Chapter 26
Alex stood at the stove nervously stirring her grandmother's recipe for Bolognese sauce. She scooped a little sauce out and tasted it - needs more basil and she sprinkled some more into the pot. It had been two weeks since her miraculous recovery and everyone was slowly, but surely beginning to accept that she was healthy in mind, body and spirit; after tonight however that might be a different story. Although her family and friends were still very suspicious of Alistair and Anders…well Alistair more than Anders because it was Alistair she was sleeping with; a man that they had never met or even heard of, but who she now professed to love.
When James had came to her the other day and told her that he had been doing some research and that he couldn't find any record of an Alistair Theirin born or raised in Northumberland she knew she had to do something and that it would have to be dramatic enough that they would believe her and accept Alistair. She had deflected his inquiry with anger by accusing him of overstepping his brotherly boundaries by doing a background check on her boyfriend and told him to back off. Then she immediately went to Anders and together they had devised a plan that they were going to set into motion tonight at a dinner that she had planned for her close friends. Alistair was unaware of the plan because she needed his reactions to be genuine. It bothered her that she was keeping this from him, but she didn't feel that she had a choice.
James was the key to convincing her father about Alistair. If she could persuade her brother that Alistair was not from this world then he would be a powerful ally to winning her father's trust. It was also important for Matt and Eva to be there because two doctors, who are well versed in science, would be powerful witnesses to the event that was about to unfold.
Alex felt two strong arms wrap around her waist, "Mmmm, something smells good, Love," Alistair whispered as he feathered kisses down the side of her neck.
"It's my grandmother's recipe. I think you will like it," Alex murmured lost in the sensation of his lips on her skin.
"I'm sure I will. I'm starving…but not for food," Alistair sighed as he pulled her skirt up and slid his hands in between her thighs.
Alex's head began to spin from the heat of his touch. "Alistair, our guests are due to arrive in thirty minutes," she mewed as her desire for him began to course through her.
Alistair spun her around, scooped her up in his arms and headed back towards the bedroom, "That's plenty of time," he moaned as his lips came down on hers.
Alex sat at one end of the table and Alistair sat at the other end. She glanced around at her friends engrossed in conversation as they relaxed over dessert and coffee. It had been an enjoyable evening so far. She nervously fidgeted with the butcher knife that she had hidden under her napkin and she felt her heart rate increase.
Anders reached over and rested his hand over hers as he whispered, "It's now or never, my dear."
She gave a short nod, took a deep breath and stood up. She clinked her fork against her wine glass to get everyone's attention. Startled, Alistair raised an eye brow, but remained silent. She let out a long sigh and then began, "I want to thank everyone for coming tonight. The people that are gathered at this table mean the world to me and I love you all. Because you are the most important people in my life there is something of utmost importance that I must share with you." She heard her voice crack and paused for a moment to compose herself. She fiddled with the knife again under the napkin. "What I have to tell you is astounding, amazing and unbelievable…and it would be easier to demonstrate this then to try and explain it."
She quickly pulled out the knife and slid it across her palm. Blood began to pour out of the wound, down her arm and onto the white table cloth. Everyone except Anders was staring at her in wide-eyed disbelief.
"What the fuck?" James shouted.
Alistair was immediately out of his seat and sprung at her, but before he could reach her, Alex said, "God help me" as she raised the knife and without hesitation plunged it into her side. Alex felt the searing pain rip through her as the world began to spin and she collapsed to the floor.
Eva and Matt were immediately on their knees on both sides of her as Alistair hovered above them. They rolled her over so that she was flat on her back. Matt was checking her vitals as Eva lifted her shirt to look at the wound. She grabbed a napkin to wipe the blood away and survey the wound. "It's deep, but I don't think she hit any vital organs. However, there is a lot of blood; she may have nicked an artery," she relayed in a very clinical tone.
"Her pulse is elevated and pupils dilated. She is still conscious, but she is going into shock. Somebody get me a blanket," Matt demanded.
Anders was now standing above her, "By Andraste's arse, she wasn't supposed to do that."
Alistair glared at Anders, "YOU KNEW! You knew she was going to do this."
Eva paused as she looked at Anders, "What? How could you not try and stop her from doing this?"
"Because she wasn't supposed to stab herself in the side; she was just suppose to cut her hand so that I could heal her," Anders said.
"I'm going to kick your…" James began, but was interrupted by Alistair's deep booming voice.
"AND YOU went along with this crazy plan and never thought to mention it to me. Have you forgotten who you answer to? Damn you, Anders," Alistair demanded.
"Your Majes…Alistair I can still save her," Anders replied.
"THEN DO IT! Heal her, now," Alistair commanded.
Anders knelt down beside Eva and placed his hands above the wound on Alex's side. "Anders you need to back off so that Matt and I can work on her," Eva said coldly.
"NO! Give him room to work," Alistair ordered with such an air of authority Eva and Matt immediately stopped and sat back on their heels.
James fell to his knees by Alex's head. He glared up at Alistair, "You better know what you're doing. If she dies, I will kill you myself."
Alex shook her head and mumbled, "No…no…sss..ssstop it."
Anders looked at Alistair, Alistair nodded his approval. Anders placed his hands over the wound again and Alistair felt the veil to the Fade slip open as Anders began casting healing spells. After a few minutes Anders whispered, "I need lyrium."
Alistair ran back to his room and returned a minute later with a little bottle containing a green liquid. Anders quickly drank it and went back to work. Eva and Matt stared in awe as they watched the flow of blood from the wound slow down and then stop all together.
Matt's jaw dropped as he watched the skin began to knit back together and close up. "That's…that's impossible," he muttered. Matt checked her pulse again, "Her pulse rate is still elevated."
Alex raised her hand and whispered, "Hand."
Eva took her hand and examined the wound. Alistair felt the veil open again and he looked around for the source. Anders stopped in mid-cast and stared dumbfounded at Eva as she cast a healing spell at Alex's hand. "You…you're… you're a mage," Anders stuttered.
"A what?" Eva questioned.
"A mage…a healer," Anders replied.
"Aaah, a healer; yes well, my great-grandmother's people called us shaman," Eva replied.
Alex sat up, stared at her hand then ran her hand across her side; not even a scratch there. She smiled and looked up at Anders and Eva, "Thank you," she whispered.
James stared at Eva, then at Anders and then at Alex, "Would someone tell me what the hell just happened here?"
"Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing," Matt said still in shock.
"I would be happy to, but I think a bottle of cognac would help make the information easier to digest," Alex said as she stood up and looked down at her bloody clothes. "I also think I would before to explain everything in clothes that are not so dirty. James, there is a bottle of Courvoisier under the sink in the kitchen. Could you open it and bring out glasses while I get cleaned up?"
James just nodded and headed out to the kitchen.
Alistair followed Alex back to the bedroom. "What the bloody hell was that little stunt you just pulled?" He demanded.
Alex raised an eye brown as she headed for the bathroom and turned on the shower, "It's how I plan on having my family to accept you."
"What?" Alistair asked flabbergasted. Alistair shook his head in frustration. "Alex, you are one of the most brilliant people I know, but that was the stupidest thing I have ever seen anyone do. And that is saying something because I traveled with Oghren for a year during the Blight. Please explain how you almost killing yourself is going to have your family accept me?"
"My brother and my father know there is something not right about you and Anders and where you say you are from? My brother has already run a background check on you and he can't find a trace of Alistair Theirin. As long as they are suspicious of you they will never accept you or trust you…"
"Oh and you think plunging a knife into your side is going to have them welcome me with open arms," Alistair interrupted.
"Alistair, I had to do something extreme. I had to show them something amazing, something that could never happen in our world. Otherwise, they would just think that I had brain damage from the coma when I tried to explain about parallel universes and spending time in Ferelden. What Anders did out there is impossible in my world and…"
"Obviously, it's not impossible. Eva just healed your hand," Alistair interrupted again.
"Yeah, what's up with that?" Alex asked as she stripped out of her clothes and stepped into the shower. "I didn't see that coming. The point being is that is not common in my world. I didn't even know that true healers existed here and clearly she can't be that strong of a healer or she would have healed me while I was in the coma," Alex said as she lathered up.
Alistair stared at her as she ran her soapy hands across her breasts and down her legs. He was having trouble concentrating let alone continue with the argument…until he looked at the drain and watched the bright red water swirl down the drain. He could have lost her tonight…again. Alistair slipped off his socks and shoes and stepped into the shower still fully clothed. Alex whirled around with surprise in her eyes. Alistair pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "Please," he whispered, "please don't ever do that to me again. I had no idea what was going on and I thought I was going to lose you again. Please, promise me."
His plea was so agonizing that it broke Alex's heart that she had caused him such pain. She ran her fingers through his hair, "I'm so sorry, Alistair. I honestly thought that it would be best if your reaction was authentic and not rehearsed. I wanted them to see the King of Ferelden in action." A seductive smile spread across her face, "And I must say Your Majesty, you definitely delivered."
Alistair laughed as he pulled her back into a tight embrace. "Well, the next time you want to role play how about we breakout the props instead of a live reenactment. Okay?"
"Oooo, you have props? Do you have a royal scepter hidden somewhere that I don't know about?"
"Oh, I have a royal scepter for you alright," Alistair said as he began to tickle her sides.
She laughed and squirmed out of his embrace. "Well, I do love a good role playing game so maybe we can bring out "your scepter" later on tonight, Your Majesty." Alex said as she kissed his cheek and bent over to shut off the water.
Alistair smacked your bottom and said, "You can count on it, my Queen."
They quickly got dressed and made their way out back out to the living room. Alex poured two glasses of cognac and handed one to Alistair. Then she launched into how she had saved Morrigan in the emergency room, how in return Morrigan had offered her the opportunity to travel to a parallel world called Ferelden. She explained about parallel worlds, the Fade and how she traveled through a portal to this other world. She described how she met Alistair and she went into great detail about Zevran, Darrian and all of the companions she had met while there. She elaborated on the quest to save Darrian's daughter and then she told them about how Alistair had proposed and that she had accepted. She went on to explain about her corporal and spiritual body and how Alistair and Anders had traveled her to save her. When she had finished the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Alistair reached over and squeezed her hand encouragingly. The silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity.
"So you're engaged….to a King?" Eva asked.
Alex laughed, "Out of all the crazy things I just explained and that is your first question?"
"Well, yes, it's not every day your best friend gets engaged and I don't even know what the proper gift is for royalty," Eva retorted.
Alex smiled, "Yes, I am engaged, but in this world we are not royalty."
James stood up and began to pace the floor, "So let me get this straight, while Dad and I were worried sick about you, sleeping days at time by your bedside, spending a small fortune for your care and burying our mother, you were off in other world having some grand adventure, shacking up the King and getting engaged. Do I have the gist of this crazy tale?"
Alex stood up, walked over to her brother and placed her hand on his arm. He roughly shrugged it off and walked over to the other side of the room. Alex hung her head for a moment as she composed her thoughts, "James, I had no idea what was going on back here and what you and Dad were going through. If I had known I would have come back."
"You would have come back… you would have left your King and come to us," James demanded.
"Yes, I would have. I didn't know I was in a coma here until Morrigan explained what happened and that my corporal body was dying," Alex said.
"And what the hell did you think your corporal body was doing?" James challenged.
"I thought I was in my corporal body in Ferelden," Alex retorted.
"OH WELL, that makes it better. So instead of your family suffering by your deathbed, you were okay with us suffering through your sudden disappearance as we imagined all the unspeakable things that might have happened to you. Damn you, Alex, do you ever think of anyone besides yourself?"
Alex felt the air being sucked out of her lungs as the weight of her decision crashed down on her and crushed her. She had never really thought about what her family and friends had gone through while she was in Ferelden. She had been so caught up in the moment of seeing, experiencing and learning from this new world that she never even stopped to think how her decision would affect those closest to her. She felt her head begin to spin and she eased down into chair as the tears streamed down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry," she muttered. "Really James, I am so sorry. I never meant to hurt you or anyone else."
"Yeah, well that's the problem isn't it; you never mean to hurt anyone. You aren't a malicious person, but your thoughtlessness does bring pain to others and this time it cost us the life of our mother," James said bitterly.
The anger and bitterness that Alex heard in his voice was more than she could bear. She stood up, looked at James, Eva and Matt and whispered, "I'm sorry. I really am. I love you and never meant to hurt you." She slipped on a sweater, headed for the door and said, "I need some time alone."
As the door slammed shut James yelled, "That's it run away like you always do. Why don't head back to Ferelden?"
Alistair jumped up and was in James face in a flash, "Shut up!"
"Oh, is that an order Your Majesty. Is the mighty King Alistair going to make me?" James asked sarcastically.
"Yes, if I have to. That woman is the bravest, smartest and kindest woman I have ever met. I asked her to be my wife and the Queen of Ferelden not just because I love her, but because I knew that she would help me rule my country with a just, fair hand, but also with great love and compassion. She has the ability to see the pain in others and to find a solution to stop their suffering. Whatever pain she has caused you and your father it was unintentional. She loves both of you deeply and she would never purposely do anything to cause you heartache. She doesn't need you to make her feel guilty over her mother's death. She beats herself up every night about her mother as she cries herself to sleep while holding her picture."
Alistair paused as he reigned in his emotions. "I understand you are hurting James, but you aren't the only one in pain. Maybe it's you that is so overwhelmed by your own pain that you are thoughtlessly lashing out at the one person that just two weeks ago you were overjoyed to see alive," Alistair hissed as he spun on his heels, grabbed his jacket and headed out the door to find his future bride.