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Adaar had to admit she hadn’t noticed Rylen the first time they met. She had been distracted by Cullen and his golden curls, Cullen the capable, Cullen the disinterested. In comparison, Rylen, always in his uniform and helmet, focused on his work, had blended with the rest of the officers and soldiers.
Her oversight had been rectified after she had first come back from the Crossroads. Exhausted, she had left the Chantry after a briefing to stumble back toward her assigned cabin. The night had fallen, and it was too cold for anyone to linger outside without a good reason. A few torches gave sparse light every ten meters. It was between two of them that she misstepped and nearly ended in the ditch.
A hand on her hip steadied her.
“Easy there, Ma’am.”
A Templar had caught her. With his helmet pressed against his other side, his tousled brown hair had fiery highlights from the torches. He watched her attentively.
“Are you alright, Herald?”
“Yes. Just tired. Thank you…”
“Rylen. Knight-Captain Rylen.” He offered with a little smile and a salute.
She nodded and smiled back, pleased by the kinship of the gesture. Many in Haven were still wary of her.
His name rang a bell. Cassandra had mentioned him when she had given her a quick overview of Haven’s organization. “Are you Commander Cullen’s second?”
“That, I am.”
“Thank you, Knight-Captain.”
“Of course, Ma’am. Any time.”
She watched him leave for longer than reasonable, blinked, and shook her head. She needed to sleep instead of daydreaming.
oOo
Adaar made sure to greet him from then on. She wanted to show that she was approachable and friendly, so that everyone unthawed a bit and lightened up on the ‘Herald’ business.
He responded to it more positively than Cullen. As a rule, he was more friendly. If men needed to talk to a high officer, they would go to Rylen. He dealt with the men while Cullen dealt with the management, and that seemed to work for them.
Whenever Adaar wanted to learn about the training or recruiting (something which, as a warrior, spoke more to her than details about the Breach), she waited for a moment when Rylen seemed available. She would get more personal details from him than from Cullen’s briefings. Not that there was anything wrong with Cullen’s work, but it was all numbers and the bigger picture. Adaar liked to be reminded of the more mundane facts. It was grounding. She was fighting for those people who were also training to do their best.
Rylen told her about the officers, all of them, wherever they were presently posted. She had asked, and she was intent on memorizing them all. She knew it mattered for those people to feel recognized. When she met them, she made sure to call them by their names, to make small talk about what Rylen had told her, and to bring back any message they would mention for their Knight-Captain.
Once in Haven, she spotted Rylen in the refectory during dinner and decided to relay what she had been told before she forgot.
“Is this spot free?” she asked, pointing at the space beside Rylen.
The templars he was eating with looked startled, but Rylen replied easily: “Sure thing.”
She dropped her plate on the table and climbed over the bench carefully. The furniture wasn’t made for her long legs. It never was.
“So, I went to the Fallow Mire. What a dump!”
“I warned you.”
“No, no, Rylen. You said, I quote: ‘watch out, out there, this marsh’s one of the worst places we sent soldiers’. You didn’t say: ‘this swamp wants to swallow you whole and failing that will spit out living dead at you to close the deal’.”
Rylen laughed at her, the heartless bastard. It convinced the other templars that they were allowed to relax and be amused as well, so she’d allow that one.
“Anyway. We freed the soldiers from the Avaar, and they had a few things they’d like me to mention to you…”
“Oh, I can guess the gist of it,” Rylen said, chuckling.
“There was a lot of begging about more sun, less humidity, and no Avaar for their next mission,” she admitted before shrugging, “which, fair enough, I’m not going back anytime soon, I can tell you.”
They chatted for a long time. Probably a bit too long: they were some of the last to leave the dining hall. The other templars had taken their leave long ago.
As they left the building, they crossed paths with Cullen. He glanced at their proximity but just said: “Ah, Rylen. I need to talk to you.”
Taking the hint, Adaar bid them a good night and took her leave.
Humans tended to underestimate Qunari’s hearing which was nearly as developed as an elf. She couldn’t help but overhear:
“What?” Rylen asked.
“Nothing… You looked close, that’s all.”
“She’s good company. If you managed to defrost a bit, you might notice.”
“I noticed! It’s just…” (At this point, Adaar slowed down to a crawl so she could eavesdrop, with very little shame.) “You make it look easy.”
In some strange non sequitur, Rylen said with sympathy: “Nightmares again?”
Cullen made a noise of confirmation, and that’s when Adaar’s conscience came back to push her away from their private talk. As perplexed as ever by Cullen, she was at least pleased that Rylen liked her.
oOo
Haven, that she had begun to call her home, her first home in years, was in flames.
The people she defended were terrified and running.
Adaar was pissed.
By her side, Cassandra was ordering everyone to get back to the Chantry. Adaar had her eyes on the mountain, focused on her goal, no hesitation allowed.
“Herald.”
A hand grabbed her elbow, and she looked down at the armored human that slowed her down. She recognized his tattoo and focused on his eyes despite her impatience.
Too professional to delay her for long, Rylen held her gaze and squeezed her arm once. “Good luck.”
“See you on the other side,” she replied. Which side mattered little.
It turned out to be the other side of the mountain.
“I had luck,” she told Rylen when they finally had time to chat the next day during their first walk (the first of many).
“An avalanche of it," he drawled.
She snorted and then laughed in the next breath. "That's terrible!"
"You loved it," he pointed out with a smirk.
"Clearly, the cold addles her mind," a new voice commented dryly behind her.
They turned to look at Cullen in surprise. He looked self-conscious for a moment before Adaar laughed, her breath showing in the cold air.
"That must be it!" She shook her head, her horns beating the air in an attempt to warm up. “As the cold won’t abate for a while, I guess you’ll benefit from some leniency,” she told Rylen.
“Your Ladyship is too kind.”
She made a face at him. “No, I meant leniency for bad jokes, not for insults!”
“It’s Her Heraldship, Rylen,” Cullen pointed out from his position on Adaar’s other side.
“Are you ganging up on me?” she asked, looking from one to the other with a large grin.
“We wouldn’t dare, Your Heraldship,” Cullen replied, straight-faced.
“Not against a Lady such as you,” Rylen drawled.
She pointed at one then the other. “You’re trolls!" Some noise caught her attention ahead of them. "Ah, Cassandra’s gesturing for me. Raincheck, but I’ll get back at you two, just wait!” She quickened her pace to join the scouting party at the head of the procession.
“Looks more like a snow check to me, your Ladyship,” Rylen called after her.
“Troll!” she shouted back at him, grinning.
For some reason, Cullen had warmed up to her, and that seemed to mean he was willing to side against her whenever Rylen and she had a wit match. How biased! She loved it. Those two were birds of a feather.
oOo
The trek through the mountains had been long and exhausting for everyone. Settling in Skyhold had its own set of difficulties. It was a new step for the Inquisition, and for her, the Inquisitor — Her Inquisitorship, as some trolls would say.
Her Advisors seemed to trust her more than ever. They shared with her details that… explained a lot.
Such as Cullen and his lyrium withdrawal.
Adaar had just left her conversation with Cullen on this subject, her mind buzzing with thoughts and questions. After some time, she went to talk to Cassandra and Rylen about it. Cullen had told her those two were the only ones he trusted with the details: they understood him, and they looked out for him.
Cassandra answered her questions about lyrium. As a Seeker, she knew a lot about the theory. She had faith in Cullen, and Adaar told her she trusted her judgment on the matter.
What she asked Rylen was more personal. She caught him late in the evening, in a nook of the walls shielding them from the cold wind. They were sitting on crates, close to each other to talk low and to share warmth.
“What Cullen does… it’s nearly unheard of. It’s… impressive, risky, and brave,” he whispered with his elbows on his knees, his arms crossed, and his face in a frown.
“You’re worried.”
“Damn right, I am. Men have died from what he’s going through, from the strain on their body or by their own hand.”
She shuddered at the thought. “Is it a high risk?”
He shrugged. “It’s different with Seeker Pentaghast. She knows more than most Templars. She guides him. On his own, a Templar trying to stop lyrium would have little chance, but, really… he’s holding much better than I had thought. I think he can pull it off. I do my best to help him.”
“So will I,” she promised.
“He told me he’d tell you and do as you wanted,” Rylen told her, meeting her eyes. “It’s good you didn’t insist he took it again. The first months were hell. He couldn’t have gone through it again.”
“I couldn’t have asked that of him,” she said, frowning at the thought. “It seemed to mean a lot to him.”
“It does,” Rylen agreed. “And it means a lot that you understand it.”
He wasn’t looking away. Adaar realized she was really close, maybe inappropriately close. She began to feel self-conscious, a blush rising to her cheeks as she bit her lips. Rylen’s eyes moved to follow the gesture, and her self-consciousness turned to anticipation. When Rylen met her eyes again, he seemed to find the permission he was looking for. He leaned closer, slowly, giving her all the time to pull back.
Their lips brushed lightly. They were both cold and not in the best position for this. The kiss stayed soft and light like a butterfly, but it conveyed a lot in the span of a heartbeat. Rylen pulled back but came at another angle for a kiss on her cheek, a nuzzle of her temple, and a whisper in her ear:
“Let’s go inside.”
She nodded in a daze.
Their shoulders brushed as they stepped inside. This part of the castle wasn't ready to be lived in yet, and the hallway was deserted. Rylen pushed her to sit on the first appropriate surface while he stayed standing so he could take her face between his hands and kiss the living hell out of her. Nothing light or quick about it. She pulled him closer between her legs and held on, not willing to let him go anywhere without her.
“Rylen,” she whined when he pulled back.
He kissed her forehead, his thumbs caressing her cheeks as they caught their breath and calmed down.
“Kida,” he said, and she couldn’t help the soft noise she made at the way he said her name, soft and tender. “May I court you?”
The noise that followed sounded like a startled animal. It was extremely embarrassing.
“What was that?”
“No one ever asked that,” she admitted in a baffled murmur. The only ones interested in her hadn’t bothered with formalities.
“A shame. May I be the first to correct that mistake?”
She slowly nodded her assent, blinking in wonder as Rylen smiled and kissed her again.
oOo
Rylen didn’t hide his affections. He publicly brought her gifts: wildflowers, pastries, or thoughtful trinkets (such as jewelry or balm for her horns). He kissed her hand when she left or her forehead when she was sitting and he was the one leaving. He didn’t make a show of it either. When her rooms were ready at the top of the castle and she invited him to talk and cuddle, he was never discrete or blatant about it. He still called her Inquisitor or Ma’am when they were in a professional setting and never questioned her orders.
In short, he treated her as if she was any other woman he would court while still respecting that she was his boss, and it didn’t seem to be a problem in any way. She loved him for it. She was falling hard.
The first time she came back from a mission outside of Skyhold to find him gone, she couldn’t hide her disappointment.
“I’m sorry, Inquisitor, but he was the best man to send to Orlais,” Cullen told her defensively.
“I understand,” she grumbled reluctantly. She wasn’t pouting (just a bit). They both had work to do and their part to play in the Inquisition, she just wasn’t used to being the one at home when he wasn’t.
Relaxing when he didn’t need to defend his decision, Cullen held out an envelope. “He left you a letter.”
She took it eagerly, grinning. She didn’t press it to her heart, but it was a near thing. “Can I send one back?”
“Certainly. He’d love nothing more, I’m sure,” Cullen replied with a smile. He rested a hand on his pommel and admitted: “I’m glad you have found each other. It’s clear to see that you care for each other greatly.”
“I do, very much,” she confirmed without hesitation.
“Good, good,” Cullen mumbled as he rubbed the back of his neck, a sign of self-consciousness or embarrassment that Adaar took to mean it was time to take her leave. Cullen wasn’t big on emotional talks. It’s fine, Rylen had no trouble with them and she had a letter to write to him!
And if she chose to go to the Western Approach for her next mission, well… it had to be done anyway, right? Grey Wardens to find, and all that… If Rylen was stationed out there, it was pure coincidence.
And if, away from the prying eyes of Skyhold, they christened the Griffon Wing Keep and the Commander of the Keep’s bed, well, it was no one’s business but their own.
oOo
Months after Adamant, Rylen had been replaced at the Griffon Wing Keep. Cullen had called him back and sent an officer in need of more experience in his place. The idea didn't even come from Adaar: Cullen had suggested it first, and of course, she had agreed.
Rylen and she had thoroughly celebrated his return, but she knew he had also spent quite a few evenings with Cullen. A fact which she knew because, when both of them were in Skyhold, he joined Adaar in her rooms every night.
This evening, he was quite late. It was nearly midnight. Sitting in her bed, in her nightclothes, Adaar was wondering what was holding him and if she should go to sleep or go find out.
The telltale noise of the door opening without a knock and soldier boots echoing in the stairs helped her settle.
“Sorry, love,” Rylen told her as he reached the landing, already removing his gloves while his helmet was stuck between his elbow and waist.
“It’s alright,” she mumbled, laying down and burying under several layers of blankets. “What was going on?”
“Cullen,” he replied simply while putting down his uniform in his corner of the room.
“Ah.”
The Commander had looked terrible today. He had been plagued with a headache, and nightmares disturbed his sleep. There were some times worse than others for him, and during those bad days, Rylen helped as much as he could.
“You should have gone to sleep.”
“Without my teddy bear? Impossible,” she teased him, watching him strip with half-closed eyes.
He chuckled as he sat down on the side of the bed to remove his boots.
She yawned and rubbed her cheek in her pillow, settling in the best position for her horns. “Next time, just invite him here so we can keep an eye on him during the night.”
Rylen froze after putting his boots away and looked over his shoulder at her. “Are you serious?”
She shrugged. “Sure. This damn room is big enough — the whole gang could camp in here. Even the bed is big enough for three.”
He removed his clothes more slowly, as if deep in thought. “You’re truly used to camping in the field, uh?”
“Sure. It’s no big deal. If he makes a fuss, just tell him you need help to guard me in my sleep, or something,” she joked, giggling. “I know he wouldn’t be caught anywhere near me if it’s not about duty.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, frowning with his shirt off, pulling his sleep clothes on quickly to stave off the cold.
She waved a hand. “You know, I’m not to his tastes. It’s fine. Not many men like taller women.”
“Sweetheart,” he told her as he climbed on by her side, “he thinks you hung up the moons.”
She snorted. “Good one. I’m not that tall. And see, that’s what I mean: I’m just the Inquisitor for him.” She snuggled close as he lay down.
“Does that bother you?”
“Nah, I have my own Commander now.” She kissed his cheek. “But I might have had a crush on him the first times we met.”
“A crush, uh? You were completely gone on him,” he teased.
She squawked in outrage and nudged him. “I wouldn’t go that far! So you noticed?”
“Uhuh. Told him. He said I was imagining things, then we got together and he pointed out that, obviously, I had things mixed up.”
She shook her head with fond exasperation. “What a silly goose. It’s no wonder I had to save him from Orlesians.”
“Agreed.” His hand slid down from her shoulder blade to her waist, and he massaged her hips distractedly. “Love.”
Dozing with her eyes closed, she hummed.
“Would you like Cullen in our bed for something more than watching over him?”
Now perfectly awake, Adaar tilted her head to look Rylen in the eye thanks to the dying firelight. “You mean, a threesome?”
“Yes.”
“Would you like that?” she asked hesitantly, wondering if he was serious.
“I’d be interested to try.” He raised an eyebrow back at her.
She nodded slowly before deflating. “But he wouldn’t want to. I told you, he isn’t interested in me. And do you two…?”
“Alright, first, as I said, I’m pretty sure you’re wrong about that. Second, we did make out and such in Kirkwall, before we both signed up for the Inquisition and he technically became my boss. It helped to release tension, which he truly needed.”
Adaar raised on an elbow. “That’s… interesting information…” She leaned closer, her hand on his shoulder, and her hair falling around him. "Tell me more?"
He grinned roguishly.
oOo
A few evenings later, Adaar sat nervously on her bed. The night was young, and she was still wearing her day clothes.
She tapped her toes against the carpet, wondering how this would go.
Rylen had approached her at lunch and whispered in her ear: “Cullen agreed to talk tonight.”
Talking. Right. Easy peasy. They could do that. Adaar was totally able to do that… with her crush. Ex-crush? And Commander?
A knock at the door got her to straighten and call to enter. She stood up nervously when she caught sight of Cullen’s smoothed curls.
“Inquisitor,” he greeted her as he came out of the stairs.
“Kida, please, when we’re alone,” she could only think to say.
“Kida.” He rubbed the back of his neck before gesturing back to the lower levels. “Rylen is coming, but he thought that, ah, we should… talk alone?”
“Sure."
She invited him on the sofa, and they sat down stiffly.
“He— Mh… He mentioned that you thought… that you didn’t think I’d be interested in you," he started hesitantly without meeting her eyes. "I realize that I wasn’t very… that I was a bit distant when we first met, but it wasn’t against you, personally. I was rather wary from my experiences in Kirkwall—”
“The Qunari attack, you mean?”
“Yes, and I have to admit that I had never met a woman of your species and was… surprised?" He made a face as if the word wasn't what he was looking for. He straightened and made an effort to look at her. "What I mean to say is that I had mixed feelings at the beginning, but as I have learned to know you, none of those earlier doubts linger.”
She hummed in understanding before smiling lopsidedly. “You’re beating around the bush, Cullen.” She leaned closer and asked: “Do you find me attractive?”
He blushed like a —very handsome— tomato and looked away as he admitted: “Yes.”
Grinning widely, she clapped his shoulder. “Glad to hear it. Then, will you join our bed?”
“If you’d have me,” he replied bashfully.
She jumped on her feet and grabbed his hands to pull him up. “Yes! Another body to warm me up! Awesome! This room is even colder than yours. It’s so ridiculously big, how are you supposed to heat something like this, right? Two bedwarmers are definitely necessary.”
“I arrive right on time for the usual complaints, I see,” Rylen drawled as he appeared and came to join them.
“Don’t pretend you don’t agree with me! He once threatened to leave me to sleep in the barracks because of the cold,” she pointed out to Cullen who laughed at them and their couple’s problems.
Rylen pushed her toward the bed, chuckling. As they teased each other, they coaxed Cullen into relaxing and losing his armor and shoes to join them under the blankets.
"Rylen told me interesting things about your time together in Kirkwall," she told Cullen as she crawled over his lap.
They were all just in shirts and pants. Anything else was left on the ground around the bed, in a way that they would probably regret in the morning.
"All lies, I hope," Cullen replied with a self-deprecating chuckle.
"Why?"
"I was embarrassingly bad. I'm surprised you suggested I join you," he told Rylen.
His friend rolled his eyes at him. "Stop making such a big deal out of it. Just because you lacked experience didn't mean you were bad." Sitting pressed to Cullen, he squeezed his forearm reassuringly.
"I was told you were a really good kisser, actually," Adaar pointed out. She pouted a bit and tilted her head, letting her unbraided hair fall over her shoulder. "I was hoping to confirm it for myself." She leaned closer, resting her palms on his chest as she made herself comfortable astride his lap.
"No pressure," Rylen added, laughing as he kissed Cullen's neck.
"Maker's breath, you two will be the death of me," the blond grumbled, but he didn't hesitate to reach for Adaar's face and pull her into a deep kiss.
She was pleasantly surprised by the intensity of it. She thought he'd be shy and tentative for their first time, but it was far from it. When he finally let her go, his hands sliding to her hips, she pulled back, blinking.
Rylen laughed at her. "I think she agrees with me," he murmured to Cullen.
Adaar hummed in approval and slid closer, cuddling against Cullen's free side so she could nuzzle his temple.
"Rylen, can we keep him? Pretty please?"
"Anything for you, your Ladyship."
"Do I have a say in this?" Cullen asked, amused.
"Can we keep you, Cullen?" she whispered obligingly in his ear, her long fingers sliding under the hem of his shirt.
He shivered and caressed the skin of her hips in retaliation as he replied: "Ask me again in the morning."
She did.
He said yes.