Running… running… running so far away… Panting… heart racing… head pounding… sweat slipping down her cheeks… Crashing… something was chasing her through the woods… Darkness… more crashing… A cliff… nowhere else to run… glowing blood-red eyes surrounding her… Looking down… more darkness… no escape… Deep breath… leap of faith… Maker preserve me… Maker protect me… Darkness swallowing her… Cold… nothingness… Sudden fear… heart about to explode… She can't wake up… she can't breathe… Clawing for air… Can't reach anything… Falling into the abyss… Cullen, save me… Cullen… Cullen… Cullen!

"Cullen!"

The young maiden sat up in a cold sweat, her eyes wide with fear as she gasped for air, cringing up against the wall behind her bed. She looked around and realized she was still in her room, still in Skyhold. She began to relax a bit and was glad that she was back in the physical realm and not in the Fade of her dreams. She was glad, too, that she had woken up and her experience in the Fade did not cause her to forget who she was: Nadia Cousland, a young woman from the Cousland family of Highever, from Fereldan, who had gone with Matthew, a young man from the Trevelyan family, to the Conclave- as a mage supporter- and ended up getting caught up in the destruction of the Conclave and the death of Divine Justinia.

During the chaos, Nadia and Matthew had become separated and she had managed to escape with Chancellor Roderick. She was relieved to find him well and alive, but now he needed to prove his innocence. Many believed after what they had seen at the Conclave's destruction and after the Breach was sealed the first time that Matthew was chosen by Andraste to be her Herald and bring the world from chaos, to defeat Corypheus- the Elder One who claimed to be an ancient Tevinter magister who had seen the Black City- and close the Breach with the aid of the Inquisition. Nadia stood by him as he built up the Inquisition, closed the Breach, and led the people to Skyhold. They named him the Inquisitor, looking to him for guidance, advice, courage, and hope. He was their Herald, their Inquisitor. He led the charge with Cullen Stanton Rutherford, the Commander of the Inquisition, and many of those who pledged themselves to the Inquisition. Nadia fought next to Matthew and Cullen, casting spells and healing the wounded. They managed to defeat Corypheus, destroying everything that he had ever tried to accomplish. Matthew Trevelyan had led the Inquisition to their greatest victory yet.

Now, almost three years later, Matthew continued his work as Inquisitor, aiding the people of Orlais and Fereldan, giving them aid, acting as a judge when asked, sending his troops to rebuild where Corypheus destroyed villages, cities, restoring ruins, and other things of the like. He was content with that; it gave him a different purpose, one that let him help people. Eventually, Leliana had been chosen as the next Divine and Cassandra remained the Right Hand of the Divine. Cassandra had also married Matthew and bore him two sons and a daughter. It seemed like even in troubled times, love could be found.

Nadia slowly got out of bed, her head still pounding. She went to her dresser and changed into a royal blue dress and her favorite pair of weathered, leather boots that were so old they could have been older than Tom Reinier. Nadia brushed out her hair, and when she was satisfied with her appearance, she left her room to go walk about the keep.

She felt like going to the infirmary and checking on a few patients. As she walked out and into the courtyard, Nadia noticed that a light was on above her on the battlements and she realized it was in Cullen's room.

'What is the Commander doing up so early?' she wondered and went to check on the patients.

Many of them had been injured in missions to recover requisitions to repair Skyhold and others still suffered from the battle four years ago against Corypheus. Many of those had suffered severe head trauma and post-traumatic stress. She had always managed to ease their minds with a simple spell that allowed her to calm them without hurting them, or them hurting themselves.

She said hello to the patients, changed the dressings on the wounds, used a spell to ease the minds of those reliving the events from four years ago, and when she was finished, she noticed that the sunrise was nearly upon the Keep. She bid the patients good day and hurried up onto the battlements to see what Cullen was up to.

At his desk, Cullen stretched in his chair and yawned. He had been working on the paperwork the Inquisitor gave him all night and it actually relieved him to stand and answer the door when a knock came.

"Nadia, good morning!" He said, surprised to see her standing there.

"Morning, Commander." She replied with a smile.

"You're up early," Cullen commented and ushered her inside.

"I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk, checked on my patients, and saw your light was on," Nadia said, standing in the middle of the office as Cullen closed the door. "I thought I'd come to say hello and see how you were doing."

Cullen looked at her and smiled. "I'm doing alright. It has been a while since we last spoke."

Nadia smiled and noticed the large pile of papers on the Commander's desk. "Matthew gave you more paperwork?"

Cullen nodded and rubbed his neck. "Yes, the Inquisitor asked me to fill out requisition forms and go over several reports. I've been at it all night and I'm nowhere near finishing."

Nadia watched as Cullen took a seat at his desk. "If you'd like, perhaps I can help you finish your paperwork."

Cullen looked up at her. "What of your patients?"

"I've already redressed wounds and left instructions for my assistants. I have plenty of extra time to spend with you- to help you with paperwork," she replied, blushing.

Cullen smiled. "Well, if you wish, I'd appreciate the assistance."

Nadia smiled back at him. "Where would you like me to start, Commander?"

Cullen handed her the rest of the requisition forms. "Here, go through the rest of these and make sure the requests are in order and the proper locations are assigned. I'll finish up with the scouting reports."

Nadia nodded and took the stack of papers from him, then started to read through the requisition forms. She matched the materials and locations for each request, and then she noticed that there were a lot of requests for weapon and armor upgrades, ships, tents, and many other things that the Inquisition needed. She made sure that each form was filled out correctly, then set the form in the completed pile and moved on to the next one.

As she went through the forms, Cullen watched Nadia as she sat there on the couch with her legs crossed and he smiled. She always worked hard to help out and to ensure that everything went smoothly. He read through his reports but hadn't gotten halfway through the rest of them before Nadia had finished with the requisition forms.

"Commander, I'm done with these," she said, standing and setting the forms aside.

"You made quick work of those," Cullen noted, looking up at her.

She smiled. "Would you like me to look through half of those reports?"

Cullen sighed. "Here, take these. Perhaps then we can finally finish with this paperwork."

Nadia took the papers and paced back and forth across the room as she read through the reports. She noticed that many of them were simple scouting reports from local outposts and some were reports from allies. As she read through the reports, she looked up at Cullen to ask a question, but she found him rubbing his neck and wincing.

"Does your neck hurt, Commander?" she asked, setting the papers aside.

Cullen nodded and felt his neck tighten. "Yes, being hunched over these papers for hours seems to have given me a stiff neck."

Nadia came to stand behind Cullen and started to massage his neck and shoulders. "You shouldn't work so hard all the time, Commander, it's not good for you."

Cullen flinched for a second. "What are you-"

"Relax, Commander. I'm the resident healer, remember?" she said, then started to pour a little of her healing magik into her fingertips.

Cullen felt his muscles relaxing and he leaned back and sighed. "That feels amazing..."

Nadia smiled and looked down at him. "You feeling better?"

He nodded and smiled. "Yes, thank you."

Nadia returned his smile. "You're most welcome, Cullen."

"Oh, my..." someone said from the side of the room. "What do we have here?"

Nadia stepped back and bowed toward where Dorian and Matthew stood, smirking as they leaned against the doorway with their arms crossed.

"Good morning, Matthew," she said.

Cullen stood, offering him a bow as well. "Inquisitor, we did not hear you come in."

"They were too busy making doe eyes at each other," Dorian said, teasing them.

Nadia and Cullen looked at each other, each noticing a blush creep upon their faces. Matthew laughed and came over, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

"Relax, Commander. We're only teasing. Besides, it's time you did something about this sexual tension between you." The Inquisitor said, laughing.

Nadia glared at him. "Matthew Trevelyan!"

Matthew threw his hands up in defeat, knowing it was no use arguing or pushing things further. "Alright, alright. I'm serious though, you two would be good together."

Dorian chuckled. "Nadia, sweetheart, I need your help with something in the library. Can I steal you away for a while before you start flirting again?"

Nadia's blush seemed to get deeper and deeper and Dorian laughed, fearing her head would explode with embarrassment.

"And Cullen, I need you to look over a few more requisition requests and approve them. After that, I promise there won't be any more paperwork for a while." Matthew said.

Cullen nodded. "Of course, Inquisitor."

Nadia sighed. "Matthew, you really should take it easy on him with the paperwork." She said, joining Dorian by the door. She looked at Cullen and smiled. "I'll see you later, Commander."

Cullen smiled as she followed Dorian out of the office and Matthew chuckled.

"You two really would make a cute couple, Cullen," Matthew said, looking at him. "Have you told her how you feel yet?"

Cullen blushed and shook his head, sighing. "No, I haven't had the time to lately."

"I suppose I'm at fault for that," Matthew said, rubbing his neck. "Tell you what, Cullen. Finish that last bit of paperwork, then you can take some time off. I'll put Cassandra in charge of our forces while you are away. You've long since earned it."

Cullen looked at the Inquisitor and nodded. "Thank you."

Matthew smiled. "Of course. I'll see you later, Commander. Just have your assistant bring the paperwork to me."

Cullen nodded and quickly got back to work. It didn't take him long- just another hour or two- and as he finished, he had a thought. He looked up as one of his assistants came into the office. He asked that the paperwork be brought to the Inquisitor and asked that Nadia meet him by the stables. The assistant nodded and set about following the orders and Cullen went up to his room and packed a few bags.