A/N: This chapter contains content that is *definitely* NSFW. If that's not a problem, then I hope you enjoy!
Elissa knocked on the door to Teagan's study. "Come in," she heard. She opened the door and entered the room, stopping just a few feet from Teagan as he rose to greet her. He gestured to the pair of wingback chairs that were placed in front of the fireplace and they both sat.
"Were you all right settling in?" he asked her amiably. "Is everything to your liking? Can I get you or your men anything?"
"Everything is wonderful, Teagan," Elissa reassured him as she smiled. He nodded his head and smiled back as she continued. "I was wondering if I could borrow some stationery and ink. I need to inform the King that we have arrived."
"Ah, that has already been taken care of." Teagan stretched out his legs in front of him, crossing them at the ankles. "I sent a messenger over when you arrived and received word back already from the palace. We're to meet with Alistair, Fergus and Eamon the day after tomorrow."
Elissa raised her eyebrows. "That was quick. Did they tell you their agenda for this meeting? What I received was rather … vague." And overly formal and demanding, but there's no need to get into that with Teagan. "Since the Landsmeet itself is a little over two weeks from now, I didn't expect this meeting to happen so quickly." She watched him steeple his fingers, tapping them against his mouth while he formulated his reply. He seemed to be in deep contemplation, although it only took him a few moments to respond.
"Eamon told me the basics of your arguments with Fergus and Alistair," he said carefully. Elissa nodded; she would have been surprised had Alistair not confided in his chancellor and sometime foster father, and even more surprised had Eamon not shared his concerns with Teagan, especially since Teagan was housing her during this trip. Seeing that she wasn't upset about this revelation, Teagan continued. "Knowing my brother, he organized this meeting so that everyone could hopefully clear the air and move forward. I am certain he will want to try to arrange a compromise."
Elissa sighed and shook her head. "I will attend, of course, but I don't see how a compromise can be reached. I seriously doubt that Fergus will back down on his position regarding Nathaniel, and I made Alistair very angry with me in Orzammar." She sighed. "I am not willing to give up Nathaniel to suit their whims, although it will be good to try to talk to them regarding other conflicts that affect us."
"Are you referring to the attempt on Fergus' life that you stopped?" Teagan raised an eyebrow. "Have you learned anything more about that?"
"I am. And I haven't learned any more about that particular incident, although there have been new issues." She explained the attempt on Delilah and her family in Amaranthine and the anonymous note she had received a few weeks earlier. Teagan's eyes widened as she described what had happened.
"So you are expecting trouble here in Denerim?" Teagan leaned forward in his chair and his expression changed to concern. "Should I increase the guard?"
Elissa shook her head. "Actually, no. I already have help in and around the city keeping an eye on things," she explained, "and a large part of our strategy is to try to stay alert but make it appear that we are not concerned. If Vaughan is involved in all this, and if I understand the type of person he is, this will push him to make a mistake."
Teagan thought for a moment, then smiled. "You intend to anger him and make him careless."
Elissa returned the smile. "Just so. I don't want to put you or anyone else here in danger, of course, but so far the strategy has been to attack someone close to one of us and try to frame the other for the deed. It has become obvious to me that it's not yet common knowledge that Nathaniel and I are together." She sighed. "I am assuming that by next week, once we've been seen together at a few events, the strategy will change, but I am also hoping that we will be able to obtain sort of proof before more people get hurt."
Teagan shook his head. "I do not envy you the task," he murmured. "But speaking of events, one of the banns, Ferrenly, invited all of us to a dinner tomorrow. He said something about knowing Anders when I spoke with him."
Elissa shrugged. "It's entirely possible. Anders has met quite a few people in his travels." She nodded. "The Wardens should go. If he does know Anders, we could use that to our advantage."
Teagan nodded. "I will let him know that we will attend, then." They both stood and Teagan walked Elissa to the door. Before opening it for her, he hesitated. "Elissa," his voice was unsure, "I am concerned for you and Nathaniel. It's likely that Eamon will try to propose a political alliance through marriage ..."
Elissa narrowed her eyes. "Eamon can go soak his head." At this, Teagan started, but then shook his head and smiled. Elissa continued, "He married Isolde, after all. He, more than anyone, should understand being in a relationship despite political interests. And as a Warden, being in a political marriage only makes things more complicated if my duties conflict with my spouse's position." She shook her head. "That won't happen. Just as Alistair would never have kept me on the side, so I will never do that to Nathaniel."
Teagan nodded and opened the door. "I understand." He smiled and Elissa started to step out of the study, but then stopped and turned to her host.
"Thank you again, Teagan. I'm very lucky to call you a friend." Elissa laid a hand on Teagan's arm before leaving the study and heading back to her room.
When she entered her room, Nathaniel was there waiting for her. He studied her face as she walked toward him. "How was it?" he asked.
"It was fine. I have to meet with them in a couple of days. Teagan thinks Eamon organized it so that we can present a united front to the Landsmeet." Elissa bent over to remove the nice looking, yet incredibly uncomfortable, shoes she had chosen to wear with her dress that day.
He nodded. "That makes sense. If we can manage it, that will strengthen our position."
"Exactly." Elissa sighed as she stood back up. "Assuming, of course, that coming to terms with my brother and Alistair is even possible." She took a deep breath and released it slowly. "This should be an interesting Landsmeet."
"Come here." Nathaniel put his arms around Elissa when she came close enough for him to reach her. She closed her eyes, drawing from his strength, and leaned into him as he unpinned her hair and ran his fingers over her scalp. As he combed his fingers through her hair, she sighed and snuggled in closer.
"That feels nice," she murmured into his collarbone. She could feel her shoulders relaxing, the knots loosening as Nathaniel continued the soothing motion.
"Your hair is soft," he whispered. "It feels like silk." He continued to hold her while stroking her hair. She didn't know how much time passed, but after a while, she noticed that his hands were venturing lower and lower and his breathing had quickened slightly.
She looked up at him as she asked, teasingly, "I didn't know my hair had grown so long it was touching my bottom." She noticed his eyes were not focused on her, but were looking beyond at a point behind her. "What is it?"
Nathaniel looked down at her before turning her around. "Look," he said quietly, his voice slightly rough. She looked up at him again, turning her head sideways to see him still looking forward, then followed his gaze. There was a full-length mirror there with ornate carving all around the edge. She looked at the reflection of herself and leaned backward against Nathaniel, who had one arm wrapped around her waist and the other on her shoulder. He was standing slightly off to the side behind her, so she could see his entire face. I like how we look together.
He leaned forward a little and whispered in her ear, "I want to show you something. Watch the mirror." His breath tickled her ear, making her shiver. In the mirror, she saw him lean forward, the vision in front of her matching the sensation of his breath ghosting over her neck, then her ear again, just as he took her earlobe into his mouth and gently bit down. She gasped as he nibbled on her ear and focused on trying to stay on her feet. He let go of her earlobe and brushed his nose against the outer shell of her ear, making her gasp. "Yes, love. That. Your response - it's beautiful. Take a look."
She realized belatedly that her eyes had fallen shut and forced them to open with some struggle. (Somehow, it felt like her eyelids had each gained ten pounds.) When she got them halfway open, she saw what he was talking about. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes glassy, and she could see herself melting, molding her back against Nathaniel's chest. His arm around her waist tightened, thankfully; otherwise she would have found herself lying on the floor. She let her head fall back onto Nathaniel's shoulder and put her hands on the arm keeping her aloft. He watched her the entire time, capturing her gaze in the mirror with gleaming, half-lidded eyes. "Oh," she breathed, her voice sounding almost like a moan. He closed his eyes momentarily when he heard the sound and groaned, then reached behind her with his free hand and quickly undid the laces on her dress. Elissa was very glad that she had decided to wear a simple dress that day.
"Can you stand?" He smiled as he whispered in her ear. "I want to get this off you." She laughed breathlessly and nodded, not trusting her voice, and he quickly pulled the dress up and over her head. Her knees buckled a little, but he was able to catch her around her waist and pull her to him again. He removed her breast binding with his free hand and she helped him push her smallclothes off her hips and let them fall to the ground.
She watched him, then, as he kept the arm around her waist firm to hold her against him and ran his fingers over her skin with the other hand. Together, they watched his hand trace over her shoulder, follow down her arm, cup a breast; he seemed entranced as he followed every plane and hollow of her body. Everywhere he touched, he left a trail of fire that started with his fingertips and ended at her core, causing her legs to tremble and her head to, once more, fall back until it rested on his shoulder.
"So lovely," he murmured. He ran his palm over her hip. "So soft." He traced the vertical scar right in the center of her abdomen, her souvenir from the archdemon. "So strong." He moved his hand downward and suddenly, the trail of fire focused into a single, overwhelmingly brilliant spot. His voice faltered, then turned rough, "so hot." He curled his fingers into her at the same time that he began devouring the pulse point on her neck.
She think she might have cried out, but she wasn't sure. All she knew was that all of a sudden, she was kneeling on the floor, her back still pressed against Nathaniel's chest, her legs straddling his. The arm that had been holding her waist had shifted – now it was across her torso, with Nathaniel's wrist between her breasts and his hand splayed over her heart. His other hand was still covering her most intimate place, his fingers pressing and sliding and pushing and it felt so good, so overwhelming, that she thought she might die from the intensity. She could feel his breath, hot and fast, by her ear. "Look," he commanded quietly.
She lifted her eyes to the mirror to see her flush had spread to her chest and her mouth had dropped open. Her chest was heaving and her legs were trembling, and somehow, at some point, she had reached down and grabbed Nathaniel's pant legs and was holding on to them for dear life. Nathaniel was not unaffected – his lips were swollen and parted, his breathing labored, and while the hand that was wreaking havoc with her insides was moving strongly and steadily, she could feel the press of his need against the small of her back and the occasional shift of his hips when he failed to control his instinct. The one constant was his eyes, still gleaming, still predatory, and once she looked at them she was irrevocably caught by them.
"Natha-ohhhhhh..." She felt like she was losing her mind as Nathaniel shifted his hand and suddenly her back arched on its own, her grip on his clothing just didn't seem to be enough to keep her from falling, it was so hard to breathe …
"Let go, love. I want to watch you fall apart." His voice by her ear cracked, just a little, and it sent her over the edge and made her fly. She heard a keening sound, only belatedly realizing that it was her making it, and she spasmed and gasped and the only things keeping her on the ground were Nathaniel's eyes and his arm and she thought that her heart had stopped from everything. It lasted forever and for only a moment, her mind shut down but was aware of everything all at once, she was outside herself looking in and inside herself looking out, and all along she could hear him mumur in her ear, "Yes, yes love … let go ..."
She collapsed against him, but only for a moment before he pushed her forward. Her elbows wobbled a little as she put her arms out to keep from smashing her own face on the floor, and she looked up into the mirror to see him throw his shirt aside and yank his breeches down off his hips. He grabbed her almost roughly and pulled her back to fit together with him, and all she could do was gasp out his name as she went soaring, again, as he moaned and drove forward into her repeatedly. He held her eyes with his until the intensity in them transformed to glassiness and he pulled on her hips one last time, groaning out her name in a broken voice and holding them both still until their combined shaking forced them to lay down on the bare stone floor before they fell.
It took several minutes for Elissa to catch her breath. When she finally realized that she was able to speak, she tested her voice to find that it came out husky. "I think we need to put a mirror in our room at home."
Nathaniel laughed, his voice still sounding rougher than usual as well, and she could feel the vibration in his chest. "I think we might accidentally kill each other if we do." He pulled her flush against him, his body keeping hers warm on the cold floor, and she felt his lips kissing up and down her neck. She sighed contentedly and closed her eyes so that she could enjoy the sensation even more.
Unfortunately, the moment ended all too soon. She felt Nathaniel shift and his warmth left her, so she rolled on her back to see him sitting up, looking at her with soft eyes. "We have to get ready for dinner soon, love." He smiled at her and pulled his breeches back up, helping her stand and steady herself while she grumbled about having to be sociable when all she wanted to do was go take a nap. He made up for it by kissing her senseless and winding his hands into her hair, however, and soon she forgot what she was complaining about.
They were only slightly late for dinner, as it turned out, and the food was probably very nice. She didn't remember what she ate because every time she looked across the table, she saw Nathaniel's eyes and her insides turned to jelly all over again.