Chapter Two: Old Friends

The most striking thing Elissa notes about the Gallows are the statues. There are perhaps a half dozen facing the harbor she sails into. When she departs from her skip they stare down at her menacingly and she thinks that this is a terrible place to keep people. The Circle Tower seems almost beautiful in comparison to the cold and broken stone walls that form this fortress.

She has never been so thankful for her homeland. Steeling herself, she passes the statues and walks the steps up to the courtyard. There is more damage here and she sees that there were once more statues. Large piles of stone with body parts are dotting the courtyard; there's a small group of men clearing away one of these piles. Their clothes are simple yet they work with determination. Most likely templars then. One is dressed in the armor of the Order and it is this one that she approaches.

The man turns his gaze to her from inside his helmet. "Can I help you, stranger?" He sounds weary.

"I'm looking for Knight-Commander Cullen. Where can I find him?" She keeps her tone friendly but insistent.

The guard looks her up and down. She's glad she decided to avoid the pomp and circumstance of her commander's armor. The guard nods to his right. "There's a set of stairs leading into the Templar Quarters at the end of the courtyard. Up the stairs then the stairs to the left. His is the first office on the right." The templar looks like he wants to say something more but he pauses. She waits for him to finish.

"If he's with the First Enchanter I suggest you wait. They have a tendency to throw things." The templar rolls his shoulder somewhat gingerly and Elissa has the distinct impression he learned this from firsthand experience. She thanks that man and follows his directions easily enough. She's surprised that she doesn't run into another templar. The fortress is largely unguarded and she wonders if that's because of the fighting or it's always been this poorly manned. No wonder they'd had such an uprising.

These thoughts are not charitable and she tries to remember that mages shouldn't be kept as animals. She's seen the horrors of that an oppressive circle can create. She wouldn't wish the same on anyone, friend or foe.

Cullen's door is open when she approaches and she can hear strained voices from inside. She remembers the guard's warning and cautiously pokes her head around the doorframe. Cullen stands at the window behind his desk, looking out. He's tense; she can actually see the harsh set of his shoulders through his heavy armor. Elissa surmises that it must be the woman that sits on the other side of the desk, talking and gesturing wildly with her hands.

"This is non-negotiable, Cullen. I need to give these kids a sense of order. They're still waking up crying in the night. They're terrified anytime they pass a templar and Maker save them if one of the templars actually speaks to them. They need to be somewhere they feel safe and this arrangement with the large sleeping quarters just isn't cutting it."

Elissa notes that the woman has a strong voice; authoritative. She has short dark hair and wears simple mage's robes. She sits casually yet speaks with conviction. If this is the First Enchanter, new First Enchanter, she is a simple yet determined woman. Across the room Cullen's hands fist at his sides before relaxing then clenching again. "I can't just let twelve mages leave the Circle. I don't care if they're having nightmares. It would be logistically impossible! I'm having a hard enough time keeping a guard on you and your cousin in Hightown without the added manpower to watch a bunch of children around the-"

Cullen turns and sees her, immediately. His jaw drops in surprise and for a second he looks absolutely terrified. Just like he did the day she rescued him from Kinloch Hold. Many years and miles have passed between the two of them and he recovers quicker than she thought he would. " . . . Warden Cousland."

The mage also turns to follow Cullen's stare so quickly that she practically jumps from her chair. For now, Elissa gives Cullen a smile. "Ser Cullen. It's pleasant to see you again, and in such an elevated position. The years have clearly been kind." It's not the best thing to say considering the circumstances but she feels as though she can say this, in jest.

She notes his jaw clenching. "As they have also been for you, Highness."

She is suddenly sure they are engaged in a two-faced dance with some strange steps and she thinks he's disarmingly handsome when he's attempting to look tough. She's always had this strange thing for the templars.

"I was hoping to have a moment of your time. I'm not disturbing anything, am I?" She knows she is but she just doesn't care. She looks to the First Enchanter, who has stood and is looking at her with caution. Something about the mage looks familiar; she has a very striking similarity in facial features with the Viscountess and Elissa is willing to bet the two are related somehow.

"Can we resume this later in the afternoon, First Enchanter Solona?" Cullen does not look pleased but asks for the mage's pardon with the tilt of his head.

"Yeah, that's okay. I've got loads of stuff to do, anyway." Gone is the strong and determined voice Elissa had admired. In its place is a simpering tone that sounds almost grating. Elissa frowns. "Send along Lovell when you're free Knight Commander." The mage nods to both of them before walking out and across the hall. Elissa glances back and notes that the office across the hall must be the First Enchanter's. The wood shuts crisply behind the other woman and Elissa's eyes return to Cullen. He is still staring at the door across from his.

Interesting.

"You seem at ease with mages now, Ser Cullen. A vast improvement from when we met last, don't you think?" She drops into the chair just vacated and kicks her feet up onto his desk. She remembers two Cullens, actually. The first was trapped behind that magical barrier and was nearly insane when she'd killed Uldred and freed him. That was eleven years ago when she'd first been to the Circle Tower. The second Cullen she'd met was just a year later after the final battle. His eyes had been battle hard and he'd growled at her when she'd greeted him. He seems to be much recovered though.

Cullen takes his seat but does not bother to push her feet off his desk. "Many things change given the chance. This is one that is for the better." It's clear from the way that he watches her that he is just dying to find out why in the Fade she's here. "Have you been in the city long?"

Elissa shakes her head. "Hours at most. I went to see the Viscountess as soon as I could. She seems like an interesting woman. Have you dealt with her much?"

"Closely since she became a person of import in the city. She's a good leader. Had to make some tough decisions. Hawke is the reason why the Rights of Annulment were never fully carried out." He trails off as though he has more to say on the matter. She waits for him to continue but he does not. Rather, he changes the topic. "I imagine you're here about Anders and his little spectacle."

"Little doesn't really seem to begin to cover it, does it? This is a critical moment, Cullen. We both know that. What I also need to know is how it happened. Really. I've heard about your former commanding officer going crazy. I need to know if it could happen elsewhere; if it could happen in Ferelden."

He looks away at the mention of Ferelden. She sees that he is contemplating something. His lips purse and he taps a steady beat out with his left index finger on his desk. She sees the first Cullen she met in that look of thought. She has not thought about the events at Kinloch in a long time. She allows herself to remember the first time she met Cullen in his mystical prison. He had been so angry and frightened; she had been frightened by him. Room after room of abominations had not fazed her but the wide eyes of the young templar had planted a seed of worry inside her chest. Her survival, a fluke of luck and the dedication of her team, was not her doing. She was far too shaken with their encounter with Cullen to be more than a distraction for Uldred.

Broken. That is a good word to describe the first Cullen she'd left behind and there'd been many nights, before Alistair had given her that rose, she'd thought about the templar in the cell. About how she should have saved him from that place, so full of terrible memories. She could have called on the Right of Conscription. She could have taken him away.

The second Cullen had convinced her, irrevocably, that she should have. He'd growled and pushed away from her. They were practically strangers and yet his dismissal had seemed so harsh and distant. All she could think was that he maybe he had been destined to be a nice man. A good, honorable man.

The thought had even crossed her mind more than once that perhaps he was the one that Duncan should have brought from the Circle instead of that poor elven girl he'd found. Having survived the worst of a blood mage insurrection, Cullen would have probably survived the joining. Then there would have been three wardens instead of just the two.

She has never really understood her fascination with the man over the years but she's kept tabs on him and she's glad he's survived yet another uprising. Not only survived but managed to keep his wits about him. She smiles softly at his profile and it seems to break whatever revelry he is caught in.

He looks back at her steadily and she puts the image of the frightened young templar out of her mind. When he speaks she feels the weight of his office behind his words. "The Viscountess' office has released a report. I believe you'll find your answers there."

"I've glanced over it. It omits almost everything leading up to the event, focusing instead on the subsequent fallout and recovery. It doesn't give me any answers about Anders. He is, initially, the reason I even came here."

There is a change in the temperature of the room at the second mention of Anders. Cullen leans away from her and his once reminiscent expression turns cruel and hateful. "What would you possibly want to know about him other than what's in the report? He blew up the bloody Chantry. What more is there?" It seems such a sudden turn about but really, she's blindsided him, horribly.

"He was a warden. There is unfinished business with him that I need to see addressed. If the Wardens are somehow to blame for this mess than it is my responsibility to deal with it." Cullen remains stony and she attempts to appeal to him as a human rather than a figurehead. "He wasn't only my subordinate; he was my friend, Ser. And my friend would have never done this. I need to know how. I need to know why! He was never the type-"

Cullen explodes at her then. He rises so fast from the desk that it startles her and he pounds a fist on his desk. "Anders was exactly the type which is why it happened in the first place. You use these minor words: incident and mess and its shit, all right! What he did was an act of antagonism on a scale grander than you could ever comprehend. Hundreds lost their lives; the Grand Cleric among them. It was an act of war. So, excuse me if I disagree with your assessment of that mage's character, please."

He is shaking at the end of his diatribe. She watches him clench and unclench his jaw. Flushed cheeks and trembling lip. She isn't sure if he wants to wring her neck or have a good cry. "Cullen," she begins gently, "I'm sorry. Truly I am." She is shocked by his outburst but she must not be swayed from her purpose. She makes her own impassioned plea now. "Please, help me understand. I can honestly say that when I last saw Anders he was not the sort of man to do something this horrible. How did this happen, Cullen? How?"

He turns away from her and clasps his hands behind his back. "Hawke is the person you should ask about the time before. They were inseparable for many years. I do not know that you'll have much success; she doesn't let anyone say his name in her presence." Elissa had managed to say his name at least once in her conversation with Marian earlier. She thinks about the way the Viscountess had almost shut down completely.

Despite the fact that she's even more confused than when she'd entered the office, Elissa stands. She has truly angered Cullen and she needs to let him be. For now. "I will be back concerning the mages. Tomorrow, perhaps, maybe the day after. Again, I am truly sorry for everything you've been through. Please try to remember that I too have seen the things I love destroyed." She does not expect a rebuttal from him and does not receive one as she leaves his office.

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