They had finally made it to the first cave, with one hour left until the sun would rise.
Astarion went inside first, and the rest waited for him to deem it safe enough to enter, Aelia was itching to light a fire to finally scare away the darkness.
The vampire called them inside the cave, and Aelia paced inside, immediately lighting a fire with some leftover logs; someone else must have camped here.
Firelight filled the cave and Aelia felt relaxed for the first time in hours, but proud that she had walked in the darkness without freaking out.
"We should stay wary of enemies; anything could attack us." Shadowheart muttered, setting up her bed roll by the fire.
"You all can rest, I'll keep watch." Astarion replied, and Gale tutted.
"Before we rest, we need to eat. I'm starving." He said, getting out ingredients from one of their packs, it looked like he would be making some kind of stew.
"I can help, if you want?" Aelia offered, leaning down next to Gale, and he smiled down at her and nodded.
"You know, no one else offers to help, they should learn some manners." Gale laughed, and Aelia let out a low laugh.
As they prepared the food, Aelia noticed something in the corner of her eye. Astarion was watching her, his eyes narrowed as he watched Gale rant on to her about the Weave. Aelia quickly looked away from Astarion.
Once it was finished, Aelia left Gale to serve it up as she sorted out her bed roll, and she sat down on it, staring at the light.
Until she saw a bowl of stew in front of her face.
She blinked up to see Astarion holding out the bowl, and she didn't know what to do. She looked between his hand and his face, one full of confusion.
"When one is offered a bowl of food, one usually takes it." He teased and shook the bowl slightly. Aelia reached out her hand and took it from him, clearly hesitant.
She waited for a few moments before saying, "Thank you."
Astarion tilted his head and looked at her for a few seconds before walking away. Aelia looked down at the stew and swallowed.
She then lifted the spoon and ate slowly; the flavor was rich. She ate until the bowl was empty, and she put it down. She then lifted her head to see Astarion watching her again, his eyes studying her.
She didn't understand why he kept doing it, until he caught her eye and he looked away quickly.
She ignored it and stood up and offered to wash up everyone's bowls. She noticed a creek just outside the cave, and headed out there, the sun slowly rising.
Now the world was no longer cloaked in darkness, she felt at ease as she washed the bowls, listening to the sounds of nature and the running of the creek.
The bush rustled opposite her, and she stilled.
Standing up slowly, she unlatched the dagger from her thigh and held it up. Her eyes narrowed trying to spy what was in front of her.
Aelia decided that it was better to head back to the cave and alert the others of another presence, but before she turned back, she felt a sharp pain in her thigh, and she cried out.
She looked down and saw an arrow protruding from her thigh, the blood spreading quickly. Feeling an arm go around her, she noticed Shadowheart was helping her back into the cave, where Astarion was waiting.
Gale had already gone out there, and when Shadowheart moved her over to Astarion, she ran back outside. As the sun was out, Astarion couldn't go fight.
"I'm fine, I've suffered worse wounds, just help me to my pack." She hissed out, trying to ignore the pain.
Astarion didn't say anything as he helped her over, and when she pulled out the arrow, he stiffened.
Aelia then casted a healing spell on herself, and watched as the flesh knitted itself together until there was an angry red mark left. She breathed out uneasily, and began wiping at the blood leftover on her thigh.
Until she stilled and looked up.
Astarion's eyes were tracing the blood smeared over her thigh, his eyes had become darker. She could see his fangs had lengthened.
"Astarion." She warned, covering her leg with the slit of her dress.
He stayed silent as his eyed trailed up to his eyes, but they flitted to her neck for a second.
His eyes then cleared, "My apologies, I haven't fed in a few days, and your blood is so... tempting." He purred, his pupils dilated.
"I better not find your fangs buried in any part of my body in the middle of the night." She said but had a smirk on her face.
"Trust me, darling, I always ask before I bite. And you'll be begging me too." His voice was sensuous as he stepped slightly closer to her, and Aelia looked up at him, and could hear a promise in his voice.
Then another voice broke the silence, and Aelia stepped away from the vampire.
"Goblins are absolutely nasty creatures, how's your wound?" Gale asked, walking into the cave with a few cuts, Shadowheart in the same condition.
Aelia walked towards him and casted a healing spell, doing the same for Shadowheart, "It's alright now, it was simple enough to heal." She said, and Gale nodded.
"I didn't expect goblins in this area at this time, we'll have to stay vigilant and avoid them." Shadowheart said, dusting off her armour.
Astarion pouted, "I'm quite jealous, if I have to say." And Aelia smiled.
"Let's hope the next time they approach us, you can fight with them and not have to watch over me." Aelia teased, and Astarion smiled in pleasant surprise.
"It wasn't so bad." He replied, and walked away. Shadowheart looked between them with a smile, whilst Gale had a small frown on his face.

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The Shadows | Astarion
FanfictionA girl forced to live in darkness meets a boy who lives in the shadows. Aelia, a practicing High Elf healer, has a hidden past and uses her work to try forget it. She tries to avoid the dark as much as she can, but when she meets a certain vampire...