Chapter Thirty

Hop a Boat

That night, Cullen showed me that he'd been thinking of what he would do with me in this situation… and Elune, but the man had impressive stamina for a recent torture victim.

The next morning, I was pretty much a puddle as we had breakfast.

I was sitting with Alistair, Greagoir and Irving. I yawned and said, "You know… Cullen… you aren't just Prince-Consort of Stormwind. You're also one of 3 Kings of the Illidari; the Demon Hunters. And you're a Duke of Northshire."

He flushed, "A King, Prince-Consort, and a Duke?"

I nodded as I leaned against him.

Greagoir face-palmed and said, "How convenient for the Rumor mill."

I lifted an eyebrow and hummed in confusion.

"Well, if we listen to the gossip… you and Cullen shared a passionate moment while you were both held captive. Everyone is pretty sure you've conceived a child from that and with the rumors that Cullen is leaving Kinlock, most have deduced that you are going to live together in your homeland… where you are secretly a Duchess. Especially after the wedding last night."

"Almost completely true – I'm not pregnant." I replied.

"Well – as long as the rumors do not tarnish your honor, then I have no need to duel anyone…" Cullen sighed.

I rolled my eyes, "What honor? I figured everyone knew I was once an Assassin and a Thief, by now."

Greagoir blinked as we entered the mess hall, "Really?"

"Oh yeah – listening to a dead pseudo-goddess to find our killing contracts was just… so fun. I was the leader of that assassin group, actually. I was also the master of my Thieves Guild. It worked for me until I got tired of the life. I was so good they let me go, if you catch my meaning."

Cullen was pale, "Do you still… take contracts?"

"Why – looking to hire?" I gave a sly grin. He shook his head and Alistair choked laughing, before he replied, "Makers' Breath – do you?"

"Pity; but that life was more than 10,000 years ago. I kill people because they try to kill me, but for the most part I don't do bounties anymore. I mean, maybe if I owe a favor or it's a close friend asking. Same with the thievery… speaking of that – Alistair, here's your amulet." I pulled the chain from my pocket.

Alistair lit up, "I really thought I lost this to my own… thank you. When did you even have time to go to Eamons study to take this, though?"

"Trade secret – back to the contracts… I don't take any contracts that would see me pitted against children or innocents. And by innocents, I mean people that are so squeaky clean that they shine in the sunlight. I mostly only take contracts on people I would kill for a chocolate bar, so… Greagoir did you want your sword back or can I keep it?"

Greagoir and Cullen shot to look at my hip, where Greagoirs sword was resting as though it had been there the whole time. I gave him his sword back as several Templars looked stunned around us.

Irving laughed, "If it was so long ago… how do you keep your skills sharp?"

"Oh – I pull this little stunt all the time; taking my peoples stuff and returning it without them noticing. Even my new pet assassin hasn't noticed me doing it."

Alistair snorted, "That's rich."

"You have a pet… assassin?" Cullen asked. Cinder poked his head from my hood and cooed. He fluffed his wings and moved to my shoulder, watching Cullen.

Jaws were on the floor. "Is that bird… on fire?" Irving asked.

"This is my phoenix, Cinder. Sin, say hello."

The bird let out a melodious chirping and flew off to Wynne. Alistair sniggered, "That bird…"

Irving snorted and went back to my killing past, "In other words – you only take contracts for people that you are simply looking for a reason?"

"Uh-huh. Those are so few and far between… oh." I placed a sigil of Bwonsamdi on Cullen. Alistair snorted, "I'm surprised you didn't think of that sooner."

"What… what was that?"

"A dusty old Loa will keep your soul safe if you die before the machine of death is repaired. You're not allowed to die, but if you do, then you won't go to the Maw. I… I can't allow you to go there. No soul that goes there is able to be reborn into their afterlife. It's complicated. Elune spoke to the Maker – he's not getting the souls meant for his afterlife recently either. Just know that it will protect you."

"I thought the maker was the World-Soul?" Alistair asked. I nodded, "Technically, yes – it's complicated. You don't currently have a speaker like Azeroth does – Andraste is long dead so you have no one that can communicate… my point is that anyone I place the sigil on is protected from going to the Maw."

"How?" Cullen asked.

"… A Loa is a spirit that embodies a concept. The Loa that gave me these marks is called the Lord of Graves. I'm trying very hard not to say his name; he has a tendency to pop up when I do since he still owes me a favor and he wants me to use it. He will hold your soul if you die – just until you can be properly put into your afterlife. I gave him some information in return for these marks. All of my people – my pack – have them on them."

I then whistled and the bird came back, resting on my shoulder and nuzzling me. "Sin, this is Cullen… what do you think?"

The bird looked him over critically before flying around him. Cinder landed on Cullens shoulder and looked at me with a chirp.

I nodded, "I think so too. Should I keep him?"

I heard more sniggers as Wynne and Aedan came over carrying plates of food. The bird looked between Cullen and I before firmly nodding. Cullen was flushed.

Alistair pouted, "Oh sure – you like him right off… what about me?"

The bird gave him a look and turned to me as if to say, 'what did you expect?'

Cullen had left the giant sword he'd been using before in his rooms – he now only had the weapon set I had given him as we boarded the boat.

Irving spoke, "So we have a limited number of rooms on this boat. Greagoir and I have agreed to share the Captains quarters, the 4 other mages are sharing and other than Cullen, 4 of the 6 Templars have already worked out where to sleep. I guess Cullen and the other Templar will share the room at the end of the hall… your male companions can share as well."

"I guess that leaves Wynne and Tara, right?" Aedan asked. Greagoir nodded. I shrugged, "Give Wynne the single room that's supposed to be for high-ranked guests – I can sleep in one of my animal forms pretty much anywhere. I could sleep on the mast if need be. Wynne, however, is having a bit of trouble so she needs a soft bed – and I know that the only soft bed here is in that single room…"

Greagoir blinked, "Wynne, you're having trouble?"

"A bit, Greagoir. I honestly didn't think anyone had noticed." She flushed a bit.

"We can have Cullen and Alistair share a room, Rulen would sleep on a tree branch if it would fit his massive shoulders, but he can share with Aedan and the other templar can have the room that Wynne would have shared with me. Boom – done. I can share with my husbands."

Wynne looked amused and said, "Then I think it's time for lunch – Atarah dear, I do believe it's your turn to cook?"

I nodded, "Yeah, but I'm feeling lazy so I'm only making macaroni and cheese."

Alistair lit up, "Cheese?"

I snorted, "You know… I almost forgot your obsession with the stuff. It's so hard to remember when you're talking about it, and all."

He flushed, causing laughter from other people. I went to the kitchen and started to make elbow noodles.

Of course, all good things had to end, right? The day – the day – we would arrive back to Redcliffe was rather… interesting. Twice this week, people have tried to tease Cullen about his relationship with me – and my tendency to stick to cat form – but Cinder hadn't liked that at all – he shit on them. No one said a word after it was made obvious that wasn't a coincidence.

Aedan had fed the bird an extra helping of meat. When I confronted him in the dining hall, his excuse was, "If Sin is going to be shitting on people he's going to need more in his stomach."

The bird cooed and rubbed against him affectionately – no one even glanced at Cullen after that. The Templar in question had also taken a liking to the bird – at least one meal a day would see Sin on Cullens' shoulder, nibbling from his hand. And if Cullen went to the deck for training? Well, that bird would drag me along as a perch – not that I minded watching Cullen train in a cotton shirt soaked in sweat.

We were eating breakfast – with me curled across Alistair and Cullen in my cat form because I couldn't be assed to talk to people at the moment – when someone sat beside Cullen.

"I still don't get how you're so… relaxed about her having magic. Especially not after what happened." The Templar said.

Cullen shot him a look, "She went through part of it with me, Reed. In fact – she may have had it worse. You don't know what happened – you weren't there – so don't act like you do; and I will thank you not to speak of my wife in that tone."

"I heard enough of it, Rutherford. Demons and blood mages – torture. I was there when she stitched you up, I saw the marks."

I shifted and snuggled into Cullen saying, "Then you know I'm immune to demons and by extension can't use blood magic." Alistair – sitting on my other side – passed me a plate of food.

"Reed, if it weren't for her, we'd all be dead or worse. Drop this." Cullen said.

The mad shook his head, "Way I hear it, she just played whore while her people…"

Cullen had shot off the stool he was sitting on and decked the man. The area had been pretty deserted up to this point. Alistair held me back as I shouted in shock – I hadn't expected Cullen to lunge like that.

Greagoir and Rulen shot into the room with several others – after one look, the Paladin yanked Cullen off of Reed.

Greagoir snapped, "What in Andrastes' name is going on in here?"

Reed tried to speak but with a broken nose the words sounded odd, "He hit me!"

And Cullen was speaking too, "He insulted her!"

Alistair said, "And if I weren't trying to keep Iris out of it, I would have hit you too!"

Greagoir shouted, "Enough! Lady Stormlight, what was this all about?"

"Magic and whores. Well… more to the point, it was an argument about me. Ser Reed provoked my husband by calling me a whore after asking him why he put up with my magic."

Greagoir looked horrified and Alistair stalked toward the man now that he no longer had to hold me back, "She is a Duchess, a Queen, and a Dragon – at this point, I think you might have been lucky. Knowing our wife, if you had insulted us rather than her, she would have killed you. You had to know bad-mouthing a woman to her husbands was a bad idea."

Greagoir pinched his nose in exasperation, "Reed, I thought better of you than this. Lady Stormlight is protected by the Chantry – not to mention the troubles she incurred rescuing us. When we return to the Tower, I will be having you reassigned – you won't be allowed a post in Ferelden or Kirkwall."

I spoke, "Don't send him to White Spire either – there is a mage there that looks like you, Knight-commander… I have a feeling Reed would take it out on him."

Greagoir – to his credit – froze for only a half-second to process my words before nodding, "Ostwick seems like it might need a new Templar… in the Chantry."

Reed cried out, "That's a career killer!"

Cullen snorted, "The Divine personally wrote to Lady Stormlight to ensure her protection, Reed; what did you think you could gain from this?"

The man shot me a vile look. I stood and looked out the porthole, "Looks like we're docking. Greagoir, I just want to assure you – Jowan will not have an easy time of it on the Fel Hammer. For one thing, it is on a completely deserted planet called Mardum. For another, he will be surrounded by the Shivarra, Naga, Broken and Demon Hunters that make up the Illidari. And my people are a little… peeved with him for his threat when he escaped from the tower before. I feel he is better to be set to the Circle, to become a Tranquil… I don't hold with ill-gotten magics at all. Demons leave a bitter taste in my gut… but the Wardens… this is a Blight; Aedan is a Warden and pointed out that they… needed Wardens. As I am not an actual Warden, I don't actually have the final say."

Cullen and Greagoir both had dark faces by the time I finished speaking. Cullen was the one to ask, "Why are you letting them choose?"

"As I said – it isn't my choice. I'm the Alpha of the pack, yes; but I'm not a Warden. It isn't my call. When this blight is over, I won't be the commander anymore; Lyna will be. She needs to lead occasionally. Even Alistair has taken point at times to help his preparations for the throne. So I guess that it's actually her choice, not Aedans'… we can ask her, but she's a wild card."

"Why evaluate him at all?" Reed spat. I sighed, "Darkspawn are week to blood magic."

Sin cooed from Cullens' shoulder and we all looked at the bird who was nudging the Templar.

"What is it, Sin?" Cullen asked. I chuckled as the bird fluffed his wings, "He's offering you a feather."

Alistair and Aedan gaped, "That bird hasn't even offered you one!" Aedan cried.

Greagoir looked confused, "What is the significance?"

Alistair spoke, "When a Phoenix offers someone a feather and they take it… it grants fire immunity for life, she said."

I nodded, "Phoenixes are Avatars of Fire; no fire can harm them – even dragon flames pale in comparison to the flame of a Phoenix. Cinder seems to think of Cullen as family now, hence the offer."

"What if someone just… took one?" Reed asked with interest. I chuckled, "If they managed to get past the flames that encase the body of the bird in the first place, the feather is useless. It has to be offered. All the thief would manage to do is piss of the bird and earn an early death with a side of extra crisp."

The bird in question fluffed his wing toward Cullen again. I looked at the hesitant Templar and said, "If you don't accept, it's an insult – you'd be denying him as family."

Cullen reached up at once and took a single purple feather. It shone for a moment and dissolved. He looked flustered, "What… is that… supposed to happen?"

I nodded, "The magics have been absorbed into you now – you will never get burnt."

We were now on the deck, heading down the plank where Zev, Leli and Daylen waited for us. Leli kissed Aedans cheek and Zev… pushed his luck.

"Ah – Bellissima, it has been dull here without you and the ever-lovely Wynne. Perchance, have you changed your mind about wanting a… massage?"

I snorted, "Lyna won't be pleased about her lover coming on to her commander. Zev, this is Cullen. Cullen, this is my pet assassin."

Zev looked Cullen over, "I see; I cannot compete with such a lovely specimen… do you think you might share him?"

Cullen flushed and Cinder spat a fire nugget at Zev. Zev dodged and laughed, "Even the bird gets jealous!"

We all walked to the castle – Cullen had taken my arm in his and refused to let me go. I saw Zev smirking as he watched that… until Alistair took my other arm with a tender smile. Zev was sure that the men would be fighting for my affections.

When we got to the castle, Jowan was walking free – as expected. Greagoir shot me a worried glance so I said, "Wardens – front and Center!"

Alistair and Aedan were obviously the first to be lined up, followed closely by Daylen. Lyna and Sereda came over swiftly. Carver headed up the rear.

I looked at them and said, "Lyna, report."

She saluted, "Connor had to be subdued, Commander. As the only Entropic mage here, Morrigan took point and showed Jowan how to do it too – hence the reason the Blood Mage is not in the dungeons at this moment, waiting for the conscription. We've still had Sten and Sereda keeping an eye on him. He'll make a good Warden, at least. He freely admits to his use of blood magic and also his role in poisoning the Arl, however – so there should be more repercussions on that. For the time being, I set the request that he not be put through the Joining until after the Landsmeet. You know why. His testimony against Loghain as the one who hired him to administer the poison in the first place may prove useful. Other than having to subdue the boy, we've had no problems."

I nodded, "Greagoir, put a Templar – not Reed – on Jowan for the time being. Remember that he is a Warden-Recruit now. He can stay in the dungeons until it's time, but… Lyna has spoken."

"Oh – was this my choice?" she asked. I nodded, "As Constable – and the only joined rank between us – this choice falls to you."

"Then yes – I am conscripting him. I don't hold with Blood Magic, but you said Warlocks use mostly mana with only one or two blood spells. We need to know if Blood Mages can be redeemed. On top of that, it could greatly aid the wardens."

Irving was looking at Morrigan – likely now recalling she had magic. I cleared my throat, "Don't think about it Irving – make that accusation and she's gone like the wind."

He nodded slowly.

"Daylen, did you prep for the ritual?"

He nodded, "Everything is set – other than the Lyrium and Mages, of course."

"Good – you're the one going in. And I swear, Daylen, that demon better be dead when you come out or I will feed you to the Templars."

"You say that as though there would be another choice." He replied drily. I smirked, "Good. Sereda, find somewhere for this specific Templar to… cool his heels. He was recently attacked by my husband for insulting my character."

At once Sten said, "Then I wish to challenge him to a duel."

I snorted, "He is not worthy of dying to you – he was not worthy of dying to Cullen."

"Husband?" Carver asked.

"It was a grand ceremony – sort of. All of the leaders of Azeroth were there – other than Baine and Thrall. Cullen, Anduin and Alistair all married me at once. When the Divine says jump, apparently, the Revered Mothers don't ask how high."

Another voice entered the conversation; she was 5'5 with brown hair and matching brown eyes. Her skin was a tanned color and she wore chantry robes, "I am Mother Roselle – and I don't think the Divine was expecting you to marry three men when she only demanded the one…"

"They are my life-mates, Mother; besides, the note said anything to get the marriage secured – my condition was that it became a wedding for all of my mates."

"Very well – she will not object anyway; there are no stipulations in the chant or tenants about monogamy anyway."

Sereda said, "What kind of place did you have in mind, commander. The dungeons have some entrails and bodies, but it's still habitable… somewhat."

Reed looked sick and I shook my head, "No, poor man got a career killer assignment for his insult. Just put him in a room and set a guard or two."

Teagan said, "I'll provide the guards. Your king was using the makers holy light in the fight two weeks ago – no one will like that you were insulted."

Irving and Greagoir turned to look at me, "The… Holy Light?"

I shrugged, "He is a Holy Priest – but Azeroth is another world, all priests have that ability."

Reed looked at me with growing horror, "He's a chosen one?"

"No, my cousin Inas is chosen – Anduin is just blessed with Holy magic."

Cullen snorted, "I would have said you were the chosen one with the two godly blessings you have."

"Er… honey, about that…"

"She is a goddess – she's the daughter of the Goddess Elune; we met her, by the way. Elune, I mean. She was the one to confirm that the maker exists," Alistair said idly while fiddling with something.

Roselle blinked, "The goddess of another world… confirmed the Maker exists?"

"Yeah – just not the way you thought. The maker is the very Soul of this world – he could no more abandon it than the sky could. Andraste must have been a speaker – like my uncle, Magni, is for Azeroth."

"You are a goddess?" Rose asked skeptically.

I shrouded the room, "The Shadows are my domain. Look, I don't plan to but into your religion – and I'll even promote it to an extent. After all, I know the Maker Exists, and I know Andraste had a link to the Maker."

Two guards approached, "Your Grace."

I thought nothing of it… until I realized they were addressing me. I nodded, "Would you take Reed here to his room… and make sure he stays there until the Circles contingent is ready to leave?"

"Yes, your grace." One said as they bowed and took control of the man.

"Now, Irving dear, it's time to see to the final preparations for the ritual. Connors room is on the second floor. Follow Lyna, she'll take you there. Alistair, be a sweetie and go have the kitchen make something for lunch? None of us had breakfast and I'm hypoglycemic." I hadn't had a chance to eat at that mess of a meal.

Cullen froze, "What does that mean?"

"Recall my dietary needs – I only take the bare minimum, Cullen. I should be taking about a pint every month; without sufficient blood supply, I don't have a proper blood sugar level – I need to eat real food regularly or I risk going into a coma – and only blood will wake me from that."

"What all happens if you don't eat enough?" Sereda asked.

I thought for a second to recall the information, "My heartbeat can be too slow or too fast, I'll get fatigued, pale, shaky, sweaty, irritable and hungry… anxiety will flare. As it worsens, I can become confused or unable to complete simple tasks, my vision could blur, and I could have fits of seizures or even lose consciousness – the coma part."

"Were you born with this?" Roselle asked.

"Technically… yes. My curse as a Vampire was only activated when I turned 20, but yes. It got worse 4,000 years ago. There are many ways to get Hypoglycemia. Side effects of some medications, excessive drinking of alcohol without eating, a rare growth in the pancreas – the organ that regulates your blood sugar – hormone deficiencies caused from birth or growths of specific tumors… or illnesses in the areas of the liver or kidney. Mine grew worse from long-term starvation which caused my body to not gain the nutrients it needed for so long that my body just… couldn't cope and tried to reset to the minimal food intake. They fed me a few drops of blood each time I went into the coma – that's how I know that blood is the only thing that wakes me in that state. It's not treatable in either Azeroth or Thedas. So I just have to eat regularly and make sure I always have a snack like item on hand for if I miss a meal."

"… Is that why you snagged a piece of bread on our way off the ship?" Greagoir asked softly. I nodded, "It'll hold me over to lunch. Normally I would I eat something high in sugar to compensate, but I had something super sweet late in the night."

Cullen flushed, "So it was you that took my tiny cake!"

I winked at him, "Can you blame me?"

He shook his head with a small smile, "Not at all."

Sten asked, "This is a medical problem that developed from your time being tortured years ago?"

"Well – that was what made it worse, yes. I was fed maybe once a day and it wasn't exactly food that was high in nutrition values. Only when I got pregnant did they start feeding me more often – though the quality was still… questionable."

The poor commander looked sick… as did several others around us. Teagan was the one who voiced the question I could see on many faces, "My Lady… how can you talk of this so openly?"

"It was 4 thousand years ago – or did you miss that part? Sure I was held for 2 centuries, but I worked through it after a few decades. In fact, one of my coping mechanisms was dating only women. I think it was worse for me because the alliance was… unaware that the Forsaken had such urges until then. I had thought I was relatively safe from them."

Cullen hummed, "And your son from… that… was the man I met at our wedding?"

Teagan smiled, "That 'boy' was very helpful in our defense of the village – he was the really tall red-haired one, right? The one that took Bella with him when he left?"

"Yes – Alstus is a hunter by class and an Alchemist by trade. His twin – the one that was kidnapped – was a Paladin like Rulen by class and a beast tamer by trade." The irony – the hunter should have been the beast tamer of the two, but nope.

"Wait – he came, saved the village with you and took a woman as payment?" one Templar sneered.

"Actually, Bella was flirting with me first. When my boy caught her interest, she was caught hook, line and sinker. She went willingly – and is getting her own bar in a floating city." I glared.

"Floating City… right, sure." The man scoffed. I stepped closer to him, "Believe what you will, but if you slander my sons, I will make sure you can scratch your balls through your lips."

Cullen coughed and a few men shifted. The Templar nodded and looked away "Yes, your Grace."

I heard Lyna speak from a doorway, "Commander – the mages have sent Daylen into the fade. The ritual is set to keep him in there until the demon is gone."

I nodded, "Thank you, constable. Greagoir, send a few of your Templars to the room – just in case. I trust Daylen, but who knows what might happen without proper supervision?" he nodded and motioned to 3 of the remaining 4 Templars – ones that weren't Cullen – and I sat at a table.

I looked at Roselle, "Can you fight?"