Chapter Sixty-Three

Revelations


(Because i'm happy someone ASKED for a second chapter... i'm posting a second chapter today. i did say i FEED on praise guys - my inspiration comes from that. so this one is for Saterra3950 and Djon863 for asking and reviewing respectively!)


We were in the Living Room of my house – me, Hawkes' crew, Cullen, my guards and Obsidian. I plopped onto the decorative throne – the main hall/throne room had been reworked into a living room by me.

"So… ask your questions, my love."

Cullen sighed, "Who is the Queen of Danu?"

"That would be me – Angel Empress Arvaala Theirin, wife of the Dragon King Alistair Theirin and suitor of the Wraith Prince Fenris and Lion Prince Cullen Rutherford."

"Lion… I'm sorry – could you explain… any of that?" Cullen was flushed.

"Each court has a 'name'. Before me was the Court of Elements – the Elemental Queen, the Water Princess, and so on. I rule the Court of Beings. My mates and I will all have titles relating to a being – Angels are messengers of god, guardians of the innocent, and beings of light; that is my title… the Angel Empress. Alistair is a dragon – blooded and by personality he is completely a Dragon in human skin; as well, he was a King before I was a Queen so he is the Dragon King. Fenris is called the 'Blue Wraith' in Tevinter – so his title is the Wraith Prince. You… well, your title derives from what you will be called in 8 years; the Lion of Ferelden. You're all my soul mates – primary mates. Each of you represents an Element for me."

He shook his head, "How can we – humans and elves – represent elements?"

"You represent Air for me – going from a calming breeze to a twisting tornado when you're angry; you analyze every situation, you think before doing, and you are smarter than you give yourself credit for; air is for leading. Fenris is my Earth – wise, stable, sensual and of course grounded. Alistair was my Water when we met – he was sensitive and sentimental, emotional and creative, protective as a storm. Each sign has specific attributes, you see. When I meet my fire mate, he will likely be passionate, creative, spontaneous, and competitive."

"And you're the Queen…" he sighed.

"I'm the Queen – though my title is actually Empress due to the massive benefits I've brought to my people since even before I took the throne. Before coming to Thedas, I was Air – an Aquarius if you followed the star charts. I'm closer to water now, I suppose. I understand if you don't want to be a Prince, Cullen – and I understand if learning who I really am has made you rethink things…"

He seemed to snap, "You keep insisting that I'll be leaving you – do you not want me or do you not trust…?"

I had flinched – which was why he trailed off. I looked away, "Before Alistair – last year – only one man had ever wanted me for longer than a few months; this isn't counting my masters of course. I'm used to people leaving me when they find out all there is to know of me – my past especially. I do love you, Cullen – I'm just used to the ones I love not loving me."

He looked subdued, "I…"

Bela spoke, "With what you do in the bedroom, I'm surprised anyone has ever left willingly, kitten. You'd have to beat them off with a stick."

Cullen was bright red at that – and I could see Fenris lift an eyebrow at me. I chuckled, "I'm glad you think so – but not everyone is as kinky as you or me, Bela. I'd bet good money that Cullen is a bland 'vanilla' in bed. Then again – I would have said the same of Alistair, and I'd have lost a lot of money on that."

Fenris spoke smoothly, "And me?"

"I thought you'd shy away from the kinks – especially the one that shames me – due to your past as a slave."

"Wrong," he said simply. Cullen frowned, "Shames… you?"

I paled, "I-I… pretend I didn't say that; please don't ask me… I just… it is far too soon…"

Drake sighed, "You gave us permission to tell your mates – we could tell him for you?"

Galaxia frowned, "There is no reason to be ashamed of it – most of Fae are 'depraved' in some way."

Cullen looked confused. I shook my head, "No – fuck… Cullen is like Alistair was before getting with me. I'm not telling him yet. Besides – if he's about to break up with me…"

"I'm… I mean…" he stammered. I sighed, "I get it – you'll be thinking of what happened at Kinlock Hold every time you see me use what looks like magic; you don't want to be a prince; and you sure as fuck don't want… I get it."

I had put him on the spot – he'd only felt the need to defend his pride earlier; I had been right. I stood, "If you have further questions about my people, feel free to talk to any of my guards – they will answer you about almost anything. Let the Knight-Commander know that I will speak with her tomorrow. It's been a long… expedition."

He had never actually said that our relationship hadn't changed – he'd pulled a Fairy trick; dancing around the topic. I had caught that right away – so I already knew our relationship was over wen I'd returned to Kirkwall. He had hugged me – but I had felt him stiffen each time I moved.

He couldn't trust me anymore – and he certainly didn't trust magic of any kind. If it looked like magic and felt like magic…

That night was hard for me – the normal nightmares entwining with losing my mates – all of them.


I was bone-tired when I got to the Gallows the next morning. I spotted Cullen training the troops – and he almost snapped one in half for pointing out that I was here.

I flinched and looked away as I made my way toward the head office – many Templars watching me distrustfully.

Meredith glared as I entered her office – but I could feel the smug satisfaction too; I was sure it came from Cullen breaking up with me.

"Cousland," she motioned me to sit. Ah – she dropped my title now that my 'magic' was out and open. I shoved my letter across the table to her as I sat. She glared at it, "Unnecessary since the Divine has said it isn't magic."

"I think I may have a solution to your distrust of me, Meredith."

"It's Knight-Commander," she sneered.

I rolled my eyes, "I don't plan to grovel – you don't use my title so I won't be using yours. I have a barracks in my home; you have more Templars than mages that are not Tranquil, so let's come to an understanding. You can rotate who stays there. I don't care; you know I'm incapable of using Blood Magic, you know my abilities aren't true magic, and you want to keep an eye on the new element in the city. I will allow you to place 4 Templars in my home – 5 if you want to add someone to supervise them. This number will only take up half the Barracks so that when King Alistair makes his official visits, he can still bring guards."

She looked thoughtful before standing and motioning me to follow her. I did – we ended up back in the yard where we were approaching Cullen… please tell me she wasn't going to do what I thought she was…

Cullen ignored me and inclined his head to his Commander, "Knight-Commander?"

"Mistress Cousland has so graciously approved the placing of five Templars in her home to improve relations between the chantry and the Fae. I want you to supervise those that watch her… and I want you there personally. Move your office if you must. I still want you here 3 days a week, but otherwise…"

"Yes, Commander…" Cullen gave her a stone face.

"I'll have an office set up – and a personal bedroom connected to it – for you Cull… Knight-Captain… Just worry about bringing papers and such that you will need. An actual bedroom is the least I can do for the Knight-Captain in my home. As to the other four, even if they're rotating, have each of them bring clothes and such; I'll have Armoires in place for them so that they don't have to worry about packing every few days."

Meredith was looking at me like I was crazy so I turned to her, "Is there something wrong with me treating your people like… people, Knight-Commander?"

"You're more civil about this than most would be, Cousland."

I took a needed, calming breath, "There is no Chantry, no Circle and no Templars where I come from. Magic is also different there, almost non-existent; most don't believe in it. I was raised to respect all walks of life, to be kind and companionate. You may believe me to be horrible, but I assure you, I'm not. I'm not even from Danu – I just happen to be one of the Fae."

"Where are these lands?"

"You can't find them on any map of Thedas. Now, if you will excuse me, I have been traveling for the last month and would like to get some rest. You know where to find me. I expect the Templars to be kind enough to arrive tonight rather than unannounced over the next few days – if they do not show up tonight; I would hope you are kind enough to send word ahead." I turned on my heel and began my journey back home.

I heard the whispers as I walked – I was alone at the moment. No one dared to try and kidnap me – though many groups seemed to contemplate it. The elves all waved at me though – I was still their benefactor.

I had already had my people spread the word that the Grand Opening of my shop would be tomorrow. You know what they say – all press is good press. People were talking about me; I was the hot topic… my opening would be a success on the sheer scandal of me being Fae alone.

I swayed for a moment before entering my house – I hadn't eaten in two weeks now; I was too depressed and my depression came with loss of appetite and… a lot of other issues. I needed to update the Barracks – I wanted those people to feel at home here; they would be living here after all. I ignored the looks of my people as I made my way to the hidden entrance to the Barracks near the kitchens – to the left of the kitchens, actually; the 'servants' rooms were behind a hidden entrance to the right.

The barracks were big enough to house 12 people – hence why when I said 5, I said it would take up about half. I moved things around using my abilities so that there were ten 'rooms' and 2 bathrooms – each was something a mansion would have back on earth in terms of baths, showers and toilets. Each toilet had a bidet – I was not bring toilet paper to Thedas; it was unnecessary.

I sighed – the only reason I even had the energy to do this was because I was working for Cullens' approval; he was still my mate. The rooms were more like regular rooms – like the guest rooms back at Kinlock, actually. Each room was equipped with a double bed that was really soft, a nightstand on either side, an Armoire behind a changing screen, and a desk with two chairs.

I stumbled my way to Cullens' room and office – removing anything that indicated that he was my mate. He'd known about this room while we were dating, but he'd never used it (it's inappropriate for me to… spend the night he'd stammer).

Gone were all the little things like stuffed lions or… now all that remained was a soldiers' room – armor stands, Templar armor, a bed, nightstands, and his closet and bathroom… minimalist in its furnishings. I almost sobbed as I moved all of those cute things to the basement – a storage room; all the things I had made for him that he'd smiled and said 'put it in my room', all the things I had thought of him when I'd seen them, and the pictures of us…

I wanted to collapse – but on the other hand, I wanted to greet them at the door; show them I had nothing to hide.

Hawke was frowning when I made my back to the living room, "Ara… you don't look so good."

Hawke and Leandra were the only ones of the crew here at the moment. Hawke had an appointment with the Viscount next week to rebuy his family home. I shook my head, "What do you mean, Hawke?"

"You're rather pale and… shaking…" Leandra looked worried. I shrugged. There was a knock at the door, so I went to answer it personally.

I thought I saw a flash of concern in Cullens' eyes – but brushed it off as me being hopeful. Cullen and the four Templars followed me to the Barracks as I motioned this way or that, "That's the living room where I have a throne; that leads to the residential wing of the building; the basement is through there – if you go down there, please request an escort since it is a maze down there… unless you think you can find your way back out on your own; whatever. This door leads to the Kitchens – state of the art… please request of my servants to cook for you or teach you how to use the appliances because the first one to burn down my kitchen gets my boot up their asses. This panel is the door to the barracks… these five rooms on the right are available for you to pick from, but they're all the same. Those two rooms on the end are bathrooms – come…"

I led them to one of the bathrooms and we all piled into it – it was a big room, "This is the shower – the red knob will make hot water come from above, and the blue one is for cold water. You play with them to find the right temperature for you. There are free soaps provided for your stay here – all from my luxury line with health benefits listed. This cabinet contains the soaps, towels and other necessities for this bathroom. The tub has the same knobs as the shower if you want to take a bath instead. There are bubble baths if you want – unlock your inner child or something. This is called a toilet – much more efficient than a chamber pot. You sit on it, do your buissness, and stay sitting while you press down on this lever… it will clean your bum after you do said buissness. And these hooks can hold your close while you shower or bathe. You can use the paint in the maintenance room in the basement to mark your doors with your names or even paint your rooms – heaven only knows how long you might be living here, so you should make yourselves at home. Follow me; I'll show you to your Knight-Captains' office so you know where it is."

I swayed a little and felt sweat begin to bead on my brow. I waved off the Templar that tried to help me – it was sweet of him but… there was only one Templar I wanted to touch me.

We made our way to the office and I motioned to the sigil of the Templars on the door – right below a proud red lion. I said, "This is the office – if you can't find him in here, then his room is that door; they connect though so he has a door to his room in his office."

The Templars began to introduce themselves – Axel was 6 foot tall with shaggy brown hair, green eyes and lightly tanned skin. His nose was crooked from too many fights and he had a scar or two along his stubbly jaw – he was from the Anderfels.

Basilio was an Antivan. He had pretty blond hair, stood at 5'8, and watched me with dis-trusting blue eyes that sat against deeply tanned skin. His face was smoother than a baby's bottom.

Alano was Rivaini – he had black hair and grey eyes that always seemed to be laughing; his skin was the color of cocoa and he stood at 5'10. He certainly didn't have the accent; no surprise as, if he had been raised in Rivain, he wouldn't be a Templar – they don't have any.

And finally Caspar – a Nevarran, and related to the king by marriage, not that he cared much. He was like Cassandra in that respect. He was from Cumberland, son of Duke Sandral Anaxas of Cumberland. He stood at 5'9 with brown hair, green eyes and skin that shouted 'sun-bather'.

Cullen stood stiffly – watching my interactions. I saw black spots in my vision and swayed again; this time, I went down. Cullen caught me, "Are you alright?"

"I'm… just so… tired. Don't worry about it…" three of the Templars looked worried – Basilio looked unswayed. They all headed off for a meal and rest since it was getting late.

I slumped as my eyes closed and refused to open again. Cullen shook me, "Ara! Makers' Breath; what a foolish woman."

One of the Templars had come running back, "Captain? What happened?"

"It appears she wore herself out… for us," Cullen sighed as he lifted me into his arms. "Knight-Captain, I know I shouldn't be sayin' this, but… she's a real treasure, for a magic user. Making sure we were comfortable must be awkward for her, never being in a circle an all… I feel I should thank you for choosing me for this assignment, Ser."

I felt Cullen move before setting me in… his bed? He hadn't moved far enough for it to mine – that was on the second floor and he knew it – he hadn't moved more than a few steps.

"Dismissed, Ser Axel…" but before he could say more, there was a deep bark as my Mabari, Revas, came bounding into the room.

"Hello there, Revas; come to see your mistress?" Cullen asked. There was a whimper and a thud as Cullens' voice went, "Ooof!" and he laughed.

"I take it you missed me then?" there was a responding bark and Ser Axel, who had yet to leave, hesitated before saying, "You… know her dog, Ser?"

"Before I knew what she was, I was courting her. I thought all of the Gallows knew that, Axel."

"Er… we thought you were just… sleeping with her – we didn't realize it was a courtship since she's the King of Fereldens' Mistress and tied to the Fae Queen too."

I heard Revas whimper and felt him nudge me, before he barked and took off. Cullen shouted and followed him.

I think Axel must have followed too – I no longer heard his breathing or anything.

I don't know how long I lay there, unable to wake or descend into sleep, but when they returned, I heard, "Revas, what… she's asleep, she can't eat. Stubborn dog. Fine, but if she hits me, I'm blaming you."

I felt a warm hand cup my cheek, softly pulling down. Cullen fed me a few bits of sausage – it was soft, so I assume that's why my hound chose it; not like I could chew.

After a bit longer, I heard Cullens' worried voice, "She… she is just asleep right?"

A whimper was the only response I heard. "Do you know anyone who could help us, boy?"

Revas barked and rushed off again. Cullen began speaking softly while the hound was gone. He sighed, "Oh, Ara… how I wish I hadn't fallen in love with you. It would make this… so much easier. Now here I am, once more infatuated with my charge… but it's certainly different this time, isn't it? This time, I'm really in love; I know it. My heart wants to jump right into your arms every time I see you, all I want to do… doesn't matter now, though. I don't think I could ever be with someone who holds magic of any form. Meredith would also not give her permission for us to marry – so even if I could look past that… but I can't. I greatly wish I could – but it just…"

He stood and walked over to his desk. I wanted to cry – I loved him; I would always love him. And now that he had broken things off, I would need to convince Sebastian and Isabela to 'court' me. I needed four – I only had Fenris and Alistair now.

A whimper caught my attention after a while before Fenris' blue glow lit up my eyelids. He snarled, "Ara? What did you do this time, Templar?"

"I did nothing, Prince Fenris." Cullen snapped back. Fenris scoffed, "I am no prince – not yet. I would need to wed her first. And if you did nothing then why is she passed out in your bed? As it is, she hasn't eaten in two weeks since one of our companions turned on her and almost killed her – you breaking things off with her certainly hadn't helped."

"She… wait… who tried to kill her?" Cullens' voice was a growl.

"Seeing as she hasn't told you, then you don't need to know. What happened?"

"She was pale and swaying when I and the other four arrived. She took us to the Barracks – she had set up rooms and 'bathrooms' for my men. She just seemed to get paler and weaker as we moved through the tour of the house."

"… Where are all the things she made for you, Cullen? This room used to be so… vibrant – it showed her love for you. What did you do to those things?"

Cullen huffed, "I only just arrived, Fenris – I couldn't have done anything."

Fenris sighed, "She over-exerted herself then. In Tevinter, they use other people's blood for their spells, but when they are forced to use their own mana – it's what she calls their magic force – they will exhaust themselves like this. Slaves must nourish them back to wakefulness or suffer if they wait for the Magister to recover on their own. It usually only happens like this when they have been in battle… very few don't use blood during those times, but they do exist. The lack of Food and proper sleep will drain them. She hasn't been eating or sleeping – her nightmares plague her nightly, and I only stay with her one night a week unless we are out on a mission. If I am right, she can hear us now – normally this condition would pass after a night of rest… but she hasn't eaten in weeks; she needs food."

"I… Revas made me feed her a bit of sausage?" Cullen had muttered an oath.

"That will not be enough – watch her; I will get something more that will be easy on her in this state. If she wakes up and tells me you did something though, I will kill you. She has been teaching me to read – both common and Danu… you don't know what might happen if you reject her."

Fenris stalked from the room and Cullen let out another oath before sitting beside me, "I hope you plan to explain what he means by 'what might happen'. And I also hope you plan to tell me which son of a whore tried to kill you."

Revas whined again and I heard scuffling. Cullen scoffed, "I'm not lying down, Revas – it isn't proper. Especially since I broke up with her and all…"

Fenris soon returned while Cullen did paperwork at his bedroom desk. He pulled up a chair and began spooning soup into my mouth – it was leftover pho from last night.

Fenris and Cullen kept a heavy silence while Fenris fed me. It took a while after the bowl was finished for me to be able to 'wake up'.

Fenris lifted an eyebrow. I looked away, "I remodeled the Barracks…"

"Is that all?" Fenris asked smoothly.

"… I moved all the… unnecessary things… from Cullens' room and office to the storage area in the basement and neglected to eat or sleep…"

Fenris nodded, "And what should you be doing?"

"Taking better care of myself?" I asked as I bit my lip.

He sighed, "You rule a country, Ara – Danu depends on you. And though they do not yet know it, so does Ferelden. You cannot run two countries when you cannot care for yourself."

I nodded as I pouted, "I… I know. A-and… I know… I need to care for myself… if I want kids again one day; I know I promised Alistair that we would… I just… he shot an arrow at my head, Fenris – I was… depressed."

"Who did that?" Cullen asked with a frown. Fenris shot him a look, "Does it matter? The situation has been handled."

"I'm still depressed – I lost a friend, I lost a mate and…" I was crying, my breathing becoming ragged, "I-I… I'm sorry this happened – I'm sorry you had to feed me because I was so incompetent that I… I'm sorry that I was no better than your former master."

Fenris hugged me, "You did not do it on purpose – not like Denarius did. Come – we should get you a bath and into bed."

Cullen spoke, "One last question – what happens when a mate rejects…?"

Fenris shot him a glare and pointed to the door connecting his office to his room, "The book is on your bookshelf, Knight-Captain – why don't you educate yourself on your 'charge'? Look into the laws and biology of her people – maybe don't think only of yourself."

I tugged on Fenris' arm, "It isn't his fault… I hid what I am, Fenris. He has a right to be angry…"

"That doesn't give him the right to be cruel to you – making you think that he was okay with the magic to get you to open up to him? Even I wouldn't do such a thing – and I hate magic more than he ever could, Ara."

Cullen sighed, "Did you hear what I said when…?"

I nodded, "Every word – I'm sorry you feel that way Cullen – but you can't blame every mage for what happened to you. Imagine you one day had a child with a normal girl – neither of you had mage blood in your veins but somehow your daughter is still a mage. You raised her until she was about 10 and suddenly… you had to let her go. You had taught her all that you knew about the sword – because like you, she wanted to be a Templar when she grew up. Would you pay the bribes to be able to see her daily – or would you let her go because you hate all mages and think she should be seen as no more than a tool in the hands of some jackass like Ser Alrik – he uses the pretty female Tranquil like sex slaves. Did you know that he will push and push until those pretty mages break and then – when they fight back – he has them made Tranquil so he can use them as he likes without them fighting back? The Gallows make me sick, Cullen. Imagine your future daughter becomes like them – all because you couldn't be assed to scrounge up just a little compassion for anyone that had magic of any form. At least with me, I know my children will be safe – as foreign royalty if nothing else. I love you Cullen – and damn it, if you're going to reject me then I wish you would just hurry up and do it. You're like this phantom in my heart – I can see you, but I can never touch or have you, can I? So go ahead – do your worst… because hitting me might be less painful than this."

Cullen looked sick and mortified. Fenris spoke, "Was that prophecy? He'll have a mage daughter?"

I hesitated, "I can't see the mother – that's in flux – but yes; Cullen will have a daughter one day… a little girl just like her father; she'll want to be a Templar… and she'll have magic."

Cullen looked like I had slapped him, "You can see the future?"

"I hate it – I hate it so much that I want to carve my eyes from my skull and set them on fire. But that wouldn't help – it wouldn't stop the visions. I'm tired of dying; that's mostly what my visions involve. I feel the blade in my skin, taste the poison on my tongue, hear the words of betrayal as I choke on my blood, smell the rotting flesh as I'm raised from the dead by a fucking necro-mage, and even experience the emotions of whomever I'm playing as in the visions. I get attached to them and then watch them die; I hate it! I want to be human again – I want to be normal and I want to hold my son in my arms and kiss my husband again. I want to be normal so that I might have you or Fenris more easily – because both of you hate a part of me. I just want… I hate myself so damn much these days. I couldn't warn our friend about the betrayal and I was called a demon for it. I had to watch as my best fucking friend cried that his siblings were tainted because I couldn't prevent that. I have to deal with the looks and the… so you know what? No – I'm fucking not okay. If I hadn't tried suicide back when I was still 6 months post-partum, I might be trying it now! I'm not strong enough and there's no one to take my place as the fucking Queen. I hurt – I just want to be what you want me to be; and I hate that I'm so weak as to want to change myself for you. I hate that I can never feel beautiful – that I can never feel worthy of love. I…" I slapped a hand over my mouth as I realized I was ranting all my deepest thoughts.

A sob escaped my throat as I turned and ran – not registering the horrified and sick looks on Fenris' and Cullens' faces. I didn't realize I had drawn all my people with my shouting – I didn't note that Hawke, Leandra, my guards, Obsidian and Hanan were all standing outside the room as I rushed past.

I didn't even notice that Alistair was standing in my room as I threw myself onto my bed.

It wasn't until Alistairs' arms came around me as he said, "Hey – Hey… what happened?" that I realized he was there at all.

I sniffed and threw my arms around him, not answering – just crying. Fenris entered the room within moments; dragging the Knight-Captain behind him.

I saw the whole group of Templars behind them – all looking a bit worse for wear… what was going on?

Fenris didn't bat an eye at Alistair – merely tossing Cullen forward and saying, "This one broke up with her."

Alistairs' eyes narrowed, "Why?"

"He found out that she is a Fairy and couldn't handle the magic – such a shame for him since it triggered her most recent attack. I have brought him to apologize to her."

Cullen was sporting a black eye. I yelped and called for a health potion. Caspar – the Nevarran – asked, "Can't you heal him?"

"No – healing isn't my gift; I can sense the elements, shapeshift and feel the sun as well as a few other things. None of my guards have healing either. The former Queen – Storm Aspen – could, as can a few others, but it's a rare gift."

"You can Shapeshift?" Axel asked in interest. I nodded as Galaxia rushed in with a healing potion, handing it to the Knight-Captain, "I can – Dragon, Griffon, fox, unicorn… anything mythical that was only legend in my homelands."

"Foxes were mythical?" Alistair asked in amusement. I shook my head, "No regular foxes – but nine-tailed Kitsune were. I even have a few aquatic forms…"

I was glad to be distracted from my woes. Cullen groaned, "I… apologize for my misconduct, my lady. It was wrong of me to deride you as I had. I will further educate myself on the Fae so that I do not make such a slip again… I will see to it that the Templars I have brought with me also educate themselves."

I sighed, "It was my fault, Cull-Knight-Captain. I shouldn't have put all of that on you; I simply found that once I started speaking, I couldn't stop until the damage was done… let's blame my lack of food and proper sleep for my misconduct and pretend that it never happened…"

He looked worse after hearing my words. Alistair spoke, "If you think I'm going to let this slide…"

I shook my head and said, "If you do, then I'll move up the date of your reward for that thing with Morrigan… to right after the Queen goes to Val Royeaux…"

He blinked – his breath held as he processed what I said, "Oh – well in that case… off you go, Knight-Captain; I'll see you for breakfast."

I think the whole room shifted to being completely confused. Fenris coughed, "Just like that?"

"What can I say? I want kids very much – and if letting Cullen go with his head still attached to his body means I get them sooner than I thought, then he can go frolic with the Dalish and hunt Maleficar all day for all I care." Alistair was grinning.

"What did he do that having a kid was the reward?" Alano laughed.

"He let me take another woman into our bed… what can I say? Morrigan was very sexy and I got nipple piercings out of it." I shrugged.

Alistair frowned, "They didn't need to know the last part."

I laughed, "No – they could have discovered that for themselves considering I do yoga in a thin breast-bind and no other top. At least if I tell them, they're less likely to look and wonder about it."

Alistair sighed but said, "Clear the room – I plan to snuggle with my… mistress."

Cullen was dragged out – again by Fenris – but everyone else left on their own.