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Tainted Dreams	By : wyldehart Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 3478 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: All characters and Dragon Age are property of Bioware/EA. I made no money, sadly.

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
It was nearly a month since they had left Denerim and the Dwarven city of Orzammar loomed above and below, deep within the rocky womb of the mountain. They had traveled the North Road, the shortest distance between Denerim and Gherlen's Pass. The beginning of their journey through the pass had been uneventful but tiring. It was uphill and slow going with intermittent heavy snow-fall and an intense, bitter wind. The cloaks they wore were poor protection against the cold. Worse, the last leg had lasted about four days without them being able to stop for supplies and a decent meal. This had left the Orlesian spiteful and irritated for the duration and Alistair desperate for a break from the Ambrose's sour attitude.
It was no surprise that Alistair had disliked Ambrose at first but in recent days, he'd managed to accept the Orlesian with grudging resolve. They had to have Ambrose with them and it was more uncomfortable in silence than it was talking with him. The felt they were making progress with the taciturn fellow as they slowly drew him from his self-inflicted emotional exile. Though far from amicable, he at least replied when they spoke to him now. He seemed to be trying to avoid the tangle of friendship. Alistair wondered why.
Then the night came that Elissa showed remarkable aim with a crossbow even while half asleep. It was not her fault or even Ambrose's for that matter. Alistair had left camp to wash up, leaving his wife in a fitful slumber and told Ambrose to keep an eye and an ear out for her in case she needed aid. Then the screaming started. Ambrose kept true to his promise and entered the tent to shake her awake. This caused Elissa to reach for the nearest weapon, her crossbow, and had it loaded and shoved in his face before he could react. Understandably, the man turned and ran. Elissa fired. The bolt struck true and sank itself into his meaty bottom as he tried to flee.
Though she was instantly remorseful, Ambrose was furious and lost a great deal of his dignity that day, along with some blood. Because of the barbed tip, when he yanked out the bolt, it left behind the silverite business-end, which he refused to let anyone touch. The closest city by that time was Orzammar and that was two days ago. He was in a great deal of pain, limping stiffly, indignantly refusing assistance of any kind. Alistair for his part, managed to keep the snickering to a minimum, a thing for which Elissa was very proud of. Once, when they were alone and some distance away from their suffering companion, Alistair let out an explosion of un-king-like laughter, rolling around in the chill snow like a child. Elissa had tried to restore him to his usual nobler demeanor but there were times where his playfulness got the better of him.
But that was Alistair.
He was noble, dignified, respectful and courageous at times and irreverent and playfully sarcastic at other times. His charisma and enthusiasm were boundless. It gave him a charm that was irresistible to anyone who knew him. Elissa had loved that about him from the moment they met. She knew he wanted to say things to Ambrose that could be taken out of (or in) the context in which they were spoken. He was dying inside, wanting to tease the other Grey Warden but not daring to because of the wicked glances his wife was casting him. For his part, every chance he had out of earshot of Ambrose, he let it out in bursts of intense snickering. She tried not to give in but his laughter was infectious and more than once she found herself joining him.
"What were you doing with a crossbow by your pillow?" Ambrose asked her as they neared the plateau where Orzammar perched like an overbearing mother.
"Hmm? What, Ambrose?" Elissa asked innocently.
"The crossbow? Why? Most people keep a dagger or a sword close but a crossbow?" came the indignant reply.
"She's compact, fast and deadly to Darkspawn. It's just your foul luck I'd had her loaded with Razor Barbs. Those edges curve backwards, preventing you from removing them without doing serious damage. I know some field medicine. I really wish you would allow me to…"
"NOT on your life! You are not touching me! Not you, not him! And Alistair, I know you think this is some hilarious joke but I am not laughing. The next time, I will ensure you get the barb in the butt and we'll see how you feel about it!" Elissa looked back at her husband and the look on his open, boyish face let her know it was all over. She sighed as Alistair suddenly let out all of the laughter he'd been holding in for the past two days and some. He was breathless, tears streaming from his eyes as he came along beside her and rested his gauntleted hand on her shoulder, gripping it as he tried to regain his composure.
"C'mon! You don't find this funny, Ambrose? I mean, she shot you in the rump! Imagine; that scar will be something to tell people about for years to come. 'See this dent? It was caused by the queen of Fereldan, no less!' You'll be famous." The thought of Ambrose actually saying that caused Alistair to start laughing again and Elissa, unable to help herself, laughed and hugged Ambrose impulsively. Startled, he strained against her. With one arm around the Orlesian, she pulled Alistair into the embrace of her other arm. Ambrose tried to pull away but Fereleden's Warden Commander held firm. He looked away and grudgingly smiled and chuckled. It was more than they'd gotten from him in almost four weeks of travel and Elissa felt a blossom of hope for her companion's suspected humanity.
Once in the outdoor marketplace just outside Orzammar's city gates, Alistair suggested that Ambrose visit a certain mage while he and Elissa shopped for warm cloaks and heavy blankets to fend off the bitter cold of the mountain pass. Snow had been falling steadily and the three were ill prepared for the inclement weather.
The mage was the last person Alistair would have suggested to Ambrose as he was a glorified hedge wizard with limited skill, barely strong enough to light a candle. He sold magical items and spell components at astronomical prices to those desperate enough to pay them. His reason? "Go ahead and search for it in Orzammar, city without a lick of magic to speak of and good luck finding a town or settlement with half the quality I have!" But he was the only mage outside or inside the gates so Alistair reluctantly sent him the mage's way. "If you need us, we'll be around, hiding from King Harrowmont," Elissa told him with a fond pat on the arm.
Wincing, Ambrose raised an eyebrow. "Hide? Why?"
"We're trying to keep our visit as low-key as possible. The last thing we want is to turn this into a state visit. Those can be very time consuming. But if it were to come down to it, I think we could get Harrowmont to be understanding and let us avoid formalities. We'll be out and about here. If you need us. We dislike your mage but if you won't let me help you…"
"…I'll take my chances with the mage."
"Suit yourself! We have some sovereigns to spend." They parted ways, Alistair and Elissa going off to buy the things they needed and Ambrose heading off to hopefully get the bolt pulled and finally start healing. Alistair draped his arm around Elissa's shoulders as they shopped, his eyes on the numerous stalls as they walked by.
They soon came to a booth stocked with furs and leathers as well as a variety of cloaks, coats and robes. Elissa grew excited with the merchandise the woman offered. "These will be perfect! I wonder what strange manner of beasts wore these skins. I've never seen the like!" She was practically giddy with enthusiasm. Alistair grinned. "Oh, Alistair, look at these furs! How lovely! Feel how light-weight they are and how soft." She held it up against his cheek and he closed his eyes with a dreamy smile. "Can you imagine?"
"Imagine laying on it, surrounded by snow and your naked body?" he murmured in her ear. She laughed and bumped him with her hip. "Buy whatever you want, Love. I am agreeable to anything."
"Anything?" she purred up at him with a seductive smile.
He leaned close, his breath a thrilling burst of heat against her ear. "Anything," he affirmed.
She spied a dark place behind a tent and, after paying for three of the light, thick-furred skins, a couple cloaks and a couple of huge blankets that were light as silk and covered in the thickest, softest, densest fur she'd ever felt , she started to drag him there by the hand. Along the way, they were stopped by a squealing figure that rushed them and threw her arms around Elissa's waist. "Who-? Dagna?" Elissa gasped.
"It is you! Oh, Elissa, Alistair, it's so amazing to see you! What are you doing here?" the young Dwarf exclaimed excitedly. She had hardly aged and her enthusiasm was palpable as ever. She was giddy, hugging them both. "I guess congratulations are in order. I hear you're king and she's queen-consort and you're, like, the best rulers Ferelden has had in ages! So why are you here?"
Alistair leaned forward and kissed her cheek fondly. She blushed and giggled with delight. "We're just passing through, dear. How are your studies going? Are you having fun?"
Dagna took them both by the hand and walked around to the stalls while she told them all about her studies and how exciting it was to learn from the mages. The Archmage himself was tutoring her, guiding her steps and she had managed to impress him with her determination and willingness to learn. Even the tranquil seemed dutifully impressed by her. She happily exclaimed that she had discovered her calling and somehow, in the middle of all the words that tumbled from her lips, she revealed that she was betrothed to a surface-born dwarf who had a knack for organizing so refined that it amazed and pleased the mages. Even the Tranquil were hard-pressed to maintain the library as well as he did. So now the Circle was home to two dwarven scholars. She sighed dreamily. "He's a dwarf after my own heart. He has such soft hands…! Not like the Stone-Born, who always have these meaty, calloused mitts. I love him so much. The wedding is in a few months. Oh, Alistair! Elissa! Can you please, please, please come? It would be such an honor!"
The royal pair shared a look and Elissa smiled gently as she laid her hands over swollen belly. The scaled armor flexed, revealing the slight curve. "If we can. I'm afraid your wedding may be in conflict with something very dear to us."
Dagna's eyes followed Elissa's hands and widened hugely. "Are you…? You're really…? Oh, Elissa! Alistair! I am so happy for you! AH! How exciting! This is wonderful news! We don't have a set date so we'll wait. I promise. You're so important to me that I'll wait until the baby's born. When are you due?"
Elissa thought for a moment. "Hmm. I am a little over four months along now, I guess. So about five months give or take a week or two. Don't worry about putting off your wedding too long. We'll be there. I promise."
That elicited another excited hug from Dagna, whose cheeks were bright red and whose eyes shed happy tears. "I love you both so much! Don't worry. I'll send out a message when we get a date set and I'll give you lots of time to have the baby. My next problem then is where. I want my parents to be there but they won't come if they have to travel all the way to Lake Calenhad. They dislike the idea of me living on the surface but they've accepted the fact that I just don't want to do anything else in my life. I'm in my element and I've learned more than I ever dreamed and I'm still learning!"
"Why don't you have it here?" Elissa asked as Dagna stared up at her, eyes wide as saucers.
"W-what?" she asked.
Elissa turned around and gestured to the raised platform in the center of the market. "Have your wedding here? This- stage -would be perfect, don't you think, Alistair?"
He thumbed his whiskered chin thoughtfully before bobbing his head in agreement. "You could set up poles around the perimeter covered in colored streamers and it would be close enough for friends and family to attend," he suggested with a smile.
Dagna was so happy, she was bouncing with exuberance. "Yes! Yes! That's perfect! Then… late Spring? Roses will be in bloom. Have you ever seen a perfect rose before? I want them everywhere! You guys are amazing. Thank you!"
"Dagna, what brings you here?" Alistair asked as she strolled with them, watching for useful items among the stalls. Occasionally, Elissa would stop and offer a few coins for something as they talked. "Are you visiting family?"
The dwarven "mage" smiled but her expression was gently serious. "Sort of. I've come to tell them I'm engaged for one thing and… I'm here on official business to see the Shaper and add some things to the Histories. I've made a lot of discoveries that would blow your minds. The library at the mage's tower is everything I ever dreamed and then some. I'm something of an ambassador now and pretty important. It makes my father's teeth ache just thinking about it but too bad. I have the life I've always dreamed of. Who needs Caste when you're doing what you love?"
Alistair hugged Elissa tightly, squeezing just enough to make a point. "I couldn't have said it better myself, Dagna."
"I guess I better go now. It was great seeing you both! Come by the Circle Tower as soon you can and visit me so I can introduce you to Orvan. He's so amazing. I just know you'll love him. Farewell!" After a quick hug to both her friends, Dagna left with a final wave and scampered up the steps to the city of Orzammar and disappeared behind the massive doors to the city of Dwarves.
Alistair appraised his wife's purchases with a critical eye as they watched the young scholar leave. "So. Now what? We done shopping?" he asked hopefully.
"Uh huh. Done shopping, my love. But you promised me something."
"I did? What did I promise?" he asked, eyes twinkling.
"'Anything'" she replied with a mischievous grin.
He blushed as she hauled him by the hand to a place where two tents created a kind of alley along a fenced portion of the stony mountain-side. It was dark with one way in and a very narrow space at the other end. "Ah, and what do you intend to do here?" he asked, his cheeks red.
She reached up under the chain mail that hung like a short skirt around his hips and removed the metal cod-piece protecting his groin. Designed with men's needs in mind, the device was rugged and offered protection from general attacks to that region but was ridiculously easy to remove. She knelt down before him, her long lashes shadowing her teal eyes. "'Anything,' I want, of course!" she stated as she gazed intently at the "anything she wanted". He was becoming aroused just from the intense look on her face.
"Are you sure you want to… um… here? There's people, you know, shopping? And selling… It's so… public…" She ignored him and proceeded to ignore his protests. He was minding it less and less as she entertained herself at his expense. Her lips and tongue were doing amazing things to him and he closed his eyes, arched his neck and sighed dreamily. As long as he kept his back to the entrance to the alley, nobody would know any different, right? He moaned. Well, not if he kept moaning like this. It was hard not to, though. Elissa had such a way with her mouth, such talent in the way she used her tongue... He could have been on the platform in the market's heart right now, watched by dozens of people and he wouldn't have cared.
But the pleasure was cut short just shy of him reaching the summit by a guard dressed in Orzammar's royal crest. "Ser?" the guard said as he approached and then he realized what was going on. "I apologize! I don't mean to, ah, interrupt but are you not the Grey Wardens the Circle Ambassador was talking to?" Alistair's face flushed as red his lover's hair and he swallowed nervously. He remained where he was, afraid to move. Ferelden's Queen, for her part, disengaged her mouth much to Alistair's combined relief and disappointment. Elissa, looking annoyed, peered around Alistair's thighs. "Unfortunately, we're guilty as charged. What do you need?" she muttered darkly.
"You've been summoned by the captain of the Legion of the Dead. There is a concern he needs to discuss with you and the king wishes an audience as well," the guard explained nervously. It was clear what the two humans had been up to and the irritation on both their faces made him very uncomfortable.
Elissa fixed the cod-piece pack into place, reinstalling some of Alistair's dignity. He turned around and helped his wife back to her feet. He said "I guess we have been discovered." He sighed heavily. "Very well. Hopefully nobody will make a big deal of it. We may need a healer when we get inside, Ser. We have a companion who is a bit worse for wear."
"Will do, Ser Warden! As soon as you are able to, please head to the main gates and enter the Hall of Heroes. The Legion Captain will be awaiting you there. I will collect you shortly after your meeting with him and your companion will be seen to."
The guard left the pair leaning against each other, Alistair's arm draped loosely around Elissa's shoulders. "Well, that totally killed the mood…" Elissa muttered darkly.
"You owe me." Alistair told her.
"What?" she asked, snapping her head to look up at him.
"Just saying. You shouldn't start things you can't finish…" he said with a sly smile and prepared to bolt. There were daggers in her eyes now. She made a grab for him and he ran, laughing, out of the alley.
To be continued
- 9
- 10
- 11
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Tainted Dreams