My Love

by Sabrina Zbasnik

  "You know, we will have to get up eventually," he said, puncturing the dream. Lana waved it away, happy to dismiss reality for a few hours at least. Chuckling at her carefree attitude, Cullen pressed his lips against her cheek and whispered, "What about breakfast?"

  "Maker, I could go for some toast with all the jams on it," Lana groaned, her stomach reviving at the thought of food.

  He smiled, curling her tighter to him, "I love when you're hungry."

  "You're a simple man," Lana laughed at the idea.

  "Yes I am," he sighed, the 'simple man' wrapping both of his grateful arms tighter against her and curling his hands around her arms. "But I am uncertain how we get breakfast to appear in this bed, unless...?"

  She broke away from him to look up into his eyes and fully watch his attempt at miming spell casting. It was hilarious to watch non-mages feign their interpretation. Most tended to wave their arms around as if they were drowning, but the templar knew enough to keep it to just his fingers flaring out. While it'd never draw a spell out of the fade, it would make for an interesting battlefield signal.

  "I'm afraid not, but," Lana raised her head and shouted, "Honor!" Sounds of paws hitting the floor broke from the sitting room and Cullen grumbled about the dog being on the furniture again. With no fuss, Honor barreled her way into the bedroom, her body plummeting back to the floor after her paws batted the door handle open. "Fetch breakfast," Lana commanded.

  Honor woofed once, her backside wiggling at having something to do, before she turned around and ran back to the sitting room. "You don't think she'll actually find breakfast, do you?" Cullen asked, watching his dog with a concerned look.

  Lana shrugged, "I've seen mabari bring back stranger things. Like used pantaloons."

  "Are you serious?" he scoffed before swallowing it at her cold eye.

  "There was cake too, a lot of cake."

  Snickering at her sullen nod, Cullen slid deeper under the covers, dragging Lana with. Wrapped up in him, she felt more whole than she had in two years. "I love you," he whispered. "Even if I..."

  "I love you too. And...we'll figure it out, the complicated parts of this whole thing," she said, her fingers picking at the few chest hair prodding over the neck of his shirt. They were nearly white now. Smiling, Lana laid each hair down. Out of all the options in all of thedas this was the only place she could imagine herself being. "I don't really have to swim in the bath house, do I?"

  Cullen rolled his shoulders back, flattening himself further upon the bed, "Unless a dragon burns down half of Val Royeaux, I'm afraid we're both stuck."

  "Huh, for once I'm rooting for the dragon."

  Chapter Six

  Spa Day

  After ten years as the Hero of Ferelden Lana grew used to certain doors opening for her, even as the patrons kept a wary eye on the mage in their midst. People would sit up higher, conversations drawing to a lull as everyone watched to see what new shit storm would herald her arrival. This was the first time in as long as she could remember that no one bothered to turn a single glance her way; those were all preserved for the exasperated man at her side.

  "Commander Cullen," a soft woman cry-whispered as they arrived outside Detan's selected spa. Everything about her was pillowed from her padded lips to her cheeks, down her chest to the fluffy slippers upon her feet. She was as if a cloud sprung to life, assumed the form of a woman, and decided to run a bathing house. Extending a hand to him, Cullen had to release his hold on Lana to accept it. Even then, he barely suppressed an eye roll at the idea. The woman's smile barely shifted as Cullen gripped back around Lana's waist. "And accompaniment, of course. We were delighted to hear of your arrival and have reserved an array of options for your needs from our famed mud and deep mushroom soaks to a facial made with the poison off a quillback's spines - it's good for tightening up any sagging parts," she whispered the last bit at him and Lana had to bury a giggle from the horror crawling up his face.

  "No, that's...quillback spines? I...the baths. We're only here for the baths," he stated, his eyes skipping around the luxury on offer. Detan wasn't kidding when she said this was probably the most expensive bath house in all of Orlais. Marble, gold, jewels giving expensive eyes to the statues dribbling clean water into waiting pools - its opulence could serve as a micro-grand cathedral. As Lana's eyes glanced around the faces of a few of the patrons relaxing upon benches, no doubt carved from hand hewed ironbark, she recognized a few faces belonging to the chantry. Perhaps it was the second cathedral after all.

  The proprietor who Lana was coming to suspect was the titular Lirlene, gestured the two of them towards a twelve foot tall door. It looked thick enough to stop an army, but she only had to push upon it with a single finger for the great stone to slide open. Lana glanced up at the mechanism, curious to see what kind of weights had to be necessary for such a feat. "Is there a winching system involved with...?"

  "Please," Lirlene spoke over her, barely glancing at the little mage. Her eyes were fully upon the dashing Commander who looked like he'd eaten a full lemon before arriving. "We ask that guests wear these comfortable and complimentary slippers while in the spa," she said, gesturing to lines of white shoes missing the back half. They looked as if someone formed them out of wisps of cotton pulled in clumps from virgin fields; all the bundles of cotton smashed together and pressed into shoe form.

  "I'm only hear for the bath house section," Cullen spoke up, looking like he had no intentions to take an inch of his clothing off. That should make the swimming part of this trip interesting.

  A grimace snapped across Lirlene's face but she smoothed it away instantly, "The bathing pools are part of the spa, and these slippers will keep your toes warm off the marble floors."

  "My boots seem to be doing an adequate job of that."

  Poor Lirlene had no answer to that, her eyes glazing over as she weighed what had to be an insurmountable rule against the grandeur of the Commander of the Inquisition walking through their doors. Taking pity on her, Lana slid towards a bench and sat down. Placing her cane against the wall, she reached down to pull off her own shoes. Maker, they were a mess, rotted at the heel from her time in the Fade proper, and then the water seeping in while trapped in the hold. Was it any wonder no one in Orlais gave her the time of day? It was a surprise that Leliana's first stop wasn't to drag her to a cobbler, but the last time they talked shoes it hadn't gone well. And it seemed unlikely Lana was going to attempt anything with an increased heel anytime soon.

  "Should we take whatever one we want?" Lana asked, her fingers washing over the fluffy options.

  Lirlene glanced over once to her and shrugged, "Yes, the options are yours."

  Smiling in thanks, Lana picked one of the smaller pair to match her tiny feet. She looked up at the stoic man and jerked her chin to the bench. Cullen gave an imperceptible shake of his head no, which got him a glare. Accepting he wasn't going to win, he finally sat down beside her and began unlacing his own shoes. At that, Lirlene clapped her hands in glee.

  "Ah," she paused, rising up, "I forgot your robes. Give me but a moment." Racing off to some other part of the spa, she left the two alone.

  Lana closed her eyes and flexed her toes in the slippers. Forget a cloud, this was like walking across water itself, parting with just enough give she almost could convincer herself stepping upon a lake was possible. "Oh," she sighed, patting Cullen's cheek, "are you planning on being grumpy the whole time? Because, I'm all for ducking out of here and heading home. My plant could use a watering and there are a few books left..."

  Catching her hand, Cullen pulled her closer to him so he could kiss her excuses away. "You're going swimming, no matter what."

  "Wonderful," she grumbled, tossing her head back to stare at the ceiling. Reliefs etched along the ceiling, but she couldn't understand them. The art looked ancient, far more than anything she'd expect to find in Val Royeaux. Curious...

  Cullen finished sliding off his boots and reached for a pair of slippers. After
he put them on, he groaned and Lana glanced down at his toes dangling off the edge. When he rippled them in consternation, she couldn't bury the laugh in her throat. "I never realized how large your feet are."

  "It's not funny," he grumbled, trying to find a balance between either his toes or heels hanging off the edge.

  "I don't know," Lana grinned wider, "it's rather entertaining to watch half of Val Royeaux fawn over the strapping Ferelden man in their midst."

  "Ha," he snorted once, but she spotted a hint of a blush rising off his cheeks. "This is all another part of their Game."

  "Right," Lana nodded her head, "the one called 'Let's see what's in the Commander's trousers.' I know that one well."

  "What?" he whipped his head at her, and glared, "No, that...what are you speaking of?"

  "Ah," Lana paused in telling him the full of what she'd learned from Leliana. It seemed the Commander himself was only given the bare minimum of the rather heated interest in him across Orlais. The fact he rose above it all with a cool shrug only drew their attention hotter, like a moth of a flame. It seemed nearly every available (and some not so available) women in Orlais intended to be the one to tame the brooding Commander. Lana thought Leliana only told it to her as a lark, until she caught the edge in her eyes as if she feared for her friend should anyone learn of Cullen's relationship with the quiet mage. But that all seemed beyond the pale to put upon Cullen's shoulders at the moment. "Oh, you know how people are...like apprentices," Lana tipped her head, trying to play off the game as something they'd have done back in the tower.

  Cullen grimaced again, but he nodded, his eyes closing, "Far too well. I came across one of those lists once with...measurements."

  At that Lana's eyebrows shot up. She'd never heard of an apprentice being so bold. "What did you do with it?"

  "Burned it and swore to never mention it to anyone it could have affected," he said. Smiling at his answer, Lana moved her hand up his arm, her fingers digging into the taut muscle as she struggled to reach up and kiss him.

  "Here we are," Lirlene shouted, appearing in the doorway. Sliding away fast, Lana glared down at her shoes while Cullen turned his on the woman baring two robes in her hands. "Slip these on and I'll direct you to the bathing pool."

  Cullen picked it up, a sneer rising along his lip, when he glanced over at Lana. She mouthed 'we could still leave.' Shaking his head, he began to slide the robe's arm over top his when Lirlene spoke up.

  "Ah, people traditionally wear only the robe before entering into the spa."

  "You wish me to..." anger in the face of continual obstinance rose inside of him. Lana reached over and snagged his hand before he began to berate the poor woman. Cullen's eyes shut and he breathed deep for a moment. After the cloud passed, he glanced over at Lirlene and said the solitary, curt, "No."

  She looked about to argue, but there was no budging the voice that decreed it. It was an order as if from the Maker himself. Nodding her head in agreement, she shifted away as Cullen finished cinching the robe up over his clothing. He passed the other to Lana who matched him in kind. "Very well," Lirlene sighed, and began to lead them into the spa proper.

  As they stepped out, Lana took the time to rise up on her toes and whisper in Cullen's ear, "I told you half of Val Royeaux's trying to see you naked."

  After walking past a room full of people buried up to their necks in mud and seeming to enjoy it, another where they had snake venom flicked at their faces, and an imposing door with steam bursting out of the seams as if at the very edge of thedas itself, Lirlene paused them before the bathing pool. A few deck chairs circled around a room sized recess into the ground. Tiled in even more marble, the mosaic upon the pool's walls looked like surf pounding into sand. Lana draped an arm around Cullen so she could rise up on her toes to see that at the bottom of the deep blue pool was a trio of mermaids in mosaic. Their tails looked razor sharp from the angles of the cut marble.

  "This is the bathing pool, nearly thirty feet long with water heated by runes enchanted from the talented Fromari hands themselves, it is in fact the largest hot bath in all of thedas," Lirlene practically glowed with the pride she had for it. "Ah, Reynard," she gestured at a thin man standing beside the pool's fountain.

  He wiped his hands off with a towel slung over his naked shoulders and paused before them. Bowing deep at the waist, his eyes darted over his boss before turning to Cullen and then lingering upon Lana. It was no more than an extra beat, but she swallowed at the way he stared at her, the grey eyes traveling over her body. "These must be the important guests for the day," Reynard spoke, his accent flourished with an extra emphasis.

  Bowing his head to Cullen, he said, "Ser," then in turning to Lana a smile cracked his sun kissed face, "Mademoiselle." She kept her hands clutched tight to her cane so he didn't get any funny ideas to try and kiss them.

  "Reynard, is everything up to specifications?" Lirlene interrupted the wolf stare.

  "Yes, Ma'am," he snapped to attention, the move drawing Lana's attention to the lack of substantial clothing upon him. Apparently the spa attendants preferred to do most of their work in little more than their smalls if they could help it. She gazed upwards at the tiles coating the ceiling to cut down on the awkwardness.

  Beaming his smile at the not looking Lana first, he toned it down a beat, and spoke professionally to Cullen, "The water is at a proper 32 degrees, though if you would like it cooler for swimming or warmer for...other purposes, you need only tap that rune slot there to alter it."

  "I see," Cullen muttered. She could practically hear the vein in his neck trying to pop out as he held himself in check. The idea brought a small chuckle to her.

  "Towels are provided upon the linen cart, I see you already have robes, and within the shelves there are bathing suits for mademoiselle," those grey eyes zeroed in on her now, another two teeth appearing in his smile as if he wanted her to know he possessed a set of canines. "Or..." he turned away from Lana to Cullen, but the commander interrupted him.

  "Yes, I already know there are no sizes to fit me and came prepared."

  "Ah..." Reynard's cocksure smile faltered and he glanced to his boss for a moment before sweeping it all away, "as you say. If you require anything at all, I can be reached with a wave of your delicate fingers," he spoke the last part to Lana who knew her cheeks were hotter than the pool.

  Clapping her hands, Lirlene beamed at Cullen, "Please, enjoy your stay with us." She turned to leave the room with Reynard hot on her heels.

  "You're both leaving?" Cullen's eyes darted about the room, both of them noticing the lack of anyone else inside.

  Lirlene paused, more uncertainty rising to her face, "Of course. You requested a private session and we strive to provide here."

  "Ah, right, private. Thank you," he said, then twisted the edge of his lips up in a halfhearted smile. It was enough to bring a full one back to Lirlene's round cheeks. Patting her flushed face, she all but skipped out of the room. Bowing his head deep, Reynard slipped out of the room but not before his eyes traveled over Lana's hidden curves once more.

  As the door shut tight, Cullen let loose a growl in his voice, "The man strived to be as unsubtle as a druffalo in heat."

  Chuckling at his discomfort, Lana ran her finger up his arm, "I suspect that was all for appearances."

  "The appearance of being labeled a jackass, I'd believe."

  "Maker," she sighed. Sliding towards the pool, Lana kicked off one of her slippers and reached a tender toe towards the water. She kept a tight grip on her cane in case the reach proved too much. "You've clearly never spent any time around noble women of a certain persuasion." As her toe crested through the water, a comforting warmth washed over Lana. Perhaps this wouldn't be as bad as she feared.

  "A certain persuasion?" Cullen pouted. He stomped to the nearest deck chair and tossed the robe onto it.

  "Flattery can get one far when you're living on the middle rung," Lana said, turning back to him.

  He sneered a
t the idea, then reached for the hem of his shirt and yanked it clean off. Lana had to stop her jaw from smashing through the gold and jewel encrusted floor. Sure, she'd seen him shirtless a few times since crawling out of the fade, but it was always in passing, a quick glance from the corner of her eye. Cullen raised an eyebrow from her stricken face while Lana tried to mentally absorb every inch of his still toned and surprisingly tanned skin. The last time she saw it, he was nearly white as a sheet, but a bit of the sun shifted him to the color of old vellum.

  "What is it?" he asked, concerned as if she was trying to check him for odd moles and spotted one.

  "I, uh," Lana tried to turn her head away, but her eyes traipsed down his stomach and a pop of defined abs from the few months walking thedas. What really did her in was his hips peeking over the top of the trousers, his damn v even more prominent than she remembered. Slightly aware of her body leaping up in joy, Lana turned back to the pool and focused on the mermaids. At least they all had the decency to cover their nudity in scales.

  After she managed to lift her voice back from its gobsmacked stammer, Lana said, "It's not as if the proprietor of this establishment wasn't lavishing attention upon you."

  "That..." he sounded argumentative, but when Lana turned back, Cullen wiped a hand through his hair and he sighed, "is fair." She smiled at that and shrugged. After watching her for a moment, Cullen snapped his finger, "Do you require a suit? I could get one down from the..."

  "No, no," Lana limped over to the chair. After sitting she undid the buttons down the front of her dress, each white one stiff against her fingers. "Leliana prepared me for this, it's nothing fancy but should suffice..." She had to stand again to work the dress off her hips. It wasn't much by any means, a dark blue band that cut off at the middle of her ribs with straps barely an inch thick. It was a wonder they could hold up her breasts, but some magic seemed to be at work to hoist her perkier than she remembered even in her twenties. The bottom part of the suit was just her smalls in the same dark blue color.