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I.
He finds her on the top floor of the Circle’s library, red-eyed and distraught.
He knows the reason, and when she finally cries herself out and says what she truly wants, he makes her an offer.
II.
Ariadne sees a familiar head of blonde hair amidst the smoke and ruin, and can’t help the smile that grows on her face. Cassandra seems like the type to disapprove if she starts laughing in the middle of this, so she keeps the relieved laugh at bay, and even manages not to run up and hug him when he turns around.
Cullen merely shakes his head and smiles when he sees her. These are serious times not to be taken lightly, but Ariadne’s presence settles around his shoulders, lifting some of the burden. “It’s good to see you again, Ari.”
“You too, Cullen. I wish it were under better circumstances.”
“You two know each other?” Varric asks.
Cullen nods. “Yes. We were at the Circle together.”
When Solas, Cassandra, and Varric look to her, expecting more, Ariadne merely shrugs. There are times for this discussion, and on top of the smoldering ruins of the Temple is not one of them.
III.
Corypheus lifts Ariadne by her throat and she thinks -
I’ve survived worse than you.
IV.
Somewhere in the Ferelden forests, a Templar runs for his life.
He is being chased, though he would prefer if his pursuers were bears or wolves or any number of creatures with sharp teeth.
A dagger lands in the tree trunk beside his head with a resounding thwack. If it was meant to pierce his skull, it would have. A warning. Not the first.
Fire flickers just in the corner of his eye, a thin controlled lick winding its way on either side of him, trapping his escape. The sound of a sword being drawn. A woman’s laugh, dangerous and slightly-crazed.
He isn’t being chased - he’s being hunted.
V.
“Why did you let me go?” Even for having known him ten years since he released her, she’s never once asked. Lost on a frigid mountainside is perhaps not the best moment to ask, but they also have nothing but time. No war table, no rifts, nothing save the snow and the mountains in front of them.
“Now you ask?”
She shrugs. “I’ve always wondered.”
He sighs and looks up at the sky, as if it holds the answer for him. “You were honest,” he says finally.
“I nearly killed you.”
He turns to face her and steps off the haphazard path to let others pass. “But you didn’t.”
She huffs, and fixes him with a look. “That’s not an answer.”
“You had beliefs, Ari, and you stood by them. I’m not going to end your life because you set the room on fire when you made a convincing argument.”
VI.
Ariadne understands Josephine’s interest. Friendships don’t usually begin with the attempted murder of one party by the other.
She explains, well aware that it doesn’t make sense when said aloud. She pauses in her explanation, finally reaching a realization that’s escaped her for a full decade.
“His presence meant I was safe,” she says quietly, “that I wasn’t going to be hurt anymore. I didn’t want to let that go.”
Josephine smiles softly, and reaches out, tucking a strand of Ariadne’s red hair behind her ear. Ariadne returns the smile and pulls her lover in for a kiss, very much done with the talking part of their evening.
VII.
The Templar falls in the night, dead by their hands.
The woman walks deeper into the woods, while he removes anything identifying the dead man. No one would blame her for her participation, but there are rules.
She sits on a fallen log and buries her face in her hands. Her demon didn’t come from the Fade, but he is slain.
She is free.