Hawe and His Princess Chapter 25

Chapter 25: A Denerim trip planned.

Hawke and Elayne, along with the soldiers, wrapped up their training session. Once they found a place to settle down, Elayne rested against him, feeling exhausted and sore. He had already used his healing to relieve her soreness and exhaustion a few times during their practice session, but she was still having some difficulties.

"I hurt all over, Hawke," she whimpered. "My one-on-one training sessions were nothing compared to this. It's obvious they went easy on me, either because I'm a woman or because I'm Bryce Cousland's daughter," she tried to chuckle, but the discomfort was too great. "Most likely both," she moaned. She turned her head slightly to him, "please tell me that it will get better?"

He pulled her against him, feeling her pain and fatigue, and poured some relief into her. "Yes, baby, it will get better in time. Your teachers did you an injustice by not pushing you more when they first started training you. Now you're paying the price, I'm sorry Elayne, I didn't realize how lacking your training really was. I'll talk to your father, and you and I can start doing private sessions instead of having you out here with the others until you're ready."

She turned towards him, feeling her body less sore after he had used his power on her. "No, Hawke, I can do this, I have to do this, I have to endure this. In the end, it'll make me stronger." There was another reason she had to keep going, but she wasn't going to say anything to him.

The reason why she needed to push herself now rather than easing herself into it was because she was afraid that when they finally did get pregnant he wouldn't allow her to practice anymore, and she needed to learn as much as she could before that happened.

Not for the first time, she wondered if she should wait on a baby, at least for a little while, until she learned more of her sword training. Unaware that he had been watching her thoughts, she put it in the back of her mind for later and focused on what she had learned today.

After they walked into the castle and headed to their room, Elayne immediately started stripping down while heading to take a bath to remove the day's sweat and grime off of her. Once she felt clean, she drained the tub and put fresh water in along with the oils he had given her. She noticed that her bottles were getting low, she was going to need to get more soon. Emerging back into the steaming water, closing her eyes, she leaned back against the tub, sighing as the heat soaked into her body, her muscles slowly unknotting.

Hawke stood in the doorway watching her as she dozed off in the tub. With a little of his magic, he maintained the heat in the water so it wouldn't cool off while she rested. He would've relieved her completely of the fatigue and pain if she had asked, but she was deciding to be stubborn.

She wanted to prove to him that she could handle this. He also knew that deep down, she wanted to become his equal or close to it with sword combat. He didn't know if she could. It didn't come naturally to her like it had for him. She was struggling, which had a lot to do with her training from the beginning. He wondered if Bryce was aware of how her teachers had slacked off on that training. He headed to Bryce's office so he could talk to him and knocked on the door, waiting for an invitation. When he heard Bryce yell enter, Hawke walked in and took a seat.

"Sir, can we talk?" Bryce waved for him to continue while pursuing some paperwork in front of him. "How much are you aware of Elayne's private sword lessons? How was her progress reported back to you?"

Still going over the papers, "they told me that she was progressing very well. They were impressed with her skill. Why?"

"Because they lied to you, sir. I don't know if they went soft on her because of her being a female or because of who she is or both, but she struggled badly today. Her skills are severely lacking. I told her I'd personally train her, and she didn't have to be out with the soldiers until she was ready, but she refused my offer. She's deciding to be bull-headed and stubborn, and she'd be furious at me for even bringing this up with you. But I know I'm going to be gone for a month, and I know she's going to be insisting on continuing her training even if I'm not here."

Bryce had put his paperwork down when Hawke started talking. When Hawke finished, he pondered his words. "Are you sure, son? I can find someone who..."

Hawke cut him off, "No, let her continue training with the soldiers. She's got other reasons why she wants to continue, but she's not aware that I know. Just keep an eye on her, please. I know she's your daughter, but she's my wife, and if she wants to do this, I can't deny her, I won't deny her."

"It actually might be good for her to have this distraction while I'm gone. I know she's planning on pushing herself as far as she can go, and I won't be around to keep her from overdoing it. So I'm asking you to keep an eye on her without letting her know. My sister will be around, and if something happens to Elayne, take her to Bethany. I won't refuse Elayne this, all I'm asking from you is keep an eye on her and not let her push herself too far."

Bryce sat there thinking. He could step in as Bryce Cousland, the Teyrn of Highever, Elayne's father, but Hawke would never forgive him or trust him. He had plans for Elayne and Hawke's future, and those plans didn't involve Hawke taking his daughter away. And Eleanor would never forgive him.

"Being as you're her husband, I will not object to your wishes." Bryce handed a paper to Hawke, "it's from my messenger we sent to your farm to relay your message."

Hawke opened and read it. Hank and Sara had no problems taking care of the farm. In fact, they wanted to talk to him about a business proposal, but they didn't say what. They would discuss it whenever Hawke returned. They told him the farm was in good hands and to come back whenever he wanted.

Relief swept through him. He had an idea of what they wanted to talk to him about, and he couldn't think of a reason not to have them be a part of the farm.

"Good news, I hope," Bryce inquired.

"Yes and maybe more." Hawke stood up and headed to the door thanking Bryce.

"Hawke, wait." Hawke turned around, looking at Bryce. "My wife has requested a trip to Denerim, she hasn't explained her reasons, but I think it involves Elayne and your wedding in a few months. Would you and Elayne like to join us?"

Hawke felt Elayne stirring in his mind. He needed to get back up to her. "Let me discuss this with my wife, and we'll let you know at dinner tonight. In the meantime, she is waking up from her nap, I should be there." He headed back up to their room as she came into the bedroom tying her robe together. He walked over to her, noticing how much better she looked.

"How do you feel, you look rested, do you still ache? I could have helped you by relieving you of your fatigue and aches. All you had to do was ask."

She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Thank you hun, but no. A bath is what I needed. I feel great, most of the aches have disappeared. Thank you for keeping the water warm." She pressed her body to his, "I love the benefits of having a mage as a husband." She put her lips back to his mouth.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

"So Hawke, did you and Elayne talk about Denerim," Bryce asked later that evening at dinner. Hawke looked at Elayne and spoke in her head, "Sorry love, but you kind of distracted me. Anyway, your father would like to know if we want to go to Denerim with him and your mom. He thinks it might be for the wedding."

Elayne looked at her parents "yes we have, and we would love to come along."

"Good, we'll leave tomorrow and stay at least a couple of days. We'll be leaving very early and won't be using the carriage. We'll be pushing through to Denerim by nightfall."

Leandra looked at Hawke, "we'll be staying here to look after the girls. Hawke, we need to talk to you after dinner, please."

"Is everything ok?" He asked worriedly. "I know I've been a little distracted, and I apologize for that."

"Everything is fine, son. I just wanted to talk to you, is all. It actually has to do with the farm."

"Okay, there's actually something I wanted to discuss with you about that also. I got a message from Sara and Hank today. Everything is fine, and they said they have no problems staying there. There's something they want to discuss with me when we get back." After everyone finished their meal, Hawke went to his family's sitting room.

Leandra looked at him, "have you thought more about hiring a permanent caretaker for the farm? I think I might have found a really nice couple who would be perfect for it. They have been spending time with the girls and have formed a strong bond with them. It seems that the girls have also taken a liking to them. I think they might be good for the girls. Have you made any decisions about what will become of those girls?"

Hawke sat there, flabbergasted. "I thought we were going to talk about the farm, not the girls. Excuse me, I need to clear my head." He went to stand up.

Leandra, getting frustrated with Hawke's constant running away to clear his head, gave him a stern look. "Arik Hawke!! You will sit down and talk to me so this can be discussed. Now!! You can't run from this anymore."

Hawke ignored her and headed outside. He went to where Midnight was, and they headed out together on a run. He'd deal with the consequences of his actions later. He just needed some air and alone time to think.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Elayne hurried to where Leandra was, concerned about what had happened. She had stayed to talk to her mom about their trip, but when she felt Hawke's anger rising and he suddenly shut her out, she immediately went to his family's room. When she walked in, Leandra was fuming. She turned to Elayne, "do you know you're married to a bull-headed stubborn jackass?"

Elayne looked at her and grinned, "actually, yes I do, and that's one of the things I love about him. Now, would you sit down so we can talk? Hawke closed me out. All I know is that he's angry, and Midnight and him went for a run. I need to know what's going on." Leandra told her what she tried to talk about with Hawke.

Feeling irritated with Leandra, Elayne sighed in frustration as she spoke. "You were supposed to discuss the farm, but instead, you involved the girls and pressured Hawke into something he wasn't ready for. Can you understand why he may have become upset? Rather than staying and saying something hurtful that he would regret, he chose to walk away and calm down to think clearly." Elayne was becoming irritated with Leandra at this point but put the focus on back to the farm.

"Their names wouldn't be Peggy and Sam by any chance?" Elayne asked curiously.

Leandra nodded, "your mom actually introduced us and the girls to them. You know them?"

"Yes, they're a really sweet couple. I talked to my mom about them. I was going to introduce Hawke to them, I think they'd be great for the farm and the girls. I wanted to take it slow with him and gradually introduce him to them so that he could adjust to the idea of the girls being with them. I'm learning that when it comes to these girls, especially Rose, I need to handle things differently with Hawke. He may not realize it, but I know he has grown quite fond of her." Leaning in, she took Leandra's hand and asked, "By the way, how did your meeting with them go?"

Leandra and Elayne sat there talking. It had gone the way she hoped. They were a really nice couple, perfect for the farm and the girls. "Leandra, let me talk to him, I think you and I are on the same path here for what the farm and the girls need. The problem is, I don't think he will see it that way, even though it could be best for them. You just took it too fast. Which obviously caused him some emotional issues."

By the time Hawke came back, she was back in their room, laying on the bed reading. He had finally dropped his wall, and she knew where his mind was. "Hawke, come up to our room upstairs. We need to talk, please."

When he got upstairs, he sat down on the bed beside her, and she put his hand in hers. "I wanted to introduce you to the couple. They're the ones I've been meaning to tell you about."

"I know, and I can't put off the decision about the girls anymore. At least the girls will be in good hands, and they'll still be on the farm if anything should happen." She looked shocked at him, this was going easier than she had thought.

Hawke saw the look on her face, and he couldn't help but be amused, despite the pain he was feeling. "Look, Elayne, I know what I asked of you when I first brought the girls home. It wasn't fair for you, nor is it fair now. I truly apologize for putting you through this whole situation. You've been a big supporter for me when you didn't have to be. My whole family has been a big supporter, but I also realize I've been pulling back from the girls lately. I can't have you or our families to take on the responsibility of the girls when I haven't been around them much lately. I don't think I was meant to keep them, I was just meant to save them and help them heal." She saw the pain in his eyes when he looked at her. "Before I agree to this, though, I need to meet them first, and we'll take it from there, okay?"

She sat up and put her arms around him, "I love you baby, I know this couldn't have been easy on you, but you're doing the right thing."

"You know what's funny? It actually is easy. I've been distancing myself from them slowly. When's the last time I checked on them? It didn't occur to me until I was on my ride. When that was, it was the day of the ball. A few days ago. That's when I realized that my role with them was almost done."

Needing to change the subject, he had some good news for her and her dad. "You guys should be pleased, Midnight sure is. He's going to be a daddy. All three fillies are pregnant. When I dropped Midnight off, they were waiting for him. I was able to examine all three with a little bit of my power. He's been a busy young stud."

He looked at Elayne, expecting a reaction, but she just sat there, staring at nothing. The news didn't exactly hit her the way he was hoping. In fact, it did the opposite. Made her think of her own situation. He watched her mind working, saw the two decisions she was warring with. He couldn't help her on this one. She needed to figure it out herself.

He pulled her to him, lifting her chin up. "Elayne, I love you."

She wasn't sure why the news of the fillies had made her sad. This is what her father wanted. She examined why the news had affected her this way. She knew she wanted a baby, and he had compromised with her, and she had agreed to it. But then another thought came into play. If she was going to continue with sword training, maybe she needed to put the thought of a baby on hold for a while. There was no way she could continue with her training while being pregnant. Whatever she decided to do, she had a few months to figure it out.

"I love you too," she told him when he pulled her to him.

"Tomorrow sounds like it's going to be a long day, and I'll help out with fatigue if needed for the horses. Which means if we're leaving early, then we should probably get some sleep, come, baby." He undressed, and they retired for the night.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

By the time they got to Denerim, it was long past when the sun had gone down. When they entered the Inn, everyone was exhausted, ready to collapse for the night. Hawke and Elayne entered their room, and she collapsed on the bed with a satisfying sigh.

"Hawke, I think I'm going to need your healing hands on me, please," she groaned.

"Of course, my lady," he said quietly and went in and grabbed a towel and tossed it to her. She looked at him curiously, "I'm going to do something different tonight, so I need you to undress."

He could feel how sore she was. He knew she hadn't fully recuperated from yesterday's training, so he grabbed an oil from his bag and had her lay down on the bed on her stomach. He sat on the bed beside her, and with the oil and a miniscule of his power and his hands, he worked her body from her shoulders down to her feet. He had her roll over and repeated the process but started from the bottom up.

He sat there watching her after wiping his hands off, "How do you feel?"

She stretched, moaning, feeling rejuvenated and relaxed. "That was heavenly Hawke, every ache is gone, my muscles feel like jelly." She looked up at him, he was staring at her with eyes that sent another kind of tingling and warmth throughout her body. "Your turn, my love," she said, giving him a little smirk while sitting up, "now strip down."

"You don't have to do this, I'm not as sore and stiff as you." She just sat there watching him, he sighed and stripped off his shirt. "Fine, if you insist, then you can do my upper body, but I'm ok, Elayne. I did that for you because I could still feel some of your discomfort from training yesterday."

"All of it, Hawke, let me do this. It's the least I can do for you. You're always seeing to my comfort and well-being, now let me do this small thing and return the favor." She sat there watching him, "please," then he finally relented and removed his pants.

She looked down at him with a smirk. He was standing at full attention. "I thought you said you weren't stiff darling," she put her hand on him, "this says otherwise." He started to grab her, but she slid away, "I've got a job to do my love, let me get to it," She grinned up at him, "then we'll take care of your other problem," she ran her eyes over the length of him again, running her tongue along her lips suggestively, making him groan.

"You're not my wife. You're a very wicked temptress out to torture me." He growled then laid down on his belly.

Grinning, she straddled him and started rubbing him down. She started to rethink doing this as her hands started massaging his well muscled back. She could see the marks she had left on his back and started tracing them with her finger, remembering how he had gotten them. She couldn't hold back the whimper escaping, "are you ok back there, Elayne? Remember, you're the one that wanted to do this, so you might as well finish it." There was a lustful edge to his voice that she knew all too well, and her body reacted even more.

He knew what this was doing to her, and he was enjoying it. But he was right, she started it, she had to finish it. Instead of answering, she started massaging him with a little too much force, she heard him chuckling. "We could always end this now, and I could help relieve your frustration there, I can feel what this is doing to you, my beautiful wife." His voice had become huskier, and when he turned his head to hers, a hungry look was in his eyes.

She tried to firm her mind, to focus, "no, I'm fine," she whispered. Knowing she was failing at convincing him, she worked her way down his back to his hard, firm rear. Unable to hold back another whimper, she hurriedly worked her way down to his well muscled thighs and calves. When she was done with his backside, she told him to roll over a little roughly. When he did, her eyes went involuntarily straight to his magnificently thick long shaft waiting for her. He truly was a well-built magnificent specimen in every way possible. She had found out after coming back to Highever, after using her hands as a way to describe him, that he was indeed truly blessed after finally getting curious and talking to her mother and the other women in the keep one day. A couple of the women's eyes had gotten huge and told her that she'd been given a gift and to cherish it.

She looked up into his eyes, they were hard with a demanding hungry look in them. She felt her body instantly wet with need and desire with promise from his eyes. Her face flushed as she worked her way up his legs, all the while aware of what his body and his hungry eyes were doing to her. When she got to between his legs, she decided that she'd skip that for now, as she tried to figure out how she was going to position herself, so she could work on his belly and chest. She sat on the side of him, hearing him chuckle while she started massaging his belly.