Holly took a long sip of water, enjoying the little break she was fortunate enough to take. Several of the injured had fallen into critical condition after they all got somewhat settled at Skyhold, and she had been working all day. The people she had been working on had finally become stable enough that she felt comfortable enough to get some rest.
She looked up from her canteen to see Thia, her second in command, walking up to her. She was a tall elven woman with a noticeable tan, and long curly auburn hair. She had originally come from the Ostwick circle, but she had been transferred to Kinloch Hold shortly after the Blight had ended, so she and Holly hadn't known each other very well prior to the Inquisition.
"Enchantress Holly? Are you free at the moment?" Thia asked.
"Yes, I am, and you know you can just call me Holly, right?"
A little bit of tension seemed to disappear from Thia's shoulders, "Right, sorry, anyway, I was wondering if I could speak to you about Commander Cullen."
Holly's eyebrows furrowed, "Of course. Did something happen?"
"Yes, but it's something good. I know you've had your hands full making sure the hera- your brother is alive, so you may not have noticed how the rebel mages have been treated. The transition was a bit awkward, but thanks to the Commander, they have been treated the same as the soldiers. Even the mages who were around before Redcliffe have been treated better. Did you do something?"
Holly had a flashback to his tent when she had gone off on him, "I did, though I wasn't expecting for it to have too much of an impact."
"Well, whatever you said, it worked, but I have a feeling the templars attacking like they did probably helped. Speaking of which, has anyone checked on the Commander regarding that? He may be acting kinder towards us, but he's been snapping at the soldiers more."
Holly sighed, "I'll take care of that. It's my job to check on everyone's well being."
"I think the soldiers will appreciate that. If you want to take care of it now, I can watch over the patients."
Holly rested her hand on Thia's arm, "Thank you. It might serve as a better break than just standing around drinking water. Do you know where he is?"
"I think he's somewhere on the battlements? He was talking to that Qunari, the Iron Bull, last I saw."
Holly squeezed Thia's arm, and left her to watch over the injured. She walked up the steps to the higher part of the courtyard. Cassandra and Blackwall were smashing some makeshift practice dummies to pieces near the building Holly was pretty sure was going to become the keeps tavern. On the other side of the building, Bull was walking down the stairs that led to the battlements.
"Hey Bull, is Cullen up there?"
"Yeah, you looking for him?"
"Yeah. I need to check in on him. Thia said she thinks he's taking out his frustrations on the soldiers."
"Ah, yeah, he's up there above the gate."
"Thanks."
Bull nodded, and stepped out of her way. She climbed up the steps, and the wind started to whip her face when she was no longer protected by the walls. She glanced out to the mountains and the frozen river. They had only been at Skyhold for a little over a day, and their trek there already seemed a lifetime away. She found Cullen standing between the two towers just as Bull said. He was scowling at the horizon, thumb running over the pommel of his sword repeatedly, clearly lost in thought.
"Hello, Cullen," she said as she approached him.
He jumped slightly, but he relaxed when he saw her, "Oh, Hello Holly. Did you need something?"
"Yes, I wanted to talk to you. I was speaking with Thia a bit ago, and she said that the mages have been being treated better than before. I'm guessing you had something to do with it?"
He looked a little surprised, "I… yes, I did. I thought about what you said, and you were right. Preparing for the worst case scenario, and expecting it are two different things. We need everyone to cooperate, especially after Haven." His shoulders slumped a little when he said Haven, and he got a distant look in his eyes.
"How are you doing? I know seeing the Templars like that must have been hard on you."
He shook his head, "I should have seen something like that coming. Both the attack and what happened to the Templars. We should have cracked down on the red lyrium the moment after Meredith became a statue. The fact that Samson is leading them…."
"I take it you two have a history."
"I met him when he was still a templar. A real one. He had been kicked out several years ago. He was a well known addict. I never expected him to go after the red lyrium. I didn't think he was that stupid."
"Having an ancient, darkspawn magister coercing you into it probably makes things look a little more appetizing," she tried to joke.
He groaned, "Don't get me started on that. Dealing with the lyrium, and the Breach and would be hard enough to deal with, but this…."
"I think you did well, dealing with the attack as you did."
"I had to. We would've lost more lives if I didn't."
"Including mine. I know I was… more than ungrateful when you carried me out of Haven, but I know now that I would've died if it weren't for you. Maker, Graham could've died too if I think too much about it."
His face softened, "It was the right thing to do, and I promised your brother I'd get you out of there alive."
"And you did. You helped get a lot of us out of there. I don't know what state I'd be in if Graham, or you…" she faltered slightly when she noticed a slight blush on his cheeks when she addressed him, but she cleared her throat and moved on, "or anyone else had died."
He looked away with a strange expression on his face. She would have sworn that it was longing of all things, but she was fairly certain that it was just her mind playing tricks on her. It wouldn't have been the first time. Then that belief was turned on its head. He looked back at her with that same intense look he had that day in the chantry. The one that made her feel light and heavy at the same time. He moved his arm as if he was about to grab his hand, but changed his mind.
When he spoke again he sounded apologetic, and almost sorrowful, "You are just as responsible as I am, if not more. Some of the rebels may not have fought if you hadn't given your blessing. Your abilities are directly responsible for so many surviving when they would have died."
"I guess we both need to give ourselves some credit," she said, voice softer than she intended.
He smiled, "I suppose so."
They stood there quietly, just staring at each other. She shook her head, and looked back into the courtyard before her mind could wander too much. She saw Thia, and remembered another reason why she was talking to Cullen.
She cleared her throat, "Thia also said that she's worried you might be taking out your frustrations on the soldiers. I know you have a lot on our plate right now, but you really should take a break when you can. For everyone's health and sanity."
That caught him off guard, but he shook his head smile still there, "I will as long as you do too."
"I will… eventually. As you said, my abilities are directly responsible for saving lives. Speaking of which," she saw Thia look up at her, and motion for her to come back down, "I have some more patients to take care of, and you should take a break before you become one of them."
"If you insist."
"Good, because I do," she said before turning around. She didn't believe him.