Cullen was waiting outside Knight commander Greagoir's office, he had been summoned just as his duties in the library had ended, he was unsure of the reason that the Knight commander wished to see him about, however this gave the perfect opportunity to express his concern over Carroll's attitude towards Neve, no not just to Neve, to all the female apprentices, he did not want to be seen as being jealous by just mentioning Neve, he was mid thought on how to broach this subject when the heavy wooden door to the office opened and he was called inside.
He entered the room to find the Knight-Commander seated behind his desk, then noticed the First Enchanter Irving holding the door open for him,
"Cullen, take a seat" Greagoir motioned toward an empty chair place just in front of his desk.
Once he was seated Irving moved around the room positioning himself just behind the Knight Commander.
"You are no doubt curious as to why we have asked you here" Greagoir begun, Cullen nodded in agreement.
"We've been hearing good things about you Cullen, and not just from your Templar colleagues, but from the apprentices and senior enchanters as well, it would seem you've earned their trust and respect, impressive, considering the short amount of time you've been with us in Kinloch Hold"
"Thank you Knight Commander"
"I am therefore promoting you to Knight Corporal, your duties shall now be carried out on the second floor, and you shall finish the week as you are with your first official duty being in 6 night's time, Irving!"
"Yes, well done young man, your first duty in your new position is to attend one of our apprentices Harrowing, the identity of the apprentice will be revealed to you shortly before you are required to collect them from their dormitory and escort them to the Harrowing chamber, when in the chamber your task is to watch as the apprentice is sent into the fade, whilst there they will become vulnerable to temptation, if the apprentice is unable to resist this temptation they will be possessed by the demon in a plot to cross from the fade and into our world, if that happens, you must not hesitate to put the apprentice down, it is vital that the demon has no opportunity to overpower those in the chamber and be let free to roam the tower, this task is assigned to you, and you alone, it will be your duty to deal with the apprentice if they fail, you cannot falter, is this clear Knight corporal?"
"Yes First Enchanter, I understand, I shan't let you down" he replied, still slightly shell shocked by the sudden promotion.
"Excellent, congratulations again Knight Corporal, may the maker watch over you" with that Irving gave him a warm smile "with I shall bid you both good night" and made his way to the door and returned to his own office.
"Well done, Knight Corporal, I see great things in your future, continue to stay focused and as disciplined as you are and who knows you may even have my job one day" chuckled Greagoir in a rare moment of joviality,
"If I may, Sir, there was a concern I wished to raise with you"
"Oh, and what may that be?"
"We...well sir" he began nervously "I do not wish to overstep my bounds, however I am deeply concerned with the attitude displayed by one of my colleagues"
"And what kind of attitude is this?"
"Well, Sir, you see, well it's one of a complete disregard and lack of respect towards the female mages, I fear that what may be just mere comments now may soon turn into something of a more physical nature"
"Ah yes would this particular colleague be Carroll, by any chance"
"Er, well, yes, sir, how did, I mean am I not the only one to of noticed"
"We have been keeping a close eye on him after his last, indiscretion, and although that was not entirely his doing it did raise questions as to his conduct around the female apprentices, it would also seem that one of the young girls had had quite enough of his roaming eye and expressed her concerns to me, it was something I was meaning to speak with you about as she seemed to think you had witnessed behaviour that would has led to her feeling uncomfortable"
"Oh, may I ask who the young apprentice was sir, to verify their story"
"It was Miss Amell, she's a trustworthy sort, still, knowing that apprentices have fabricated stories in the past I felt I needed to confirm that what she had told me was accurate"
"I see, well, I have noticed of late that his attention has been rather specific towards, Ne.. eh I mean Miss Amell, and some of the comments made have been less than gentlemanly"
"Is there not a chance that she encourages him at all?"
"Absolutely not sir, most of my duties have been to guard the classes in which she attends, she stands out due to her extensive skill, she is focused in her studies, and I have seen no behaviour from her that would entice anyone into making such inappropriate comments towards her"
The Knight-Commander stared at Cullen for a time, Cullen held his breath, had he said too much, had he given away that his opinion of Neve was not just of platonic nature, he looked back at the Commander trying to remain calm.
"I thought as much, thank you, Corporal, your input has been most helpful, you may return to your quarters"
"Yes Knight Commander, Thank you sir"
With that he left the office and made his way back to the Templar quarters, it had been a long day and he now wanted nothing more than to just collapse into bed. And that's just what he did, within minutes of walking through his door he had removed his armour and fallen backwards onto his bed in just his trousers, he closed his eyes and rubbed his temples allowing the events of the last hour to sink in, when suddenly a thought crossed his mind, he sat bolt upright on his bed, Neve had pointed him out specifically to the Knight Commander, does this mean she's noticed him watching her? Does she think him as bad as Carroll? No surely not, he wouldn't have been promoted, Greagoir would have raised the issue, what did she think of him? He wasn't going to be able to rest until he had some idea, he rose from his bed, pulled a tunic over his head and made his way towards the apprentice quarters, being off duty he wasn't required to wear his uniform and although off duty Templars seldom ventured towards the apprentice quarters it was not unheard of with the library being so close.
He headed towards the library, Neve was a keen reader and he had often seen her sat right up until curfew, lost in book after book, some to help with her studies, others to help her get lost in imagination, he was just passing the girls dormitory when he heard a male voice coming from inside, it was still an hour before curfew, and the young men and women were not prohibited from going into the others dormitory to talk with their friends, however this voice mentioned his name.
"Are you sure Cullen would back you up? He is a Templar after all"
"He's not like the others, and you know he's not"
"I still don't get how you can be so sure"
"It's his eyes, you can tell just by the way he looks at me, I mean us, as in the apprentices"
Cullen peered round the door, just enough to catch a glimpse of the two apprentices talking, he knew Neves voice without needing to see her, the male voice belonged to her best friend, Jowen, there was something about that boy that Cullen didn't quite like, something more than just his friendship with Neve,
"I think its wishful thinking on your part, you just think he's dreamy" Jowen teased
"What no, don't be silly, he's a Templar, I can't think he's dreamy"
"Of course you can, he's a man as well as a Templar, and even I think he's dreamy" a third voice chimed in a third voice
"Oh be quiet Anders, haven't you got some unsuspecting girl to charm"
"Ha indeed I do, so many beautiful women so little time, so if you don't mind I shall leave you to continue with your denial"
The sound of footsteps became louder as Anders headed towards the door that Cullen was stood just outside of, panic almost took over freezing Cullen to the spot, he gathered his senses just in time to dash behind a statue a few feet away. He waited until Anders had walked past, then returned to his position outside the dormitory door.
"You know Neve, there's nothing wrong with finding him attractive"
"Who Anders, are you kidding"
"No, not that idiot, Cullen"
"Jowen, enough, if someone hears you going on about it you could get me into a world of trouble, can you imagine what the Templars would do, just drop it"
"Fine, we'll change the subject, but remember there's nothing wrong with it"
"Yes, ok, fine, now, how are your primal studies going?"
Cullen released the breath he had been holding since returning to the door way, relieved at what he had overheard. He turned and begun to make his way back to the Templar quarters, he had not walked far before he heard a commotion ahead, shouting and heavy footsteps.
"Where is she, the little whore, where is she"
Cullen came face to face with an angry and slightly intoxicated Carroll
"OI Cullen, have you seen her, ha...have you seen that stupid magey bitch"
"Are you mad? Do you think Greagoir is going to be impressed if he catches you in this state?"
By this point a crowd had begun to gather, Cullen looked over his shoulder, he had spotted Neve behind a few other mages, a distressed look on her face.
"I don't give a rats arse what that old goat thinks, reassigned to dock duties, because apparently I can't be trusted"
"Well what did you do?"
"Nothing, I just offered to help her with her studies, she'll be a spirit healer you know, so I offered to help her study the male form, stupid bitch thinks she's better than me, she's nothing they're all nothing, the unnatural spawn of demons that's what they are"
That last remark was greeted with a sharp right hook to the nose, sending Carroll to the ground, the crowd that had been full of whispers was now eerily silent, Cullen looked around
"I suggest you all return to your dormitories, it's almost curfew, there's nothing more to see here"
His eyes locked with Neves as he scanned the now dispersing crowd, she smiled at him, nodding her thanks, knowing that it had been her that Carroll had been looking for, she turned and returned to her room.