Chapter length: 2,481
Italics: Jack's Language / Thoughts
Chapter summary: It's a two for one sale in the Fade - two encounters in one night!
When Jack awoke, there was still a little light that showed through the window, but for the most part it was dark grey out. She moved her leg slightly, and looking, down saw her leg was wrapped with bandages. She groaned and groggily pushed herself into a sitting position, blearily wiping at her eyes. Someone had tucked a warm quilt around her while she had slept. It smelt like warm apples.
"Don't get up."
Jack froze, her breath caught in her throat, heart pounding too hard as adrenaline overtook her.
"No, no, no!" The voice soothed. "It's okay Cero! It's just me, Solas." He moved in front of her, face concerned as she gasped for air.
The air rushed into her lungs in a rushed whoosh of air. She rubbed her chest, willing her heart to slow back down. "Jesus Christ, Solas, what the fuck?"
"I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I only didn't want you to get onto your leg just yet."
Jack sighed. "Where the hell you come from?"
She needed to get someone to teach her this worlds swears. Her language wasn't going to get across how strongly she felt, apparently. Varric is probably the person to talk to about that. Or The Iron Bull maybe. He seemed like the kind of person who would teach her several languages swears.
Solas raised a thin eyebrow and pointed slightly behind her. "In the chair behind you. I've been reading and occasionally checking on your leg to see how you're doing. You've healed much quicker than I expected."
"Thanks for healing." Jack took in another deep breath and released, her tension leaving on the exhale. "Danica stop by? She supposed to introduce me trainer before leaving for Val Royeaux."
"Ah. Yes, she did but she didn't want to wake you. You might be able to catch her before she leaves tomorrow morning. I think she will ask Leliana to introduce you to Tevin, your new trainer, tomorrow."
"Perfect." She muttered.
Solas raised an eyebrow. "You do not like the Lady Nightingale? Or is it the training you object to?"
"Hm? Oh, no, nothing like that. Know that Leliana not trust me. Is tiring to double think words so not to be stabbed by spymaster. No doubt she think I problem, I find knife in gut and being questioned. Not objecting to training. Needing training if want to protect self. Not wanting to be liability or deadweight."
"Your right, that does sound rather tiring with Leliana, however you are doing very good so far. I'm sure you'll do fine with training too."
Jack chuckled. "Thank you. Feel like I not saying right words most time, but am glad as I doing so well. Hope to speaking whole sentences soon. Want not to butcher language."
Against her will, she yawned. Solas gave a small smile and patted her head. "Go back to sleep, Cero. I will check on your leg tomorrow. Rest for now."
"Are calling me Jack now." She murmured as she lay back down. "They found out what full name means and not calling me Zero anymore."
Solas looked at her curiously. "Alright. Goodnight then Jack."
"Goodnight."
She was in the fade again.
However, she was not in the Luminary like last time. This time she was lying on top of a large golden bed with luxurious red silken sheets. Pushing herself onto her elbows, she also found she was completely naked.
Squawking indignantly, Jack jumped up from the bed, ripping the top sheet from the set, and wrapped it around her body like a makeshift toga. She had just finished tying the sheet in place when a hand brushed against the back of her bared shoulder.
Jumping away from the hand and shrieking, Jack turned and was met with the image of Thirteen.
He stood behind her in only dark sweatpants from their world. A sultry smile was pasted on his face, his body soft and inviting, but also hard and rugged. His brown hair was longer than this morning, like it'd been back when they were together in the barracks of the Barrier. It was tousled delightfully, his honey eyes shining with a strange emotion behind the locks that fell in his face.
Jack hesitated for a second, forgetting it was a dream and he was gone forever. The image of Thirteen grabbed her hips, pulling her flush against his body which broke her thoughts. It was a rather good likeness of Thirteen, but the eyes, the eyes were off in a way that set her teeth on edge. He'd never looked at her like that before, the maddening glint in that thing's eye felt wrong.
"Hello love." The thing spoke with the exact replica of Thirteen's low timbre, it's eyes flashing. "Aren't you glad to see me?"
"No." Jack snapped, struggling to get out of the thing's grasp while keeping the red sheet covering her. "No, I'm not because you aren't Thirteen."
The thing pouted as she finally broke away. She ripped herself from its grip, stumbling, but managing to stay upright. Keeping an eye on the creature, she readjusted the sheet over her lady bits.
"What gave it away?" It asked, Thirteen's features and body fading to the form of a desire demon.
The purple woman wasn't any less off-putting than Thirteen's stolen form. Dark purple energy swirled around its head, long horns swirling around its face. Her body left little to the imagination, and a thought flitted in the back of Jack's head to offer her another sheet off of the round bed.
Still, Jack scoffed. "Besides the fact the other-world and the fade are in no form connected? Besides the fact that any way he might have contacted me has been destroyed by now? He's got a patch of freckles over his stomach that shape out a star. Now, what do you want?"
The demon laughed. "It is not what I want, but what you want. What is it you desire, little Zero?"
She ignored the demon, searching for a way away from here. "I desire nothing from you. I want knowledge but I can acquire that on my own. Now how do I get out of here?"
The demon smiled. "You can't leave, I'm afraid. I control this dream space, and I do not wish for you to leave just yet."
She imagined a door on the wall behind the demon. Surprisingly, a door shimmered into existence; tall, dark, and wooden. More importantly, it looked like a solid way out.
"Well I do." Jack made a break for it, dodging past the demon for the door.
It watched her with boredom until it too caught sight of the door, it's eyes widening dramatically and started after her.
"No, no, no! Wait!"
Jack slammed the door in its face, locking it behind her. She smiled to herself as soft thumps echoed from the other side of the door and laughed mockingly. Demonic screeching was muffled by the door as she turned away from the demon's domain.
Examining the new terrain, she was met with a tall forest bathed in greens and browns. The branches of the trees curled together above her head like a thatched roof, bits of sunlight poking through the holes in the weave. Several different species of birds – were there fade birds? – sang in harmony as she walked down the tree-lined path. The red silk from the desire demon's dream space dragged on the dirt floor, but didn't snag on any roots as she walked.
This fade was peaceful. The fade from the Heroes and Champions views were much scarier and off-putting, but Jack supposed that was because they had not good experiences with the Fade. Admittedly, her own experience in the fade so far hadn't been as peaceful as it was now.
She much rather enjoyed this version of the fade, where she was free to explore on her own, not being questioned by six-eyed wolves or seduced (badly at that) by Desire demons.
After a while of walking and listening to the avian symphony, Jack stumbled upon a small clearing. Large bookcases reached into the sky, filled with thousands upon thousands of books. Grinning, she ran to the nearest bookcase and started browsing the spines.
"I can help you. Would you like some assistance?"
For the third time that night, Jack jumped and shrieked. She landed partially on the bookcase, but it did not move, and it felt as if she'd run into a brick wall.
"Fucking Christ." She muttered, rubbing her chest. "Does no one in Thedas know about announcing themselves? I'm going to have a heart attack at some point if this doesn't stop."
Turning to the interrupter, Jack was met with a spirit. "Oh. I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting a spirit. My apologies."
"You thought I was another demon." The spirit smiled at her. "Do not worry, I am not insulted. I am the spirit of Learning. I felt you enter my dream space and was curious."
"Fantastic." She grinned, not at all disturbed about Learning. The aura of this spirit was welcoming, at least. "I was looking for you then. Would you be kind enough to help me? I am from another world and would like to know about the world I am currently in. If you would teach me I would be very grateful to you."
"Of course." The spirit dipped its head and gestured for her to sit. "Where would you like to begin?"
"Where ever you would like to start. I want to learn as much as I can."
"As you wish. We shall start with the Elvhenan and Ancient Arlathan. There were nine gods that were worshiped back then…"
Time in the fade felt longer than the normal passage of time. Learning taught Jack much about the ancient elves and Arlathan. It was interesting stuff, and she spent every second there, sitting on the ground in her red silk sheet, listening with rapt attention. Learning certainly knew how to make the stories interesting. All too soon though, Jack felt the waking world calling to her.
Learning paused in the middle of a story between Fen'Harel and Andruil. "I am afraid our lesson will have to continue another time. It is time for you to return to the waking world. We will resume this another time, if you so wish."
"Yes, please! Thank you very much for the lesson, I look forward to hearing the rest of it. I'll see you another time then."
"As you wish, Isenathe'amelan."
"Wait, what did you-"
Jack's eyes popped open.
The murky grey of pre-dawn loomed outside the cottage window, but it was light enough that she could see around the room. Solas was still there, in a chair in the corner, a book abandon in his lap, turned to where he wouldn't lose the page he was on. His hands were laced together, his face cleared; he was the picture of peaceful.
She quietly moved on the bed, moving the quilt off her legs to examine her leg herself. Solas must have changed her bandages again before he went to sleep, because they felt lighter than the ones she'd had on last night. She didn't want to risk messing with the bandages and potentially messing with Solas' work, so she threw the covers back over herself and started stretching her arms and upper torso.
There wasn't much else to do after she was done, so she started singing to herself.
In the barrier, one had a fair amount of free time to themselves. Most threaders spent their time playing card games, drinking, or sex to whittle away the time. She did too, only she much preferred to do those things when they included the Information Exchange.
The Information Exchange was a common currency among Lieutenants, Captains, and even Commanders. While Information Exchange was heavily discouraged among lower threaders, it wasn't prevented in the upper districts. In fact, when Jack was still in the Barrier, she met with several different captains a week for Information.
Captain Canary (as she preferred to be called in private), from the Ocean division, exchanged songs from her world for others. Canary had particularly liked songs from Thedas, so Jack had always made sure to have an extra song on hand if she could, although poetry worked too. In return, she got songs that Canary had traded for and stories from different districts. Captain Thirty from Mountain Division wanted political gossip and faction divisions and exchanged nobility training and stories from upper classes.
The Information Exchange was how she met Thirteen. He'd been interested in military and after the first six months of the start of their exchange, his returns shifted from stories of heroes and history to kisses and physical returns.
But she didn't want to think to Thirteen now, so she started humming song after song until she got to the ones she knew the words by heart. Canary's favorites that she'd beaten into Jack's head. She was halfway through the darker melody that Canary loved the most when she was interrupted. Yet again.
"Is that a song from your world?"
"Holy Fuck!" Jack popped into a sitting position, choking on her tongue.
She coughed for a minute while Solas sat smugly grinning in the reading chair.
"Christ on a stick, what the hell do people here have against warnings?" She rubbed her chest as Solas smiled blankly at her. She sighed. "You entertained, I hope?"
"I was. Very. I've not heard any songs like that before, I assume it is from your world?"
She shrugged. "Wouldn't think so. Threaders not know anything from outside world. We raised in Barrier from young age. Was taught songs from another Captain, who think learned it from either her thread world or other Captain."
"What is the song about?"
"War and fighting for light." She started to sing it for him, knowing he couldn't understand the words, but enjoying speaking her native language.
Something's coming
Something's on its way.
Mountains are crumbling,
Like statues of clay,
Something's on its way.
Into the darkness – we are one
Into the darkness – we all must run
Into the darkness – we'll burn a light
Into the darkness – we all must fight, we all must fight
"That is an interesting song." He commented when she was finished. "May I ask why you were singing it though?"
"It popped into head. Was one of Canary's favorite songs singing, so it one of ones whose lyrics I know in heart. She had beautiful voice, she would have done more justice."
"You were good none the less. I would ask more questions, however Leliana wanted to see you thing morning and you may be able to catch Danica before she leaves for Val Royeaux if you hurry.
"After you then." Jack gestured to her leg.
Not much happened this chapter but slow and steady wins the race! As always, leave a comment, like, favorite, all that jazz. Hit me up with your own recommendation if you've found something good!
This weeks recommendation is The Tranquility of Faith by JorieSilver here on ! Lots of drama and comfort and it's a Cullen fic featuring a non-warden Surana!
Thanks for all the support!
-Jade