ACT II: Sweet Nightmares
Note: I am so excited for you guys to see this.
Josephine's office was an unsanctioned showdown room. I had retreated into the office the moment I had been dismissed from my duties at court and the others came hot on my heels. Cullen stormed in after me, somehow beating out Josephine from getting in first, Leliana followed them in not long after. She probably started making a mad dash to the office when the trial was winding down.
"Inquisitor —" Cullen started in on me. My Marked left hand rose to meet his face with a foot of space between us, my fingers held like a salute.
"Oh, no, no, no." I interrupted, my index finger wagging. "We are not doing this without alcohol. I am all for letting you say your piece, Cullen, but I am not doing it sober." Leliana had already been making her way over to Josephine's shelves and had reached the brandy bottle as I spoke.
Josephine's feathers ruffled. "Commander, surely we all here can agree that this was a marvelous display. Better than we expected, even!" I am not sure how that was meant, but I am not going to drag more fuel to the raging bonfire that is Cullen. The Commander twisted his lips tightly and a hand ran through his curls, fraying them all along the way.
"We can agree on that much," Cullen eyed the glass of brandy being brought over to me by Leliana. "But what disturbed me is the manner in which we arrived to our conclusion."
"I daresay it went exactly as I predicted." Leliana chirruped next to me, a side glance tossed my way as I took a hard swing from the glass. Her eyes shifted to Cullen. "I did warn you that she wasn't going to just take our word for it."
"A little trust would have been appreciated." Cullen heatedly shot back. I swallowed hard, wagging my index at him again, the glass held precariously in my hand as I did so.
"Look here," I croaked, my throat burnt by the drink, "I trust you, implicitly, irresponsibly almost. But I am not willing to chuck a man to death on the word of a man who has a personal stake in the matter."
"My loyalties lie with the Inquisition!" Cullen hissed at me, rounding his anger my way. Josephine leaned out of the way of the blast. I could see Cassandra come in through the door behind her and the look of Immediate Death came upon her face.
"I'm not saying they don't, Cullen." I withheld using his title, I didn't want to metaphorically spit in the man's face, after all. "But you've gotta see it from the court's point of view, no one knows he's guilty until we prove it so — we can't just tell them he is! Do you know what kind of madness that would start?"
"I agree." Cassandra sailed in like a wraith, wedging herself between Josephine and the Commander. With the opportunity presented, I took another drink of the brandy. I was extremely grateful to Leliana for having nearly topped off the glass rather than leaving a dredge of it at the bottom.
"We had the Knight-Vigilant's body!" Cullen snapped back with a hard look to Cassandra. "What other proof did we need?"
"That means shit all to me." I answered after the second swallow. "So what? Excluding the nobles and children, every fucking person in that courtroom is capable of killing a man." Josephine was quick to hide a laugh behind her hand and fluttered her fingers away when Leliana glanced at her.
"The Inquisitor was making sure that our nobility understood the evidence." Leliana attempted to appease him, her hands behind her back. "And I agree with her — you have no connection to the Templars any more, but to suddenly come in demanding retribution?"
"Conflict of interest." I muttered around the lip of the glass. "If I just took you at your word, people would think the Templars were just a plaything, not an ally." Cullen's jaw gripped his teeth tightly for a long second before he exhaled roughly and shook his head. After my third hearty sip, I handed the glass out to my Commander.
He took it with a sour look and downed the rest of it.
"We're in this together, Cullen." I reached out and patted his shoulder, letting my hand rest there. "But I got to make sure I cover our asses as well."
"Months ago you wouldn't have been such a thorn in our side." Cullen muttered, wiping his palm down his mouth politely. At my curious eyebrow raise, he continued: "I remember when you used to just… cower at the sight of us."
"Well, yeah." I laughed. "And then I got to know you assholes."
"Being in one's comfort zone does induce bravery." Leliana added, a small smirk on her face. She focused on Cassandra as I took the glass from Cullen. "The nobility?"
"Pleased." Cassandra answered, gruff but not upset. "Pacified. I have no doubt Ferelden and Orlais will receive the news within the hour, and by tomorrow, more requests to come in." I had wandered away to snatch the brandy bottle from the shelf, bringing it over to Josephine's desk as I served myself another glass. Only half full this time, to be safe.
"... I apologize, Inquisitor." Cullen exhaled, slumping in his armor slightly. "I — lost my temper. I wanted to see justice terribly, and forgot myself."
"I know, Cullen." I walked over, the glass cradled in both my hands. "You scared the shit outta me, comin' at me like that."
"It was worrisome, yes." Cassandra intoned, eying Cullen darkly. "I was certain Blackwall would have gutted you on the spot." The Warden had taken up a spot behind the throne and the implication had not been lost on me. Blackwall's loyalty to the Inquisition was a hard maybe, but loyal to me? Absolutely. I would need to be extremely careful with that knowledge.
"I will apologize for that, too." Cullen reached for my drink and I handed it over without a fuss. "It was insubordination, and unacceptable."
"But you handled it stunningly." Josephine popped up, pleased, her hands clapped together. "Oh, and it was a sight. If no one believed you could hold the mantle of Inquisitor, there will be no doubts now." The flush of my cheeks could be blamed on the brandy. Avoidantly, I shot my gaze to Leliana.
"So we're in the clear now, right? Trials are over, people are settled, we can get back out into the world, yes?" I hijacked the conversation.
"Yes. The world has not stopped to wait for us. We still have the Empress' assassination to concern ourselves with, as well as several other issues that have now appeared in the Hinterlands." Leliana ticked off with a bounce of her chin after each one. My mood soured considerably, but I wasn't one to deny the excitement of getting back out into the world.
God. How times have changed.
"Alright, so let's hold off on Empress Celene." I waved a hand lightly. "Her thing isn't for another three months, so pin it. Do we even have an invitation?"
"I am doing what I can to acquire one." Josephine told our huddle. She placed her hands before her stomach and sighed. "Unfortunately, up until now, we hadn't the clout to ask, but after this we might."
"Check." I nodded. With a short glance, I bounced between Leliana, Cassandra, and Cullen. "What's happening in the Hinterlands? I thought we had that place locked down?"
"We do." Cullen answered and rubbed at his chin. "But… this problem is a bit bigger." Hot suspicion dripped down my lungs, stuttering my breath. I narrowed my eyes at him and waited. He clicked his teeth, "We've disturbed a dragon's nest. She's quite upset with us, and is now terrorizing the land."
"We fucking did what." I deadpanned. For a moment, I almost forgot about those fucking things. "I — what. No."
"Yes, unfortunately." Cassandra stopped my floundering. "We had received word of its existence about a week ago and have been attempting to formulate a way to deal with her." Cullen exhaled roughly, running both his hands down the back of his neck with a shake of his head.
"I take it that means we have no ideas?" I asked the dead air.
"Essentially." Leliana answered cheerily. "We've attempted to lure her away, but her eggs have hatched, so she will not leave them. We cannot get close enough to capture her clutch without losing soldiers by the tenfold, and she's in a defensible quarry."
"She has the upperhand on us." Cassandra nodded her head with a quick look at Leliana. Her gaze moved to settle on me. "... forgive me, I had not yet learned how to hunt dragons effectively before…"
"Ah, don't worry about it, Cass." My hand shot up to stop her with a shake of my head. "We'll… figure something out. Okay. Empress. Hinterlands. Dragon. Anything else?" At this, my companions fell silent and my meter of suspicion shot up with all the strength of a rocket ship.
With hands on my hips, I said, "Spit it out."
"Jaime." Leliana started. I knew I was in fucking trouble the minute my name left her mouth. My arms dropped against my sides and I nearly flinched away from her at the tone. She wasn't angry, but the use of my name was never a good sign. She didn't quite smile, but her hand came to my elbow, keeping me in place.
"We've… discussed something that we believe could help you." Leliana glanced between the others, but no one contested her. "We've searched for trainers that would be assisting with your improvement."
"What?" I frowned, shooting a look toward Cullen and Cassandra. "Is… the training with the soldiers not enough?"
"Not for what we're asking you to do, no." Cullen murmured gently, shame lacing his voice. He took over from Leliana, drawing in my attention to him. "Jaime, we've asked you to do quite a bit — each trial more fantastical than the last — but we've realized that now…"
"We've placed you in the path of a would-be God." Cassandra jutted in like a stab, her brow hard over her narrowed eyes. "A maul, even enchanted, can only do so much. We've found trainers that are specialists in their fields, masters of discipline that many have forgotten."
"What… are you suggesting?" I asked, terrified of the answer. Are they talking about magic? What more could you do to train the body? It's not like drinking lyrium is suddenly going to make me a mage. Josephine stepped away from our huddle and moved to her desk, pulling open a drawer and searching through it.
"Josephine will have the documents, there are three masters we have found that have been vetted for you." Leliana shifted on her heel and allowed Josephine to come in closer after finding her parchment scrolls. They were handed to me, bundled together with a long bowed piece of twine.
"I would suggest you considered the options, Jaime." Cassandra said solemnly. "We here can no longer protect you. You need to recognize that. The enemies we have are far beyond the realm of mortals."
"The decision does not need to be immediate." Josephine soothed, bringing her hand up to take Leliana's off my elbow, but I had long lost focus on the point of contact. My mind was racing with the possibilities and terrors of what they were asking me to do. This is how we turned into a villain, by reaching for more power. Wasn't it bad enough that the Mark was already out of my control?
Ignoring the fact that I haven't actually used the damn thing since escaping Haven.
I swallowed and the scrolls bounced in my hands. "I'll… take a look at this. Are they already here?"
"No," Josephine shook her head, "We are planning to summon them once you've decided. After everything that has happened today, perhaps it's best you sleep on it."
"Good fucking idea." I answered, scooping the scrolls against my side and using my Marked hand to rub my face. I didn't drink enough to deal with this. Wonderful. Going back to the tent at least gave me the opportunity to hit the tavern for a hearty drink.
"Speaking of which," Josephine bounced on her heels lightly, "your room was finally finished!"
I blinked, hard. "My — what?"
"Your room?" Josephine stuttered, surprised. "Did you — did you believe we would not have one prepared for you? In your own fort?"
"... yes." I answered honestly. "I figured I was just tenting up with the soldiers or something, like. Out at the back of the fort?" Josephine reached up with a reverence dug deep from her soul and held her fingers tight to the bridge of her nose. No doubt she was calling for patience. Cullen could be heard snickering behind me with a heavy sigh from Cassandra.
"Guys, is that really so unbelievable?" I snapped at them, reaching over to smack at Cullen's breastplate with a light tap from the back of my hand. "Stop laughing, drunkard."
"I had half a glass!" Cullen defended with a laugh. "Unbelievable. Yes, the room was completed. The last of the furniture has been moved in. Inspect it, if you like."
Leliana smirked. "One day people will actually listen to me when I predict these things."
"Did you predict I wasn't expecting a room?" I asked Leliana waspishly, fighting my amusement.
"Absolutely. I even suspect that you would have countered that the room could be used for something better, like a healing wing." Her smirk went wider across her face as my ears went red. It made Cullen laugh harder and the flush flooded from my ears down to my chin. The scrolls were crushed against my side with embarrassment.
"I hate you guys." I snipped and moved around to set my somehow empty glass on Josephine's desk, mindful of the other parchments and scrolls she had set out. "Where's this room?"
-0-
So they had lied to me, straight up. It wasn't a room like what one would assume constituted a normal room. It was, in itself, a house. Josephine had abandoned me at the entrance of my room and allowed me to travel up the stairs on my own. I had succumbed to a minor heart attack once I reached the top of the flight of stairs and the room blew out before my feet.
The ceilings were vaulted, high and severe over my head, the stonework held up by the exposed beams of wood. The walls dropped down and rested over massive, gaping windows that fed out to a balcony that surrounded the whole thing. The inside was a touch cold with the glass doors of those windows opened wide, the fireplace blazing viciously to keep itself alive.
I walked over to the far corner, it was bordered by four book shelves that were stuffed to bursting with tomes. Shifting around the desk carefully, I found that the tomes were ones I had read before, mixed in with Varric's own works and history books, with smaller journals dotted at the top. There was a small lute to one side and the desk was sized for me with a chair that looked newly polished, with a name carved into the side.
Knees bending with small pops, I inspected the name.
Blackwall.
Goddamnit.
My jaw muscles lit up with fireworks as I clenched my teeth, bringing my right hand to hold my mouth as I stayed there, hunched on my knees. A few hard blinks and deep breaths later, I was calmer and the threat of tears had been waylaid. Clearing my throat, I stood and wandered the rest of the room. A couch against the railing of the stairs had passed my attention, but it also brought my eyes up to see the banners pinned to the wall. The Eye of the Inquisition looked in from the top of each window, glowing with the evening light.
I was too tired to explore the storage area behind the bed and too afraid of stumbling over the railing to inspect the balcony. The bed itself was massive just like the rest of the room, with a handful of pillows wrapped in soft blue cloth. The bedding smelled of lavender when I pressed down into the mattress and the whole thing gave out under me. Oh, it's too soft. I'm not going to be able to sleep on that. I tested it, sitting back on it before laying out flat.
The mattress had me scrambling to escape when it slowly began to swallow me. Yup, nope. Too soft. I got too used to cots and straw-filled beds. With a sigh, I drew the covers and comforter off the bed and dragged it all over to the fireplace, leaving plenty of space for any embers that escaped. A few pillows followed as well and not long after I had a nest of my own, stone-hard ground or not.
I found the chest of drawers that held clothes for me. Josephine would be to blame for all of it, as it all fit with only a few shortages here and there. In my rummaging, a night gown found my hands and with a soft tug, I pulled it from the depths of the drawer.
It was laced silk and the near liquid nature of it made me shiver. When was the last time I had something this nice? It was almost a crime to use it, but I had nothing better to wear. I set it out on top of the naked mattress and proceeded to walk to each window and bring it shut, latching the handles together to keep the wind at bay. Secured that no one would dive in like a villain, I undressed and slipped into the night gown.
The bitter chill of the room nipped at my skin, but I relished the freedom. With a few twirls, I watched as the lace danced around my knees and settled against my darkened skin. A grin flashed on my face and if I had any type of music available, it would have been one hell of a dancing session. Instead, I hurried to my bedding near the fireplace and huddled into the covers and pillows.
My mind drifted away without a moment's notice, lulled to sleep by the crackle and hiss of the fireplace and the warmth of the blankets and brandy.
-0-
When I next opened my eyes, I was home.
And I mean, home-home. Back to my world. The desert landscape was washed before me, the gentle hiss of cicadas in the Palo Verde trees echoed in my ears with the low set of sunlight off to the west, casting the sky in orange and purples. A lump of coal lodged in my throat and before I knew it, I was stumbling down the sandy, rocky hill toward my backyard. Tall, silent Saguaros threw long shadows along the sand, hiding holes where bugs and lizards rested, the distant rattle of a dried bush drifted through my ears.
The cinder block wall that bordered my home rose before me, guarding my yard from intruders. Without stopping, one foot rose to snag the wall and lift my weight up, my hands automatically reaching out to catch the top of the wall with practiced ease and I hauled my body over. The backyard looked the same as always, littered with broken car pieces from Jake's projects, dried paint buckets and tarps on the other far end from Caleb's artwork.
The sight of my brothers' presence in the yard, though normal for where I was, hit me like a freight train. My body slipped from the top of the wall and hit the dirt with a thud, but I rolled with my weight and my back hit something solid enough to stop me. My hips dropped to hit the ground and I turned my head to look up. Whatever this was, the atmosphere was shattered by the sight before me.
"Solas?" My voice cracked on his name. The elf blinked down at me, just as surprised as I was, his eyes blown wide with thirsty curiosity and hungry for answers.
"Jaime." He breathed, reaching a hand out for me to take and when I did, he pulled me up to my feet. He waited until I cleared away most of the sandy dust from my clothes. "I am to deduce you would happen to know where we are?"
"Home," I answered heartbrokenly, my words caught in my throat. "What — how are you here?"
Solas' expression cracked with pain. "... this is the Fade, my friend. You… I am not sure how you managed it, but you dreamed and brought part of your world into the Fade."
"What?" I asked sharply. "How the fuck — there's no Fade in my world."
"No, that is true." Solas countered, raising a single finger. "But you exist in a world that does have the Fade. Remember what you've been taught."
I pondered, rubbing at my neck. "The Fade… is memories of its occupants. Spirits can manipulate their areas of influence."
"Yes," Solas followed up vehemently, amazement bright across his face. "Look at what you've brought here, Jaime. Your thoughts, your memories, your essence brought you home." He watched me as I glanced around the yard, broken beyond pieces that all that I saw wasn't real. My feet took me away from him, my house stood silent and lifeless, no lights bloomed from the inside even as the night crawled across the sky.
"Why here?" I asked, suddenly tired from holding my heart together.
"Your home is familiar. It will always be important to you." Solas came to my side, tilting his face to inspect mine before he turned toward the house, his voice quiet. "Lead me inside? Is this a childhood home or a recent one?"
"Recent." I sighed. We cut through my backyard to the sliding door that led into the house. Without a thought and on pure routine instinct, I tapped my toes to clear off the sand and stepped inside. Solas watched, extremely curious, and slipped in beside me, shoeless. His eyes scanned the interior of my home, mapping out the layout and pinging curiosities he couldn't identify.
We had entered into the open kitchen, the countertops out to our left, winding along the corner to house the sink, oven, and fridge. It bled into a small dining area, with a four-legged oak table and a mismatch of wooden chairs that to the trained eye were definitely from different sets. The living room was held off by a half-wall, but open as well, and where one hall broke to the left to the master room, another broke to the right for the two other rooms.
"Your brothers lived with you?" He asked with a tentative step onto the linoleum floor. A smile touched my face at the dainty step he managed, unsure if he was about to slip.
"No. This belonged to my parents, but when they retired, they moved out and left the home to us." I kicked off my shoes, pausing briefly when I realized they were sneakers rather than the boots I had become familiar with over the last few months. The pang of pain went ignored within the depths of my chest.
Solas looked up, spying the ceiling fan and watched it twirl. "You visited the home often, then?"
"I lived here off and on as I worked and finished my education." I answered, moving toward the kitchen and running my hands over the polished desert stone. "Our summers were becoming hotter than normal, but the winters were manageable." I tested the sink and got the pleasure of watching Solas jump at the sudden rush of water and the splatter into the sink. He peered around me, focused, and then just as fast disappeared to discover more.
"Which room was yours?" He asked, standing between the kitchen and living room. The couches were old and beaten, with a collection of pillows taken from other homes or thrift shops. No television was in the home, just the rows and rows of shelves with numerous books of all types that cluttered the walls.
"Down the right, first door to the left." I took him down the carpeted hallway and stopped when I realized he wasn't beside me. I laughed when I spotted him down on his haunches, testing the somewhat shaggy carpet between his fingers.
"What strange material. This is not animal fur." He tugged on it, a few strands came loose in his fingers and he stood, brow pinched in concentration as he studied the material.
"Well, I don't know if this is acrylic or nylon, but it's not wool, that's for sure." I slipped my hands into my pockets, sighing at the feel of the denim material. "Man-made wool, I guess. Feels the same, but it lasts longer and is a fraction of the cost of shearing animals for their hair."
"Fascinating." He brushed his palms together and stepped onto it, taking a moment to test his toes in it before nodding and coming toward me. A chuckle escaped me and I shook my head, waving him into my old bedroom.
The walls were copper color, from top to bottom. A ceiling fan swung lightly from the center, the graying blades whistling as they cut through the air. Hundreds of photos, both framed and not, dotted my walls. Friends and family, motorcycles and projects, graphic concepts, artwork, drawings. Each one more painful than the last. I closed my eyes for a second and fought back the hot swell; instead, I focused on Solas.
His gaze was glued to my workbench. A smile stretched across my face as he ran his fingers over my small models, my tablet and lamp, the computer screen, and the keyboard. None of it turned on, and I don't know how much I would have handled introducing him to that technology, but —
"Is this the 'lap top'?" He turned to me, ears twitching.
I did laugh this time and moved toward the workbench, "Yeah, kinda. See here. This part is the docking station. Kinda like a berth for a ship. You disconnect here, and I can walk around with it, or place it in my lap." I reached across him and pulled the laptop out from under the main computer screen and removed it. With it in my hands, I settled onto my bed and flipped it open, but there was no power source. The screen remained dark, our faces reflected on the surface.
He sat with me, his gaze flowing over my room and decorations. Half of them I couldn't remember anymore, the other half hazes in my mind. The photos were too much to look over, so many faces that I had forgotten. My fingers traced the lines of the monitor before letting it fall shut. Solas' eyes came back to me, his expression patient.
"I can't remember their voices anymore." I said into the empty silence, my voice quiet. "I can barely remember their faces. I remember… such weird things about them."
"What do you remember?" Solas asked, his voice low to match mine.
"I can remember what it felt like, when my dad — my father, would hug me." I held onto the laptop with limb hands, unsure of where to place them. "I can remember his arms felt like steel — iron. I can remember my mother's fingertips…" Tears welled up at the corners of my eyes and I reached up to wipe them away.
"I can remember Jake's smell." I stuttered, my nose stuffed with emotion. "The oil from his machines, but not him. I can remember Caleb's paints and how his hands felt, but nothing else. It's so weird. Why can I remember the house but not them?"
Solas folded his hands together. "... I could not tell you why. The mind is a creation beyond our understanding. I have known spirits who can recall their dying breath, but not their name." We sat in silence again, the whine of the ceiling fan a strange comfort just above our heads. I rose from the bed after a minute and set the laptop away.
"Solas." I stared at my desk, my hands fiddling with old works and paper. "What happened in that jail? I don't know anything before waking up." My mind had shuttered to a full stop. Wayward thoughts and running commentary at my state of life had grinded to a halt. The overwhelming sickness of being home and having it all be just a memory was smothering me.
"I was asked to see to your health, when you first arrived. It was a day or so after the blast that they had found you in the rubble." Solas remained on the bed, his hands still folded together with his gaze to my back. "I sat beside you while you slept, studying the Anchor."
"I'm glad someone was watching over me." I replied listlessly. The workbench lost my attention as a photo dipped loose from its tape holding. I reached up to straighten it, the snout of a dog's nose the main focus.
Solas shrugged behind me, "You were a mystery. You still are." The bed creaked softly when his weight disappeared and I found him leaving to inspect the furthest wall of my bedroom. The photos were pinned one on top of another, splatterings of memories and references that I used for my work, my life before. He tugged at one, an unknown woman who stood on a bench with her arms over her head, a silent cheer into the ether.
"I ran every test I could imagine, searched the Fade, yet found nothing." He replaced it using the piece of tape still stuck to it. "Cassandra suspected duplicity. She threatened to have me executed as an apostate if I didn't produce results." A snort left me and I walked over to him, searching the wall myself for anything familiar.
"Because of course she did." I chuckled, reaching up high for a photo. "She's come a long way, I'd say."
"That she has." Solas shared my chuckle, watching me. He shook his head, his attention returned to the other pictures, leaning into a few to inspect them and their high definition quality. "You were never going to wake up. How could you, a mortal sent physically through the Fade?" The photo I wanted came down into my hands, nearly slipping through my fingers. It was of myself and my brothers, pressed together for the picture, sunglasses on our faces.
We shared the same eyes. All three of us.
"I was frustrated, frightened." Solas murmured, spying over my shoulder, his voice against my skin. "The spirits I might have consulted had been driven away by the Breach." He sighed and reached for the photo and stared at it deeply as if willing the subjects within to animate.
"Although I wished to help, I had no faith in Cassandra… or she in me. I was ready to flee." He ran a thumb over our faces, head tilted in surprise at the texture of the photo and then passed it back to me. I held onto it, my fingers trembling. I had never imagined a world without Solas, but to know I had been so very close to existing without his help choked me.
"But you stayed." I said breathlessly.
"I did." Solas said. He tilted his head the other way and raised a beckoning index finger to have me follow him. I did so without question and we stepped toward the window of my bedroom that overlooked the landscape, unobscured by anything other than nature herself. A flash of green and gray overtook the darkening sky and then a roll of thunder followed. I rushed to the window, the photo floating forgotten to the floor.
The Breach! It quaked in the yawning evening sky, rolling with turbulent clouds and thunder groaning as the lightning flashed between it all. Solas leaned into the windowsill with me, eyeing the sky beyond us.
"I told myself: one more attempt to seal the rifts." He raised the window open, the once dry, warm desert air had turned dank with the smell of rain and the threat of a storm. "I tried and failed. No ordinary magic would affect them." He folded his arms over the sill and stared out as if he had done it a thousand times before. My gaze refused to leave his profile, wondering at the magnitude of his story.
I was almost alone.
I would have had to do it all by myself.
"I watched the rifts expand and grow, resigned myself to flee, and then…" You, his gaze said to me, turning to catch mine and the chill of the rain still so far off caught me in my throat, bolting me to my place.
"It seems you hold the key to our salvation. At the cost of your own soul being cast into the depths of damnation." He stood straight and leaned against the wall, waiting until I stood away from the window, half a smirk on his face. "You had sealed it with a gesture… and right then, I felt the whole world change."
"I'm glad you decided to stay." The words were thick against my tongue, fear and nausea swirled in my stomach and yanked at my lungs to try and overthrow them. I only had as much knowledge on the Fade and the Mark as I did, only understood it for what it was, and the danger it could have been, would have been, will be because he was there to teach me.
"As am I." He smiled at me, arms crossed against his chest. "You have fractured rules of man and nature, and you will shatter more before you are done." He shook his head and brought his hands up, reaching out to hold my face as he had once done in my healing tent all those weeks ago. His palms were cold against my face, his fingers over the valleys of my ears.
"Visiting me here, without magic or any connection to the Fade… it should not have been so easy for you." He murmured, holding my face like porcelain.
"What do you mean?" I asked quietly.
"How do you think you got here?" He asked just as quietly, a mischievous tilt to his words. I frowned and looked around us as best I could with my face in his hands. Slowly, the walls of my room began to fade away, the photos falling from their place and fluttering around us.
"This isn't real." I murmured, glancing back at him. He chuckled, patting his palms against my cheeks.
"That's a matter of debate… probably best discussed after you wake up."
