Chronicles of an Elven Bed-warmer
Chapter the Fifteenth:
Other Things
Some rather large legalish looking gentleman have informed me that I am obligated to say that I don't own Dragon Age.
Shianni awoke slowly. The first thing she noticed was how much her face hurt. She appeared to be in a small but quite well appointed bedroom.
"Where...?" Then it all came back to her. That terrifying woman. People in armor shouldn't be able to move that fast. No wonder her face hurt; she was probably lucky to be alive.
There came a knock at the door.
"You awake in there?" called an unfamiliar voice. Without waiting for an answer the speaker just barged straight into the room, and was revealed to be a middle aged elfin woman in servant's clothes. She was carrying what appeared to be a piece of raw meat, which she then proceeded to thrust into Shianni's face.
"Hold this there," she instructed, indicating Shianni's bruised countenance. "It'll help keep the swelling down."
The redhead did as she was told. Her face immediately began to feel a little better. "Er...thank you, um?"
"Mrs. Russel, dear. But I mostly go by Elle."
"Ah, well, thank you, Elle."
"You're quite welcome," she responded pleasantly. "Now if you'll excuse me, there's a queue forming outside of people waiting to have a word with you," the maid continued, a hint of warning in her voice, as she left the room.
After a brief pause, Kallian came rushing through the door and glomped onto the startled redhead.
"Ohthankthemakeryou'realright! You are alright, aren't you? No lingering effects? How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Four. Kallian, I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, there's nothing wrong with me."
"Good." Kallian sighed before taking a step back and smacking her cousin upside the head. "What were you THINKING!?"
"Ow," Shianni commented. "I was thinking you had gotten yourself into trouble again, and I was trying help you get back out of it."
"Oh," replied Kallian, nonplussed. "It wasn't anything like that," she continued tentatively. "We were just training."
"Well how was I to know that? You were getting the shit kicked out of you!" Shianni responded in withering tones.
"Sorry!" Kallian squeaked.
They sat in awkward silence for a few moments.
"What… is that smell?" Shianni sniffed the meat pressed against her face suspiciously.
"Um...that might be me," Kallian admitted. "I haven't had a chance to bathe yet."
"Please do so now," said a regal voice from the doorway.
Shianni turned her head to see the enormous noblewoman from earlier standing in the doorway.
Kallian hesitated. "Milady..." she started.
"Ah, ah, ah, what did we discuss?" Elissa interrupted.
Kallian lowered her eyes and flushed in embarrassment. "M-master."
A joyously smug look passed over the redheaded noble's face. "Good girl." she remarked and patted Kallian on the head.
Well, that was incredibly demeaning. And 'Master'? What exactly was going on here? Shanni was about to say something when Kallian gave her a look and shook her head. Now Shianni was even more confused. Vowing to get the details later, she acceded to her cousin's silent request and let it pass.
While this was going on Elissa noted that Kallian hadn't moved.
"I'm not going to do anything… unwarranted," she reassured her.
The rouge stood firm.
Elissa raised an eyebrow. "I see we're going to have to work on your trust issues."
"Yes, mila- er, master."
Elissa shrugged. "Oh, well, I guess there's no reason you can't hear this. Though I suppose this means Aedan will be bathing alone," she added slyly.
Kallian twitched a bit, but managed to resist.
Elissa sighed and then turned her attention to Shianni. "Young lady, I think you'll find that when attempting to assassinate someone it will go better if you don't yell 'Hey You!' beforehand."
The two elves stared incredulously at Elissa.
"Um...is that it?" hazarded Kallian.
"Should there be more?"
"Um..."
"I suspect Queen Anora will have more to say on the matter when you return to the palace."
"Oh, er..." Shianni experienced a chill of foreboding.
"Your friend Ser Mahiri is around here somewhere. Kallian, you really do smell foul, please do take care of that. I shall fetch the esteemed Ser. Good day, Miss Tabris."
With that she turned and left the room.
The elves sat there for a few moments, blinking at each other.
"Er, Kallian?" Shianni queried after several moments.
"Yes?"
"Who the hell was that?"
"Lord Aedan's sister, Elissa Cousland."
"Isn't she the one you're always going on about? The 'Crusher', or something?"
"Yep."
"Damn."
"Yep."
The two contemplated this for a few more minutes.
"Did you want to talk to me about something?"
"Eh, not really." Having the most dangerous woman in Ferelden brush off your assassination attempt put Shianni's previous feelings of personal inadequacy into perspective and they suddenly felt far more manageable.
"Actually, though," Shianni began, "what was up with tha-" then stopped as she realized she was alone. Kallian had departed to bathe with that Aedan guy.
She sighed.
0-0
Kallian quickly made her way to the bath, not exactly running but walking very briskly. Hopefully she hadn't missed him.
As it turned out she needn't have worried, for there he was at the doorway. Talking to someone. As she got closer she noticed a rather feminine shape to that particular someone. It was a someone Kallian didn't know. A someone with a rather muscular build, which did nothing to diminish that someone's conspicuous loveliness.
Kallian felt the unfamiliar burn of jealousy deep in her stomach. There were a few ways she could react. She could:
a) Tackle the strange female to the ground and dance the five knuckle shuffle all over her face.
b) Saunter over to Aedan drape herself over him like he was the source of all the world's chocolate until the other girl got the hint and left.
c) act like a mature, rational being, trust her significant other and discretely introduce herself like a civilized person, then wait for the interloper to leave and jump on Aedan for sexy-fun times in the bath.
There was a precarious moment of indecision before she shrewdly decided on 'c' and stepped up at a discreet distance, waiting for Aedan to notice her. All things considered, it was for the best that this happened fairly quickly.
"Ah, Kallian," Aedan said, "let me introduce you. This is Ser Mahiri of the royal guards."
Remembering her etiquette lessons, she attempted a curtsy.
Aedan nodded in approval and Kallian tried not to break out in a goofy grin. It took so little from him to make her almost obnoxiously happy. She wondered if that should worry her.
"Ser Mahiri, this is my bodyguard, Kallian Inri." Aedan introduced.
The knight nodded in greeting. "Hello."
"I think Lady Elissa is looking for you." Kallian interjected.
"Then I guess I had better go find her," Mahiri reluctantly acknowledged. "Nice meeting you Lord Aedan, Miss Inri," the knight added as she went on her way.
Alone at last! thought Kallian. And then, as usual, she was struck with a sudden case of nerves.
"Er...hey." she greeted awkwardly.
"Hey," he returned equally awkward.
They stood silently for several moments.
"So," Aedan finally managed to say. "What's up?"
"Got kinda sweaty during training, so, you know, headed to the bath," she answered.
"Ah, so am I, actually."
"Could you -"
"Would you like -"
They tripped over each others words, both flushing with embarrassment.
"Er..." started Kallian.
"Need someone to wash your back?" Aedan interrupted.
Kallian was surprised. Usually she had to initiate. She grinned a saucy grin.
"As a matter of fact..."
0-0
Later, after a very thorough washing, the couple rested in Aedan's study. The lord sat on one side of the settee, while Kallian, her exhaustion from that morning's training finally catching up with her, lay dozing with her head in his lap. Her short robe had come undone and while it still, just barely, preserved her modesty it made quite obvious the fact that she wasn't wearing anything else.
Aedan was giving half his attention to reading some papers in one hand while idly stroking the delicate outer edge of her ear with the other. It was quite the idyllic scene. As such it couldn't last. There was a knock at the door.
"Aedan?" It was Elissa.
"Shhh!" he replied.
The young Lady Cousland quietly entered the room and almost burst out laughing when she took in her brother's situation.
"You're adorable," she grinned. "Both of you. Actually, I'll be right back. Stay exactly as you are!"
She returned barely a minute later with her drawing supplies.
"Now don't move." She whisper/ordered.
Aedan frowned as she got to work.
"Did you want something." he asked after several minutes.
"Hmm? Oh, nothing important. Well not as important as capturing this tender moment, of course."
Aedan wanted to get up and smack her, but that would disturb Kallian, and that wouldn't do at all. Thus he was trapped, and Elissa knew it. So he gallantly chose to grin and bear it – or rather, to make a disapproving, put-upon face and bear it.
"There," she said with a final flourish of her quill. "Done." She held it up to show him.
"It quite good." he begrudgingly admitted.
"Yes," she agreed. "I believe I shall call it 'My Little Brother Can't be This Cute'." The lady nodded, as if agreeing with herself. "Well, I'm off to send this to mother and father. Ta!" And with that she left.
Kallian started to snore.
Aedan sighed.
0-0
Meanwhile, after a ride in the Cousland's very comfortable carriage, which, due to frequent paroxysms of dread, Shianni was unable to enjoy, the scene at the Royal Palace was significantly less serene.
"What were you THINKING?!" the Queen bellowed.
The Queen's volume all but blew Shianni and Mahiri backwards; they squinted doggedly into the face of the oncoming tirade.
"Er..." the knight responded timidly.
"YOU WEREN'T THINKING AT ALL!" The Queen slapped her hand down hard on the nearest convenient flat surface, a tastefully ornate, rather obliging and completely innocent table that had done nothing at all to deserve being treated in such a manner. Everyone within earshot quickly remembered that they had pressing appointments to keep elsewhere.
"Did it even once occur to you what manner of unholy shitstorm that would arise if TWO nobles were killed by elves?!"
"Er.."
"One is bad enough, but TWO? To the paranoid imbeciles that make up our ruling class, that's evidence enough of a conspiracy! You could have incited a purge!"
The Queen continued on like that for quite some time. Shianni personally felt this amount of ranting and raving should be beneath a queen's dignity, but wisely kept the thought to herself. She was legitimately frightened of being thrown into the dungeons and never again seeing the light of day.
The Queen then turned to Ser Mahiri, who was visibly sweating.
"And YOU! You were supposed to keep her out of trouble. 'No problem' you said. Well I consider this to be a pretty massive problem!"
"Anora." interrupted King Calian.
The Queen instantly deflated. She pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Just...go." she gestured away with her hand. "And don't let me see you for a while."
The two miscreants quickly bowed and scuttled from the room.
Calian went over and rubbed Anora's shoulders.
"I should really have them both flogged." she lamented.
"Now, now, you don't mean that," he said in a soothing voice. "At least it was only Elissa," he added encouragingly.
Anora gave him a funny look.
"You know what I mean." he elaborated. "Someone on our side."
"Mmm, there is that," she agreed. "Is there any of the good brandy left? I could use a drink."
See, it's not dead at all! Mearly resting. For a rather considerable amount of time...(Sweats)
Yeah got a bit of the old writer's block. But here you go, a new chapter.
Edited again by Born-of-elven-blood. Apologies to anyone who offered their services as Beta, but I think I'll stick with her. If for no other reason than I know where she lives so if she takes to long I can yell at her.
Anyway, that's all folks!