After her prayers Evelyn went to the war room. She grabbed a chair and set it in front of the window stained glass. With a smile and a little nod of her head, she walked out of the room and through the Chantry to get outside. Hearing people call her the “Herald” like she was some person to be revered made her feel uncomfortable. She didn’t want this and she wouldn’t want to wish it on others. The good thing out of the situation was the fact she got a new family member (even though she was only doing it to protect the girl) and new acquaintances.

The Herald made her way past all the cabins and huts and out the wooden gate. As she looked ahead, she saw the soldiers working but didn’t see the commander anywhere in sight. From what Evelyn knew when she last saw him working, he stood outside the training area so he was able to watch the Inquisition army. She looked down at her left hand to see the green glow that appeared on her hand the night the Temple of Sacred Ashes blew up. With a soft sigh, Evelyn continued to make her way to the blacksmith, walking on the dirt path. When she finally made it to the blacksmith, he beamed at her.

“Herald” he said with a small bow. “A package that you ordered came in earlier this morning for you.” The blacksmith handed the box over to her. Once she was holding the box in her arms, she realized it felt light to her. She gave the man money for the package he gave her since she ordered it through him.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome; if you need anything else, please stop by anytime.” He offered to the Herald since he knew she would be coming to him for high quality armor all the time.

“I will.” She said with a small smile. The Herald walked away carrying the box that held Sirena’s dress inside it. When she walked towards the training grounds, Evelyn saw Cullen standing behind her cousin at the archery targets. For a moment she watched the fake cousin shoot arrows at the target with a lot of concentration either that she was trying to remain focused. She smiled softly with pride while thinking to herself “maybe this was why she wanted to stay behind, so she could learn how to fight before going out anywhere with the others and I.”

Evelyn then made her way through Haven’s village, walking past the buildings again. She ascended the small steps leading to the Chantry; seeing Leliana in her tent bent over her table reading a document. Looking at the chantry door, she noticed the door was already open. The Herald walked through and into the building that echoes. It also had candles lit everywhere for light. She walked straight ahead past the whispering people who looked over at her again, this time there were more people since it was late morning. When she stood outside Josephine’s door, she kicked it gently due to her hands being full.

From inside the office, Josephine nodded her head to the elven researcher who was in the room with her. The elf woman opened the door to let the person in. Evelyn walked in while looking around the room. There were two tables in the right side next to the stone wall; towards the middle of the room was Josephine’s mahogany desk where she herself sat currently.

“Good morning, Herald.” Josephine said after she glanced up at Evelyn from her paper work.

“Good morning, I hope you don’t mind, but I’m borrowing the war room for the afternoon. A painter will be arriving to paint a portrait of Sirena for my family since they don’t have a recent picture of her.” She explained to the ambassador with a straight face which she was trained to do for years as a noble.

“She is a pretty young woman…” Josephine said with a small smile as she thought about Cullen fancying Sirena, she wanted to win that bet. “I don’t mind at all if you use the war room. In fact the stained glass window would make a beautiful background.” Evelyn nodded her head and smiled.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

“When the painter arrives, I will show him where to go!” The olive skinned woman said with excitement while bouncing in her seat. “Can I also help with her hair and make-up?” She asked while looking at the woman with natural blonde wavy hair and piercing blue eyes.

“Sure, why not?”

“Oh! I also have a question.” Josephine said all business like now.

“What’s the question, Ambassador?” Asked the Herald of Andraste, taking the hint that it was now business.

“Who are you going to take with you to the Hinterlands?”

“I’ll be taking Varric, Solas, and Cassandra. I would have taken Sirena, but it seems she is busy for the time being.” Evelyn couldn’t tell anyone that the random stranger was learning how to fight since most nobles were trained for that as well as other things. The ambassador nodded her head in understanding.

“Alright, also what time do you want me to help?” She asked in her Orlesian accent.

“I’ll come and get you; it seems everyone is running a bit late.” Josephine laughed and nodded her before going back to the pile of work on her desk. Evelyn walked out of the room and immediately went into the war room which was a few steps away from Josephine’s office. She set the box on the table away from the two maps: Fereldon and Orlais then waited for her cousin to arrive.

In the meantime, Sirena walked towards the cabin that she shared with the Herald. When she was across from the bon fire, the young woman saw Varric who she had met earlier that morning and gave him a little wave. The dwarf waved back to her before she went inside. Her eyes scanned around the little room looking for anything new.

“Shit!” She mumbled to herself while hurrying out of the cabin. When she made it back outside, she shut the door behind her and made her way past the other buildings as she felt her feet crunch into the snow.

Noticing the Chantry door was ajar, she walked past the doors and into the building that looks like a church in her opinion. Her hearing picked up on a lot of whisperings that was going on. She also met a couple of stares as she quickly made her way to the war room. ‘Why is it called a war room? One would think it would be called a council room instead… If I know my medieval terminology’ Sirena thought to herself as she finally reached the door where she was supposed to meet Evelyn Trevelyan.

Opening the door just a crack, she peeked inside and saw a box on the war table where the advisers help her “cousin”. She also noticed her cousin pacing around the table. Quietly, she opened the door fully, stepping into the room.

“Oh good, you finally made it. You do know you were running late right?”

“Yeah… Sorry about that; I got caught up with the archery lessons with the Commander.” Sirena explained sheepishly as her cheeks turned into a soft pink color. Evelyn slid the box over to the girl with a smile.

“Put the dress on then take a seat; Josephine wants to do your hair and make-up.” The Herald watched the woman’s facial expression and with surprise, she saw none. She only saw the movement of her head bobbing up and down. Also with a shock, Evelyn realized that Sirena really could pass off as her cousin since they have similarities.

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“Okay, but can you either get out or look away while I put it on?”

“Sure.” Evelyn turned around and left the room while shutting the door behind her while thinking to herself “that girl must be a prude.”

After Evelyn left the room, the twenty-three-year-old walked to the table and placed her small pale hands on the lid of the box. Lifting the lid up and setting it aside, the young blonde woman took the dress out to look at it briefly before setting it down on the table. She got undressed as quickly as she could then put on her new dress that her cousin had bought her then the robe that went on over it. Her eyes wide, she felt the fabric which felt like thin silk in her fingers. The dress itself was very beautiful in a sky shade of blue with gold trimming. It was also floor length with hidden flower designs. The two colors together complimented her pale skin. There were even head pieces that went with the… hanfu? The more she looked at what she was wearing the more it seemed like she was wearing an ancient Chinese hanfu. Did they even have this sort of fashion or was she just that special that she got her own style?

Her eyes looked down into the box again and saw a gold sash that goes around her waist and gets tied by a sky-blue chiffon belt that matched the rest of her dress. She put the gold sash around her waist first before securely tying it with the blue material. It was tight enough to the point that it showed how tiny her waist was. Walking over towards the door, she opened it slowly to see Evelyn standing right outside it.

“I’m ready.” Sirena announced to her cousin.

“Okay, let me get Josephine.” Sirena nodded her head then went back towards the table and looked over things on the maps trying to understand them. It was a way to pass the time away. Evelyn walked the few steps it took to get to the ambassador Josephine’s office. She grabbed the door handle and turned it, opening the door. The Herald stood in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. When the black haired olive skinned woman looked up at the Herald, a grin crossed her pretty features.

“She’s ready?”

“She is indeed ready for the make-over.”

“Oh good, just let me grab my make-up bag.” Josephine got up and went into the room attached to the office to grab her bag. Once she grabbed her make-up bag, Josephine walked over to the door where Evelyn stood with her arms folded. “I have what I need.”

Evelyn smirked then walked back to the war room, noticing the door was still open. Both women walked into the room and looked at the girl wearing the robe which they considered exotic. They smiled with approval to each other before making their way towards the girl. Noticing the bag in Josephine’s hand; the young woman wearing the light blue and gold gown walked over to the only chair in the room and sat down on it, knowing the drill since she had gone to formals when she was in high school. Josephine made her way towards the short blonde then set her bag on the table and pulled out a hair brush, hair tie, and her make-up.

“You will look not only different from the rest of us, but magnificent as well.” She said to Sirena as she got started on her hair by pulling out her ponytail then brushing the hair, getting the tangles out. The young woman’s hair had a bit pinned up at the back of her head towards the top and on the side next to it, more hair was pinned up while the rest of her hair, fell down her back close to the top of her spine. Then Josephine placed the hair ornaments in her hair that had blue lapis lazuli in the middle of the metal flowers.

Feeling good about Sirena’s hair, Josephine then applied make-up to her face; giving a natural look but with a bit more color in the lips and cheeks. She also applied a tiny bit of eye liner to bring out her blue-green eyes more. Josephine backed away to where Evelyn stood to see her work.

“Oh! Wow!” She gushed from her own work. Even the Herald’s eyes widened from the ambassador’s work.

“You did a very nice job Josephine.” The Herald complimented with the sound of awe in her voice.

“I will see if the painter has finally arrived.” The ambassador said trying to get into business mode while still staring at her work. Blinking a bit while grinning, she turned to leave and almost got out the door before Evelyn spoke.

“Thank you, Josephine for helping with this.” She said gratefully.

“You’re welcome, I had fun helping. It was a good break from all the paper work I have to do.” Josephine said while looking back at the woman in blue again.

“Kamsahamnida (thank you)” Sirena said then repeated in English so they could understand. “Thank you for your help.” She bowed her head to the ambassador with respect even while her head felt heavy. Josephine bowed her head back before leaving the room to head back to her office. Once Josephine was gone, Evelyn turned back to her cousin to look at her again.

“You do look fantastic. I wonder what the Commander would think…” She smiled in amusement as Sirena looked at her with surprise to the point even her cheeks blushed a shade of light pink.

“Mueot (what)?” The young lady asked as her eyes blinked a couple of times. The Herald looked at Sirena with confusion. Knowing full well that Evelyn didn’t understand the language she was speaking, she ended up smirking before switching to English. “What?” It was Evelyn’s turn to blink at the girl who knew exactly what she did.

“I saw you practice archery today. You look at him with adoration.”

“I hardly know Cul… The Commander, plus he probably hasn’t even noticed me like that.” Evelyn shrugged her shoulders with a small knowing smile. Sirena got up off the chair and walked around the room while fidgeting with her hands.

After a few minutes, the painter was let into the war room carrying an easel and other materials that he needed. He waved his hand towards the chair in front of the window stained glass. Sirena looked at Evelyn with confusion written all over her face while thinking to herself ‘what the fuck is up with that guy? It’s like he has a stick up his ass.’

The Herald pointed at her then at the chair. Sirena nodded her head in understanding and walked over to the seat and sat down on it again. Making her back straight and rolling her shoulders back, she felt like she was royalty sitting like that. It was also uncomfortable for her. She waited for the painter to set up his things with as much patience that she had which was very little. After everything was set up, the American smiled softly and sat still as the man from Ostwick painted the portrait of her on his canvas. She was able to hear the paint strokes due to the room being so quiet; quiet enough to hear a pin drop. With her face starting to hurt from the smile, she hoped that she wouldn’t have to sit still for a few hours. As an hour passed, she thought to herself ‘my ass is starting to go numb…’ Sirena adjusted herself a bit trying to get rid of the numbness.

“Oi! Don’t Move!” The painter yelled at her in frustration. She rolled her eyes quickly in response. ‘That man needs to calm his tits’ she thought as she looked over at Evelyn. The older cousin looked up from the painting and smiled at the younger woman.

“It’s coming along nicely. You’ll love it; just sit still for a few more hours.” Evelyn advised. The Herald noted that the young lady was doing well to the point she was impressed. It also made her wonder if she had to do something like that where she was from. With a deep sigh, Sirena went back to looking at the painter and sitting still while making a comment.

“My butt is so numb right now that I can’t feel it.”

“I said don’t move! Moving your lips is still moving!” The painter scowled at her.

“Eh deez nutz.” Feeling like she had won some small argument from her last words, she continued to smile while on the inside she was laughing.

After a few more hours had passed, the painter finally finished the portrait. Evelyn motioned for Sirena to join her at the canvas with an excited smile. Happy to just get up period, the Laurelet girl walked over to her cousin and looked at the painting. Her blue-green eyes grew wide as she stared at it.

“Is that truly me?” The Ostwick man rolled his eyes at her question which she paid no mind to. She really did look different. More so than she did during homecomings and her prom. The young woman then looked between the portrait and Evelyn. ‘I can’t believe it… I actually look like I could be related to the Herald of Andraste…’ Sirena thought to herself as she continued to stare.

“Yes, it is you. Very beautiful, no?” The painter asked with a hint of arrogance in his tone about the job he had done. The American rolled her eyes wanting to so badly say something to him, but she thought it was best to keep her mouth shut. Heaven knows it was a bad idea to offend someone in a place she didn’t know, even though, in a way, she did know it; but nobody else knew that.

“Yes, it is very beautiful. Can you please deliver this to my family in Ostwick once it dries?” The Free Marches man bowed at Evelyn’s request. “Can you also take this letter to them as well?” She held out the letter that was addressed to her family to him.

“Of course, my lady, I will gladly deliver these items to your family.” He bowed again and took the letter out of her hand and stuffed it into his coat pocket.

After the portrait dried, the painter packed his materials up including the portrait. Evelyn paid the man one-hundred gold pieces and sent him on his way to her family. Discreetly as possible, Sirena even gave him the finger as he walked away for being a jerk.