Work Text:
Riverside
Mari walked through the woods, following Iorveth’s trail. She knew where he was heading. He had that one, special place where he was always training. She walked through the trees, between its shadows. The warm sunlight occasionally broke through the treetops and nothing was heard but the distinctive sounds of the forest. Whistling wind, rustling leaves, the chirping of the birds. She followed the trail of trampled grass until she reached the clearing.
Iorveth was holding his bow, drawing it, and he was very concentrated. Mari leaned against a tree, her arms crossed, and she silently watched him. His composure was tense. She could only imagine his tensed muscles underneath his layers of armour. He stood still for a few seconds, then he let go of the string and the arrow shot through the air, hitting its target, a large tree at the end of the clearing. Its bark already showed traces of repeatedly being used as Iorveth's target shooting. And now several arrows were stuck in its bark, too. Iorveth lowered his bow again, walked over to the tree and pulled out his arrows. He turned around and as he did so, he spotted Mari at the other side of the clearing.
“How long have you been standing there?” he asked as he walked back to the spot from where he had been shooting.
“Not for long,” she answered.
“I didn't notice you.”
“If I were an enemy, you’d be dead now.”
“Lucky me that you're not my enemy.”
“No,” Mari answered. “I'm not.”
“So, why were you following me?”
“Weren't you expecting me to follow you?”
“Is that why you're here? Because I expected you to follow me? Not because you wanted to?”
Mari sighed at Iorveth’s skilled use of words. She eyed him as he picked up an arrow and drew the string back again. “I don't know what I want.”
“At least you're honest,” Iorveth said and concentrated before he shot the arrow into the tree bark again, hitting the same spot as before. His accuracy was impressive. But she didn't expect anything else from him.
“I don't like the tone of this conversation,” Mari said. “I don't want things to be odd between us so if I upset you somehow, I'm sorry.”
Iorveth turned around to her and eyed her before he beckoned her over. Not knowing what he wanted, she slowly pushed herself off the tree she was leaning against and walked over to him. He handed her the bow and as she took it, Iorveth picked up an arrow, moved closer to her and put his arms around her, placing her hands and fingers on the bow. He placed his hand on hers, helping her to adjust her hand. He drew the string back and rested his head on her shoulder.
"Relax. And breathe slowly," Iorveth whispered quietly.
Not as easy as it sounded with Iorveth literally enveloping her and whispering into her ear.
“Focus on your breath and heart rate. Listen to it. Feel it. And when you do, you release the string between two heart beats.”
They were standing on the clearing, close to each other, with nothing but the quiet sounds of the forest around them. Mari concentrated on her breathing, as he told her. She could feel the pounding of her heart. She waited. One heartbeat. A second. After the third, she let go of the string and the arrow shot through the air, hitting the tree bark very closely to where Iorveth's arrow stuck.
Iorveth was still close to her, not letting go of his embrace. “Maybe you should exchange your sword for a bow. You're way better with it than you are with a sword.”
“Maybe I should,” she answered quietly and lowered the bow. She just stood there, leaning against Iorveth.
“You can trust me,” he muttered as he put his arms around her. “I know my reputation but you got to know me.”
“That's not it. I loved worse men than you.”
When Iorveth didn't answer, she turned around to him. “I told you I can't love you and I told you that it has nothing to do with you. You are one of the kindest people I have ever met. You are respectful. You're skilled, talented. You're intelligent. And by the Gods, you're attractive.”
“And what am I not?”
“It's rather who you are not.”
“Who is it?” Iorveth asked. “Who has such a firm grip around your heart?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Why not?”
Mari looked to the ground, shaking her head. “Does it matter? Would it change anything if you knew?”
“If I knew, maybe I would understand better what this is between us.”
She couldn't tell him. He'd probably hate her. Or at least be disgusted. Again, she shook her head. “Why does it have to be anything? I mean, why do we have to put a label on it at all? You said it yourself, elves are unorthodox in terms of love.”
“I know that I said that. And I know that I said that all you have to do is trust me. I don't expect anything else from you, Mari.”
“I do trust you, you know that.”
“If you do trust me then you can tell me everything. You can get rid of all the mental baggage you're carrying around with yourself. You did it before. You told me about Loc Muinne, about Radovid and the torture he put you through. About how you felt when he got assassinated. How you thought that you failed. So why not share this secret with me as well?”
She just sighed and shook her head one last time. “I can't. I'm sorry.”
Iorveth sighed as well, took the bow out of her hand and picked up the quiver. “Alright. Then I'm just someone you need to take your mind off things.”
“No, you're not,” she protested.
“Or is this your way of thanking me for letting you stay with us? Do you think you have to do it?”
“Please stop.”
“I don't understand you. In the one second you cling on to me as if your life depends on it, you embrace me and everything I give to you but in the next second you push me away.”
“I’m sorry …”
“You dh'oine are all the same,” he said and turned around to walk away from her.
“Iorveth, don't. Stay.”
“I’ll go back to camp.”
“Iorveth!” She called after him, but he didn't stop walking away from her. When he was already at the other end of the clearing, about to disappear into the woods, a sudden wave of anxiety hit her. A wave of emotions. She didn't want to but she had to. The words bursted out of her, echoing across the clearing.
“It's Roche!”
Iorveth stood dead in his tracks. He slowly turned around and looked at her, her body language caught between release, despair and fear.
“Say that again?”
“Roche. Vernon Roche. It's him. He's the reason.”
Iorveth let the bow and quiver drop to the ground as his eyes were not leaving her. “Vernon Roche, former Commander of the Blue Stripes, my sworn nemesis who butchered hundreds of elves and who didn't feel sorry about it? Are we talking about the same person here?”
“Gods, I know I shouldn't have told you …”
“Do you have any idea what he did to me and my kind?”
“I do.”
“And you thought it's a good idea to fall in love with someone like him? That's …” Iorveth couldn't even find the words. “Oh, now it all makes sense. Why you were so devastated after he turned you down again, denying his help. You wanted him but instead you got me. In more than one way. I'm your ally and I got you sweating into the sheets. I fucked you.” And then he grimaced, realising. “I've been where he …”
“See that's exactly why I didn't want to tell you,” Mari almost yelled. “I knew you wouldn't understand, I knew you'd be disgusted. Because I know about you two, I know everything. I … Gods!” She covered her face with her hands and stroked over it. She just ruined everything. She took a deep breath and looked at him again. She was trying to maintain her composure but she couldn't stop the tears coming to her eyes. “If you change your mind now, about everything, I understand. By the Gods, hate me if you want to. I don't know. Just … I don't know. Do whatever you feel like you need to do.”
“I don't know what that is. I have to think about it,” he said and picked up the bow and quiver again. He shouldered both of them and without looking at her once more, he turned around and left her behind. When he reached the camp again, he immediately retreated into his tent where he stayed for the next few hours. He didn't want to be disturbed, he needed to think.
When the sun had already disappeared from the sky and the moon and stars were shining bright, Iorveth came out of his tent again. He strolled around camp, looking for Mari, but she was nowhere to be found. So he approached Gator, sitting at one of the bonfires.
“Do you know where Mari is?” He straightly asked him.
“No,” Gator answered, looking up to Iorveth. “I thought she was with you?”
“No, she's not. And she's not around here as well.”
“Then I guess she's still somewhere in the woods.”
Iorveth looked over to the dark forest and all of a sudden he did feel sorry for leaving her behind like this. “It’s dangerous out there. What if something happened to her?”
“She can handle herself, trust me. She's not a damsel in distress.” Gator watched Iorveth. “Everything alright?”
“We just … nothing. A little disagreement I guess.”
“You two seemed to get along well so what did you disagree on?”
Iorveth returned Gator’s look and tested the waters. “Do you know why she's so reserved?”
“That's just how she is.”
“That's not what I meant and you know it.”
Gator took his time to answer. After all, he had no idea how much Iorveth really knew. “I just know that she was deeply hurt by someone.”
“Do you know by whom?”
Gator shook his head. “No. She never told me.”
“Why?”
Gator sighed. “I don't know. I guess she is scared of telling me.”
“Rightfully so.” Iorveth huffed.
“So you know?”
“Yes. I guess I got on her nerves long enough. And I wish I didn't. I mean … she was with one of the North’s most cruelsome men. He butchered hundreds of people.”
“That's none of our business, Iorveth.”
“She wants us to fight by her side. If you love such a monster like she does, it does say something about you. Doesn't it? And do we really want to work with someone like that?”
“And what would that be? What does it say about her?” Gator asked. “You got to know her, does it fit your expectations? Is she a bad person? She didn't kill all those people, did she? And besides, we're not innocent either. Mostly you. How many humans did you kill over the years? In some people's eyes, you're a monster as well. And yet, she crawled into your bed. Or is that something different?”
“You know,” Iorveth muttered, “I should rather have this conversation with her.”
“You know, I think so too.”
Iorveth turned away and made his way into the woods again. First, he headed to the clearing again but of course she wasn't there anymore. He used the moonlight to keep her tracks and they finally led him to the riverbed near the small waterfall where they used to take their baths. Mari was sitting on the grass, her back turned towards him and her eyes followed the flowing water. Without even trying to be quiet, he walked over to her and sat down next to her.
“If I were an enemy, you’d be dead now,” he said, repeating her sentence from earlier.
She turned her head to look at him but her eyes quickly turned back to the river, not saying a word in response. The moon was full and shining bright and its reflection on the water looked beautiful.
After a while, Iorveth raised his voice again. “I don't hate you.”
“I'd understand,” Mari said and shrugged her shoulders.
“I don't.”
“But you must think of me as an awful person.”
“Why, because you lost your heart to the wrong man?”
“Because I came to you after I lost it to the wrong man. And not just that. Your worst nemesis. And then I show up at your camp and ask for your help and we … You probably think I had ulterior motives. Trying to get him jealous or something like that. That I used you.”
“I would probably think that if you had thrown yourself at me, or told everyone what's going on, but you didn't. So I don't think that, no.”
Mari didn't respond anything and they were silent for a while. Iorveth looked over to her and he became aware of her sad facial expression.
“Hey, I told you every man would be an idiot for hurting such a gorgeous woman like you. Roche is no different. Turns out he's even more stupid than I thought. He found a beautiful woman who could take his shit and he ruined it.”
Mari didn't say anything, so Iorveth continued. “Why did he … I mean what happened?”
“If I tell you, you'd hate me even more.”
“Told you I don't hate you.”
She sighed. “I told you about Radovid’s assassination. Roche was a part of it as well and while he wanted to see him dead, I tried to save him. Afterwards, Roche was furious that I sided with my torturer and murderer of non-humans instead of supporting him. He felt betrayed. Rightfully so, I guess. Defending the most barbaric northern leader we ever had.”
“Then why did you do it?”
“I knew that Radovid was the only one left who could have stopped Emhyr. I thought about the war and how to end it. I didn't think further. I didn't think it through, what it could mean for the North. For the non-humans and sorceresses.”
“Or yourself.”
“At that point I guess I didn't care.”
Iorveth nodded. And he chose his next words wisely. “Did you … I mean, considering what he did and what you two were … Did you ever advise him to do anything of what he did?”
“No,” she answered quietly and looked at Iorveth. “I never encouraged him to kill non-humans.”
“But you also didn't try to discourage him?”
“I …” Mari started slowly and tried to remember. “Honestly, I don't think I did. I told King Vizimir once but not Vernon. I just told him that I don’t want him to fight you because I was scared for him. And years later I told him that you're not so different than him.”
Iorveth nodded and took a deep breath. “You know, I really wondered what it says about you that, of all the people in the world, you fell for a bastard like Roche. I thought it would make you a horrible person as well but that's not true. You're not responsible for his actions. He is. And we can't choose with whom we're falling in love.”
“No. We can't. And I'm sorry that I can't fall in love with you. I know you'd be good for me.”
“Don't be sorry for that. Rather for falling in love with Roche.”
“When I met him and fell in love with him, he wasn't the man he is today. He was different.”
He eyed her and stroked back a loose strand of her hair. “I think if he knew what had happened between us, he'd be enraged. And just knowing that was worth it. Knowing that I righted some wrongs he did.”
“That's an elegant way of putting it,” Mari said with a light smile on her lips. They looked at each other for a few seconds and then Mari slowly stood up. “We should head back.”
She wanted to leave already but Iorveth softly took her hand and stopped her from leaving. “Not yet. Come on, sit back down.”
Slowly, she sat down again, Iorveth not letting go of her hand while she did so.
“I don't hate you,” he repeated, “and I'm certainly not disgusted by you.”
“We don't have to talk about it anymore.”
“I understand why you think I might be.”
“Iorveth, please. Forget I said that.”
“I can't. I can't stand the thought that you think I hate you or that I don't like you. And I can't stand the thought that he hurt you like this. And if I could, I would shove it into his face how good I made you feel.”
“I bet you would,” she said and couldn't hide the hint of a smile. “And he'd deserve it. But that's not why I did it. I hope you know that.”
“I know,” he said and stroked over her cheek with his free hand. “You didn't want to engage in any of this in the first place.”
“Now you know why.” She looked up to him again. “Are you sure we shouldn't leave?”
“I am.”
Mari nodded, then she slowly leaned over to him and kissed him. Shortly, because she didn't dare to go further. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For this,” she answered.
“Nothing to thank me for,” he said. “Roche may have hurt you and abandoned you but I won't do the same to you. You're the first person in a very long time who treats me right, who doesn't judge. And I'm no saint either.”
“Looks like I have a soft spot for criminal outlaws.”
Iorveth softly smiled at her. Then, he closed the gap between them again. But unlike hers, his kiss wasn't short. His hand moved from her cheek to her neck, deepening their kiss. He slowly shifted his body, leaving her with no option but to be gently pushed onto her back in the grass, their kiss never broken. He leaned over her, his body moving on top of hers, his lips relentlessly caressing hers. Mari dug her fingers into his armour and had to break their kiss to look up at him.
“Are you sure?” She whispered against his lips and he answered her by pressing his lips onto hers again.
Moments later, the moon was shining onto their bare skin. Iorveth's body against hers, his arms resting next to her face and his hands were gently stroking through her hair and over her scalp. Their faces were close, occasionally sharing a small kiss when no gasp or hot breath was leaving their mouths. Mari's arms were wrapped around him, running over his skin and feeling his muscles moving with every move his body made. The moves were slow, they were sensual. Intimate. Slow, deep, gentle. No rush.
“This feels good,” she breathed against his lips.
“Yes?”
“Yes.”
Iorvet’s fingers brushed through her hair and he gave her a soft kiss. "Elaine minne,” he whispered and kissed her again. “My beautiful.”
Mari eyed his face bathed in the moonlight, highlighting his facial features, making him look even more handsome. She cupped his cheeks and kissed him gently.
“You're the beautiful one,” she whispered.
Iorveth buried his face in her neck and Mari put her arms around him. She looked up into the clear starry night sky where the moon was shining bright. Her breath got caught in her throat as every inch of her skin connected to his and his touch felt alive. She didn't know what it was that made her feel like this. She just knew that she enjoyed it. She shouldn't enjoy it, shouldn't enjoy him and his touch, but she did. The soft moan finding its way out of her throat was downright sinful and Iorveth wanted to hear it again and again. He kept his pace, his movements, everything that elicited those sounds of pleasure from her.
Soon, her response to him was nothing but a lustful mumbling of his name and praising the Gods. And it didn't leave him cold, quite the opposite. His breath heavy on hers, he was drinking in her reaction to him and his doing. He slowly lost his self control and pursued nothing more than both their climaxes. His relentless, deep body movements and the hot breathing of his name from her lips winded each other up until the sweet relief rushed over their entangled, sweaty bodies.
They stayed like this, holding their bodies close. Hands were softly stroking over heated skin. Intertwined legs were caressing each other.
“That was simply wonderful,” Mari whispered and arched her body into Iorveth's touch.
“It was,” he agreed. “I haven't loved anyone like this for so long.” He peppered her face with soft kisses. “I love the way you say my name being caught in nothing but pleasure. Like a calling to the Gods.”
“You loved me like a God.”
Iorveth laid down on his side and pulled her with him, but Mari slowly escaped his arms and stood up. His eyes followed her as she walked to the riverbed.
“What are you doing?” He asked.
“I need a bath,” she said and stepped into the water. She dived into it and when she came back to the surface, she turned around and looked at him. “Won’t you join me?”
Iorveth grinned quietly to himself. Then he stood up and followed her into the water. Her wet skin was glistening in the moonlight. She put her arms around his neck and he put his arms around her. As he walked into the deeper water where Mari couldn't stand anymore, he lifted her from the ground and she locked her feet around his waist. He strolled around with her like this through the water, exchanging small kisses. They spent their time in the water under the bright moonlight, their bodies close, enjoying each other's company.
“As much as I’d like to stay here with you like this,” Iorveth whispered against her lips, “we should go back to the camp.”
“I know,” Mari sighed. She gave him another kiss, then she freed herself from him and swam back to the shore. She got out of the water and walked back to their clothes, ready to pick up hers. But instead, she grabbed Iorveth's vest and eyed the patches he took as a reward for killing the Commanders of the northern realms. Only one was missing.
“I never got that bloody bastard.” Iorveth suddenly stood behind her and moved closer to her. “I don't know how he did it but he always slipped through my fingers.”
“I know,” Mari answered shortly. She was glad that Iorveth didn't succeed.
“And now you want me to work with him.”
“I told you that you don't have to work with him. You work with me, you don't even have to see him. I promised you and I will keep that promise.”
“Then let's keep it that way. I'm not really thrilled to meet him again. I don't even understand why you want to work with him after everything.”
“Because he is important to my plan. He controls Vizima.”
“No, the Emperor controls Vizima.”
“But he's the Commander of the army. And Roche knows the city, its people. He has valuable information.”
“Mari, he cannot be trusted. He's a selfish whoreson who-”
“Would you please stop calling him that?”
Iorveth sighed. “He betrayed you in Loc Muinne. He sold out the rest of the North to Nilfgaard so Temeria could be safe. He'd sacrifice everything and anyone. He'd do anything to achieve his goals.”
“I know he made some wrong choices.”
“Some?”
“Iorveth, we were not in his shoes. We don't know what we would have done.”
He sighed again and kissed her shoulder, letting his lips rest there. “He ruined you for the rest of us.”
“He did what he was told. Whatever his king's orders were, he followed. Foltest was everything to him.”
“If I were him and had you, you'd be everything to me.”
“I didn't save him from dying in the streets. I didn't give him a purpose in his life. I was just …”
“What?” Iorveth probed her for details.
“I don't know,” Mari said and eyed Iorveth's vest again. “In my lowest moments, I believe Radovid's words that I was nothing but a useful source to him. I know that I wasn't as precious as Temeria or Foltest but I also know that I didn't mean nothing to him.”
Iorveth laid his arms around her. “It's hard to imagine Vernon Roche actually being capable of having feelings.”
“You mean feelings that are not hate and anger.”
“True.”
“But he was,” Mari said and looked at Iorveth. “I know he loved me, we were just not meant to be.”
“That's what you tell yourself only to find an excuse and make it more bearable.”
“Probably,” she said and shook her head, “I'm sorry, you probably don't want to talk about him.”
“We're talking about you, aren't we?”
She eyed him and sighed quietly. “If only I had met you sooner.”
“Then what?”
She cupped his cheek and stroked over it with her thumb. His soft, hairless skin felt so different from Vernon's which was stubbly and tanned.
“Then maybe I would have travelled through the North with you. Fighting by your side. Hiding in the forest. Warming your bed. Maybe I'd call you my love then.”
“You still can.”
“I’m sorry, Iorveth, but I can't. I couldn't love you the way I loved him,” she said quietly.
“Then love me differently.”
“I do that already.”
He gave her another kiss. “Then let's just enjoy what we have.”
“Iorveth, I-”
“No,” he interrupted her and took her hand into his. “You don't have to say anything. Or explain anything. And don't worry about taking advantage of me or the situation. No matter where this goes, we are friends. And we'll stay friends.”
“You're too good for me.”
“Easy to say when your only comparison is Roche.”
She faintly smiled at him and her fingers stroked over his. “We really should head back before they'll send out a search party.”
“You're probably right,” he said and kissed her forehead. Then he walked past her, took his clothes and slowly got dressed.
Mari couldn't help it but watch him as he did so. She eyed his back, the moon-kissed skin. The moving muscles as he pulled up his pants, covering his butt again. As he put on the rest of his tunic. She admired his body. Every time anew. Iorveth looked at her over his shoulder and smirked.
“Don't you want to get dressed, too?”
“I was just enjoying the view,” she said, grabbed her clothes and got dressed again as well.
“Did you like what you saw?”
“You should have figured that out by now.”
Fully dressed again, they made their way back to camp. It wasn't easy to navigate through the forest in the dark but it was no challenge for Iorveth. After a while, they could already see the small fires and torches providing light. When they entered the camp, some looked over to them but no one seemed to actually care. Everyone was minding their own business. Iorveth and Mari sat down at one of the bonfires and while Iorveth was eating some of the meat which was roasted over the fire, Mari was drying her wet hair in the warmth of the flames. They had been sitting at the fire for just a few minutes when Gator approached them.
“So you found her,” he said to Iorveth and didn't wait for his response before he continued. He looked at Mari. “Can I talk to you?”
“Sure. What is it?”
“One of our scouts reported that Roche was spotted at our old camp. And it wasn't the first time. Apparently, he has been doing this for days now.”
“Really?” Mari frowned. “What exactly is he doing there?”
“Nothing. He just goes there, stays for a couple of hours and then leaves again.”
“And that's it?”
“That's it. Just him. No Nilfgaardians. He comes all alone, just by himself.” He looked at Mari and hesitated. “Maybe you should go and talk to him.”
Mari sighed. “No. Not yet. We should observe our old camp for the next few days and see whether he's coming back. And what he's doing. Then we'll see what we do about it.”
“Alright, I'll let the scouts know.” Gator nodded. “Well, I just wanted you to know. Enjoy the rest of the night.”
He walked away again and Iorveth waited a few seconds before he talked to her. “What do you think of it?”
“I don't know,” she answered. Then she turned her head and looked at him. “What do you think?”
“Me?” Iorveth shoved a piece of meat into his mouth. “That someone seems to regret his choice. He's obviously looking for you. But I also think that you should be careful. It's Roche after all.”
“Roche is not the type of guy for tricks. If he wants to stab you, he'll do it in the front. Not in the back.”
“You have to differ between the Roche you used to know and the Roche he is now.”
“You're probably right,” Mari said. “I still have this romanticised idea about him.”
“And that's why you should be careful. You could make a wrong decision with devastating impact.”
“If it happens, then I deserved it.”
“You can't afford it, Mari. None of us can.”
“I'll be careful, I promise.” She looked at him. “I'll go to bed. Goodnight, Iorveth. And thank you again.”
“You're welcome. Goodnight, Elaine. Sleep well.”
She smiled at him and stood up. “It sounds beautiful when you talk hen linge.”
“N’te va aen te a’baeth me.”
Don't go until you kissed me.
Mari bent down to kiss his cheek. She laughed quietly when she looked into his surprised face. “You know, I do understand a little bit because mages learn it during their studies of magic.”
“Good to know.”
“Dearme, Iorveth.”
“Dearme.”
She gave him a last smile, then she turned away and made her way to her tent.