A/N: Thanks for reading and please don't forget to leave a comment or two after reading. I love to hear what you think!

"I had attended Solona's Harrowing. She was one of my charges," Cullen said as he ran a finger leisurely up and down the length of her upper arm. "She was a lovely woman."

Evelyn smiled when she heard him describe the Hero of Ferelden as lovely. Ruthless. Courageous. Brave. Not lovely. "Lovely?"

"It was a youthful infatuation on my part," he said as he twined the fingers of his other hand together with hers as she continued to lean against his body. "It's a feeling that I had forsaken until recently." Kissing the top of her head, he smiled. "That is until I fell in a bush while sparring."

Playfully slapping him across the chest, she snorted. "And? Did you ever act on it?"

"She was one of my charges. Even if she felt the same it would have been inappropriate." He watched as her head tilted back so she could look up at him through tangled waves of brown hair. Sighing, he nodded. "Yes. There were moments of stolen kisses and quiet conversations but nothing more. I was still a Templar. Ordered to protect her and all of the mages of the Hold from themselves and the world."

Evelyn nodded as she readjusted her body against his. "Have you seen her again? After she left for the Wardens?"

"I did…once. Solona along with Alistair freed the tower during the Blight. I would be dead or mad had it not been for her." He closed his eyes, lowering his head. Resting his cheek against the top of her head, he squeezed her hand that he held. "I was in a sorry state when she found me. The things I said were…unkind…untoward. I regret them now. I wished she knew that now."

"Cassandra said she was unable to find her when they went looking for her. The king said she was on a mission," Evelyn said.

"Yes. Cassandra and Leliana was looking for Solona to go to the Conclave. When they couldn't find her, they began their search for Hawke."

She chuckled. "And you see how well that went."

Cullen laughed. "She may not admit it, but I do believe Cassandra feels that Varric may be right. We don't know if Solona or Hawke would have survived the explosion."

Turning her left hand over, she looked at her palm. "But I did," she said with a heavy heart. "I still have no memory about what happened. I remember traveling there. I vaguely remember Maxwell leaving for Haven to get supplies for Uncle Adolf. After that, nothing."

Lifting his head, he stared down at her. "I'm certain your memories will return."

Pulling away, she looked at him. "What if I don't want them to return? What if I remember something that I don't want to? What if we find out that I did cause the explosion?"

Releasing his hold on her, he cupped her cheeks in his palms and kissed her forehead. "I can honestly say that I do not believe you are capable to cause the explosion, Evelyn. I have seen evil; you are not that."

She laughed. "What makes you think I'm not evil?"

Cullen tilted his head, looking at her with a smile on his face. "Because I've looked into your eyes and have not seen that evil that men or women have deep down. You are not evil."

She wanted to protest but stopped to cover her mouth as she yawned. Cullen pulled her back to his side, wrapping his arm around her as he pulled the blankets back up to cover them as he sat there.

"Get some sleep, Evelyn," he said, kissing the top of her head once again.

"I'm not tired," she said, yawning again. "Maybe a little." She closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of his body as she sat beside him with his arms around her. "Will you stay with me?"

"As you ordered, my lady. I will remain at your side," he said, resting his cheek against the top of her head as his eyes closed.

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

Cullen woke up, his back stiff from sitting up all night. Looking down at the sleeping woman beside him, he smiled. The stiffness and pain he felt was all worth it just to wake in her arms. The feel of her body against his even if it was only physically was something he had long since forgotten how wonderful it was.

His fingers moved to push back the brown tendrils from her face as she slept. Her head resting on his shoulder just as it was when she had fell asleep during the night. His shirt a little damp from her open mouth against his tunic. "I could get used to this," he thought, kissing her on the top of her head.

"Good morning," he whispered, feeling her body move slightly against his.

Closing her mouth, she lifted her fist to rub at her tired eyes. "Is it?"

He turned to look at the faint light of the sun coming in through the flimsy fabric curtains. "I believe so. Are you ready for today?"

"Maker, no," Evelyn answered quickly as she forced herself up. "I hate being in a boat."

"Water sickness?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Confined spaces." Seeing the questioning look on his face, she forced a smile. "Come with me to the Chantry."

He nodded. "I did promise you that I would."

"Thank you, Cullen." The smile faded into a frown. "Um…you've been in here all night."

He nodded, realizing what she was meaning. "And I'm about to leave your room at first light." He covered his face, shaking his head. "Let the rumors begin."

"No one is going to care, Cullen," she reassured him. "I don't."

"But the thought of indiscretion prior to your marriage," he said. "It will not look good, Evelyn."

She shrugged, tossing the sheets off her body as she climbed out of the bed. "That's between me and the Maker." She turned back to him as she gathered her clothes. "Now get yourself together and I'll meet you out front. I want to go to the Chantry before I have to get on that forsaken boat."

"Ship," he corrected.

She tossed a pillow at his back as he got out of bed. "Whatever. Just get ready to go. Or I'll leave you behind."

o-o-o-o-o-o

Evelyn stood by the front door of the Crown and Lion waiting for Cullen to join her. It was still early enough in the morning that not many people were out and about. A pair of merchants were opening their stores. A pair of Chantry sisters were sweeping the steps leading up to the chantry.

"You shouldn't be out here alone," Cullen advised as he stepped outside. "This isn't the safest place for a woman to be out on their own."

She looked up at him. "I'm going to the Chantry, Cullen. It's probably the safest place that I can think of."

He frowned, staring down into her emerald eyes. "The Chantry can be just as dangerous as any other place in this city. I've been here before, there is nothing safe about Amaranthine."

Sucking in a deep breath, she closed her eyes and shook her head. "Good thing I have you here to escort me, isn't it?"

She turned and began to walk away leaving him where he was. Cullen rotated his neck to work the kink out of it before chasing after her again. By time he reached her, she was opening the doors to the Chantry and walking down the aisle towards the front. Pausing by the door, he watched her step between two pews and lower herself down to her knees, hands folded together as her head lowered in prayer.

Looking around, Cullen saw the Chantry was nearly empty except for three Chantry sisters that he could see near the front as they lit candles. Slowly walking down the aisle, he moved into the pew behind her and lowered himself to his knees. Folding his hands together, his eyes closed immediately in prayer. Years of preparation as a Templar, being a devout Andrastian all his life had trained him as he was.

After several minutes of silence, she finally spoke.

"Can I ask you something, Cullen?"

His head lifted to look at her back. She was still kneeling, head down. Nodding, he said, "Anything."

"Do you think I'm able to do everything that people think I should be doing?" she asked. "Do you think I can defeat Corypheus and save everyone? That the Maker has chosen me to save Thedas?"

Taking a deep breath, Cullen was not expecting questions like this from her. Asking about Kinloch Hold, asking more about Solona, asking about Kirkwall…those were questions he was expecting. Not her questioning her belief. He realized as he heard the questions replay in his mind that he had not thought about it before. Not on the level that she was wanting an answer for.

"I don't know," he answered. Opening his eyes, he watched as she lowered her forehead to rest it on top of the wooden pew in front of her. "I know that's not the answer that you wanted from me."

Reaching an arm out, he placed his hand on her back. He could feel her breathing was ragged, she was crying. Her sobs faint as her head remained bowed.

"Evelyn?" he called her name softly. "Please, talk to me."

Lifting her head, she wiped the tears from her eyes with the glove that covered her left hand. "Before I left from Ostwick to travel to the Temple with Max, my uncle and cousins, I stood at the Ostwick Chantry and recited my vows."

Cullen continued to stare at her back. She had yet to turn around to face him, but he could tell her eyes were now focused on the statue of Andraste in the front of the Chantry. "I don't understand."

"I committed myself to service however Divine Justinia deemed I was worthy to perform," she said, swiping at the tears on her cheeks. A wry laugh came from her. "A life of servitude to Andraste and the Maker Himself. To remain obedient to the most holy, submitting myself to whatever whim was deemed adequate to my insignificant abilities."

The confession was a surprise to him. He knew from the beginning that she had trained to be a Templar but never had completed her vigil or taken her first draught of lyrium. He also knew that she had trained to be an initiate to the Chantry. It had been her mother's wishes because she had no interests in marriage especially after her brother's magic began to manifest.

"I am exactly the heretic that Brother Roderick accused me of," Evelyn said. "I don't even remember how I got this mark. I don't remember much about that day or the days that followed until I woke up in irons around my wrists. Chained for bearing a mark on my hand because I had been cursed to live after the destruction. A destruction that I could have caused."

He reached his hand out to place it on her back. "You did not cause the destruction, Evelyn. Corypheus did. Cassandra and Leliana was there when you closed the rift at the Temple. They saw the vision. You tried to save the Divine."

Shaking her head, she pulled away from him. "But I failed, didn't I?" Standing up, she pulled the glove off her hand and held it out in front of her. "The last thing I remembered before waking up with Cassandra's sword at my throat with this thing was telling Maxwell to hurry up in Haven."

Standing up, he reached out to take her hand into his. Looking down at the mark that had a faint glow to it, he shook his head. "Why do you question yourself, Evelyn? You are nothing like what Roderick or his sycophants believed of you." Lifting his eyes, he took his free hand to place it under her chin to lift her head to allow their eyes to meet. "There is no one across Thedas that I would follow as I do you."

"Then why do I feel like the world is crumbling all around me, Cullen? I let my anger, my rage gets the best of me at times and I don't have control. How can anyone, especially you trust me."

He stepped out of the pew, pulling her along with him. Placing his hands on her waist, he moved into her warmth to look down at her. "We all struggle with finding our place. Sometimes it's not quite what we expected it would be."

She stepped out of his embrace and walked up to the statue of Andraste. "Today is the day that my mother threw herself off the balcony." Looking up, she stared at the statue. "I don't care what my father or his captain of the guard said. It wasn't an accident."

Taking several steps forward, Cullen moved closer to her and stood behind her. "Your brother said she fell."

"My father told him that and I didn't say anything to make him think otherwise." Folding her arms across her chest, she shook her head. "My father's behavior began to change several years ago. Right around the time that Max's powers began to show up. He became cold, distant. He spoke poorly to my mother. To me. Luca became his obsession because he knew that Max wouldn't be able to rule since he was a mage and I was a mistake."

Placing his hands on her shoulders, Cullen moved even closer to her to bring her back against his chest. Placing a soft kiss on the top of her head, he wanted her to know he was there for her.

"He might not have pushed her, but he drove her to it. The bruises on her body was not from the fall. I wore those same bruises."

He turned her around to face him. "That day in the Chantry? That was your father?"

She nodded. "Yes." Shaking her head, she dismissed it. "Bruises heal, Cullen. The memories are supposed to fade but they don't." Evelyn stared at him. "I just want you to know that whatever happens when we get to Starkhaven just know that I do care for you." She brushed the back of her hand across her cheek to wipe a tear away. "I can't make any promises about the future or if we'll have a future together. But know I would do anything for you to see you safe."

"As I would for you, Evelyn." Resting his forehead against hers, he said, "We will endure whatever may happen. The future is unwritten until it comes to pass. We write our own stories."

Lifting her eyes, she found his amber gaze staring back at her. "Guess all can't be a Varric Tethras masterpiece."

"Thankfully, no."

The doors to the Chantry opened with a thud as an Inquisition soldier ran inside. "Commander Cullen! We have riders approaching. They're demanding to see the Inquisitor."

"Under what banner?" Evelyn questioned.

The guard turned away from Cullen to look at the Inquisitor, breathing heavily. "Ostwick."

"Damnit," Evelyn cursed under her breath.

"Are they here for you?" he asked. "There was no mention of an escort."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Evelyn said, folding her arms across her chest. "The last message I received from my father was right after returning from the Western Approach. He expected me to be there before I decided to go to Halamshiral."

"Let's see what they want," Cullen said, taking her hand into his.

Evelyn nodded as she made her way out of the Chantry with Cullen right behind her. At the foot of the Chantry steps, they found themselves facing a dozen of soldiers all wearing the Ostwick heraldry across their breastplates. Captain Isaac Malloy lifted his hand into the air to motion four guards forward and pointed at Evelyn.

"By official decree of Bann Elliott Trevelyan, you are to be taken into custody and returned to the Ostwick kingdom," he said as he stepped back.

Cullen removed his sword, blocking their path as he pushed her behind him. "Stand down!"

Her hand came up to rest it on his shoulder. "Cullen. Just wait," she said softly. "Let's talk to Malloy and try to figure this out."

His breathing was hard, ragged as he stared down the Ostwick captain. She asked him a second time to return his sword to his side before he begrudgingly did as he was ordered.

"Thank you, Commander Cullen," Evelyn said as she stepped around him. Stepping up to the royal captain, she smiled at him and held out her hand to him. "Nice to see you again, Captain Malloy."

The Ostwick captain ignored her proffered hand. "Lady Trevelyan, we are under strict orders to bring you back to Ostwick as well as to return the apostate Maxwell Trevelyan to the Ostwick Circle," Malloy said.

Taking a deep breath, Evelyn shook her head. "Now's the time to remain calm, Eve," she thought to herself. "Maxwell is still under the conscription of King Alistair. He's not available. However, I'm standing right here and would like to know why my father has sent the royal guard and his men this far to collect me? I am currently en route as we speak. I'm boarding a ship midday to travel to Ostwick."

"My orders were to bring you willingly or not. If you were to protest, then I have been authorized to use whatever measures I deemed necessary."

Scratching the side of her head, she sighed. "Fine, Malloy." Lifting her eyes back to the man, she continued. "You and your men are welcomed to go over to the Crown and Lion with us so I can collect my belongings and people. I'm sure the ship captain will be more than happy to have you join us aboard."

Malloy took a step back. Before Evelyn could see what was happening, the captain held up his palm and blew a yellow powder at her face. The world around her began to fade as she felt someone grab at her hand to pull her against their body. An arm around her neck as another around her waist. The distant sound of screaming was heard before all was lost in darkness.

Cullen's sword was in his hand once again, unable to pull her back fast enough when the Ostwick captain took a step back. Cullen reacted as quickly as he could by bringing his sword around to strike forward at another guard that tried to step in the path between him and the captain that now held an unconscious Evelyn. He pushed forward again, knocking down the first guard and fought his way forward. The smell of the powder was hurting his lungs as he moved struggled forward.

"You move any more, dog. I will kill her now," Malloy said as he pressed a dagger against her throat as he held her against him. "Drop your sword now."

The commander's breathing was ragged as he felt the rage and anger burning inside of him. He watched as Malloy took the top of his dagger and began to press it against her neck, drawing a thin line of blood as he moved it slowly down from below her ear. Reluctantly his fingers loosened until the sword fell with a clatter at his feet.

Malloy smiled at him as he motioned with his head at his guards. "Strap him down, men." His smile grew as he watched two guards kick at Cullen's knees to bring the commander down as another two began to bind his hands together. "I don't take kindly to dogs killing my men."

Lifting his head up, Cullen looked up at the man who was now holding Evelyn's body over his shoulder. "You're just lucky I didn't get to you first."

The captain reached out and grasped Cullen's jaw in the palm of his gauntlet. The metal of the fingertips digging into Cullen's face. "I will enjoy seeing you try, dog." He pulled back and struck Cullen. Watching the commander fall to the ground, he snapped his fingers. "Bring him with us. If anyone else gets in our way, kill them."

"And what about the mage, sir?" another guard asked. "The bann was insistent that we bring him back, too."

"Leave him wherever he is." Malloy looked at him, shaking his head. "He's useless to us if we have the dog in our possession."

Inquisition guards came running out of the Crown and Lion followed by Iron Bull, Dorian and Varric. Weapons raised as they watched the Ostwick guard walk across the road to make their way towards the docks. More Ostwick soldiers surrounded them, weapons drawn and ready to attack anyone that came near them.

Malloy mocked the soldiers that stood in their way as he kept the dagger close in his hand, aimed at her lower back. When the Qunari stood in his way, he just looked up at him and grinned.

"You want to play, ox?" Malloy teased as he looked up at the hulking mass of the Iron Bull. "Maybe I should leash you like this dog."

"I'd like to see you try." Bull stood there with his arms folded across his chest, staring down at the Ostwick captain. "What makes you think you can walk right out of here with her or the commander?"

"I know that you won't try anything because I'll drop her intestines all over the ground the same time my men will slit that dog's throat." He glared up at Bull, staring into his one eye. "Now move."

Bull turned to look at the commander, blood trickling down his face from where Malloy had struck him with his gauntlet fist. "Cullen?"

Feeling the sword tip pressed against the side of his neck, Cullen gritted his teeth as he looked at the Qunari mercenary. "Let them pass."

"Good, dog," Malloy chided. "Now, you've heard him. Let us pass."

Bull took a step back and turned away to let them pass by. Turning, he looked over his shoulder at Dorian who was starting to conjure a spell but stopped him by placing his hand on the mage's shoulder. "Don't."

"But they have them!" Dorian shouted out.

"We're out numbered, Dorian. They have the advantage," Bull replied calmly.

"I don't like this," Varric said, still holding Bianca in his hands. "I just need one clear shot and I'll drop him."

"And he could plunge that knife into her on his way down," Bull said. His eyes continued forward on the Ostwick guards as they walked across the docks to their waiting ship. "We'll still make it there. Just a little later. They're not going to do anything to either of them."

"And why pray tell do you think that, Bull?" Dorian asked as he moved to stand in front of the Qunari.

Looking down at Dorian, he smiled. "Because they need her alive. Cullen's collateral. They need him alive, so she'll behave."

"Boss," Skinner shouted as he came running towards them from the docks. "Dockmaster said The Morningway never showed up."

Varric looked up at Bull. "We're going to need to let Nightingale and Ruffles know what happened."

"Not yet," Bull said. Turning to Skinner, Bull looked down at the elf. "Any other ships in harbor? Don't care what it is."

"Yeah," the elf answered. "Ship looks a little sketchy though."

Bull smiled. "Just the way I like 'em. You and Rocky make sure we get passage on it." He turned to look at Dorian and placed a hand on the mage's shoulder. "We're going after them."

"Let's get moving soon," Dorian said as he gripped his staff a little tighter. "I really don't want to explain this to poor Maxwell."