A/N: This author is completely unassociated with Bioware and the Dragon Age franchise.

Hello, again! I know this story isn't slow developing, I'm sorry! I am trying to keep it as close to Cullen's romantic route as possible, but, I am also making things up as I go along to develop their relationship. I hope that you guys are enjoying this. It's a pet project of mine and I am enjoying it.

I love reading your reviews, guys! If you guys drop me a line, I respond to every single one.

Thanks for reading this and enjoying this journey with me.

Chapter Three

It had been a week since Solas had guided them to Skyhold. Four days since they had declared Aveline Trevelyan the Inquisitor, leader of the new Inquisition. Construction on the new stronghold was already well underway thanks to the best of Orzammar's craftsmen, sent for by none other than the Inquisition's very own resident author, Varric Tethras.

Who also was apparently a high ranking member of the merchant's guild. And knew more people who owed him favors than Aveline cared to admit. It was scary, really. He was as scary as Leliana when it came down to it, but in a different manner.

Aveline couldn't believe how well things were falling together.

Though, she wasn't sure how she liked being declared leader of the Inquisition. It couldn't be helped, however, and she understood why they thought she would be the best choice for the position. The people of the Inquisition thought that she, Aveline Trevelyan, a mage, was their savior. The irony was wonderful if she cared to think about it enough. Now, she simply couldn't let them down.

Thedas was counting on her.

The pressure was terrifying. She had to keep a level head and choose the actions that would protect all of the pilgrims that had followed their lead. Too many "what ifs" spun in her head. She saw too many stares that spoke their judgement of her as she strolled through Skyhold. She saw that people were still afraid of her, as if they didn't know how to react to her. As if speaking to her would cause some cataclysmic destruction to occur.

She was fairly certain that she helped perpetuate any rumors by walking around Skyhold unchecked. She hardly ever strolled with one of her friends or advisors. If she was being perfectly honest, she hadn't slept in the week they had been here. Her dreams were plagued by Corypheus and fears of having her powers ripped from her. She was terrified to close her eyes sometimes.

Solas had offered his help, telling her that the spirits in the Fade were simply praying on her anxiety. He had begun to teach her to "Fade step," as he called it, allowing her to move freely in the Fade and control her surroundings. She thought it was endearing that he was trying to take away her fear of something he loved so much, but, it would take time. Until then, she would nod off reading a book or trying to write reports for her advisors. There was still much to do that would keep her mind off of her nightmares.

Aveline stared at the ceiling in her bedroom. So much had changed in a week. She realized she had fallen asleep on the floor of her chambers in a plethora of papers. She touched her face and realized it was smeared with ink. She let out a disgusted groan and looked out her windows. The sun had barely begun to rise over the Frostback Mountains, but there was little reason for her to remain on her floor, her long hair tangled in reports and quills, her skin and clothing smeared with deep colored inks.

She was quick to clean herself in her wash basin and pull off her now spotted clothing. Vivienne had called for her tailor from Val Royeaux to outfit Aveline. She was the Inquisitor, after all! She must look like royalty!

That lead to Aveline already having a bureau full of clothes with more on the way. As a Circle mage, she had always worn robes. In the last couple of days, though, she understood why the noble women who had visited her family when she was a child would say they had "nothing to wear".

She pulled on the first things her hand touched, leather breeches, a red chemise, and a leather vest. She tied a scarf around her neck to keep from catching a cold while she ran around the stronghold. She caught sight of herself in the only mirror in the entire room and frowned. Her clothes looked perfect. Vivienne definitely had fashion sense. But her face was still stained with ink. It took her nearly five minutes to determine that it wasn't quite as noticeable as she was imagining it was before she tore herself from the mirror and ventured out of her quarters.

Despite the early hour, people were already milling around the main hall of the fortress. Servants were preparing meals to be handed out to the refugees and the soldiers. Artisans were already working on reconstructing the main hall, reinforcing the old stone structure. Scouts were making their way out to start their patrols.

It was quite a colorful mix to behold.

Aveline skirted by most of them, giving the occasional "good morning" greeting as she made her way out to the streets. She smiled to herself. There truly were no boundaries on who joined the Inquisition. All it mattered was that they believed in their cause of restoring order.

Aveline made her way down the winding steps to reach the courtyard and sat herself on a ledge, watching the people slowly waking. Cullen was already across the courtyard, prepping his soldiers for their duties. Aveline smirked. He got as much sleep as she did. He looked up from his charts and she caught his gaze. Purple bruises were blooming under his eyes. She was sure she looked quite the same. She smiled at him, moving to wave, and he quickly looked away. Her feelings were slightly hurt...perhaps she had been mistaken and he hasn't seen her at all.

She noticed, then, a small child staring at her, not two feet away. She looked at him, curiously. "Good morning, my fine lad," she said, smiling. "You are up rather early in the morning!"

The boy's eyes grew wide, as if she had grown a second head. "You're the herald, ain't you?" The child looked frightened, as if her status were intimidating.

Aveline raised an eyebrow. "I suppose that's me," she murmured. "Is everything alright?"

The boy inched closer. "Are you really a mage?" he asked, his voice dripping with curiosity.

She nodded. "Of course, I am." She had thought her status was simply a matter of public record at this point. Apparently not.

The boy inched closer still. "Can I ask you a question, Inquisitor?" Aveline nodded, but the boy had already begun to plow forward with his inquiries. "My dad says mages are bad. Why would Andraste choose someone like you to help us?"

Aveline, used to prejudices, simply shrugged. "Your dad's right. Some mages are bad. But, some of us, are just like you. We want peace in Thedas. And I think that's a noble goal, don't you?" the little boy seemed to consider, so Aveline decided to use a different example. "Mages are just like everyone else. There are good people, and there are bad people. Like there are good mages and bad mages." The boy nodded in understanding. "We can't blame magic for why someone does something they know they shouldn't. If I decided to set the grass on fire, that's not magic that did it. It was me. But," Aveline cast a small ice spell and whipped together a snowball. "Magic can do fun things, too!"

She tossed the snowball at one of the stone walls and watched the ice shatter in a million directions. Ah, ice magic. How she loved the snow. The boy looked on in astonishment. "Does this mean you can have snowball fights whenever you want?"

Aveline had to laugh at this. "I suppose so, yes!"

The little boy smiled, shyly. "Can we have one sometime?"

It was such a simple, touching request that Aveline wasn't sure what to make of it. She smiled, gently. "Of course. Whenever you want. My name is Aveline. What's yours?"

The boy was brimming with excitement at this. He was friends with the Inquisitor! Wait until the other children heard about this! "John."

Aveline nodded. "Well, John, I shall look forward to our snowball fight soon, then!"

Cullen was engrossed in the blueprints of Skyhold when he looked up to see her, sitting across the courtyard. The sun shone brightly against her hair, a halo of gold appearing around her head. He caught her eye and saw her smile beaming at him. He felt heat reach his face and quickly turned away. Surely she wasn't smiling at him like that…

But, the Commander couldn't help but to keep glancing at her. He watched her weave a snowball for one of the children that was playing in the courtyard. She looked so gentle, tossing the snowball, a smile still on her face.

Aveline Trevelyan was a wonder to behold. Why she made him feel like this, why he got flustered every time she glanced at him, he couldn't manage to keep his composure very easily...he didn't understand. He had yet to forget her clinging to him in the snow. She had been so desperate, so afraid. Did she remember that? How she begged him to stay with her?

He forced himself to ignore her. He had to pay attention to scout reports from the evening and give orders. And he couldn't do that if Aveline Trevelyan's beauty was distracting.

He knew she had approached because the attitudes of the men changed. They went rigid and kept glancing at her. He chose to ignore her. She used to watch the army train at Haven. Maybe she just had a secret passion for military tactics. "Send men to scout the area. We need to know what's out there."

Murmurs of "Yes, Commander," and "Yes, Sir," reached his ears. One of the new recruits stepped up to give him a report. "Commander, soldiers have been assigned temporary quarters."

"Very good," Cullen pulled paperwork aside to notated one thing off his list. "I'll need an update on the armory, as well…" the recruit kept glancing nervously at the Inquisitor, as if he was trying to draw attention to her. Cullen frowned and barked a quick "Now!" causing the recruit to jump and salute before running off.

Aveline stepped closer, looking over his shoulder. "What's all this?" She asked, nonchalantly taking a piece of parchment from the table he had set up to go over plans with the army. Cullen took a step backward, allowing her to see the plans laid out over the table.

Cullen was glad that the distance seemed natural, and not as if he were trying to avoid her. He cleared his throat and looked at the papers she was going over. "We set up as best we could at Haven, but we could never prepare for an arch demon...or whatever it was. With some warning, we might have…"

Aveline began to laugh loudly enough that he stopped. "Do you ever sleep?" She shook her head and put the papers down. "You're doing a wonderful job with the army. No one blames you for what happened at Haven."

Cullen knew that he wasn't to blame. He knew that the losses they suffered at Haven had caused a loss of morale, but it couldn't be helped. "If Corypheus strikes again, we may not be able to withdraw...and I wouldn't want to. We must be ready." Cullen finally looked back at her. She was carefully watching him, as if enthralled. He felt himself blush, and decided to keep moving ahead in the conversation. Why wasn't she saying anything? "Uh...Work on Skyhold is underway, guard rotations established. We should have everything on course within the week. We will not run from here, Inquisitor."

Aveline bit her lip. "Cullen, how many were lost?" The look in her eye told him that she was miles away, cataloguing the events of Haven.

Cullen wasn't sure how to respond to her. He couldn't validate her choice to stay behind. He was the last person who could tell her that she hadn't done the right thing. He rubbed the back of his neck, again, nervous at her presence. He hadn't been this nervous since Meredith had completely lost her mind. "Most of our people made it to Skyhold. It could have been worse," he offered her, returning to the charts as a way of avoiding her gaze. When he saw that his words didn't seem to affect her, he continued. "Morale was low, but has greatly improved since you accepted the role of Inquisitor."

Aveline smiled. Cullen couldn't help but return her smile. Her emotions were infectious. "Inquisitor Trevelyan. It sounds odd, don't you think?"

Cullen shook his head. "Not at all."

"Is that an official response?" Cullen looked up from the papers. She seemed...playful. Flirtatious, even. Was that simply her nature? He truly hadn't spent enough time with her.

He laughed under his breath. "I supposed it is. But, it's the truth. We needed a leader. You have proven yourself."

He turned toward her, bowing slightly. He noticed her softened eyes, how she averted her gaze. "Thank you, Cullen," she nearly whispered. There was a long silence exchanged between them. Neither of them able to say anything. The Inquisitor broke the silence. "Our escape from Haven...it was close," she murmured, letting out a sigh. "I'm relieved that you...that so many, made it out."

"As am I," he said before he could think better of it. He averted his gaze, just as she had. Another long silence followed in which Aveline Trevelyan turned slowly and began to walk away. Cullen reached out toward her, words pouring out of his mouth. "You stayed behind. You could have…" It was enough to give Aveline pause, even though she only halfway turned back toward him. "I will not allow the events at Haven to happen again. You have my word."

Aveline smiled. "Thank you, Commander. Truly. Thank you." She looked out over the courtyard, as if she were seeing so much more than the crumbling stones. "I...I know it's improper to ask," she started, "but, did you leave anyone behind in Kirkwall?" Cullen was confused for a moment. Why would it matter to her? She quickly tried to clarify. "Many of the soldiers are sending for their wives and families. I was just wondering if you had thought to send for anyone."

Cullen pursed his lips. "No, Inquisitor. I fear I made few friends there and my family's in Ferelden."

Aveline worried her lip, a habit he was becoming attuned to recognizing meant she was becoming frustrated with his lack of understanding. "No one special caught your eye?"

Cullen couldn't help but to smirk. "Not in Kirkwall."

Aveline barked out a laugh. "Careful, Commander, one might think you are flirting with me." Her blue eyes were sparkling, truly happy with her own joke.

"No! Of course not! I…" Cullen sighed. He was starting to think Aveline enjoyed making him blush. He shook his head.

Aveline winked at him. "I have some work to attend to...unless there's anything I can help with here," she suggested, sweeping her hand over the papers.

The Commander shook his head. "I think you've done enough to help today, but, thank you."

Aveline nodded, her smile still as bright as the sun. "I look forward to watching the army train, Commander," she said, practically skipping away from him, her hair still forming a halo of gold around her.

As she left, Cullen was happy he could breathe again. She was a menace to his work...and, yet, he still enjoyed her company. He sighed. Maker's breath. Lady Trevelyan was magic. He just couldn't determine whether she was good or bad.

A/N: Thanks for reading, guys! Another update coming soon!