"Who is she exactly? The woman they call the Herald of Andraste?" Cullen began. He had not had the chance to meet the now-former prisoner.
She had risked her life, traversing through the mountains to save the lost scouts and collapsed after closing the rift in the remains of the Temple of Sacred Ashes.
"Well," began Leliana, reading the notes that she had prepared, "her name is Eostre Avalon Leofflæd Trevelyan."
"Of the House Trevelyan of Ostwick?" asked Josephine, a hint of excitement in her voice which quickly changed to confusion, "her family and mine are very well acquainted however, I have never heard of her before, nor have I ever encountered her. Maybe she is a distant relative?"
"Unknown, it would appear there is little to no information about her. Almost as if she didn't exist." Leliana continued as she paced slowly back and forth. "Without more information, I fail to see a valid reason for her to have been at the conclave at all."
Cullen rubbed his forehead out of stress and confusion, "she's potentially the daughter of a noble Ostwick family who she ended up at the conclave by pure chance? How does this even happen?"
The doors to the war room opened with a creak, and there before them stood the Herald of Andraste, Eostre Trevelyan, along with Cassandra.
"These are the advisors of the newly reborn Inquisition." Cassandra motioned for Eostre to approach the table before them. They all noticed how sheepish Eostre was, and it was not surprising.
"May I present Commander Cullen, Leader of the Inquisition's Forces."
Cullen cast his eyes across the war table to the woman standing before it, his golden eyes to be met by hers. Gentle grey eyes, twinkling in the candlelight, captivating him.
A weird feeling washed over them both, something not experienced by Eostre before. A faint sense of longing began to manifest within her, but she dismissed it.
"Such as they are. We lost many soldiers in the valley, and I fear many more before this is through." A morose look flash in his eyes, causing them to darken from their usual.
"This is Lady Josephine Montilyet, our ambassador and chief diplomat." Eostre broke eye contact with Cullen to look at Josephine, leaving Cullen to feel almost rejected. He rubbed the back of his neck, a sign of his discomfort.
"I've heard much. A pleasure to meet you at last." Josephine smiled warmly, understanding that a friendly face was probably well needed whilst hiding her intentions to figure out if indeed, she had previously met Eostre before.
"And of course, you know Sister Leliana." Eostre shifted her focus to Leliana.
"My position here involves a degree of…"
"She is our spymaster."
"Yes. Tactfully put, Cassandra."
A faint, nervous smile crossed Eostre's face. "Please to meet you all." Her eyes once again met Cullen's, causing the faint sensation to grow.
'You've only just met him. Calm yourself. You are in no position to be like this.'
"I mentioned that your mark needs more power to close the Breach for good." Cassandra's voice brought Eostre out of her almost mediative state and back into the task at hand.
"Which means we must approach the rebel mages for help." Leliana chimed in, scanning Eostre's face for a response.
"And I still disagree. The Templars could serve just as well."
The words echoed with Eostre's mind and reminded her of her family, from whom she had been estranged for many years. As a member of the House of Trevelyan, it had been drilled into Eostre from a young age that she would serve the Chantry either as a member or as a templar.
However, unforeseen circumstances had ended her potential career before it even started.
Suddenly, all eyes were on Eostre. A look of panic flashed across her face, realising that she hadn't really been listening.
"Umm, yes." Eostre stuttered, her eyes darting between the various faces that surrounded her.
"As I said, some are calling you the 'Herald of Andraste,' and that frightens the Chantry. In retaliation, they have denounced the inquisition and you, specifically."
"Oh, already? That was quick." A sense of panic filled Eostre. She tried her best to keep her composure and hide her feelings from those present.
She looked down at the floor and began to fiddle with her hands, a nervous habit she had picked up as a child.
"Do …. do you know if word has happened to reach the Free Marshes?"
Josephine's ears pricked up at the very mention, "the Free Marshes? Do you mean Ostwick in particular?"
Eostre held her breath slightly at the mention of Ostwick. She raised her head to meet Josephine's rather eager gaze. "Yes."
Josephine attempted to stifle her look of excitement. She was met with stares of disappointment from her colleagues, causing her to quickly composed herself.
"I assume you know who my family is."
"Yes," Leliana began, "but we don't know who you are."
She took a deep breath and exhaled heavily before leaning forward, placing her hands on the table. Her head hung; her shoulders tensed.
"I am Lady Eostre Avalon Leofflæd Trevelyan, the third child of the Noble House of Trevelyan, the only daughter of Lord Bann Tollemache Leofdæg Trevelyan and Lady Avalon Elfreda Hrodywn Trevelyan, young sister to Knight-Lieutenant Godric Ewell Leofdæg and Philliam Aloicious Leofdæg Trevelyan, Grand Niece of Lady Lucille."
"You're the Grand Niece?" Josephine sharply gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.
"You know her?"
"No," began Josephine, trying to stifle her excitement but once again failing to do so, "but I heard the story. Everyone within the Noble circles has."
"What story?"
Eostre raised her head and gently opened her eyes. She looked towards Josephine and gestured with her hand to explain.
"On the eve of her 18th birthday, her parents announced that she was to be married to the son of a noble Neverran house. It was to strengthen an alliance. From what was seen, she protested so her parents decided to…"
"To lock me away so I did not escape."
"Maker," Cassandra exclaimed loudly. Tension thickly veiled the air of the war room as various looks crossed the faces. Cullen's heart beat a little faster in his chest, a mixed feeling of jealousy and compassion within him.
"They locked you away. But why?"
"To stop me from running. Daughters of Noble Houses are political pawns, married off to secure alliances."
Eostre continued after a short pause, "but I escaped. And since then, I haven't had any contact with my family. My absence from the wedding and the consequences that would have surely followed will have left a large stain on their reputation. I have fallen very far from their good graces."
Standing back up straight, she looked at the various faces around her. She could tell there was a mixture of different reactions. She started to fiddle with her hands again, her worry now evident.
"If word has already reached the Free Marches, then it has already reached House Trevelyan." She stared longingly at Josephine, pleading in her eyes.
"I would like too therefore politely request that the Noble House of Trevelyan, that is, my parents, brothers and Great Aunt Lucille, are kept as far away from all of this as possible. They shouldn't be dragged into," she threw her arms up as she shrugged.
"Whatever this is."
"Noted," Josephine responded, writing away with her quill. "But we may have some contact from other relatives of yours."
"The wax seal used by Noble House of Trevelyan is our crest, a horse. Others in the Trevelyan bloodline use a simple T."
Josephine's quill scribbled enthusiastically across the page, a grin across her face. Her previous attempts to hide her feelings had failed and now she decided to simply not hide them.
"If I may be so bold to ask," Cullen inquired, "why were you at the Conclave?" Unlike Josephine, Cullen was not as concerned with nobility.
"After, well, that, I had to make a living somehow. I became a mercenary for hire, taking odd jobs here and there. It was only due to my devotion to the Maker that I was sent to the Conclave."
"So, your being at the Conclave with Divine Justinia was nothing more than just chance?" This shook Leliana to her very core, almost throwing everything she had previously believed into question.
"No. I believe I was there as the Maker had willed it." Eostre raised her left hand, the mark glowing through her skin, "as I believe that Andraste bestowed this mark upon me. And it is by their will that I will seal the breach."