[Dragon Age] The Sacrifices We Make

2 - The Nightmares

"No! Don't hurt her!"

Lady Cassandra Trevelyan quickly opens her eyes when she hears the familiar screams that have woken her most nights that she has spent at her husband's side, always dragging her out of her sleep as if she is never fully switched off and is waiting for that sound. When she had first started sharing a bed with the Inquisitor, it had always left her confused as to where she was and what was happening, but now she woke just sad for her sweet Lord Trevelyan who was still after all this time tortured as he sleeps. Cassandra feels the mattress move beneath her and knows that her husband will be desperately trying to scramble away from something she can't see.

"Ashton.." She whispers as she glances at him and sees him awake, his eyes wide with fear and his back pressed against their headboard. "It's alright you're okay." Lady Trevelyan whispers again and notices his eyes find hers in the dark and he then wraps his arms around his knees and curls his body around them.

Cassandra quickly closes the gap between them and slides her arms around him, trying to engulf his large frame with her own the best she can. She feels his body shaking beneath her and hears the all too familiar sobs as she holds him, trying to draw him away from his nightmares and back to her. She takes a moment to glance towards the windows and that it is still dark, and must be very late into the night. She places her hands on him, trying to shake him from his nightmare and make him realise where he is.

"Your home," Cassandra whispers as she rests her cheek against him and strokes her hands against his bare skin. "Your safe." She sighs and closes her eyes for a moment, wishing she could take this all away from him, even if it was for just one night. "I"m here." Lady Trevelyan whispers as she lets her fingers stroke through his hair and down onto his neck.

"Cass." She hears him sob and his body shake again, making her realise how bad this one has been. "Your okay?" He cries making her own tears begin forming in her eyes. "I can't do this anymore." He croaks making her lift to wipe her own eyes when she hears his words and doesn't know if she can see him going through this for much longer either.

"I know.." She whispers with her own sniff as she takes hold of his hand in hers. "You are so brave, and I'm here with you." Cassandra sighs and watches him lift his head to look at her, her heart breaking for him all over again when she sees his eyes and how upset he looks. "We're both safe." She whispers and presses a soft kiss against his shoulder and tangles her fingers with his feeling him holding her hand tightly as if he is scared of letting go of her.

"Why is this still happening to me?" Lord Trevelyan sniffs so she holds him tighter, wishing she had any other answer for him than the mark that was slowly killing him. "What did I do to deserve this?" Her husband sighs. "Please don't leave." He whispers and she feels his eyes meet hers again.

"You don't deserve this." Lady Trevelyan whispers, knowing her words are true and she'd never met a man as wonderful as him before. "I'm not going anywhere." Cassandra sighs as she rests her head against his and continues to stroke his back. "We'll fix this, okay?" She whispers and sees him nod lightly when she places her hands on his cheeks and brushes away his tears like he has done so many times for her. "You will never be without me, Ashton." The Seeker adds as she feels him clinging to her tighter so she does the same, knowing it is the only thing she can do to comfort him.

She lets her hand slowly move over his back, trying to remember back to that brief time when Lord Trevelyan had been freed of his nightmares, and how unfair it was on her husband that it had been such a short amount of time. Now, as the mark spread they were back to nearly every night with him waking up screaming at her side when they took hold him and all she could do was offer him comforting words and her touch. She knew it was the mark, and she knew he wouldn't sleep properly again until it was gone. They didn't know what would come first, them finding a way to cure him, or the mark ending his life. She knew that the letters that she'd been dreading the most, the ones that summoned them to the Exalted Council where her sweet Inquisitor would be placed on trial for crimes that they'd decided he had committed, had added to tonight's nightmares, and she could understand why.