Chapter Eighty

Kell Ar Colden O Red-Lion

We all fell asleep rather quickly – Fenris was actually a really light sleeper so when I woke up around 2 in the morning in Kells arms with him smirking down at me and no visible injuries…I was both amused and impressed.

I was also naked and smirked up at him, "Oh… now this is hot – you could have had your wicked way with me and woken me up that way instead of by playing with my hair."

"I didn't think to ask if that was okay before you left last night," he shrugged before his lips met mine. The kiss was dark, passionate and his hand roughly cupped my breasts as he growled. My hand came up to caress his cheek – and the single scar that was there.

I moaned, "Kell… you should know… and I'm only telling you because I already know you'll be okay with it after a vision I had – I like rougher sex and things like… playing at not being… willing…"

He chuckled darkly, "I can do that – but not while you are this far along with child. Tonight, we will do this as all new couples should – you will be lavished with pleasure until you are begging me to stop; and tomorrow, we will begin preparing the ceremony to be bound as husband and wife."

"Just one question – how did you get me out of there?" I asked.

"Simple enough – but I think I'll keep that secret for now," he growled before doing exactly as he said – and not stopping until I begged him to.

The next morning, after only one hour of sleep, I heard a knock at the door and Fenris' voice calling, "She had better be with you, Kell!"

Kell answered the door in only his leather pants as I pouted that he had covered up. Fenris got one look at me – my tattoo now showing that third 'charm' I had been certain would appear – and looked back to Kell with his tattoo that matched Fenris'.

Cullen coughed, "I suppose it was Confidence then – not arrogance."

Rain – in his usual relaxed manner – said, "I just couldn't be assed to stop him last night – too tired."

Kell blinked, "You knew I was there?"

"Yeah – but I'm a healer, not much of a fighter. My job would have been to make sure you were patched up if the others woke up. Nice moves, by the way – it's rare to see a man that can do that."

Kell grinned, "Lots of practice with my last wife. She had a habit of getting kidnapped."

I giggled, "I don't – actually, I usually do the kidnapping. I stole away two imperium slaves so that I could free them."

Kell relaxed a little, "I figured you wouldn't be too upset by the fact that I've been married before. She died when Red Lion fell two years ago and we were no longer married anyway – no children either."

"Oh, I can't feel jealousy. I wouldn't be upset even if you took another wife while married to me – or husband. Whatever floats your boat, right? Oooh… is that…" I was staring at the package in Hawkes' hand as he moved it around just to see me follow it with my eyes.

Fenris snatched it and – without an invite – walked into Kells' house to start cooking me the bacon with some eggs rain handed him. Eggs were my biggest craving.

Kell chuckled and tossed his shoulder furs on and began doing up his other buckles. I bit my lip as I looked him over, "I really like the Avvar armor."

Kell smirked, "Most women do – I've made trips to the Lowlander cities of Lydes, Verchiel and Val Royeaux to trade furs and leathers for spices and things. They always stare, but they all like it… they just don't want to admit it."

"Well, Ferelden will do trade with the Hold gladly now; you are the Husband of the Queen."

He blinked, "Hmmm – Thane Sun-Hair will be glad to hear it if that means traders come here – I know she was working on a trade proposal to Orlais."

I rubbed at my left shoulder – a bit stiff – and said, "I'll have Alistair notified and talk to Svarah about posting a Fae Liaison in the Hold… I actually have someone in mind – his name is Kane and he is… he needs something to do to take his mind from the loss of his last mate." Kanes mate died of cancer – poor sod; he'd only had 2 mates and both had gone the same way.

Kell moved to make me sit in front of him while he began rubbing my shoulders, "Thane Sun-Hair may not mind – Legends of the Fae abound in Avvar Holds; your people are said to be close to the gods and hold magic unlike what mages hold."

There was another knock at the door – the Thane looked amused as she saw me in Kells' lap, "I take it that he succeeded then?"

I hummed as Cullen said, "We really aren't sure how – Fenris and I were clutching her arms in our sleep, and all of us were piled around her…"

Kell was smirking as he began brushing out my hair, "Rope. I used rope and hung from the roof while I plucked her out of your arms by moving her. The lot of you would instinctively adjust if she moved in a natural feeling manner. As to not waking her – I had a large sling around me that I put her in. We use them for carrying the injured back from the fields. Most of the Hold saw me bring Ara back to my house last night – I had been encouraged to take a wife since getting here last year anyway, so I'm sure people are happy."

Rain shrugged, "It was quite the sight – he had only his legs wrapped up in the rope, as though he was like a spider. Not sure how he managed to hold himself up like that, but he did." Wait… Kell spider-man kidnapped me?

Kell chuckled, "Practice – as I said, my last wife had a knack for getting kidnapped."

I purred as I leaned back against Kell and Sebastian handed me the plate of food. Hawke sighed, "I'm glad you don't have a knack for getting Kidnapped, Ara – Alistair would go nuts, Fenris would kill first and ask later, and Cullen… well, I'm not actually sure what he would do."

"Easy – I'd call on the Divine and that might cause an Exalted March since Ara is a recognized prophet," Cullen shrugged.

Sebastian coughed, "I think that makes you more dangerous than the other two mates…"

"Actually – you wouldn't. Cullen, you are going to be the Commander of the Inquisition one day – you would brute force your way into rescuing me. You will work closely with the two Hands of the Divine and me."

"Ah – there you have it then; I'd kill things before Fenris could get close," Cullen shrugged before realizing, "The Inquisition?"

I nodded, "Leliana will be the Spymaster, Ambassador Josephine Montilyet, and the Inquisitor me – though… Svarah, I've already earned a Legend Mark, so what happens when I earn another?"

She tilted her head, "Another – how would you earn another?"

"Well, I'd save the Hold-Beast, save a few members of the hold, help in last rites if I can't get Finn to not do something stupid, and defeat the Jaws of Hakkon when I kill Hakkon Wintersbreath bound to a Dragon form. Oh – and that was when I was supposed to be a guest of the hold and giving you the burial site location too."

Kell gaped, "No wonder I would have claimed you so easily, Ara…"

"Don't… the uh… the Jaws of Hakkon are your former clansmen, Kell – the remnants of Red-Lion hold led by Gurd Harofsen."

"But Red-Lion Hold was a peaceful clan! We really only raided for goats and chickens. Gurd left to fight in the Lowlands and bed a new woman every night – he abandoned our ways. Yes, we asked the Lowlanders for aid, but they were recovering from the walking dead plaguing them and were preparing for war against the Darkspawn themselves. They couldn't aid us." Kell argued.

"Gurd blamed the gods for abandoning the Hold – and only forgave Hakkon because the 'lowlanders stole him'. He returned and took in all the other survivors and led them away because he knew how to survive on the move. They named him Thane."

Kell cursed, "I was separated from the rest – I… I thought I was the only survivor. I am glad to know they still live, but I am saddened to hear they forsake the gods."

Svarah held up a length of rope, "For you to tie, Feather-Fall; Since Kell succeeded, you two will be married tonight rather than tomorrow if you start tying knots now. You should also consider which god you will sing to – and pick a song. I will confer with the Augur on what happens when a second Legend-Mark is earned."

Cullen smiled, "I like when you sing."

"You sound like Alistair – I'm not that great at singing…" I pouted.

Sebastian chuckled, "I enjoy listening to you sing – your voice is sweet and can hit quite the range of notes."

I pursed my lips, "I'll sing a second song after the ceremony if someone makes me those orange chocolates…"

Fenris snorted, "Very well."

Kell looked amused, "I am missing something."

"We like her singing and she knows it – she has such unique songs because she came from another world and remembers it. So if we ask her to sing, there's usually a payoff for her. There were these chocolates filled with an orange crème from her old world – Fenris is the only one she knows that can make those. Sometimes – like if we're on the road – the payoff is that she doesn't do the cleaning up or cooking. One time, we bribed a song out of her with the promise of Cullen singing too." Hawke grinned.

Cullen flushed and looked away, "It was well worth it – she sang three in return."

I shrugged, "You have a nice voice and I could do no less to pay for the Quality with a fair trade." I picked up the rope and began tying rather loose knots in it as I debated what songs to sing…

An evil idea popped into my head and a smirk lit my lips as I tied more than 200 knots… heh – these 'highlanders' had no idea what was coming for them.

I could see the amused but worried look on Rains' face as he asked, "Ara… what are you thinking of?"

"I'm going to be evil, Rain – so delightfully evil! I'm going to pick a non-traditional god and sing a song that will get stuck in everyones' heads. Hehe – this is going to be fun."

Svarah had left hours ago by this point and Kell had gone out to hunt – tradition for the man getting married to hunt that nights' meal to show he could provide for his wife even should they be separated from the clan for whatever reason.

Rain had been on a 'sending stone call' with Lady Iris – the one managing my warehouse – to get her to provide a batch of tea for the wedding feast, Lions' Den soap, and tiger fur blanket for my gifts to my new husband – not a tradition, but something I had wanted to do.

Hawke looked amused, "Sweetness, I don't know if any man can untie that many knots in a 3-5 minute time frame."

I rolled my eyes, "Like I said – I plan to be just a little evil. The song I'm picking for the wedding hymn is not at all traditional and will give Kell as much time as he needs; or he can stop at any point and I'll end the song. He doesn't need to untie all the knots since the wedding is repeatable for as long as we live. Now help me with my hair – my arms are tired."

He chuckled and picked up the brush – I asked him to do a braid I'd taught him for Bethany almost three years ago; back in Lothering.

Svarah – as the Thane and host of the wedding – came to collect us; Kell was already there since part of the 'provider' part of the Tradition was for him to help cook the meal. He would also present me with the fur or hide of whatever he killed to show that I wouldn't be without comfort.

Yeah – the tiger fur blanket was big enough to wrap Kell and 9 others in… because… reasons.

I was wearing traditional Avvar wedding garb – leathers, barefoot, my hair was up, and I wore nothing more than the 'dress'… nothing more.

Svarah sat at her throne and said, "Now is time to present the rope."

I flushed as I brought it out and heard sniggering as they saw so many knots in it. The Thane coughed to cover her laugh and said, "You must think quite highly of Kell to tie so many knots after knowing him only one day."

"He was my husband once – I know him better than I could ever know myself."

"Have you chosen which god you wish to sing your hymn to, Ara Feather-Fall?" the Augur cut in.

"I choose Imhar the Clever; I think he might like my choice of song."

Even Kell looked like I had thrown him for a loop. Svarah titled her head, "Not many would choose to sing to the Trickster – one that relies on their quick with and honeyed tongue over strength. I would ask your reasoning."

"Oh – I'm sure you'll figure it out after the very first line my Thane; and I am positive that any trickster would find this a perfect choice for a wedding hymn of a people that live a few hundred years at a time."

Kells' lip twitched. The nearly 7 foot tall man looked impressed, "If I untie even a fraction of these knots, I will be impressed with myself…"

"Don't say that until you hear the song, my dear. I feel we make quite the pair – a man that can steal his woman from a pile of other men holding her and a woman that can sing a song long enough for him to untie as many knots as he feels like."

He shook his head and the Augur said, "Tonight you chose Imhar the Clever – an unusual choice but acceptable… you may begin, girl."

I cleared my throat as the music began;

"This is the Song that never ends," the first line had Rain coughing as water spewed from his nose and the Thane chuckled. Fenris' lip twitched and Sebastian was pounding on Rains' back. Hawke saluted me with his mug of ale. I continued, "Yes, it goes on and on, my friends; some people started singing it, not knowing what it was; and they'll continue singing it forever just because…"

When I looped back after that part, Kell grinned at me and relaxed as he took his time. He untied all 200 knots.

The Thane coughed, "I believe you are correct – Imhar would greatly appreciate that song… if only because I doubt anyone will be able to stop humming it for the next 3 moon-turns. Very well – 200 years of marriage as witnessed by the gods."

Kell pulled me close and kissed me as he chuckled. I motioned and Rain came forward with a chest. I said, "For you, my mate; a blanket made of Tiger Pelt, soap with many benefits – among which is the ability to move more stealthily on a hunt because you will smell more natural – and a mirror that will allow us to speak, see each other and even portal to each other as we like."

Kell looked impressed at the sheer size of the blanket as he took it out of the chest. He motioned and… holy shit – he had hunted a high dragon? My eyes widened and my lip tilted up, "You don't do anything half-assed, do you? I should have expected that – you were like that before too."

He smirked – it was dark and sensual, "It was an Ice Dragon – I just threw fire at it until it was pretty much cooked for dinner."

I tilted my head back and laughed, "Well – Dragon Meat does make a good stew; I've had it a few times."

"How am I not surprised?" he quipped. My heart stuttered – Alex used to say that all the time in that exact tone. I brought him down for another kiss.

Fenris – smirking – said, "I do believe we were promised another song, Ara."

I flushed and shot him a rather rude gesture, but looked at Svarah, "I did promise to sing another song, if that's okay?"

She nodded so I began – You Belong to Me by Cat Pierce;

The moon follows me home, I'm never alone

It hangs like the shine in my sweet baby's eye

Sings to me nightly, sings to me brightly

Tells me the secrets of the sky

Hawke smirked, "That's a cute song – maybe I should sing that one for Bela sometime."

I snorted, "She's leave you faster than if someone told Varric the Merchants' Guild was calling him."

"True… ah, well – you sure that she'll come around?"

"Yeah – eventually; Raaaaaiiiiiin – I want more Deviled Eggs!" I whined. Rain laughed, "I suppose I can make you some. I can't believe some of the combinations of food that pregnant women like."

I stuck my tongue out, "It's a very popular appetizer where I'm from. You want weird food combos, I can name plenty."

Kell looked amused, "Do tell."

"So there's this – here… have a drink of this food topping," I handed him a vial of hot sauce. He gave me a suspicious look, but this was really one of my cravings so I tipped it back and drank a bit.

He did and his eyes widened. Mr-White-Bread in two lives here coughed as I handed him milk and he fanned his mouth. I was smirking and he looked me over, "What is that?"

"Hot Sauce; it makes food spicier. Milk cools that effect, so… drink up. Normally I sprinkle just a bit in my soups – while pregnant this time around, I like it straight. Cucumbers soaked in vinegar makes pickles – they're really good no matter when I eat them, but… while pregnant, I want it with peanut butter! Honey – on everything; but the oddest craving is that I want to stuff my face with coconut; I'm allergic to coconut! Honestly the body craves some really weird things when you're carrying a kid. Ask any woman – I bet she's craved something that didn't make sense. Some women really crave dirt or sand."

I was holding a pickle – one that made good slices for hamburgers – and held it out to Hawke. He took a bite and said, "Yeah – these are safe to try, Kell. We put these things on sandwiches. Yum."

Kell hesitantly took it and tried it. He relaxed, "Those are good. You said they are a type of cucumber?"

"Sort of – I can give you a recipe if you want. I can give you recipes for a lot of things."

"We always have an abundance of Cucumbers – people get sick of them easily," The Thane hummed as Rain went around letting people try pickles. Needless to say, I just shoved a couple cookbooks into the Thanes hand before heading over for some of the Stew… yes; I was sitting in Kells' lap as he fed me tonight.

When Rain finally put a large plate of deviled eggs in front of me, I picked one up before Kell had a chance and held it to his lips. He looked surprised – women cold feed their men, but it wasn't common. He hesitantly took a bite before looking surprised, "Oh… that's really good."

I had Hawke take one to the Thane – it was only nice to pay tribute of any new thing in the hold. Hawke had snagged an extra and popped it into his mouth. Kell frowned until I laughed and said, "He's like that – I was dating him at one point. He feels more comfortable with me as a result. He also knows that Rain made too many for me to eat alone and that Avvar will rarely help themselves to a pregnant womans' plate. Some of these are for you – You're the Tiger Prince of the Danu, so Rain was showing his respect by making extra for you."

Kell coughed lightly, "A prince?"

"The Lowlander King – my first mate – Alistair is titled as a Dragon. Fenris there is the Wraith Prince for his ability to phase through anything. Cullen is the 'Lion of Ferelden' and thus the Lion Prince. You are the Tiger Prince. My brother is the 'Prince Rose'. His 'being' title coming after the word 'Prince' meaning he's family but not in line for the throne. Unless you want to, you don't need to learn all the rules about the court of Danu – no one will expect much since only the Queen rules in Danu and the Princes and Princesses are usually heads of other things – the former 'Earth' prince is named Bear and he now takes care of Construction in Danu; and since I've already established that you don't need to leave this hold if you don't want to, then that simply makes you the Avvar Liaison. You just do what you have been doing."

He chuckled, "The Queen only?"

"Matriarchal and Matrilineal – you can always guarantee who the mother of a babe is but not always who the father is. It simply makes sense to have the women rule – we're less likely to beat things up and ask questions after. Then there is the major religion of Danu – do as ye will but harm none, right? Of course, we won't just sit back and let people walk all over us – hence why we seem to be on the verge of war with Tevinter; they alluded to making us slaves and that shit just won't fly with me. I all but told them to shove it before I dropped the mic and made my exit. Now they're scrambling to appease me since I scared the robes off their two main leaders by making a portal so they think Fairies can barge in and take over whenever the fuck we feel like it. They aren't wrong exactly – but they aren't right either."

The Thane began laughing, "The Avvar are no friends of the Imperium – but I think you may be the first to have them scrambling to apologize."

"Uh-huh – they didn't expect me to leave the ash of a dead woman on their pretty marble floors before scolding them like they were naughty children and taking my leave."

Fenris coughed, "Have I thanked you for allowing me to kill that woman yet?"

"No – I passed out from over-exertion and things… didn't go well after that so… and I'd prefer not to be thanked for it. There is no glory in killing a person… not to me."

Kell nuzzled my neck a little, "Not even in War – it isn't glory; it's survival."

"Hadriana was a tormentor. When I was a slave, she made things difficult – I rarely ate, slept or anything." Fenris said.

"Justice then," Svarah commented. I sighed, "I was so angry that day – I couldn't see the forest through the trees when I wrapped her in vines and delivered her directly to Fenris for him to rip her heart out. I worried I'd doomed innocents to die – a life for a life. Hadriana was meant to kill specific people and killing her early… I ended up very sick from worry. But things worked out; thankfully, I didn't doom anyone."

Cullen frowned, "Even then, it wouldn't have been your fault – Fenris would have killed the woman no matter what happened at that point."

Kell fed me another egg – stopping whatever I'd been going to say. From then on it was a night of celebration.

When it came time, Kell carried me off back to his hut – tradition, he said.

I was also made aware that people would be listening to make sure the marriage was valid… so as he carried me, I quipped, "This means I don't need to worry about keeping quiet, right?"

Kell growled – I had used one of his pillows to keep from being too loud yesterday and he'd tried to convince me not to worry about sound. He said, "I would hope you don't keep quiet – that will simply make people think me incompetent."

"Oh good – I have my rooms back home enchanted so that sound doesn't escape, but… if they need to hear us, then they will." I smiled up at him.

He smirked – it was full of dark promise… and I suddenly had the feeling that I would be 'punished' for keeping quiet last night. I shuddered in anticipation. I was so ready for that.

It was quiet the next morning – we entered the main dining hall and all conversation ceased for a good two minutes. I was flushed – my throat was a little raw too… Kell hadn't let up for two hours… and that was just the first round. Rain handed me a glass of warm tea with honey the second I sat down – not a trace of seriousness on his face as he was the first to speak, "You will certainly need this – it's good for healing the throat."

I quipped back, "He's just like I remember. He still holds that same policy that it isn't fun if we don't both get off. I just want to know where all the stamina comes from – Alistair gets it from his dragon blood and he's the only other one that goes that long. I'm out – I need at least a day of recovery."

Hawke sniggered, "Not even Fenris?"

Fenris lifted an eyebrow, "I cannot last that long – even my time as a slave did not give me that much stamina. I do wonder, Kell – what do you do that keeps you so… in shape?"

"I hunt and I fight – and my previous wife was rather demanding."

I shook my head, "I thought I was demanding when it came to sex. Apparently, I'm rather tame."

Hawke snorted, "You're easy enough to please."

Kell looked at Hawke contemplatively, "I was under the impression that you hadn't shared her bed."

"Nope – but I did happen to be around one of the times that Fenris got 'board' and had fun with her in a carriage. That was kind of fun, actually – but no, I've never shared her bed and only plan to if she asks; she likely won't since she already feels she has too many mates though. I mean, she has 5 primary mates and Sebastian is also courting her so that makes 6 – if I enter the picture, then she doesn't have a day to just lay around alone in bed cause she'll have a mate for each day of the week. Oh – Alistair has Mondays and Fenris has Wednesdays. Cullen hasn't shared her bed yet so he doesn't get a day, but for you, I would suggest Fridays – give her every other day alone until the others take things further."

Kell looked at me with a smirk, "Fridays?"

"What? I figure with how many mates I have, I need a schedule for you all. I don't want any of you fighting for my attention when there is obviously plenty of me to go around. Oh – and how do… how do you feel about kids?"

"I would hope to have many – and at least one that is fully mine…" he said.

I smiled, "Good – I already told Alistair I plan to have at least one for each of my mates. I also have a goddaughter in Orzammar; that just means that if anything happens to her birth-mother, I step in and become the girls' guardian. I love kids."

"That is an interesting concept; what else is part of this 'goddaughter' thing?" the Thane spoke up.

I smiled, "Back in America, a godparent was a lot more than it is these days. These days, a godparent tends to just be an individual chosen by the parents to take an interest in the child's upbringing and personal development, to offer mentorship or claim legal guardianship of the child if anything should happen to the parents. At this stage – while the birth parent is still alive and well – it means I go over every once and a while and play with Vaala like she is my niece or cousin. I help support the child and such. This is especially true in my case as Vaala and her mother are members of my Paragon House in Orzammar – I was named a Paragon after many deeds. If anything happened to Althild then Vaala would essentially become my daughter and come to live with me."

"And what duties did godparents used to have that they no longer do?" The Augur asked.

"Bearing witness to the Christening – or their religious rite of admission after birth – was one such thing – but not all people are Christian and Christianity is actually losing traction as the major religion since so many people tried to use it to justify their bias and cruel natures. The Godparent would also help in seeing to the childs religious education or other matters too."

"Do you aid in the girls' religious education?" the Augur asked amused.

"No – because their religion is not one I follow and I was raised in a more… unique setting. At 15, the members of my family would go on a journey of self-discovery – we would leave the religion we were raised with and 'sample' many others to find what worked for us in terms of religion. I do, however, support Althild and Vaala financially and see to their needs as members of my house."

"And what are your views on orphaned children?" Kell asked. I gave him a funny look, "I was under the impression that the Avvar took to the method of 'it takes a village to raise a child' – like the Dalish and the Danu people do. I was unaware there was such a thing as a child without a family among the Avvar."

Kell actually relaxed, "That is true – but what are your views on what the lowlanders do with the ones that lost their families?"

"Oh – I would adopt them all if I could. Already, Ferelden is reforming – basic housing is provided to everyone so that no one goes without a home, foods and other needed items are more readily available, and children are cared for by the whole community. Unfortunately, Orlais and other places are not as… open to that. It pains me to see children raised in less than loving environments. That is why I have sent several Fae to many of the countries to do what they can for the children – those kids are the future of their respective countries."

Kell smiled, "Good – I am glad to hear it."

I yawned and leaned against him, "I'm exhausted… someone didn't let me sleep much."

Fenris snorted, "He will learn the limits, Amatus – and besides, you will gain your energy back after the child comes and you have time to recover. Duncan will be staying mostly in Denerim, will he not?"

I pouted, "Only because he's the heir to that throne – if I had my way, Duncan would not be leaving my side at all for the first year or two."

Kell now looked completely lost, "What about feeding the child?"

"Goat milk – a vision confirmed I am the same as ever; I do not produce breast milk. I will either need to hire a wet nurse or go to goat milk."

I actually dozed off not long after that.