If Ceraes had to pick one word to describe her relationship with Cullen, it would be "uncomplicated". They had sort of tripped into things and she was amazed at how well it was all working out.

Apparently Varric had put 10 sovereigns on her being the one to initiate things; needless to say, that was one bet he'd won rather easily. Ceraes wasn't a particularly patient woman and had grown tired to waiting for the Commander to broach the subject, so she'd done it for him. It had all gone quite smoothly if she did say so herself. It had been a bit embarrassing when that scout interrupted their kiss with some useless report, but things had turned out alright in the end.

The support from her friends was wonderful too. Everyone just accepted their being together, no questions asked. Cendres had given his approval almost immediately, as had Kyran (though she had added that if Cullen ever hurt her sister then he should expect to gain intimate knowledge on the Snowy Wyvren's gestational tract).

Yes, uncomplicated was definitely the word Ceraes would choose. But then, that was a word that could be used to describe Ceraes herself in general.

She didn't have the fate of the world resting on her shoulders like her brother did and she wasn't magically gifted, thus making her an outcast, like her sister. Compared to her siblings, Ceraes was a remarkably unremarkable young elf. Even as children, she had always seemed the most...well, normal.

Kyran had had her magic, of course, and she had spent every waking moment learning everything she could about it as soon as she understood what was going on. Honestly, Ceraes had always felt a bit lonely (and maybe even a little jealous) watching her sister with their Keeper as she discovered her new abilities.

And then there was her brother. Cendres would spend, days, weeks, sometimes even months away from the clan when he left on hunts. He would almost always return with plenty of food, herbs, and sometimes even gifts for his sisters. Books on magical theory or herbology or zoology for Kyran and a new bow or a flute and new sheet music for Ceraes.

He also almost always looked older when he came back. Ceraes knew that was most likely because they had all still been so young, still growing, but there had always been a part of her that wondered: What exactly happened to her brother when he went away? He never told her, whenever she asked where he'd been and what he'd done he would reply in the same fashion.

"Somewhere over the rainbow to find a new sky."

She still didn't understand what it meant, even now, but he always looked wistful when he said it, his eyes turning sad as he drifted away somewhere she couldn't reach him.

Ceraes shook herself from her reverie, noticing Cullen staring at her from across the chessboard.

"I'm sorry, was it my turn?" She blushed, looking at the board. Had she been winning? She couldn't remember.

"It's alright, I enjoy watching you." Cullen said.

Ceraes raised an eyebrow, grinning.

"I mean-!" He blushed, tripping over his words. "You always look so enthralled when you get lost in your thoughts, it's interesting to watch!"

Ceraes giggled, putting a hand to her mouth to hide her smile. He dragged a hand down his face but grinned back, looking embarrassed.

They played a while longer, sitting in companionable silence. After a time though, she realized he was still watching her.

"Cullen?" She cocked her head to one side, staring at him curiously.

"You always look so preoccupied," He murmured. "Where do you go when you drift away?"

Ceraes turned, watching the clouds drift by through the window of his room.

"Somewhere over the rainbow to find a new sky…" She mumbled, turning the phrase over on her tongue again.

"What?"

"Nothing," She smiled, turning back to him. "Just something my brother used to say whenever he would go away and I'd ask him where he'd been. I think it was something they must have said before the fire"

Cullen frowned slightly, giving a little sigh.

Ceraes blinked in confusion.

"Have you ever noticed," He began, shifting to rest his elbows on his knees. "That whenever I ask you something about yourself, we somehow end up talking about your brother instead?"

Ceraes stiffened, "And?"

"Well, I'd like to know more about you."

Ceraes looked away, rubbing her palms on her breeches.

"You even do it when you talk about your parents. You never call them 'mother' or 'father' or even just your parents. You always say 'they' or 'before the fire' or something like that. Why is that? They're not just his, they're your family too."

"Look," Ceraes frowned, standing to pace around the room. "Something you have to understand, something I told you the first day we met, is that learning about me, getting to know me, is learning about and getting to know Cendres. I know I'm my own person with my own experiences, but I really don't think you're quite getting it. No, don't interrupt, this is important."

She strode from one wall to the next, gesticulating wildly. Her blue eyes shone bright and she kept running her hands through her hair, mussing the wavy black locks till they stuck out at odd angles all over her head.

"My entire life quite literally revolves around my brother. Without him, I'd be dead in a forest somewhere. He didn't have to bring Kyran and I to the clan. They were very private people, even for elves, the clan didn't even know we existed. After everything that happened, after the fire, he could have just left us in the forest. We were so young, we didn't even know how to talk, we'd have just died and no one would have ever known. He didn't HAVE to save us, but he did."

"He's my whole world. I've spent all my life with him. He's not just my brother, but my father and mother too. That's why I don't call them my parents, because they really aren't, he is. He raised me. He fed and clothed me. He lulled me back to sleep when I woke screaming from nightmares. He taught me how to hunt, and to sing, and to laugh, and how to say I love you. He taught me all those things."

"I'm sorry I talk about my brother a lot, but he made me who I am. Everything you like about me, all the greatest parts of me, they all came from him. That doesn't mean I'm not my own person and that I don't take credit for my own accomplishments; my voice is my own, my thoughts are my own, my feelings are my own, but no part of me would exist without him. Imagine how different you would be if you hadn't gone into the Templar order, it's a similar thing."

Cullen finally rose, catching hold of her hand as she went around for another lap. He pulled her close and chuckled into her hair.

"I understand, I'm sorry."

Her muscles loosened and she lifted her arms to wrap around his back. She buried her face in his chest, tickling her nose on the feathers of his silly cloak.

"Do you ever take this thing off?" She muttered, her voice somewhat muffled.

"I can be persuaded every now and then." He joked, pulling back to kiss her forehead.

"But you're right, I was being unfair. Asking you to talk about your childhood and not mention your brother is like asking me to not mention the Templars. Both played very big roles in our lives, it'd be foolish to think we could leave them out of conversation."

Ceraes smiled, rising up on her toes to press her forehead against his.

"Sorry I went a little crazy, thank you for understanding. And for not running as far away from me a possible."

He tilted his head, laughing before pressing his lips against her own.

She hummed happily, her arms moving to wrap around his neck and pull him closer.

Yes, she thought as he wrapped her up in his embrace, pulling her body to his and shutting the rest of the world away. Uncomplicated. Simple. Carefree.

She knew there would come a time when things would become less so. When life would press on before they were ready. When he wouldn't accept her explanations so easily and without question. When the little box in his drawer, filled with instruments not meant for music but for power, would step between them. When ghosts from both their pasts would come back to haunt them. But for now, they would enjoy their simplicity. Enjoy uncomplicated.

She sighed as he deepened the kiss and smiled against his lips, finally understanding. In her arms she held everything her brother had always gone looking for.

Somewhere over the rainbow to find a new sky.

XX

XX

(Author's Notes:

Holy crap this took me forever to get out, I am so sorry D=
There's a good reason for it though, I promise. You see, I really, really, really, really, REALLY didn't want to write a Ceraes and Cullen chapter. Really. But I also didn't NOT want to write a Ceraes and Cullen chapter. Basically I would have felt guilty for skipping over them so I just kept putting it off. I was having an extremely hard time thinking of a good story-line for them too.
Then, while I was a work one day, it hit me.

When I made Ceraes in the game, I really didn't intend to have much of an attachment to her and I honestly don't, at least not as much as Cendres. She was pretty much a carbon copy of him in every way except for her relationship with Cullen. It's not that I don't care about her at all, of course I do, she's my baby, but I just don't really have any particularly strong feelings about her like I do Cendres or even Kyran (since when I look at Kyran I see one of my best friends in the whole world).
I really didn't expect people to be all that interested in her, so when I received messages saying:
"Can't wait for some Ceraes and Cullen stuff!"
I was pretty surprised. Happy, because that meant people were enjoying her as a character which in turn meant they were enjoying my writing, but surprised. Seriously, I'm super happy people like her, don't get me wrong, it just leaves me feeling guilty when I don't particularly want to write about her.

So, what this all means is that, while she is still going to be a big part of the story (how could she not be?), she isn't likely to have very many chapters dedicated just to her. She'll always be there and I'll always talk about her and what not, but I just have a really hard time thinking up things to write about for her. She's not going anywhere though, I promise, she's just gonna chill in the background a bit more like she likes to. Uncomplicated, see?

Anywho, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, sorry I got a little rambling here. As always, if you have any thoughts or opinions on anything, I'd love to hear them.
Also, I'll do my best to not take as long getting the next chapter out as I did this one.
See y'all next time =] )