Travelling back to Skyhold had never felt so long. Cullen's eyes never leaving Aoife's body for too long. Sweet Maker he had almost lost her, and she him. He couldn't let that happen again. Aoife could feel the heated gaze from her love. 'He worries too much.' Lusacana said. 'We were the ones that almost lost him.'

'I think its knocked the thought that we could be taken from each other at any time.' Aoife said. 'The difference is that I'm more likely to survive than he is thanks to you.'

'You're going to accept me? Accept my power?' Lusacana asked. 'Will you accept who you truly are?'

'I will once I have a single night with my love.' Aoife said. 'One night with Cullen and then We will become one.'

'I only want to give you my power, you forgot that?' Lusacana said with a chuckle. 'I want you to have it, I'll be resting in your soul, if you die... just don't. Or at least have a child before you do.' Aoife blushed, knowing that Cullen could see her reaction. 'Adorable! You and he will be perfect for each other.'

"Are you okay?" Cullen asked as he nudged his dracolisk to move beside her, and he placed a hand on her thigh. He heard a tiny squeak from her, and when he stroked the cloth covered flesh, he could feel her tremble. "Lusacana?" Aoife nodded. He chuckled as his hand moved to rub the small of her back instead. "When we get back to Skyhold, I want to be with you in all sense of those words." He whispered loud enough for only Aoife to hear.

"Do you think we need to give them the talk?" Loghain asked Hawke quietly as they watched the pair. "They're acting like loved up teens, not like they're..."

"Older people can still be inexperienced, Loghain." Hawke said. "She was a circle mage, and he seems to be the type that he wouldn't lay with one that he didn't truly love. We still have a full day left before we reach Skyhold, let's at least make sure that the love birds know what they're doing, okay?" The gruff 'hmm' was all she got as a reply.

As they finished setting up the camp, Saundra pulled Aoife to one side. "I want to share with you tonight, I have things to discuss with you and Loghain has a few things to discuss with Cullen, I'm sure that you won't mind." Aoife looked at Cullen, who was getting the same talk from Loghain. "It's only one night, and you'll be enjoying yourselves vastly more tomorrow night, I promise." Aoife sighed and allowed herself to be pulled into Saundra's tent.

Cullen watched as the women disappeared into the tent, he was pining for her touch immediately. "Come on." Loghain said as he nudged Cullen into their tent for that night. He closed the tent behind them. "I know what you and she will be doing tomorrow night, I thought that it was time for me to give you a little advice, especially if you've never..." The flush of red that reached the tip of Cullen's ears. "Thought so. Do you know if she..."

"Loghain this is embarrassing." Cullen said.

"Well imagine what Hawke is saying to your soon-to-be lover." The groan from Cullen as he hid his face in his pillow said it all. "So... we take it as your love being purer than the snow of Skyhold." Loghain said. "If that is the case, you don't want to rush things with her. Some ladies have pain during their first time, and some bleed. You need to listen to what she wants, so you need to keep in control of your actions."

"So you and the Commander going to be having some special alone time tomorrow night?" Hawke asked as the tent closed behind the ladies. "Have either of you done it before?"

"I haven't, I don't think he has." Aoife said. "He doesn't seem to be the type that would do something with someone he wasn't fully committed to." Hawke nodded.

"Then make sure that he knows what you want. If its your first time you could bleed or be in pain, if you feel uncomfortable he needs to know to take it easy. You will enjoy it though, just relax into it, usually its better if your first time is with someone experienced, but I think if you went to another then they would end up mysteriously dead."

"You know, boy, it would probably be better if you started out with someone..." Loghain started before the look in Cullen's eyes made him desist.

"I'm not trading her for the entirety of Skyhold." Cullen said.

"Then use your legendary Templar training to take things slow, trust me when I say your body won't want to, especially since you'd never have felt the same sensations before in your life." Loghain said. "When I first took my wife to bed, that was an experience in itself, though it will probably be very dull in comparison to what you and she will feel. You have a much deeper connection with her than I did with my wife. You know, I hear her singing to you and it blocks out the song of the Darkspawn taint in my blood? Do you know how much that relieves me? I listen to the song of an unsullied Dragon Queen singing to her lover, I can only imagine what you'll feel when you..."

"Loghain, go further with that thought and I'll kill you here myself." Cullen growled.

"I'll take your advice into consideration." Aoife said to Saundra as she lay on her bed. "I... I just feel..."

"A throb deep inside when you think of him?" Saundra asked, a choked noise was all she got as reply. "Perfectly normal, and it will just get more and more insistent until you do something about it. That is lust's work at hand, you want him, and you know he wants you, so your mind fills in the blanks to get you to do something about it. You'll find that the ache will fade after tomorrow night, it'll still be there but it would have faded. It never truly disappears, no matter how much you sate yourself in his presence."

'Is that true?' Aoife asked Lusacana.

'Every word, the difference is that yours is more intense because we're both wanting him. They do, however, care about you and him.' She could feel the dragon's soul give a loud purr. 'I think they don't want an explosion of magical energy, you're a mage with a dragon's soul and Fen'Harel's Rift abilities from his focus.'

'That is why he knew about the orb, it was his?'

'Indeed, I thought I explained this before.' Lusacana said with a chuckle. 'Then again you were too stunned by seeing Tarasyl'an te'las for the first time. His power is likely to be locked in the orb, do not let it be destroyed. If you do, there's no telling what will happen. Now, get some sleep. Tomorrow night you probably won't be getting much.' A blush spread over Aoife's cheeks.

"Thedas to Aoife, Thedas to Aoife, come in Aoife." She heard Saundra say with a humorous tone. "Daydreaming about Cullen?" The blush on Aoife's cheeks spread. "Knew it!" The woman chuckled. "Tomorrow night will be entertaining. Try not to set Skyhold on fire though, I like it there."

Aoife was the first out of her tent the next day, and she immediately sought out Cullen, having missed his presence for the entirety of the night. His scent, his kisses, waking up to being held in his arms. Yet most of all she missed his presence, being close to him she could feel each emotion he had to offer her. Yet she couldn't locate her love anywhere and she started to panic. Until she felt an arm pull her into a bush. "Varric?" She gasped.

"Curly is practicing, he had a wake up call when he was made Tranquil. He also got some new skills, I'm quite impressed. He hasn't had a chance to show anyone his new skills, because he hasn't mastered them yet. Follow me." Varric said as she tugged her away from the camp ground. "Be quiet, if he sees, hears or feels you, chances are he'll stop and you won't see anything."

'I'll take care of the 'feel', you don't have to worry about him being alerted by our presence. I want to see his abilities for myself too.' Lusacana said, keeping the song at the same level as if Aoife had been asleep. 'Follow the dwarf.'

They eventually found themselves at a waterfall, and Aoife watched as Cullen lifted a greatsword up. She guessed that it was a weapon choice he picked up from Valor. She could sense the presence of the Spirit within Cullen, a kernel of the power that released him from his state. Some of Valor was still inside him, as was the case of a few warriors who had been through what he had. She watched as he moved gracefully, even with the greatsword.

'Templar augmented by a spirit and not Lyrium. This is interesting.' The dragon said as she sharpened Aoife's eyesight. 'He is pulling on the Veil slightly, a little like you can do, but does so only for an augment. Not quite Mage, but not an ordinary Templar either. No wonder he left early, this is new for him.' With her sharpened sight, Aoife could see that he was surrounded in a slight haze. Suddenly she saw it retract closely to Cullen then explode outwards, and he fell to his knees, panting. She wanted to run out there and comfort him, and she suddenly saw him tense, his eyes moving to where she and Varric were hiding. 'His senses have also improved because of his connection to the Fade, he feels my presence, not yours or Varric's. I'm an Old God, I live in dreams, and that is what the Fade is. Show yourself, he will just come to investigate otherwise.' Aoife sighed as she puled herself out of the bush.

"I didn't want you to see." Cullen said as he averted his eyes, shame and embarrassment showing on his features. "I..." Aoife pressed into him, effectively silencing him.

"You don't have to be ashamed around me. I love you." She kissed his bare chest. "It's because of me that this happened to you. I couldn't see you being reduced to little better than a Tranquil Mage, but it was bound to be so much worse because you knew what it did." She clung to him. "Because of me... you had to do go through that period of emptiness and now... you have to relearn everything from scratch." She started to cry. "I can feel the veil bending and contorting, I never realised that the Spirit would cause so much changes, especially as it has altered just how you fight."

"Shh." Cullen said as he kissed her on her head. "I wouldn't be able to enjoy my time with you if I wasn't able to feel what I know I should be feeling. I... I think that you did the right thing, I know you did the right thing." He pulled her tighter against him, before blushing when he recalled Loghain's words. "I... wanttosharemybedwithyoutonight." Cullen blurted out all at once. He hoped that she didn't ask him to repeat. Her response to him was a kiss.

"Wild dracolisks couldn't keep me away." Aoife said once she released his lips. "But I'd rather my bed, its enclosed and less breezy, and a lot more public." The last statement was followed by a wink. "I don't care if the entire fortress starts talking you, my Prince, are mine." She danced away from him before he could react to her. The next minute she was off, running back towards the camp giggling like one of the girls he would have known from his village, it took him a moment to see why.

"Give me back my breeches!" He shouted as he ran after her, knowing that was what she wanted. He had remembered what Cassandra said about High Dragons causing males to chase them just to show off their virility. He would teach her to challenge him, he would catch her and pin her to the nearest surface and... oh Maker he would teach her! He then noticed that she had slipped and he went straight from wanting to teach her not to incite him to wanting to protect her. He pulled her into his arms, he placed small kisses all over her face, trying to kiss away the pain that she was feeling. "You don't have your wings, my dearest Dragon Queen." He mumbled into her hair before plucking his breeches out of her hands. He then gently pulled her into his arms as he stood up, carrying her as he had done before, bridal style. She clung to him, aching for his touch, she felt his fingers stroking so close to where a fire was steadily growing.

"Want you." Aoife growled out, her hand reaching down stroking the growing bulge, hearing him hiss. "I can tell you want me too."

"You're driving me insane." He caught her lips in a hungry kiss, wanting to pin her to a tree and take what was so freely offered. He didn't realise that his body was following through with his fantasy until he felt her legs wrap around his waist. Her heat pressing deliciously against his body's aching need. His teeth biting into her shoulder. "Tonight, just a little longer." He gasped, reluctantly pulling back, and hearing her own dissatisfied noises. "I will make sure that your every desire is sated tonight, and every night, we just need to wait a little longer." He slowly lowered her legs back to the ground, and it took all his remaining willpower to walk into the camp to change.

He could still smell her scent, and the small amount of blood that trickled from her leg wound. That he would have to remedy. He pulled out one of the salves that she had given him for minor wounds, along with some fresh water and a clean cloth. He motioned to a log that they had been using the previous night to sit on. "Sit." He said, and she obliged him as he gently cleaned the mud from the wound, Cullen leaned down and gently licked Aoife's wound. Her breathy inhalation of pleasure over pain pleased him. "Tonight, my love." He said quietly before kissing the wound and uncorking the salve and dipping a finger into it, wiping it over the wound, watching in satisfaction as it seemed to heal the wound instantly. He knew that it was just the skin, and that the tissues under would take longer to heal, but the idea was to stop infection and further bleeding. Too much strain would rip open the skin and cause the wound to appear again.

Eventually they arrived back at Skyhold in late afternoon. Aoife had never been so happy to see the walls that made up her fortress. "Cullen..."

"Later, I promise you sweetheart." Cullen said in reply. "I'll call Josephine and Leliana to the meeting room. We need to strike as soon as possible." He was off before Aoife could say anything else.

"It's not you." Loghain said, beating Saundra to talking to her. He offered his arm, and smiled as she took it. "He is trying not to pin you against the very walls you just walked through. He wants you that badly." He walked towards his room. "Before we go to the war room, I'm sure that I have a message from my daughter that I need to read, and I would like you to be there when I read it in case she has said something that has interest to this situation." He said hoping that it would distract her from her hormones. Aoife nodded and followed the ageing Warden.

When they reached his rook, as expected there was a letter sealed with the royal seal of Ferelden. "A moment." He said as he opened the seal carefully before reading the letter.

'Dear father,

It is a pleasure to hear from you.

I can confirm that my husband has not acted out of the ordinary. He has never changed since the day we wed. You mentioned a song that had invaded your mind. He says that its never been any louder than a small whisper to him, however when the Warden-Commander went missing he remembered her saying that the Calling had begun for her. When I asked him about what that was, he declined to answer more than saying that it was 'a Grey Warden thing'. I assume that this is what you wanted to know.

As for your request, my husband refuses to think about such an action without first meeting this Cullen Rutherford. He believes that he is the only member of the current royal line, and he would need some discernible proof that he is of the Theirin bloodline himself. I know that you would not lie about something so serious, you've never done so before. You are an honourable man, even if the others at court did not believe it. I hope that the Inquisition accepts this as an invitation to the Royal Court here in Denerim. You, of course, are cordially invited also.

I look forward to meeting the Inquisitor, she sounds like a charming woman.

Forever your loving daughter,

Queen Anora Theirin.'

He handed the letter to Aoife when he had finished reading it. "You actually wrote to the Queen." Aoife said in shock. "I... I didn't expect you to do so..."

"I know you didn't, but it was appropriate." Loghain replied. "You're lucky that Cullen has you, Anora would tear him to shreds if he went alone."

"You are coming too." Aoife said with a small smile. "Your daughter sounds like she wants to see you, not in as many words, but as a woman myself, that is the words I would use." Loghain chuckled. "Well, will you come Loghain Mac Tir? Will you come if I insist that you will accompany us?"

"If you feel like my tactical expertise will be of use for you, Lady Inquisitor." He said with a bow. "May I suggest taking Lady Montilyet and Sister Leliana with you also? An ambassador would be of use, and I seem to recall that our dear Nightingale always made the King at least a little nervous. He may be more open to the idea of your love being his kid brother that way."

"Why couldn't King Maric be alive to actually deal with his progeny?" Aoife asked with a sigh. "It would have been so much easier if he dealt with them as and when they were birthed."

"Well you could technically force Alistair into believing that Cullen is his brother by simply bending him to your will. Cullen and Alistair share Maric's blood, if your... if Lusacana's powers can sing to her mate's blood, then, I think, that he will also feel that same calling." The Warden folded away the paper. "Alas, doing things that way may lead to Cullen battling Alistair over you." He sighed. "I could give you one little bit of information though. You met his mother in Redcliffe, had a nice little chat with her." Aoife blinked as she recalled the meeting.

"Grand Enchanter Fiona?" Aoife asked, shock clearly showing in her eyes., Loghain inclined his head. "He's elf-blooded? Wow... just wow, I would never have imagined!"

"We should head to the others before a certain someone comes kicking my door down." Loghain said cutting off any further questioning. "We need to go to the War Room, you need to broach the trip to Denerim with the others." He placed the folded letter in her hand. "Inquisitor." He said as he nodded towards the door, which Aoife took as her hint to leave. She walked to the War Room with Loghain a few steps behind her.

The moment that she entered, even though his back was turned, she saw Cullen stand a little straighter. She saw the ladies titter as they noticed the Commander's stance change. "We were invited to Denerim." Aoife said giving Loghain a look as she placed the letter on the table. "We should go." She said with a smile. "Once we deal with the Grey Wardens and the assassination attempt that is. Until then, we're on a definite deadline. We can't afford to visit Denerim at the moment." She looked at Cullen with a smile, she could see how he was biting his lip, looking nervously between Josephine and Leliana. Leliana was trying not to chuckle, and Josephine was staring at him.

"You... you're... you can't be!" Josephine gasped as she stared, seeing Cullen in a new light for the first time. "You're... you're a Theirin?!" The look on her face was priceless, part of her was eyeing up the Fereldan Prince, who instinctively moved behind Aoife, placing the Dragon Queen between him and the Antivan.

"Back off." Aoife growled possessively, Josephine took a step back. She hadn't expected the possessive ire of a goddess to be focused on her. "He is mine." It was then that she felt Cullen press against her back, and she let out the smallest of whimpers. She was lost in the sensations.

"Do whatever you need to do to get the siege weaponry. Adamant is old, modern siege weaponry should demolish the walls and such with ease." Cullen smirked. "Pull in favours, do whatever it takes, get them." He nuzzled Aoife's neck. "I suggest not interrupting us for the rest of the day. In fact, don't interrupt us at all." A hand snaked around her waist, he could feel her tremble in anticipation. He shot Loghain a glance, and saw a minute nod from him. The old Warden would make sure that they weren't disturbed. He then guided Aoife from the War Room towards her private quarters.

FADE TO BLACK

As the sun rose in the sky, Aoife watched as Cullen slept peacefully as her hand rested against her belly. She knew that he was having such a pleasant sleep. She kissed him gently, watching as his eyes flicker open. "I love you, my beloved." She said with another kiss before she heard a knock on the door. Aoife watched as Cullen just reclined on the bed, letting her go. She pouted as she wrapped her body in a robe, and walked to the door and opened it to reveal Loghain, with dark bags under his eyes.

"You pair really can't keep quiet." He said as he tried to hide a yawn. "Every time I dozed off I heard a trill of song in my head. I'm guessing that he's better than you anticipated?" He handed Aoife a bag. "I thought that he would like a change of clothing. I also penned an appropriate response to my daughter about going to Denerim once we dealt with the immediate threats of the Grey Wardens and whatever is happening in Orlais with the Empress. Anyway, I'm glad that you and he finally got it on. You've both been chasing each other that now that you've finally done what you've wanted to do for weeks... maybe the sexual tension in the air will ease." Aoife's jaw dropped. "I've been feeling like grabbing any of the women and..." She could swear that he was embarrassed by his own lustful desires. "We will await your arrival at the war table." He said before turning to leave. "Don't take too long, we have news for you."

Aoife returned to Cullen with his clothing. "We need to get someone in to clean the bed linen." He said as he pulled her to him. "Last night was delightfully messy." Cullen said as he pulled her robe from her shoulders, admiring the possessive bruising on her skin. She could see the smirk on his face grow. "Perfect." He said as he nuzzled the most prominent bite mark before taking the bag from her. "I suppose that we should get cleaned and dressed." He said as he turned her towards the wash bowl. "I took the liberty of washing up while you were talking to Loghain." He said as he pulled out the clothing and started to get dressed. "Also, I like admiring your gorgeous body so it's a perfect scenario for me."

Once washed and dressed, the loving pair walked down to the war room clutching hands, or never more than a touch away from the other. "Glad you could join us Inquisitor, Commander." Leliana said with the smallest of chuckles. "I hope that you had a... most pleasant night last night." Aoife could just see Josephine and Cassandra smirking in response. Leliana linked her arm with Aoife's and led her to one side. "So how many times did you..."

"Leliana!" Aoife cried as she blushed, her eyes flashing to Cullen.

"I heard you..." Leliana then whispered into her ear, watching in amusement when Aoife ran back to Cullen, trying to hide her face in his shirt, feeling his arms encircle her, one hand cupping her ass.

"You had news." Cullen said casually as he wrapped one of Aoife's legs around his waist, the movement allowing him to brush her core against him, making Aoife gasp quietly. The ladies all looked on bemused. They all remembered how they had felt for their first love, but Aoife was taking it to a whole new level.

"Yes." Josephine said with a grin. "We have had some news from our contacts in Jader. We are getting their siege equipment." Josephine said. "They are heading to the Western Approach as we speak. You should head out as soon as possible." She looked specifically at Cullen. "Try not to make our dear Inquisitor weak at the knees all the time. She may need to move fast and in a hurry there." She said with a knowing grin.

"I know." Cullen said as he gently released Aoife, who gave the smallest noises of complaint. "Time to go and free some Grey Wardens from Corypheus. Do you think you can ride by yourself, or do you need me to..."

"I'll be fine." Aoife said quickly. "So long as you remain close to me, my love."

Author Note: I have released the full version of this chapter on my AO3 account. Find the link in my profile if you wish to read it.