"Victoria!"
"Victoria!"
"Victoria!"
Over and over, the crowd chanted the name that was not her name, a never-ending roar that filled Leliana's ears.
Not Leliana, she reminded herself. Not anymore. Victoria is my name now. The one I chose to bear as the Divine. The one that history will remember me by, though whether as a hero or a tyrant, it is too soon to say.
It was customary for the new Divine to lead a procession through the streets of Val Royeaux, and Leliana had chosen to walk, eschewing the elaborate carriages many of her predecessors had used. It was a decision she was now second-guessing. The summer's heat was intense and her robes of red and white cloth weighed heavily on her as she waved to the crowds.
All around her, the eager throngs pushed against the rows of soldiers who lined the streets, trying to get a closer look. After all of the traumas that Thedas had just endured: the mage rebellion, the destruction of the Conclave, the war against Corypheus, the people were hungry for celebration and her election served that purpose.
Would they have cheered as loudly for Cassandra, she wondered. What did the crowd really know of the woman who now stood at the head of the Chantry? Her Orlesian background gave her a touch of local appeal perhaps, but mostly they knew that she had served the Inquisition, the force that had healed the sky and vanquished the monsters.
All her life, that had been her destiny, to live in the shadow of others. Marjolene's protégée. The Hero of Ferelden's lover. The Divine's Left Hand. The Inquisitor's spymaster. She had never minded. She'd been at home in the dark, but that was over now. It was her name, her chosen name anyway, that people would know, a thought that both excited and terrified her.
"Victoria!"
"Most Holy!"
A thousand voices and more called out to her, yearning for an acknowledgement or a blessing on this sacred day. Artisans come out from their shops to watch the parade. Peasants in the best of their plain garb, travelled from the country to be witnesses to history. Nobles too minor to have been invited to the Grand Cathedral for her coronation, trying to catch her eye. Even elves from the alienage, allowed their freedom for the day at her insistence. Some of the more traditionalist Grand Clerics had complained over that. Soon, she knew, they would complain far louder.
"Most Holy!"
"Victoria!"
"Leliana."
It was quiet, the whisper of her true name amid the roars, but she couldn't have missed it. Her head whipped around, scanning the crowd, and for an instant, she saw a ghost. A thin face, similar to many of the other elves, and yet utterly familiar. A glimpse of hair, almost the same color as her own, hidden beneath a cloak. Sharp green eyes that were fixed on her. Leliana tried to mask her shock, but in spite of her efforts, her jaw dropped and her heart caught in her throat.
Nissa. My love. Can it be you?
She blinked, trying to make sure what she'd seen was real, but when she opened her eyes once more, whoever they were gone. The face had been swallowed up by the crowd and she had no choice but to march on.
The rest of the procession passed in a daze. Years spent wearing the mask of duty let her smile, and wave, and mouth the words that were expected of her, but her head was far from the crowds, back in a small tent on the Ferelden plains in the midst of the Blight. Even when the new Divine had re-entered the Grand Cathedral, shedding her long train of lesser clerics and attendants, that moment remained fixed in her mind.
It couldn't have been her, she told herself. The heat and the stress of the day must have gotten to me. It's not as if my real name is a secret. I heard it and it made me see Nissa's face among the crowd from the alienage.
"Is everything all right, Most Holy?"
She was shaken out of her thoughts by the sound of Mother Analia's concern. The kindly Ferelden cleric had been one of Justinia's most trusted aides and a friend of Leliana's when she was the Left Hand. She was glad that the Mother had accepted her invitation to stay on, managing her household affairs. She would need people she could trust close to her, especially once the scope of the changes she had planned became known.
"I am fine," Leliana told her, pulling her hood back and letting the long, red hair trapped beneath it breath. "It has simply been a very long day. And these are heavier than they look."
Mother Analia gave her a knowing look from beneath her own hood. "You will become accustomed to them." It was unusual that Leliana had not already. She was the first Divine in centuries to have reached the Sunburst Throne without having been a cleric beforehand. Not since Amara III, the sadistic sister of the Orlesian Empress, had it happened, and she was hardly a role model.
"I imagine I will," she agreed, "But for now, I think I would just like to change out of them for a while."
"Of course, Your Perfection. You do not have any further appointments until the reception this evening."
A hundred dignitaries, all there to offer their congratulations, but in truth, eager to gauge her intentions.
"Very good. I wish to be undisturbed until then."
I need to clear my head. I will have to be focused tonight, not fixated on a woman who isn't here.
"As you wish." Mother Analia gave her a warm smile before turning away, but for an instant, Leliana thought she saw a devious gleam in her big, blue eyes. It was odd, but a mystery for another time, she decided. Now, all Leliana wanted was to rest for a little while.
She walked down the corridor that led to her private chambers, unfastening the ties that held her robe together as she went. With a weary hand, she pulled open the door, but when she looked inside, all thoughts of rest vanished from her mind. There, in the middle of her sitting room, flesh and blood, was the ghost. Nissa had abandoned the plate she used to wear for a green travelling cloak layered over dark breeches and a shirt of light scale armor, but no matter what she wore, there no mistaking her lover's face.
"Nissa," she whispered, scarcely able to speak. "Is it really you?"
"Who else would it be?" Her Warden was trying to play the suave lover, but the hitch in her husky voice was unmistakable.
It was a sound Leliana had waited too long to hear, and she barely remembered to kick the door closed behind her before they fell into each other's arms. Their mouths met, lips parting, as hunger overpowered every other thought. Nissa was a headier drink than any wine, and by the time the kiss ended, Leliana's head was spinning.
"I saw you earlier," she gasped while her hands set to working unfastening Nissa's cloak. "At the procession, but you left without saying anything."
"I had to see you," Nissa told her, her voice cracking, "But it wasn't the right time to talk."
"How did you get in here?", Leliana asked even as she shrugged out of her heavy robes, leaving her in a thin white shift that she had thoroughly soaked with sweat.
"Mother Analia," Nissa grinned. "Being the Hero of Ferelden still counts with some people."
I will have to find a suitable way to thank her, Leliana mused, before another searing kiss made her forget about anything else.
"I need to see you," Nissa said, "All of you."
The want behind her words made Leliana tremble, and she let her shift fall off of her shoulders, leaving her clad only in underwear she was rapidly dampening with her arousal. She felt like a woman for the first time in years, not a spy or the Divine, simply a lover reunited with her beloved.
Leliana slid her panties down over her hips, exposing the last of her to the warm air as well as to Nissa's gaze. Her skin was sticky with perspiration, but neither of them cared. The Warden reached out, her fingertips, brushing along Leliana's breastbone and over the swell of her breasts. "You're so beautiful," she whispered. "In the Deep Roads, sometimes thinking about you was all that kept me going."
Those fingers kept sliding downward, caressing the smooth plane of Leliana's stomach, tracing the curve of her hip, tangling in the short hairs just above her sex… She felt as if she might collapse without more stimulation and she pleaded, "Touch me. Take me. I'm yours."
"As am I." Nissa leaned in closer, and her tongue ran along Leliana's neck even while her hand cupped the bard's aching sex. Even that broad touch was enough to make Leliana gasp and when the Warden's fingers parted her folds and caressed her clit, her knees buckled. Nissa's strong hand caught her back before she could fall and she said, "Let me take you to bed."
"Maker, yes," Leliana murmured, and the two of them stumbled out of her sitting room and into the bedchamber together, unwilling to break their contact for very long. The Divine's huge four-poster bed with its lavishly embroidered curtains was a far cry from the bedroll where they had first made love, but what mattered to her was that the same woman was there to share it.
She lay back on the silken sheets and spread her legs, an unmistakable invitation that Nissa accepted eagerly. Her hand slid back between Leliana's legs, and when they teased the entrance to her sex, the Warden gasped, "Oh, darling, you're so wet for me."
Leliana's hips pushed forward, desperate to take Nissa deeper insider her. Those long, slim digits pressed against the front wall of her pussy, and her body clenched down, instinctively desperate to hold on to what she had missed for so long. She couldn't find any words, her moans of pleasure pushing aside every other sound. Nissa's thumb went back up to her clit, rubbing it in time with her thrusts. The sensation was so intense Leliana wanted to close her eyes, but she made herself keep them open. The image of her Warden standing over her, her eyes ablaze with love and desire, was too precious to give up.
"Just look at you," Nissa whispered. "I can't believe I left you for so long."
That words sent a thrill through Leliana almost as intense as her Warden's touch. Her back arched, the last threads of her self-control failing her faster than usual. Nissa noticed, and she knelt down at the foot of the bed, keeping her fingers inside, but pulling her thumb back and replacing it with her mouth. Soft lips enveloped Leliana's clit and as Nissa's tongue ran over it, the bard came undone. One scream after another escaped her, the bliss of her orgasm spreading out from her sex to every other part of her body, her release spilling out past the Warden's hand
Nissa stayed where she was for a time, eagerly drinking in Leliana's climax, and easing her through its aftershocks. Only when the bard's body finally relaxed did she stand back up, looking down at Leliana with a reverent smile on her face.
"Thank you," Leliana purred. "I needed that more than words can say."
Nissa's voice was barely above a whisper. "I know, my love. And I needed to feel it."
"That is not the only thing you need, ma coeur. And you are still wearing far too much for me to give it to you properly."
The haste with which Nissa complied was impressive. She pulled her armored shirt up over her head and threw it to the ground before yanking off the undershirt beneath it. Her lower garments she was even hastier with, pulling down her smalls along with her breeches and boots and kicking them aside. Leliana wasn't surprised to see fresh scars on her body. There was a faint red line running along her hip and down her leg and a smaller, but clearer one on her collarbone. It wasn't easy to leave such marks given Nissa's potent healing magics, and the thought of the stories that must have been behind them made Leliana's heart ache for a moment.
But only a moment, given what she had in front of her. "Come here," she urged, and Nissa fell into her arms. Leliana just started kissing. She wanted everything, and she ran her lips over her Warden's face, her neck, her body… anywhere she could reach. Strong fingers tangled in her hair, tensing every time her mouth made contact with bare skin.
Leliana settled temporarily on the elf's small, perfect breasts, lavishing attention on the nipples with her tongue while her hands cupped the soft flesh. Nissa was seldom very vocal when they made love, but when a whimper escaped her throat, Leliana knew without a doubt how much she'd been missed. She slid a leg in-between Nissa's thighs, letting the Warden grind against her. With every motion, more slickness was left on Leliana's skin and the bard teased, "It really has been too long."
"Maker, it has," Nissa panted. "Please. More."
"Surement," Leliana cooed. One hand slid between their bodies, seeking out the small, hard bud of Nissa's clit. Her Warden rocked desperately into her touch, pleading without words for as much contact as she could find. There would be a time for slow, gentle lovemaking, but it would come later. Now, they simply needed this too much.
Leliana increased the pressure, and when she felt Nissa's other hand clutch at her ass, desperate for any purchase to keep her steady, she told her, "Go on, ma coeur. Come for me. I want to feel you body tighten, see the look on your face…"
Her words were too much. Her Warden threw back her head and her hips bucked frantically against Leliana as she found her release. The bard's leg was left wet by Nissa's orgasm, and all she could do was hold onto her lover as she shivered in her arms before slumping down on top of her.
Her weight was reassuring and at first, Leliana just stroked her long, copper hair, bathing in the joy of the moment. The overwhelming power of their desire was retreating though, and eventually, she couldn't stop herself from giving voice to the question that had forced it's way to the surface.
"Are you staying?"
It wasn't the most romantic thing to ask, but she had to know. She could never regret what had just happened, but if this was only temporary, she couldn't let herself sink too far into bliss either.
"If you want me to, I can," came the reply, and the bard's heart soared. "My mission was a success, Leliana. I'm free of the Calling."
"How…", she began.
"It's… a long story," Nissa told her, her voice suggesting that there was a great deal of pain behind it. "And a complicated one. But for now, know that I'm not a Warden anymore." She took a deep breath, seeming to set aside the matter before glancing around and taking in their surroundings. "And speaking of career changes," she added, her face brightening. "It's hard to believe that I really just fucked the Divine."
"Blasphemer," Leliana said with a laugh. Nissa always did have a certain irreverence that, though it could annoy her at times, she also found charming.
Nissa raised an eyebrow, mischief now definitely behind her eyes. "Really? Does that mean I'm going to be punished, Your Worship?"
"Only if you don't do it again."
Nissa chuckled at that but then she added, "Seriously, though, now that you're Divine, isn't there a vow, or something involved? Could this get you into trouble?"
A part of Leliana winced at the question. It would be nice to be able to ignore the real world and simply be two people happy to be reunited. Life wasn't that easy though. "There are… restrictions," she admitted, "Though they are more often observed in the breach. Many Divine's have taken lovers. As long as the relationship is discrete and no pregnancies result, it is considered best unremarked on."
"Well, at least that second thing isn't exactly a worry for us," Nissa observed, "But the first one might be trickier. People may notice if I'm sneaking in and out of your chambers all the time."
"Then you will need a good reason to be in my company," she agreed, a joyful smile starting to cover her face. The Maker, it seemed, had gifted her with a perfect opportunity. "You need a job," she told Nissa, "Just as I find myself in need of some help. Perhaps I could interest you in becoming the new Right Hand of the Divine?"
Nissa shook her head and her lips curled into a little smile. "There is something vaguely appropriate about that, I think. After all, when we first met, you were working for me."
Leliana kissed her enthusiastically. "I think it might be an interesting, having you under me for a change." She flipped them over so that she lay on top of the Warden, running her hands over her lithe body. "So to speak."
"Mm, it does seem like this could have its benefits," Nissa agreed.
"It won't be easy work," Leliana said, more seriously. "The Chantry needs to change and there will be resistance to those changes."
"You know that difficult doesn't scare me." Nissa placed a hand on Leliana's back. The bard had scars of her own there, the residue of Marjolene's betrayal still visible, but her lover had never shied away from them. "I just want you to promise me that whatever your enemies do, you won't let them push you into going too far yourself."
"I know you're worried, but I can handle it," she insisted, perhaps too quickly. "I am no child when it comes to the Game."
"I know that, but…" Nissa got a distant look in here eyes as she recalled a darker time in her life. "When we first met, I'd just had all of this responsibility dumped on me…. Fighting the Blight, making all of those alliances, leading the Wardens… and it sent me to a really dark place. You know what I did with Connor and the demon. I thought I needed the power, but you pulled me back from the edge and helped me to see that I could stop the Darkspawn without losing myself in the process. Let me return the favor."
Her instinct was to stay on the defensive, to insist that this was not the same situation, but in her heart she knew Nissa was right. Ruthlessness was necessary sometimes, but she'd been letting it come too easily to her, especially since the Conclave was destroyed. "All right," she agreed. "There is no one I would rather have help me bear these burdens." She brushed her hand over her lover's cheek. "And the first burden we have to bear is a reception this evening. Everyone wants to meet the new Divine, after all. And now, I imagine, her Right Hand."
Nissa grinned. "How long until then?"
"Oh, several more hours," she replied with a sultry smile, easing down into her lover's arms and enjoying the way they pulled tight around her. "We have a little time yet. And a great deal more catching up to do."
And with the promised Warden/Leliana chapter, we come to the end of Keep My Feet on the Grounds. Thanks to everyone who's read, reviewed, faved, and followed. I really appreciate the feedback. I may return to these characters at some point, and in the meantime, I'm working on a few other Dragon Age projects: The Seeker and the Nightingale (Cassandra/Leliana) with AmityN7, and Beyond Understanding (Mage FAdaar/Sera and Cassandra/Morrigan), with Rae D. Magdon. Check them out if you're so inclined, and if you enjoyed the story, please let me know.