Cullen was absolutely thrilled when things had been quiet for the last few hours. Rhia had taken Dorian, Cassandra, Blackwall and a handful of others on some mission, which left most of the recruits available to continue to train. He and Solona had been working on having the warrior classes and mages facing off, testing defensive moves again.

They had arranged a break in the afternoon and had went into the main hall to catch up with Varric when a hooded figure caught Solona's eye. She watched him while Varric rattled on with some story about Anders having been a good guy before everything had gone to shit that Cullen still wasn't believing. "Varric, has that man been around long?"

Varric shrugged. "A bit. He's just been wandering. Any time Ruffles comes by, it looks like he wants to go talk with her, but then he backs off."

"And that... didn't seem suspicious?" Solona asked, still eyeing the stranger.

To his credit, Cullen started watching him as well.

Varric, in turn, just lifted his head towards Bianca. "Worst case scenario solution, right here."

Solona paused, realizing it was, in fact, a decent argument. She turned back to the stranger and stopped short again when she saw him fidget after a minute. She knew that fidget. "Oh, no..."

Cullen frowned. "What?"

"We have... the most... international incident-friendly visitor I believe we'll ever have..." Solona explained.

"Which means?" he asked.

There was a pause, and suddenly Solona went wide-eyed. "Go see Morrigan. Tell her she and Keiran can take my quarters until this is resolved."

"Wha- Morrig- no!" Cullen objected.

"No to going to see her, or taking my quarters?" Solona countered. She didn't look away from the stranger, but she looked exasperated more tan confused this time around.

"Both, actually..." he deadpanned. When she finally turned from the stranger to give him a disapproving look, he crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't trust her."

"Because she's a mage?" Solona asked..

It was Cullen's turn to gawk yet again. After all they had been through in the last few months, she had instantly drawn that conclusion. Fantastic. He tried to ignore the pit in his stomach that had suddenly started. "No, because she just... there's... something dark about her and I don't like how she just conveniently showed up. And I don't like that Rhia keeps going to see her alone, either."

"She's not alone, she has every single person in the garden looking out for her, and she just needs information" Solona replied. She turned back to Varric. "Can you go get Morrigan and bring her to my quarters? Tell her it's about what we talked about?"

The dwarf merely shrugged it off, muttered something about having had worse, and went to go deliver the message. Solona watched him, then looked back at the stranger.

"Are you going to fill me in or not?" Cullen finally blurted.

Solona sighed. "I'm just trying to figure out the 'whys' and the 'hows'..." she growled. After another few moments, she nodded to herself. "Now we're going. You, come with me." She took him by the arm and dragged him towards the stranger. When they reached him, she had a split second to thank the Maker that he hadn't noticed before she reached up quickly, just under his hood and took him by the ear and pulled him down to eye-level.

Cullen still couldn't see the man's face, but he was still reasonably surprised at the octave of the alarmed yelp that the man let out when he got jerked down. It didn't seem to fit the whole persona- nor did his sudden effort to keep his hood on that almost seemed comical.

Solona, however, didn't miss a beat, addressing the stranger. "And you! You better behave and come with me before I put you on ice for a week!" she hissed. She started to drag both of them towards the door to the courtyard, and when she did, she dragged them through it before heading into one of the empty rooms. She shoved the stranger inside and guided Cullen in far more gently before shutting the door behind her- and promptly lunging at the stranger in order to start swatting at his chest.

"You. Imbecile! Do you really. Think. This was going to end well?!" she demanded between swats. When the stranger was silent, she settled for punching him in the chest. "Alistair!"

Now that got Cullen's attention. "Ali-what?!" he hissed, but the stranger had shrunken back to pull back his hood, and sure enough, the bloody King of Ferelden was suddenly looking back at Solona.

Oh, this day was just grand. Cullen made about six new entries into the list of things that needed to be fixed for everyone's mental state to go back to normal before it finally completely sunk in that the King was standing in front of him, and he all but threw himself down to take a knee, not knowing what else to do with all of the other thoughts going on in his head.

Alistair blinked at the other man for a second before he turned to Solona. "Make him stop, you know I hate when they do the thing..."

She hit him again. "What do you expect to have happen?! And why are you here?! Where are your guards?! Where's Teagan?!"

"I... … may have slipped away in the middle of the night during a trek to get information about war efforts. And Teagan's …. probably a matter of hours away. He'll be here soon. He's been looking for you nonstop, by the way. And why am I getting questioned when you've been missing?!" Alistair demanded, growing angry. It didn't last long. What was starting to turn to a scowl on his face instantly turned into a frown. "I thought you were dead!" his voice cracked at the last bit and he seemed to settle down for a moment. "We hadn't heard anything. Teagan's worried himself sick about it."

"Haven't heard..." Solona's annoyance faded as well. "I've sent word with at least five messengers that I was okay."

"We haven't gotten any of them..." Alistair repeated. "Messengers can't even make it anywhere. That's what this war is doing..." he sighed.

Solona frowned at him, then shook her head. "Hold it, don't you dare turn this on me! You're at Skyhold! Alone!"\

Cullen shook his head. "I'm sorry, but can we- why the Hell is the King of Ferelden standing in our Chantry dressed as a hermit?!" he blurted.

Alistair turned his attention to him. "Because... because I need a favor. Again. Seeing as the Inquisitor and I are even now, I figure I could get another one."

"And where are your guards?!" Cullen demanded. After a moment, he averted his eyes, having realized one thing was missing from the last couple of things he had said. "Your... Majesty."

"And there's what I was trying to avoid..." Alistair asked. "Get up, will you? I came with all this get-up to avoid the pomp and circumstance."

"Why?" Solona asked.

"Because if I got everyone here it's more politics than it is solving problems. Politics are my wife's forte... and... my wife is the problem that needs solving."

"What...?" Solona continued.

"Kat... she's still..." Alistair paused. "Kat's still missing after looking for the cure, and... between what's been happening with the Wardens, and the rest of the war, and people wanting to kill her in general..." he started to pace mid-explanation. "I've gotten bits and pieces, sightings here and there but nothing solid." He stopped short and looked down.

Solona's heart broke for him when she recognized the destroyed look that crossed his face- he had had it when he had talked to Kat in the hours before they faced the archdemon, the time that they both thought it may be the last time they would speak.

He continued, "I just... I need my wife back, Lona. Being... kingly and sitting around waiting for someone to save her is driving me mad. I need to be out there looking myself. But what if she's dead?"

"She's not. She can't be..." Solona tried to reassure him.

Alistair shifted awkwardly, and like he had felt with Solona and Anders, Cullen suddenly felt like he was intruding on something far too private for him to be there. He wanted to kick himself yet again. He was getting jealous over nothing. The man- the King was obviously very in love with his wife, and he and Solona weren't so much as touching- damn it, he was not a jealous man. The amount of times he got uneasy when men were around her was getting ridiculous. It didn't change the fact that he felt like he needed to leave them alone, despite not being comfortable doing so. "Er, Your Majest-"

"Stoooopppppp," Alistair groaned and added an eyeroll for good measure.

"I'm not exactly... … you're the king, I can't very well call you 'Alistair' can I?" Cullen shot back.

"Then I order you to," Alistair countered.

Cullen gawked again, then sighed. "What do you expect us to do? We have other... other engagements. Not that the Queen's safety wouldn't be a priority among them of course."

Alistair smiled weakly, having appreciated the afterthought. "I'm well aware, I was just... I was... if you can't offer a small party to go out looking for her, I was hoping I could get Lona back and we could all go out searching. Be like old times and all that."

"That's impossible. For you, anyway. I'm surprised these walls aren't being swarmed by people looking for you now," Solona told him.

"They probably will be soon enough, but I can handle it. It's not like you're holding me unwillingly," Alistair offered. "And I-"

The door swung open behind them, and the three of them went into a defensive stance without so much as thinking. Once they recognized Zevran's silhoutte, they settled down, and it was Alistair's turn to gawk.

"You!"

The former Crow offered his usual teasing grin, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Ah, Alistair. I thought that was your voice. It's been too long since-" he jerked and tried not to look surprised when the king crossed the room in a short few steps and pulled him into a hug. He turned the pair of them just slightly so Cullen couldn't see when the facade dropped and he relaxed into the man and looked just as relieved as Alistair had to see him and leaned into him when Alistair finally let him go.

"Cripes! You've been missing just as long as Kat, I've been just as worried! Where have you been?! Why haven't you contacted me?!"

"Because I've been looking for our Kat alone, and the Crows have found me again. I'm trying to lay low for both of those reasons. And when I came across dear Solona when I encountered the Inquisition, how could I leave her alone? How are we to trust her alone with strangers- and the poor lovestruck man who almost died thinking about her all those years ago."

While Cullen contemplated punching the elf out cold for his continuous harrassment, Alistair merely turned to him and uttered, "thought you looked familiar..."

Cullen crossed his arms over his chest, but he was happy that Alistair didn't have the overbearing pity in his eyes for him that the othersfrom Solona's old companions had when they recognized him. The King was just looking at him with understanding. "Yes, well-"

"Whatever. Point is, can we at least present it to the big wigs of the group?" Alistair asked, effectively diffusing the situation.

"Yes," Cullen and Solona said together. Solona advanced on him. "Look, we can probably arrange an audience with Rhia in a bit, we just have... a lot to deal with at the moment, but... we'll do what we can," Solona offered, and Cullen nodded in agreement.

"Great!" Alistair beamed. "Now then uh, where can I stay for the time being? You know, before my uncle gets here and kills me."

"Out of sight, for starters," Solona replied. She reached back to pull his hood back up and over his eyes. "Cullen, can he stay in your tower until we figure something out? Whether its an alibi of why he came here alone or what, I don't know?"

Cullen shrugged. "I suppose so, so long as he stays out of the way..."

Solona nodded again, then looked at Zevran. "Zev, take him there, will you?"

Zevran mock bowed before he led Alistair out of the room.

Cullen waited a grand total of three second before blurting. "I've just given up part of my living quarters to the King of bloody Ferelden..."

"He'll be gone soon enough... whether he'll be dragged out or not is anybody's guess."

"The place is a mess, and and there are plans everywhere and-"

"He's not going to commit treason or spy, Cullen..." Solona pointed out with a smile.

"That's not what I'm- there's- it's not exactly fit for royalty, is it?"

"I fixed the hole in the roof. Ten years ago we were all on the ground in the wilderness with two blankets and that's it. He's dealt with worse."

"Right, but that was before ten years of everything being... plush, and-"

"It'll be fine. I promise."

Cullen ran his hand over his face, then shook his head. "Fine. But what was that about Morrigan before? You sent for her after you recognized it was- you know, I still can't believe I just had a conversation with the king..."

"Nothing you have to worry about," Solona replied. "And you'll get used to it... eventually. We all did when Kat essentially volunteered him for the throne."

Cullen shook his head harder. "I'm not fond of secrets being kept from me, you know." She froze at that, and the man remembered that yes, this wasn't the first thing he had noticed she was keeping from him, and that got him all uneasy again.

"What?" she asked after a moment.

He squared his shoulders. "Do... the King and Morrigan have a history? Did anything... happen when you traveled?"

"Not... exactly. It's... it's not exactly my business, nor my business to tell, and... that's all you can get, I'm afraid. For now. Being that it's Alistair, things are bound to go wrong with this plan."

He would have to take it as an answer. "Can you think of any reason he's resisting the false Calling?" he asked after a moment.

Solona, who had started to attempted to start up a reassuring smile stopped short. "I wondered that too. He's never been a good listener, so I'm... just sort of hoping that he's trying to tune it out. He said it, but it applies to us, too. I can't lose him or Kat. I don't know what I'd do. We're some... dependent mess after all that time together. Has Blackwall given an answer to anyone, either?"

"Not one. I don't like it. Any of it," Cullen replied.

Solona's reassuring smile was back and she reached up to run her thumb across his cheek. "Breathe, Cullen. One problem at a time."

"You all keep saying that and don't seem to realize that little problems always pile up into mountains."

"And we have the best people around to take care of those problems before that happens."

"Hard to say, now that we're dealing with royal problems. Literally."

"We do have people on it, don't we? If it gets Alistair out of your hair, I'll take a few people and go out to look for. It's only fair. Let her friends worry about her, not the Inquisition."

"I'd like to go with you, if you do," Cullen suggested. When she arched an eyebrow, he shrugged. "We need answers, and I'd like to see just how much damage is still being done out there. If Ali- the King has collected all of his leads, we can use them."

"Good. We should wait for Blackwall, too. This... red lyrium ordeal and the disappearance of the Wardens do seem to overlap somehow. Maybe we should bring him along, just in case."

"Agreed," Cullen nodded.

Both glanced up when they heard several horns sound, signaling that Rhia and the others had returned from their trip.

Cullen looked at Solona. "Well, who's going to tell her that we have a side mission that's going to take a lot of people?"

"I will. But let's at least let her have a drink first, shall we?"

"Yes, let's. And why not join her? I think I need one, if I'm supposed to keep our latest visitor a secret for now."

"Sounds excellent."

That night, Solona was only moderately surprised to find Alistair standing on the battlements outside of Cullen's office, looking over the bridge that led to the main entrance to the castle. "I thought I told you out of sight..." she teased.

Alistair scoffed playfully, then shrugged. "You've said it before, listening and I aren't friends. I just... I needed to think. And give the Commander his space too, seeing as I've invaded it..." he explained. After a beat, he leaned towards her. "Nice choice, by the way. That jaw and those dreamy eyes. Didn't get that good of a look at him all those years ago."

She shoved him lightly. "Shut up, you git." She looked at him, and when his answering chuckle didn't reach his eyes again, her own smile faded. "Talk to me."

"What?"

"You aren't you right now. This is more than Kat. What's going on? Is the- if you're hearing the Calling, it's apparently fake. Can you drown it out?"

"I've been trying. It's... working... slightly. I've just got... more important things to worry about..." he continued. After a few moments of silence, he swallowed hard. He visibly struggled for words, then sighed and looked out onto the mountains. "... The last time we were together, Kat and I fought."

Solona absorbed the information, then leaned onto the stone to get closer to him. "I knew there was something else that was eating at you."

Alistair forced a laugh and it sounded pained. "I just- it was stupid, and I was angry about... her going off all the time with that... Architect... thing and not being home with me, where I was, doing all the royal mumbo jumbo. Of course I didn't even think about the fact that she's only away searching for the cure partly so we can grow actually old together and not die... soon." He looked down and shook his head. "And now with this Calling, and this war, and not hearing from her, I..." he trailed off.

Solona took his hand and squeezed it. "Don't think like that. I talked to Rhia, and she's given the okay for some of us to renew our efforts to go find her. And all the Wardens we can. We leave in a couple of days. If you're that worried about it, you're welcomed to join us... if your people even let you."

"Let them try to stop me," Alistair growled. After a beat, he shook his head. "I'm sorry. That wasn't at you. Thank you, really. And I'll try... for as long as I can. But I will have to dodge Teagan for a while if that's the case."

"Well then, you best start doing so quickly," Solona pointed out, perking up and staring at something in the distance.

Alistair made a face. "Why?" He grunted when she reached up and took his chin in her hand, then pointed at the bridge- where there was a small group of people, one of which who was sporting Teagan's flag. "Oh, here we go..."

"He might actually try to kill you this time. And me too, if he notices us together up here."

"Yeah, well, at least he'll feel bad about you," Alistair countered. "And before he even has a chance, that means he'll have to see us first," he pointed out before he pushed off of the side of the battlement and turned to go to the other side, when:

"Don't. You. Dare!" came from below them. Teagan's voice.

Alistair flinched and looked over the side again. Teagan was looking right up at him, squinting, but still recognizing. "Well, the secret's out..."

"Maybe not yet..." Solona objected, pulling his hood back up. "But we will have to go find a meeting place now."

"Oh, you're absolutely no fun."

"No, I just respect your uncle."

"You know, I can tell dear Cullen about that time I thought you were into my uncle."

"You wouldn't. And I wasn't!"

"Yeah, but Cullen doesn't know that," Alistair pointed out.

"You are still an utter ass."

"I missed you too, Lona."