Dawn of Beginning
Chapter Ten
With amusement, Daenerys watched Varric win most of the hands while Evelyn won a few. As she watched, she felt her head buzzing from all the alcohol she drank. Watching the Herald put away the cards with blurry vision; she then closed her eyes and felt the room spin.
"It looks like we got a light weight." The dwarf commented while chuckling since he hasn't seen a person get drunk so quick before. Out of nowhere, a laugh was heard and it didn't stop. Varric looked around to finally see the source of where the laughter was coming from. "Poor kid, she can't hold her alcohol." Cullen shook his head in agreement with the rogue dwarf.
"I can still hear you." Daenerys said in a childlike voice while still giggling. "I can handle my alcohol just fine. See?" She stood up from the table while stumbling a little. When she got her footing finally, she tried poking her nose with her index finger and instead poked herself in the eye. "Oww." Varric then lost his control and began laughing. Cassandra and Evelyn looked at the woman who was acting like a child currently and smiled in amusement.
"Maybe I should go help her." Cullen said walking over towards the giggling girl. As soon as she turned around, Daenerys eyes sparkled with happiness as she saw the Commander in front of her and smiled softly up at him. "I will take her to your shared cabin." He said before picking up the drunken girl in his arms in bridal style. Daenerys ended up snuggling herself against him as she looked up at him.
"You're handsome." Daenerys stated as Varric laughed even harder due to Cullen's reddening face while Evelyn smirked.
"The truth finally comes out." Cassandra muttered to the Herald while shaking her head. "For her sake though, I hope she doesn't remember. He needs to be focused on the Inquisition and not a pretty face." She said loud enough so the dwarf could part take in the conversation as well but not loud enough for Cullen to hear.
"Don't be so hard on him. Though, it will be interesting to see how this plays out."
"We will find out tomorrow." Evelyn said while now laughing herself. "Thank you Commander." Cullen bowed his head before leaving the tavern and his friends behind.
The Commander was thankful when he got out into the cold air. His cheeks soon went back to their normal color as he walked in the snowy frosty air. He made sure to walk quickly to the cabin though since he didn't want the woman in his arms to freeze. When he made it to the cabin, he readjusted Daenerys in his arms so he was able to open the door. As soon as the door was open, he walked in and gently kicked it closed. After making his way towards her bed, he looked down and realized she had fallen asleep in his arms. Cullen set her down on the bed and placed a couple of blankets over her. As he continued to look at her sleeping figure, he laid a hand on her cheek and stroked it softly with his thumb while thinking of her words over and over in his head even if she was drunk. Did she really mean what she said to him? Did she really think he was handsome? As he pondered them over in his thoughts, he heard the door open and close and quickly jumped away from Daenerys. He then saw Evelyn walk into the room. Taking one last look at the sleeping figure on the bed, he began to walk out of the room.
"Thank you again Cullen, for bringing her in." He stopped walking and turned around to face Trevelyan then bowed his head while remaining silent before he walked back out of the cabin. He made his way to his tent in a rush to continue to think.
That next morning, Daenerys woke up remembering everything including what she said to Cullen. With a groan, she hid her face under her pillow not wanting to face what the day had in store for her. She was bound to be embarrassed for her behavior from the night before. Hearing some laughter, Daenerys peeked from under the pillow and saw Evelyn laughing.
"Do you feel a hang over?"
"I don't get hang overs." Daenerys mumbled into the pillow.
"Luck you. Don't forget we have a meeting with the advisors today, so you need to get up out of bed."
"Okay, I'm up." Daenerys said with a sigh as she got out of bed to get dressed. The Herald was already in her armor with her daggers strapped to her back. She looked at her armor before putting on her leggings and dark blue dress with mid length cape. Evelyn did her hair in intricate braids that showed some of her natural brown color with her fake blonde. After her hair was finished, she strapped her katana to her side since the cape was in the way. She gave a nod to her cousin telling her she was ready to go.
Evelyn eyed Daenerys sword since she's never seen one quite like hers before in her life. She walked to the door and opened it while her cousin followed. She continued to look at the curved blade wondering what it was and where it was from. Daenerys walked out of the cabin and towards the Chantry. The Herald caught up to her cousin then grabbed her arm to slow her down when she saw a mob.
"It looks like there is a problem at the Chantry." Evelyn said seeing a huge group of people surrounding a pair that seemed to be in an argument. Daenerys gave Evelyn a look for stating the obvious. She looked over towards the mob again and saw a templar and a mage were the ones arguing with each other.
"Your kind killed the most holy!" The templar said accusingly.
"Lies! Your kind let her die!" Said the mage defending himself and other mages, not at all liking the way the templar was blaming his kind. Out of blind rage the man with the dark blonde hair slightly pulled out his sword.
"Shut your mouth mage!" Daenerys watched as her eyes grew wide from shock as Evelyn shook her head at the display. Cullen stormed out of the Chantry and got in between the two.
"Enough!" He yelled at the two while a shiver went up Daenerys spine as she smiled at him. The Herald looked down at her while raising a brow.
"Knight Commander!" The templar called out.
"That is not my title!" Cullen said now looking at the mage with sternness before looking back towards the templar. "We are not templars any longer." He then pointed at the revealed ex-templar to make himself clear. "We are all part of the Inquisition." He then turns and points to the mage to make sure both parties are clear. Daenerys raised her hand in front of her face and began fanning herself a little finding his aggressive side very attractive. An older man walked out of the crowd towards Cullen.
"And what might that be exactly?" The man said loud enough for everyone to hear him.
"Back already Chancellor? Haven't you done enough?" The Commander mocked the older man.
"I'm curious Commander, as to how your Inquisition and its "Herald" will restore order as you've promised." Both ladies looked at each other as Evelyn rolled her eyes. Daenerys eyes squint as the so called Chancellor swept his arms around at the crowd trying to cause an uproar. She began to step forward as the Herald grabbed her arm again to hold her back. Looking back, Daenerys saw Evelyn shaking her head when she heard Cullen speak again.
"Of course you are." He said with a bored tone towards the chancellor. He took a few forward and talked to the crowd to get them to move along. "Back to your duties, all of you!" Everyone scattered away as the Chancellor walked away sneering making it look like he was leaving the area. Daenerys glared after the man wanting so badly to tell him off, forgetting for that moment that he was a man with good intentions. The two women walked up to Cullen as he shook his head in disappointment from people's actions that day. When he looked in their direction, he slightly smiled at Daenerys, noticing she was avoiding his gaze which made him confused. He then looked at Evelyn knowing she was going to have something to say.
"What is going on Commander?" The Herald asked before glancing at her cousin also noticing the lack of eye contact with Cullen. "I guess she remembers what happened last night" she thought to herself as she bit the inside of her cheek.
"Mages and templars were already at war. Now they are blaming each other for the Divine's death." Cullen explained before Daenerys rolled her eyes due to the mages and templars ignorance. The Chancellor who was only a little distances away from the little group; walked back over after eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Which is why we require a proper authority to guide them back to order." He said folding his hands behind his back.
"Or perhaps you…" Daenerys began to say right before Evelyn put her hand over her mouth to shut her up. Roderick looked over at her with a raised brow wanting to hear what she had to say. Cullen crossed his arms over his chest before speaking up again.
"Who? You? Random clerics who weren't important enough to be at the conclave?"
"The rebel Inquisition and it's so called "Herald of Andraste"? I think not." Roderick retorted as Cullen stood up for Evelyn. At this point Daenerys was shaking in anger wanting now to pound the old man's face in.
"So far you're the only one who's insistently saying we can't work together." Evelyn replied cleverly since she's also getting tired of the crap the man was saying.
"We might if your Inquisition would recognize the Chantry's authority." Roderick said trying to make them see his logic. Cullen rolled his eyes while standing his ground.
"There is no authority until another divine is chosen."
"In due time, Andraste will be our guide, not some days wonderer on a mountain side." The Herald took the blow without flinching as she continued to listen calmly. Daenerys on the other hand was having a very hard time biting her tongue. Evelyn looked at Cullen while ignoring the loud mouth Chancellor.
"Remind me why you're allowing the Chancellor to stay." She said with a small smirk hoping she got a rise out of Roderick. Daenerys looked at her cousin while thinking "oh snap!" as she tried to hold back a chuckle. Cullen looked at the Herald with his arms folded over his chest while Roderick answered instead of the Commander.
"Clearly your templar knows where to draw the line." Finally the modern woman couldn't keep her mouth shut any longer and ended up snapping at the man.
"She didn't ask you, now did she?" Evelyn ended up slapping her own forehead while Cullen looked at her in surprise for her words were abrasive. He then made his own response after the lady.
"He's toothless, there's no point in turning him into a martyr simply because he runs of the mouth. The Chancellor is a good indicator once we get into Val Royoux however." The Herald glanced at Roderick before speaking up again.
"How wide spread is the violence between mages and templars?"
"It's impossible to say." Cullen responded before Roderick opened his mouth again.
"Your organization flounting the Chantry's authority will not help matters."
"But with the conlave destroyed, I imagine the war between mages and templars is renewed." Cullen said with annoyance. Evelyn sighed softly feeling the same pain as Cullen at that point. The Chancellor was pissing everyone off.
"The mages and templars are fighting even though we don't really know what happened at the Temple of Sacred Ashes." The Herald said still investigating.
"Exactly why all this should be left for the new divine." Roderick said really pushing for the Chantry's power. "If you are innocent, the Chantry will establish it as so." One of Daenerys brow's rose up as she let out a snort knowing a trial will be a he said she said bull shit without any real evidence.
"That would go over very well." The modern woman said with sarcasm while glaring at Roderick.
"Or we will be happy to use a scapegoat." The Commander retorted.
"You think that nobody cares about the truth?" Roderick asked with frustration. "We all grieve Justinia's life; we won't believe the "Herald of Andraste" is conveniently swept under a carpet." The three then looked at each other while avoiding the Chancellor's gaze.
"I'll make sure they see reason in Val Royoux." Evelyn said ending the conversation.
"I pray you're right." Cullen said glad the conversation with the Chancellor was over. Evelyn grabbed Daenerys arm and steered her into the Chantry with the Commander following them. Whispers echoed in the building as they made their way to the war room.
After walking into the room with the table and maps they saw Josephine, Cassandra, and Liliana waiting for them. The spymaster raised a brow at them knowing full well what happened outside the Chantry. Ambassador Josephine cleared her throat while holding her clipboard with a candle on it while looking at the papers on it while getting ready to talk.
"What happened that made you three late?" Knowing Cullen and Evelyn dealt with enough; Daenerys was the one to speak up.
"A fight broke out between a mage and an ex templar which the Commander broke up. Then the asshole Chancellor was well… Being a dick." She summed up the situation fairly quickly. Josephine gasped at Daenerys choice of words and lack of respect.
"Daenerys, you cannot just say that." The Ambassador shook her head while Liliana smiled in amusement.
"We should discuss what we're going to do." Cassandra suggested trying to get everyone back on track and to change the subject so they could move on away from what the Herald's cousin said. The three went over to the table and stood around it, taking their positions. The Herald looked over at the Fereldon side of the map while fiddling with her hands. Due to looking confused, on what to do, Daenerys took charge and assigned the three advisors to do the little stuff.
"Well now we know what the advisors are going to do." The modern woman said proudly with a grin on her face. Everyone but Josephine gapped at her with shock that she had leadership within her. Seeing everyone's stares she asked while blinking her eyes. "What?" She continued to look around the table while avoiding gazing into Cullen's golden brown eyes that reminded her of Edward Cullen. Her face turned a bright red from embarrassment, hating the fact she was the center of attention at the moment.
"So the young lady is intelligent with assignments." Josephine said with a smile of approval. "Now we need to talk about the matter at hand… Having the Herald address the clerics is not a terrible idea." She said with thought thinking it would be a good idea for Evelyn to talk to them.
"You can't be serious." Cullen said as his brows furrowed in anger.
"It would be equivalent to feeding her to Bolton's hounds." Daenerys said referencing from The Game of Thrones. When Cullen, Trevelyan, Cassandra, and Liliana looked at her, she shrugged her shoulders while smiling knowing full well they didn't understand.
"What does that even mean?" The seeker asked with confusion wondering where the reference came from since she too reads but only secretly.
"They are ravenous hounds that only get fed when they eat a person who tries to run from them by the demand of Ramsey Bolton." She explains trying to make it sound normal since it was in the television show that she had seen.
"That is very disgusting that someone would do such a thing, but I now understand why you said those words." Cassandra agreed with Daenerys before the ambassador spoke up again.
"Mother Giselle isn't wrong; at the moment. The Chantry's only strength is that they are united in opinion." After she spoke, Cullen scratched at the back of his head in irritation as he began pacing.
"And we should ignore the danger to the Herald?" Liliana asked sarcastically as her nose wrinkled at the thought of their leader in danger from the clerics.
"Let's ask her." Josephine suggested wanting to hear Evelyn's opinion since no one could really speak for her.
"I'm more concerned this won't actually solve any problems." The Herald stated patiently as she thought of all the outcomes that could possibly happen when she meets up with the clerics in Val Royoux.
"I agree." Cullen said stopping in his pacing to look over at Josephine. "It just lends credence to the idea that we should care what the Chantry says." Daenerys tilted her head to the side a bit not understanding what the word "credence" means. When Liliana looked at her, she gave her a smile and pretended to know what was said while thinking "god damn it Cullen, you just had to use fancy words."
"I will go with her." Cassandra said stepping up closer to the table.
"As will I." Daenerys declared with her head held high like a true noble woman. She knew for a fact she wouldn't be seeing any spiders in Val Royoux so she thought it would be safe enough for her to go. Cassandra smiled at her with approval while Cullen looked over at her in surprise. It would be her first adventure with the Herald after all.
"Mother Giselle said she could provide us names? Use them." The seeker said with authority to Liliana since she was the founder to the new Inquisition.
"But why?" Liliana said defensively. "This is nothing but a-"
"What do we have Liliana?" Cassandra interrupted Liliana in mid speech which caused Daenerys brows to rise up. "Right now we can't approach anyone for help with the breach." She continued to speak logically so Liliana could hear where she was coming from.
"She does have a point." The young woman answered in agreement with the Seeker. With encouragement from Daenerys, Cassandra continued to talk.
"Use what influence we have to call the clerics together. Once they are ready, we will see this through."