Arya Huskins woke up slowly, her head aching with an intensity that nearly made her sick. She was, most of all, confused, unable to pinpoint her location. Where am I? she thought. Didn't I fall asleep in class? Even without opening her eyes, though, Arya could feel grass underneath her and her backpack. She wondered if perhaps her friends had played a joke on her, taking her out of the building while she slept and leaving her in the grassy courtyard, although she wondered how. She was heavy, and her backpack even heavier, and whoever managed to lift both of them and carry them to the pavilion was, well, impressive. And none of her friends could exactly do that.
She cracks open her eyelids, and when the sky stops spinning above her, she sits up slowly, raising a hand to her head and one to her mouth as her stomach lurches and twists uncomfortably. Eventually she gives up trying to combat the nausea and shrugs her shoulders out of her bag, managing to make it a few feet away before she lands hard on her hands and knees, emptying the contents of her stomach into a conveniently placed bush. When she finished, she scurried away again before the stench of vomit could get to her, and she dragged her backpack over to her, digging around for some of the gum that she knew was in there somewhere. She took a moment to look around while she was elbow deep in her bag, and then it hit her. She wasn't at school anymore, and she didn't even recognize any of the nearby landmarks.
"What the fuck?" she muttered, abandoning her search for gum. Sudden panic swamped her. "Oh, goddess. Dad's going to flip. Mom's going to flip. I'm going to flip right now," she breathed, pulling her phone out of her jacket pocket. It was, unfortunately, dead, and she let out a long stream of curses, dragging her hand through her hair. She started to throw it, but thought better of it and instead tucked it back into her pocket. "Dammit all to fuck," she cursed, again, while she pulled out her laptop. Maybe she could get some more information, even if it was only the time. Maybe her friends had even left her a message before so kindly leaving her in the middle of nowhere. Tragically, however, the time was frozen at 9:25a.m. Which was when she last checked it in class. She let out another long stream of curses, rocking back on her heels and forcing herself to take deep, even breaths. She put her laptop away, jerked the zipper closed on her backpack, and stood, dusting off her jeans before throwing her bag over her shoulder.
The nearest structure was just barely visible in the distance. It looked remarkably like a ruin, though, and if she weren't freaking out, she probably would have been excited. Ruins were always fun. Instead, however, she was terrified as she hitched her bag higher on her shoulders and started walking, thankful that she'd worn comfortable shoes instead of the heels she had so nearly put on.
Once she got closer, the sun was high in the sky, beating down on her mercilessly, and she took note of the people practically swarming the ruin. As she got even closer, she noticed that they had swords. And armor. And not the shitty props that people usually had. She wasn't looking forward to climbing all the stairs, considering her backpacked weighed as much as a small child, but she soldiered on. She did, however, take note of the strange looks she was getting as she drew near, and she put most of her focus on not panicking and doing or saying something stupid. They were most likely just looking at her weird because they were armed and armored and she was not.
Arya took a deep breath to steady herself and then approached the nearest person, a kind-looking man who was sitting on a stump polishing his sword. And for once, she really wished that was a euphemism. "Hi, so, uh, I kinda got really lost. As in, I don't even know where to start with how lost I am. Could you tell me where I am?" she asked, trying her best to be polite. She worried that she'd stumbled on a cult, and she really hoped she didn't offend them because what if they were the type of cult that was completely okay with human sacrifice? She didn't want to be a sacrifice. Instead, however, the man looked up at her and smiled.
"Of course, miss. You're at Ostagar, in the Korcari Wilds. Were you fleeing from the darkspawn?" he asked. Oh, fuck me sideways. Darkspawn, Korcari Wilds, Ostagar...wasn't this all a little Dragon Age-y? she thought, although she kept a polite smile on her face, with no outward clues to her inner monologue. Which was, admittedly, mostly just a stream of curses.
"I was. They attacked and I just started running. I haven't looked back since. It's been days," she answered, brushing her hair out of her eyes. Internally, however, she decided that this was all most likely a dream. She was still in English class, drooling on her expensive textbook, with friends who were drawing obscene things on her, and a teacher who was probably 200% done with her shit. The thought was more or less comforting, even though this felt nothing like a dream at all.
"Well, perhaps you can find some assistance deeper in the camp," the man said, and Arya nodded, making a hasty retreat. Despite having firmly decided that this was indeed a dream, Arya shifted her backpack on her shoulders and headed up the stairs. She got a little distracted when she saw the kennel master, who ignored her completely, although she also saw the dogs. They were huge, and they could easily have weighed two-hundred pounds each. She wanted six. After an embarrassingly long amount of time spent watching the dogs and wondering if it'd be weird to ask if she could pet them, she thought she should probably move on. So, she did, and for her effort she got a face-full of gleaming, golden plate metal. She bounced off, almost comically, landing square on her ass and craning her neck back to look up at the face of the person wearing the golden armor she had so boldly introduced herself too, almost crying when she realized who it was.
"Shi...Sorry!" she squeaked, her cheeks turning red. He reached out almost automatically, offering a hand to help her up. After a few seconds she took it. I am so fucked, she thought, but he merely gave her a friendly, if curious look as he pulled her to her feet. She had no idea how she was going to get out of this one. "Thanks," she mumbled, looking at the glittering metal of his boots.
"Who are you? You don't look like you belong here," Cailan asks, and he doesn't sound angry or accusatory, merely curious.
"I'm, uh, Allison. Allison Gunn," she says, and then closes her eyes and berates herself. Out of all the possible fake names in the entire universe that you could have chosen, you chose the fake name Shepard took? I can't believe I'm such a nerd. This is the situation I'm in, and that's how I react, she thinks, and she almost misses Cailan's next remark.
"You don't look like you're from here, Miss Gunn," he says, and she almost laughs. She swallows heavily, instead, and thinks about all the possible consequences that could arise from messing with someone in a position of power. She'd rather not find out what those could be, thank you very much.
"I'm not," she answers, and and at least her voice doesn't shake.
He smiles at her, then, a kind smile. "What are you doing at Ostagar, then?" he asks, cocking his head to the side. Oh, Goddess, he's such a puppy, she thought, but she returned his smile with a nervous one of her own.
"I was running from the darkspawn horde. I ran for a long way. I'm not even sure how I got here, to be honest. I thought, once I saw Ostagar, that I could find some safety, but I don't think that is the case, knowing what I know," she says, and she hopes it is a convincing lie, and she a convincing actor.
"What makes you think that you aren't safe here?" he asks, nudging her out of the way so an elven servant carrying an armful of boxes can pass. She glances at the servant guiltily, but she forces herself to focus on Cailan's question.
"I'm a, uh, seer. I saw the outcome of the coming battle. I would be willing to discuss what I saw, but I would insist that it is done privately," she says, thinking fast. She'd never been too good at coming up with lies on the spot.
"Very well, Miss Gunn. If you don't object, I'd like to send two of my personal guards with you. I have a meeting with Teryn Loghain that I am unable to miss, but I'm very interested in what you have to say," he says, and the relief Arya feels is almost overwhelming.
"Of course. I, uh, would like to see a healer while I wait. And, uh, are you going to tell Loghain about me?" she asks, her voice small.
"I didn't plan on telling him, no. Why?" Cailan answers, patting her shoulder. Her knees almost buckle, and she can only imagine how heavy the armor he's wearing is.
"I was just...concerned. I heard the teryn is superstitious," she says, and she hopes he can't tell she's pulling all of this out of her ass.
"He is, at that. I will not, however, mention this. I'm making the decision to trust you, Miss Gunn," he tells her, and she tries not to feel guilty. Just a dream, she reminds herself.
"Thank you. I'll try not to let you down, Your Majesty," she says, and she hopes that was the right terminology.
Cailan calls over a couple of stone-faced guards after that. "Take Miss Gunn to a healer, and then take her back to my tent. Make sure she's comfortable," he instructs, and then they lead her away, deeper into the bustle of Ostagar, as Cailan heads towards his meeting..