GOODBYE
The words echoed about the stone walls of the room before it dissolved into complete silence. The messenger was still talking but he had stopped listening. Inquistor. Dead.
The recruits were looking to their commander with bated breath. His gaze remained locked blankly on the desk before him. His hands clutched the wood so hard his knuckles were turning white, nails digging into the surface as if he could ground himself in reality. The world felt as if it had slipped out from under him. No matter how hard he tried, Cullen couldn’t seem to find enough breath to fill his aching lungs.
“Leave me.” His voice was quiet, but edged with a warning.
“Commander-”
“GET OUT!” He bellowed, an agonized roar that echoed throughout the hold, otherwise silent in their grief. The recruits scrambled, desperate to avoid the commander’s wrath as they fled the room.
He was losing control. Every part of his being screamed and the one person who could calm him, who could soothe the heart that cried to be free from its prison within his ribcage, was gone. Another cry ripped from his chest as he overturned the massive desk, so reminiscent of a night not long after they had settled at Skyhold. When Jem had found the commander in the heat of withdrawal and held him until all was right. But now he was alone with his demons and they were getting the better of him.
The sound of wood splintering filled the room as he destroyed everything he could reach, blind with grief. Books and papers were strewn everywhere, their respective shelves over turned as well as the desk.His hair hung in his face, eyes blazing.
It was only when glint of metal caught his eye that he stopped. Shaking hands, scratched and bleeding reached for it, gingerly pulling it closer. As comprehension dawned, all the fight left him. A necklace, a small token given to him by the Inquisitor to remind of his faith in his darkest hour. He held it close to his chest, falling to the ground as bitter sobs wracked his body.
