A Past Coming to Haunt
They sat, side by side, her small, pale arms boldly wrapped around his thick, black-scaled arms. The contrast was striking and intriguing all at once.
He was lost in thought as he felt her body sink deeper into his. She sighed as she spoke, her voice tranquil and at ease.
"This is a very beautiful place, Lord Varric. Thank you for allowing me to see it."
"Ardyn, you are mine, and I want you to see me as yours. Call me Varric. I am not your lord."
She worked her lips a bit, her eyes lost in the clear lake before them. "That will take time. It is not something I can change overnight."
He shrugged. "I will wait, and continue to nudge you in the right direction."
She smiled, his hard, cool scales an interesting sensation against her skin.
She became lost in thoughts—thoughts of days gone by and how things had changed so quickly.
She could remember her cousin, Sonia, and how much she always seemed to hate her. Ardyn never actually knew why.
Her mind drifted to a long-gone day: She was in her aunt's kitchen, only ten years old then, prepping food to cook for dinner. It was the day she learned to prep far ahead of time. The water was boiling, and she was about to add in a large, tough purple grain that her aunt loved to eat.
She was distracted, though, and while she chopped, Sonia had entered and the boiling water ended up on Ardyn's shoulders and back.
Those were not the first scars on her body, and they had not been the last.
A shiver moved through her body as she thought of the incident and the pain that had ensued, and how she had to finish prepping before she could seek any treatment for herself.
Varric frowned, his clawed hand gently taking her face and lifting it to his.
"Why do I taste sorrow coming from you now? Has something happened?"
"I am sorry, My Lord. I just had a remembrance come unbidden."
She looked down at her arm, willing her dress to stay still and not reveal too much.
"It was not a happy time, My Lord."
He nodded and redirected her focus again. Once those amethyst eyes he loved were back on him, he smiled and made a promise.
"I promise you that you will know happiness with me. I am not perfect, this is true, but I will make you happy all the days we are together.
"If I do hurt you, or make you sad, I hope you can find it in you to forgive me, because I will never do such a thing intentionally."
He smiled broadly, and she felt a blush creep across her skin.
"Today will be your day. I will show you three beautiful places that you can always visit in the realm." He looked to the beautiful emerald lake before them. "They are not as beautiful as here, but they are very beautiful just the same."
He raised his hand, counting off each place. "A sleeping volcano, a snow-capped mountain with a lush green field at its center, and a sunken plateau."
He stood and began collecting smaller amethyst cattails. He bent over and presented them to her. As soon as they were in her hands, he pulled her up before him. She looked from the soft flowers and back to him, a smile slowly sliding across her face.
And suddenly she was up on her toes, and he felt her soft lips press against his cheek.
He pursed his lips in a sly smile.
"You keep giving me precious gifts, Ardyn Stronghood, and I thank you for that."
He smiled at her blush, and mist formed around him. She felt the motion around her but could see nothing. When the mist cleared, his full serpent form was around her, intimidating and fearsome, yet all she could see was beauty and wonder.
She rose without fear, as his magic lifted her up and sat her down on his long, broad back.
Varric didn't want her to hurt. He didn't want her to have any anguish. It was now important for him to cause all of that to either disappear or resolve so that it was no longer a speck in her waking memory.
He flew quickly, heading toward a dark line of mountains. Ardyn was exhilarated, as the wind blew back her hair and caused her to smile in spite of herself.
They reached the center mountain quickly, and before she could register it, they dove down into its crown. Varric's distinct voice came to her like he was talking in her ear.
"This volcano has been asleep for about a thousand years."
He had slowed considerably, but he still moved swiftly. He did two circles within the exterior of the volcano, then flew into one of the ancient, craggy flow tubes. They dove down further and further, and then they leveled off.
Ardyn frowned as she squinted her eyes. There was a blue light ahead of them, and she found herself wondering what laid ahead.
The flow tube flowed forward, seemingly endlessly. Then it opened slightly, and brilliant rivers of blue, sparkling veins lit their way.
His voice returned to her ear.
"This is an ancient ore called Blue Fire Heart. Humans, Dwarves, and Dragons fought over it for millennia."
They had slowed even more. Varric allowed a few of his spiked scales to scrape along the wall. Ore flew up and gently landed before Ardyn.
His magic still enthralled her, and she looked over the pieces as if they were the most precious things she had ever seen.
And they soon, and quite suddenly, flew from the volcano. The change was jarring, and it made Ardyn burst into laughter. They rose up alongside the adjacent mountain.
They circled its highest peak, and she saw what seemed to be a lake of green in a vast landscape of white. They landed softly in the middle of a vast grass plain, mounds of snow piled high around it in a great 360-degree arc.
"Come sit with me."
And instantly he was a beastkin and by her side.
This is what he wanted: Her smile, and her joy.
Next, the plateau and another piece of wonder to share.
He looked into her eyes and breathed in her smile, his heart pounding harder and harder.
This is what he wanted. No, this is all he wanted.