So there will be quite a few spoilers peppered in this fanfiction, but I am trying to avoid too much of the story elements as possible. One...because I have played through them SOOO many times, and two, I want everyone to experience the game as I had. This will primarily focus on Astarion and Anya (Tav) with some of the companions peppered throughout :).

Chapter Two

Anya

I wasn't breathing…or…maybe it was more that I didn't feel like I needed to. Regardless, it didn't take away the feeling that I was suffocating…that I was drowning. My eyes wouldn't open…but I could hear a voice. A deep melodious voice. Astarion. It was Astarion. I was okay…if Astarion was near me…I knew I would be safe.

I forced my eyes open…gasping as my vision swam and came back into focus. I rolled onto my side…off Astarion's lap and retched loudly into the dirt. My eyes watered as thick globs of blood splattered the ground.

"Easy now darling," I heard him say. "I've got you…you are safe…"

His hands gently held my hair back as I continued to throw up what had to be all the blood remaining in my body. Finally, it was over…the retching and dry heaving had subsided and I fell onto my side utterly exhausted. I felt Astarion's hands move underneath me, but as I tried harder and harder to stay awake…to be able to see him and make sure he was okay…the worse the fatigue got and I could do nothing before everything went black.

My body felt like it was full of lead and every movement felt like it took an immense amount of effort. I struggled against an overly plush mattress and groaned as my stomach rolled. But it wasn't a nauseating roll…it was as though I hadn't eaten in weeks. I was starving to death.

I could smell something though…something intoxicating. I looked around the room I was in until my eyes fell on a silver goblet that was on a bedside table closest to me. I lurched over and hungrily drank down the delicious-smelling liquid. I swallowed and swallowed, feeling the warm beverage dribble down my chin. It tasted of…everything…ambrosia might be the closest I could come to a descriptor.

I licked my lips and drained every last drop from the cup. My hands shook slightly as I looked down and noticed they were stained red. It must have been wine…that would explain why my head was swimming slightly. I did feel better though…and the horrible hunger pain was duller now.

I stood from the bed allowing the satin sheet that had entangled me to drop to the floor. I wasn't wearing my armor anymore…I couldn't remember why though. It was as though my brain had been switched off for a time and only just turned itself back on. I recalled us leaving camp to infiltrate Cazador's palace. But the harder I tried to remember what occurred after that the more my head throbbed.

Where was everyone anyway? Why was I in a private room? I was naked…maybe Astarion and I had slipped away at some point.

"You are awake…"

I turned quickly, my hand reaching for a dagger that wasn't there but stopped when a set of strong piercing red eyes met my own.

"Astarion…" I smiled and stepping over the bed sheet hugged him. "I…was worried for a moment. I thought…I thought I had lost you."

He held me close but something felt different in this embrace. It felt like he was afraid I would disintegrate in his arms with how tight he was holding me. I gently pulled back and held his face in my hands.

"Are you okay my love?"

He let out a sad chuckle and kissed me. I kissed him back, taking the opportunity to jump into his arms. I didn't know why I hungered for him more now than ever, but I was happy he obliged and before I knew it, we were both on the bed.

I rested my head against his chest, the cool chill from his skin soothed me…but I found it odd that I didn't shiver as I normally did the first time our bodies made contact.

"Something happened to me…" I said. "Didn't it?"

"…Yes…"

"Will you tell me what?"

He stiffened underneath me. Not in fear per se, more so in hesitation. He was worried I would be upset or angry by what had occurred.

"Darling…" he began. "Do you remember anything from our fight with Cazador?"

Anger filled my gullet and I squeezed Astarion's hand. I felt the fury that had raged through my blood when I saw that disgusting cockroach strip Astarion of his clothes and try to use him as an offering to some hell beast. My screams rang in my ear as I ran forward trying to get as close to Astarion as I could to free him. I remembered my desperation as enemy after enemy kept trying to get between myself and my beloved…and then as if I had dropped dead in that instant…everything evaporated into darkness.

I explained as much to Astarion, who gently ran his hand through my hair.

"...Cazador had cursed you…with…a blood curse. It must have been quite some time before our battle with him…but when he was able to see you were a threat…he used it. And you…died…"

His voice wavered and I frowned.

"Astarion…what did you do?"

"...I had no choice!" he snapped. "I…Anya, I couldn't imagine my existence without you. Not after everything we have been through. You are…everything to me. I…I completed the rite of ascension and…I turned you into a vampire…so you could live…but not just live. You are immortal…a vampire…"

I couldn't breathe heavily…or feel my own heart thumping in my chest. It felt almost hollow. My lungs didn't react properly…and I pulled myself from Astarion's grasp to go and see if he was telling the truth. I stood before a mirror…a full-body mirror…and inside of it held nothing but an empty frame…an empty room that was inhabited by two non-beings.

"...I…I'm your spawn…" I gasped. "You enslaved me!"

I felt Astarion at my side as I turned and faced him. Tears swelled in my eyes and I watched in horror as red droplets of blood fell down my cheeks.

"No…no, no, no, my darling…" he repeated over and over again, his hands gently cupping my face. "You are so much more than my spawn. I didn't…I gave you my blood. I…I let you bite me the moment it happened. You aren't my slave…you…you are my consort…my…beloved consort."

I watched him and swiped at the tears.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that you are not a spawn. You are a vampire. You are a true vampire just like me. We both can walk in the sun…enter any home…can do as we wish. I gave you what was denied to me when I was turned. You are free, my darling. Even if that means you leave me forever…"

I watched Astarion…his movements, his facial expressions, and his eyes. They were his…ultimately he was still him…but there was something else there too. A darkness that I couldn't place…but at the same time, I imagined that darkness was shared between us. That what I was seeing in him was what he was seeing within me.

"...Anya…I know that this is a change in the most extreme sense of the word…but you are more to me now than you were before. When I drank your blood and then you drank mine. Something happened. I felt…one with you. Like our blood was running through a single vein that was shared between us. We are more than just…consorts…it feels as though our souls are bound to each other."

"Astarion…I…am I even a Drow anymore…"

"Yes! Of course, you are…nothing has really changed. You are just as beautiful now as you were when we met…you are more powerful by spades…but you are still you and I am still me. I did this for us, Anya. For the both of us."

I wanted to be angry…I did…but at the same time, this had been what I selfishly wanted all along. I had wanted my long life to be spent with Astarion..and the thought of him outliving me and then moving on without me, sent my jealous heart into a rage…now we would spend eternity together. We would have eons to enjoy the world, enjoy one another, and make up for the horrid years Astarion had to spend as a slave.

He was still talking about how this was the right decision when I moved over to him and trapped his lips in a kiss. Regardless of this change…the one thing that remained was that I loved this man…and he loved me. And so long as that remained true, I would never be able to hate him for what he had done.

We spent the day in our chambers kissing, tasting, touching, until our immortal bodies were slick with sweat and unable to continue. I felt such a hunger for the man that lay beside me, and just when we were both ready to dress and continue with our day…he would give me that delicious smirk of his and we would end up back where we started.

"Eternity…" I whispered, my head resting against his chest. "We could spend our eternity doing this."

"That we could, my love."

"But…we can't right now…can we?" I sighed.

"...we still have the Absolute to deal with…"

I pulled myself so that I was sitting on top of him and looked down. What I wouldn't give to just spend the rest of our days in this position. No Absolute, no Gortash, no Orin, just Astarion, myself, and this dated castle that was in serious need of re-decorating. But we would have eternity to deal with that.

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