Rosalie convinced Diana to take a bath and eat some breakfast while Alec went in search of a horse for her long journey. She obeyed wordlessly, washing grime and sweat from her body while her mind raced at a high speed. Once dry and in clothes, Diana even let Rosalie braid her hair back away from her face, though it took longer because the former Inquisitor was nearly shaking with nervous, excited energy.

"Fresh and clean for the journey," Rosalie said, surveying Diana with her hands on her hips. "Good. It's going to be a long one. You know the way to Highever?"

"Nothing is going to stop me from getting there," Diana said, determination creasing her brow as she pulled her boots on for the second time that morning. "But… if you have a map, I wouldn't say no."

"I'll fetch you one. I'm also going to pack some food for you, alright? Don't you dare forget to eat. If I get word from Cullen that you've arrived looking half-starved I'll come up there and wring your neck. Okay?" Rosalie asked sternly, but there was worry behind her eyes. "Please. Be careful."

"If she can handle saving the world, I think she can handle riding a horse for a week," Alec spoke from the doorway, smiling. Through the window in her room, she could see a dappled horse tied to a post outside. "I put a map in the saddlebag along with some of those rolls Rosalie made last night."

"Thank you," Diana said, slinging her pack over her shoulder. She straightened her tunic with her hand, then looked up to see both Alec and Rosalie watching her with curious expressions. "What?"

"Nothing," Rosalie said, turning to leave Diana's bedroom. Her voice was choked with tears as she went down the hallway, muttering under her breath as she went to pack more food into Diana's saddlebag. "Maker's breath, this baby is making me emotional…"

"She's happy," Alec assured Diana after seeing the look of concern on her face. "We both are."

The tears in Rosalie's eyes ended up falling as soon as Diana swung up onto her horse in front of the inn. "You'd better write to us - often - both you and Cullen!" Rosalie said, using her palm to wipe away tears from her cheeks. "And you have to come back when the baby is born. You're the godmother!"

"I will, I promise," Diana said, smiling as she gripped the reins of the horse. She, Alec, and Rosalie finished saying their tearful goodbyes before she started off down the road at a brisk pace. It was a little uncomfortable at first. She hadn't ridden a horse in several months and only being able to use one arm while riding a horse wasn't the easiest thing, either.

The horse itself (named Tulip; her name was embroidered on her saddle) was experienced and well-trained. Diana wondered if Alec had picked this horse on purpose. Tulip seemed to know where she wanted to go and needed very little guidance as she followed the long road toward Highever. She was definitely stubborn, though; every night when she had decided they had ridden far enough that day, Tulip would stop and refuse to budge.

Maybe with a less stubborn horse it wouldn't have taken her so long to get to Highever… but then again, maybe a less experienced horse would haven't navigated through the terrain so well. Even as the ground became rockier as they rode toward Highever on the sixth day, the horse didn't falter.

The terrain got harder and steeper as she rode toward Highever. The weather, too, was changing. Spring rolled into a hot summer that made Diana stop often to let Tulip rest in shade and eat some dewy grass by a riverbank.

On the eighth morning, after climbing a particularly steep hill, she saw a settlement in the distance. It wasn't quite in the right position to be Highever, nor was it as large, which meant it had to be Cullen's sanctuary.

It was larger than she expected it to be. Even from this distance, she could tell it was comprised of several building spread out over a decent sized area. The buildings were stone with freshly built wooden roofs. At one end of the property, which was framed by a fence that was stone in some places and wood in other, there was a large area with newly tilled soil. Several people were out in what Diana assumed would eventually be a garden.

Her heart sped up as she got closer to the sanctuary. Two figures were sitting near a wide wooden gate, playing a game on what looked to be a chess board balanced on a stump of a tree. "Good day, my lady!" One of the figures greeted her, standing as Diana approached. She dismounted Tulip. "What brings you here?"

The figure that spoke was a woman, with wild red hair poofing out in every direction. The person that had been sitting with the redhead was also a woman, with coily black hair pulled back into several long, thin braids. She didn't speak.

"I'm here to see Cullen Rutherford," Diana said, her voice trembling slightly as she said his name. "I'm a friend of his."

"Mmmmm," the redheaded woman said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "Don't think he's here."

Diana's heart dropped and her grip on Tulip's reins tightened as the world began to spin.

"No, he's here, Sandrine. They got back this morning," the woman with the braided hair said, looking at the redheaded woman whose name must have been Sandrine.

"Oh, my mistake!" Sandrine said cheerfully, swinging the wide gate open. "I'll show you to his office, then. Flora, take her horse to the stables, would you? If you're planning on staying long, that is, my lady."

Diana smiled slightly, her heartbeat still recovering from the frightening thought that Cullen might be away and she had ridden all this way for nothing. "As long as possible."

She handed Tulip's reins to Flora, who wordlessly led the horse away to a modestly sized stable near the front gate. Sandrine and Diana walked in silence toward a long building that had a fancier-looking entrance than the others. The stonework on this wasn't so plain and the wood timbers around the door had noble looking lions carved into them.

Sandrine knocked on the door. "Visitor, Rutherford!"

"Send them in!"

Her stomach fluttered. It was Cullen's voice. He sounded grouchy and tired and thoroughly overwhelmed (she had heard him sound like this so many times during the Inquisition) but it was him.

She entered. Sandrine closed the door behind Diana, departing back toward the gate.

His office was cozy, covered with tapestries and rugs. An empty fireplace was on one wall, waiting for colder weather. Cullen himself sat behind a large desk, his fingers massaging his temple as he strained to read a piece of parchment.

Diana looked at him for a moment, savoring the time before he noticed her. He looked the same, but tired. Dark circles hung like crescent moons beneath his eyes and he looked like he needed a good night's sleep. She remembered Sandrine and the other woman had said he had been gone. Whatever had called him away must have been stressful.

She cleared her throat.

Her heart lurched in her chest as, for the first time in nearly two months, his amber eyes found hers.

"Diana," he said breathlessly, standing.

She smiled. "You look tired," she said, surprised at how strong her voice sounded. It wasn't wavering or faltering or flitting around like her heart was.

"You look-" he began quietly, but then stopped as a flush extended down his cheeks. He was staring at her like he couldn't quite believe she was there, drinking in her appearance. Blood bloomed on her cheeks, heat rising in her face as his eyes roamed over her. When he spoke again, his voice was a sweet whisper. "You look wonderful."

She shifted, her eyes drifting away from his. "I look like someone who's been on a horse for a week," she said with a small, slightly awkward laugh.

"I didn't know you were coming or I would have - I just got back, everything's a mess - " he said, gesturing to his office with a sweep of his arm. He only briefly looked away to indicate the piles of paper before his eyes went back to her.

They locked eyes for a moment and then something was tugging at her feet, pulling Diana into the room. Cullen's gaze tracked her as she moved around his desk, his tongue coming out to moisten his lips. His mouth opened and he looked like he was about to speak, but thought better of it.

She stopped two feet away from him. "I…" she trailed off, voice wavering. Diana cleared her throat. "I missed you, too."

She wasn't sure if he moved first or if she did, but suddenly she was pulled close, her arm automatically moving to wrap around his warm body. Cullen hugged her tightly, breath upon the top of her head as her cheek was pressed against his chest. She could hear his heart thumping; it seemed to be following the same frantic rhythm as hers.