A Candle in the Darkness (A Dragon Age: Inquisition fanfiction)

Lady Trevelyan

12 Justinian, 9:42

Cullen was in the middle of a pile of dispatches when Wills, one of the gate guards, came bursting through his door. "Commander!"

"What is it, Wills?"

"There's a man at the gates—he's a noble, with a retinue."

"Have you informed Ambassador Montilyet of his arrival?"

"No—he said he wanted to speak to the man in charge."

"What does that mean?" Cullen asked, annoyed. This was Josephine's bailiwick; why was he being bothered with some petty noble?

"I asked if he was here to see the Inquisitor, or the Ambassador, and he said he wanted to see 'the man in charge'. Seemed to think it was very important that he talk to a man. So I thought ..." Wills trailed off, looking at Cullen with a puppylike eagerness.

Cullen sighed. Wills wasn't blessed with an overabundance of brains, but in this case Cullen was hard put to see what else the boy could have done. "Very well," he said. "I'll come down with you and see what he wants."

"Oh! Well, you see, ser, I've put him in the nobles' guest quarters. The big ones."

Josephine was not going to like that. Placement of guests was her special province, and she very much disliked having other people meddling with it.

From the guilty look on Wills' face, the man knew he had erred. "He had a retinue, ser! And he just ... stood there, staring at me, expecting me to ... carry his bags, or some such thing."

"All right. I'll go over to the keep and see this person; you will go to Ambassador Montilyet and explain to her what you've done." That was punishment enough for anyone; Josephine would relent eventually, but she'd give the boy a bad enough ten minutes to teach him not to take responsibilities onto himself that belonged to those higher up.

Cullen knocked on the door of the guest suite—the very good one, kept for only the most special visitors.

"Enter!" came an imperious voice from inside. Cullen was met at the door by a slender man, a few inches shorter and a few years older than he was. "You are the man in charge?"

"I am the Commander of the armies of the Inquisition."

"But you are, in fact, in charge?"

"Perhaps if you could tell me the purpose of your visit, I could assist you more fully."

"Good man. Right to business. I approve."

Cullen frowned. Something about that phrasing reminded him of someone.

The noble continued, "I am here because you people of the Inquisition have my sister. I have come to bring her home."

Oh, that was just what they needed. To be accused by some nobleman of having kidnapped, or corrupted, or worse, his relative. "I see," he said. "And you are, Serah?"

"Lord Edwin Trevelyan the fourth."

Cullen blinked, trying to maintain his composure. This was Antonia's brother? No, surely not—why would the Inquisitor's brother think she was here against her will, or in need of being brought home? Hoping that by some chance they had another young noblewoman named Trevelyan in the Inquisition, he asked, "And your sister's name?"

Seeming surprised that his name hadn't garnered more response, Lord Edwin said, "Lady Antonia Trevelyan. A young woman of very tender years and some inexperience with the ways of the world. It is my understanding that she was injured in some way during the time of the Conclave and while recovering took a minor role within the Inquisition."