Donal Sutherland makes a re-entry, to his own amazement, and the plot thickens. Or should I say: becomes more intricate? You're welcome to read and find out!

Enjoy!


Wintersend 29


'I don't think they bought it,' Hawke hissed bleakly from the corner of her mouth.

'I'm afraid you are correct,' Fenris murmured back.

They stood halfway the flight of steps leading from the main building to the courtyard and Hawke had just announced the Inquisitor would not be present at this night's festivities and had explained the reason why. Obviously it didn't go over well. After some stray hoorah's and lukewarm expressions of surprise, an eerie silence had fallen over the crowd; it was clear that most people didn't believe her story. And it had been such a good story too, Hawke thought glumly. She had to do something, and fast.

But exactly at that moment the Bull came into action. Not half an hour earlier, Leliana had informed him of the dire situation and had appealed to him to keep his mouth shut. The Bull had inquired snobbishly if she thought so little of the Ben-Hassrath and Leliana had tetchily answered she held them in high esteem to which the Bull concluded her request had been pointless. Leliana had agreed. And now he needed to invent a diversion and be creative about it.

'Who is in for a dance?' he bellowed at the top of his voice. He let it sound as a challenge to a fight. In the meantime he dragged a fiercely protesting Dorian behind him, in case no one had the courage, or was in the mood, to meet his bold request. He gesticulated widely and encouragingly at the Fereldan band who answered his demand with passionately bursting into an exciting tune, cranking the tempo up to the max. Especially the Fereldan bagpipe was a not to overlook mighty weapon in arousing enthusiasm, if only to make any conversation impossible by sheer force of sound.

'I refuse to succumb to this kind of vulgar pleasure,' the mage wailed behind the Qunari's broad back, 'I prefer sitting quietly in my library, enjoying an excellent glass of – hmbbmhmbharrh!'

Abruptly the Bull had cut off his lover's whinging by swirling him around and rattling his bones in his very personal and very wild version of a jig. He did it on purpose, though not to annoy his lover. Well, not entirely.

He had not only noticed the roaring silence that had taken possession of the courtyard, (to be fair, not even a born deaf person would have had difficulties with perceiving that fact,) but he also saw the sullen faces around him and felt the atmosphere making a U-turn from cheerful to frightened. Under the surface the first pulses of aggression began to bubble up; things could turn for the worst in a split second. Evidently the majority of Skyhold's inhabitants suspected something very worrying was going on and were not too pleased about being fooled. Bull even caught murmurs among the lines of "The Inquisitor may be poorly, but where is the Commander? Does he have to hold her hand? Is she that sick?" He shared their annoyance about Cullen but could hardly show it; instead he decided to smother the feelings of distrust by getting the party started.

Krem, who hardly needed the hint, followed suit, in the meantime taking a rather befuddled looking Cole by the hand, and immediately after the rest of the Chargers stormed the dancefloor. At the same time Hawke and Fenris hurried down the stairs to join in the celebrations. Thankfully it helped. Within only a few heartbeats the mood changed and the dancefloor became a churning mass of jumping and twirling people, and a very grateful Hawke made a firm resolution of sending a big cask of sack mead to the Bull and his band. The man had certainly saved the day.

Yes, the Bull was annoyed by Cullen's absence and by the fact no-one in the man's inner circle had pointed out the importance of being present down here tonight.


Little did he know about Leliana's vain efforts to persuade the Commander to mingle among the merry-makers. But Cullen had refused categorically.

'I am no actor,' he had declared stubbornly, 'not even a lousy one. I cannot pretend nothing is amiss, let alone play the happy expecting father! You may enjoy the Grand Game, I never did. Not in least because I'm a hopeless pretender. They will figure me out in an instant and that could have an even worse effect than not showing up. Or do you consider them so dim-witted as to put up with my bad performance? No, I will stay here in my office.'

Reluctantly Leliana had to admit he had a valid point. An ounce of protection might be better than a pound of cure, right now the cure could turn out to be far worse than the intended protection, which in this particular case was feigning nothing was the matter.

'At least promise me you will go down there should things get out of hand,' she sighed.

'Let's hope that won't be necessary,' Cullen answered tartly. He still encountered troubles with curbing his temper. He had struggled with his demons, was still struggling now and again to be honest, but had nevertheless always been able to refrain from uncontrolled eruptions of anger. He could be stern, had to be in his position, but never had been unreasonable. He was no bloody Meredith, dammit! But despite his good intentions of swallowing his impatience and not working off the tension that his immense fear brought about on everyone around him, he had to bite the inside of his cheek regularly not to burst out. He had settled with the Wintersend Party because it was the sound thing to do but, in fact, right now he regretted it highly. Time was slipping through his fingers rapidly.

'They won't harm her,' Leliana, who could read his face all too well, said quietly, 'whoever "they" might be.' To her frustration her scouts had, admittedly, discovered tracks, but not yet found out who were behind the abduction. 'Dead she will be worthless to them.'

Cullen ignored that. 'Tomorrow I want to discuss the best way of arranging the pursuit. First thing tomorrow. Because I want to depart tomorrow evening at the latest.'

'I planned to interrogate the young recruit Sutherland tomorrow,' the Spymaster objected. 'We haven't talked to him yet because he only returned an hour or so ago from a mission. He might have important information about Voth.'

'Tomorrow evening at the latest,' Cullen repeated harshly.

Cursing inwardly Leliana went to the Rookery to see if a bird had been so cooperative as to bring a useful message. Preferably from the abductors. There was no such luck.


The light of the new day had hardly had the chance to climb the slopes of the mountains, or Cullen ascended the stairs of the rotunda and arrived at the Rookery. Still, Leliana had risen before him and had already let bring Donal Sutherland to her. The youth looked devastated and not a little scared, standing rigidly at attention in front of her desk.

'What does he know?' Cullen asked gruffly.

Leliana let out a sigh. 'Nothing. As was expected. But I didn't want this possibility left unchecked.'

'Warn Cassandra and Josephine. And Fenris of course.' He turned to Sutherland and commanded, 'You come with me.'

'Ser!' squeaked the young man, desperately banging his fist against his chest.

Without looking if Sutherland was indeed following him, because trusting the boy would, if only out of fear, Cullen strode with long paces along the Rotunda and crossed the traverse to his office. Sutherland had to skip every other step to keep up with him, and was nearly out of breath when they had reached their goal.

'I suppose the Spymaster has told you what is going on?' said Cullen without further ado after he had closed the door. The youth just nodded, looking crestfallen. 'It is my belief you have nothing to do with it, but I don't want you to tell anyone what has happened – yet. This to avoid unwanted panic. But I know you're a blather mouth and that's why I will keep you close. Besides, you can be of use. Evelyn–' He clenched his fist and his face contorted in pain for a short moment. 'The Inquisitor believed in you so I will do the same. Hereby I appoint you my aide-de-camp for the coming mission. Don't disappoint me.'

'I won't, Ser,' the boy croaked out. The past half hour had been a rollercoaster of tumbling emotions and he could hardly comprehend what was happening to him.

'Good. I'll escort you to the Barracks so you can collect your gear.'

Walking along the castle in the company of a very grim looking Commander Cullen was like running the gauntlet; everyone, that is the few ones already awake after the long night of the Wintersend Party, jumped to conclusions and stared at him as if he were a convicted criminal. Donal Sutherland's expression stayed blank but inside he was jubilant. Aide-de-camp! Even the knowledge he had only made it this far because of the abduction of the Inquisitor dampened his spirit just a little. He would prove himself worthy. He knew he would.


A little while later, Varric was roaming aimlessly through Skyhold, at a loose end and bored to shreds. He had meant to pay Hawke and Fenris a visit, but the first was sleeping in and the latter had apparently seized the opportunity with both hands to wander off, presumably to find some peace and quiet for some precious time.

Next on his list was Anders, but he spotted him strolling along the ramparts in the company of Ariana, the both of them trying very hard not to look as the castle's next lovey-dovey couple. Varric decided it would be no fun to join them, not even with the intent to be a tease; he had come to fear the deadly glare of the she-healer.

So he thought he would go pestering Cassandra, simply to see how far he had to push her to let her combust literally. A simple, scientific test, easy to justify. But the Seeker was nowhere to be found, not in the Barracks, nor at her favourite spot where she usually was battering hapless dummies to sawdust in her unleashed fury.

The Bull was conspicuous by absence as well, probably playing all sorts of naughty games Varric didn't want to know about, with Dorian in the mage's bedroom. And at this moment he didn't feel up to Sera's exhausting twinkletoesy behaviour, or to Solas's equally exhausting far too serious wielding of philosophy. With a sigh he started to drag himself back to his apartment.

But halfway the stairs he changed his mind and went in search of Harritt to treat Bianca to a new enhanced grip. (Yes, she still veered a little left, as the squirt Sebastian Veal so aptly had noticed, but a loved-one was allowed a flaw, if only to emphasise the rest of her perfections.)

And so he blundered into the Undercroft, straight into what appeared to be a war counsel.

Several heads whipped around to catch him in several surprised looking eyes that all, minus two, seemed to say, what the hell are you doing here?!

And thus Varric demanded brazenly, 'What the hell are you all doing here?' breaking the sudden silence. 'Conferring behind my back? Tsk!' Silence was, of course, a relative expression with that permanently gushing waterfall at the background.

Cassandra rolled her eyes. 'This matter does not concern you, Tethras,' she scoffed irritably.

Ah, so here she was. Great.

Varric offered her a bright beam. 'Everything concerns me, Seeker' he stated blatantly, 'I thought you'd know by now.'

Leliana interfered before the two opponents could fly at each other's throats. 'We are gathered here because we'll sooner be disturbed everywhere else, even in the War Room. We reasoned that not many people would go looking for us here at this hour. Clearly we didn't take you into consideration. But, now you're here anyway, we're talking about the rescue-operation of the Inquisitor,' She sounded considerably friendlier than the Seeker; despite that, she didn't succeed in quietening the sudden stirred up atmosphere.

'See!' Varric said triumphantly. 'It does concern me.'

'Does it!' Cassandra snarled nastily. 'I don't think so! Speed is of vital importance here and your – qualities may be many, Varric, speed is not your forte.'

'Ouch,' Varric reacted, looking not at all subdued, 'you have me there.' His face shone when he added, 'Though it is once said that I scurry most cutely. On the authority of a renowned Pirate Queen no less.'

Cassandra scowled furiously while Fenris had a hard time keeping a straight face, remembering Isabela's inconsiderate remark when they were hunting down a bunch of gone crazy dwarfs in the Vimmark Mountains. Hunting down Corypheus, come to think about it. The sparkle of merriment faltered.

Leliana tried to hide a smile, Josephine didn't even make the effort of hiding. Cullen just kept on looking grim. Sutherland stared wide-eyed from the one to the other, attempting to conceal himself behind the Commander's back.

The Seeker was not impressed. 'No matter what has been said about you and by whom, you cannot participate in the chase,' she sneered.

'No,' Varric snapped, 'maybe not. But you could at least have picked my brains for some bright idea! Or am I not good enough for that either? And you!' He turned to Fenris. 'Are you really going to leave Hawke to fend for herself in that snake pit Halamshiral? Shame on you!'

'He is not,' Cullen stepped in before Varric could become really offensive. 'I asked him here so I can delegate the command to him.'

It took one precious moment to comprehend but then Varric let out a derisive snort and lifted the corner of his mouth in a mock smile. 'An elf as Acting Commander? I bet that will go down well at the Orlesian Court!'

'And that's precisely why he should go as Acting Commander,' Leliana explained patiently. 'The snooty nobles will still look down their noses at him, undoubtebly, but they can't ignore the rank of Commander and Empress Celene will have to accept him. Just as she has to accept Hawke as acting Inquisitor. Besides,' she added with a wicked twinkle, 'Celene seems to have a weak spot for elves.'

'It is whispered she still meets Briala in secret,' Josephine nodded concurringly. 'Just talk a lot,' she offered Fenris some good advice, 'it doesn't matter what you say. Most women will swoon merely at the sound of your voice. Most men will too, I wager.'

'Or just brood a lot,' Varric put in a word, 'mope forebodingly and enigmatically. It worked on Hawke.'

Fenris raised one dark eyebrow. 'I feel much more assured now I know how to act,' he remarked drily. He nodded at the rest of the assembly. 'I hope you'll excuse me; I'm going to see if Marian has waked up. Cullen, I will see you in your office within an hour.'

'I'm coming with you,' said Varric who didn't think that staying in the proximity of a vicious looking Seeker was an appealing prospect. Above that, Cullen made him extremely nervous. He suspected that if the Commander would release all his pent-up anger and anxiety in one go, Skyhold would be blown apart.

'As a matter of fact, Varric,' Fenris piped up while they were crossing the Great Hall, 'I would be very grateful if you would accompany us to the Winter Palace. Somehow I imagine an extra person keeping an eye on Hawke would be useful.'

'I thank you for your vote of confidence.'

'You don't have to apply sarcasm.' The elf sounded a little hurt. 'I just would feel better if I could rely on your expertise in Halamshiral. I only know about the dos and don'ts that are common in Tevinter.'

Varric straightened his shoulders and a broad grin materialized on his face. 'Well then, Messere the Acting Commander, it's a good thing we have to travel for a considerable amount of time, because the list of dos and don'ts for an Orlesian Masquerade is longer than the beards of all my ancestors together.'


Many miles away from Skyhold, Blackwall was still fervently trying to compose an adequate reaction to Elissa Cousland's sudden turning up, when she beat him to it by simply taking the initiative.

'So,' she said conversationally before he had a chance to recuperate, 'you are the famous Grey Warden who joined the Inquisition.' She sat back on her haunches in the thicket and delved around in a pouch she had taken from her belt, seemingly not paying him much attention after her remark.

'Erm, I suppose so,' rasped Blackwall, fretting about that "famous" and at the same time being grateful she couldn't discern his face in the dark, because he could simply feel he was changing colour, 'though there are many more of us now.'

'Yes, so I heard,' reacted Elissa with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. 'Weisshaupt must be jumping for joy.'

'I don't think they'll be happy with what occurred,' Blackwall agreed, 'Stroud will have a hard time defending his decision.

'He'll manage,' Elissa said carelessly. She stopped rummaging for a moment and looked up, a movement Blackwall sooner felt than saw. 'From what I've heard of the man, he's more than capable to pull his own weight.'

And then the clouds parted and Blackwall was stunned by how unearthly beautiful her face looked in the pale light of the moon, even though time had inevitably left its marks in the little furrows around her eyes and at the corners of her mouth. 'Besides,' she went on nonchalantly, slightly shrugging her shoulders, 'it was about time the Wardens faced the fact they're not the rulers of the world. They have been arrogantly stomping through it enough as it is.'

Blackwall struggled to swallow back a harsh answer. Unsuccessfully. 'How can you say such a thing!' he cried out, 'you're a Grey Warden yourself!'

His brain screamed at him that this was the Hero and Queen of Ferelden he was raising his voice at and that he should pay her all the respect he could muster instead. But at the same time as his head tried to silence him, his mouth jabbered on passionately, spurred on by the brainstem that, right now, only recognised fiery enthusiasm and thought it delicious. 'Think of all the sacrifices that have been made! Of all the sacrifices being made still! What about all those dedicated men and women who gave their lives for the safety of others while fighting Darkspawn? Who are battling in the Deep Roads even as we speak?! Don't they deserve recognition? Don't they –'

Finally his head managed to overrule the brainstem and his mouth snapped shut at once.

'Oh dear,' Elissa Cousland sighed with a faint smile, 'the starstruck kind. How nice.' She pinched the bridge of her nose and blew out some air. 'You paint a pretty picture, Messere Blackwall, but have you ever considered, for example, how many criminals are actually crowding the Order?'

'Those are people who wanted to atone!' spluttered Blackwall defensively. He simply couldn't help it.

'Really!' Elissa chuckled softly. 'Not only starstruck but a firm confidence in humanity as well! It surprises me you're still walking around with your head attached. Oh well.' She rubbed her brow. 'I have no doubt some of them, perhaps even more than some, joined the order because they were willing to make amends, or make a difference. I myself have encountered a few remarkable men and women whom I would trust blindly with my life. But, honestly, when you're given the choice between the noose and the taint, the decision isn't very hard, is it?'

Blackwall wanted to fly up but deflated at the same moment. His face turned red once more, this time out of shame at the memories that wouldn't go away.

'And in addition to the criminals, there are the power-hungry bullies,' Elissa Cousland carried on remorselessly, 'who get a boner simply by the thought of ordering people around and confiscating what they want. But then again, how would you know?' She cocked her head and looked askance at him. Too late he caught the foretelling look in her eye. 'Since, my dear Blackwall, you are as much a Grey Warden as I am a Holy Sister.'

Heavy silence fell.

'Is it that obvious?' After some short but hefty inner deliberation, Blackwall had come to the conclusion it would be completely futile to contradict her. She had looked right through him.

Elissa let out a derisive snort. 'Let me put it this way: no Grey Warden I heard of would sing the Order's praises as you just did. Like I said: starstruck. I assure you that you'll drop that habit very fast after you've emptied the cup with the tainted blood.'

Blackwall thought it wiser to stay silent. Nervously he started fidgeting with his fingers.

Elissa Cousland resumed her rummaging and finally fished out two lock picks. 'There you are, my beauties,' she murmured, 'escaped from your case, hm? My fault, I presume; the sloppy frump as always, Alistair would say. Ha! Pot and kettle!'

Blackwall shifted uneasy in his part of the shrubbery. Too much information as far as he was concerned. 'Uhm, the king, er…' He cleaned his throat awkwardly. 'You vanished all of the sudden and no one ever knew why. The king must be devastated!' As was the best part of Ferelden back then, he knew, though he originated from Markham himself. The news had been a nasty surprise.

'Oh, not at all,' Elissa stated airily while she freed herself from the twigs holding on to her dark cloak. 'But then again, he knows exactly what I've been doing during the past years.' She climbed onto her feet and added, 'And we meet frequently in secluded places and safe houses. Who would have thought he'd be that good at keeping a secret!' She grinned lasciviously and added, 'I wouldn't want to miss my husband for too long a time, and especially not his shenanigans in bed.'

This time Blackwall went beet red. Definitely too much information. When she looked over her shoulder he noticed the little mischievous smile around her lips. 'I'm teasing you. Come on, get up! We have a gate to open and an Inquisitor to liberate.'

Hastily Blackwall scrambled after her along the path with the trellises. 'What have you been doing over the past years?' he ventured tentatively.

'That, my dear non-Warden, is information best given at a more opportune moment.'


Incredulously Solas stared at his adversary from old. 'Good grief,' he murmured, taken aback, 'I never knew she was involved in – that.'

'Of course you didn't,' replied Flemeth, absentmindedly brushing some snow off her skirt, 'why should you?' After a short silence she continued, 'It was a rhetorical question in case you didn't grasp that. Nevertheless, let me answer it for you: because Elissa Cousland has always been but a blotch on the page of your history. So much for your omnipresent knowledge of the things that were, are and will be. No wonder your meticulously calculated ruse with the Orb went so desperately wrong. It would have helped the situation tremendously if you had paid attention to the real world now and again.'

'I knew for certain she was dead,' protested Solas feebly, still flabbergasted.

'I doubt that; you know perfectly well you would have encountered her in your precious Fade. Don't talk nonsense. You seem to forget frequently life happens here, on the surface of Thedas or, in case of the Dwarvenfolk, under it. Just as you tend to forget your spirits and demons are dangerous creatures, instead of pets. Or lovers.'

'That had nothing to do with it,' said Solas, suddenly feeling infinitely tired. He shouldn't have come here, as a criminal sneaking back to the place delict. It felt as if the ruined temple sucked the energy out of his body and mind.

'Perhaps not.' Flemeth backed down somewhat. 'I got carried away. But the fact remains that you spend too much time in the Fade and have developed a bad tendency to mix up past and future.'

'I was so weary,' Solas whispered.

'I know, my friend.'

The mage sat down on a boulder. 'But I should have seen his powers regardless,' he murmured. 'I shouldn't have been so hasty.' He rubbed his shaven head and then looked up at her. 'What has the Hero found out?'

'I wish I knew,' Flemeth confessed with uncharacteristically openness. 'I knew her well, back in the day. I saved her life, after all, and nursed her back to health. I knew what she was capable of; in fact, I had been waiting for her arrival for a long time. But even I could not fathom where fate would lead her after the Blight was defeated.'

Tevinter, Solas thought dismally and with a hint of panic, she went to Tevinter. To the same Venatori agents I used. To spy on them? To exploit them? To expose my plan? How great a danger has she become? I have to find out. And, if need be, I will destroy her.

Flemeth observed him. And she wondered if his obsession with the People would consume him in the end.


I've thought a long time about how I would depict Elissa Cousland (I never wrote fanfiction about Origins) and in the end settled with a woman who has gone through a lot but nevertheless, or even because of that, didn't lose her sense of humour, nor her sense of perspective. Certainly not a woman who has become bitter and caustic!

And Solas… Yes, what to do with Solas… Well, we'll see in the end, I suppose…

Keep safe and many thanks for reading!

(And special thanks to thatsouthernanthem who with a lovely and encouraging comment gave me a boost to carry on and finish this chapter!)