When Isalora came to she was wrapped up in the softest blanket she could ever imagine and sighed as the familiar smell of cloves and something that was simply unique to Cullen took over. "Shit!" She jumped up before looking around the room, noticing the now empty bed and relaxed instantly before looking down to see herself in only her loose white blouse and her leathers still. She rubbed her head trying to remember what had happened. The last thing she remembered was stumbling through a door and then nothing. She grabbed her boots before climbing down the ladder and froze as she saw Cullen sitting at his desk, head bent as his hands cover his face. His shoulders were hunched over and the outlines of his muscles were shown through the thin undershirt he wore. She held her breath as she slowly tried to make her way to the door without catching his attention. The man had looked almost asleep.

"Isa...Wait, please." He called to her back and she stiffened. She took a deep breath and slapped a smile on her face before turning to face the man.

"Sorry you seemed to be asleep, I didn't want to wake you up. Thanks for putting up with me last night, I, uh, I'm not sure how I ended up here but I do appreciate it." She said honestly as her eyes crinkled from the genuine smile. He had leaned back in his chair and she could now get a real look at the man and her breathe felt like it slammed out of her lungs as her heart pounded in her chest. He had always been handsome but time had been good to him, very good at that. His sandy blonde hair was ruffled from his hands tugging at it or from sleep perhaps, though she believed the first was more likely. The soft stubble on his chin made her clench her legs as she wondered how it would feel against her soft skin. The scar on his lip made her want to trace it first with her fingers, her lips, and her tongue. She barely had the thought of wondering where he had gotten it from when he raised an eyebrow in questioning as if waiting for her to reply to something. "I'm sorry what was that?" She asked blushing as she realised she had been so engrossed in taking him in she had missed what he had said.

"I said, I'm glad it was my rooms you stumbled upon instead of some of the others here. Though I am curious as to why you were waving three pairs of pants around like a victory flag when you stumbled in only to fall to the ground." He answered with humour laced into his voice as he smirked a little.

"Ah well, uhm I believe I was playing wicked grace against Emery, Iron Bull and Varric." She scratched the back of her neck looking away.

"You actually beat Varric in Wicked Grace? Color me impressed. You've definitely have changed since...well," He fumbled with his words as he looked away a frown playing on his lips. Isa looked down at the floor and rubbed her arm as the memories of the circle flooded her. She bit her lip, worrying it before sighing and looking into his carmel eyes.

"It's okay, really." She whispered before turning quickly escaping through the door, not paying attention to where she was going before entering a tower with painted elven murals. Her eyes narrowed and she cursed under her breath when she saw Solas. He was truly the last person she wanted to be around at the moment.

"Ah Da'len what brings you here?" Solas asked looking up from the tomb he was reading. Isa glared at the man before sighing.

"Nothing of your concern. Tell me, why do you remind me of a feral wolf?" She asked as she watched the man pale before coughing.

"I am not sure what you mean," He answered before glancing up at her. "Could I perhaps pick at your brain about the blight and everything leading up to it?" He asked. Isa sighed before leaning against the wall with a shrug. She began telling him everything he wished to know as long as it wasn't too personal. In return Solas traded and commented on their shared knowledge on the Fade and her magic. It was noon by the time Emery and Dorian found the two in deep conversation. The man gave the two a questioning look before glancing to his lover who shook his head. Dorian could tell what his lover thought and he was quite far off the mark.

"So sorry to interrupt but we need to steel the Commander from you." Dorian drawled out. Isa stretched and tilted her head taking in the extravagantly dressed man and a smile pulled at her lips as she looked between the two. She simply nodded her head and followed the pair away to the training grounds.

"That curious to know what I know?" Isalora asked laughing shaking her head. "I feel like I'm being put on a show for the whole Inquisition."

Cullen couldn't help the sigh that escaped his lips as he watched her retreat through the door. He knew better than to know everything was okay. After Isa had left he had tried to get some of his work done but his mind kept traveling to the elf. She had hardly changed as time flowed by her. Her hair was kept just a few inches longer than her shoulder blades in her braid and had lightened even more if possible. The only tells of aging was the very soft lines dotting her face from smiling and frowning often in her life. She had slimmed down compared to her time in the circle, most likely from the fact she was now constantly in battle compared to the luxury of the circle. If one could have called it luxury. Finally deciding enough was enough, he got up from his place at his desk and grabbed his cloak before going to the battlements to make rounds.

"Did you hear? They say the new elf that showed up is the Hero of Ferelden." A soldier gossiped to another.

"I doubt that, didn't she go up missing or something like that? Probably long gone now thanks to everything going tits up with Corypheus." The shorter of the two mentioned.

"I don't know, if she survived an Archdemon somehow I think she can survive this. However the Inquisitor pulled the woman to the training grounds or something. Something about learning what kind of mage she is." The gossiping soldier mentioned as Cullen rounded the corner with brows raised. Both soldiers saluted and clammed up quickly before returning to their duties. All Cullen could do was shake his head with a slight smile playing on his lips before heading towards the training grounds to see what all the fuss was, though if he wasn't lying to himself, he was curious too. As he approached he could see all of the Inquisitor's team surrounding the fence. He slid up right between Iron Bull and Dorian.

"Curiosity got the better of you too, huh?" Iron Bull asked with a knowing smirk. Cullen just shrugged and watched on as Emery and Isa circled around each other.

"Are you sure this is a fair fight?" Cullen mused watching between the two. Emery was a strong fighter with his templar background but against a mage who has a good few more years of experience under her belt, he was concerned. The former templar could feel the observing stare from the Qunari.

"Emery can handle his own, unless you're truly worried for the Hero." Dorian drawled buffing his nails on his clothes in a bored like fashion. Cullen's lips pressed into a firm line as he leaned against the fence to watch. His stomach was twisted with worry.

"We can't afford to have either injured at a time like now." He huffed out his reasoning, how true it was, well was up for debate.

"Don't worry Curly it's only 'till first blood." Varric called to him rubbing his chin, taking in the details, Cullen was sure. The man always had a keen eye to keep his books and stories going. Isa's boots crunched in the dirt as she moved slowly with a playful smile on her full lips before she pulled out her sword. Within a blink of an eye her sword was on fire and she moved to take the first swing to begin the assault. The blade sounded to land heavier than Cullen would have assumed it to originally hit. Emery must have had the same thought when he heard him grunt at the unexpected force. Isa let out a laugh before spinning to land a blow on his open flank only to be blocked by his shield in just the right amount of time.

"Don't expect me to be a light hitter just because you know I'm a mage. Many have died with that assumption." Isa told him before flitting away to get distance in between them. She was light on her feet. Almost as light as a rogue but just a hair to slow due to the heavier weapon of a full sword. Cullen could feel Emery trying shut down her magic quickly, a smart move really normally against a regular mage. Something told him though that it wouldn't be that simple to take her down. Ten minutes in was when finally her mana pool finally began to empty. He could tell she had learned different techniques to fight against templars. Which was understandable if she traveled by herself frequently during the times of the mage-templar rebellion. Isa charged towards Emery only to faint last minute and knocked his shield away however Emery returned the offense with a kick to the stomach. She rolled back and coughed, breathing hard. Emery approached cautiously before moving to knick her as she sat crouched holding her stomach, only for her to knock his sword away with hers and spinning a leg out to knock him off his feet. Emery landed on his back, the air being knocked out of his lungs with a loud whoosh. She moved to pin him down with her weight and took out her dagger and knick his cheek with the blade barely leaving a mark but still blood. Cullen watched as she stood up and offered Emery a hand to stand up and a warm smile.

"That was a good sparring match. Thank you for letting me have the chance to fight against you. I can understand why they have you as their Inquisitor, Emery." She smiled brightly before running a hand over her messy braid and turned to crowd giving a bow. She walked over to main group and huffed when she caught sight of Cullen puffing out her cheeks and looking away.

"I hadn't realized you began swordsmanship." Cullen spoke to her softly as she climbed through the fence and stood next to him.

"I picked it up after visiting the ruins when we were recruiting another Dalish clan during the blight. It was passed down by a spirit that had been trapped in its own type of phylactery." She shrugged. He couldn't help his gaze as he caught sight of a sweat droplet roll from her collarbone down into her cleavage that was now available from her blouse opening up. He quickly glanced away before anyone were to notice his heated gaze lingering as the light blush dusted his cheeks and he cleared his throat.

"I had overheard some of our soldiers mention you were dueling Emery and I was curious to see how your magic has grown." He admitted shyly before turning to leave, he stopped as he felt a hand grab his wrist and turned back to see her smiling up at him.

"You still play chess right?" Isa asked biting her lower lip looking down at the floor.

"Uhm…" Cullen was lost for his words.

"Ah he does, I can't ever figure out how he cheats to win." Dorian chimed with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

"If you would be free, I'd love to play a game against you again." She said softly before turning away and walking back to keep to return to her quarters. Cullen stood there stunned and at the same time full of joy. Perhaps he could finally have the chance to talk to her in private of the things that had happened. As he turned and quickly mumbled about paperwork being stacked up that need taken care of he missed the knowing smiles of his companions and the soft blush that curled around the tips of Isa's ears as she had walked away quickly.

Author's Note:

Thank you so much to those who have followed this story!

I apologize for the long time in between the updates, I work 12 hour shifts and to top it off have 9 month old, so things get kind of hectic!

Anyways Reviews are always welcome and again thank you so much for reading!