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Part 6

Evelyn and Varric agreed to meet up after supper. The Inquisitor waved him goodbye and headed off to Herald's rest to locate Sera and Harding.

She spotted the elf as soon as she entered the establishment. Sera had seated herself in the bar, her back turned against the other patrons. This was rather an unusual behavior for the elf who would usually demand everyone's attention by cracking filthy jokes and laugh loudly at them.

The mage walked over and sat down next to her friend. Cabot, the barkeep, offered to pour Evelyn a beer, but she kindly refused. This seemed to perplex the man, but he said nothing as he wandered off to clean up a newly freed table on the other side of the room.

Evelyn placed her elbow on the counter and let her head rest on her hand, motionlessly observing the new features on Sera's right cheek. The elf said nothing while she slowly downed her beer. When she finished, she placed the glass on the counter and ordered a new one.

Sera sighed and turned to face her friend, "just say it already."

The Inquisitor had to slide her face down in her hand to muffle the sound of her laughter. The full frontal view of the elf's face was not exactly a picturesque sight, and came as a great shock.

The elf rolled her eyes and reached for the beer Cabot had poured her. She nipped to it while she waited for Evelyn to calm down.

When she finally did, Evelyn used her sleeve to dry away the tears that had popped up in the corners of her eyes. She sniffled and cleared her throat, "I don't know what you're talk, pfhhhh." Evelyn couldn't finish the sentence before Sera's additional face features became insanely funny again.

The elf waited impatiently for her friend to stop laughing, tapping her index finger on the counter in irritation.

Evelyn finally settled again, grasping for air. The lack of oxygen had painted her face red. "Maker, that was a good laugh!" She managed to articulate through the heaves. "Varric's work I presume."

She nodded in the direction of the qunari, seated in his usual spot beneath a window near the staircase. "And Iron Bull," she added.

Evelyn turned her head to look at the other perpetrator. She smiled and gave him a wink, earning herself a silent toast as Bull raised his tankard high enough for her to see it. "Whatever did you do to piss them off?" she said as she turned back to Sera.

"Tch, nothing really. It was all in good fun, but now I have to sit like this in public for a couple of hours. Feel my shame and all, redemption. I can't even sneak off and wash my face when Bull's there, watching my every move." She sighed, "Honestly, I look ridiculous. It feels like I'm wearing an Orlesian mask."

"Well… a cheap one," Evelyn joked. Sera scoffed as she took a greedy sip of her beer. "Tell you what though," Evelyn continued.

"What?"

"You saw Cullen and me up on the battlements… right?"

Sera took another greedy sip of her beer. "Yeah, and?"

"I'll let you wash your face if you keep your sighting to yourself," she answered cunningly.

The elf raised an eyebrow at her friend. "You embarrassed about Cully-Wully?"

"No!" Evelyn shouted a little too eagerly. Her face flushed a bright red when she noticed the curious stares she had earned from the other patrons. She lowered her voice and leaned closer to Sera. "No… I just… want us to get to know each other… without everyone watching us all the time."

"I guess I can understand that, I've been the single most interesting topic in the tavern the last hour. It must get tiresome to be the constant source of gossip." Sera gulped down the rest of her beer. "Though you won't get much time alone before people catch on. You're the Herald of Andraste and all, everyone's watching you already."

Evelyn sighed, "That they are… I just want to keep it from the public's eye, at least until we leave for Halamshiral."

"I'll keep it to myself, but it's only a matter of time before Leliana figures it out. I saw that poor man who interrupted you; he's one of hers after all."

Evelyn shrugged.

Sera cleared her bill with Cabot, before she jumped off her seat. "If it's okay with you," she said after she hit the ground with her feet, "I'll head off to my room now… wash up and stuff."

"Sure," Evelyn followed Sera's example and jumped off her seat. "Could you tell Harding as well? I'll clear up everything with Bull and Varric in the meantime. I know they want revenge and all, but I think you've suffered enough, this round at least."

"Yeah, yeah," Sera waved lazily and walked in the direction of the stairs. "Best wishes and all," she added before she headed up to her room.

Varric and Evelyn rendezvoused by the fireplace in the main hall after supper. They pretended to talk about the weather while they waited for Cullen to retire to his quarters, so Evelyn could be privy to the origin of the not-so-suited-nickname given by the dwarf.

Their conversation topic had changed to the many shapes a cloud could manifest when the Commander finally finished his meal. Vivienne had scolded the poor man and called his dinner etiquette appalling, deeming him ill qualified to represent the Inquisition at the Orlesian ball. She took it upon herself to educate him on proper manner, a rather time draining task when she expected nothing but perfection from the man.

When Vivienne finally freed him from her impromptu etiquette course, Cullen didn't venture to his office as Varric and Evelyn had hoped. The man proclaimed instead – as he passed them by the fireplace – that he wanted to spar with his soldiers before her retired for the evening.

"Well shit," Varric said when Cullen had walked out of earshot. "I've seen Curly train before; it could take hours before he goes to sleep."

Evelyn sighed, "Now what?"

The dwarf shrugged, "I guess we'll just have to follow him until he's sleepy then."

She raised an eyebrow, "you want us… to stalk Cullen?"

"Stalking is such a bad word. I'm simply suggesting that we observe the Commander while he train with the troops. It's not unusual that a leader would want to know what her general teach the soldiers under her banner."

"Well… when you put it like that." She flashed him a huge grin, "It seems rather justified."

"Girlie, I can justify most things."

"I'm sure you can," she snickered.

They followed Cullen down to the Barracks, keeping their distance so he wouldn't spot them. Evelyn had first suggested that they could just ask to watch the soldiers train, but Varric had insisted that the Commander would be too self-conscious if he knew she was there. Not that Evelyn though that would make any difference.

Varric knew of a good hiding spot, accessible by a hole in the roof, leading to an upper platform inside the barracks, only reachable with a ladder (or through the hole).

The room was spacious, with training dummies stacked against the wall; so the soldiers could hack and slash as they saw fit. The middle of the room was empty, a perfect space for sparring. Cullen would usually stand on the sideline and guide his soldiers while they faced each other, but now he proclaimed to his Templars that anyone who wanted to face him; would get the chance to do so tonight.

While the soldiers prepared to fight, Varric and Evelyn laid flat on their stomachs, hidden behind a supporting beam, strategically placed in front of the platform. No light illuminated the upper corner where they were situated, making it the perfect hiding spot for observing. They could barely distinguish each other's features.

.

.

.

"Why are you doing this anyhow?" Evelyn whispered to Varric.

He contemplated a second before he answered. "Well… there are two reasons for that," he whispered back.

"What's the first one?" Evelyn inquired.

"Well… you see; I had this strangest dream last night. I dreamt that Curly used a piece of coal to draw the worried eyebrows on me."

Evelyn gave him a pondering look, "That doesn't sound like something Cullen would do."

"I know, but I got this inkling feeling that he was as much a part of it as Sera was. Besides, it suits me better to be a couple of steps in front of him, not one behind."

"Well… Sera is rather persuasive, and I know he followed her home this morning."

"Did he now? Why, and from where?"

The Inquisitor coughed nervously and avoided his question, deflecting it with one of her own. "What's the other reason?"

Varric huffed and rolled his eyes. "Well, as you pointed out. Curly isn't the greatest of nicknames these days. I want to make up a new one, one suited for the man everyone sees now." He glanced down at the Commander who was about to face his first opponent. "I take pride in my nicknaming. It should always be based on acute observation."

Evelyn zoned out as she watched Cullen bash his steel sword against the opposing Templar's shield, sweat drops forming on his forehead. "How about Blondie?" she said absentmindedly.

The dwarf next to her scoffed. "Already know a 'Blondie', not a great fan of that one."

"Oh?"

"I don't want to talk about it." He traced Cullen's movements as he danced around his opponent. "How about Commander Pretty-boy?"

"I'm glad you think he's pretty, but that's maybe a nickname I should give him?"

"Or Dorian." Varric joked.

"Or Dorian..." Evelyn sighed. "What about Commander Neck-rub?"

He let out a hearty snort, "Not bad Inquisitor!"

"Well thank you. I take pride in my wit and my observation skills."

"As you should." Maybe I'll just latch onto Sera's 'Cully-Wully'; it has a certain… ring to it."

"Curly seems to be more appropriate now." She pointed in the direction of the Commander, "Did you name him for his wavy hair?"

"Wavy doesn't begin to describe it, but it's a start." Varric replied. "Just wait until he loses all control over it."

The second, third and fourth challengers tried and failed against the commander. Both his body and his hair started to show their exhaustion.

"It looks like it's getting worse now. Why have I never seen his hair like this? I've watched him train many times."

"Well, when you're not around, he isn't obsessively attentive to his hair. I noticed that he would always make sure to keep his hair down and smooth in your presence."

"And when he's not?" Evelyn pondered.

"He lets it curls up again," Varric shrugged.

The Inquisitor sighed, "I don't think I would have liked him less if he had curly hair when we first met."

"Don't be so certain." The dwarf grinned, "This hairstyle is a vast improvement from the way he wore it in Kirkwall. No wonder the Templar-Mage conflict broke loose in Kirkwall."

Evelyn snickered at his musing. "Well… you wanted to call him Commander Pretty-boy, I'm sure your opinion is undoubtedly unbiased."

They watched as Cullen took on fourth challenger. By the time he defeated his seventh and final challenger, the Commanders hair had receded back to its natural, curly state.

"What do you think of your loverboy now?"

"I still think he's handsome… I also think Curly is justifiable nickname after this sight."

"Maybe you're right. It's a classic name after all."

Thank you all for your continued support! My heart skips a beat every time I see a new notification from your following, favoring and reviewing my fic. It makes it even more rewarding to continue this story. I hope I'll make you laugh 'til the end.

If you like this story, you might also like my post-game story Of Pranks and Marriage where Cullen and Evelyn visit her parents. It also features Dorian and Sera.