The last day of travelling felt twice as long as a regular day. The soldiers were tired and sore, and the horses were grumpy. Nethra was fighting a hangover, her headache only growing with the height of the sun. They passed through the Exalted Plains and made lunch in Ghilan'nain's Grove, a shaded area surrounded by ruins.

Nethra walked away from the camp, zoning out from the fart competition Sera and Iron Bull were having. She brushed by the archways in the elven ruins, taking a deep breath. The book she had been reading was frustrating, so she'd figured a walk would help clear her mind.

In the distance, under a tree, Nethra spotted a small light. She wondered if it was a will-o-the-wisp. She decided that if it started to move away, she wouldn't follow it. The light flickered over to a ruined statue. It was of an elven woman, her hands were held out like a statue of offering. The wisp landed in its hands. Nethra moved toward it. She held a hand out to touch the statue, but as soon as it did, the wisp disintegrated, leaving the small elf alone in the dark corner.

Something shook.

The air began to move rapidly around her, and it felt like the world was spinning around her. She closed her eyes, trying to gain balance. The wind whistled in her ears, getting louder and louder, so loud she couldn't stand it. She covered her scarred ears swiftly, falling to her knees. Everything was spinning and loud, she almost wanted to scream. And then, as if the gods heard her, everything stopped. She opened her eyes slowly. Leaves of the tree behind her rustled in the calm breeze. Nethra briskly walked back to camp.

The top of Skyhold could be seen from where they were. While the soldiers let out a unanimous sigh of relief, the freckled leader of the Inquisition was still hypnotized from the book. She'd read the same chapter over and over about a hundred times, hoping to find something. She finally flipped the page over in frustration. Suddenly a sentence caught her eye.

The memories will take around 4 months to a year to fully reclaim themselves in the victim's mind.

She frowned. She snapped her reins, causing her steed to let out a startled whinny. It began to pick up pace. Dorian called out from behind her, but she kept kicking the mare to speed up, racing toward Skyhold.

He had a cold sweat, but he refused to let it stop him from his paperwork. He was desperate for any distraction from his growing withdrawal. A soldier had come in a few minutes earlier reporting sightings of the Inquisitor and her company returning from their journey to the Western Approach. It was only the day before when he received her report of the Grey Warden situation. He was relieved to find that no Inquisition soldiers were hurt during the confrontation.

Quick, heavy steps sounded from outside his door, coming closer. His door immediately swung wide open to reveal the sweaty, sun-burnt, misty-eyed Inquisitor.

"They were from you!" She shouted, stomping toward him with an unmistakable anger. She slammed the book down on his desk. "Why didn't you say anything? I thought they were from Solas – I thought it was all Solas even though it was you! It was fucking you all along!" Her eyes were transitioning from misty to teary. "Why did you…to think I let him…" She was losing control of her thoughts, staring at the ground in confusion. Her eyes snapped back up to his. "Maker's balls, Cullen! Say something!"

He simply grumbled with his mouth closed, pointing to the wooden bucket by his right hand door. "What the hell are you…" It was then that she noticed his ghost-white face and the film of sweat that covered it. She quickly ran to the bucket, grabbed it, and shoved it into his lap.

The blond man instantly released his guts into the pale, heaving and coughing as the contents of his stomach spilled out of his throat.

"Shit, Cullen." She wiped away her angry tears, immediately running over to his bookshelf and grabbing the bag of tea leaves she'd lent him after her first discovery of his symptoms.

"I'm sor-" He managed to choke out before more vomit interrupted him. She reached into the rucksack that she neglected to remove after galloping through Skyhold's gates. She pulled out a small canvas bag of shaved ginger root that she bought to treat the sunstroke she had the first night they reached the approach.

"Take a handful." She spoke quickly while handing him the small bag. "I'll be right back."

She sped out the door, over the bridge, and across the rotunda until she reached Varric's self-claimed 'writing spot', grabbing the fireplaces' kettle. The dwarf's protests could be heard as she sprinted back to the Commander's office, barely noticing the white-hot metal handle of the kettle burning through her skin. The blond man was still leaning over and retching into the bucket as the elf returned to the room. Cullen stared at the steam coming from the kettle, then at her hands.

"Nethra, what-"

"Hush!" She shouted, grabbing a mug off his bookshelf. She quickly mixed the leaves with the boiling water and poured it into the mug. "Drink."

The commander had now become the commanded. He instantly chugged down the tea, swallowing hard as to avoid any choking on the leaves. She grabbed the mug out of his hand and pushed him back into his plush chair. She walked to the corner of his room and grabbed the chair she used the last time she was in his office. She plopped down, crossing her legs and arms, watching the commander.

The two sat in silence for what felt like an eternity. Although the elf was staring straight at him, Cullen could not bring himself to look her in the eye. The cheers of Skyhold's citizens could be heard from outside. The soldiers must have finally made it home. With the silence finally broken, Cullen opened his mouth to speak. "The nightmares began once I stopped taking the lyrium. The memories…" He sighed, trying to prepare his wording. "They resurfaced as soon as I saw you with Varric."

"But you said you were coming off of the lyrium when you were in Kirkwall."

"Yes. During the day that the mage blew up the chantry, I could recall certain…feelings about you. I couldn't recover any memories involving you just then, but I knew in my heart that I had to save you. I knew that I had to win back your trust, but in order to do that I needed to keep you alive." They stared at each other.

"Certain feelings, you said?" She whispered.

He froze. Of course she'd be making him question his wording. "Yes. Our…comradery from Kinloch Hold. There was a need to see you again. I had hoped you would've taken refuge at another Circle so I would be able to find you again."

"Comradery." She huffed with a smile. She stood up, refusing to look him in the eye.

"Before you leave…you said Solas did something-"

"Don't worry about it." The elf turned around quickly and walked out of the room, leaving the commander with the bag of ginger and the empty mug.

Hi everyone, I would really appreciate any comments or criticisms you have. I love reading them and haven't received any for quite some time. It's really hard to feel inspired when it feels like no one is reading it. That being said, thank you if you ARE reading. The 20th chapter is going to be pretty exciting (in my opinion) so I would love to hear how everyone is feeling about this story so far. Give it a fav/follow if you like it! Thank you.