Knock, knock
Ellie heard the sound of someone rapping on the door to her home. She had just finished getting herself put together from stepping out of the bath. She was dressed and had her regular choice of makeup on but she was still trying to work out the tangles in her hair. Gradually running her comb through her long locks, she walked to the door, swinging it open to find a messenger.
He bowed his head quickly, "Herald, your presence is required in the War Council room immediately."
Ellie nodded her head in understanding and the messenger departed. It had been just over a month since the Conclave and Ellie was getting used to being summoned into council meetings by now. In some ways, their reliance on her was still an odd concept but she was slowly coming into her own within her role.
It felt warmer than normal out today so, having adjusted to the climate in the Frostbacks, she decided to skip wearing her jacket and simply sported her usual leather pants and a fitted cotton, long-sleeved shirt with a neckline that was a little lower than what she normally wore. It showed just a hint of her ample cleavage, but that was enough in her opinion. She wanted to keep some of the mystery, after all.
While it wasn't as cold as it had been, the wind was still biting with her hair still wet, so she weaved it into a basic side braid and left her house to meet her fellow council members in the Chantry.
She hadn't seen much of Leliana, Josephine or Cullen in the past week or so since she'd come back from the Hinterlands. Not outside of War Council meetings and other Inquisition-related issues, anyways.
She had convened with Josephine quite a bit lately, it would seem, if only to settle squabbles with Orlesian nobles who had come to lend their influence to the Inquisition. It was a petty necessity to Ellie. She was well versed in dealing with high society and used that to her advantage, which she was certain Josephine was grateful for.
Leliana was considerably more distant towards the Herald. Why, Ellie had no idea. Perhaps because they possessed a similar skill set, one that makes you keenly observant and secretive, though Leliana's network was far superior to Ellie's. Ellie was cautious around her, as she probably would be indefinitely.
The Commander had been truly swamped with work. New recruits seemed to appear every single day, varying degrees of training between them. It was uplifting to see so many pledge themselves to this movement, but it kept Cullen rather preoccupied. Ellie refused to admit she was disappointed. The only time she had seen him outside the War Room was a few stolen glances and shy smiles from across the training grounds and when she witnessed him expertly diffuse Chancellor Roderick's raucous opposition to the Inquisition.
Not to mention Ellie's travels kept her busy or absent quite frequently. Most recently she had just come back from the Maker-forsaken Storm Coast. Ellie would take the chilly mountain air over being perpetually drenched from their continuous rain.
Ellie had been to the Storm Coast once previously in her life, though it was many years ago. It was actually where she had landed when she originally came to Ferelden after leaving the Free Marches. As it turns out, Ellie was prone to getting sea sick, so when they had arrived at the Coast, she was all too happy to be on solid ground. At that point, she could have cared less how rainy it was as long as she didn't have to set foot on another boat again for a very long time. But even then, she didn't stick around the area too long, yearning to not be sopping wet all of the time.
This time around, she was so fed up with the weather there that she cut the trip shorter than they had originally intended, but they still managed to acquire a new companion and his mercenaries. Iron Bull and his Chargers.
She couldn't help but think that Iron Bull was the most fitting name she had ever heard. The Ben-Hassrath was a talented warrior, as were his men, and their assistance would be invaluable. What amazed Ellie was that he was unlike any Qunari she had ever met before. The ones she had encountered previously were controlled, emotionless and unfriendly. Iron Bull was the exact opposite. He laughed easily, made dirty jokes and lewd comments galore and loved his alcohol. It was a nice change, Ellie concluded, and she heartily welcomed him into the Inquisition.
Ascending the front steps, Ellie opened the Chantry doors with an audible creak. She could hear voices from the back room from the entry way.
That's never a good sign…
"Having the Herald address the clerics is not a terrible idea," Ellie heard the distinctive accent of the ambassador as she walked into the room.
The three must have been getting quite involved in the debate as the tension in the air was thick and none of them did much to acknowledge Ellie as she entered the meeting.
"You can't be serious!" Cullen spat incredulously. Josephine kept her unshakeable diplomatic demeanour while Cullen was obviously worked up about the situation. Ellie quietly observed. She wasn't about to jump into a heated discussion with little information. Even if the argument was about her, apparently.
"Mother Giselle isn't wrong. At the moment, the Chantry's only strength is that they are united in opinion."
Cullen groaned in frustration, but instead of countering, he began pacing, rubbing the back of his neck. Ellie realized he seemed to do that often, either when he was nervous or stressed. Other times he would pinch the bridge of his nose. Everyone had a tell when it came to their anxiety levels.
"And we should ignore the danger to the Herald?" came the voice of the spymaster, passive-aggressively taunting Josephine's logic.
Ellie sighed. "I'm standing right here, you know."
"You're right," Josephine surrendered, "Let's ask her."
The Herald considered her wording for a moment "I'm not worried, it is just talk after all. But," she paused thoughtfully, "This may not actually help at all."
"I wouldn't be so quick to underestimate the power of their words, Herald," Leliana said, "An angry mob will do you in just as quickly as a blade. But she's right, Josephine. Her risk is too high for something that could very well not be helpful."
Ellie heard footsteps approach behind her, seeing Cassandra come into view on her left. "I will go with her. Mother Giselle said she could provide us names? Use them," she ordered Leliana.
The spymaster gave her a look of derision, "But why? It's nothing but a…"
"What choice do we have, Leliana?" The Seeker interrupted, already exasperated, "Right now we can't approach anyone for help with the Breach. Use what influence we have to call the clerics together. Once they are ready, we will see this through."
Cassandra's words were the final ones of the debate. Together they would go to Val Royeaux immediately to attempt to peacefully reason with the Chantry. Their party would set forth tomorrow morning.
Ellie knew this mission was a necessary evil. She despised Val Royeaux. Her parents would take her and her brother their every summer because that's where her aunt Tatiana lived. So each summer Ellie and Cain were forced to endure countless hours of boring dinner parties and galas, shopping in overpriced markets and were almost constantly scolded for not having perfect manners at all times. It was a beautifully structured city, she would give it that. But she was very aware that the same behavioral pretense there remained.
The council members filtered out the room slowly. Ellie was left staring at the giant map of Orlais and Ferelden that was on the table, completely lost in thought. A large hand placed tenderly on her shoulder jilted her from her headspace.
She turned her head to see golden eyes focused on her. He looked at her silently, an unreadable expression on his face. She kept holding his gaze, unmoving for fear that he might break contact.
"Please," he broke the silence with a concerned tone that ranged barely over a whisper, "Please be careful."
With that, the Commander retreated out of the War Room, leaving Ellie staring after him, stupefied.
The sooner they got back from Val Royeaux, the better.
Ellie arrived back from Val Royeaux absolutely livid. The ignorant, self-righteous attitude of the Chantry was one thing. She was not expecting a warm welcome from them. Their disrespect and self-serving lies were more slanderous than she was expecting, though. It clouded any sense of reason they may have had.
But it was the Templars that set Ellie off. Their pompous display was beyond abhorrent as far as Ellie was concerned. She didn't want to judge the entire Order from the Lord Seeker's actions, but it definitely dampened her inclination towards asking the Templars for their assistance to close the Breach.
When Grand Enchanter Fiona approached Ellie as they exited the city, reaching out on behalf of the rebel mages, the Herald felt even more inclined to approach the mages. They sought her out, whereas the Templars completely rejected her.
Ellie immediately called a War Council meeting upon her return to Haven. She paced in the back of the War Room waiting for the other members. She knew she needed to quell her frustration, to make this decision rationally. She didn't want to act as the Chantry and Templars did, blinded by their own hatred that they refused to see what the real danger is.
Cullen was the first to arrive in the room, followed closely by the other three women of the council. When he saw the countenance of the Herald, he must have sensed her agitated state for he shot her a wary look.
The door closed shut and Ellie related the events of Val Royeaux as calmly as she could, with Cassandra backing up what had transpired.
"That said," Ellie spoke clearly, and glanced at the Commander, curious as to how he would react to what she had to say next, "I am going to Redcliffe to meet with the mages."
If her announcement stirred anything within Cullen, it did not show on his face at least. "So you've made your decision then?" He asked, the irritation in his voice showing through ever so slightly.
"I have not committed to anything yet, Commander," Ellie replied matter-of-factly. "But unlike the Templars, they have reached out to us. We at least owe them a listening ear."
"That may be, but you would base your decision and view of the Templars on the actions of a few?"
Ellie gritted her teeth at the implication. "If it were just a few random Templars that did what they did, I wouldn't be as concerned. But this was the Lord Seeker, not just some nobody."
"There must be something wrong with the Lord Seeker," Cassandra interjected, "He is known to be a reasonable man. There has to be more at play behind what he did. I agree with Cullen that we should not base the decision solely on that."
The Herald held up her hands, gesturing for them to stop. "Like I said, I haven't made my decision yet, I haven't committed to either of them one way or the other. I simply want to hear the mages out and talk to them myself. Is that really so problematic for you?" She had to hold back glaring daggers at Cullen when she spoke.
They all shook their heads. With the argument settled, the meeting was adjourned and the council members had begun to leave, but Ellie had not moved from the back of the room yet. Instead, her arms positioned on the table, holding herself up as her head hung low, eyes closed.
"Commander Cullen," she heard him stop, "A word please?"
She listened as the door closed and she took a deep breath before raising her head to regard the Commander. He returned her gaze, his arms folded across his chest.
Ellie bit her lip before speaking. "I would have hoped that you, of all people, would know that I wouldn't jump to such rash and extreme conclusions of the Templars as a whole from one incident." She paused and waited to see if he had anything to say in return. He kept quiet so she continued. "You know of my brother, and you must know that I hold you, Cullen, in very high esteem and have respect for you and what the Templars represent," she dared to make eye contact at the admission, "But just as I cannot judge them negatively by the actions of a few, I also cannot excuse all of their transgressions because I know of two of their best men. I hope you can understand that." Her voice had become softer then, willing him to understand.
He kept his defensive stature as he regarded her, his amber eyes wandered over her figure briefly then went back to stare at her silver ones. She just stood there, waiting for him to say or do something. At this point she was silently cursing herself for being so brazen.
"Forgive me," he spoke, causing her focus to snap back to him, "I do understand your point, and I apologize for slighting your character. You have done much to earn my respect as well and I do not want you to feel as though this choice has tarnished that opinion."
She froze as he dropped his crossed arms and began walking around the table to face her, "I will not stand in the way of whatever decision you ultimately make. All I am asking is for you to understand why the Templars would be a safer choice in closing the Breach. I have seen... The most horrifying, unspeakable things when mages are corrupted and turned into abominations and the tendency for that to happen occurs more than it needs to. I do not hate mages as a whole, nor do I believe them all to be bad."
He was standing directly in front of her now, mere inches away from her. Her breathing seemed to halt altogether and she could only hope the effect of his close proximity wasn't showing in her eyes as he looked into them.
"But with the weakness in the Veil caused by that Breach, I fear the mages will not be able to defend themselves against demons and that would put us all in very grave danger. I can't let that happen. Not to the Inquisition. And not to you."
She could feel goosebumps rising on her skin as he reached out with a gloved hand and cupped her cheek. It felt like an eternity as his warm eyes bore into hers. She felt paralyzed, unable to move or speak as she looked up at him. She cursed herself again, but this time for becoming so vulnerable under this man's touch.
Then, in an instant, his hand left her face to rub the back of his neck as he stepped back. Without another word, he all but fled the room, leaving the dumbstruck Herald alone in the War Room, picking up the continuously breaking pieces of her normally strong, guarded heart.