Hikari: Part two, here we go!
The next night, as Raine was setting her tent up, her mind was full of far too many thoughts. She needed to pick between the boys she'd been romancing recently. Every time someone moved behind her, she swore they were going to ask her about which one she was going to pick right then and there, but knowing them, she would have to go talk to them.
As soon as Raine had finished setting her tent up, she retreated into it. She seriously wanted to just fall asleep and stay there, but to her dismay, she remembered it was her turn to stand guard with none other than Zevran. She groaned, plopping down right in front of the flap, starting to take off her armor. Just as she finally wriggled out of the leather dalish armor, she heard a voice outside her tent. "Raine, are you there?" Alistair's voice asked.
Raine froze. Not only was she not in the mood to talk to anyone, she was completely naked, "I'm not presentable right now," she said, her voice cracking half way through the sentence.
There was a pause. Raine realized he was probably imagining her naked right then. Not like he hadn't already seen it. She heard the clink of armor as he twitched and realized that Alistair had just finished setting his tent up. That meant he wasn't here for anything sexual, just to talk, "I can wait," he finally said, a catch in his voice.
Raine shouldn't have said anything, but then again, knowing Alistair, he would have opened the tent flap and seen her standing there in all her glory, "I'll meet you by that tree over on the other side of camp in a moment," she said, "I don't think you'd fit in my tent with your Templar armor on," she said, trying to sound humorous, but ended up sounding sad.
"Oh," Alistair said. He'd heard it. He knew what was coming, "Okay. Sure. Fine."
Raine's right hand smacked across her mouth as tears brimmed to her eyes. Was she making the right choice? She couldn't believe she had done this. She wanted to go back in time and smack herself before ever beginning the superfluous relationship she was about to end. When she finally got a hold of herself, she put on her camp cloak. She really should have been wearing armor around the camp, but her dalish armor did about as much good as her cloak. The only difference was the ability to deflect arrows, but she had the flexibility to do that anyways.
When she was finally dressed, she poked her head out of the tent to look around. Good thing she had, or else she would have run smack into Zevran. She looked up at the elf, her eyes a little scared, "I… need to go," she said, walking around him before the assassin could get a word out. She didn't have to look back to see that he was watching her with that face of a kicked mabari. She'd really messed up this time.
Raine made her way to the tree that Alistair was standing behind, her eyes staring at the ground near his feet. When she finally looked up at him, he wasn't smiling, "You picked Zevran, didn't you?" he said, pushing himself off the tree, "You sleep with me once, and now you're going to leave me." He shook his head, a sarcastic smile on his face, "Never knew you were such a bitch, Raine. I should have seen that coming."
Raine's eyes widened. What was he saying? He made it seem like he was leaving, "Alistair, I didn't mean for this to happen! I'm so… so sorry," she cried. She could feel tears pricking at the edge of her eyes. How could she have done this to Alistair and Zevran? She just wanted to curl up and die. She stared at the ground, crossing her arms across her chest, "I'll… just go…" she whispered, turning to leave.
The next thing she knew she was pressed against the tree with Alistair over her. She froze where she stood, looking up at the face of the determined man. Maybe she shouldn't have gotten him to stand up for himself, because now he was standing over her. Her dark eyes looked up at him, completely confused, "Alistair?" she asked, "What's going on?"
The man replied by kissing her, Alistair's hands twisting in her hand, pulling her close. She wanted to push him away, wanted to tell him to stop, but instead she closed her eyes and left her hands at her side. His hands wandered down her shoulders, down her hands and onto her hips. She froze, realizing what he was doing. She opened her mouth to respond, but he swallowed her words, his hands running down her hips, pulling her legs up to circle him. When he was sure she was secure, he moved his hands back up her body to the edge of her cloak, aiming to remove it. Finally, Raine found herself. She pushed Alistair away, panting. It was just a moment too late.
"So you did choose him, huh?"
Raine glanced to her left to see Zevran. He had a look on his face that looked not only depressed but angry, "Nice for you to tell me," he snarled.
Alistair hadn't let go of Raine. He still had her pinned against the tree with his crotch. Raine's legs were slack against Alistair's hips, but they were there. Zevran only saw that he'd interrupted. He didn't see that she was pushing him away. Zevran had known that Raine was making a choice, and she'd just made her opinion known to both of them. Zevran made an angry face and stalked off. Alistair, who hadn't said a word, went back what to what he was trying to do. Knowing that Raine was probably aiming to get away or call after the assassin, Alistair went back to kissing her.
Raine fought back, biting the Templars lip. He recoiled, growling at her. Raine took the opportunity to punch him in the gut, causing him to let her go. While he was trying to recover, Raine ran off without a word of apology. She was a bitch for what she had done, but she wasn't about to make it worse by losing the one person she truly cared about. All it took was one time in bed with Alistair to realize just how in love she was with the man she hadn't slept with the night before, though she could have. She could feel the tears pricking at her eyes. She hoped she hadn't ruined it. If Zevran didn't want her anymore… well, she didn't know what she would do. She was in love, for the first time in her life, and she might have just ruined it.
Raine caught up to Zevran right as he reached his tent, "Zevran, wait! It wasn't what it looked like!"
Zevran flipped around, the angry look still on his face, "Really? Because to me, it looked like you made up your mind without telling me about it. Thank you for telling me. Good night," he growled, turning his back to the red headed elf, heading into his tent.
The next thing he knew, Zevran was tackled to the ground with the Grey Warden on his back. He tried to flip over, but she pinned his wrists to the ground and ground her head into his neck, keeping his face in his bed roll, "Listen to me god dammit! Listen to me when I'm telling you that I met him to break up with him and he jumped me. Please, Zevran, you have to believe me!" she cried, starting to shake.
Zevran lay very still, his breathing shallow, before he finally picked his head up. He turned his head back as far as he could, looking down at the girl on his back, "Aren't I supposed to be the one who's on top?" he asked, turning around far enough to give her his signature smirk.
Raine gave him a watery smile, her hands wrapping around his neck as he turned over, wrapping his hands around her waist and nuzzling into her neck until she giggled. He dropped his head back to the ground, giving her a confused look, "Raine, why did you sleep with Alistair last night?"
The city elf sighed, her tattoo crinkling as her brow furrowed, "I… really don't know. I…thought he was sweet. Alistair was my first friend that I didn't know growing up. He saved my life multiple times. He knew what I was going through. He was there during my joining and my first nightmare. He just… knew me better, I guess."
Zevran ran a hand through her hair, tucking it behind her ear, "Then let me get to know you, Raine. Tell me about yourself. Tell me what makes you tick. Tell me, my Grey Warden," he whispered, kissing her forehead.
She just smiled down at him, running her hands through his hair, "Give me something more to work with and I'll answer your questions, besides," she leaned down, touching her forehead to his, a coy smile on her face, "You know full well what makes me tick, Zev. Now stop being silly and do what we both know you want to."
Zevran smiled, kissing her gently on the mouth before kissing her harder on the mouth, running his hands through her hair and down to the center of her back. In one swift motion, she was on her back with Zevran over her, his lips on her collar bone. Shocked, a small moan escaped Raine's lips before she could stifle it. Zevran brought his head back up, smiling down at the girl, before peppering kisses on the elf, starting at her forehead, and not stopping until his lips were between her breasts. When another pleased noise emitted from Raine's lips, Zevran propped himself up on one arm and gazed at her lustfully, "Raine, my Grey Warden, do you trust me?"
Raine pushed herself up to her elbows, giving her lover a confused look, "Of course, Zev. Why are you asking me this?"
The assassin leaned over the duelist, his chest pressing into her face, causing the girl to dissolve into a fit of giggles. When Zevran sat back, he straddled the girl, giving her an odd look, "Are you alright?" he asked, a slight chuckle to his laugh.
She waved him off, wiping a single tear from her eye, "Nothing, never mind. What did you have in mind?" Only after she was done talking did Raine see the length of leather in Zevran's hand. Her eyes widened, and he smirked at her.
"I'll ask again, just to be sure: do you trust me?"
Raine smiled up at him, "And I'll reply again: of course."
Zevran swooped in on the girl, capturing her mouth in a kiss, as his hands found her's and tied them above her head. She groaned, already excited for what Zevran held for her that evening. Knowing that he couldn't disappointed, Zevran started by peeling his own shirt off, wrapping the fabric around the girl's eyes. A little confused, Raine whimpered quietly. Zevran bent down, whispering in her ear, "Sh. I've got you. Nothing can ever happen to you so long as I'm here for you, my Grey Warden."
This relaxed her, causing her to inhale deeply and slowly push the air through her nose. Zevran continued on his stripping, letting his lover lay on the ground, still clothed, but blindfolded and restrained. For a moment, Zevran considered tying her to the tent itself, but then he realized he liked his tent the way it was. Instead, upon removing all of his clothing, he sat next to the girl with not a sound. He pulled a feather from his sack (not really remembering why he had it), and ran it down her neck to the point where her skin hid behind her clothing. She quietly gasped, a strong shiver wracking her small body. His nimble hands went to work removing her clothing, though with the leather binding her hands, he was only able to open her cloak, allowing it to hang on her back. She moved to his touch, pressing whatever part he was touching into his hand, longing for him to caress her gently. She didn't want him to stop touching her. She wanted him to ravish her, the way he always promised.
Zevran sat back on his heels, smiling down at the girl who couldn't see him or even knew where he was. He ran a single finger down her cheek, causing her to mew like a kitten. He finally leaned down, kissing her gently on the lips before moving himself down to her feet.
He waited a few moments, just long enough for her to start to squirm, before he pushed her thighs apart, revealing his prize. She was already panting hard when his lips pressed against her entrance in a kind of kiss, causing her to groan. He couldn't tell if it was pain or pleasure, so he stopped briefly, "Don't you dare stop!" she said, lifting her head just the slightest bit off the ground, "If you stop, I swear I will make your life hell," she said, not willing to even threaten death upon her lover. He smiled, knowing full well she couldn't see it, and returned to what he'd been doing. Her hips bucked as she bit her lip to quell the pain. When he was certain she was good and done, he sat back on his heels, wiping his mouth. She lay, panting, a slight flush to her cheeks. She was struggling against the leather at that point, signaling to Zevran that she wanted to touch him, to hold him, to feel him, but he didn't remove it. She was going to torture him for this, but he knew it would be worth it. She was softer than he was. She would be kinder.
He leaned over her, pulling the makeshift blindfold off her eyes. She blinked up at him, her dark eyes almost angry, but that instantly faded to pleasure when Zevran pressed into her. Her back arched, pressing into him. He ran a hand down her back as he thrusted into her, their eyes closing at the same time. A few moments later her fingers dug into the soft ground beneath her as she moaned into his shoulder. His fingers dug into her back as he did the same, falling exhaustedly onto her, his breath labored. He finally reached up and undid her wrists, allowing her to clutch onto his back, wrapping herself around him completely, her legs around his waist. If he hadn't known better, he would have thought she was crying. Using his hands that were still on her back, he flipped over, and then let his hands fall to the ground. She sat back on her heels, smiling down at him. He returned the favor, "My dear Grey Warden," he whispered, brushing her tousled hair behind her ears, "Promise me you'll never leave my side. Promise me we'll be together forever."
"I promise."
He pushed himself off the ground, bringing her face to meet him half way, "You may now kiss the bride."
She giggled, pressing him to the ground as she kissed him gently. When she was finished, she slid down his body, snuggling into his chest, where she slept that night, and every night until her trip to Orzammar came.
It was funny how it happened. She'd been traveling with Zevran when the nightmares started again. She woke up screaming one night, her mind having forgotten the terror. He comforted her, but it wasn't just the dreams that scared her. She was going to have to leave him. He, who'd been so accepting of her mistakes with Alistair. She decided to make a trip to the castle to visit her old alley.
She found the king in the same state she was in.
Alistair welcomed her with a solemn look on her face. He looked like he'd been kicked in the gut repeatedly right before she got there. Knowing full well that it would make Zevran jealous but not caring, she ran at him, hugging him. Alistair sighed, running his hand through her hair, "You know, I wish you'd come a few weeks ago, before the dreams started again."
Raine let him go after only a few moments, returning to her husband, who wrapped a protective arm around her waist, "Alistair, what does this mean?"
He sighed, running a hand through his tousled hair, "We… need to travel to Orzammar. We have a week. I invite you to stay in my castle. We can travel there together. It will end the way it began, Raine. Just you and I," he said, smiling slightly before turning to leave.
Raine looked up at Zevran, her dark eyes faded with age. In the last few years she was showing age. Elves normally aged very gracefully, but the taint was slowly killing Raine. And Zevran could see it, "Zev," she whispered, "One week. What the hell do we do with one week?"
Zevran pulled her to him as she started to cry, "It's okay, Raine," he said, "We don't part. At least we were given warning. You could have been killed before now. At least, in the end, we're together and in good health."
And so they didn't part for the week. Alistair spent his time with his friends in the castle and his wife, Anora. Anora was affected more than many of the others, as her second husband was about to walk to his own death. At the end of the week, Raine tried to convince Zevran to leave.
"You have other people you can be with, Zev," she said. They were standing at the front gates, about to depart, "What about Hawke and her traveling companions? You can seek them out and help them. I'm positive they'll love to see you."
Zevran pressed a gentle hand over her mouth, kissing her forehead, "Raine, shush. I'm not going to let my wife walk to her death with just a friend. Alistair is going to be there in your final moments. The least I can do is walk you there. I'll find Hawke after that."
A week later, they arrived in Orzammar. Zevran and Raine had been there since they're gone to have the treaty fulfilled, if even just to visit the friends they made there. Those had been happy visits. This was a funeral march.
They stood in front of the entrance to the Deep Roads, Zevran refusing to let go of Raine. Anora had stayed back at the castle; the Queen had a country to run. The three stared at the large doors. It was time.
"Raine," Zevran started, the cue for Alistair to tell his other friends good bye and leave the two elves alone, "I… don't know if I've showed it properly over the years, but you are the best thing that ever happened to me. I would have just lived my life as an assassin, probably getting myself killed along the way. But because of you, I was able to live a better life. I'm a better man because of you, my Grey Warden." She could hear the tears on each word, see the water in his eyes, "I… love you so much, Raine."
Now she was crying. She wiped at her eyes, "Zev, you just took the words right out of my words," she sobbed, almost tackling him to the ground, "I love you, Zev. I always have. I'll be thinking of you with my last breath," she said, her body shaking.
He tilted her head up, planting one final kiss on her lips, and then one on her forehead. Alistair rested his hand on her back, "It's time," he whispered, his eyes sad.
Raine waved good bye to those who were assembled. A cheer went up as the doors opened. She turned as they closed and saw Zevran smiling at her, his eyes wet with tears. They maintained eye contact until the doors were shut tight.
There was a moment of silence between the Templar and the ranger. Finally, Alistair broke the silence, "We… should get moving before we die at the entrance. That would be hard to explain to the next troops that came through."
Raine wiped her tears away and nodded, "Let's get going."
The two Grey Wardens took off at a run, racing each other, their laughter echoing through the tunnel. It was time.
Hikari: I didn't intend to write the end part there, but it just seemed right… Anyways, that's all for now! I've started my second time through with Silk Cousland (I have no idea what possessed me to name her…) so expect some little one shots of her. I should also be starting my play through with Briar the Mage and Sydony the Dalish Elf here soon… Thank you for reading! I love any reviews!