Jet black ravens squawked loudly, flapping their monstrous wings against their cages in the rookery overhead. The Inquisition's Spymaster sighed irritably before chucking a handful of feed into the bottom on the cages as Dorian Pavus read his book.
It was fine literature, he finally concluded, as he ran his hand down the spine of the leather, his fingers regrettably coming into contact with one too many nooks and crannies. The material was used and worn, and it was clear that the once vibrant colour had dulled.
A crime shame.
Dorian wasn't usually one for fiction. He was much more interested in the truths of books, the knowledge to be learnt. Fiction tended to be a lot less exciting, with false facts and untrue tales. However, despite his usual opinion on them, the gripping fiction he was reading had him on the edge of his seat.
The young mage didn't even hear the footsteps that came closer and closer to him, too entranced in the world the book had built for him.
"Dorian?"
He ignored the call, continuing along the sentence that he tirelessly traced with his finger.
"Dorian?"
He sighed and frowned, placing his thumb at the last word he'd read, and looked up. Auburn hair greeted him, as well as a dashing smile and clear, sea blue eyes. Pointy, Elvan ears stuck out from underneath the red-brown locks, a hand rested on the intruder's hip as they watched him with amusement, and small rounded lumps pushed against the fabric of the interrupter's shirt.
Dorian enclosed the book around his thumb and finger, keeping his page to return to later. "Can't you see I'm busy?" He demanded, gesturing the book.
"Oh, please forgive me," the woman replied. "I do hope I'm not interrupting your session of," she lifted the book slightly from Dorian's hand, reading the title. "'fairy-tale rubbish', as you call it," she ended with a tease.
"I'll have you know that this book is a work of art," the mage defended. "What bring you here, Ellana?"
"Do I need a reason to come and visit my best-friend?" the Inquisitor replied, pulling up a chair of her own.
"If it's to remind me of our friendship, then forgive me for wondering if there was something you wanted," the Tervinter Mage joked. Dorian saw the smile on her lips, and the happiness that reached her eyes, but being around the Elven woman had trained him to see things in her expression that others did not.
Nervousness.
Now, he saw nervousness.
Ellana Lavellan fiddled with her fingers for a few moments, watching her friend watch her, before she rested her hands on her knees. "You're right," she admitted. "There is something I want. Or more so, there's something that Josephine and I want..."
Dorian chuckled and set him book aside. "Then I apologise for having to turn down this gracious offer," he said in jest. "I am a taken man, you see, and my interests lie elsewhere."
"What are you- oh," the Inquisitor replied. "Oh, but what shall I tell my lady wife!" she joined in the joke. "She will be very disappointed in my inability to bring you into our bed chambers."
"I'm sure she'll survive."
They shared a few laughs, Ellana looking everywhere except the mage. After the laughter had died down, the nervousness was back, hiding behind her eyes. Taking a long breath, the Elf spoke, touching the wedding ring on her finger. "As you know, Josephine and I have been married for nearly two years," she started, clearing her voice after a few moments, Dorian listening intently. "She's made me immensely happy, far more than I thought was possible. But the both of us have been… longing for something more."
Dorian smiled a small, hidden smile, knowing what his friend was about to announce. He rested his chin in his hand as he leaned on his arm-rest.
Ellana swallowed, and gave a shy smile. "We've decided to start a family."
A surge of pride swelled in his stomach, and he resisted the urge to clap his hand on her back. Dorian had never been one for children himself, but he was fine with being the uncle. "Congratulations," he said with a gleaming smile. "And, although I'm happy for you both, it begs the question as to why you come to me wrecked with stutters and the nervousness of a paranoid antelope?"
She smiled at the comparison, and took another deep breath. "As we can – obviously – not have children together, we are in need of a... donation," she caught Dorian's eye, telling the mage all he needed to know.
And somewhere in his gut, his pride dropped.
"Ah," he murmured. This was what he had feared. "And if I were to agree? When the child is born and squirming in its mother's grasp, what would our… relationship be like?"
Ellana caught onto his fears immediately. "It wouldn't be a father – child relationship. At all," she answered. "The baby will be mine and Josephine's to raise and love on our own. Of course, he or she will be told about where they came from when they're old enough, but we don't need anything more from you than the… means to make a child."
Scratching his moustache, Dorian felt great relief at that reply. He smiled at his best friend, squeezing the book on his hand as he found his answer.
As Lady Josephine Montilyet readied herself for their 'first try', Ellana sat at her desk in her dressing gown, listening to the rustles of her lady's clothing, the crackling of the roaring fire, and the sinister laughter of Dorian inside her head. She rested her chin on her palm as she leaned forward on the desk, and fisted the dirtied vial in her free hand.
"It's still warm," she complained to her wife.
"Hmm?" Josephine replied, turning to Ellana.
The Elf's nose wrinkled in disgust at the glass in her hand, and she looked across the room to Josephine. "Warm," she repeated, holding out the vial. "It's still warm."
Josephine giggled at her childishness, and crossed the room to take the vial from her. Feeling the weight of it, she found that it was indeed still quite high in temperature. "Is it not supposed to be?" the Antivan asked as she passed the vial back.
"I was hoping it would have cooled down by now," Ellana grumbled, rolling the glass in her palm. "When it's this temperature it makes me feel like he's only just now-" Ellana made a hand gesture – a rude hand gesture – letting Josephine know exactly what she was trying to convey, which made Josephine laugh again. "into the vial. It's not a pleasing thought."
Smiling, Josephine sauntered back over to her wife, the simple, gold wedding band Ellana had slipped onto her finger glinting from the light of the fire. She took the vial from the Elf again, running her thumb over the rim. "You know we can stop this now if it makes you too uncomfortable, si amor?" Josephine said, cupping her lover's cheek. "We can try again when you're more comfortable with the idea of this?" she gestured the vial.
"No," Ellana said immediately. Taking the vial again, she leaned into Josephine hand. "I want this. I want to do this. I don't want my childishness to stop us having what we want."
Smiling, Josephine leaned over the desk, pressing her foreheads against Ellana's for a few moments before giving a toothy grin, and pressing their lips together in a chaste kiss. Ellana wrapped her arms around her wife, rubbing the small of her back. They pulled away for a few moments before the mage stood and waved her hand over the candle at her desk, extinguishing the small flame before moving around the desk to Josephine.
Silently, they made the agreement that now was the time. Smiling, Josephine took Ellana's hand, pulling her over to their large bed. She sat down on the plush cushioned mattress, running her free hand through the Elf's hair when she leaned down to kiss the Ambassador.
Ellana joined her lover on the bed, tossing off her warm dressing gown and throwing it carelessly to the floor. The few candles in the room made it possible to see the Antivan beauty beneath her, and Ellana grinned down at the sight. She leaned down, kissing her wife with a renewed passion, pulling a moan from Josephine's lips. "Ready?" she all but whispered against her when they parted.
Nodding excitedly, Josephine laid back on the fluffy pillows that littered the top of the bed, intertwining her hand with Ellana's free one. The Elf kissed the tanned skin, and dropped down to lean on her elbows as she slowly made her way down her wife's body, occasionally kissing the brown flesh that was available to her.
Reaching Josephine's hips and fleshy thighs, she parted her legs gentle with her free hand, the other holding the vial in a careful grip. Ellana glanced up over her lover's body, and chuckled when their eyes met. Quickly kissing the inside of the Antivan's thigh, the Elf got up to rest on her knees, resting herself easily between her wife's legs.
Lifting her night shirt up above her hips, Ellana released the cork of the vial, and resisted the urge to wrinkle her nose at the white substance inside. Looking back down, Ellana spread her wife's lower lips as she had done time and time before, and inserted the open vial into Josephine's womanhood. She felt her wife squeeze her hand, and she squeezed back with as much vigour.
After the white liquid had slid from the vial and into her wife, Ellana put the cork back into the vial, and placed it gently on the bedside table. A hand grasped at her neck, and the Elf felt herself being pulled down by the older woman. Two arms wrapped around her neck as warm lips pressed against her own, and a tongue ran along her bottom lip. Smiling, Ellana opened her mouth ever so slightly, letting Josephine's tongue dance with her own. She gave a happy sigh as she moved to lean on her side, and she ran her hand through Josephine's long hair.
She pulled away from her wife a few moments later, and rested her forehead against her collarbone. "I love you, my darling," she heard Josephine murmur tiredly.
She grinned, pressing several kisses to the woman's neck. "Ar lath ma, ma Vhenan," she replied, running her hand down her wife's body and resting it just below her navel. Josephine's hand joined hers, and their fingers intertwined tightly.
"I do hope this works," the Ambassador announced.
"It will probably take a few tries," Ellana said, resting her head on the pillow next to Josephine. "But yes. I hope this works, too."
Smiling, the couple leaned in once more, giving each other a chaste kiss before closing their eyes, the both of them falling into a restful slumber.
A.N: Happy New Year all! Here, have a one shot :D