So, yeah. I don't own Dragon Age.

Chapter 3

I knew before I even opened my eyes that yesterday had not been a dream. The smells, the sounds, even the humidity felt wrong. Back home, waking up to the sounds of loud swearing and burnt breakfast was all too common. In fact, if those sounds and smells weren't there in the morning, I would immediately know that something was wrong.

As it was, there were no scents of burnt eggs and toast, no sound, except for the calls of a few birds, and very little humidity. Instead, the air carried the aromas of spices and perfumes, the likes of which I had never smelt. The bird chirps were shrill and altogether foreign. It was all wrong.

With a sinking heart, I slowly opened my eyes. The room was dark, as the thick curtains on the window had been closed, but I could still see. The bed I was in was soft and squishy. Too soft. It was like lying on a cloud, and, for someone who had never slept on anything but firm mattresses, it was not a pleasant feeling.

Slowly, I sat up, taking in my surroundings as I did so. Everything was beautifully decorated in rich purples, silvers, and black. A tapestry depicting a massive, black dragon hung on the mall over the largest vanity I had ever seen. The vanity table was made from a wood of dark red, its legs intricately carved with strange, black symbols and characters. Even the fancy hotels that I had been to for band trips in middle school weren't this extravagant.

I just sat in the overly soft, oversized bed for several minutes, letting the gravity of my situation sink in. I was trapped in a medieval land of elves and magic, and there was a fair chance I would never return home. For the first time, it became painfully obvious that I wasn't dreaming or hallucinating. This was real. At least, it felt real.

Sighing, I pulled myself from the silken sheets and stepped onto the cool, black stone tiles. The long nightgown I was wearing fell down to my calves. I had a suspicion that the nightgown was meant for someone much shorter and fatter than I was, if the short length and broad width of the sleeves were any clue. Or maybe it was just fashionable. Either way, it was a bit uncomfortable.

Something outside gave a very loud screech, causing me to jump. I rushed over to the ceiling-high windows and pulled back the curtains to see what it was. I blinked, surprised at how dark it was outside. It must have been early morning, at least. A few lanterns were posted near the window, and right by the panes was a crow. I sighed in relief and knocked on the glass to scare it away. It didn't budge. Shrugging, I left the window and padded over to the vanity.

I plopped down on the chair in front of it and scowled at the reflection looking back at me.

My black hair might as well have been a birds' nest, that's how tangled and messy it was. Long bangs that were too short to be tucked behind my ears hung limply around my face. A few light scrapes covered my dotted my hands and arms. All in all, I didn't look so hot.

The scrapes were shallow and would most likely be gone in a few days. The hair… I searched the vanity. There was a hairbrush in one of the drawers. Sighing in relief, I started working on the tangles in my hair. It took several minutes for me to tame my hair enough so that it looked vaguely decent. My hair was way too thick to ever be smooth without lots of hair products and blow-drying. Neither of which I had, so I had to make do.

Once I was done, I set the hairbrush down and pulled myself to my bandaged feet. A light robe hung on a hook on the door. I reached up and brought the robe down. Donning the robe (at least, I thought it was a robe), I took a deep breath and cracked the door open. The hall outside was dark and unsurprisingly empty.

I chewed on my lip, thinking over my options. I could stay in my room and try to go back to sleep. I could wander the halls and become hopelessly lost. Or I could go to the library and start my search for how to get back home. As I was interested in neither sleep nor getting lost, only one option appealed to me at the time.

Quietly, I slipped out of the room and began to pad down the dark hall to where I sort of knew the library was. A few tapestries and paintings hung on the walls, but it was too dark for me to make out any real details. Fortunately, it wasn't dark enough for me to lose my bearings entirely. I remembered where the library was, and, within minutes, I had reached the entrance.

The doors swung open when I pushed, and I took a moment to marvel again at the immense size of the room. It was still too dark to make out the full extent of the room. Suddenly, I wished I had some kind of lamp or candle available.

I shuffled over to the Magister's desk, searching for the oil lamp that had been there. It wasn't.

"Looking for this?" a voice from behind me spoke.

My entire body spun around, upsetting some of the papers on the desk. In the doorway stood Magister Azriel in a blue and gold robe, holding the oil lamp I had been searching for. I gulped, staring nervously at the tall, intimidating man before me. I had not intended to be caught sneaking around, and it seemed unlikely to me that this man would be understanding as to why I was up and about.

"Yes," I replied when I had found my voice. "I wanted to look start my search now, if that's alright with you."

The Magister did not say anything as he pinned me with a searching glare. I began to wonder if it had been a good idea to let him know what I was doing. It was too late to change it now, however.

"Asti a vala femundis," Magister Azriel uttered suddenly, still staring at me.

"I'm sorry, what?" I sputtered, confused.

"What do those words mean to you?" he replied patiently.

I shrugged. He might as well have been speaking Greek.

"It means, 'to the stars with difficulty'." He paused, a frown fluttered across his face before disappearing. "All of my books, save for a handful, are written in Tevene, my language. How will you read that which you do not understand?"

"I.." I had not thought of that. I had simply assumed that the books were written in English. The thought of having to learn a completely new language just to read the books was unnerving but still doable. I was no stranger to foreign languages. My mother was Italian and made sure that I was fairly fluent in the language from a young age, and my friends, Sarah and Maggie, were from Germany. They both had a tendency to start talking in German without realizing that they were speaking the wrong language. Eventually, I picked up a fair amount of German from them. And let's not mention the Latin classes I took in high school.

"I'll learn," I managed after a moments deliberation.

An amused twinkle lit up Magister Azriel's pale blue eyes. He chuckled, displaying a set of slightly crooked, but still white, teeth. I crossed my arms and glared at him for laughing at me, for it was obvious that he was laughing at me.

"Is that going to be a problem?" I questioned coldly.

Azriel shook his head. "Not at all," he replied coolly. "I had rather hoped that you would wish to learn the language anyway. However, you will not be learning them tonight. There are still a few more hours before sunrise, and I wish to have the library to myself on nights like these. Go back to bed, child. There will be plenty for you to learn when the sun rises."

I hesitated, torn between doing as he ordered and staying to ask questions. Magister Azriel noticed my hesitation.

"Go to your room. If you need something, pull the cord by the door and one of the slaves will be with you shortly," he commanded, moving to the desk with the lamp in hand.

My heart stopped and the room seemed to grow frigid. I could hardly believe my ears. I opened and shut my mouth, too stunned to speak for several moments. When Magister Azriel realized that I had not moved, he snapped his gaze to me and glared.

"Is there something unclear about my words, child?" His voice was calm, but I could hear the quiet threat that lurked underneath the surface.

I sputtered before finding my voice. "Slaves?! Those elves are slaves?!"

Magister Azriel raised his thin eyebrows at me as he seated himself in the chair at his desk. He flicked his hand lightly and a few lamps on the walls light up with blue fire. I blinked several times, not used to the sudden light.

"Of course," he replied without remorse. "This is Tevinter, dear girl. What did you think they were, if not slaves?"

"I don't know! Servants, perhaps!" I exploded. "Anything except freaking slaves!"

He cocked his head to the side and stared at me curiously. "I do not understand how the word 'freaking' has anything to do with slaves. However, it is of no import at the moment. They are slaves, and that will not change." His gaze turned flinty. "And I suggest you return to your room. There is much to be done when the sun rises."

I, however, was far from finished. This new revelation about the elves I had viewed as people had made me angry, and I was in no mood play games with a slave owner.

"What are you talking about? What is 'to be done'? You said that you need my help, but you haven't told me anything! What are you keeping from me?!" I demanded, my voice growing steadily louder. Magister Azriel's eyes shifted slightly from me to something directly behind me. He sighed.

"Be a good one and return the lady to her quarters. She is not herself without proper sleep," he said smoothly to someone hidden in the shadows. Immediately, I felt a pair of strong, long-fingered hands grasp my arms at the elbows. I kicked out at whoever had grabbed me, but they were met with nothing but air.

"Let go of me!" I screamed as I was being dragged away to the door.

"If she puts up too much of a fight, you have my permission to knock her out," Magister Azriel said dismissively, not even looking up from the papers on his desk as he spoke.

That was the last straw. I hate being manhandled with a passion. I despise being ignored when I speak. And I detest being talked about as if I'm not there. One of those things is enough to make me lose my temper. All three of those things at one is more than enough for me to go absolutely insane.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Screaming at the top of my lungs, I lashed out at my unseen restrainer, but he just continued to pull me backwards as if I wasn't hitting him, which I was. Hard.

I was still struggling by the time we reached the hall. As the library door began to close, I swore I saw the corner of Magister Azriel's mouth curl up in amusement as he was looking down at the papers on the desk. The door swung shut, and the man or elf was still pulling me by force. I stopped struggling momentarily, walked backwards into the chest of the person, and snapped my head backwards. I felt a small smirk of satisfaction appear on my face when the back of my head met with the assailant's face.

I heard a snarl from behind me, and I was suddenly flung to the side. How I managed to remain on my feet during that, I'm not entirely sure. Something cold and hard was pressed to my gut. I didn't have to look to know that it was a sword, but I still did anyway.

The sword was enormous, but that wasn't what made me stay perfectly still. It was his eyes. I knew those eyes. I had seen them yesterday on my way into the mansion. The predator's eyes. In the low light, they seemed even more dangerous than before.

I didn't remember the elf''s face, and neither could I see it, as it was covered by a full black mask. All I remembered were the eyes. Those terrible, vibrant green eyes that stared at me without remorse or sympathy. Like last time, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up on end, and, like last time, I was afraid.

"Move." It was not a request, and, at the moment, I did not have the courage to treat it like one. Clenching my jaw, I slowly began to walk down the hallway, sword still pressed to my middle.

"Are you one of his slaves too?" I snapped at him after a moment, finding my tongue.

"Quiet." His voice was deeper than I had been expecting. The elves I had seen and heard the day before had light, airy voices. This was like the growl of a panther, rather than the soft, airy tones I had heard from the other elves.

I snorted slightly. "A bit commanding for a slave, aren't you? You are a slave, right?"

Poking at a live predator is never a good idea. But, as I had said before, I am insane, and I never pay attention to normal logic. Besides, I was still angry.

"Yes." I waited for an elaboration, as most people are prone to provide, but none came. The green-eyed elf remained absolutely silent as we moved down the hall to 'my room'.

"Do you have a name, then?" I pressed, wanting to put a name to the elf with the predator eyes.

"Oh look, we're here," he said flatly. I almost smiled at his tone, despite myself. It was obvious he didn't like me, and that amused me greatly for some reason.

He opened the door for me, not removing the sword for a moment as he did so. The sword tip dug slightly into my back, pushing me forward into the room. As soon as I stepped inside, the sword retreated and the door slammed shut behind me.

Alone once again in the too-large bedroom, I found myself feeling frustrated. With myself and everything else. I huffed and plopped down onto the too-soft bed, throwing my arms out to steady myself as I sunk further into the mattress than I had intended. With a growl, I pushed myself up and sat on the bed, thinking hard.

I was no longer in my world, that much was clear. Elves and magic and spirits existed, along with slaves. I shuddered slightly at the thought. Swords were back in use, if my encounter with wolf-eyes was any indication. So that must have meant that things were leaning more towards the medieval. If that was the case, then I was at a slight advantage. Unless the people here had technology and knowledge that I was unaware of. I would have to be able to read the native language of this country before I could determine that for myself.

I laid back down on the too-soft mattress, rubbing my face in annoyance. As Magister Azriel had said, it would be a few hours before anyone else was up and about. Still angry about the incident from a few moments ago, I forced my eyes shut and tried to calm myself in order to go back to sleep. It didn't work so well.

Hours seemed to go by as I tossed and turned in the bed, trying to find the most comfortable spot on the bed. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the door to my room opened.

I shot up in the bed just in time to see the elven girl from yesterday enter. I fumbled for a name. Selena, that was it. Her name was Selena. And she was a slave.

Selena paused by the door, surprised to see me awake. Immediately, her gaze dropped to the floor, and she curtsied slightly before entering the room and moving to the fireplace. I watched her as she began to light a fire, unsure of what to say to her. Once she had finished, Selena stood up and turned to the curtains. She pushed them open, revealing the soft beginning light of dawn.

She moved to the dresser by the bed and opened one of the drawers, taking out a long black dress. I stared at the dress as she laid it on the bed. Obviously I was supposed to wear it, otherwise it wouldn't be out. That didn't mean I wanted to wear it.

The dress itself wasn't ugly or anything. Actually, it was quite lovely, but that wasn't what I had against it. Even without putting it on, I could tell that it was an intimidating dress, more likely to be worn by an evil vampire than a person.

I stared at Selena questioningly. "Did Magister Azriel want me to wear this?"

"The Master wishes you to be dressed like the ladies of Minrathous," she replied nervously, eyes still to the ground. "He told me that you would not know how they dressed and would need assistance."

"Is there nothing else, other than black?" I questioned, not quite daring enough to ask if I could wear pants and a shirt. I didn't want to upset the girl more than was necessary, as she looked worried enough.

She nodded, moving back to the drawer. I got up and followed her. The dresses inside were all gorgeous and seemed to be fairly close to my size, which was suspicious. Finally, after a few minutes, I decided on a dark amber dress with black lace accents. It was the least extravagant and intimidating dress I could find, and Selena seemed to approve somewhat.

Before getting dressed, I was led over to the vanity. I protested a little, but I gave in after a look of terror crossed Selena's face at the thought of not obeying her Master's orders to the letter. I didn't want to get the poor girl in trouble.

So, I willingly allowed her to brush my hair. Just to clarify, my hair is not easy to brush or deal with in any way. My hair is curly and wild on good days, and the epitome of what would happen if one were struck by lightning. Fortunately for both of us, my hair was not feeling particularly rebellious this morning, so Selena was able to brush out the tangles without me biting back profanities the entire time.

She was surprisingly gentle as she brushed and braided the black mass that is my hair. My mother was the only other person, besides myself, who ever even tried to tackle my hair, and she was never very patient when it came to brushing.

I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of the brush on my scalp. Time seemed to disappear as I sat there. The brush and hands vanished and my eyes snapped open. I stared in surprise at my reflection in the mirror, turning from side to side to fully view the braided bun that had taken form at the base of my head.

"Mistress," she called softly from behind me, catching my attention. "The Master wishes you to come down for breakfast in the next quarter of an hour. We must hurry or the Master will be displeased."

"That's supposed to be a bad thing, I take it?" I probably shouldn't have said anything, if Selena's look of fear was any indication. Biting back a huff, I turned to the dress that lay on the bed.

It was one of those long, figure-hugging types of dresses that I usually avoided. Not because I'm self-conscious or anything like that, but because they're impossible to move in. Still, it was likely a better choice than the dresses that I had seen inside the dresser. Of all the ones in the dresser, this one had looked the least heavy and constricting dress.

At my request, Selena turned around as I stripped of the nightgown. I set about trying to figure out how to put on the undergarments. The shift and underpants were simple enough, but when it came for the corset, I asked Selena to come back and help me.

I had been expecting the corset to be worn under the dress, but that apparently wasn't the style. Selena helped me into the dress first. Then, she put the corset on me. She cinched it up and stepped back to retrieve a pair of leather sandals from the dresser.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror in surprise. The skirt of the dress was long and flowy. It was designed in such a way that if I didn't know that it was a dress, I would have thought that it was a type of sari that had been wrapped around my body. The black leather corset added to that illusion.

As soon as I put on the sandals, which took some time as I was still wearing bandages, Selena hurried me out of the room, down the hall, down a magnificent stairway, down a few more halls, and finally into what looked like a small dining room. Immediately, my mouth curled in distaste, and I was tempted to march myself back out.

It wasn't that the room was ugly or anything. Far from it. Like all the rooms in the palace, it was gorgeous. It was because Magister Azriel was there, along with Wolf-Eyes from last night. Azriel sat at the far end of a long, mahogany table, sipping on a type of porridge. He didn't look up when I entered.

"You may go, Selena," he said gently, eyes still on his porridge. The shuffling behind me let me know that she had obeyed him.

A tense silence filled the room. Azriel simply sat there eating his breakfast. Wolf-Eyes stood in the shadows behind Azriel. I could tell by the way bright green orbs were trained on me, that he thought I was a threat of some kind. Considering how I acted last night, that shouldn't have been a surprise.

Finally, Magister Azriel spoke. "You have a fire inside you, Samantha. But you must master it before it scorches those around you." He looked up at her. "As well as yourself."

I frowned and crossed my arms. I cocked an eyebrow, barely suppressing a glare.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I all but snarled. I knew exactly what he was talking about, but to agree meant to submit. And I wasn't about to submit to a slave owner who had just disrespected me a few hours ago.

That was probably the wrong thing to say. Azriel's eyes glinted dangerously at me. I half expected him to stick Wolf-Eyes on me.

"I believe you wish to know why I've let you stay here." He didn't wait for me to respond. "I shall tell you now. I expected you to arrive."

I blinked in surprise. "How?"

"How is not important. People like you arrive in Thedas from time to time. And sometimes, they return." There was something oddly serpentine about the way he watched me while he spoke.

I couldn't stop the excitement from spreading throughout my body, and I didn't want to either. "You know how to send me home?"

"No, but it can be done," he replied.

My mind raced, trying to figure out if I could trust his word or not. "You said there was a price."

"So I did." The glint was back in his eyes. "Sit down, child. You won't want to be standing for this."

For once, I obeyed him without resistance. I knew from experience that when someone tells you to sit down while they deliver news, it's not good.

A/N: School's started! Yay for senior year! Woo... Okay, I lied. I'm not that excited. Oh well.

Anyways! Please review and tell me what you think!