Moonpriestess30: This isn't a great chapter, more filler if anything
Judy: I'm glad I don't disappoint!
Chapter 54 – Catching up
'Where is the living land of fuck have I put it? I was only wrapping it about an hour ago,' Makatza complained as she tore through her bedroom, her pups were asleep so she was pretty sure that they hadn't taken it and nobody had come in either. While she faffed about Fenris picked up some of the things she had pulled out her satchel, there were various blank books and pencils but something caught his eye and he tugged it gently out her bag. A piece of paper with a wax seal, he looked it over, it looked pretty official.
'Did you register Ciere and Elgon?' He asked as he realised what it was.
'Oh! Yes! I'm actually very proud of myself about that,' she replied as she lifted her quilt up and off her bed as she looked.
'Yes, I would not think that they would have allowed it,' he nods as he sips his drink. He heard her scoff from behind him and smiled at the frown that she was wearing. 'I did not mean anything by that-'
'No, I know. He was very blunt and was all, ''You are a lady and there are two,'' as if my sex makes a difference to an animal and the fact that there was more than one changed anything,' she says as she opens her wardrobe. 'What have I done with it?' She swears under her breath. 'I managed to show him that they'll do anything I say. I have to go back in a year and have them reassessed, which is understandable though I don't really want to go back,' she mumbles thinking about the people that she might bump into. Fenris picked up on the anxiety in her voice when she went quiet, there was something bothering her and he'd ask about it when she had finished looking for whatever it was she was searching for. He put down the certificate and watched as she crossed the room to her desk. 'Ahah!' She said triumphantly as she picked up her towel from the chair. It had been covering the gift, 'gotcha you little bastard,' Katza grins with excitement as she grabs it and quickly returns to her seat happily. She takes a sip of her drink before passing over the fairly large parcel.
Fenris paused before taking it and looked at her carefully, 'why do you wish not to go back?' He asked hitting the nail on the head. She blanched and shrugged her shoulders.
'I just don't like being around the people there, makes me feel on edge,' she says as she drinks more, she avoids looking at him and instead looks at her puppies. '…...Fenris, would you do anything that I asked?' She says softly.
The question throws him and he pauses before he answers, 'your father asked me a similar question; would I do anything for you? I told him that I had made a promise to myself to keep you safe. He then asked if I would go back to the Tevinter Imper-'
'No!' Makatza snapped sharply. He raises a brow at her outburst she looked at him with eyes swirling amber, she was clearly fighting her wild side at this moment. 'No. I wouldn't want you to. I don't even want you to contemplate the idea. I am not worth you going back to that living nightmare. Isabela said that you would do anything for me and I'm worried that might actually be true,' she says closing her eyes so it was easier to talk.
'It worries you?' He repeats looking at her curiously.
'Yes, of course,' she nods and opens her eyes, she took his hand and squeezed his fingers, 'Fenris, nobody should have that type of control over another person. It's not healthy. If you want to do things, that's fine but don't compromise who you are for the other person. It's okay to say no and refuse to do things even for someone you care about,' Makatza says simply. 'I do not ever want you to ever go back to that place. Ever. If there's something I ask you to do and there's a fraction of doubt where you don't want to do it, don't do it,' she says simply. 'Promise me?'
'I seem to make a lot of promises when it comes to you,' he says quietly as he looks at her and entwines his fingers through hers. 'That itself is disconcerting... despite that, I promise but will you tell me the real reason you do not wish to go back to the Registrar?' He asks making her stiffen.
'Oh I'm just being silly,' she says trying to brush it away, there was a reason she was trying to hide it and he was sure that it was because of him. He tightens his grip on her fingers and she sighs heavily.
'Katza,' he says gently.
'Okay, ...okay, it's nothing honestly, I'm just being an idiot,' she breathes in deeply and averts her eyes as she speaks to him. 'I was waiting for my turn with the Registrar and I had the unfortunate pleasure to bump into Lord Bavent as he left his appointment. We were talking and he took great interest in talking about you, about me being a lady and if I was the same as Garrett, he was fishing for information about me and it's made me worry that he's going to take an interest and try to... I don't know... ask for me or something. Then when I finished with the Registrar he was talking about my marriage status and how Aunt Leandra would be looking at matches for me and how he knows all the Lords in the area etc, and the idea of going back there makes me feel tense. Which is why I asked you what I did because Isabela was saying that if I didn't want Lord Bavent taking an interest in me I should just ask you to kill him,' she laughed a little at that before looking at Fenris. He didn't look pleased with what she had told him.
'This is that same man at the Château?' Fenris asked already knowing the answer.
'Unfortunately so,' Makatza nodded. 'It's okay though, I mean, if he did ever think about inquiring something in that way I don't have to agree, I mean I wouldn't anyway but I was going to talk to Auntie and make it clear that I don't want to be matched with anyone and that I am quite happy doing my own thi-' she was cut off by Fenris moving and kissing her deeply, almost hungrily in his need to wash away all this talk about other men. She tensed up for a brief moment before relaxing under his touch and returning his need to feel reassured about it all, she pushed herself into his chest as they tasted each other.
During a moment of pause for air Fenris looked at her, 'I do wish to kill him,' he says simply as he wound his fingers through her hair. 'All you have to do is agree,' he can't help but love how her curls slid over his skin. Makatza pulls an amused expression even though she knew he was being serious, he hated the idea that a man like Bavent would want Makatza in the same way.
'Please don't, I doubt even Aveline could cover that one up,' Makatza replies as she drops a soft kiss on his lips. She breathes in deeply and smiles a little weakly. 'Can we talk of other things, I don't want to think about him right now.' Fenris chuckles and nods as she sits back up and gently pushes his gift back towards him in a not so subtle hint.
'You are excited about this,' Fenris muses as she nods happily next to him. 'I do not know what to expect as you have already done many things for me-' he stops talking as he unwraps the paper and finds an almost identical belt to what he used to have.
'I figured between me dragging you to the Dalish and Garrett taking you god knows where, you're never going to get a chance to actually have one made so while I was having the pup's collars made I had this commissioned,' she explained. 'If there's something you need changed he said it's easy enough done and I forgot to ask for the sigil not to be put on, I'm afraid it's on that pouch there, the Hawke crest... I mean you could easily take it off,' Makatza trailed into silence, he was looking at the gift with an expression she couldn't decipher. Suddenly she had a thought that he might not be too happy with her doing something like this without asking. 'Fenris?'
'I am sorry,' he says quietly. 'I do not know what to say...'
'I didn't mean to overstep I just thought-'
'Katza,' Fenris says bluntly making her jump a little. 'I am not unhappy, I... am the opposite. I simply do not know how to express this to you,' he says apologetically. Her heart skipped and she laughs lightly.
'Oh, Fenris, you are... oh, you drive me mad,' she said playfully batting him on the shoulder. 'You just have to say thank you, that's all, God, I thought you were really upset that I had overstepped a boundary or something,' she giggles rolling her eyes. She takes the belt from him and puts it to one side, 'until you know what you want to say about it, let's get on with our lesson,' she says simply as she climbs into his lap. She sits in between his legs and leans back into his chest as she grabs a book and starts to write. 'This is the Alphabet,' she says as she writes, Fenris couldn't help but be distracted though, he could feel the weight of her body against his, her hair tickled his skin as it draped down her shoulders and across his arms. The scent of her perfume and soap still lingered ever so gently and the sound of her voice as she spoke to him had managed to melt any tension he'd been holding. His heart thundered in his chest with a touch and every kiss sent his entire being into a spiral of the unknown. Fenris felt like he could easily get drunk on her very presence. It was a strange, foreign feeling that had started to take root in his chest and every time he thought, looked or spoke to her it seemed to grow.
'Katza,' he whispers into her ear making her pause.
'Yes?'
'Will you read something to me first?' He asks winding his arms around her waist. She wondered why he wanted her to do so but didn't question it, she reached over for a couple of books that she had picked up at the market.
'I have a book on poetry or local myths and legends,' she says softly as she looks at the covers.
'Poetry,' he says softly as he rests his head on her shoulder. He can feel her smile as she opens the book and starts reading off the first page, her voice rolls over him in a light lilt, reminding him of her singing. It was a sound that seemed to soothe all his anxieties and worries that he didn't even know existed.
'I remember a poem from a famous playwright that sounds a little like this one,' Makatza says as she finishes one. 'It's by a man called Shakespeare, he wrote a lot of stories, I used to love reading them,' she mused.
Fenris stroked her hair as they enjoyed each other's company, 'do you remember any?'
'Oh yeah, I am a terrible romantic,' she laughs. 'There's even a balcony scene in one of them, hence the cliché I teased you about.'
'Would tell me some?'
'They're pretty sappy,' she says going pink. 'Well, so are these,' she laughs as she holds up the book she had been reading. 'Okay, okay, this one is a favourite, it's from Romeo and Juliet,' she cleared her throat and closed her eyes. 'Here's what love is: a smoke made out of lovers' sighs. When the smoke clears, love is a fire burning in your lover's eyes.'
Fenris smiles and kisses her temple making her giggle ever so lightly. 'Do you remember any more?'
'Maybe not poems, but quotes,' she nods. 'Um, let's see. There's this one it's quite popular. ''Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night'',' she ran her fingers over his arm as she spoke. 'You see, I'm a total lost cause,' she smiles in humour and leans back further into his embrace. They sit comfortably for a while before she realises that time must be getting on a little bit, 'we should probably study if you wish to learn anything tonight,' she says a little regretfully. Fenris agrees as as much as he was enjoying the moment he was keen to be able to start learning what he could. It was only after a couple of hours when Makatza started to make mistakes while reading that they stopped. 'I'm sorry, I think I'm tired, didn't have a lot of sleep last night,' Makatza laughs as she remembers their awkward night on the sofa.
She got up and stretched, covering her mouth with a hand while she yawned. 'I should probably leave before it becomes too dangerous to do so,' Fenris agrees as he begins to gather his armour. He paused for a moment before picking up his belt and putting it on, 'I did not say thank you for this,' he says simply as Makatza began to clear up papers and books putting them on her desk.
'It's okay, I know you like it, that's enough,' she assures him. 'You learned a lot tonight, you really aren't going to take long before you're doing it on your own,' she praises. Fenris smiles softly and buckles on his gauntlet. 'Are you sure you're going to be alright going home at this time?' Makatza asks.
Fenris turns to face her and cups her cheeks lightly as he kisses her, 'I think it would be best. Being in bed next to you would be sweet torture and it is something your family would be bound to interrupt. I do not think I could take it,' he teases making her laugh and nod.
'You're right, they're terrible for it,' she agrees. 'So while we're trying to keep this private... we'll be sensible?'
'Until you decide otherwise,' he says simply as he embraces her tightly. 'If I do not leave now, I will not leave till morning,' Fenris admits.
Makatza nods and hugs him tightly, 'thank you for coming over, it's been really lovely,' she says into his chest. 'It's been nice to spend time with you were I don't have to worry about anyone else. We haven't really gotten to do that since...we kinda started... dating?'
'Is that what this is? I thought this was a rather convenient infatuation,' Fenris teases.
Makatza laughs, 'okay, now I don't feel bad about throwing you into the cold,' she says back to him as she gives him a playful shove towards the balcony doors. 'Hopefully that cold air will be like a cold shower,' she smirks as he walks onto the balcony and swings his leg over the railing. 'Fuck, please be careful,' she says quickly her fear of heights triggering as he grabs onto the trellis.
He grins at her making her hormones scream at her in anger that she was letting him leave. 'I will be perfectly safe. May I see you again tomorrow night?' Makatza nods and hesitantly steps onto the balcony and leans over the side to give him a kiss.
'I'll try and get Garrett to stay at Isabela's tomorrow night, we'll have to play it by ear,' she smiles. 'Till tomorrow.'
'Till tomorrow.'
