Rebirth
Disclaimer: Bioware owns, not me.
Author's note: Not beta-read, sorry about that. Also, if you're going WTF while reading this, then you need to check out the Edwin Romance Mod. All hail Laufey!
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The air smelled fresh and salty and invigorating, and a tiny bit like home. Candlekeep had not been this warm, however, and the sound of the waves was gentler as opposed to the violent trashing against the cliffs just a few hundred yards away from the walls of the Keep. Feeling warm water wash over her feet and rise up to her hips only to withdraw again, Jaina slowly opened her brown eyes. Through her thick eyelashes she squinted up at the bright sun and the endless blue sky. There were some dainty white whisps of clouds near the horizon – and what a horizon it was! Jaina pulled her hands back and dug her fingers into the wet fine sand and pushed herself up to a sitting position just as another wave washed over her legs. She let out a long sigh and a soft smile of awe spread on her lips as she watched the turquoise ocean spread right in front of her and continue as far as she could see. There was a small island in the distance and some sort of a ship sailing by even further away. Birds were flying and wheeling in circles in the air and the gentle wind blowing from the sea was warm and embraced Jaina as if welcoming her into the world just like the waves did, and indeed she felt as if she was reborn.
Sitting there on the waterline she hastily pulled off her black over-knee boots and the worn socks underneath and leaned back to enjoy how the water flowed through her toes. The beach curved forwards on either side of her, and behind her, framing the bay, was a lush green forest. It was so beautiful and warm and pleasant that it might have been paradise – but Jaina recognized she was somewhere on the Sword Coast, South of Athkatla.
She started to see movement from the corner of her eye – someone had just woken and sat up in the distance on the beach, and at the same time she started to hear rumbling from the forest behind her. She would have gotten worried and started to look for her scimitar if the rumbling had not been accompanied by a familiar loud and accented voice. "Look Boo, look! It's a beach! We have died in battle, courageously kicking the butts of evil, and come to paradise!"
Jaina turned to look towards the voice and chuckled when she saw the big bulky warrior Minsc stumble out from between a thick bush and a tree. He was still wearing his heavy full plate armour, his two-handed sword was strapped to his back, but he was carrying the hamster Boo on his palm and his helmet in his other hand.
"Jaina! How did you get to come to our paradise too?" Minsc asked brightly when he saw her.
"Because this paradise is the Sword Coast!" Jaina said and got up on her feet, flexing her toes in the wet sand. "We aren't dead – quite the opposite!"
"Ahh, Boo, you were right! We defeated evil and lived to fight another day! And Jaina," Minsc went on as he walked towards the dark curvy woman with sand on her backside and hair, "you came back with us!"
"I did! How could I leave you guys after everything we've been together!" Jaina said earnestly and closed the distance between them and extended her arms up to hug the Rasheman. Minsc gave her a bear hug that did not really feel very good seeing as he was squeezing her against the cold and hard metal armour, but Jaina did not care. She felt incredibly relieved that she had gotten through hell, and further, and even managed to return with her friends. Speaking of friends...
"Have you seen anyone else?" Jaina asked when Minsc let go of her and put her down on the sand.
"Not yet, it is just Minsc and Boo. Boo and Minsc," the berserker said softly and tickled the hamster behind his ear. "But there's someone! Is it little Imoen?"
Imoen, despite being rather petite, was no little girl any more, but somehow even after all the horrors and torture and the powers of the Bhaal taint and all the experiences and adventures she had been through, she still remained the playful, mischievous, giggly little sister. Even now she was running towards Jaina and Minsc with bounce in her steps, her bright red hair flowing in the air and a lively laughter on her lips.
"Jay, by the gods!" Imoen screamed of happiness. "We did it!"
Jaina ran to meet her and the sisters practically ran into each other, flinging into each other's arms almost falling over together. "I know! I can't believe it! It's over!"
"It's over!" Imoen repeated and the girls laughed with unspeakable relief. "I was starting to think that we would be forever tied to the taint!"
Jaina touched her chest falling silent for a moment, and then looked back up at Imoen. "Can you feel it? It's... gone. But it's different now than when we lost our souls."
"Then we had nothing left but the taint. Now it's gone," Imoen agreed. "I feel... new. Fresh. Pure."
"I feel like a whole new person – like this is a whole new start. We saw it through, Immy. That chapter of our lives is over, and I can hardly believe it."
"I can hardly believe that you didn't take the job!" Imoen laughed and prodded Jaina with her hand. "You were considering it so seriously I was honestly prepared for you to become a goddess! And what a goddess you would have made, sis."
"I think I've been through enough because of bad ol' daddy Bhaal," Jaina sighed. "Besides, I have so much more to live for here. I couldn't bear to leave you, Immy, and besides... someone owes me a ring."
Both of the girls looked around to see if more of their friends had emerged from somewhere.
"And no mention of this to the others!" they heard yet another accented voice grumble, and then the source of it stepped out of the forest. Edwin was smoothing down his red, luxurious robes and adjusting the large hood on his shoulders. All in all he looked very much himself – grumpy, tall, overly decorated with all the adornments on his robes and his golden jewelry, and his very carefully trimmed beard and thick dark hair.
Right after him a form even bigger than Minsc, wearing an even heavier armour made of dark enchanted metal, stepped out. Sarevok briefly stroke the stubble on his chin chuckling as he looked at Edwin with his glowing eyes – although it was always a little difficult to see exactly where he was focusing his eyes. "I am simply saying, wizard, that getting stuck in a tree wearing something like that, with all the wide cloaks and long staves, is not very surprising. I wonder how you have survived through all of this being so impractical."
"And you have a cause for boasting of survival, Mr Practicality?" Edwin remarked sharply.
"Let us not forget that I was killed by my sister, and if she would raise her arms against you, Edwin, even you with your spells would not survive."
"Aww, how sweetly you talk of me!" Jaina cooed and the sisters both giggled. If Imoen was Jaina's little sister, then Sarevok had, against all odds, become a surprisingly close and protective big brother during the last few months they had been travelling together.
Both Edwin and Sarevok turned to look at the girls – and the wizard tensed, his expression melting into a state of surprise and awe when he gaped at Jaina. The women walked up to meet the men, and Imoen promptly ducked down under Sarevok's arm as thick as her waist, and wrapped her arms around her brother. Jaina, however, stopped in front of Edwin.
"Didn't your mother teach you that staring is rude?" she pointed out, and only then the wizard realized to shake off his obvious shock to see her still walking the face of Faerûn as a mortal.
"I think they're going to be disgusting pretty soon," Imoen said to Sarevok and they wisely moved away from Jaina and Edwin, only to meet the last member of their unlikely but extremely tight team – the slender drow Viconia had also stumbled to the beach and was now shading her sensitive red eyes from the bright sun that reflected painfully from the white sand and the the sea.
Edwin and Jaina had eyes only for each other any more. She had a knowing, slightly seductive smile on her thick lips painted dark red, while he was uncharacteristically struck off-balance by the surprising choice she had made. Even Jaina had rarely seen Edwin so open and earnest as now when he still stared at the woman in front of him, in all her mortal glory.
"I... I cannot believe you turned down being the God of Murder for..." he gulped.
"For you, Eddie," Jaina said softly and stepped closer. She only managed to take that one step when Edwin already let his staff fall down on the beach and he gathered her into his arms, amidst the wide sleeves and long cloak until he felt her curves against his body, and covered her mouth into a near-desperate, passionate kiss.
When they after a long while finally let their lips part slowly, reluctantly, with a quiet wet slurp, they remained holding each other as if for dear life, and rested their foreheads together catching their breaths.
"You will always be a goddess to me, Jaina," Edwin said on a low, hoarse tone, and as earnest as he had ever been. "I will worship you for the rest of my days."
"Oh, Eddie..." Jaina sighed and cupped his jaw into her hands, enjoying the feel of his beard on her palms. "And I'll be yours for the rest of my life. I love you. And I want our game of pretending to be true."
Edwin gave a chuckle – the sort that started somewhere deep in his chest and turned out a low, gruff sound that made Jaina's knees weak every time – and tightened his grip around her narrow waist. "That means I will need to get you a ring. Hmm, I already know the sort... fitting only for a queen, but you do not get the like of it outside Thay."
"Oh come on, are you going to have me wait until we get to Thay? That'll take months, I'm sure!"
Edwin looked at her raising the pierced eyebrow, and then let go of her. He patted through his pockets and pouches but apparently did not find what he was looking for, so he left Jaina and walked over to the others.
"Imoen?" he asked and the girl paused her excited babbling and giggling with Viconia – they had been travelling for so long and become such good friends that even the often haughty drow was sometimes lured from her shell to be a little girly with Jaina and Imoen.
"Yeah, whatcha need?"
"Did you still have the trinket pouch somewhere?"
"The trinket pouch, why?" Imoen asked and walked over to her backpack lying on the sand. She took out a canvas pouch that they had used to store so called trinkets – any valuable jewellery they did not have immediate need for.
"Ahh, excellent," Edwin said and took it from her. "I wonder if it's still here... I wouldn't be surprised it the insufferable little monkey had sold it for chocolate..."
Imoen rolled her eyes knowing Edwin was muttering about her under his breath, but her expression brightened when she saw the wizard take out a ring they had collected some time ago – a thick golden ring with a beautifully cut ruby on it. Having found exactly what he had been looking for, Edwin handed the pouch back to Imoen and promptly turned to walk back to Jaina.
"What are you--" Jaina started, and Imoen got another giggle fit and she prodded everyone else to watch as well when Edwin pulled on his long robes to reveal the legs of the black travelling pants and boots underneath, and finally, without hesitation, knelt down in front of Jaina.
He had already asked her to marry him once – but that had been when everyone had been relatively certain they would either die, or that Jaina would leave them and ascend into the Pantheon. Being engaged had been a sweet dream to take comfort in in the middle of war and chaos, but now that the situation had changed quite drastically and the three Bhaalspawns with their companions all faced the rest of their lives rid of the taint, it was time to make the daydream reality.
"Jaina, my deva, my goddess, my love," Edwin said earnestly when he took her right hand and look up into her face. Jaina had already flustered and she was holding her breath, and Edwin's hands were shaking and he had to clear his throat to continue. It was one thing to do this when he knew it was not going to happen, and a vastly different thing when he knew it would result into the rest of his life with her, and his mother giving lectures about grand children, and one of the greatest weddings Thay had seen in centuries.
"You have made me the happiest man on the Realms for, rather foolishly, choosing the life as a mortal to live by my side. For this I wish to dedicate all my days to making you as happy as I possibly can. You are the most remarkable, beautiful, ravishing woman I have ever known and you have changed me. You have made me. Please, Jaina, marry me. Become my wife and I swear we shall be the most formidable couple the Realms remember, and I will be the luckiest man of them all."
Jaina had already started sobbing of pure, unrestrained happiness, and she nodded her head so that her dark hair swayed and tear drops fell on the sand. "Y-yes, Edwin, of course I'll marry you."
The four others broke into wild cheers and a group hug while Jaina dropped on her knees to partly sit on Edwin's lap on the sand.
"You stupid girl, weeping like a child even though this was already the second time I asked you..." Edwin mumbled resorting to sarcasm, but his tone was endearing. He held her hand carefully and Jaina spread her fingers to let him slowly slip the ruby ring on her finger. They both looked at the ring marking their love on her finger for a moment, then turned to gaze into each others eyes, and as if of one mind, moved closer for a lingering, sweet kiss.
"Mmmh... a big wedding," Jaina mumbled, her lips still brushing his.
"A thousand guests. Celebrations to last three days," Edwin agreed.
"A petticoat dress, with a corset and a trail and a long veil adorned with roses."
"And the most beautiful diamonds for your jewelry. And Thay's honourable orchestra to play the music, and hundreds of white doves to be released just as we walk out of the temple."
"And our suite for the wedding night will be up in a tower where we can make as much noise as we want, with the biggest four-poster bed that we can fit into the room!"
Edwin wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her closer, and gave a seductive laughter. "Ahh, I love the way you think. Although right now I feel like I could make love to you right here and now."
"Mmmh. I don't think we have done it on a beach before," Jaina purred, and they were already kissing again. Everything else in the world had disappeared for the lovers, and when Edwin fell to lay on his back on the sand bringing Jaina down with him without breaking the kiss, Viconia hastily suggested to the others that they should leave the beach to find a spot for the camp under the wind.