Awakening
She closed her eyes for what seemed like just a moment and when she awoke two faces where starring down at her. Did she pass out?
"What happened?" She asked and began to look around. Then her eyes grew wide and she sat up abruptly and jumped of the altar. She didn't recognize any of this. She backed away from them.
"Who the hell are you?!"
She looked around and saw five people starring back at her. They seemed as confused as she did. What happened? A man in a white armour walked towards her. Was this some publicity thing the theatre was doing?
"Please calm down dear lady. My name is Prince Sebastian Vael of Starkhaven."
More confused than frightened, Leila was not actually listening to what he was saying she just answered as one normally would when someone was introducing themselves.
"I'm Leila. Where am I?"
"On Sundermount." A blonde man with feathers answered calmly. She started to look around.
"Sundermount? Where is Sundermount? Holy shit I'm on a mountain! What the fuck am I doing on a mountain?!" She looked closely at the people around here who also seemed to become more confused by the moment. The man with the black hair looked absolutely horrified. She looked closely at the woman.
"Are you... an elf? Aren't you supposed to be taller? Never mind... how the hell did I get here? Wherever here is? Wait... I must be dreaming."
She started by pinching herself but felt the pain. She panicked and sank to her knees, slapping herself as she desperately chanted.
"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"
All the people looked shocked at her and the men all went forward to stop her, while the woman stared incredulously at her. The first to reach her was Sebastian. He bowed down and held her firmly, but gently by the shoulders.
"Please stop hurting yourself. We will help you," his blue eyes full of concern.
"I just want to wake up... I..." She wasn't crying, but shivering uncontrollably and couldn't keep eye contact with anyone.
"Is she ill?" Sebastian asked looking over at his companions, but still holding her gently by her shoulders. The blonde man kneeled down and Sebastian moved away to give him room. He gently lifted her chin and looked into her eyes, but even though he looked at her there was no response.
"I'm Anders. Please, I know it's difficult, but try to keep eye contact." He took off his feathered coat and placed it around her shoulders. She did as he said and looked into his eyes almost pleading, but for what she had no idea. He gently tried to put his arms around her, but she shifted uncomfortably.
"I'm sorry. You are in shock, Lea."
"Leila...," she corrected in a whisper.
"Leila. You are getting cold and I need to get you off the cold ground. I won't hurt you. I promise," he said with a tender smile.
She nodded and he tried to help her up. She had only taken a few steps when she felt her legs going weak. Both Anders and Sebastian caught her and let her to the altar. It was still cold, but at least she was off the ground. The one named Anders started rubbing her arms gently and for some reason she felt her body warming up much quicker than she would have anticipated. It was as if heat was emanating from his hands. Leila became more aware again and now she was determined to get some answers.
"Thank you...," she said first politely and then became much more firm. "Now, would someone, please, tell me how the hell I got here?"
"You don't know?" the woman asked, a little confused.
"Of course she doesn't. Didn't you see what she just did?" the white-haired elf said in a spiteful voice.
"What is the last thing you remember?" Anders asked, still watching her carefully.
"I suddenly got very tired and sat down for a moment. Then it all went black and I heard voices. And I remember seeing someone cloaked... and this is going to sound insane, but it seemed as if he wasn't quite... human."
"You summoned a demon, didn't you, witch?!" the white-haired elf spat at the woman.
"I...
"I did." Leila and the rest of them looked at the black-haired man who for the first time made his presence known. He walked towards her and the man named Anders moved away slightly.
"I have done something terribly stupid and I'm sorry. I summoned the demon that brought you here."
Leila looked at him with disbelief. She had no idea what to believe. These people could be anyone. A cult of some sort, role players who had lost their minds, but they seemed honest.
"Is this for real or are you bloody mental?"
"It is quite real I'm afraid and as for being mental... I'm not sure what that refers to," he said in earnest.
"Blast it, Hawke. What did you do?" Anders asked in annoyance and a little outraged.
"I wanted to fix my mistakes. Surely you of all people should know what that feels like," Hawke spat.
"Please just tell me where I am," Leila pleaded.
"My name is Hawke. I... I believe that you were taken from your own world and placed in ours."
"So I'm on another planet?" she asked carefully.
"Another world, yes."
Okay, this she could possibly work with. She had always believed that there had to be life on other planets. Not that she was an alien fanatic. She just believed there had to me more in the universe than just Earth.
"Alright... and somehow you are responsible for bringing me here?"
"Yes... or the demon is, but I asked him to," he answered a bit shamefully.
"Andraste's flaming knickers! Are you really that big an idiot?!" Anders scolded.
"What did you expect from a blood mage?" the white-haired answered.
"That is a sin in the eyes of the Maker. What could possibly convince you to do such a thing?" Sebastian gave him a look that one would expect from a disappointed father.
"Give me a chance to explain to her, before you three start getting your knickers in a twist!" Hawke snapped. Leila looked at him patiently. What else could she do? Shouting wouldn't help and honestly she was too confused to form a complete sentence.
"Leila... I... I thought I had found a way to get my sister back from the dead. I apparently didn't understand what I was doing..."
"Obviously," the white-haired said in a condescending voice as he crossed his arms. Hawke gave him a grim look and repeated.
"What I was doing. I wanted to get my sister back, but for some reason I brought you here instead. I know you must be frightened and angry. I wouldn't blame you for hating me, but I hope you will believe me that it wasn't my intension to harm you."
The look he gave her almost broke her heart. He seemed almost as distressed as she did. As for his explanation, well, it was as good as any she could come up with at the moment. There was still the possibility that this was all a dream.
"How could you?" Sebastian asked completely mortified.
Hawke became furious. He knew what he had done. He was grateful for their friendship, but he hated the way they, at any opportunity, would hound, not only each other, but also Merrill and even himself. Did they honestly not understand?
"How could I not? What wouldn't you do to get your family back, Sebastian? Or you for Karl, Anders? Or you Fenris, for knowing where your sister is? I know you don't agree with what I did. Void, I don't even myself, but I did it for someone I love and I thought I was only risking myself. Had I known this, I would never have done it. And what difference does it make? I made a mistake and I can't change it!"
The three men looked at Hawke and for a moment, some sort of understanding seemed to pass between them. They knew. Even if they wouldn't admit it to themselves. They had all of them lost family or lovers. They knew regret and they knew the pain of loss. Anders could feel Justice raging, feeling the anger of the assumption that he would deal with demons. They memory of killing Karl and being dragged from his mother in chains, however, calmed him. He would change it if he could and Hawke's pain seemed genuine, much to the healer's surprise. For once, Hawke was dead serious and even remorseful. Hawke turned to face Leila again, fully expecting her to call him maleficar and run off to get the templars. She came from somewhere else, this was clear, but from where? An undiscovered part of Thedas, perhaps? But much to his surprise, she looked at him... with pity?
"I understand... It's alright," she said and gave a sad smile. His jaw must have landed somewhere in the Deep Roads and, from his companions' reactions, they felt the same. How could she be seemingly so calm?
"I am sorry about your sister. I know what it is like to lose someone you love and I would do anything in my power to change it if I could, but... could you please send me back now?" she explained with that same sad smile.
"I... I don't know how, but I will do anything in my power to do it. For the time being, if you want, you can live with me."
She gave him a distrustful and concerned look as that former calmness dissipated. Anders gave Hawke a stern look and it was only then he realised what it had sounded like.
"No, no, no... you misunderstand. I live with my mother in a fancy mansion. I got servants and everything. You'll have your own room and privacy. I will even provide for you. It's the least I can do," he explained in mortification.
She looked very concerned at first, but then gave him a little smile, though it never reached her eyes. Leila knew she could shout and scream. Vent all the fear and confusion she was feeling. But what good would it do? He clearly didn't do this on purpose and no amount of screaming or anger could change it. It also helped that he seemed... familiar, somehow. It was like she already knew this person.
"Thank you. Do any of you have something to drink?"
Merrill was the first to react and handed her a bottle of water.
"Thank you. If you don't mind me asking, and forgive me if I sound insane, but are you really an elf?"
"Well, yes... Have you never seen one of the people before?"
Leila looked a little uncomfortable. Had she? The ones she knew of were from fairytales, pictures and movies. Descriptions in books and portrayed in ancient songs in an old dialect that could make the meaning difficult to understand. Which raised another question. If this was real ('cause a part of her sanity was still convinced she would wake any moment), perhaps this was not the first time someone had travelled between their worlds?
"I have seen drawings and read literature, but there are no elves on my world. The description was vague at best. I only guessed it because of your ears."
They looked at her with disbelief. Apparently this was as strange for them as it was for her. But Hawke chuckled.
"People only ever notice the ears... unless you are in The Rose, of course."
"The Rose?"
Sebastian interrupted before Hawke would give a very detailed description. The serious Hawke seemed to already be long gone and forgotten somewhere.
"It's a place where women..."
"and occasionally men...," Hawke chimed in with a wicked look.
"...'entertain' people for money." Sebastian became bashful.
"I see." Leila started to chuckle warmly understanding Hawke's joke. She then looked at Hawke.
"I have another question. How did you do it?"
"Do an elf?" Hawke gave a wicked grin.
"Hawke..." Anders warned.
"No, get me here, you arse," she replied with a smile and the male elf chuckled. It was clear that the one named Anders found Hawke's remark inappropriate, but for some reason it was oddly comforting for her.
"I used some ancient magic. I don't understand quite how it works, but I'm going to find out."
Anders and the elf grunted in unison, clearly not impressed with him. Leila's eyes widened again and gave him a doubtful look. Now she must be dreaming.
"You have got to be kidding me? Magic? You mean like setting things on fire and making it snow at will?"
"Hey, don't make it sound so unimpressive," Hawke faked offense.
"Wait, why does this surprise you so much?" Anders looked at her with a gaze that was... concerned, actually.
"Because where I come from we are told that there is no such thing as magic. Magic is a term we sometimes use for things we don't understand."
"So let me get this straight. There is no magic on your world?"
"No. There are stories. Very old stories, but now there isn't. Perhaps we never learned."
"Magic isn't something you learn. You are born with it." Anders raised an eyebrow.
"Perhaps they went extinct, then?" Leila said in wonderment.
"Even better," the elf commented, earning a nasty glare from Anders and Hawke as the female elf shifted uncomfortably.
"Well, we can't stay here all day. Let's get back to Kirkwall," Hawke said nonchalantly.
"Just give me a moment to examine her," Anders said.
"You do that. In the meantime, why don't we make sure there are no spiders up ahead? I'm sure the last thing Leila wants is to be covered in spider blood," Hawke replied, already walking, clearly feeling restless.
"No need to trouble yourselves. The spiders are probably more afraid of me than I am of them," Leila replied, earning an honest laugh from everyone, though she didn't quite understand why. The others walked down the passageway. Anders started looking into her eyes again, making her eyes follow his fingers."A doctor of some sort then?" she thought.
"I'm sorry about Hawke. I know he seems insensitive, but he is just foolish," Anders said with an apologetic smile.
"It's fine. He seems to be good at lifting people's spirits."
"He is... You don't seem cold anymore and you don't have a concussion. I don't know what you have been through so I am going to see if you have any injuries."
His hand started glowing and she looked startled at first. Anders cursed himself. She had just told him that she had never seen magic before. Then, she started smiling, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. She hesitantly raised her hand and carefully touched his. It was like seeing someone touching coals to see if they were still hot. She finally touched his hand and felt a warm tingling sensation and she gave a laugh in amazement that made Anders grin.
"You really have never met a mage before, have you?" he smiled as if he could hardly believe it.
"Nope, but it's a pleasure to meet you," she almost chuckled, earning a laugh from Anders. When he was done examining her, she took off his coatand handed it to him.
"Thank you for lending this to me."
"You're welcome. We better head after the others if we want to get back before dark."
She nodded and jumped off the altar and they started walking. She was relieved and surprised to see her bag on the ground. She picked it up and continued to walk. It was not easy in high heels, but as long as the ground was level, Leila had no trouble. She looked around.
"What is this place?"
"Sundermount. Don't you remember? Perhaps you do have a head injury?" He looked concerned again.
"I remember that. I mean this place. It looks like a cemetery," gesturing all around her.
"Oh... it is. The elves of old used to bury their dead here."
"The carvings are breathtaking." She started to look closely at one of the rocks, running her fingers over the carvings. Anders smiled and thought it a shame Merrill wasn't here. She would have been thrilled to see someone take interest in Dalish history. Leila then gave him a sad smile and walked ahead. "That poor girl... Hawke you are such an idiot!" Anders thought to himself, and Justice agreed. They entered the cave and now Leila started to have trouble with walking. When she twisted her foot slightly, she sighed angrily.
"Screw this! If I step on anything sharp, you can heal me, right?" Not giving him a chance to answer, she held his arm for balance and took off her shoes. Anders starred at them.
"How do you walk in those things?"
"Practice and willpower... And I was planning on going hiking today." She smiled teasingly and it just grew wider when Anders shook his head.
The others rejoined them, Hawke twirling his staff. "A show off, it seems," Leila smiled to herself.
"Did you eliminate the spider threat?" she said slightly mockingly.
"Yup, all dead and you took off your shoes," Hawke stated.
"Just thought I'd go with the fashion." She smiled and pointed at the elf's feet, earning a smile from everyone. Hawke looked at her. They way she said that, her kindness, even though she had to be terrified, and her politeness. In that moment, she reminded him of Bethany, but she clearly wasn't.
"Now I would like to know your names, if that's alright. You're Hawke, Sebastian and... Anders, was it?"
"Yes," he smiled.
"I'm Merrill and this is Fenris." Merill smiled and Fenris bowed slightly.
"A pleasure to meet both of you... This place is a little creepy. I keep imagining a gorgon will show up and turn me to stone."
"Gorgon?" Merrill asked with interest.
"Medusa? You haven't heard of her?"
"No... never."
"I guess I should be grateful for that then."
"What is a gorg.. mesa..."
"Medusa was a woman from an ancient mythology. The short story is she was a woman so beautiful that one of the goddesses became jealous of her. To punish her, the goddess turned her into half-snake. Her lower body was a snake while the upper was a woman's and her hair was tiny snakes. She also got the nasty ability to turn people to stone by just looking at her."
"So, on your world, magic is seen as a curse as well?" Sebastian asked and Leila noticed Anders twitch.
"Not as such... In this case you could say that it was the goddess who was the curse. But what about here? I would like to hear more about mages."
"Uuuuhhh... Baaaaaaad decision," Hawke only just managed to say before Anders began.
"Mages are people who have been granted the gift of magic by the Maker. But they have been subjugated by the chantry for over a thousand years. Locking us up like criminals for simply being born."
"The chantry is only protecting the world from harm, as well as the mages from themselves," Sebastian stated, a little resentful.
"So we are to be tormented for a danger that we might pose? They are treating us unjustly, Leila."
"Don't you dare take advantage of the fact that she knows nothing of magic! You would make her believe that mages are harmless," Fenris spat.
"And you would have her believe that all mages are magisters!" Anders all but growled.
Leila had clearly hit a nerve and the air was filling with fury and uncontrolled anger. What the hell had she gotten herself into? If she didn't stop this now, she feared that they might start beating each other.
"Wait! Please calm down. What do you say we change the subject? When we get back to where you live you can all give me... I don't know, books or something on the subject. Then I can make up my own mind and none of you will have to fear that I have been influenced. Can everyone live with that?"
"And who will decide these books?" Fenris said doubtfully.
"Why don't you all bring me something to read?"
"A very diplomatic and wise decision, my lady," Sebastian smiled.
"That is the first time I have been called a 'Lady'," she chuckled lightly.
"Surely, there can be no doubt on the subject."
"Ha! I was quite the tomboy growing up and I can barely form a sentence without cursing. I have long hair, polished nails and wear high heels so people will know that I'm a woman," she laughed.
"That would not make you less deserving," he said with a smile and she actually blushed as she started to laugh a little nervously.
Hawke looked at her again and knew that she was feeling a little uncomfortable. He took her arm and started joking about the Chantry's stance on flirting. He didn't know why, but he felt as if he knew her only as a brother could. He felt protective of her as he had done Bethany. But she wasn't her. He could see that. But why then did it feel as if she was?
Anders felt annoyed by Sebastian's flirting comments. He was positive that the prince only did it so that he could spout his Chantry propaganda. He looked at Leila, now wrapped in Hawke's arm. Did that man never think of anything, but women? Flirting with Merrill, sleeping with Isabela and now a woman he had just met was clinging to his arm. Was he starting a harem? He could see so much of himself in Hawke. He was like the careless, flirting man that Anders himself had once been, but with less anger and none of the Circle's punishments to torment his mind. And she would be living with him? Would he really take advantage of her in such a state? Anders decided that it would be best if he kept an eye on her and Justice agreed. A grave injustice had been done to this woman and he would not allow anymore to befall her. He then heard Leila give a loud yelp and almost jumped into Hawke. Anders looked around nervously until he realised she was staring at the dead spider.
"What happened to the woman who claimed she would terrify spiders?" Hawke chuckled.
"I meant normal spiders. Those are enormous!" She gasped and Hawke just laughed at her as he continued to walk dragging her along.
