Dragon Age Inquisition Imagines

Remember Me (Pt. 2)

A/N
Well, I guess it's going to be a three parter! Hope you guys enjoy it! And I'm sorry if I'm like, bombarding y'all on here. The creative juices have just been flowing, so I've been taking advantage and writing. Anyway, onto the story!

Looking down from the top of the stables, I watch as horse master Dennet works to clean the outer stalls. Blackwall roams in and out of the stables, what he was doing I don't know. The cold air helps cut through the thoughts clouding my mind. 'I can't get him out of my head,' I think, leaning back, laying out on the roof. 'Why can't I shake these thoughts? Do I feel bad for what Josephine was trying to do or is it something else?' I rub the heels of my hands against my eyes.

"Guilt. Confusion," I hear a quiet voice say, I jump, my heartbeat picks up. "Heart racing. Head clouded. Are you okay?" He asks. Sitting up, I find Cole sitting next to me. He fiddles with a stray twig in his lap, so all I see is the top of his floppy hat.

"C-can you hear all of my thoughts?" I ask, worried about what he's heard.

"No. Just fragments. Before I could hear everything when someone needed help. Now I just catch bits and pieces. Leaving me to figure out the rest. It makes it hard to help. And makes it hard to make people forget."

Breathing a sigh of relief, I sit all the way up, crossing my legs and turning my head to look at the mountain tops. "How does it stop you from making people forget you?" I ask, curious.

"Not as much access. I can't manipulate memories anymore. I can leave, sometimes they forget. Sometimes they remember. I'm not really sure," he sighs, the toll of his new, more human existence obvious in his posture. He sits slouched, his head more bowed, not as alert as he normally is. "I like helping, but it's so much harder to now." He lifts his head, his blue eyes staring into my (e/c) ones. "Are you okay? Your thoughts were calling out to me."

I hold the contact. "I'm fine Cole, I promise. This is something I need to figure out on my own. Thank you though," I say, hoping to get off the topic. He seems satisfied with that answer, and returns to the twig in his lap.

"Is there something wrong with me?" He asks suddenly, so softly his words were almost lost in the wind. "Josephine is upset and I don't know how to fix it. It has to do with me, but I can't fix it." His voice cracks, and along with it my heart. 'How can people dislike a gentle soul like this? He only cares for others. Damn it Josephine.' Silently cursing Josephine, I look over at Cole, seeing this sweet, kind soul crying out in so much pain.

I grab his hand, the sudden contact surprising him. He looks up at me through his bangs. "No Cole. There is nothing wrong with you, and there never has been. What Josephine is dealing with is her own problems, and its not something you need to worry about. Trust me," I finish with a slight smile. He moves his cold hand to grasp mine, his eyes filled with thanks.

"Thank you," he replies quietly. "I came here to help you, but you've helped me again." He gently releases my hand, and stands.

"Again?" I question, confused. 'I've helped him before?'

"You remembered me. Before. When I tried to make you forget, you remembered me," he replies, a small smile gracing his lips. "For as long as I can remember, I only wanted to help and then be forgotten. But you made me realize sometimes it helps to be remembered. Sometimes it makes me feel better to be remembered." One last smile and he disappears. 'Off to help others I suppose.'

~~

Laying in bed, I think back on the one time Cole 'helped' me, and in which he said I helped him. 'I wonder what he meant by that? That sometimes it feels better to be remembered?'

It had been a few weeks since he'd joined the Inquisition, and we had just recently made it to Skyhold.

~~(Flashback)~~

It was late, yet I was still up, nightmares of Haven's events plaguing my sleep. My face was swollen, and burned from the tears I'd shed for those who'd been lost. 'It's my fault. All of them died because I couldn't protect them. What kind of leader am I if I can't keep my own people alive,' I thought to myself. I grabbed the blanket off of my bed, and a pillow, and made my way over to the fireplace. Sitting on the pillow, I wrapped the blanket around me, hoping to lull myself to sleep, watching the glowing embers and the dancing flames.

"Pain, regret. You couldn't save them all," a voice called. I turned, finding the spirit boy, 'Cole, I think that's his name,' sitting on the edge of the couch, watching the flames. "They all died fighting for something better, and they had devoted their lives to this cause. It's not your fault. They moved on, with no ill feelings towards you." I can feel the tears building again.

"I still feel that it's my fault though," I struggle to get out, sobs racking my thin frame.

"Its not your fault. It's Corypheus's," he says calmly. "If it makes you feel better, channel their losses. Make sure their deaths were not in vain." As the words leave his lips, I feel better, a new determination washing over me. 'I will defeat Corypheus, for all that gave their lives, even if it means losing mine. They sacrificed themselves for this,' I think. "Good," I hear his voice whisper on the wind, but he is no where to be found.

I make my way to bed, sleep coming much easier now. Right before sleep overcomes me I hear a soft voice whisper from the depths of my mind 'Forget.' When I wake the next morning, I am confused, and upset again, until I remember the blond haired young man who gave me such encouraging words.

~~(End of Flashback)~~

After that night, Cole had avoided me, while I had tried to seek him out. He had seemed distressed at me remembering him and his help. When I finally got him to stop and talk he had broken, "You weren't supposed to remember. You were supposed to feel better and forget." Calming him down had taken some work, but after that it seemed like he talked to me more. Especially seeking me out after the change to become more human. Coming to me when discovering new emotions.

I roll over, Cole's smiling face the last thing I remember before sleep overcomes me.