Something had to be done. He could no longer stand by and watch her destroy herself over this man, nor did he wish to be a pawn in whatever in the bloody Void she was doing. Especially when she so obviously still had feelings for him as she proved to him last night. At least he thought so. Things were unclear, and although he had been wounded by her, he knew with certainty that she was fighting Armand.
He tried to wrap his mind around the e events since the man's arrival. Everything seemed to have changed within the span of a day from their relationship to her personality. Then there was the paranoia associated with her personal staff, the heavy drinking, mood swings, and overall recklessness.
Cullen paced the length of the hall outside of the War Room like a caged lion, trapped by options due to his inaction. The best he could come up with was that she was being blackmailed, but he was missing key pieces to the puzzle. She had said she was being forced to do something. But what in Andraste's name could Armand be holding over her to make her not ask for his help, let alone that of the Inquisition? Whatever it was had made her desperate, mostly likely because she was protecting someone or the Inquisition, and wanted no interference. He wondered despairingly what would kill her first, her stubbornness or her unwavering loyalty.
There had to be someone who knew, someone she confided in. Both Sorin and Henley were away on leave - leave which she had granted them personally and had extended with no explanation. Giving very little in the way of details as to what they were doing, he wondered if it was just another lie to cover up whatever it was she was scheming. If she were to trust anyone with secrets it would be her closest friends from Ostwick, Henley, Sorin, and... Ilara. Why didn't he think of her before? Perhaps because she was quiet, but now that he thought about it, he had hardly seen the mage, except for in Evelyn's presence. Wheels began turning in his mind, trying to find the connection, but he needed help.
He quickly popped his head into the room telling the other two he'd be back in a few minutes. He hurried to go fetch Owayne and tell him about last night, having no choice but to profess to the man that they had been seeing each other previous to Lord Armand's arrival. After the show at breakfast, however, her brother had assumed as much.
"I knew it! Let me guess, since Haven?" He was still dressed in his breakfast clothes, no doubt an attempt to appease his mother before seeing her off. Any other time Owayne looked rough, not being completely clean-shaven with well-worn garments and leather armor, but today he had on a royal blue silk shirt with a fine tan leather vest, pants, and boots.
"What? Maker, no! Since we went to Crestwood. I had only just met her at Haven."
"I can't believe she actually got one past me."
"Excuse me?"
He waved his hand dismissively at him, "I appreciate you telling me, although I knew the moment we met back at Haven she'd be drawn to you - don't let her tell you otherwise, I called it! You're exactly her type," Cullen raised an eyebrow at him, "But I digress, you're a good man, Cullen. I hope whatever it is that she's done it doesn't come between you." He just gave him a pained look, prompting Owayne to pat his shoulder before they went to find Cassandra.
Arriving at the sparring ring, she was watching a duel when the two approached, asking her to walk as they explained. "I see," she kept looking over at him, so he asked what she was staring at, "Are you feeling well your cheek is bright red?"
"Oh," he replied brushing some fingers across the area, "she hit me, but I deserved it."
Owayne stopped, causing the other two to do the same in the middle of the Great Hall, "And just what exactly did you say to Evie?" A tinge of anger was in his voice. "I may like you, but she's still my sister."
"Now's not the time. And keep your voice down, our... relationship should not be made public. Her safety is what's important now. Come, time is short." The nearly-identical sibling took a step closer to him as if trying to intimidate him, but backed down after Cullen raised his chin standing much taller than him.
"Oh, please," Cassandra rolled her eyes giving them both a shove, "Let's go or I'll punch you both." The men looked at each other shaking their heads, both knowing they wouldn't have done anything, they were just being men. Cassandra, however, wasn't having it and they both walked on using the momentum of her hard shove.
When the three arrived, it did not go unnoticed that there was one person conspicuously absent, though another Trevelyan had been brought in her stead. "Will the Inquisitor be joining us?" Leliana asked curiously.
"No," the Commander's simple answer garnered curious looks from the two advisors. "I've called this meeting because something needs to be done about the Inquisitor. I believe we've let this go on long enough, but the situation is now getting out of hand. Aside from the personal distress she seems plagued by, Lord Armand had interfered with our mission at the Winter Palace and potentially Evelyn's ability to steward us. For the good of the Inquisition's leadership and the Inquisitor, I propose an intervention of the council." The ladies looked at each other with knowing looks, making him believe they had similar thoughts.
"Agreed," Leliana spoke for them, "We've tried to speak with her about it but she insists she's alright, despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Just the other day, I stopped her from drinking a new acid for coating weapons Dagna developed."
"And Blackwall did quite a number on her sparring," Owayne stated while Cassandra and Leliana nodded. "The poor sod was beside himself."
"I hadn't heard, what happened?" Josephine's worried expression matched that of the other women as they drew in deep breaths. Cullen had heard there was an incident, but after being told she was fine, he didn't ask for particulars. Now, he couldn't help but wait with bated breath as Owayne went on to tell them about the bashing she took. And though the brother had not seen it personally, the account Bull gave said that she had purposely dropped her barrier before the hit.
When the Ambassador removed the hand from over her mouth, she went on to relate that she had enlisted her help in giving Lady Trevelyan incentive to leave Skyhold, to which Owayne folded his hands giving silent thanks. "The Inquisitor has always held duty above all else, including her own welfare," Josephine waved her quill about the air elegantly, "I'm sure if we present it to her that we believe her arrangement with Lord Armand is impeding her effectiveness as Inquisitor, she will--"
"Not listen and give us some excuse," he cut in a bit too harshly, wiping a hand down his face.
"Or slap us," he gave Cullen a coy pointed look. Cassandra punched his arm hard, though he looked like he enjoyed it.
Ignoring him, he continued," If she doesn't want to talk, then we find someone who will." Leliana perked up with a smirk at his words.
"Commander, you do impress me at times. What do you propose? Lord Trevelyan here knows nothing, we've already questioned him to a degree." Owayne scoffed at his easy dismissal.
"I know, that's not why he's here. I've asked him here because he is her brother and has every right to be involved in this." Cullen had siblings, he understood what he must be feeling watching his sister self-destruct helpless to do anything about it. "He's also going to bring Enchanter Ilara here for questioning immediately."
Leliana shook her head, "If you press her for answers, you risk raising the suspicion of the Inquisitor." Her steely blue eyes stared hard at him for a moment before catching on to where he was going, "But, if we are going to confront the Inquisitor either way, then…" Her gaze turned to Owayne, who nodded and all but ran to the doors.
"Oh dear, it seems Cassandra has fainted listening to the poem I wrote for her, I should go find a healer," he glanced back with a wink, slipping out the door, just dodging a thrown tankard from off the war table. Cassandra blushed, but the color seemed more due to embarrassment than anger.
As they listened to Owayne's footsteps fade, Leliana reached over to touch his arm. "Cullen, while I agree it is time to act, what happened to make you want to do this now? Does it have to do with what was said this morning?"
Josephine leaned in despite the four of them being alone, "And what you two were arguing about before we were supposed to meet?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling a sharp breath, "You two are worse than my sisters at times, always prying into things, you know that?" They smiled, sharing one of their conspiratorial looks. "Cassandra at least leaves me alone about it."
She gave him a side glance, but then walked over to the group, "I'm well aware you know Evelyn and I share a tent among other things. I can keep a secret, unlike the two of you." She glared at him, and it dawned on him that Evelyn possibly told her about laughing at her choice of books.
Leliana crossed her arms, giving him a pointed look like one he'd expect from Mia, "It's only because we care, and love some good gossip. Strictly confidential gossip, that is."
"Besides, Lady Bann Trevelyan was right, you weren't very subtle about it. There will be rumors to contend with, but so long as they just stay rumors, then there is no harm. There is plenty of speculation out there about the Inquisitor and her private affairs to hide the truth." Josephine scolded as he blushed up to the tips of his ears. There was little he could do after spitting his drink out at breakfast paired with the evidence on her neck to deny they were together last night.
"I didn't know she was going to just announce it! It was a bit of a shock." They suppressed their laughs, knowing full well how flustered he gets. He cleared his throat and tried to calm the spread of heat on his face, trying to get back to the trouble at hand, "More seriously, she was in a bad way last night. I'm worried she's going to do something rash, something she'll regret. For the love of Andraste, she was in the stairwell throwing glasses at the wall with her magic spiraling out of control! When have you known her to act like that?" Their looks sobered, knowing that he was right. Even Cassandra's face dropped with a heartfelt sadness taking in his eyes. They all had seen things that concerned them, otherwise, they wouldn't have agreed so readily to proceeding with his plan. Evelyn was many things, but she tended to keep her more destructive emotions in check.
The thoughtful silence that followed allowed them to pick up voices coming from the hall outside the War Room. Cassandra walked over and placed her hands on the war table while the other three straightened and waited throwing glances back and forth to each other, readying themselves for what they were about to do. They were about to cross the divide between professional and personal privacy to demand answers from their leader. It wasn't a mutiny, but it damn well felt like one, especially when the Inquisitor's wrath was bound to come down upon them like the avalanche she caused at Haven. And had it not been for her reaction earlier to his words, he wouldn't be as anxious as he was now. She was potentially the most powerful mage in Thedas and he felt no shame in being partially frightened of what she could do to him.
In these types of situations, Leliana usually led, so he was resigned to letting her do her job, but one way or another he would have the answers he so badly wanted. The latch on the door clinked open and Ilara's slender frame stepped in with purpose until freezing at the sight of her supposed patient standing and seemingly fine. Her large blue eyes surveyed the room, and in seeing all the attention was on her, began smoothing down her enchanter robes.
"Seeker Cassandra… I, um… do you require assistance?" Owayne abruptly shut the door behind them and she jumped. Her long blond ponytail whipped around looking from Owayne to the advisors, her eyes widening with each pass. "What's going on? Where's Ev-- the Inquisitor?"
"Enchanter Ilara, please sit." As Leliana spoke, Owanye slid a chair over from against the wall, gesturing to her to obey. Cullen could see a slight tremble in her hands as she took the arms to sit. The Nightingale, having caught the scent of fear, sauntered forward. "We apologize for the way in which we brought you here, but we have an urgent matter to discuss with you regarding the Inquisitor."
"So, she doesn't know about this?" The woman looked like a frightened doe with her widening eyes as panic rose up. None of them answered which was enough for her to assume as much. "W-what could I possibly know that you do not, Sister Nightingale?" The Spymaster simply stared at her emotionless. It was a steady glare, but as seconds passed it grew colder and more frightening. "Please, you're asking me to betray the trust of my best friend!" Well, at least he was right about one thing, something was going on and Ilara knew what it was. Watching her crack without much prodding made him realize why Evelyn kept her close, no doubt foreseeing this outcome.
"We aren't asking." At Leliana's words, she looked pleadingly to each of them, though it felt like she lingered on him longer. He didn't break though, gripping his sword tighter in anticipation.
Josephine stepped forth, tapping a hand on the Spymaster's shoulder. Leliana spun and walked back to stand beside him before the Ambassador continued in her formal diplomatic tone, "Enchanter, we are formally using our right as the council to convene an intervention on the grounds that the Inquisitor has been compromised, and thus so has the mission of the Inquisition. As a senior member, you are hereby asked to recant your oath of secrecy for the good of the organization and your friend." Ilara blanched. This time she looked to Owayne for pity, but he had none to give joining in their solidarity.
"Let's start with simple yes or no questions, shall we?" Leliana took back the reins of the interrogation, "Is the Inquisitor's life in danger?" Ilara swallowed hard looking down to the floor warring with herself in her head whether or not that question betrayed her friend's trust. No one said anything as they waited to see if she'd answer them without more persuasion. "Is the Inquisitor in danger?"
"Yes." Everyone stiffened and shifted uncomfortably at the quiet but telling answer. "She is in great danger."
"Does the danger have to do with Lord Armand?"
"Yes."
"Blackmail, yes?" Ilara nodded. "Is she protecting someone or the Inquisition? Is that why she's going along with his plan?"
"She's protecting herself, me, and the Inquisition. Though recently she'd had to deal with a threat against the Commander." Cullen sighed and clenched his jaw tight, but held his tongue. Maybe Armand did know about them that day he came to his office asking about the red lyrium. Slowly, the missing pieces of the puzzles were being filled.
"I suspected as much. Is the mother involved?"
"Unknowingly." Every answer proved to be taxing on the delicate mage.
"Why doesn't that surprise me," Owayne chimed in rolling his eyes as he paced a few steps away in disgust. Leliana crossed her arms, ignoring Owayne and narrowing her gaze to Ilara who squirmed beneath it.
"I have not found much on this Lord Armand, and nobles always have plenty of secrets, which leads me to believe that is not his real name. Yes or no?"
"No." The three looked back and forth at one another again, as she asked the obvious next question.
"Who is he then?" Cullen noticed the slightest bit of terror which gripped her. It was the same distant look Evelyn had sometimes during their talks. Ilara opened her mouth but the words were having trouble forming. Her eyes closed and her lips drew together as if steeling herself to say his name.
"His name is," it was as if saying his name would come with some kind of physical retaliation, "Ser Ryker Aeron."
"W-What did you say?" Cullen's words faltered as the realization of what he thought she said raced through his mind. He had to hear it one more time. He took a few steps toward her, all but beside himself in disbelief, and by the tears welling up in Ilara's eyes he knew he heard correctly.
"Ser Ryker Aeron," she sniffled out looking up at him painfully. He felt as if he had been shot through the heart by a crossbow. The crushing reality of every interaction, everything that he had seen in the past weeks of her with him paralyzed him. Ilara's glassy eyes didn't leave him, nor his hers as he processed this revelation.
"Why is that name familiar?" Cassandra spoke up finally from behind them. While the four of them chatted, shuffling papers to seek answers, he and Ilara were having a silent conversation. He shook his head slowly, and she nodded back so weakly he almost didn't catch it. The dark anger which he sought never to release again was breaking free of its cage and he felt his face heat. The betrayal, lies, separation, everything had been because of a ghost that had come back to haunt her. One he knew about intimately, and whose transgressions against her he could not let pass regardless of their falling out.
Suddenly, the oversized doors were thrown open by a powerful force, making all of them jump. The silhouetted form of the Inquisitor strode in with a menacing look on her face. The air crackled with heat and magic as she stepped forth into the light.
"Lar? Are you alright? I felt your distress." She looked first to her friend making sure she was unharmed, then turned her raptor gaze on the others, "I thought I said we'd meet later, unless, of course, this is one I wasn't invited to." Her words had a venomous bite to them. He didn't care though, his anger was on the verge of becoming violent brought on by the sight of her wearing one of the tasteless dresses Armand, no Aeron, had bought her. It was of course black, as everything he ever gave her, with a deep heart neckline plunging low. The tulle sleeves were accented with floral lace. For once the sleeves hung from her shoulders and the skirt was full, so unlike everything else he had gifted her. She wore only charcoal on her eyes, pleased to see she didn't cover her scars, the most prominent being the ones on her lower cheek and shoulder junction from the attack on Haven. Ilara ran to her embrace, nuzzling her head into her shoulder with muffled apologies. The Inquisitor soothed her though kept her hardened stare on her advisors.
Josephine seemed to be getting her speech ready when Cullen's voice boomed through the room. "Aeron?! That… man is the Ser Aeron, the one who…," he stopped himself realizing the lines of personal and professional histories were being blurred aloud. He reached for his sword, but his hand had already been gripping the pommel, and without another word charged briskly for the door. Ilara gasped as he passed them, but Evelyn quickly grabbed onto his arm and coat trying to halt him to little effect. He could hear her yelling at him, cursing him as he dragged her along in many yards of fabric billowing out from her dress toward the door. He had almost reached it when a hard punch threw him against the wall. Dazed for a second and feeling the distinct heat of her mana, old wounds mixed with new ones in his state of blinding rage. "Did you just…?" He said rubbing the back of his head, "You used your magic on me?"
She tipped her head down and held a hand out in warning, "Whatever it is you think you're going to go do, I will stop you. I cannot allow you to interfere now, not when I'm so close." The others gathered together watching them with bated breath. For Cullen, the others' presence barely registered. He was still out for blood, even more so after such a betrayal as she used her power on him.
"Blessed Andraste Evelyn, why wouldn't you say something!? The least of all to me!" He pushed himself off the wall and stood imposingly in front of her. She wasn't having it though and defiantly lifted her chin to meet his seething rage.
She slammed the doors shut with another spell trying to make a point, "Stand down, Cullen, or I'll--"
"Or what? What more could you possibly do to wound me?"
"If you two wouldn't mind," Owanye butted in, "would someone care to explain to us what the fuck is going on?! Who is this Ser Aeron?" Despite his interruption, the two of them were still having their private battle. He had sufficient answers to justify his need to run Aeron through and ask for forgiveness later.
He unsheathed the top of his sword enough to emphasize his seriousness. "As Commander, I have the authority to--"
"Don't," those subtle cracks in her Inquisitor mask began to appear again as anger transformed into hurt. He watched it slowly melt away until both of them shared an all too familiar look, one that churned his gut at the shared pain. Needing some form of release, he spun with a growl and punched the bookshelf, causing a few history volumes to fall to the ground. He hardly felt the throbbing pain through all the adrenaline pumping through him. Leaning a hand on the wall, he hung his head shaking it.
Through the moment of quiet, he heard the rustle of Josephine step forward, explaining to Evelyn about their official inquiry into Lord Armand. "We know you are being blackmailed. If you would further enlighten us, Inquisitor," Evelyn glanced over to him before gliding forward to rest her hands on the back of the chair gripping it tightly with her nails. "We only wish to help you."
Evelyn took a deep breath as Ilara came to stand beside her. She hooked their arms and the petite mage rested her head on the curve of her shoulder. He tore himself away from the wall to stand with the others awaiting answers, though he had to pace until his anger subsided.
"You recognize the name because he is the Templar who assaulted me back in Ostwick. The one who has stalked me for years. The one who," she looked down to Ilara briefly, "who I thought I killed when he and two others came to rape us the night the Circle fell." Cullen's rage was paired with gut-wrenching guilt. He knew better than anyone the hurt she relived with every mention of his name.
Her eyes shot to her brother who had become as incensed as he had. He pulled a dagger out from a concealed pocket and took a step towards the door before Cullen grabbed him by the back of his leather vest.
"Of all people Cullen, you should be coming with me to gut that whoreson!" He turned to Evelyn now, "And you, how could you let him get away with this!?" He swatted at Cullen's firm grip on him, hesitantly letting him go to stand toe to toe with his sister. "Why wouldn't you have said something!? I could've helped you back home! How long had this been going on?!" Her gaze met his with an unreadable face. After some time, she looked away, he knew she wasn't about to tell her brother of the years of abuse that happened right under his nose.
"No one could've helped me." Unlike Owayne her voice was a steady anger compared to his which matched Cullen's fury. He found it strange that she was helping Ilara into the chair to sit, but he knew, yet again, her protective nature towards her friends was always first and foremost in her mind.
"So what, you just laid there and took it?!" She slapped him. Had his mood been better, he would've laughed at Owayne now being slapped for the same kind of boneheaded comment he made to her earlier.
"If you're done making an arse out of yourself, may I explain?" Her sharp glare enhanced by the black smoke around them snapped his mouth shut before his next comment could find its way out. "Of course, I fought back, but Circle politics and law isn't as easy to navigate as you think. You've never lived there." Frustration made her voice waver, "Aeron is a snake with a silver tongue who manipulates those around him and leaves no evidence of his treachery! Knight-Commander Tobias never had sufficient evidence against him to take action." She straightened and smoothed her dinner gown down gathering herself to address the room. "Yes, he is blackmailing me, but there's more. Maker, look at the mess I made." She shook her head holding a hand to cover her eyes. She was shaking, but it was only after she placed it on her chest he realized it was from crying.
Hugging herself she turned from them as she sobbed. Ilara shot up out of her chair, nearly tipping it over to get to her. He could hear some of the Enchanter's soothing words as she tipped Evelyn's chin up wiping tears from her cheeks and dabbing them with a handkerchief. Despite their kiss last night, he was still hurting. Anger and rage over her sudden decision to spurn him and now lie about it helped to keep him at a distance from her.
After composing herself, guided by her best friend, she was ready to speak, "Aeron has our phylacteries. His terms were for me to marry him or have them sent to Corypheus." She paused allowing the gravity of those words to sink in. Andraste preserve them, who knows what that creature would do with their blood. Not one person in the room seemed unaffected by the implications. "Not only that, but he had a blood mage make copies, hiding them in secure locations. Henley and Sorin have been hunting for them, I could trust no one else with this. Aeron has been manipulating our staff and bribing them to spy on me." Suddenly so many things were becoming clear regarding her behavior and actions. The argument over their leave flashed through his mind.
"That's why you needed your attending staff constantly rotated, smart," Leliana nodded slowly crossing her arms.
"Yes. I've had to do what I could to thwart him without giving away that I've been doing so. I apologize for acting like a psychopath, but I couldn't afford any of you to question my decisions either. There is one other thing he's been holding over me, and it's something that could harm the Inquisition." Evelyn's eyes closed as she let go of a breath, trying to hold herself steady in the wake of such personal revelations. "I killed Knight-Commander Tobias. The rumors were right, and I couldn't bring myself to tell you at the times you asked back at Haven because I needed to protect my friends. He threatened to expose me right as we were trying to obtain our invitation to the Winter Palace. I couldn't let him ruin everything we had worked so hard for, so I… I agreed to his terms."
"So, that night when I saw you both with him…" Cullen's stomach was churning, knowing he could've ended the man then and there saving both mages weeks of torment.
"He was dictating to us his terms."
"Evelyn," anger and heart-wrenching pain laced his voice, "Maker, I could've helped you!"
"No!" She moved out from behind the chair to stand before him, "No, you couldn't have! Don't you think that I too could've killed him at any moment? He has a contingency plan. Should he die, those holding the other phylacteries are instructed to send them to Corypheus! That is why they need to be destroyed before anything is done. I just hope this," she mentioned to all of them in the room, "has gone unnoticed by him and his spies, otherwise you've just doomed us. I'm still waiting to hear word from Henley and Sorin if they've destroyed the second set. That'll only leave the set he personally holds."
"Well, now that we know the truth of things, how can we help you?" Leliana's coaxing tone held the Inquisitor's tired eyes, "This is your plan, we'll do what you need us to do." The three advisors lined themselves up before her, joined by Cassandra and Owayne as if they were soldiers mustering for inspection.
"I need you to do nothing until Henley and Sorin confirm they were successful. After that, I'd like nothing more than to burn the flesh off that man inch by inch until..." she stopped herself as the dark grip of revenge took hold. He could see the bloodlust taking hold of her countenance, and even in that gown she still looked as lethal as ever. Sighing, it seemed she was trying to let the rage go, "I'm open to suggestions, now that you know the extent of the situation."
"I'm not sure murdering another Templar publicly, even one that has abused you, would help the situation once word spreads that you killed the Knight-Commander." Josephine was already scratching something on her parchment. "I would recommend a trial."
"A trial?" He was of the same mind as Evelyn and would gladly watch the bastard's capital punishment.
"Yes, one which we carefully script and execute to do the least damage to not only the Inquisition but Evie as well." She turned towards their fallen leader, trying to lift her spirits with a compassionate smile and reassurance, "Leave every detail of it to me, Inquisitor." Slowly, it was as if an incredible weight was being lifted off her shoulders.
"There's one more diplomatic issue to deal with, which is that this morning Ryker sent to his noble contacts an account of what transpired at the Tower. I don't know what it says, but he mentioned it tells how I killed the Knight-Commander. I don't want to lie any longer, but I don't want to hurt the Inquisition. I just want us to prepare for the fallout."
"We should speak with the newly appointed Knight-Commander Barris to speak on behalf of the Inquisitor. I'm sure he'd be happy to stand with the Inquisition in this matter."
"I agree with the Commander. This is something that should be discussed in person. I will send an invitation for him to come to Skyhold," He watched the Ambassador add it to her list.
"In the meantime, I will personally investigate which of our people have been taking bribes and... deal with them case by case. I'll also find where he is keeping the last set of phylacteries, so when the time comes we can destroy them," Leliana added.
He sighed, supposing it was his turn to offer assistance, even if all he wanted was to run him through and be done with it, "Increasing the guard would only tip our hand, but if a few men, say Bull and--"
"Me," her sibling volunteered.
"And Owayne, ones who can be discreet and lie well enough if need be, near him when it's time to arrest him, so it's done quickly before he has a chance to flee."
"Gladly," her brother had a murderous look on his face.
"For the safety of the Inquisitor, someone should stay with her at all times so it is difficult for him to get her alone. I'd recommend all of us take turns to make it seem as natural as possible." He wasn't about to let that man near her any more than he needed to be until his time of reckoning came. All agreed, except for one.
"I can't, he... likes it when I'm there so he can--"
"Lar, no," Evelyn shook her head with a frown.
"What?" He found himself speaking without thinking, "No more lies or secrets."
The two mages exchanged pained looks, "He likes me to be there to heal her, to hide the evidence of when he punishes her. If you heal the injuries using magic immediately, there is no bruising or scaring." Ilara's gaze rested on her best friend, who had her eyes shut tight grimacing. Her words were enough to set Owayne off on a tangent of curses, all sentiments that Cullen shared. As for himself, his resolve finally broke, striding quickly over to embrace her. She pulled part of this mantle over his armor and buried her face in it, while he rested his chin on her head. He knew how past encounters with Aeron tormented her, he couldn't imagine now what having him here was doing to her mentally - and physically.
"I'm sorry, I know how difficult this must be for you," he muffled into her hair.
She pushed off him, frowning with defiance, "I'm still standing, aren't I? Still fighting." It seemed her tears had gone and were replaced by a bitter anger. She was independent and trying to prove to herself she was strong enough to handle it, as she had done in the past with her problems. She was a survivor, but she didn't need to do it alone anymore.
He sighed keeping his voice low, but he was aware everyone was listening to them, "I know, but now you have all of us behind you. We'll take him down together. Promise."
"Thank you," she popped her head out around him, "all of you." She broke away from him to smooth her dress down, "Now, I'm due to meet up with the bastard to bring him with me to my meeting over the siege equipment for Adamant with--"
"Lady Seryl of Jader, yes. I will accompany you. We should go with all haste, she appreciates punctuality when conducting business. Perhaps, Lord Trevelyan would also like to come, your charm would be welcome in conversation as "Lord Armand" can be rather abrasive at times."
He spit at the name with a snarky smile, "It'd be my pleasure."