“You,” he almost said. “All of you.”

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• fanarts by @/gabriella.bujdoso @/taratjah and @/monolime

This is incredibly nice! Thank you so much!

I’ll be honest, I’ve thought about stopping a few times. But then I get a message or ask like this and it motivates me to keep going. More honesty — I probably wouldn’t be able to stop writing about them even if I tried. 😂

And I think I’ve gone well past the border with Manorian 😂

Thanks again anon, I really appreciate it!! 🤗😘

A Manorian one shot

I couldn’t sleep last night. Which meant there was a random Manorian scene stuck in my head that I had to write out or I’d never sleep again. By random I mean a variation on scenes I’ve probably already written lol.

One of the things I think about with them is how Manon probably isn’t familiar with a lot of human gestures and habits and gets curious. And how Dorian finds this interesting and likes to satisfy her curiosity whenever possible.

So, I wonder about mundane things like touch. As a witch, it’s something she’s likely been denied her entire life, with the exception of punishment. Or sex, but there are other kinds of touch. Which brought this scene to mind after the final battle in KoA.

I hope everyone enjoys it and that it tides you over until I can finish all the chapters and prompts I’m working on. ☺️🙏

*****

The room he’d found was small and dark and cold. And ideally located in a hallway close to the balcony that served as the wyvern aerie. Magicking a fire into the brazier, Dorian fixed the lighting and temperature. The size of the place was of no real concern though, as it was just the two of them.

Dorian gave her an apologetic look as he arranged the thin bedroll on the bare floor. He needn’t have. When she had tried to sleep this past week, it had been outside in the aerie with nothing but a cloak and her wyvern for comfort. This would be luxurious in comparison.

Without speaking, Manon removed her leathers and Dorian took off his clothes. Soon, they were lying down under blankets and facing each other in the flickering light.

She watched him with tired, wary eyes, waiting for the inevitable questions. Questions she didn’t have the strength to answer. Something in his face told her he had been through terrible things too, and while that piqued her curiosity, she didn’t think he was ready to talk either. No questions then. At least not about anything of importance.

But while she stared, her eyes moving over his face and chest, shoulders and arms, a strange desire began to form within her. One that must have been triggered by the healer. The one who hugged her, giving her, if only for that moment, a kind of strange peace and respite from the emptiness. The healer who always seemed to be touching someone.

“You enjoy being touched,” she said. “Humans, I mean.”

Dorian’s mouth twitched into a smile. “Yes. Most of us anyway.”

Manon raised her hand as if to touch his shoulder, but stopped before she met his skin. The warmth coming from him made her want to slide closer. “And you?”

“Yes,” he said.

Something in the way he was looking at her made Manon think he wanted to say more. As her fingertips hovered over his skin, she heard his racing heart, saw the goosebumps form despite his warmth.

But before she could lower them, Dorian shifted and brushed his own fingers along her collarbone. A sharp gasp escaped her lips and he drew back quickly. But only for an instant.

*****

Her eyes, red rimmed with weariness, shone like flame, reflecting not just the fire in the brazier, but something more. Something from within.

Dorian ran his hand along her shoulder and around to her back, passing over scars, some raised, some carved into her skin. His magic spiked - uselessly, as there was nothing here to defend her from - and he hoped she hadn’t felt the momentary cold. So many, he thought. She had so many scars. And those were just the ones that were visible.

As he continued to rub her back, loosening the stiff muscles, her eyes fluttered shut. He edged closer. Softly, more a hint than an actual kiss, his lips grazed her cheek and moved down her neck.

Manon moaned, and he wasn’t sure if it was from the touch of his mouth or his hand, still massaging her back. It didn’t matter. He suspected she’d had few encounters like this. Where the focus was on her and only her. Where it wasn’t just about sexual pleasure, but something more. Something she’d seemingly been deprived of her entire life.

*****

She’d never had this. Not with him, not with anyone.

Dorian moved over her body with a gentleness that was unfamiliar and intoxicating. He touched her with his hands and mouth, skin to skin, across her entire body. And while some touches sent her heart pounding, others seemed to slow it down. Calming and easing the tension that had embedded itself in her these past months.

For whatever reason, she’d always trusted Dorian enough to give herself over to him. The escape from control that he offered was as appealing as the pleasure he gave. Yet, there had still been the taste of danger, an edge of roughness to the passion that she’d always craved.

But this... this way he touched her that was both soft and hard, tender and strong. It felt so good.

He’d had her roll onto her stomach to knead the rigid muscles in her back and neck, leaving her loose and sore. But in a good way. As if those muscles had been reconfigured and now had to learn new ways of supporting her.

Facing him again, Manon felt sleepy. Not tired. She’d felt that way for weeks. Sleepiness was new. New like the desire to touch Dorian for no reason at all. Or the newly discovered need to be touched. All of it so foreign yet familiar in a deep, primal way.

*****

“Why?” she asked. The word was weighted down by all the uncertainty and fear and grief he’d tried to quell with his touch. It held every bit of their unknown future and unasked questions.

Dorian slid over to kiss her, fully and properly this time. Her eyes were heavy and he was glad she might fall asleep and rest.

Her body melted into his as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. Savoring the feel of her cool palm pressed against his bare chest, Dorian sighed.

“Because I wanted to ease some of your pain,” he whispered. “Because I care about you. Very, very much.”

He didn’t say that hers was the only touch he wanted, the only thing he craved. That she was all he wanted.

When Manon didn’t reply, he thought maybe she had actually fallen asleep. But then her hand moved, sliding over his skin, along his collarbone and around the muscles of his chest and shoulder. Her fingers were warming up from his own body heat and he missed their coolness.

Quietly and almost asleep, Manon said, “I missed you.”

Dorian smiled and kissed the top of her head. “I missed you too, witchling.”

*****

Tagging @itach-i , @nestasbucket , @bookishwitchling , @manontrashbeak , @jimetg98 , @mis-lil-red , @chloe123love607 , @sierrareads , @yourfacesickens-me , @awesomelena555 , @monstrousloves-explodinggalaxies , @blackhavilliard

Let me know if you’d like to be added/removed 🙂

Fanfic master list

Oh anon.

First, thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate it 💛💙

Second, I think @itach-i and @propshophannah and I have many, many head canons about Dorian saving Manon from a situation like this. He’s saved her several times in canon, but it was always kind of his magic just reacting. Which I love.

But. Manon still doesn’t know that he jumped INTO A MONSTER FILLED OCEAN TO FRICKIN SAVE HER!! I NEED HER TO SEE HIM ACTIVELY COMING TO SAVE HER! (I am trash lol)

So that prompt is perfect!!

Please be patient with me though 🙏

“She broke from her grandmother,” said Dorian, sliding off Vesta’s wyvern and prowling toward Abraxos. The Crochans tensed, but made no move to attack. “I pulled her from the sea months ago, when she lay upon Death’s doorstep. Saw the iron shards my friends removed from her abdomen.”

Manon and Dorian said goodbye in Orynth. But for them, saying hello again is only a matter of time.

In anticipation of posting the next chapter soon (next week), here’s a little recap and preview of part 6. Apologies for how long this one has taken me.

If you’d like to be tagged or untagged in the next chapters, let me know!

Part One: I Wish…

A manorian goodbye we didn’t get at the end of Kingdom of Ash.

Part Two: Another Day

Ten months have passed, and while Manon and Dorian make excuses not to see each other, their friends have a surprise planned.

Part Three: Those Two Words

The rukhin living at the Ferian Gap welcome royal visitors. (And if you don’t know what two words are referenced in the title… your assignment is to reread all the manorian chapters in the ToG series.)

Part Four: Breakfast in Bed

Dorian stays true to his word from chapter 1 and treats Manon to something new. All too quickly he realizes the brave front she’s putting up is hiding something he might not be able to help fix.

Part Five: Waiting

Some of the rukhin undertake the crossing at the Ferian Gap, triggering memories, both good and bad, for Manon. She finds guidance from an unexpected source.

*****

sneak peek of Part 6: Confessions

Now back at their room in the Omega, Manon closed her eyes and rested her head on the edge of the bathtub. The water grew steadily warmer. She’d done little that day, certainly not enough to warrant the sigh she released as the heat penetrated her muscles.

“I was worried that Abraxos would be spoiled here,” she said. “Apparently, I was the one in danger all along.”

Dorian laughed softly. “That was my only goal this week. You didn’t stand a chance.”

They sat at either end of the huge copper tub. Steam rose off the water, filling the room with the scent of the herbs and petals floating on the surface. Instead of candles, Dorian lit the room with his magic. Flames of varying size and color hung suspended in the air. A half empty plate of pastries and a kettle of Qara’s molten chocolate drink were within easy reach.

Water lapped gently against the sides of the tub as Dorian shifted towards her. She kept her eyes closed but couldn’t stop herself from smiling.

“Manon.”

The tone of his voice was serious, no hint of seduction or teasing. Her smile faded, and she opened her eyes to find he’d moved beside her, still face to face. His expression matched his tone and she sat up, unsure of what might be coming.

“There’s something I need to say.”

*****