Ashe

One: What in the Fade was Cullen doing here? And two: Why in Thedas did he have the actual freaking Hero of Ferelden on his arm?

Ashe didn't know what to make of it when the couple walked further into the hall, towards her and the King. She glanced at Alistair, who looked as tense as if someone had just told him that Orlais had declared war on Ferelden. Could Cullen have been right when he'd told her that there was bad blood between the King and the Hero?

She didn't have time to think more on the subject when Cullen and the Hero stopped right in front of her and Alistair. The other woman looked straight at Ashe, ignoring Alistair entirely.

"Inquisitor, I've heard so much about you. I must admit, part of the reason I decided to come here tonight was to seize the opportunity to meet you."

Mahariel extended her hand to Ashe, and Ashe took it in her own, letting her eyes sweep over Mahariel's face while she shook her hand.

The woman had the fullest pair of lips she'd ever seen; round with a pink sheen that made you want to touch them just to see if they were as soft as they looked. Her cheekbones were exquisitely carved out and almost glowing, the cheek underneath tinged with pink. You could see just a hint of her delicate, pointed ears underneath her mane of golden hair, cascading down her shoulders. Simply put, Mahariel was one of the most beautiful people Ashe had ever seen. And she had her arm wrapped around Cullen's. And one look at Alistair told her that the King didn't much approve of the touching either.

Shit.

She pushed the thoughts out of her mind, for the time being, and put on her official Inquisitor face, all professional.

"Lady Mahariel, it's an honor to meet you. Forgive me if I seem a bit dumb-struck, I had no idea that you would be joining us, and with my Commander, no less." She hadn't tried to sound possessive when mentioning Cullen, but judging by the subtly raised eyebrows on Mahariel's face, her comment hadn't gone by unnoticed.

"Oh, really? Alistair invited me." Mahariel's gaze turned to the King, who still stood frozen beside Ashe.

He invited her?

"Well, yes, I..." he began, stuttering and searching for words in a way Ashe had never heard him do before. He was always so sure of himself around her. But with Mahariel present, it seemed... But then he took a deep breath, and Ashe could see how he steeled himself and put on his Kingly manners, much like she had done a moment ago. "You are always invited to these things, Lady Mahariel, you are the Hero of Ferelden. But you never show up, so naturally I hadn't informed the Inquisitor that such an unlikely occurrence might take place. But you are very welcome, of course, and so is the Commander."

Ashe was impressed with Alistair. This was clearly hard for him but he was gracious all the same. Her eyes shifted to Cullen and found him quickly looking away from her. She saw the way he stroked the hand Mahariel had placed on his other arm as soon as she looked at them.

Oh, I see what's going on.

Cullen must have brought Mahariel here because he knew it would, at the very least, unnerve Alistair and maybe take his focus off Ashe. And two birds in one stone, he tried to make her jealous by acting as if there might be something going on between the two of them. Ashe felt the anger rise up inside her. Not only was it rude to try to ruin Alistair's birthday celebrations, but she'd told Cullen that she would come back to be with him if he let her go here without a fuss. But he wanted to meddle, to make her jealous. What made her angriest of all was that it might be working. Alistair was clearly thrown off his game, and was there something going on between Cullen and the ridiculously beautiful Mahariel? She knew that Cullen might just want to make her jealous but why did Mahariel let him touch her that way if she didn't want him to? She didn't exactly look like she pined over the King, no, her expression when she looked at him was quite frosty.

Well, if he wanted to play, so could she. She was the fucking queen of playing these games.

"No, Alistair didn't say anything about you, Lady Mahariel, but what a pleasant surprise!" Ashe's neglect to use his title was very conscious. "I've always wanted to meet you, ever since I was a little girl. I might not be from Ferelden but all of Thedas knows how you saved us all from the Blight. I would have asked Alistair to tell me all about your adventures, of course, but we've had such a fun time together, it's slipped my mind, I'm ashamed to say. I was delighted when he asked me here to be his guest of honor, and I'm even more delighted now that you're here! You must agree to meet with me in private to tell me all about your adventures, and maybe we can discuss some more current affairs as well, regarding the Inquisition and all that. Maybe lunch tomorrow?"

Mahariel nodded, her expression impossible to read. "Of course, Inquisitor. It would be my pleasure."

"Oh, if it's alright with you, Alistair? I know you had plans for us tomorrow but maybe you can survive without me for an hour or two?" She smiled and let her hand stroke his arm, slowly back and forth. That seemed to snap him out of his lingering shock and he smiled back and squeezed her hand.

"Of course, Lady Ashe. But only for an hour or two, yes?" He winked at her and Ashe could see in the corner of her eye how Mahariel's eyebrows raised once again, and Cullen's eyes were narrowed, to say the least.

The Commander cleared his throat. "Your Majesty, I believe it's been a long time since you've spoken to Lady Mahariel so why don't the Inquisitor and I leave the two of you to catch up for a few minutes. We'll go grab something to eat in the meantime."

Alistair nodded. "Of course, where are my manners?"

Ashe didn't have time to protest before Cullen whisked her away to a table at the other side of the hall. She looked back over her shoulder to see Mahariel and Alistair speaking to each other, both their postures stiff.

Good, keep it that way.

She had zero interest in Alistair rekindling something with that woman. She'd learned quickly in her past that the only thing that could disrupt a woman's power over a man was another woman. And Alistair was hers. Well, maybe not yet, but he was an option, her option, not the Hero of Ferelden's.

"Didn't the two of you look cozy when we arrived. Dancing with him like you're his queen already."

Ashe's head snapped towards Cullen. He had his back against the wall where he was leaning casually against it.

"What's the matter with you? Why are you here?" she hissed.

"I'm escorting Lady Mahariel. We're old friends." He looked unfazed by her anger and that pissed her off even more.

"How come you've never told me that, hm? That you're friends with the fucking Hero of Ferelden? How do you know her? She's not a mage."

Cullen chuckled. "I'm only allowed to know Templars and mages? It's a long story, and it's never come up."

"Don't take me for a fool, Cullen. This is no coincidence."

Cullen stepped closer to her, hovering over her. "I admit, I wasn't exactly opposed to coming here to see you." His voice lowered. "But it's only because I missed you. I missed looking at your beautiful face, I missed touching you..." Ashe gasped when his hand traveled down from the hollow of her throat, grazing over one of her breasts before he moved on and let it settle on her stomach, just above her...

"Maker's breath, Cullen, stop it!"

Don't stop...

He chuckled again, the low, throaty sound making Ashe's knees weak. "No one can see us, your exquisite body is shielding us from anyone's view." He took her hand and lowered his head so that no one could see when he caught one of her fingers between his teeth before he sucked on it, humming in appreciation while doing it. Ashe stared at him, angry but trembling with want. She felt a bead of sweat run down from her forehead, all the way down her face before it dropped down and landed between her breasts, inching its way further down, tickling her, teasing her.

Maker, when did it get so hot in here?

Cullen's gaze followed the bead and he licked his lips while his eyes roamed over her cleavage. His eyes were dark with hunger. He pulled her closer and put his lips next to her ear while his other hand cupped her aching breast and he stroked his thumb over her hard nipple. "Tell me you want me to stop."

She couldn't say anything, she was just fighting to keep her breathing under control. His hand moved and before she had time to miss his touch, he pressed it between her legs.

"Andraste, no, Cullen, not here!" He laughed quietly again and she turned around, ready to stalk away when he grabbed her and pulled her back, her back against his chest. She looked around with worry, but Alistair was still talking to Mahariel at the other side of the hall, and the rest of the guests were too busy drinking and talking to notice her and Cullen.

Cullen's hands were gripping her waist firmly, and she could feel the hardness of him pressing into her lower back. He darted his tongue out and licked the top of her ear, and she could barely suppress the moan that wanted to tear itself out of her throat.

"Ashe... You have no idea how much I want to fuck you right now," he whispered in her ear.

It was all she could do to whimper and shake herself off of him before she walked away, feet unsteady, to find the nearest washing room and put her head in some very cold water.