Chapter 74

Aedan raised his sword to deliver the final blow, but Leliana stepped forward. "Wait! This was no simple attack." The remaining mercenary happily spilt all the information he had, which didn't amount to much, but it did tell them one thing: someone in Denerim was after Leliana.

After the mercenary had staggered away, all eyes turned to the bard. "You think this could be Marjolaine?" Zevran asked as they continued their journey towards their camp. She lifted one shoulder. "It's possible, but why now? This makes no sense."
Emma decided to put the bard's mind at rest by at least confirming her suspicions, though she would leave Leliana's mentor to explain the reason why. "It's Marjolaine." The redhead muttered an oath.
"What do you want to do?" Aedan asked.
Leliana's face hardened. "It's time to finish this."
"Seems like a good idea. You don't want to be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life. We'll head to Redcliffe and speak to the Arl, then we'll be going to Denerim for the Landsmeet so we can deal with this Marjolaine then."

After dinner, the three Grey Wardens moved away from the group to discuss Avernus. Emma decided to get the ball rolling and told them about her idea that it might have something to do with the ashes. Aedan raised an eyebrow. "Why? What happened when you gave me the ashes?"
Alistair's eyes widened slightly as the memory came back to him, and it was he who answered. "You were surrounded by a soft glow. Emma was holding your hand, and the glow moved up her arm until she too was covered in the light, then she reached up and grabbed my hand, and the same thing happened to me."
"Damn! How did I miss this?" Aedan asked, looking a bit shocked at his friend's explanation.
"Well, love, you opened your eyes just as the glow faded." She rubbed the side of her nose and blushed. "And I kind of forgot to tell you about it after everything that had occurred."
Aedan chuckled and pulled her close to brush a kiss across her lips. "Understandable, Angel."

"So, is it possible the ashes cured us of the taint?"
Emma glanced over to Alistair and answered his question. "No, I don't think so... well, I hope not, or we're screwed."
Her fellow Wardens looked shocked at the surprising statement she'd made. Damn it, now they would probably need an explanation. That would be no easy task, because how could you tell someone that they had to have the blight in their blood to kill the Archdemon? This, of course, would then lead to an explanation about how the Grey Warden who struck the killing blow would in turn be killed when the essence of the Archdemon went into their body. Then, she'd feel compelled to explain that there was a loophole which would require Alistair to have sex with Morrigan and… yeah, she'd screwed up big time with the slip of her tongue. Shit! She really needed to start putting her brain in gear before speaking.

Alistair looked over to Aedan, who shrugged in a don't-ask-me manner, so he turned back to Emma. "I thought getting rid of the taint would be a good thing?"
"Well, it will be, after we defeat the Blight," she replied nonchalantly, hoping they wouldn't have any follow-up questions.
"Why do I have the feeling that there's more to that statement?" Aedan said, as he leaned his elbows on his knees and nailed Emma with a questioning stare.
Bollocks! Why do they have to be so curious? "There is, but I'm not the best person to explain it," Hah! That should keep them quiet, she thought smugly.
"So who is the best person?"
Emma glared at Alistair. Damn it! This had turned into an interrogation; she could only be grateful that electricity hadn't been invented yet because she wasn't a fan of having bright lights shone on her face.
"You'll see."
Alistair blew out a frustrated sigh. "Maker's breath! You sound like Duncan."
Emma chuckled as she remembered a conversation from the game when her Warden asked about what changed in a person after joining the Grey Wardens, and Alistair had said that he'd asked Duncan the same thing and the reply had been, "You'll see."

A more solemn expression replaced her smile as she looked from Aedan to Alistair. "I'm not trying to be mysterious but this isn't the right time for me to go into further details. Someone will be along soon who will explain things much better than I can."
"As hard as it is to accept, I do understand. You have my trust, Emma, so I'm willing to wait for the rest of the information," Alistair said.
Aedan pulled her into his lap and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Same here, Angel." She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled; the angle gave him a nice view of the contour of her neck, sternum and cleavage. His eyes travelled along the tempting view before meeting her amused gaze. The sizzle of attraction between the two lovers lay heavy in the air.

A slight cough caught their attention. "Well, I can see where this is heading, so I'll give you two some privacy." Alistair chuckled and walked away, a flush on his cheeks.
"I think we embarrassed him," Emma said, feeling a little guilty at her friend's sudden departure.
"Hmm, I'll apologise later," he replied in a distracted manner, as he slowly followed the lines of her throat with his curled knuckles. She let her head drop back as his lips followed the same route with small kisses along her skin.

A tender sigh fell from her lips as he spread his hand upon reaching her cleavage, and his fingers brushed against her breasts. As he lowered her to the ground, she wrapped her hand around his neck, her fingers stroking the soft hairs at the nape while her other hand slipped beneath his shirt to press against his chest and feel the accelerated beat of his heart which matched her elevated heart rate. The popping sound of a log burning on the campfire reminded her that they were quite close to the group. "Perhaps we should..." His fingers stroked her thigh. "Hmm... go back to..." He nipped at her neck. "Our tent." She finished with a gasp as he pressed his aroused body against hers.
He looked over his shoulder to assess the distance, then turned back to Emma. "We do seem a bit near to them, don't we?" He kissed her long and hard, then stood up, and she grinned at the obvious outline of his erection pressing against his trousers while quickly scrambling to her feet. With a squeal, she was lifted into his arms and he quickly darted off towards their tent... well, as quickly as any man could while sporting a raging hard-on.
Heads turned as the horny couple ran past. "I was just getting used to having a good night's sleep without being woken up by the sounds of their love-making," Wynne grumbled amiably.

-x-

The familiar beeping told Emma she was drifting close to her other world. The darkness lifted and the white, drab walls of the hospital came into view reflecting a dismal scene. The condition of the emaciated body had worsened considerably in the weeks that had passed since her last visit.
"I don't understand this. She's being fed nutrients intravenously, and although muscle deterioration is to be expected, we shouldn't be seeing this kind of weight loss." The nurse agreed with the doctor's words and pointed at the skin. "Is that normal too?"
Emma's dream form leaned in to look as well and wasn't overly surprised to see the same transparency she'd seen in the Deep Roads. "No, I've never seen anything like that. At this rate of degeneration, she's not going to last much longer."

Emma sucked in a sharp breath at the doctor's words and then awoke to find herself back in her tent, wrapped in Aedan's arms. She disengaged herself from his hold, needing some space, and sat up, her heart thumping erratically, and her chest heaving as she tried to draw in a breath. The doctor's words pushed her into a full-blown panic attack; she knew she needed to slow her breathing but she struggled to focus because one question kept swirling around in her head: what would happen to her in this world if her body died in the other world?

"Easy, love." A large hand rubbed up and down her back in a soothing motion. "Deep breath in through the nose, hold it, and then release." After a few failed attempts, she managed to follow his instructions and felt her heartbeat settle down. When her breathing became easier, he wrapped his arms tightly around her. She rested her hand on his arm, immensely grateful that he'd understood her need for some space.

"What happened, Angel?" He rested his chin on her shoulder as he curled his body protectively around hers. She gripped his hands, holding them tightly against her stomach as she debated with herself whether or not to mention what the doctor had said. She had no way of knowing what would happen to her if she died in the other world, and to indulge in speculation would be pointless. Besides, the full story would only worry Aedan, and he already had enough on his plate, so she gave him half the truth. "I was back in the other world for a brief time, and I… well, my body doesn't look so good. It just freaked me out for a moment."

He turned her in his arms and cradled her face. "You're going to make it, Emma. I know you will."
Desperately, she surged forward and captured his lips in a hard kiss; the taste of blood in her mouth indicated she'd cut his lip with the fierceness of her move. "I'm sorry, I just needed to..." Her voice trailed off as the first tears slipped down her cheeks at the thought of never seeing him again. He held her tight as she buried her head into the contour of his neck. "It's going to be all right, Angel," he whispered comfortingly as he blinked away tears of his own.