Cheers.
"Do these things usually take this long?" Arietta asked Wynne.
The Circle mage had decided to help them stop the Blight. Arietta was grateful for her help; they needed a healer in their group, especially with the amount of injuries everyone seemed to be receiving. Well, namely Neria; the elf was so squishy, and she had a habit of taking on the biggest and strongest enemies by herself: the entire darkspawn horde... ogres, sloth and pride demons, and now she was in the Fade, battling demons, trying to save Connor's life.
"It can take time. Neria is a powerful mage; she'll be fine," Wynne assured her.
"Won't the Fade try to trick her though? Like the Sloth demon's nightmares?" Arietta asked, as she crouched down next to Neria's unconscious body. The elf looked so calm and relaxed, and she was quiet for once, which was a blessing.
"It might, but that's what her Harrowing prepared her for." The sides of her mouth crinkled as she smiled.
"What happens if she dies in the Fade?" Arietta stood back up.
"She would become Tranquil, like Owain, from the stock room. As I said though, she is strong."
Arietta nodded, that didn't stop her from pacing though. "What's the story between her and that mage, Anders, then?" she asked, slightly curious. She'd never get a straight answer from Neria.
"That's not for me to say. They were close once; they seem to be still."
"Sorry, I wasn't looking for gossip; she just doesn't talk much, at least not about herself."
"She didn't always hide behind sarcasm. The Circle has soured her over the years; she needed thicker skin than most to get by. She has a good heart though. I am glad she found you and the Grey Wardens when she did."
Irving walked back over. "Connor has awoken."
"That's excellent news," Wynne said smiling.
Neria began to wake up, she sat up slowly. "Where am I?" she said in a monotone voice.
Arietta sucked in air through her teeth. "Neri?" she whispered, fear creeping into her voice.
"That is my name." Her brown eyes were emotionless as she stood up.
Wynne and Irving looked at one another worriedly.
"Is she Tranquil?" Arietta panicked. Maker. What the hell happened? Could Tranquility be reversed?
"Irving..." Wynne said sadly.
Irving frowned. "How did this happen?"
"I do not recall," Neri said calmly.
"What do we do? You can fix this right?" Arietta asked desperately.
Neri burst out laughing and doubled over. "Shit, your faces." Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Arietta gasped. "You bitch!" She punched her in the shoulder.
"OW! Still sore here!" Neri grinned.
"That was a fucking awful thing to do! I thought you were Tranquil!"
"Serves you right for talking about me while I'm stuck in the bloody Fade," Neria teased.
"Oh. You heard that?" Arietta could feel her cheeks flushing.
Neri folded her arms. "I did."
"Neria, you should never joke around with something as serious as Tranquillity." Irving scolded. "I trust everything went according to plan?"
"Yup. Demon is dead. Saw Arl Eamon too; he's pretty confused. I couldn't really get through to him to tell him what was happening. Got any food?"
…
"Cheers!" Arietta said, lifting her flagon to Alistair and the others.
They were back in the village, sat around a table in the tavern. Bella had set them up with free drinks as thanks for saving the village. Arl Eamon was still unconscious; whatever magic the demon had used to keep him alive still held. They had decided to rest up for a day or two before setting out again. They were planning to go to Denerim, where they hoped to get a lead on the Urn of Sacred Ashes; the Urn could apparently heal any sickness. It was a long shot, even Arietta didn't think such a thing existed, but they needed the Arl to defeat Loghain, so she was willing to try just about anything.
"This is what alcohol tastes like?" Neria said, choking. "How do people drink enough to get drunk?" She frowned down at the brown liquid.
"The key is to ignore the taste the first few rounds; after that, you won't even notice it," Alistair explained, as he chugged another.
"I'll open the wine instead," Wynne suggested.
…
Everyone was beginning to get quite tipsy, Arietta included. It felt like it had been ages since she'd just sat down. With all the running around they'd been doing since arriving at Redcliffe, it was nice to enjoy a drink or two with everyone.
"I love stroking them! Whenever I see one I simply have to touch it," Leliana said with a giggle to Morrigan at the other end of the table.
Arietta wasn't really sure what they were talking about.
"You are delicious; why do you taunt me so?" Sten said, staring down at a cookie.
She hadn't been able to get any cake for him yet, but she had introduced cookies to him instead. His sweet tooth was adorable.
"So, if you grew up in the Chantry have you never..." Neri slurred.
Alistair's cheeks were flushed from the drink, but he smiled. "Never... Never what? Had a good pair of shoes? Never seen a basilisk? Ate jellied-ham? Have I never licked a lamp-post in winter?"
Arietta started giggling uncontrollably; he was so cute.
"Sex! I mean sex," Neri squeaked.
"I myself never had the pleasure," he said that last bit looking at Arietta, and her breath hitched. "What about the both of you, have you ever licked a lamp-post in winterrr?"
Neri snorted. "I've licked lamp posts and bed posts in winter, summer, autumn and sp-ring," she hiccupped.
Alistair turned to look at Arietta. "No, I've never licked a lamp-post in winter," she replied timidly.
He smiled back at her.
"R-really?" Neri said, turning to her, she shuffled closer, her drink slopping out of its glass. "But you're hot! You never fooled around with anyone!?"
"Nope." She took a long swig of her drink.
It was by choice, sort of. There had been interest, but she hadn't reciprocated it. She did want a husband and children one day, but she always believed that could wait. Now she was likely to die alone.
"You should have come to the Circle; everybody was kissing everybody." Neri winked at her.
"Everybody?" Alistair questioned.
"Oh yes. Circle life is BOOORING!" she said loudly. "We all had these moves to keep things interesting." She chuckled to herself.
What on earth did she mean by that? "What kind of moves?" Arietta asked.
"Well, Anders had his electricity thing, Sol had her tongue twister, and Titch did this hot and cold thing with his hands..." Neri licked her lips.
"La-la-la, not listening!" Alistair said merrily.
Arietta blushed, that all sounded very... kinky. "What was your move?"
Neri grinned at her. "It's a secret." Then Neria leaned in close, her face inches from Arietta's. "Maybe I'll show you some time." Arietta's eyes bulged.
She cleared her throat, and decided to head outside for some fresh air. It was a cold night; winter was fast approaching. She cupped her hands and breathed hot air into them.
"Everything okay?" Alistair said, from behind her.
"Mmm, just needed some fresh air." She smiled at him.
"I keep trying to figure out what Neria's move could be. I can only picture her throwing the other mages around, and that doesn't sound very enjoyable. What do you think it is?"
"I have no idea. I'm sure she'd show you if you asked."
"I doubt it; she seemed more interested in showing you," he said smirking.
She glanced at him and smiled. "Too bad I don't swing that way then."
"That's good to know." He smiled impishly, and moved to stand in front of her. "I wanted to thank you personally, for helping to save Connor."
"Well, I didn't do much; you should be thanking Neri."
"I have, but you made the choice to go to the tower. You chose to save the town. You're our leader..." he said, reaching out to touch her arm. His hands were warm against her cold skin, and when he pulled away she could still feel the heat.
I wonder if his whole body is that warm?
She cleared her throat. "I'm glad I could help, really. It all turned out rather well." She gave him a smile as she tucked her hair behind her ear.
"Yes it did. Now we just need to save Arl Eamon." He fidgeted for a moment before speaking again. "I wanted to give you this." He handed her a rose.
She gasped. "It's beautiful, Alistair."
"I picked it in Lothering. I remember thinking – how can something so beautiful exist in a place with so much despair and ugliness? I probably should have left it alone, but I couldn't. The darkspawn would have come and destroyed it."
She grinned up at him. "That's so sweet."
"I thought that I might give it to you, actually. In a lot of ways I think the same thing when I look at you."
Despite the cold air she felt warm, his words filling her with happiness, or perhaps it was just the alcohol... "Thank you. That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me."
"I'm glad you like it. I know things have been hard for you recently, and I thought I could say something; tell you what a rare and wonderful thing you are to find amidst all this darkness."
Aawww. Her heart started to flutter.
"Oi love birds, we're heading back to the castle," Neria said as she ran down the hill. "Woooo-Ah Fuck!" She tripped over, landing flat on her face. "I'm okay!" she squealed. Arietta and Alistair laughed as Neri got up and ran off toward the castle.
…
"WAKEY WAKEY!" Arietta shouted.
The elf bolted upright. "Ahhh!" Neri said, cowering away from the light and the noise.
Arietta grinned at her. She deserved it; instead of going to bed last night, the elf had run around the castle singing a very unholy version of the chant.
"How's your head?"
Neri rubbed at her temples. "It would be fine if you weren't yelling."
"I'm not yelling," she mused. "So... remember much from last night?" She folded her arms and cocked her head to the side.
"Not really..." The elf squinted up at her.
"Nothing about a certain version of the Chant you were singing?"
"OH! You mean, 'Here lies the penis, the well of all sperm. From these salmon waters doth life begin anew. Cum for me, child, and I shall embrace you..."
Ugh, I do not need to hear this again. "That's quite enough."
"Oh but there's more!"
Arietta glared at her. "Mind telling me what you're doing in the Arl's study?"
Neri looked around; just realising she was slumped against his bookcase. "Hmm. That's a question for drunk me and she's not here right now."
"Drink this. It'll help." It was her brother's hangover cure. It tasted vile but it usually did the trick.
Neri took a sip and coughed. "This is worse than that piss poor ale we had last night!"
"Tough. Drink up. We're leaving in a few hours."
Neri downed it, her face scrunched up at the taste. She slammed the mug down on the floor. "Happy?"
"Very."
"Oooh," the elf said, pulling something out of her pocket. It still amazed her how such a short robe could have so many pockets hidden away. "I found this last night." She handed her an amulet.
Arietta frowned down at it. "Where did you find this?"
"Errrrr, in here? I think. I must have thought it was important if I pocketed it."
"It looks like the amulet Alistair described to me. It belonged to his mother, but he chucked it at a wall and it broke."
"You should give it to him." Neri gave her a slow sideways smile.
"I will." He would be very grateful to have this back; he regretted breaking it.
"You like him, don't yah?" the elf said, wiggling her eyebrows at Arietta.
"What?" She frowned.
"Ha, maybe you don't know it yet. But I can tell," she said smugly.
Was it that obvious? "How can you tell?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at her.
"Because I know what love is like," she said sadly.
This had something to do with that mage; they clearly both cared for one another a great deal.
"Anders?" Arietta asked. Neri nodded slowly. "What happened between the two of you?" she asked quietly.
"He's escaped six times," she explained, shaking her head. Neri's quip back at the tower about him escaping in the wrong direction suddenly made a lot of sense. "It makes the Templars look bad if their charges escape that much." She smirked briefly, but then it faded.
"One Templar, Ser Albert, realised that fear of punishment wasn't going to make Anders stay put. Freedom was just too good to resist. Instead, he used me to try to persuade Anders to stay. He knew. He fucking knew how much I cared for him. He threatened to hurt Anders, but I begged him not to. I took the beatings instead." She ran a hand through her hair.
Arietta swallowed thickly. "Couldn't you tell anyone?"
"I was scared. He was strong; a lot stronger than me. His fury was a terrible thing. He told me Anders would be beaten to a bloody pulp if I told anyone. So I kept it quiet, kept it hidden. Nobody noticed, because I was still making jokes and laughing with people." She shrugged.
"What about Anders? Surely telling him would have made him stay?"
"You should have seen the grin on his face every time they dragged him back to the tower. It was a look of pure joy. No matter what the Templars did, no matter how many times they caught him, those few hours or days or weeks outside were worth it. When you love someone, their happiness means everything to you. How could I tell him? I would replace the Templars as his jailer. I couldn't do that to him."
"What happened next?" Arietta prompted.
"After Anders' sixth escape everything changed. Albert didn't think I was trying hard enough." She took a shaky breath. "He raped me."
Arietta sunk to her knees in front of her. "Neri..."
"It happened more than once. It became normal." She laughed bitterly. "Then I miscarried. Everyone found out. Long story short, Albert got stripped of his rank and shipped off to Orlais. After everything he did to me, he still got to keep his life," she said, with tears filling her eyes.
"I am so sorry..."
She knew something bad had happened in the Circle, but to see her tell the story now was heart-breaking.
"I got used to shutting everything out. Not talking to people, hiding behind humour. I don't mean to do it; it's certainly not because I don't trust you. You're the closest thing I have to a family." Neri smiled as she rubbed the tears from her cheeks.
Arietta smiled back. "It means a lot that you would trust me with this. Thank you for telling me."
She was about to hug her, when Neri cleared her throat and stood up. "Don't we have a Blight to stop?"
A/N: If any of you want to learn about Ser Albert's origins then I am currently writing a fic about him, so check that out if you're interested. Thank you ElyssaCousland my fabulous beta.
