#stenoftheberesaad

[grimweaver]

"Flowers for Cousland" ("Meravas" 4x2) FULL IMAGE AT DA

Excerpt from "As You Wish" P2:

          (...) “You are in just about every way a treasure beyond anyone’s deserving,” said Sten. “You have gone to such great lengths for others–not just myself and your other companions, but complete strangers– and yet I don’t recall you ever even hinting at a want for some gain on your end. Your every decision has been guided by wisdom and a true moral compass, instead of an insatiable appetite for power, titles, and material rewards.”

          Aithne was thrilled to tears, and almost didn’t believe she was hearing him say all of this. She clutched the fabric around her chest and tried to work out the intense swelling in her throat with hot, near-dry swallowing.

          “That terrible thing I had done to that family can never be undone," Sten continued. "However, I know that if I perish at any point during this quest–even before I see you to the slaying of the Archdemon– I will die with my honor fully restored. For one cannot achieve a higher honor than that which comes from fighting by your side. And, though I will likely never see the shores of Par Vollen again, I will always feel at home in Ferelden if you will keep me by your side and… allow me to serve you in any way you wish. You are more than just the Warden that I vowed to serve. You complete the part of me I used to believe was lost forever. You haven’t just given me purpose… you are my purpose. You are my strength… and my soul. It is my duty and my want to ensure all of your needs are met... all of them. Do you understand what I am trying to say to you?”

          “Y-yes... I think so. B... but I'm--what'cha-call-it-- bas. I'm not qunari. I didn't think that you would... feel that way, or could lawfully... render yourself up like that to someone such as myself."

          "You are basalit-an, a non-qunari worthy of honor," Sten corrected. There was a brief pause, but only to draw in a long breath. “I have gone to the Qun countless times to make sense of feelings inspired by your beauty– what is within and what is on the surface– and know what to do with them. At first, it was my belief that the Qun called for restraint… but now I know that the Qun demands that I– with the unbearable want I am not supposed to nurture– profess my will to submit myself completely to you-- the only one in this country proven to have immeasurable worth."

          "Maker-still-my-heart!" Aithne cried into her hands. "Saying that I'm overjoyed is an understatement! I’ve been wanting to tell you something along those lines…I… I’ve tried to think of how– dreaming many nights of ways– to tell you…”

          “I believe you expressed yourself quite well last night,” Sten said with the faintest, almost unnoticeable smirk. "It was all I needed to hear to eliminate even a shred of doubt that this is a wise choice. It was what I had longed for you say for almost as long as I have known you– but the Qun teaches that we're to never embrace words spoken from the inebriated as truth."

          “You mean that wasn’t a dream? I really said all of those things, and–??” As if she wasn’t shaky and feverish enough, embarrassment had increased it all by a tenfold. “I said a lot that I shouldn’t have– about the Joining, anyway. There are no regrets about being honest with you about how I felt, but the way I behaved… I am so sorry for any discomfort or humiliation it might have caused you–”

          “I am not demanding an apology from you. I want only an answer to this question– this time from a mind that is clear of distorting influences, so that nothing stands in the way anymore...” Sten removed one of the hair ties from his braided locks and used it to bind the floral arrangement together, then brought them up to the level of Aithne’s eyes, gesturing for her to take them, and asked her "What is your wish, Kadan?"

          Aithne drew in a shivery, tear-dampened breath as her smile widened. The many words that came to mind hung in her throat, arid and lumpy. It felt as though every breath she drew in was pulling fire into her chest, and her entire body hummed with a tingling warmth. She labored to steady her breathing, and fought the urge to jump up into his arms and kiss him right then and there, fearing it would be too much and too soon for him. Instead, she–in a slow and sensuous way– clutched Sten’s arm with her left hand, while she bent her head down to breathe in the fragrance of the flowers. Sten’s facial expression hardly changed, but hot waves of gratefulness and pleasure roared through every part of his body, this time with a power that stole away half of the strength in his legs. Aithne, feeling the echoes in his arm of his whole body trembling, smiled with the satisfaction of having this affect on him. “We’ll first get started on those bandages, because that cannot be ignored for anything,” Aithne purred, as she took the bouquet from Sten’s hand. “Then… when that is finished… I will answer that question. ”

          “As you wish,” Sten replied, widening his grin. Without uttering another word that might hinder what was set in motion, he picked up the lantern with the hand of his free arm and followed Aithne’s lead into her tent.

[muskegs]

insulting her best friend? her new qunari-stenoftheberesaad-bigtallman kadan, even though she doesnt know what that means? how dare you?