Chapter 42: Piracy

The pirate looked a little like a cross between the original game version and the sequel, and I could see that with different clothes and hair she could go either way. One thing that was the same between both was the amount of skin on display. As I moved around the room, I could see Isabela wore a white shirt, unbuttoned down almost to her navel, and I was curious about what sort of undergarment made her cleavage strain like that yet not allow a boob to pop out. She wore a skirt that was really a glorified belt, boots that came just above her knees, and nothing else.

As she talked to my companions, she casually leaned into Alistair's side, and I figured from the movement of her arms that she'd just put a hand on his thigh. His expression was a mix of discomfort and embarrassment, his face was beet red, and he leaned away as far as he could without falling off the bench. I was seeing red; not angry with Alistair, who was clearly completely out of his element, but still jealous as hell. I slipped behind him, and my movement caught Aedan's eye. He smirked at me, and I realised the rest of my companions were watching with equally obvious amusement at my poor Chantry virgin's plight. My glare at Aedan netted me only an unrepentant shrug. I'll get you later, brother. My vision hazed a little more scarlet as I understood that any of them could have rescued him.

I walked up behind Alistair, coming around to the side of the bench he sat on. I put one hand on his shoulder, swivelled to put my knee on the bench at his side, and before he could even react, swung my other leg over to straddle his lap. I barely even heard the amused chuckles of everyone else at the table as I plastered myself to Alistair, my lips crashing down on his in a passionate kiss. After a brief hesitation, his arms surrounded me, one hand tangling in my hair and the other holding me close at the waist. Either his surprise was short-lived, or his relief at being saved from Isabela's attentions was just that intense, because his response was enthusiastic. His tongue probed at my lips insistently, and I moaned as I opened my mouth and let him in.

The chuckles from behind me morphed into catcalls and cheers, and I reluctantly pulled away, instead cuddling my cheek in to Alistair's shoulder, facing the Rivaini pirate. She appraised me with one eyebrow raised, and her gaze raked over my body.

"Hey Isabela?" I spoke loudly enough for the entire table to hear, even over the music. "Get your own. This one's spoken for, and I don't like to share."

Isabela smirked. "Oh, I apologise, sweet thing. Had I known he was with someone..."

"You did. And you didn't care. And you'd be just as happy to bed the both of us. I know. It's okay, I forgive you. I don't even blame you – he's gorgeous, isn't he? Just keep your hands to yourself, and maybe we can be friends."

She laughed. "Fair enough. Though, just out of curiosity ... is he as good as he looks?"

I grinned. "Better. Much, much better." I licked my lips lasciviously, feeling smug as pure jealousy flashed across her face. I felt Alistair startle under me, and squeezed his arm reassuringly. I lowered my voice. "You might want to try Zev and my brother, Aedan. They're a little more ... adventurous than we are." I nodded across the table towards the two men, who were absorbed in a quiet conversation now that their entertainment was over.

Isabela's eyes lit up, and she straightened her hair before oozing off the bench and heading around the table. I giggled and buried my face in Alistair's shoulder, just enjoying him holding me. He bent his neck, his mouth practically on my ear, his breath stirring my hair, and a lick of heat curled through my insides.

"You're really going to aim that at Aedan? That wasn't very nice."

I tilted my head back and chuckled again. "Neither was them leaving you to deal with a horny pirate. We owe him one."

"We?"

"You don't think he left you floundering with that woman solely to watch you squirm, do you? He wanted to laugh at me. He succeeded. Now he's going to pay."

Alistair chuckled in my ear. "Well that should be ... interesting. To say the least. Uh ... Sierra?"

"Yes, love?"

"Why did you tell her that, uh, I am ... um... ?"

I could practically feel the blush on his face. "Good? Can't blame a girl for wanting to flaunt what she's got. Isabela's practically green with envy. I couldn't help myself." I giggled, and felt him relax slightly.

His hand was still in my hair, and he took advantage to tilt my head a bit and press a kiss to my ear. I cocked my head further, encouraging him, then sucked in a breath when he took the hint and captured my earlobe between his lips. I clenched my fists, reflexively, and wiggled slightly in his lap, only to encounter a firm lump that I was bumping up against. He gasped at the same time that I groaned, suddenly insanely turned on. I was contemplating teasing him further when we were interrupted by a hand on each of our shoulders.

I looked up to find Leliana smiling at both of us, eyes twinkling. "You are very cute, really, but I have to suggest you think about finding another venue for this sort of activity. Otherwise every man in this room is going to assume you are-" she cleared her throat awkwardly before continuing, "-available. If you know what I mean."

I blushed scarlet; I'd not even considered what our behaviour would look like in the common room of a brothel. Alistair's face was equally red, and we both hurried to rearrange ourselves. I slid out of his lap and sat in the spot Isabela had vacated; he crossed his legs in an effort to hide the bulge. Leliana sat on the other side of me, and I realised that somehow Isabela had managed to push Leli off of the bench opposite us and insinuate herself between Aedan and Zevran. Zev was smirking as he watched her playing cards with a boggled Aedan. I laughed, and heard Alistair chuckle beside me.

A waitress came over carrying multiple plates; mine had roasted potatoes and some sort of fowl, I assumed pheasant, as well as some limp looking green vegetable that vaguely resembled broccoli. Alistair told me the other options on the menu would 'not have been to my liking', and I took it to mean they were serving rabbit or something else cute and furry. I dug into the pheasant with gusto; it was amazing to have actual food, for once, instead of vague stew-like concoctions with whatever we could scavenge or find along the way. Alistair laughed and teased me about being worse than a new Grey Warden, but only around mouthfuls of his own pheasant.

She swung back with drinks a moment later; it turned out Zevran had ordered me a glass of some sort of wine. I didn't normally drink alcohol, but I didn't think I'd get water if I asked for it, and it was definitely better than ale. I took a cautious sip – it was actually a bit sweet, and not totally objectionable. Huh. Zevran can guess my taste in wine? I really do have a family. I raised my glass to him, and he flashed me one of his few genuine smiles.

Our dinner entertainment was watching Aedan try to fend off Isabela. For all that he'd been laughing at Alistair for the same thing, the poor boy had absolutely no idea how to manage the busty pirate. As for Isabela, she had clearly determined that they key to being invited into bed with the couple was to get Aedan to agree without realising just what he'd agreed to. Leliana, Alistair and I giggled through the entire meal, while Wynne shot disapproving looks in everyone's direction, and Zev just watched his lover with a bemused smirk.

It was sort of like the pirate was an octopus; every time Aedan removed one of her extremities from his person, another draped itself around him. And that's when she wasn't cheating at cards and betting for kisses. I just about died trying to keep from bursting out laughing.

After a while, Wynne excused herself and went back to her room, and the air of judgement hanging over everyone seemed to lift a little. I loved Wynne, I really did, as I might have loved a grandmother, but I didn't enjoy the feeling when she directed that holier-than-thou glare at me.

Over the course of the evening, the volume in the place rose, until I could no longer even hear Aedan verbally fencing with Isabela. The music got a bit louder, but mostly it was laughter and shouting from the ever-more-inebriated clients at the tables around us. I was trying to have a conversation with Leliana, who I thought was at me again about my shoes, but finally gave it up as a bad job. Alistair had his arm tightly around my waist, and his face was slightly pink as he looked around the room, inevitably catching the eye of one of the prostitutes or another who would wink in his direction.

Leliana wandered off after a bit to go closer to the musicians, and ended up on stage before long playing along on a spare lute someone had found. Alistair shouted in my ear that he was going to go get us more drinks, and motioned to Zevran to join him. I sat alone on the bench, just watching the people, fascinated. I tried not to stare at anyone for too long to avoid angering anyone or drawing attention. My gaze wandered over to the bar and Alistair periodically, and I saw him gesturing while speaking into Zevran's ear. The elf, nodding, reached into one of his myriad pockets, and handed something to Alistair. I was puzzled, but dismissed it until I saw Alistair tip his hand and drop something in his own mug of ale.