Disclaimer: Bioware owns it all.

12 Years Later

I closed my eyes tightly as the water hit my face. I hated bathing huskies. Their coats were literally like a sponge and they just soaked up every last bit of water and they always shook it all over me. My first day working here at the Animal Clinic I had had to bathe a husky, it was winter at the time and I had to go home for fresh clothes because I was soaked from head to toe.

No one is glamourous when dying of hypothermia, no one.

This particular husky was a pain, he was a regular boarder because his owner was something of a gypsy, she went on trips a lot and left Sam in our care, much to my disdain.

"Alright, Sam, I think you've had your fun for the day. Get out of the tub."

I motioned for him to jump out and he happily licked my face before jumping down and shaking again, I groaned as my already drenched form got even wetter. The dog sat at my feet wagging his tail.

"I hope you're happy with yourself, now get in the kennel." I pointed at the metal kennel and he walked over to the open cage and laid down. Looking all too smug.

I hooked up the dryer to the cage and sighed before walking to my locker to grab a fresh set of clothes.

"You know, Bretta, it's the dog that's supposed to get a bath, not you." I looked up to see my coworker Lori laughing at me.

I glared at her but smiled, "I hate bathing huskies, I'm going to start asking Doc for a raise every time he schedules one to come in."

"Let me know how that works out for you." She said as the phone at the desk began to ring, she rushed to answer it, her long blonde ponytail swishing as she jogged.

I had been working here at the local Animal Clinic for two years now. I had finished my high school studies and was unsure of what I wanted to do. I had always loved animals and when the local Clinic said they needed help I put in an application. I loved it. I loved seeing the animals everyday, I loved giving medicine, I loved helping Doc in surgery occasionally.

Kieran was pushing me to go to college. You're too bright to not further your education. He had said with his posh accent. I just didn't think college was for me. I liked doing things with my hands, working hard, I had never liked sitting at a desk.

When I told Kieran this he began muttering about stubborn Theirin blood. I ignored his mutterings, Kieran was a scholar himself, he was constantly reading a book. It was almost as if a book was an extended part of him. I loved to read as well, but I would rather go out and experience something as opposed to reading about it.

Mother hadn't gone to college, and neither had father, he was simply a good writer and that's why he had been offered so many jobs. I had made this point to Kieran too, and he usually stopped arguing with me when I brought up my parents.

I personally thought he was bored, he had picked up a few more tutoring jobs here and there and he complained about the mundaneness of children in this day. He spoke like he was an old man. Gran always scolded him when he got grumpy about the children he taught. She said they didn't know different and it was unfair to judge them for it.

I pulled my dry t-shirt on over my head just as the clock dinged for lunch. I slipped my boots on and grabbed my car keys and headed out the door.

I put my car in park and stared up at the sign. The antique store had been open for over a month now, I had wanted to venture in and see what the shelves held but I hadn't quite gotten the courage to do it.

Mother had always loved going in antique shops; she was what Gran called an old soul. She adored old jewelry boxes, she had a vast collection of them, I hadn't laid eyes on them since the accident. They were safely tucked on their shelf in mother and father's room.

The door always stayed shut.

I took a deep breath and got out of the car. My lunch lasted an hour so I had time to kill. A little bell dinged when I walked in and an older lady greeted me from her spot behind the counter, she was reading a Cosmopolitan magazine, her hair was that bluish white that elderly people usually had, and she wore bright pink lipstick. I smiled at her and began browsing.

There were so many things in here that I knew mother would have loved, it made my heart hurt just a bit, I wished she was here with me. I ran my hand over some old books and sighed, I had no intention of buying anything, but being in here made me feel close to mother somehow. I walked farther back into the store and came to a corner where a vanity sat. I walked over to the old wooden piece of furniture and looked at the knick-knacks resting on it.

My breath caught when I saw a small green jewelry box sitting beside an old mirror. It looked a lot like one I remembered mother having. I reached out to touch it and the fragile lid slid off slightly. My hand was shaking for some reason, and I felt this need to see what was inside the box.

Once I removed the lid I saw a necklace resting inside of it. It had a gold chain and an odd yellow crystal attached to the chain, it looked like the crystals I used to find in the creek when I was young, except it was a bright yellow.

I wanted it.

I lifted it from the box and stared at it. It felt warm to the touch and I needed to own it, I had to have it. I undid the clasp and put the necklace on and the strange panic subsided a bit. I was walking to the front of the store before I even realized I was doing it.

"I would like to buy this necklace." I said to the woman.

She looked up from her magazine and smiled. She put the magazine on the counter and then stood to take the necklace. I stepped back instinctively and placed my hand over the necklace, I felt strangely protective of it. It was mine, it was meant for me.

"I need to see the price, dear." She said with an odd look on her face, I'm sure I seemed like a crazy person.

I felt slightly embarrassed as I reached behind my neck and removed the tag and handed it over to her. She rang me up and I paid her almost an entire week's paycheck for the necklace and then I left.

A few weeks later I had almost forgotten the necklace completely. I had taken it off upon returning home the evening I bought it and it was still in the same spot on my dresser that it had been since that day. The strange want for the necklace had went away as soon as I had bought it, it was the strangest thing. I wrote it off to my emotions being high because of feeling nostalgic over mother.

One evening when Gran called me down for dinner, the necklace caught my eye as I walked towards my door. I thought I might as well wear it, since I had spent an entire paycheck on it. I clasped the necklace around my neck, I didn't feel crazy, but the necklace was still warm to the touch.

Dinner went as usual, we all talked about our days. It was nearly spring time so Gran had been in her greenhouse non stop, Kieran told us funny stories about the little boy he was tutoring, and I grossed everyone out talking about the wounded animals that had came into the clinic. It was a normal evening.

After dinner Kieran and I ran Gran off so that we could do the dishes. She pretended to protest but then wandered off towards her greenhouse mumbling about playing music for the tulips. I chuckled at her and took the dishes to the kitchen. I washed them and Kieran dried, it had been like this ever since he moved here. We rarely talked during this routine, Kieran was like another father to me, and while he pushed me to try harder in my studies, he also understood me better than even Gran.

After I handed him the last dish I dried my hands off and then handed him the washcloth. He took it and began wiping the counter. I sighed and pulled my long hair off of my shoulders and into a bun, the house had began getting hotter with the warmer months moving in. Kieran turned to say something to me but stopped himself.

"Where did you get that necklace?" He asked suddenly. His eyes were wide and… Afraid?

I looked down at the necklace, having forgotten I was even wearing it.

"Oh, I got it at that new antique shop a few weeks ago. It was actually really weird, I felt like I needed it. I've never felt so impulsive before. So I bought it." I shrugged a shoulder and was about to ask him why he was acting so weird but he had gone back to wiping off the counter.

I tilted my head at his odd behavior, his demeanor had changed so quickly I wondered if I had imagined the fear I saw in his eyes.

"That is weird indeed." He said conversationally and his tone said the subject should be dropped.

Before I could question him further he had thrown the washcloth into the sink, kissed the top of my head and bid me goodnight. How odd.

That night I woke up from a nightmare. I couldn't remember what had happened but I woke up in a cold sweat and my heart was beating scarily fast. I sat up quickly and my chest heaved up and down as I tried to catch my breath. I felt like my chest was burning and I looked down where the necklace rested on my collar bones. It felt like it was on fire. I touched it and jerked my hand away as I hissed, it felt like touching a hot stove.

What on earth was happening?

I opened my mouth to call for Gran and Kieran but my throat was dry. I was about to get out of bed to go find them when I saw it. Something wasn't right in my room. It was moving, but not like spinning. The only way I can describe it was like it was a curtain billowing softly in the breeze, and the curtain was made from my room, from my very surroundings.

I stared at the opening of the curtain. I blinked several times, thinking I must be imagining things. I could hear birds chirping and I could smell flowers. What in the world.

I got up slowly and walked towards the curtain. I reached out to touch it and it felt like cool silk in my hand I pulled it back and gasped at the forest that was before me. I dropped the curtain and backed up. I was dreaming, this wasn't real, this couldn't be real. I was about to make a run for it but suddenly the necklace jerked me towards the opening of the curtain. I grabbed at the chain and tried to pull it off but the necklace was alive and it was pulling me through the curtain.

I felt cold grass under my face, and then darkness overtook me.

AN: So now Bretta is in Thedas, I wonder who will be the first to greet her there?

Also, if you're wondering, Kieran is in fact the son of Morrigan. He's all grown up now and I'm excited to write him.