her knuckles, "One of the many reasons I'm crazy about you."

"There was a moment or two I didn't think we were going to make it."

"You're too stubborn, even for death."

Cassandra shook her head. "That wasn't what kept me going."

"What did?"

"You." She touched a finger to his bearded chin, too weak to do anything else. "Thinking of you and what we could be."

Cullen lean down, pressing his brow to hers. "I love you, Cassandra."

A smile blossomed across her pale face. "I love you too." She tapped her fingers against his chin. "Now go and let me rest. You need to be out there helping Lex lead our people."

"Yes Ma'am." With a short kiss, Cullen complied.