The Grey Warden

The moon hangs bright in the sky. The moon for which I was named. The moon I've looked at since I was young. It used to relax me. Looking up, thinking that it was the very same moon my mother looked at when she named me. The keeper spoke of her dreamy nature. Looking to the sky and imagining stories of grandiose adventures and handsome heroes.

That's what got her in to trouble he'd say. It took years of begging before I finally got the whole story, given to me in pieces over the years. Now it would play through my head like a story when I thought of it.

She met a brawny man in the forest one day. Most Dalish would be apprehensive of a human skulking through the wood, but mom thought he had a heroic aura. She watched him, his intense face searching for something. All of a sudden, he sprinted off. Mother, dazed for a second, took off after him. He ran, catlike, swiftly leaping over fallen logs and rocks, sliding around trees. His movements were effortless. She ran, head pounding, lungs on the verge of bursting. The human was outpacing her and she would soon lose him. She ran harder. Dots began to cloud her vision. She wasn't totally sure why it was so important to her to catch him. Barely in vision, she saw him leap over a rock and down an embankment. The embankment totally obscured his path. If she didn't get to the rock before he got too far she would never catch up. She gave it her all, as she vaulted the last steps to the rock and leaped on top of it. Gone. He was gone. She nearly collapsed and her heart sank. Losing the human seemed a great loss.

"Giving up, already?"

Mother whipped around, drawing her bow. It was the human. How had he sneaked up so close?, she thought. Her nocked arrow was practically resting on his chest.

"You move well for a shemlen," mother said. She knew she should be careful, but she relaxed anyway.

"I guess I do," he smirked, "but not well enough to dodge this arrow. 'Least, not at this distance."

"What are you doing in these woods?" she asked him.

"I was...uh...would you mind lowering that thing?"

"wh..uh...a...," stammering she realized she still had her arrow nocked and ready. A slip of the finger would take his life instantly. Her cheeks were red with embarrassment.

"Or maybe I could back up a bit. Give me at least a small chance of survival." His smile full of playfulness.

She lowered her bow.

"Now, will you answer my question? What are you doing in these woods, shemlen?"

"Bryce."

"Excuse me?"

"My name. I'm Bryce, not... shemlin?"

"Shem len," she said, emphasizing for clarity. "It's what my people call you humans."

"I see. May I ask your name?" he said, still smirking.

"Na...uh," she started. She visibly collected herself. "My name is Namaya. Now, will you-"

Bryce told my mother of a convoy from his family's estate that was attacked by bandits. Among the items stolen was a pendant his mother used to wear. Together they snook into the bandit camp and stole the pendant back. They went their separate ways but soon they were bumping into each other on a regular basis. Bryce was the adventurous type. He always had some adventure he was planning and my mom started to join him. She was living her dreams of adventure. My mom went on one of these adventures and was gone for months. When she finally returned, she was plump with child. She never spoke of the time she was gone and never mentioned who the father was. The keeper was sure it was Bryce but never pushed the issue. He was glad to have one of his own back and away from shem influence. Years later, when I was still little, my mother disappeared again. This time she didn't come back. The keeper said she was dead.

I stopped looking to the moon and looked around the strange, stone room. Looking at the moon, the warmth and familiar smell of fire in the room, I forgot where I was. In a room at Redcliffe Castle. My present worries come flooding back. Tomorrow we face the blight. I have many trustworthy companions at my side, yet I feel alone. Ever since the landsmeet, my days have been without their usual sarcastic wit. Without any joy. Without Alistair.

At first meeting, I thought Alistair was incredibly childish. The way he would defensively joke about everything. We quickly bonded over our love for our long gone mothers and began talking every night at camp. We would tell each other about our lives and our plans after the blight. He would speak like he was unimportant and incapable of leading. Each night, looking into those sensitive blue eyes, I wanted to tell him that he was important. That he could lead me to the end of the earth and I would follow. But I never spoke up. At times, his eyes would fill with pain, and I would just want to hold him. I feared he would reject me. Or he would feel emasculated in front of the others. So, I never made a move. Never told him how I feel. I almost did.

I was building myself up for days. Planning out my words meticulously. Figuring out how to get him alone. Then he dropped a bombshell on my plans. We went to Redcliffe and he told me of his royal heritage. He was a royal bastard. Worried that he would think that I suddenly wanted him for his power, I decided against telling him of my feelings again. How foolish I was! Maybe if I had told him how I feel, he would still be here. Maybe he would've understood my choices at the landsmeet.

Deciding I had spent enough time thinking of things I couldn't change, I laid myself down and tried to sleep. It was a long sleepless night.

---------------

It's over. Logain dealt the final blow, like we had decided. He owed Fereldan for the mess he had made of it. I didn't love seeing him celebrated as a hero. I guess he was, in a way. All I can think of him, is the suffering he caused. After the celebration, I went off on my own. I would indeed miss all the friends I had made, but they had plans of their own.

I sat lonely at my campfire staring into the flame. Would I ever be able to sit under the moon without thinking of my mother. Without thinking of Alistair. I look away from the fire, the after image blinding me in the night. I rub my eyes as I see something moving in the after image.

"Who's there?" I shout into the night

"You let him take the honor?" a familiar voice seethes.

"Alistair?"

I can hardly believe it.

"How could you let him take the honor of slaying the archdemon?" Alistair croaks, anger breaking his voice as he moves closer.

Happiness fills me at the sight of him. I thought he was gone forever.

"Alistair, I thought you-"

"How could you?" He steps closer, his chest almost against my face. I have to look up to see his face. His body trembles with anger. I want to lay my face on his chest and hold him, feeling his rippling muscles against me.

"Would you rather it was me?" I force out, my eyes starting to burn.

"Of course not, Luna. It should've been me. If I had known, I-"

"You what? You would've left me here in this world alone?" My throat tightens. I couldn't force out more words if my life depended on it.

"I...what? What do you mean by that?" He stammers

"Alistair, you fool" I force out. I swallow the lump in my throat. "Why do you think I fought for Anora to get the throne? Why do you think I didn't take the sacrifice myself? Because I...I..." Tears fills my eyes. "I want to be...with you. If you got the throne," my voice shaking I try to finish my sentence, "we never would've been able to be together. Alistair, I...I..." I lose it and the tears finally start coming out.

Alistair reaches forward and wipes a tear from my face. He looks down at me with those piercing eyes, more intense than they've ever been. They feel as though they will melt through me. I try to work out more words, to explain my feelings. To tell him why I couldn't let him kill Logain, but my words are bottled in my throat.

"I..."

He wraps his arms around me and pulls me in. After holding me and letting me cry for a few moments, he moves my body away from his. He looks into my eyes and I see that his eyes are wet. He tucks strands of my hair behind my ear and out of my face.

"Alistair, I-"

He shakes his head and shushes me. Alistair leans down and kisses me. We kiss for a moment and he pulls away. His eyes augers burning through my soul. He runs his fingers across my cheek and grabs the back of my head, pulling me to him. He presses my face to his and kisses me longer. My skin tingles, my toes curl. My heart pounds my chest. Alistair reaches down and starts untying my shirt as he kisses down my neck. He opens up my shirt a bit and kisses across my collar bone. He moves across my chest and lowers his face. My breasts are almost exposed, as he kisses the side of my breasts. His soft lips caress my breast as they move closer to the center. His breath hot against my skin, he slides my shirt off my nipple with his face as my nipple slips into his mouth. He sucks my nipple lightly as my shirt drops off my body, then licks around my nipple and brings it back into his mouth. He kisses down my breast, holding it in his hand, his soft lips resting under my breast. He moves his head over to the other side, giving my other breast some attention.

Alistair's face comes off my breast and he lets out a sigh as he rest his head against my chest. I reach down and hold his head for a moment, then start to untie his shirt. I slide it down over his arms, bulging from his hard years of training. As soon as his shirt is off he moves back to my chest, kissing down the center of my body. He works his way to my stomach and kisses across it while he pulls down my pants. His kisses move down my pubic area, moving ever closer to my vagina. Half an inch from it, he changes course and moves his kisses to my thigh, holding it in his hands. He kisses down it a bit and then back up. He moves his head towards my mound, his nose barely missing it. I can feel his hot breath as my legs involuntarily begin to spread. Suddenly he stands up. Before I can ask what's wrong, he picks me up, wrapping my legs around him.

He walks us over to the hammock I set up earlier and lays me down on it. Alistair returns his kissing where he left off on my thigh. He works his way up until he is kissing the spot where my leg meets my crotch. My vagina burns from his teasing and I feel my wetness running from me. He starts kissing the edge of my labia, his tongue starting to explore. He starts licking and kissing between my lips, darting his tongue in me every few kisses and works his way slowly up to my clit. He grabs both my thighs and gingerly envelops my clit with his mouth, kissing slowly. His hands, massaging my thighs, start to move in towards my lips. He starts rubbing my lips and the spot between them and my anus while still slowly kissing my clit. His tongue flicks, interrupting every third or fourth kiss on my clit. He continues this as my body starts to go. My muscles tense, my pussy vibrating with pleasure as I come. He slows down his kissing and tonguing. His hands now slowly massaging my thighs. He stops his tongue and lightly kisses my lips.

Alistair sighs against my thigh and rest his head for a moment. He stands up and takes off his pants, his penis standing at attention. It flicks upward a bit as I stare at it, a large vein running down the length of it. I look in his eyes and see a determination not present even when slaying the fiercest of enemies. He leans down, wraps his arms around me and picks me up. Alistair holds me tight against his body and kisses my neck. I smell my scent on his face as he moves in to kiss my lips and I wrap my arms around his tight body. His cock twitches up and I feel it against my leg. He places one hand on my ass picking me up a bit higher and grabs his cock with his other hand. He slowly lowers me on to his throbbing penis, his head resting just against my entrance. My body opens, yearning for him. He slides me down and I feel my lips stretch against the flared head of cock. Slowly it slips in as my lips wrap around behind it. I place my face against his neck breathing out as he slides more of himself into me. I'm lowered until I feel his hand holding his member. He releases it now that it's in me enough to stay put. Alistair grabs my ass with both hands and lowers me the final few inches.

I sigh into his neck. He pulls me up by my ass and slides me back down his cock. I squeeze him tighter and he continues to move me up and down, picking up his pace. I breathe heavily against him as he picks up his pace. His breathing becomes labored, his face flush and sweat starts running down his body. His pace picks up for a moment and then slows down as he grunts slightly. His arms began to shake as he slowly lowers me, raises me and lowers me once more, his seed ejecting into my body. I feel his warmth jolt into me and slip out slowly. Alistair lets out a massive sigh and continues to hold me, resting his head on my shoulder. He slowly lower us to the hammock. He stays in me, going soft, his mess seeping out around us, as he looks in my eyes. Neither of us speak as we hold each other into the night.