Cullen rushed to Delani's side, easing her off of her knees and into his lap so that she was not pressing any weight onto her bandaged ankle. With his back pressed against the side of the bed, he cradled her in his arms and held her to his chest as she cried. This was not how he had planned on confessing his feelings for her. Cullen had planned something romantic, there were supposed to be candles, and soft caresses, he was supposed to look deeply into her bottomless green eyes. He was not supposed to shout his feelings out of anger and impatience, and she was most definitely not supposed to react like this.

Maker's breath, they were a mess. He rubbed her back as she cried, trying to wrap his mind around what she'd asked him following his confession. Why? she'd hiccuped, tears brimming in her eyes, and something resembling self-loathing in her expression. How could you?

What a ridiculous pair of questions. How could Cullen not love her? The very thought was impossible, incomprehensible. Pressing a kiss to Delani's brow, he breathed her in and held her tight before quietly asking, "Why is me loving you so hard to believe?"

She had not quite recovered from her tears, her face buried in the crook of his neck as she tried to regain control of her breathing. After a few minutes her breathing calmed from a hyperventilation to rough, ragged breaths and her voice shook when she answered, "Because I don't deserve you."

Cullen's hand froze on her back. What did she just say? "Why would you even say such a thing, Delani?" he gently demanded, needing clarification as to why such an outrageous thought had even taken shape in her mind.

Was that why she had been acting so cold towards him, why she had been barely able to hold his gaze? Because she thought that she was unworthy of him? Cullen shook his head. Where would she even get such a notion?

Sea green eyes peered up at him, swollen and watery as her chin trembled with a fresh wave of emotion. "Look at me, Cullen," she gestured over herself bringing his attention to all of her injuries and her current state of emotional distress. "I'm weak. I let those bastards capture me and I couldn't stop them from hurting me." Burying her face in her hands her sobs started anew.

Hysterically she cried, "I couldn't do anything to stop them."

Suddenly Cullen remembered Delani's confession to him those many weeks ago in the the garden. It had been just after their victory at Adamant Fortress. She had confessed to him what her greatest fear was: helplessness and inability. Ayden McGregor had taken Delani and placed her in a position where her greatest fears were realized. Grinding his teeth, Cullen regretted allowing McGregor to breathe a moment longer. He wanted the Maker forsaken bastard dead.

He said nothing for a little while, just held her as she cried. Her tears trailed down his neck and soaked through his cloak, and Cullen's heart broke for Delani. She should not have experienced the pain she had gone through, and she should most definitely not have been blaming herself for it. It wasn't her fault. He didn't understand how she could possibly think that it was.

Cullen knew that they needed to talk through this, lest she compartmentalize this as she had her father's death. He knew Delani, knew that she did not like to work through emotions that hurt too much. But he also knew that ignoring this pain would only hurt her more down the line. He'd witnessed for himself how a decade of unaddressed feelings of guilt had affected her. Cullen would not allow her to put herself through that again.

"You were ambushed, Delani," he reasoned, his tone firm yet gentle as he continued to hold her tightly against him, offering her his strength. "That was hardly your fault."

She shook her head, her face still hidden behind her delicate fingers. "I should have retreated when I saw that we were out numbered. I should have told the others to run, but I didn't. We stayed to fight and they nearly died because of it." Her shoulders shook violently as a new bout of tears wracked through her. "I did die."

He held her tighter with her last three words. Cullen remembered Cole's narration of Delani's final moments. He remembered with perfect clarity how it had destroyed him to be without her. For those few moments his entire life had lost its meaning, his sense of purpose had disappeared, and Cullen had been left in ruins. He should have guessed that surviving her own death was not exactly easy for Delani to deal with.

Clenching his jaw, Cullen reiterated his earlier argument, "It was an ambush. You couldn't have been prepared—"

Ripping her face from her hands she pinned him with a furious glare, her anger was toward herself no matter how pointedly she stabbed her gaze into him. "I'm the Inquisitor, Cullen. That is my job, to be prepared, to make quick decisions and get my people out of every fight alive." Grinding her teeth, her gaze moved from his face to the open balcony doors. "My mistake could have cost me my team, our friends."

"Our friends survived," he reminded her watching her jaw work as she chewed on his words. "Our friends are battle hardened veterans. They are seasoned warriors and know when to retreat from a battle. If you insist on calling it a mistake, then at least realize that it was not yours alone."

"I'm—"

"Strong, capable, relentless, powerful," he supplied for her, knowing that she would have chosen a different set of descriptions. Tucking his finger under her chin, Cullen pulled her gaze back onto him and locked her sea green eyes with his. "You were held captive, bound and outnumbered, and you killed more than a dozen of your captors. Delani, you were far from helpless, you have to see that."

Tears started to well in her eyes again as she stared up at Cullen. She was searching his face as though the answer to all of life's questions lay hidden in his amber eyes. "But they hurt me, Cullen, and I couldn't do anything to stop them."

His heart shattered at the sound of the hopelessness in her voice. Delani had been forced to live her greatest fears, and was too consumed by her imagined shortcomings to see that she had survived because of her own strength and perseverance.

"The men who hurt you have paid for their crimes, ma atishan," he pressed his lips to her hairline and assured her, "I promise you." The only man that was left to deal with was Ayden McGregor, and Delani herself would be able to decide what would happen to the mage.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Delani pulled herself more tightly against him, and breathed out a shaky exhale. "But there will be others. There will always be others."

That was the truth, and also what Cullen dreaded most. Each time Delani and their friends left the safety of Skyhold he feared that she would not return to him, and that had almost been the case. He'd nearly lost Delani, if it wasn't for her stubbornness and refusal to die Cullen would have been forced to taste what life would be like without her. But she hadn't died. Delani had fought, she had survived, she had endured, and he was more amazed by her now than he had ever been.

"And you will fight them, just like you always do," he countered, refusing to hear or think otherwise. Delani was not helpless, she didn't even know the meaning of the word. "They didn't defeat you, Delani. They might have made it more difficult for you to fight back, but you never stopped fighting."

Her breath caressed the skin of his neck when she whispered, "If you hadn't come for me…"

That was something that she would never have to worry about. Cullen had been lost without her, he'd have lost his mind if he'd stayed in Skyhold awaiting others to bring back the woman he loved. Tenderly combing his fingers through her auburn hair, he soothed her concern with the assurance, "I did come for you. I will always come for you."

Delani pulled away from him a bit so that she could more easily look into his eyes. Searching his face with desperation, she implored, "Because you love me?"

His insides turned with the sadness in her voice. Did she still believe herself to be unworthy of his love, undeserving of his affection? How could he prove to her otherwise? He looked into her eyes, holding her gaze as his brows knitted together with bewilderment. "How could I not, Delani?" asked Cullen, unable to see from where she had derived that logic.

When her lips twisted with doubt, he reminded her, "You are incredible." Cullen knew that he could say the words until he was blue in the face, whether or not she chose to accept them was her decision. But that wouldn't stop him from reminding her everyday, until the day he died, just how much he adored every single part of who she was.

Cupping her cheek in his hand, he continued, "You are strong, resilient, kind, compassionate, and stubborn as a mule," a very small smile hinted at the edges of her mouth, and Cullen was glad to see it. When a lone tear fell from her lashes, Cullen caught it with his thumb and brushed her cheek dry. He stared deep into her eyes as he said, "It is in your very nature to fight. You fight for the ones you love, you fight for what you believe, and you fight with a passion that takes my breath away. You have never been helpless, Delani. Even in the most dire situations you fight, and you survive, and deep down you know it to be true."

She clenched her jaw and her brows furrowed as she searched for the truth of his words. Sea green eyes moved from his face to look at the empty space over his shoulder before her gaze fell to his chest. A defeated sigh spilled from her nose before she quietly confessed, "I was so scared, Cullen."

Hugging her to his chest, Cullen breathed her in, before whispering, "So was I." He rubbed her arm as he held her, feeling her warmth through her tunic, and comforting himself with the feel of her presence, her safely in his arms. When he pressed his forehead to hers it was with the words, "The thought of losing you destroyed me."

Delani moved in his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck so that she could press herself more tightly against him. Gooseflesh rose on the back of his neck at the feel of her exhales caressing his skin. Holding her, feeling her, being able to breathe in her scent was such an unimaginable comfort after what they had been through. Never again did Cullen want to release her from his arms. Never again did he want to let her out of his sight. Though he knew, some day soon, as soon as she was well enough, Delani would be leaving Skyhold's safety yet again.

When Delani spoke it was she who comforted him. "You didn't lose me," she said, reassuring him with a gentle kiss on the curve of his neck. "You found me, you brought me home."

His only reply was to wind his arms more tightly around her, squeezing her to his chest as he felt himself wade through the fear of losing her coupled with the relief of having her back in his arms. Cullen was glad to feel her warmth again, that she was no longer deflecting him with silence out of some ridiculous notion that she was undeserving of him. If anything, he was the undeserving one, and yet that wasn't going to stop Cullen from trying every day for the rest of his life to be a man worthy of her love.

It had not gone beyond his notice that she had not returned the words to him. Even though he felt that he understood why she hadn't, not hearing that his feelings were reciprocated made him a touch nervous. Did Delani love him? Had she just not said the words because she was dealing with a menagerie of other emotions at the moment? Or did she not feel the same way about him as he did her?

Deciding it best not to dwell on those thoughts, Cullen loosened his hold on Delani and gently nudged her back some so that he could get a better look at her face. He took in the sight of her with a sigh. The cut on the side of her face was an angry red, the bruises under her eyes were so dark they were nearly blue, and her bronzy skin lacked some of its color. Delani was exhausted, and if she wanted her body to heal properly then she needed to sleep.

He combed her auburn hair back until his hand settled on the nape of her neck. Offering her a worried twist of his lips, he wondered, "How are you feeling?"

She pursed her lips as she considered his question. Delani held his amber gaze and, hooking her fingers under the collar of his breastplate, she pressed her palm to the metal and sighed heavily before making her confession. "Terrible," she groaned, her jaw tightening as she struggled to not show him the extent of the pain she was feeling. "Everything hurts and it feels like I've been run down by a stampede of angry druffallow."

Cullen's heart twisted with sympathy. He hated hearing that she was in pain, but reminded himself of the tea that would help with the discomfort. Deciding that he was finally going to take proper care of her, no matter how difficult Delani insisted on making it for him, Cullen secured his hold on Delani and stood onto his feet. Not for the first time, he marveled at how light weight she was. How did such a tiny little thing command so much authority, have so much strength and willpower? She was a fierce creature, and he was going to make sure that she was restored to her normal state of ferocity.

She made a surprised sound at being hoisted unexpectedly up from the ground. Cullen carried her over to the side of the bed and set her down on its edge. When he released her, he placed a kiss on the crown of her head before going back to the hearth where he'd left the tea kettle to stay warm by the fire. Preparing a fresh mug of tea, he strode back over to the bed and smiled at the sight of her gorgeous face scrunching up at the bitter smell of it.

"Drink," he insisted, holding the mug out toward her and beseeching her to take it from him. Delani gave him a pleading look but, when she saw that he would not waver, she accepted the cup from his hands and gently blew the rising steam from the lip of the mug. He didn't back away until she swallowed the first sip.

Satisfied that she could finish the beverage without his supervision, Cullen strode over to the love seat and collected the salve that he had left there. As Delani nursed her bitter smelling tea, he crouched down before her and opened the container of green colored paste. Knowing what he intended, Delani turned her face and allowed him easier access to the stitched up gash that traveled the length of her brow to her cheek bone.

Though he tried to be as gentle as possible, Delani still winced when he applied the salve to the cut. Apologizing for hurting her, Cullen continued to carefully dab the green paste onto her cut until his curiosity could no longer be denied. Without looking away from his task, he asked, "Did Ayden do this to you?"

Delani slightly shook her head, her jaw clenching as the movement accidentally pressed his fingers more roughly against her injury than he had intended. Before he could mutter another apology, she answered, "This one I did all by myself."

His eyes sought hers and he was met by her sidelong glance. "You did this?" he breathlessly demanded, confused as to what would make her do such a thing. Flabbergasted, Cullen asked, "Why?"

The exhale that fled through her parted lips was heavy and he could tell that her explanation would hold just as much weight. Cullen braced himself for words he did not actually want to hear, and further reminder that he had not been there to protect the woman he loved from danger. Unaware of how much her explanation would tear him apart inside, Delani recited the origin of the cut.

"One of McGregor's men, his name was Wayne, had repaid me for breaking his nose," she said with such nonchalance, as though the ordeal she had suffered were little more than an inconvenience. Cullen didn't know how to feel about her sudden flippancy on the topic. She had already cried and vented her feelings on the subject, perhaps the next step was to accept the events and move on; which was something that Delani seemed better able to achieve by pretending that the memory of the events didn't hurt her as much as they actually did.

Cullen didn't know what more he could do for her than just listen and offer her his strength. He would be with her through every step of her recovery, both emotional and physical. Delani would never be without his support again.

Speaking over his thoughts, she continued, "By the time that Wayne was done beating me, my right eye had swollen completely shut." His lips twisted with fury. Cullen was glad that this Wayne was dead. But if he could have risen the man from the dead to kill him again, he would have done it in a heartbeat. "While he had been beating me, I managed to steal the knife from his belt and hide it. After the camp had fallen asleep, I cut myself loose. Since I needed use of both of my eyes in order to kill every last one of those sons of bitches, I had to relieve the pressure from around the eye."

He stared at her for a moment, taking her in all over again. She was so strong, the strongest person that Cullen knew. Delani Lavellan did not deal with half measures. She fought with everything she had, and she survived no matter the cost. Screwing the cap back onto the small cylindrical container, Cullen placed the salve on the bed and turned Delani's face so that she would meet his adoring gaze.

Committing her every freckle to memory, Cullen breathlessly whispered, "You are incredible, do you know that?"

The smile that unearthed on her lips was earth shattering and his heart swelled at the sight of it. Finally he had managed to pull free the Delani who had stolen his heart. The laugh was back in her eyes, the radiance back in her skin. Grinning down at Cullen, she said, "Yes, well, it takes one to know one."

Cullen returned her grin with one of his own. He was happy that the rift that had yawned between them was mending itself back together. He cared too much for Delani to be pushed from her side, even by her. Together they would overcome their insecurities, both hers and his. They had each other, even if she hadn't yet said the words back to him.

After a moment her smile was erased by a shrill, baby reptilian sounding yawn and Delani stretched her arms over her head, her joints popping as she twisted them out. Cullen was immediately aware of the dark circles under her eyes again. She needed to rest, and he was going to make sure that she got what she needed.

Picking up the empty mug from the mattress where she'd placed it, Cullen moved the sheets and patted the bed as he ordered her to, "Get under the covers, ma atishan. You need to rest."

Playfully she protested, "But I'm not even sleepy," and laughed when he pinned her with an unimpressed look. Crawling up the bed until she was under the covers, Delani grumbled, "Yes Sir, Commander Cullen, Sir," before wiggling herself deeper into the bed's offered comfort.

Unable to help the chuckle that rumbled out of him, Cullen pulled the blanket up to her chin and tucked her in. He brushed a kiss on her brow and turned to deposit the mug on her desk. Before he could step away from her bedside, Delani's hand shot out and grabbed him by the wrist. When Cullen looked down to meet her gaze, he was confused to find panic in her beautiful sea green eyes.

"Can you stay with me while I sleep?" she whispered, fear easily heard in her soft voice.

His brows furrowed and his chest was filled with displeasure. What was she afraid of? Did bad dreams await her in the Fade, memories of captors who beat her senseless? The thought made him furious at what had been done to her, but his sympathy and love for Delani vastly outweighed his anger. The smile he gave her was reassuring.

"Of course I will," he said, his smile growing when she released his wrist with a nod.

Cullen crossed the room and placed the empty mug on her desk before he started to free himself of his cloak and his armor. Though everyone knew not to disturb him while he was attending to the Inquisitor, Cullen still had responsibilities to attend to. For the chance to spend the afternoon cuddled with Delani in his arms, he would gladly neglect those responsibilities for a few more hours.

Once he had undressed himself until he was in nothing more than his undershirt and breeches, Cullen crawled into Delani's enormous bed beside her. Moving her auburn hair over the pillow, he tucked his arm under her head before pressing her back to his chest and wrapping his arm around her middle. He brushed a tender kiss to her shoulder and she hugged his arm to her chest in reply.

After he had settled into the bed, content to hold Delani until the end of time, he felt her inch herself more closely to him before prompting, "Cullen?"

"Hmm?"

Delani looked over her shoulder at him and the corner of her mouth twisted into a warm grin. "I love you too," she confessed, rolling onto her back some so that he could see the entirety of her face.

Perching himself up on an elbow, Cullen stared down at the beautiful woman before him, gaping at her as his mind ran over the words again and again. Joy and relief thrummed through his veins. Deep down, on a level that he could not begin to explain, he knew that Delani loved him. But there was nothing like hearing the words and having his suspicions confirmed.

He caressed the side of her face before whispering, "Say it again."

Her smile grew and she complied, "I love you, Cullen." Combing her fingers through his hair, she held him by the back of the neck and locked his gaze with hers. "I always have, I always will."

His lips crushed against hers in a flash. Cullen couldn't help himself, he needed to taste her, to physically confirm that she meant those words and that the feelings would never change. She loved him! His heart fluttered in his chest, happiness bright in his veins like glitter dust. He had to remind himself to be gentle with her. She was recovering from injuries. It wouldn't help her any if he started pawing at her like a lustful, love drunk buffoon.

When he tried to pull away Delani locked her arms around his neck and made a noise of protest against his lips. Smiling, Cullen gently loosened her hold on his neck and managed to break free from her trap. A light laugh bubbled out of him and, adoringly, he stared down at the elven woman who held his heart in her delicate hands.

"My lady," he teasingly chastised her. "You need to rest."

Her bottom lip jutted out into a pout before easing back into a foxy grin. "I'm going to need you to tire me out before I can do that, Commander."

Brushing his nose against hers, he implored, "Rest, Delani. There will be plenty of time for that once you've had more time to heal."

Her pout persisted. She rolled back onto her side with a discontented harumph, and pulled the covers up to her chin. "Fine. Deny your broken and battered Inquisitor the one thing she desires most in the world. See if I care."

Cullen couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. She could be utterly ridiculous at times, and his heart filled with such love with the knowledge. Kissing her shoulder again, Cullen settled back in behind her and hugged her against his chest once more. With her scent of wildflowers in his nose, he sighed, "Ma'arlath, ma atishan."

He could hear her smile in her voice when she repeated, "Ma'arlath, vhenan'ara."

No, this was certainly not the way that he had planned to confess his love for her, but Cullen was still glad with the end result. Delani loved him, she needed him, almost as much as he loved and needed her. He could not imagine ever being without her and, until his responsibilities could be ignored no longer, he would enjoy holding her while she slept for as long as he could.

Delani jolted up from her nightmare with a start. A cold sweat covered her brow and soaked through her camisole, sending a shiver to course through her body. Burying her face in her hands, Delani scrubbed the lingering images of the night-terror from her eyes and groaned at the painful scrape of her hand against the cut on her cheek and her tender face muscles.

Once her body stopped trembling from the nightmare's memory, it was for her to realize that the room was also rather chilly. She rubbed her arms and removed the comforter from her legs, reluctantly introducing her gooseflesh covered skin to the cold air of her chambers. Throwing her legs over the side of the bed she tried to get up, only to fall back down when the pressure of her weight on her ankle proved to be too much. Rubbing her fingers into her eyes again, Delani tried to gather her bearings.

Night had taken over the heavens, stealing the daylight from her room and leaving her with only the dancing flames of the low burning hearth to illuminate her chambers. With a glance to the other side of the bed, Delani noticed that Cullen had gotten up while she slept. When there was no response to her calling his name, she knew that he had left her chambers.

Upon rescanning the room Delani discovered that Cullen had moved her crutch to her bedside incase she awoke without him there, she assumed and smiled softly to herself at his consideration. She grabbed the crutch and tucked it under her arm. Without pressing any weight onto her bandaged foot, Delani pulled herself from the bed and hobbled over to the fire place. Fumbling a few logs into her grasp, she carefully placed them into the fire before stoking the flames, hoping to warm the room up a bit. Winter was upon Skyhold, and the nights were bitter enough to prove it.

Satisfied that the dry wood would catch fire, Delani looked over to the desk and an eyebrow shot up with curiosity. Set atop her writing desk was a wooden box that she didn't recognize. From where she was standing at the fireplace, she could tell that it was an old piece. The corners were chipped and worn, and the wood did not gleam with the polish of newness.

Drawn over by her curiosity, she made her way to the desk to examine the box more closely. Carefully placed on top of the rectangular wooden container's surface was a neatly folded note with her name beautifully scribed onto its surface. Immediately recognizing Cullen's handwriting, she picked the note off of the box and unfolded it.

Delani,

Regretfully, I was pulled from your side while you slept by responsibilities that could not go without my attention. I swear to be quick but, should you wake before I return, know that I will be back with dinner and a healer. Also, I was going to give this box to you when you returned to Skyhold. Seeing as your arrival was a touch more dramatic than anticipated, I figured there to be no better way to lift your spirits than with a gift.

The water in the kettle is still hot, should you need more tea.

Love,

Cullen

She smiled, setting the note down on her desk before moving her attention to the box it had been resting upon. Her eyes widened with the familiarity of the leafless ornate tree carved onto the long, rectangular box's lid. The bare branches reached for the heavens, swirls and dips were fashionably carved into the wood, and Delani was mesmerized by the elven antiquity. The box alone was a gift beyond comparison, and still she was tempted to open the lid.

Carefully pushing away the lid, Delani opened the box to find a knife resting on a bed of velvet red. The hilt was a deep burgundy color, made from perfectly cured snoufleur skin. The sheath was made with the same meticulously crafted hide. It was sturdy in design, with lovely embellishments of leaf and flower covered vines that wrapped around the leather in a way that was both feminine and practical. Carefully removing the knife from its resting place, Delani pulled the blade from its sheath and her breath caught in her throat.

The spotless stormheart metal was intricately designed with twisting, curling, and dancing vines. More leaves and flowers decorated the blade, etched into its surface in a way that would not rob the knife of its practical uses. Inscribed along the center of the knife's long blade were the words Not Luck But Love, and Delani's heart melted.

Cullen had commissioned the making of this knife as a replacement for the one that she had given him. Her grin grew at the thoughtfulness of the gesture. Expertly testing the knife's weight and balance, she tossed the knife into the air and caught it by the hilt. She balanced it on her open palm before twirling it and tucking it back into its beautiful sheath. The grin that had expanded over her lips at the sight of the blade could not be wrangled from her mouth no matter how hard she tried.

The words on the blade hummed in her veins. Not luck but love. It was not luck that had brought her to the Conclave, but love for her clan. It was not luck that helped her to become Inquisitor, but love for the force she had become so invested in. Luck did not bring her back from the dead, but love for Cullen that made life worth living and fighting for. Luck would not help her defeat Corypheus; love would. Love for her clan, love for her friends, love for the Inquisition, love for Cullen, and love for the world as she knew it. It was said to be the most powerful force in the universe and, at the moment, Delani felt inclined to believe that notion wholeheartedly.

Clasping the coin turned necklace resting between her breasts, Delani fingered the warm metal and smiled. Thanks to Cullen she now had a wealth of both luck and love. She marveled at how such a man of his caliber could be real. How could one single person contain such love, faith, confidence, perseverance, loyalty, and understanding? But exist he did, which brought her to her next question: what had she ever done in her entire life to deserve him? Delani did not know, but she thanked the Creators for him all the same. She would strive everyday for the rest of her life to be the woman worthy of his love.

Carefully placing the knife back into the storage box, Delani shut the lid and traced the design on its surface. It was the symbol for Mythal, the great protector, the All-Mother, and the goddess of love, and Delani wondered if Cullen possibly knew the meaning behind the box that held his precious gift. Where had he gotten such a token, anyway? It was almost too much to take in. This gift was too great, and she had nothing but her appreciation and love to give him in return. Perhaps it would be enough.

She started at the sound of the door to her bedchamber opening. Turning to face Cullen as he entered, Delani didn't bother to try and hide the smile that had taken claim of her lips. She smelled dinner before she saw him past the banister, and her stomach rumbled in greeting of her human lover and the king's feast he'd brought with him.

Eyes immediately spotting her on the other side of the room, Cullen stated, "Ah, you're awake," a pleased smile on his lips as he carried the tray over to her desk. "And here I was hoping to serve you dinner in bed."

Delani's eyes fell shut as he placed a kiss to her brow before depositing her dinner on her writing desk. Grinning up at Cullen, she countered, "Bed's right over there, vhenan'ara. Give me a moment to hobble onto the mattress and you can feed me yourself."

He grinned down at her but whatever retort he was about to make was cut off by the sound of Solas's voice joining their conversation. "Then you should get to hobbling, lethalan. The healer and I have come to look you over before you eat."

Sighing, Delani did as instructed and started for the bed, only for Cullen to sweep her off of her feet and carry her the rest of the way. He set Delani down on the edge of the bed and stood to the side so that Solas and the young female mage could assess her condition.

Solas grabbed her anchored hand and examined the green glow. Shutting his eyes, his hand hovered over her open palm and he sucked in a deep breath. As he gauged the anchor's stability, the mage girl's hands felt Delani's every injury with gentle certainty. Her hands glowed with a golden light, and Delani felt it was her bones and muscles started to knit back together, the healing process sped along so that Delani could be back on her feet sooner rather than later.

The healer's hands made their way to Delani's ankle, where she focused the rest of her healing energy. A warmth spread through Delani's foot and up her leg as the injury mended. It felt like the first beams of sunshine stretching across the heavens, the beauty of a brand new day radiating from her ankle. Delani would never understand how healing magic worked, but she marveled at the beauty of it all the same.

Once the mage girl released her hold of Delani's ankle, she let loose a heavy breath and stood to her feet once more. She offered Delani a warm smile and informed her, "Your ankle should be feeling much better now. It will be tender still for a day or two, but you should be able to walk on your own now without any assistance."

"Thank you," said Delani with a grateful smile on her lips, rolling her ankle to test the mage's words. A subtle soreness creaked through her limb as she moved her foot, but it was nothing compared to what she had felt earlier. Happy to have regained her easy mobility, she breathlessly repeated, "Thank you so much."

The girl's smile grew and she bowed her head in acceptance of Delani's gratitude. "Your other injuries will need more time to heal, but I will be back tomorrow to see if we can speed the process along some more." When Delani voiced her thanks one last time, the healer politely dismissed herself from the room, leaving her and Cullen alone with Solas who was still inspecting her hand.

"The anchor is stable," he informed them, sounding relieved by the revelation. Smiling up at Delani, he squeezed her hand and said, "It is good to see you well, da'len. We were worried for you in your absence."

"Emma eth, hahren," she assured him, squeezing his hand in return. "There is no need to worry."

A tender expression grew on Solas's features and, gently, he cupped her cheek in his hand. It was an intimate gesture of the familial variety. Solas was dear to her, like the older brother she did not have. His blue eyes shone with both concern and relief, and Delani regretted that she had caused any of her friends to worry after her.

Small smile twisting the corner of his mouth, Solas replied, "No, I suppose there isn't." His gaze snapped to Cullen and his smile turned teasing. "Especially not with the Commander here to take such good care of you. You are in capable hands."

"Yes," Cullen easily agreed, winding his arms over his chest and quirking an eyebrow at the mage. "She is."

Solas bowed his head, ducking so that Cullen couldn't see his growing smile. He pushed himself back onto his feet and dismissed himself with a polite, "I will leave you both to it then. Enjoy your supper."

"Thank you, Solas," Delani returned. "Have a good night. I will see you tomorrow."

"Good night," he said in a final goodbye before descending the staircase and leaving her chambers.

At the sound of the door shutting behind the elf, Culled went over to the desk to retrieve their dinner and brought it over to the bed. Setting the tray down before Delani, he smiled at the eagerness in her face and the sound of her stomach rumbling in anticipation. Delani did not wait for him to sit on the bed and divvy up their portions before stuffing her face, her stomach didn't have the patience for it and neither did she.

Cullen watched her for a bit, a grin on his lips that only grew as she moaned in delight at the exquisite taste of dinner. After a minute of unabashedly witnessing her shovel food into her overstuffed mouth, he laughed and suggested, "Maybe you should slow down."

Delani shook her head, motioning her disagreement on the topic. "I can't remember the last time that I really ate something," it had to be over three days since her last decent meal. There was no way that she was going to slow down now.

He laughed through his nose and raised his hands in defeat. "Don't let me stop you, then."

His smile grew when she rebutted, "I was never going to," and ripped apart a piece of bread before popping the bite into her mouth. When Cullen laughed she allowed a teasing smile to emerge on her lips.

Now that her stomach had at least some contents within it, Delani allowed herself to slow down from her hunger-crazed stupor. Using the bread to absorb some gravy, she met Cullen's gaze and smiled when she remembered the box still seated on the surface of her desk.

"Thank you for the knife," she said before bringing the bread to her mouth and thoughtfully chewing it over. When Cullen nodded as though it were nothing, she assured him that the gesture was the opposite of nothing, it was everything and he had to know that. "It's perfect, Cullen. The thought behind it was beautiful and the knife itself is a work of art. It was an incredibly thoughtful gift, and I love it nearly as much as I love you."

Though the expression on his face was elated by her words, his cheeks started to burn with a rosy color and he rubbed the back of his neck to disguise his reddening features. "I'm glad that you liked it. It seemed only right that I have another one made for you. I could not, in good consciousness, allow my beautiful huntress to go without a knife, after all."

"How very considerate of you," she responded with a laugh.

Finally managing to scavenge a few bites of supper for himself before she ate the whole damn tray, Cullen forked some mutton into his mouth and chewed it over, a smile on his lips as he held her gaze. "You are staring, my lady Inquisitor."

Shrugging indifferently, Delani rebuked, "I also happen to like what I see, Commander." When the tint of his cheeks turned rosy again, she requested, "You will stay with me tonight, won't you?"

Cullen's eyebrows shot toward his hairline before his eyes narrowed in reprimand. "You are supposed to be healing, Delani. I don't think that making love to you will help that process along any."

"I had no idea that you had such prolific knowledge of medicine, vhenan'ara," she said, pretending to be impressed by his baseless diagnosis. When Cullen gave her a playfully pointed look, she clarified her meaning. "You don't have to worry about me ravishing you, Commander. At least not tonight. I just want to spend as much time with you as I can. It's not everyday that I can monopolize your attention without the entirety of Skyhold trying to pull us apart."

His smile softened. reaching out to caress the curve of her cheek, the timbre of his voice was adoring when he said, "I'm not going anywhere, ma atishan. Tonight I am yours, as well as every other night until you banish me from your bed."

Her heart warmed with his words. She could not imagine that such a day would ever occur. The night that Delani did not want Cullen in her bed was the day that the sun rose in the west and set in the east. Creators, she loved him so much.