Chapter Ninety-Seven: *Bad Acting
We left a camp with the Dalish and Circle emissaries just south of Denerim; Dariel stayed with them, having barely spoken to any of us since we'd returned from Orzammar. I gathered he was to become Keeper Lanaya's First, and it seemed he'd already found himself a mate, based on the single tent shared between him and Mithra. We arranged runners to come to the gates of Denerim daily at noon, where we could meet with them if we needed to each day.
The rest of the trip to Denerim was uneventful. Before we were visible from the gates, we stopped to pull ourselves together. Theron dismounted, donning an old, dented full helm, and Alistair took his place on the horse, beside Teagan; I wondered if he'd take after his father and fall off, but it didn't happen. Theron walked at his side as a bodyguard. Blake walked with me near the front with the Grey Wardens.
I had decided that Alistair and I should pretend not to be together while in Denerim - I wanted Theron to see the full depth that Anora was willing to sink to in order to keep her throne, and part of that was Alistair seeming to be 'available.' I knew it was a good idea, despite Alistair's misgivings, but turning to wave at him one last time before walking through the gates, I was starting to doubt the wisdom of the idea. We'd been separated by a few hundred feet for less than an hour, and I already missed him. He'd tried changing my mind with puppy eyes; I'd promised to try to sneak into his room later.
The gates into Denerim were actually manned, for a change; Aedan recognised some of the guards as being Kylon's new recruits. They winked at Aedan and let us pass, saluting Teagan and Alistair -those they assumed to be nobility - formally. One of them broke off from the gate to walk beside Aedan, ostensibly 'escorting' us to Eamon's estate. He seemed to be giving Aedan a report of what had been going on; I looked forward to hearing it later.
Gorim took his leave, promising to come to Eamon's estate after checking in on his wife at their little house in the Market District. I rather hoped the reunion would go well and we wouldn't see him for a few days.
Eamon's estate was one of the few buildings that was the same size in real life as it was in the game. There weren't even close to enough bedrooms for everyone, so while Teagan, Aedan, and Alistair got rooms of their own, the rest of the men were put up in the barracks with Eamon's soldiers. The women ended up sharing guest rooms - I shared with Solona, while Leli shared with Wynne. Morrigan preferred to spend her nights as a bird, outside, alone. It amused me to think of Theron in the Barracks, while Alistair slept in a lavish guest room, but surprisingly, Theron appeared to be the less uncomfortable of the two at the arrangement.
Isolde immediately swept off to the room she shared with Eamon, Connor and his entourage following behind; I hoped I'd seen the last of her for a while. Eamon had implied he planned to put them both on a boat to the Free Marches within the week; I'd have wondered if he was trying to allow Connor to escape, but he'd apparently made a deal with the mage and templar who had been teaching Connor to accompany them.
We weren't greeted by Loghain, Howe, and Cauthrien upon arrival; I learned why later when we met for supper and Aedan told everyone what the guard had reported to him.
"Loghain's holed up in the Palace; no one's so much as seen him in weeks. After we left, there was some rioting, even amongst the nobles; Loghain pulled back to the Palace and Howe to his estate. They didn't have enough men even to hold the noble's district; Leonas Bryland and Alfstanna Eremon have openly declared against Loghain, and nobles are flocking to their banner."
Aedan turned to Eamon. "That should make it easier on us, then. Have you been in contact with either of them?"
"I sent messengers, but have not received responses yet. Not that I expected to - the messengers would have gone to Waking Sea and South Reach first. I told them I was coming to Denerim; I imagine they'd wait to talk here."
Aedan hummed in thought. "Well, from what I hear, neither Loghain nor Howe will be travelling much without a legion of soldiers. We need to talk to Alfstanna and Leonas."
"I expect we will get a different opportunity soon," I reminded everyone. We decided to give it a day or two, and then move forward if nothing presented itself.
I snuck into Alistair's room the first night in the estate; fortunately, my room was right across the hall, and I was able to watch through my own open door until I had an opportunity to get in unseen. Solona laughed at me and pulled our door shut behind me.
I got there before Alistair had managed to untangle himself from Eamon, so I spent a few minutes unpacking his things. A servant had turned his bed down, so when I ran out of things to do, I stripped and climbed into his bed naked, falling asleep almost instantly.
I woke when a cold draft hit me, opening my eyes to see Alistair in nothing but his loose linen pyjama bottoms, staring at my naked form with darkening eyes. He stripped out of the pants frantically, crawling into the bed and pulling the covers up over us both. He kissed me, initially soft and sweet, but quickly deepening. His tongue swept into my mouth aggressively, and I gasped.
"Just what do you think you're doing, serrah?"
He snorted, weaving his fingers into my hair to tilt my head and attack my neck. "Well, since someone obviously bought me such a beautiful gift, I couldn't possibly turn it down..." He nipped my neck, making me squirm.
"Oh you think I'm some sort of possession to be bought, some prize do you?" I gasped again as he nibbled the opposite side of my neck.
"Well, you must be - what else would you be doing in my bed, naked?"
Then his head disappeared under the blanket, and I felt him slide downwards pressing kisses to my neck, then my collarbones, then finally taking a nipple into his warm mouth. I groaned, biting my lip to stifle any noise, pulling him closer and arching into him. I could feel I was already wet and needy, but he took his time, teasing me with his stubble, little sucks and nibbles inflaming my skin, driving me mad.
He was kneeling between my thighs, his leg pressing up against me, and I tried to grind down against him, wanting more stimulation. I could feel his breath ghost across my abdomen as he chuckled and moved his leg away; I whined, stuffing the side of my hand in my mouth - my lip was starting to bleed, and I still needed to avoid the noise I knew I'd be making in a moment.
Not shouting his name when I felt his tongue tease at my lower lips took every ounce of willpower I had; not murdering him when he refused to do more than tantalise was even worse. He lapped at the moisture, not enough pressure to even dip into my slit, and I bucked, unsuccessfully. A few more moments and I reached down, grabbing a handful of short hair and tugging.
I got one merciful swipe of his tongue over my firm little nub, and then he stopped. Just stopped. I almost cried in frustration. He slid back up beside me, stroking my belly in soothing motions while I panted.
"Dare I ask what I'm being punished for?" I asked, voice hoarse with restrained lust.
