The wedding came.

Cullen had hoped that against all odds, they would have found Trev's sister Rose by now. Even if it had only been a few days since Trev had told him everything and made him swear not to interfere, he'd had hope.

Hope that was now crushed.

It was a grand affair, with guests from all over Thedas. Cullen guessed that this wasn't Trev's idea, but Turner's.

That son of a fucking bitch.

Cullen was the one who was supposed to stand at her side on the day of her wedding. The guests were supposed to recieve invitations to the wedding of Cullen Stanton Rutherford and Lily Trevelyan. It was his dream, and now Dreallor robbed him of it.

But Cullen knew it was shameful to think of himself in a situation like this. He wasn't the one who suffered the most. He wasn't the one forced into marrying his would-be-rapist. Probably actually was now. Cullen had seen the way Turner forced himself on Trev when he'd almost lost it and came close to attacking him the other night, before Trev stopped him. She was in no position to deny Turner.

He dug his nails into his palms thinking about it as he stood, dressed in fine, ceremonial clothes, along with the other guests in the grand hall of Skyhold, waiting for the bride and groom to show up. The Revered Mother was already in place at the front, and the room was lined with flowers, white and red roses.

Cullen could bet anything on the fact that the flowers was another one of Turner's choices, just to mock Trev and remind her of what he would do to her sister Rose if Trev didn't go through with the wedding.

Finally, he heard a ripple go through the crowd as everyone turned to the entrance and watched Trev walk in, his Trev, alongside Turner Dreallor. Her hand was on his arm, and they both smiled at their guests as they passed.

Maker, but she was beautiful. Not a single one of his dreams could live up to the vision of her. Her golden hair flowed down her back, petite white flowers braided in with silver thread. Her dress was, while not the traditional Ferelden blue he'd always pictured her in, a spectacular piece; Marcher white, hugging her in all the right places, a long, flowing train and her shoulders bare.

The sight of her almost broke him.

She didn't look at Cullen as she passed him.

He didn't know if he should feel relieved or sad about that. Probably for the best. It took all the strenght in him already, to keep his expression calm and level. He didn't know if he could handle looking into her eyes and seeing the truth there.

As she passed him and her back came into his view, he growled through his teeth and took a step forward when he saw her bare skin. Leliana's hand, warning, on his arm held him back.

"Stay calm, Cullen. Remember what you promised her," she whispered, her words lost to those nearby in the sorl of the crowd.

Cullen strained against her grip.

"Do you see that?" he hissed at her.

"Yes, I see. Save it for later, Cullen. Calm down, now."

He tried to calm down, he really did. But he couldn't stop the pounding in his blood, the ringing in his ears when he stared at her back, a large purplish bruise on her right shoulder. She'd tried to cover it up, and most people probably wouldn't notice.

But he did.

"Maker Leliana, please, I can't..." he whispered and he saw Leliana's eyes brimming with sorrow, for him or Trev, he didn't know, didn't care. "She has to endure it. He's abusing her in every way possible, and she can't do anything about it. How the fuck am I supposed to watch him do this to her without ripping his fucking head off?"

Leliana pulled him closer to her, steadying him with a tight grip on his arm now.

"I know, Cullen, I know. Believe it or not, I feel the same. But now is not the place or the time. Just save it for later. Save it for when we get him."

"When will that be? Please, tell me you're onto something, a lead, anything." Desperation clung to Cullen's whispering voice.

"We're doing all we can. I have every last one of my people working day and night searching for Sister Trevelyan. Sooner or later, something will come up. It always does."

Cullen prayed to the Maker that she was right as he watched the light of his existence pledge herself to another man.