AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, this is my first attempt at writing any sort of... fanfiction in a very long time. About four years at least. This really isn't a story, but a collective series of one-shots that provide different possibilities on how the Warden's Fade nightmare could have been for each Origin. I felt that parts of DA:O like the Fade lacked, because there was so much more potential for it to bring back something more personal than the Grey Wardens for the character.

This first chapter features Elissa Cousland, who I may actually start a real fanfic for pretty soon. If I do, consider this just a little glimpse to what happens to her.

Anyway, forgive me for any rustiness these little one chapter stories may contain. I hope you enjoy! Oh, and yes– the title is the Miranda Lambert song title. No copyright infringement intended.

DISCLAIMER: Bioware owns everything except for the storyline twists I provided.

The Fade

The blade made a sickening noise as it sliced through Goldanna- no. The demon. He had met his sister once already, and she was nothing but greedy and cold. He would not fall to weakness after making the eye-opening discovery that everyone is out for only themselves. Taking a deep breath, Alistair Theirin, Grey Warden and possible heir to the throne, placed his sword in its place on his back and then glanced around. Yes, he was without a doubt in The Fade, no thanks to that damned Sloth Demon. Yet, there was no sign of his companions. He wasn't sure what that meant, but could guess it wasn't anything good.

Catching sight of a strange pedestal, Alistair cautiously went towards it to find a strange diagram of sorts – perhaps a map of the Fade? – with certain areas glowing while others were not. Scrunching up his nose, he reached out his hand hesitantly and touched one of the luminescent areas.

It had all been a horrifying dream, and what a relief it was! She was never cut out to battle Darkspawn, and Elissa Cousland promised herself that she would never try joining the Grey Wardens again after that insane dream.

She sat before a mirror, brushing out her long, beautiful chestnut hair. Her mother would no doubt have a fit if she didn't look proper, especially after being told they would have very important guests this evening. For once, the Cousland's spitfire, as she had been nicknamed, would eagerly obey her mother's wishes without question or complaint. She was in a particularly good mood this day, and refused to be brought down even by her odd nightmare about Grey Wardens and Darkspawn. It all just left a distinctly bad taste in her mouth.

Finishing up with her hair, having pulled up part of it to tie in a white silk ribbon and leaving the rest to cascade down past her neck, Elissa rose up and went to her closet. Picking out a striking blue and white dress, she changed into it and then headed out of her room to find her family. As she walked through the castle she had grown up in, the young woman couldn't help but feel like crying from sheer relief and happiness. She was shocked by her own sudden surge of emotion, but pushed the odd moment aside as her young nephew came into view.

Oren was outside, playing with a pair of sticks, swinging them around and shouting: "Fear my blades of truthiness, evil bunnies of dooooom!" As he stabbed at the invisible "bunnies of doom", Elissa grinned and snuck up behind her nephew. Without warning she grabbed him by his sides and yanked him up towards her, tickling the boy to earn a few giggles and shouts of protest from the young boy. "N-no, Auntie Ellie! Stoooop!" he pouted in the midst of his laughter and giggling, trying to squirm away from his aunt.

After a few minutes of this, Elissa finally relented and put the boy back down, but the grin was nowhere near gone from her face. "Slaying the evil bunnies of doom again, eh Oren?" she winked, squatting down besides a tired-out Oren. "What's with the dual blades though? I thought you had a shield and sword," she then asked, nudging him.

"I decided I like your swords more, auntie!" he announced, puffing out his chest proudly.

"Mine are actually called daggers, because they're much shorter than a sword," she made a point of explaining, just so Oriana wouldn't get on her case for not teaching specifics to Oren, "But if your dad agrees to it soon, I'll teach you the tricks and trades of using two blades." The boy beamed up at her, eyes full of admiration. He was by far the cutest kid in existence, Elissa almost envied Fergus and Oriana for it. But it wasn't her fault love was so difficult to find, she had standards after all.

Her man would have to be innocently charming and silly. Chivalrous and genuinely caring, not just some oaf looking for another romp in between the sheets. Perhaps with light brown, almost blonde, hair and stunning dark eyes. Oh, if only King Maric Theirin had had another son besides Cailan. A prince of Theirin lineage would be one of the most attractive by far. In fact, if Cailan hadn't already been promised to Anora, Elissa probably would have sought after the young, current King of Ferelden. Yet, as she thought such a thing, she felt disgusted with herself.

"I see you wore out my son," Oriana chided playfully, snapping Elissa out of her odd thoughts. She collected Oren up in her arms lovingly, and placed a motherly kiss atop his forehead. "I'm afraid there will be no more playing with Aunt Ellie today, Oren. Grandpa and grandma are waiting for her," she explained to the boy who was already pouting, not wanting his auntie to go.

The Cousland daughter took the hint and nodded, "We can play later, Oren, I promise! There's many more evil bunnies of doom to be slain, after all!" Winking one last time at her nephew, she thanked Oriana and then took off towards the main hall, where her parents would most likely be waiting. For the briefest of moments, it seemed things shifted out of place, but Elissa blinked it away and blamed the odd occurrence on her vision. Today was definitely strange. Perhaps it was because of her dream...

"Ah, pup, there you are," Teyrn Bryce Cousland greeted his daughter warmly, going forth to embrace her. As he did so, she felt the urge to cry once more, and this time it was much harder to ignore.

"Sorry about the delay, Oren sidetracked me," Elissa admitted, smiling. Releasing from his hug, she then turned to see her mother approaching. "Hello, mother," she greeted the Teyrna, embracing her as well.

"Dear girl, you certainly took your time getting here," the woman sighed, shaking her head. Though it was a slight lecture, it lacked no love.

"Oren needed a playmate!" Elissa protested, pouting.

"You know your puppy-eyes have no effect on me anymore, Ellie," Eleanor smirked, shaking her head. This earned a chuckle from Bryce as he gathered his girls in his arms.

"Now, now, let us move on to the important events of the day before we forget," he reminded them, a gentle smile on his face. "Pup, your mother and I have invited a very special guest to meet you– or I suppose remake your acquaintance would be a more proper way of saying it," he explained, leading them through the hall.

"May I ask who exactly it is?" Elissa inquired, eyebrow quirked up in curiosity.

"Oh, you shall see in a just a moment, dear," Eleanor smiled as well now as they approached the main hall's doors that led to the outer castle's entrance gate.

Suddenly a loud cry of pain from the outside could be heard, and then utter silence followed. Her parents looked at each other worriedly, stepping back somewhat. Elissa, on the other hand, had a single dagger hidden on her that she brought out quickly just as the doors creaked open slowly. A silhouette of a man was formed by the contrast of shadows and light, but before she knew it there stood a stranger over the corpse of another.

"King Cailan!" her mother gasped, covering her mouth while her eyes filled up with terror.

"You... How dare you kill our king!" Bryce snapped, his Cousland pride and duty coming forth in an explosion.

Yes, before her lay the corpse of a dead King Cailan. But as she stared at this stranger with disbelief, a strange warmth filled her instead of an expected hatred. He seemed so familiar, and she longed to reach out to him rather than take vengeance for her king. "Ellie," the man sighed with relief, a face full of concern having melted into one of caring it seemed.

"Elissa, step back," her father's voice warned from behind her.

"Who...?" she began, searching the man's gentle face for some sort of answer. It was as though she had seen him just recently, but that couldn't be...

The man's expression changed to one of realization, and a sort of pitying look filled his eyes. "Ellie, I know you don't want to hear this," he began, only to be cut off by Eleanor Cousland.

"Elissa Jayne Cousland, step back right now!" she shouted at her daughter, voice urgent but lacking something... lacking the motherly love it usually held.

The oddly familiar man stepped closer, as though unsure on how he should go about addressing her at this point. Yet, as he did, realization struck her harshly. This was the man from her dreams about the Darkspawn. But if he was here, what did that mean? It made no sense, none at all. "Alistair," Elissa muttered, looking up at him. She didn't care to figure out the details, but had come to a realization that her parents would most likely have him executed for treason if she didn't stop it. "Mother, father, this man is not bad I can promise you! He would never kill the king," she said in his defense, turning around to face them.

Alistair groaned, covering his face with his hand for a moment. This was going to be much harder than he had anticipated. Even he could see the happiness that this cruel trick had given her. Truly, part of him did not want to take it away from the poor girl. "Elissa, they won't listen," he explained slowly, as though speaking to a fragile child, "We've been trapped in the Fade, remember...?"

"This man is obviously delusional, pup," her father growled, almost like a predator would, "You will get away from him immediately."

"N-no," she stuttered, frightened by Bryce's sudden aggressiveness. She'd never seen him act in a such a way all her life. It was as if he was possessed, or a demon like Alistair was making it sound. But... that could not be, because that would mean the Cousland family had perished like in her dream. Looking at Alistair frantically, Elissa repeated what he had said, looking for a dreaded confirmation, "This... is the Fade?"

Her words stung the ex-Templar, as he knew the truth would kill part of her. But to live a lie, whether it was happy or not, would not be fair. Not to mention he couldn't fathom finishing their journey without her. He needed her, just like she needed him right now. "I'm sorry, Ellie," he finally said, for it was all he could say.

It was all Elissa needed to hear, and she felt her heart break into a million pieces as the dream around her began to shatter. No longer did they stand in Highever Castle, but in the Fade. Her cascade eyes filled up with tears as she turned to look upon her parents. They still stood there, but their faces were contorted into a demonic rage.

"She will not be taken from us!" they hissed, rushing forth to attack.

Letting out a shocked cry, Elissa stumbled back behind Alistair, unable to force herself to attack the demons while they still wore the faces of Bryce and Eleanor Cousland. Alistair did not question her, and rushed forth to make quick work of the creatures. The broken girl covered her face with her hands and looked away, sobbing weakly.

As the final strangled noises echoed from the demons, she fell to her knees and allowed her arms to drop lifelessly at her sides. The wounds she had tried so hard to heal had reopened, and the scars that she tried to hide had become completely visible. Elissa Cousland had broken the one promise she had made to herself: stay strong. She trembled, stubbornly trying to keep the tears away but failing miserably. She felt so utterly alone, like a child lost in a strange dark place. The images of her dead sister-in-law, nephew, and her dying father tortured her mind.

Yet, just as the pain and cold threatened to swallow her up, a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around Elissa. She did not need to look to know who it was, and instead of fighting against it, she melted into Alistair's embrace and sobbed freely. His armor cooled off her heated body, while his embrace warmed her broken spirit and slowly pieced it back together. He said not a word, but just held her to him.

It was then that Elissa knew she hadn't been alone. Alistair had always been beside her.