"I think you'd best take the offer, Cassandra." Dorian laughed as Eliana Lavellan frowned fiercely at the Seeker still covered with dirt from the road.
"Cassandra, we have limited space. I commissioned the work on Haven some time ago. I just didn't tell you what I wanted to do with the building."
Cullen turned away from the fire burning brightly in the massive fireplace as Cassandra stood staring at them all in wonderment. "You should," he said. "Haven was too vulnerable to Corypheus. A force of soldiers there could be just the thing to ward off enemies of the Inquisition."
"You don't think this gives the wrong impression about your use of resources?"
"Of course not!" Eliana swiped the statement away as preposterous. "You need a place to begin. We need Haven protected. It's not a gift."
Cassandra felt that the argument hit home. It was an ideal situation for them all. "We would be free to serve our own charter?"
Eliana shot her the "dragon" look, the one they all earned once in a while. "Sweet Andraste, Cassandra, as long as you aren't summoning demons or tearing down the veil, I'll count myself lucky."
"Hilarious," Cassandra said. "I will try to avoid breaking the world."
"So, you'll take it?"
She thought about it a moment, then gave a firm nod to the Inquisitor. "I'll take my men down tomorrow and look the place over."
"Have you chosen a second yet?" This from Cullen who knew the dilemma, or believed he did, that Cassandra was having.
She tapped a hand against her thigh in thought for a bit. "I need to wash off the journey."
They all agreed, and Cullen went back to studying the fire. Turning on her heel, Cassandra left quickly. The ramparts of Skyhold stood towering above her, timeless and sturdy as if nothing could ever knock them down, but Cassandra saw the illusion in it. Everything could be destroyed with time and effort.
Perhaps that was why she was such an idealist. Perhaps she needed intangible things to hold onto in a world that changed constantly. She shook her head as the evening light dipped low over the great stone walls. When had she become so retrospective? She smiled at herself.
She strode down the steps and toward the Armory, skirting the edges of the now-empty training ring. The sounds of the keep seemed muted and distant tonight. Cassandra paused a moment beneath her favorite tree.
The branches waved slowly in a slow breeze as if welcoming her back to the fold. Skyhold had that feeling after a long journey, as though it stood merely waiting for your return like a mother who has sent her children out into the world. Cassandra often felt that kind of touch on her life, the Maker's hand, according to Divine Justinia.
Still, Cassandra had never felt this connection to a place before. If anywhere in the wide world was truly home to her, it was Skyhold. Some part of her would always feel that as long as Skyhold stood she had a home to go to. Certainly, Navarra had never called her back this way.
"Seeker," a voice said from the Armory. "Seeker Pentaghast?"
"Yes," she said. It was, of course, the one man she didn't exactly want to see. "Seeker Landover, how have things gone in my absence?"
He gave a humble shrug. "Logistics have been challenging certainly. Cullen's helped a great deal."
"It seems that this will change for us tomorrow."
Landover had come to the Seekers of Truth through Cullen, as many of her newest recruits had. She hadn't addressed the issue of his vigil with him. Frankly, she wasn't sure the vigils were necessary anymore. Other than the power found at the opposite end, it was a frightening prospect, becoming tranquil, now that each seeker knew what they were signing up for.
Her companion said little usually. He stayed true to his character now and merely waited. "Tell the men to prepare for a journey to Haven tomorrow. Some of them will be staying in Haven. We are being given a task."
He smiled softly into the dark night. "I wondered. Cullen would say nothing of the construction. It seems we begin in earnest."
"So it does," she agreed. "You've seen the building? Can it accommodate all of us?"
He nodded. "And many more. The ten of us will have no difficulty."
"Eleven," she told him. "I found another of us in the Dales."
"Milady, may I speak plainly?"
"You haven't been?" Cassandra teased him to see if anything ruffled this seeker. She hadn't yet. He remained at all times calm and placid as a lake on a fine day. Nothing seemed to move him to passion.
"You cannot keep pushing yourself with this constant searching, Seeker. You're exhausted, you are away from your trainees more than you are with them."
"I see that I was mistaken. You have not been speaking plainly. You feel I am derelict in my duties then?" Hurt bloomed in her chest. It wasn't as if she hadn't just been thinking the same.
"That is not how I intended that, lady. It was… I am concerned about your well being. You keep a punishing pace; searching, training, study, and research. You alone aren't responsible for everything. There are eleven of us, Seeker Pentaghast. Why will you not share your burdens?"
She turned toward the former Templar who would become a seeker. "I suppose it is the habit of years. As the Divine's right hand, I acted alone much of the time. It is only since joining the Inquisition that I have learned to rely on others."
Landover gave that smile once again, the one that seemed utterly still. "It would seem, milady, that you are in need of practice."
She faced him fully. "Would it surprise you to learn that I agree?"
"No," he answered. "You are a woman of good sense. It is something I admire about you greatly."
Those words flustered her. Compliments were not something she was overly familiar with, nor social graces. Most found her abrasive and far too passionate. It was her curse.
"You… admire…. Well, now, I'm at a profound loss." He laughed and she found the sound far too pleasant. His laugh reminded her of Antony, her brother with the easy smile and jovial laugh. Where Antony inspired instant friendship, this man before her inspired calm, stability. Cullen was right. He was perfect for command.
"As a woman of good sense, I suppose I should inform you of my decision to give you command. You have been acting as my second. It is time we recognize this. You have filled the role of a Senior Seeker for long enough without the rank."
"Lady Seeker, I …."
She interrupted. "I have not taken that title."
Dark eyes studied her in the moonlight. "Are you not a woman of good sense?"
"That was dangerously insubordinate."
"How long will you pretend that you are not leading us?"
She sighed heavily and looked up into the stars as if they held the answer. "I suppose I've become comfortable in my role with the Inquisition. It will be difficult to leave them."
He nodded. "But you must. I do understand, Lady Cassandra."
His voice slid over her jangled nerves, soothing her as he explained.
"You worry. I have seen it. However, your friends are more than capable and they won't be far, will they?" She nodded slowly still staring at the stars, wondering again what they were and why they existed. That was her lot. She was curious in some ways, an unusual trait in one of the faithful. Wanting to understand the Maker's creation didn't cause her to doubt the Maker as it would some of her kind, devout followers.
And she would like to understand the stars. The stars didn't frighten her at all. The Fade, however, was another proposition. She never wanted a repeat trip into that world. She still had nightmares about it, an irony she knew, since they'd had to defeat a nightmare demon to escape.
Perhaps, Landover sensed her dark thoughts intruding because he stopped gazing at the sky to look at her. Cassandra turned to him, sensing more than noticing his gaze on her.
"You're exhausted. How many days have you traveled without rest, Lady?"
"I rested… a bit," she said in her own defense. "You are becoming very much like the Inquisitor, a mother hen." He laughed again, the sound sinking into her soul. It was the kind of laugh that invited others to join in, to be happy. "That was not a compliment," she groused at him.
He rubbed a hand over his brow and shook his head at her slowly. "I'll have a servant organize a bath for you, Lady Cassandra. Then, I can relay your orders to the rest of the men."
She inclined her head in an acknowledgment and then watched him walk away. A mountain of a man, he walked with a confidence beyond his years. She believed him to be somewhat younger than herself. Broad shoulders held stiff with military precision, he made for the keep to rouse a servant. It was thoughtful, she thought. Very thoughtful.
She made for her loft above the Armory without further delay. The stair railing hard under her hand as she tiredly climbed two flights of stairs. Sitting on her cot, she wrestled with her left boot as she thought about tomorrow and what it would bring. It was moving day, she realized looking around the spare loft that had been her home for some time.
This was her last night as a part of the Inquisition. It was hardly the first time in her life she'd left behind one cause for another, she thought with some self-derision. Why was she so emotional this time? She'd rebelled against the Chantry and the Seekers before ending up with the Inquisition.
The door below slammed shut as the servants brought the warm water for her bath. Wash, eat, sleep; then see what the next day holds. That was her routine. She would embrace that and hopefully be ready for what came with the dawn.
