The Spark
It was her small gasp that brought him out of his inner thoughts. They had reached the entrance of the valley, and she was now looking upon it with wide-eyed wonder.
The arrogant, prideful smile froze on his lips as his soul stirred and his heart once again constricted in his chest. His gaze drifted into her eyes and was locked there.
Those amethyst eyes, like vibrant, living jewels, like enchanted rock that could consume and repair a soul in equal measure.
They were exquisite. His perception moved outward, along her face: her soft, pale skin, her pale, almost white hair, and those soft lilac highlights, but his eyes could not leave hers.
She stared back at him, almost unblinkingly, her mind littered with nonsense, her heart thumping, and her lips going dry.
All he saw was strength and fearlessness, while she felt wonder and lingering doubt about how beautiful this world was.
Was it all truth or lie fabricated to trap and deceive
They turned their gazes back to the valley as one. She found the tops of colorful trees in the distance, and he looked out into the vast blue of the sky.
He finally spoke, and relief came to her quickly; she did not have to speak, she was scared that her throat was too dry to bring forth proper sound.
She turned to him with a soft smile and listened.
"This is my great valley." His eyes locked onto hers, onto those amethyst jewels, and she cocked her head to indicate her attentiveness. "My name is Varric, this is what you will call me. Come, Ardyn, I have much to show you."
He walked forward his mind on destinations, wanting to show her all that he could in the short time that they had. She stood bewildered by the enormity of it all. He looked down to see she was not by his side, his eyes narrowing as he saw her standing motionless at the valley entrance.
"Ardyn!"
She jumped inwardly and moved forward when he yelled her name.
'This girl truly has no fear. Why are all humans not this strong?'
As she moved down to him, her mind raced. 'He is more powerful than I thought. This place is beyond imagining.' She frowned inwardly. ' Was this how human's became deceived, seduced by nagic?'
A thought came to his mind and he disappeared and reappeared almost in the same moment [Thought-Step], beautiful lilacs in his hands.
He forced them into her hands as if she had no choice but to take them and then waited to see her reaction.
She stood for a second, the smell of lilacs feeling her nostrils. She smiled and he nodded in satisfaction.
Ardyn was still wrestling with the fact that he was beast-kin but the lilacs were to beautiful, the idea of a random gift too enticing. She brought the flowers to her nose and inhaled deeply.
With this contentment her aura flared and for Varric it was like the sense of wonder sparked in the curious. He felt a tingling from the top of his head to every extremity. His tail extended out and the silver scales mixed in with the black all twinkled as one.
He was like a beacon and he didn't care, he just wanted more. He pulled her to him and she let out a strangled yelp, her body going limp and melting into his.
She reacted to his need like a tree swaying in the wind to ensure it was not uprooted.
Their eyes locked and her breath caught in the back of her throat. The smell of cinnamon flowed from him and seemed to wrap around her like warm silk.
His arm tightened around her, moving across her back and pulling her closer as if there was an urgent need to have her near.
His face lowered to hers and all she could see were those liquid pools of silver drawing her in, re-writing her soul, and making her brand new.
The kiss was electric. His slick mineral like lips were like nothing she had ever known and she wanted to study them and know them like they had belonged to her all her life.
At some point she had put her arms around his neck and she now found that she did not want to let go, and as the kiss drew out, her body trembled.
Her mouth opened and she moaned into his touch, hoping that the moment would never end.
When it finally did, they were both left breathless and feeling like it more was needed.
He took her hand, his eyes locking once again to hers, and brought it to his lips. He kissed each finger, and her thumb, and spoke with each kiss.
"Ardyn", "Stronghood", "You are", "My world", "I truly love you".
He smiled then turned her hand over and kissed her palm, never allowing her to think, never letting the moment settle between us, he just took command and rushed forward without a moment of hesitation.
Something bloomed within Ardyn, a light, and a soft quiet song. Unbeknownst to her it began to rewrite the basics of her very spirit.
The core of the thought that he was so different cracked and the shell of it fell away.
All that was left was a delicate seed. A seed that could grow into whatever she saw fit.
His desperate, chaotic, love woke her, and as that light and soft song bloomed a smile grew on her face.
She still felt loving him was wrong in someway, but she also knew she did not care.
Many things had been wrong in her life, none felt like this, and none woke good and light within her.
Maybe, for once, she actually found something good and right.