It had taken Cullen an extremely long time to leave Victoria. Leliana and Josephine were chastising him for quite some time, but Cassandra stood quiet and firm until he trusted that she was okay. When she was sound asleep, her wounds carefully tended to, he allowed Mother Giselle to take his place as Trevelyan's guard.
When he finally joined his fellow advisors and Lady Cassandra, more yelling ensued. Cassandra insisted that the Inquisition continue. Cullen agreed, but knew that troop morale after losing Haven would be near impossible to muster.
"What would you have me tell them?" he argued. "This isn't what we asked them to do!"
"We cannot simply ignore this! We must find a way!"
"And who put you in charge? We need a consensus, or we have nothing!"
"Please, we must use reason!" Josephine interjected. "Without the infrastructure of the Inquisition, we're hobbled!"
"That can't come from nowhere!" Cullen's anger was growing.
"She didn't say it could!" Leliana retorted.
"Enough!" Cassandra shouted. "This is getting us nowhere!"
"Well, we're agreed on that much!"
Cullen withdrew from the other advisors now, frustrated beyond belief. Cassandra returned to her map while Leliana and Josephine sat by the fire. That was when he heard the familiar shuffle of the Herald. He looked up and saw her, still wearing his coat, and looking as beautiful as always. She had bandages on her legs, her ribs, and covering her mark, which had left burns on her hand when the Elder one tried to remove it. She had a new scar above her left eye, matching the one on her other side. He couldn't imagine how much pain she must be in, but she never showed it. She stood calmly, one side pressed up against a piece of wood holding up her tent, and sighed, clearly frustrated with the events of the day.
Even staring at Trevelyan all day wouldn't lift Cullen's spirits. There was so much unknown. Just as he was beginning to ponder all the negative outcomes of the attack on Haven, he heard Mother Giselle's voice.
Shadows fall
And hope has fled
Steel your heart
The dawn will come
Cullen recognized the hymn, and by the looks of it, so did Victoria. She closed her eyes, wrapping herself in the comfort of the familiar verses.
The night is long
And the path is dark
Look to the sky
For one day soon
The dawn will come
Leliana soon joined in, helping Mother Giselle rally the refugees.
The shepherd's lost
And his home is far
Keep to the stars
The dawn will come
Trevelyan looked to Cullen now and smiled, standing straighter. Without thinking he began to sing as well, followed by the remainder of the camp.
The night is long
And the path is dark
Look to the sky
For one day soon
The dawn will come
Bare your blade
And raise it high
Stand your ground
The dawn will come
The night is long
And the path is dark
Look to the sky
For one day soon
The dawn will come
Cullen had looked up to find all of the refugees and troops down on one knee, bowing to the Herald. It had made him proud to know her. Not that he hadn't already felt happy to call her a friend, but seeing the way she could wordlessly change the mood of a whole camp with her influence was impressive.
She bowed her head in reverence to the people and dismissed herself, hurrying off somewhere with Solas.
A short time later she returned and beckoned the advisors to her. "All right," she sighed, visibly tired. "Solas told me something but it must stay between all of us, understand?" Cullen, as well as Josephine, Leliana and Cassandra nodded their heads in agreement. When she was sure they would comply, she continued, "As I explained when I woke up before, the Elder One, named Corypheus, used a strange orb which implanted the Anchor on me. Solas said that this orb is an elven foci. Now, you can obviously see why I don't want this spreading; I'm confident that the elves have nothing to do with this, and pinning it on them would only cause more conflict. However, Solas has a solution-a way to cause less friction if it somehow does get out that the artifact is elven. He knows of an old elven fortress that the Inquisition can use and would be willing to help guide us there. Is everyone okay with this?"
The advisors nodded again, and relief filled Victoria's face. She was clearly afraid of how this news would be received, and with good reason; had anyone other than the mostly level-headed advisors heard, there would be chaos. "Cullen," Trevelyan said, "I want you, Cassandra, Solas and I to lead everyone starting in the morning. I would suggest we leave now, but I am very tired."
"Of course, Herald," Cullen complied. As the advisors began to disperse, Cullen felt a hand grab his arm and pull him closer. Trevelyan's breath was hot on his ear now. "Cullen," she whispered, causing a shiver to rise up his spine. "Cullen, I can't really walk right now and I don't want anyone else to know. Can you help walk me to a place to rest my head? Preferably where we can be close in case I need anything during the night."
"Absolutely," he said as he calmly linked their arms together, bearing a great deal of Trevelyan's weight. He escorted her to a bedroll next to his and she got under the covers immediately.
"Thank you," she whispered, bringing her lips to his cheek. He laid down on his bedroll next to her, only to find her staring at him.
"What?" he asked, noting her sly smile. He was really enjoying their little game now, indulging her at any time he could.
"Nothing," she chuckled, "Though, my marked hand does hurt a bit. Would you mind holding it, Commander?"
He laughed in return and scooted his bedroll closer to hers. He took her hand in his and began rubbing it while she placed her head on his. She looked up at him, bringing her unmarked hand to his lips, tracing them as well as his scar. Noticing his breathing pick up speed, she smirked and bit down on her lip.
He took her head in his free hand and drew their foreheads together in their usual gesture of comfort. Except this time, he took his hand from the back of her head and traced her cheek and lips, lifting her chin up. Their lips met for a brief moment and Cullen drew back. She rolled her eyes and chuckled, resting her head on his shoulder once more and drifting off to sleep. He couldn't let her win so easily now, could he?