Chapter 43 -- Mature Love
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I'm not really sure how to start this...
She lost the baby.
Not Solona. No, she was still happy and pregnant, looking forward to the imminent arrival of our child.
No, I'm talking about Anora. We never told anyone she was with child. We'd waited for so long, and then she found out she carried our child. But the Maker and the gods were cruel. Within a month of finding out, she... we...
We were devastated. Anora was almost inconsolable. She felt like a failure. I felt empty. I wanted nothing more than to have a family with her, for Anora to hold our child in her arms. But the gods were cruel, and... I hated them for it. I vowed to make war on the Maker. I told the Nine that they could go fuck themselves. But I worried about Anora most of all. She was a shell of herself...
The expedition into the Deep Roads was fast approaching, but I dared not think about it after that. My only concern was Anora. Everyone else eventually found out. I swallowed down all my feelings, trying to come across as my usual self. It was a lie, of course. Anora... She had always worn her heart on her sleeve, despite what she thought. I think the outpouring of sympathy probably made it worse, despite the best of intentions. I lost count of how many times she cried herself to sleep as I lay beside her. I would never tell her that I would shed a few tears once she fell asleep, holding her in my arms, whispering apologies for causing her so much pain. I'd never felt pain like it before.
What made things worse was that Solona was now quite far along and blissfully happy. She tried not to show it around Anora but it was difficult considering we all lived together. Anora would never make it an issue. She was happy for Solona, and also for me, but no matter what she did or said, the fact was... Sitting back in the Hanged Man, I could only sigh as I thought about it all.
"How is she?" Varric asked, taking a seat, placing a tankard in front of me.
"As you'd expect," I replied.
"And you?"
I met his eyes and sighed. "I really don't know, Varric. I really don't know."
"You still keen for the Deep Roads?" I nodded. "Bartrand thinks we should be ready to leave within the week. We nearly have all the coin we require; we have the supplies. We know who is going out of our group. Anders should have the map we require soon enough. Once we have all that, we'll go."
"Good... Good..."
"Are you sure you should leave?"
"Anora loves me. Can't sleep without me. But I know, in some way, she also blames me for it. I think space might be best. Could be completely wrong, but... I don't know what to do, Varric. I'm out of my depth here."
"Ragnar, I don't claim to know women. But the one bit of advice I can give is this. Be with her until we leave. She needs to know you love her."
"She knows."
"And she does. No-one doubts how much you do. But that will need reinforcement day after day. Trust me on this, until I give the green light that we're going, just be with her. Show her all the love I know you have for her."
I drained my tankard and stood up, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you," I said quietly.
He looked up and smiled. "Give her my love too, Ragnar. Anora is a good woman and... She deserved the happiness it would have brought her. I'll tell the others you said hello. You should just concentrate on Anora for now."
"Thanks, Varric. You're a good friend."
I headed back to the embassy. It had just gone dark but there was no life when I approached it. No lights were on. Everything appeared still. I entered quietly, one of our servants creeping towards me from the kitchen at the rear, asking if I needed anything. I simply asked after Anora. She'd done a little work but had disappeared upstairs a few hours before.
Quietly entering our bedroom, Anora was cocooned in the blankets, facing away from me. I undressed, keeping on my underwear, before sliding under the covers. To my relief, she shuffled back and spooned against me, kissing her cheek as I gave her a gentle squeeze.
"I love you, Ragnar," she whispered. I can't even tell you the relief I felt every time she said that. I simply told her I felt the same way about her. Then she added something that surprised me. "I want to try again."
I squeezed her gently again. "Are you sure?" She nodded as she turned around to face me, her eyes glistening. "Okay," I said, leaning forward to lay a gentle kiss on her lips.
We hadn't made love since that morning we'd woken up and realised what happened. Anora and I had done a lot of research since, and learned quite a bit. I could only guess she was eager to try again because that night was the perfect time to try. All she did was roll onto her back and I got into position, kissing her gently as I removed my underwear, not particularly surprised that she wasn't wearing anywhere.
There was an air of desperation to the love making that took place. Anora wrapped her legs around me, dug her fingers into my back, and refused to let go of me. I simply buried myself inside her and fucked her constantly until I simply couldn't continue. We didn't joke that night about it. We simply shared words of love and affection until I had to pull out, falling onto my back, Anora cuddling into my side.
"It will work this time," she whispered, her words as adamant as any I'd heard her say.
"I can stay. I don't have to go."
"No, Ragnar. You and your friends have spent months working towards this. You should go."
"Are you sure? I really don't have to."
She spun around, cuddling into me, her head resting on my chest just under my chin. "I'm sure, Ragnar. You just get in the way if you hang around here anyway."