Cullen woke up to candlelight beside him. He turned to see Nethra curled up by the light, attempting to read a note. Her eyes were still swollen from crying the night before.

"What is that?" He asked, sitting up.

"A letter from my clan. 'Dear Sister Leliana, it is so kind of you to reach out to find us. We are flooding with excitement that our own clan's child is now the leader of the Inquisition. We would like to cordially invite Nethra home to receive her Vallaslin as a final step to adulthood. We will be located twenty acres southwest of the town called Honnleath for the remainder of the cold months. You will be notified if we move. Sincerely, Keeper Maravera of Clan Ashanril'" She looked up at the blond man.

"That's wonderful, Nethra."

"I thought I would be excited if they ever decided to have me back, but all I feel is fear." She sighed, folding up the scroll.

"They want to see you again. They're proud of who you've become. Why would you fear that?"

The elf shook her head in defeat. It was hard to explain.

"We'd best get going soon."

The trek back to Skyhold was more relaxing than any other trip she'd been on. Half the people who stayed behind were still drunk, and the other half were hungover. The march was almost silent besides the occasional whinnying horse. Solas crept up to Nethra on his hart.

"Your clan made contact." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, Solas."

"Did they have any plans for you?"

"What do you mean?" She frowned at him.

"Vallaslin."

Nethra opened her mouth to deny such a thing, but she ended up closing it.

"I see." The bald elf frowned. "I would advise against such a thing, lethallan."

"You would advise against anything the Dalish do, Solas." She spoke quickly. She knew as soon as he found out, he would criticize her. She huffed, kicking her Free Marches Ranger lightly. She named it immediately trading its light trot for a gallop.

She headed straight to the stables as soon as she got back. She dismounted, unsaddled Tarasyl, and led her to her stable. She noticed Cullen's chestnut mare already back in its own stall. She bid Tarasyl farewell before hiking up the steps to Cullen's office.

She knocked thrice on the door. "Come in," His voice sounded from the other side. She stepped in, spotting the blond man leaned over a page of parchment. "Ah, Inquisitor." He smiled, "Just in time. I'd like help finishing this letter."

"Let me see!" She grinned, running over to his desk and grabbing the paper.

'Dear Mia,'

Nethra frowned. "Is that it?" She lifted the parchment and looked under. She looked up at the man who had a mischievous smile plastered over his face. "Cullen!" She laughed. She wasn't used to this playful side of Cullen.

"I must admit, I didn't get very far." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

"No kidding," Nethra shook her head with a smile. "Well, let's start by replying to whatever questions she asked last time. Where'd you put her last letter?" She started shuffling through the papers of his desk. "Honestly, Cullen, you really should organize these."

"Can't we just come up with something? Something not involving her last letter?"

"Now you're acting suspicious." Nethra stared at him for a moment before resuming her search. "A-ha!" She grabbed the sheet signed by Mia, searching through it. Cullen attempted to pull it out of her hands, but she dodged his hands.

'Dear Mia, I'm still alive. Your loving brother, Cullen.'

'Honestly, is it so difficult? We thought you were dead. Again. If the Inquisition was not on everyone's lips, we would never have heard that their fine commander survived Haven.

We've been hearing strange things about the Templars lately. I am not sorry you left them. I thought your resignation was implied when you joined the Inquisition, but you meant something more, didn't you?

Speaking of, is this Inquisitor Ashanril the same one you attended the Circle with? I knew the name rang a bell so I've been looking through our old letters. Pretty Dalish mage you were sweet on? Lucky you. I'm sure you won't bother telling me, but I'll be cheering for you.

It's a fool's errand asking you to stay safe, but please try.

Your loving sister, (see how easy this is?)

Mia'

He stared at her in silence, clutching the pommel of his sword in a death grip.

"You… fancied me in the Circle?" She spoke slowly, meeting his nervous gaze. Even under the candlelight, she could see the redness in his face.

"It's n-not like-"

"Cullen." She placed her hands on her hips.

"Maker's breath," He sighed, "I-I may have…confessed a one-sided teenaged infatuation with you to my sister. It was years ago, Nethra. C-could we please just write this letter?"

Nethra hesitated. "How would you know if it was one-sided? You never asked me."

He lifted his head to stare at the brunette elf. His warm hazel-brown eyes caged her in. "What would you have said? I never thought…"

"I suppose if the circumstances had been different, if the blood mages hadn't taken over…"

Before she could finish her sentence, three knocks sounded from the other side of the door.

Cullen sighed. "Come in."

"Pardon the intrusion, Ser. Sister Leliana has called for the Inquisitor." Nethra gave the commander a quick glance before following the guard out.

"Inquisitor, have you given any thought to your clan's invitation?" Leliana turned to her, hands clasped behind her back.

"Yes, I'd like to visit them, if the Inquisition can spare me."

"Of course. We've just won a great battle. We can absolutely allow some personal time for you before setting our next plans into motion."

"Thank you, Leliana." Nethra smiled. "It means a lot."

"Have you thought about taking Cullen with you?"

"I'm sorry?" The elf's face turned pink.

"Cullen's family lives near Honnleath. Perhaps you two should make the trip together before you branch off to your clan." Leliana gave a smile, but it was not innocent.

"I…" Nethra paused before looking at the Nightingale. "I would not want to distract him from his work."

"As I said, now is the time for pleasantries, Inquisitor. We will not have time to visit our families in the months ahead. Ultimately, it is your choice, Inquisitor. I was simply making a suggestion." The spymaster turned around, sifting through the letters on her table. "I will send a raven to your clan in the meantime."

Sorry this one's short. I had a nice burst of inspiration for the last month but it seems to have died off :( I'll keep writing though! It's just going to be slower.

Thank you to InuGuardian1984 for the review! If you like this story please follow/fav/comment :)