Chapter Eleven

The One – NSFW


The second the door was closed, Cullen had me pressed against a wall as he kissed me. I gasped at the feelings stirring within me.

When he pulled back, I muttered, "Re-remember… I've never… done this before – not properly…"

"Then you've never done this at all – because that… never counts, my wife." Cullen said softly as he caressed my cheek.

A flush lit my cheek – my many therapists had said some of the same; rape isn't sex and therefore, I was still a virgin. So what if I no longer had that little ball of blood? I mean, I had it now, I guess; but their point was that sex had to be consensual for it to be sex. I had argued that I had consented – to save the other girls.

My first therapist had sprayed me with a water gun and said, "You didn't consent – you were pressured. Consent comes from a willingness to sleep with a person no matter the words they tell you to get you in their embrace; they could say 'I love you' or 'I miss you' or even just 'have you eaten today?' and you would still be just as willing. That is consent. You agreeing to be their 'toy' as you call it in order to save others is not consent, Celeste."

I looked Cullen in the eye, "I… I think I'm a bit scared."

After all – the only experience I had was painful. No matter how many times those men had abused my body, I'd never once felt anything good… I read smut, but I was terrified to even touch myself after that experience.

Cullen pulled me gently over to the bed, "You hold all the power here, Celeste; if you tell me to stop at any point, then I will stop. I know we haven't known each other long – and honestly, part of me is still questioning if this is real – but I have grown to care for you… maybe you knocked my brain a little in our sparring matches."

I laughed, "Maybe I did – but then, maybe you knocked mine too; I think I love you, Cullen. I do want this – I just… don't have good experience with it."

He removed his mantle and armor – leaving him in the rough cotton shirt and leather pants. He looked good in casual and I bit my lip as I looked him over.

He smirked, "I get that look when I see you in your training outfit, you know. All I ever want to do when I see you in it is kiss you. I fully intended to wait until you got back from the Hinterlands to make any sort of move in this direction – but… I guess I'm weaker than I care to admit when it comes to you. Tell me to stop – and I will…"

He pressed his lips to mine again and I moaned as he slowly leaned me back on the bed.

His hand roamed my body lightly and I gasped as he pinched my nipple lightly. He kissed along my jaw, "Okay?"

I nodded as my breathing sped up. My hands came up to fist in his shirt, "I-I… I want… more?"

He smirked and pulled away – causing me to whine before he chuckled and moved to tug on my shirt. I sat up to help him.

His hands played with my breasts as I bit my lip and reached for his shirt, "I… can I… touch you?"

His breath hitched and I saw the hesitation his gaze before he went to remove his shirt. I swallowed hard at my first look at the scars littering his chest. I reached out and traced a finger along a particularly deep looking scar on the left side of his chest.

"How did you survive that?"

He sighed, "My… I was apparently born with my heart on the wrong side; it was the only reason I lived through that."

I blinked, "I… I have Dextrocardia too; situs inversus totalis means the heart is completely mirrored – veins and… all of it; it affects 1 in 10,000 live births. Most just don't actually know until they need medical attention for any reason. I didn't know until I was years with the Navy – they would have turned me away if they'd known before that I had a medical condition. I didn't have anything else wrong, so… they let me stay. It's rare – what are the chances that we both have it?"

"Well – I'll worry less if you get stabbed then," he muttered as he went back to seducing me; I think he realized I'd gotten a little overwhelmed – thus why he answered about the scar.

It wasn't long from there that we were both naked – taking little breaks (damn my fear) to learn a little more about one another.

His hand moved after a while – going from my chest to trail down to my core. The moment his hand made contact, I gasped in pleasure.

"C-Cullen…" I whimpered. He kissed my neck gently, "It will hurt a little the first time – but I will try to be gentle, Celeste…"

I nodded, "I trust you."

He gave me a wicked smirk before kissing his way down my body. My eyes widened – surely he wasn't…

The moment his breath wafted against my core, I cried out. He chuckled, "A bit of pleasure… might cut down on the pain…"

I had my hands fisted in the sheets beneath me as his tongue worked magic on me – I whimpered and my back arched – it took me far too long to realize he was spelling out the runic alphabet with his tongue…

I had heard about that trick – pay attention to what 'letters' made the woman squirm the most and repeat them from then on; it was a trick I'd read in a smutty romance book at one point. I had to say, it was apparently very good advice. I put my wrist in my mouth and bit down to keep from screaming as it felt like I shattered.

He lined up while I was still spasming on the bed and thrust gently. A tear fell from my eye as I felt a bit of pain. He stopped, "Tell me when you think you're ready – or if I need to stop."

I was breathing hard as I whispered, "T-This… is that… what an orgasm feels like?"

He blinked before looking relieved and saying, "It is – and most women can have that more than once while having sex. Men don't… usually… get that benefit. Alistair once told me he thinks that women can because it's the reward for the pain that women go through… the first time and with childbirth."

I snorted, "I think humanity would have died out long ago if sex wasn't enjoyable… in fact I heard a whole speech about it… I'll tell you later – I want to see if I can do that again…"

He smirked and slowly began moving – his stroke were deliberate and gentle; each time going a little deeper than before. Gods' Blood… I felt so full and as though I was being stretched. It was a little uncomfortable, but not… painful or unpleasurable.

He pressed a kiss to my jaw, then my chin, my cheeks, eyelids, nose and finally my lips, "My wife – my admiral… I am yours… Maker… I don't think I'll last very long though – it has been… about 3 years…"

His breath was quick, his voice strained and his muscles taunt with effort. I bit my lip, "I want you, Cullen… please."

He groaned and his thrusting quickened – harder and faster; my hands roamed his body as I felt the pleasure building within me again; my hands clenching against his back as I got close, "Cu-Cullen… d-don't stop… oh, God… don't stop…"

He growled approvingly as his hand moved between us – finding my clit once more to gently rub circles around it. I cried out, "Y-Yes… Ah… F-fuck…"

I bit into his shoulder as I came again – he groaned my name as he buried his face in my shoulder; giving one final thrust and stilling.

He collapsed – pulling me with him as he moved to the side so as not to squish me. I curled into his embrace.

"Oh… I should have thought to ask… what about precautions against er… pregnancy?" He was flushed as he asked.

I snorted, "At 23, I received a 3 year birth control implant – and upon my inspections after waking up younger, I discovered the implant in my arm; I still have two years where I won't get my period or have a child unless I cut the damn thing out of my arm. Here, feel this spot right here…"

I took his two fingers and pressed lightly against my upper left arm on the inside. His eyes widened, "It's so… small – and nowhere near where I would imagine it should be…"

"It controls my hormones to prevent pregnancy – meaning my body just doesn't release the eggs or 'prepare' for them; which is why I don't get the bleeding every three months."

"I thought it was every month?" he looked confused and flushed.

"Usually – but mine is every three months; like clockwork, every 90 days lasting 3 days. I can even count down the seconds to when it starts when I don't have the implant in. It is convenient – because this means I also know when I'll ovulate; in other words, I know when I can get pregnant – a five day window two weeks after my periods end. After the age of 40, I didn't need the implant anymore, and by then I had already switched birth control methods anyway; it isn't a good idea to stick to one type for too long. So I can't get pregnant right now –and I could get pregnant as soon as my next cycle hits if I remove it… I'll keep it in for now. That's the good news with the implant – after removing, there isn't a wait time to try and get pregnant; if I'd been given the shot, then it would take 3-18 months."

He looked surprised, "Really? If a woman takes the tea that… prevents pregnancy… it only works for the one time and it… isn't always effective."

"Same for the implant or the shot or the pills – they aren't fool-proof; if I do happen to get pregnant on the implant though, I will be surprised and I will cut the thing out at once… because it wouldn't be safe for the baby to keep it in. But the chances are so low – it would be a .01% chance for me to conceive with this implant in."

Cullen held me closer, "I do wish that we could have a child… but Alistair… well, I won't… we can always have our own after that, right?"

I smiled softly before yawning and saying, "I would certainly hope so… I've always wanted a family."

He stroked my hair, "Get some sleep, love – you have a long day tomorrow."

I pulled a face – he laughed and kissed my forehead. I was… happy.


The next morning – before dawn – word was already all over the place that Cullen and I had gotten married the previous night… that was fucking fast.

I learned that Leliana had mentioned it to Flissa only 3 hours before Cullen and I hauled our asses from bed – and Flissa managed to tell the whole fucking Inquisition in that time. Cullen – to his everlasting credit – took this part in stride and simply held me close the whole morning.

Flissa – we were getting breakfast – asked me, "So what was gonna happen with the fancy wedding? I was kind of looking forward to it…"

"Oh it will still happen – once we close the Breach, King Alistair and several others will make an appearance for our 'fancy' wedding… Cullen and I just couldn't wait any longer and chose to get married last night. Can you believe that he was so worried about me being out of his sight that he proposed to me in my cabin before dinner?"

I could see the coo forming on her lips. Blake plopped down beside me, "Thank god for you knowing how to insulate the house with sound-proofing… I slept like a baby."

I snorted, "So you tossed and turned and cried every two hours while wetting yourself?"

He flushed, "Er… fine… I slept like the dead."

Cullen was chuckling, "Well, I haven't felt so refreshed in years. Celeste… promise me that you'll return unharmed?"

"I'll return… alive? I can't promise anything about harm – there are Templars and mages and bandits and desperate folk and demon controlled wolves in the Hinterlands; I may come home with a new scar or two… but I will promise that I won't match your scars?"

He sighed, "Even if you did… at least I know you'd live."

"Yeah – what are the odds of three people with a rare heart condition at one table? Blake has it too… oh… why didn't I…? I need a council meeting before we go – I have two hours before we need to be on the road – Blake; I want a roll call and a Reveille – stat."

He pulled out his trumpet and rushed outside to do just that. Cullen opened his mouth as I pulled him outside – just in time to see Blake, somehow on top of the tavern already – begin playing Reveille – a.k.a the First Call or 'Military bugle'.

Everyone began gathering around – and once he saw all the people he wanted to see, he saluted, "Council meeting before Admiral Rutherford heads out to the Hinterlands – all inner circle members are to report to the War Room!"

Elissa and Nate showed up too. Blake closed the door once everyone was in… Cassandra asked, "What was that…?"

"It's how we wake up people in boot camp or army camps. I needed a council meeting because I just figured out why it doesn't make sense – why Blake is here."

Blake frowned, "I thought it made sense – I'm your best friend and you wished on a star, right?"

"No – I didn't. Blake think for a second – what are we always saying?"

"That… children are a bad investment but we still want them?" he asked.

I snorted as Elissa coughed. I shook my head, "No you dolt – that you and me are one person!"

"Oh – that; it goes without saying, right? I'm you in the body of a man and you're me in the body of a woman… we're so alike that we shouldn't work well together, but we do. With anyone else, I'm more like you, but we already established that you are the supreme between us so…"

"Exactly – and if I'm from Thedas and you're from Earth originally… how did you get here?" I was trying to lead him to the proper conclusion…

"Wait – are you saying we really are the same person – that we're alternate versions of each other like in that movie 'The One' with Jet Li? But we look nothing alike!"

I face palmed, "No fucking shit? Here I thought I was seeing something different from everyone else and had a notion to put you in a damn dress and high heels to take my place as Inquisitor. Just because we're the same person doesn't mean we're exactly the same! Look, I'm saying that with two of us on Earth, the Fade didn't know which of us the Thedas one was so… it took us both. You're literally only here because you are me and I come from here. We have the same medical condition, the same temperament when dealing with others, the same likes and dislikes… we are the same fucking person."

Cullen sighed, "Does this mean I married him too?"

Blake was nodding happily but I said, "No – you married Celeste not Blake, so no. We're the same metaphysically, but not the same… it's a convoluted multi-verse theory. This means that there was a version of each of you on Earth too. But with 7 billion people, it's a wonder I managed to find Waldo here at all."

Blake looked affronted before giggling, "Heh – plot twist indeed; Waldo did find himself, didn't he?"

I snorted and shook my head, "Look – I'm just saying that I figured it out; we are the same person and that's why the Fade kidnapped you too."

Varric was scribbling away as he asked, "That thing you mentioned, 'The One' – what was that?"

Blake explained it while I rubbed my nose.

I leaned against Cullen and said, "My point is that I was brought back when the world went to shit because the magic that sent me away must have fractured when the sky did – and the magic couldn't figure out which one was me – either because I spent too much time with the 'other me' or because we are literally the same person – so it brought us both. This makes a lot of sense, actually… I remembered a snippet of how I got here and the rift that appeared affected nothing else on that ship other than me. Now we need to figure out what magic sent me to Earth in the first place – because if it can do it once… I'm worried someone might try again – and I won't go without a fight. And I would think that this might also be a priority for the lot of you – Elissa and Alistair need me to get an heir; and I'm her sister. Cullen just married me. I know what needs doing – I'm too valuable. This is more of a reason for us to go for the Rebel Mages, unfortunately – I'll explain later… but we don't want to risk me being torn from Thedas again; who knows if that will take Blake too… for all I know the two of us are linked forever now."

"You don't need to justify us looking into it – we will look into it." Elissa said firmly.

I sighed, "Thank you – just feel bad that I only have one lead that I can't even tell you about yet."

Blake shrugged, "Don't worry about it – hey; don't worry about it. They aren't gonna kick you out; you're the Inquisitor and already made things a fuck-ton easier for them… besides, Cullen would up and walk out if they did."

Cullen nodded firmly, "You're my wife – my allegiance is to you first and foremost."

I chuckled, "I wouldn't let you leave the Inquisition, Cullen – you're needed here… but thank you."

Elissa tossed something lightly at me; I caught it… it was a small box with three stones in it. Two were emerald, but one of the stones was white. I poked at one of the green ones, "What are these?"

"Sending stones – they come in a variety of gems… the white one is connected to Alistair while the Emeralds are a set… consider it a wedding gift between you and Cullen."

I passed one of the stones to Cullen and he slipped the silver chain around his neck while I did the same.

I spoke, "Thank you, Elissa… Cullen, is it okay if I tell Alistair what you and I discussed before we got married?"

"Well, I should hope so – considering what was… what was said," he flushed and looked away, rubbing his neck. Blake gave me a look, "I need Deets… now."

"I already told you – Cullistair; totally true," I smirked.

Blake groaned, "That is my second favorite Fanon ship!"

I tilted my head, "What was your favorite…?"

"I ship Hawke and Cullen too."

Cullen flushed deeper and said, "It was one night – Maker, I will never live this down…"

The whole room was staring at Cullen. Cassandra was red, but Varric shook his head, "I thought Hawke was fucking with me; you seemed too… strict to sleep with anyone. I still can't believe you slept with the King but Hawke?"

I looked at him, "When I get back, I want to hear about that in detail… like, I need to know – was Fenris involved or was it before Fenris got back with Hawke; was it at the Amell estate; did you know Hawke was a mage at the time…? These are all very important questions… I need to know."

He cleared his throat, "H-how important?"

I pulled him down and whispered in his ear, "I will reward you for the information with… a strip-tease…"

His eyes went wide and he said, "Then I suppose I can… prepare a report for you, inquisitor… Makers' Breath…"

Blake sniggered, "What did you promise him?"

"Noneya," I quipped at him.

"But…" he pouted. I shook my head, "He's mine – and he doesn't seem interested in you… kindly make your way to the exit of this conversation or I will make sure you find the window instead."

He pouted more, "Yes, oh-supreme one."

"W-What is Noneya?" Josie asked.

"It means 'Noneya buissness' – in shorthand," Varric replied. I curled into Cullen and looked up at him, "Now – give me a kiss before I head off for the Hinterlands to find me a Revered Mother and remember – 3 days after I leave, you need to begin heading out with the supplies for the three watchtowers if we want Master Dennet – and we do want the Horse Master."

He smirked, "At least I won't be away from you for too long this time – I'm well aware there might be times when you're gone for weeks at a time."

"Sometimes as long as a month or two…" I sighed.

"Right well… you should be off then," he caressed my cheek – he usually wasn't one for public displays of affection. I leaned into his hand and smiled softly, "I should – at least Blake has established a training regime so it won't hurt the troops for you to come to the Hinterlands. I'll call you every night, Cullen – I know you're a worrier."

He chuckled, "I never denied that – I do worry." He leaned in and kissed me, "I will see you soon."

I nodded and heard the girls all cooing. I wrinkled my nose at them, "Behave… if you tease him about this, he gets less affectionate in public… and I like the cute touches and random kisses."

Elissa held her hands up in surrender, "Loud and clear… Inquisitor."

I shook my head, "I'm going to regret having that title – I just know it."

We made our way out toward the exit – for us to leave Haven. Cullen gave me one more kiss before I hopped up on the lovely white Halla with silver Horns. There was an extra Halla carrying a litter – to pull our things.

I was very worried that the delicate looking deer beneath me would crumble under the weight – but Solas reassured me that they could lift more than double what I weighed.

Ellana sniggered, "You are such a Shem."

"No – I thought I was a dwarf; it will be such a relief to grow another 3-4 inches overnight." I quipped back at her. Maxwell sniggered, "So – Waves – let's all play 20 questions! I'm curious about more than I've heard was covered in the Tavern."

"Oh for… you're telling me that game became popular?" I asked in exasperation.

Cassandra snorted, "Of course it did – it gives people an acceptable reason to be nosey."

I shot a look at Varric, "I don't know… I feel like I should blame you for this."

"What, me? Well, I never," he grinned… confirming my words. I sighed, "Fine – but I'm going first; Favorite Color?"

Max answered, "I used to love green – but this whole… breach thing and the mark on my hand… I have to say black."

"Come on, Waves – we already know yours is 'Whisky Amber' like a certain someones' eyes." Varric smirked.

"Uh-huh; he's got those eyes that just scream that he could do good things in the bedroom… and it doesn't hurt how expressive his eyes are too – you weren't watching his eyes during the talk with Elissa yesterday; he wasn't angry – that's why I didn't outright reject the proposal…"

Cassandra shot in, "Gold – my favorite is gold."

Ellana shrugged, "Green."

Solas – begrudgingly – answered, "Burnt Yellow…" liar, liar.

I sniggered while the Varric said, "Brown – like Bianca here."

Maxwell spoke, "My turn! What's your favorite food – like of anything; not a specific dessert or whatever but out of everything, what is your favorite?"

I thought for a minute and sighed, "A crispy cookie layered with peanut butter and covered in chocolate… ironically, they're called 'Tagalongs'…"

Varric barked a laugh, "I'm flattered."

We continued that way all damn day – I learned that Varric really couldn't tell an honest answer half the time; Cass was the one to call him on it most of the time.