"You've got to be fucking kidding me." I mutter as I finish buttoning up the silk, navy blue top that was in the clothes Zevran left for me. Sure the, what I assume to be Orlesian, silk feels nice on my skin but anything that's not a dirty and wet tunic that's worn for weeks always feels nice. Yet, that wasn't my problem. While I have no idea how he managed it, Zevran stealthily took my underclothes including my breast band and neglected to replace it. Had it been warmer around the fortress, I wouldn't mind but with such thin fabric, little was left to the imagination. Something I'm sure Zevran had intended. I glance down at the stiffened peaks pressing through my shirt. Let's hope I don't have any important meetings with nobles or anybody from the chantry.

Seeing my cloak that I had thrown onto the little bed in my excitement to have a bath, I pick it up. Immediately I get a whiff of the stench that clung to it from my night in the stables and gag. Maker it smells like something died. Setting it back down, I debate whether or not I should just wear it anyways to at least somewhat conceal the obvious nipping situation happening. On one hand, I doubt Cullen would mind either way but the others might have an issue with it. Against my better judgement, I pocket my cloak pin and leave it in the room to be picked up later by the laundress.

The usual chilly breeze immediately greets me as I open the door and I wince as it goes straight through the thin fabric of my top. I grimace and start toward the door to the keep when I hear a giggle behind me.

"Careful, yeah?" Sera chuckles from behind me. "Don't want to stick your Cully-Wully in the eye with those."

Crossing my arms over my chest, I grimace before turning around. A blush rises to my cheeks as I notice the few people below in the garden area. "Shhh." I hiss. "No need to shout it to the world."

She snorts at this as she casually walks across the roof surrounding the garden. Jumping down onto the walkway, she smirks. "Happy to see you aren't dead and still have your trousers. That non-elfy elf guy that left the room before you looked like he had clothes in his hand. I figured something happened in there with you two." As she raises a hand, I notice the fresh green apple in her palm and wait for her to take a bite but she doesn't it. Instead she looks over the walkway barricade at the people below before turning to flash me a wide grin. She almost looked mad. "Watch this!" She whispers. "This is my favorite!"

Before I have an opportunity to ask, she chucks the apple below and I watch as it strikes the breastplate of a large former templar. His eyes widen with shock before his expression shifts to annoyance then anger as he looks around for his assailant. When his eyes move up to the walkway, my eyes widen as Sera quickly ducks behind the wall. "You!" The man hollers, pointing an accusing finger at me. "Stay right there! You're in big trouble!" He yells, stomping out of my view.

"Shite." Sera mutters, seeing the man stomp off. She points ahead of us. "Quick. Onto the roof!"

My shirt situation temporarily forgotten, I jump the wall and follow her as she effortlessly runs around toward the battlements nearby. She jumps the wall and beckons for me to hurry. The soles of my soft leather boots slide with every other step as I tentatively cross the wooden slats of the roof. One of the slats dislodge and I stumble forward, catching myself as Sera calls for me to watch out. The door of the keep slams against the stone as I turn to see the enraged templar storming down the walkway toward me.

"Shit." I mutter, scrambling away as I hear those watching below gasp. He yells that he'll report us to the Commander as I make it to the section of the battlements wall that Sera motions me toward. Running, I jump and grab hold of the wall, the stone so smooth that my boots slip off as I try to climb over. Sera offers her hand and I manage to find enough traction to get over. Sera releases my hand as I make it over and she giggles manically as she takes off up the nearby stairs, calling for me to hurry.

Rising, I shoot a quick glance at the templar as he carefully makes his way toward me as he continues to yell threats and obscenities at me. My heart pounds loudly in my chest as a short bark of laughter escapes me and I run after Sera. I follow as she runs through the empty towers, jumping over residual broken furniture and skidding around corners with such ease that I couldn't help but wonder how many people she had had to escape in the past month.

Without stopping, she quickly veers off and practically flies down the zigzagging stairs before running past the little training area. I turn my head to see if the templar is still chasing us when I hit what feels like a brick wall at full speed. I topple over onto whatever I hit and feel my breath escape me. Coughing and gasping for air, I turn my head to the side and try to catch my breath as I feel somebody touch my arm.

Hearing a groan below me, I raise my head to look beneath me. My vision swims from the impact but eventually I make out the blond hair and fur-lined collar of Cullen's cloak. I blink at him as he looks up at me. Shit.

"Um…hi Cullen." I croak, giving him a sheepish grin before turning my head to the side to cough.

"What were you doing, Lena?" He frowns. "Are you alright?"

Coughing some more, I nod. "I was just running—"

Before I can explain, we hear the templar call out to me. Remaining where I am, I turn my head to see the man, red-faced with his sword drawn, stalk toward us. "You!" He snarls. His eyes shift to see Cullen beneath me and he points his sword at me. "Commander, are you alright?" He asks.

Cullen groans. "Lena, if you please?" He says, motioning me off. "Professionalism, remember?"

The heat rises to my cheeks as I notice people gathering to watch the spectacle. "Right…sorry."

I get up and offer a hand to him which he accepts. He rises and dusts himself off before switching to Commander mode as he raises his chin. "I'm fine. Put that sword away. What's this all about?"

The man sheathes his sword as told and points an accusing finger at me. "That bitch assaulted me. I expect her to be punished."

Hearing this, Cullen shoots me an exasperated look before turning to glare at the man. "I'd watch your tongue when speaking about the Inquisitor. You must remember that it is she who risked her life to allow us to escape Haven. If not for her, we wouldn't be here."

Gasps sound from around us and the man's eyes widen as he looks at me. I raise my brows as he stammers for a moment before dropping to his knee. Saluting me, he bows his head. "Forgive me, Herald. I did not know it was you…"

Cullen raises a brow at me. "Now, what is this about an assault?"

From the corner of my eye, I notice Sera leaning against the stone staircase leading up into the keep. She smirks as she raises a brow. Clearing my throat, I try to think of something quick so I don't have to implicate Sera. "I accidently hit him with an apple." I finally reply, reacting a skeptical look from Cullen.

"An…apple?"

I nod. "Yes. I found a rotten apple from the walkway above the garden area into the garden. I was unaware of the garden's renovations in my absence and realized too late that there were people in the area." I lie, frowning at the man. "I apologize. Assaulting you wasn't my intention."

Cullen studies me for a moment before nodding. "You were gone for quite a while and we have yet to brief you on the improvements. Now that you're aware, you really should be more careful, Your Worship."

As the templar once more apologizes for his name calling, Cullen dismisses everybody and breaks up the crowd before turning to me. He sighs. "Somehow I doubt you were the one to throw the apple but we can discuss that later." He says quietly. He glances around us for potential eavesdroppers before giving me a small grin. "You smell lovely by the way." He chuckles. "You're even wearing different clothes…" His eyes move down to my shirt and his words trail off. His cheeks pinken slightly as he quickly looks away. "You look very nice." He says, his voice taking on a husky tone. He reaches up to rub his neck nervously and I smirk. Maybe Zevran made the right choice.

"Everything alright, Commander?"

"Yes, of course…" He says, looking up to meet my gaze before averting his eyes once more. "I just…"

"I'm looking forward to tonight." I interrupt, keeping my voice low.

His eyes widen slightly as he looks up. "Oh?"

Biting my lip to suppress a giggle, I nod. "Yeah. It'll be nice."

A grin starts to spread on his handsome face as he straightens. "Before you ran into me, I was just thinking about you."

I feel my heart flutter slightly at this. "Oh yeah? Dirty thoughts I hope." I chuckle as he blushes.

"Maker's breath…" He mutters, glancing around us. Turning away slightly, he motions for me to follow. "Come with me. I want to show you something."

Raising a brow, I follow him to the nearby building where a sign of Andraste holding a limp person wrapped in a white sheet hangs near the door of the building. I frown as I notice the green arcing energy coming off the limp person's hand and absently touch my own marked hand. "What is this place?" I ask, a chill going down my spine as I look away from the sign. "I thought this was supposed to be the tavern?" As I say this, two scouts exit and we hear the voices of a bard singing and people talking over the sound of clinking metal. They salute us as they notice us but my attention is drawn to the inside.

"It's still a tavern."

"It looks good. Cleaner than when we first went in it." I comment, stepping inside the doorway and pausing as my eyes adjust. Cullen enters behind me and shuts the door before touching my arm. I glance at him and he grins as he points to the wall beside me where a plaque sits. The Herald's Rest. "Aww. You named the tavern after me?" I chuckle. "You shouldn't have."

He smiles. "Originally, it was called Andraste's Rest but I suggested it be named after you. After all, we wouldn't be here if not for you."

We exchange a smile. The inside is loud so I have to lean in slightly toward his ear. "You have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now." I say, pulling back to see him blush. He grins and I feel his hand graze mine.

"Likewise." He says, quietly. He pulls his hand away as somebody calls my name from somewhere near the back. We turn and I grin as I spot Bodahn standing and waving to me from a table near the back. I wave back and he beckons me over.

"Well, looks like I'm needed." I chuckle, turning to face him once more. I nudge him. "Come have a drink with me. It's been forever since last had a drink together."

"As nice as that sounds, I should be getting back to my tower." He says, turning toward the door. He pauses as he places a hand on the door. He looks at me with a softened yet sorrowful expression which makes me raise a brow. "Perhaps later. I have a few things I need to do before…" He pauses, clearing his throat as a blush starts to creep up. "Before tonight."

He excuses himself and leaves me as I hear my name called once more. Why did he look at me like that? I wonder, glancing at the door as it shuts behind him. I push the thought aside and head toward the back.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite Inquisition leader!" Varric smirks from his seat across from Bodahn and Sandal. He raises his tankard in acknowledgement as he pats the bench beside him. "Here. Take a load off."

"Just don't tell Cassandra that I'm your favorite." I chuckle. "She might get jealous." Smiling, I come to sit beside him and he calls over one of the barmaids. As he tries to get her attention, I turn my attention toward the two in front of me.

"Good to see you again!" Bodahn says with a huge grin. "I feel that I must apologize for when we last met."

"Oh?" I ask, raising a brow. "What for?"

I watch as his cheeks redden in the nearby candlelight. "When we last met, I had no idea that you were the Inquisitor!" He exclaims. "Had I known, Your Worship…"

I hold up a hand to stop him, smiling. "There's no need to apologize. I doubt most people here even know what the Inquisitor looks like. Most people believe that the Inquisitor is a man." Remembering the punch I got for revealing myself, I touch my nose. I frown. "This misconception is common given that there's an imposter out there who is claiming to be me and doing bad things."

"Yeah, I'm still curious about how that's worked so far." Varric snorts. "They don't exactly possess the one thing that makes you the Herald."

"Boom!" Sandal beams. His father gently hushes him before turning to me.

"If you don't mind my asking, what is it exactly?" Bodahn asks, his eyes wide with curiosity. "I don't believe you showed it at Gherlen's Pass."

As he says this, my hand suddenly ignites and I jump. Green light illuminates our little area and a few people turn to look at me. "Cut it out, mage." I hear from nearby. "This isn't the circle. We don't want any of that shit in here." A few mages around us look warily at us as a couple templars nearby glare at me before I close my hand to extinguish it.

"Fucking mages." I hear one hiss to the person next to him. "The Inquisitor made a mistake in aligning with those abominations. If it were up to me, I'd lock them up or execute them."

Bodahn stares at my hand with awe and starts asking questions but I barely hear him as I feel my blood starting to boil. Varric notices and slowly sets his tankard down. "Lena…." He warns.

My eyes shift to look at him with a steely gaze and I shake my head. "No. I refuse to let bastards like that talk like that about our allies. That is not how I'm running things." I turn to a puzzled looking Bodahn. "Excuse me for a moment."

"Of course." He nods as Varric curses under his breath. Rising from my seat, I turn around and walk back toward the table. As I approach, the others whisper and point to me so that the asshole who made the comments turns around. He sneers at me after looking me over. "Can I help you, mage?" He spits.

"Leave."

He scoffs. "Excuse me?"

My face remains flat. "You heard me. Leave. Now."

His eyes sweep over me once. "And who the fuck are you to tell me what to do? I doubt the Inquisitor would like to hear what you're saying to me right now. Neither would the Commander."

Varric turns around and comes to my aid. "I doubt smart mouthing the Inquisitor herself will go over well."

The other templars scoff but I notice the apprehension in their expressions. The main guy scoffs. "Whatever, dwarf. Everybody knows that the Inquisitor is still out on the Storm Coast."

As soon as he says this, one of the women sitting across from him speaks. "Actually, I saw one of her advisors who always travels with her out near the training yard today. I believe she's back."

Before either of us have a chance to respond, Bull strides over as the tavern quiets as people turn to watch the commotion. As a giant horned Qunari who stands at least a foot above even the tallest templar, many of the group gape at him. "Need any help, Boss?" He asks, smiling at me. My gaze stays trained on the man who sneers at me.

"Not if he does as commanded and leaves." I glance at the others who have yet to look away from the giant mercenary. "If anybody else has any issues with our mage allies, you may also leave. We are the Inquisition. We're all types of people coming together to fight for a cause. If you believe you are above anybody else here at Skyhold," I point off toward the door. "the door is right there. This isn't a place for closed-minded bigots. Skyhold is open to every person who wants to help us fight Corypheus. If you can't work with everybody here, I don't want you here." I look around at people watching me. "I don't give a shit about what race you are, what gender you identify, who you're sexually attracted to or where you're from. All I care about is that everybody works together to save Thedas because it's our home."

People nod and I notice a couple smiles around the room. I turn my attention toward the man once more. "Now, I recommend that you change your tune. As I've heard our commander say many times, you are no longer Templars. You are part of the Inquisition and the mages are as well. They're our allies and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Do I make myself clear?"

The man glares at me and says nothing for a long moment. "Yes, Your Worship." He mutters.

I nod. "Good. If I hear you bad-mouth our allies once more, you're gone. I don't need assholes like that in the Inquisition." I pause as I start turning to thank Bull. "And the Commander will hear about this." I say.

Annoyed, the man jumps up from his seat and I notice both Bull and Varric reach for their weapons. The other templars follow suit and the man glares at me once more before he motions for the group to leave.

"Well that was exciting." Bull chuckles, and I shoot him a look. "Does that happen often?"

"On occasion." I shrug. "Thanks for the backup though."

"Anytime." He smiles. "I was actually hoping to borrow you for a moment. I figured that since you hired my Chargers, you should at least meet them."

Glancing at those at my table, I motion for Varric to join while shooting Bodahn an apologetic glance. "Sorry for this, Bodahn. Would you mind if we picked up our conversation later on? Possibly at dinner?"

Sandal stares at Bull with mild curiosity as Bodahn grins. "Of course, Your Worship! I know you're a busy woman. We can speak later."

I thank him and turn my gaze to Varric. "You might as well come to seeing as they're your allies as well." He eyes Bull apprehensively for a moment.

"I guess that would be wise." Draining his tankard, he picks up Bianca and straps it on his back before rising.

"Varric, this is Iron Bull." I introduce as he walks over. "He's our new ally and the leader of the mercenary group, Bull's Chargers. Bull, this is our resident storyteller and all around badass, Varric Tethras."

"You flatter me." Varric chuckles, coming to stand before us. I suppress the urge to laugh as I see how much Varric has to look up just to talk to Bull. "Back in Kirkwall, believe it or not, I met the Arishok. Not one of my favorite moments."

"Oh, the old one?" Bull asks, earning a nod. He lets out a dreamy sigh. "Man, he had an impressive rack." My brows furrow as I look down at his broad chest.

He shakes his head, frowning. "The new Arishok doesn't have horns at all. Usually means they're destined for something special."

"I met him too." Varric nods. "The only thing they seem to have in common is a tendency to burn things."

Bull lets out a hearty laugh which earns a couple looks. "That pretty much sums up the Antaam, yes."

"Good to see that at least two of my companions are capable of getting along." I quip. I turn to Bull. "Let's meet your Chargers!"

Turning on his heel, he ducks under a beam as he leads us to the other far end of the tavern where the chargers are gathered around a table, chanting a song.

No one can beat the Chargers 'cause we'll hit you where it hurts.

Unless you know a tavern with loose cards and looser skirts!

For every bloody battlefield, we'll gladly raise a cup.

No matter what tomorrow holds, our horns be pointing up!

"Well, here they are!" Bull beams, motioning toward them. Their little side conversation tapers off as they all turn to look at them. "You've already met Krem and Stitches."

I nod and both men nod and raise their tankards in acknowledgement. "Good to see you're in better shape, Your Worship." Stitches says. "I hope those potions I whipped up for you to take on your way back have been useful."

"They were." I smile. "Thank you." Noticing Varric's curious glance, I briefly explain. "On the Coast, I got into a fight with a bandit leader. The guy kicked my ass and I was basically bleeding from every orifice. " I chuckle. "Stitches here teamed up with Dorian to fix me up."

"It was hell of a fight." Krem smirks. "The man was giant but Lena here really held her own."

"Thanks." I chuckle, turning to look at a half amused Varric. "If you need any details of the fight for your book, you might have to ask the others. I don't remember much that happened."

"Again with the book!" He chuckles. "I told you that my work in progress is a secret. It's for me to know…"

"Yeah, yeah." I mutter, waving him off with a chuckle. I turn back to Bull. "Anyways, you were saying?"

"These other bastards you see are Rocky, Dalish, Grim and Skinner."

The dark-haired elf shoots me a disinterested look. "Yeah, I've met Skinner before." I say, flatly before turning my gaze toward Dalish. "I believe you spoke with my Dalish companion, Nevan. He told me how rare it is to see a Dalish elf away from their clan. What made you leave?"

Leaning on the table, she smirks and I notice she has the tattoos on her face as Nevan. "Our Keeper thought I should see the world a little."

"Funny. A friend of mine had the opposite problem." Varric mutters. "Daisy's Keeper fought hard to keep her with the clan."

"The Dalish don't have Templars so they can't have too many mages in a clan at once." Bull explains.

"Am not!" Dalish grins. "You know I'm not a mage. That would make me an apostate!"

"Aside from the little confrontation recently, we're a mage-friendly organization." I point out. "No harm will come to you."

"But I'm not a mage!"

My brows furrow as Bull looks at her. "You carry a staff, Dalish. It's on your back right now!"

"It's a bow!" She insists.

"Yeah, a bow that looks nothing like a bow and has a giant crystal at the tip." Krem snorts.

She giggles. "Yes. It's for aiming. Old elven trick that you wouldn't understand."

"And what about you, Grim?" I chuckle. "Are you secretly something other than what you appear to be?"

He grunts. "Grim doesn't talk much." Bull says. "I'm pretty sure he's the lost king of some small country…. or a chieftain. Something like that." Grim grunts once more.

"And what about you, Rocky?" Varric asks. "Surface dwarf?"

He shakes his head. "Nope, Orzammar. I got exiled because of some stupid noble shit." Bull gives him a look and he smirks. "Okay, and I might have also blown up part of the Shaperate."

"I heard about that!" Varric chuckles. "That was you?"

Rocky nods. "Rocky here is one of our best sappers. He can take down military fortifications faster than a Golem. "Bull comments.

"Where were you when we were sieging a Fortress in Crestwood?" I scoff. "You probably would have made Commander Cullen's job a little easier."

"Well, I'm here now if you need me." He says, winking at me. "Currently, I'm actually working on my own version of the Qunari black powder. I've almost got it!"

Bull shakes his head. "Yeah…you really don't."

"Quite the ragtag group you got there, Bull." I chuckle. "It's nice to officially meet all of you."

"They're a crazy bunch of assholes but they're mine." Bull beams, turning his attention to his lieutenant. "So, how's it going, Krem de la Creme?" He smirks.

Krem rolls his eyes. "Glad to see you found somebody new to make that joke for."

"At least it has a positive meaning." I snort. "I can only imagine what other names can come from the name Cremisius."

Varric nods. "She's right. He could call you something along the lines of 'Krempuff'."

A grin spreads across Bull's face as poor Krem looks like he wishes the ground would open up to swallow him. "I never thought of that one!"

"Wonderful." Krem groans. "I'm actually surprised you didn't come up with that one before." He turns to look at me, motioning toward his commander. "Chief loves his nicknames."

"Hey, when I was growing up, my name was only a series of numbers. Everybody gets a nickname under the Qun."

"You also get one if you travel around with Varric enough." I chuckle. "He already has names for my advisors."

"Don't forget Dorian and Cassandra as well." Varric adds. When the others look at him, he shrugs. "It's a bit of a tradition I had in Kirkwall."

"Tell me, Chief." Krem smirks. "Do they ever wear shirts under the Qun? Or do they just run around binding their breasts like that?" He motions toward Bull's armor with his chin. Bull's grin falls.

"It's a harness." He mutters.

"Right! For your pillowy man-bosoms!" Krem laughs with a wink. "Just let me know if you ever need help binding. You can really chisel something out of that overstuffed look."

It takes a moment for me to realize what he's referring to but then it clicks. My brows shoot up but Varric speaks first. "Damn. I never expected that."

"No?" Krem sneers. "Great. Now we can all talk about it." He rolls his eyes.

"I doubt Varric meant it as a judgement." I frown. "Admittedly, I'm surprised but I still view you as a man. My opinion hasn't changed."

"Great." Krem mutters, raising his tankard to his lips for a drink.

"In Qunlat, we have something called an Aqun-Athlok which is basically somebody who is born as one gender but living as another." Bull says.

"So it's common among the Qunari?" I ask, earning a nod.

"And those Aqun people aren't treated differently than real men, are they?" Krem frowns.

"They are real men, Krem, just like you are." Bull states. "A man is a man, regardless of their gender at birth."

My eyes flick over to Krem as he begins to smile. "Maybe your people aren't so bad afterall." He quips.

Bull lets out a hearty laugh. "Don't get your hopes up, Krem." He smirks. "We still come down hard on the backtalk." He turns his head to look at the others. "Chargers, I'd like you to officially meet Inquisitor Lena Trevelyan, whom you've seen kick the shit out of that bastard on the Coast..." I nod in response as they look to me before shifting their gazes to look at Varric standing beside me. "And this one of her companions, Varric Tethras."

Motioning toward Grim and Krem, they retrieve two more chairs and bring them closer. "Come. Have a couple drinks with us, Boss." Bull grins. "Maybe we'll retell the story of Lena vs the Bandit leader."

"Sounds good to me." I chuckle, taking a seat and motioning for Varric to join me. Scoffing he calls out for another few drinks and takes a seat beside me.

"Oh, this is going to be interesting."