Her feet hurt. The sun had been beating down her back for days. Cassandra and Varric's bickering had given her a headache the second day into this journey. And if she saw one more bear, she was going to tear her damn hair out.

The wound she had on her shoulder had opened up once again as they had gotten into another skirmish with the templars. Even now she could feel the blood seeping from the gash. It was only a moment of time before one of her companions noticed. Shit.

"There!" Cassandra's voice sounded, drawing Amelia's attention from her shoulder. "I can see the village! The horsemaster must be close!"

Amelia nodded before she forced her exhausted body into a run. The others followed behind her, their footfalls on the dirt the only noises surrounding them. She frowned and slowed, realizing that the air around them was too quiet. Something was amiss.

"Be ready," she murmured as she reached for her bow. "Something's-"

A low growl sounded around one of the hills. The hair on the back of her neck raised and unease settled deep within her heart. She notched an arrow and dropped into a crouch just in time to see three wolves with glowing, green eyes round the hill. Their lips were drawn back in fierce snarls while those other worldly eyes zeroed directly into the group of floor.

Damn.

She let an arrow fly before quickly notching another one. The arrow itself embedded into the chest of one of the wolves, who in turn just snapped its jaws and advanced upon her.

Double damn.

She let loose arrow after arrow as fast as she possibly could. Cassandra charged into the trio of wolves, her massive mace swinging with as much power as the woman could muster. Solas stood, feet planted firmly, assaulting them with every bit of magic he could muster. Amelia saw that Varric had managed to climb up on top of a rock, using the height advantage to the best of his ability.

She grinned, proud of how well her companions were handling themselves. The grin, however, was short lived as one of the wolves sunk its teeth into her calf. She bit back the scream that fought to tear its way out of her throat, instead she brought the end of her bow onto the wolf's head with all her might. The wolf crumpled with a whimper, releasing its grasp on her calf.

Amelia quickly slit its throat, not wanting a repeat performance. The blood spewed from the wound, coating her entirely. Her lip pulled back in a sneer as she felt droplets coat her face.

Great. Just great.

"Amelia!"

She turned her head, her eyes meeting Solas's worried gaze. "What is it, Solas?"

"You're injured! You- you're covered in blood. You got bit!"

"It's fine, Solas. Are all of you okay?"

The chorus of "yes," and "I'm fine," was music to her ears. Her shoulder ached. She could feel her tunic plastered against the skin and blood. The calf the wolf had bit into felt as if were on fire. She took a tentative step and forced her knee to lock when the limb felt like jelly and threatened to collapse.

Might not be as fine as I thought, she thought to herself as she took another step.

Saying nothing, Cassandra slid Amelia's arm over her shoulders and allowed the other woman to lean on her. Amelia opened her mouth to object but immediately closed it again at the steel resolve that shone through Cassandra's eyes. She limped down the trail, teeth grit against the onslaught of pain.

"Are you sure, Amelia?" Cassandra asked, keeping her voice low.

"We're this close, Cassandra," Amelia sighed and hid her wince. "We talk to the horsemaster."

Solas came to her other side and hesitated. "May I? Your body is screaming in pain and I wish to help."

Amelia gave a jerky nod and Solas swooped in, throwing her other arm over his shoulders. The three of them slowly made their way to the village with Varric acting as point. Crossbow at the ready, his shrewd gaze swept over the countryside.

"You know, Little Death," Varric quipped behind her. "Never thought I'd see the day where you're down for the count."

"Don't count me out yet, dwarf," Amelia responded with a roll of her eyes.

The group fell quiet as they approached the horsemaster's cabin. A roaring fire could be heard inside. As they pushed through the door, they could hear a man as he hummed to himself as he flitted about the rooms. Amelia withdrew her arms from her companions and stood at her full height. She lifted her chin and tossed her hair over her shoulder.

There, covered in blood and cuts, she met the horsemaster's eye.

"Ah. You must be the Inquisition soldiers I've heard so much about," he replied as he eyed the mess of a woman before him. "Can't say this is what I was expectin', though."

"I hear that all the time," Amelia replied with a smile. She held her hand out. "Amelia Trevelyan. I've heard you've got some horses for me."

"Aye, I do," he replied. "But I can't send them now. With the mess at the crossroads, templars and mages killin' each other? It's not safe."

"What can we do to help?"
"Talk to my wife - she'll know more. And my man Bron. They'll have more information for you. In the meantime? There's a few horses in the stables you could have. My daughter'll have them saddled and ready for you if you want to pop over there and talk with her."

"We'll be back, Dennet," Amelia replied with a smile.

The four of them arrived at the courtyard of Haven, bloodied, sore, and in desperate need of a bath and a hot meal. They arrived to the makeshift stable they had made and dismounted. More hushed whispers drifted to them upon the wind and caused Amelia to sigh.

"Do you think I'll ever come back without being spoken about as if I'm some sort of spectacle?" Amelia asked as she slid off of her big bay gelding. She hissed in pain as both legs touched the ground, the one that the wolf had bitten one massive, searing ball of pain. "It would be nice."

"You want a quiet greeting?" a voice called out to her full of amusement and unshed tears. "Have you met yourself?"

Amelia's head whipped around to follow the direction of the voice. There, leaning against a wooden pillar, stood Anna. Amelia's eyes quickly traveled over her sister, taking a note of everything, from the lack of wounds to the dark circles under her eyes. She wasted no time in darting away from the others. And she ran as quickly as her bad leg would allow her.

Anna pushed off the pillar with a throaty laugh. As soon as she was close enough, Amelia threw herself at the smaller woman. They landed in a tangle of arms and legs, their laughter bouncing off of the walls of the fence. They rolled to a stop, laying on their backs as they attempted to gain control over their breath.

"You're here," Amelia breathed as she rolled onto her side and propped herself up on an elbow. She gently cupped her sister's face, almost as if she was afraid she'd disappear. "You're alive."

"I'm pretty sure that should be my line," Anna grumbled. "We thought you were dead. We heard of the explosion and then there's no word on you. Everybody's dead except one person - this Herald of Andraste. And we didn't know!"

Amelia winced at her sister's words. She wasn't wrong. She watched warily as Anna scrambled to her feet and began to pace back and forth as she nervously wrung her hands. Amelia sighed and struggled to sit on her haunches, guilt eating at her very soul.

"Anna I wrote to you as soon as I could," Amelia said on a sigh. "The minute I could grab a raven I-"

Anna shoved her hand in Amelia's face with an annoyed sigh. Amelia grinned before she slid her palm across her sister's, coming to grasp her wrist. The two attempted to work in tandem, even getting the taller sibling off of the ground once, but the minute any weight was put on her bad leg, Amelia crumpled to the ground.

"Well, shit," Amelia muttered with a glare towards the gimpy limb.

A large, gray hand was shoved in her face next. She followed that hand up to a muscular forearm, drool beginning to pool in her mouth as she caught sight of a very muscular bicep. Corded muscle covered the expanse of his chest and neck. Her eyes widened as she finally met the eyes of the man before her. No, not a man. A Qunari.

One of the finest Qunari she'd ever seen. His good eye was a beautiful sea green and currently sparkled with mischief. His lips were pulled into a beautiful grin. The eyepatch he wore on the other eye gave him an air of mystery. And the horns.

Maker. If those wouldn't make the best handlebars, Amelia thought to herself.

"Looks like you could use a hand, Boss," the Qunari told her, the deep timber of his voice sent shivers down Amelia's spine. "The Iron Bull, at your service."

Amelia placed her slim hand in his. He hoisted her to her feet gently, so gently that Amelia was thrown off balance and remained silent for once. He kept her hand wrapped in his while he quickly took inventory of her injuries. His smile slowly flattened into an unhappy line.

"Amelia," she replied, still awe-struck at the man before her.

"So I've heard," Bull replied as he tightened his grip on her hand slightly. "Can you walk? Or do you need help?"

Amelia shrugged before she attempted to take a step. Almost immediately, the leg gave out. She let out a high pitched squeal, fully expecting to crash to the ground once again. Instead, however, she felt those large hands surround her waist and give a quick yank, bringing her flush against Iron Bull's body. And her brain damn near short circuited.

"Hold on a second," Bull muttered before he swept her into his arms. "You can't walk like that. I'll-"

"Excuse me but what do you think you are doing?!" Anna's sharp voice interrupted. "You best put my sister down this bloody instant, you big oaf. If you hurt her I'll skin you alive."

Iron Bull blinked down at the smaller woman. Anna's face was flushed with anger, her green eyes glared darts at him. And he smiled.

"She always like this?" he asked Amelia. "She's kinda cute."

"Usually," Amelia replied while she attempted to hide her grin. "Though she might actually follow through with that threat. Don't drop me."

"Oh, trust me, Boss. I've got no intention of dropping you. Feel kinda good in my arms, y'know."

"Bull! Stop flirting with the girl and get her home already," a man to the left said. "She's bleeding all over the ground."

Bull grunted as a reply before he started up the steps towards Haven. The redhead gave him directions, though he didn't need any. He'd already gotten the grand tour from Leliana a few days ago. His boys had gotten settled in quickly, and without incident. He toed the door open to the cabin, almost coming to a stop when the scent of vanilla and cinnamon assaulted his senses.

Whole damn cabin smelled like her. Not that he was really complaining.

He carefully set her on the ground, making sure to hold most of her weight against him. The leg must be pretty bad if she was having difficulties just standing on the damned thing. Her little shadow - Anna - stood in the doorway, nervously wringing her hands again. This time, however, her green eyes were zeroed in on her sister.

Amelia was pale, something he thought would have been impossible with how pale she already was. The light dusting of freckles across her nose stood out like angry spider bites. He frowned and began to take the tunic out from the belt of her pants.

"Hey now, big guy," Amelia said as she pushed his hands to the side. "Least you could do is buy me dinner first. Not everybody gets to see the goods for free, you know."

"Amelia!" Anna hissed, an embarrassed flush coming over her cheeks. "Do you have to make such jokes now?!"

"Anna, right?" Bull interrupted as he leveled his good eye on her. "Can you do us a favor? Go grab Adan, and maybe that elf. Your sister's injured pretty bad, and she's going to need help."

Anna's gasp was light but she nodded. Amelia watched as she spun on her heel and ran through the pathways until she ran out of sight. Once she was gone, however, she let out a curse and ripped her tunic out of the waistband herself. For the first time in a few days, she looked down at the damage that her body had been dealt.

Bruising of various degrees covered her stomach and chest. Dried blood stuck to her skin. There were cuts and scrapes, no doubt from her time wrestling with the wolf. She attempted to bend and remove her pants but stopped when pain radiated throughout her entire body and her breath came in pants.

"Shit. That's worse than I thought," she replied. "Think you can help, big buy?"

"And here I thought you'd never ask," Bull replied with a smirk.

He quickly popped the button on her pants, his fingers skimming over the flesh of her lower stomach. She sucked in a quick breath at the contact. He must have taken it as an indication of pain, however, because he stilled in shimmying the cloth down her legs to ask if if she was okay. She gave him a quick nod.

He removed her pants with a flourish and a cheeky grin. She rolled her eyes before she looked at the rest of her body. The bite had definitely become infected. It stared back at her with angry, raised, red flesh, a strange black liquid mixed with her own blood oozed from the punctures.

"Well. That doesn't look very good, does it?" she asked Bull with a sigh. "Do me a favor?"

"Whatcha need, Boss?"

"He won't need to do you any favors," Anna snapped as she barged back into the cabin. She physically put herself between her sister and Bull. "Turn around. Let me see your back."

"I'll be right outside the door if you need me," Bull said as he gave them a tip of his head, taking care not to hit either one of them with his horns. "For anything. And I mean anything."

The girls watched him walk out of the cabin. Adan and Solas rushed into the room before slamming the door shut. They began to set up tonics and herbs, their rushed voices filling the awkward silence that had followed the Qunari's departure.

"I don't think I like him one bit," Anna muttered as she began to poke and prod at the bruises on Amelia's body.

"I don't know, Anna," Amelia replied with a sly smile. "I think I like him just fine."