Game Of Seduction

Chapter 8

Reana groaned as she came back to reality as the chill of the cold stone floor under her cheek seeped into her skin. Struggling to her knees, she tried to shrug off the confusion and the nagging tiredness that still lingered. She tried to make sense of the situation, only then did she realise that Oliver wasn't in his cot. Rushing to her feet, she moved over to the cot, pulling at the sheets in vain, "Oliver," She called out, hoping to hear any sound from her baby boy. She rushed out of her bedroom, checking every room that she passed, before heading downstairs, "Oliver!" She called out again, even louder than before, as she frantically looked under furniture and opening every door.

Full fledged panic gripped her heart like a vice when she moved to the kitchen, spotting a teddy bear on the ground, by the back door. Last time she had seen that teddy was the night before, safety tucked under the arm of it's owner as he slept soundly. Oliver carried that teddy every where as it was his favourite toy, a gift from his Aunt Seline. Picking it up, the tears fell from her eyes, momentarily stopping to let out an inhuman sob before running towards the Mac Tir estate. She barged passed the guards, running up the stairs towards the master bedroom, "Seline!" She yelled desperately.

Seline appeared in the door way, waddling towards her sister slowly, one hand on her sizeable bump, the other rubbing at her eyes, "Reana? What is it?" She asked through a yawn.

"He's gone," Reana managed to answer through hurried breaths, "Someone has taken my baby," She felt like her heart has stopped beating and her lungs no longer accepting breath.

Seline moved as fast as her pregnant body would allow, back to her bedroom, to wake Loghain. She slapped at his bare chest, "Loghain, wake up!"

He groaned at the unpleasant wake up call, "What is it?"

"Oliver is missing. I think he's been taken. Go and get Maximus, now!"

Loghain jumped out of bed, grabbing at clothes to throw on in haste, "Stay with Reana. I'll bring Maximus back here."

Maximus stood in his study, reading the letter over and over again. Someone had discovered Oliver's parentage and decided to use it as a weapon against him. He scrunched up the letter in anger at the nerve of the author; how dare they use his own son against him. He looked up at the door as Loghain walked in, "These people, they threatened my son, a baby to force me out. I will find these people, Loghain. I will find them and end them, before they….."

"Maximus!" Loghain shouted, interrupting his friend, mid rant, "He's gone."

Anger gripped at Maximus, picking up a bottle of wine and throwing it into the fireplace, slamming his fist down on the desk, "Where is, Reana?"

"With her sister in her room," said Loghain somewhat calmly. "I've alerted the guards and they're out searching as we speak."

Maximus nodded, his mind and body going at different speeds as he rushed to Reana's location. "Good, good, cut them off before they get a chance to leave Denerim."

Loghain looked at him curiously, he almost sounded mad. "Maximus, I know you're worried-"

"I'm not worried!" shouted Maximus as he rounded to Loghain, stopping the latter dead in his tracks. "I'm terrified! My baby son is out there, with the enemy and I can't do anything to reassure him that he'll be coming back home! The only thing I can do is sit on my chair and dictate while others search for him for me."

Loghain placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "We'll find him, Maximus."

Both men reached the Mac Tir estate, finding Reana standing outside, yelling at a guard. "I don't care if they have searched there, search it again."

"What is going on?" Maximus asked, noting the exasperation in the guard's voice.

The man bowed to the king. "Apologies, your majesty."

"Just do as the lady asks, please."

The guard looked shocked briefly at the king's plea. "Yes, your majesty."

After the guard has left, he turned to Reana. "Yelling at them wont help."

"Oh really?" She snapped back. "My baby is out there. Don't tell me not to yell."

Maximus sighed, "Didn't say you shouldn't. It just wont help."

"None of this is helping," Huffed Reana, crossing her arms tight against her chest. "I need to be out there looking, not here dictating."

"We will find him, Reana." He went to put his hands on her shoulders but stopped when she pulled away.

"Do not touch me." She put her hand out to stop him coming closer. "You lost the right to touch me when you abandoned us. Why don't you go back to your cosy little throne and pretend he doesn't exist, like you have all his life."

"He knows me." Maximus snapped back. "He's my son."

"You mean like, Alistair? You abandoned him too."

"How dare you!" He spat. "You're the one who told me he died."

"Yes! Because I wanted you to know how I felt!"

Loghain growled, stepping in between the two of them. He couldn't believe that they chose that time to argue about the past. "Is this really going to get your son back?" He shouted. "What's done is done. Deal with it and move on."

Reana backed away, pushing her head in her hands. "I'm going to search for my baby. You two, do what you bloody well please."

The night time hours had come up quickly, the darkness making it harder for the guards to search. Reana stood on the balcony overlooking the gardens, watching as the flickering flame from the guards torches moved around in the distance. She knew it was a long way past midnight, but she knew there would be no sleeping until Oliver was safely back in her arms. She tensed when when a scuffle of boots sounded behind her, waiting with bated breath.

"You should try to sleep, Reana." Said a warm, male voice.

Reana turned, releasing the air that she had been holding in, "Alistair!" She ran to him to throwing her arms around his shoulders.

He embraced her, before gentle pushing her back to look at her. "You need to sleep. Staying awake wont help things."

She pulled away, walking back to the stone railing, perching upon it. "I know, but I cant take laying in the dark, thinking about what is happening to him."

As the two talk, they were unaware that they had an eavesdropper, one who had abandoned them both. Maximus stood by listening, desperate to know what was in Reana's head.

"So…..I saw Teagan before I came here."

"Oh?" Reana tried not to show it but she just knew that Teagan had told Alistair what happened between them, even though it was over a year ago.

"Why did you do it?"

She sighed pushing away the tears that escaped from her eyes. "I was lonely Alistair. I had nowhere to go. I just wanted to feel something."

"It's ok." Alistair soothed. "I understand, Reana. He's not hurt."

"So why did he tell you?"

"He felt like he took advantage of you."

"He didn't. I invited it." Reana turned to look out on to the lawn, listening as the wind blew through the trees. "Have you seen, Anders?"

"I have. What happened between you two?"

"He wanted me to commit to a life of running. Oliver deserves a real home, close to his family. Anders was more invested in us than I was."

"He understood that, but he was crushed."

"I didn't mean to hurt him. He just asked me to give him something that I couldn't give. Oliver is the only man I'm concerned with."

"And if you listen closely, you can hear the sound of every man in Farland's heart breaking," He said with an amused grin.

"I'm sure," She said with a laugh.

"Go and get some sleep. Do it for me," He said with pleading eyes.

"For you, I will." She hugged him as she walked back into the palace, stopping as she noticed Maximus standing by the door.

Maximus watched as she passed him, desperate to talk to her, but deciding not to. He loved her, really loved her, but his heart had started to accept that he'd lost her. He walked out into the balcony where his second born son was still standing. There was a air of distance between the two men, that wouldn't be a surprise to any one, but still, Maximus wished it away. "Nice to see you, Alistair."

"And you, Your Majesty." He replied politely.

"How have you been?"

"Well," He replied, his voice somewhat tense. "And yourself?"

"Been better," Said Maximus as he leaned against the balcony. "Has Duncan told you why you're here?"

Alistair nodded. "He said we're looking for Reana Cornwall's son."

Maximus sighed, of course Duncan wouldn't tell him the whole truth. "He's my son too."

Alistair turned to his father, shock briefly flashing in his eyes. "She never told me that. Although, that's what Teagan meant when he said Oliver wasn't a product of her marriage."

"Do you love her?" Maximus asked sadly as he looked down at the stone tiles.

"I care a lot about her. She's a good friend."

Maximus turned when Cailan walked out on to the balcony, "Are you ok, son?"

Cailan sighed, nudging into his younger brother playfully, drawing a small smile from him. "Been helping the guards search. Father, its possible they have left Denerim."

"I know, son. I just hope they are treating him well."

Suddenly a guard stormed on the balcony, frantically waving a letter, "Your Majesty, we found this pinned to the city gates. It's for you."

Maximus snatched the letter out of the guard's hand, ripping it open. His eyes scoured the letter, the contents making him shake in anger. He scrunched the letter up into his fist, throwing it out into the gardens. "I'll make them pay for this." He spat, storming the castle upstairs towards Reana's room.