Of Pranks and Marriage Part 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age


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Dorian sat down on the bed next to Evelyn. He placed both his hands on her face and examined her eyes. "It seems like it's still empty in there," he said and let his hands fall down in his lap.

"Yes, what a polite way of saying it…" she replied, too weakened to make up a snarky response to his jab.

"You sure it's just her?" Sera said warily, her bow still drawn and aimed at Evelyn. "How can you tell?"

Cullen lowered his weapon and walked over to the two mages. Evelyn noticed that the Commander tightened the grip on his sword when he sat down next to her. He leaned in and examined her eyes the same way Dorian had.

"She seems fine," the former Templar declared.

"Yeah you say that, but how can you be certain?" The elf responded, still unconvinced.

"I'm not possessed Sera!"

Sera drew the arrow a little further. "Exactly what a demon would say!"

"How would you want me to say it? There's no other way! Should I write you a formal letter declaring me free of demons?"

The elf stood for a minute, measuring Evelyn. "Maybe you should… I've never heard of a demon who could write letters."

"She's not possessed Sera." Dorian persuaded.

She aimed her bow at Dorian, "What if the demon jumped into you when you looked her in the eyes."

"That's not how possession works Sera." Cullen said and rubbed his temple.

Sera gritted her teeth, "Then explain it."

"If we were to do that, dear Sera. We would all risk natural death from old age before a demon attack."

She scowled at Dorian. "Well, you're no abomination…" The elf said and lowered her bow. "Not yet anyhow".

Cullen dropped his sword to the ground so he could have both his arms free to embrace Evelyn. "I was so worried for you." He whispered into her air. "You kept calling for me in your sleep."

"Oh," Evelyn said as she blushed. "I'm glad you were here with me." She murmured back. She fell silent for a moment before she raised her head and directed a question to everyone in the room. "How long was I out for?"

"Nearly a day." Dorian replied next to her.

Evelyn widened her eyes. "A day!?"

"By the maker," Sera sighed and let go of her aim. She was far too tired to bare the rest of the conversation standing up, but she was still wary with the mages. The elf dropped therefore down in the leaning chair next to the end of the bed. She held the bow tightly in her lap and raised her feet to rest them on the bed.

Dorian cleared his throat grandly. "It might have been two if I hadn't come back a day early." The mage declared.

Evelyn rolled her eyes, "A day early he says."

"Just be glad I'm back at all my dear. If I hadn't been, we might have never pulled you out of the fade. Imagine how awkward it would have been for Cullen or Sera to kill you."

"Well…" Evelyn responded and leaned back on her pillow, studying the inside of the canopy. I'm not certain you're the one who pulled me out."

"It wasn't me." Cullen said and laid down next to her.

"I wasn't talking about you either."

"Who then?" Sera chimed in from the other end of the bed.

"Solas…"

"Solas?" Dorian said and raised his eyebrow. "No. That's impossible isn't it?"

Evelyn shrugged her shoulders. "It's not the first time we've met in the fade."

"You meet Solas regularly in your dreams?" Cullen asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

"No," she answered, equally annoyed by his insinuation. "It's not a common occurrence… but I've met him beyond the veil before. He walks the fade when he's asleep, always watching, always learning. He must have sensed that I was in danger of possession, or he would never have shown himself."

"Did he tell you where he was, or why he left?"

"I tried to ask him. But he walked away as soon as we were away from the demons."

"Demons? As in the plural of demon?" Sera asked warily, tightening the grip on her bow.

"Yes Sera."

"It's most uncommon. Is it not Commander?" Dorian inquired the former Templar.

Cullen scratched the top of his head. "It's usually one demon. One demon exploiting emotional stress and inner turmoil." He turned his gaze to Evelyn. "What do you remember?"

"Honestly… I'm not entirely sure." She closed her eyes in attempt to visualize the event behind the veil, hoping it would help her remember it better. "First… I was in a tulip field; It's a place I visit often when I'm in control. Then I fell asleep, I guess. I woke up and heard Cullen screaming in agony."

The Commander shifted a little next to her. "It was probably then you started calling for me."

Evelyn nodded. "You were trapped inside a house. You had shielded yourself in a barrier. I tried to break the window with my hands, but I wasn't strong enough. I found a sharp stone on the ground that I intended to throw at the glass." The mage stopped her narration and took a deep breath before she continued. "But someone grabbed my hand so I couldn't throw the rock."

"Was it Solas?" Dorian inquired.

"No. It was… someone else."

"Who?" Sera had perked up and sat on the edge of her seat, spellbound by the story.

"Tyrion." Evelyn whispered. "He wanted me to stay with him." She opened her eyes and gave Cullen an apologetic look. "I said yes."

The Commander gave her a meek smile. "You don't have to apologize." He said fully aware of how persuasive a desire demon can be. He took her hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly. "It's okay."

"Hmmm." Dorian sounded on the other side of Evelyn. "It sounds like a terror demon and a desire demon to me. Good thing Solas was there. Terror demons are one thing, but desire demons..."

"Where are my parents?" Evelyn said suddenly, all too eager to change the subject for a little while.

"Your mother is still with Lady Ornacia." Cullen responded. "We haven't told her that Dorian is back yet."

"I see," Evelyn nodded slowly. "And my father… and the staff?"

"The staff knows about your… predicament."

"But we had to poison your father." Sera said nonchalantly. "He was asking a lot of questions."

Evelyn raised her eyebrow. "You had to kill him?"

"No, no, no! I just slipped some strong sedative in his drink at dinner." The elf explained. "He'll be asleep until tomorrow that one."

"Lord Trevelyan shouldn't trust you with his refreshments."

"And yet he does." Sera shrugged. "It has worked out pretty well so far. He hasn't caught me yet. If…"

Dorian cut her off. "We're getting off topic." He declared. "We should figure out a way to ensure that Evelyn won't fall into the temptation of another desire demon.

"We could cut off Ev's legs." Sera said casually. "If we make her a dwarf, she can't cross the veil."

"Oh. I'm sure that would work. Why don't you go fetch the saw?" Evelyn responded sarcastically.

The Tevinter coughed into his hand to get everyone's attention. "What we should do…"

"What we should do," Cullen said and broke off Dorian. "Is to let Evelyn get some rest now."

"Someone should watch her." Sera suggested.

"I will do it." Cullen declared.

Both Sera and Dorian rose from their seats and walked to the door. The elf was the last one to leave. "I'm right next door. Shout if there's a demon attack." She said before she followed Dorian.

"Good night Sera." The Commander responded.

Evelyn didn't speak until she heard Sera close the door in her own bedroom. "I don't want to go back to sleep." She said sullenly.

The Commander wrapped his arms around her. "You don't have to. We could talk if it makes you feel better."

She shook her head in response. "I don't want to talk… not right now."

"Do you mind if I do some work while I'm here then? Dorian brought me some old files from Kirkwall I have to go through."

"Sure. I like seeing you work." She sat up and pointed at his forehead. "You get a vein right here when someone doesn't uphold your standards of formal writing."

Cullen rose from the bed and flashed her his usual smirk. "That vein won't make and appearance tonight my love." He said and walked to Evelyn's desk by the fireplace. He lifted a pile of files and paper that rested on top of the desk and carried it over to Evelyn's bed. He placed the stack on the bedside table and made himself comfortable with the first file.

Evelyn wrapped her comforter around her and looked around the room. She noticed that the fireplace wasn't lit. No wonder she was so cold. She wanted to light it, but saw that there was no firewood in her room. She supposed the servants had kept their distance while she was in her grim state. She also noticed the absence of a certain Mabari.

She turned her head to the Commander next to her in bed. "Where's Stanton?"

"He's with Hill. He was so rowdy when you didn't wake up; we had to get him out of the room."

"I see." Evelyn said and leaned back against the headboard. She studied Cullen while he read through the white sheets of paper. She couldn't see what he read, but she recognized his neat handwriting. To her great amusement however, the vein had made its appearance after all.

She snickered and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Seems like your own writing displeases you." She noted.

"I know I was young when I wrote these… but I would have expected a higher level of conduct." He pointed at the first passage. "Just see here, how I misspelled the Viscount's name."

Evelyn smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "I love you for your looks. Not your brain honey."

Cullen rolled his eyes in response.


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"How wonderful to see you again Lord Pavus, and so soon!" Lady Trevelyan said with a gleeful expression as she seated herself for dinner. She fixed her gaze on Evelyn. "Didn't I tell you he would return my dear?"

"Not even once," Evelyn responded.

"Of course I did!" She leaned in and touched Dorian's arm. "You have to trust me. I always believed that you would return to our estate. You've become such a fine friend of the family."

"Indeed I have?" Dorian said coyly.

"Well of course you have. We all adore you. Especially our dearest Evelyn. Don't you my dear?"

Evelyn pretended she didn't hear what her mother said and blew on the soup in her spoon, attempting to make it cool enough to eat. Lady Trevelyan, however, nudged Evelyn in the side so she lost grip of her spoon and it fell back down in the soup bowl. "I didn't quite catch that mother," She said in the blandest tone she could muster.

"I was just telling Lord Pavus that you missed him while he was away." Lady Trevelyan scowled at her daughter. "Didn't you?"

"Very much indeed!" She proclaimed sarcastically. "Every minute without you by my side was nothing but pure agony!"

Lady Trevelyan leaned in and whispered in Evelyn's ear. "I'm glad to see you're finally warming up to the idea of you and Lord Pavus. But you will scare him away if you're this aggressive."

"Will I?" Evelyn batted her eyelashes and pretended to be coy.

"Oh. I see what you're doing. You're mocking me aren't you? I will have you know dear, that some people value me."

"Is that so?" Evelyn said and took a sip of her wine.

"Yes. In fact." She raised her voice to claim everyone's attention. "I have great news!"

"What kind of news?" Lord Trevelyan wanted to know.

"Divine Victoria will attend my salon," she responded proudly.

The news made Evelyn choke on her wine. "What? Why would she do that?"