Adult-FanFiction.org : Games

In good times and in bad	By : kruemel Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 14752 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Dragon Age and the characters of the game do not belong to me. This is a no profit fanfiction

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
Darkness surrounds me. The silence is only disturbed by my own harsh breathing and the blood rushing in my veins. I try to get up but my body feels so heavy I can hardly move. All I manage is to crawl. The ground is cold rock, I feel my way around, my fingers brushing against something soft and cold, then metal and leather. An armour? I move on, and cry out when my fingers creep across a face, covered with a sticky liquid. The facial structure is delicate, a very young man, maybe a boy? Or an elf? No, there's no pointy ears. Could it be a woman? The hair is short but silky beneath my fingers. I can't get rid of the sickening feeling that I should know.
And then there's light. A sick reddish glow that starts to well up around me, becoming stronger and harsher. Out of the corner of my eyes I can see the corpses of darkspawn littering the ground. I am in the very center of death and when I look down I stare right into Rori's destroyed face, her eyes broken and dull. She's dead.
With a cry I wake from yet another nightmare. My heart is drumming so hard against my ribcage, I'm afraid it will break through. Cold sweat covers my brow and chest. I wipe myself dry, trying to steady my shaking hands. Damn, that was a tough one. It's in the middle of the night but I cannot go back to sleep. At the break of dawn, Rori will return to Ostagar with Wynne, Sten and me. I should make sure I get as much rest as possible but all I end up with is tossing and turning.
My thoughts keep returning to Rori and the fear I feel about losing her. It's weird, although I was extremely fond of Duncan - in a very manly way, not that any of you gets the wrong impression -, almost father-to-son fond, I was never really afraid of losing him. Not until I did lose him. Rori has been different from the beginning. Is that all only about her being a girl... or is it... more? Which of course includes her being a girl or I wouldn't lie here in the dark and wonder about how I feel. Do I care for her? My heart tells me yes, at least I think so. I am so confused. Would I feel the same for her if fate - and the Blight - hadn't chained us together for mission impossible? Would she still be such a wonderful and beautiful flower without all that? And would she even care to notice me?
I cannot know for sure. Not as long as I haven't asked her. But should I? What if she doesn't feel anything for me? Or not like I do for her? Has she been flirting? I think she has, but who am I to know? I am clueless when it comes to women.
Tomorrow we will return to Ostagar. To where it all began. To where I first met her. To where I lost so much and - maybe - gained more than I ever dared to dream of.
And now whenever I close my eyes, I see her dead face, empty eyes staring back at me.
In the end I give up, put on a shirt, some leather pants and boots. Maybe a walk will clear my head and help me get back to sleep without that awful image of Rori's dead face poping up in my head all the time. I crawl to the entrance of my tent and peek out.
It's Rori's watch. She sits at the campfire with Barkley at her feet. In her hands she holds the rose I have given her a few days ago. Her fingers gently brush across the crimson petals. Then she inhales the sweet scent, her lips brushing against the velvet blossom. How carefully she handles the flower like a precious gem. She said she liked it when I gave it to her, but seeing her with it is something totally different. There's no mistaking that Rori meant it when she thanked me for the flower and for the sentiment that went with me giving it to her.
It's the reason why I make up my mind. Her gentleness with the flower gives me courage.
Rori looks up when I crawl out of my tent. "Nightmares?" she asks. I simply nod. She is the only one here who really understands what it means to be a Grey Warden.
"Can I sit with you for a while?"
"Of course you can." She carefully places the flower back into the box and puts it back into her backpack with as much care.
"You remember the tactics for tomorrow?" I ask when I slump down next to her. Come on, Alistair, that's not what you want to ask her!
"I think I do. But it would be better if you showed me again in the morning. And if you reminded me when we enter Ostagar." Rori wasn't offended when I made it clear that her way of fighting is going to kill us all. She just nodded and listened carefully. That's part of what makes her a good leader. She doesn't insist that she knows it all - and better than anybody else. After letting me talk about different tactics for five minutes, she decided I should plan the battles, train the group to fight together and advice her in any way concerning battles. "Maybe you should lead us there, Alistair," she says after a moment of silence - a moment that is completely lost to me as I am bewitched by her beauty, how the fire makes her eyes shine and how cute she looks when she is tired. "I will have to heavily rely on you anyway."
"I didn't mean to unsettle you..."
"You didn't!" Rori hurries to say. "You're right, I have never fought in a real battle before Ostagar. There was the training, and Father took me hunting. My first real fight was when my home was attacked. I lack the experience you have and I don't see why I should insist on doing something you can do better."
I feel a bit uncomfortable. Does that mean she will now drop this all on me? She knows I rather follow orders.
"We're in this together, Alistair," Rori assures me. "I won't let you down - just like you won't let me down."
Maker bless that girl! So it's now or never, Alistair! Do you have the courage to ask her now or do you want to wait until the Blight is over? Or until it's too late... until she is taken from you. You never told Duncan that he was like a father for you. You never had the courage, thought it awkward, odd, a bit weird. Now he's gone, and you wish you had thanked him at least.
So... how do I start this.
I inhale deeply, searching for the right words in my head. Not that I ever find them. So finally I just blurt out: "So, all this time we spent together... you know, the tragedy, the brushes with death, the constant battle with the whole Blight looming over us... will you miss it once it's over?"
Rori gives me the answer such an idiotic question deserves. "It makes me tear up just thinking about it." Oh, she's teasing. Well, she has no clue what I want to tell her. How could she after that opening?
I laugh when she pulls a handkerchief from her pocket - my handkerchief that I have given her a while ago when she was crying -, blows her nose as noisily as possible and acts as if she wipes a tear out of the corner of her eye. I get it, I get it! "There'll be no more running for our lives, no more darkspawn and no more camping in the middle of nowhere." Now, how sad does that sound?
"No more icy rivers to wash in," Rori adds. "No more of your awful cooking, or even worse, my awful cooking." We forbade Rori to cook after she did it for the first time. One of the rare occasions when Morrigan and I agreed.
"No more filthy stinking socks in our backpacks."
"No more rain seeping into our armours."
"No more rusty armours."
"That, too," Rori agrees. "No more keeping watch in the middle of the night and not getting enough sleep."
We could go on like that forever.
Another deep breath and I turn towards her, seeking her full attention. She looks at me quizzically with her beautiful blue eyes. Come on, boy, spit it out! This can't hurt more than being struck by a sword.
"I know it... might sound strange, considering we haven't known each other for very long, but I've come to... care for you. A great deal."
Before Rori can say something, I hurry on. I can't even stand to look at her too closely. At the same time, I try to read from her expression if she is going to laugh herself to tears any moment and tell me what a funny guy I am. She doesn't laugh but I swear her already big eyes become even larger and rounder.
"I think maybe it's because we've gone through so much together, I don't know. Or maybe I'm imagining it. Maybe I'm fooling myself."
Maybe I'm just digging my own grave again. Come on, ask her already. She's sitting there, staring at you as if you are about to sprout a second head. My heart by now beats so fast I'm afraid it's going to leap straight out of my throat.
"Am I? Fooling myself? Or do you think you might ever... feel the same about me?"
Do I sound meek? Or as if I was begging? For the love of Lady Andraste, say something Rori! I obviously dumbfounded her. After all that time I managed to say something that she has no smart reply for.
"I..." Rori begins, when I almost want to give up. Her voice is no more than a whisper. "I think... I already do." What? "Care... for you, I mean. Great deal." Say it again because I think I must be dreaming this. "But... I didn't know if this was all more than... just a game. I wondered... if I was imagining things... just like you." She laughs that clear ringing laughter of hers.
Merciful Andraste! I've never in my life felt so relieved. I think even after having survived the Joining I didn't feel such an immense relief. My heart is doing something very weird in my chest. There's a warmth spreading through me, making my nerves tingle from head to toe.
"So I fooled you, did I?" I raise my hand to brush my fingertips across her cheek, trailing my hand to the back of her neck to pull her closer to me. She leans into my touch, cranes her neck to meet my lips. "Good to know." And then I kiss her.
It's my very first real kiss ever. That unfortunate almost smooching with Sister Ariana in the backyard doesn't count. We were so nervous all we managed was to bang our foreheads together in a rather hurtful way. And then the Revered Mother caught us before we could try some more.
I am glad it didn't work.
Because now, being here with Rori, feeling the softness of her lips against mine, is the most heavenly sensation I ever felt. My arms wrap around her waist as I pull her closer and when her lips part, I slip my tongue into the hot cavern of her mouth. I have never imagined it would feel like that, hot and moist and soft. I have never imagined it would light a fire in my loins that burns hotter than Andraste's Flaming Sword. Uhm, the comparison with a sword might be a bit unlucky in this context...
First it seems she is unsure of what is happening to her - but then she kisses me back eagerly until we are both breathless.
"That wasn't too soon, was it?" I'm usually not that bold. She hopefully isn't offended...
Rori tilts her head to one side, pouting her rosebud lips while she ponders about my question. "I don't know," she finally purrs. "I think I need more testing."
I grin at her broadly. "Well, I have to arrange that then, won't I?"
"Mhm..."
We kiss again. Less testing now that we have tasted each other already. Rori wraps her arms tighter around my neck, her body presses closer to mine, and her first timidness has altogether vanished. So has mine. One hand resting at the back of her head, the other at the small of her back. At that moment I'm not even afraid she could feel my arousal. Everything around us is blissfully oblivious while we kiss.
"You're sure now?" I ask, my breathing as ragged as hers. Rori looks at me with huge hungry eyes. She licks her swollen lips, shakes her head and before I can say a word she has grabbed me and kisses me again, deeply, longingly. Then she crawls onto my lap.
Whoa!
Wait! That's a bit too fast. And I have this... uhm... oh blast it... did she notice? She has stopped kissing me and blinks at me rather flabbergasted. Then she carefully climbs out of my lap again. Yes, she has noticed. Blast!
I am about to apologize but she puts her finger to my lips. "Hush," she whispers. Her voice has a new quality, husky and raw with emotion. Her fingertips whisper across my skin, the same way she caresses me whenever she helps me getting shaved in the morning. She has become part of that morning routine ever since my mirror broke. I could have gotten a new one... I just didn't want to.
Rori kneels beside me, her eyes dark and shining, the campfire illuminates her unruly red hair, like flames framing her delicate pale face. She's here, and she's mine.
"Maker's breath, but you're beautiful. I'm a lucky man."
"You're not too bad either." Rori grins, leaning against me, and I wrap my arms around her. It feels right. Better than anything has felt in a very long time. It's a bit like coming home after you have been on the road for all your life.
"Do you always have to have the last word?" I chuckle.
"Is that a rhetorical question?"
- 15
- 16
- 17
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

In good times and in bad