This story is a collaboration with AmityN7, who's many excellent Mass Effect stories you should definitely give a try if you haven't already.
The Ferelden night was cold, but this close to the fire, Cassandra was untouched by its chill. Roasted rabbit was far from the best meal she'd ever eaten, but it was fresh and hot, and that was more than enough for her. As she washed it down with a drink from her water skin, she stole a glance at the woman next to her. Leliana seemed to be enjoying her food as well, licking her fingers clean with relish.
"I take it you approve," Cassandra commented.
"I do. When I travelled with Warden, we often hunted our dinner. Being here, on our way to Haven, reminds me of those days."
"You seem to miss them. It's strange to think someone could be nostalgic about battling against a Blight."
"Oh, I could imagine you feeling that way," Leliana teased. "You only seem happy when we have a good battle to fight."
Not only then, Cassandra thought to herself. The more time they spent together, the more she was coming to enjoy Leliana's company. For her, there had always been a hard line between being a lady and being a warrior, but her friend seemed to straddle it effortless. One moment, she could be the deadly Sister Nightingale, Left Hand of the Divine, and the next, the elegant bard, charming everyone she met.
She had certainly charmed Cassandra. If only the Seeker could figure out what she should do about that.
"It isn't just the fighting that I miss anyway," Leliana continued. "There was something romantic about those nights in the wilderness." She smiled, her expression bright in the glow of the fire. "At least the Hero and Alistair seemed to think so."
Theirs was a story everyone knew by now. The daughter of a Dalish clan who'd risen to become the Commander of the Grey and the lover of the new King of Ferelden. It wasn't quite the tale Cassandra was interested in though, and so she tentatively asked, "Were they the only ones? Who found romance that is."
"I'm not sure that Zevran's escapades qualify as romance," Leliana quipped, "So I suppose they were. Unless you count Marjolaine's attempt to kill me. I think, in some twisted way, she considered that to be a part of our relationship."
Leliana had mentioned Marjolaine before. The older woman had been her mentor before she betrayed her. She had also been her lover, and Cassandra couldn't hide her curiosity about their time together. "If you don't think it too bold, might I ask...what was that like? Being with her?"
"Cassandra! I've never known you to gossip," Leliana laughed. "I thought that was my role. Not that you give me very much to work with. Other than your fondness for those novels, that is."
"Novels?" She gave Leliana an indignant look. "I do not know what you're talking about."
"Then those weren't your books I found hidden under your pillow. Chantry of Desire seemed especially interesting..."
She knew she was blushing, but maybe she could use Leliana's discovery to hide her real interest. "All right," she conceded, "That was why I was asking. The book had some… scenes between a Templar and the Reverend Mother she was assigned to protect."
"Scenes?" Leliana asked with a playful smile. "What kind of scenes might those be, I wonder."
Cassandra dipped her head to hide the increasing redness in her cheeks. "Forgive my foolishness."
"No, please, go on."
"I...I have not been to bed with many," Cassandra admitted after making sure there was not anyone else around to hear her. "There was little time for romance among the Seekers but I admire the concept."
"Yes, there's nothing else quite like it. Love can make fools or demons out of the best of us." Leliana opined, a wistful note in her voice.
Cassandra stoked the fire nervously with a stick. "It's just...I have never been with a woman...I was curious."
"I doubt my experience with Marjolaine was typical, but if you must know, it was not devoid of pleasant memories either. She was a more than capable lover. Men are all strength and power, and many finish before you've even begun the climb. But another woman is much more delicate, more passionate, and far more aware of what we require."
Cassandra found herself leaning in towards her friend and listening just a little too intently.
"Marjolaine may have proved herself to be a monster but she was every bit as much of an artist with her tongue as with her bow."
The Seeker felt something stir within her. She fidgeted on the log she sat on as an awkward silence fell between the two women. Suddenly the warrior found her nerve and a few bold words began to swim in her mind. Just as she opened her lips to speak them though, a third voice interjected.
"Swapping stories, ladies?" Varric sat himself down beside Cassandra. "I've been known to tell a tale now and then." When an awkward silence followed his arrival, he arched an eyebrow. "I didn't interrupt anything, I hope."
"Not at all, Varric," Leliana assured him with a grin. "Cassandra was just about to tell us all about her romantic past."
Varric looked positively thrilled. "Be still my beating heart. Now that is a story I would very much like to hear."
Cassandra jumped to her feet. That was certainly not what she intended to do, especially not now that Varric had joined them. "It's late. We have a long road ahead of us. Perhaps we should get some sleep."
The Seeker ignored Varric's pleas to talk a little while longer and after a short goodnight to Leliana, she returned to her small tent. Sleep, however, did not come easily to her, which was unusual. In training, she had learned to take her rest where she could. Tonight, though, she had difficulty keeping her thoughts away from her conversation with Leliana.
An artist with her tongue. She had never met Marjolaine, but images of her taking the woman's place kept forcing their way into Cassandra's mind. Of laying between Leliana's legs, exploring the bard with her mouth, and learning what would make her cry out in pleasure. Of Leliana rolling her onto her back and doing the same for her. In her brief time with Regalyan, he never did that for her, and she could only imagine what it might feel like. Could only imagine how Leliana might taste, the way her face would look when she found her release…
The idea made her shiver and when she slipped a hand down between her thighs, she found them slick with arousal. Had she been alone, she might have stayed there and tried to give herself some relief in the hopes it would help her sleep, but this thin tent in midst of camp hardly seemed the appropriate place for such activities. No, it seemed she was destined for a long night.
With a huff, she strapped on her armor, secured her sword to her hip, and stepped back out into the cold night. Dead leaves crunched under her boots as she approached the edge of their camp. She could hear snores coming from the other tents. There were just over a dozen men accompanying them on their journey to the Temple of Sacred Ashes and it was up to Cassandra to see them all there safely. Justinia intended to have words with Varric and the Seeker intended on delivering the obnoxious little weasel to her in one piece.
She came to a stop at the perimeter when she found one of her men hunched over at the base of a tree. Cassandra woke the boy with a slight kick to the leg. His eyes jolted open and he jumped to his feet as soon as he saw her face.
"Seeker Pentaghast!", he cried in a shrill voice. "My apologies, sir-M'am!" he quickly corrected himself.
She stopped his babbling with a simple raise of her hand. "Get some rest. I will stand watch."
"You're sure?"
"I am."
The boy saluted and ran off to his tent and once he was out of earshot, Cassandra let out a yawn, resting her hand on the hilt of her sword. Before long she caught the scent of smoke in the air and traced it back to it's source.
Leaning up against a tree with his back to her stood Varric, pipe in hand as he blew smoke out through his nose. The sound of leaves under Cassandra's boots made him turn to face her.
"Are you that foolish? Smoking in the middle of a forest?" Cassandra chided him.
"I am not without my vices, dear Seeker. And we've had rain. I doubt I'll burn it down."
Cassandra came to a stop next to him. "I told you to rest."
"I thought you said you were going to do the same."
She snorted. "Must you always be this stubborn?"
"Funny, I was thinking exactly the same thing." Cassandra crossed her arms and frowned. "So," Varric asked, "Can't sleep or are you just wanting to grace me with your charming personality once again?"
"I do not answer to you."
"Come now, satisfy my curiosity." She stayed silent and Varric decided to change tactics. "Tell me, Seeker, are you a fan of literature?"
She raised an eyebrow, silently praying he didn't also know what Leliana had discovered about her. She trusted the bard. Varric, not so much. "Why?"
Varric took a puff from his pipe and shrugged. "You're not very good at conversation."
"Only when the person I'm speaking with fills their words with half-truths."
"My my, are you accusing me of being a liar?"
"Are you denying it?"
"I'm a writer, weaving extravagant lies is my trade. But truth can also be a powerful weapon to those who know how to wield it."
Cassandra grunted in disapproval. "The truth should not be used to manipulate."
"Coming from a Chantry woman like yourself, that's saying something." Varric countered.
"The Chantry lies? You do not believe in Andraste and the Maker then?"
"I wouldn't go that far. In my experience, some stories are too crazy to not be true."
"For all our sakes I hope when you speak with the Divine you will have the good sense to be honest with her."
Varric chuckled. "Seeker, when I-"
Suddenly a high pitched scream cut him off and they both whirled on their heels. From out of the woods on the other side of camp, a woman Cassandra recognized as one of their scouts stumbled out of the darkness clutching at her neck. He hands fell to her side to reveal a gash along her throat that was spewing blood like a geyser with each beat of her dying heart.
The rest of the camp quickly climbed out of their tents at the noise, arriving just in time to see the scout topple to the ground. Everyone went for their weapons, and Cassandra's gaze found Leliana in the turmoil, a quiver now strapped to her back and her bow in hand as she stared out into the forest.
Before Cassandra could shout anything to her, the assault began. A lone arrow soared out from the dark and sunk into a young man's skull, sending him crashing to the ground just as dozens more followed.
Cassandra raised her shield. "Varric, find a weapon!", she barked. Her agents had disarmed the dwarf when they brought him in for questioning in Kirkwall, but right now, he was the least of her worries.
"Way ahead of ya, Seeker!" Varric cried over his shoulder as he ran towards the chest that held Bianca.
Cassandra turned to where she saw Leliana returning fire with her bow from behind a wagon. The Seeker rushed towards her, raising her shield to deflect the arrows that were now crashing down everywhere she looked. She watched in horror as she saw the young guard she relieved from his post earlier writhing on the ground with a shaft buried deep in his chest. A boy out on his first real mission, scarcely old enough to shave, now dead. She pushed that thought from her mind, along with everything else that might distract from what she needed to do to survive.
"How many?!", she screamed over the sounds of the battle when she finally reached Leliana's side.
"I saw at least ten, but there are probably more," Leliana answered as she drew another arrow from her quiver.
"We're too exposed in this clearing. We have to move!" Cassandra said as she scanned the trees and spotted more of their attackers lining up shots. Most of their traveling party had already been struck down and she doubted the rest of them would last long.
"Where's Varric?" Leliana asked.
"I don't know!"
Suddenly, the archer nearest to them fell out of his tree, and from behind them, they heard the voice of the dwarf in question. "Not getting rid of me that easily," he quipped as he reloaded the large crossbow he now held. "What about the others?"
Leliana's tone was flat and hard. The romantic bard was gone, replaced by the ruthless pragmatist. "There's nothing we can do for them. If we don't leave now, we'll be dead too." She pointed to a heavily forested grouping of trees across a 30 yards stretch of open land. "It looks clear over there. Move!"
Varric raised his weapon. "Bianca, baby, time to go to work!"
"Go!" Cassandra ordered and all three of them charged forward.
Arrows whizzed by Cassandra's face as she ran, while Varric and Leliana tried to provide covering fire. Leliana loosed a shot that hit one of the archers in the breast, and he fell from his perch, stone dead. However the attack left the bard vulnerable and with their attention drawn, the others ambushers in the trees turned on her. Leliana rolled to dodge the sudden onslaught, but though she avoided being hit, she lost her footing as the arrows rained down around her.
Cassandra didn't think, she simply acted. She threw herself in front of Leliana and brought up her shield to defend her friend, but with her protection focused on the fallen redhead, she was left vulnerable. Just as Varric pulled Leliana to her feet and fired off a bolt towards the enemy, she felt something sink into her side.
"Cassandra!" Leliana cried in horror as she watched the arrow strike home.
The seeker hit the ground hard. "Keep moving!" she ordered the others. "I'll follow!"
"Not a chance!" Varric objected, grabbing Cassandra by the collar to help drag her the few remaining yards to the trees.
Perhaps the Maker was looking out for them, as they somehow made it to their destination without any further wounds. The dense foliage provided cover from the arrows but their attackers were persistent. Just as Varric helped set Cassandra down by a fallen tree, the archer team began to move in, replacing their bows with drawn daggers.
Leliana reached back to her quiver and came up empty handed. "Varric, get her somewhere safe." she ordered.
"No!' Cassandra cried.
Varric shook his head. "What about you, Nightingale?"
Leliana drew a pair of daggers from the sheaths at her belt. "I will lure them away to give you time and we can meet up again once I lose them."
"Leliana, I can still fight." Cassandra protested through clenched teeth as more blood spilled out of the wound in her side.
"No time to argue," Leliana snapped as she moved towards the enemy. "Now go!"
Varric helped Cassandra to her feet. "Time to move."
"We can't leave her!"
"You heard her, she'll catch up and besides, you're looking a little worse for the wear right now," Varric pointed out as he wrapped an arm around her waist.
As they slipped further and further into the woods, she kept looking over her shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of Leliana as she ran towards what Cassandra feared would be her doom. Unfortunately, she was so focused on her friend that it was almost her own undoing.
A battle cry sounded and from behind a large oak tree one of their enemies sprang forward with an axe clutched in his hand. He swung his weapon at them, the blade just barely missing Varric's neck as he toppled backwards to avoid the strike, Bianca falling from his grasp as he fell. Cassandra managed to raise her shield in time, deflecting the axe as the man brought the weapon down in a powerful overhead strike that staggered her.
She had to dive to her left to avoid the next attack, but the move also provided her with an opening. She slashed upwards and her blade caught her enemy just below the wrist. The sword cleaved through armor, skin, and bone, leaving his axe hand dangling off the rest of his arm by a thin strip of flesh. The man howled in agony and Cassandra readied her blade to finish him off. Her wound slowed her though, and before she could strike, her assailant reached out, wrapping his remaining hand around the arrow sticking out of her side, and twisted.
She threw back her head and let out a cry of pain but though she dropped her shield, she kept hold of her sword. To lose it was to die, and she had no intention of dying here. Grabbing the hilt with her other hand, she swung with all of her fading strength, crying out, "Maker take you!" The blade hit its mark and carved through the flesh of the man's stomach, spilling his innards out before he fell backwards to the dirt.
With her enemy dead, the surge of adrenaline that had kept her going faded and Cassandra's vision began to darken. She staggered, bracing herself on a tree and turning towards Varric, who was picking himself up from the dirt and gathering up his crossbow from where he'd dropped it.
"We need to go back for her." Cassandra insisted, but her words were slurring and her head swam with pain.
"You're in no shape to fight," Varric insisted as he slung Bianca on to his back.
She wanted to protest, but her legs chose that moment to fail her and she dropped to one knee, clutching at the arrow sticking out of her. The sword tumbled from her hand and the last word she managed to get out before she fell to ground was, "Leliana."
Who's attacking them? What's happening to Leliana? Will Varric and Cassandra manage to work together without killing each other? Find out next time and let us know what you thought in the reviews.