Once again commissioned the amazing @ego-osbourne for yet another wonderful piece!!! This time of Darien, Gabrielle, and Aileth!! My ot3 💕 This is absolutely gorgeous, words can't even describe how much I adore it. Thank you again for this piece!!! You're amazing :D
@dragonhold made this very cute and very funny art 🥺 such a good surprise tysm i love it!!! (especially Darien with his "no thoughts" expression) They're all so adorable in your style!!
no clue how they got in that shirt but it suits them Perfectly :D
The Mage, The Lord, And The Ritual (Vestige!OC x Darien Gautier x Gabrielle Benele)
TESgala fic. I think im satisfied for my first event themed fic. But also very nervous AO3 version
thanks to @/tes-gala for hosting the event. Loved the theme <3
“Aileth, we're going to be late if you don't come down!” Gabrielle called out.
The Mages Guild was holding a formal gathering. Gabrielle didn't really want to attend, but Vanus insisted everyone of some status in the guild must show. He also had the grand idea to give it a theme — birth signs. She had to hand it to him, for a party celebrating the safe return of the mages sent to Craglorn and their excellent job containing the anomalies there, it was perfect.
Vanus hadn't said whether or not she could bring guests, however she decided it wouldn't hurt to bring her partners. Why spend time alone at a boring gala, when she could spend that time with the two people that she loves? It would also give her a chance to congratulate her little sister. Unfortunately, that did mean they'd all have to dress up.
Gabrielle smoothed her fitted, strapless gown out. It was a lovely indigo with golden accents, detailed with faint stars on the fabric — among these, The Mage constellation had been embroidered onto the gown in a periwinkle colour — it had a high slit and reached down to her calves. Magicka Clasp earrings adorned her ears. She wasn't a big fan of dresses, but even she couldn't deny it looked beautiful. Made of soft fabric, the gown was rather pleasant to wear, too. Wrapped around her left leg — under her gown, yet visible because of its slit — was a royal blue sash.
Her and Darien were already dressed. They were just waiting on Aileth, who was still getting ready upstairs in the bedroom. The party would be starting soon, but Aileth was struggling to feel comfortable while being dressed up.
“Thunderbug?”
“I'm coming, I'm coming…” Aileth replied with a sigh as they walked down the stairs.
They wore an azure one-shoulder dress that went down to their knees with a navy blue mantle, both accented with gold — matching the clasp shaped as the symbol of The Ritual that held the mantle shut — and the dress was detailed with faint white stars forming The Ritual constellation. Aileth also wore a bone circlet and soul gem earrings. It was a rare for them to willing be in a dress, but the soft and comfortable fabric made it bearable to wear. Wrapped around their right leg was a royal blue sash.
Aileth rubbed the back of their neck, “Sorry for making you both wait.”
“Don't worry about it, sweetheart,” Gabrielle sweetly reassured, “We understand.”
“You look great, love.” Darien complimented.
Darien was wearing a white tunic with a navy blue waistcoat, accented with gold and detailed with faint white stars —- the Lord constellation was embroidered in gold on the waistcoat, as well — and black breeches. His earrings were an eye-catching gold. Around his arm was a sash that matched Gabrielle's and Aileth's.
Aileth felt their face heat up, “Thanks. You both look amazing, too,” they smiled.
Gabrielle opened up a portal to Eyevea. Taking her partners’ hands, Gabrielle stepped through it with Aileth and Darien. The portal closed after they arrived on Eyevea. They walked to the guildhall together and Vanus greeted them when they entered.
“Gabrielle! I am pleased you could make it,” he announced. Vanus side-eyed Aileth and Darien, “And I see you've brought guests…”
Aileth tensed up, “Well, we are married to her,” she sassed, glaring at him.
Darien placed a hand on Aileth's shoulder. A silent plea to not escalate things. They relaxed.
“I am very aware of that fact, Aileth. Just don't cause any trouble. Either of you,” Vanus warned. He walked away from them.
Gabrielle led Aileth and Darien towards a table away from the other guests. They ran into Valaste on the way there, but she quickly left the moment Aileth attempted to greet her.
She sighed, “Sorry about that. He still doesn't really trust you, Aileth. And I guess he's uncertain about you too, Darien,” she rubbed the back of her neck.
“Vanus isn't the only one here that doesn't trust me, it seems…” Aileth mumbled.
Gabrielle gently squeezed their hand, “Don't take it to heart, Thunderbug.”
Darien placed a hand on Gabrielle’s cheek, “It's alright, dear. Doesn't matter what Vanus thinks, it's not like we're here for him. Besides, what trouble would Ail and I even get into?”
She leaned into his touch, “Who even knows,” Gabrielle laughed, “Thank you both for agreeing to come with me.”
“You know we'd do anything for you,” Aileth smiled.
“Aileth's right!” Darien took his hand off of Gabrielle's face, “So, what's the plan for tonight?” he asked Gabrielle.
“First, seeing my sister. After that? I do have something special planned.”
Gabrielle grabbed two glasses of wine off a tray. She handed both Darien and Aileth a glass. Her eyes searched the room. She frowned and her eyebrows creased.
Darien kissed Gabrielle, “Sara will show up, Gabs. Don't worry.”
The worry on her face gave way, melting into a warm and loving smile. As if on queue, a familiar voice called out to her.
“Gabrielle!”
Sara ran up to her sister and gently hugged her. Her dress had The Apprentice constellation embroidered onto it. Gabrielle held her little sister in her arms.
“Thank you for coming! I was worried you'd be too busy for your own sister,” Sara jested.
Gabrielle pulled away from the hug, “I'm never too busy for you, Sara. Congratulations, I'm so proud of my baby sister!” she teased.
Sara had a smile on her face as she rolled her eyes, “Mind if I borrow Aileth, real quick?”
“Just make sure to return them,” Darien joked.
He grabbed Gabrielle's hand and led her over to wear other guests were dancing.
Aileth watched their partners with a smile before turning her attention to Sara, “What's this about?” they questioned.
Sara rubbed the back of her neck, “I just wanted to thank you again. Honestly, before you three got married, I haven't seen Gabrielle this happy before. And it's nice to not have my sister constantly spending her time worried about me or her work.”
She swirled their drink, “I should be thanking you. You put your trust in me even when I gave you no reason to … you took a risk on something that neither of us knew would work. And you kept it to yourself!”
“Didn't I tell you already? My sister trusted you. That was good enough for me. And now she actually has a chance to live a life. Yeah, you basically severed all trust with the Guild to do it. But I'm glad you did,” Sara admitted, “Anyways. Tell Gabby I'll visit soon. I've got to go speak with Vanus, but it was wonderful getting to see her again. And I'm glad you and Darien came with her. She really loves you both.”
Sara hurried away, leaving Aileth by themself. They stared into their half-full glass of wine. Aileth took another sip before setting it down on a table. Darien and Gabrielle came back over to her, holding hands.
“Already done dancing?” Aileth asked with an amused smile.
“We are,” Darien held his hand out to Aileth, “Unless you’d care to dance, my love?”
Aileth blushed, “I— I'm no good at dancing,” they nervously chuckled, “I don't even know how to…”
Gabrielle brushed part of their hair behind their ear, “You’d just be following our leads, Aileth. You're good at that, aren't you?” she purred.
The tip of their ear twitched. They averted their eyes, “I’ll dance with you both later. P-Perhaps we could do something else, first?”
Gabrielle couldn't stop herself from giggling at how flustered Aileth had become.
“Only if I get to have your first dance,” Darien winked.
The heat spread from their face to their ears, “I promise you will, darling.”
Darien suddenly got an idea. He picked Aileth’s drink up, “Not going to finish this?” he asked with a smirk.
“Not this time. You can have it, if you want, D.”
He drank most of it, took a small sip, and kissed Aileth. They melted into the kiss as he passed the sip he took to them. Aileth swallowed the wine. She watched as he finished the rest of the drink and placed the glass down on the table next to his own empty one. Darien proudly smiled.
“Come on, Gabrielle has something she wanted to show us. Isn't that right, dear?
“Yep!” Gabrielle excitedly grabbed Darien and Aileth's hands.
She led them both down the hallway and through a door to the upper floor. The upstairs hallway candles were unlit — it seemed the gala was only taking place in the far back courtyard and the first floor of the guildhall — and they exited onto the upper balcony. A couch was outside, but Gabrielle chose to lean on the bannister. Darien and Aileth were leaned on it with her.
The stars twinkled in the sky. A chill breeze hit them. Gabrielle held her hand out and cast Candlelight. Instead of one orb of light, she created multiple smalls orbs that danced around the three of them. Blue light illuminated the area, and Gabrielle.
Aileth's eyes lit up with astonishment, “Wow,” they breathed, “It's like you made a bunch of stars…”
Darien held his hand out to one. It landed on his palm, “They’re gorgeous … but not as gorgeous as you,” he played with the light.
Gabrielle brushed her hair behind her ear, “You’re such a sap, Darien,” she blushed, “I figured we spend so much time stargazing, why not alter a spell to mimic them?”
“I’d say you nailed it,” Darien praised.
“It's perfect,” Aileth leaned in and gently kissed Gabrielle, “and almost as stunning as you.”
“You both are saps,” she laughed. Her eyes were full of adoration as she stared at Darien and Aileth.
The three of them finally sat down next to each other. It fell silent as they relaxed next to each other and watched the lights dance around. Gabrielle and Aileth both rested against Darien. He took their hands in his own. The party could wait. For now, they just wanted to relax away from it all. Together.
Was speaking to my friend and accidentally came to a conclusion about Gabrielle and my ot3 with his help (it was not the original subject of our chat lmao)
Gabrielle's type is apparently an "endearing loser who fumbles in front of her" bc both Darien and Aileth do that lmao
Got to thinking about how Aileth doesn't really need sleep but they at least try to fall asleep with their partners. And how they have this.. need to hear Darien and Gabrielle's heartbeats to go to sleep. Honestly even just while cuddling too lol. (needs to go under a cut it's slightly longer than intended)
Ough especially after everything that happened on Solstice. That's what really sparked the need. While Darien and Aileth were dating after he came back, they didn't really.. sleep near each other at the camp. Darien just couldn't sleep most of the time, always staying up thinking (either about himself after losing his Light or Gabrielle's death). And Ail didn't even care to get any sleep most of the time, just spent their time by the Light of Meridia and thinking or drinking to cope (ofc they'd still check in on Darien and make sure he was okay as well, and sometimes they'd keep each other company instead of sleeping. Which sometimes would lead to Darien falling asleep on Aileth).
Then after Solstice, during the epilogue and before Gabi was revived, Ail would start laying on Darien to hear his heartbeat. Sort of a way to remind themself that he was alive and real, still with them and safe. It was grounding. Darien would catch on to it being something Aileth just needed and he'd even purposely bring their head to his chest while cuddling or hugging, and even to calm them down. It helps him too, because he gets to see how much he's loved (the physical affection is just as much for him as it is for them yknow? Ail likes initiating it when he clearly needs it.)
And then when Gabi is revived, ofc Aileth needs to listen to her heartbeat too. Because it reassures them that she's back and actually there, not a ghost or just another hallucination. That they actually pulled it off. Thought they were clingy with Darien and Gabrielle before?? Oh it gets worsee. Ofc Darien and Gabrielle dont have any complaints it's just a little worrying sometimes, but they understand :]
I like talking about my ot3 and physical touch between them a lot (hugs, resting foreheads, holding hands, touching arms, things like that) since Aileth is normally a very touch averse person. They really only ever allowed Darien and Gabrielle to touch them without fuss, it's always just felt.. different to Ail whenever it was those two.
But anyway, what i was thinking about was them hugging and how it kept changing through base game to Solstice. (In general, those three kinda can't ever keep their hands off each other. Both before and after getting together lmao)
At first, Gabrielle and Darien are the ones initiating hugs with her. Aileth was still unsure about physical touch and slowly they'd start returning the hugs later on, once they realised how comfortable it was to be hugged by those two. I think Darien and Gabi were pretty comfortable hugging each other very early on after they met. And during Coldharbour, the three of them hugged each other a good few times.
After Coldharbour, Aileth and Gabrielle didn't get to see each other until Anvil (almost a year later). And that was more awkward for Aileth than Gabs. They didn't know how she'd feel after they weren't able to keep in touch (Aileth was too busy w/ everything else going on [Meridia's Light, Craglorn, Wrothgar, the Thieves Guild, the Dark Brotherhood], but she believed Gabrielle deserved to know about Darien's letter. Gabi was just happy Ail was okay, and even more happy that they found news about Darien.
Not a lot of hugging gets to really happen during Summerset, but Aileth and Darien do hug a couple of times where it matters. Aileth initiates a few of them but Darien still does it more often than she does. Honestly, Aileth regrets not being able to have done it more ... among other things they regret not saying or doing.
About two years later is when Aileth and Gabrielle see each other again. They were out of contact after Summerset, you can thank Aileth's guilt for that, and Ail just wanted to tell her about Darien. She didn't expect anything more. But Gabrielle was very sweet to them. Any hugs during this time were initiated by Gabrielle, and Aileth hesitantly returned them (even though it made the weight on them a little lighter). They ended up keeping contact and sometimes meeting up more often for a year and a few months before Aileth dropped contact again. (For reasons they kinda made up in their head, but had good reason to believe. I've talked about it before a few times. [1] [2] <- to name a few).
Solstice comes around years later and Gabrielle starts off initiating hugs because Aileth was too scared to. Then they started hugging her on their own again. When Darien came back, Aileth was the one initiating most hugs. He'd do it too, but he needed hugs more after everything that continued to happen. Darien was really struggling and Aileth wanted to comfort him as much as he'd let them, because Darien had always been so sweet to them and he always did his best to still comfort them as they both struggled after Gabi's death. Aileth hugged him a lot more than he hugged them, and god did he need it (and hugging him also helped Aileth a little each time too).
And ofc after Solstice, Gabrielle is back and the three of them get to hug more :3 gotta make up for all those years. (Darien and Gabi getting to hug more is smth i enjoy getting to do by reviving Gabs myself. But I love all three of em hugging each other just as much too 🥺). Aileth gets wayyy more affectionate with their hugs after Solstice (by this i mean they do it so much more often bc they're still so afraid of losing those two ever again and dont want to end up regretting not expressing how much she loves them both).
