A Ride in the Country
Chapter 1
Ellana Lavellan took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the scenery around her; a pale autumn sun sat majestically amidst clouds tinted pink in the afternoon sky, lighting the lush, green fields stretching before her. She felt exhilarated, and her horse, Shadow, tossed his head as he picked up on her emotions. She loosened her hold on the reins giving the dark grey horse permission to gallop, and let out a shout of joy as he took off with long bounding strides. The wind lifted her hair, causing it to flutter behind her like the tail of a red comet; her long skirt fluttered around her calves, tickling her skin. Oh Maker! She needed this; to just let loose and feel free, to forget all the worries, pressures, and stress of being the Inquisitor.
She thought of the Iron Bull and his offer to help relieve some of that stress. For a moment, she could almost feel his hard body pressed against hers, as he'd done that night in her bedroom. She shivered as she remembered his large hand closing around her wrists and holding them above her head; she'd given into temptation and the arousal that had surged through her body that night.
Ellana grimaced, recalling the feeling of elation at getting the man she'd wanted from the moment she'd first seen him. That bubble of happiness had burst when she'd spoken to him afterwards; he'd laid down the rules, and it had broken her heart to know that he could so easily walk away from the relationship with no regrets. He'd made it clear that it had been nothing more than sex to him, at least.
She'd wanted him so badly, but, in the end she'd chosen to finish it before her heart became forever lost to the big Qunari. They were still friends, and for a while she'd even continued to go to the tavern for a few drinks; but at the end of the night she'd watch him climb the stairs to his room with a barmaid in tow, and her heart would break all over again. Eventually, she'd just stopped going.
She shook her head, pushing the sad memories away, knowing she only had herself to blame. Instead, she lost herself in the wildness of the racing horse, the crisp fresh air, and the beautiful landscape around her.
Eventually, Shadow slowed down to a trot, and she patted his neck, praising his stamina as she pulled the reins to the right and headed for home. She'd only travelled a hundred yards or so when a bear plodded out from the trees lining the side of the field.
"Oh crap! What is it with me and bears?" She felt a tremor run through Shadow and tightened her knees to hold him in check while whispering calming words to him. "It's okay, fella. He's just out for a walk." The bear stopped and gave her a fierce glare; perhaps it heard the Inquisitor and took offence at her words, or perhaps it was just hungry. Whatever the reason, it decided to charge at the horse and rider.
"Fuck!"
Ellana dug her heels into Shadow's side and whipped her reins, urging the horse to move faster. "I'm going to declare hunting season on all bears when I get back to Skyhold."
She glanced over her shoulder and saw the bear still making a valiant effort to reach them. Ellana laughed - there was no way in hell it was going to catch up with Shadow; he was the fastest horse in the stables, and he could outrun a shaggy old bear even when tired. She turned slightly in her saddle and made a rude gesture to the big shambling beast... and that's when Shadow's hoof went into a rabbit-hole. He stumbled, and perhaps if she'd been holding on with both hands, she might have managed to keep him upright, or at least hang on to the reins - but, she'd been too slow in reacting to the danger, and consequently found herself sailing through the air. She hit the ground with a resounding oomph as the wind was knocked from her body.
Gingerly, Ellana lifted her head, and groaned as pain pounded in her skull. Pressing trembling hands into the earth, she slowly pushed herself into an upright position, and caught a glimpse of Shadow bolting away from her. Damn it! She was like a novice rider letting go of the reins. No doubt there was going to be a lot of good-natured ribbing from her friends in the near future. Pushing aside her exasperation, Ellana decided to focus on the silver lining: if Shadow could run that fast then it seemed likely that he wasn't injured - although she'd be sure to check him over when she got back home.
A loud roar reminded her why she'd urged the horse into a gallop, and carefully she turned her head; the bear was walking slowly towards her, and she could have sworn the damn thing was smiling smugly at her - certain of its meal. She quickly climbed to her feet, then yelped as pain shot through her right ankle. It was hard to see if there was any swelling due to the boots she wore, but she would bet her last copper that she had a bad sprain. She tried shuffling away while keeping a wary eye on the bear, but each step felt like shards of glass were being pushed into her ankle. Frustrated and in pain, she indulged in a loud bout of swearing; the bear paused, perhaps sensing a threat from the young woman it was hunting, but then hunger overrode its senses and it started running towards her.
Ellana let out a panicked squeal and unwittingly put all her weight on the sprain with her next step; agony sliced through her ankle, and she screamed as she toppled backwards. She shook her head to clear the pain and reached for the hilt of her Knight-Enchanter weapon, but came up empty. "Well, shit!" she grumbled, borrowing the saying from her favourite dwarf. She lifted her hand and threw out a lightning bolt, hitting the bear in the paw, which brought the creature to a momentary halt. Her head swam, and she knew she wouldn't be able to cast many more spells; the shock of the fall, and the pain in her head and ankle were taking their toll on her.
While the bear debated about attacking her again, she looked around wildly for her weapon, knowing she would stand a better chance with that in her hand. She spotted a glint of metal about twenty feet from her; it might as well have been twenty miles away.
When the bear roared once more, she knew her time was up and she needed to fight. A ball of flame coalesced in her hand and she threw it towards the great beast. Unfortunately, at that moment her vision blurred, and the fire only scorched a few hairs along the bear's flank, leaving it relatively unharmed; it had, however, stopped again, sniffing the air cautiously. Ellana sighed angrily. "Well, that's just great. You were meant to go up in flames, you big ball of fur."
The sound of thundering hooves reached her ears, and she blew out a relieved breath at the sight of a large black horse speeding towards her. She knew of only one man who rode such a steed; the Iron Bull. When Master Dennet had joined the Inquisition, he'd taken one look at the Qunari, and had brought out a big black stallion. Bull had nodded his approval, and after riding around for a while, announced that he would name his horse Asaara because it was as fast as the wind. Watching man and beast race towards her, she could understand why he'd chosen that name.
The pounding of rough paws in front of her called her attention back to the bear, who'd decided to throw caution to the wind and charge once more. "Oh shit," she muttered.
Her head thumped sickeningly, and her vision wavered as she quickly put all her effort into one last spell; a ball of flame started to grow... but then flickered and disappeared. "Damn it!" Her voice sounded slurred and weak. She didn't see the Iron Bull pull his great axe from its harness, or the powerful swing he took at the bear. She distantly heard a loud roar, and vaguely wondered if that was the bear or the Iron Bull before darkness claimed her.
The first thing she noticed when she awoke was the large hand cupping her head; the second was the warmth of Bull's body heating her chilled skin. She did her best to fight off the flush that was threatening to cover her face, and quickly pushed herself up in an attempt to get away from him before she embarrassed herself further that day; it was bad enough that she'd had to be rescued from a bear. She cried out, and knew she didn't have to worry about blushing anymore because the blood had drained from her face as excruciating pain tore through her ankle.
"Easy, boss. You're going to need some rest and a cold compress on that ankle before you can start walking on it again."
"Bloody stupid bear," she grumbled. She realised with a start that night had closed in. "How long have I been out?"
Bull carefully lifted her into his arms as he replied, "A few hours. I was starting to get worried." He straightened into a standing position, and Ellana fought to keep down her stomach contents as a wave of dizziness and nausea washed over her. She closed her eyes and swallowed the saliva that was filling her mouth. Oh Maker, she was going to be... "Sick! Bull... put me down."
"Boss?" His confusion was rapidly replaced with understanding when he saw the sickly pallor of her skin. Quickly, he knelt and laid her in the damp grass where she immediately rolled onto all fours and vomited.
Frowning, he held back her long hair and waited for the paroxysms to pass; it seemed likely that she had a concussion, and unfortunately he had no healing potions. He wondered if it was worth risking the ride back to Skyhold, but one look at the thick clouds blocking the moonlight made it clear that no such journey could be attempted; she definitely didn't need another tumble from a horse. He peered through the darkness trying to find somewhere they could shelter for the night, but the pitch black was unyielding.
Realising that Ellana was trying to shuffle away from the mess she'd made, Bull gently picked her up. "How are you feeling, now?"
"Better," she mumbled. He glanced down intending to check her colour, but became distracted by the sight of her curled up against his chest like a stray kitten. I am so screwed, he thought gloomily.
"You can move, Bull. I'm not going to throw up again." Her words pulled him from his reverie. "I'm trying to decide where we can stay for the night," he lied. Ellana's brows pulled together as she tried to recall where they were. After a minute or so, she spoke quietly, "If you head north for about ten minutes, you should come to an abandoned house. I've passed it a few times when I've been out riding." He took hold of Asaara's reins and looped them over his wrist so the horse knew to follow, then set off at a slow pace, doing his best not to jolt her around. She might not feel sick any longer but he was pretty certain that she had one hell of a headache.