When Emery and Cullen returned to camp, Emery was immediately called over to join the lads in a drinking game. Cullen watched as she happily agreed and accepted the mug passed to her.

'She fits in so well with them.' he thought to himself.

"Cullen?"

He looked over as Leah approached him, seeing her hesitation. "Leah." He gave her a nod and looked back at Emery as the lads cheered and she slammed her mug down.

Leah could sense that he was in a better mood than earlier, but when she noticed his gaze return to where Emery sat, it upset her a bit and she wasn't sure why. "How are you doing? We haven't really spoken the past few days or so. Are you getting enough sleep?"

Cullen nodded, returning his attention to Leah. "As well as I can."

"That's good. It seems like Emery has been making sure you're eating plenty."

"She has indeed. I don't suppose that you'd have anything to do with it?"

Leah shook her head. "Only that night after the bear attack. She's quite perceptive, so I think she just picked up on a few things and took it upon herself to keep at it."

"I see."

"Cullen, about the other night..."

Cullen sighed. "Why don't we find somewhere private to talk?"

Leah nodded and followed him to a nearby outcropping of rocks covered with moss.

"I apologize for reacting the way I did, it was undeserved," Cullen started. "I did not hear you come up behind me and acted on instinct."

"I know and I'm sorry for startling you," Leah answered. "And I know you said it was nothing, but I still wanted to ask if you would like to talk about what's been bothering you."

Cullen watched her face for a moment before answering. Emery's words came to mind and he sighed. "Seeing the bear infected with red lyrium, seeing how twisted it had become, it reminded me of Meredith. A lot of unpleasant memories from those final days in Kirkwall resurfaced."

Leah's heart sank. She had had a feeling that's what it was, but hearing him actually admit it made it that much more impactful. "I'm sorry..."

"It's not your fault, Leah. I don't usually talk about what happened, so you'd never have known."

"Still, though, you've been suffering and I've been failing as a healer..."

Cullen stepped closer to her. "Leah, you're not failing. You gave me space when I needed it. You continue to make that potion of Adan's for me, tweaking the recipe as needed. You've already done more than I could have asked for and I am grateful for that."

Leah smiled at that. "Thanks for the reassurance, Cullen."

"Of course," Cullen replied with a chuckle. "Have you been worrying all this time for my sake?"

"Not just because it's my job, though," Leah replied, nodding. "We're friends, aren't we?"

Cullen nodded. "We are." His brow furrowed a bit. "Leah, I am sorry for acting impulsively that night. I shouldn't have kissed you."

Leah reached forward and grabbed his hand. "It's OK, Cullen. I know that it was just an in-the-moment sort of thing. No harm done."

Cullen gave her hand a squeeze, Emery's comment from the other night popping into mind and causing him to blush and clear his throat. Before anything more could be said, though, one of the soldiers approached them from camp.

"Commander? Word for you."

"I'll be right there." Cullen looked back to Leah. "Was there anything more you wished to discuss?"

Leah shook her head. "I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright, that's all." She gestured for him to go and smiled. "I'll return in a moment, I'd like to stay a little bit longer."

"Just don't wander off?"

Leah nodded and shooed him off. "I'll be fine, now go."

Cullen sighed and took his leave, but he would soon learn that this was a mistake.

Emery was working with Wilson and Sidney to clean things up after the drinking game, but one of the soldiers sounded the alarm and called out, "Venatori!" Emery grabbed one of the nearby knives and stepped closer to the lads.

The camp was thrown into chaos as various Venatori agents launched an ambush. The soldiers were quick to act, the mages jumped to defend the civilian members of the company, and the clanging of metal against metal and the occasional scream echoed through the forest. The stench of blood was heavy as the bodies fell in lifeless heaps. Overhead, thunder began to sound and lightning streaked across the blackened skies, revealing more than a dozen Venatori agents.

A Venatori agent made their way towards the cooks' tent where Emery and the lads were holed up and lunged at them. Wilson put himself between Emery and the Venatori agent, doing his best to protect her.

"Sid, get Emmie out of here!"

"I'm not leaving you!"

"Go!"

Sidney gritted his teeth and grabbed Emery's hand, pulling her away from the battle. He grabbed a discarded sword and tried to find a safe place for Emery to hide. As he searched, though, Emery noticed something nearby and told him to stop.

"Wait, Sid, there's someone over there. It looks like one of ours."

Sidney followed her gaze and spotted the person she had seen. They made their way over to see if the person needed help or if they were even alive, but when they saw who it was, both of their hearts sank.

"Leah..."

Laying before them, covered in blood and muck, was the broken body of Leah. She looked as though she had fallen from a high height, gashes all over her body. Sidney looked above them and saw that they were beneath the outcropping of rocks that sat just outside of their camp.

"The Venatori must have found her first..." Sidney kneeled down next to her and noticed that her neck was broken. "Andraste guide you, lass." He said, closing her eyes.

A rustle sounded from behind them and Sidney immediately stood, pushing Emery behind him. Two Venatori agents emerged from the brush, slowly advancing on them.

"Stay behind me, Emmie."

Emery nodded, her grip on the knife she grabbed earlier tightening.

The Venatori agents sprang into action and attacked Sidney, who used his training from years before to defend himself and Emery. He parried their attacks, got in a few swings himself, and managed to kick one of them in the stomach, but his fighting skills were rusty. Before long, though, Inquisition soldiers came to their aid, and the Venatori agents were outnumbered and overwhelmed. Sidney lowered his sword, blood dripping down his arm from where he had been cut.

"You alright?"

Sidney nodded and looked back at Emery, relieved that she was unharmed. "We're both fine now, but Leah..."

The Inquisition soldiers followed his gaze to where Emery stood next to Leah's body and they knew. "Shit..."

"Is it safe to get back to camp?"

The soldiers nodded. "The camp has been cleared of enemies, it's safe to return to."

Sidney looked to Emery and offered his free hand. "Come on, Emmie. Let's get back to camp and let them take care of Leah."

Emery nodded, her chest tight. "Someone has to tell the Commander..."

One of the soldiers sighed. "We'll let him know."

Sidney led Emery back towards camp once she took his hand and saw that things were in shambles. They hadn't lost too many of their own men, but all of the Venatori who had attacked the camp were slain in the battle and their bodies unceremoniously discarded in a heap atop a makeshift pyre. Emery looked around for Wilson and Vernon but didn't see them anywhere. It wasn't until Sidney's grip tightened around her hand that she knew something was wrong. She looked at the dead Inquisition agents and saw Vernon standing in front of Wilson's body, a grim and somber look on his face. Sidney and Emery joined Vernon, standing quietly with him.

"He was protecting us..." Emery said after a few moments. She reached up and rubbed Vernon's back.

"I should have been there..."

"I should have stayed," Sidney said, sighing. "Dammit..."

A loud crashing came from behind them and Emery could see Cullen storming off, kicking or throwing anything that got in his way.

"They must have told him about Leah..."

In his tent, Cullen threw over a table and knocked over a chair in his rage. He sank onto his bed, head in his hands.

He had just received the report on those lost during the attack and amongst the names was Leah's. From what the healers could tell, Leah had been attacked from behind and was either pushed or fell over the edge of the outcropping. They said the blade had pierced her heart, that she would have been dead within seconds. The rest of the gashes and her broken neck were a result of the fall.

The Venatori attack had come just moments after leaving Leah at the outcropping and Cullen had barely made it back into camp before the ambush. Everything was in chaos and by the time he could break free from the enemy long enough to go back for Leah, she was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't able to search, however, as more enemies attacked. As soon as they were able to, however, he sent some of the soldiers out to find the people from their company who were missing- including Leah.

"I shouldn't have left her... Damn it all..!"