Chapter 68
The next morning Emma took a look at herself in the mirror, and immediately wished she could get her hands on some concealer. The black shadows under her eyes looked frightening; in fact, she was quite sure she could currently pass as a ghoul. She rubbed her cheeks in an effort to get some colour back into her skin and to draw the attention away from her eyes, but when she examined her face again she scowled. Nothing was going to hide those damn bags.
Emma was infinitely grateful that there were others in the dining room when she arrived for breakfast. She filled them in on a few tasks that needed to be done; helping Dagna and Zerlinda, and retrieving the stolen tome for the Shaperate, among other things. As they were already in the Diamond Quarter, they decided to deal with the golem registry first, before starting on the other quests. Emma found Orta and handed over the documents she needed to prove her ties with the House of Ortan, the Legion of the Dead insignia was recorded, and the golem tracings were handed over.
It took most of the day to complete the remainder of the tasks, but eventually, they left Orzammar with a promise to Dagna to visit the Circle and put forward her request. Emma was glad when the day was over; she'd noticed the glances from the other companions, especially Zevran, who'd stared pointedly at her bare finger for a few moments before looking away. There had been even more sideways stares thrown her way when she purchased a tent from Bodahn. Of course, that had brought back memories of her first time with Aedan, and she bit her lip in order to push back the storm of emotions that surged through her. She was glad that she didn't have the same issues with the tent as she'd previously had; the last thing she wanted to do was draw more attention to herself. She was getting enough of that already, just not from the man that she wanted to notice her.
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The days passed in a blur as they started their journey to the Brecilian Forest. Emma started her training with Wynne to become a healer, and as they spent time together, she learned about the spirit that inhabited Wynne. The group's bond grew as more stories were shared around the campfire late at night. One evening, when only Wynne, Leliana, Aedan and Emma remained, Zevran shared his reasons for taking the job to kill the Grey Wardens, and as the story unfolded, Leliana moved closer to him, laying her hand on his knee in a comforting gesture. When the group finally broke up, the two rogues made their way to Zevran's tent. Emma smiled, happy that they'd found each other.
As she turned towards her tent, she caught sight of Aedan watching her. Meeting his gaze a spark of desire and need flared between them, it was so palpable that she half expected to see it. With a painful determination, she managed a smile and a nod before rushing off to her own tent. She tied up the tent flap, undressed and slipped into her bedroll and only then did she allow the tears to fall.
The next evening, perhaps inspired by Zevran's honesty, Leliana told her tale. This time it was Zev offering comfort to her, and at the end of the evening, the two once again disappeared into a tent. Emma didn't even glance over to Aedan this time, but made a beeline for her sleeping quarters, remembering how painful it had been to see that familiar desire in his eyes and be unable to do anything about it. She thought the pain was supposed to ease as time went by, but that didn't seem to be the case for her. She huddled down in her blankets, cold and indescribably lonely as she willed herself into a restless sleep.
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At long last, they reached the Dalish camp, and as per the game, they were greeted with hostility. Emma was in no mood for their rude remarks today and gazed at the elves with a dangerous glint in her eyes.
"Stop right there, outsider. The Dalish have camped in this spot. I suggest you go elsewhere, and quickly." Aedan spoke with the woman, and she agreed to let them enter, uttering her warning as they walked past. "In the camp, I suggest you keep your hands to yourself and remember…"
"Yeah, yeah. Your arrows are trained on us… blah, blah, blah! You need to think up some new threats," Emma said in a caustic tone. The elven woman glared at her, but Emma just smirked and followed everyone into the camp.
They were led to Zathrian who filled them in on the events that had recently taken place, which also made it impossible for him to fulfil his obligations. Aedan accepted the mission to retrieve Witherfang's heart and free Zathrian's hunters from the curse of the werewolves. "Just once, I'd like to hear someone say that they're ready, willing and able to fight the Blight. Just once," Aedan grumbled.
Emma chuckled. "Nah, that would be much too easy. Besides, this mission is kind of cool."
He snorted and his expression was one of disbelief. "How do you figure that?"
She grinned. "Werewolves. Need I say more?"
He shook his head but chuckled. Emma felt a moment of warmth at the easy banter between them; it was a nice change from the strained politeness they had both adopted towards each other.
Only minutes after entering the forest, they were attacked by a pack of wolves. One of the large creatures sat back on its haunches and howled, long and loud. Emma always felt a bit squeamish about fighting the animals, especially when they whimpered, but she did her best to block out the sounds and focus on the fight. With the wolves dead, they moved further into the thick forest until they came to a small wooden bridge; and standing on the other side of it were Swiftrunner and his friends.
Emma got her first good look at the werewolf and was a little unnerved by the very, very sharp teeth that filled his mouth. Bloody hell! She was quite sure they hadn't looked that lethal in the game. The conversation got underway and as always, Swiftrunner disappeared back into the trees after leaving them with the ominous words that the forest would deal with Aedan and his team as it did with all intruders.
"Cheerful fellow, isn't he?" Zevran quipped.
"Yeah, I'm sure some flea powder would really help his mood. Did you notice how much they were all scratching? That has got to be annoying," Emma replied, only half joking.
They'd gone no more than a hundred yards when the werewolves attacked; Emma focused on the pack, throwing out spells and hexes to help take them down as quickly as possible. In doing so, she failed to notice the lone werewolf that crept under the cover of a thick hedge until it was close enough to pounce. It landed on her back with its full weight and she went down with a grunt as the air was knocked from her lungs. For a moment she was dazed by the force of the impact, and then the hot, fetid breath of the beast helped her to recall where she was. She had a split second to feel completely helpless, trapped beneath its large body, and then suddenly the weight was gone and she could move again. Shakily, she pushed herself into a standing position and saw Aedan taking down the big werewolf.
As he turned towards her, she offered him a grateful smile and received only a polite nod in return. Well, so much for the return of their easy banter; apparently that didn't fit in with his rules for keeping his distance from her. As they moved forward, she sheathed her staff and straightened her cloak, covering an overlooked swollen, red bite mark on her neck.
