Chapter Text
Astarion’s eyes followed their de facto leader’s form as she reorganised their supplies. She walked around, counting each apple, each rope. Her braids swung as she moved, her brows furrowed in concentration. Completely unaware of the beast that watched her every move. A true ingenue. He rubbed his tongue against his fangs, his mouth suddenly dry. Even if it had been days already, he could still feel her, taste her. If he closed his eyes, Astarion could picture her writhing underneath him, gasping quietly, for his ears only. His first. Well, first feed that wasn’t a rat or other vermin, that is. Who knew that after nearly two centuries, Astarion would be able to have new experiences? He hadn’t thought it possible while being Cazador’s puppet, but that little tadpole inside his brain had granted him a certain autonomy, so to speak, he did not want to give up. And to keep basking in this newfound freedom, it had become very apparent to him that he needed Nia.
She baffled him, particularly on the night she had oh so graciously given him her blood. Alright, she did so after he had persuaded her, of course, but the point still stands that Nia had not attempted to kill him or hurt him in any capacity after finding out his little secret. He didn’t believe any of the others would have reacted in the same way, even after sweet-talking them. And true, Astarion was an expert manipulator, and yet he knew his words hadn’t, ultimately, convinced her. After being startled, she could have tried to kill him with the dagger he knew she always carried; or at least attempted to break his nose or knee him. Instead, she had very patiently waited for his explanation before offering him her blood. He wasn’t sure yet if it was his charisma or something else that had made her relent. An ugly part of himself wondered if he had looked so pathetic and hungry that night, that Nia had pitied him. Astarion consoled himself with the fact that it seemed she was just like that. She had acted similarly during their first meeting, as he roughly held her, dagger close to her neck, forcing her to give him the answers he craved. Astarion had thought her naïve back then, and indeed, he often thought she was too caring and selfless for her own good. Always wanting to help others. Never asking for gold in return for her help. Amassing a party filled with the most peculiar of individuals, all of whom could very easily kill her.
As much as he silently judged her ─and, believe him, he had bitten his tongue on countless occasions during her many acts of selflessness─ it had almost touched him how sweet Nia had been about the whole ordeal. She had even defended him, of all people, from the group’s accusations. Convinced them to accept him into the group once more, dissuading them of their justified worries. His life was safe once more, but the situation had made Astarion aware of one simple fact: Nia was the only thing standing between him and a stake. If he wanted to keep living, and potentially even defeat his evil master, he needed her. He needed to gain her trust.
In other times, he would’ve thought Brunhilde, their second in command, was better suited as a protector. She was a half-orc with remarkable strength and the skills to intimidate most anyone. However, for some reason, she hadn’t wanted to take charge right after their ragtag team had been formed. Astarion had since discovered she wasn’t the brightest of the bunch and preferred to keep to herself. She’d also growled at him when he had attempted to flirt with her. Nia, on the other hand, had laughed and flirted back, lips curling in a knowing smile. It had excited him then, made him feel at ease in this strange new situation he was in. He’d noticed that Nia had a way with people, which is why despite her lack of physical prowess, she’d been chosen as their leader. It also helped she was rather easy on the eyes. Now, although Astarion wasn’t one to discriminate against, he could admit that, objectively speaking, Nia was the most beautiful out of his companions. She had that elven beauty that could only be described as otherworldly. Astarion imagined he had it as well. Tough to know when one couldn’t look at himself in the mirror, but he’d been described as beautiful before. Divine even. She was too. It did stir something in him, loath he was to accept it. Nonetheless, this attraction made his most basic instincts kick in after having tasted her blood. Of doing what he knew how to do best. This time for himself and not for others. How to go about it, though?
One of the first lessons Cazador had ingrained in him was knowing his targets. Before luring his targets, Astarion would learn all pertinent information about his victims and use it against them. It only took him some minutes of observation to assess the situation until he got what he wanted from them. This situation he was in wasn’t any different. If he wanted to manipulate Nia into helping him, he needed to find out everything about her. What she liked. What made her tick. Perhaps, what made her moan even. The problem was that, although she was good at making others talk, she wasn’t the best sharer. What did Astarion know about her? Her name was Nia, of course. She was a high elf such as himself, which posed some difficulties. How old was she? Even he wouldn’t have been able to tell you. Elves were tricky like that. She could’ve been as young as eighteen or older than he was. Her naivete pointed to the former rather than the latter, but one could never know for sure. She was a wizard, but not a, well, Gale-like wizard. Less foolishly ambitious, not much of a talker, and a bit bookish, if all the books she gathered from their travels were anything to go by. She had told him she hailed from Baldur’s Gate, although Nia could’ve been lying, he didn’t think so. What else? Ah. He knew what her blood tasted like. Sweet. Floral. Supple. With a slight zest to it. Like the most delicious of wines. Hells, just thinking about it made Astarion hungry.
He shook his head. You need to focus. He made a mental list of all he knew about her.
- High Elf
- Wizard
- Baldurian
- Blood like wine
So, virtually nothing.
He pouted and half-heartedly glared at Nia, as she sat down and took out a book from her satchel to read. Oh, why did she have to be so mysterious? An insidious thought made its way into his head, telling him that she was secretive to him only. He hadn’t yet earned her trust, it would seem. Perhaps Brunhilde, Shadowheart or even Karlach knew more details about her, but it would be bloody impossible to get that information out of them. Firstly, because Brunhilde never talked to him. Secondly, Shadowheart had so many secrets herself, she no doubt would protect Nia’s from the likes of him. And thirdly, Karlach was more likely to make fun of him than to share anything useful.
No, if he wanted to know everything about Nia, he would need to go to the source herself.
He got up from his chair and walked towards her. He was so silent; Nia didn’t notice his approach. She was still engrossed with her book. Astarion peaked at it. It was a tome they had found today in some ruins. He made a note of it and then coughed to signal his arrival. Nia was startled. She jumped and then turned to look at him with her bright amethyst eyes.
“Astarion…” she whispered, a little breathless.
How endearing, he thought as she looked at her open mouth. Her pink lips had made a perfect o, and her chest heaved with each breath. “Hello, darling,” he greeted her, giving her a ─at least he hoped so─ friendly smile.
Nia composed herself and smiled back at him. “Did you need something?” She asked, her eyes glancing over his body.
Astarion smirked. Did she like what she saw? He hoped she did.
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
She pursed her lips and one of her hands briefly touched her neck.
Oh. So that’s why she was looking so intently at him. Disappointment wormed its way into his heart, but he shot it down. Focus, Astarion.
“Ah, no,” he quickly corrected, “I do not need to feed yet. Well, not from you at least. As delicious as that would be.” He winked at her.
“I imagine you can hardly wait,” she replied, mirth dancing in her eyes.
Astarion’s smirk returned.
“I suppose next time I’m in need of you, we could make an evening out of it. I could bring wine into your tent.”
“Yes, that’d be nice. I could bring supper.”
At that a true chuckle bubbled from his throat.
“A lovely thought, my dear. But one we can leave, perhaps, for another occasion, if you will.”
Nia snorted and closed her book, putting it aside. She, then, looked at him with mischievousness. “Then to what do I owe the pleasure of your most honourable visit, Magistrate Astarion?” She said, extending her arms in a mock bow.
Astarion laughed freely this time. It was so easy to flirt with Nia, and so fun too. Flirting for him was only a method of survival. A means to an end that most often than not involved sex. Other times it was meant to be a deflection. A way to conceal his thoughts and feelings. It kept others at bay, which had worked like a charm around their companions, who did not appreciate his witty remarks. Nia, however, was different. She seemed amused by his flirtations, even if they mildly exasperated her. They never deterred her from trying to get to know him, something Astarion had taken note of. It felt like she could read him. It was not ideal, but it was useful information. He could work with that. She’d even begun flirting first on occasion. He wasn’t sure if it was attraction which drove her to follow his lead or if she was merely diverted. Perhaps it was a misguided attempt to connect with him. Whatever it was, he could use it against her and in his favour.
“Well, you see, darling, you’ve been so very bad.”
Nia raised a blonde eyebrow at him. “Oh. How so?” Amusement still laced her voice, but he could see his words had bothered her.
Astarion sighed dramatically and plopped himself down next to her. “Here I am, always pouring my soul to you, and yet, I hardly know anything about you.”
Sometimes, banking on honesty was the best course of action, even when they were half-truths.
“Sure, you do,” she answered. “You know my name.”
He rolled his eyes in exasperation. “I’m trying to get you to sharing, and you mock me.” She giggled and he scoffed. Then, Astarion picked up the book she had been reading and pretended to examine it. “So far you know my darkest secret, the identity of my master, my age, even the circumstances of my death. And what do I know about you?”
Nia took the book from his hands. “You could use the tadpole to find what you want,” she said, her voice sounding like a dare.
“Oh, but where’s the fun in that? No, I’d rather grill you until you cave and reveal all your skeletons in the cupboard.”
He laid it thick, knowing it would work.
She sighed. But it didn’t sound like a bad kind of sigh. More like a resigned one. “What do you want to know?”
Astarion smirked. Like the expert hunter he was, he had captured his prey.
“Well, darling, everything there is to know about you!”
“Everything, huh?” Nia gnawed at her teeth as she thought, a habit of hers Astarion had noticed. “I suppose I can start at the beginning. I’m a wizard─”
“─obviously.” He interrupted her, gaining an exasperated huff.
“─consultant at the academy in Baldur’s Gate.” She finished. “I study different texts to gather knowledge and create new spells. I teach said spells to the academy students. Occasionally, I do some translating work from Elvish and other languages to the common tongue.”
“So, you’re telling me you’re a teacher and a scholar? How boring of you, darling.” Well, it was no wonder he had never seen her in town. He’d been right. They did not frequent the same circles at all and thank the gods for that. Nia was exactly the kind of sweet thing Cazador would like to possess and destroy. He shook those dark thoughts from his head. Instead, he batted his eyelashes playfully at her. “Although, I would’ve killed to have a hot teacher like you. I imagine most of your students can’t learn a thing when you talk. I certainly wouldn’t. I’d be too distracted to pay attention.”
She rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “As if you’d do any schoolwork anyway.”
“You know me so well, my dear.”
“It’s not just academics, though. There’ve been times I’ve had to practice what I learn in more practical ways. Here. Outside.” She gestured to the camp. “Putting my sword to good use.”
“Oh? So that’s why you haven’t struggled like I have in our current conditions.”
“I suppose. Although I’m not that used to roughing it out here either.”
Astarion kept this new information in mind. A bladesinging wizard with a lot of dedication to new spells and some practical experience, huh. She might just know something that could be useful to him in the long run. And she might be well-connected with other important mages. Might even be the teacher of the children of the powerful people in Baldur’s Gate. Nia was definitely not a bad ally to have.
“What else can I tell you?” She suddenly asked out loud, seemingly deep in thought.
It’d been so easy after all to get her talking. I should’ve done this earlier, he thought.
“What about your age?” This was one of the most important things Astarion wanted to know for selfish reasons.
She gasped in mocked offense. “A gentleman shouldn’t ask such questions of a lady.”
“Good news I’m not a gentleman all the time.”
“Guess,” she said. It was a dare, one he’d gladly take.
“You could be so much younger than Lae’zel, and at the same time, you could be older than me. Hard to tell,” Astarion said, gauging her reactions carefully.
“What does your gut tell you?”
His gut told him this was a trick question. “You don’t look a day past sixteen.”
She pretended to laugh, but Astarion could tell her cheeks had turned a lovely shade of pink. “Flattery will get you nowhere,” she said, and then she reached to flick his nose.
“On the contrary, it’s what gets me to most places,” he said, grabbing her hand and, with a flourish, kissing it.
Nia pulled her hand away, cheeks still flushed. Her innocence would let anyone believe she was, in fact, quite young. How easily she blushed didn’t help in the matter. However, the way she had laughed at his guess made him think she was much older than she looked.
“Whatever I guess, I’m going to assume I’m still older than you.”
“You’d be correct in that guess. I’m older than sixteen, but younger than you are.” So that left him with too many options still.
“Ah, how despicable of me to have drunk the blood of such a young maiden!” Astarion exclaimed. He then wondered if Nia was, indeed, a maiden. The thought ignited something in him.
“No wonder I tasted so good,” she jested. “You had a taste of my youth.”
It was his turn to laugh. “No, you’re not an adolescent if you’re a teacher and a scholar. But, who knows, you might just be a prodigy.”
Nia leaned down until her mouth was in his pointy ear, and lowering her voice, she said in a false sweet voice, “And you shall never know.”
Her breath tickled his ear in a delightful way. But he couldn’t afford to get distracted by her pretty eyes. He cleared his throat and continued with his interrogation. “Ah, since the lady won’t divulge her age, I will ask something else. What about your life? Do you have family waiting for you in Baldur’s Gate? Friends? Lovers?”
Nia’s social circle was valuable information to have. Did she come from a famous and powerful family? What about her friends? Were they all wizards? Such matters were of the upmost importance. If there was anyone at all waiting for her, they were probably actively looking for her. They could, potentially, even offer rewards for her whereabouts. They could help him out in exchange for getting Nia back, safe and sound. Then, there was another part of Astarion which was simply curious about it. Was she married? She did not appear to be attached, and if she was, he felt sorry for the poor sod, for here was their partner openly flirting with a vampire, joking or not aside. And if Nia had a partner and perhaps children too out there, why would Astarion care? An uncomfortable feeling bloomed inside of him at the thought.
“I have a mother,” Nia said, interrupting his train of thought. “I don’t speak to her.”
Her voice had a bite to it that he had only heard when she spoke to criminals and other villains that had come their way. Well, this is interesting. Who knew Nia had what could only be described as mother issues? That made for a rebellious daughter. And said rebellious daughters tended to be whisked away from their beds by rakes.
“Ah, that’s a shame. I would love to meet your mother. No doubt she’s as charming as you are.”
She laughed. “Oh, I’m sure she’d love you.”
He ignored her jab and pressed on. “And what about friends? Surely, with the way you have convinced these, erm, peculiar individuals to form a group and travel together, you must be drowning in social invitations.” Hopefully some of those friends were rich and all powerful.
Nia shyly put a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, her braids danced in the sudden gust of wind. “Believe it or not, I’m quite introverted.”
That was quite the surprise. “Really? You’re so noisy I would’ve thought otherwise.”
“I don’t appreciate your sarcasm, Astarion.”
“Well, darling, look at this camp,” he said, gesturing to their companions who were all minding their business inside their respective tents. “We barely tolerate each other, and yet, we’re all positively charmed by you. It takes skill to get us to open up. Though I had pinpointed you as being reserved, hence this conversation.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. I usually don’t enjoy being around others, unless it’s imperative for me to do so.”
“I guess our current situation makes it imperative for you to socialize.”
“Indeed. And I imagine it’s the opposite for you. You seem like the life of the party.”
Oh, if you only knew.
“But this isn’t about me,” Astarion said, turning the conversation back to what he was eager to know, “it’s about you. So, spill.”
She thought about it for a moment. “I guess some of my colleagues could count as friends. My only true friend doesn’t live in Baldur’s Gate. They prefer to stay hidden in their state a few hours away from the city.”
Nia had given him the most boring answer in the world.
“And?”
“And I suppose some of the people I’ve met in my previous travels could be considered friendly acquaintances, but no one I’m particularly close to.”
Oh, she was a loner indeed. There would be no reward waiting for him it seemed.
“How do you even spend your days?” Astarion blurted out, feeling exasperated.
His words made Nia chuckle. “With my head stuck in books. I haven’t had this much excitement since… well, I honestly don’t think I’ve ever had this much adventure.”
“Clearly.”
“It might be a boring life, but at least I wasn’t fighting for my life every single day. And I do miss my bed.”
So, in the end Nia had shared a big fat nothing and the things he knew about her were as inconsequential as the others he’d known before.
- High Elf
- Wizard
- Baldurian
- Blood like wine
- Works at the academy
- Hates her mother
- No friends
Why had he even bothered having this conversation if her life was this insipid, Astarion wondered. He knew Nia was cryptic on purpose. Despite her words, she didn’t trust him fully. Deep down he was glad she wasn’t that obtuse, otherwise he would’ve questioned their collective wisdom. Even so, it frustrated him to no end. There must have been something else about Nia. Something about her life, small details that would help him piece her together. Thankfully, not everything was lost, for there was an angle he hadn’t yet tried.
“With such a full life,” sarcasm dripped from his voice, “I imagine there are no lovers in the picture.”
At that, her calm expression changed. It was almost imperceptible. Certainly, someone like Gale wouldn’t have noticed it, but Astarion was an expert at reading people. Something shifted in her eyes. Her heartbeat changed.
“I wouldn’t say that.” Her reply appeared to be innocuous while hiding something.
“Ah, so there is a lover moving heaven and earth to find you somewhere in Baldur’s Gate,” he said, gesturing dramatically.
Her eyes were downcast at his words, as if they’d hurt her somehow. “I wouldn’t say that either.” She coughed and played with her hands, all nervous habits of hers.
“Well, which is it, darling? Lover or no lover?”
A straight answer needed a straight question.
“I… there are no lovers… currently, but there have been. In the past. Just not now.” Nia stammered, tripping all over her words, as if having this conversation made her want to rip all her nails from her fingers. “Not for the past five years at least.”
“And here I thought you were still a maiden,” Astarion joked, easing the mood. He wasn’t going to let her realize he had ulterior motives.
“Wouldn’t you like to know that,” she haughtily replied.
Oh. But he did. Now he knew she wasn’t a maiden, among other interesting things, like the fact she’d been a celibate for half a decade. His mind started buzzing with this information. Old habits kicked in as he leant down towards her.
“Whatever the case, I’m still probably more experienced and could teach you a thing or two, if you’d like,” he said, his voice sultry, almost a whisper in her ear. He felt her shiver against his shoulder as he brushed against her.
Her cheeks flushed once more. “I doubt anyone here in camp is more experienced than you.” She steered the conversation out of dangerous territory into something light-hearted. Astarion pouted.
“Oh, they definitely aren’t, my dear. I doubt Gale could hold a candle to me.”
“Why do you keep bringing up Gale?” She asked so innocently he had to snort.
“No particular reason. I’m just saying that for bed related matters, I’m your man.”
His eyes bore into Nia’s on purpose, making the elf squirm.
“Well, if that kind of knowledge ever becomes a necessity, I’ll come to you right away.” Her voice was a tone higher, and her heart raced against her ribcage.
“Oh, I’m sure you will.” His voice dropped an octave as he once again whispered in her ear.
Nia just stared at him, dazed, as he smiled predatorily at her. He was delighted to see her become so affected by him.
“This conversation has been most enlightening, darling, but I’m afraid it’s time for me to go hunting,” he suddenly said, catching her off guard.
“Oh, yes of course. It was… ah… it was nice talking to you.”
“It was my pleasure, Nia.” He let her name roll off his tongue in a sultry thrall that made her breath catch in her throat.
With that, he left her, hot and bothered.
For the first time, his innuendos had worked like a charm on her.
Now he knew what he needed to do.
Despite everything, Nia was quite simple to get. For whatever reason, she kept her true desires hidden and placated. Whatever her story was, she craved intimacy but rejected it. Which was why she was so comfortable flirting back with him. She read it as a joke between the two of them. But the moment he pushed a bit further, she didn’t know what to do with it. Did she feel genuinely attracted to him? Hard to know. Even if she didn’t, it wouldn’t take long to seduce her. To show her exactly what she’d been missing. That would be his angle. Not unlike the rest of his victims. But it would be different this time. No, not for one night. For as many as it took. And, like an expert hunter, Astarion would take his time to snare her until she couldn’t escape him anymore.
Patience, he thought to himself, patience, and soon she’ll be wrapped around your little finger.
Let the games begin.