Shopping in the market district took nearly all of the following morning, so Elissa and Nathaniel decided to take lunch in Amaranthine before heading back to Vigil's Keep. On the way back, they discussed upcoming plans.
"There's the upcoming dedication ceremony for the casteless of Kal'Hirol, right?" Nathaniel asked as he scanned the horizon. "Will we have time to do that before you have to attend King Alistair's wedding?"
"Yes. I don't think it will take too long to get there and back. In fact, I was thinking we should stop at Highever on the way to Orzammar. I haven't been there since the attack," Elissa put a hand on Nathaniel's arm to reassure him as he winced, "and I promised I would try to visit Fergus soon. We'll be passing close by so it makes sense to do it now. I'd like to do some recruiting anyway. We've been at the keep for more than six months and we still only have five Wardens. Now that things are calmer we need to get more members."
Nathaniel nodded. "That makes sense. Should we plan to stop by other locations to recruit as well then, while we're on the trip?"
"I was thinking about that," Elissa said slowly. "The problem is, because there are only five of us, I worry that we'd be leaving the keep unattended for too long. My thought was to recruit along the northern part of the country as we travel to and from Orzammar, and then go to Denerim for the wedding, and then after the wedding perhaps go to the Circle Tower and Redcliffe to recruit there after. And we should visit the Dalish as well. They should be settled in the Korcari Wilds enough by then that we won't be as disruptive."
"That will work," Nathaniel thought aloud. "So, basically, bring back recruits on each part of the larger route and have them perform the Joining, and then we can take mixed groups with us for later excursions?"
Elissa nodded. "That was what I was thinking. We're in desperate need of warriors of Oghren's ability and I'd like at least one or two more mages as well. But really, we need everything. It's too bad we can't just shoot everything with our arrows from a hundred and fifty feet off." She grinned at Nathaniel.
Nathaniel laughed. "That would make things rather easy, wouldn't it?" They fell into a companionable silence as they walked.
When they arrived at the keep, it was already dark. Elissa went in search of the other Grey Wardens to tell them to prepare to travel the next day, then to Seneschal Kylon to let him know of their plans. Afterward she headed to the kitchens to get food and found Nathaniel there, just finishing up his meal. He sat with her while she ate, then they both went to pack for their trip.
Daybreak the next morning saw all five Ferelden Grey Wardens, plus Zevran, packed and standing at the gates of Vigil's Keep in various states of sleepiness. Elissa looked jealously at Nathaniel, who somehow managed to look like he hadn't been awake most of the night. That is completely unfair. How does he manage to look wide awake and put together on three hours of sleep? Of course, I shouldn't complain. It was a rather pleasant way to spend the evening. Her thoughts drifted a moment and she smiled, remembering the previous night's activities. Grey Warden stamina, indeed.
She shifted her attention back to her companions. Erlina looked surprisingly awake for someone who usually barely got up in time for breakfast and Oghren looked like he still was feeling the effects of the previous night's drink. Anders was looking scruffier than usual. His robes were almost not awkwardly put together and for someone who took great pride in his appearance, he was looking remarkably disheveled. He must have also stayed up too late. She shook her head, not really wanting to know, and tried to ignore the headache she had acquired from tiredness. Zevran, of course, looked fresh and ready for the day to start. Stupid … men. All awake when I'm tired and cranky.
The group set off, trying to cover as much ground as possible that day. Elissa mostly kept to herself, listening as the others teased or taunted or chatted with each other, and kept a lookout for any potential problems on the road. After they had walked for a while, her headache abated and the warm sun brightened her mood so that she almost forgot that she was overtired. I'll sleep well when we make camp tonight.
They stopped for a quick lunch at the side of the road and started off again. They made good progress with no problems; the only other people they saw on the road were the occasional patrol and one or two traveling merchants. Many farmers were in their fields, tilling the soil or doing early planting, and Elissa noted a reasonably large flock of sheep at one point being tended by several shepherds. The rest of the arling is recovering. Good. Hopefully everything will be back to normal by the fall. They traveled until dark then stopped to make camp, then set off early the next morning.
The rest of the trip passed uneventfully. Elissa decided it was a nice change from the anarchy of the blight and the civil war, even though the lack of action bored her a bit. After several days, they came to the city of Highever. Elissa was pleased to see the city in excellent shape, with plenty of merchant stands open and businesses thriving. Even the alienage looked like it was holding up well. She made a mental note to introduce herself to the hahren there and do some recruiting.
Since it was getting close to dinnertime, Elissa sent word to Fergus announcing their arrival in the area and letting him know that they planned to stay in an inn overnight and would visit the castle at his convenience. She didn't want to make him scramble to find a place for them since they were arriving unannounced and at a poor time of day. Fergus sent a note to the inn where they were staying, stating that he would receive them the first thing in the morning. Their plans settled, the group ate dinner together then went to their rooms.
Elissa took a nice hot bath, just soaking for a while to get the dust and dirt from the road off her. She got out and put on a robe and was toweling her hair when she heard the door knock. She went to the door and opened it to see Nathaniel standing on the other side, his hair still wet from his own bath. She invited him in and continued to dry her hair as he sat down.
He sat on the edge of the bed and watched her for a minute before speaking. "Are you nervous about tomorrow?" he asked quietly.
Elissa finished with the towel and picked up her comb as she considered her answer. "I'm not sure. I won't know what I feel until I get there. How are you doing?" She pulled her hair over her shoulder and started to comb out the tangles.
"I'm all right. I'm not thrilled about it, but since I wasn't there it's not like I have any images in my mind of that night." Nathaniel leaned back, putting his hands on the bed behind him. "I'm mostly not looking forward to some of Fergus' men giving me that look, but otherwise I expect it won't be much of a problem."
Elissa smiled. "I'd be surprised if you had any problem at all, actually. You should have seen all of the Highever soldiers after you saved Fergus from those bandits. They were really impressed."
"Were they? Hmm." Nathaniel lay down, his lower legs still dangling off the side of the bed as he looked at the ceiling. Elissa left him to his thoughts as she finished combing out her hair and put it into a long braid, tying off the end with a leather cord. She then climbed on the bed and curled up next to him. She traced his cheekbone back to his hairline and tucked the loose hair behind his ear before settling her hand on his chest.
Nathaniel turned his head to look at her and she found herself caught in his gaze. He smiled at her as he murmured, "Your robe is falling open."
Elissa chuckled. "Is it? That's a shame." She sat up and turned so that she was facing him, then pretended to stretch. The motion of her arms lifting loosened the belt of her robe and opened it further. "Oops."
Nathaniel just watched her lazily, his eyes twinkling. "It opened more," he said helpfully as he looked her over. Elissa raised an eyebrow at him. You're going to make me work for it, are you? All right, I'll play. She got off the bed entirely and knelt at his feet.
"You really need to remove your boots if you're going to lie down," she murmured as she unlaced his boots and pulled them off. Then she removed his socks before untying the belt to her robe, letting it hang open. She climbed up Nathaniel's legs, making sure to graze them with her body before half-climbing on top of him, letting her breasts rest on his hips before she stopped. She felt the bulge in his breeches press against her sternum and she rested there, waiting a moment before lifting her eyes to see him looking down at her. Good. I have his attention now. "I took care of your shoes," she said as she smiled at him wickedly before sliding back down his legs until she was kneeling on the floor.
"Thanks," he said before clearing his throat. Elissa grinned; she definitely detected a note of hoarseness there. He stood up and looked down at her, his eyes still showing amusement but with distinct predatory notes present. "You should get up off the floor before you catch cold." He held out his hands to help her stand. When she took them, he pulled her up so that she was off-balance and needed to grab onto his shoulders for support. He reached inside her robe, putting his hands on her bottom, and pulled her toward him so that she was trapped with a leg on either side of his thigh and the rest of her body was flush with his. He leaned forward so that she could feel his breath on her ear when he whispered, "You should be warmer now."
She knew her voice was more breathless than she intended when she responded, but she was quickly deciding she didn't care much. "Thank you," she breathed into his ear and was rewarded with hearing a catch in his breath. She ran her hands down his arms, shrugging her robe off her shoulders and letting it pool around their feet. She brought her arms back up and wrapped them around his shoulders. She shifted her weight a bit, making sure to brush her hip against his erection, and spoke into his ear again. "It got hot."
He laughed then, a husky, breathless sound, and pulled her just far enough away so that they could look at each other. His gaze grew in intensity as he brought a hand up to trace the tattoos on her face, then he lowered his head to kiss her.
She forgot how to think.
His kisses were gentle but sure, neither demanding nor hesitant; he just knew and possessed her completely. She was dimly aware of his hands moving smoothly over her body, of him lifting her and depositing her on the bed, but until he broke from their kisses to remove his shirt she failed to remember her own name or where they were. Then, she looked into his eyes as he lowered his head to hers again, those beautiful, intense eyes that focused completely on her, and was lost again before his lips reclaimed hers.
She felt loved. She felt safe. She felt his weight settle on hers and she felt like he was protecting her from everything – there was nothing in the world but him and her. Then he entered her and there was nothing in the world but them, with heartbeats and breaths and souls synchronized, and for the first time in her life she understood the profound sense of two becoming one.
They made love throughout the night, slowly, unhurriedly, and reveled in their oneness, always kissing, always touching, just being, until their bodies dragged them into sleep for a short while to let them rest for the day. When they awoke, they looked at each other and understood their connection, not needing words to describe it.
If asked later, Elissa would not be able to say how she got dressed and downstairs, or what she ate for breakfast, or even the path that they took to walk to Castle Cousland that day. She felt like she was floating along in the world of Elissa and Nathaniel, and it was a very nice place to stay. The euphoria lasted until they were admitted into the great room of the castle and she saw her brother standing before her, looking unusually grim. She blinked back into the real world and felt her heart crash through her stomach and into the ground when she heard Fergus utter five words she really hated to hear:
"Elissa, we need to talk."