Life On Thedas - A Dragon Age: Origins Fan Fiction by Foxfire79 (Cousland/Alistair)
Nope, still don't work for Bioware, and hence have no legal rights to any of the characters or places mentioned within this work of fiction, except possibly for Ceridwen Crane/Cousland, my worlds' spanningly awesome heroine. In other words, don't sue me.
So, just for when you're sounding out the name in your head, Ceridwen begins with a hard 'C'. When I write her nickname 'Cerry', it's pronounced 'Kerry'. If anyone's actually interested, the name is of Welsh origins. How very Dalish of me. Ha!
This really is an establishment chapter, where we get to know Cerry. There are mentions of the DA:O characters, but no real immersion in the world until the very end of the chapter. Please don't let this put you off, it gets better, I promise! :-)
Chapter 01 - Life On Mars
Cerry's iPod Playlist: Song 001 - Life On Mars (David Bowie 1971)
Sydney, 2014
The alarm clock blaring into her left ear was almost too much for Ceridwen Crane to bear this early in the morning. Especially after going out drinking with her roommate Morgan the previous night. Morgan had been celebrating yet another break-up. Her caustic personality had driven away yet another potential life partner her mother had 'suggested' she go out with. These 'hooray for being singletons!' parties were almost a fortnightly occurrence now that both girls were twenty-three and living away from home. Morgan's mother, Felicity, felt that Morgan would 'settle down' after being paired with a suitable mate. Over the past two months she'd turned down a doctor, two lawyers and a Latin dance instructor. Ceridwen wondered where Felicity kept finding these men willing to go out with her daughter sight unseen. Morgan suggested that her mother was showing them photographs from her modeling days. Morgan had given up the catwalk for designing clothes almost two years ago, but somehow Felicity had gotten her hands on an almost endless supply of her daughter's slightly racy swimsuit shots to hand out to potential suitors. Morgan would go out on the arranged date with the 'victim', string him along for a week or so, then sever all ties with a terse phone call. Followed by drinking until the small hours with her closest friend.
Cerry and Morgan had been best friends since primary school. They were both slightly odd, neither of them fitting in with the rest of their classmates, and so had gravitated towards each other and started their own unlikely friendship. Morgan had always been the more severe of the pair; tall, thin and graceful, her black hair pulled back into a tight ponytail and a sneer never too far from her lips. Cerry was the honey to Morgan's lemon. She was shorter, but was always smiling, bouncing around the taller girl trying to break the serious look from her face, her burgundy curls flipping around her shoulders. She generally succeeded. Where Morgan had only been concerned with clothes and design, Cerry had been interested in finding out how things worked, especially locks. She could usually be found at lunch break trying to pick locks around the school, her curiosity knowing no bounds. The teachers who caught her would ask her what she was trying to do, and she would answer brightly 'There must be something good in there if it's locked! Why else would it be locked?' She was still given detention, even if the teacher's had been snickering at her answer. They had remained close all though high school, when Morgan had started modeling, and Cerry had discovered computer games.
While Morgan had been traipsing up and down the catwalk, Cerry had been playing games. Anything with swords, dragons, fairies, vampires, fantasy games were her escape from school and boredom. Morgan invited her to some of her shows, and she gladly went along, but the entire time she would be planning her next few adventures in her fantasy worlds. Her parents had also recognised her ability with puzzles and locks by buying her all manner of different of puzzle boxes and logic games. Her father built her a 'wall of locks' to pick when she got stressed out with school work. She would head into the garage, grab the set of picks she'd created for herself from metal scraps, and set about releasing all of their mechanisms from easiest to hardest. It was while she picking away at her lock wall that she came to the decision that after she'd graduated high school, she'd move to the city with Morgan to make their collective fortunes. Either that, or be struggling university students. She told Morgan her idea, and Morgan had agreed to come along. That had been five years ago.
Morgan was becoming better known as an Indie clothes designer, with a couple of her flashier designs being worn by a few up-and-coming pop stars. A lot of her designs involved leather skirts and halter neck tops, with lots of chains. She was making a nice little profit from the sales, while continuing on in her studies. Cerry, however... Her studies were going well, but most of her free time was taken up with her part time job at the local chain bookstore. Her computer was gathering dust, as was the pile of games beside it. She really wished she could revisit 'Dragon Age' one more time, seeing as it was her favourite, but there just wasn't time. When she started playing, she'd play for hours on end, delving into the story line, interacting with all the characters, developing her relationships. She was better at dealing with simulated relationships that real ones, at least. While Morgan was dating a new man every two weeks give or take, Cerry had never had a proper boyfriend. She'd dated some nice guys, sure, and she'd even slept with one of them, but they invariably ended up drifting apart. What would start out as them being attracted to her for her shyness and awkward behaviour, would end up with them leaving for somebody more 'normal'. Now, when Cerry was thrust into a situation where she had to deal with members of the opposite sex, she'd freeze up and blush, wishing she had a conversation wheel, or a list of options to choose from. 'Winging it' wasn't really her thing.
Morgan had offered to lend her one of the dates her mother had arranged for her, but Cerry had politely declined. She didn't want to go out with just anyone. She wanted to find someone who could make her laugh, who was as awkward as her in some situations, and who would never leave her for someone more 'normal'. She wanted... She wanted an 'Alistair'. She hated to admit it, but her perfect man only existed in a computer game. He was handsome, funny, sweet, strong, everything she wanted in a boyfriend. He just didn't exist in the real world. Alistair Theirin had ruined her for other men. She didn't need a boyfriend anyway. She was far too busy. Today was a new day, after all.
Cerry reached out to the alarm clock to stop its incessant shrieking. She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, and felt her stomach lurch. Oh, lordy. Last night had definitely been a large one. She tried to remember how many drinks she'd had, and lost count after four Cosmopolitans. Cocktails were the devil. She reached out her right foot and fished about on the floor for her slippers, gave up, and walked out to the kitchen in bare feet. Morgan was sitting at the kitchen table, holding her head in both hands. Cerry slid into the wooden kitchen chair across from her, yawning.
"A good morning to you, Ms Sayer."
Morgan groaned loudly into her hands, then raised a baleful glare up to meet Cerry's bleary eyes.
"Is it, Ms Crane? I think it came far too early for my liking. Why are you up, you don't have classes today?"
Cerry finished her jaw-cracking yawn, and slumped down into the chair.
"I've got work. It's a Wednesday, so it should be quiet. I just need it to be quiet."
Morgan smirked, and took a sip of her coffee.
"It's a book store. It's not like there's going to be a brass band playing in there. Just quiet, bookish folk, like yourself, going about the business of buying books. YOU should be fine. I, on the other hand, have a show to attend. I think I'm going to die..."
Cerry reached across the table and tapped her on the forearm in sympathy.
"There, there. Would you like to borrow my earplugs? And where's my coffee, by the way? You took me out on that ridiculous pub crawl last night, you owe me caffeine."
Morgan motioned towards the second cup on the table, and Cerry grabbed it eagerly, taking a large sip. Absolute heaven. Her eyes slipped closed and she sighed happily. Morgan chuckled, shaking her head.
"That's your problem, right there, Missy. You let absolutely all of your emotions show. You're cranky because you had to get up early after a long night out. You're happy because I made you a coffee. This is why you can't land a boyfriend. Men like a little mystery. You, my friend, are an open book. Because you work in a book store. With the books. Irony."
Cerry's eyes remained closed, as a smile tugged the corners of her mouth up.
"We do have mystery books, you know."
Morgan sighed, and crossed her arms.
"That's not what I... Ugh, this is useless. I'm going to get ready. See you for dinner, yeah?"
Cerry's eyes remained closed, but she raised her hand to give Morgan a lazy high five as she walked past.
"Absolutely. I'll buy some Chinese on the way home."
Morgan walked out of the kitchen and headed down the corridor to get dressed.
"I like your style, Ceridwen Crane! Now all we have to do is find you a nice guy!"
Cerry finally opened her eyes and sighed sadly into her half empty coffee cup.
"That goes double for you, Morgan Sayer. We need to work together to get your mother off of our collective backs..."
She knocked back the rest of the coffee in one large gulp, and stood up slowly, stretching out her back.
"I'm never going drinking with you again, Morgan. You've ruined me."
Morgan's voice drifted from her bedroom.
"You say that every time!"
Cerry grimaced, and slinked to her own bedroom, looking for a clean work shirt.
"One day I'll mean it, for realsies!"
Morgan's voice grew louder as she approached Cerry's room from down the hall.
"Of that I am sure. Now, how do I look?"
Cerry looked the statuesque beauty up and down. Her hair was swept up in a high ponytail, and she wore one of her trademark leather outfits, complimented with a copious amount of neck-chains and knee-high silver buckled boots. She looked brilliant.
"You look brilliant."
Morgan's face fell, and she clasped her hands in front of her.
"That's not what I meant! What sort of character should I be playing when I walk out there for my applause? Austere? Annoyed, but thankful? Agreeable? What?!"
Cerry studied the outfit and found herself grinning.
"You look kind of like an all powerful but slightly slutty witch. You should walk out there with a presence of 'Thank you, but really, who else could have done this as well as me?'. Does that work?"
Morgan grinned, her eyes narrowing.
"Oh yes... That works for me."
Morgan's phone buzzed, letting her know that her taxi had arrived. She ruffled Cerry's hair on the way out, and Cerry swatted her away, growling.
"Go away, you big important thing. Let us 'Working Joe's' get ready for our daily grind."
Morgan spun around in the doorway, blowing her as kiss.
"Have a lovely day, dear. Don't work too hard. I'll bring you back a sample bag!"
Cerry pulled her dark blue 'The Bookroom' shirt on, then stared into the mirror trying to figure out how best to tame her wild locks.
"Make it two bags! I need hair products!"
The only response was the front door slamming. Cerry sighed and looked at her watch, then quickly looked at it again.
"Oh, crap!"
Drinking the coffee had surely been a luxury she couldn't afford this morning. Luckily, 'The Bookroom' was within walking distance. Cerry decided a ponytail would have to do. She scraped her deep red curls back from her forehead, grimacing when the knots snarled in her brush, and tied them back with a simple black hair elastic. Her black uniform pants from yesterday were still clean enough, and the fact that they were covered in floor creases didn't phase her. They would fall out during the walk. She applied her make-up quickly and efficiently, just enough to make it look like she hadn't only had three hours sleep last night, and that there were no tell-tale bags under her eyes. She looked at her reflection for a moment, trying to copy Morgan's usual superciliousness, but ended up looking like a petulant five year old. She stuck her tongue out at her reflection, grabbed her backpack and iPod, and ran out the door, slipping on her black and white Converse All Star's which were already tied and waiting for her.
At eight-thirty in the morning, the footpath outside Cerry and Morgan's building was about at its busiest. Cerry pushed her way out into the crowd, heading towards the busy shopping district. It was days like this she wished that cafe's didn't have tables that interfered with the footpath, and the pedestrians who were desperately trying to make it to work on time. Every three steps or so she had to apologise for nearly getting someone's latte dumped in their laps. She finally made it to the front door of 'The Bookroom' with five minutes to spare. The shop was still dark, and she cupped her hands around her eyes, peering through the tinted glass. A familiar red-head popped up from behind the counter, and Cerry knocked on the glass to get her attention. Lily was her closest friend at work, and was always good for a laugh. Lily spotted her, and hurried to the door to unlock it, a worried look gracing her features.
"Oh Cerry, thank goodness you're here. Everyone else has called in sick. Apparently when they all went out for dinner last night, they got food poisoning. Lucky for us, you had a prior engagement, and I... wasn't invited."
Cerry grimaced, rubbing her already aching head.
"Which means?"
Lily sighed, blowing a strand of her red fringe out of her eyes.
"Which means we'll both need to do a double shift today. Nine this morning to seven-thirty tonight - can you manage it?"
Cerry nodded, rubbing her eyes.
"Of course, Lily. I wouldn't leave you here alone."
Lily breathed out a sigh of relief, and clutched her forearm.
"Oh, thank goodness! I don't know what I would have done if you'd said no. I probably would have hidden for the rest of the day!"
Cerry patted her hand, and moved into the shop, changing the 'Closed' sign to 'Open' as she reached behind the door.
"I don't suppose they'll be paying us any extra for holding down the fort while they spend their day clutching their bellies in agony?"
Lily giggled and covered her mouth.
"I'm afraid not. They will pay us for the second shift though, I made sure of that."
Cerry smiled wryly and flipped on the lights.
"That's better than nothing, I suppose."
Lily walked back to the register, perching herself on the stool to wait for some business. Cerry went to the fiction section to pick out something to read while she waited. At ten past nine the first customers arrived, and the work day finally began.
The day was fairly standard, really. Questions about certain authors, questions about when the next book in a series was coming out, questions about book/movie tie-ins, questions about the differences between comics/graphic novels/manga. Then it was lunch time, and Lily and Cerry decided to close the shop for the half hour break and eat quietly in the children's book section, sitting on the large floor cushions. At one-thirty they re-opened the doors, and Cerry almost choked when she recognised the first customer to enter after their lunch break. It was her English Literature professor, Zachary Arens.
He was in his mid-thirties, and was one of the younger staff members at the university. Practically every female student, and some of the male ones as well, thought he was the most handsome, and eligible, man in the faculty. He'd somehow managed to turn everyone down, and was still single to this day. Cerry really did enjoy his classes though. The fact that he was pretty to look at, with his longish blond hair swept back in a ponytail, and his 'to-die-for' high cheek bones, didn't hurt either. He must have finished teaching for the day, because his clothes were much more casual than usual. Dear god, those jeans... Cerry realised she must have been staring when Lily cleared her throat, gesturing with her head that she should 'approach him and offer some assistance'. Cerry did just that. She sidled up to the handsome man as he perused the 'New Releases' and coughed, nervously.
"Um... Hey, Mr Arens, can I help you with anything?"
He startled slightly when he heard his name, but after he turned to see who was addressing him, he relaxed.
"You are... Ceridwen, yes? You're in my English Lit class. I didn't know you worked here."
His spanish accent made her insides go all... wibbly. How someone like him remained single was an absolute mystery. Cerry smiled crookedly, and folded her arms across her chest.
"Yes sir, I've worked here for going on four years now. It's a good place..."
She trailed off, not knowing where to take the conversation next. Zachary seemed to be quite comfortable, though.
"Please, Ceridwen, there's no need to be so formal. You may call me Zach. At least outside of the lecture theatre, that is."
Cerry was taken aback by how friendly the man seemed. Some of the girls in class who had approached him had labeled him as 'cold' and 'aloof' when they'd tried their luck with him. Maybe it was because she'd never tried pushing her luck with him? Who knew.
"Okay... Zach. Is there anything I can help you out with? Regarding the books, I mean."
Zach chuckled, and pushed a stray strand of hair back behind his ear.
"What else would it be regarding?"
He shot a penetrating look at her, his light brown eyes boring into her light blue ones. Dear god, was he flirting with her? Cerry looked away, studiously staring at the bookshelf beside him. He sighed and looked away also, taking a random book from the shelf and thumbing lazily through the pages.
"That made you uncomfortable. I'm sorry. I'm so used to beautiful young women throwing themselves at me, I'm completely lost when one of them is merely politely doing her job. Forgive me?"
Cerry felt her cheeks warming. Did Zachary Arens, the handsome English Lit lecturer, just call her beautiful? In a roundabout manner, sure, but... Yes. Yes he just did. She wasn't sure how to feel about this. She decided to play it cool. Or cool for her, anyway.
"It's fine, really... Zach. I get hit on working in this place more than you know. Apparently chicks who read books are really in demand right now."
Zach put the book back on the shelf, chuckling again.
"Is that so? Then I may have to move faster than I had wanted to..."
Cerry's brow furrowed. This was flirting, right? She still didn't smile up at him, but her gaze softened a little.
"Afraid that someone's going to steal me away before I can actually help you out with your bookish quandary?"
He smiled, finally meeting her eyes again. Those light brown eyes seemed to smoulder, even when he wasn't trying.
"Amongst other things, yes. I have a rather... odd request. I hope it won't make you feel uncomfortable. I've actually come here today to buy some of the more... erotic fictions available. They are all the rage, I hear, and seeing if I can make references between them and some of the classics might be an interesting challenge. Can you help me?"
Cerry could feel her heart pounding in her ears. Picking out erotic fiction for an incredibly good looking, single guy. Sure, no problem. She gulped, hopefully silently, and moved down towards the romance section.
"Let's start you off with 'Fifty Shades' and see where we end up."
Fifteen minutes later, after many embarrassing questions and a few bashful giggling sessions, Cerry had loaded him up with a good assortment of, as he'd called them, 'the more erotic fictions'. She ushered him to the register, but Lily seemed to have disappeared. Cerry got behind the barrier and rang up his purchases, placing them in one of 'The Bookroom's' black canvas bags.
"So nobody knows what you're carrying around. Goodness knows, you don't want to give everyone another reason to go after you. If they knew you were reading this stuff, they'd all be offering themselves to you as test subjects."
Zach's eyes seemed to darken a little as he pondered the strange young woman behind the counter.
"I have to ask, Ceridwen. How do you know which of those books would be suitable for a person just starting out reading them?"
Cerry answered before she could even stop to think.
"Oh, I've read them all..."
Oh, crap. Well, now he knew, she was an avid reader of creepy sex books. The slow grin appearing across his face didn't look like he was freaked out by her answer, though.
"Oh really? You must have the happiest and most satisfied boyfriend in the world then..."
Cerry shook her head.
"No time for a boyfriend. Reading too many dirty books, and studying. Always studying."
Zach leaned against the counter, looking at her a little more closely.
"Interesting... Ceridwen, you are a truly... unique woman. I would very much like to take you out for coffee some time. Would that be alright?"
Cerry wrinkled her nose in thought.
"But, you're my lecturer. Isn't that against the rules or something?"
Zach sighed, and backed away from the counter.
"You are right. For a moment there, I had completely forgotten that you were my student. Forgive me, again."
He turned to leave, and Cerry felt she had to say something, to stop him.
"Well... That is... I mean... I finish my course in six months. If you'd still want to go out in six months? I'll definitely be available, it's not like there's a line of guys trying to ask me out... Not that you were asking me out."
Zach had started laughing again, at her stunted conversation skills. He turned and came back to the counter, resting his hand beside hers, so close she could feel the heat emanating from his skin.
"I would like that, very much, Ceridwen. Coffee in six months. It's a date."
He leaned a little closer, his voice dropping to an almost whisper.
"I'll have finished all of these books by then. We'll have some... interesting things to discuss. And if you have any other literary suggestions for me, I'll be ready for them. In the meantime..."
He leaned forward and pushed one of her own stray curls back behind her ear. Cerry nearly jumped out of her skin, as his warm fingers skimmed the skin of her ear.
"See you in class tomorrow, Ms Crane. Let's keep this between us, yes?"
Cerry moved backwards slightly and nodded. She hoped her face wasn't as red as it felt. It probably was. Dagnabbit.
"Business as usual, Mr Arens. See you tomorrow."
As he walked out of the shop, she couldn't help focusing on his jeans again. The man had a certain... swagger to his walk, that was completely captivating. Lily reappeared, popping up in front of her before the counter, her huge grey eyes wide with questions.
"Who on earth was that? Was he flirting with you?"
Her french accent, which she hid most of the time, became more obvious when she was excited. And chatter about boys always made her excited. Boys or shoes. The next three hours were filled with Lily questioning her about the handsome lecturer, and the plans they'd made for six months from now. At five o'clock they locked up the store and grabbed some sandwiches from the cafe next door for dinner. At five-thirty they re-opened for the last two hours of business. Cerry called Morgan to let her know she'd be late. She didn't answer her phone though, so Cerry just left a message, saying she'd be a couple of hours later than usual, but that she'd still bring the food. Hardly anybody came into the shop at this time of day. Lily was sitting by the register painting her nails, so Cerry picked up the book she'd started that morning and continued reading. The two hours seemed to crawl by, but eventually the clock struck seven-thirty. They'd served exactly three customers in the past two hours, such a waste of time. She hoped that everyone would be over their food-poisoning by tomorrow, seeing as she did have class and couldn't afford to miss it, especially now...
She wandered down the aisles, picking up random misplaced books and replacing them on the shelves. Lily locked up the register and went in the back to put the money in the safe. At seven-forty they met at the front door, carrying their bags, ready to depart. Cerry turned the lights out as Lily fiddled about with the key, trying to slot it into the lock before the both stepped outside. She turned it, and they both sighed happily at the resounding click. Lily beamed a smile at Cerry.
"Well, we survived!"
Cerry grinned back.
"We did indeed. Hooray for us!"
Lily's grin widened, and the two friends chest bumped out in the street, standing at the front of the store.
"Boom!"
They both yelled it in unison, then burst into giggling fits. They were clearly exhausted, but they had managed it. Cerry hooked her Sennheiser headphones around her neck, turning her iPod on, but pausing the song before it could start playing. They were still talking, of course.
"Are you working tomorrow?"
Lily nodded, and ran a hand through her hair, rolling her neck.
"Yes, but only half a day. If they ask me to do two shifts in a row again, I may quit."
Cerry looked at her, concerned.
"And leave me there by myself? How could you?"
Lily smiled, shaking her head.
"I could never do that. You're the only one that makes that place tolerable. See you later!"
Lily turned and walked up the street, towards the train station. Cerry put her headphones on and pressed play. The mix was fairly eclectic, with music from today all the way back to the nineteen forties. She'd hit 'shuffle' this morning, but hadn't had a chance to actually listen to anything, seeing as she'd been pummelled pretty much all the way to work. She smiled to herself when the dulcet tones of David Bowie started playing. The Chinese restaurant where she usually bought their take-away was just across the street. Since it was past six o'clock, the traffic had died down. The cross walk was three blocks away. She figured she could risk it. She looked both ways and stepped onto the street, seeing as it was empty. She found herself humming along to the song, and thinking about what Morgan would probably want for a late dinner.
There was a strange sound, she didn't know if it came from the song, or from the street, but it was definitely odd. Then, she suddenly found herself flying through the air. When she eventually hit the ground, all she could see was blackness. A deep, throbbing pain in her head made her groan aloud, and she struggled to sit up. Something heavy was weighing on her chest. She still couldn't see either. And she could hear someone calling her name, as if from afar.
"...erry! Cerry! CERRY! Are you alive?"
There was something heavy on her head, too. It was what was obstructing her vision. She tried to pull the heavy thing from her head, but it seemed to be attached to her clothes somehow. Her clothing felt unfamiliar as well, all buckles and sharp edges. What on earth...? She heard feet running up to her and someone dropping to the ground beside her, then a second pair of hands grabbed the metal thing on her head, gave it a slight twist to the side and lifted it off.
"Maker's Breath, you had me worried there for a moment, cousin! I thought I'd permanently damaged you! Mother never would have forgiven me!"
The light returned, and with it the sounds and the smells of her surroundings. She was sitting on the grass, in a fenced off circle, surrounded by high stone walls. There was some sort of... weapon rack, for want of a better term, off to the side of the circle, filled with swords, daggers and bows. She looked down at herself and gasped. She appeared to be wearing a set of chainmail, or something, the fine metal mesh stopping at her wrists and ankles. The boots and gloves seemed to match, being made of the same metal but more solid then the mesh. No wonder she'd found it so difficult to sit up. She was a walking fortress. The helmet that the other person had helped her pull off was sitting between her feet. Yes, there was no mistaking it. She had been wearing a full set of armour. She finally took the time to look at the person who'd helped her get the helmet off, and had to do a double-take.
She was wearing a lighter kind of armour, possibly leather, in a dress style which showed off her long, tanned legs. It was short sleeved as well, the skin on her arms also sunkissed. The person reached up to take off her own helmet, and her hair swung down her back in a sensible straight, black ponytail. Her blue-green eyes gazed at her questioningly, and a faint smile played across her rosy lips. Holy crap. Cerry knew who this was. And it was completely impossible.
"You're... Elissa Cousland."
Elissa narrowed her eyes, and looked at her face a little more closely.
"Oh dear, did you hit your head harder than I thought? Of course I'm Elissa Cousland, you daft thing! And you're Ceridwen Cousland, my beloved cousin who won't speak a word of this to my mother, yes?"
Something must have happened. Cerry knew that this couldn't possibly be real. She'd been crossing the road to get Chinese food for dinner, how did she end up in Highever, of all places. Firstly, because it was fictional, and secondly... Well, there was no secondly. Thedas wasn't real. Ferelden wasn't real. Elissa Cousland wasn't real. None of this was real... right? She reached up and touched the tender spot on the back of her head, where the ache was emanating from, and her fingers came away bloody. Oh, shit.
"Oh, shit!"
That was Elissa. Elissa Cousland, of Highever. Elissa Cousland just swore. She dropped to her knees beside Cerry and looked at the wound.
"I need to get you inside. I have someone who owes me a favour, he'll get you an injury kit. Can you walk?"
Elissa grabbed Cerry by the arm and hefted her up with almost no trouble. She hooked an arm around her waist and started walking her towards the guards' barracks, presumably to find the person who owed her a favour. As they walked, Cerry's eyes drank in the scenery. The stones had small imperfections in them, the wood was splintering in places, there were weeds amongst the grass... Everything looked so real. She could feel the sun shining down on her, hear the long grass rasping against the metal of her leg armour, feel the heat baking off Elissa's arm around her waist and smell the sweat from both of them. The only thing that took a little of the reality away from the situation was that in the back of her mind, and imperceptible to everyone else around, she could still hear the haunting melody of David Bowie belting out 'Life On Mars'.
END OF PART 01
Started at 10.15pm, finished at 3.27am. That's not bad for me! So I know it took a while for Cerry to actually get to Ferelden, but hey! Because character creation, that's why! The next part may take a while, as I'm still working on all the other stuff too, but I really want to get this story out there. Hopefully you guys all recognised the earthbound equivalent's of our favourite Dragon Age: Origins characters. They will make guest appearances through the story as it progresses. I can't wait to introduce Alistair, he's going to be a little... different than usual. You'll like him, I promise! Anyways, read, review and enjoy!
Foxfire out!