Cullen was completely unsure what he was supposed to say to Skye's request. Dozens of thoughts raced through his mind, none of which made sense to him. He began to doubt if he'd heard her right and so said the only thing that came to his mind at that moment.

"What?" Cullen eventually managed to stutter out.

Skye jumped up her perch on the edge of their bed, releasing his hands and resumed her pacing across the room.

"I know, I know, I should have told you ages ago. But I never expected anything to happen between us when we first meet. I mean I was your prisoner when we first meet and then I became your leader in the midst of a war with a supposed God. And then when we eventually did get together, there was never really a right time to tell you. I mean we had a God to stop, so I couldn't really just drop this bomb on you. And then after Corypheus was defeated we were both so busy, that I just never had the time. Or maybe I'm just making excuses and I should have told you before we ever got involved…" Skye continued to ramble on but Cullen could no longer keep up with her train of thought as he remained frozen, still kneeling before their now empty bed.

A daughter. The world kept repeating in his mind, trying to figure out how this situation had snuck up of him. It clearly happened long before they had ever met, but Cullen still couldn't believe that he had no idea that Skye had a child. She must have been very young when it happened, after all she was only 22 now.

"Cullen, please say something." Skye begged, walking over to him and placing an attentive hand on his shoulder. Cullen frantically tried to think of something intelligent to say.

"So…You're not breaking up with me?" Cullen said eventually.

"What?! No of course not, I love you Cullen. Why would you think that?" Skye said confused, she had not thought this was where their conversation would lead.

"Oh thank the Maker." Cullen signed in relief finally getting up from the floor and taking a seat on the bed. Cullen looked up at Skye and saw that she looked adorably confused.

"Sorry, ignore me. I was just overreacting over nothing." Cullen chuckled slightly before sobering up and realizing that they were now going to have to talk about Skye's…daughter. Even saying it in his head the word sounded foreign.

"So…" Cullen said as Skye went and sat next to him on the bed, both of them staring out over the balcony in front of them.

"Yeah…I guess I should start from the beginning." Skye eventually said.

"Yep that might help."

"Well it all started four years ago, I was 18 and had newly passed my harrowing. Many of the senior enchanters and Templars had congratulated me on my very impressive harrowing. After that I felt so cocky and confident and on top of the world, that I made…advances on one of the Templers that I'd always rather liked but had never dared pursue, his name was William and he was newly ordained and the handsomest man I'd ever seen. At the time." She quickly reassured, grabbing one of his hands.

"For weeks he stuttered and blushed and ran away every time I was overtly forward with him."

Cullen couldn't help but smile at the idea of Skye hounding a young Templar with her womanly charms. And also thought back to when he was a young Templar and how intimidating some of the female mages could be.

"Well one day I was studying late in the library when I noticed that I was the only one there and he just happened to be the Templar on duty. So I approached him, I can't even remember what I was planning to do but before I could open my mouth he kissed me. In the weeks that followed we continued to sneak around in the shadows. He wasn't the first man I'd been with, but he was the first Templar. We became intimate about a few weeks after he first kissed me and after that we couldn't get enough of each other. I know now that what I felt for him wasn't love." Skye said as she used her free hand to cup Cullen's cheek and turn his face towards hers and rested her forehead against his before pulling back and continuing her story.

"But I cared for him more than any of the rest. We were still very careful, both about getting caught and preventing any…complications. But obviously not careful enough, even to this day I can't remember if I just forgot to cast the spell or if I accidently cast it wrong or if we were both in such a rush that I decided to risk it. But some weeks later when my monthly never came I cast a spell which confirmed my fears. I kept it a secret even from my closest friends and waited to tell William. Even though it was a completely unexpected surprise I immediately loved it and I wouldn't allow the Chantry to take it from me. I assumed that William would feel the same and we'd plan to run away together and live our lives as a family. When I eventually had the opportunity to tell him, he barely reacted at all, I think he was in shock. I asked him if he knew what we had to do and he said he did. But before we could discuss it further we heard people coming and had to retreat to our separate quarters. I assumed we had both had the same idea, but when I was woken up in the middle of the night and dragged to the harrowing chamber and interrogated by First Enchanter Joan and Knight Commander Walter while William was handcuffed by two other Templers I realized I was wrong. I was in a state of shock; I couldn't believe that William had confessed our relationship to them. For ages I couldn't even answer any of their questions, I was so angry. Eventually I had to tell them the truth and the First Enchanter told me how disappointed she was in me, but I couldn't have cared less. All I could think about was that they were going to take my baby from me and it was all William's fault. I hated him at that moment and lashed out at him. I managed to throw a few fire balls at him before the Knight Commander smited me and had the two other Templers take me away."

Cullen looked over to Skye to see that tears were forming in her eyes again and she was struggling to carry on. Cullen let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards him and hugged her, kissing her forehead gently.

"Are you okay?" Cullen asked. Cullen was still trying to wrap his head around what she had told him. He had never assumed that he had been her only lover, but he was slightly jealous that she had had another serious relationship before him.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine but I need to get this out." She eventually replied resting her head on Cullen's shoulder.

"The First Enchanter came to me the next morning and took me to her office and told me that William had been transferred to a different circle and that even she didn't know which one. But at the time I didn't care, he had betrayed me, betrayed our child. She tried to console me but I refused to be upset by his departure. Eventually she told me we had to discus my future. Since I had been escorted out of the harrowing chamber I didn't allow myself to think about the future. She told me what I already knew, that when the baby was born it would be taken away from me and given to a Chantry orphanage. I tried not to cry but I couldn't manage it and the First Enchanter hugged me until I stopped crying. Even though my family was allowed to visit me regularly and I loved them dearly, Joan was like a mother to me and when I eventually calmed down she told me that I did have another option. She told me how fragile my baby was and that the right spell could disrupt my pregnancy. I couldn't believe she would even suggest such a thing but she urged me to consider it, as it may have been the lesser of two evils. She told me to imagine the pain I would go through during my pregnancy and then to have my baby stolen from me at the end. She sent me away and by the end of the day the entire circle knew. Many of my friends came to me and offered their support no matter what I chose to do. But a few weeks later I returned to Joan and told her that I was going to have the baby and she said she would support me."

Skye fell silent for a moment after she finished and Cullen didn't want to pressure her to continue so he simply held her and waited until she was ready.

"Throughout my pregnancy I tried my best to not get attached in the hopes that it would be easier to say goodbye but it was impossible. I mean now can you not get attached to a life growing inside you. I became sure it was girl and couldn't help but imagine what her life would be like. Would she be a mage like me? Would she be sent to live in a circle? Or would she grow up normal with a normal family and never know about me? I dreaded every night because going to sleep meant I'd lost another precious day with my child. When I eventually went into labor I went hysterical and attacked anyone that came near, because I knew they were going to try and take my baby way from me. Joan refused to let any Templar smite me incase they harmed the baby, but eventually I became too exhausted and was in too much pain to try and stop them when they came to help. Giving birth was long and painful, but when I heard a little cry it all felt worth it. I desperately asked Joan if it was a girl or boy and she looked over to my child and turned back to me and told me it was a girl. I watched weakly as the midwife handed my baby to a Chanty sister and they left the room. I haven't seen her since."

Skye broke down into tears and Cullen could think of no words to express how sorry he was for what she had gone through. All he could do was pull her onto his lap and hold tightly onto her and offer what comfort he could until her tears ceased. Eventually Skye's tears reduced into small sobs and the occasional hiccup.

"Oh Skye I can't even tell you now sorry I am, that you had to go through that. You are even more remarkable than I already thought you were." Cullen said stroking her hair softly.

"What was her name?" Cullen asked softy.

"Lily…Her name was Lily." Skye replied wistfully, smiling slightly. "After her birth I fell into a deep depression for weeks. I unfairly blamed everyone around me for allowing someone to take my baby away from me. But then everything changed, the events of Kirkwall spread through the circle like wildfire and soon one word was on everybody's lips, rebellion. For the first time since Lily's birth I felt hope. If the Circles rebelled and split away from the Chantry, then I could leave the Circle and go and find Lily. I threw myself into the Libertarian fraternity, rebelling in any small way I could get away with. Joan was leader of the Libertarians in the Ostwick circle and I became her second and together we sowed the seeds of rebellion within the circle. Joan regularly had correspondence with Grand Enchanter Fiona and we knew the time was soon. When Fiona called a meeting of the First Enchanters at the White Spire in Val Royeaux Joan left me in charge of the mages, much to the annoyance of Knight Commander Walter. When news spread that the mages had separated from the Chantry I gathered our supporters within the Circle and told Knight Commander Walter to either let us go free and to kill us where we stood. Knight Commander Walter was a good man and was against blood shed whenever possible, so he let us go free. I don't know what became of him, but I hope he didn't fall pray to Red Lyrium."

Skye let go of Cullen and climbed out of his lap to go and get some fresh air on the balcony. She breathed in the fresh mountain air deeply as Cullen came out to stand next to her.

"After I was free I tried to find information about where they had taken Lily but to everyone I questioned I was just an evil rebel mage, who had turned their back on the Chantry. No one would tell me anything, so I returned to helping the rebellion in hopes that we could win our rights and I could raise my own child. When Divine Justinina called the Conclave at the Temple of Scared ashes, Fiona sent myself, Joan and some other loyal mages to represent our interests. When I first arrived there the atmosphere was tense, it had been the first time since the separation that mages and Templars had been in the same room together without trying to kill each other. I couldn't believe it when I first saw him on the other side of the room. William had changed much in the time since I'd last seen him, he had grown taller and broader during our time apart but he was still just as handsome as I remembered. We noticed each other at the same time and our eyes locked across the room. Every moment since he'd left I'd spent hating him, but when he was finally in front of me he looked as if he'd felt every hateful thought I'd ever had about him. He looked…tired and weak, but when he looked at me the tiniest amount of life came back to his face. I didn't get the chance to talk to him before…events happened, I'm sure I don't need to tell you."

Cullen nodded in agreement gazing up at the scarred sky, he was all too familiar with the events that followed. The rest of Thedas was still recovering but thanks to her they had that option. But it took Cullen a moment to fully register what she meant. William had died at the Conclave along with every other poor soul who had been there, except his Skye. Cullen was unsure how to feel about Williams death. A part of him felt relief in the knowledge that he could never steal Skye away from him, but another part felt ashamed at himself for that thought. Everything Skye had told Cullen about him showed that he had been an honorable man, who made some bad decisions but ultimately did what he thought was right.

"Afterwards, even if I had the time to find her, I couldn't bring her into the war with Corypheus. So I dedicated my life to saving the world, for her, for you, for our friends, for everyone. But now in this time of peace I have the time, the power and influence to find her."

Skye tore her eyes from the mountains on the horizon and turned back to her lover and took both of his hands in her.

"And I want you to be with me when I find her."

This whole situation had completely taken Cullen by surprise but when he looked at Skye, the love of his life he knew he would do anything to make her happy.

"Of course I will, Skye. There is nothing in this world I would not do for you." He replied lifting her hands up and kissing them gently, before letting them go and cupping her face and kissing her lips deeply. When he eventually pulled away Skye smiled happily for the first time since he'd entered their room.

"We will find her." Cullen said pulling her into a hug.

Please Review