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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
- 8
- 9
- 10
They lay together naked near the brisk water where Elissa had cleansed and dressed Alistair's wound and where they had both bathed afterward. The patch of grass they found was cool, supple and green under the soft moonlight that dappled them with patches of pale, blue light. With only velvet darkness as a blanket, Elissa cradled her head against the smooth skin of Alistair's unwounded shoulder as he held her against him; his bewhiskered chin nestled in her hair. She absently caressed his powerful chest, marveling at a beauty she'd known for more than five years and loved completely. "I lied to you. I left something out because I was ashamed it would make me less of a Grey warden," she told him softly.
He chuckled and squeezed her tightly. "You? Less of Grey warden? You're only the greatest Grey Warden Fereldan has known in recent memory and yet you make that statement. You silly thing. You could do anything, say anything, and you would always be among the greatest." He kissed her forehead then pulled her up so that he could enfold her in both arms.
She rested her chin on his chest and tried to meet his eyes. "Do you remember the day I returned from Amaranthine?" she asked softly. He cringed.
"How could I forget? Worst day, no, week of my life!" he murmured distastefully.
She got up suddenly, her arms straddling his chest so that she could look him in the eyes. From his vantage, her breasts swayed pendulously and it was ridiculously hard not touch them. He tried to meet her gaze and failed. Fortunately, she was distracted by the memory and careless about where her husband's eyes were now fixated. "A bad week for you? It's not every day that you save a city and come home to a hero's welcome only to have an assassin bury a poisoned dart into your neck, thus sending you into the Fade and eventually causing you to wake up at your own funeral, on your own pyre and with your own mate standing there with the torch! And you say you had a bad week!"
He chuckled and gripped her shoulders, pulled her face close so that he could kiss her soundly. "You win, my love. So, yes, I know all of that. The poison was strange… Even Anders, your apostate mage-Warden friend, was baffled. He went into the Fade after you, thought he could bring you back. He sort of succeeded, didn't he?"
Elissa nodded and perched her chin on her folded hands, which rested on his chest. "He helped me fight off demons that saw me as easy prey. It was Joy who told me what the poison was and she who guided me back to my body. The poison makes a victim unconscious, sends them into the Fade and slows heart beat and breath to an infinitesimal crawl so that even mages cannot tell a victim has not died. Skin turns cool to the touch and they obviously cannot respond. Usually, they are buried alive or set ablaze before anyone knows they yet live. Sometimes they starve to death but rarely do they ever die of the poison itself. Not knowing the Fade, they often lose themselves. The poison is insidious."
"But you have found your way through the fade a dozen times without incident!" Alistair said proudly. "If we'd known what the poison was, you would never have awakened on that pyre."
She quirked an eyebrow up at him and graced him with one corner of her lips turned into a sly half-grin. "'A dozen times' you say? Heh-heh. Perhaps four at the most but yes, I've been in and out of the Fade more than enough times that waking up in it was more annoyance than anything.
"While I was there, I was greeted by Joy, the good Fade spirit who had been helping me during my time in Amaranthine. She had effectively made me a 'Spirit Warrior', granting me abilities beyond my normal skill. I had been aware of her, aware that I was being aided but unaware that she came and went as she pleased and was helping me to satisfy her own curiosity. She explained that to me when she found me in the Fade. She then revealed to me that she was a spirit of Joy, Happiness, and Love. She proposed that in exchange for her help that I allow her to piggy-back my emotions so that she could learn why we humans love living so much, why we cling so fiercely to our corporeal shells.
"She wanted to feel what I felt. She wanted to understand love, excitement, forgiveness and pleasure. She wanted to know the joy of being loved unconditionally and sex of course. But then she also told me she wanted to feel life growing within, the joy of a woman's ability to conceive and bear a child. I… was saddened by that. I told her that though she was welcome to experience everything else, a child would become a bit of a challenge since you and I both are Grey Wardens. She seemed nonplussed by the problem that posed and said it would be easily remedied." Elissa sighed and traced the contours of Alistair's stomach muscles with her fingers, working them down below his naval. He blushed and pulled her hand back up to his chest.
"You want me cognizant and paying attention. Playing with my- playing with that will defeat that goal. I'm distracted enough as it is with your luscious body against mine. So, your spirit friend made it possible for us to have a child?" She nodded slowly. "So, what about your trip to Soldier's Keep? You left for there almost immediately after you recovered from the poison…"
"It wasn't the poison I had to recover from. It was the pyre-burns… I was a bit singed if I recall. Why don't the dead ever get undergarments? Is the Maker opposed to undergarments? I remember taking a huge breath and sitting up, screaming. You were there, you hauled me off of this massive pile of burning debris and my gown caught fire…"
"…I tore it off of you…" he added, smirking.
"…Leaving me bare-assed as the day I was born before every noble and visitor come to pay their respects. I was mortified! Bann Teagan and Arl Eamon were there, gawking at me right alongside my friends from Vigil's Keep! Not surprisingly, Zevran looked very happy to see me and Oghren failed to avert his eyes. Even you seemed to have this proud look on your face…"
Alistair leered at her and fondled her breast, carefully making a point of hardening her red nipple. "Well, you know, you are quite gorgeous and for maybe a second, I may have felt a bit of masculine pride that I have such an amazingly well-proportioned wife! And maybe I wanted to show you off for a second. But you did get the shirt off my back. You seem quite adept at doing that."
"And that stupid woman, screaming for someone to run a sword through me, shouting 'Abomination! She's possessed! Kill her!' I wanted someone to run her through." Elissa did not stop Alistair's hand from continuing to explore her body. She was enjoying the gentle touching. Her husband chuckled into her hair.
"I soon found myself obsessing with the fact that the Spirit would make it possible for me to conceive a child with you and suddenly, mortality reared its ugly head. I couldn't imagine not being able to see my grandchildren. I realized that I just wanted a few years! I only wanted to delay the Calling and live a good, natural life with you and see my family grow up. That is why I sought out Avernus. That was why I left so soon after I recovered.
"He had what I needed and had enough for us both. He even gave me the recipe and his notes just in case he died. I gave all of that to Anders but the potion… I kept the potion." Tears flooded her eyes and Alistair's brows rose with worry as he wiped them away. "I never drank it. I just… I kept it. Just in case. I returned home and immediately regretted what I had done. I almost threw out the potion. What kind of Grey Warden regrets the choice made and the sacrifice that comes with it? I felt like I was betraying all of us, like I was betraying you. How could I be so selfish?"
He snuggled her against him, smiling with pride. "I've known a few Grey Wardens who regretted the eventual outcome of the Taint. You're talking to one of them. Your reasons were not selfish, Love. I regret that you felt that I wouldn't accept the truth but I guess I understand. I am a bit of a duty-bound stick in the mud sometimes. So. You still have the elixir then. Where is it?"
"It's on my dresser, hiding amid my perfumes."
"Um… Pretty blue bottle? Purplish liquid?"
"Yes. Why? Did you drink it?"
He made a face that made her laugh. "No but I sniffed it once. Whoo, that stuff is foul. And you're supposed to drink it? I stoppered it and set back down, figuring it must have had a reason to smell so rank. Now, is this a cure? Is it a solution? What is it?"
She chewed her lip thoughtfully. "Avernus said it doesn't wipe out the taint, it just dilutes its effect in your blood, allowing you to live longer without losing the benefit of the taint. You are still a Grey Warden, still capable of sensing the Darkspawn but you're given almost double the lifespan, about twenty years more, give or take. The calling does eventually bring you into the Deep Roads but, theoretically, if you take it, you'll be given not just thirty years but a solid fifty. That's almost a normal human lifespan depending on when you take the Oath. And it's more than enough time to have a child and watch him grow."
Alistair sighed deeply against her. "Ah. So now I understand the reason your report was so vague. I wondered. You don't have to modify the report if you don't want to, when we return. I'm just happy to know the truth now. Besides, with the recipe, assuming the stuff works, we may have a breakthrough on our hands. Think of the possibilities! So, besides having a third party watching me while I seduce you, is there anything else you're keeping from me?" he asked, his eyebrow raised and a smiled tugging at his lips.
"I'm having twins?" she offered with a snort. His eyes widened and his mouth became a sweet little "O", which she kissed playfully. "I'm teasing. I have nothing more to tell you. No more secrets. And I will never lie to you about anything ever again. It was torture just keeping that from you."
"I told you. I will always forgive you, never criticize your-"
"Oh? What if I had told you to marry Anora?"
"-I'd have strung you up by your toes and tortured you with bad jokes until you came to your senses. I hate that woman more than I despise Morrigan." He sighed after a while, content to simply hold her in the grass with countless stars above. It was nice to just take a break and let the world drift by, carelessly around them.
"Mmmhmm. I like this place. Reminds me of the time we snuck out of Redcliff Castle and made love up on the cliff," Elissa said after a while.
"Oh? How so? The sneaking out part or the grass, which there wasn't much of if I recall? And it was my rump that got the worst of the rocks. You cleverly managed to either lay on me or sit on me that night. Next time, I think I'll share the experience more equally! Then there was the smell. Very… fishy."
She laughed and tickled him until he was breathless with laughter. He eventually managed to get her lying on her back so that he could look down at her and drink in her beauty as the moonlight created tantalizing shadows upon her pale skin. He ran his hands all over her body; touching everything that he knew in his heart was his for the asking. He loved how her belly curved now, reaching for the sky. Her naval was still indented but not for long. He played with it, enduring her slapping hands with a teasing smile. "You've grown… Your belly is quite prominent now. There's no question about it: you're definitely carrying my child. What a thrill this is! I will finally have a family of my own. I never dreamed it was possible. Can we name him Duncan if he's a he?" He was babbling and Elissa loved his wide-eyed expression. She touched his face gently. Duncan was a fine name for a prince.
Elissa smiled as she watched Alistair's hands touch her wonderingly. "Of course! But I refuse to name her Goldanna if we have a girl."
"Hm. Who?" he said facetiously, brow raised. After a moment, he said, "Tell me… do you think this Ambrose is for real? He's a Grey Warden for sure but there's something… odd about him. He's nervous and fidgety. I have bad feeling about this whole thing, almost like I'm sensing a trap. My instincts have always been pretty reliable. I mean, why would he come all this way for you when Weisshaupt is closer? And what about all the Orlesain Grey Wardens? Can't they do anything? This whole thing stinks to me."
She nodded thoughtfully. "It could be a trap. But we do have business in Orlais and if there is a possibility he's not lying, I have to know. There may be people who need help. I cannot risk innocent lives, Alistair. Ambrose doesn't seem like a bad person, just impulsive and proud. I have to see it through one way or another. Though the timing could be better…"
Alistair grunted and laid himself out beside her, facing her, pulling her against him so that he could enfold her in his arms and feel every inch of her body pressed against his. Into her shoulder, he murmured, "The timing is crazy. He couldn't wait a year? Or gotten anyone else to help? You are too trusting. I just hope it doesn't get the better of you. If you don't mind, I'm not letting you out of my sight. Got it?"
She laughed, entwined her legs with his and felt the space between them diminish as she held him tightly. "Yup. Got it. I love you, Alistair. I know you hear it a million times a day but I never tire of saying it."
He grazed her shoulder with his lips and sighed happily. "Then say it a million more because I never tire of hearing it. I love you too."
They spent that night together, time forgotten, time insignificant. That was how it was when they made love, anytime they spent in each other's arms. But now, with twenty more years in a bottle awaiting them at home, time seemed to matter even less. It didn't matter whether they would drink it or not. Just having it in case they wanted it was all the relief they needed.
Assuming they survived.
To be continued…
- 8
- 9
- 10
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Tainted Dreams