~A Love Revealed~

The night quickly became cool as the sun faded below the horizon. As Larissa looked out the window, she wondered how many more darkspawn her and her companions would have to meet before they faced the true challenge…the archdemon. The Landsmeet was slated for two days from today. There it will be decided how the blight would be handled. For the time being, they were all being treated to warmth, soft beds, food and hot water, thanks to Arl Eamon. Larissa was more than happy to take him up his offer. She was also sure everyone else was grateful to not spend the night in the cold woods, with the fear of a darkspawn attack heavy on their minds. With a heavy sigh, she wondered what each of her companions was doing. Everyone had turned in for the night after a delightful mean provided by Arl Emon and Bann Tegan.

She imagined Wynne was in her room, reading one of the many books she had come across in the well hidden library in the Ruined Temple. Larissa was amazed by the willpower Wynne had, despite knowing what her imposing fate would be sooner than later.

Leliana was probably humming a soft tune in her room as she brushed her thick red hair, as she often did before everyone turned in for the night in camp. Leli said something about dressing up Larissa like a "real lady", which made Larissa laugh at the mental picture of herself. Fergus always teased her for being a tomboy, and choosing swords over the silly dolls the girls played with. How she missed his brotherly teasing.

Sten, she was sure, was making sure every spot of darkspawn blood was off his prized sword, Asala. He had changed ever since Larissa helped find his sword. She never realized how much a weapon could mean to the soldier that bears it. Maybe it was what she was starting to feel for her sword Starfang. It was as if they were one in the same now. She was starting to understand Sten a bit more.

Oghren had to have been passed out cold by now, which made Larissa laugh. He had drank enough at dinner for the entire city of Denerim. He then proceeded to take two drinks to bed with him. At least Sid, her faithful mabari, was there to watch him.

Shale…she wasn't even sure Shale ever slept. It always seemed to stay in one place when they were in camp. Last she saw, before she turned in for the night, Shale was in a dark corner mumbling something about pigeons.

Morrigan had mentioned she still had some studying to do of her mother's grimoire. She wasn't always quick to divulge what was in that grimoire. Larissa wasn't sure she even wanted to know what was in that cursed book. "To each their own" she thought to herself.

Zevran was probably lurking around the castle, as he did around the campsite. It made her smile with excitement, knowing that Zev could be standing next to her and she would never know. There were many times she was sure he was spying on her in her tent. In fact she knows of one night in particular when she was having a dream of the explicit nature, and she could have sworn she felt something touching her breasts. When she finally came to, there was nothing there, but her ragged night shirt was pulled above her waist.

And Alistair…dear sweet, Alistair. Here she lingered her thoughts for the longest time. What would he be doing? She imagined him in his room, and soon found her thoughts of herself in the room with him. She imagined each and every feature of his face. The way he smiled that crooked smile when he was teasing her, the way he arched his brow when he questioned her, the shape of his lips as he spoke to her. She imagined her hand lightly touching his cheek as his lips lightly touched hers. The taste of his tongue as he gently touched it to hers. She could strong feel his arms around her waist as he pulled her closer to him, feeling his heartbeat against her own. His tongue sinking deeper into her mouth as they kissed more passionately. His hands moving up her body…

It was then she realized her heart was racing and she had let out a soft moan. Embarrassed at herself, Larissa's cheeks flushed red, and when she stood up she was light headed. She wasn't quite sure why she felt so embarrassment. She and Alistair had kissed before, but it never amounted to more than that. The thoughts of his hands exploring her body, her curves…this was something new, and exciting.

Shaking the thoughts from her head, Larissa decided to write in her journal. She wanted to make sure to document all of the events that happened. There was a chance her and her companions may not survive this blight. She wanted people to remember the Grey Wardens, and if Fergus was still alive, she wanted to prove that she did her best to keep the Cousland honor.

The night was getting colder. Wrapping a blanket around her, as if it were a robe, she opened her journal and sat at the couch in the room. She always turned to the back of the book first. There she kept Alistair's rose, neatly but firmly pressed in the pages. How she had wished there was a way to keep it alive forever. But, nothing lives forever, she of all people should know that.

Larissa began writing about their last adventure to get Adraste's ashes to heal the Arl, when she saw a shadow of movement from the crack at the bottom of the door. Smiling she got up quietly and tiptoed to the door. She wanted so much to catch Zevran in the act, and now was her chance. She slowly turned the door knob and threw open the door.

"Ha! Got you!" she shouted.

"Ah, Maker!" screamed the deep voice in return.

When she looked up it wasn't Zevran she was looking at, but in fact Alistair, with a goofy smile on his face. She immediately turned a deep shade of red.

"You scared the holy Maker out of me Larissa! What are you doing?!"

"I…uh…thought you were someone else?" she finally managed to stutter out.

"Someone else? So you get many callers to your room this late at night? Were you expecting someone else? I don't mean to disturb if that's the case." His eyes looked at her questioning her actions, pleading that she wasn't expecting someone, "someone like Zevran", he thought to himself. The thought made him shiver.

"No…no. I just thought you were Zevran. I think he likes to spy on me and I thought it was him lingering outside the door. I wanted to run him through, in a sense." She retorted, talking so fast she was out of breath when she stopped.

"I am no death-elf, and thank the Maker for that!" he chuckled and ran his fingers through his soft blonde hair.

"So, what are YOU doing lingering outside my door Alistair?"

"Well…I…" he started to stammer on his words "you see…I was seeing if you were…well…still awake. If you were not I didn't want to wake you." He started to fidget where he was standing, still outside her room in the hallway.

"You can stand there in the hallway and wake everyone with your blabbing, or you can come in. As you can see I was not sleeping."

Alistair stepped in the room and Larissa closed the door behind her. When she turned around, she starred at his back. Even without his armor, he was still very broad shouldered. His night clothes, as drab at they were still accentuated his muscles and made her feel so small compared to him.

"You cold?" he asked suddenly interrupting her thoughts, playfully tugging at the heavy blanket still around her.

"Wha…oh, yeah it was getting chilly in here. As nice as these night clothes Eamon left for me are, they aren't exactly warm, or long enough for that matter." She rolled her eyes as Alistair let out an uncomfortable laugh.

"So, uh, what were you doing if you weren't sleeping?"

"Oh, I was just doing some writing in my journal about the Ruined Temple." She said pointing to her journal. "You can take a look if you want".

Just as Alistair picked up the journal on the table, the rose fell out from the back of the book on to the floor.

"What's this…by the Maker…you kept it?" He and Larissa knelt down at the same time to pick up the now dried rose. It was half the size it was when she had first received it, but it still had a sweet smell. Alistair picked it up first and held it in his large hand.

"Doesn't every girl keep the first flowers they get?" She responded, trying to not look into his eyes. She could feel the heat rising into her cheeks.

"Well I am touched that you kept it Larissa. I meant every word I said when I gave it to you".

She finally looked into his amber colored eyes. How warm and inviting they were. They almost melted her into water and she almost fell over, luckily Alistair caught her and they both got up to their feet.

"Larissa?"

At the same time the blanket around her slid to the floor, revealing the small night shirt the Arl had provided for her. Alistair was now enjoying looking at how short the night shirt indeed was. It was even slightly transparent, allowing him to make out the curves of her breasts and hips. His heart started beating faster and it suddenly became much warmer in the room.

"Oh, yes, I know Alistair. The rose meant…no… it MEANS a lot to me. I wanted to keep it somewhere safe. So I can always have it…forever". She smiled up at him taking the flower gently from his hand and putting it back into the book into its safe holding place. Alistair took the book from her hands and placed it on the table next to them. "So why did you come see me? Is everything ok?" she continued, still standing close to him, feeling his body heat on her.

"Yes, everything is fine. Perfect in fact! Well, perfect as perfect can be considering the circumstances. I just wanted to check on you. You have been through a lot the past few days. I watched you during dinner. While most others were laughing and singing, you seemed very alone and deep in your thoughts." He lightly bushed some hair from her face behind her ear. The warm touch of his hands on her skin sent sparks through her, all the way to her toes.

"Just a lot on my mind Alistair. I am sure you understand. Seeing my father in The Gauntlet, was a lot to take in. I guess I have finally come to terms with my parents death, but I have yet to put Fergus out of my head. I want to know he's alive, and it's frustrating not knowing." Tears started to well up in her eyes.

Alistair pulled her closer to him with a warm embrace. She felt so safe in his arms.

"Shhh..we'll find him Larissa. I don't want to see you cry anymore. Please, you are far too beautiful to have tears in your eyes". He pulled her away just a bit to make eye contact with her, wiping away tears from her cheeks with his thumb. "You mean too much to me, and it hurts me to see you hurting. And you know what?...".

At that moment he brought his lips close to hers and whispered ever so slightly… "Larissa Cousland, I have fallen in love with you" finally touching his lips to hers.

"Oh, Alistair" she whispered back, returning his kiss.

Their kiss became deeper as Alistair's hands tightened around her waist and down to her bottom. With a swift lift, he raised her up in his arms and moved to the couch sitting her on top of him.

She could feel his hands along the curves of her hips and waist as she straddled him sitting on the couch. It made her body ache in pleasure, sending sparks to her insides with every touch he made.

He kissed her neck and nibbled a bit on her ears which made her arch her back and lean into his hardness. Putting his hands under her night shirt he pulled it above her head and continued kissing her neck, working his way down to her breasts.

Her hands were groping the back of his neck and running through his hair. She couldn't help but moan his name when he reached her hard nipples with his mouth. The touch of his hand cupping her breast and his mouth and teeth gently sucking and nibbling made her crazy.

"Alistair, I want you so bad" she cried out.

With those words, Alistair got up from the couch taking Larissa with him in his arms. He moved to the bed and laid her down.

As he removed his night shirt and pants, Larissa took in the details of his sculpted body. He was more of a work of art then a human body. She wanted to trace all the edges of his muscles with her tongue. The thought made her insides light on fire.

Alistair came over her on the bed and kissed her bare belly…her breasts… her neck, and deeply kissed her lips with more passion than ever before.

"I want you to be happy Larissa, I want you feel the love I have for you." At that very moment she could feel his hardness near her already moistened spot.

He slowly and gently pushed his hardened length into her. As he went in deeper he couldn't tell if he was hurting her or pleasuring her.

"My love…?" he asked concerned.

"Please don't stop Alistair…" she said in a breathy whisper.

As he pushed in more, her back arched pushing him in as far as he could be. This caused her to cry out and tighten around him. This feeling made him crazy. He immediately started pushing in and out, slow at first. How he enjoyed how she arched her back when he pushed all the way inside her.

Soon he found himself quickening his pace. They were acting as one, and breathing as one. He looked into Larissa's eyes and she looked into his, saying nothing.

Alistair wasn't sure how long he could contain his pleasure. He started moaning and softly saying her name.

"Let me on top Alistair" she pleaded.

He looked at her large brown pleading eyes. How could he say anything but yes to such beauty.

They moved together, careful to not pull away from each other. In an instant Larissa was on top looking down on absolute perfection. This new position hit her insides in a way that made her body begin to tremble. She leaned back a bit letting her hands rest on his muscular thighs behind her.

Alistair grabbed her waist and helped move her over him, in a slow rocking motion. He was overjoyed by the sounds coming from Larissa's mouth. Her head leaned back as she began to moan louder. With each pleasure-moan of hers, he pushed her harder down on him. He could feel her insides quiver all around his hardness. Sliding in and out of her was becoming easier as she was becoming more and more moist. He knew she was almost ready, but he didn't want this to end.

"Larissa, don't finish yet love….please...oh dear Andraste!" he moaned loudly, and moved her off him. Quickly, so not to lose the feeling, he flipped her over on her stomach and grabber her waist and pulled her beautiful, round bottom to him. He felt between her legs with his fingers. She was so wet as he rubber her hard nub, and easily put himself back into her.

He grabbed her waist again and without hesitation quickly moved in and out of her. Every push in made Larissa cry out. He had managed to find the spot the guys in the Warden camp talked about. The spot that made the girls cry in ecstasy.

Larissa had to push her face into the pillow to muffle her screams. Her body quivered and tensed, and she began to feel an energy flow from her insides. Their movements hastened and became more forceful until they both cried out together with one last thrust at the hips.

Alistair felt her throbbing around him as he began to soften. He didn't remove himself from her. Instead he bent over her and kissed the side of her head, near her ears. They fell to their sides together, still as one.

Laying there, they both tried to catch their breaths. Their hearts racing and their insides numb and throbbing. Alistair slowly removed himself from Larissa, which made them both moan once more.

Larissa turned to her other side and with a smile kissed Alistair lightly on the lips.

"You know according to the Chantry, we should have been struck by lightning now." Alistair said with his crooked, teasing smile.

Larissa giggled, "You know, it's still possible". He laughed and kissed her nose.

"So, what do we tell the others, I mean, you do know they're going to talk"

"Go ahead and let them. I'll feed them to the next group of darkspawn we see!" she said shrugging her shoulders.

"Now that's what I love about you Larissa!" exclaims Alistair, kissing her once more on the lips.

"Shall we turn in for the night Alistair? We do have to meet with Eamon pretty early tomorrow."

With that said, Alistair pulled the blanket over them and held her close to his still rapid beating heart. "Now don't blame me if I get an urge in the middle of the night with you sleeping naked next to me!"

"Don't make promises you can't keep Alistair!" she said sarcastically, as she nudged her knee gently between his legs, surprised to find he wasn't soft still.

"I love you Larissa…"

"I love you too Alistair…" and all was quiet for the rest of the night.

~*~

The next morning, Larissa awoke to the sunlight in her eyes. Any other morning she would have cursed the early morning sun, but this morning was different. She had strong arms still holding her, and she could swear Alistair was smiling in his sleep.

"Is this all real?" she thought to herself.

Just then Alistair's eyes fluttered open.

"Whatchadoin'" he mumbled as if it were one word.

"Just admiring you sleeping next to me, hoping I never wake from this dream" she said and kissed his forehead.

"Heh, you sure you're not a seductress demon in disguise? Because, I swear on Andraste's ahes, you're making me want you again!" he grinned and moved on top of her kissing her deeply.

Just then there was a light knock on the door.

Without thinking Alistair pulled on his pants and answered the door naked from the hips up.

"Oh Maker, Alistair? Umm... Did I knock on the wrong door?" Larissa could hear Lelianna's confused voice as she pulled on her own night clothes and went to the door.

"No Leli, you have the right room, I'm sorry, I don't think Alistair was thinking clearly." Larissa responsed and light elbowed Alistair in his side. "Is everything ok?"

"Oh…well…yes...I mean…I wanted to check if you wanted the servants to bring up some…uh…hot water for…you…well…the two of you I suppose." Leliana was turning 3 different shades of red and was stuttering over her own words.

"Um, sure Leli, have them bring up hot water for both of us please. And…please don't say anything to the others at the moment" Larissa said with pleading eyes.

"Oh silly Larissa, I don't think you have to worry about me saying anything. It's Zevran who seems to have picked up the news faster than all of us". With a blink Leliana was walking away, humming a tune.

~*~

Larissa and Alistair both took their baths, and to Larissa's surprise they were both very tame, as they watched each other bathe. Well, as tame as they could be.

At one point while Larissa was in the bath, Alistair had decided it would be a splendid time to relieve his morning sexual tension. And of course Larissa couldn't help but touch herself as she watched him slide his hands over his hardness. They both remained quiet for the fear of the whole castle hearing them since everyone was now awake. Larissa had to bite down on her lips to stop herself from crying aloud as her insides trembled.

"Seductress demon for sure!" Alistair said laughing staring at her in the bath.

"Oh shush and take your bath, and be good! We'll never make it to see Eamon for lunch at this rate." She said stepping out of the bath and drying her body down with the bath cloth.

A few moments later, Alistair and Larissa walked down the hall from her bedroom. As they got to the main hall, Larissa could feel eyes burning all over her. Leliana, was right, Zevran had made good work of the new rumor. She shrugged and took Alistair's hand in hers, which surprised him, but he gladly took hers and gave it a slight squeeze.

At the end of the hall, standing at the doors to the dining hall was Zevran. He was playing with one of his daggers, flipping it around and around.

"Ah, my dear sweet lovers of Redcliff Castle, how nice it is to see you this morning." He said with an impish grin.

As Larissa and Alistair walked by Zevran, she punched him in the arm. All she heard as she walked into the dining hall was "Oww! What was that for?" and she continued on with Alistair's hand in her own.