Leliana POV:
I examine the pot once more to make sure it's clean, then put it in my pack and begin jogging back to camp. The warden pitched up the camp along the curve of the Frostback Mountains. We reached the market outside of Orzammar a few hours ago; however, the elf wanted us to have some time to rest before meeting the king of the dwarves. I'm just glad for a rest. Duncan greets me at the edge of our camp with a sharp bark. I toss the pot towards him and watch the Mabari drag it back to the fireplace. I smile at him before checking the tents. Wynne is polishing her boots in hers and offers me a small smile, but Tabris isn't in our shared tent.
My chest tightens and a deep frown splits my face. She went to examine Orzammar (just barely inside without seeing the king) a few hours ago and she should be back by now. I'm still chewing on my worry when someone pats me on the back. I spin around and nearly take Tabris's head off. The elf winches at my almost hit. "Something wrong?". I'm about to shake my head when I see what she's carrying in her other hand (the one that didn't pat me). The poor dead man's head is still hanging and twirling like a sick toy. I take a few steps away and sit down near the fire. "I'd just prefer you keep your head away from me.". Tabris snorts and sits across from me with the fire separating us.
My stomach churns and I feel disgust fill me as I watch my love play with the deceased elf's head. However, I can't tear my eyes away from her as Tabris begins examining the other elf's head. Lifting his lips, rolling his eyes, pulling his ears. I shudder and watch Tabris pull a knife from her boot. I can't watch, but I hear her cutting the elf's hair off. Finally, when she's done I look back. A thick braid of hair is wrapped around the warden's throat and the dead elf is now bald. "Can you please stop messing with the dead head?". Tabris ignores me and whistles for Duncan. "Wait!". Duncan ignores me along with Tabris.
The Mabari grabs the head by the ear and begins shaking it like its a rabbit he caught. I stand and begin trying to work my way over to him. The dog senses me coming and bolts with the head still grasped in his jaws. The warden laughs and begins heading towards our tent. I watch Duncan disappear into the forest beside the path and shudder for another time. The woman I love just let her dog take a head into the forest to eat. I climb into the tent and try to get answers out of her. "What was that about?". The warden is taking off her armor as she answers me. "The hair was a trophy in honor of my skill in battle. The skull I'll use as a gravy boat, and that'll be a trophy in honor of him dying and fighting like a warrior.".
I have no idea why I believe her, but for some reason that makes absolutely perfect sense to me. I nod and let the matter drop without a single bit of guilt or anger at the elf. It's like I was never disgusted or disturbed at her. I even find myself forgetting about the incident as I see her strip off her soaked undershirt. Ripped back muscles covered in scars shine in the dim light of our single hanging lantern. I look around the sparse tent and see our beds have already been pushed together and our belongings are piled in one corner. So, I have enough room to work. I use my rogue skills to sneak up on the elf as she's unhooking her metal boots. I carefully reach out and wait for her to kick off the last of her armor.
Finally, she's in just her undergarments. I strike. Slowly, my fingertips run down the length of the elf's spine on either side of the bump that signals the bone beneath. The woman violently shudders before leaning into my touch. I allow my hands to roam over the expanse of her scarred back and shoulders. Hard, thick muscles line her entire body; the only ounce of fat I can find is covering the outside of her ribs. I play with her sides for a while before moving my hands around to her stomach and pulling the woman close to me. Her burning, wet back is pressed up against my front and I have a burning wish that I'd taken off my armor before doing this.
My elven woman doesn't seem to mind though. Her hands come up and twine in my hair as I press my fingers into her stomach. More muscles bulge against me as I rub her skin as gently as I can. My fingertips are merely suggestions of a touch as I rub her abs before heading upwards. Tabris is gasping and her head falls back onto my shoulder. I slide my fingers underneath her breast bindings and begin teasing her by rubbing the underside of her tits. The warden groans and turns her face away from mine. I smirk and turn my head towards her. A pointed ear is less than an inch from my mouth and I take full advantage of it. I sink my teeth hard enough into her ear that the elf screams and begins jerking away from me.
I shove my hands upwards and roughly claim her tits as my own. Tabris tries to yank herself away, but my arms- that were once loving- now form her prison. I go even farther by lifting her just enough that I can force one of my legs between both of her own. Tabris, for her part, has calmed down and accepted what I'm doing. Slowly, I release her ear. Blood drips from three deep marks, but I ignore it in favor of hissing a single word into her ear. "Rabbit.". The warden groans and begins grinding against my thigh. Finally, I do what I planned all along. I pull away from her and watch her fall to the ground.
Instantly, the warden is flipping over. I focus on ignoring her and getting ready for bed. I don't even glance her way as I slip into my sleeping clothes and climb into our shared sleeping sack. Finally, I turn onto my side and look at Tabris. The elf is still in her undergarments, her legs are spread, and she's panting while her face becomes redder. I offer a small smile and explain it to her. "Just some incentive to get to Denerim.". She remains silent for a few seconds before shaking her head. "If you'd done that before we started heading here, then we'd be in Denerim right now!". I laugh before reaching out and cupping the side of her face. Instantly, the tone of the room changes.
Tabris's face goes back to its normal pale, splotchy color; her blue eyes instinctively close; the elf pushes her face deeper into my hand; and her breathing falls back into a natural flow. I reach out and close her legs before pulling her close. Finally, I lean close and kiss the tip of her nose. Tabris wraps her arms around me and pulls our sleeping bag over her. It takes a little positioning, but eventually we're facing one another with her face near my chest level. Both of us are tightly clinging to one another. I tangle our legs together to deepen our embrace. The warden is the first one of us to speak. "I couldn't think of any place that I'd be more comfortable than right here.".
I rub her back and feel the scars once again on her back. "May I ask how you got the scars on your back?". A deep, sharp breath from my love. Tabris slowly releases it and tries to keep her face emotionless as she explains the scar story to me. "There use to be a Tevinter man in the Alienage where I lived. He was a magister that'd been socially exiled from his homeland. He'd also developed rather peculiar taste during his time in the Imperium. He was a slaver who'd used elven slaves for blood magic.". I ask a brief question that I already know the answer to.
"Did anyone try to get him out of the Alienage?". My friend shakes her head. "Nobody cared if a slaver was in the middle of elves. It wasn't their problem. Anyway, I don't know where he developed his tastes from, but he had a thing for eating parts of the elves after he'd sacrifice them for power to perform blood magic. So, he offered a few silvers or, rarely, a sovereign for anyone willing to bring their flesh to him.". My stomach churns and I hold the woman even tighter. I can't imagine anyone wanting to eat the flesh of elves, but I can picture a vile slaver who's head is cracked to do so. "Everyone was stuck in poverty, so almost everyone brought him their flesh. At first, people would cut chunks of themselves out and get a few silver without any negative side-effects.".
I slowly lean forward and kiss her forehead to show her I'm there for her and listening. "Then, the slaver got greedy and lowered his prices for a chunk of flesh. People starting bringing in fingers. Then, hands and feet. Then, limbs. Each time the man lowered the prices the elves got more desperate. Eventually, we did exactly what he wanted.". I stop her with a question. "'We'?". She nods. "I would bring in strips of my flesh. However, I stopped once I cut off two toes.". I barely manage to restrain the temptation to pull back and run my feet along the woman's remaining eight toes. Just to check.
"Other elves didn't stop, though. Murder was the only option other than 'cut off two limbs'. So, that's what happened. Babies, the elderly, the young, and the sick were all targets. More than once, I'd bring in my monthly flesh and see a woman with a swaddled babe in her arms. She'd disappear into the room where the slaver sat, then leave with two sovereigns in her palm. Others would bring in their murdered victims, those cracked in the head who didn't know what awaited them, or those young and/or sick enough to not know what was going on. Slowly, elves couldn't trust other elves. An elf couldn't trust an elf, shem, or animal that lived in Denerim. Everything was dangerous and everyone wanted to kill you.".
The elven woman suddenly buries her face in the crook of my neck. I allow it and let her keep going at her own pace. "My mother was a great warrior and she trained me to be just like her. So, we went to 'talk' to him. We killed his secretary and demanded he leave. It was a mistake not to kill him. A hired thug jumped us in an alley. She killed my mother before making sure I knew never to mess with her boss. She 'collected' his fee for what we'd done by offering me a choice. She'd take my mother's body back to the slaver, or take the entirety of my back. I chose my back. That shemlen bitch cut me from shoulder to waist and weighed the flesh in front of me.".
"The only mercy she gave me was telling some passing elves that there was a dying elf in an alley with a corpse. The gods must have smiled on me because the elves she told were my cousins. They took my mother to the elder and me to my father. Then, they both went to give their flesh to the slaver. Only when they were in the room alone with him they killed him before fleeing. He was the fool that continued business as normal without any guards, so nobody really investigated his death. Thankfully, nobody liked the man enough to try to avenge him. Many elves died before him, but only one died trying to defeat him. It just so happened that one elf was my mother.". I can hear her voice cracking by the end. I hold her close. It's all I can do.
Note: 'Denerim's Shadow' will now be updated every 2-3 days. My other story will be the one getting weekly updates. Hopefully, 'Denerim's Shadow' improves writing wise and the story moves faster.