Finally have a new chapter up! I'll do my best to update at least once a week! ^^
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Chapter 4

Two more years transpired, and Cullen was given so many duties to keep him busy, he could hardly keep up. His most reoccurring guard was for the mages quarters, so it was very rare that he saw Solona. His thoughts drifted to her from time to time, but he would allow himself no more than that; he had a duty to uphold.

Around that time, dark rumors had grown in the tower. There were speculations that a blood mage had surfaced, and had been practicing their art at night; whether it was just a rumor or not, Greagor had put every Templar in the tower on alert. All Templars had been assigned night shifts, two at a time. Having regular daily duties as well as a night shift, was really starting to take its toll on Cullen. After what he had seen at his first harrowing, he was determined to not let a blood mage loose on his watch.

The rumors had also reached the tower mages and caused disruption among them as well. Irving had held a meeting with each enchanter and mentor, who passed down the message to the rest of the mages and apprentices. The message was clear, any mage or mages practicing blood magic should turn themselves in quickly to avoid further punishment. It was supposed to mean that if they turned themselves in, they may receive mercy, but the mages knew better than to believe that. The Chantry made it quite clear that the punishment for practicing blood magic was execution.

A couple months passed and there was no true sign of any actual blood magic taking place, but the Templars' watch didn't recede. Mages started getting nervous as Greagor ordered Templars to take suspicious mages in for questioning. Several mages had been taken in already. They would go missing for days, and when they returned they would never breathe a word of what happened during their time away. The uneasiness among them caused some mages to make mistakes as they practiced spells, and overall they ended up coming off as suspicious, causing more to be taken in for questioning.

One day, as Cullen was in the grand hall, taking a much needed break for lunch, he overheard some other Templars talking.

"Have you heard?" one young Templar addressed another sitting near Cullen, "Greagor says thanks to the interrogations they have a narrowed down the blood mage as an apprentice."
Cullen's ears perked up. Solona was still an apprentice. Was she in danger? Was she the blood mage?
He quickly shook his head, no, there was no way she would be capable of doing anything so sinister.
"Yeah I heard," the second Templar answered, "they're supposed to be taking the one suspected in right now."
Cullen quickly began to scan the grand hall for any sign of Solona, surely she would be here. There were many familiar faces among the mages and apprentices in the room, but not the raven haired one he was searching for. His heart dropped to his gut. One of his worst nightmares seemed to be unfolding in front of him. He stood from the table with a jerk, pushing it across the floor an inch or two. The other Templars sitting around it looked at him, puzzled. Cullen nodded curtly and turned to leave the room.

His footfalls were quick as he passed through the grand doors, exiting from the hall. The closer he got to the apprentices' quarters, the faster he moved. He had almost broken out into a sprint as he raced up the stairs to the floor he hoped she was on. His heart beat hard in his chest the closer he came.

Solona sat alone in the apprentices' quarters. She had had company just a few minutes prior. She was sitting on her bunk reading a book she had borrowed from the library when three Templars had stormed into the room. As the door burst open her and the other two apprentices that were there nearly jumped out of their skins at the sound. She wasn't entirely coherent of the situation; she heard the Templars shouting and pointing at the other mages. One mage fell to the ground and began to cry, while the other just stood there frozen in place. Solona distinctly heard one of the Templars call them "blood mages" before they were hauled out of room, just shy of literally kicking and screaming.

Her body began to tremble slightly against her own will. She breathed a sigh of relief that the Templars had not suspected her of blood magic. She had heard the terrible whispers of what happens during the interrogations, and was glad to not have to go through it.
Solona walked over to the large window on the far wall of the room. There were many windows in the tower, but there was a protective spell over all of them so no one could actually throw anything out of them…or anyone. Fortunately, Solona had found a counter spell in one of the many books at her disposal. In fact, it was a book that she had borrowed from Irving.
Solona waved her hand over the window as she whispered the incantation. The window glowed a hazy blue, and then she could feel the wet breeze on her face from the lake below. Solona breathed in deep. It had been years since she could remember the feel of fresh air. When she had first come to the tower, mages were allowed some outside time once a week, but there were so many mages who attempted to escape that they got rid of it all together.

She suddenly realized how alone she was in the room. Solona took comfort in the warm breeze passing over her skin and decided to climb up onto the windowsill. She fit rather well in the window, as she brought her knees up to her chin. She stared out into the distance and let herself daydream about what sort of life she could have had outside the towers' walls.

Cullen's breath had become uneven as he finally reached the apprentices' quarters, but he didn't slow down a bit. He rushed towards the door that he knew to lead to her room. He only hesitated in his speed for an instant as he used his heavy boot to kick open the door. He used so much force that the large wooden door swung widely on its hinges and struck the stone wall with a resonating slam! As soon as the door was open his eyes began to scan the room.

Opposite the door, in the large window, Solona had been lost in thought when Cullen burst into the room. The loud noise shook her from her day dreams, so much in fact that it literally shook her, and before Solona could catch herself, she felt herself slipping from the windowsill. Her eyes grew wide with sudden fear and a scream escaped her lips. Her hands grasped at the stone, but it was no use, too much of her weight had already shifted, she was beginning to fall.

The scream had drawn Cullen's eyes directly to the window. He tried to push his body as fast as he could to dart in her direction. He jumped over a trunk laying aside a bed as he ran towards the window. He reached out a hand to grab for her; his fingers brushed hers, but he was unable to catch a grip. He didn't even pause a second to think, he just reacted as he jumped out the window after her. A thought flashed through his mind as he was slightly surprised he was able to fit through the window with his armor; but then his mind was only focused on the task at hand, catching Solona.

"Shit" she hissed through her teeth. If she survived this, she would surely never hear the end of it. She closed her eyes, waiting for impact, until she heard a noise from above her. Her eyes shot open. She couldn't believe it. Not only was she falling to the dark water below, but now there was Cullen, several feet above her in the sky coming directly at her. She was in awe as she saw him clasp his arms to his sides, quickening his speed. She seemed to fall in slow motion in comparison. Cullen's face was fixed in a serious expression. As he approached her, he reached out a hand for her. Solona did her best to reach up towards him, but the force of the wind gave her much resistance.
As soon as he reached her, he grasped her hand firmly and pulled her tight against his body. He clutched her in his arms and turned to shift himself below her. Solona was unsure how to react. A Templar, of all things had come to save her. No. Not just any Templar; Cullen. Solona scanned his face unsure. Why would he do this?
Cullen seemed to be able to read her mind as he gave her a warm smile. He brought a hand up to her head and gently pressed her closer to his chest, bracing for impact. Soon the water came up to meet them and they broke the waters' surface with a loud crack!

Solona tried her best to catch a breath before the water swallowed her. Cullen however wasn't so lucky. Cullen had hit the water hard, shielding Solona from the initial impact, and had the wind knocked out of him. Solona searched through the dark water for the Templar, but he was sinking fast. Frantically, Solona swam through the murky water, searching for a sign of Cullen. She finally found him a few feet down and grabbed his arm as tightly as she could. Knowing full well if she didn't get Cullen to the surface right away, his life could be in danger. She said an incantation in her mind and prayed that it'd still work.
A bright purple glow started at the palm of her hands and quickly spread out around them. This particular spell created a sort of shield that would push the water out of it, and she hoped it would trap some oxygen as well. As soon as they were surrounded by the mana shield, Solona willed them through the water and to the surface, still with an unconscious Cullen being held onto with one of her arms. The spell dispersed when she broke the waters' surface, and she was now left to drag him to shore on her own. Solona found it difficult swimming with only one arm, and a heavy weight in the other, but at least her mother had given her the gift of swimming lessons before shipping her off to the Circle.

After a few agonizing minutes, Solona finally brought the two of them up on shore, thankfully on the towers' side. She dragged Cullen as much onto land as her strength would allow and studied him quietly. Her heart sank. Cullen wasn't breathing. She didn't know what to do; she knew some healing arts, but nothing to bring breath back into a body! She searched her mind before coming up with a vague solution.
She carefully leaned over Cullen's face, nerves rising in her stomach. She parted his lips slightly before bringing her mouth to his. His lips were cold as ice. She tried desperately to pass oxygen into his lungs, but nothing was working. She pulled herself up and laid Cullen's head in her lap, tears beginning to prick at her eyes.
"This is all my fault!" she whined, "Why was I born a blighted mage?!"
Wait. That was it. She was a mage, and pretty damned good with the elements too! She stifled her tears and set back to work. She focused on Cullen, attempting to zone in on the water in his lungs. When she found it, she tapped into her mana, guiding the water out of Cullen's lungs, up his throat and out his mouth.

When the water had passed Cullen's lips, he began to sputter, coughing up the remaining moisture. Solona laughed her tears away in relief, the now conscience Cullen still lying in her lap. Cullen inhaled deeply, trying to focus his eyes. Finally they landed upon her face.
"Makers breath, you are a beautiful sight." He breathed, bringing a hand to the side of her face.
She pressed her cheek into his palm. "I'm so glad you're alright. I was worried...worried you-"
She was cut off by the sound of approaching feet.

Apparently a missing Templar and mage had not gone unnoticed and someone had informed the Knight-Commander of it. Greagor stomped down the shore towards them accompanied by three lesser-ranking Templars and the First Enchanter in tow. Irving was muttering some sort of pleadings to Greagor, but the Knight-Commander just ignored him. Greagor's face was masked in rage as he made his way to Solona and Cullen.
"You! Mage!" Greagor screamed as he yanked Solona up by her arm. "Or shall I call you apostate?!"
Solona winced at the sudden pain, grasping her arm, trying to wrench free of his grip.
"Stop!" Cullen yelled, demanding attention from the surrounding party as he got to his feet.
All eyes fell on him, and suddenly he felt less bold.
"It-it was an accident." He told his audience. "It was my fault. She was just s-sitting in the window, and I caused her to fall." Heat seared his cheeks.
"And what were you doing in her room, Templar?" Irving asked, genuinely curious.
"Well, you see, I-" Cullen began to answer.
"More importantly," Greagor spat, "How was the window open?!" he glared at the apprentice he still had in his clutch.
"That was my doing, Greagor." Irving interjected. "I loaned Solona a book with the spell in it. I take full responsibility for her actions."
"She still left the tower without permission, and must be punished!" Greagor countered.
Cullen was the one to speak up this time. "Technically Knight-Commander, she wasn't alone. I did a-accompany her."
"Yes." Greagor snapped, "And you shall be reprimanded for your actions as well!"
"But Knight-Commander-" Cullen started.
"You will be lucky I don't strip you of your position for this, rookie!" Greagor had turned his full attention to Cullen. "If you so much as look at this mage again," he said pointing to Solona, "you will be shipped back to whatever Chantry you hail from, do you understand me?!"
Cullen stood at attention "Yes, Knight-Commander." He replied as he clapped a fist to his chest.
"I'll leave this mage to you, Irving. This time." Greagor commented towards the First Enchanter before turning to leave with the now four Templars.

Having been released from his grip, Solona slumped to the ground, burying her face in her hands.
"My child," Irving cooed as he rested a hand on her shoulder, "everything will be alright, you will see." He then helped her back up to her feet.
Solona's eyes fell on Cullen's back the entire walk back to the tower, her cage. He didn't even look at her once along the way, and she wondered if he would ever look at her again. The growing pit in her stomach seemed to make that answer for her.

I know Greagor isn't actually quite that harsh in the game, but it helps with the story. Every story needs a bad guy, right? lol