I collected myself as I walked over to Samson, who was now standing and fiddling with the laces on his shirt.
"What are you doing?" It was a little unnerving to watch that he did such an action without any reserve.
"You did say that your magic works best when you can touch bare skin right?" His tone had lost any mocking or teasing notes.
"Well yes, I did, but?" He paused as he pushed his shirt open, glancing at me with, what? Curiosity?
"But?"
"Nevermind, thank you for remembering." He let out a light snort and dropped his hands to his sides. I began to pull at the veil around me. "Oh Commander?" I asked, turning my head to face him, suddenly remembering an important fact.
"Yes Miss Darlana?"
"You should know that there are potential…side effects to this." His brow knitted.
"Such as?"
"Some, like you, just get very relaxed. Almost like they're drunk. Others become quite violent, and still others seem to turn…randy." His eyes widened and he gave me a glance.
"Thank you for informing me. But I do believe I can convince the Inquisitor if you do not feel comfortable doing this." His tone was spoken with reassuring notes.
"I appreciate your concern, Commander Cullen, but let us try first."
"As you wish, Miss Darlana." He made a series of gestures to the guards, who placed themselves around Samson and I. Once again I collected myself, and took a step closer to this man.
'You can do this Darlana. You're protected, and he is but a shadow of the man he once was.' I wrap my right hand around his neck, my left touching the skin over the center of his chest, magic flowing through each. 'His hair is so sleek…even the strands on his chest…' I feel my magic waver and refocus on him. He doesn't react hardly at all, staying solid the whole time. It feels like hours before he finally shows signs of clarity. My feet start to ache from standing so long, and my mind feels foggy from exhaustion when Samson finally lets out a low groan and relaxes all his muscles. I let my hands fall away and close my eyes to gather myself. Before I realize; I am falling backwards, but am caught my strong arms.
"Unhand her right now!" That was Cullen's voice, booming somewhere in the distance, and by Andraste, he was not happy.
"You honestly think I was going to let her fall and knock her head on the floor?" Samson? What was he talking about?
Oh.
I opened my eyes enough to see that he was the one who had caught me, one hand cradling my head, the other around my waist. Cullen and the guard's blades were all pointed at him, the mage in a battle pose, staff at the ready.
'Sweet Maker.' I opened my mouth to speak, but only a strangled groan came out. It was enough to break the tension in the air.
"Are you alright, Miss Darlana?" Cullen said to me, having decided that is was okay to sheathe his blade and kneel to my side.
"I will be alright. It's just been a long time since I have used all my mana in so short a time." Cullen took me from Samson's arms, holding me up, holding me to him in a protective manner, the weight of my body not even bothering him. "The more important thing is," I gathered a breath, "How are you now, Samson?" The man in question looked down at his hands, turning them around, wiggling his fingers.
"It's…odd." He paused then looked at me, his eyes markedly less red. "I feel like I'm only half way out of the fog, but at the same time, it's as though my thoughts are clearer than ever. My heart no longer feels like it's on fire, and the numbness in my fingers and toes is gone. I guess a thank you is in order." I nodded, suddenly feeling quite weak again.
"Good. And you seem to not have any of the side effects I described." I leant more heavily on Cullen's frame, the blonde man taking is arm down and around my shoulder for support.
"Let us take you to Enchanter Fiona. From there we can all work some sort of schedule for therapy." Cullen's voice was to the point, but his tone had leveled. The guards and mage had relaxed, weapons sheathed. "Stand watch over him while I am away. It will not be long."
When Fiona saw me, all leant over Cullen's frame she ran up to us,
"My Darlene! Are you alright? What happened what did he do to you?" Her voice was concern leaning towards anger. I was still quite weak at that point and fortunately; Cullen spoke for me instead,
"He didn't do anything to her Lady Enchanter. She just had to out pour a lot of mana before he showed even the slightest bit of recovery. I had three other guards besides myself there. She was never in any immediate danger. If anything that is the most polite I think I've ever seen Samson." Fiona quirked her head at him but gave a slight nod and continued, this time looking in my direction.
"Thank you for informing me. I was hoping that he would not require so much magic, but I guess it cannot be helped. Did you and the Inquisitor ever find out how much lyrium he went through in a day?"
"The final numbers are still being run through, and Samson himself isn't exactly a reliable source for that information, but our rough estimate as it stands now is around 25 flasks*." Even my eyes went wide,
'Even a mage couldn't survive having that much! How is he still alive?' Fiona was just as baffled,
"And all of it red!?" she exclaimed.
"Fortunate for us, no. Only a portion of it was red." Fiona sighed, but whether it was from frustration or relief I couldn't tell, perhaps both?
"Let Darlana rest Commander, and I will speak with her as well as my more senior mages on how to proceed with this rather interesting situation." The way she spoke the last three words told me that she was not happy about just how tired and mana-deprived I was, but was willing to stand by her choice. Cullen gave a curt nod and sat me down in chair before turning to leave when Fiona spoke once more, "How did he take it?" The blonde turned back around,
"It appeared probably much the same way that it did when Darlana used her technique on me, but it took far longer." Fiona nodded,
"As is to be expected. What about it from your perspective Darlana?"
"Well as you can see he took much of magic. But he said he felt on the brink between clear headed and foggy. But he was grateful and could feel his fingers once more." I was too tired to say anything else. So Fiona closed her eyes and after a moment's pause, reopened them,
"Bring him in here if you would Commander. I want to question him."
"As you say, Lady Enchanter." Cullen turned and left, shutting the door behind him. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, and Fiona came to my side, grasping my arm in a show of compassion.
"I know Cullen would not be the type to lie to me, but did he hurt you? Show any bad side effects?"
"No Enchanter." She smiled and helped me up.
"Good. Come, let's get you some rest and we talk with the senior mages on how best proceed."
*A/N: I used a standard 8 ounce flask as my measuring point. In gallons that is roughly 1.5, and in metric is very nearly 6 liters.