I... have done something terrible. Terribly horrible. You will all shudder at what I have done.

I have, well, re-written a story, changing the characters to Dragon Age characters that I think would be the best fit. A story you're all likely to know.

It has fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, True Love, miracles...

It came to me in a dream, and it enslaved me. I had to write it!

It's horribly terrible, I know... I am very sorry.

I don't own anything... Not the characters, they belong to Bioware. Not the plot, it belongs to... other people who are not me.

Etain was raised on a small farm in the country of Ferelden. Her favorite pastimes were riding her horse and tormenting the farm boy that worked there. His name was Alistair, but she never called him that.

The sound of galloping hooves greeted Alistair's ears and he turned just in time to see a young woman with long, wavy brown hair ride to the stables on her lovely chestnut brown horse, her faithful mabari at it's heels, and gracefully dismount. She glanced over at him to see if he was watching and tossed her hair over her shoulder, striding up to him.

She was a beautiful young girl, even in her somewhat raggety riding cape. Her grey-hazel eyes were bright with excitement from her ride, her cheeks pink from the wind.

"Farm boy," she said. Alistair's lips quirked as he met her gaze, seemingly amused. "Polish my horse's saddle. I want to see my face shining in it by morning," she ordered.

Nothing gave her as much pleasure as ordering Alistair around.

Alistair didn't even blink, his half-smile never faltering. "As you wish."

Satisfied, she nodded and wandered back to the house, her dog giving a happy whuff as he followed. Alistair watched her until she disappeared from his sight.

As you wish was all he ever said to her.

That afternoon, she approached him again, this time in her simple dress, carrying two empty pails. Alistair was chopping wood, the strong muscles of his back and arms rippling as he brought the ax down.

Alistair was a strong young man - he'd worked for some time under her father before his death.

She stopped before him, setting the pails down. "Farm boy," she asked and he turned slightly to look at her. "Fill these with water." He raised an eyebrow at her and she had to add, "Please."

He smiled, and the sight made her cheeks warm. "As you wish."

She nodded and slowly made her way back to the house.

That day she was amazed to discover that when he was saying 'As you wish', what he meant was, 'I love you.'

She came to a stop, rounding to look at him, her eyes confused. He stared back with the same warmth his eyes always held when he looked at her. She recognized that now; it was more than an acknowledgement. It was a promise. A vow.

He loved her.

And even more amazing was the day she realized she truly loved him back.

She was in the kitchen, kneading and shaping the dough in her hands, when Alistair stepped in, dressed warmly for the harsh cold of Ferelden, his arms full of firewood. Her heart stuttered in her chest.

Could she... was she brave enough?

She had to do something, catch his attention, tell him that she loved him.

She bit her lips, glancing around her for something, anything, to stop him from leaving.

"Farm boy," she called to him, just before he made it back out the door. He paused, turning to face her.

A pitcher in the corner of her vision caught her eye; close enough for her to reach, but... "Fetch me that pitcher?" she asked, almost shyly.

Wordlessly, he came towards her, each step slow and deliberate. He moved closer than was strictly necessary, close enough that she could hear his heart beat, beating almost as fast as hers. He reached up for the clay jug, securely holding it in his palm, and he brought it down for her.

"As you wish," he whispered.

Her lips slowly turned up into a smile, her hazel eyes shining with joy.

And she loved him back, with everything she had.

That night, he held her in his arms for the first time and kissed her beneath the sunset.

She loved him. Of that, she was sure now, more than ever before. She suspected she always had, right from the beginning when her father took him in for work. She'd been headstrong and unkind, especially after her father had died, and she regretted that now. He had never deserved her scorn. But even though she was cross and bossy towards him, he never stopped loving her.

He loved her. He had known from the moment he laid eyes on her that if true love existed, this was it. It was her.

"Maker's breath, but you're beautiful," he breathed. "I am a lucky man."

She blushed charmingly at his compliment and kissed his cheek.

It was because Alistair loved her then that he had to leave. At dawn, he tore himself from her embrace and told her.

He had no money for marriage or enough to keep her safe, so he packed his few belongings and left the farm to seek his fortune across the sea.

It nearly broke Etain's heart.

She clung to him tightly as he prepared to leave, her eyes red and puffy from crying. "I fear I will never see you again," she whispered.

He smiled sadly against her neck. "Of course you will."

"What if something happens to you?"

He pulled back to look at her, a fire in his amber colored eyes. "Hear this now," he told her. "I will always come for you."

Even crying, she was so beautiful. "How can you be sure?"

He held her face in his hand, wiping a tear away with his thumb. "This is true love. Think this happens every day?"

She bit her lip, but did not push any further. He kissed her, and once again for good measure, before finally reaching down for his pack.

She held his hand as long as she could, until her hand was empty and stretched out in front of her.

She did not go back inside for a long time.

Alistair didn't reach his destination. His ship was attacked by the Dread Pirate Roberts. He never left captives alive.

When Etain got the news that Alistair was murdered, she went into her room and shut the door, and for days she neither slept nor ate.

"I will never love again," she told her dog, her hazel eyes gray and lifeless. He whined in reply, his brown eyes sad as he watched his mistress.