Visits
It was always one thing after the other these days.
Herukan Cousland, now newly appointed Warden-Commander of Ferelden's wardens, was busying himself with assisting the others with moving the dead bodies of the fallen wardens, warriors and darkspawn into the pyres.
'So first day on the job and you've killed how many darkspawn?', Oghren asked as he chucked a corpse into the growing pile of burning bodies. 'I'd say at least, twenty by this point', responded the warden as he dropped another body beside the row of fallen wardens. Vigil's Keep 's state was worrisome to say the least, with several buildings in need of repair from the assault of the darkspawn, recruitment for both wardens and guards would become a nightmare in due time, and of course the treasury was near empty because of the repairs.
And they weren't even halfway done.
'So this what'cha expected?', asked the dwarf. 'Honestly I was thinking more of dealing with nobles than killing darkspawn. Least with darkspawn they're straightforward with wanting me dead as opposed to the nobles scheming', stated the commander. Oghren grunted in agreement as he helped the commander toss another darkspawn corpse into the pyre. The commander was grateful that an old friend at least remained with him, it was a massive boost to his morale having a seasoned warrior with him. Granted a sober and less smelly warrior would be nicer but beggars can't be choosers.
'What about that sparkly fellow? The skirt man?', Oghren asked as they worked onwards. 'Gonna keep him in the wardens?'. 'I've conscripted him in front of both a templar and King Alistair, fairly certain I have to keep my word and recruit him into the wardens', explained the human. 'Sure they'd notice if you, I dunno, lost sight of the mage?'. 'Not everyone would turn a blind eye at an apostate running around amok'.
Anders, the man in question, had proven himself to the warden as far as he was concerned just by staying behind and helping them out. The case of whether or not he did murder the templars was still being investigated just to sate the templar from earlier, handled by some of the Keep's guards, what remained anyways. The warden let out a tired sigh as he clapped his hands together to wipe the dust off his metal greaves, pleased the mess had been resolved. 'Place is gonna stink of darkspawn for days', grumbled the red head dwarf. 'That's what soap and incense are for', remarked the warden.
'Well if ya need me again, you know where to find me', Oghren said as he wandered off into the keep, no doubt back to the casket. Maybe Herukan should station a few guards there to protect the booze from the dwarf…
Letting out a deep sigh and stretching, the warden decided to call it a day and head for his office/bed room. His scouts have reported that there was no more darkspawn around the area of the keep nor anywhere near Amaranthine, which was a blessing. Still the seneschal still had several leads relating to the spawn along with more work that required his attention, which only made the warden regret not taking the offer of the First Warden to speak on behalf of the king.
Of course the others would be just as effective as representatives of course, however many of them having their own duties to attend to or maker some of them have left the wardens all together. With himself as the only sole warden that was neither king or in a vital position, he was the only warden who could go. Until Alistair had granted Amaranthine and its old fortress to the wardens to rebuild, and of course he accepted.
Walking through the hallway that led to the rooms of the wardens and commander, he could hear the shuffling feet of the servants busying themselves with the cleaning of the keep along with several drills of the sergeants training the recruits. 'My Lord?'. He turned to see an elven servant bow to him. 'Yes, what is it?', he asked tiredly. 'You have a visitor but-', he started but immediately Herukan cut in. 'Tell them I'm not to be disturbed for the remainder of the day, and if they persist send them to the seneschal', he said and walked onwards, leaving the stuttering elf behind.
It was unfair to be this curt with an innocent servant he knew but after today's events piling with all the other duties he'll have to force himself through and then resolve this darkspawn issue that was becoming the talk among the servants these days, suffice to say the warden needed rest. Entering his bed room, he was surprised to see the fine conditions it was in. A large king sized bed below a window and a glass door that led to the platform that over looked the keep, wardrobe and draws near the bathing room along with a mannequin for his armour and a shelf for his weapons.
Removing the warden commander armour that was commissioned for him by Wade months ago and placing each piece on the mannequin, he let a sigh of relief from the weight, rolling his shoulders and cracking a few joints in his body. Wearing a linin shirt and a pair of brown trousers under his armour, he placed his weapons on the shelves and even spotted several tools to fix them for later.
'Nice room'.
He turned to behind him to see exiting from the bathroom was a figure in black cloak. 'Admittedly nothing special of course but it's cosy', she stated. Herukan blinked before the accent tickled his mind in familiarity as she gracefully pulled her hood back. His face broke into a wide grin at the reveal. 'Miss me, my love', Leliana asked. Immediately they held each other in a passionate and tight embrace, the bard resting her head upon his shoulders smiling contently. 'Maker's blood, I thought you were with the chantry', he said astonished.
'Not yet, I'm to leave tomorrow, so I decided to come and pay you a visit', she said warmly. Loosening the hug to face each other, the bard gently cupped his cheek, worry etched on her face as she felt the old scar. 'I heard what happened here, I wish I could've been there', she lamented. Placing his own on her soft yet strong hand, he smiled lovingly. 'I do too…though more so the company as opposed to risking our lives', he said. She giggled girlishly.
Laying together on the bed, her head against his chest lovingly as he rubbed her back soothingly. 'I've spoken to Oghren earlier…said he was joining the wardens', she said with a chuckle. 'He is, though I'm worried it was more out of a drunken bet then a thought of decision', he explained. 'How true is that I wonder', she said. She shivered slightly when his finger traced her spine, hating yet secretly enjoying the sensation but hating the fact he knew her weak spots. 'How long will the chantry keep you for?', he asked.
'I don't know. Dorothy said it was something important though', she answered. Herukan recalled one time he got to meet the woman after the blight, the very woman who saved his lover from the life of a bard. A rather outspoken woman with a sharp wit and keen eye for details, very different from the other revered mothers of the chantry, yet he could still see the woman wasn't just more confident than the others but rather he acknowledged her as a potential danger to anyone else. He never spoke of this but he knew this woman was more than she said yet he kept it to himself.
'She said it required privacy and secrecy…explains why the letter was so vague', Leliana said wistfully. 'Better that way in case of unwanted eyes or very curious messengers', Herukan admitted. Leliana hummed in agreement as she clutched his hand on his chest. 'Wish I could stay and help', she said regretfully. 'I almost want to write to Dorothy and say I'll arrive later'. 'As tempting as it is to encourage that line of thought…you know we'd pay for it later', he sighed.
Softly the bard smiled at him as she tilted her head to face him. Gently she bumped her forehead against his own, enjoying the silence between the two, the comfort being in each other's arms before once more separating to do what the maker blessed them with. Yet despite their loyalties to their calling, whenever they were together it felt as though the world was gone and they remained in their own little havens. 'I'll miss you', she whispered softly. 'And I you, but for now', he said. Wrapping his arms around her frame, he pecked her lips. 'Let us, enjoy what time we have'.
Leliana could only smile at this as she laid her head against his chest, the blanket swept over them, enjoying the peace between the two.
As his lover drifted off into the fade, Herukan traced her beautiful cheek lovingly before kissing her forehead. 'Sleep well, my love'.
A/N: So I've got some bad news. CAD isn't being posted this week as you can probably tell, the reason for this is an assignment I was given and I wanted to try and experiment with another story and typo and font.
I am sorry for the delay but it will be posted this week I promise along with a few more short stories, both random pairings and HXM shorts. Tomorrow's will be a HXM short, suggested by another reader so look forward to it! Thanks for reading and I'll see you awesome people soon! Stay awesome and safe!