Chronicles of an Elven Bed-warmer
Chapter the sixteenth
Killing Time
I still don't own dragon age. Probably for the best, don't you think?
Somewhere deep in the halls of Highever Castle Lady Eleanor Cousland, wife of Bryce Cousland, Tyrn of Ferelden searched as quickly as dignity allowed for her esteemed husband. She found him sipping his mid-afternoon tea in his office.
"Bryce, Bryce!" the Lady barked excitedly.
"Yes dear?"
"Elissa has sent us a letter."(not the one with the picture, the one from ch...uh, 5 or 6 I think.)
"Oh? That's thoughtful of her. What does it say?"
"I don't know, let me open it." The Lady used her thumb to tear open the envelope. She took a few moments to scan the missive before going a bit pale. "Bryce, we must get to Denerim at once."
The Lord raised one bushy eyebrow. "What's wrong?"
"Aedan has taken up with some floozy." Eleanor handed him the letter.
Lord Cousland quickly scans the contents. "I don't see anything like that..." he concluded.
The Lady snatched it back. "You have to read between the lines."
Bryce was skeptical. "Uh huh. Look Dear, Aedan is more than old enough to see to his own affairs. If he wants to see someone that's his own business. He doesn't need you sticking your nose in."
The Lady harrumphed and crossed her arms over her chest in a defiant manner
Lord Cousland, being Aedan's father and therefore oblivious, considered that to be the end of the discussion.
He would later discover that he was wrong about that too.
0-0
Kallian cautiously made her way towards The Pearl. After such a grueling first day, Elissa had unexpectedly given her a day off. Naturally she had wanted to spend it with Aedan but after being stared at for a half an hour while he worked the young lord suggested she might want to find something else to do, (and wasn't she rather cold dressed like that?)
Kallian sighed. So oblivious. she thought.
So here she was, on her own on the streets of Denerim for the first time since her attempted wedding. She was feeling rather nervous. If a guard recognized her...but no. She looked down at the crest of Highever embossed on her breastplate. She was under a Lord's protection. At least in theory. Of course, there was nothing stopping anyone from just stabbing her in the back and leaving her for dead in some alleyway, but that was normal in Denerim.
Kallian arrived at The Pearl without incident. Business was light, as it tended to be this early in the day. The degenerates that patronized the establishment tended to flock in mostly under the cover of darkness; the really seriously debauched weren't even out of bed yet from last night's bacchanal. Her reasons for coming were twofold: firstly she wanted to let her friends know she wasn't dead, and secondly she needed to inform Madam Lissanna that she had found a better job (and could she please have her back pay?)
There was the Madam over there having her brunch with...was that Cartwright?
"Sargent?"
"Elf."
"How do you know Madam Lissanna?"
"I'll tell you just as soon as I'm convinced it's any of your gods dammed business." Kallian winced at his harsh reaction.
"Now, now Winston, don't be so hard on the poor girl," she admonished the grizzled veteran, who failed to look contrite. She then turned her full attention onto the rogue. "Let's just say we're old friends."(I'm even shipping my own ocs now, I may have a problem.) She stated, leaving it at that. "Now what brings such an infamous personage as yourself to my humble establishment?"
"Er...what?" Kallian checked to see if someone had come up behind her. "Do you mean me?"
The madam snorted in an entirely unladylike manner. "Don't see anyone else here who fought off the Arl's guards to rescue their imperiled cousin, sacrificed herself to the guard to prevent an alienages purge and escaped certain death by seducing Teyrn Cousland's son." She paused to have a bite of egg. "I especially like that last bit, shows versatility."
Luckily distraction came in a welcome form, Isabella was hailing her from across the room.
"Oi! Kallie!"
"Er," Kallian started.
"Go ahead," said Madam Lissanna. "I've already sent your back wages to your father."
Kallian smiled and gave a nod of acknowledgment before heading over to her friend's table.
"These young people," groused Cartwright. "So easily distracted."
The Elven Madam responded with a derisive snort and a friendly kick in the shin.
0-0
As she approached Isabella's table she noticed that the pirate had unfamiliar company. Bearing in mind that Isabella's friends were not always the most couth of individuals she checked her daggers.
The pirate's companions on this particular occasion were an extremely attractive elven man with tan skin, blonde hair and an aura on the more dangerously interesting side of very shady, as well as – she did a double take. Was that a female qunari? She had known intellectually that they must exist, but she'd never actually seen one until now. She was surprisingly pretty, all in all. This one seemed quite young. While towering over Kallian at an impressive six foot five, she was rather underdeveloped compared to other qunari she'd seen, and her horns hadn't quite come in fully. Kallian suspected the girl to be no more than fifteen, sixteen at the most. From the way she held herself, the rogue could tell that she was quite an experienced warrior, despite her tender age.
The qunari stood like a guard to the side of the table where the other two were...not exactly sitting. Isabella and the elf were entwined together with a familiar intimacy that made Kallian slightly uncomfortable. There were, presumably, twenty fingers and two tongues between the two of them, but Kallian never counted all of them at the same time, as they kept disappearing into hair, under clothes and off to various other, more imaginative locales. Kallian found it hard to tear her eyes away from what he was doing to Isabella's ear. She suspected that this was the kind of man her father had warned her about. She found him almost irresistibly attractive. Think of Aedan, she told herself.
"Kallie," slurred the drunken pirate. "Have you met Zevie here?" She gave the man an affectionate pinch on the cheek and licked her lips salaciously. "He's a real sweetie, yes he is."
"Ah ha ha, my dear, you'll ruin my reputation as a notorious libertine." 'Zevie' protested, two of his fingers demonstratively teasing along her plunging décolletage in stalwart defense of said reputation.
"He's got a secret," Isabella loudly whispered to Kallian, ignoring him. Her hand slid down his chest and disappeared under the table, leaving one to wonder just what sort of secret she was referring to.
"'Bella…"
"Shush you, Kallie's good with secrets. Right Kallie?"
"Er...yes?"
"You know that book I gave you?" she leered. "The one with all the helpful advice for...newlyweds?"
Kallian flushed faintly. "Yes."
"Well, this guy," she put her other arm around Zevran, "this lovely, lovely man, wrote it!" She nodded, as if agreeing with herself; her hand did something under the table made the Zevran sit up just a little straighter. "And I helped!"
The lovely, lovely man gave a resigned sigh. "You always do this to me Isabella."
"I'm proud of you, darling! I don't know anyone else who's written a book, let alone such a popular and instructive one." The hand draped over Zevran's shoulder came up to fondle the shell of his pointed ear, while her other arm flexed in a way that implied defiance of several laws of physics going on under the table. Zevran purred. "Even I found it educational."
"It is pretty impressive," Kallian interjected a little desperately, then blushed more deeply.
"Well then, it seems a proper introduction is in order," he detangled himself from Isabella and stood up, adopting a declarative pose; Kallian very carefully kept her eyes front above the level of his trousers, which were currently failing to hide the state of his infamous 'secret'. "I am Zevran Ariani of Antiva, also know in among certain specialized circles as The Antivan Gentleman." He kissed Kallian's hand and gave her a smoldering look as his lips and fingers flexed against hers in a way that was at once completely innocent and utterly wicked.
Kallian blushed and turned away. AedanAedanAedanAedan... she chanted in her head. Zevran was dangerously charming.
"Stop that Zev," warned Isabella. "She's taken. By quite a high ranking noble I might add." She turned to the rogue. "Kallie, Kallie, Kallie, I had no idea you had it in you! Seducing your way out of prison," she paused to wipe away an imaginary tear. "My little girl is all grown up."
"H-hey, it wasn't like that! Also, how do you know about that?"
"Everyone knows," answered the qunari.
"Ah, yes, Miss Adarr, glad you could join us. Miss Tabris, this is Hanah Adarr, my Tal'vashoth bodyguard and ahem… research assistant."
The enormous girl flushed a deep red and gave an adorable little squeak as Isabella pinched her ass.
"Hey, back on subject! What really happened?"
"I don't know; I just woke up at his house."
"So you don't know what actually happened?"
"Aedan paid a rather hefty bribe, but beyond that I have no idea."
"Ooo!" squeed Isabella. "How mysterious. Still it's a bit of a letdown. Does that mean you're not his lover either?"
Kallian blushed. "Well, er..."
"Ha! You are, aren't you? Called it!"
"Well," Kallian suddenly found the table top completely fascinating. "J-just since yesterday."
Isabella let loose another squee. "It's just so sweet, don't you think so Zev?"
"Hmm? Yeah, sure." The elven Lothario had been attempting to seduce his assistant using only his eyebrows. It appeared to be going quite well.
The pirate rolled her eyes. "Go on then, I'll be along in a bit."
"Ah, well, excuse us then." Zevran rose from the table and led away the blushing guard.
Isabella sighed. "She's starting to get attached, that won't end well..." she shook of her brief bout of melancholy. "So you're doing okay?"
"Yes, surprisingly."
"Good. You know how to find me if you need anything. Now I should probably go and make sure those two don't wreck anything. Unless you wanted to join in?"
"Uh, no thank you," the elf quickly answered. "It was nice catching up."
0-0
Later that day Aedan was still working in his office when all of a sudden he had an epiphany. Kallian had wanted to have sex with him this morning. Ah, he nodded, that explained a lot. Then he calmly got back to what he was doing.
Another few minutes passed.
Wait, he wanted that too.
She hadn't come to see him last night after dinner. Somewhat concerned, he went to check on her. Kallian had been so exhausted from Elissa's training that she had fallen asleep while changing. He woke her up enough that she could finish then left her to spend the first night in her own bed for quite some time. Aedan found he had difficulty sleeping without her comforting presence next to him.
And now he couldn't concentrate. He wondered if Kallian had come back yet, and if so, was she still in the mood?
Deciding abruptly that the answers to those questions were much more important than...whatever it was he was currently doing, he bolted from his office to find out.
Forty-five minutes later, having searched the entire estate from top to bottom, he had come to the conclusion that the elf in question was not in the building.
Therefore, logic dictated she must be out in the city somewhere. On one level he was worried. Pretty much anything could happen to her out there without him to protect her. On a more primitive, selfish level he was angry with her. After spending most of the last hour crashing about the mansion, he really wanted to have her here right now. How dare she lead him on and then disappear! It was downright rude! If there was one thing Aedan wouldn't stand for it was rudeness.
He realized that this was entirely irrational line of thought, but that did little to stem his growing irritation. He decided that if his servant did not show up in the next two hours he would...well he wasn't sure. But something. That'd show her.
So a half an hour later when his wayward elf finally deigned to make an appearance, she was snatched up over a broad shoulder and manhandled to Aedan's bed chamber, where she was taught such a thoroughlesson in manners that no one else in the household got any sleep that night either.
Well, maybe not the most lengthy of chapters but yeah, a bit of filler before the landsmeet. Also the Zevran Cameo I promised.
And if any of you like Soul Calibur, you might want to check out my new story, Taming Tira. It's about...well, what it says on the wrapper.
And Merry Christmas.