9:27 Harvestmere/October 15th

"Huh? You think you had a dream about the fade?" Rael asked. I nodded. We were out in the marketplace to find some cloth or yarn to make some better clothes for myself. Unfortunately they were all overpriced because of the demand due to the early winter. Rael rubbed his chin and looked uncomfortable. "Are you sure that this was the fade? I'm not sure how it would look though."

"I'm not sure but it seemed so real." I pulled my cloak closer to me. There wasn't even a cloud in the sky and the sun was shining down but it was freezing out. The only grace was the fact there wasn't any wind today, thank God. Rael put a hand on my shoulder.

"You're not…" He looked around us to make sure no one was listening in. "A mage are you?" He whispered. I gave him a deadpanned look.

"Yes I am actually. This is just a ruse out because I would rather be on a run for my life instead of living in a cold ass tower. I have as much magic in my pinky as I am the Queen of Antiva, of course I'm not a mage." I pouted. Rael gave out a sigh of relief.

"Don't scare me about that. Maybe the attack you experienced just spooked you. Don't worry too much about it ok? I'm sure you won't dream about that anymore." Rael looked extremely relieved. He didn't want to think about the topic about the fade or about magic. Mages are looked down upon and most are looked at as monsters. I frowned. I knew that even if I did have another dream about it, I wouldn't tell him. I didn't want him to be suspicious of me.

"I'll try not to worry about it then." I fidgeted with my ring when he wasn't looking when I noticed the guards going around to do their rounds. Well tried to at least. Not many even cared for the security of the city. Most can be bribed with coin or well…either way the guards in the city do more than their worth of trouble too. Still, there are good ones in the bad bunch. Rael noticed them and we both got up and went back to the alleys towards Thomas'. Ever since Rael's rundown with the other guards last month, he would avoid trouble.

"Well today was a bust. No yarn but at least I got the needle." I sighed.

"It happens. You can't expect to get everything you want from the marketplace but…" Rael gave me a mischievous grin when we went through the alleys towards Thomas' shop. He took out what was underneath his cloak and revealed a small ball of yarn. "Sometimes it pays to have a pretty lady for a distraction." Rael winked at me. I opened my mouth slightly before pulling on one of his ears. "Ow!"

"Rael!" I harshly whispered.

"Ow! Stop pulling on them!" He whined before I pulled his face down to face me.

"Never. Ever. Steal. Again. You are much better than that." I gave him my best disappointed look. He looked deflated almost and, like a punished child, pouted and nodded. I let go of his ear and he rubbed it.

"You shouldn't have pulled so hard though. They're sensitive…" Rael mumbled. I took the yarn.

"What was that?" I growled. Rael put his hands in the pockets of his pants.

"Nothing." He huffed.

"Uh huh, that's what I thought. Either way this small ball is not even enough to make a pair of gloves or even a hat." I sighed. Rael and I continued with a tense silence.

"I'm sorry. I just didn't want you to be cold anymore." Rael shuffled outside of Thomas' shop, looking down. I sighed slightly and tapped on his chin for him to look up.

"Thank you but I'd rather use my own money to buy it ok?" I smiled. "You are forgiven." I nodded. Rael smiled sheepishly.

"Thank you. I'll just remember not to do it around you anymore." Rael chuckled before I slapped his back hard. "Ow!"

9:27 Firstfall/November 4th

I have just gone through my first holiday in Denerim. It was awesome! The only part of it that wasn't awesome was the fact that I had a lot of sweets to make for it. It is called Santinalia. It's a mix of a festival and Christmas. They crown the town fool and party. In Antiva it would be a week-long party and then a week of fasting follows after.

Here there was a huge party out in the centers. I had to stay nearly the entire day in the bakery supplying all the sweet cakes for gifts for children and others as well. It was very hectic and I had to put in long, long hours. I would go in before the sun rose and go back very late at night. This lasted for about three days until the festival stopped and the gifts started.

Gretchen let me off since it was a holiday and it was time for her and Dirk to celebrate with their families. I stayed at Thomas' while he made extra salves since people tended to party hard. Hangover cures and things for bloated stomachs were popular to use around this time. While people kept on coming in and out of Thomas' shop, I stayed in my own room.

I was practicing with my quill on spare vellum that Rael gave me while all the festivities happened. I leaned back in my chair. Two months. It's been two months and in a few days my son would be turning two. In my loneliness, I tried to turn on my phone and of course it didn't work. I put it back in my drawer and knocked my head on the table. It was stupid but I longed for a glimpse of my family.

I hated this. I wanted to go home. I've only been able to pay Thomas about 70 silvers between Rael and I. One sov and 30 silvers to go. And then what? Where would I go? I wanted to go home and nothing has even come to mind as to how except going to visit Flemeth. She wouldn't go through with it or answer my questions without a catch though. There was always something to be paid with her.

Now that I think about it, she really is my only hope in this matter. The more I thought about it, the more I gained conviction. Flemeth is Mythal or at least a part of her. If there was someone that could point me on how to get home, it would be her.

I didn't want to rely on her but my choices were very limited. On my next pay, I decided to get a map in order to find the best path. It would be a very hard trek especially when going through the Korcari wilds with the chasind folk and the wildlife of course. I would need to have someone with me that would know how to fight as well. I couldn't be able to do everything with only a small knife and minor self-defense techniques.

Oh God, what the hell did I get myself in to? Oh wait, this isn't my fault anyway! Either way, what, who, or anything that brought me here, nothing would change. The story was going to stay the same regardless with only a few changes. I guess I should at least keep track of the changes so I would know what to expect later on if I'm even here for that long.

9:27 Firstfall/November 10th

The first snow of the year has landed and it's freaking amazing and cold as hell. Not only that today was a very eventful day.

After I got up and sang a silent 'Happy Birthday' for my son, I went off to work and ate a sweet roll in his honor. It was after work that I got out and saw Rael waiting for me by the door to the bakery. He was breathing on his hands and he had the hat for his ears. His bushy red hair was getting longer. He saw me and gave me his toothy grin.

"Hey! I was wondering when you'd come out. It's freezing out here." He chuckled and hugged me tight. "Oh so warm!" He shivered and laughed.

"You smell like rotten fish! Let go!" I squirmed.

"Never!" He faked an evil laugh and we had a good chuckled. He kept on hugging me before he stopped shivering and let me go. "Ah I needed that. Come on, I saw that there was some specials out in the marketplace for some yarn."

"I'm coming." I chuckled. Rael led the way and I followed. We got very hateful stares everywhere we went but I didn't care. Rael was my friend even if he was an elf. The marketplace was not as full since people didn't want to be in the cold for too long. Merchants abound and people were scurrying around, the roads filled with slush instead of snow.

The small marketplace that was in game was nothing compare to the real deal. The whole center was as big as an outdoor swap meet. They had rows of stands just like in the dwarven noble opening but things were a lot louder and all over the place. The really expensive items like jewelry, exotic pets, really fancy armor were all under the tent and that's what we saw in game.

We mostly stayed to the outer booths. There were also roads that were right next to the booths, carriages and horses were all over the place. We found the booth that had the yarn. I was surveying them on cost and comfortability. Rael went off somewhere and gave me his small smirk. I knew he was most likely pick pocketing. I hoped that he wouldn't get caught.

I picked out a few balls that would be enough for what I would need to make. After paying, I strolled around to look at the different booths. Some sold food, cloths, equipment, and various knick knacks here and there. There was even a specialty booth that sold Dalish carvings and other trinkets. I was looking at a few carved hallas when I noticed a small child without a parent wandering around.

The mother in me turned on and I followed the kid at a good distance as I didn't want to seem like I was following him for bad reasons. He seemed inquisitive and his clothes definitely marked him as one of the nobles due to a few bright colors. As I followed him, I got bumped into by a guard. He sneered at me before making his way back through the market. I rubbed my shoulder, feeling a bruise forming before I started to hear screams of panic.

I heard a horse whinny and I saw a carriage headed toward my way in the market. The vendors and customers realized what was happening and were getting out of the way. I was about to as well when I saw the boy I was following right in front of its way.

I didn't hesitate. I dropped the yarn and ran, my legs slipping and sliding everywhere which made it difficult. When they say things like this happened in slow motion, it was true. The little boy looked at the horse with the carriage. I found my footing and grabbed him. I used all my leg strength and jumped. I narrowly avoided the horse that naturally crashed through the stalls. I slid on the cobblestone before hitting a wall. My linen clothes were ripped. My face got scratched and I had scrapes on my arm. I let out a shaky breath, my heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest. The little boy cried from the scare and I shushed him softly.

"Oren!" I heard a woman cry. My eyes widened as the boy got out of my arms and ran to a red almost orange headed woman with her hair in a bun. He cried and sobbed as she cradled him. I got up, ignoring my scrapes. She looked at me with her tear soaked face. "Thank you, thank you!"

"Oriana! What happened?" A man with bushy dark brown hair, pale skin, and blue eyes came running toward her. Oriana and Oren? That could only mean one thing; that man is Fergus Cousland and Oriana is his wife.

The boy I saved was Oren.

Beta'd by the amazing FearaNightmare!

We finally got to the Cousland family! I will explain why I went this route on the next chapter :3

Shout out to salinagriego, Psychii, and Insanity Sorrow 2 . 0 for following/favoriting! Thank you Chimera Spyke and Syutaku for reviewing! Please Review!