"You all know the story of the Hero of Ferelden, do you not?"

The four pair of eyes nodded, but Alex looked at Cullen, who looked darkest of all, his amber eyes pained. Her eyebrow raised but she continued.

"Then you know that her mother was Revka Amell. The Amells used to be a noble house in Kirkwall."

"I remember." Cassandra said, and Alex looked at her.

"Our family was a very influential family in Kirkwall. Our grandfather's brother, Lord Aristide, was expected to be the next viscount after the arrest of Viscount Perrin Threnhold. But when my mother, Revka, gave birth to Solona… a mage child… our family was considered disgraced." She scowled as she almost spit out the word. "When her magic manifested, the Templar Order took her away to the Circle in Kinoch Hold."

"After that, our family fell into despair. My mother's aunt Bethann died, so did her uncle Aristide. Our uncle, my mother's brother… Damion was accused of smuggling, and our grandfather squandered our family's wealth until they were both arrested and died in their cells. Our father decided to take us all away to Ostwick… my twin brothers and my mother, who was pregnant with me."

"But when I was born… our mother… died, and our father was left alone to take care of us. He found employment under the household of the Trevelyan family in Ostwick. The Trevelyans took us in, and we were considered as one of their own. When my brothers manifested their magic, the Trevelyan used their connections to Tevinter so they can send them both to Minrathous. And when my father died when I was six, the family adopted me, and I was named Alexandra Trevelyan. Even when my magic manifested and I was sent to the Circle in Ostwick, they still considered me as family and wrote to me."

"So… all of your siblings are mages?" Cassandra asked, and Alex nodded. "Solona was sent to Kinoch Hold, and I was in Ostwick. My twin brothers, Maxwell and Daylen, were sent to the Circle in Minrathous." She chuckled, "Apparently my brothers are more gifted in magic than me or Solona."

Josephine blinked at her, "Then that would mean… you are also related to the Champion of Kirkwall?"

Alex shrugged, "From what I've been told by Varric, yes. Marianna Hawke is my second-cousin."

Cullen looked in shock at her, "Marianna? But… she said her name was…"

"Marian." Alex said as she smirked, "I forgot. You've met her already. I was told that she hated the name and preferred to be called 'Marian'. But trust me, her name is Marianna." She rolled her eyes, "Apparently, our mothers have a habit of naming the girls in our family with an 'a' at an end… Revka, Leandra, Solona, Marianna… Alexandra. They thought it was 'lucky'." Her face darkened for a moment, "I guess it must be true though… from what I've heard about what happened to Bethany."

The five of them were silent for a moment, taking in the news, until the silence was broken by Leliana's giggle. They all looked at her to see her smiling, "I understand now. No wonder you looked so familiar. Am I right, Commander?"

At this Cullen blinked, and he lifted a hand ran it down the back of his neck as his face flushed red in embarrassment, "Yes… you're right." Alex looked confused at the two of them, and he coughed before he spoke, "I am… or was… a Templar for the Circle in Kinoch Hold. I was there when your sister had her Harrowing."

This time it was Alex who blinked, her eyebrow raised at Cullen. "Oh… you… I see." She coughed as she crossed her arms and looked at them again, "Now that I've given my background, does this still change the plan, or are you going to take me to the stocks again? The hole in the sky is probably a much more important dilemma than my so-called 'lies'".

Leliana nodded, "No matter what your background is, you are right. The Breach is a much more important matter. I'm sorry… I was just… surprised. I counted your sister as one of my closest friends. I thought that you might have some information about her."

Alex shrugged, "We wrote letters when I was in Ostwick, but they stopped when she disappeared. She hasn't told me where she was going. The same goes for Hawke. I'm sorry."

Josephine coughed and returned to scribbling something on her ledger, "Well… despite of everything, I still believe that the Herald… Alex… should head to Redcliff to speak with Mother Giselle."

The Herald' sighed and put her hands on her hips, "Right, then. Cassandra, please ask Solas and Varric to get ready, and prepare yourself, too. Leliana, I need as much intelligence about the Hinterlands as I can, please tell your scouts to send regular reports to the camp by raven. Josephine, see who else I can approach there as allies, too."

Cassandra raised her brow, "Are you ordering me, Trevelyan?"

At this, Alex looked at her, "No, I am not. I was asking. If it was an order, I shouldn't have said 'please', right?"

The Seeker pursed her lips, before letting out a disgusted noise as she and the other two women went out of the war room, leaving her and Cullen inside. With a tired sigh, she leaned her hands on the table before them and bowed her head, and for a moment, it reminded him of her sister, who used to sigh the same way when she was tired of teaching the younger mages.

"You must be patient with Cassandra, Herald." He said, and the woman looked up at him, "It takes a while to earn her trust. She is very wary, but I hope in time you will find the Inquisition accommodating."

Alex sighed again before looking down at the map, "I still don't know what really happened, in truth. And it annoys me. I'm sorry, I'm just not used to all this."

For a moment, Cullen's heart went out to her. It was true that she was having a hard time with everything. Ever since she had stepped out of the Fade, some of her memories seemed to have blanked, and he knew that a Circle mage like her would not be used to so much death and battle after being confined to a tower for most of her life. "I know that this must be difficult for you." He said, looking down at her, "But we… your advisors are here. Should you require anything, I'll be here."

Alex nodded, but she didn't smile. "I'll go prepare for the trip to the Hinterlands now. Send word if you discovered anything new, Commander."

He bowed, "Of course, Herald." And she nodded at him before leaving the room. He stood there for a moment more, before pulling his cloak closer to his body, because for some strange reason, the room suddenly grew colder when she left.