Author's Note: This was one of my favorite chapters to write so far, so I hope you all enjoy it. I simply love writing character banter between Alistair and Serena. There never seems to be a moment when one of them isn't being hopelessly awkward. Well, maybe ONE moment, but yeah... Thanks to all the reviewers and followers! You guys make my day. :)
Chapter 20 – The Long Road Ahead
They had set up a small camp for the night in a small thicket near the road. The walk along the Imperial Highway to the town Morrigan had mentioned, Lothering, was a long one, made even longer by their lack of horses. Serena briefly wondered if any of their mounts had made it out of Ostagar alive or if they too had been gobbled up by darkspawn.
Alistair and Serena set up tents near one another by the fire, while Morrigan had preferred to keep hers off in the darkness, under a large willow tree. She did permit herself their company by the fire while they made dinner, though.
"So you've never been outside the Wilds?" Alistair asked, taking the skin off a large rabbit he had caught earlier in one of Serena's traps. It was one of the first things he had said all day, he had been so quiet on their trek here.
"From time to time..." Morrigan answered, stirring some leafy herbs into the pot between the three of them. "I have been to the village I mentioned before... watched its people, and pondered what curious beings they are."
"Do you find us curious?" Serena inquired. "I mean, compared to them?"
Morrigan stared at her, shrugging, her yellow eyes thoughtful. "I find you peculiar at times, yes. For example, why would two such as yourselves choose to join such an order shrouded in mystery? You both seem rather... upfront... in your words and actions."
Serena exchanged glances with Alistair, unsure if she should explain their origins to this new companion. Perhaps an abbreviated account would do. "I... well, it's complicated. Our former commander... he was an excellent judge of character, and he recruited us. Separately."
"And where is he now?" Morrigan leaned forward over the pot, smelling it briefly, then added another touch of something crumbly. "He was on the front lines, I presume?"
"We don't know anything for sure," Alistair said harshly. Serena saw he was slicing the pelt of the rabbit into strips now, fighting the resentment that boiled inside him.
"But we... we felt them... we felt something happen to them," Serena added, putting a soft hand on her fellow Grey Warden's arm. He stopped cutting the pelt and wiped his blade clean, putting the rabbit on a spit over the fire. "But yes, Duncan and the other Grey Wardens were with King Cailan on the front lines."
"Hmmm…" Morrigan seemed to want to say something, but apparently thought better of it after glancing at Alistair's expression. "To answer your first question, other than my forays into Lothering, no, I haven't really been outside of these forests. Mother wishes for me to expand the horizon of my experience, I suppose. Even she was not born here."
Serena plucked the feathers off a duck and removed its head, handing it to Alistair. "And is that what you want?"
"What I want is to see mountains," Morrigan replied, her voice taking on a wistful tone. "I wish to witness the ocean, and step into its waters. I want to experience a city, rather than see it in my mind." The young witch paused, suddenly looking very young. "So, yes, this is what I want. Actually leaving was... harder than I thought, however."
"It can be very... difficult... leaving your childhood home." Serena spoke softly, looking deep into the fire. The flames licked along the logs, creating shifting patterns of light on their bodies.
"You speak as if you know something about it," Morrigan replied, although her tone was not cruel.
"Yes, I do," Serena said simply. She watched Alistair turning the spit and noticed his face no longer had the harshness to it from earlier. She hoped that their misfortune did not turn him bitter; he was much too sweet for that.
"The rabbit is ready, I think." Alistair pulled the spit off the fire and laid the small creature on a plate, replacing it with the duck. "Unless you wanted to add this to the stew?" he added, looking to Serena.
"It's up to Morrigan," she replied, deferring to the mage. "I'm only good at prepping the food, and eating it." The witch took the duck from them and sliced it into pieces with a small knife, adding it to her stew.
"We should arrive in the town tomorrow, by around midday, I would say," she said, stirring the pot. Morrigan appeared ready to drop the subject of misplaced childhood homes as much as Serena did.
They ate in relative silence that night, and Serena couldn't help but notice they all seemed lost in their own thoughts. Immediately following dinner, Morrigan headed back to her own small camp by the tree, disappearing into her tent as Serena found herself alone with Alistair by the fire.
"How are you doing?" he asked quietly. His gloved fingers were tracing circles in the dirt, and Serena found herself watching his movements, her mind desperate for something to focus on that wasn't her own gloomy thoughts.
"I've... certainly been better." Serena sighed, pulling her hair out of its complicated knot. She ran her hands through it, teasing out the tangles. It felt good to have something to do with her hands. "My shoulder has just about healed, and my leg doesn't hurt... but my stomach is taking it's own sweet time, it would seem."
Alistair was watching her now, taking in the length of her body. She fought to keep the heat from rising in her face, his hazel eyes lingering at her middle. "You should take off your armor."
"...W-what?" Serena stared at him, her mouth open.
"Your armor," he repeated, pointing to her stomach. "I think it's pinching your wound." Alistair removed his own gloves and leaned over, plucking one of the straps on her shoulder pauldron, lightly removing it.
"I'm worried it will heal poorly, or scar." He seemed oblivious to her surprise, slowly loosening the straps and leather plates that made her armor. "We should probably patch your breastplate, too."
Serena nodded faintly, moving her hands up to help him. Soon, her armor lay in a pile beside them and she sat in her leggings and tunic. The tunic hung loosely on her, shredded in the front by the ogre's wrist blade. The thick bandages were easily visible underneath the fine linen shirt.
"How does that feel?" Alistair asked, his voice still subdued. Serena nodded, her breath coming much easier with the armor off.
"I guess I didn't realize how tight it felt on me with these... with the bandages on." She rolled up her shirt and tied it under her breasts in a small knot so she could better see the wounded area. Alistair stared at the makeshift dressing, his eyes narrowed in thought.
"This should help... so there isn't any scarring." He pulled his pack over to them and rummaged inside, pulling out the cream he had used on her elbow in the tower.
He scooted closer to her and Serena could feel his fingers at her stomach, unwrapping the bandage slowly. He ran a hand over the damaged skin of her belly, and Serena felt a well of emotion open up in her. She wished he would stop touching her so lightly...
Alistair dipped a hand in the small pot of cream and rubbed it over her midsection, covering the area with the cooling ointment. His deft fingers moved quickly, spreading it all over the pink skin. The combination of his warm skin on hers and the healing salve made Serena sigh, her body relaxing as she tipped her head back. She could feel her long hair brush the dirt as she leaned back, but she didn't care, her body was no longer her own as she felt it arch to his touch.
"T-that's better, right?" He said, his fingers still caressing her middle, rubbing the cream into her rapidly healing skin.
"Oh, yes..." she moaned, her eyes closing. "It doesn't even hurt anymore..." Her body relaxed further as he shifted, putting one arm under her to support her back. Her mind briefly flashed to a painting depicting a scene from the Chant of Light, where the Maker cradled his Bride Andraste's spirit in his arms as she passed into the Beyond after her sacrifice.
"Where did you learn to patch people up so well?" she asked, shifting slightly so she was leaning against his chest, staring into the fire.
"In the Chantry, actually..." Alistair whispered, his arms resting around her stomach as she leaned against him. She could feel his fingers slowly rubbing circles into her bare skin and she fought the urge to melt into his touch completely. She wondered absently if he knew the effect he was having on her.
"I wasn't the most talented of the templars... I got injured quite a bit," he continued, his voice husky in her ear. "A sympathetic sister took pity on me and showed me how to bind a lot of different kinds of wounds. It's one of my more appealing skill sets, I think. That and my devilishly good looks."
"I'm not sure if being handsome is a skill," Serena murmured to him. "But I'm certainly glad to be traveling with you. I'm like a magnet for suffering as of late. It's good to have someone who can cure all that ails me."
Alistair's arms squeezed her lightly as he leaned his chin on top of her head. "I'm sorry about everything, Serena. It… it wasn't supposed to be like this."
"I don't know," she said thoughtfully. "If it hadn't, would I even be here? Would I be a Grey Warden?" She laced the fingers of her left hand with one of his. "I might have lived my whole silly life having never met you."
"That's the only silver lining out of all of this, I think," said Alistair, stroking her long hair with his free hand. "I don't think I could do any of this without you."
"Well, we haven't done much of anything yet," she reasoned. "We still have an army to gather, a Blight to stop..." She sighed, her body leaning into his comforting embrace. "Not to mention that I'm constantly hungry now."
"You, too?" Alistair said with a laugh. "I thought it was just me..." He sighed, his hand trailing down her shoulder, making her shiver. "Ever since my Joining, I could just eat everything, all the time."
"Oh, I know. As soon as we get to that village, I'm plopping down at the first bar I find and gobbling down the biggest meal they have. My mother would have had a fit if she could see it." Serena sat up, affecting a higher tone of voice. "Serena, how many times have I told you it's simply not polite for a young lady to slouch? And don't you think two bowls of oatmeal is enough already?"
Alistair laughed, his breath fluttering her hair. "Well, you know she'd be right. It's not really proper for a noble lady like you to be gorging yourself like some kind of filthy commoner."
Serena turned and pushed him lightly in the chest. "You just wait-" she began, but Alistair grinned, catching her chin and leaned in. It was the lightest of kisses and then they were pulling back, staring at each other, hazel eyes locked on blue ones. She hadn't realized when she had put her arms around his neck. "I... um..."
Alistair blushed, a hesitant half smile on his face. "Was that-?"
"We are NOT friends, dog! Get out of my tent!" Morrigan's angry voice carried across the camp and Alistair and Serena fumbled, pushing apart quickly. Serena pulled at her tunic and the knot came undone, the shirt unraveling to cover her stomach once more.
"Warden-" The witch strode angrily over to the pair of them from her tree, her hands on her hips. "If you could please keep control of this mongrel!" Behind her, Peanut slinked past, heading towards Serena's tent and disappearing inside.
"He just..." Serena cleared her throat, feeling heat in her face. "He just likes you, that's all. Think of it as a compliment?"
Morrigan huffed, dropping a dead squirrel at Serena's feet. "Tell him he can keep his little presents, too!" She turned on her heel and stomped back into her own tent.
"Sorry again, Morrigan!" Serena called, pitching the dead squirrel into a bush. She turned to Alistair, grimacing. "I... sorry. That was..." She ducked her head, gathering up her armor. "Do you mind taking first watch tonight? I... I should get some sleep… or something."
"Yeah, no problem," Alistair said softly, staring into the fire again. His face was blank of emotion, his eyes only reflecting the firelight. "Sleep well, Serena."
She cast a long look at the man, but he didn't move, he seemed quite determined to not look at her. Maybe he hadn't meant to kiss her after all and now he was embarrassed about his lapse in judgement? Granted, it barely counted as a kiss, really…
She sighed, hoping she didn't sound too disappointed. "Thanks... I... I'm sorry about the…" She paused, fumbling for the right words. "Anyway, goodnight, Alistair."