Leliana followed Cullen into the throne room and the scene before her was not something she had seen since the Landsmeet during the Blight. The mob of people who had assembled were currently shouting and seemed to be trying to push their way to the front of the room where two soldiers stood on either side of a man who shackled at his hands and feet. Several guards were stationed at the front of the podium and seemed to be having trouble keeping the mob from overtaking them and swarming the prisoner.

"Put that crossbow away Dwarf!" Came the voice of one of Cullen's first in command. A man by the name of Gabranth.

"Sure thing, Kid." Varric replied aiming Bianca directly at the heart of the prisoner. "Just as soon as Bianca sends this bastard straight to hell."

"Varric, don't be an arse!" Came Sera's voice as she aimed her own longbow at the man. "Let me do it!"

"Both of you cool it!" Iron Bull roared as he used his entire body to shove them backwards, causing those behind them to retreat as well. "Let the boss handle him!"

"Yes, think of how angry he will be if you deny him the right to skin this man himself." Dorian said as he strolled to the front of the crowd. "However, he only needs to be alive. Not recognizable!" Dorian casually flicked his wrist and a large fireball formed from thin air and shot directly at the man. The massive flame turned to ice just inches from the man's face and shattered with a loud crash right at his feet.

"That is not your decision Tevinter!" Vivienne said stepping in front of him.

"What is going on here?" Leliana asked baffled at the scene that was taking place before her. Cullen did not answer but beckoned for her to follow him as he began to push his way through the crowd. Lelian followed closely confused at what this was all about. As she reached the front of the crowd she felt her heart sink for the second time in just a few hours. The man being held was one of her own, one of her most trusted men. His name was Athellion and Leliana considered him to be one of her best agents. He was a good man, always doing his duties without complaint and Leliana had never found a reason to not trust this man.

"Enough!" A voice roared over the crowd. Rasler stepped through the crowd and onto the stage in front of the prisoner, Josephine following close behind him. The commotion in the hall slowly began to die down and Leliana had to once again admire the way Rasler could command a crowd by merely his presence.

"Commander." Rasler said turning his attention to Cullen. "This man has been brought before us by your command. Please, tell us what is the meaning of this impromptu trial?"

Cullen stepped forward, rubbing the back of neck as he always did when he was strained. "My Lord, this man was caught sending messages to the one we believe to be responsible for the events this night. Our agents intercepted one of the messages and we acted immediately." He handed a small piece of parchment to Rasler who read it in silence. His expression remained unreadable but his left hand curled into a fist as he read the message. He looked over his shoulder at Athellion and seemed to be having an internal battle inside himself on rather to rip the man's heart out now or later.

"Leliana." Rasler said without taking his eyes off of Athellion. Leliana climbed the steps and took the message from his outstretched hand. Her eyes read the hastily written letter and she felt her blood begin to boil.

It is done,

targets successfully acquired

in route to rendezvous point

boy struggled, bit agent

may be infected

Leliana read the note three more times to make sure that she had not misinterpreted anything. She turned the attention to Athellion and a hatred she had never before felt swelled up within her.

"He is one of your men?" Came Rasler's voice next to her. She looked at him and searched his eyes for some hint of blame, some accusation, any sort of sign that he thought this was somehow her fault. But she found none, only pain and more strongly at the moment: anger.

"Yes." She said in a voice that was barely a whisper.

Rasler gave a stiff nod and turned his attention back to Athellion. "I find myself in a difficult situation. As one of the injured parties, I am tempted to tear your head off myself, which unfortunately for you, falls well within my rights. However, I will not be your judge this night."

He looked at Leliana who gave him a short nod.

"Your fate lies with the one who is perhaps the one you wounded the most. She trusted you and you repaid her with betrayal, and Maker have mercy on you, I do not envy your fate." He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze and went to stand next to Josephine placing a protective hand over her stomach and gently placing a kiss on her forehead.

Leliana stood frozen, unsure of how to proceed. This man had sealed his fate, his life would end tonight. But she was now facing her own internal battle. Should she kill this man on the spot and lose any hope of gaining information from him? Or should he be interrogated and hope that he had the humanity left to give them something, anything, that could lead her back to her daughter?

A loud noise disrupted the silence of the hall causing everyone to jump. It took a moment for Leliana to realize what was happening, and to her shock (and horror) she realized that the man was laughing. A sick, sadistic sound that filled the hall and echoed in her ears. This man was actually cackling. A small scuffle broke out in the front of the crowd forcing Leliana to take her eyes off of the scene before her.

Hawke and Isabela were fighting tooth and nail to get to Athellion, who continued to laugh maniacally. Aedan and Dorian were struggling to hold Isabela back and it took the combined strength of Cullen, Gabranth, and two other soldiers to keep Hawke away from the crazed man. She looked into the faces of her friends; also parents who had just lost their child. She knew that they would both call for the man's immediate execution, not waste time with an interrogation. Rasler had placed this decision on her, but it was not simply her decision to make; she knew that whatever she decided would affected them as well. She glanced over at her closest friend Josephine who currently had her head buried in her husband's shoulder. Rasler held her tightly to him, and the normally composed man seemed to be having a hard time holding it together for his wife. Her eye caught Aedan's as he struggled to hold Isabela back, and he gave her that reassuring nod that meant he would support whatever decision she made.

But what about the others? These children were well loved by all those in attendance, that much was clear from the overwhelming response. They had shared all of their children's precious moments with them, and she knew that many of them would fight a war to bring them back.

"I was dead before this ever started." Came a soft voice from behind her. Leliana turned around to see Cole cautiously inching his way towards the prisoner. "If I refused, she killed me. If I was caught, you kill me."

"Who is 'she'?" Leliana asked trying not to lose control.

"A woman. You know her, she knows you. She has been sitting in silence, waiting, watching. She wants to hurt you, break you."

"Marjolaine." Leliana said in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes. And no. She has others. Others who you have hurt, who they have hurt." Cole pointed to Hawke and Isabela, then to Rasler and Josephine. "Others who would see you suffer."

"Where are they?" Hawke roared.

Cole searched Athellion's eyes and was silent for several agonizing seconds.

"You will never find them."

Leliana felt her heart stop. No, that was not true. This man was simply thinking what he wanted Cole to say. What he wanted us to hear. It couldn't be true, she refused to believe it, for the minute she gave up hope, that was when she would be truly broken. Anger such as she had never known rose up within her, and she suddenly wished for nothing more than this man to die.

"Inquisitor?"

Rasler turned his attention to her awaiting her decision.

"I want this man's head."

"So be it." Came his grim response.

The soldiers guarding Athellion grabbed him by the arms and began forcefully shoving him down the stairs through the crowd that was roaring their approval at this decision. They led him out through the main hall through the courtyard to the executioner's block, the mob following close behind them. They forced Athellion to his knees, shoving him roughly in the back, forcing his neck to the small wooden block that had sealed the fate of many other condemned souls before him. Rasler stepped onto the block carrying the massive sword that would serve as this man's cause of death. He gripped the handle so tightly in his hand that the knuckles on his fingers had gone white. He took one step toward the man when a loud voice caused him to stop in his tracks.

Iron Bull climbed the stairs to the small stage and stepped up to Rasler putting his head close to his ear.

"Boss, let me do it."

Rasler said nothing but gave his friend a quizzical look.

"I promised those kids from the time they first drew breath that I would protect them. That nothing would happen to them as long as I was around. I failed them."

"Bull, you are no more at fault than the rest of us." Rasler replied softly.

"I gave them my word. You know what that means to me. I need to be the one to do this or my life will be as forfeit as this bastard's." His voice held a tone that Rasler had never heard before, and he silently held out the sword to the Qunari.

"Nah, I don't need that." Bull said, turning on his heel and striding towards the man who for the first time showed signs of fear.

Rasler decided that he would rather not watch the scene that was about to be played out and turned his head. The screams that filled the courtyard had never been heard inside the walls of Skyhold before, and many of the residents would hear it in their dreams for many years to come.