"Do you have to go to Val Royeaux?" Anna asked her sister.
Amelia shoved another dagger into her boot before she turned her green gaze to her sister. "Yes, little dove. To quote our favorite grumpy faced Seeker, 'My job as Herald is never done,' and I must 'protect and serve all peoples of Thedas.'"
Anna snickered as her sister pitched her voice deeper in her Cassandra impersonation. The brunette sat atop the writing desk in her sister's cabin, her knees drawn tightly to her chest. She dreaded her sister leaving again - last time the elder Trevelyan had returned beaten and bloodied and had scared at least five years off of Anna's life span. Amelia wasn't concerned, however, as she continued to strap weapon after weapon to her person.
"Do you really need all of those?" Anna asked in wonder - and concern.
"Sister mine, when have you known me to go anywhere without an entire arsenal stashed away?"
Anna frowned. "Do you really expect to run into such trouble? Shouldn't I go with you? What if you need help?"
Amelia gave her sister a small smile, and the younger girl felt foolish. She only ever got that smile from Amelia when her sister felt she was being adorable. Anna's arms tightened around her legs as the panic began to settle within her bones.
"I'll be perfectly okay. I'll have Bull and Cassandra and Solas," the elder sister said as she gently cupped her sister's cheek. "I'll come back. I promise."
Anna nodded slightly, stiffly. "You promise."
Amelia tugged the mage's arms away from her legs. When she began to tumble forward, Amelia wrapped her sister in her arms in a fierce hug. She felt Anna shudder against her, and almost changed her mind.
Her presence was requested in Val Royeaux. She didn't have a choice - she had to go. But that didn't mean she enjoyed leaving her sister behind, and she knew if she brought the youngest Trevelyan, she'd be on constant guard making sure no snot nosed noble so much as sneered in Anna's direction. Amelia knew that she couldn't lose her concentration on the mission at hand - grab templars, get out, get home. Her sister's sniff against her neck as she tried to hold back her tears gutted the rogue.
"Besides," she whispered as she pulled back. "You've got a strapping young Templar boy to play catch up with."
"I-"
A knock at the door had Amelia gripping a dagger in hand and Anna dropping to her feet. The younger sister rolled her eyes before ripping the door open, her smile turning to a frown as she saw the Qunari standing at the other side. Bull gave her a quick smile before he looked over her head and spied the Inquisitor.
"Ready to go, boss?" Bull asked as he took a few steps back. "Seeker's in a tizzy out by the gates waitin' for you."
Amelia nodded. As she passed her sister, she gave the mage a quick kiss to the cheek. The look of terror and concern that shone in her sister's eyes almost made Amelia change her mind on bringing her with her, but memories of wolves tearing into delicate flesh and snotty nobles who would use their silver tongues to cut to the quick flashed across her mind. She'd held her sister as she sobbed after someone who knew their mother had verbally lashed her too many times to count.
And Lady Josephine would lose her mind if the Herald had been found entangled in a verbal battle while the Inquisition was just taking its first shaky steps.
Amelia was a good twenty feet ahead of the cabin when Bull cleared his throat. Anna glanced up at him and tried to mask her expression like she'd seen Amelia do so many times, but knew she probably failed. Bull held one massive hand out, and Anna stared at it in confusion.
"I'll make sure she comes back in one piece, Mini Boss," Bull told her, his voice low and gruff. "You've got my word."
Anna swallowed over a ball of emotion in her throat. She placed her small hand in his much larger one. He gripped it with two quick pumps. He flashed her his own grin before he bounded down the path after the Herald. Anna smiled as she watched Amelia turn to give Bull a wide smile before the two of them set off on a footrace to the gates of Haven.
The mage watched until the Herald and her companions were no longer visible. The ache in her chest did nothing but grow wider, deeper, with every step they took away from her. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth as she closed the door of Amelia's cabin and walked, slowly, down the beaten path towards her own. Her plan was to lay in her bed and wallow in the anxiety that riddled her body, like she normally did when Amelia was away.
"Anna! Wait up!" Ashlyn's voice called from behind her.
"Ashlyn? Are you okay?" Anna asked as the rogue slid, roughly, to a stop beside her.
"Absolutely," she responded as she gripped her cousin's hand tightly in her own. "But we're going to take this opportunity to explore Haven without your guard dog breathing down our necks or shooting glares at everyone."
"Guard dog?"
"Drop the act, cousin. You're not going to play dumb with me. Now come on."
Val Royeaux was a bust. Amelia was bored. Between the Templars making an ass of themselves, the chantry sisters getting their faces caved in, and the nobles all giving her the side eye, she had had it. All she wanted to do was go back to Haven and crawl into her bed and take a long, nice nap.
Right now, they were running around the entirety of Val Royeaux, in some strange game of hide and seek, with red bandannas. Maker only knew what they'd find at the very end of this road full of secret meeting spots. Cassandra's annoyed grunts seemed to sum up how the rogue was feeling about the situation itself.
"We're supposed to meet in a courtyard? At night? That hardly seems safe," Cassandra said, drawing Amelia's attention from her thoughts to the issue at hand. "Why can't they arrange a meeting at a cafe? Or the armory?"
"Because meeting strange people in an armory is such a grand idea," the rogue drolled. "All those sharp, pointy objects in a small, dank room? Sign me up!"
Cassandra rolled her eyes at the other woman before walking off a few feet. Amelia knew the warrior knew well, however, she'd be dead before she met some stranger in an armory. Too many weapons, walls, and bad decisions to mess with. Cassandra meant well, she always had the party's best interest at heart, but this was one idea that would probably get them all killed, instead.
"We've got a few hours time," Amelia muttered as she hopped to her feet, "I'm going to go find something to eat. Anyone want to come along? Or is the Big Bad Herland finally allowed to go off on her own?"
Cassandra whirled around, pointer finger poised in the air, prepared to give Amelia another tongue lashing. The rogue arched an eyebrow as she waited. Instead, however, Cassandra threw her hands into the air with a grunt before she stormed away from camp.
"Does that mean I win?" she asked, to no one in particular.
"The battle, but not the war," Bull responded, amusement coating the man's deep voice. "C'mon. You're a terror when you're hungry, and I saw you eyeing those sausage rolls in town."
Her stomach let out a loud gurgle in anticipation. The vendor's sausage rolls had stolen her heart the minute she'd bitten into one. And if she got to look at Bull's ass while they strolled into the town square? Well. She wouldn't complain one bit.
"Horns up, Boss," Bull said, as if he could feel her oogling his behind.
Amelia was grateful he was facing the other direction and missed the blush that crawled up her neck and settled on her cheeks. "Don't know what you're talking about."
By the time they walked through the gates of Haven, Amelia's head ached. The bickering between Sera and Solas was almost unbearable. Even the horses had gotten tired of it, choosing to toss a buck or two whenever the elves started going at it.
Amelia was exhausted. Every muscle she had was rigid, the pain a dull pounding throughout every part of her body. She could hear the murmurings as she passed, everyone amazed at the "Herald of Andraste," and all that she would come to be. No pressure, you know? Having to be the savior of the fucking world and toe that very fine white line.
Whatever fate that be decided she would be a great fit for a savior must be rolling with laughter right about now.
Sweet, tinkling laughter drifted to her upon the cold breeze, causing the rogue's head to whip around at such a speed she was surprised her head didn't roll clean off her shoulders. She hadn't heard that laugh in… years. Her eyes widened slightly as she spied her sister leaning against a wide tree, a certain Commander lying along the ground to her left. From a distance, she could tell they were deep in conversation, and her sister was loving it.
If she didn't know any better, she would have sworn her admiration for the great Commander grew. She knew that during her time in the circle, Anna had grasped onto Cullen with both hands, and the Commander had busied himself with protecting the young mage.
"Who's that?" Sera asked as she pulled alongside the Herald. "Pretty, that one."
"Eyes off, Sera," Amelia barked on a laugh. "That one doesn't like tits and prefers the dangly bits."
"Crying shame," Sera replied with a frown. "She's pretty."
"All the Trevelyan women are pretty," Amelia said, her smile soft and aimed at her sister. "But that one's my little sister. Be careful with her. She's… a little broken."
"Even the most broken things can shine with the right attention."
Bull's voice is what finally drew Amelia's eyes away from her sister. Her heart thudded in her chest as she caught him staring at her, his eyes dark and that playful smirk upon his lips.
"Sometimes, they do better hidden in the dark."
If he replied, she didn't know it. Anna had noticed their return, and shouted her sister's name. The rogue dropped out of the saddle, wincing slightly when her calves protested angrily at the movement. She didn't have any time to react more than that, however, as she was tackled by the brown haired torpedo that was her sister.
"You're back!" Anna cried, burying her head in her sister's shoulder.
"Told you I'd come back, little dove," Amelia whispered as she hugged Anna tightly. "And I-"
"Always keep your promises."
"Exactly. Now! Who is in the kitchens? We've been traveling for ages and if I don't eat something soon, I'm likely to set fire to all of Thedas."