Choices, choices

Rosalie was reviewing notes as she waited for her brother to appear. She was so close to finishing her studies thus, her final tests, that she could not waste time. The blonde studied while she ate, rose earlier than she normally used to in order to sneak an extra hour and went to bed later than she should for the same reason.

But what if she didn’t pass? She couldn’t tolerate that, not when she was so close to the end.

Her heart was beating fast, and the only reason was not the stress that currently was ever present in her life. Rosalie had always said that after her studies she’d return as a doctor to Ferelden, but the more that she researched about the taint, the more she thought about how much she could help, both the people that got infected by it accidentally and the grey wardens.
Not that Vincent was an extra reason for that, not at all.

So the question is: to return to Ferelden or to stay in Orlais researching?

When Cullen arrived she was so excited to see him that she dropped her notes accidentally. In a very unlike Rosalie moment, she just left them in the floor to pull her brother into a excited hug.

Cullen enjoyed his life at Soldier's Peak, it wasn't exactly where he'd have imagined his life to end up, but there it all was. There were times that it felt strange, training grey wardens but not being a grey warden himself, but it was enough that his wife was one. For the most part the running of Soldier's Peak and the training of Warden recruits kept him reasonably busy, though no where's near as busy as he'd been as a Templar or as he'd been as the commander of the Inquisition forces.

Today Cullen found himself rushing through his work so that he would have more time to visit with his sister Rosalie, between his work and her schooling they hadn't had tons of time together. Finally once he had a few things situated with the recruits and made sure that Lana didn't need anything, he headed over to where he said he'd meet up with Rosalie. He smiled warmly as he entered and squeezed extra tight when Rosalie hugged him.

Hey there sis, good to see you finally...

“How are you! And the family? And maker, it’s not been that long but it always feel like ages since the last time that we spoke!” said Rosalie excitedly “you need to tell me all the news while I try and , likely fail, to beat you at chess!” said the blonde as she pointed at the board that she had already prepared.

“So tell me, you must have stories and news to share! I suspect that your life has way more interesting things than mine since it seems like lately my time is divided between studying and collapsing on my books” said the blonde with a sigh. Finals were close and since they were the last exams before she would be officially a doctor, Rosalie wanted to beat her previous grades, in order to achieve the “cum laude”

Cullen smiled warmly as Rosalie asked questions.

I'm doing well, glad to be back here at Soldier's Peak after my time with the Inquisition. The family's good, the boys are helping out around the place, still hard to believe they're both so grown up. Cullen paused, not a lot of interesting things went on with them, it was mostly the same things day in and day out, he felt like his life was probably fairly boring to some people's standards.

We went to a big party in Denerim, the king was celebrating his betrothal, Lana wanted to show off the Griffons. Honestly besides that and worrying about the blights, things have been pretty much the same. I've increased defences a bit and we've had an increase in Grey Warden recruits to change, but seriously I think what you've been doing is incredibly interesting and I've been so proud of you, it can't be easy. I definitely couldn't have done it.

“We need to arrange a lunch with Lana and the boys, I miss them it feels like ages since the last time that we did sit together and caught up!” said Rosalie, clearly excited about the idea. She also wanted to speak with Lana for some details about her investigation but she was still in the early stages of her research and she didn’t want to jinx it by speaking too soon.

“Me? Proud?” she said with a chuckle “I am just good at memorizing good chunks of medical texts, I don’t think that anything that I have achieved so far can be classified as more than averge” it was not the truth but Rosalie tended to be self depreciating when it came to speak about her own achievements.
“About that I have a doubt about my future career path, and I need someone to speak about it and I’d love to hear your opinion about it because honestly I think you are better than me at putting things in the right perspective” said Rosalie as she looked at the pieces and started her first move with the white pieces.

(Maybe we could decide who wins by throwing a dice or something?)

Cullen nodded, he was sure that Lana and the boys would love to have lunch with Rosie and catch up. They were all rather busy, but never too busy for family. He smiled and nodded.

They would love that, especially Lana, she's had her hands full between the blight and the Aerial Protectorate, but we always make time for family. Just let us know when works best for you and I'm sure we can accommodate.

Cullen was well acquainted with how self-deprecating that Rosie could be about herself and her strengths, so it didn't really surprise him when she down played her accomplishments, he just smiled warmly and gave her the 'say what you want but I know better' look. When she changed the topic to needing his advice on something he was intrigued, he rubbed the back of his neck.

My opinion? Well, I'm always here for you, anything you need, what's up? He couldn't imagine what she needed his opinion for, but he was prepared to give it whatever it was.

“It’s mutual! I know that it’s been a while since I visited, specially with how busy I am with my exams lately but I do miss you a lot; family means the world to me and at times I just miss old times when it was easier to met” Funnily enough things like this was what made her choice difficult, how could she choose between two things that she loved dearly?

Rosalie pondered for a moment how to explain what she felt before starting to talk “As I said I love my family; seeing our family makes my day better even at the worst times and I do really miss spending more time with you” said the blonde as she put her hand gently on her brother’s arm “And I do love Ferelden; it’s where I grew and it’s so different to Orlais that it makes me feel nostalgic almost every day. Back when I moved to Orlais to study I was super sure of that I’d go back after I was done”

There was a pause as Rosalie avoided his gaze looking down “But I also love learning, and I have been offered the chance to stay and study medical research once my formation is done. I’d work as a doctor and as a researcher, and the idea of being able to do two things makes me so excited that I can’t even put it into words”

"There's also someone...I like. Nothing is going to come out of it but even as friends I miss him, and his work makes him travel a lot but he is mostly in Orlais" this part was said more quietly as Rosalie blushed harder than ever.

“So what do I do brother? What’s the right choice when your heart is pulled in two different ways?”

Cullen listened carefully to everything that Rosie was saying, at first he was a bit confused where it was headed, but eventually he saw the whole picture and nodded knowingly. Ah, yes, everything she was saying made sense, she'd been in Orlais more than Ferelden ever since she'd gone to the University of Orlais, which was something he had anticipated, at least while she was in school. It wasn't all that surprising that she'd ended up making a life for herself there beyond school.

First of all, I'm going to need to know more about this man that has caught your eye, and perhaps heart. As far as whether or not you should continue to live in Orlais, I think you already know the answer, deep down. I mean, Ferelden will always be your home, and as proven by today it's not that hard for you to come home for visits, and we can occasionally go there for visits as well, though Lana's not really a fan of Orlais, but for family is a different matter. Either way, if you choose Orlais, be assured it won't mean losing us.

“Well I invited him to my graduation, so if you can come and he’s free you’d be able to met him! I mean we are nothing and likely he won’t come because you know busy people, like in that he reminds me of you or Lana, always busy saving the world and serious business” rambled Rosalie as she got blushier, the tips of her ears so red that she could feel them melting.

The blonde got emotional hearing her brother; deep inside she knew that losing her brother would not be “easy” and that they were a family, but it meant so much for her to hear the reassurance and confirmation “That means a lot, and I have eyed a couple of places to stay and as soon as I settle you are invited for diner, including Lana and the kids; she could come to the graduation too! There will be a party and all of that or we can skip the party and go diner all together, I can do whatever you guys want!

Cullen noticed Rosie getting redder, and there was apart of him that wanted to point it out, maybe even tease her a bit, but as they were both adults now and Rosie had a lot on her plate with graduating, he decided to ignore those urges and just smile warmly and supportively. He nodded as she talked about him being busy saving the world, but as he didn't know who this man was, he wasn't sure in what way the man was saving the world. He considered asking more questions, but figured she'd tell him if she wanted to tell him, he trusted Rosie's judge of character.

We're looking forward to seeing your graduation, and we'll also look forward to seeing your place when you get one. If you need anything, like literally anything at all just ask, even if it's money. I just don't want to see you end up renting out some dirty inn room in one of those Inns with a less than stellar reputation. He couldn't help but be protective, sure they were both adults, but she'd always be his little sister.

“I have eyed a couple of places, something humble but in a good shape” said the blonde with a smile “I don’t need luxuries but doctors earn enough to be able to afford a respectable place” although with the researches that she had ahead of herself, she didn’t know if she’d have plenty of time to actually do practical stuff. “Once the place is up and pretty I’ll arrange a diner don’t worry, and no one is going to have to wear a mask I promise” said the girl with a smile.

“I can’t wait to graduate. Studying was fun, but I am looking forwards to a more active role” said Rosie as she daydreamed about the exams being over “I hope that I will do well”

Cullen had really enjoyed his time catching up with Rosalie, he wished in a small way that it could continue, but he had duties to get to. He smiled warmly at Rosalie, yawned, stretched and stood up. Once she too was on her feet he reached in for a hug.

It's been good catching up, I wish I had more time but I've got a schedule to keep and warden recruits to train. You can definitely plan on us to come see you once you're settled, I'll be looking forward to it, despite the fact it'll be in Orlais. He said with a chuckle and a wink. Once they said their goodbyes, he headed out to get back to working with the recruits and making sure everyone was doing what they should be