Love's Bite | Astarion x Tav Fanfic

Her Scars

The aftermath of Moonrise Towers rung in my head. We won, however it came at a price. I wasn't the same person who walked in there. Instead, I was one step closer to knowing who I was. There was a woman in that oubliette who recognised me. We approached her hoping to get some intel on what lay ahead. She immediately recognised me.
"Wait.....by the bone lords, it's you," the woman said.
I watched her confused.
"I thought I'd never see you again. I wanted to keep you but they shipped you away," her face showed surprise.
"What in the hells are you talking about?" I asked her.
"You talk? How is that possible? Something must've gone wrong. Oh, but what an arresting voice you have!" She said.
My mind began racing. The urge in me screamed, wanting to be released, for my memories to return, and for the blood lust to take hold.
"You're not supposed to be here, special one. But I don't want to damage you. You were my very first after all. I learned everything about the parasites from you. I remember finding you close to death, beaten black and blue on the floor of this sanctum. It must've been a few hours after the tadpole was placed in your skull. How you got here was a total mystery, but I stitched you up and placed you in your crib. I kept you as mine until you were needed by our superiors. We had such a close bond. I opened you up endlessly with my scalpels, and got lost in your insides."
Visions flashed in my mind. The pain and agony I felt as my skin was sliced opened. I felt it again as I winced at the thought of it.
"This....this is where I was left after being infected?" I finally spoke.
"I was not behind it- I do not know. But whoever it was, I'm so glad they left you here for me. Truthfully,
I'm not surprised you found your way back here all by yourself. I always knew you were clever. It has never been the same with another.... All the other victims obeyed. But you thrashed, you fought, you were indomitable."
My mind began to ache. I remembered this place. It was so clear now. Almost as if it were yesterday that I was tortured.
"But as special as you are, you shouldn't be swanning around here, acting as if free will is yours again. We're going to kill you sweet one, but I promise to stay with you afterwards."
She lunged at me, and I simply froze. I was not who I was when I was her victim. I barely had any memories of my life before. I was weak. I was anxious. And I was scared.
The woman held a dagger in her hand and she plunged it into my stomach. I simply looked at it. Thankfully, my armour prevented the blade from going too deep. Lae'zel and Astarion cut her down quickly. I stared at her body for a moment, then re-focused on her companions.
I used thunderclap on them and knocked them down in one hit.
My hand crept to my stomach, checking for blood. There certainly was a lot of it.
"What in the hells happened?" Astarion asked.
"I... don't...know...." I said.
"Istik, you're being weak," Lae'zel said.
I glared at her.
"Leave her alone, she froze," Shadowheart rolled her eyes.
Astarion took a piece of cloth from his bag and pressed down on my stomach.
"Ouch," it was incredibly painful.
"That's what you get for being stabbed," Astarion frowned.
"It's fine. I'll just drink a potion," I said.
"A stab wound that deep needs to be healed. It will only partially help the pain. I'll be able to heal it later at camp though," Shadowheart said as she examined it.
"Perfect. Let's go," I said, then downed a potion.
I shoved the rag in my wound and was good to go.
"See... it's fine," I told Astarion.
We then pressed on.

————

I distanced myself from the others after we defeated Ketheric Thorm. I didn't feel like their leader today. We were going to spend the night in the Moonrise Towers, then head towards Baldur's Gate in the morning. I needed to reflect and attempt to recover my memories. No matter how hard I thought, all that would come back was the oubliette.
I signed, then focused my attention on the lake. Moonrise Towers was surrounded by a body of water. It was dark and incredibly dreary.
'I'm so weak, and pathetic,' I thought to myself.
I had just let her stab me. I froze completely. Those visions terrified me. She methodically sliced me open, over and over again. Each time with a sinister grin on her face, caused by excitement and pleasure. The worst pain came when she'd poke around in my wounds. I wish I hadn't remembered this.
"What are you doing out here?" Astarion approached.
"Just needed some air," I said.
"What's going on in that head of yours?"
"Nothing, I'm just tired."
"Tav, you froze today, and got hurt. What if you got killed?" He sounded concerned.
"Then Withers would've revived me."
"That doesn't mean it didn't happen. Why aren't you taking this seriously? You're being reckless."
I frowned.
"What do you want me to say? Memories of her torturing me resurfaced? I felt the pain all over again? Nothings going to change the fact that it happened, or the look she gave me as she watched me squirm. I'm not being reckless, our lives just fucking suck. It's one thing after another," I said without a second to breathe. I was done with everything, and stormed off. Astarion mean't well. But now I had the luxury of discovering everything about myself all over again, and thus far, I hated it. How was I supposed to be a good person? It seemed as if everything was working against me. The world was so cruel, and I was surrounded by it everyday. I couldn't be the hero everyone wanted, or needed. I was just broken.