Notes:
Chapter written in total agony because my muse kept leaving and coming back! I wanted to write in my own dialogue instead of the game's, before their journey to the Temple of Mythal, so I hope it's all clear and you like it!

A huge thank you to my beta, Lady Darksbane who is always there to help me!

NSFW in the middle. Fair warning!

Feedback is very much appreciated, would love to read what you think!

Next chapter: the Arbor Wilds!

…

Dorian sat in his comfortable chair in a part of the Inquisition library that had been claimed by him as soon as he had pledged his loyalty to Beatrix. There he sat, seemingly oblivious to the rest of the world. In truth, he had been thinking a lot about recent events that made him want to slap both Cullen and Beatrix repeatedly. He knew they were both stubborn, but he never expected them to be this stubborn.

Beatrix was pining for the man. It hurt him to see his best friend suffering in silence. She put on this happy face for anyone else, but she had come crying to him the day after the fight. He had listened to her, unable to get a word in because she had been babbling and crying at the same time. He ended up hugging her and telling her it would be alright.

But that was the problem, wasn't it? He didn't really know if it was going to be alright. So when three days came and went and they STILL hadn't made up, he wondered if he could help hurry things along.

He wanted a solution to the problem, but could not think of a single one. The more he thought about it, the more difficult it seemed. With a sigh he shut his book, wishing that this was one of those things that could be fixed using magic. Unfortunately for him, there wasn't a spell on Thedas that could do this, so he would have to rely entirely on what he had in spades: his common sense and quick wit – not to mention his positively charming personality.

He still hadn't had the chance to talk to Cullen. Standing up and stretching he realized that if he was truly going to help them get back together, he would have to do just that: visit Cullen and see for himself what the Commander of the Inquisition had to say. He knew from others that Cullen had been very cranky lately, and did not speak to anyone, but that wouldn't stop the Tevinter mage.

Dorian just had to try.

He headed to the stairs and went down, crossing the rotunda where Solas was sitting at his desk, briefly waving to the elven mage who scowled up at him. Solas hated people just crossing his domain, but Dorian was not going to take the long way through the main hall and up the stairs to the battlements to finally reach the blasted tower. No. Time was of the essence here. He blew Solas a kiss, grateful that Bull wasn't around to see that, and kept a smile on his face until he reached the Commander's door.

Pausing only to check if his hair and mustache were neat and his robes immaculately free of dust or errant threads, he gave a series of short knocks on the wooden door that led into Cullen's office. A loud 'enter' prompted him to walk inside, closing the door behind him and smiling at the Commander, who was scowling at a parchment on his desk.

"My dear Commander," Dorian said after clearing his throat. "I was wondering if I could have a few words with you?"

"What did Sera do now?" Cullen said as he lifted his eyes to meet Dorian's. The golden eyes were smoldering – twin orbs of fire beneath furrowed brows.

"I don't think I would be here if it was to discuss Sera," Dorian replied in a puzzled voice.

"Don't tell me you set something on fire," Cullen countered.

"No! Nobody has done anything to anyone," Dorian exclaimed, a bit put off by the whole thing. It was worse than he thought.

"Well, then, what in blazes are you doing here?" the Commander asked harshly, his eyes now throwing daggers at the Tevinter mage.

"Honestly, if you're going to carry on like this, I might as well leave," Dorian replied looking crestfallen.

"I agree," Cullen replied, turning back to the parchment on his desk.

Dorian huffed out a deep breath, trying to organize his thoughts properly. He really admired Cullen physically, but this attitude was appalling.

"Might I remind you that you are being excessively rude and I haven't done anything at all to merit this?" Dorian spoke again, his voice laced with annoyance. "I realize you must be busy, but –"

"I don't think you realize just how busy I am, quite frankly," Cullen replied, putting the parchment on a neat pile on his left. "But since you're still standing here, I'm quite sure you will not leave until I hear you out."

Cullen straightened himself and crossed his arms in front of his chest, giving the mage his full attention. Dorian once again was surprised at his reaction. He thought it would be easier to speak to the man, but realized instantly that all of his ploys were doomed to fail, even those he hadn't thought about yet. This man was not only angry, he was on the edge. Therefore, he decided that the only way to go was to use the direct approach.

"Commander it has come to my attention that you are in dire need of a spot of advice," Dorian said directly, not caring if he was yelled at and starting to feel something like anger quickly escalate to the surface.

"Did the Inquisitor put you up to this?" Cullen asked, interrupting him. His eyes were no longer smoldering, and the pain that registered there now made Dorian feel a little sorry for him.

"No, she didn't," Dorian began, noticing the immediate slump in Cullen's shoulders and the way he looked down, avoiding eye contact. "She doesn't even know I'm here."

"I'm very busy, Dorian. We march to the Arbor Wilds in two days."

"This is precisely why I'm here. Are you going to wait until death is at our door before you talk to her again?"

The Commander straightened up again, his hand on the hilt of his sword, grasping it tightly, his lips pursed.

"I don't see how this concerns you," Cullen said through clenched teeth.

"It does concern me," Dorian replied quickly. "That woman is my best friend. She tried to fix my life and helped me become a better man because of it. She is the sweetest, most trustworthy person I know and she is in love with you. I don't understand how you can stand there and NOT do anything to try to win her back."

There was silence for a few moments. Dorian could see that Cullen was struggling to keep the tears in check. Maker, these two were a tad bit melodramatic, but he was Dorian Pavus and he would not leave until he got it through the Commander's thick skull that all this was ridiculous.

After a short while of deafening silence, Cullen spoke.

"I'm a broken person. She deserves someone better."

"Of course she does. Unfortunately, I am not available," Dorian replied. "Bull will never let me go."

A smile came unbidden to Cullen's face. He was quick to school his face back to its usual sternness, but Dorian had already seen it.

"Cullen," the Tevinter mage said seriously. "She is in love with you. She wants only you. When are you going to understand and get that through your thick skull? Get her flowers. Woo her back. Talk to her."

"What if she doesn't want me back?" Cullen asked in a low voice.

"How will you ever know if you don't take the chance?" Dorian quickly asked back. "Vishante kaffas!"

"And what does that mean, exactly?" Cullen asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"It means 'I have had enough'," Dorian sighed. "Win her over or I'll slap you both silly."

Cullen laughed, the sound bringing a grin on Dorian's face.

"What should I do to win her back?" Cullen asked with a smile.

"Use your imagination," Dorian answered. "I hope you still have one, for all our sakes."

…

Beatrix took a deep breath and stopped, the sweat on her brow slowly traveling down her face. She looked around the training area, and realized that it was later than she thought. She had missed dinner again and had spent the entire afternoon practicing with the dummies. Not that she cared one bit. They were leaving for the Arbor Wilds in two days and she wanted to be ready.

She shrugged to herself and turned away, walking down the stairs to the main gates, but passed them, continuing her walk until she passed the stables. Black-Rainier was there with Josephine and they both lifted a hand to greet her, but turned back to the conversation they were having. Judging by their looks and smiles, it was a happy one.

She stopped at the well, where she drew the bucket and put in a ladle to take a long drink of water, her eyes scanning the rest of the fortress. Cullen was nowhere to be seen, which in itself was strange as he was always standing outside his office looking down at her whenever she practiced. She sighed as she left the ladle inside the bucket and the bucket on the ground at her feet. She then stopped one of the cook's assistants and ordered her to change the ladle and bucket with a clean one for the night. The girl nodded eagerly and ran off.

Beatrix sighed again. It was time for a bath and…

Why hadn't he been on the battlements? Could it be that he was truly over her? That he was moving on? The lump she had in her throat these days came back and she was suddenly struggling to hold the tears back.

No crying. She couldn't cry again. She shouldn't cry again!

She made her way up the stairs into the main hall, keeping her eyes down as she walked, willing the nobles who were still there to go away. Unfortunately, they did not. She had to say hello to a few of them, then walked a little faster, reaching the door that led to her quarters at last.

As soon as she opened the door and closed it behind her, she leaned against it feeling an immense sense of relief. She could hide away here now and not have to pretend like she had been pretending these past three days. All she had to do was walk down this corridor and up the stairs and –

Why did the floor beneath her feel so soft?

Opening her eyes she saw she was standing on…ROSE PETALS! The whole corridor floor was full of rose petals! Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the rose petals on the stairs as well. She hurried down the corridor and up the stairs, flung the door open wide, then stepped into her room.

Her whole room was full of roses and rose petals. But that was not the best part. The best part was that Cullen was standing in front of her, holding a bouquet of deep red roses in his hand, looking at her as if she was a goddess.

"Please forgive me, my love," he said in a clear but shaky voice. "I can't live much longer without you."

With a cry she hurled herself into his arms, the tears flowing fast now as he embraced her tightly, kissing the crown of her head and then lifting her in his arms so that he could get a good look at her. His amber eyes shone brightly with unshed tears, with love and adoration for her and Beatrix felt like the world was finally alright again.

"I love you so much," he whispered as he kissed her. And then they were twirling on the floor in a tuneless dance, laughing and crying as they fell onto the bed, looking at each other breathlessly – their foreheads together, their hearts beating as one.

Sweetly and lovingly they made love to each other, reaching their climax together; holding each other tenderly when it was over. Beatrix felt like she was whole again: her Cullen was with her and she felt she could brave the nearest mountain at the moment knowing she would not fail.

Turning her head up, she met his eyes, her sapphire ones twinkling like the stars in the heavens as they captured his, shining golden from the firelight in the room.

"It's about bloody time," she said as she caressed his cheek. "What in blazes took you so long?"

…

They spent most of the night making love to each other and fell asleep in the wee hours of the morning. Cullen opened his eyes a few hours later to a cold room. The fire had gone out during the night at some point while they slept. He looked down at Beatrix, who was lying on the pillows. She was sleeping soundly on top of his arm. He needed to sit up to start the fire, and had to relieve himself, but didn't want to wake her. So, he very slowly inched to the end of the bed, finally managing to disentangle himself from her. When his bare feet finally met the stone floor, he performed a dance of sorts to keep his feet from freezing. He hadn't expected it to be so damned cold!

Reaching the pot to relieve himself he thought about the things that had to be done today and smiled when he realized they could be together all morning. The meeting had been scheduled for after the midday meal. Running back inside the room, he focused on lightning a fire, then stayed in front of it to warm himself up for a bit before finally turning to the bed. Beatrix was propped up against the headboard, wide awake and looking at him with a smile on her face.

"I didn't mean to wake you, love," he said as he walked back to the bed, slipping under the covers and moving to take her in his arms.

"You didn't," she replied with a chuckle. "I opened my eyes and there you were, standing in all your naked glory."

Cullen smirked and flirted back. "Did you like what you saw?"

"Oh, yes! You have a perfect arse. Very squishable," she hurried to say before she snuggled right up to him and stole a kiss.

His half-erection was suddenly hard and rigid as he kissed her back, humming lightly into her mouth. "I may not be able to control myself, my love," he said against her lips. Her reply was to kiss him again passionately until they both came up for air.

"Do we have anything to do today, Cullen?" Beatrix asked as he tried to pull her to him as much as he could. He wanted to feel every inch of her skin against his.

"Hmmm. No, just…" Cullen's voice trailed off as he took one of her nipples and suckled on it, making her mewl with pleasure.

"Cullen…Ah! Can't we talk before….ah!"

"Hmmm?" Cullen hummed as she arched her back when he pulled on the other nipple, tweaking it.

"Cullen!"

"My love?" he asked as he looked up into her eyes, losing himself in them. Everything else had ceased to exist as far as he was concerned.

"Wasn't there supposed to be a meeting?"

"Yes," Cullen replied, then dove into the valley of her breasts again, his hands massaging them as she arched her body upwards. "You're so beautiful," came his hoarse whisper. "Maker, what have I done to deserve you?"

"Oh, Cullen!" she exclaimed when he suckled her other nipple. He smirked and looked up only to find her practically writhing on the bed. He took both breasts into his hands and massaged, tweaking the nipples and then blowing on them.

She keened as she arched her body towards him and his aching cock, brushing against it over and over until he started to feel he was losing control. He stopped her movements by throwing an arm over her stomach, holding her fast on the mattress so he could part her thighs and focus on her delicious nub. She was already wet and his tongue on her only made her wilder, the mewls turning into 'OH's' and 'AH's' until she was screaming his name. Cullen then suckled her nub while two fingers slowly entered her. Maker, she was so tight!

He knew the exact moment when she was about to reach her climax. He hurried with his ministrations, hitting her spot over and over until she screamed his name again, sitting up on his hand and then falling back on the pillows, panting heavily.

He caressed her face, looking deeply into her eyes, smoothing a lock of hair away from her face and tucking it behind her ear as she looked up at him tenderly. "Cullen," she breathed. "I love you so much."

"As do I," he replied. "Very much so."

"What about you?" she asked, her voice low and breathy.

"Oh, we're just getting started, don't worry about me," he smirked, taking her in his arms.

"But I think there's a meeting?" she managed to say, just as he started to caress her lovingly.

"It's after the noon meal, my love. Stop worrying, it's barely dawn."

She smiled up so sweetly at him that his breathing hitched. For one brief second, he couldn't believe she was in his arms and he thanked the Maker for her yet again.

They made love until they were spent then dozed off. When they woke up it was late, so they bathed together and dressed, hurrying down the stairs to get to the main hall in time for lunch. As they approached the long table holding hands, Sera broke into a whistle, while Dorian gave Cullen a wide grin, waggling his eyebrows. Cullen sighed, then pulled Beatrix closer, grinning when the whole table broke into a noisy round of applause.

…

"The Arbor Wilds," Beatrix sighed, scrutinizing the map carefully.

"My scouts report they are still travelling, they only stop to look into Elven ruins," Leliana said.

"Why does he have this fascination for Elven Ruins all of a sudden?" Dorian asked curiously. "It's not like the elves will help him or anything."

"Indeed," Solas replied drily.

The double doors leading to the war table room creaked ominously and Morrigan shut them behind her as she walked into the room, holding her head high.

"I believe I can answer that," she said nodding to Beatrix respectfully.

"Please do, Morrigan," Beatrix said with a smile.

"The Inquisitor has seen the Eluvian I keep in a room off the gardens," Morrigan commented. "An Eluvian is an Ancient Elven mirror quite likely used for travelling. I believe this is the reason why the elves didn't build roads." She reached the war table and turned slightly to take a look at the advisors and inner circle at last. Seeing that she had their absolute attention, she smiled as she continued her speech.

"The Eluvians lead to places in between the Fade. I am certain that Corypheus is looking for one. This Eluvian is most certainly in an ancient elven ruin in the Arbor Wilds. A temple to Mythal, according to my records. I wanted to seek it out immediately after the Blight was over, but the forests that surround the temple are full of danger and I could not breach them. I had to look elsewhere for the Eluvian I have now."

"A temple to Mythal," Solas murmured behind Beatrix. "If it is untouched, it may very well hold an Eluvian."

"Since Corypheus wants to breach the Fade, Morrigan and I believe it would be easier for him to do so from the 'Crossroads', which are what we call the spaces in between the Fade and Thedas," Beatrix added. "He only needs to find an Eluvian to accomplish this."

The room fell into an uncomfortable silence. The threat suddenly felt very real to all of them. Sera fidgeted nervously on her feet, sliding closer to Thom Rainier and Iron Bull without even noticing. Varric frowned, his brow furrowed as he contemplated what was to come.

"We must march to the Arbor Wilds," Beatrix said, her voice determined and resolute. "Leliana, how far is Corypheus from the Arbor Wilds? Did your scouts send a map?"

"Yes, Inquisitor. He's probably halfway to the Arbor Wilds, but my scouts reported that there are at least four more Elven ruins along the way. If their information is correct, it will take Corypheus longer to reach his destination because he will be stopping to take a look inside each of these ruins."

"That's good. It gives us an advantage over him. Even if it's a slight one, we must take it. Do you estimate your soldiers can reach the Arbor Wilds in time, Commander?" Beatrix turned to Cullen, who was studying the map intently.

"No. A full army will take too long to cut through the forest. But," he turned to Leliana, "your scouts can be there in a very short time and some are already stationed there, am I right, Spymaster?"

"Yes, Commander." Leliana responded. "I can send more scouts there to try to sabotage the Red Templars if they reach the Arbor Wilds before we do. It's easier to work from there at stopping their progress."

"I can write to our allies in the Dales, they are closer as well," Josephine said.

Beatrix nodded eagerly. "Then, let's do this. Leliana, send word to all your scouts, have them reach the Wilds before Corypheus's army if they can. Josephine, contact your people in the Dales. Cullen, you must march as soon as possible in order to meet with the rest. As for the rest of you and myself, we'll set out at dawn tomorrow. If we all stick together and work towards our common destination, we should be able to arrive just in time to prevent him from taking the temple and whatever is inside it."

"Aye, Inquisitor," Rainier spoke from his place on the left of the room. "We'll finish off the bastard if I have anything to say about it."

"Thank you all for your help. United we shall see that this finally comes to an end. Get ready to leave at first light tomorrow, my friends," Beatrix smiled as she turned to look at each and every one in the room. "We'll give Corypheus and his army a welcome they will never forget."

"Inquisitor, before you leave the room," Leliana said abruptly. "Dagna wanted to speak to you."

"I'll go right away," Beatrix smiled at the Spymaster, who smiled back. "If she has something to say, I'm sure it will be invaluable to us."

…

Cullen accompanied Beatrix to the Undercroft, where Dagna was stationed. They saw her working at something, humming loudly as she worked.

The smith nodded a welcome to them both and went back to the weapons he was making. Dagna turned to smile at them when Beatrix and Cullen finally stood in front of her.

"I received the message Dagna," Beatrix smiled. "Is there anything you'd like to tell me?"

"Inquisitor!" Dagna cried out happily. "I'm so glad you're here. I just finished it. Well, not exactly 'just', but a short while ago! I'm sure it'll help you!"

She turned around, looking for something, while Beatrix smiled and exchanged a look with Cullen, who rolled his eyes. Beatrix bit the insides of her cheek to keep herself from laughing. She could clearly hear Cullen's 'Maker's breath' in her mind.

When Dagna finally turned, she was holding a rune of some kind in her hand, which was glowing red – the glowing light pulsating slowly as if it was a beating heart.

"I took poor Maddox's tools and after calculating the leak of immediate…" Dagna's voice trailed off, noticing the blank looks on both Beatrix and Cullen. Chuckling mostly to herself she continued, but this time was more direct, skipping the explanation they both would never really understand.

"This rune will destroy Samson's armor," she said firmly, handing the glowing rune to Beatrix, who took it gingerly, holding it carefully in her hands without touching the area that glowed. "I know it isn't Samson who is wearing the armor. Not that I'm implying I've visited him in the dungeons or anything, but –"

"It's fine, Dagna. We all know that the armor is now being used by someone else. We just haven't found out who yet," Beatrix grinned as she slipped the rune inside one of her larger pockets. "If it destroys that armor then –"

"The person wearing it will be vulnerable to your attacks, Inquisitor," Dagna finished off happily, her grin now huge as she regarded Beatrix and Cullen proudly.

"Now that's something I enjoy hearing," Beatrix chuckled, looking back at Cullen briefly and winking up at him.

"I agree," Cullen replied, the relief in his voice apparent. "This means the person wearing it can be killed, correct?"

"Yes, Commander. The person wearing the armor can very well be killed if you use that rune," Dagna replied with a chuckle.

"A pity you can't make more. One for each of the red templars," Beatrix laughed.

"Not enough time, love," Cullen smiled. "But this is an advantage that will likely herald our victory when we battle Corypheus's red templars."

"Victory is the key word here," Beatrix agreed. "We will not fail."

…