#A Moment Among The Flowers (Fanfic bg3)

[goldenstoriesfromgoldenhearts]

A MOMENT AMONG THE FLOWERS (CHAPTER 2)

Spending the rest of the afternoon in the garden that she soon learned he'd broken into, she couldn't help laughing at him as he made her swear she wouldn't tell Wyll, claiming the man made enough jokes about Astarion's less than stellar moral compass, they didn't need to add actual breaking and entering for fun to the list of ammunition.

They wandered about the city, her letting him lead. Coming across a sweet stand that caused her to look up at him with big puppy eyes until he agreed to steal some for her, neither of them having the cash to buy any.

She joined the line while he moved to lean up against the building a Chocolatier had set up a stand in front of. It was a large sweets shop, bright colours plastered all over the building. The numerous sweets and treats, chocolates and caramels, and soft chewy items on the stall's displays were tantalising with their scents. The store behind, she summarized, was where they were probably all made and normally sold.

When it was Rae's turn, she used her height to her advantage and bounced up onto a stool set up for children, starting to excitedly talk the human man running the stall's ear off about how delicious everything looked and oh could she try some of this to see if she liked it? And oh but that also looks oh so good!

In her peripheral vision, she saw Astartion sneak into the building, a small smile tugging at her lips, continuing to focus on her task of distraction, she soon got the attention of the woman and her child behind her. Encouraging the child to get up on the stool with her, claiming she needed another opinion before she bought anything. The man was barely able to get a word in before Rae and the child were firing question after question at him, the gnome being careful to make sure the child wouldn't fall off.

After a good few solid minutes, she felt a hand at her back and tilted her head up to find Astarion standing there, a brown knapsack now slung over one shoulder.

“There you went my love, I did get so worried” He said, his tone full charm and honey and she felt herself leaning into his hand with a light shiver. Staring at him as he turned his attention to the Chocolatier “I do apologise for my wife monsieur, she is a large fan of your artistry. Fabulous quality”

“It's uh. . .it's alright just, if she ain't gon buy anything, I have paying customers to get to” the man said, seeming a little stunned at the interaction and she certainly couldn't blame him

“She won't be, we must be getting home.” Astarion said, helping guide Rae off the stool as he gave the human a smile and a cheeky wink “May your evening be fruitful friend”

Rae felt a gentle amount of pressure coming from the hand on her back and she quickly flashed the man an even brighter smile than her companion had

“Thank you for allowing me to ask my questions!” She said before the two of them walked off, waiting until they were out of eye view to slip into an alley. Rae quickly took his hand off her back. Finally allowing herself to cover her face with her hands as warmth rushed to her cheeks “Astarion!”

“What? It worked did it not?” He asked, sounding oh so smug and amused. She had to hold back on punching him “Simply can't be helped that the spouse trick works wonders”

“I hate you so much right now” she whined, peeking out in between her fingers to find Astarion had leaned down to her level, face oh so close to hers

“Now we both know that's not true” He said, his voice low and husky and she froze in place. Her parted mouth thankfully hidden still behind her hands “Come now darling, I thought we were better friends than to lie to one another?”

“I um, I. . .I” Words seemed to fail Rae, her face just getting hotter and hotter until Astarion grinned at her and straightened up chuckling. She just cleared her throat and gestured to the direction of their inn “Home yes?”

“Lead the way dear” He said, still looking oh so proud of himself before following her as she led the way back to the inn.

Pushing open the front door, Rae spotted Karlach and Shadowheart first, the two of them sitting at one of the tables in the large main room that doubled as both the entry way and food area talking quietly but who both gave them waves once the door shut behind them

“Oh darlings we're home~” Astarion called out, causing a loud laugh from the tiefling

“We were going to send out a search party! You both have been gone for hours” Karlach said, giving them both a grin

“We got mmm distracted” Astarion said, glancing at Rae who gave a small nod

“We did, if you'll excuse me” Rae said before quickly hurrying upstairs, making a beeline to her room. Missing Shadowheart accusing Astarion of doing something as she did so.

The minute the door shut behind her, she fell against it. Hand pressed to her thumping heart as she re-ran the previous 20 minutes over and over again in her mind, gods she needed a break. Maybe a bath, just a rest to herself perhaps. Astarion truly was going to be the death of her.

She walked over to the small bowl of water she had in her room and splashed her face, staring at herself in the mirror. Her blush had since faded but her face still felt hot.

Rae lost track of time, just standing there, staring at herself in the mirror. Only coming to when there was a knock on the door, by that time, the moon's rays were beginning to creep in through the window, night had fallen while she had been zoned out.

Hurrying to the door as her stomach abruptly growled, she opened it to find no one there. She poked her head out, looked left, looked right but the hallway was clear. . .then she looked down at her feet.

And there sat the brown knapsack that Astarion had been using when he had left the store, with a curious headtilt, she picked the bag up and emptied it out on her bed. Wrapped chocolate and sweets, caramels and fudges fell onto the mattress and collided together, the knapsack was filled to the brim of it all and it made quite the pile.

She was surprised at the amount, she hadn't expected the white haired rogue of the group to be bothered grabbing much but she found herself touched at the gesture none the less.

With a mental note to quietly thank him later, she put everything into her food rations pack, barely being able to fit it all before shoving the extra knapsack under her bed, you never knew when you'd need an extra bag, before heading out to see if dinner was available.

Even with Astarion teasing her, today had been a wonderful day. A small rest day she had most certainly needed.

Spotting the group huddled around one table with Panae and Wyll standing at the front of it, she took a deep breath and steeled herself before heading over. Spotting Astarion moving a chair next to him, she went and sat, mumbling a quiet 'thank you' before Panae cleared her throat and started going through the plan her and Wyll had come up with.

It was game time.

[emmtropywrites]

"Flowers", a BG3 Shadowheart fanfic. Chapter 2: Roots

Part 1

Also on AO3

The sky is turning orange when you close up shop the next evening and head for the Tabernacle. You have one of each of the flowers that Shadowheart picked, wrapped up in simple brown paper, tied with twine. You figure that if Selune required fancy offerings, she would have become goddess of the moon and money.

The streets are loud, always. People laugh and cry and shout and there never seems to be a moment’s peace. You know that the noise is good for some people, that the allure of the city calls to a certain type of person. But you also know that you are not that type of person. What you’d said to Shadowheart about a garden had been true, but only a peek into what you truly wanted out of life.

You step into the Tabernacle and let your eyes adjust to the dimmer light; while not exactly gloomy, the inside of the Tabernacle is a lot less bright. The stone buildings and streets of Baldur’s Gate tend to reflect the sunlight back up at your eyes, and you constantly feel like you’re squinting when you’re walking about during the day.

There are many statues of various gods, and you nervously realize that you don’t really know what Selune looks like. Taking a deep breath, you approach a nearby Cleric and say, “Um, hi, I have an offering? For Selune? Do you know…” You trail off as the Cleric nods and quickly directs you to a shrine in front of a relatively plain statue.

Ordinarily, you don’t pay much attention to gods, as they haven’t paid much attention to you. As you set your bouquet on the shrine, however, you can’t help but feel like you should say something.

Sneaking a glance around to make sure no one can hear, you look up at the statue and say quietly, “Thank you for sending Shadowheart and her friends to save the city.”

After a moment of quiet, you turn to leave, not really sure if you’re supposed to feel any different. There, in the doorway, the sunset turning her silver hair into a halo, stands Shadowheart. You suddenly feel like you’ve been caught doing something unscrupulous, even though everyone is welcome to come into the Tabernacle.

She catches sight of you at the same time, and- to your relief- smiles. As she approaches, you see that she’s wearing a light dress, lilac in color. “Well, I didn’t expect to find you here,” she says, tilting her head.

“I- you said something about Selune blessing me, so I figured I should come pay respects,” you stammer. “You’re a hero, after all.”

Shadowheart rolls her eyes, sighing lightly. “I prefer the term ‘unwitting champion’, but thank you for the compliment.”

“Do you at least get a hero’s salary?” You joke.

“No, but I do get unlimited vacation time,” she replies, taking your humor in stride.

“And what do you do with all that free time?” Hoping she’ll take the hint that you would like to spend more time with her, you replicate her head tilt.

Shadowheart pauses for a moment, her eyes searching your face. “Cooking, caring for houseplants… Spending time with friends. Can I count you among those?”

You shrug. “I’ve never been called a houseplant before, but there’s a first time for everything.”

For a moment, you think she might hit you for making such a silly joke, but then her glower is replaced by a reluctant smile. “You think you’re quite clever, don’t you. I mean, you’re right, but still.”

“Well, I think I should take any opportunity to make you smile,” you reply. Then, taking a chance, add on, “It’s such a pretty smile, after all.”

She raises her eyebrows, surprised, but not upset. “Clever and charming? I can’t help but feel there’s some dark secret you’re hiding.”

You shrug. “Honestly? I think everyone has some darkness in them. This world is a hard place to live in. But I don’t consider my darkness a secret. It’s…” you pause, looking for the right description. Catching sight of Selune’s statue, you say, “It’s like the moon. The moon has a dark side, and at different times, it is greater or lesser than its light side. But it is still the moon, regardless of how much light or darkness it shows.”

You look back at Shadowheart, and see her gazing at you with a mixture of hesitance and hope. “Would you like to get dinner with me?” She asks, her voice tinged with anxiety.

You smile and nod enthusiastically. “I would love to.”

[goldenstoriesfromgoldenhearts]

A Moment Among The Flowers (Chapter 1)

On a rare quiet day after arriving in Baldur's Gate proper, Rae was wandering around the city. Plans needed laid out, their group needed to figure out a to do list, a priority list even. Meeva'Rae had left that to Wyll and Panae, trusting them both to make the right choices while quietly requesting that they did not leave Cazador too late.

She had pointedly ignored the look of pity from Wyll, focusing instead on Panae's understanding and promises they'd get it done as soon as they could manage to find some more holy oil and more divine spells. This had earned the druid a quick hug before the deep gnome had hurried from the inn they'd taken to bunking down in.

She let her feet guide her everywhere, following sights and sounds, smells all exciting and new. She wanted to get a proper look at the city around them, the city that the final stand would take place in. Wanted to truly see what they were fighting for. The small food stands, the hidden away corners and shops, the shared family homes, the children running through the streets laughing. The inns and taverns, bars and brothel houses. All teaming with life.

Life they needed to protect.

Instead of a weight settling, insistent on dragging her down, it all just made her stand straighter, the snarling anger in her chest swirling, determined. They WOULD save these people, she refused to accept anything less. They'd taken down a chosen of a god, had already had many matches of wit and words against Orin, started to spread whispers against Gortash among the criminal underground thanks to her and Astarion's keen eyes and ears for symbols and whispered code words.

In that regard Baldur's Gate was just like the Underdark's communities, there were always scratched in symbols in places you'd least expect them, thieves' can't etched behind or into bar tops or back tables. . .

Her head flashed back to being in a forest camp, sitting with Astarion while he impatiently at first talked her through it, borrowing some ink and paper to get the symbols and words, such as they really weren't, down. He'd become more and more patient with her as time went on, possibly due to her picking it up relatively quick or maybe he'd been growing to like her even then.

After the tiefling party ,she would had explained it away as the former but they had relaxed back into an easy friendship and she didn't take his snapping to heart anymore. The more she learned about him, the more she just wanted to protect him. Even if she had not been madly in love with him, he still would have been one of her people. She protected her people. She had died for her people. She probably would do so again.

Speaking of such a white-haired elf. She caught a glimpse of white hair through a gate and turned in that direction, without her clanky armour, she was quiet, stealthy even. She slipped through the gate silently and carefully and spotted him further down the path. Sitting on a stone bench.

She closed the gate behind her and started to walk over, seeing a garden blooming on either side of her, full of so many different types of flowers. The air was sweet and floral and a smile soon found its way onto her lips.

While she had loved the shadow cursed lands under that infernal spell, she had always loved gloomy places, above ground flowers were soon becoming her favourite things. There were so many different types, all with meanings! Which she found fascinating.

“We had wondered where you managed to slip off to this morning” Rae said quietly, catching Astarion's attention before she past in front of him and joined him on his bench

“Yes well the rabble does tend to get quite loud in the morning, our dear Karlach especially” He said with an exaggerated eye roll and she giggled, hitting him gently with the back of her hand

“Karlach is a delight and you cannot resist her puppy energy, do not give me that Star” she said and he merely playfully 'hmph'd at her causing her to just giggle more. Soon the two just sat in silence, Rae's attention soon being drawn to a nearby patch of flowers. The shape reminded her of the corpse roses that she had found for a particular poison that Panae had agreed to help her make. But they looked different? There was no pale petals with dark veins, no grey stems. What were they called? She wondered.

“What's caught your attention my dear?” came the voice that startled her back to reality and she turned to look and found Astarion looking at her with an amused expression. She coughed, feeling her face heating up and just silently pointed the flowers out. His gaze followed her finger and his amusement turned into understanding “I see you have spotted the Roses”

“So. . .Rose is a flower type?” She asked, tilting her head slightly and he nodded “Okay, do you know any of the others?”

“Of course” he answered and leaned forward slightly, using a finger to point out all of the flowers in the garden near them, one by one, listing names and explaining what colours they came in as she gave him her full attention. Her eyes locked on the flower he was describing before flicking to the next.

Completely missing his occasional glance at her and the small smile that appeared on his face for a brief moment.

After making their way through all the flowers nearby, he stood and gestured for her to follow before setting down the path. Rae, to no one's surprise followed and he started up again. Talking about every flower they past.

They got halfway down the path before a familiar scent tickled her nose and she followed it to their right. Crouching down and sniffing. The patch in front of her was full of vibrant purple blooms, bunched together in clusters, the centres bursting like some of the fire works she'd seen years ago at a travelling show, their lovely but again familiar fragrance heavy in the air around them.

“These smell like you” She announced, looking at Astarion as he stared at her, mouth parted stunned, fangs slightly revealed for just a moment before he recovered with a chuckle.

“Of course darling, Bergamots help cover the scent of undead”

“That would make sense” She said quietly, staring back at the flowers for a moment before she stood back up “It's much better than that awful scent mixture the Gur man we met had on, that wasn't for hiding undead so much as for hiding him however”

“He could have used some sprucing up, maybe some orange zest?” Astarion suggested and she giggled, nodding in agreement before they set off down the path again.

“What would your favourite flower be?” She asked him and he tapped at his chin as he thought

“I am unsure” he admitted after a moment, glancing down at her “There was a flower I quite liked the look of before I was turned, I was dealing with a Shou woman, human, the details of our discussion were quite boring if I remember right but she had a gorgeous flower design on a headpiece she was wearing. A lotus I believe, doesn't quite take top spot but beautiful none the less. And you my dear?”

Rae seemed surprised to have the question turned on her, the deep gnome floundering for a moment

“I don't know either, I liked the Sussur blooms that we found in the Underdark, they were pretty but I don't know if I would call them my favourite?” She answered slowly, taking her time to think about her words

“And above ground?” he prompted and she pressed her lips together thinking

“I think I liked the Camellia? That you showed me? The light pinks ones I think were my favourite” she answered

“They do suit you” He said with a flash of a grin and she blushed, coughing slightly “A beautiful flower for a beautiful woman”

“You are laying it on quite thick there” She said, poking him gently in the leg before setting back down the path. Hearing him laugh, a deep loud thing as he followed. They both knew of her feelings for him and while she trusted him with them. He never could stop himself from giving honeyed words, she was never sure he meant them.

“Well they can't all be winners now can they?”