Maxwell looked up from his books as the door opened to the lab in the mage tower. Standing in the doorway was his sister, Evelyn. She was dressed in riding clothes, simple leathers with a cloak tied around her neck.

"I'm getting ready to leave," she said, leaning her shoulder against the doorframe. "You going to be all right here?"

"I guess," he said as he leaned back in his chair to look at her. "How long am I supposed to stay up here?"

"Just a day or two," she answered. Folding her arms across her chest, she sighed heavily. "At least until Cullen is sure no one from Ostwick is going to show up again making demands."

"You think dad is going to come back?"

Shaking her head, she reassured him, "No, I don't think father is coming back. Luca's probably unable to find his arse without father there. But I can't be sure that he won't send someone here for either of us. He's pretty set on you coming back and me getting married."

The younger sibling laughed. "There's an image I didn't need." He stood up and walked over to the fireplace. Placing another log on the fire he turned to look at her. "Whoever's ass you kissed to get that letter from the king it better be a good one."

"That would be Leliana and Cullen's asses that I'll be kissing." She raised her hand to cover her face as she groaned. "Actually, I've already kissed Leliana's. I have Ser Morris reaching out to that one Orlesian merchant."

"The one with the powdered wigs and shiny baubles?" Maxwell asked, sliding his hands into the pockets of his robes. "Or the other one with the 'if you don't want to know where it came from, don't ask' guy?"

Chuckling, she held up one finger. "First one, Max. Josie is commissioning the merchant to obtain a special pair of slippers for our spymaster."

"Just one pair of slippers?"

"Boots, too," Evelyn said. "I owe her twice. For the letter and for the raven I had her send to a friend of hers."

Maxwell's eyes widened as he stepped closer to her. "She's sending a raven to her? I thought she doesn't like you."

"She doesn't. And with all this with Sebastian she probably hates me more," Evelyn said, running her hand through her hair. "I'm lucky she hasn't tried to send an assassin to kill me yet."

"You really think she'd do that? I mean, she knows you didn't agree to this marriage. It was arranged by our father?"

"She doesn't care."

"Can't believe Sebastian is in love with her. I think she's unhinged."

"He said it was love at first sight," she said with a lopsided shrug. "Having your family murdered in front of you may do that may make you a little unhinged."

Maxwell nodded his head, pulling a small wrapped package from to pocket of his robes. Unwrapping it, he offered her a piece of candy that was in the package. "Want a piece?"

"You have chocolate?" she asked as she narrowed the distance between them. "Sweet Maker, Maxwell. You've been holding out on me."

Laughing, he broke a piece off and handed it to her. His sister had a fondness for chocolates. She took it and closed her eyes as she ate it.

"Want some more?" he offered, holding out the package.

She shook her head, saying "No. Chocolate doesn't hold up well on the road. Maybe when I get back, unless if you eat it all."

"I probably will," he said, handing her another piece.

She took two more pieces from him and winked. "Thanks, little brother. I'll see you when I get back."

As she turned to leave, Maxwell snapped his fingers when he remembered what he wanted from her before she left. "I need your blood," he blurted out.

Spinning around quickly, she felt her cloak whip her legs as she turned. "My blood? Maxwell, what are you up to?"

Lifting his hands, he waved them in front of him and shook his head. "It's not blood magic or anything like that. I'm testing out that theory."

"The one about templars and non-mage phylacteries?"

"That's the one," he said. The mage was thankful that was her response. He knew that Cullen told him he was not going to mention the thorns and them possibly being poisoned causing them to be infatuated with each other. He wished the commander had just let him sit down with both to discuss it. Then again, the way his sister had been acting it might not have gone well. "I'm going to try it out while you're gone."

"How much?"

"Just a vial, that's all."

Stepping back into the lab, Evelyn removed her glove and began to roll up her sleeves. "One vial, Max. That's all. And, I get the rest of your chocolate."

Grabbing a chair, he pulled it around for her to sit down beside the table as he prepared the vial. "I thought you said it doesn't travel well on the road."

"Who said it would make it to the road?"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"You have been very quiet," Varric said as he looked across the fire at the woman. "Preoccupied with…" He shivered. "…wedding plans?"

Evelyn smiled as she ran the whetstone down the length of her blade. "Among other things, Varric." She lifted her eyes to look at the dwarf. "I have a lot on my mind right now. Wedding plans, the Inquisition, this mission…" She lowered the sword to her lap and sat the whetstone down beside her. "There's a lot going on and I'm feeling the weight of it all wearing me down."

He looked at her over the rim of his reading glasses. The sun was slowly setting, still allowing him some time to write whatever it was that he was working on. "Has to be hard juggling everything all at once."

"I've had better days, Varric."

She had asked Cassandra, Blackwall and Dorian to join her for the mission although she knew that Varric would not remain in Skyhold with Hawke going to the Western Approach. Hawke and Stroud had journeyed with them to the Approach but went ahead of them to scout the area where they think the Wardens were. Blackwall and Dorian had both retired early since they would have watch later that night. Cassandra was sitting around the fire with her and Varric, she was reading quietly next to her tent.

They had made camp near the Nazaire's Pass. Inquisition agents had already prepared for their visit thankfully. When they arrived, fresh water and a meal was on the fire being cooked. By time they made it to camp, Evelyn did not care what the food was if it filled her stomach. After several days in Skyhold, eating the meals there she became spoiled again.

Across the path from they a scout mentioned that an Orlesian researcher named Frederic had set up his equipment to do research about a dragon located in the Approach. She immediately became thankful that Iron Bull was not with them or he would have tried to convince her to go find it. The last time they got too close to a dragon was in the Hinterlands and she barely survived that attack.

"Did I hear you and Blackwall talking about traveling to Markham for the Grand Tourney? Something about boosting morale for the soldiers as well as use it for a way to recruit." She was trying to change the subject to anything other than her still pending nuptials.

Varric lowered his quill and looked at her over the rim of his glasses again. "Markham isn't too far from Ostwick. Or Starkhaven."

Nodding she pursed her lips, Evelyn began to sharpen her sword once again. "Not too far. I studied there for a short time when my parents sent me away. I was home on break when Maxwell's powers began to manifest." She shrugged, continuing to run the whetstone down the length of her blade. "After that I convinced my parents I wanted to join the Order or the Chantry."

"What were you studying? How to take over a kingdom?"

"Nothing like that," she said, smiling. "A variety of things actually. History was a big one. My mother insisted on a well rounded education so when the day came that I was pawned off on someone or if the Chantry wanted me to be a sister or templar then there was an opportunity for me to be in a better position."

"You would have made a better Seeker," Cassandra said, joining in the conversation. "With your determination and commitment to duty you would have been valuable."

The dwarf rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "That's what this world needs. Another Seeker than can't find anything."

Her eyes narrowed as the Seeker snapped her book shut. "Don't think I have forgiven you for lying to me about not knowing where Hawke was, dwarf."

"I didn't. Honestly," Varric defended himself. Pointing at the Seeker with his quill, he continued. "He was out of reach, took me days to get a hold of him. When you came to me, I had no clue where he was."

Cassandra's hands clenched tightly on the book she held. Across the fire was Varric who was now setting his writings down inside his bag. The tension between the two was growing. Evelyn shook her head.

"Do I need to separate you two again?" she warned, picking up a soft cloth to wipe down her blade. "I had enough of you two bickering and then having Blackwall and Dorian throwing jabs. I'm not in the mood to play wet-nurse to all of you."

Varric and Cassandra glared at each other momentarily before giving up. Cassandra returned her book to her bag and nodded.

"Come to think of it, Varric you never mentioned Sebastian's whereabouts when I questioned you," Cassandra said. "You mentioned everyone but the prince."

"Maybe because I didn't care where he was," the dwarf answered quickly. He turned to Evelyn. "Okay, Inquisitor. You owe me a story. How did you and Choir boy hook up?"

She looked up from her sword where she was wiping it down with the cloth. "I vaguely remember telling you to find Maxwell and hide him. Cullen did that."

"I too am quite curious," Cassandra said.

Folding her cloth, Evelyn returned it and the whetstone to her bag before sheathing her sword. Standing up, she walked over to her tent and laid her sword down on her bed roll. Turning back, she looked at the two, folding her arms across her chest. "What do you want me to say? My father saw Seb coming miles away. As soon as word got out that he was trying to raise an army to take back the throne my father offered him one with a price."

"You?" Varric said, taking off his glasses.

She nodded. Picking up her shield, she looked down at the Trevelyan family herald. "I wasn't home to protest it. I was on the road with Maxwell, Uncle Adolf and my cousins traveling across the Waking Seas on my way to the Temple of Sacred Ashes." Closing her eyes, she covered her mouth to yawn. "I found out about it right after the explosion and I woke up in Haven under arrest."

"I understood that the Prince didn't have to fight to regain the throne," Cassandra said, turning to look at the other woman. "I thought his cousin relinquished it easily."

"He did. Gorin has always done what everyone wanted him to do. He doesn't have it in him to do what had happened."

Varric's head lowered, shaking it. "Harriman was the one that sent the Flint Company to kill his family. She's the one that let the Desire Demon control her own children."

"That's what Sebastian had wrote me when he found out." She tossed her shield back down on the ground inside her tent. "If it wasn't for you and Hawke, Seb would have been killed, too."

"He's a few years older than you, is he not?" Cassandra asked as she moved to be closer to the fire. She was on first watch. "You seem very familiar with him."

"He is older than me by a few years. As being the extra he was left out a lot. Maxwell and I felt sorry for him so whenever his family or my family was visiting, we would run around together to play or just get into trouble. He was good at that."

"What about when he was – " Varric began to say but Evelyn stopped him by holding up her hand.

"I will not talk ill of Sebastian. Whatever he did before he joined the Chantry is none of my business. I was gone when that happened, so I won't talk about something I don't know." She lowered herself down to crawl into her tent. "Sorry, Varric. But if Seb didn't talk about those years with you then neither am I." She pulled the straps down on her tent to close the opening. "Wake me when it's my turn for watch."

Varric and Cassandra looked at each other. He shrugged as she shook her head.

"Maybe you should not pry so much, dwarf," she said, lifting an eyebrow as she stared across the fire at him.

"Knowing facts sometimes makes it easier when I write. Even the biggest lies have a grain of truth to them," the dwarf said. "Then again, Vael is so boring no one's interested in him."

"And yet you're curious about their relationship?"

"Prince Vael and Inquisitor Trevelyan? It is like brother and sister from the Chantry marrying in sanctimonious bliss," Varric said. "Add a little embellishment here and there and it's a best seller."

Cassandra groaned as she wiped her hand over her face. "Dwarf, you're lucky she's asleep. I would not have stopped her from slitting your throat."

"Oh, she won't do that," Varric said, waving his hand around as he stood up. "Besides I'm more curious about Curly and the Herald's relationship."

"There is no relationship, Varric!" Evelyn yelled from inside the tent. "And you better sleep with one eye open tonight."

"Shit," he muttered, softly.

Cassandra laughed as the dwarf looked at the woman's tent and frowned.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Have I ever mentioned how much I hate the desert?" Dorian said as he took a handkerchief from his waist belt and dabbed the sweat from his face with it.

Evelyn turned to him, shaking her head. "You don't like the water. You don't like the desert. You don't like bears. Is there anything you like?"

"Yes, Cousin. A well-aged vintage red, the comfort of a warm companion and –"

"I've heard enough," Cassandra said. Looking back over her shoulder at the mage, she frowned. "Some things are better left unknown, Pavus."

"Says the woman who was up all watch reading from a well-worn copy of – "

"Enough, Pavus," Cassandra interrupted him again.

Varric laughed. "Looks like you might want to sleep with one eye open tonight, too, Sparkler."

"Why do I feel as if I missed this entire conversation," Blackwall said as he steered his horse up closer to the front. "What did I miss last night?"

"You missed nothing," Cassandra said. "Varric here feels the need to pry on people's personal lives more than he should."

Riding in the front, Evelyn wore a smile on her face. The banter between her friends was just what she needed that morning. Sleep did not come easy to her that night. She woke up having a dream that had haunted her for several months. Redcliffe Castle still haunted her dreams. Waking up with sweat running down her face, her hands trembling. The dream had stopped waking her regularly when she was taking a potion that her brother had provided her but unfortunately, she did not pack any for the trip. She needed to stay alert and ready for anything during the night if attacked. That could not be accomplished if she were in a deep sleep caused by the potion.

"You do know you look like death," Dorian said as he moved his horse closer to her.

Scowling, she snorted. "Thanks, Dorian. You really know how to cheer a girl up."

"You didn't sleep at all did you?" he asked. "It was those damned fennecs, wasn't it? I caught one of those things trying to get in my pack last night."

"Maybe you should quit packing snacks all the time," she said. "Then again I think you want one for a pet. We can get one for you if you want."

"Those furry little vermin." Scoffing, he looked back over his shoulder, he spied where everyone was located while riding. He turned back to her and lowered his voice. "Maybe one."

She laughed as she pointed at him. "I knew it," she said.

"Maybe you should need a pet as well to keep your bed warm at night, Cousin," he said, looking ahead.

"I don't need anyone to warm my bed, Dorian." She held up her hand. "And I think you need to end this right now. I want to focus on this first."

"Very well. But once this is done…"

She rolled her eyes. Before leaving she had Josephine and Vivienne making sketches for wedding dresses. Maxwell was still hiding out in the mage tower just in case their father decided to come back while Evelyn was gone. The one person who typically would see a mission team as they left was not there.

Cullen.

He was no where to be found as they prepared to leave. Rylen had greeted her at the stable that morning with the remaining information and reports that Cullen had not provided her earlier. The pre-mission briefing was something she had become familiar to doing before she would leave for Skyhold. That morning, the commander was nowhere in sight. Only Rylen and the three templars that he had assigned to assist with the mission.

"There are Hawke and Stroud on the ridge," Cassandra said, moving her horse to the other side of Evelyn.

Evelyn looked back at her companions. "Everything I've read means we're probably going to be knee deep in Maker's knows what. No one's sure what the Wardens are up to and somehow the Venatori are involved, too."

"I can't believe that the Grey Wardens are working with the Venatori," Blackwall said. "That's not how the Wardens do things."

"The Wardens do whatever they want," Cassandra said. "They have no one to answer to except for themselves."

Evelyn opened and closed her left hand several times. The pain had been increasing slowly as they approached the ritual tower. "Everyone needs to be alert. I don't want to fight Wardens unless if we have to."

"The Venatori are completely different," Dorian said. "They'll shoot a fireball up our asses if we blink too long."

"There's that, too," Varric said, shaking his head. "Either way this is not going to go well."

"It never does," Dorian said, turning to the dwarf.

"Just be alert and ready for anything," Evelyn said. Looking to her right, she looked at Rylen. "I want you and your templars in the back. If there's Venatori, I may need you to neutralize any magic."

Rylen nodded. "Commander Cullen provided detailed orders for us to follow."

"I'm sure he did but he's not here right now and I need you to do what I said," she said. Seeing the look on the templars faces, she shook her head. "All of you need to stay back and provide support. That's an order."

"Yes, Inquisitor," Rylen said as he turned his horse around to look at the other templars. "You heard her. We're support."

They rode closer to the ridge where Stroud and Hawke were located. The closer they reached the more she felt the pull on her mark. Something was nearby that was pulling the power from her. Dismounting, Evelyn walked towards them as she tightened the leather straps of her shield on her left arm. She wanted to be prepared for whatever was going to be thrown at them. Just the look of the tower itself made her anxious. An ancient Tervinter ritual tower out in the middle of the desert could not be a good thing.

"I'm glad you made it, Inquisitor," Stroud said as they approached. "I fear they've already started the ritual."

Hawke covered his face with the palm of his hand. "It has to be blood magic. I hope we can stop them before more people get hurt." Looking at Evelyn, he pointed at her as he removed his two-handed sword from the sheath on his back. "You take point. I'll guard your backs."

"Everyone be alert," Evelyn said, unsheathing her sword. "If there's blood magic involved that means demons."

"Venatori, Wardens, blood magic and demons," Dorian said as he tapped the end of his staff against the ground. "All we need now is – "

"Don't say it," Cassandra warned.

"Let's go," Evelyn ordered as she began to climb the steps. She made a silent prayer to the Maker, asking for protection against what was to come.