"Inquisitor? Are you paying attention?"

"Hm?" I quickly snapped out of my thoughts as Leliana's voice pierced through the War Room. I looked around, flustered to find all of my advisors carefully watching me. Leliana had one eyebrow raised and a cheeky smile playing on her lips, Josephine was fiercely trying not to giggle, and Cullen was doing his best not to blush.

This was my life now. I was no longer just a scout for clan Lavellan: I was the Inquisitor, the Herald of Andraste, or at least people said I was. I still was not sold on being Andraste's chosen, but if it gave people hope to call me that, well, I would live.

Leliana cleared her throat and called me back to the present moment. "If everyone's attention is actually on the map this time and not on other things, I would like to send scouts out to the Hinterlands to gather elfroot: our healers are starting to run low on supplies."

"Wouldn't it be better to have them search for iron there? With the flood of new recruits we've had we really need more arms and armor and I can't even begin to train them without proper equipment." Cullen interjected.

Both of them were now staring at me, waiting for my approval to move forwards. I hated making these decisions, I hated leading people, if I could have just been a scout for the Inquisition I would have been happy, but alas, the glowing was making that impossible.

"Well, I um… think that…" I trailed off, unsure what to chose.

"Actually Inquisitor, we are about to redo the garden. Perhaps we can make room to plant herbs there? We can grow our own elfroot here and then have the scouts search for iron in the Hinterlands" chimed in Josephine, probably sensing my discomfort.

"Then it's settled, we'll send the scouts to go find more iron then"

"Thank you, Inquisitor" Cullen smiled.

"I believe that was the last matter for the day. In any case I have much paperwork to attend to if you'll excuse me" Josephine gathered her documents and swiftly left the room.

"Very well, I need to send a raven out to Crestwood; I've heard some disturbing reports from the scouts there and need to check the situation." Leliana said as she left the War Room, leaving me and Cullen alone.

I watched as Cullen put away some of the markers that were no longer needed and move the others to match the decisions made today and the troop movements. He seemed so in his element here at the War Table, commanding the ever growing army of the Inquisition. I felt a slight smile creep onto my face as I watched the Commander.

Cullen looked up and noticed me watching him, we both looked away quickly and I felt myself start to blush again. I did not want to admit it, but I found that I probably spent too much time with him on my mind, and not just as my Commander. He was a good man, even for a human. He cared about his troops, regardless of their race, and he was always careful to not offend any of them. He made it a point to learn about their cultures and that was very respectable of him.

Over the weeks I found I enjoyed learning about him, seeing what he was really about. I learned that he was not only a commander who spent his time in the War Room, but also on the field directly working with his troops, he enjoyed chess and reading, and he was fiercely devoted to his cause. It would be a lie to say I was not attracted to him, which was somewhat amusing to me, being that I had always found humans to be a bit funny looking. Whatever the reason though, he had piqued my curiosity.

"You know" he somewhat stammered 'you're welcome to visit me anytime if you'd like to talk, or anything else."

I smiled, the last time Cullen suggested spending time together it had ended with quite the kiss. It was gentle, passionate, but not lustful or hungry. He had caught me off guard. After the scout had interrupted us I thought he would leave to check the report, I tried to let him know that it was okay if he needed to leave but before I could finish he pulled me against him and began to kiss me. It started off gentle and innocent, and slowly became more passionate. I was surprised at first, the way he grabbed me without hesitation, the way kissed me without any reservations. I stood there for a moment, just allowing everything to register before I wrapped my arms around him and began to kiss him back. He blushed and awkwardly apologized for being so forward, but I had enjoyed it. I never saw myself being with a human, but so far things seemed to be alright.

Since then quiet moments were filled with little kisses. A peck on the cheek when no was else was looking, a long hug when no one else was in the hall, sweet words when no one else could hear, ducking into alcoves to get a moment alone. We never talked about why we were keeping things quiet, but it seemed somewhat, well, inappropriate for the Inquisitor to have such relations with her commander.

I smiled at his invitation to visit him and made a mental note to do so, but for now there was work to still be done. The new quartermaster wanted my approval on some renovations for Skyhold, there were several prisoners awaiting their trials, and I was told that Morrigan had reached Skyhold and wished to speak with me; it seemed that visiting Cullen would have to wait for now.

The quartermaster proved to be tedious, obsessing over details more than any person honestly should. The trials seemed to drag on forever, there was the Avaar chief who had be caught assaulting Skyhold with a goat, and the Grand Duchess, or what remained of her anyways. Both proved to be a complete waste of time. As for Morrigan, well, after talking to her I felt like I had even more questions than before and no answers to the questions that I asked.

Why did everything have to be so complicated? I missed just being a scout for my clan; that was simple. As a scout it was my job to patrol in front of the clan as we travel, making sure we were taking the best route and eliminating any threats to the clan, animal or other. Being the Inquisitor was much too involved for my liking.

The sun was starting to set by the time I finished with everything and I wondered if it was getting too late to visit Cullen today. I could just wait for tomorrow, he would still be here after all. I weighed my options and decided that visiting today would be better, it was a bit late for the officers to be delivering reports after all.

I made my way out of the garden and into the main hall of Skyhold, debating the quickest way to make it to Cullen's office, my heart beating a little quicker every step. I crossed the hall and headed for the door leading to Solas's study, and by extension to the ramparts, hoping Solas wouldn't want to stop and talk. I stepped out onto the ramparts, cool brisk air flooding into my lungs as I felt a smile start to break across my lips. I reached to end of the ramparts and the door to Cullen's office, practically trembling in anticipation at the thought of just being able to spend some time with him. I took a deep breath and smirked at myself, what would my old self think if she saw me getting all worked up over a human? Finally, I entered Cullen's office.

He was not there. His desk sat littered with books, and documents, and half finished letters, but there was no sign of the commander. I exhaled the breath I did not realized that I was holding in disappointment. Maybe I was expecting too much. Maybe I was reading into things too much, I mean really, a Dalish elf and a human? That was just ridiculous. I started to leave, opening the door and allowing an icy blast of wind to rush into the small room, sending papers scattering across the floor.

"Is somewhere there? Give me a moment, I'll be right down" came Cullen's voice from the loft above the office. He must have already started to settle in for the night. He really was a ridiculous man. There were so many nice free rooms in Skyhold and yet he opted to sleep in a loft above his office that did not even have a proper roof.

"It's alright, I can come back later if it isn't a good time" I called back.

"Talathiel?" he paused. "No, it's fine, it's not a bad time. Just give me a moment, or actually, you can come up if you would like."

Was that really appropriate? For me to be visiting my commander's room like that? Probably not, but neither was kissing on the battlements where anyone could have seen.

I started to climb up the ladder in the corner of the room, it was slow progress up the tall ladder. I reached the top and hauled myself up and over into his room, but he was still nowhere to be seen. I turned around and found him staring out the window, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.

"A bit casually dressed, aren't you?" I jested playfully, trying to mask my surprise. Evidently Cullen had been getting ready to settle down for the night and was already mostly undressed, just the pants he wore under his faulds and grieves were left on.

I could not help but stare, humans were built so differently from elves. Cullen's shoulders were much broader, and he had much more muscle than any elf did. His chest was much broader too, and everything about him just seemed so much more intense.

"I'm sorry" he apologized, "it's just after being in armor all day you're just really eager to take it off first chance you get" he was blushing slightly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

He was covered in scars, his back, his arms, his chest all had numerous ones of varying size, but only one on his face: a thin, but deep one running from the right side of him upper lip to the edge of his nose. I had wondered what that scar was from, but there were other matters that needed my attention right now.

"You know Skyhold is safe, there's no reason to have to wear it all day."

"I know, but it seems to get people's attention"

"Maybe because they think you're trying to grow wings and fly away. How many birds did it take to make that cloak anyways? Wait, I don't think I want to know" I teased. Cullen was blushing less now.

We stood in a comfortable silence more a few minutes and just looked out the window, watching life in Skyhold unfold. Soldiers went to-and-fro trying up last minute errands, merchants packed up their stands for the evening, and everyone else was making a quick bid for the warmth of inside the fortress against the cold nights up here in the Frostbacks.

I glanced over at Cullen, he was smiling now and was standing comfortably with his arms folded across his chest.

"Not getting cold, are you?" I asked playfully. "You don't even have a proper roof. Whatever would the good people of Thedas think if they saw the commander of the Inquisition living like this?"

"Outrage and scandal!" Cullen declared, doing his best to mimic an Orlesian accent.

We both erupted into fits of laughter over his ridiculous attempt at the accent. This is what I liked about him, just being able to talk to someone and have a normal conversation about unimportant things. Talking to someone who was not constantly calling me your worship or some other ridiculous title and who remembered I was an actual person too.

"And to answer your question: not at all, I'm used to the cold and have actually grown to like it somewhat" he replied. "And what about you? Surely you have to be cold, there's almost nothing to you" he said as he smiled and poked my ribs.

"I'll have you know as a Dalish elf I'm more than suited to deal with the elements" I said trying to use the most snobbish voice I could manage, but I could not help it and ended up laughing as soon as I finished speaking.

Cullen sorted. "I can't even tell if you're joking sometimes" he looked over at me and evidently saw my scowl "Kidding! I know you not like that. But are you seriously not cold?"

"Honestly I'm fine, I'm used to being outside"

"Well, could you pretend that you are, that way I actually have a reason for doing this?"

"Hm?-"

Cullen reached over and pulled me up against his chest before I had time to ask what he was talking about. Creators he was warm. I let him hold me there against him and slowly began to relax after my initial surprise. I let my head rest against his chest and pressed my cheek against him. I could hear his heartbeat, it was strong and a bit quick.

"You are cold, your face feels like ice"

I laughed a bit, of coursed I'd feel cool to him, I'm an elf. "I guess you're getting a lesson on elves today: my heart beats slower than yours, I take less breaths than you, my body temperature is lower than yours, that's just the way elves are." I snuggled my face into my clueless commander's chest even more and wrapped my arms around him. "If it's any consolation you feel like you have a fever to me"

Cullen leaned down a bit to rest his head on top of mine, the height gap making it a bit difficult. It was a strange thing, being so close to a human, and I still was not completely sure how I felt about it, but so far at least Cullen was different from all the stories I had heard about humans. He just seemed so genuine about everything, he meant everything he said, and he was honest about who he was and was willing to admit to his past, his mistakes and his flaws. I had grown fond of him, much more than I would care to honestly admit.

He kissed the top of my head softly, lingering for a bit and allowing his lips to brush against my hair. He placed his hand under my chin and tilted my face up towards his to kiss my cheek, his stubble tickling me. He pulled back for a moment, stopping to meet my gaze and smile.

"Please don't think less of me for being so forward" he took a step towards me, pushing me against the window, his hands running down my sides, resting one on the small of my back to press me against him harder, the other rested on my waist. He placed his lips on mine, kissing me with a lot more force than the previous time, it was a kiss full of desire and longing.

He ran his hands under my shirt, pressing one hand against my bare back and the other back on my waist. His hands were so warm, and calloused from years of fighting and training, but they were not unpleasant on my skin. He pressed me against the window harder, trying to remove all possible space between us.

I felt him run his tongue along my lips, seeking an entrance until I conceded and allowed him to part my lips. He swirled his tongue around mine and explored every space of my mouth. His hand slowly moved from my waist up to my breast, cupping it gently and rolling my nipple between his fingers tips. He pressed his hips against me, I could feel a bulge between his legs, and rolled his hips rhythmically against mine, grunting softly into my mouth as he did.

I pressed my tongue against his, fighting for dominance until he conceded. I gently ran my tongue across his lips, playfully darting in and out of his mouth and occasionally stopping to nip at his lips. I started to kiss along his cheek and down to his jaw line, his stubble ticking my lips, until I reached his neck. I softly kissed his neck and swirled my tongue across his skin. He let out a contented sigh. I gently started to nip at his neck, causing him to jerk from the unexpectedness of it. I started softly, just allowing my teeth to graze his skin and only using a little pressure, I was not sure if this was something humans did. After the initial shock he seemed to enjoy it and I began to nip a bit harder, switching between licking, biting, and suckling on his neck.

He pressed his hips against me harder and let out a contented groan. "Harder" he moaned and I was happy to oblige. I bit down on his neck with more force and felt his entire body tense up. I switched to suckling again, this time using enough force to cause his skin to bruise. I continued biting and suckling until I tasted blood in my mouth, I drew back to admire my work and wiped the blood from my lips. On his neck was a near black bruise and a few flecks of blood.

Cullen reached up and traced his fingers along the bruise. "Am I bleeding?"

I smiled triumphantly.

"You… you really don't waste any time, do you?" he asked. "What was that?"

"Just a little bite, and I'm not apologizing for being forward".

"That's alright, I think I rather liked that. I think I like forwardness" he had such a smile plastered across his face and there was a light in his eyes. He leaned down and kissed my lips, it was soft and he lingered for a moment. "I don't know how I got this lucky, but Maker knows I haven't done anything to deserve it".

There was a lot that he had not told me. For as much as I've learned about him, there were still things he kept to himself, things that caused him pain and things he was not proud of doing, but he was a good man and I could tell he was trying to change. He was trying to do the best he could, he was trying to make up for whatever deeds weighed on his heart.

Cullen wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged me tightly and rested his head on top of mine, his breath tickled me.