Cullen looked around the next morning, trying to find the Inquisitor in Skyhold. Alex's inner circle had arrived just yesterday with him, but their armies took the journey slow and careful, as they had many injured during the battle in the Arbor Wilds. As he had told her, he had spoken to Leliana to find out more about Solas, and she sent several ravens out to her scouts, trying to find out more without alarming the mage. Solas seemed completely oblivious to the investigation of his background though, but he was sure Alex had something to do with it, as she had began spending more time with him in the rotunda, learning elvish from him in order to understand the whispering she could hear from the Well.

But when he went over to the rotunda, Solas had told him that he had allowed Alex to rest for a moment, and that the woman was probably roaming the grounds. But he didn't find her in her room, or in the garden, even though Morrigan had told her she was there a moment ago. And so he headed out of the castle to look for her.

He found Cassandra in the grounds though, looking positively annoyed, and he called out to her. "Seeker Cassandra!" He said, making the woman look at him, "Have you seen the Inquisitor?"

Cassandra blinked and opened her mouth, but she immediately growled when something flat and in a shape of a circle hit her shoulder armor, spraying crumbs of some sort of pastry. He looked down at the ground to see a raisin and oatmeal cookie, before looking up at the Seeker.

"She would be with that fool of an elf known as Sera, eating cookies on the tavern roof with Maxwell." The Seeker said as she started walking, letting out a disgusted noise, "And for the love of the Maker, tell them to stop throwing cookies at me… or at anyone. Or else I would be forced to throttle Maxwell, no matter how hard Daylen asks for my mercy."

Cullen looked up to the tavern, and sure enough, he spotted Alex on the roof with Sera and Maxwell, waving enthusiastically at him. At the sight of them, he couldn't help but smile a little, "What in the Maker's name are you doing up there?!"

"Sera invited me up here for cookies!" Alex yelled in return, "Would you like one? Sera hates cookies, and she's been chucking them into the well with Maxwell."

Her older brother laughed, and holding up two fingers, "I'm ahead two points, Commander!"

Cullen looked over into the well, seeing various cookies in it, floating on the surface, and he shook his head before looking up at them, "I would rather you stopped doing that. People are using this water for drinking and washing."

"It's all good, innit?" Sera told him, chucking another cookie into the well, but it bounced off from the side, "It'll be cookie water yeah? Normal water is boring."

"Yes, but you drink water as well, Sera." Cullen said, grinning at the elf as he put his hands on his sword's scabbard, "Do you realize you'll be drinking cookie water too if you don't stop doing that?"

The elf blinked, surprised, before she muttered out a curse, "Shite. I didn't think of that. You win this round, yeah?"

He chuckled as he looked up at Alex, "Anyway, Leliana has called for a meeting in the War Room, Inquisitor. She would like to know what is our next step in defeating Corypheus."

But her brother waved a hand, "Corypheus is still out there, but perhaps he is still licking his festering, blighted wounds, yes? Surely you can allow my sister to live her life a little."

Alex patted her brother's arm, "I'll live out my life once we've defeated him, brother. I think Cullen is right. I'd better head to the War Room. Check up on Daylen while I'm gone, okay?"

Maxwell sighed but he kissed the top of his sister's head, "Fine, fine. Maybe I'll amuse him by reading 'Swords and Shields' again. Maker, I still don't understand why Cassandra is enamoured by the drivel."

"She's a romantic, that's why." Alex said, standing a little on the roof and patting her breeches, "Besides, you should talk. Weren't you reading Carmenum Di Amatus to Dorian a few days ago?"

The man stared blankly before shrugging, "Yes, well… that was…"

But he stopped when Alex shrieked, her foot slipping against the roof's tiles, and she toppled forward. Sera and Maxwell reached out to her in alarm to stop her from falling, but they were a millisecond too late, and she fell off the roof. But on instinct, Cullen moved, rushing forward with his arms held out, and he caught her, her shriek turning into a small 'oof' of pain as her body was pressed against his hard armor. She looked up and blinked at Cullen, who seemed genuinely surprised that he was able to catch her, or that he would still be standing up.

"Now THAT is positively romantic." Somebody said behind them, and they both looked down to see Varric grinning at them, with Daylen behind him, his arm around Cassandra's shoulders. Cullen lowered Alex to the ground, but he kept a hand on her lower back. "I should find a place for that scene in my next book."

Alex huffed, "And here I thought you were already done with 'Swords and Shields'."

The dwarf shrugged, "With all the romantic stuff going on here in Skyhold, Rosy, I'm getting inspiration everywhere. It's hard to not write that all down, you know."

She rolled her eyes and instead turned her attention to her older brother, who looked slightly better after getting stabbed by an elven sentinel. "Why exactly are you here, Daylen? Didn't I tell you to rest?"

"Your brother is just as hard-headed as his twin, Inquisitor." Cassandra told her, scowling at Maxwell, "He says that he feels much better, and insists that he get out of his bed and speak to you… alone."

Daylen nodded solemnly, and she was surprised at the unusually serious look on his face. She looked down at the dwarf, "And you?"

Varric shrugged, "Just came to deliver a message to Number One up there." He said, pointing at Maxwell, "Hey, Number One, Sparkler is looking for you. He said you should head to the library for reading and cuddles."

Maxwell blinked, "Well… that's unusual. Normally he would say 'smut and sex'." Alex and Sera laughed out loud as he stood and patted Sera's shoulder, "I'll be back later, Sera." He said as he headed back inside of Sera's room to head down into the tavern and down the stairs, unlike what his sister did.

"Go on." Sera said, waving a hand at Maxwell, "Hey, dwarfy! You need a drink? I got cookies, yeah."

Varric grinned up at her, "As long as you promise that we drink inside the tavern instead of up that roof, Buttercup, I'm in." And he headed to the tavern's doorway just as Maxwell came out of it, sprinting towards the castle and up the library.

Cullen bowed down a little at Alex, "I believe Ser Daylen would like to speak to you alone, Inquisitor. We'll speak later." And he winked at her as he walked away, with Cassandra following him to discuss their soldiers.

Alex smiled up at Daylen and wrapped her arm around his as they walked around the grounds, watching the soldiers as they trained in the sparring ring, "Well, my brother is surprisingly serious. Is there something wrong, Dale?"

Daylen sighed before looking around, "It's not that there's something wrong, it's just… it's been a year hasn't it? Since me and Max joined you."

At the reminded, Alex blinked, "It has, hasn't it? I didn't seem to notice it. I was too busy helping so many people."

He smiled down gently at her, "You know what they say… time passes faster when you're having fun. And this… this fits you. You're a great Inquisitor, just as Solona was a great Warden. You help people, you close rifts… and you even help settle wars." He sighed sadly, "Which makes me wonder… if being a Senior Enchanter would still be an option for me, if I return to Minrathous."

Her eyebrows rose, "What do you mean?"

Daylen looked down at her seriously, "Is it true… that you approve of Cassandra's candidacy for being Divine?"

Alex blinked in surprise, as she didn't know that Cassandra was telling him about what they, as friends, talk about. "Did Cassandra talk to you about that?"

He nodded solemnly, and she sighed, "Honestly, I can't decide yet. The Chantry is deciding between Cassandra and Leliana, but I'm just as torn as they are. Cassandra's views are admirable, but after what happened to the Chantry…"

Daylen sighed again, "In truth, I fear for her if she becomes Divine. After the annulment of the Circles, and the deaths at the White Spire, and the truth about the Seekers, I'm sure a lot of people would come after her. Which leads me to the next thing I want to ask you…"

He stopped walking and looked at her, taking both of her hands, "I'd like to be trained… by you, and by Vivienne. I want to be a Knight Enchanter."

"What? Why?" Alex asked, genuinely shocked.

"If Cassandra becomes Divine, I want to be there to protect her." Daylen said, "If she was the Right Hand of Divine Justinia, then I will be her Right Hand. There are a lot of people out there who would just love to kill her if she becomes the New Divine. And if she doesn't become a Divine, well… I'd like to stay here and be a trainer for your mages. If… if that's alright with you."

Alex looked up at him, "You've… thought about this, haven't you?"

"In a matter of speaking… yes." Daylen answered as he put his arm around her shoulder, "Cassandra and I have been talking… about what we'll do once Corypheus is gone. I think that's the reason why Dorian called for Maxwell. They're probably going to plan what they'll do next. Dorian is thinking about returning to Tevinter."

Alex silenced as she thought of it, and she realized that while she was too busy fighting Corypheus and his army, her inner circle had already began making plans after the magister's defeat. And she grew fearful at how uncertain her future was, and she shivered violently, making Daylen look at her, "What's wrong?"

"I…" She started looking up at her brother, "I was just… surprised, that's all. I didn't know you were all making… plans... for the future"

Daylen smiled gently at her, "And you were afraid of what yours would be? Well, that's obvious. You'll be the Inquisitor, and you'll help those in need and close the remaining Rifts that the Breach has left behind, and you'll defeat Corypheus. And after that… oh, I don't know, a blond-haired, green eyed brood maybe? Little Cully-wullies running amok in Skyhold?"

Daylen laughed out loud as Alex smacked him in the arm, "What? Are you telling me you haven't thought of your future with him?"

"Well… I… no." Alex admitted, "I can't… make any plans for the future until I'm sure that Corypheus is dead."

"True enough, sister." Daylen said, and he looked down at her, "So, if… Cassandra isn't made divine, can I stay here… with you?"

Alex smiled up at him, "Of course, you are. You all are welcome. Blackwall is probably going to stay, and so is Iron Bull, since he's Tal-Vashoth now. If anyone else is considering to stay, you tell them that I agree to it whole-heartedly."

Daylen smiled brightly and hugged her around the middle, with Alex reaching up around his neck to hug him in return. But as she exerted from pressure, Daylen hissed in pain and backed away from her, and she winced. "Sorry! Sorry!" She exclaimed holding her hands up, "I forgot you were injured!"

"My fault." Daylen said, grinning at her a little, although he was still grimacing, "I shouldn't have gotten out of the Infirmary yet."

Alex scoffed, "Well, since you put it that way." She took his lower arm, "Come on, let's get you back into bed."

Daylen nodded, and they headed back to the Infirmary, with her holding on to his arm gently to not cause him pain. He sighed as he looked around, "You know, now that I think about it… I do wish you wouldn't make Cassandra the next Divine."

"Why?"

"Because if she becomes Divine, I would have to leave you, and become her Right Hand." Daylen said, and he grinned at her, "And believe me, I do not want to leave you at all. You have a pretty exciting life. I haven't had this much fun in years, even with Maxwell."