It takes them six days of hard riding to arrive in Val Royeaux. They take their horses to a nearby stable to be fed and watered for the duration of their stay. Skye immediately wanted to head for the Grand Cathedral but Cullen pointed out that they should probably wash and change their clothes first, as they were unlikely to get the help they needed if the Chantry Sisters mistook them for homeless beggars. So they procured rooms near the Exalted district that houses the Grand Cathedral and bathed and changed their clothes before heading out.

Thankfully they avoided arriving at the Grand Cathedral during a sermon, there was just a few of the faithful dotted around the main chamber offering prayers to the Maker. Skye and Cullen made their way further in trying not to attract to much attention to themselves. They eventually spotted a sister passing near them and called for her attention.

"Excuse me Sister…" Cullen started.

"Oh I'm not a Sister yet, I'm only an initiate. Initiate Hannah." The girl interrupted.

"My apologies." Cullen said before continuing. "I was wondering if you could help us."

"Of course Ser, the Chantry is here to help all of the faithful. Under the guidance of our glorious new Divine Victoria we are rededicating ourselves to the gift of charity. Anything you require, we will do our best to aid you." Hannah finally stopped to breath and Cullen simply nodded.

"Well, we need to see the Chantry archives."

"I'm afraid that's not something I can help you with."

"But you just said that you would help us." Cullen said confused.

"Yes, well you need permission to see the archives." Hannah said.

"That's okay, we have permission." Skye piped in and withdrew the scroll Leliana had given them and handed it to Hannah. She quickly read over it and her eyes nearly bulged out her head when she saw who it was signed by. She quickly handed the note back to Skye before bowing her head to them.

"I beg your forgiveness Your Worship, I did not realize it was you." Hannah said, her eyes remaining fixed at their feet.

"No offence taken Hannah really. Do you think you could take us to the archives now please?"

"Yes of course, Your Worship. Follow me please." Hannah immediately rushed off and Cullen and Skye had to jog after her. They followed her down the endless corridors and winding stairs of the Grand Cathedral for what felt like hours.

"We're here." Hannah said as she opened a large door to a vast room filled to brim with cabinets.

"Hannah!" The three of them all spun round to see another Chantry cleric hurrying towards them from deep within the room. "Hannah, what is going on? Who are these people and where are you taking them?"

"Apologies for the interruption Sister…" Cullen started.

"Mother! Mother Joy." The Mother said in a voice that she clearly wanted to sound superior but just came out as rather manly. Cullen noted that her name clearly didn't match to the personality of the person it belonged to.

"Apologies Mother. We are in need of some important information contained within your archives, Hannah was just…"

"The archives are a restricted area; they need permission to enter Hannah." Mother Joy interrupted again, only speaking to Hannah and dismissing Skye and Cullen.

"But they do have permission Mother, the Divines permission." Hannah piped in.

"I highly doubt that the Divine just hands out permission to view sensitive Chantry knowledge to any random…" She eyed the mages staff attached to Skye's back with disdain. "Person who asks."

"But Mother this isn't just anyone, this is the Inquisitor and the Commander of her forces. They bare a note with the Divines mark telling us to offer them any assistance." Hannah said enthusiastically. If possible the Mother's face turned even more sour and she simply held out her hand expecting the note to be handed to her. Skye begrudgingly handed it over to her. The Mother's eyes scanned the note critically but eventually when she found no anomalies, she turned back to Hannah.

"And how do you know that these people are who they say they are..." Cullen could see Skye shaking in anger and he put a hand on her arm but it did little to calm her. "This could be any random mage who stole this note and came here to find out our secrets."

"What you mean secrets like the first Inquisitor, leader of the Seekers of Truth and personal friend of Emperor Drakon was actually an Elven mage or that his lover was also a mage. Or that you killed thousands of elves in the Dales over a misunderstanding between two lovers at Red Crossing. Secrets like those?" Skye exploded.

"Well..I…I…" The Mother stuttered.

"You want proof I'm the Inquisitor, fine!" Skye's shouts echoed in the vast room. Skye yanked off the thick glove she wore on her left arm to shove the mark on her left hand in the Mother's face. "Do you know what I can do with this? I could tear open a rift in the Veil right in the middle of your precious archives and all your knowledge would be lost forever in the fade. Do you want me to do that?" Skye threatened causing the mark on her hand to glow brightly.

"I beg your forgiveness Your Worship, I did not mean to cause offence. I just sought to protect our sacred archives." Mother Joy fell to her knees before Skye, who was pulling her glove back on.

"Can we be left to find the information we seek in peace?" Skye asked.

"Of course Your Worship, for as long as you need."

"Then you are forgiven. Now leave us." Joy and Hannah rushed out the room and closed the door behind them. Skye turned to Cullen who was smirking at her.

"What?" She asked trying not to laugh.

"Darling, you know I love you but that might have been the tiniest bit over the top."

"Well she deserved it. Plus, she questioned the Divine's orders Cullen." Skye said sarcastically, Cullen just laughed before turning dauntingly to the vast room ahead of them. They spent ages wondering around the cabinets looking for anything that may indicate birthing records. Eventually they found a section of the archive that was dedicated to the Circle's of Magi and began rummaging through it. For over two hours they searched through countless irrelevant files. Until eventually Cullen found a series of drawers that were filled with Chantry birth records. Over an hour later they still hadn't had any luck and the two of them were starting to get tired. Cullen was contemplating suggesting that they call it a night and start again tomorrow when he grabbed the next file and quickly scanned over it.

"Skye." Cullen called softly and she turned to him tiredly. "I think I've found it." It took barely a second for Skye to rush over to him and grab the file from his hands.

Record of birth #78632100

Female child born 7th Ferventis 9:37 Dragon

Location: Ostwick Circle of Magi, Free Marches

Mother: Enchanter Skye Trevelyan (Mage)

Father: Templar Ser William Bennett

(Disciplinary action taken and relocation to Montsimmard, Orlais)

Magical ability: Uncertain

Recommended upbringing: to be sent to a Chantry controlled orphanage for observation until the age of 16 to determine future magical ability.

Chantry orphanage application: Approved

Relocation to Ghislain Chantry, Orlais

Confirmation received that child arrived at Ghislain Chantry on 28th Ferventis 9:37 Dragon

Two-year magical assessment report sent by Sister Mary, received by Sister Joy on 14th Matrinalis 9:39 Dragon.

Child at two years of age shows no sign of magical abilities. However, child does show extreme intelligence beyond her years despite lacking in expected verbal skills for her age.

Recommendation that child remain in Chantry custody.

Skye couldn't believe that they had finally found her, she turned to Cullen who had been reading the file over her shoulder and squealed in delight as she flung herself at him, hugging him tightly.

"We've found her. We've found her." Skye kept repeating over and over again. Cullen just laughed at her excitement and returned her embrace. Skye quickly climbed up off the floor and was nearly bouncing in excitement as she hurried for Cullen to get up so they could get moving.

"Hold you horses. First we need to clear away all these files incase any of the Sisters get nosy about what we were looking for." Cullen said trying to calm her down, Skye saw the logic in what Cullen said but she didn't like having to waste time tidying away some dusty old files. Eventually they had placed everything back where it had been when they started and made the way along the endless rows of cabinets to the exit. As they walked through the door they saw Hannah waiting for them on the other side, Cullen couldn't help but wonder if she'd been standing out here waiting for them all this time.

"Inquisitor, Commnader, did you find everything you were looking for?" Hannah asked.

"Yes we did thank you." Skye replied trying to walk round her.

"Oh thats wonderful. Mother Joy was wondering if you would like to stay as honored guests for this evening sermon?" Hannah asked excitedly.

"I'm afraid we are on important business and can not be delayed, but thank you for your assistance. We will be sure to inform the Divine of your aid." Skye said as she sidestepped around Hannah and walked away. Skye and Cullen rushed out the Grand Cathedral as fast as they could before they got even more offers to stay for the sermon. When they eventually left, the amount of time they had spent searching became apparent to them as they saw that the suns last rays were disappearing along the horizon.

"I think we should spend the night here, get a good nights sleep and then we can set off first thing. Is that okay with you?" Cullen asked as he turned to Skye and saw her pouting slightly.

"I suppose it will have to be, it's too late in the day to start our journey now." Skye said as she started heading back to the inn where they had rented a room. When they arrived they asked food to be sent up to their room, which they ate whilst pouring over maps to figure out the fastest route to Ghislain.

"It seems pretty simple." Cullen said, "If we take the Imperial Highway north and then bare northwest towards Andoral's Reach, we should follow the road to Montfort and then further on to Ghislain. It should take us three days' maximum, maybe two if we leave at first light and ride hard to Montfort." Cullen reported turning his head to Skye who was looking at the map over his shoulder. She nodded in agreement at Cullen's proposed route before downing the rest of her mead and putting her cup back down on the table before walking across the room to grab her staff. She immediately began twirling it around idly.

"You okay Skye?" Cullen asked, slightly scared that she was going to accidently fire off a spell.

"Yeah, I'm just restless. I want to go sleep so tomorrow will come sooner but I'm not tired. And I haven't killed anything in days, I fear I'm getting rusty." Skye said as she ran through some basic formations.

"Unfortunately darling, your unlikely to find anything interesting to kill in Val Royeaux. Apart from pesky nobles, but I hear killing them for sport is frowned upon." Cullen said standing up from the table to stretch his legs.

"Damn." Skye said in mock annoyance. "If we can't kill nobles, what could we possibly do instead?" Skye said suggestively.

"Well I do have one idea." Cullen replied walking over to Skye.

"Then please enlighten me." Skye whispered standing on her tiptoes so her face was mere inches from Cullen's.

"I could teach you some basic sword training, that would definitely tire you out."

"Seriously?" Skye asked pulling away slightly, unsure if she could have been more obvious.

"No." Cullen laughed before kissing her. Skye moaned against his mouth and wrapped her arms around the back of Cullen's neck as he pushed her backwards onto the bed. Even though it had only been a few days since she had last felt his touch, to Skye it felt like ages. She loved this man deeply and could not wait to begin their family with him once they had found Lily. She knew that Cullen would make a great father figure for Lily and in time she hoped that Cullen would look upon her as his own. She knew he was honest in his desire to help reunite her with her daughter but he hadn't mentioned anything to her about what he wanted for after. Skye didn't want to pressure him and so hadn't brought it up but as they got closer to finding her the more Skye wanted to know his thoughts on their future.

-x-

Again they woke up early to get an early start on their days riding. Skye was determined to make it to Montfort before nightfall. They paid for their room but as they exited the inn a crowd was waiting for them. Clearly word had spread that the Inquisitor was in the capital and everyone was desperate to know why they were there? Who they visiting? Or to invite them to various meals throughout the day and accompany them as they traveled. Many people also clambered to simply give their thanks to the Inquisitor. Unfortunately getting through this crowd without either of them committing a social scandal was difficult and time consuming. As a result, they set off a lot later in the day than either of them wanted and so didn't make it to Montfort until well after dusk. This time they learned from their mistake in Val Royeaux and Cullen went in alone to procure a room while Skye donned a cloak and followed a moment later and then discretely followed Cullen up the stairs.

"I want to leave the moment the sun rises." Skye said suppressing a yawn as they made their way to the room. "We've lost enough time as it is."

"Skye, you'll do no good if you're too tired to ride properly and fall from your horse." Cullen said unlocking the door to their room. "We'll get a good, long nights' rest here before moving on tomorrow, half a day will not make a difference."

"I suppose you're right." Skye said making a bee-line for the bed the moment she walked into the room and dropping her staff to the floor. Cullen looked over at her and saw that she had immediately fell asleep face first on the bed. Cullen quickly changed out of his armor and then moved over to Skye to remove her boots and battle mage's coat before pulling the sheets back and pulling them over Skye and himself before he too fell into a deep sleep.

They both didn't wake up until gone midday and Cullen had to continuously remind Skye that half a day wasn't going to make a difference, but she still insisted on leaving the moment they had finished eating. Despite riding hard for the rest of the day nightfall came and they were still a good few hours away from Ghislain. It became too dark and dangerous to continue riding and so they stopped at the next village they came to. If you could even call it a village, more a cluster of about six or seven houses. Cullen and Skye camped just outside the village and left before any of the villagers noticed they were even there. It was approaching midday when Skye and Cullen saw Ghislain in the distance. Skye urged her horse on faster and Cullen followed suit. When the arrived in Ghislain they were pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't nearly as big as Montfort, around the size of Redcliff. Thankfully this made it easy to locate the Chantry on the edge of the town. Unfortunately, the midday sermon was currently underway so Skye and Cullen wandered round the town until they saw a flock of people leaving the Chantry. Skye and Cullen made their way over and told the Sister at the door that they were looking for Sister Mary.

"Sister Mary? Oh my, are you two looking to adopt?" The Sister gushed.

"Yes we are." Skye said quickly taking Cullen's hand before he could correct the Sister that they were just here to find Skye's daughter.

"Oh that's wonderful." The sister said placing her hands on her heart. "We have had an increase in orphaned children recently due to the war and other problems down south, but it warms my heart to see two people such as yourselves opening theirs hearts to one of our children. Come follow me, on a lovely day like this Sister Mary will be out in the gardens with the children. My name is Sister Emma by the way."

Sister Emma led them through the Chantry and out a door in the back into a lush garden filled with various flowers and plants. Sister Emma led them along a narrow path through the garden to a large expanse of grass where a bunch of around eight or nine children all of various ages were milling about enjoying the sun.

"Sister Mary! Could you come here for a moment?" Sister Emma called out and a woman who was presumably Sister Mary. She stood up from her seat on the edge of the grassy area to walk over to them.

"Hello, I'm Sister Mary. What can I do for you?" Before either Skye or Cullen could answer, Emma beat them to it.

"There here to adopt a child, isn't that wonderful?" Sister Emma said.

"Yes that is wonderful. Obviously there are a few questions and documents that you will need to answer and fill out, but first is their any particular gender or age that you were looking for. And I'm presuming that its just the one you want?" Sister Mary asked.

"We want a girl, three years old and yes just her, please." Skye said not even looking at either of the Sisters and instead looking over all the children she could see on the grass, which meant that she didn't see the quick look of panic that Emma and Mary exchanged which they immediately tried to hide but Cullen saw it, Lily was definitely here.

"Well that is a bit too specific I'm afraid. We don't currently have any children of that description here. But I could give you the location of some other orphanages in Orlais where you might have better luck."

"I know she's here." Skye said barging past the two Sisters and frantically looking around the garden.

"What do you think your doing?!" Sister Mary shouted rushing after Skye as fast as her old legs would carry her. "You can't just come in here and steal a child."

"Steal!" Skye said as she spun around to face the Sister. "You people stole her from me!" Skye continued looking around the garden with the older Sister chasing after her.

"We know she's here." Cullen said to Sister Emma who had both remained near the edge garden. "And since the Circle's have been disbanded and the Divine has supported the rebuilding of the College of Enchanters, you have no right to keep her here."

"I…we…ummm…I should get all the children inside." Sister Emma said quickly but she looked very unsure of herself as what Cullen had said made sense. But she had never been told of a new procedure for potential mage children and so was at a loss of what to do.

Suddenly Cullen heard a noise come from the bush beside him and he turned round to see a small girl, couldn't have been older than three or four, emerging from the bush. Her eyes were fixed on Skye. When she fully emerged from the bush, Cullen could see that she was the spitting image of Skye.

"Skye!" Cullen shouted, suddenly nervous. Skye looked over at him and noticed the little girl at his side. Skye immediately felt a pull to this child and knew in her heart that it was her child, her Lily. All other noises fell silent as Skye walked past the angry Sister, who was still shouting at her. The little girl took a few attentive steps towards Skye clutching a small toy nug. Skye stopped a few feet in front of the small girl and bent down on one knee.

"Hey there." Skye said, "What's your name?"

"Lily." The small girl whispered at the same time that Sister Mary said Margery, but all Skye could hear was the little girl.

"Lily." Skye couldn't understand how the girl new her name was Lily, especially when the Chantry Sisters had apparently been calling her something else. But hearing her say that her name was Lily caused tears of joy to roll down her cheeks and a massive smile to spread across her face. Lily reached up with her free hand to touch her own face, so like Skye's, before reaching her hand out and taking a few steps forward until she gently rested her small hand on Skye's cheek.

"Mummy." Lily said with far more certainty than a three-year-old should be able to muster. A fresh wave of happy tears burst from Skye's eyes as she reached her hand up to envelope Lily's smaller one on her cheek.

"Yes, I'm your mummy, my beautiful baby girl." Skye dropped Lily's hand to wrap her hands around her small body and hug her close. Lily dropped her little toy nug so she too could cling on to her mother. Skye pulled away slightly to look at her daughter, her hands repeatedly stroking Lily's hair and face as if to reassure herself that she was really there. Cullen didn't want to intrude on their intimate moment but just as he was about to step back Lily's face turned to him. Skye followed her gaze and smiled at Cullen. Lily turned back to her mother and whispered something in her ear that Cullen couldn't hear before she turned back to looking at Cullen.

"Yes." Skye said looking between Lily and Cullen. "That's your new daddy."

The chorus of ahhh's from the children that were gathered around to watch the heartwarming scene thankfully covered Cullen's rather audible gulp of fear.