#pentavelyan

Cassandra x Inquisitor sketch dump 2 (post-Trespasser flavoured)

Court Intrigue

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Direct sequel to this, which I posted like 5 minutes ago. Magic victory sex to follow the victory kiss because I’m a thirsty bitch

nsfw, obviously. For @dadrunkwriting

Cedric expected Cassandra to set him down shortly after jokingly tossing him over her shoulder; he was at least a stone heavier than her, and they were both exhausted from slaying the dragon besides. Surely by the time they were out of sight of their companions...

But she didn't. She was still carrying him as the Inquisition scouts who has been waiting at a safe distance moved past them to secure the area. He gave them a little wave so they'd know he was uninjured. Other than his pride, at least.

"You can put be down now," he ventured, squirming a bit. His platemail was grating against hers uncomfortably. 

Her grip tightened with a grunt. "You wish."

He sure did. His pulse was slowing after the battle, but the regeneration potion coursing through him kept him antsy. 

They made it all the way to the nearby camp. A surprised officer paused their midday meal, looking at them wide-eyed. Cedric managed to make eye contact with them. He grinned and jerked his head, indicating the officer should find somewhere else to be. 

The officer was struggling not to laugh as they left, taking their lunch with them. Cedric wasn't positive he was lucky enough for this to go how he hoped it would... But a little privacy never hurt. 

Cassandra set him on his feet at last, right in front of their tent. As soon as both his boots hit the ground he tackled her, shoulder first, wrapping an arm around her waist as they fell through the open tent flaps behind her. They landed in a tangle of limbs and armor on the bedrolls left out this morning. 

She was kissing him before he had the chance to catch his breath, pulling at the laces of his trousers. 

Maker's breath... 

She was in a hurry, but he wanted to see more of her, all of her. When they traveled, their lovemaking was usually limited to hushed trysts in the dead of night while the world slept. This time the sunlight filtering through the canvas would make her glow. 

He shifted so he wouldn't crush her as he undid the buckles of her breastplate, his fingers finding the now-familiar straps as her kissed her. She moved so she could remove his overcoat as she kissed him. They tugged and pulled at belts and bracers, lips and teeth finding lips and skin until they were both bare down to their stockings. He wondered if it was the dragon's breath or the resistance potion that made her taste like lightning.  

He was above her as they moved together-- not penetrating, just feeling warm skin over flexing muscle, just feeling alive. 

He could spend forever just kissing this woman, again and again. It never grew old. Especially when she was writhing beneath him like this.

But then he felt the familiar press of her callused palm against his scarred shoulder and grinned. He obediently rolled with her until his back was on the blankets and she was astride him; he was her conquest after all, her prize for saving the day. 

But when she lowered herself on him he cried out-- each pulse of the regeneration potion in his blood increase his sensitivity tenfold... It was more intense than anything he'd felt before, the rest of his senses practically going numb as pleasure shot through him. 

"Cass--I... The potion, it-- fuck, you feel so good, too good to..."

His words only encouraged her, and she smiled, though she kept it slow. He tried to adjust to the new feeling. She braced her hands not on the ground beside him but on his chest, pinning him to the ground. When he could open his eyes he saw the sheen of sweat glistening on her skin, his too probably, and he didn't stop himself from ogling her as she rose above him. Maker forgive him, her tits were incredible. He couldn't keep his hands away. 

Just when he thought he couldn't take another moment Cassandra moved both hands to trace her fingertips along the stubble of his jaw. "Not yet, me love."

Her words, breathless and accented, had the opposite effect she intended, adding fuel to the fire instead of dousing it. 

He sat up, bracing himself on one arm so he could kiss her again... And so she could rub against him as she rode him. Her noises became louder and her speed increase, the added friction having the desired effect. For her. 

It was the opposite effect of what he'd intended for him.

Cedric tried to hold back but the pulsating magic energy made it impossible. He came hard as she continued bringing them together, his face buried in her neck, waiting for the intensity to wear off... But it didn't. His erection didn't either; each heartbeat only seemed to make him harder. 

He forced his attention away from himself. He bucked his hips with hers, steadily, roughly. They were both grunting as gasping by the time she tossed her head back in her own ecstasy. She shouted, louder than usual, beautiful and fierce as she always was. He might have come again as well, but he couldn't be sure.

Gradually, they stilled, and as they caught their breath he smiled. Cassandra smiled with him, and bent forward so their foreheads rested together. 

"Sorry. I tried to wait," he said after a breathless moment, and was rewarded with her warm chuckle. 

"You did splendid, as always."

Across The Waking Sea

CODEX ENTRY - Connal Trevelyan

—

If you were to stop and ask a random passerby what they thought of Ostwick’s most prominent young Lord, they would laugh, and perhaps provide you with a snide comment or two. While not overtly despised, the young Lord Trevelyan has accumulated a reputation for being a prevalent womanizer and persistent cheat in various taverns across the Marches over the years. “Another spoiled noble,” they’d tell you.

I say they are wrong.

His entire reputation is a lie; an intricately woven web of deception, designed to turn gazes away and not look back again. Ostwick’s young Lord plays the spoiled rich boy only by day.

By night, he plays The Fox, the leader of the largest fleet of smuggler ships that Thedas has ever seen.

The young Lord’s business is not illicit. His fleet does not smuggle drugs, slaves or dark artifacts, no – they smuggle refugees.

It was the explosion of Kirkwall’s Chantry that spurred him into action. He began by smuggling fleeing apostates on his personal vessel, then Circle mages, and then regular citizens in combination with the other two. It was during 9:38 Dragon that he began smuggling Fereldens and Marchers alike, and the year after his growing fleet would carry anyone who needed safe passage across the Waking Sea.

To this day, no one knows the man who plays the strings behind the shadows. I once asked him why he did not tell the world who The Fox was. He laughed and responded, “Who would ever believe me?”

- Seeker Cassandra Pentaghast, written on behalf of the Inquisition for the Inquisition’s Archives.

Scribbled below, in hesitant tiny writing:

I have never known a more noble man.

——

To the victor…

For @dadrunkwriting ! This was a lot of fun, thank you!

Cedric resisted the urge to jump in the way when he saw the Northern Hunter rear its head as it prepared a lighting blast aimed at Cassandra. They each had their roles in this battle, and she needed to be able to rely on him to do his. 

She raised her shield as the dragon’s electric breath hit, gritting her teeth and bearing the pain with an inhuman resolve that had little to do with the resistance potion protecting her. 

He hated having to risk members of his Inquisition like this, but this species of dragon was known for its voracious appetite, and the people of Crestwood had been through enough without losing their remaining livestock. As the beast lifted its wings he leveled his longsword and charged forward with a roar that signaled to his companions that it was time to draw in. The archers reluctantly ran forward, just in time as the dragon’s wings beat hard enough to create a damaging vortex that was best avoided up close. Sera and Varric’s arrows continued to pelt legs and wings and any other vulnerable spot they could find. 

As the whirlwind slowed around them, he shouted, “Scatter!”

It was unnecessary–they all learned the hard way what came next.

His boots trampled the glass vial of the regeneration potion that still pulsed with his every heartbeat, filling him with the adrenaline that he more than needed. Then the dragon’s attack hit them, a crackling orb of electricity centered on each of the four of them. It was worse when they orbs overlapped each other, but even so he bit his tongue as he struggled not to scream. He saw Cassandra and Varric stagger only briefly. From behind him he heard Sera curse loudly and repetitively, which he took as a good sign. 

Before the magic faded completely Cassandra met his eyes from across the battlefield, her eyes smoky and fierce. He gave a short nod, and she positioned herself towards the rear of the beast, jumping to evade a tailwhip. 

He wouldn’t fail her this time. 

Thank you for the prompt, @teiranlavellan! It made me super happy that you said this, my Cass doesn’t get much attention <3 and it’s such a cute prompt that it went to the top of my list! I hoped to answer you with the prompt fill that week, but that didn’t work :( Sorry.

I have a modern AU I want to write for these two someday, so this is like a prequel to that I guess?

There was this part that was going to be going through airport security, and this other part where the plane it oversold and they take her ticket, but then the stuff with United happened and I didn’t like it anymore

Belatedly for @dadrunkwriting

Cedric was standing in line at the airport, waiting to check his bag. The line was long, but there were plenty of… assistants? Whatever the term was for the people who check in your bags, so the line was going quickly. Or, at least it did, until some Nevarran woman started holding it up.

“Yes, I know I’ve already checked my bag, I was there. But I forgot to put my firearm into my luggage and I highly doubt security will let me take it to the gate, so I if you could just retrieve my bag—”

“I’m sorry ma’am, but your luggage is already on the plane,” explained the unfortunate attendant, simply trying to do his job.

“It is not on the plane—it went down that conveyor belt not two minutes ago; your service is not so prompt as that. Go back there and look, it’s the bag with the silk handkerchief tied at the top.”

“Ma’am, the conveyor belts go directly to the tarmac. It’s gone.”

“Then what do you suggest I do with my weapon? I can’t very well leave it here!”

The next attendant motioned for Cedric, her face full of apologies on behalf of the commotion. Cedric made sure to wear a friendly grin as he greeted her, handing over the ID and tickets he had ready. He pulled his bag onto the scale, and then had a thought.

He had time, while the employee processed his paperwork, so he quickly opened his suitcase and pulled his carry-on off of his shoulder.  He dumped the contents of his shoulder bag into the larger one, checking all the pockets. He zipped his suitcase back up, standing it in time for it to take its turn on the conveyor belt.  

With a nod and a “Have a good one!” he strode away, towards the loud, armed woman.

“Ma’am—”

“Detective. Or Special Agent Pentaghast, if you’d prefer.”

Cedric walked over to the irate woman, now irritated himself. It always rubbed him the wrong way when people were unkind to the staff—as someone from a wealthy family, it was a problem he saw often. And he recognized the name ‘Pentaghast’.

“Here you go, Princess,” he said condescendingly as he deposited his now-empty shoulder bag on the counter in front of her. She turned to him in surprise, and the rest of the words he would have said left his head.

Holy shit, she was gorgeous.

“And just what am I supposed to do with this?”

Right. That. “Pack you gun, check the bag, and move on with your day,” he explained.

“But this is not my bag.”

“It is now.” The man behind the counter looked distressed, and Cedric sighed. He should not be trying to provoke the woman further. “Consider it a donation to the force in a time of need. Just doing my civic duty.”

Officer Pentaghast crossed her arms. “I cannot accept it.”

“Well I’m not taking it back!” he snapped, and stomped off. He had his own plane to catch.

He was sorely tempted to look behind him, so make sure the ridiculous woman wasn’t refusing the solution out of spite, but he resisted the urge.

~~~~~

Cedric made it through security just fine, and was headed for his gate when it occurred to him that all of his in-flight entertainment was now packed away in his checked bag. He saw a small bookstand, and stopped to browse for a bit. In the end, he selected some ridiculous Tethras bodice-ripper. It looked newly published, so hopefully when he was done with it one of his sisters would have room for it in their collection; at least two of his sisters read this series, he was sure.

By the time he boarded the plane he had put the incident with Detective Pentaghast out of his mind (or, at least, tried to—it was hard not to think of a woman like that.) He was one of the last First Class passengers to make his way on, moving at a leisurely pace.

Honestly, he should have expected to see the woman sitting there, in the seat next to his. He double-checked his seat number, just to be sure. Lovely.

She looked even less happy to see him.

He had to squeeze past her to get to his windowseat, unpleasantly aware that his butt was at the same level as her face.

She watched him as he sat and buckled the seatbelt, up until he met her eyes with an arched eyebrow. Her gaze darted away, but returned only a second later. “I should thank you, for before.”

“Yes, you should,” he replied dryly.

“Right.Well, I thank you. It was an effective solution, and generous of you.”

He waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it—I didn’t do it for you.”

He expected her to take offense to that, but she nodded calmly. “Even so.”

Silence followed, or as much silence as could be expected on a plane gradually filling with people. After nearly a minute she sighed with an irritated huff. “This is awkward, isn’t it.”

It wasn’t a question, but he answered anyway. “It doesn’t have to be.”

“My name is Cassandra.” She twisted in her seat to offer her hand.

He shook it, and wondered if she was purposely gripping his hand painfully hard, or if that was normal for her. “Cedric.”

More silence. She shifted in her seat.

Eventually, she said, “I have to be in court tomorrow, for a hearing. I cannot be late. It was important that I did not miss this flight.”

Maker. She wasn’t going to spend the entire flight trying to redeem herself, was she?

Well, at least she knew she had made a spectacle of herself. “You don’t have to explain. We’re all on this flight for a reason.”

“Yes, but I—” She was interrupted by the flight attendant announcing the safety procedures over the speakers. Cassandra was quiet for a few second afterwards and Cedric thought that that would be the end of it, but as soon as he opened his book she spoke up again. “To be honest with you, Cedric, I was most concerned about my dog. I had not arranged for anyone to feed him tonight, because I was not expecting to be gone so long. It would have been a challenge to find someone, on such short notice.”

He was sorely tempted to point out why she might not have a lot of friends to rely on, but he resisted the urge. “I’m glad your dog will be alright. I’d have hated for him to go hungry.”

She nodded, and the sound of the plane engine revving for takeoff made talking difficult. He turned the page.

As soon as they were in the air she spoke up again. “Is that the new Swords and Shields?”

He sighed immediately. “Really, Princess, we don’t have to talk. I help you, you thanked me; let’s move on.”

Her cheeks flared red as her gaze drifted away, and he worried he’d gone too far. “I was only curious. I am… A fan of the series, myself.”

“Oh.” This time he was the one to shift uncomfortably. “I think it’s new. I’ve never read one of these things before, but I thought I would give it a chance.”

“Oh,” she parroted. “I hope you enjoy it, then. You really should start at the beginning, of course… But the books can stand alone. They can be... Cheesy, perhaps, but they’re worth it.”

He smiled, and relaxed. She did seem genuine, now, not like she was forcing it. “My sisters say the same thing—the two that read the series, anyway.”

“The two? How many do you have?”

“Oh, five and a half? Six?”

Cassandra gave him a queer look, and he laughed. “I have five full-sisters, and a half-sister. All older than me.”

“I cannot even imagine growing up with so many! How did you survive?”

Yay! I have a weakness for a little jealousy, thank you for the prompt! It was hard to decide who was the jealous one, because, again, weakness.

This is soon after he finally won her over.

For @long-liv-prairies and @dadrunkwriting

(it’s not less than 1000 words)

Hilamshiral. Or the Winter Palace, or whatever. The Marches didn’t have anything quite so illustrious, but Cedric was still a noble and still felt quick comfortable amid the flashy clothing and backhanded politics.

Despite his good humor, it wasn’t necessarily his strong suit. It wasn’t that he didn’t have the patience; in fact, he found all the posturing quite amusing. Still, he tended to nod along, smile, and let them play their Game… And then went to go do whatever he’d planned to begin with, alliances be damned.

Of course, back at home, he usually had a woman to distract him. Someone to court, to pursue, to dance with. He did not regret being Cassandra’s by any stretch of the imagination—being with her was everything he’d hoped and more—but they were busy with Inquisition duties, and she’d spurned his offer to dance.

He was not going leave until she agreed to, of course, but for now she had a point. They had assassins to stop.