Fealty

This time spent in
Perpetual waiting
Breaks me most when
The dawn unfurls
Without your arm
Draped over my hip but
This is all I know of
Promises kept
Walking on
Porcelain legs and
Divining the prophecies of
Warm light on
Soft bodies
You should know that
Every night before
Sleep comes I stand
Before the long mirror
In the bathroom
Raise my shirt and
Feel with my fingers
The place where
You said you’d come
To rest one day
The shore you said
In whispers
You most wanted
To wash up on
I am still flooded
There
Under the skin of
My hurricane season
Still storming
Echoes of courage
To the bottomless depth
And I am a nest
Waiting for feathers
A smoothed tumult
Hinting at
The curved bones
Beneath
But there is already
Proof
Of future winters
Spent warm in
Your embrace
You’ve brought me
Pieces of home
Like a bird does
Strands of shining hair
For comfort
Cast-off garments
That carry your scent
And the memory of
Light from all those
Nights we spent
In discovery
Of ourselves and
Each other
Magnified through
Windshields
Blood heating and
Rising
To heights of blush
And your eyes
Your hands
Never more beautiful than
Those dark hours when
You bared your breasts
To mine
Found the boundary
Of our shared
Feminine nation
Crossed it
Toppled its thrones of
Sickly kings
Crowned yourself
Queen
With my lips
And changed
My allegiance
Forever

Meetings

(Part of my Sebastian/Fenris series “Fealty,” previous chapters of which can be found here. Many thanks to my incredibly helpful beta Apocalisse)

Sebastian Vael sat fidgeting in a crowded room of the Blooming Rose, the bust of Andraste shining disapprovingly from the belt of his gleaming white armour.

He had never realized how many rooms the Rose had. Besides the taproom and the infamous bedchambers there were elaborate sitting rooms, libraries, parlors with musical instruments, and dining halls. These too were available for a price, and with no questions asked. Gatherings of guardsmen and templars were as likely as coterie feasts and secret political meetings; if the coin was good, the space was yours.

For all his years in Kirkwall, Sebastian had never ventured beyond the entryway. It was home to every sort of vice available, including many that he had been well-familiar with in a previous life. Prudence had demanded he avoid an establishment of such enthusiastic temptations, and he had managed to wait outside whenever Hawke and his companions had done business here. But since it was the last place anyone would expect to find him, it would be the perfect location for tonight’s meeting.

Demolition

(A chapter of my Sebastian/Fenris series “Fealty,” previous chapters of which can be found here. It’s been awhile since the last update, so you may need to refresh your memory!)

(I got too impatient to run this past my beta reader, so I hope this isn’t unreadable.)

********************

Fenris scanned the lobby of the Blooming Rose, searching for his former master. Disappointment brought a scowl to his face as the elf realized this would not be as easy as he had hoped. Even at this time of night, the Rose was full of Marchers off their work - guardsmen, soldiers, templars, miners, even some darktown scroungers who had scraped together the coin. Some were here to drink, some to hire an entertainment, and some simply to pass the off-time before they found their beds, and all of them were in Fenris’s way.

This would make the task of finding Danarius even more difficult. He could be in any of these sitting rooms, or mingled into the crowd right here in the lobby, and if the magister saw them first their ambush would be ruined. Worse, any of these people could be the magister’s spies or soldiers, ready to apprehend him at any time. He needed to locate Danarius as quickly as possible without raising any alarm.

Sebastian stayed close at his heels as Fenris pushed his way through the lobby, shoving aside anyone in his way and ignoring their yelps of anger and surprise. There was no time for politeness, and anyway he was in no mood. Anyone who may have liked to shove him back after spilling their beer down their shirts thought better of it when they saw the murderous expression on his face and the threatening glimmer of his lyrium brands through his spiky leather armor.

Focused as he was on searching for the robed figure of Danarius, he paid little attention to his companion. Suddenly he realized the prince had disappeared - he was no longer trailing noisily behind Fenris, and there was no sign of him to either side. Just an indistinguishable host of sweaty, noisy humans everywhere the elf looked - curse him, where had he wandered off to now?

Then Fenris heard his sonorous voice rising above the crowd. “Madam, excuse me,” her made out clearly, in the direction of the bar. ”I must apologize for disturbing your work. The Tevinter gentleman who attended my meeting - we need to speak with him. I believe he is staying here?”