Chapter Eighty-Three

Rituals – NSFW

My first night with Cullen went about as expected – with one massive shock. Rather than adding a fourth charm to my first tattoo, I got a second tattoo – just below my Treble Cleft tattoo on the left arm. After mating with Cullen, it looked as my first one did but with only one charm on the left loop.

Cullens' mark also appeared on his left arm – unlike with Kell, Alistair and Fenris; who all had theirs on their right arm.

Magma said that it was common for people who had more than three mates to have two marks. I pouted that I hadn't known that.

This just made me ask Magma a question, "What would happen if I did take a seventh mate – just… a thought?"

"Uh… I think you get a new tattoo and the old ones vanish; I heard it goes to looking like those 7-pointed stars in some form or another. You'll know which point belongs to which mate though – it'll be covered in some kind symbol to mark it."

I sighed, "Will my original tattoo that was in the first spot come back?"

"Sometimes – other times, you'll need to re get it done."

I took a deep breath, "Okay – walk me through the ritual with the secondary mate for tonight."

Tonight was Saturday, Sebastians' night. Magma said, "When the two of you are alone in the room, you first confess your love to one another and you speak a vow or two – like a wedding. Once that is done, you take a dagger made from the Mirror Ore and make a small incision on your finger-tip, each. Honestly, the blood plays no role in the ritual – it's just symbolic – so you can actually skip that part. You take a moth-cotton ribbon and tie your hands together – just one each; like a hand fasting. You proceed to mate while bound together. Once that is over, you take the ritual dagger and cut the ribbon. Mirror Ore is the strongest force in Danu – harder than diamonds – and is blessed when made into anything. If the ribbon cuts, then the ritual is null and you two were not in love. If the ribbon stays whole, then you two are fully mated and certainly in love. The ribbon and the dagger are the real ritual – but you can only do the cutting part after mating and the tying has to be done before. I think there was something about pouring your emotions into the ribbon being the reason you are tied together during sex."

"… So what I'm hearing is; declare love, make vow, tie hands, have fun, try to cut the ribbon for results."

"… Yup; that's all there is to it," Magma laughed.

I snorted, "Why do the Fae always need to overcomplicate things?"

"May I remind your Majesty that you are also Fae?" he teased as we left the study.

"You may – doesn't mean I will listen. Seriously though – what is with all the overcomplications that Fae throw into things? Like really – I could give you a riddle; the stories of the Fae back home said that Fae loved riddles and impossible poems."

"… I want the Riddle – not because it's a Fae thing but uh… I have a thing for riddles and problems to solve," Magma flushed as we finally reached the dining room where lunch was being served. I thought for a minute.

"Okay; here's one – two spies are doing some reconnaissance around a military base that they wish to sneak into. The base has a sentry posted at the front that gives a number to whoever enters and the person must answer with the correct counter number in order to gain access. So the first soldier walks up to the sentry and the sentry says the number 6. The soldier gives the counter number 3 and is allowed into the base. A second soldier walks up. The sentry says the number 12. The soldier gives the counter number 6 and is also allowed in. One of the spies, thinking he understood the pattern for the codes, walks up to the sentry. The sentry says the number 8, to which the spy replies 4, and is promptly shot dead. What was the correct response and why?"

The whole table went quiet – pose a riddle and everyone wants to be the first to answer. The thing was that this one was cruel – no one here would answer properly because the runic system they used made the answer void here.

Magma opened his mouth 8 times before sighing in frustration, "I don't know."

"In English, the word Six has three letters; the word Twelve has six letters and the word Eight has Five letters; the answer is five," Alistairs' voice came from behind me and I jumped out of my skin – I hadn't heard him approach.

He was instantly there – both laughing and soothing me. Hawke asked, "Is he right?"

I nodded, "He is – son of bitch, Alistair; you know better than to sneak up on me!"

He laughed, "I've been using English to code my journal of accounts and such – so I had practice. As for the whole 'sneaking up'… I didn't mean to…"

"I forgive you, just try to be louder next time… please?" I pouted at him.

"Wait – how do you spell six that it has three letters?" Sebastian frowned.

"S-I-X – and Sex is spelled S-E-X; a lot of people made 'missing letter' puzzles using 6."

Hawke – coming along in his English lessons – said, "I didn't even think to count the letters in the words."

"No – but knowing you, if you were the second spy, you would make a guess and it would be right." I smirked.

He shrugged, "I felt it was 5 – I just couldn't think of a reason to pull from my ass about why."

"Give me another riddle," Magma asked.

"Another English one or one you can actually answer," I snorted.

"One I can answer," he quipped.

"No legs have I to dance; no lungs have I to breathe – no life have I to live or die, and yet I do all three… what am I?"

"Oooh that's a pretty one," Alistair said, sitting beside me; he tried to show up for dinner as often as possible, but it wasn't like he was here every night.

"Fire," Magma smiled, "The answer is Fire."

I nodded as Varric said, "Fire dances?"

"Yes – fire dances; it breathes oxygen so that it won't putter out; while it's active, it lives and when you put it out, it's dead. Fire – the answer is fire," I smiled at Magmas' excitement.

"One more!" Hawke laughed.

"Hmmm… A king has no heir to the throne, so one day he calls all the village children to his castle to give them a challenge. He will give each child a single seed to plant in a flower pot, and whoever has the biggest plant in a month will be the new heir. A month passes and all the children gathered at the castle. The king looks over all their plants and declares the one girl with nothing but a pot of dirt to be the heir. Why?"

Alistair blinked, "He said he'd give it to the one with the biggest plant though…"

"But a month isn't very much time – depending on the plant given, it could have been… rigged… Did he tamper with the seeds so that they wouldn't grow?" Drake asked.

I didn't answer but Drake grinned, "She was the only one that was honest then; he gave tampered seeds to those kids – or seeds that wouldn't sprout in so little time – and she was the only one that didn't try to lie about it."

I nodded, "That is correct. She was the only one that kept the original seed – and thus she was the only one that had the biggest plant even though there was no sprout."

When it came time for bed, Sebastian was flushed, "How do we… do this? I mean – the ritual…"

"To simplify it, we declare our love for one another, make a vow to each other – I was given no specifics on the vows – use this cloth to bind one of our hands to each other's hands, and after we make love, we attempt to cut the ribbon with this dagger. An optional step is that before we tie our hands, we nick a fingertip with dagger, but that part is wholly symbolic and not needed so we aren't doing it."

He smiled, "That sounds easy."

"If the ribbon cuts, it didn't work and we won't be mated because that means we don't really love each other; if the ribbon stays whole, then we do love each other. I know this will work though – I can feel your love for me and I know I love you."

He kissed me softly, "I do – I love you so much; every time I see you, my heart feels as though it is going to beat right out of my chest. I didn't expect this when you asked to court me chastely – but I cannot say I am disappointed."

"And I love you, Sebastian – I didn't realize it until Wednesday, but somehow, you managed to capture my heart. And I will love you until the end of time – that is my vow to you; you will always carry my love."

"You deserve all the good that this world has to give you; and I will spend my life doing what I can to show you how I love you no matter what that entails."

I think both of us were surprised when the ribbon in my hand began to glow and we worked together to tie it around our hands – thankfully, we had already gotten naked by this time.

As soon as the knot was tied, he kissed me – it was gentle and passionate. He began to back me slowly to the bed. He groaned, "You know I haven't done this in 10 years… I'm afraid that I may… embarrass myself…"

I smiled softly, "If you do, then I'll tell you something embarrassing in return – then we'll both be embarrassed."

He chuckled, "That would be something."

"Besides… I'm on edge almost all the time due to my hormones; I may get off rather quickly too…"

He kissed his way to my jaw, "Then it won't be too bad… Makers' Breath…"

His unbound hand moved to play with my clit and I gasped; moving to sit on the bed.

He knelt before me, "Would it be alright… if I taste you?"

"Yes… please," I bit my lip; his lip twitched and he leaned in.

I cried out when his tongue gave a single swipe and he pulled away mischievously. I whimpered, "I didn't take you for a tease…"

"You do recall my past, Ara; I was a tease," he chuckled. I smiled at him – he certainly knew how to put me at ease.

He leaned back in – stopping after three licks this time. I pouted at him, "I give up."

"Already?" he asked in amusement.

"Hormones – you've never been with a woman that was 6 months pregnant, have you? I need you – now…"

His eyes widened – I don't think he thought I was serious. Still, he moved up to kiss me and I pulled him closer – almost desperately. I hadn't realized how I was repressing sexual tension when it came to Sebastian – hadn't realized that I wanted him – until I examined my feelings that day in the chantry.

I flopped back on the bed – my back arching a little as I gave him a pleading look.

He was flushed as he lined himself up and slowly thrust into me. I gasped – he wasn't thicker or longer than the others but he most certainly knew how to use it. He seemed to know just how to move to make me want to scream.

"S-Sebastian…" I gasped.

He held my hand where it was tied to his – and his other hand rested near my head to hold him up. He groaned, "Ara… I've dreamed of this – of you… since being released… from my vows, I've dreamed… I wanted this…"

I was already panting and squirming beneath him… oh tell me he wasn't going to be like Alex had been our first time; I couldn't take it! Performance anxiety had made it so Alex hadn't… gotten off – but he'd done his damned best and set a record for how many times I had gotten off in my previous life.

"Seb… oh…"

"I prayed; you know – prayed that you might develop… feelings for me. Maker; those nights I took myself in hand… it was always a fantasy… of you being my wife…" his voice wavered as he began to speed up slightly. He had been so controlled – so steady…

He leaned in and kissed me as my unbound hand caressed his cheek. He groaned, "Shit – I'm not going to last…"

A smirk tilted my lips and I moved my hand between us to pleasure myself – I was close already anyway…

His breath caught when he realized exactly what I was doing… and he couldn't stop himself from burying his face in my neck and moving faster.

I cried out – did it last long? No – it did not… but was it enjoyable? Yes – yes it was… and I was sure this man would be insistent on making up for this later.

He rolled off me with a flush, "I was right – that… was embarrassing…"

I chuckled, "Don't worry – we have all night; and hopefully, the rest of our lives – to do better. As to embarrassing tales; did you know that women occasionally uh… ahem… during child-birth, you push to deliver the child; it is entirely possible to relieve your bowls when delivering a child. I got really lucky that it didn't happen to me with Levi; I had just used the chamber-pot before it was time… but according to my mom – she was not so lucky with any of us kids."

"I did not know that – though it makes sense…" he mused.

"I won't do that now either – Fae don't need to use chamber-pots because our bodies work so efficiently. Hand me the Dagger – we can test the ribbon and then… we need to have a talk; I won't risk you walking in on it like Cullen did."

He looked confused – he hadn't been here that day, so he just knew I had kinks that involved cuffs (He saw the 'gift' from Meredith and how I reacted to it).

He passed me the dagger – and as expected, no matter how hard we tried, the ribbon did not cut. When we finally began to just untie the ribbon, my left mark gained the second charm and he gained his mark too.

He kissed me softly, "I am glad – I love you, Ara."

"I love you too – and this will ensure that any jealousy the others feel doesn't apply to you as you're now my mate; you also will stop feeling jealousy toward any that ae mated to me."

"What kinks do you have that we need to talk about, then?" he asked while holding me close – he was very toned and had the muscles of an archer… and though that was an upper body 'sport' he obviously didn't miss leg-day either.

"So… as you may have heard… I was a slave; a sex slave. I was in that position for 15 years so… with my memory, I couldn't block it out; instead, my mind turned pain into pleasure. All those things they did to me, I like them when they're consensual… I have a safe word and all that, but… there is one thing I am greatly ashamed of. Most role play doesn't make me feel bad – I sometimes need it because otherwise I'll… my uh… pleasure will bleed into a panic attack at times. But the ting that… that horrifies me… is that I like… CNC – consensual-non-consensual; rape play…"

He looked sympathetic – but not horrified or anything. He said, "When I was still the rake of my youth, I did all kinds of things. I tried a bit of everything. I never took a truly unwilling woman, but play was something I had done. The thing about kinks – as I've learned it – is that the 'submissive' one is the one that is really in control. The moment you say your word, the 'dominant' one completely stops. I think there are very few things that I haven't tried – you need not worry about me being opposed to it. I simply wish you did not come to like those things in the way you did."

I didn't realize how much anxiety had been building in me as I tried to think of how to tell him – I had completely disregarded his past; I hadn't thought he might have been into the kink community… my body relaxed as relieved tears filled my eyes, "You… you're okay with it?"

"I am – and I've heard you tell the others often enough that you don't need the kinks; I knew that whatever you were 'hiding' would be something that most people wouldn't be 'okay' with. I was taught rather… thoroughly in the matter, however. I won't do any of it while you are with child – especially this far along – but I don't mind doing those things with you."

I buried my face in his chest – he was one of the ones I thought might be abhorred by it. I thought he might react like Cullen had. He stroked my hair and I could hear the smile in his voice, "Do you think you could go again…?"

I chuckled and looked up to kiss him… he more than made up for the first time.

The next morning, I showed Magma the ribbon, "Is it supposed to glow?"

He gaped at it, "Yes; it's kept to show your eternal love one another… is that Gold?"

I held it out to him but he shot backwards like touching it would burn him – his chair falling with a loud thud and making everyone that wasn't Fae look at him in confusion.

Hawke coughed, "Something that wasn't said yesterday?"

"The ribbons glow – charged with the love of the two participants… the color is what changes. Red is normal – the color of a love of passion; pink is a more innocent love; blue is love through sorrow; white is innocent love; green is platonic; orange is a strictly sexual love; but Gold is… it's not exactly rare; it's just… uncommon." Magma began – eyeing the ribbon.

Celeste said, "Gold means that the two were meant to be primary mates in their next life and they managed to find each other early. The trick will be figuring out his element so that we can mix it with gold for his council chair though. Due to the ribbon color, he won't be using the white one – we've had a moonstone one added for the Tiger Prince."

I looked over Sebastian and hummed, "I know what his element is in this life – but that doesn't mean it will be the same in his next. Alex used to be Earth – Kell is more… Fire than Earth. I can't force a vision until after the babe is born though."

"What if he were a Fairy – not one element?" Varric asked. Rain said, "Then his color would be Silver; like all fairies."

"I would have thought that was Purple, not silver…"

"No – Purple is reserved for Moon and thus is usually only used by the Queen. There are the rare fairies or sylphs that aren't born with the abilities of one of the four elements – but instead born with cosmic like powers. Those are generally called Moon Sylphs or Moon-Born Fairies and are associated with purple or moonstones. They're so rare, though, that there are only 5 at any given time."

For a country that was as big as the united states all put together in a large circle… that was very rare. It would take 8 months to walk from one edge directly across the land… that's why no one was willing to make enemies with us outright; our land was far too big and it was floating.

"And if he were going to be Moon Born in his next life, then he would have a purple and gold chair?" Isabela asked.

Obsidian nodded, "Exactly."

"Well – for now, make it white and gold; we can always paint over the white part later once I can figure it out. Now – why are you scared of touching the Ribbon?" I asked.

Rain answered, "For the first 3 days after the ribbon begins to glow, it can harm anyone that isn't mated to the ones involved. The power in it – on the fourth day – is used to make an amulet for one of the two to wear as a protection charm that will only harm those that try to harm them."

"Oh… Magma – you are shit at explanations." I sighed and placed the ribbon into my pocket.

Sebastian was all smiles though, "So… in our next life – we are meant to be mates as well?"

"It doesn't necessarily mean you'll be Fae; just that you two will live happily ever after – recall that she has a Moon Mate too – he's also supposed to be with her through every life. And then there…"

I didn't hear anymore – I was pulled into a vision. I watched as I met Sebastian again in my next life – a life on Danu…

I was giggling as I came out of it. "Goddess – that's… Cosmic Powers indeed; we will both be Moon Fae in our next lives, Sebastian – both of us."

"What are we missing? You said cosmic powers…"

"Sebastians future self knew at once that the present me was watching through my future incarnations eyes. It was cute."

"Moon Fae then – we will add that to his chair then…" Rain was pale. I tilted my head, "What?"

"It's just… we don't know much about the Moon Fae – they're secretive. Being able to see you at once like that shouldn't be possible because you're a Queen; untraceable – you're supposed to be untraceable by any means. Could the Moon Fae…"

I shrugged, "You could see if one wants to meet with me; I can tell you after that – but I won't force it. They're small in number – by design if I understand right. What the future Sebastian told me was… interesting. There are only 5 – one to 'guard' each element and the Fae. One dies when one is going to be born on that day so there is always a guardian. Without them, Fairies wouldn't exist – only Sylphs – and as such, Queens would also not exist. Moon Fae are more powerful than the Queen for that reason. And unlike the Fae, they are always 4 women and one man – the man being their head of house or mayor, so to speak. He is always the 'Fairy' Guardian while the women take on the Elements. They could be classed as Elite Fairies…"

Rain swallowed hard, "So… if one were to be killed…"

"A new one would be born that day; there are never accidents in the cosmic design – and the child Moon Fae are never distinguishable from the ones around them until they are full grown," I said.

Moon Fae all had a variant of silver for eyes, a cosmic coloring for hair, and swirling golden and silver skin. They didn't get those characteristics until majority – age 30.

"So you're telling me that choir boy will be the head of house for the most powerful type of Fae in his next life?" Varric asked. I nodded, "And if Moon Fae end up in one of your books – we will be obliged to hunt you down."

"Understood, Feathers," he coughed.

"We?" Sebastian said.

"We – as in you, me and all the current Moon Fae. Unfortunately, there is a good reason they stay under the radar; I'm only saying things that are allowed to be known – and things they would have said had they been asked rather than spied on."

Sebastian nodded, "Very well then – so they are always one man and 4 women?"

"Yup – usually they for a sort of family unit; relying on one another like brother and sisters; but it isn't uncommon that at least one of the females will end up as a mate to the male."

"I will contact the Moon Fae – and let them know that we know two of the future Moon Fae."

"Er… three… but I'm not outing her…" I muttered. I should have expected who the next water guardian would be; Moon Fae were always friends in the life before they became Moon Fae. If I was going to be Air, I still needed to find the future fire and earth guardians… but I didn't really need to worry about that.

Rain coughed, "Yes, well… I will go let them know – though, I suspect they already do. It's speculated that they all have a form of clairvoyance – again, there's a lot we don't know about them."

I shrugged and helped myself to an egg, sausage and potato taco – or 6. Sebastian was reluctant to be away from me at the second, so he sat next to me. I smiled at him. Isabela spoke, "So, I need to know… is it easy to pick back up after 10 years without sex?"

I snorted, "Bela."

Sebastian was red and coughed, "A gentleman doesn't speak of his… marital affairs."

"Come on – I need to know; Sebastian there claims to have been 'like me' in his promiscuous ways so I have to know – if someone stops having sex for a long time and gets back into it…"

I sighed, "Fine – it was so good that I think I passed out at least once; maybe twice. I saw stars after he just kept going and I am positive that there was a point when I begged him to stop because it was so intense; there were actual tears in my eyes and I spoke Orlesian… I don't know Orlesian."

Sebastian was glowingly red, "You uh… also spoke Antivan."

"Yeah – my dads family speaks something similar to it, so I grew up learning that. That one isn't so surprising – what is surprising is that I spoke a language I have no personal knowledge of; similar to one night with Alistair when we discovered the Fae language… that was back when we had just recruited the Dalish and I'd done something rather practical – but stupid. I allowed myself to be held hostage by werewolves who wanted their curse broken so that we could get to the Lady of the forest without too much death; There had been no repercussions for that as the Werewolves were a whole faction of people that could live or die depending on Aedans' choices. We could have sided with them and killed the Dalish to gain Werewolf allies in the final battle – I chose to broker peace though because… yeah; no… I wasn't going to kill people when I didn't have to. Point is – I have no education in Orlesian."

"But didn't you once tell Alistair that you loved him in Orlesian?" Hawke looked confused.

"I know curse words and basic phrases in many languages – doesn't mean I was actively taught. I know how to order a Coca-Cola, coffee, or milk in Orlesian – I know how to ask where the restroom is; I know how to curse someone out… I do not know how to say 'fuck me like a cheap whore' or other such phrases in Orlesian."

Water spewed from Varrics' nose as Sebastian buried his head in his hands. "I take it Choir Boy knows Orlesian?"

"I know Orlesian, Common, Antivan and a few phrases in Dwarven… I've also been taking lessons in Danu from Magma."

"Oh-oh! I know how to theoretically excise a ghost in something similar to Tevene and I can curse in more than ten languages. Most of the curse I know are… confusing though. Honestly, if you can't stun them with your brilliance, confusing people with bullshit is certainly a second best."

Varric laughed, "I want to know some!"

"In a language called Gaelic there's one that translates to 'A shroud on you'… it's more creepy than cursing. In Farsi, one says that the person is a 'screw up of god'. Oh – another Gaelic one is 'may the cat eat you and may the devil cat eat the cat'. My personal favorite is a Greek one – 'May you live in interesting times'."

"Maker – that last one is terrifying, Feathers. We're already living in interesting times – that's a blasted curse if I ever heard one!" Varric shot back.

"Italian – 'Shit on your hand and then slap yourself in the face'… Afrikaans – 'I hope your fingers change into fishing hooks, and you get an itch in your balls'… Oh, this one is perfect! 'Go see if I am somewhere else'. I like that one a lot – it's Orlesian. Then there were the ones in my native language – take a long hike off a short cliff; your absence is required; you lost me at Hello; I wish we were better strangers; I envy those that haven't met you; I never forget a face but in your case I'll make an exception; Spare me the pleasure of your company; asking if a certain amount of money is enough to convince the person never to return…"

"Fuck, your people were…" Hawke looked amused.

"Saltier than the Atlantic Ocean with a side of isolated fucks to give which we guarded religiously, yes. Tea?" I offered with a smirk.

Isabela sniggered, "Next time someone comes up to me for an unwanted night, I'll be using some of those, kitty."

"Feel free – I used to tell people that I hoped their day was as pleasant as they were and let them work it out on their own. Or I would tell someone – if I really didn't like them – that there were over 170,000 words in the English language but none were adequate enough to describe how I wanted to never see or hear from them again."

Sebastian blinked, "I couldn't imagine that."

"Honey – haven't you read Varrics book about the Blight?" I asked. It was called 'King of the Wardens' – because Varric thought it was so clever.

"No… why?"

I launched into the tale of what I suggested to Bhelen and what that resulted in for Harrowmont. Sebastians' jaw worked, "You sentenced that man to death?"

"Okay – first off, Bhelen or Harrowmont would die; the loser of the election was destined to die no matter what happened with my involvement. Second, if Harrowmont had won, then the Dwarves would be on the path to total extinction and that's… I can't be the reason that a whole fucking race of people dies out. I did what I had to do to ensure people lived. You know that I try to minimize deaths where I can and that I wouldn't be unnecessarily cruel…"

"I do know that – I just…"

"And I had them use a man that was already dead and dishonored so we weren't tarnishing his name or anything. I did all that I could to make sure the dwarves would not only live on but prosper… I do feel shitty about it – and I did my penance…"

"I'm not judging you, Ara – I'm just surprised. I know that you would never do that maliciously." He said as he took my hand. I relaxed and let out a breath of relief. This would have been the part with any of my other mates that resulted in heads going up arses; Cullen finding out about my magic, Fenris when we mated, and even Kell meeting me too soon…

Hawke sniggered, "I think he's been the best for you so far – he hasn't left you once."

Cullen coughed at the words but didn't correct him, "I believe we've all come to that realization. It's at least why Alistair, Fenris and I all agreed to allow him to court her in truth back then. We told him he only had one chance; the moment he fucked up would be the end of it – permanently."

I chuckled, "I did wonder…"

Sebastian caressed my cheek, "And here we are…"

"Here we are."