Sleeping Arrangements
Chapter 25
"the larder"
Elissa roamed the halls of the palace. She had been trying to learn her way about, but after returning from her ancestral home she realized it would take a lot of work to become as familiar with this building as she was with Castle Cousland. There she knew every nook and hiding place, but here she still felt like a stranger in many ways. She turned a corner and realized she didn't recognize where she was and sighed. It would take more effort than she had thought. She didn't want to return the way she came just yet and settled for examining the portraits on the wall.
Moira Theirin had striking blue eyes that seemed to watch Elissa knowingly. Alistair clearly inherited his soft, kind ones from some other ancestor, but Moira shared his blonde hair and sly smile. Stepping back to view the painting from farther away she wasn't surprised that this was his grandmother. She was more confident than Elissa had ever seen Alistair, but there was something about her that seemed so familiar. Regality? Bravery? Compassion? She couldn't place it and settled for moving toward the portraits further down the hall. Maric certainly looked like Alistair… Well, the other way around. He was a very handsome man.
"Do you think I should grow my hair out?" Elissa jumped at the unexpected voice and Alistair laughed after finding his future wife staring intently at the portrait of his father. "Did I startle you?"
"I… Where did you come from?"
He motioned past his shoulder. "My office is right over there."
Elissa slapped her palm to her forehead. "Of course. That's where I am."
He continued to laugh, but swiveled her body back toward the painting. "Answer the question, Cousland. Do you think I'd look good with long hair?"
She examined the image before her. "You look just like him, so of course you would." She turned around while still in his grasp and ran her hands through his short locks. "But I appreciate that you have your own style."
"Riiight. If that's what you want to call it." He leaned down to kiss her and remembered just how much he missed the taste of her lips. After hesitantly pulling back he added hoarsely, "I haven't properly welcomed you home, have I?"
She smiled in response. "No, you haven't."
Their kiss continued until Elissa opened her eyes to find a servant waiting patiently at the end of the hall. "Yes?"
The servant coughed uncomfortably. "The Arl of Denerim is waiting to meet with His Majesty."
Alistair sighed, remembering his duties. "Later," he promised, and left Elissa alone to find her own way around the palace once again.
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Elissa sat at her desk in the guest quarters she had been staying in, attempting to draw maps of the palace from memory. She grunted loudly at the soft knock on the door, too distracted by her own thoughts to care about who was interrupting her. She was struggling to recall the northern corridor of the east wing when Alistair looked over her shoulder. She slowly looked back at him. "All done with today's work, your majesty?" she blinked up at him innocently.
"Not yet." He took the quill from her hand and placed it down on the desk. "Clearly my future queen still needs to learn her way around, and I've come to help." Before Elissa could ask any questions he pulled her out of her seat and away into the mystery of the palace at night.
The hall was cold and only every other brazier was lit in the late hour. Alistair pulled Elissa through turn after turn, clearly familiar with where he was heading, though he never expressed their destination to her. When they ultimately stopped in front of a set of heavy wooden doors Elissa determined that they went down a flight of steps and were somewhere underneath the kitchen. "Is this the larder?" she asked, pleased with herself for figuring such things out. Alistair pushed the doors opened in response, revealing a room filled with delicious foods.
Elissa swiftly approached a shelf of cheese and grasped a wedge within her hands. "Why did you bring me here?"
Alistair followed her and grabbed a slice for himself. "Why else? Cheese."
The couple proceeded to laugh and enjoy their treat in the low light of the larder. After a time, and quite a few samples, they found themselves sitting on the floor and leaning against the shelves, bellies full in contentment. Elissa laid against Alistair's shoulder and sighed. "I missed you."
He couldn't help but smile in response. She had been in Highever for so long and he missed her desperately. Hearing that she had felt the same way lightened his heart immensely. "They didn't have cheese in Highever?" he joked and she raised herself enough to punch his arm lightly, reminding them both of the playful teasing their relationship had started with.
He lifted his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders as she nestled back into him. "I used to wonder how it would all work out," she mused out loud. "I never imagined it would be this… perfect."
"There are far too many rules and stuffy nobles for it to be perfect," he snorted in response. "I guess it's too late for us to run away to that quiet little town? Pretend I'm not a king and you're not the Hero of Fereldan?"
"Yes," she laughed, "I think it is." She looked up at his clean shaven face and frowned slightly. "Are you not happy being king?"
He stared at his feet. "It's not that. It's just… not how I imagined everything would turn out. Then again, nothing has gone the way I thought it would since the Blight began." He looked down at her and silently remarked how beautiful she was. "It's hard to find reasons to complain when you're around, though." He couldn't resist meeting her soft lips with his own, and a simple kiss eventually evolved into a very memorable night on the larder floor. Each managed to return to their rooms before dawn, though. After all, propriety was important.