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Dark Game	By : TropicalFool Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 1903 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the BioWare or EA characters, any aspect of Dragon Age, locations, plots or anything else--they do-- and I make no money from this story, more's the pity.

Chapter List
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Arriving a bit early, Anders knocked gently on the door. When it was answered he proudly held up a bottle of Orleasian red wine that Random had allowed him to liberate from the Keep's cellars. T'herendalin met them and graciously bid them enter, taking the wine with a kiss on the cheek for Anders in thanks.
Random immediately noticed the size of the room, one of the larger ones the Keep sported and, he knew, it came with a sizable antechamber too. He allowed his lips to turn up in amusement. Anders would indulge himself at every opportunity and this room was a personal indulgence he was sure.
Catching his Commander's survey of the room, Anders shuffled a bit in embarrassment but offered no explanation.
Random stepped to the center of the room and bowed low, holding his hand out to T'herendalin. She placed her hand in his and he kissed it gently, releasing it and standing straight once again. Anders felt a bit overshadowed, the gesture had been so natural, so regal, and so expertly done.
Since Anders was not making introductions, Random said simply, "I am Random. I am sorry to hear of your loss m'lady. You have my condolences and wishes that it could have been otherwise." His voice was a deep tenor, smooth and seductive. Anders looked up startled. Where had he learned that? Random's natural voice was pleasant enough, but this was lyrical, beautiful, in those few brief words.
T'herendalin took a small step forward and said, "And I am T'herendalin. I am honored to meet you Warden Commander, and thank you for your kind thoughts. I have heard a great deal about you, but then so has all of Ferelden."
Random smiled at this as T'herendalin gestured to soft chairs by the fire. Anders really had done well by the girl, and thereby by himself, he thought. There probably weren't a half dozen soft chairs in the Keep and three of them now resided in this room.
She examined the Commander closely. He didn't look like her idea of a hero. Actually, Anders was much closer to that ideal. Random was broadly built in the chest for an elf, but slight like most of his race. A dark blue Dalish tattoo covered his eyes, graceful curves sweeping up his forehead and down across his cheeks.
T'herendalin was quite sure she had heard that he came from the Denerim Alienage, so the tattoo was a curious feature. Perhaps it was merely an affectation; something to make him appear what he was not. It was attractive though. It rather reminded her of the elaborate masks at an Orlesian masquerade ball she had attended some years before. Ah, the Orleasians certainly knew how to through a party. She sighed wistfully at the memory.
It seemed appropriate that the enigmatic Commander would have a permanent mask, and she was curious to see what lay behind it.
His hair was a deep auburn, brushing his shoulders and casually tossed back, but with a very carefully plated small braid tucked behind his ear. His eyes seemed almost black, although they might show more color in better light. The dark eyes perfectly complimented the dark tattoo making him look brooding and dangerous.
She studied his face for some sign of character. It was chiseled, almost heart shaped, with a strong chin, the nose slightly curved near the tip. She was curious to note that it looked as if his nose had never been broken: exceptional in a warrior. Most of the fighters she knew had noses that went in several directions before they reached the end.
By far his most notable feature were thick, sensual lips. They seemed a contradiction to his other features, but made the overall package surprisingly appealing. Yes, she would not mind knowing the Warden Commander better.
Before sitting, Random retrieved the bottle of wine where T'herendalin had placed it on a table, and pulling his eating dagger from it's sheath, quickly removed the lead and cork. While he did this, T'herendalin brought three goblets from a shelf, setting them by the wine.
"Please m'lady, sit," Random gestured to the group of chairs where Anders already sprawled, completely at ease. Delicately T'herendalin sat at the edge of the middle chair, while Random poured, then brought her a brimming goblet. She was bemused, being waited on my the mighty Warden Commander, the hero of Ferelden. And more amused that Anders took it in his stride, allowing his Commander to serve him as well.
Having tasted the wine, T'herendalin complimented Anders on his taste and generosity, to Random's great amusement. Random asked, "So you are a warrior?"
"Yes," she replied. "I can take care of myself and my fellows in most situations. I am fairly skilled in the arts and acts of war."
"What weapons?" Random asked. Well, T'herendalin thought, the Commander was certainly not one for small talk. They had barely sat and already he was drilling her on the minutia of her qualifications. Very well. She had hoped for a more casual evening, but if this is how it was to be she was game.
"Sword and dagger, sword and shield, two handed broadsword, bastard sword, mace, single handed axe, doubled handed ax, short bow, long bow, crossbow, eating knife, garrote, various poisons and if I lack any of these I am extremely effective with my hands and feet."
Random laughed. "Humm, poisons. I shall have to be cautious at dinner." Becoming more serious, he asked, "And you really consider yourself… proficient… in all of these weapons? Not just able to swing them, but to use them to their best tactical advantage? You have no weakness with any of them?"
T'herendalin straightened, looking Random directly in the eye. "Yes," she replied. "I have been trained, extensively, in all of these weapons and more. I can use each to its best advantage with skill and effectiveness."
It was Anders turn to laugh. He sat up saying to Random, "See, I told you that you wouldn't be disappointed. You may have even met your match in weapons lore."
Nodding, Random said directly to Anders, "More than matched if this be true. I have no talent with axes and I'm clumsy with a shield. Have you seen this with your own eyes, Anders, or are we just talking here?"
Regretting his bold words, Anders said, "I have seen her at the butts on the practice field. I have seen her duel in training. I could find no fault, but then I am no warrior. You will have to judge for yourself."
"Of course," was Random's reply.
Annoyed at being talked over in this way, T'herendalin broke in "Dinner is ready, if you would. I hope that you find it to your liking."
The dinner was not elaborate, but it was delicious. How anyone had managed to prepare it from the same stale mutton, rabbit and slightly moldy grains that the kitchen worked with, Anders couldn't imagine. T'herendalin was a wonder and delight in so many ways. And she seemed to be getting on well with the Commander. They had chatted cordially through dinner about places they had known, about arms, about this and that, almost like normal people. Not once had Random grilled her about her skills or doubted her statements.
As the dinner concluded, T'herendalin, with a mischievous smile, brought out her pièce de résistance. She had carried dried pears all the way for Antiva, expecting to share them with her brother as a special treat at their reunion. She had toyed with having them with Anders, but had decided to save them for the great Warden Commander. They had been carefully stewed and glazed with clover honey, arranged just so, with a sprig from a neglected mint plant she has found by the well.
Fruit was all but unknown in Amaranthine that Spring, or if available at all, unconscionably dear. The trees that bore fruit had all been plundered or burned in the chaos and many other groves were effected by a strange blight.
As she lay his plate in front of him, Anders applauded. It was an amazing treat to find here in the midst of war. T'herendalin placed the second plate in front of the Warden Commander. There was no third. It was to have been only herself and her brother, and even in Antiva, the dried fruit was rare.
Whirling away from Random, T'herendalin gracefully placed herself on Anders' lap, taking a bit of fruit and holding it up for him to bite. Anders almost shoved her to the floor. He had no idea what to do and looked at Random, stricken.
Random merely waved his hand and said, "Carry on. Enjoy yourselves. I can be generous at times."
T'herendalin looked at him quizzically. So, Random thought, he really hadn't told her. Well, he supposed that it wasn't very romantic to try to explain that you were in thrall to another man; to explain to a woman that she would no longer be paramount in his attentions.
Taking him at his word, no matter how puzzling, T'herendalin enthusiastically and a bit noisily kissed Anders. Poor Anders squirmed and tried to turn away, but it is not that easy to turn away from a determined and experienced warrior.
T'herendalin was now completely confused, was Anders really this shy in front of his Commander? She heard Random say, "I meant what I said. Relax will you before you dump poor T'herendalin on the floor? You have not talked with her, so what she is doing is perfectly acceptable. Since you have gotten yourself into this position, you might as well enjoy it."
Talked with her? What was this? Was Anders married? Maybe with dozens of squealing children? Or simply promised? Or? She couldn't imagine anything else, but what would it matter, if his wife were not here? He had certainly been available to her until today.
Anders could not imagine himself more uncomfortable and less romantically inclined. Oh why had he done this? Why had he not talked with T'herendalin, explained to her how things were? But he really hadn't expected her to be so bold in front of Random. On the other hand, after being cornered today and kissed rather thoroughly in the audience chamber he should have anticipated something.
T'herendalin was eating his pear and looking at him questioningly. He just couldn't explain, not here, not with her on his lap and Random watching, so he did his next best, grabbing her behind her head and stealing the sweet fruit from her mouth. He kissed her deeply, bending her over the table, then shoving his chair roughly back picked her up and stalked off to the small antechamber they had furnished as a bedroom, slamming the door with his foot.
If the Commander said carry on, then carry on he would just as if they were alone. There were few orders he had followed with more pleasure.
Random watched them go, then leisurely finishing his pear and the last of the wine settled back to wait. Wait all night if need be, but he would not leave Anders here.
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Dark Game