Promises: Chapter Thirty-One
Disclaimer: Dragon Age and all assorted characters/places/etc belong to Bioware, not me.
Fenris remained several steps behind Hawke, like any good bodyguard would, while the mageling chatted up the merchant. The two of them were in a small town a few days east of Ansburg in order to resupply. Hawke was also hoping to find a small job for them. While Fenris wished his mageling all the luck in the world, he wasn't about to hold his breath. The pair still took on side jobs when they could find them so they could stretch the coin they earned from their days with Zevran even longer, but so far the jobs they had were few and far between.
As such, they needed to be frugal and watch every coin they spent. Fenris gritted his teeth when Hawke laughed at a stupid joke the merchant had made. He knew that she was doing it on purpose in order to appear more friendly and approachable. That didn't mean he had to like the fact that the merchant now thought that he had a chance with the mageling.
That was what Fenris hated most when they ventured into towns and villages. He had told Hawke himself that it was best for him to pretend to be her servant when they went into human settlements. It was one thing for a lady to be traveling with an elven bodyguard for protection; it was another for a woman of Hawke's beauty to be openly paired with an elf, especially an elf that looked as odd as him. Hawke hadn't liked his suggestion but had caved to it after he had pointed out that the last thing they needed was to stick out any more than they already did.
Right now he was having trouble convincing himself that his idea was a good one. He saw how the bloody merchant was looking at Hawke as though she was a particularly tempting morsel that he would like to get his hands on. He almost wished that the idiot would try because that would give Fenris all the excuse he needed to lash out at the man.
He was roused from his rather vicious thoughts by a bag being shoved into his hands. "Could you hold that please, Fenris?" Hawke asked. "It's a tad on the heavy side for me."
Fenris grunted his agreement, but Hawke had already turned her attention back to the merchant and was asking directions to the inn. The bag was heavy considering how little coin Hawke had handed over. He knew that Hawke was doing everything in her power in order to stretch their money now that jobs were getting harder to find. He also knew that Hawke meant nothing when she flirted with the different merchants, that it was simply another tool in her arsenal.
He knew all this, but he still felt the urge to make it crystal clear to each and every idiot in this wretched town that Hawke was his and his alone. Especially right now with all the innuendo the blasted merchant was tossing around.
"No, no. You can't possibly get lost. The inn's at the end of high street. It's impossible to miss," the merchant told Hawke. "I often go there for dinner myself at the end of a long, hard day. Perhaps we'll see each other there. I wouldn't mind getting to know you better," he concluded.
"The inn seems to be a popular place to eat. You wouldn't believe how often I've heard people say that today," Hawke replied smoothly. "I hope that Fenris and I will be able to find a spot in the dining room, otherwise we'll just have to eat in our room." She favored the preening merchant with another smile as she bid him goodbye, and the fool was none the wiser about being rejected. Fenris supposed Hawke's approach was acceptable, but it was a tad too diplomatic for his liking. He would have preferred for his mageling to make it clear that she wasn't interested in the other man at all.
However the next words out of Hawke's mouth were a small consolation. "What is it with people today?" she asked Fenris, her voice full of irritation. "This town must not get a lot of visitors, because it seems like everyone I've talked to wants to get to know me better."
The elf bit back a chuckle. Evidently that piece of innuendo had went over Hawke's head. His mageling had a lot to learn. "I take it you don't want to dine in the inn's common room tonight," he noted.
"Not particularly, but we will." Hawke heaved a sigh. "It's a long shot, but I can't help but hope that we'll run across a potential job. We've not had one in over a week. I'm almost desperate enough to check out the chanter's board."
"Chanter's board? What's that?" he asked.
Hawke gave him a surprised look, but then went on to explain how each chantry kept a job board of sorts that was watched over by a chanter. "There's always a fee associated with each job. How much depends on who the job is for. If it's for a local lord, you might earn a sovereign or two, but if you're just running supplies to widow who lives outside of town, you'll be lucky to get ten silvers."
"I see," Fenris said. "As far as I know, the Chantry in Tevinter keeps no such board, but then I never had much time to explore any chantries there." He didn't add that even if he had come across a chanter's board in Tevinter, it would have done him no good because he couldn't read.
"Is that so? I guess that shouldn't surprise me. In any case, I was hoping that we wouldn't have to rely on the chanter's board for work. Usually they're up near the front of the chantry but still…templars tend to linger around chantries as well." Hawke wrinkled her nose at the thought, obviously not at ease with the idea of getting too close to any templars.
It was a sensible attitude for an apostate who had a safe and secure home, but not for one trampling through Thedas on limited funds. "We're going to have to find a way to bring in funds eventually, Hawke, and preferably before we grow desperate. Besides, as it is said in Tevinter, audaces fortuna iuvat." At Hawke's blank look, he translated, "Fortune favors the bold."
"Really? I prefer to think that it favors the sneaky. Bold too often translates into stupid as far as I can tell."
Fenris gave her a look. That line of hers sounded as though it could have come straight out of Zevran's mouth. Clearly the assassin had left a lasting influence on Hawke, but if it meant she was able to joke when confronted with one of her fears, then Fenris supposed it wasn't all bad. That was one of the few good things about the assassin's character; he never let fear paralyze him.
"All right, all right, I get it. No need to glare me into submission," Hawke stated. She threw up her hands, indicating her surrender. "If we don't find any leads for work tonight, we'll check out the chanter's board." Then she grinned. "First thing tomorrow, during the morning service. We're much less likely to encounter templars then. You may be right about fortune favoring the bold, but as for me, I prefer to make my own luck."
The two of them started towards the inn, checking out the weapons and armor stalls which were on their way. The edge on Fenris' sword was once again getting dull, and so he had it sharpened. The blacksmith clucked his tongue sadly and pointed his own goods out to the elf. "This sword of yours, while finely made, has seen better days. You would be better served by getting a new blade," the blacksmith said.
Fenris wasn't insulted because he knew the blacksmith was being honest and not simply fishing for another sale. "I have been keeping an eye out for a sword to replace this one. However, I've yet to find a sword that is as well-suited towards me. Most greatswords are made for humans or dwarves to wield, not elves," said the elf.
"Aye, it is unusual for an elf to use a greatsword but not unheard of. How long will you be in town?" asked the blacksmith. "Given time, I can make one perfectly balanced for you."
"Not long enough, I fear, as we will only be here for a day or two at most. I imagine the process would take weeks, if not months."
"It would take time though perhaps not as long as you might think. I daresay I could forge a proper sword for you in less than two months. Not that it matters though seeing as you're not staying that long," the blacksmith noted with a shrug of his shoulders. "You'll have to stop eventually to have one made. Here's as good a place as any, I'd think."
Fenris grimaced slightly. The blacksmith had a point. His sword was showing its age, and he needed to have it replaced, preferably before it failed him during a battle. That being said, Fenris wasn't desperate enough for a new blade to stop for that long just yet. "That may be true but I am hoping that I'll be fortunate enough to run across one with the right heft and balance before it comes to that."
"I wish you luck with that quest," the blacksmith replied genially. "If I were you, I'd stop at Starkhaven during their summer festival. Lots of merchants in the city then, hawking their wares. That's the time and the place that you're most likely to find something that suits you."
Fenris nodded his head. That was a sensible suggestion. "Thank you for the advice, my friend." He handed the blacksmith a few extra coins for his information. "I will keep that in mind in case I'm near Starkhaven then."
Fenris walked away from the blacksmith and towards the inn, lost in thought His distraction gave Hawke the opportunity to drop in step alongside him. "So it seems like we will be heading to Starkhaven after all?" she prodded him.
"That is beginning to become more of a certainty. It appears that the more we travel, the more reasons we're given to head towards that city."
"Despite its inhabitants' lack of taste?" Hawke grinned up at him. "Well here's hoping that if we do wind up there, that we'll survive their cuisine."
"I'll be happy just to survive the food tonight," Fenris grumbled as they reached the inn. "Why is it that the special at so many of the towns we stop at is fish?"
"Well we are traveling alongside the river. I imagine fish is popular here because it is cheap and easy to get." Hawke craned her neck around the inn's common room until she spied a large board. "And you're in luck. This place has two specials. While one is indeed the fish stew you feared, you'll be happy to hear that the other is some sort of meat atop a mound of potatoes."
"That probably translates into a mound of potatoes with a sliver of mystery meat," the elf pointed out.
Hawke shook her head at his grumbling as she led them to a free table in the common room. "But so long as the meat isn't fish, you shouldn't complain. Too much that is. Have I ever told you that you're the pickiest eater I've ever run across? And that includes my brother, who was always a giant prat and refused to eat anything I had a hand in preparing." The mageling took her seat, grimacing at that memory of her brother.
Fenris coughed nervously before taking the seat beside her. He could certainly understand why Hawke's younger brother might take such a stand, especially when he remembered how bad Hawke's cooking had been the first time he had tried it, but the elf knew better than to say that. "Tact isn't one of your brother's strong points, I see."
"No. It's not. His complete lack of tact is one of the most notable things about my dear little brother. I suppose Bethany and her diplomacy makes up for him though." Then Hawke shot him a sweet smile that did not bode well for him. "Don't think that I didn't notice how you didn't immediately leap to chastise him for not trying my cooking."
Fenris kept his face blank. "What would be the point?" he asked. "It's not as though your brother is here," he added quickly, sensing the need to bolster his argument. "Besides who am I to criticize another person for being picky when I've been informed by a lady who I hold in high regard that I am the pickiest eater she has ever met?"
That was enough to send his mageling blushing and quite charmingly at that. "You…you hold me in high regard?" she asked.
"Isn't that obvious?" he replied. "I guess it must not be if you're asking. I will have to remedy that situation later on tonight," he mused aloud, loving how Hawke's blush only deepened as she caught on to his meaning. Before the mageling could sort out a suitable response, however, their server came over and asked what they would like. Hawke struggled to regain her composure enough to place their order with the server, almost stammering as she requested two helpings of the potatoes with a side of mystery meat.
Of course, the fact that Fenris had chosen that moment to lay his hand upon her thigh, letting it drift up and under the short skirt she had chosen to tempt him with today probably didn't help Hawke in her endeavors. Hawke made that much clear when she slapped his hand away from her. "Fenris," she chided him. "Do you mind?"
He chuckled. "There is one thing I should warn you about. You can only tempt an elf so much before he jumps in and takes the bait," he told her. After spending the entire day alternating between admiring the sway of her hips as she walked and gritting his teeth as she charmed merchants into giving discounts, he was near the end of his self-control.
This time his mageling had an answer for him. "Is this your way of telling me that I had best not ask for seconds tonight?" Though her cheeks were stained red, her chin was tilted up and she stared challengingly back at him.
"Of dinner? Yes. But as for dessert—" He let his eyes travel along her body, lingering over the swell of her breasts. He grinned at her. "Let's just say that I hope you're prepared for thirds."
Thankfully Hawke got the point. Though they didn't force their food down, the two of them didn't exactly take their time either. Once they had finished, Fenris stood up, eager to turn in for the evening. He extended a hand to Hawke, helping her to rise, and then ever so thoughtfully herded her towards the direction of the innkeeper by grinding his hips against her arse so she could feel just how ready he was to have her. That was all the prodding Hawke needed.
Fenris all but pounced upon her as soon as they crossed the threshold of their room. He slammed the door behind them in his eagerness to taste his mageling at long last. He kissed her fiercely and glued his body to hers, pressing her against the nearest wall. His hands traced her curves, skimming past the lines of her breasts and the fullness of her hips and to the edge of her skirt. The sensation of her skin against the pads of his fingers was intoxicating. The elf was glad that he hadn't bothered with his gauntlets today. That was one less barrier he needed to shed in order to touch Hawke. He was also glad that his mageling had chosen to wear a skirt today rather than a set of trousers as that option provided him with so much more access.
The elf pushed Hawke's smalls to one side. He brushed his hand against the apex of her thighs before gently dipping one finger in between her folds to test her readiness. He found her wet and wanting. Uttering a small cry, Hawke thrust her hips up in search of more contact. Fenris arched his head to one side so that his lips were next to Hawke's ear. "Seems like someone's been having naughty thoughts," he told her and then softly kissed the tip of her ear.
"Fenris!" Hawke mewled. "Don't tease me please!"
"Don't tease you?" he repeated back to her. "Why should I? Not when you've been teasing me all day with your swaying hips and your long legs."
"I wasn't teasing you," she protested. "I can't help…can't help it if you've a…a dirty mind." She gasped sharply as Fenris kissed his way down her neck—taking his time, enjoying the slight saltiness of her skin—stopping only when he reached what he had come to consider his spot, that place right above where her shoulder and neck met.
"You weren't teasing me, hm? Not even when you were flirting so flagrantly with those merchants before me?" Fenris pointed out, his over her pulse point.
Hawke shook her head vigorously from side to side. "No, I wasn't and you know it too. It didn't mean anything, not when the only one I want is you."
Though he had heard Hawke voice such a sentiment many times over the last few weeks, Fenris' heart still leapt for joy to hear her say those words. It stoked his pride while soothing his soul to know that Hawke longed for no man but him. "Good," he told her fiercely, "because you won't ever have anyone but me." His patience at an end, and with him needing her as much as she needed him, he lifted her up against the wall, guiding her legs so that they rested on either side of his hips. It took the work of a moment for him to free his erection from his leggings and his smalls, and then he drove home, sheathing himself fully in her warm depths as his mouth clamped down on Hawke's neck.
Hawke tossed her head back and moaned as her inner walls tightened all around him. Fenris shared her ecstasy, overwhelmed at how right it felt to be tucked away so deeply in her. He had been tempted to do this all day—to drag Hawke into a nearby alley and take her u against the nearest wall, staking his claim so that there would be no doubt just who the mageling belonged to—and from his mageling's reaction, she wanted this too. Fenris wasn't about to deny either of them the pleasure of finally being connected once more.
He set a brutal pace, his hips snapping against hers, giving her no quarter as he pounded her against the wall. Hawke did not protest but rather encouraged him to go faster and harder, wrapping her legs around him, meeting his thrusts with ones of her own, her eyes glazed over with pleasure. After an entire day spent dreaming of this moment, Fenris was in no mood to draw things out. He angled his thrusts into Hawke, driving ever deeper, and his mouth left Hawke's neck to latch on to her breast. No sooner did he start sucking at her then she let out a great cry, her legs squeezing him as her sex tightened around him like a vise, drawing him deeper in. That was all Fenris needed to find his release. He came violently, his cock surging into her as he filled her to the brim with his seed.
It took Fenris a few minutes to recover. He glanced up at Hawke from his spot on her breast. She had a wicked smile on her lips. "You promised me seconds, right?" she asked.
He slipped out of her and then stepped away from her, letting her down from the wall gently. "Actually, my dear, I believe I promised you thirds." Then he hoisted her into his arms and carried her to the bed where he proceeded to prove that he kept his promises.
Author's note: Sorry for this update taking so long. I would blame certain characters getting too frisky and refusing to move on, but the truth of the matter is, the end of the semester was busy. But on the bright side, at least it's over now. :D