A Certain Thought That Lingers

Soft pained moans drifted in the otherwise silent room where Loren and Cullen were taking residence in. The pained sounds halted Loren's writings and the tall mage turned around. A slender hand caressed his feverish patient and he murmured sweet nonsensical words to the sick templar.

Lyrium withdrawal was the key to keeping Templars within the Chantry and its rules. It was one of the reasons why Loren detested the order and he saw the Templars victims to their fate, as well as mages. At least, mages had the power to change things if they were willful enough. He managed to come up with a concoction that would help ease the withdrawal pangs and it was this dark-red solution that was being fed to his protector.

Cullen coughed, almost gagging on the foul brew but he dutifully consumed the beverage. The effects were immediate and the reddening of those pale cheeks pleased Loren to no end.

"Better?" The dark-haired mage asked of the blond, who nodded slightly before resting back into bed. "I would tell you what it's in it but I fear that it would be the last time you would drink it."

Cullen had enough energy to make a strangled sound, akin to a choked laugh, before his head turned on its side, his brown eyes gazing sleepily at his caretaker. Loren cupped his cheek and kissed his brow, prompting a quiet moan of pleasure from the blonde. The mage smiled at the sight of those eyes closing and of Cullen leaning into his open palm. He stroked a few errant hairs from the sleeping man's forehead and made to get up when fingers clasped gingerly around his hand.

"...stay..." his patient pleaded and Loren nodded, not having the heart to say 'no' to those soft brown orbs that were dulled with fever and medicine.

Loren stayed beside him and waited until he was deep in slumber before finally withdrawing from the warm bed. Twilight had arrived, its presence given away by the soft hues of orange and purple light. Dark clouds gathered along the horizon and thunder rumbled above the thatch construct the pair were currently in. However, this was no natural storm and Loren sighed heavily as Cullen moaned in his sleep and shifted. Cullen had always been extra sensitive to magic, more so than the other templars, and his sensitivity was the sole reason to his rapid success in the Templar Order.

To calm him, Loren focused on bringing forth his healing energies, letting the mana collect on his fingertips. He brushed soothingly along the templar's furrowed brows and smiled tenderly as they relaxed underneath his soft caress. A few words were muttered and not before long, Cullen was sent into a deep slumber, one not to be disturbed by the rumble and the upcoming violence of battle.

It thankfully worked for Loren was much occupied with defending the village later that night, setting up warding sigils for the Redcliffe fighters and for his best friends, the Cousland brothers who were reunited at last. He was worried about Fergus for a while and hoped that the deaths of his friend's parents wouldn't drag him down into the cesspool of depression. He had seen too many faces of despair, wrought with grief and the utter hopelessness for change in the mages' situation. He wished not to see it on his friend's proud visage and the Maker must have been kind indeed to the two brothers. Only a miracle could have brought all three of them together in that one place, at one particular time.

'And were it not for this occurrence, I can only imagine the consequences: the downfall of the Redcliffe Village, the ghosts of the dead haunting those who travel down the roads of the present.'

Loren wrote out his observation in a tattered, leather-bound journal. It was rather large and cumbersome but he needed the extra space to jot down his theories, his thoughts on the Blight, the conflict of Templar and Mage. The pages were filled with complex equations, life explained by mathematica scrawls and cosmic diagrams.

On the left hand were seven figures, with five as depicted in draconian form and the other two had question marks below, along with another scrawl or two-draconian form or something more?

He was about to write something else when a light tap alerted his attention. He quickly mumbled another phrase and the book shrunk to the size of a silver coin. He didn't want anyone to get a hand on this journal, mage or otherwise. Once his journal was safely hidden, he stood up and gave a cursory glance at Cullen before opening the door.

Both Hadrian and Alistair stood there, in full gear with weapons slung over their backs. While Alistair looked fresh and rearing to go, Hadrian was the exact opposite, with his puffy eyes and pale cheeks. To Loren, it appeared that Hadrian had been crying and was just now composing himself before his friend.

"Come in, both of you," Loren said and he stepped aside. The pair walked in, albeit quietly so as not to disturb the recovering templar.

"How is he, Loren?" Hadrian asked of him and Loren turned to gaze at Cullen again, his green eyes thoughtful.

"Better now. He rested well throughout the night, even with the fighting going on and without me here with him."

"Good. I wanted to ask you," Hadrian began to say before Loren interrupted him with a smile. "What? Why are you smiling like that?" Hadrian's confusion was genuine and that made Loren smile even more. Despite what had transpired, Hadrian still retained some of his youthful innocence. His open expressions would undoubtedly be used against him in the royal court but now, now people needed to see their hero's reactions.

"You wanted to ask if we were lovers," Loren replied knowingly. "No, not lovers but I think the feelings are mutual."

"Oh, well," Hadrian fidgeted, clearly mentally kicking himself for asking such a personal question. Loren laughed and he patted his friend's shoulder.

"Do not worry so, old friend," Loren reassured Hadrian, "and that is not your only question you wanted to ask, am I right? What's happening?"

Being given a little push to retell the story, Hadrian took a deep breath before informing Loren of what happened recently. Meeting Isolde and Teagan gone with her. The cryptic remarks of the Orlesian woman concerned the brunette but kept his questions until Hadrian completed his verbal update.

All throughout the retelling of events, Loren made an important observation and it was on how closely Alistair watched Hadrian. The way the dark-brown eyes would linger on certain parts of his friend's face, the lips and the eyes. The warrior's stance was relaxed but it was deceiving, allowing any would-be assailant to falsely think that the pair were weak. His stance was protective of Hadrian, his right foot positioned in front of Hadrian's left with his body angled towards Hadrian, to provide a buffer perhaps between Hadrian and an attack.

The mage knew that the stance was a subconscious reaction to an unknown, namely him, and he didn't take offense to that, not when Cullen did the exact thing to him back in the Circle Tower. Wait...exact same thing...a lover's gaze...oh Maker! This man is in love with Hadrian! What made his observation even more shocking was that Hadrian seemed to welcome the protective stance of the blonde warrior. The way his body shifted closer to the other man, how his eyes flickered over to Alistiar's before returning to meet his own. He truly never suspected that Hadrian was fey and, while that was not offensive to his senses, it took him aback that it took him this long to realize such an important facet to the silver-haired being.

"What do you think, Loren?" The question startled him for a second and he had to spend a few minutes recollecting his thoughts about what Hadrian had told him.

"I think this Isolde is witholding something vital from you," Loren automatically said. It was the best phrase he could come up with before Hadrian could tell him anymore.

"You know, I should have mentioned this to you, before you left for the circle again," Hadrian said and he wrung his hands, a sign of anxiety. "When I was visiting them almost five years ago or so, but I thought...I thought I saw Connor's eyes flash blue. I didn't know if it was the trick of the light but I think...I think her son's a mage and this mess is of magical origin."

"Wait, are you saying that this is Connor's doing?" The blonde warrior asked, eyes wide with surprise at this revelation. Hadrian's head ducked, as if ashamed to have brought it up.

"Yes," Loren said, as he pieced the puzzle together to procure a bigger picture of what was occurring. "This is of magical origin but we do not yet know the true Master behind this machination."

The face of Jowan flashed in front of him and he became stuck in a dilemma. Should he tell the pair the truth behind Isolde's odd behaviour? No, it may jeopardize his plans on freeing his friend. This was one of the main reasons why he left the Circle Tower in the first place. To find Jowan and seek the truth from his friend's own mouth.

Why? Did you put me in a thrall too? Was I part of your escape plan? He once asked of his friend, right as he found out that Jowan was a blood mage. But if Jowan was indeed the cause behind this undead fiasco, then it was up to Loren to grant Jowan an act of mercy, knowing that the Guerrins would be sorely lacking in that aspect.

"I want to go with you," Loren suddenly suggested and Hadrian agreed, surprisingly, to his request. Unfortunately, Cullen did not and a hoarse voice called out him, stronger than it sounded the night before.

"Not without me, you're not," Cullen's voice rasped and he smoothly got up, forgetting the fact that he was naked.

"Oh Maker!" The two warriors cursed simultaneously and they covered their eyes.

"What? What is it?" Cullen asked and Loren burst out laughing at the way Cullen slowly looked down before gasping out loud and jumping into bed. The templar blushed furiously at what just happened and he had a feeling that Loren would never let him live this one down. But this strange tactic of persuading Loren to agree with him for once worked.

"I suppose you are going with us, naked or not."

Another silvery laugh before Hadrian shouted, "put some bloody clothes on him, Loren!"

The house, once filled with a tension of the events, now was full of laughter and cheer. Maker only knows that they would need it to face the horrors of what awaited their arrival at Redcliffe Castle.

-TBC-

A/N: I know, I know! A cliffhanger! Don't you hate those? However, the chapter seems appropriate to end this way. What will happen once they find the true source of dark magic that haunted the Redcliffe Village? Will the dangers of magic and a rogue templar bring out the three powerful words that both Alistair and Cullen want to say to their respective partners? We'll see!