Chapter Eleven

Cullen made sure the door to Anders's cell was locked and the guards were properly stationed again before going after the Viscountess. The Gallows was on an island, after all. She couldn't get very far. On his way out of the prison, he stopped by a supply cabinet and grabbed a lyrium potion. When he exited the front door, he heard Evelyn cursing in frustration. He saw her standing off to the side, as she kept making a flicking gesture with her wrist. As he walked closer, he heard her mumble, "Damn it! Should have it back by now, why isn't it working?"

He put the potion on his belt, then cautiously approached her and put his hands on her shoulders. She continued whatever she had been doing, growing obviously more frustrated each second.

He tried to speak soothingly, but with authority, "Evelyn, you need to calm down."

She looked up at him, and furrowed her brow, "How can you say that? Shouldn't I have at least a little bit of my mana back by now? I can't even cast a damn flame, Cullen!"

"I know, it's one of the side effects of being in there. It's by design." He took the lyrium potion off his belt, "Drink this, you'll feel better."

She looked from him to the bottle of blue liquid and sighed. Then, she pulled the cork off of the bottle and drank. When she was done, she gave a small shudder, "I hate the taste of lyrium. It's too sickeningly sweet. I don't know how anyone could grow accustomed to it."

Cullen gave her a small smirk, "It's not so bad after a while. I find that holding your nose tends to help a bit."

She immediately felt a portion of her mana come back. Not nearly all of it, but it did make her feel better, "Thank you."

Cullen felt when the potion kicked in as well. He smiled at her, "Better?"

"A bit, yes," she nodded at him. She tried to cast a small flame to reassure herself. A dim light appeared in her hand. Cullen had felt her cast the spell and looked at the weak little flame. He felt sorry that he had forgotten to warn her. She quickly closed her hand and the flame disappeared.

"I'll let you in on a Templar secret," he said conspiratorially, "That mana drain you felt isn't just there to even the odds should a mage attempt an escape, but rather it's also there to prevent them from thinking about it in the first place. When a mage is deprived of their mana for a while, they immediately feel helpless. It makes them nervous at first, though some handle the change better than others. Eventually, most resign themselves to the futility of even thinking of trying to get away. They become more docile," he gave a weak smile and continued, 'it's also designed to not allow their mana reserves to start refilling for at least a few hours. That serves two purposes. The first is that they'll be weaker if they are immediately recaptured. The second is that when they leave with no mana available, if they are caught, most just give up. It's really all about controlling our prisoners."

Evelyn realized that described perfectly what she'd felt, even though she wasn't a prisoner. She stared at him for a few seconds while processing the information, "Templars can be bastards, then."

Cullen shrugged, "It's not every mage, it's only the ones who end up here. If they make it this far, they've already demonstrated they are untrustworthy or worse. We have to be able to keep them in line. I'm very sorry you had to experience it. I keep forgetting you've never been in a circle. Otherwise, you would have known about it."

Evelyn bit her lower lip and looked at him. Tears started to form in her eyes.

Cullen pulled her closer to him in an embrace, "Please forgive me."

She wrapped her arms around him and held tightly, resting her head on his chest. She was surrounded by the cold steel of his armor, except for where she could feel the warmth of his cheek on her forehead. He smelled of metal, leather, and something faintly chemical that she recognized as armor polish. She wasn't sure if it was because she still felt a bit weak, or if it was simply being in Cullen's arms, but she was finally able to let go of all the stress she had been feeling for the last couple of months. She cried while Cullen comforted her and gently stroked her hair.

After her sobbing had quieted down, he kissed her forehead then looked at her smiling slightly, his face full of care, "How's your hand?"

She grinned a little, "It hurts like hell."

"If it's any consolation, that was quite a knock you gave him. Without magic to heal it, he'll feel it for a while. Where did you learn throw a punch like that?"

"You don't grow up with a younger brother like Carver without learning a thing or two about defending yourself," she smiled at him.

"Please remind me never to piss you off," he smiled back, cocking an eyebrow at her, "Let me take a look at it."

She lifted her hand where he could examine it. It was red across her knuckles where it had made contact with Anders's face, but she hadn't broken the skin. It was too early to tell if it would bruise. He took her hand in his and after examining it, barely kissed it, so that it wouldn't hurt her. Then he held her hand to his chest and leaned down, pressing a kiss to her lips.

When the kiss ended, Evelyn said, "I should be getting back to the keep."

Cullen nodded, "I have duties I need to attend to as well. May I walk you to the docks?"

Evelyn smiled, "Of course."

Cullen stepped away and offered her his arm. She gladly took it, him resting his hand on the top of hers in the crook of his elbow. They walked comfortably, Evelyn taking the opportunity to discuss the First Enchanter with Cullen, asking his first impressions and discussing her own, until they arrived at the passage to the Gallows courtyard. Cullen opened the door and allowed Evelyn to step through first. Once in a more public environment, they maintained their professional distance.

Suddenly, Evelyn was stopped unexpectedly by an older woman.

"Lady Evelyn, I had come by your office earlier to greet you, but the Seneschal said you were attending to other matters. I wish I would have known those matters concerned the Gallows. I could have saved myself a trip."

Evelyn furrowed her brow, clearly surprised. She regarded the other woman, whose hair was severely pulled back into a tight bun and who was looking down her nose at the Viscountess. She noticed what the woman was wearing and immediately placed who she was, but before she could say anything, Cullen stepped in and offered an introduction, "My lady, may I present our new Grand Cleric, Rothia."

Evelyn gave a slight bow, "Your Grace, how nice to finally meet you. I am very glad to have run into you. I wished to discuss the plans for the new chantry with you, the Knight-Commander and the First Enchanter."

The Grand Cleric contemplated her for a brief moment, "Lady Evelyn, I am sure the construction of the chantry can proceed without taking up any of your valuable time." She gave the Viscountess a cold smile. Cullen shifted uncomfortably.

Evelyn smiled back, trying to be as gracious as possible. She'd already had a hell of a day and could feel a headache coming on from the tension in her neck. "Your Grace, for too long, I believe, this city has been remiss in its duties to its people by not taking an active role in responsibilities which affect all of its citizens. I hope to change that. That is why I am trying to work with the chantry throughout the rebuilding process."

Rothia continued to stare down her nose, "I see...please, allow me to ease your mind. The chantry does not generally fall under civic duties, Lady Evelyn, and therefore, you would not be remiss to your citizens in any way by allowing those who can best serve in its construction to do so. As of right now, I see no need of your assistance."

Evelyn cleared her throat, trying not to allow her annoyance to show, "The chantry is within the limits of Kirkwall. Everything within the city falls to its responsibility, and therefore, to me. I'm not saying I would like to manage your affairs, merely to meet and discuss the construction and the role of the new chantry, as well as to look for opportunities where the city and the chantry can work together. The Knight-Commander and I have discussed additional uses for the chantry and would like to go over them with everyone involved."

The Grand Cleric slowly turned her attention from Evelyn to Cullen and gave him a stern look, then turning once more to the Viscountess, smiling her coldest smile, she said, "I will get with the Knight-Commander myself and take your suggestions into consideration. Should we require your aid, I will let you know."

Evelyn was not in the mood for this. With her mana reserves running on low, she was obviously more easily agitated and this woman was only making the situation worse. Although she'd tried to keep her calm demeanor, she could feel the little mana she had available to her starting to activate. Cullen gave her a warning look, then said, "Lady Evelyn, you said there were other matters you needed to attend to. Perhaps this is a discussion we can continue another day."

She knew that smacking the Grand Cleric with a lightening bolt would serve no purpose, not that she had the mana to even manage one. It would also not serve to have a confrontation here, nor to allow herself to be manipulated. Evelyn gave Cullen a small nod, "Yes, of course, I am sure I will see much of Rothia in the future." Turning to the Grand Cleric, she said, "It was nice to meet you, Your Grace." She turned to walk away, in the direction of the docks, Cullen having nodded a goodbye to Rothia falling behind the Viscountess.

Rothia, taking note of this, spoke up, "Knight-Commander, may I ask where you are going?"

Cullen and Evelyn both stopped in their tracks and turned to face her, "I was accompanying the Viscountess to the docks before our brief introduction. My intention was to continue to do so now."

Rothia contemplated the two of them, then gazing sternly at Cullen, questioned him, "And, have you nothing better to do, Knight-Commander?"

Evelyn realized that Rothia was trying to exercise her authority over Cullen and put him in a difficult situation - make him choose between an obvious friend and ally, and the person who was now in a position of authority above him. She hated this woman already. Before Cullen could respond, she looked at him, smiled, and said, "Thank you, Knight-Commander, but I believe you are more urgently required elsewhere. I can make it the remainder of the way on my own."

Cullen gave a grateful smile, nodded briefly, and said, "Thank you, my lady, good day."

"Good day, Knight-Commander," Evelyn nodded as well. She glanced briefly at the Grand Cleric, who was looking smugly at her, then turned around and headed back to the docks.

Once back in Hightown, she passed her estate, looking at the door, wishing she could go home and work some of the tension from the day away, but instead continued on to the keep. She'd have to get with Cullen later and see what sort of trouble she may have gotten him into. At least he could argue for their suggestions and if he encountered any resistance, Evelyn could push harder. As it was, maybe it was better to let the Grand Cleric think what she wanted to at the moment, than to try and challenge her upfront.

Once she got to the keep, she asked Bran if there was anything that needed to be taken care of right away. He said there was nothing pressing, so Evelyn informed him that she would be downstairs with the Guard-Captain. Should anyone need her, Bran should send someone to find her.