Chapter 16

Notes: There is a part in this chapter that is NSFW! It's after the third break. So fair warning! If you do not wish to read smut, just jump over it all to the next break.

I had a very hard time with this chapter, because my muse suddenly thought of going on a vacation and not inviting me along. Writer's block is definitely the worse thing ever even more so when you KNOW what's going to happen in a chapter, but can't find the words to write it all out!

Thanks SO much to all of you following this crazy tale, as well as LadyDarksbane who is so generously always there for me!

Feel free to write a comment. I love reading what you think!

…

Beatrix returned from the Exalted Plains nine days later, carrying the heart of the snowy wyvern, which she promptly gave to Vivienne, who in turned asked her to accompany her after she had finished her potion. She agreed and waited patiently. After a while, they both left for the Ghislain Estate, arriving after two days of travelling by carriage.

What Beatrix saw, caused her to reconsider what she had thought about Vivienne previously. She had thought this mage was a master manipulator who used everybody for her own gain. In truth, she was wrong. There was one person at least, whom Vivienne adored beyond anything and everyone: The Duke of Ghislain, Bastien, who was lying on his bed, close to death. Of course, Beatrix knew Vivienne had probably used him as well. It wasn't easy to get to the top and the Duke was a valued member of the Council of Heralds. His influence was probably what had also made her Court Mage to Empress Celene as well. As much as Beatrix saw how deeply she loved Duke Bastien, she wasn't naïve enough to think that his position of power amongst the nobility hadn't played an important part in securing Vivienne's place in the social ladder of Orlais.

When Vivienne had him drink the potion, she waited with bated breath to see if it had any positive effect. Unfortunately, the Duke passed away, after confessing his love to her. Vivienne had tears in her eyes and clung to Beatrix, who tried to comfort the lovely mage.

Vivienne told her everything about the Duke while she made preparations for the wake and funeral, writing to his sister and his son immediately afterward. Beatrix helped in any way she could and for once, they got along quite well.

Beatrix stayed by her side even after the pyre was lit and all prayed for his soul. She met the Duke's sister and his son, which were quite taken with her, even though she hardly said a word.

Ten days later, they both departed to return to Skyhold. When they entered the main hall once they arrived, Vivienne held out a hand to stop her from walking any further.

"Inquisitor, you have been there for me more than anyone I've known in a while during one of the worst moments in my life, if not the worst. I cannot express my appreciation for you or how much I have grown close to you because of this. It seems I misjudged you before, my dear," Vivienne squeezed her hand. "I had this ring made by a Formari mage while we were in Val Royeaux, it is meant only for a true friend. You have been this to me, Inquisitor. Please take it."

"I – I'm honored. Madame de Fer," Beatrix stammered. It was weird for Vivienne to display affection towards anyone. But she decided to play along.

"Please, my dear. Call me Vivienne. 'Madame de Fer' is what the noble fools or the people who are afraid of me call me. You are not a noble fool and I know that while I may sometimes annoy you greatly, you will never be afraid of me."

Beatrix grinned at that and squeezed her hand back, putting the ring on – immediately and successfully hiding her true thoughts from the lovely mage.

You're quite right, Madame Vivienne. I'll never be afraid of you after what happened in Val Royeaux. Wary, perhaps. But never frightened.

…

It was time to pass judgment on Livius Erimond. Nobody wanted to sentence him, but everyone wanted his head cut off. Beatrix frowned as she faced the vile Magister who had been responsible for so much death. She doubted he would feel any remorse.

The man was a monster.

Quietly she listened to his words of Tevinter Supremacy, of devotion to the Elder One, of his scorn against her and the Inquisition. She smiled when he was done and leaned forward, her eyes glittering dangerously as she sentenced him to death. He scoffed at her words, paling a little when she told him that it would be carried out immediately, leaving the best part for last.

She would be the one to execute him.

The people gathered together around the wooden dais that had been placed in the center of the main courtyard. They had dismantled one of the scaffolds they were using in order to use it as the place where Beatrix would execute Erimond. Cullen was there, of course, his grim expression making her smile grow as she climbed the wooden makeshift steps towards Erimond's kneeling figure. Placing a foot on his back, she gestured at him to bend over even more, smiling in spite of the seriousness of the situation.

She unsheathed the sword that had been given to her upon accepting her role as Inquisitor, and took aim after donning the executioner's mask one of the soldiers handed out to her. In her mind's eye, she saw all the things Erimond had done and her anger poured forth onto the huge sword as she roared, bringing it down upon his neck. The cut was done cleanly, far too cleanly for someone as evil as he and the head rolled into the basket that had been placed below. She handed her sword over to one of her accompanying soldiers, asking it to be properly cleaned. There was no way she would touch it if that man's blood hadn't been cleaned off it.

Taking off the mask, she glanced at Cullen who was watching her closely, his eyes dark with something that looked like desire and smiled, feeling her heart thump a little faster.

She slowly went down the steps and stopped right next to him. Standing on the tips of her toes, she whispered something Cullen was not expecting at all.

"Take a bath, come to my quarters in an hour." Her breath on his ear made him shiver slightly, his eyes widened briefly and locked with hers. He could see the desire in them and he felt himself getting harder by the minute.

He nodded, not trusting his voice to say anything at the moment and she gave him a smirk, then calmly walked away.

…

An hour later, freshly bathed, he stood outside the inner door to her quarters, summoning a great deal of courage in order to knock. It wasn't that he was afraid, he was just entirely too excited and burning with anticipation. He rapped on the door a couple of times and waited.

"Come in, Cullen. The door is open."

Upon hearing her muffled voice, he stepped inside accordingly. Before he had the chance to properly see or greet her, she had thrown herself into his arms and was kissing him with such passion he let out a groan, deepening the kiss.

Beatrix moaned through the kiss and started to walk backwards towards her bed, stopping only because she bumped into one of the tables beside the loveseat. She frowned at the offending piece of furniture and Cullen chuckled.

"Do I kill it for interrupting us, My Lady?" he asked with a smirk.

Her reply was to stand on her toes and capture his lips again in a searing kiss. Cullen moaned as their tongues danced. But when his hand slipped up to the nape of her neck, he saw how incredibly tense she was and broke the kiss, his worried eyes on hers.

"My love," he rumbled, leaning away when she tried to kiss him again. "You're very tense."

"Maybe it's because I keep getting hundreds of missions to go on," she snapped. "Everyone in Thedas seems to think I'm not human enough to rest. Even my own companions are asking for help."

Cullen frowned and sighed. "I'm sorry, love."

"If you really are sorry, then make love to me," she said in a much gentler tone.

Cullen smiled at this, guiding her to her bed and sitting her down. His kiss was not demanding, nor was it overly passionate, but it made her mewl with desire. He felt his cock straining against his smalls and breeches, but this was about her, not him.

His hands quickly found the buttons to her long tunic and he unbuttoned it slowly, still kissing her. His hands found her breasts – she hadn't been wearing a breast band which pleasantly surprised him. He moaned as she panted, while his lips began their journey from her cheek to her ear.

"As My Lady commands," he murmured.

She was panting heavily as his mouth slowly descended, stopping only when it reached the valley between her breasts. She gave him a breathless, "OH!" when he took one nipple into his mouth and suckled it, his right hand now tweaking her right nipple at the same time. She arched up, melding herself into his chest.

She was lying on the bed now and he almost lost it when she mewled, biting her lower lip. Barely keeping his wits about him, his mouth continued to descend as he slowly and lovingly placed kisses and nipped her skin lightly, eliciting more moans from her.

Cullen was grateful that she had been wearing only her long tunic, soon discovering that she wasn't wearing smalls. He smiled as he reached her dark curls, parting her folds to reveal her completely to him. His eyes were on hers, as she propped herself on her elbows to look at him.

"What are you go-" She never got to finish her sentence as his mouth descended on her. Suckling on her nub, she moaned as she lay back on the pillows.

Cullen smiled to himself as one of his hands reached her entrance. Carefully and very slowly, his index finger pressed itself inside as he continued to lick and suckle her nub.

"Cullen! Oh, Cullen!" she suddenly yelled out as his finger entered her completely. He licked and suckled her nub again in response, while his finger went in and out. She was soaking wet and he focused on what he was doing, aiming to bring her over the edge.

"Come for me, my love," he murmured as he now slid two fingers in, his licks and suckling making her arch up to him. But he held her steady as he continued his ministrations, until she was saying his name over and over – the sweetest song Cullen had ever heard as he gently reached the spot inside that would make her come.

And she did. In a matter of minutes she was rising up towards him, his name a litany on her lips. His hand was now covered with her essence – his tongue now lapping up her juices, moaning softly as he did.

Maker! She was perfect! So beautiful!

Very tenderly, he stopped his suckling and slowly kissed his way up to her mouth as she lay there panting, her eyes now holding his. He kissed her lovingly for a short while and she leaned back, breaking away from his kiss. She lay on the pillows still breathing heavily, her eyes twinkling like the brightest stars in the heavens.

"Cullen," she whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too," he said capturing her mouth again in a tender kiss.

She broke away from his kiss once again, concern written all over her beautiful face. "But, why are you still dressed and what about you, don't you-"

"Shhh, my love. This is about you, not me," Cullen whispered. "Making love should not be a stress reliever. Your first time should be special."

"This is special," Beatrix started to protest, but Cullen smiled when she tried to unsuccessfully stifle a yawn.

"A nap is what would be most beneficial right now, love," he stated, now kissing her cheek tenderly.

"But –"

Cullen silenced her with another kiss, then leaned back.

"I insist. Humor me," he whispered, his amber eyes holding her sapphire ones.

She nodded and gave him a sleepy smile, then settled back on the pillows as he lay beside her, holding her hand and stroking her hair gently. In mere minutes she was asleep and Cullen sighed as he held her close, readying himself for a nap as well.

Unfortunately, there was a knock on the door and cursing under his breath, he stood up and walked towards it, hoping his anger would be enough to dissuade the person on the other side from bothering the Inquisitor.

…

Beatrix awoke to the darkness in her room, shivering slightly. Sitting up in bed, she saw the fire was out, but the balcony doors wide open. She looked around for Cullen, but found a note instead written in his large and slanted handwriting.

My love,

Unfortunately, I had to tend to other matters and hope you will forgive me for not being there when you woke up. As you well know, reports keep piling up and I must not ignore this, lest I find myself drowning in parchment!

I'm extremely happy you finally got some rest. Allow me to take care of you every moment of our lives together. It would make me even happier than I am today.

Josephine came by, but I said I would NOT wake you. She said something about a fitting for the dress you will be wearing at Halamshiral. I told her that she could speak to you about that in the morning after our meeting at the war table room. Even though she mentioned that the tailor had traveled without stopping to get to Skyhold, I did not listen and told her firmly you needed to rest.

I asked the cook to have someone bring up something to eat. There's a plate with bread and cheese on it next to the fireplace and some fruit as well as pastries that she made today. Josephine also handed me a couple of reports for you to read. One from the tailor and the other from Leliana.

Please continue to rest. No one will bother you at all, and I have placed a guard at your door to ensure nobody does.

I'll try to visit later.

Yours always,

Cullen

Beatrix sighed as soon as she finished reading the missive, thanking the Maker that she had someone like Cullen in her life. She folded the letter carefully and stood up from the bed, walking towards her desk. Opening a drawer, she deposited the letter inside. She turned to close the first set of balcony doors shivering in the cold night air, and then went back inside, spotting the plate Cullen had mentioned.

She could not, however, eat anything until she had a fire roaring in the fireplace, and she still needed to shut the second set of doors. Turning around after having successfully starting a fire in the fireplace, she rubbed her hands in front of it for a few moments in order to get warm. Then she buttoned her tunic up and turned to walk across the room to close the balcony doors. Once there, she stepped outside briefly.

There was light in Cullen's tower, but as far as she could tell, it was the only sign that there was someone up and about. The courtyards were totally empty, save the patrolling guards. Maker! This could only mean that he was staying up far longer than he should and she worried this would make him ill. She had to talk to him about taking better care of himself.

She stepped back inside, once again chilled to the bones and relaxed once the doors shut out the cold mountain air. Then she sat in front of the fire and ate.

Once her meal was done, she went up to her tub, filling it with water and saw that the fire rune still gave out heat, which meant a nice, hot bath would soon be ready for her.

Since she had a while to wait for the water to heat up, she quickly read Josephine's missive, realizing Halamshiral was only a week away. Groaning, she quickly put the parchment on the small table beside her bed and quickly read Leliana's, standing up quickly as she reread it with her eyes wide open.

Shit! This was all she needed in the already busy schedule she had.

Her parents were coming to Skyhold to visit.

…

Beatrix practically ran into the war table room the following morning, arriving out of breath. The three advisors looked up from reading one of the reports at the same time, Cullen's lips immediately turning up at the corners into a lopsided grin.

The kind that made her melt, of course.

She felt herself blush as she spoke, Leliana unsuccessfully trying to hide her smirk behind one of her gloved hands.

"I – I'm sorry I'm late, but FUCK! I read your report, Leliana!"

Beatrix suspected everyone knew, but this was not the case.

"Your parents should arrive here two days before our trip to Halamshiral, Inquisitor. They claim to have an invitation to the Winter palace, so I took the liberty of suggesting we all go together," Leliana stated, her eyes on Cullen, who was standing even straighter than he usually did.

"Your parents are…coming to Skyhold?" Cullen asked weakly, his hand tightly clutching the hilt of his sword.

"You didn't know?" Beatrix asked immediately, her eyes flicking back to Leliana as the bard tried to avoid bursting out laughing, a chuckle escaping her lips in spite of this.

"No! I didn't!" Cullen shot out, his voice raising an octave.

He cleared his throat nervously.

"Well, I did!" Josephine added, looking at all their faces and finally realizing Leliana had kept the Commander in the dark about this on purpose. Her hand flew to her mouth, stifling the giggles that threatened to spill.

"Ugh! I'm sorry Cullen," Beatrix said quickly. "I didn't know myself until I woke up in the wee hours of the morning and read Leliana's report."

"You sent a report?" Cullen asked in shock as he looked at Leliana. The bard only winked at him with a wide grin on her face.

"The messenger might not have found you. After all, Commander, nobody knew you were in the Inquisitor's quarters, hmmm?" Leliana answered sweetly.

Cullen flushed bright red at this all the way down to his neck, including his ears. He cleared his throat again, seemingly at a loss for words.

Beatrix shook her head and sighed, a smile on her face.

"I would have told you sooner, but I lay down to take a short nap in the early hours of the morning, or so I thought. The bath I took relaxed me too much, I'm afraid. You definitelysucceeded in helping me relax, Commander."

Cullen now was on the verge of turning purple. His eyes looked around the room, desperately searching for a distraction. Anything to keep his attention from the looks he was now getting.

"Oh, but it seems that the Iron Bull has effectively contacted you, Leliana?" Beatrix added holding a parchment up, giving Cullen a momentary respite.

"Yes, Inquisitor. He proposes an alliance, and I must say this is something that would benefit the Inquisition immensely."

"I agree," Josephine intervened as she scribbled away on the parchment that was fixed onto her clipboard. "We would gain a great deal of insight into Venatori operations, since the Qunari spies are constantly on their tails."

Cullen, who had succeeded in calming down a bit, spoke up.

"All the same, I would suggest caution. I was there in Kirkwall when the Qunari invaded. They have a certain way of thinking that doesn't always seem trustworthy. They could betray us readily if it were convenient for them to do so."

"I agree, Commander," Beatrix said with a nod, her eyes warmly regarding them. "I'll speak to Bull immediately and set up a party to travel to the Storm Coast right after the ball at Halamshiral."

"You won't be talking to the Iron Bull right now, Inquisitor," Josephine quickly said. "The tailor is here and I aim to make sure your measurements are taken. Halamshiral is only a week away and you WILL have the most beautiful gown in Orlais."

Beatrix sighed, refusing to look at Cullen who had just chuckled softly.

"All right, all right. I'll get this fucking thing over with. Lead the way."

…

"Cullen, I'm here for you, my love," Beatrix said softly as she put her hands on his arms, trying to pull him closer.

"No! NOT HER, NOT HER!" He was shouting now, the sword he held up slicing her nearly in half. He saw the surprised look on her face, suddenly aware that it really had been Beatrix and not the desire demon.

NO! He screamed inwardly, trying to hold her, trying to stop all the blood from flowing out of the wound.

He sat up in bed, practically bathed in cold sweat, his heart hammering loudly in his chest. He was breathing heavily and stood up far too quickly, the room suddenly spinning before him. He had to get outside. He needed some fresh air.

Still gasping for breath, he automatically reached for his breeches and long tunic shirt, hastily dressing. Climbing down quickly, he opened one of the doors to the battlements wide, stepping outside. It was bitterly cold, but Cullen didn't even notice. His skin was flushed and he was burning from the inside out.

Turning his head slightly, his eyes fell on Beatrix's double balcony doors. One of the bad headaches started suddenly, roaring to life as he noticed there was still light in her quarters. He was leaning against his closed door, unable to even take a step, trying unsuccessfully to avoid the images of his nightmare that now flashed in his brain.

Should he go to her quarters? She was awake. He always felt better when she was beside him.

As if on cue, the door to Solas' rotunda opened and Beatrix stepped out into the walkway, immediately noticing Cullen leaning on the door and gazing at her with desperation. She quickly ran to him and he took her in his arms, shaking so violently that she leaned back, the concern and fear for him written all over her face.

"Cullen, my love!" Beatrix's cool hands touched his face, and one of them his forehead. "You are burning up with fever!"

"Lyrium withdrawal, not fever," he managed to murmur, disengaging himself quickly from her arms before he started to vomit over the battlements, grasping the stone wall to keep himself upright.

"Dorian has a special tea for bad headaches, I'll – " Beatrix began and Cullen shook his head as he tried to stand upright, swaying slightly on his feet. "You stubborn oaf! Get inside, and wait for me! I'm bringing the tea and Solas! He's a competent healer!"

"No, I – I," Cullen managed to say, but Beatrix paid no heed, and held the door open for him, leading him back inside.

"Please, my love," she said immediately after she helped him climb the ladder to his loft. "Let me take care of you, just like you take care of me, yes?"

They reached his bed and Cullen sat down.

"Alright," he mumbled softly, feeling slightly better already in spite of his raging headache.

She helped him lie down, whispering words of love and encouragement to him and kissed his hot forehead, then hurried down the ladder, disappearing from view.

Cullen sighed to himself, then started to shake, grinding his teeth. Beatrix had such a calming effect on him, he knew that her presence alone would help him overcome this night, even though she was bringing help.

And he would never cease to thank the Maker for her.

Never.

…