Blasted From the Shadows' latest chapter is taking a lot longer to write than I expected, so here is a little something to hold you over until then. Basically, Cullen is the best boyfriend ever. 'Nuff said.
Mari groaned, and put a pillow over her head. Was the Inquisitor not allowed one sick day? The knocking at her door never seemed to end. First it was Josephine, informing her of today's meetings (none of which sheplanned on attending), then it was the servants coming in to clean, then Sera coming in laughing entirely too loudly about a prank that she pulled. Mari's head ached terribly, and she could feel her cramps beginning again. I just want to be left alone with a good book and a cake today. Is that too much to ask? she thought to herself as she pulled the covers up around her again.
She felt herself just drifting off to sleep again, when there it was again: a soft tap at her door.
"Go away! The Inquisitor doesn't wish to see anyone today!" yelled Mari, and grabbed a throw pillow to throw at her visitor. The door opened slightly, and Cullen poked his head in; but Mari had already thrown the pillow, and it missed the commander by mere inches.
"What's this, a frontal assault on one of the Inquisition's finest officers? My my, but the commander is not going to be happy about this." said Cullen with a laugh.
"Oh, sorry love. I wasn't aware it was you. I haven't been able to get a moment's rest all morning."
"What's wrong? If it's destressment you want-"
"No, Cullen." Mari blushed, sat up and carefully moved herself into a cross-legged position. "It-it's my...you know. Bleeding time."
Cullen appeared unfazed by this information, and walked over to sit on the bed next to her. "Ah, so you need a different kind of destressment. Well, I can also provide that." In one fluid motion, Cullen had pushed Mari down on her bed stomach-side, pulled up her shirt and began rubbing her back. Mari began to object, but once she felt Cullen's warm hands on her, rubbing away all the stress from her lower back, she blew a breathy sigh and closed her eyes. She still felt embarrassed that she had even admitted it was this time for her. Why is he doing this for me? Why is he not stuttering and running away, screaming in fear?
"Feel better?" asked Cullen, as he traced the patterns of her scars along her back.
"You could say that." replied Mari with a giggle, trying to sit up, and instead falling right into Cullen's bare arm. Cullen drew in a sharp breath and felt Mari's forehead.
"Darling, you're burning up! Do you need a healer?"
"No, I always get feverish when I'm...like this. Normally I just sleep it off, but no one has left me alone all morning, and the general stress from being Inquisitor hasn't helped me either."
"Right." Cullen sat up and scooped Mari in his arms bridal-style. "No one is going to leave you alone when they know you're in here, and since you're clearly to sick to move, you're going to hide."
"Where, pray tell, are you going to hide the Inquisitor in her own damn castle?"
"Where no one will expect you to be." replied Cullen, and opened the door, while being careful not to drop Mari. Once the coast was clear, Cullen walked quickly through the castle, out doors to back courtyards, and finally into his office where he set Mari down on his desk. "Can you get up the ladder?"
"I-yes..." Mari climbed down from the desk. "You can seriously think no one is going to search for me in here."
"Well, I didn't say you were going to hide in my office, now did I? Now, get up the ladder and get into bed and I'll call for blackberry tea."
Mari scrambled up the ladder, and climbed into Cullen's bed. It wasn't as comfortable as her own in her room, but it smelled like him; armour polish, pine trees, and a faint glow of lemon spice. She heard Cullen yell for a servant, and she smiled, settling herself between his pillows. I still don't understand why he's doing this for me, but I certainly do appreciate it. About ten minutes later, a scuffling noise, and the banging of metal against wood could be heard as Cullen emerged, climbing up the steps of the ladder with a tray in his hands, which was quickly put on the floor so he could pull himself up. On the tray, Mari could see a tea kettle and teacup, a frosted sweetcake, one of Varric's books, and a pile of rags, both steaming hot and cool.
"Maker above, that didn't sound easy, Cullen. What is all that?"
"This, my dear, is for your sick day. Now, you are going to stay up here in bed, and sleep or read, or eat this cake while I finish the rest of today's reports."
"But-"
"That's an order, Marillyn Breitte Trevelyan. You are sick not well, and you will rest if it is the last thing I do." Cullen kissed Mari's forehead, and retreated back down the ladder. Mari sighed, and got the tray to put beside her. She poured herself a coup of the sweet blackberry tea, and felt all the tension in her body slip away. The book was one she had already read, but it happened to be a favourite of hers, so she sipped on the tea while lazily reading the book. She could hear Cullen downstairs sighing over paperwork, and Mari felt a sense of comfort set in, knowing that he was down there to take care of her. But, her blood froze when she heard his door open and
Cassandra's voice come up through the rafters.
"Commander. Have you seen the Inquisitor? Josephine has been looking for her all day, and she is not in her quarters."
"I can't say I have seen her recently, Cassandra. However, I did see her this morning, and she didn't look so well. Perhaps she went to the infirmary?"
"I-suppose that is a valid thing to do. Thank you, Commander." The door creaked open and shut again. Mari almost burst out laughing from the absurdity of the situation; here she was, ten feet above Cassandra, and the Seeker was none the wiser!
Mari spent the rest of the day with the hot rags on her stomach, book in hand, while absentmindedly eating the sweetcake. She napped for a couple of hours in the late afternoon, and awoke at sundown, pleasantly groggy, and found Cullen next to her, wearing nothing but drawstring pants.
"How long have you been here?" asked Mari as she reached out to stroke Cullen's hair.
"Only a few minutes. I didn't know if you were hungry or not, so I thought I'd join you for a bit." Cullen felt Mari's forehead again. "Seems like your fever's gone down."
"That's nice." replied Mari with a yawn. "I am a bit hungry, I suppose. I really want some warm potato soup from the kitchens, and I feel well enough to get some myself now."
"Then to the kitchens we go." Cullen climbed out of bed and pulled on a long-sleeved white shirt and pulled on some boots. Guilt washed over Mari; Cullen had done everything for her today, and she had done nothing for him.
"Cullen, wait."
"What? Do you not feel well again?"
"No, it's-why are you doing all of this for me? All day you've taken care of me, and I don't feel like I've deserved a thing. I though men were supposed to leave women be while they're like this, and-"
"Now where did you get that idea?" Cullen sat down on the bed again, and looked at her with worried eyes. "I'm doing this, because I love you, and because I know you're not feeling well. My older sister would get like this when she was bleeding, and I always thought to myself, when I find someone that I love one day, I am going to take care of her when she feels ill because I can't stand to see my sister in pain, and I certainly won't stand to see my love in pain either."
"I-oh." Mari felt very silly now. "My parents, when I was younger, always told me that this was a terrible curse, and that I mustn't be a burden on my future husband when it gets to be my bleeding time. I suppose I kept that mentality after all these years."
"Well, you needn't worry about being a burden when you're with me." replied Cullen, and he kissed Mari as if to prove his point. Mari felt the warmth from his lips flow into her, and fill her to the brim.
"Cullen?"
"Yes, love?"
"C-can we go get that soup now?"
I personally feel that every girl needs a Cullen (in any form, whether it be friend, significant other, or really fluffy stuffed animal) to make them feel better when "that time" strikes. I certainly wish I did. Anyways, if you liked, don't forget to favourite/comment/kudos!