"No!" Mark told her, crossing his arms as she gasped at his answer.

"What do you mean, no!?" Rainlily exclaimed as she stood from the chair, slamming her hands on the table. "Right now, is just not a good time, Lily…" he told her but she sighed heavily. "There is never going to be a good time to train my magic. Mark, someone is targeting me for a reason and you can't protect me all the time!" she explained. "Yes, I will! You don't need magic!" he shouted at her. "Herald" they both looked to the door to see Cullen and Cassandra standing there. "We are having a quick meeting to discuss our next move." Cassandra told him, Cullen staring at Rainlily with empathy. "Just go…" she muttered, looking to the side towards the floor, as Mark walked towards the door. "We'll talk about this when I get back." he said, closing the door behind him.

Rainlily went to her room, looking for her satchel, fighting the tears in her eyes as she threw a few leather pants in her bag before making her way to the kitchen area. "Leaving, are you?" she ignored the familiar voice. "I love you Varric, but please, don't try and stop me." she told him as she packed a few jars of jam. "You just had your first sibling fight, we all get them. That's no reason to leave." Varric said, trying to persuade her. Rainlily looked at him, noticing that Solas was also standing there, but she continued sealing her bag.

"I am just...I thought my brother would support me on this. The way I see it, there is no difference between surviving out there and surviving here. I feel like a sitting duck in this house now...I should never have come here." she whispered under breath as she put her satchel across her body, making sure it was secured against her hip.

"Are you sure we can't convince you to stay?" Varric asked, but Rainlily smiled, shaking her head. "No, but thanks. I really am going to miss you guys, though." she said as she walked over to them, hugging Varric first. "Where will you go?" Solas asked. Rainlily sighed as she hugged Solas tightly, feeling him rest a hand on her back; acknowledging her farewell. "I might go with my original plan, to Val Royeaux. I'm known to sing a tune or two for gold. Maybe I can get some dirt for the Inquisition while I'm there…" she suggested. "Wow, becoming an agent. I'm so proud of you." Varric said. Rainlily chuckled, "Well, I need to go speak with the merchants, see if there are any heading into town." she told them. Solas nodded, "If I may," Solas suggested "you should speak with Josephine. She's always doing favors and she might be able to help you securing an agent slot in Val Royeaux?"

Rainlily beamed at the suggestion. "Good idea." She said as she walked towards the door. "What if no one is leaving today?" Varric asked. She froze at the door, looking over her shoulder to him. "Then I go on foot." She said with a smile, closing the door behind her. She sighed happily, feeling that the weather was on her side, but she knew she needed a thick coat for the cold. She made her way the quartermaster, who beamed at her. "Ah, the Herald's sister has finally come to visit!" She smiled as he pointed to his tables. "What can I help you with?" he asked her. "I need a warm coat. What do you have?" she asked as she looked around. "Oh, here." She smiled as she was given a black coat, made from bear skin. The hood had fur on the edge of the hood while the inside of the coat had patches of fur, securing her warmth.

As she pays for the coat, she hears Mark speaking with Cassandra, but she refused to look. As she heard his voice fade away, she walked quickly to the Chantry, thankful that no one had bothered her. As she made her way inside, she saw Josephine standing in front of the war room with Leliana. "Ah, Rainlily, how nice to see you again." Josephine said with a huge smile, Leliana sending her a small smile. "I'm surprised to see you alone, where is the Herald?" Leliana asked. "He was discussing something with Cassandra." She answered with a shrug. "Oh, was there something we could help you with?" Josephine asked. Rainlily took a deep breath.

"I would like to be an agent on the field." Josephine looked at Leliana in surprise before she looked at Rainlily again. "I don't see why not, but what brought this on?" Josephine asked. Rainlily sighed. "I'm feeling useless here. I couldn't leave my house, Mark won't let me train to defend myself...if I had known I was just going to sit here, I wouldn't have come. I did more out there then I do here…" Rainlily explained. Leliana gazed her form. "You aren't fit as a soldier, which you make you a good spy. My only concern is that you are untrained in basic combat. You'd become a liability, expendable." Leliana explained to her. Rainlily sighed, "I can live with that." Rainlily said desperately.

"Will your Herald be alright with that?" she turned around sharply, to see some unknown man looking at her with a smirk on his face, his mustache quirked to the side with the smirk. "Forgive me for intruding, my name is Dorian Pavus. I helped Lavellan with the mages at Redcliffe." he introduced, bowing at her. She nodded to him.

"Welcome, Dorian. My name is-"

"Rainlily, of course! I've seen you before."

Rainlily raised her eyebrow at him in curiosity before she turned back to Leliana and Josephine. "Give me a chance. I'll train when I arrive in Val Royeaux, I promise." she asked them, not noticing as Dorian stood beside her. "You are unable to control your magic?" Dorian asked surprised, making Rainlily look at him in frustration. "Yes, okay?! I only know how to heal and a few defensive spells. The Circle in Kirkwall had us on extremely short, tight leashes okay?" she exclaimed, hoping to frighten him away. What she didn't expect was for him to raise his hand up engulfed in a small flame. "Why don't I train you?" Dorian asked, smirking at her. She gasped in happiness, ignoring Leliana and Josephine's horrified glare. "The Herald of Andraste didn't wish for her to receive any training. Surely you can understand, Lord Pavus, that this will reflect poorly on the Inquisition." Josephine attempted to persuade him but Dorian chuckled as he wrapped his arm around Rainlily's shoulder, pulling her against him with an 'oof' puffing out of her.

"Nonsense, only a few people know of her existence and with recent events, I'm sure the Herald would want his only family member to be safe. It would make him look absolutely awful if word gets around that he can't, or couldn't for that matter, protect his own flesh and blood." Dorian explained with his signature smirk. He winked at them as he guided Rainlily out of the Chantry, waving at the women as they walked outside. "Now then," Dorian asked her as he walked with her down the path, to right of the requisitions officer. "So, tell me Lady Lavellan: what spells do you actually know?" Dorian asked as they walked down to the tents, where Varric was standing there. He looked at the pair in surprise, before smirking at her. She smirked back at him as she answered Dorian. "I know only a handful. Healing spells, Mind Blast, and Stone Fist." she answered, hearing Dorian sigh sadly at her answer.

"You poor thing. Well then" he let her go and clapped his hands together "let's start with the basics. I know the perfect training spot!" he exclaimed. "This is going to be great!" She looked past her as she continued walking, to see none other than Varric. "I knew you were going to follow…" she said softly, smiling at him as he laughed at her comment. "I couldn't help it! Us dwarves don't have magic abilities, something about dwarven heritage, which I don't care to think about." he explained. They walked towards the quartermaster, turning left as they made their way towards the abandoned trebuchet. Dorian sighed happily as he looked around the area as Rainlily gulped nervously.

"Are you sure this is a good spot?" Rainlily asked, looking around nervously as Varric sat the bottom step of the trebuchet. "Of course! No one is around, this is as perfect as it's going to be. Besides, I'm going to teach you protection spells for now. We don't want to frighten the poor templars." Dorian teased as he got in his fighting stance with his hands, "Go ahead and get in a defensive position for me." Rainlily nodded as she turned to her left, her legs shoulder width apart and slightly bent. She held her hands up, her left hand near her chest as the other hand was a foot apart from her left hand. "Good, now I want you try to throw Barrier. It allows you to add spiritual protection for your allies. Just think about that, protection." He explained to her slimply. He took out his staff and threw Barrier spell at her, watching her look at herself in amazement as she glowed for a second. "That's what it should look like, feel like." he told her. She took a deep breath and focused on the idea of protection, the feel of the protection she currently had. She focused on her magic…

And casted Barrier.

She watched in amazement once more as she saw the spell glow around him. He smiled at her, stabbing the ground with his staff. "Well done, you've made me so proud." She smiled happily, cupping her mouth as she tried to control her happiness, hearing Varric clap for her in happiness. "Now, let's increase the difficulty! Time to learn the 'Wall of Ice' spell!"

Maker, what did she sign up for?

OOOOOO

Cullen nodded to the Herald as he walked towards him. "Was there something you needed?" Cullen asked casually, noticing as Mark looked around. "I haven't seen Rainlily since we left for the meeting, have you seen her?" Mark asked. He was about to answer him until he felt it.

Magic.

Cullen past his report to his scout as he walked towards the gate, ignoring Mark as he followed after him; curious to see what got Cullen on high alert. Cullen walked up the steps when he saw Solas walking ahead of him; no doubt the elf mage felt the same energy he did. When he passed the wooden gate, he froze when he saw the source of magic.

Cullen saw as he saw Rainlily, sweating as she threw a large Wall of Ice spell in front of her, that stood about 6 feet, blocking her body from Dorian's sight. He swallowed hard as he saw her potential. He should feel alarmed, ready to Cleanse her, but instead he was...in awe.

"Rainlily!" Rainlily flinched as she heard Mark's voice, daring to look up as she saw her brother marching towards her; his eyes looking at her in fury. "What, in Makers name, are you doing!? Didn't I tell you no training?!" Mark yelled at her, ignoring Dorian, Solas and Varric, who stood before her, almost protectively.

"I insisted that I train her, there's no need to be upset, dear Herald." Dorian assured him as he stood in front of Rainlily protectively, noticing that Rainlily was ready to cry. "She doesn't need her magic, I told her that I'd keep her safe." Mark told him before looking back to Rainlily. "And how long will that last?" Dorian asked him seriously. "What do you mean by that?" Mark asked him, looking at him as if though he just grew a double head. "Are you going to take her into battle with us, take her with you each time you are called to duty? How you can protect her from harm, when you aren't going to hardly be here?" Dorian asked him. Mark looked to Rainlily, who was cupping her face, hiding herself from him.

"I will, if I have to-"

"You'll never understand me, Mark…" the men looked to Rainlily who was on her knees now, noticing as Cullen was now beside them. "I've had to defend myself all this time without magic. Don't you know that feeling, that panic, when you're defenseless without your weapons? That's how I feel everyday. That's how I feel when templar's would Cleanse me, sucking all the magic out of me." she said in a low voice.

"Rainlily-"

Rainlily chuckled sadly when he said her name as she lowered her head. "Do you know why I wear this headband on my forehead, Markhallan?" she asked him, putting her hand over her forehead, on the headband that shielded its exposure. "Fashion trend?" Dorian joked, but Rainlily pulled it off slowly. As the headband fell to the floor, she looked up with tears in her eyes.

She had the mark of Tranquil.

"You're a Tranquil?" Mark asked, but Rainlily shook her head as she looked down to the floor again. "That night when the templars took me...they branded me. They were cocky enough to mark me before they could even start the ritual." she said. Her eyes began to water, her face growing red as she continued. "I've been on the run since that night, unable to find the time to...get rid of this fucking thing!" she cried into her hands. Mark fell onto his knees and pulled her into a tight embrace, feeling her fight against him. "Sister, I'm so sorry. Please, stop crying…" Mark whispered into her ear. "Herald!" he sighed as he heard Cassandra's voice but frowned when his sister pulled away from him. "I need to go." He tried to stop her as she got on her feet, but she fought off his grasp, running past Cassandra, was no doubt, shocked to see her Tranquil mark. "Was that..?" Cassandra asked, but Mark ignored her question. "What have you come to bother me with NOW CASSANDRA?" Mark hissed, clearly irritated, not noticing one former templar leaving after Rainlily.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Rainlily slammed the door behind her, falling to her knees close to the fireplace as she took off her coat. She covered her face and did the only thing she could do...cry.

Why did she feel the need to show Mark her mark?

To understand you.

Was she a fool to think she could actually learn?

Yes, no one will ever understand you. That's the curse of being a mage.

She cried harder, all she wanted to do was disappear.

She felt someone pull her against them, her head resting on something hard and cold; clearly feel armor against her. She looked up to see Cullen looking down at her, who was struggling to keep composure together. "Cullen…" He placed a hand behind the back of her head as his left arm wrapped around her waist, pushing her head down gently on his armor free shoulder, pulling her into a firm embrace. "I don't deserve your forgiveness, but please, use my shoulder to cry on...let go." She doesn't know why but she felt herself break inside, wrapping her arms around his neck as she cried her heart out.

Cullen felt responsible for this. If he had just kept his eyes on her, if he hadn't been so bent on hating mages back in Kirkwall...maybe this wouldn't have happened. He closed as he held her tightly, feeling in that moment that if he didn't hold her strong enough, she would fall...break. After what felt like forever, Rainlily finally stopped crying but she was scared to let him go. "Thank you, Commander." she whispered as she rested her forehead against his shoulder. She chuckled as she finally lifted her head, patting his shoulder with her hand. "I'm so sorry, my tears have seemed to have stained your coat." she confessed as she used her white long sleeve to pat it down. He chuckled but shook his head at her. "It's nothing, it'll disappear eventually." he said as he looked down at her. She smiled as she looked down at her satchel, opening one of its pockets to reveal a black headwrap. "It might be best that I continue hiding this mark. No need to frighten people." she teased casually as she bent her head down a bit. She split her half horizontally as she struggled to tie her headwrap. She felt gloved hands over hers, taking the ends of the headwrap. She dropped hands, feeling as Cullen tied the headwrap, securing it as she lifted her head to face him.

She lifted her hands to the headband, but Cullen grabbed it before she could, gently pulling it up to her forehead, making sure her mark was fully covered. She looked into his eyes and frowned as she saw his eyes conflicted. "Cullen" he looked down at her "you know that none of this is your fault." He shook his head at her. "I still feel responsible…" he whispered, and she couldn't help but sigh. "Oh, Commander." she whispered as she stood, offering her hand to him. He smirked as he took her hand, accepting her aid when he noticed she had the satchel on herself.

"Why are you wearing your bag?" he asked, seeing her eyes panic. "Oh, umm" she rubbed the back of her neck, chuckling nervously "I was going to, uhh, go on a quick run." she lied, but when Cullen looked at her suspiciously, she threw her hands up. "Okay, fine! I was going to run for it. You know, run away?" she admitted. He chuckled at her answer, "You don't really think your brother wouldn't have noticed, would you?" he asked her.

"Oh, I'd notice."

Rainlily scrunched her face together as if she was caught stealing, afraid to look at her brother. She gasped when she felt a firm grip on her shoulder and slowly looked up to see Mark smiling at her. "I would be on you as fast as a wolf, you know that, don't you...halla?" he asked her. She smiled up at him, trying to relax. "Of course, wolf." she told him. Mark chuckled as he looked over to Cullen. "Cassandra said the mages are ready to help close the Breach, I'd like us to go as soon as possible, before night arrives." He told him. Cullen nodded at his statement. "I'll have the men prepare immediately then Herald. I will see you and your squad at the gate when the hour." Cullen told him, nodding his head to him as he walked passed them, stealing a glare from Rainlily as he walked past them.

Rainlily looked up to Mark, who was smiling at her. "Why don't you go train with Dorian and Solas? They're waiting for you, you know?" Rainlily frowned at him.

"Brother, I'm sorry that I-"

"No, I'm sorry" he interrupted her "I was inconsiderate of your feelings, of your experience." she smiled, grateful that her brother was being thoughtful of her feelings. "Besides, if I want you join me on some of adventures, you should be able to defend yourself." he told her, making her gasp in shock. "You mean-?"

"Why don't you come with me tonight, see what I really do?" he asked her, smiling as she nodded at him.
"Of course, brother." she said, smiling happily. He chuckled as he pushed her towards the door. "Now go, we leave in the hour." he told her as she left, running out of the house in excitement.

He hoped he made the right choice.