By The Sea, By The Sea [Complete]

[Nicolette O'Hara]

Celeste was smart. She had already drawn the conclusion that there must be more stairways because of the simple fact that nobody in their right mind would want to bring their chamberpots down those beautiful marble stairs in full sight of the entire congregation. The captain quickly located another set of steps, not guarded as closely, and she melted into the shadows with an ease that reminded Nicolette a great deal of Leliana. The memory of her friend eased the subtle press of unease at Nicolette’s back, and she imitated Celeste as best she could. Nobody appeared to notice, and they gained the stairway without anybody stopping them, taking advantage of a guard’s distraction by two laysisters.

Success! They were through. And then they climbed, and climbed, and Nicolette kept pace even though her lungs started to burn after a while. Dancing and walking every day of her life had kept her very fit, but the stairs were steep and she was not used to moving her legs in such a fashion for so long. When they reached the top, she dragged in a grateful draught of air, and almost choked on the smell that came with it.

Mercifully, the bats had already taken their leave for the evening, and it did not take long to claim their prize. In fact, everything had been quite easy to this point, and even though Nicolette was relieved that they had not ended up in trouble she was a little disappointed that it had not presented more of a challenge. Which was why when Celeste suggested sightseeing, the logical voice that usually steered Nicolette in these situations was completely overwhelmed by impulse, and she grinned as Celeste mentioned wanting to see a Grand Cleric’s bedroom.

“Well, I think it would be a waste of our time if we did not take the opportunity to see as much of the Chantry as we can, seeing as we went to such trouble to break in to begin with.” Well, not even that much trouble, which was part of the issue. Nicolette jumped down from the attic to the floor below, landing neatly, and waited for Celeste to follow before continuing their journey.

It took a few minutes, and they found it; but when they did, Nicolette was not sure if they had actually found the right place. With religious leaders, as with nobles, she imagined them sleeping in opulent beds with towering carved wooden columns that gleamed softly in candle or firelight, swathes of quilts and pillows, carved golden objects glinting around the walls. This bedroom was quite modest; the bed was small and simple, there was a desk, and a small shrine mounted in the wall on one side. In fact, just as a religious leader’s room should be, if they did not want to be counted as an almighty hypocrite.

The one concession to luxury was a set of double doors leading out to a balcony, and Nicolette went to investigate. When she pushed the doors open, she was greeted with a view over Kirkwall that was better than any she had seen before; with the very last vestiges of the sun still casting some light form beyond the sea, the silhouetted homes of the city were lighting up at the windows like so many fireflies. Around the edges of the balcony were flowers that had obviously been lovingly tended.

It was beautiful. It also made Nicolette want to take advantage of being here, and she looked over her shoulder at Celeste, smiling with a decidedly naughty tint to her gaze. “There is a view worthy of the Maker, here. Perhaps you should come and admire it.”

 

[Celeste Monroe]

This was … interesting. The Grand Cleric's bedroom looked exactly like one would expect a religious leader's bedroom should look … which wasn't what Celeste was expecting in the least, and she glanced thoughtfully around at the humble furnishings as Nicolette opened up the double doors and stepped out onto the balcony.

She was never going to be devout … or even religious, but she did make distinctions between hypocritical prigs and the truly faithful. Not that she wanted to have drinks with either – Leliana being one of the few exceptions in the latter case, but she did discard her half formed idea of stealing some little trinket as a souvenir of this visit. That she had been here at all would give the pious prigs conniptions if they knew about it, and that knowledge would be enough for her.

Although …

She crossed to the simple wooden armoire and slid open the top drawer. No secret stash of sexy lingerie, just a collection of plain granny panties and nightgowns, but – she fished through the pockets of her vest, inside and out. Were they still here?

Yes!

She triumphantly drew forth the red silk monogrammed undies that she had liberated from the abode of Lady Hawke's asshole of a business partner, then tucked them away beneath a couple of layers of pristine white. Assuming Elthina changed daily (and surely even the Maker's favor couldn't prevent the occasional skidmark) they would be discovered in due course. Most likely, they would cause no more than a minor stir, unless someone happened to recognize the flamboyant 'HB' stitched in black on the silk as belonging to one Hubert Bartiere: merchant, part mine owner and cheating prig. She'd have to tell Josc about it later; she and Lady Hawke could have a good laugh about it over drinks.

“There is a view worthy of the Maker, here,” Nicolette called to her softly, and Celeste peered out to find the minstrel looking back at her with an inviting gleam in her pretty eyes. “Perhaps you should come and admire it.”

Never one to refuse a good suggestion, Celeste closed the drawer and joined her companion on the balcony, her gaze sweeping indifferently past the city lights and rooftops to the sea in the distance and the western sky still touched by the last fire of the sunset. “That's where the real view is at,” she remarked, slipping her arms around Nicolette's waist and nodding seaward, feeling an uncharacteristic wave of melancholy at being trapped on land for so bloody long. Another month, at least. “But present company is definitely worth admiring.” She brushed a kiss along the curve of an ear; a bit of a frolic on the Grand Cleric's balcony might be the perfect finish to this adventure, and a welcome anodyne to wistful thoughts of sails billowing in the wind and a swaying deck beneath her feet.

Or perhaps not. That part of Celeste that rarely slept, even when she was asleep, was warning her even before her ears registered the sound of steel boots on stone in the corridor outside.

“Oops.” Stealing a quick kiss, she stepped to the doors and swung them closed, then caught Nicolette's hand and pulled her to one side, pinning her up against the stone wall to the left of the doors just as the door from the corridor opened in the room beyond. Keeping the rest of her body motionless, Celeste slid a hand into her pocket, fingering the silk rope and grapnel that she'd brought along, calculating how quickly she could bring it into play.

“Having fun?” she whispered with a grin, not really needing to ask. The gleam in the amber eyes echoed the keen anticipation that danced along her own nerves, delighting in the danger, energized by the risk. Another kiss, more lingering, tasting faintly of the wine they had drunk earlier. Not much else to do while they waited, after all.

Inside, the booted feet sounded, drawing closer, then away. A glow arose through the gauzy curtains as a lamp was lit within. The door inside opened and closed again, footsteps receding, then gone. The Grand Cleric must be alone now; would she retire or step out onto the balcony to enjoy the night and the flowers? If she did, they could likely be over the balustrade and away before she could call the templars back. Even so, Celeste's heart raced a bit, matched by Nicolette's as the seconds tumbled over each other before the light inside was extinguished.

“Ready to go?” she murmured, drawing a bit of the silk rope out so that Nicolette could see it and tipping her head toward the drop, her other hand brushing along the curve of a hip and a wicked gleam touching green eyes as she added, “Or did you want to see how far we can get before lightning strikes us?” Granted, seduction with a bag of bat shit on her back and one of the pillars of the Andrastean faith dozing off twenty feet away was more of a handicap than she usually operated under, but Celeste was always up for a challenge.

 

[Nicolette O'Hara]

Celeste was doing something towards the side of the room, but she quickly came out at Nicolette’s invitation, wrapping her arms around her waist. Nicolette leaned back into the other woman, enjoying her warmth. The other woman indicated the sea. “That’s where the real view is at.”

Of course, she had to miss it. It must hurt her not being able to simply set sail whenever she wished. Nicolette had rarely been constrained from travelling when she willed and on the few occasions she had, it had chafed within days. Hopefully Celeste would earn the money to repair her masts soon. But the captain was happy enough to be distracted from that within moments.“But present company is always worth admiring.”

Lips brushed beneath Nicolette’s ear, earning a pleasurable shiver. Oh, this was absolutely not something they should be doing on the Grand Cleric’s balcony, but the thrill that Nicolette experienced when she was doing something risky that did not actually threaten her life was already singing through her.

Before they could advance any further, the tread of boots caught their attention, and Celeste stole a kiss before shutting the door and then pinning Nicolette against the wall. The move was definitely to prevent them from being seen through the windows, but that little note of excitement grew louder with the pressure of the stone at her back and the other woman to her front. Her teeth caught her own lower lip, trying to silence the erratic breaths that escaped.

“Having fun?”

Celeste’s eyes glinted at her. Nicolette grinned wickedly back. “As though you need ask.”

Another kiss followed, deeper this time, tinted with wine and promise. It broke when the sound of footfalls came closer to the door, closer, closer…Nicolette held herself as still as she could, although – at the very moment it seemed as though the occupant was considering stepping out onto the balcony – she could not resist rolling her body very subtly against the other woman.

A game was better when both players were committed to it, no?

The footsteps receded. Light spilled onto the balcony. Nicolette could feel both her and Celeste’s heartbeats racing together, they were pressed so close. Her hands by now were resting on the captain’s hips, and both of them stayed perfectly still for a minute or two before the light finally went out.

“Ready to go?” Celeste, ever prepared, had brought a length of rope with her. Terror trilled through Nicolette for a moment at the thought of descending over the balcony as she remembered the circumstances under which she had done it last time, but this was different. No angry bards pursued her with murder on their minds this time. And even if the Grand Cleric did decide to step out and caught them, it would be a few moments before any guards showed up. They would have time. Celeste’s hand slinked around her hip, and the rope brushed against the back of Nicolette’s hand, surprisingly smooth. Silk. That set off some ideas that were worth expressing at some point. “Or did you want to see how far we can get before lightning strikes us?”

Nicolette knew that her common sense should be better developed after all this time, but how often did it get the chance to be overridden in such circumstances? She pulled the other woman closer to her, fingers winding in her hair, challenging her. “I think I am happy to risk being scorched.”

Sometimes she did not entirely think with her head. She pressed a needy kiss to Celeste, fingernails playing over the skin just beneath her shirt.

 

[Celeste Monroe]

Sex in a chantry was almost too easy to get away with, to the point of being cliché, and Celeste rarely bothered any more. Sex on top of Kirkwall's biggest chantry, on the balcony outside the Grand Cleric's personal quarters, while she was asleep inside? Well, that was a completely different challenge, and one for which Celeste had an apparently willing partner.

She did offer a choice, though – just in case. They had gotten away with more than enough already to leave her smug, and she wouldn't have objected if Nicolette had wanted to be away from here before moving on to the amorous part of the adventure.

The minstrel wanted no such thing, however. “I think I am happy to risk being scorched,” she breathed, fingers sliding into Celeste's hair, pulling her into a hungry kiss.

Celeste chuckled, the sound lost against the softness of the other woman's lips, not quite losing herself in the sweet fire of the kiss, part of her alert to any sign of activity in the room beyond them. The need for attention didn't reduce the experience in the slightest; quite to the contrary, the resulting tension had her blood singing and nerves poised on a razor's edge, and the feel of a hand slipping beneath her shirt, nails grazing the skin just above her hip, sent a pleasurable shiver along her spine.

She drew back with a teasing nip at the swell of a lower lip, disengaging just enough to lower the bag containing their prize to the marbled floor of the balcony (and glad beyond measure they'd used gloves in the gathering of said prize, because … eewww) before pressing back forward. One hand slid down and around, settling on the curve of her lover's ass and pulling, molding their bodies together as she nudged her thigh between Nicolette's legs. Skin on skin was going to have to wait until they were back on the Wicked Grace (though the thought of sliding down the rope buck naked was a tempting one … but rope burns, so no).

Not all skin on skin had to wait, mind you. “How are you at being quiet?” she teased, nuzzling along the slender neck, the tip of her tongue touching the racing pulse, while her free hand drifted upward, beneath the hem of the minstrel's blouse, fingers playing lightly across the skin of her belly.

 

[Nicolette O'Hara]

Ever since she had started developing an interest in sex, Nicolette had learned to be surreptitious about it. Travelling as part of a caravan with her mother and occasionally temporary adoptive fathers in tow, even teenage ardour could be dampened by the thought of discovery. Her earliest trysts had taken place while under the pretext of carrying out some chore or anything away from camp, but sound could carry a long way even in the woods and after the most mortifying conversation ever with Maman, she had developed her abilities at being stealthy in fashions that were probably not covered by many textbooks.

It had also had the effect that she tended to enjoy running the risk of being discovered, since it came free with every coupling anyway. In this situation, the sensation was trebled by the sheer risk they were taking, and even the faintest graze of Celeste’s fingertips over her belly made her knees weaken. Her leg slid between Celeste’s, and while the throaty moan she allowed at the feel of the other woman’s lips on her neck was muffled out of practice, there was no disguising how enthusiastic she was feeling about this.

“How are you at being quiet?”

Nicolette laughed softly. “Somewhat practiced, when I need to be.”

Her head tipped back to enjoy Celeste’s ministrations at her neck more, as her own hands started to explore and she rolled herself against the other woman’s leg, moving hers in turn.

She came close to making a louder noise than she would like a few times. Celeste was skilled, and teased her, something Nicolette reciprocated easily, but her head was filling up with need until the edge of fear beneath it was almost completely covered. At one point she had to kiss the other woman hard to silence herself.

Things were coming to a head, as it were, when her ears pricked up. Even lost in the other woman as she was, the sound of running footsteps got her attention, and then she heard the door inside the Grand Cleric’s room being knocked on. There was a mumbled conversation that sounded heated, then quick footsteps towards the door – their doorway. Nicolette made a quiet but extremely agitated noise. “It may be time for that rope.”

Not the context in which she had hoped to use that sentence.

 

[Celeste Monroe]

Leave it to the templars to wait until things were getting really fun to make an appearance. Celeste was in motion at the sound of the first footfall, scooping up the pack and tossing it over the side.

“It may be time for that rope,” Nicolette suggested, a bit breathlessly.

“Yup.” Celeste already had the grapnel secured low around the baluster closest to the wall, where the shadows were deepest, and the padded gloves out, tossing one pair to the minstrel and pulling on the second. “Go.”

She went over first; if Nicolette lost her grip, Celeste could probably manage to get them both down, though the descent would likely burn through the gloves. They both dropped below the level of the balcony just in time: above, the sound of the door swinging open, booted feet on marble and a woman's voice.

“Are you certain?”

“No, Your Eminence, but we should take no chances.”

Celeste remained motionless, breath held, feet braced against the wall, hands gripping the rope and a very nice view of Nicolette's derriere just above her. If they decided to check over the sides, it was going to get very interesting very quickly.

A long pause, then, “Well, unless they flew away, I think that your initiate was in error.”

“I am sorry, Your Eminence; I'll see that he -”

“No, do not punish him. He acted out of concern for my safety. I would like to meet with him tomorrow -” Voices and footsteps faded and the sound of the door being shut and latched. Celeste let her breath out and continued her descent at a more leisurely pace … until the rope ran out.

“Ah -” She glanced down over one shoulder. “We'll need to drop the last ten feet or so.” Releasing, she landed and rolled, coming up in a crouch. The spot they had come down was shrouded in shadow from the towering edifice above; she could barely make out the lump of the sack of bat shit laying next to the wall. She retrieved it as Nicolette dropped to the flagstones, then looked regretfully upward. Most of her share on this caper would be going to replacing the damn rope; silk was expensive. But the thought of them finding the grapnel secured to the baluster once daylight came was a more than adequate consolation. They'd think twice before assuming that the Grand Cleric's inner sanctum was so inviolate, and security would be strengthened. Never let it be said that Celeste Delia Cantwell Monroe wasn't a giver.

“Come on.” Pulling the minstrel in for a quick kiss, she led the way out, keeping to the shadows until they were well away from the chantry. “After we get this to Gaddrick, what say we head back to the ship and pick up where we left off?” The thrill of victory might not be quite as potent an aphrodisiac as the risk of getting caught, but it was close.

 

[Nicolette O'Hara]

Nicolette had fewer problems than she had imagined going over the balcony. It turned out that a great deal of fear could be displaced by the notion of being caught, breathless and rumpled, on the Grand Cleric’s balcony by a horde of angry templars. She shimmied over the side and grasped the rope tightly, freezing in place as voices sounded overhead. Apparently somebody had seen them, or at least seen somebody slipping into places where they should not. Supressing a snort, Nicolette clung on, her feet wound in the rope to give her arms a break. Celeste swung a little below her, and when Nicolette looked down she could tell by the other woman’s grin precisely where she had been looking. She grinned back, and they waited until it was quiet before continuing down.

“Ah. We’ll need to drop the last ten feet or so.”

That was considerably less amusing. Nicolette heard the bag hit the floor with a wet-sounding splat, and then Celeste jumped down and barely made a noise on contact. Nicolette made the mistake of looking down and let out a stream of whispered curses, before closing her eyes.

Three…two…one…go!

Thankfully, her fingers released when she demanded it, and she landed in a considerably less elegant version of the roll Celeste had used, staggering a little back to upright. But she had not broken her ankle (although her bones felt a little rattled), and the nerves that had shaken her were immediately dissipated by the kiss Celeste pressed to her mouth.

“Come on. After we get this to Gaddrick, what say we head back to the ship and pick up where we left off?”

Nicolette smiled, eyes glinting at Celeste in the dark. The interruption had only sharpened her need for the other woman. “Yes. Although if we were to stop in a dark street or two that does not have a robber hiding down it between the shop and your ship, I would not object in the slightest.”

With that, she set off in the direction of the dwarf’s shop once more, moving perhaps a little faster than was seemly. This had been a memorable evening already, and it only promised to improve.