A/N: This one-shot is a companion to chapter 34 of my story "Rend Asunder". Teeny tiny spoiler alert in my comments at the end. If you don't want to know, skip the sentence that starts in bold type.
Loghain sat up in his bed, having spent the last couple of days feeling every last second his age, and then some. He was still recuperating from the curse of mortality spell that had been cast on him at the Stark farm. He constantly found himself bristling at the memory of the ordeal. He was generally a man of vitality, rarely ill or otherwise weak and sickly. He could not remember the last time he spent more than a day in bed. He probably never had.
On the second day back from the farm, Lhiannon had decided she had put her trip to Amaranthine and the Merchants Guild off long enough. She came to Loghain's quarters before she left, dressed in her riding leathers and ready to depart. Loghain was sitting on the edge of the bed as she arrived, braiding his hair; he looked up at her as she came in. He was dressed in simple sleeping pants and he saw Lhiannon's eyes move over his bare chest and shoulders, a smoldering look coming to her eyes.
"I was supposed to leave for Amaranthine in a few minutes, but I find myself distracted," she grinned, moving toward him.
Loghain finished the braid he was working on, his fingers unconsciously increasing their pace. "Indeed?"
She dropped to her knees before him, gently reaching up and pulling his face to hers. "I feel guilty leaving you behind," she purred, her lips brushing across the skin of his face. "Perhaps I should attempt to make it up to you." Loghain took a breath to reply, but she moved to cover his mouth with hers, her tongue playing along his lips until he opened his mouth for her. One of her hands dropped to his leg, slowly moving up his thigh until she found his rapidly hardening length. He growled as she lightly massaged it, pushing him back on the bed before releasing it from his trousers and taking it into her mouth, delightfully working him over with her lips and tongue. His hands had found her hair, his fingers running through the long locks as she pleasured him. He closed his eyes and growled as her mouth moved over him and her hands gripped his thighs, her thumbs gently stroking the skin. After a moment he began to shudder with his release; he sighed with pleasure as the convulsions began to fade. She put his trousers back in place and he sat up, opening his eyes to her mischievous wink
"That almost makes your trip worthwhile," he grinned. "Almost."
"Then you can think about what the welcome home will be like while I'm gone," she grinned, kissing him one last time before leaving.
He sat on the edge of his bed for several moments before rising and pulling a longshirt and trousers from his dresser. There was an errand that he was going to run and today would be the perfect day to do it. While he lay in his bed recuperating, he had given much thought to his relationship with Lhiannon. Simply stated, he loved her; he loved her more than he thought would ever be possible. She was fiercely loyal to those she cared about and had an incredible sense of kindness. Her will was strong. She had her faults, as everyone did, but she was able to rise above them, turning weakness to strength. She was caring and passionate, waking the passion in him that had lay dormant for so long. When they were apart, a strange feeling would crawl into his gut and gnaw away at it. After some introspective thought, he had discovered that the feeling was one of something missing; he was incomplete without her, his soul half empty and longing for her to make it whole again.
Loghain finished dressing, preparing to run his errands before Lhiannon returned from Amaranthine. He carefully thought about how he would complete his errands, turning to the small locked chest in his quarters and withdrawing a number of sovereigns; he would need them.
His first stop later that day was Varel's office; Loghain needed Varel's help for part of his plan, but was reluctant to discuss with the seneschal just what he was doing. He knocked on the doorjamb to Varel's office, nodding to the seneschal when he looked up from his desk.
"Warden, what can I do for you?"
Loghain took a breath, hoping Varel would not see through this mild deception. "Would you please open Lhiannon's quarters? I believe I may have left my hunting knife there." Loghain let his eyes slide off Varel, looking away in what he hoped conveyed mild embarrassment. It was widely known that they often slept in each other's quarters and it would be best to act the part of the lover who left something behind, forgotten in their burning passion.
Varel rose, pulling his skeleton key from a pouch on his belt. He gave Loghain a raised brow. "Of course, Warden." Loghain and Varel walked through the Vigil to Lhiannon's door, where Varel opened it and stepped aside.
"I shall be a moment," Loghain said, moving into her chambers. The hunting knife was, of course, a little white lie. Moving into Lhiannon's bedchamber, he immediately went to her vanity, where a small box sat containing the few pieces of jewelry she owned; a pair of silver hoop earrings, a small silverite necklace, her ring from the Circle of Magi. He picked up the ring, quickly moving into her living quarters to find the quill and parchment she kept on a bookcase there. Setting the ring on the paper, he carefully traced the outline of the ring, both inside and out. When he finished, he put the quill back in its place, tucking the parchment into a pocket of his trousers. He then went to the door, where Varel waited to relock it as they left. Varel looked at Loghain with a brow raised.
"Where is your knife?"
Loghain snorted, acting as if were exasperated. "The damn thing isn't there." He nodded his thanks to a slightly confused Varel, turning back toward his own quarters. He quickly grabbed a cloak and walked outside the Vigil, heading to where the various merchants had set up their shops. There was one he headed for in particular: the merchant Lillian. Her specialty was in household and personal goods, where most of the other merchants dealt with the goods soldiers used: weapons, armor, and medical sundries. Lillian was the merchant many of the wives and other ladies went to for their household purchases. He entered her small shop, the bell above the door tinkling merrily as he entered. She looked up from where she sat at the counter, a slight look of surprise on her face as she watched Loghain approach.
"Your Grace," she smiled, quickly standing and giving him a slight bow. "What can I do for you today?"
"I understand you carry personal goods, yes?" Loghain asked, browsing along the tables Lillith had set out to display her wares. Loghain saw fabrics and clothing in one area, while household goods lined other tables.
Lillith raised a questioning brow at Loghain. "Yes. Are you looking for something in particular?"
"Yes," Loghain said, stopping near where Lillith stood. "Jewelry."
Lillith nodded, quickly moving behind her counter and pulling out several locked boxes. "What specifically are you looking for? I keep my stock separated into several categories."
"Rings," Loghain curtly replied. Lillith nodded, pulling a ring of keys from the pocket of her dress. She moved two of the locked boxes back under the counter and opened the one that remained. "I have a variety of them, Your Grace. I hope to have more coming soon on one of the trade caravans."
Loghain perused the selection, unhappy at what he saw there. Most of her selections were cheaper, tarnished golden rings or rings of simple metals. He had almost given up when he finally spotted one that caught his eye. It appeared to be silverite, but had a faint blue hue that seemed to flow across the surface of the metal. The blue reminded him of the winter sky that graced Ferelden. He pointed to the ring. "Is that silverite?"
Smiling, Lillith plucked the ring out of the box with her delicate fingers, holding it up to the light. The blue hue seemed to dance across the surface, shining brightly in the light of the shop. "It's actually blue silverite, Your Grace. Very rare." She looked up at Loghain, holding out the ring for him to inspect. "Would you like to examine it?"
Loghain took the ring from Lillith's outstretched hand. He was quite familiar with silverite, having worn a suit of armor made from the material for many years. It was a strong metal, certainly not the strongest to be found, but sturdy enough for most purposes. The band was wide enough where it looked like it could easily accommodate an etching. Or a rune tracing. Pulling out the parchment from his pocket, he laid it out on the counter and set the blue silverite ring on top of the drawing.
It was nearly perfect. Loghain smirked; for once, fate appeared to work for him rather than against him. He raised his eyes to Lillith, who looked at him expectantly. "How much?"
They began to dicker back and forth, finally agreeing on a price within minutes. Loghain pulled out his money pouch, counting out the number of sovereigns they had agreed upon. Loghain then turned a narrowed eye to Lillith, who looked at him warily. "I was never here, yes?"
Lillith grinned, giving the taciturn Grey Warden and Teyrn a knowing wink. "Never saw you." With a nod, Loghain tucked the ring into his pocket, leaving the small shop to take on his next errand.
"What can I do for you, Warden?" Ambassador Cera asked, turning from where she had been filing rune tracings in her small chest nearby.
"You are able to enchant items other than weapons or armor, yes?" Loghain asked, keeping his voice low and watching Varel at the other end of the hall with a wary eye. The last thing Loghain wanted was to be overhead by anyone other than who he needed to speak with.
"Certainly, Warden. However the enchantments work best on higher quality items. Did you have something in mind?"
Loghain reached into his pocket, withdrawing the blue silverite ring and handing it to Cera. She turned to her workstation, calling forth a small ball of light and closely examining the ring. After a moment studying it, she raised her head and looked to Loghain. "This will easily take an enchantment. Is there something you had in mind?"
"Yes," Loghain replied, taking the ring that Cera had handed back to him. He had known right away that he wanted the ring enchanted and exactly what enchantment to have woven into it. "Protection. The best you can find."
As Loghain tucked the ring back into his pocket, Cera dismissed the ball of light. "You most likely want a paragon barrier rune tracing. I don't have one here, but I can obtain one from the Circle of Magi."
"When?" Loghain asked curtly.
Cera thought for a moment. "I am expecting a courier from Kinloch Hold within two days. I will be giving him a list of tracings that I want to keep on hand. I can add the paragon tracing to my list. It should be here in about two weeks."
Loghain nodded slowly. "And when it arrives, how long does it take to enchant the item?"
"I can have it enchanted in a matter of hours," Cera replied. "I am very adept at enchantments."
Loghain looked up as he heard the main door to Vigil's Keep opening. He listened to the footsteps in the hall and knew that he had to conclude this conversation quickly; the footsteps were intimately familiar. He quickly turned back to Cera.
"Are you able to inscribe other things onto the ring as well?" Loghain asked. Cera nodded. "I certainly can. If you tell me what you would like, I can inscribe it along with the rune tracing."
Loghain nodded, looking out of the corner of his eye to where Lhiannon had entered the hall and stood near Varel. He had just handed her a scroll.
"How much?" Loghain quickly asked, wanting to finish the conversation and go to Lhiannon's side. Cera gave him the price as Loghain saw Lhiannon's smile fall from her face. She exited the hall at the far end; Loghain presumed she was headed for her office. He and Cera agreed on a price, Loghain once again pulling the number of sovereigns out of his pouch and handing them to Cera, who nodded her thanks.
"Let me know when the tracing arrives. I shall tell you what else I want inscribed on the ring then," Loghain said, leaving the hall to head for Lhiannon's office. Though he was troubled by the scroll that Lhiannon had received, his heart was nearly leaping out of his chest. The ring seemingly burned a hole in his pocket to match the burning love and desire he felt for Lhiannon in his heart. He had completed the errand he had set out to do.
He found that he could not wait to give it to her.
Fin
This little one-shot was inspired by a review of "Rend Asunder" posted by Aura of Darkness Night. In a nutshell, the review all but demands Loghain to propose to Lhiannon. When I received the review, I had laughed out loud as I had been thinking of that very subject on my drive home from work. The review arrived in my inbox not 10 minutes after I arrived home. I responded to the review and told Aura that I could say no more about it, but it also got me to thinking about this quick little tale. A slight spoiler...Loghain proposing to Lhiannon had been in the cards already; I mean, come on, this story does have "romance" in the description. :) After Aura's review came, this one-shot came to mind. So, THANK YOU, Aura for inspiring this little one-shot. :)
Except now you have to wait to see if/when Lhiannon gets the ring. Evil cliffhanger. ;)