It was two days later and he sat on the other side of the wall from Rael, back pressed against it. His eyes were shut and a smile played on his lips. Sunny days were his favorite. Something about the warmth and the light ricocheting between the buildings caught his attention. Sometimes they had a shimmer to them, like they were made of gold. Nobles were the ridiculous sort. They probably did make them out of gold after all.
The minstrel had been playing all afternoon, without the slightest of his proximity, and LIam indulged in every last tune. His father had been shocked that Liam insisted on going to the market with him. It was a task he normally avoided. But when his son insisted on resting, citing a long day, too many chores, and the temperature as inspiration, Marco didn't think twice about his son having a seat. The man spoke with another about horseshoes. When he vanished into the blacksmith's store, Liam hopped to his feet and swung around the corner.
One eye closed as he took aim. A new pebble, this one a river stone he had found the day prior, hit the side of her bucket with a loud ching.
Rael heard the unmistakable sound of a rock hitting metal again, and she immediately thought of the boy from a couple days ago. Without missing a beat in her song, she scanned the crowd and saw him there, leaning against the wall and watching her.
A huge smile spread across her face, completely without her permission. Maker, what was wrong with her? A couple tossed stones and now they were... what? Friends? Most likely not. This was a human lad and there was only one thing human men wanted from female elves, as her brothers reminded her every day it seemed.
She finished the song, and took a small bow to the smattering of applause she heard, again looking for the boy with the rocks and the good aim.
Her smile wasn't lost on him at all. In fact, it was met with one of his own instantaneously. He stuck his hands in his pockets and joined the crowd, standing close to the front and tapping his foot to the music.
"This girl is bloody amazing," he said to a nearby man, who looked to be enjoying her song, but in...different ways. "You should throw good coin in there."
The song was over and Rael could have played another one, but instead, she found herself stepping down from the stage and taking up her pail. The boy was talking to an older man with bad teeth and a leering eye. She waited to approach until she saw their conversation was over and the old man shuffling away.
"Another rock from you, sirrah?" she said with a smirk. "Soon, I'll be able to pave a road."
This place in the lowest part of his stomach leapt when she came walking towards him. Her hair blew in the breeze and he didn't remember her being so pretty. "I thought to join you instead, but alas. Completely out of fancy clothes and instruments." Closing in on the distance between them, he leaned forward, grin spread. "I've got more where those came from."
Rael looked down at her performance garb. It was a veritable patchwork of fabric scraps her brothers managed to scavenge then painstakingly put together. From a distance, it looked like an array of feathers, but up close, it looked like the shabby mishmash it truly was. Rael became suddenly self-conscious and wondered if the lad was mocking her. “Fancy, is it?” she asked quietly. “You have low standards, sirrah.”
“I think you look beautiful,” he replied honestly. “Like a beautiful bird. Like ‘em ones that live at the Arl’s place.” There were a few times in which the Arl’s horses needed tending to, and he was the one to do it. Nothing bothered him more than the excess they lived in. But when no one else was around, he took the time to admire what he could.
He hesitated, then reached over to flick one of the strips on her shoulders. “Must have taken weeks to make this.”
Rael should have pulled back, should have laughed off his transparent flirtation. How easy it would be to withdraw, go back to her stage and her life with her back telling him that he didn’t belong anywhere near her. It was the only sensible thing to do.
But Rael had never been sensible, and now wasn’t the time to start. “You’re either the greatest music-lover in Thedas, or you’re casing the Arl’s estate for a massive robbery. Which is it?”
“Can’t it be both?” he replied with a good natured grin.
Rael pursed her lips and said, “I was hoping it was neither.”
“Okay,” he replied, arms folded over his chest. “You’ve got me. I hate music and Arls both. I’m only here for directions. Two tries, still have no clue where I’m going. You’re the worst guardswoman yet.”
“Or,” she said, drawing the vowel out suggestively with her first finger pressing into her bottom lip. “I’m an excellent guardswoman and I want you to be lost.” She laughed nervously at her own boldness. A minor flirtation with some human boy was completely acceptable, wasn’t it? Whom could it possibly hurt?
He looked off thoughtfully, stroking his chin. “Is that the same as wanting me to ‘get lost’?” Because honestly, he hoped not. “By the way, are you doing any better today? I’m testing out a theory on if I’m a good luck charm.”
For the first time since she started busking in the streets of Denerim two years ago, Rael had forgotten to check her earnings after stepping off the stage. “I’m not sure. I still need to tally up,” she said more to herself than him. “There’s only the one rock, so I didn’t need to count that. You know,” she said, looking him square in his nearly black eyes. “I’ve yet to find a merchant who accepts rocks as legal tender.”
Liam ran a hand through loose, curly locks as he stared off into the distance. The merchants were hustling around not ten yards from them. “..have you tried?”
“I’ve tried everything I can think of!” she said in mock exasperation. “I clearly lack your salesmanship.”
“Clearly,” he replied proudly. “Here, I’ll try it for you. Let me have that pebble I gave you yesterday.”
“Never!” she gasped. “I couldn’t part with something so valuable!”
He watched her from the corner of his brown eyes then, mouth sliding into a confident smirk. “Oh, really now? Valuable? Yesterday you acted as if it was the most awful thing you’ve been handed!”
“That was before I was apprised of its true value,” she replied, leaning in conspiratorily. “By a very reputable source.”
“Aside from me, your leading pebble expert?” He clicked his tongue and shook his head. “I knew you’d never trust my words alone. And after all this time.”
Rael laughed but before she could reply, she was almost knocked off her feet by a large man, a dockworker by the looks of him, who nearly crashed into her shoulder. She barely managed to catch her feet under herself as she caught him mutter, “Blasted knife-ear,” as he stomped away. Regaining her footing, Rael watched the man go, knowing he could have done a lot worse without any reprisals. Maker, she was being stupid.
Liam quickly moved forward, arms out to catch her should she need it. “Bloody blighter,” he shot back at the man. He thought to go after him, set him straight on what was appropriate to be said and when, but turned his attention back to Rael instead. “Are you okay?”
Taking a step away from the boy, she outstretched her arm with her palm facing him. “Yes,” she said with more assertiveness than she really felt. Being harassed by humans always left her shaken, sometimes crushed. But it was worse to have a witness. “Thank you for your concern,” she added stiffly.
His lips formed a firm line, eyes full of thunder and lightening. “Hold my pebbles, Little Bird, you’ll need them to spring me outta the dungeons here in an hour or so.” And the look on his face wouldn’t convince her that he was joking, as his glare settled on the retreating back of the man.
“Don’t you dare!” Rael hissed, grabbing the boy’s arm and pulling him around. “I’ll not have you in the stocks on my account.” Still holding his arm, Rael looked deeply into his eyes. They were like dark pools under a night sky. “This may shock you,” she said quickly and not without anger. “But that sort of thing is…” She contemplated for a moment. “Is there a word that means more often than ‘always’?”
She wheeled him back around and he looked back to the man at least four more times, clearly contemplating making a break for it. But instead, he moved closer to her. “That’s rubbish,” he replied, tone thicker. “And if I can’t be off beating the gits who bother you in the market, I suppose that means you need to let me see you again. Somewhere else. Right?” His expression didn’t change, just as full of fire and fight as before. “Tonight?”
Maker, how nice it must be to live in this man’s pretty little world! Did he know nothing of elves or what his people imposed upon them? “As tempting as that offer is, there’s a curfew, sirrah.” She looked over to where the setting sun was casting orange and pink streaks against the pale sky. “I can’t be out of the Alienage after dark.”
“Then come with me,” he replied. Maker, were things made unnecessarily difficult. “Now? Stretch your legs some. There’s grass on the other side of these walls, you know.”
Rael eyed him with great scrutiny. If he was propositioning her, he was doing a pretty clumsy job of it. He was young, but did not seem naive. She turned her head to the sky and then back to him. “All right,” she said. “But you’ve got until the sun disappears. Deal?”
“Deal,” he replied, one last wayward glance at the offending man. “Besides. There’s a lot of pebbles out there, you know. We could build you a bloody fortune.” He offered to carry her lute and reminded her to grab her coins before they would head off.
The suggestion that he hold her instrument caused Rael to hug it to her chest protectively. “I can carry it,” she reassured him. “It doesn’t weigh much and I doubt you can play even one note on it.”
He gestured to her as if to say that it was all hers. “I could be a lyrical genius for all you know.” He seemed to calm more as his hands slipped into his pockets. Heading for the gates, he added, “In fact, I’m so good, I’d take all your business away. So I tend to horses instead. It’s a sacrifice I make so that musicians such as yourself can put food on the table.”
Rael had to walk briskly to keep up with the tall boy’s long strides. Keeping up with his conversation was easier. “A musician and a pebble expert?” she asked. “What are the odds?”
“Pretty horrible,” he replied. “I am clearly the luckiest pebble expert in the world.” He looked at her, nodding quite seriously. “And there are many.”
“Then I look forward to seeing your skills in action,” she said with a wry smile.
“Dunno if I can show you anything. I’m part of a fellowship. A secret fraternity of pebble experts.” They left the gates, drawing the disapproving attention of the city guards, but Liam clearly thought nothing of it. In fact, he seemed to not care about the muttering behind their backs, either. Not too far from the gates, off in the fenced area surrounding the city walls, was a huge tree. Tied to it, his horse. “I’ve made a blood pact to not show my methods at all. Quite sorry, Little Bird.”
Rael stopped short when she saw his horse. It was a beautiful animal, a rich brown with a black mane and muzzle. She’d barely been near a horse before, much less ridden on one. She looked up at Liam, who had a pleased look on his face. What exactly was he up to?
He certainly noted her interest and stood with his arms folded over his chest, brow raised in interest. “Oh, you like her, do you? Her name’s Buttercup. But sorry. You can’t go near her.”
“And why is that?” she asked in a faraway voice as she watched the horse in fascination.
“She’s the jealous sort,” he explained jovially. “Gets all up in arms… no, hooves, I suppose… anyway, she gets upset when she’s around other girls. Especially pretty ones.” Shrugging, he shook his head. “She’d be weeping for days and I’d never be able to leave.”
Compliments, flattery, these things she was used to as someone who spent her days on display in the public square. Why did it seem so different when he used those words? Rael shook her head to clear some of the unwanted, encroaching thoughts and turned back to Buttercup. “So you brought me out here to look at a horse I can’t even approach?” she asked with a bemused look on her face. “It’s a wonder why all the girls in Denerim aren’t falling all over you.”
“No,” he corrected her, “I brought you out here to look for pebbles. It was your own bloody decision to oogle my steed.”
“Then we better get to it,” Rael said pointing at the sky where only a sliver of sun remained. “You’ve got 10 minutes…” she trailed off, realizing she didn’t even know his name.
“Fine,” he replied. “You can go look at the horse. Pebbles would take nearly an hour.” He grinned and offered her his hand. “I’m Liam, by the way.”
“Rael,” she replied, reaching for his hand. When their fingers touched, she felt a sensation like sinking into quicksand. “You’d better introduce me to your horse as well, especially if she’s the jealous type. We wouldn’t want her to get the wrong idea.”
His fingers wove between hers and he pulled her along, carefully guiding her down the short path that lead to Buttercup. He had found her the largest shade tree to settle beneath and tied to it was a bucket with water. Her saddle was meager, yet polished precisely and she looked freshly bathed. There were few things in the world that he tended to as thoroughly as he did his horse, and it showed. “Buttercup,” he said warmly as they reached her. His hand rested against her nose and she nudged him in return. “This is Rael. She’s not here for intimidation, just to make your acquaintance.”
“I hardly see how I could possibly be intimidating to anyone, much less an animal as large as this,” Rael said softly. She tentatively reached up to the side of the horse’s face, not daring to actually touch it. The horse eyed her patiently, its ears flicking about. When she finally let her fingertips brush the bridge of the horse’s nose, she let out a small sigh. Its hair was impossibly soft and she simply enjoyed the feel of it against her skin.
Now, he loved his steed more than most things in this world, but she might have easily outdone him. His gaze moved to her instead. There were few things that made him that truly happy and, despite it making him feel weird, his stomach did odd things as she watched the horse in wonder. “She’s just.. judgemental.”
Rael chuckled, growing bolder and stroking the fluffy patch of hair between the horse’s ears. “Isn’t everybody?” she mused.
He smiled in return, then cleared his throat as he reached up, ruffling the hair at the top of his horse’s head. “You want to go on a ride?” he asked tentatively.
She did. Maker, she truly did. But the sun was almost gone and she’d be a fool to trust this boy, even with his beautiful eyes and deep, entrancing voice. Especially because of those. She merely looked at him, her face full of hesitation.
“You don’t have to,” he quickly clarified. “Maker, that’s such a bad idea, actually.” He frowned, hands rubbing other side of the horse’s jaw. “Buttercup would only get attached to you, and then how would she feel when you ran back off to your adoring public? Crushed. That’s how.” And Maker if his lip didn’t jut out as he gave Rael the most sorrow-filled look he could muster.
“It’s awfully nice of you,” she replied in a breathy voice. “To be so concerned with the feelings of others.” It wasn’t often that Rael wished she were not an elf. If she were a human girl, she could take Liam’s offer of a ride without compunction and enjoy every second of it. But she lived in the real world, even if he seemed to ignore the facts of who they were. “The sun’s down, Liam,” she said regretfully.
He frowned and gave Buttercup a final scratch before turning his attention back to Rael. His hand grasped hers again. “So you can either go back in, or go with me.” He leaned forward, just enough so that their cheeks would touch as his mouth neared her ear. He smelled of old, aged leather. With a breath, he whispered, “I’d choose the latter.” Smirking, he immediately pulled away from her, grasped his horse’s reins, stuck a foot in the stirrup and mounted. A hand shot out, offering her help should she choose to take his offer.
Rael looked up at Liam, all grandeur and strength atop his horse. His eyes were like shining coins in the disappearing evening light. Almost of its own volition her hand found his and before she could even take a breath, he pulled her up in front of him, placing her with her back to his front as though she weighed nothing at all.
“Good choice,” he murmured against her ear.
With a flick of the reins, Buttercup was off, galloping almost immediately. Liam held the reins with one hand and wrapped his arm around Rael’s waist with the other. He held her close and the overwhelming strength of the arms that encircled her made her feel safe in spite of her trepidation of her first horseback ride. Liam’s ease and experience with his horse was apparent, and he directed the animal flawlessly. They rode through the fallow fields that dotted the outskirts of the city, and Liam would speak softly in her ear as they passed points of interest.
Rael’s heartbeat found a pace faster than the horse’s hooves as she thrilled to feel the cool night air on her face. She’d never been out of the city before, never done more than look beyond its walls. It was as if she had become a different person as she rode with him, away from her old life, her old self. This person did not cower in front of the hateful glares of the people of Denerim, nor did the thought of punishment for missing curfew alarm her. Whatever the consequences would be for this ill-advised adventure, they would be worth paying.
On the other side of the fields, they reached a quick-moving creek and Liam pulled Buttercup into a walk, then a full stop.
“She’ll need a rest,” he explained. Buttercup’s hair was slick with sweat and she stomped a hoof on the ground. Her reins were dropped and Liam had to force himself to pull away from Rael, his gaze far too settled on the curve of her jaw and his arm, too tightly wrapped. Instead, he slid down from the horse’s back. “I’ll help you down,” he offered.
She felt a twinge of sadness as he leaned away from her, all the warmth and comfort dissipating into the night air. She felt unsteady with him gone and when he held out his arms to her, she did not hesitate to take them.
His hands, strong and broad, gripped her sides as he pulled her down. The wind caught her hair, sending it whipping between them. Once her feet were firm on the ground, and only a couple measly inches separated them, Liam reached up to brush a cluster of strands from her forehead.
Where had that bashful boy with his hands scrunched deep into his pockets gone? Out here, in the darkness, with his steed by his side and the sky full of stars, he seemed to be in his element. The lights from Denerim flickered in the distance and they may have been a thousand leagues away for how free Rael felt of the restrictions of the city that seemed to coil around her neck like a snake.
They were so close that he could make out the morning’s juniper and the afternoon’s tea. It mixed with the buzz in the air around them and the soft sound of the crickets. He was of this strange outside world where nights stretched into days and peace brought the most enjoyment a man could want, and never have to pay for. The dusk made it hard to see much more than what was directly around them, but he tipped her chin up as his eyes rose to the sky above them. “You don’t see stars like this in the city, do you, Little Bird?”
Liam’s hand under her chin made Rael’s knees feel weak. His voice was so soft and pleasant, like the humming of a tune she knew by heart. She smiled at him, genuine, unguarded for the first time. “I don’t see much of anything in the city,” she replied.
She spoke and he looked back to her, eyes immediately settling on her smile. He was unprepared for that look in her eyes or the brilliant smile that spread across her face. Maker, was she the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. His thumb ran along the curve of her bottom lip. “You should get out more.”
He was staring at her lips. He was going to kiss her. Maker, why hadn’t he kissed her already? “I should do a lot of things,” she murmured, her eyes sparkling in the starlight.
His reply came in the form of a slight smile, which vanished the moment his lips brushed against hers. Once, twice, each kiss gentle, yet wanting. His hands slipped back to tangle in her hair as he pulled her closer to him. Each move he made was hesitant, as if asking for permission or giving her the chance to decline… to tell some silly stable hand that he had gone too far, wanted too much or, worse yet, the wrong girl.
This was madness--sheer, utter madness. And somehow, Blessed Andraste, Rael didn’t care. Liam’s hands and mouth, his whole being flooded her senses and she let herself be swept away like a pebble in a river. No one had ever touched her this way, not even close. For this lovely boy to want her, to take her in with his lips, run his hands through her hair and up her back, it was perfection. All of those years of suffering, of hardship, they were all worth it so that she could come to this field and kiss this boy and feel completely alive.
And he felt the same way. Of all the things in the world that he could have imagined, the fact that she even gave him the time of day didn’t even make the list. And yet he stood there, his arms wrapped around her in the cool night’s air, nary a care at all. His lips parted and the heat rose without warning. He could feel it in his ankles, knees, and fingertips. He broke the kiss and moved his lips to her long neck instead, gasping for air. “Maker, are you magnificent.”
Rael made a small regretful sound when Liam pulled away. The absence of his face so near to hers pushed the cold air against her skin and she shivered. “Liam,” she whispered. It was all she could manage to say. She felt as though her breath had been stolen from her mouth.
The sound she made caused a low, guttural growl to escape his lips and she hardly made it through his name before he reclaimed her lips. He brought with him fire and the edges of a burning desire he was fighting so hard, nearly in vain. Every move she made, her teeth against his lip, her fingertips tensing against his back, drove him further to the brink of forsaking his self-control completely.
The space between them eliminated, his hands roamed, grasping and pulling her against him, almost of their own volition. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a little voice cried out a warning. It was too much, too fast, and the last thing he wanted was to go too far. Logic was setting in -- cursed logic -- and his hands moved back up to cup her face. “Rael,” he murmured as his lips left hers.
“What?” she asked absently. He’d stopped kissing her for some reason. She opened her eyes to see that his had a strange expression she could not place. “What’s wrong?”
Maker, could he get lost in those eyes. Fingertips ran through her hair, pulling and twisting as he struggled for words that could be said without making himself into a complete bumbling fool. He licked his lips tentatively, contemplating yelling ‘to the void with it all’ and diving right back in.
Rael could see Liam was struggling with something, and she felt her mouth go dry and her heart twist. “Did I...did I do something wrong?” she asked hesitantly, terrified of his answer.
“No,” he replied wryly. He paused just long enough to crush his lips against her forehead, if nothing more than to break eye contact. His resolve was failing. “That might be the problem.”
“There’s a problem?” she murmured, luxuriating in the feel of his lips against her skin.
“I want you,” he replied, and in a voice that was far too husky for a boy of sixteen years, “and I don’t even bloody well know what that means. That’s a problem.”
Rael shook her head and looked up at him with a slight smile on her face. “I want you too,” she said softly. “And I think we both know what that means.”
His gaze snapped back down to her immediately. The way he saw it, he had two options. The first was to take a step back, get some air in his lungs, and calmly figure out how he was going to get her back to Denerim without either of them getting the stocks. Maybe raging hormones could settle themselves.
The other was to pull her to the ground without another thought and let biology sort out the rest of it.
Liam wasn’t looking at her anymore, his thoughts clearly elsewhere. Rael took a step back, letting his hands fall away from her. She looked him over, seeing an adolescent young human man, perhaps too handsome for his own good. And she knew what she was, an elf, destitute, relying on the spare coin of others for sustenance. What could he possibly want with her? Nothing, it seemed--a passing diversion. When it came down to it, when she offered, he didn’t even want her body.
Maker, was it hard to get his head back on straight. Especially after recapturing her lips, gnashing teeth and grasping fingers involved, and groaning out her name. He had every intention of stopping said kiss, too, since they really needed to get back to Denerim. But she was irresistible to him. And self-control was hard for the inexperienced. His hands slid down her back, fingertips bouncing along her spine. Three half-hearted attempts were made to leave those delicious lips before he was successful. “Not here,” he said, more a question than a statement. “Not now?”
When he’d released her long enough for her to speak, she breathed, “Are you saying you want to see me again, Liam?”
“Yes,” he replied quickly. Her bruised lips and pinkened cheeks stole his attention again, but he shook himself out of it. “Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I?”
Rael averted her eyes and said bitterly, “Not many human men would waste their time with an elf like me.” She looked back at him. “Not more than once, at any rate.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” he asked, nearly stupidly, as his brow furrowed in confusion. His thumbs ran over the apples of her cheeks. Replacing raw, burning want with desperate admiration happened without him even realizing it. “I don’t care that you’re an elf,” he replied. “I like you, whether you’re a human, elf, bronto…” She still looked unsure, so he kissed her again, strong and breathless. “See me again,” he pleaded.
“Yes,” she barely managed to say. Something about him was robbing her of her ability to speak. She looked at the walls of Denerim, which seemed to be so close she could almost reach out and touch them. “But we have to be careful,” she warned. “Not everyone is as open-minded about elves as you. Or brontos.”
“Have you even met the citizens of your fine city?” He wrinkled his nose, grinning. “We’ll be careful. And we’ll have to figure out somewhere we can meet, and when. I’ll be in Denerim for the next few days. My parents have me on loan with the blacksmith.” Something he was proud of - learning the ability to shoe, which would save his family loads of coin.
She eyed him uncertainly. “A few days, is it?” she asked. “Doesn’t give us much time.”
“I come to Denerim often,” he reassured her. “But rarely without my parents who, mind you, would probably rather me never look at anyone twice.”
“Okay,” she agreed. “But you’d better get me back to Denerim before my brothers send out a search party.”
“If I must.” Smiling, he pressed his lips against hers again. “And on the ride back, we’ll need to figure out how to get you back through those gates.” The reality was far less comfortable than he’d like to admit. His smile was quickly replaced with a frown as he slipped from her grasp and mounted his horse. His hand was offered to her once more.
Rael gave him a sly smile. “The gates? Leave them to me.” She took his hand and found herself in front of him on the saddle in a flash. He wrapped his arm around her again and pressed his cheek against hers and they were off back to the city. Rael leaned back into his embrace and realized there was nowhere in all of Thedas that she would rather be.
While the initial ride had felt like a lifetime, it seemed as if he had batted his eyes twice and they were nearly back to the city. He wanted to feign wrong turns or spur the horse to run wild, anything to keep her in his arms even longer. But the later it got, the less safe a young and beautiful elf would be sneaking about town. He felt comfort in the fact that he would be staying near the market for the night. An eye could be kept on her for at least that long.
Near the gates, but still shrouded by the dark of night, he left her just long enough
run Buttercup to the nearby stables. A brow was raised at his unusual haste -- Liam had quite the reputation with the stable hands as a micromanaging patron -- and he hurried back to Rael.
When he found her, she was viewing one of the castle walls with great interest. It was an older wall that had not been maintained for some time. The mortar between the stones was crumbling and deep green ivy wound itself from the ground to the very top. When Liam approached her, she turned to him and pointed at the wall. “I can climb up here,” she said with a gleam in her eye.
“Fantastic,” he replied with a smile. He surveyed the wall as well with only the most marginal of concerns for her safety. It looked doable, and he’d be there to catch her should she fall. Or burst through the wall behind her, should she get caught. His arms slipped around her small frame again. “Will you be in the market tomorrow?”
“I’m in the market everyday,” she said with a shy smile. “You know where to find me.”
With a parting smile, he gave her one last kiss, then stepped back to give her space to climb.
With astonishing speed, Rael lept on to the wall and used the vines and holes in the mortar in several practiced motions. Within a minute, she was on top of the wall. She swung her leg over and looked back down at Liam one more time, as if to reassure herself that he was real.
“Like a bird,” he said, admiring her skill. “Tomorrow, Rael.”
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