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Vhenan'ara	By : Arcanis_Born Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 6576 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Age, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from this.

Chapter List
- 53
- 54
- 55
Dragon Age: Origins is owned by Bioware, as with all its characters, the story as it deviates from canon is mine, however, as with the personalities of characters as they deviate from those in the game.
Please do tell me what you think so far of the story! I would love to know your opinions!
Thank you all so much for your continued readership! It means so much!
Translations:
Mi bella: Antivan. "My beauty." Endearment Zevran uses for Riel.
Asombroso: Antivan. "Amazing."
Tranquil: The Rite cuts off the connection to the Fade, and the Tranquil can no longer dream nor draw on the Fade to perform magic. As a side affect, their emotional center is utterly removed, which makes them undesirable to be possessed by demons in the first place.
Ir'mala: Elvhen. "I'm yours."
Emma lath: Elvhen. "My love."
Uthmelana: Elvhen. "For eternity/Forever."
Mi diosa: Antivan. "My goddess."

Zevran did an amazing job of deflecting the questions of the others when Riel and him returned to the camp. Even when Sten waylaid the two of them just a few feet from their tent, Zevran remained calm yet firm with the giant. Insisting that whatever he needed to speak with the Warden about could wait until the morning. Reluctantly he eventually agreed, but not without muttering several things in his own language as he walked away.
Finally alone in their tent, Riel collapsed back against the bedrolls, exhaustion overtaking her. Yet her mind refused to let her rest, instead reminding her of the argument she had with Alistair earlier. Each word uttered by both of them echoing in her mind, her own anxiety twisting what was said so much until Riel wasn't sure was true anymore.
Sitting quietly at her side, Zevran went about relieving Riel of her armor and weapons. With her daggers removed from their sheaths at her back, and her backup knives removed, he placed each blade on the ground beside her, allowing for easy reach if she needed it. Next his careful fingers went to finding every clasp and buckle of her armor, first to her bracers, then her boots and leg guards. When each small piece was removed, he placed them neatly to the side before returning to her and removing another one. When just her chest piece remained, Zevran carefully adjusted Riel as he sought out the buckles holding it on, turning her ever so slightly while he removed each one. Before removing it completely from her however, Zevran quickly and efficiently removed his own armor, setting it in a separate pile next to Riel's. With just his trousers and tunic remaining on, Zevran lowered his body down next to hers.
"I am going to remove your armor now, mi bella. Just a bit more, and I promise you can rest."
Riel nodded sleepily, her eyes remaining closed even as she lifted herself from the bedroll so Zevran could fully remove the large piece that covered her torso. With her armor completely gone and set aside, Zevran let Riel once more lay herself down, this time joining her by her side.
With his head propped up on his arm, Zevran watched her in silence as she rested beside him. Even now after all this time, he felt enraptured by her beauty. And not just her physical looks, but her inner beauty that shined forth in a thousand little ways everyday.
"It was you, you know," Riel whispered, her eyes still closed. "What pulled me back today. What made the voices go away. It was you." With a happy sigh, she added "it has always been you."
"It was your own strength, mi bella. I was merely there to hold you when you were ready for it."
Riel snuggled closer to him, burying her face against his chest. "It scares me, Zevran. This magic. What I can do. Look at what I did to Alistair!"
"Yes, however he happened to deserve it," Zevran replied, smiling to himself.
"What if it isn't him next time, though? What if it's you? Or Leliana? Or someone else in our group? Creators, what if I strike out at an innocent person, or a child?" Riel wiped at her tears, mind swirling through a thousand different horrors that could come about because of her magic. "Lately I've been wondering…. That maybe…." she paused, the words stuck in her throat.
"Hmmm? What have you been thinking of?" Zevran crooned, lightly rubbing her back as he held her.
"Maybe it would be better if I was made…. Was made a…." Dear Creators! I can't even say it! she cursed inwardly to herself.
Zevran gently lifted her face up to meet his. "No. Never. That would kill you, Riel. Maybe not in flesh, but your spirit…."
"The ones that have it done, though… Like Owain back at the Circle Tower. He seemed rather content as… one of them…"
"The Tranquil are not a solution, mi bella. It removes not just your magic from you, but your dreams. Your passion. Your vibrancy. Your love… Would you so quickly discard how you feel for me?"
"If it meant that I couldn't ever hurt you again…"
"I would rather be struck a thousand times over by your magic than have you cease loving me. To see these asombroso eyes become dim without your spark to light them. To know you to be alive without truly living. You cannot seriously want that, mi bella."
"I don't want to hurt anyone anymore! Not without meaning to! What I did to Alistair today-"
"What he got, the fool more than deserved. Not just for his words, but how he treated you. Do not doubt that," Zevran replied firmly.
"If I had killed him though, I would have hated myself for it. And I had no control over what I did. When you wield a weapon, one of the first things you learn is to measure your strikes. So when you are practicing what you are learning on someone, you don't accidently hurt them. I have no measure though. No means to hold back what comes. Next time it might not be Alistair who pushes me too far. What if it's one of our group? Or someone in a town or village that we pass through? Some human who calls me a knife-ear as I pass by and I end up killing him because of it?"
"You won't. You will gain control of this. And I and the others will help you. You must trust in this, Riel."
"I just don't understand why now? I've had these powers since I was little, but only now has it become like this. It's the same with the voices. Before, I never heard them, even while I slept. However, I hear them all the time now. When I am sleeping, or when I am awake. Little voices, begging for me to let them inside of my mind. Whispering promises to me if I did. Before in the Deep Roads, the whispers from the Archdemon were always the same. Telling me my fears. Telling me how weak I was, and how I will just fail everyone. These ones though… They promise me strength. Power. The ability to do everything I ever wanted. And I know that they are lies. But the temptation… The desire to maybe think 'what if?'... It becomes so hard to ignore, especially when I get upset or angry. Like what happened earlier today with Alistair. And now, thinking of how close I was to losing myself to them…. It terrifies me, Zevran."
"Listen to me, Riel. Listen to my words carefully so you will remember them." Zevran lifted Riel's palm and placed it between her breasts, covering her hand with his own. "Remember what I told you to you before? The heart that you feel beating within your chest is no longer your own. It is mine." Zevran then placed her hand in the same spot on his own chest. "This is your heart, right here. And so long as it beats within my chest, no spirit or demon will ever be able to claim you. For in order it to do so, they must destroy the heart of the ones they wish possess. My own heart is not one they can touch, for it carries no mage power. And your heart rests within me, which they cannot gain access to for the same reason. No demon can claim you, no matter what promises they make or how strong their voices become. Because you have become a part of mi bella. As vital to me as the very air I breathe. And while I cannot ever truly place a claim on you, I will forever protect what I see as mine. And you, mi bella, are mine…. for as long as you will allow it."
"Ir'mala, emma lath… Uthmelana…"
"As I am yours, my love. Forever," Zevran purred back. He then bent his head and lightly he kissed her forehead. "Now you should rest. Dream in ease, for I will be watching over you, protecting you from your nightmares."
"You should rest too, Zevran."
"I will, mi bella. Once I know you are well. Now sleep, mi diosa."
Riel once more snuggled tightly against him, placing her head over his chest as she closed her eyes and finally let sleep take her. At first she slept soundly in his arms, peaceful in her respite as he gently caressed her back and arms. However, it wasn't too long before Riel's first nightmare came upon her.
Nothing but a slight whimper was all the warning Zevran got before shock of electricity shot through him. Yet still he help onto her, ignoring the pain that he felt and instead continuing to gently caress her while whispering sweetly into her ear. This was the new routine that had developed over the past few nights since they had left Redcliff. Riel would fall asleep, bringing with her sleep the nightmares that plagued her every night despite Zevran's best efforts. Although, they had decreased in number, rarely a night went by where his Riel didn't suffer through some sort of nightmare as she slept. Only now, with each terrifying dream, came a spike in her new magical powers.
Quietly Zevran whispered into Riel's ear, mixing his words between the three different languages he used to speak with her. Although Riel always seemed to respond the best with Antivan for some reason, even though she knew far less of that language than the other two.
After a few minutes her nightmare passed, and once more Riel fell into a peaceful sleep. Zevran waited a few moments more, before carefully extracting himself from her embrace. Reaching for the blanket down by their feet, he covered Riel with it to the best of his ability before placing one last kiss on her forehead. He always hated leaving her like this, but this must be done. And he must move quickly, before her next nightmare came upon her.
Forgoing his armor, Zevran grabbed his blades and left the tent, stepping out into the night air. He had no real idea where to search this time, but he knew like the Dalish, if he didn't find what he was looking for, then it would come to him. It always did. Quickly Zevran scanned the camp area, pleased to see Shale's rocky form in the distance. Sten should be somewhere in the darkness as well, keeping watch over the group as they rested.
Satisfied that his Riel was well enough protected for the time being, Zevran made his way out of the camp and into the forest. Sticking to the shadows, he moved carefully and quietly until the lights from the campfire could no longer be seen. Once lost in amongst the night and the trees of the forest, Zevran settled his back against a rough bark of a tree and waited.
Closing his eyes, Zevran let himself become as still as the tree behind him, melding his presence into the darkness that surrounded him. Not that it would prevent this meeting, however the assassin in him in demanded that he make it at least a little bit of a challenge for them.
"You are early, elf. Usually 'tis ev'ry second night that you come to me. Yet here you are, so soon you come begging after your previous visit just the previous night."
Zevran opened his eyes and fixed a deadly glare on the witch. "I do not beg, witch. Not from you, anyway. However, I come not just for healing this night," he replied in a harsh tone. How he hated using her. Yet it was the only way. "I want what you owe me. You've been saying for days now that you were close. Or are you just wishing to extend our time together?"
"You think awfully highly of yourself for an elf, assassin. What ever makes you think that I owe you a single thing? Not after all these times that I have aided you..."
The moon above shone down through the trees, illuminating Morrigan's dark form as she stalked closer to Zevran. As a predator coming upon trapped prey, she glided up next to Zevran, her body almost touching his as she leaned in to whisper in his ear.
"I would venture that you would owe me."
Zevran hid the wave of revulsion that he felt at her presence so close to his. As good of a friend and ally that this witch was to his Riel, she was of neither category to Zevran himself. There was dark secrets kept hidden away inside this woman, ones that Zevran knew would test both women's loyalties in the future. It was just a sense he got from the dark witch, based purely on what his highly toned and developed instincts told him whenever he turned his assassin's eye to her. For now though, the witch was useful. Not just to his Riel, but to him as well.
"I had no idea you were so interested in me, my fair Morrigan. Shall I bring up a possible intimate encounter between the you, Riel and myself?" Zevran quipped, knowing the dance they played far too well even though he despised it.
"Hmph," Morrigan scoffed lightly before again retreated backwards. "I have heard whispers. Nothing with surety, yet it holds more promise than others."
"And what whispers would these be?"
"Far to the north, past Denerim and along the Waking Sea. There lies an old abandoned fortress. Death surrounds every stone of its making, yet still a single life lives on that is neither demon nor spirit. And old life, well beyond what even normal aging should have allowed. However, the secrets there bear not just the scent of magics both dark and forbidden, but of the Taint as well."
"Darkspawn? Or Grey Warden?" Zevran asked sharply.
"Who can say?" shrugged Morrigan ambivalently, a sly smile visible on her lips despite the low light available. "What I do know is that the whispers do not come without warning, elf. Whatever happened at that long forgotten fortress has rendered the veil nearly completely. For now 'tis stable, controlled by some invisible force beyond my sight. However, if to say, an untrained mage with her magic still wild and uncontrolled were to get too close to one of the tears between this world and the Fade…"
"I do find it is interesting, my lovely Morrigan, how our dear leader's hidden abilities have only become an issue since your talk with her that day. Now, it would far too impolite to even suggest that you had something to do with her talents becoming wild and uncontrolled…"
"Indeed 'twould be, assassin," Morrigan snapped, her piercing yellow eyes narrowing on him. "Seeing as my lesson was only to have her use what she already had. Not to alter or unleash whatever was holding her back previously. One does not rip a cloth simply by using it as it is meant to be used."
Zevran thought of the fight afterwards with the Darkspawn, and the great rush of magic that Riel had called upon to fight against them. "Perhaps if not used correctly. Yet a muscle worked too far without properly stretching it first will snap, will it not?"
"Perhaps. The abilities we use are not so different than the muscle in your legs or in your hand. When used properly, it becomes stronger. Trained, stronger still. However, left to disuse, it becomes weak, falling easy to failure or overuse. Such has happened in the past. An inexperienced wielder draining themselves so deeply that they have trouble recovering ever again. However, usually in those cases, the power in our blood goes silent for a time as it recovers. It does not grow even larger."
Zevran sighed, knowing his time was getting short. He needed to hurry back to his Riel if he wanted to avoid the change of her having a nightmare without him there to help her. "Alas, my beautiful Morrigan, the night wanes on. And the bed of our leader grows cold without me in it. If you have nothing else to tell me of your whispers, I shall take my leave."
"Wait, there is but one more issue that must be dealt with before you go back to warm her bed," Morrigan stated quickly, stepping closer to Zevran.
With careful eyes, Zevran looked over the witch. For a moment, she actually looked worried about something. A small break in her veneer of calm detachment. It was brief, but it was still there.
"As of yet, I am not in need enough to undergo your healing, so I am curious as to what could be important enough to keep me from joining mi amor in her tent."
"As I said, assassin, I would say that you have come to owe me for not just my abilities to heal, but to use what I have available to me to seek out your answers…."
Zevran bristled, not a sickening feeling rising in his stomach. True, he knew that his seeking of her aid would eventually come with a price to it, however the witch was not only far more discreet in her workings, she also had access to things that the elder mage did not. And when it came to his Riel, he would pay any price to keep her safe. However, the way the witch looked at him just now…. It sparked a off a lot of alarms inside of Zevran's head.
"Now Morrigan, I you know I am flattered, however I pledged myself to our fair Warden, as you know. If you wish for her to share me, you have to bring such a request to her, not to me. Although," Zevran paused, raking a sinful glance over her body. "I could be persuaded to put in a good word for you." The words were bitter on his tongue, and immediately he felt his skin crawl at the suggestion, yet he knew that she hated the suggestion of the two of them together as much as he did. Which is precisely why they used such a tactic against each other.
It had started out as a simple test on her part, pushing his loyalties to his Warden. When the banter continued, yet never went further than mere words, it taken on another light, however. Something to torment the other with, knowing how vile the proposition was in the other's eyes. A game, not unlike chess, played back and forth, each vying for weaknesses in the other's defences. So far, neither had gained any ground. However, it did manage to help set the ground rules of their encounters. When one wanted or needed to express annoyance or dissatisfaction with the other, a carefully worded seduction was thrown into play, either to be played back, or be avoided, causing a change of topics or tactics.
"Save your good words for her ears, not mine. The price I seek for my good will towards you 'tis not something that may be simply bought off with mere kindly words. What I seek is of far greater value."
Zevran stood up straighter against the tree. If the witch was willing to forego their game so easily, what she was about to ask of him was indeed something serious. "Then say your price, witch. And we'll see what comes of it."
"A life," Morrigan stated flatly. "'Tis a fair price, I think. After all, 'tis not you yourself who wishes to save the life of our dear female Warden? All I ask for is to return the favor. A life for a life."
"And whose life would you have me take?"
"Not to take, assassin. Although I would lying if I said that I did not oft' imagine this person lying spread out in dire pain and the life slowly leaked from it. No, what I ask is to not take a life. But to keep from taking it."
The sickening feeling deep inside Zevran's stomach grew larger as his suspicions on just what exactly the witch was asking of him grew clearer. "You cannot possibly mean…."
"Oh I certainly do. The bumbling fool of an ex-Templar and current Grey Warden, Alistair."
Zevran felt his anger rise to threatening levels at the mention of his name. "No! He deserves to die for what he has done! You may pick a life for me to either kill or protect out of all Thedas and save for two I will work to pay this debt of yours. Out of those two, one I will give everything to protect, and the other I would gladly and greedily take pleasure in killing!" Zevran paced back and forth in front of woman, his mind swirling. "By the Void, woman, I will gladly spare that traitor Loghain's life over that wretched excuse for a male!" he exclaimed again, pointing his dagger directly at Morrigan's face.
"And yet you will save his. No matter his antics or his foolish words, you will not shed his blood. And you will continue to fight at his back as this journey of Riel's moves forth," Morrigan replied far too calmly.
"You must tell me at least why I need to spare him!"
"I cannot. Yet these are my terms. I will lead you to the abandoned fortress in the north, and in return you will continue to keep not just your blades from Alistair's flesh, but those of others as well." Morrigan then sauntered up close to Zevran, stopping just shy of having their bodies touch. "And to make this perfectly clear, assassin…. If Alistair does not make it both hale and hearty past the final battle against the Archdemon - not just surviving up until that point, but is still standing tall after the battle is over…. What shall be taken from you will be far more precious to you or Riel than anything you could ever imagine. And I will make sure Riel knows that it was you who could have prevented it, yet chose not to."
"You would threaten not just myself, but Riel as well, witch? Is that how you treat women who have welcomed you as her kin?" Zevran seethed in response.
"Believe if you will, or do not. However, I do this because of how fond I have become of our dear female Warden. This is the only way for us all to walk away with what we desire, with as little blood being shed. If I were truly heartless, assassin, I would simply abscond with what I desired the very moment that I could. I would pay no heed to Riel's or any others feelings. However, things…. have changed the course of my plans. So while you may have no trust in me, the trust Riel has placed within me is not misplaced. Foolish, perhaps. But not misplaced."
Zevran sighed heavily. This was definitely not how he envisioned this night would go, yet fate rarely paid heed to one's own plans. "All I can swear to is to give my best ability to keep the fool alive. If he gets himself killed while I am not there, that is not up to me."
"Yet the result will be the same. For my plans to come as desired, Alistair must live to end of the battle against the Archdemon. If not… I fear nothing in this world will keep Riel from seeking out the Deep Roads to end the pain she will suffer as a result."
Zevran spat out several harsh Antivan curses in quick succession, while at same time turning and hitting the tree behind him several times with his bare fist. Breathing heavily and now sporting a broken hand, Zevran leaned his head against the tree that he had just been hitting. With his eyes closed and his spirit defeated, he knew that at least for now, there was only choice for him, and by extension his precious Riel.
"If you are lying to me, witch, I swear…"
"I am not. Trust me when I say that this is the only way."
Zevran turned around and faced the young Witch of the Wilds, his cold eyes piercing through to the darkness between and straight into her. "I don't trust you. However, you were right in that Riel does. Let us both hope that her trust - while foolish - is not misplaced, just as you claimed."
"Indeed," Morrigan replied, a sly smile on her lips. "Now, it seems that you require my healing after all this night," she stated, looking down at Zevran's now throbbing hand.
"Aye. It would appear so. Just do so quickly. I fear I have been gone far too long as it is."
Morrigan once more stepped up to Zevran, this time placing one of her hands on Zevran's chest, while the other shae placed on his broken hand. "And here I was starting to think that you were becoming more welcoming of my embrace, my dear assassin," she crooned seductively into his ear.
Zevran repressed the instant shudder that went through him the moment her breath touched his skin. If she was back to playing their game, he would leave the victor, not her. Forcing the evil witch's face away from his mind, Zevran instead replaced image with that of his Riel, naked and writhing under him. Immediately he grew hard at the image, as he always did whenever he thought of such things. Waiting until the moment witch finished with her magic, Zevran wrapped his arm around her slender waist and pulled Morrigan sharply against him. And in full contact with the hard length hidden behind his trousers.
"As I said, my lovely Morrigan. You would need to seek out Riel as for the terms of sharing me. I am eternally hers to do with as she will. However, I can be persuaded to put in a good word for you. If the offer is good enough, that is…"
Morrigan shoved Zevran away roughly, her face contorted into a mixture of rage and embarrassment. "Y-you will… I w-will…" she stuttered before her hard yellow eyes came down upon Zevran in a menacing glare. "Never assassin!" she huffed before stalking off into the night and disappearing into the darkness completely.
Zevran sighed, allowing himself to shake off the vile shudders that being so close to her gave to him. Where in the past, he could find pleasure in all women and a great deal of men, the only one he could now tolerate close to him on any level was his Riel. The touches of others - even those accompanied by healing - brought back too vividly the memories of his time trapped in the Fade while in the Circle Tower months ago.
Perhaps on some level it was why he could understand Riel's own aversion to being touched. Yet while she was becoming more often with her affections, Zevran found he was becoming more closed off. Only Riel's touch did not cause tremors of revulsion in him, although of all their companions, Leliana was the one whose touch he could tolerate the most. Perhaps it was because of the woman's close connection to Riel, however that couldn't be all there was to it seeing as Morrigan also had a close relationship with his Riel as well. And yet the witch's touch made his skin crawl more than most.
With a shake of his head, Zevran pushed all other thoughts aside. What mattered is that he get back to their shared tent before one of Riel's nightmares overtook her. Fearing that he had already been gone too long, Zevran raced back to the camp, ignoring his usual protocol of stealth and invisibility. What he needed now was speed, not subterfuge in amongst the shadows of the forest.
Even without the camp yet within sight, Zevran's sensitive hearing stretched forward and picked up the sounds of distress from up ahead. And then from out of the darkness beyond came a sound that Zevran had prayed to never hear again. The fearful cries of his Riel, calling out for him.
"Riel!" Zevran called out. However again he heard Riel call out for him, this time even more desperate than the last. Joined along her cries came other sounds now; voices exclaiming in shock and confusion.
In a burst Zevran broke free from the darkened forest and into the small camp that the others had set up earlier. Immediately his eyes went first to the tent that she shared with Riel, horror filling him to find it alight with roaring flames. Standing around it were Oghren and Sten, both out of their armor and in nothing but their small clothes, as they poured what water they could find on the blaze. Shale was standing back, looking on the chaos as it unfolded, while Fen'harel barked and whined pleadingly at the edges of the fire.
From the opposite direction from where Zevran had emerged from, Morrigan came free from the shadows of the forest and rushed over to the blazing tent. "Stand back! Both of you! Lest I freeze you as well!" she commanded to the two warriors, pushing them aside as she approached the blaze.
"Riel!" Zevran called out, his heart lurching in his stomach. Damn me straight to the Void! I was gone too long! Please, by the gods, let her be alright! he prayed to himself as he launched himself at the fire.
Ignoring the shouts of warning, Zevran pushed through the burning fire that had over taken the tent and inside to where Riel was still calling out for him.
"Riel, I am here! I am here!" Zevran hurried stated as he fell down next to her.
Riel laid completely still on the bedroll, her eye open wide yet unseeing at the tent ceiling above her. All around her the fire raged, yet for all its intensity, it wasn't actually burning anything. The flames crawled up the fabric walls of the tent and licked at the few belongings that were kept inside, yet none of it showed signs of charring or damaging. The flames themselves didn't even burn Zevran even as they leapt out to him, climbing up his skin as they did to the walls of the tent.
This wasn't the mage fire that burned as a result of whatever magic that existed in the blood of mages. No, this was Riel's own personal fire. The one that only burned as she commanded it to, or reacted to her need to defend herself. Yet whatever brought it forward was in her own mind, no doubt resulting from some nightmare that he was not here to protect him from.
"Riel! Listen to me! You are safe! I am here!" Zevran crooned to her, placing his face directly in front of hers. However still her unseeing eyes even refused to blink, let alone acknowledge him or his words.
"My spells are not working! The fire will not abate!" Morrigan's voice could be heard from outside.
Cursing, Zevran ran through his thoughts quickly. Finding only possible solution, he had to take the chance. "I need everyone to leave. Shale can remain, just stay at a distance. But for the rest of you, I need leave. Now. Go to the Dalish camp. Go for a walk in the forest. Whatever it is, I need you to leave!" Zevran shouted from inside the tent.
From outside came the sounds of grumbling and curses, and a few short lived arguments followed by more cursing. Then all was quite. Once he was sure that the others were gone, Zevran gathered Riel up in his arms and carefully carried her free from the tent.
Once out in the night, the flames that had covered the tent died away, most of of retreating back into her skin where they came from. Carefully Zevran carried her over to the campfire. There he sat down with her, cradling her in his arms from behind as he always did while they sat beside the fire. This time however, he leaned her back, allowing Riel to be able to look up and see the stars above.
"Do you see that, mi bella? The stars overhead?" he crooned to her as he gently caressed her cheek. "You are not trapped anywhere. You are not underground or in some house with no way out. You are free, mi bella. Always, you are free…"
Slowly Riel began to blink her eyes, tears forming and being shed with each brief closing of her eyes. Then came the sobs, the gut wrenching, soul wracking sobs that only the ones who had suffered great amounts of pain ever truly know. Riel turned her body into his as the sobs took over, and Zevran adjusted her in his arms so she could be more comfortable against him as she cried.
"Shh, mi bella…. I am here. You are not alone," he whispered softly into her ear as he gently rubbed her back.
Zevran didn't know how long that Riel cried desperately against him, yet every tear that she shed felt like another knife in his chest, reminding him of his failures. Not just of his failure to return to her in time, but also to keep her safe in so many other things that plagued her. From her nightmares, to the awful memories that fueled such nightly terrors, and everything in between. From Alistair's cruel words that day, to now with this new deal with the witch Morrigan. Where he couldn't even gut the bastards like he so rightly deserved, offering the man's severed head to Riel as justice for every wound his words had ever caused her.
"I don't want to be the only one…" she cried against his chest, her words slightly muffled by their combined bodies.
"The only one?"
"He's an asshole. And he rude. And mean. And a complete sodding idiot. But at least he makes it so I'm not the only one…." she continued on, speaking through the sobs.
Ahh… the fool ex-Templar... Zevran thought to himself. Just then Zevran felt eyes upon him, and he lifted his gaze to the tree line beyond their small camp. There standing in among the shadows was Morrigan, her face impassive as she watched the two of them.
"It was the last battle," Riel whispered, lost in the memory of her dreams. "And I was alone. There were others fighting, but I was the only one who was like him. The only one who could hear his voice. The only one who he tormented. And It was all my fault. The reason why I was alone. It was because I sent him away. Or left him behind. Or let you or someone else kill him. It was all true at the same time. And it was my fault…"
"Do not worry, mi bella. I will not kill the fool. Hurt him… Well, perhaps just a little. But he will live to be hale and hearty until long after the death of the Archdemon. This I swear to you," Zevran replied, keeping his eyes on the witch as he made his vow. And the moment when the words were free from his lips, Zevran could have sworn he saw the witch smile at him, before silently disappearing back into the shadows of the forest.
At his promise, the last remaining flames of her inner fire pulled away, settling back down under her skin where it lived. Once the fire had completely disappeared, Riel let out a shudder. She then took in a deep breath, her body relaxing and finally letting go the stress that had plagued it. A moment of silence passed between them, before Riel lifted her tear soaked face up to meet his. "Do you mean it? You will let him live?"
"For you, I will do anything," he replied with a smile, cupping her cheek in his palm. "Even keep an annoying ex-Templar alive. If only so I may continue to hurt him. After all, death is the end of suffering. And what better way to mete out the justice that he owes, them for me to make him squirm and and scream out in pain for every hurtful thing that he says to you? Who knows, he may even his lesson this way."
"I'm sorry, Zevran!" she exclaimed, fresh tears building in her eyes.
"Shh… There is no reason to apologize. It is I who should beg for forgiveness. I wasn't able to stop your nightmare as I should have."
Riel sat up slightly in his arms. "I want to go back to the tent. Then, will you hold me for the rest of the night?"
Zevran brought on of her hands up to his lips, where he then kissed the back of her knuckles. "It would be my honor, mi bella." Together, they then stood up and Zevran guided Riel back towards their tent. Once inside and laying down the bedrolls laid out for them, Zevran gathered Riel in his arms and held on to her tightly. "I won't leave you again, I swear it."
And he meant it. No matter how badly Riel's magic hurt him during the night, he would seek out healing only after she had awaken. And no more from Morrigan, unless it had something to do with a battle and Wynne was busy with others. Something that didn't lend itself to an intimate game of dares and trying to outdo the other through vile touches and sickening closeness.
As it was, the feel of of Morrigan pressed against his body lingered, sending another chill down his spine. Thankfully his Riel was right there, her warmth cutting away at the memory and replacing it with the feel of her own decadent form. All Zevran needed was now nestled deeply against his body, his arms wrapped tightly around her as once more she drifted off to sleep. Perhaps he would managed to find a bit of sleep before her next nightmare woke him. And if he was lucky, perhaps he wouldn't be visited by his own nightmares while he slept.
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Vhenan'ara