Chapter 34
Aedan left the bed and Emma rolled onto her stomach to get a better view of his flexing ass as he strode confidently over to the basin. His taut biceps became more defined as he wrung out a washcloth, and muscles tightened across his back with each movement. She wiped at her mouth, sure she was going to find saliva as she gazed upon his long legs. "I can feel you watching me," he said.
"Mhm, can you blame me?" Her lips turned up in a smile that was purely carnal as he turned and walked back towards her. "Don't try and distract me." He gave her a mock frown as he sat on the bed and cleaned her body. She quivered and her hips rose to his touch. He chuckled. "Behave yourself. Now, tell me why I found you crying this morning."
He dropped the cloth to the floor and climbed back into bed, pulling her to his side and holding her close, offering her a sense of safety. She placed one hand over his and traced his long fingers, rough and scarred by battle. "I had a bit of a weird dream and when I awoke I'd recovered my ability to see future events." She continued to fiddle around with his hand, stroking over the knuckles. "I also remembered a few things from before I met you and some of them were a bit upsetting."
He kissed the top of her head. "Is there something you need to sort out back home?" She shook her head. "Not really. It doesn't matter anyway because I can't go back there." If I do, I won't be able to return to you. "Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I don't want to go back there," she corrected herself.
Aedan lifted her face. "Did someone hurt you, Angel?" His eyes held a menacing glint and she brushed her lips to his, touched by his concern on her behalf.
"No, nothing like that; I was just lonely, with no life to speak of. I only had one friend and that was who I was crying for. I hope he's okay." Her eyes filled at the thought of Jess, and Aedan's thumb captured a stray tear.
"He obviously means a lot to you."
His rough voice caught Emma's attention and she quickly understood. "I was referring to my cat, Aedan. He'd been a great companion to me for a few years."
Aedan's expression brightened after hearing her explanation, then he looked sheepish. "Sorry, I didn't mean to look so happy when you're upset about your pet."
She leaned back into his warm body. "It's okay, I should have clarified it was a cat at the beginning."
He ran his hand over her hair. "Are you sure we can't go back and check on him?"
"Yeah, I'm sure, but thank you for offering to help."
She turned in his arms and kissed him slowly, taking solace in the intimate hug. "I love you, Aedan."
He cupped the back of her head, holding her to him. "I love you too, Emma, with all my heart."
They embraced each other in a companionable silence, knowing no other words were needed at that moment. Her mind drifted, for the most part, focused on nothing in particular, just content to be at peace for a short time.
It was during this quiet moment that a memory bubbled up and prodded insistently at her brain. A small vial filled with some kind of glittering potion. What was it Flemeth had said? "When you have made your decision, drink this. It must be done before the killing blow."
Emma frowned; the words didn't make that much sense, and Flemeth hadn't been very clear about which decision she'd been referring to. Although Emma guessed it had it to do with whether she wanted to stay in Thedas or not. This was a no-brainer; she'd happily face the trials still to come in Thedas to stay with the man she loved and the friends she'd made.
Another question came to mind; did she drink the potion regardless of the decision? It certainly sounded that way, in which case what was the point of the damn thing? Also, seeing as she already knew her answer, couldn't she just knock back the stuff now and be done with it? Bloody hell, so many questions, she could do with going to see... wait! They did have to return to Flemeth at some stage to have a chat about the grimoire. Perfect! She'd ask her questions then.
-x-
Emma ate a hearty breakfast, while Aedan played footsie under the table, causing her to break out in fits of giggles at the most inopportune moments. He decided to stop when she had a coughing fit after her drink went down the wrong way.
"Ah, so our two little lovebirds have reunited. It warms the heart, truly." Zevran grinned as he carried his substantial breakfast and took a seat next to Aedan. Alistair yawned as he sat down next to Emma. "I think that was pretty obvious from the noises coming from their room at the break of dawn." He gave both guilty parties a bleary-eyed glare, which was somewhat ruined by the cheerful twinkle in his amber eyes.
Leliana and Wynne approached the table. "That reminds me, we need to get some cotton wool or something else to stuff in our ears," Wynne stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Emma chuckled at their good-natured ribbing, her embarrassment long since forgotten, having become accustomed to what was a favourite pastime for Zevran, and, on occasion, Wynne.
The conversation turned to their schedule for the day ahead. "After our chat with the impostor, it seems we need to head back to Lake Calenhad and talk to the innkeeper at the Spoiled Princess."
Emma looked up from her coffee, "We could bypass Lake Calenhad and go straight to a small town called Haven."
Everyone, but Aedan, looked at her in surprise. "I regained possession of my ability to see the future sometime during the night," she explained. "If you show me your map, I'll mark Haven on there." She thought back to the map in the game and sincerely hoped it was accurate. For that matter, she hoped her memory was also accurate because she certainly couldn't rely on her sense of direction to get them there as it was nonexistent. Hell, she'd got lost on a train once after coming out of the tiny toilet and walking off in the wrong direction.
Aedan spread the map out on the table and handed her a pencil; she scanned the parchment carefully, found Redcliffe and traced her finger to the left, noting the small white patch, upon which would normally sit the icon for Haven. She placed a cross against the area and returned the pencil to Aedan. He looked around the table. "Okay, looks like we have a plan."
"And a long journey back the way we've just come," Leliana grumbled. However, once they'd finished their breakfast they were ready to make the trip to Haven, with a quick stop to meet up with the rest of the party along the way.
