Cullen did not truly know what to make of the Herald of Andraste when he first saw her.

Surely, the willowy mage in front of him was not the savior that stopped the Breach from spreading?

Tessa Trevelyan, though, was the Herald of Andraste and she had taken Cassandra's introductions with grace before diving into the problem at hand.

Lady Montliyet had informed them beforehand that she was a member of the noble house Trevelyan in the Free Marches. He had a hard time believing it when she accidentally knocked over one of the pieces on the war table with a rushed apology that was anything but noble. The action was oddly endearing and Cullen found himself studying her more than he ought to when she wasn't looking.

Then the topic of whether to seek the Templar's or the Rebel mage's help finally arose after they informed the Herald of their situation. That was when she surprised him.

"And I still disagree. The Templars could serve just as well," Cullen argued when Leliana suggested reaching out to the Rebel mages.

Trevelyan's soft voice surprised them. "Is that because you are one, Ser?"

All four of the Inquisition's members stared at the Herald, who now had a slightly sheepish look on her face. "It's hard not to recognize one when you've been around them for years," she explained, tugging on the end of her long braid.

Cullen held back a chuckle. "I was a Templar, Herald," he replied, "And I know what the Templars are capable of. They can help suppress the Breach."

The argument continued. Leliana, Josephine, and Cassandra all believed that pouring more magic into the Breach was the path to take, which Cullen thought was foolish. The Herald stood silently while they debated. Her blue eyes stayed narrowed on the map before her and she would occasionally glance up at them as they argued.

Cullen soon discovered that she had a witty and quick tongue when the Chantry was brought up. After Josephine dismissed the argument about the Templars and Mages, she informed the Herald of the Chantry's stance on the Inquisition.

Trevelyan had barked out a laugh and said, "Well that didn't take long," when the Ambassador informed them of the Chantry's denouncement of her.

The young mage looked almost shocked to hear that she was the Herald of Andraste as well, which only increased Cullen's curiosity about the woman standing across from him.

"How do you feel about that?" he had asked, wondering how she would react. Would she like the title? Would she deny it? Would it get to her head?

A deep sigh escaped from her before her teeth worried at her bottom lip. "It's…a little unsettling," she finally admitted, fingers tightening around her staff even more.

So it bothered her. Cullen did not know why, but that little fact was reassuring to him.

The meeting finally ended with the Herald saying she would go to speak to Mother Giselle at the Crossroads with Cassandra. She quickly walked out next to the Seeker and the two women began to make plans for their journey to the Hinterlands the next morning.

He didn't see her again until later that day when she walked out the gates of Haven and approached the camp.

"You there! There's a shield in your hand! Block with it! If this man were your enemy you'd be dead," Cullen barked before giving more orders to his Lieutenant.

A small cough made him turn to see the Herald standing near him, looking around the camp and the sparring soldiers with an almost childlike wonder.

"Never seen a camp before?" he asked with a crooked smirk, crossing his arms.

Trevelyan shrugged and looked around. "I've seen one. My family had their own barracks at our estate. It's just been so long…" she trailed off and stepped closer to his side when a soldier was knocked back a little too far in a sparring match nearby.

A tense silence came over them when she accidentally bumped into him with the action. He cleared his throat and stepped away a little.

"Tell that one to tilt his shield down more," she suddenly said, pointing to a poor recruit named Jim.

Cullen looked and, sure enough, Jim was struggling. "Jim! Shield!" he shouted.

Jim quickly fixed his shield's position and gave the Commander a grateful nod.

Cullen stared down at the mage beside him. "How did-"

"My grandfather was a Templar at Ostwick for many years and my brother joined the order a couple years before I left for the Circle. They both were more than happy to tell me their ways." Cullen could swear he could see a little smirk starting to appear on her face.

Her eyes suddenly widened when he didn't reply right away. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to criticize! I just notice those things and I say things before I think and..." She started to tug on her long braid as she looked away.

"It's quite alright," he quickly said. The Herald already had enough on her shoulders; she didn't need to think that he was upset with her, which he wasn't. He was just surprised.

One of her hands lifted to tuck a stray lock of curly hair that escaped her braid behind her ear. "I just remembered how angry the Templars at Ostwick became when I pointed out if their form was bad or not. I was 13 and didn't know any better, but they still got angry."

Cullen couldn't hold back a chuckle, trying to imagine how humiliating it would be to have a 13 year old mage point out a mistake. "I could only imagine," he commented wryly before shouting an order at another recruit.

The Commander glanced back down at the Herald and one of his questions from earlier came to mind. "How did you know that I used to be a Templar? Did the Lady Seeker tell you?"

Trevelyan looked away and Cullen noticed that a light dusting of pink appeared on her cheeks. She pushed her braid over her shoulder before explaining. "Well…you just stand like one…I think." She shrugged. "At least your posture reminded me of the Templars I saw at Ostwick. My suspicion was confirmed when I could sense the lyrium."

Ah. The lyrium that still remained in his body.

Cullen almost sighed. He shook the foreboding thoughts about it from his mind and focused on the Herald again, deciding to change the subject. "Just so you know; I am always willing to help with anything you may need, Lady Herald. Maybe you could help me show these recruits a thing or two someday as a distraction."

She looked up at him and Cullen suddenly realized that her big, heavily lashed eyes weren't blue like he thought they were. They seemed to have a tint of deep purple, causing them look a dark shade of violet instead of blue. Her full lips pulled into a smile and it felt like the breath was knocked out of his lungs.

Maker, how did he not see how attractive she was earlier?

"Thank you, Commander. I also wanted to just get this out of the way, in case this was a problem."

Cullen quickly regained his inner thoughts and focused on her words. "And what would that be?"

"Do you have a problem with me being a mage? I know other Templars are having a hard time accepting that the Herald of Andraste is a mage and I just wanted to know if that made you uncomfortable or not. We will be working together after all and-well-I suppose you know what I'm getting at now."

To be honest, the Commander did feel slightly uncomfortable with the fact that their main agent was a mage, but then he heard about how she wanted to save the scouts missing in the mountains on the way to the remains of the Temple of Sacred Ashes. And he heard how she was willing to cooperate with the Seeker and the Inquisition even when they were threatening her at first.

Then he remembered why he joined the Inquisition, he saw what hatred from both mages and Templars could cause firsthand at Kirkwall and he wanted to make sure nothing like that happened again and that meant letting go of his own fears and distrust. It had been many months since the Chantry explosion and he knew that perhaps showing the Herald that he trusted her would be his next step.

"I will admit that I have distrusted mages for many years, and sometimes without cause. But I can assure you that I am willing to set that aside and change for the Inquisition and I will only judge your character on your actions, Herald. You will have no reason to fear me."

Her violet eyes narrowed for a moment, studying him for many moments before she finally nodded. "Thank you Commander. It's nice to know that I'm going to be seen for my actions and not for my sparkling fingers for once."

She bid him farewell and started to walk away. The weak sunlight hit her strawberry blonde hair and Cullen was suddenly reminded of the wheat fields he had worked on with his father and brother many years ago in Honnleath.

He shook the image from his mind and went back to work, feeling a little more confident in their Herald than he did before.