Disclaimer: I own nothing, all rights to Dragon Age belong to Bioware. I simply enjoy playing with the world they've created. This story is for entertainment purposes only.
My head hurt, I winced when I opened my eyes and the bright light hit them. I covered my face with my hands and felt wetness on them, my whole body felt damp. I sat up quickly and looked at my surroundings. I was laying in a small clearing amongst a forest. My clothes were wet from dew. I was confused for a nanosecond but then the events from the night before flooded my brain.
The necklace burning my skin, the strange curtain. No, it had to be a dream. I looked around at the greenery that surrounded me. How could this be happening? I pinched myself until tears flooded my eyes and nothing. I felt myself begin to hyperventilate. I didn't know what was happening to me, but it had to do with the necklace. I reached up and touched the offending object. It wasn't warm to the touch any longer. It felt cool on my flushed skin.
Kieran had acted so strangely upon seeing the necklace, did he know about the power it held? I was crying and breathing heavily. I had no idea where I was. I grabbed my hair in frustration and screamed.
"Well, well, what have we here?" A voice was suddenly in front of me.
I looked up sharply to see an old woman standing before me. I hadn't even heard her approach. She looked dangerous. Her eyes were an intense yellow, with thick black eye makeup around them. She was wearing some sort of armor and she was looking at me with a smirk.
I rushed to stand and I sniffled as I crossed my arms over my chest.
"Who are you?" I asked, my voice was shaking.
"Never mind who I am, dear. I am more interested in who you are." She said as she slowly began to circle me.
I watched her, unsure if I should tell her my name. She left me unsettled but for some reason I… Trusted her.
"M-my name is Bretta Theirin." I said slowly.
She stopped her circling and tilted her head slightly as she looked at me.
"Theirin, you say? Oh, how fate does astound me again." She shook her head and chuckled to herself.
"Where am I? Do you know about this?" I pulled the necklace from my t-shirt and held the stone in my hand.
The woman looked at the stone and then back at me. She threw her head back and laughed a sinister laugh.
"The bird does not often know the song it carries." She said more to herself than to me.
"What are you talking about?" I was getting frustrated with the strange woman.
She ignored my question and instead answered my earlier one. "You are in a country called Fereldan, in a world called Thedas."
Her words were completely unfamiliar to me.
"F-Fereldan?"
"Yes, Fereldan."
"What about… Earth? I'm from a country called America." I was beginning to panic.
The woman laughed again and I was failing to see the humor in this situation.
"Oh, they were thorough." She said cryptically.
I had had enough, "I don't understand anything you're saying! I was asleep in my bed and then this abomination" I grabbed the necklace. "Pulled me into this… This Fereldan. I don't know where I am, I'm scared and I'm hungry, and I think I might possibly have lost my mind."
"I am going to help you, I will tell you where to go and find help, but I require something in return." The woman said staring at the necklace again.
"What do you want?" I asked suspiciously.
"I want that necklace." I touched the stone and stepped away. I was afraid of this necklace, but the strange sense of ownership flared up when the woman asked for it.
"No." I said sternly.
She looked at me with a curious tilt of her head. "Really? You would rather keep the small trinket, and have me leave you in the middle of an unfamiliar forest?"
I swallow and took a deep breath. "If you're not going to help me, I think I will leave."
I began to walk away but her voice called to me, "Wait a moment child, I will help you. I was simply curious to your attachment to the object."
"You'll help me?"
She sighed and began walking motioning for me to follow her. I stumbled after her, my bare feet were sore from the ground.
"This world is nothing like the one you know. Have you ever read a fairy tale, child?" She asked me as we walked.
"My mother used to read them to me."
"You'll find that this world is much closer to that of books than that of your world. You'll need new clothes, and you need to eat. You've got a long journey ahead of you."
"Where am I going?"
"You're going to find your mother and father." She said. I stopped walking and stared after her.
"M-my mother and father? But they died…" My voice grew small and she turned to look at me with a slightly annoyed expression.
"They're very much alive. You must go to them, they're the only ones who can protect you. They are in a city called Denerim, it will take you about two weeks to get there. I have two very serious things to tell you."
My mind was reeling; my parents lived? They knew of this place? Did this mean Gran knew of this place too, and Kieran?
"My parents are from here?" I asked. The woman rolled her eyes.
"Yes, child, they are from here and so are you. You were born here. There are things that I cannot tell you because of your safety. Know this though. There is a group of people who hunt the wearer of that necklace. They are called the Grey Wardens, they are good people, but not to you. You must not let anyone know you carry that necklace, do you understand me?" She glared into my eyes and I nodded slowly, trying to absorb everything she was telling me.
"You must also not tell anyone your last name, make up a new one, don't let anyone know where you're from. They'll lock you up."
"What am I supposed to tell them?"
"Use your imagination." She began walking again and I followed after her.
Suddenly there was a break in the trees and a small village was before us. I stared at it in awe. There were people bustling around. Women carrying babies and wearing long dresses. The men wore tunics, some pushed carts full of vegetables, others carried sacks of what I suppose was flour over their shoulders. There were other men and woman dressed in polished armor, they surveyed the surroundings. Some wore bows over their backs and others carried broadswords. It was something out of a book, just like she had said.
"These lands belong to Teyrn Cousland, a kind man, you will find help here. You must get to Denerim, with haste."
"Thank you…" I stopped, "I've only just realized I don't know your name."
"Call me Flemeth, I must leave you now, and do not forget everything I told you."
In the time it took me to blink she was gone. I looked around me, she had completely vanished. I was still shaking, and I was still somewhat unbelieving of what was happening to me. If Kieran knew about this then perhaps he would come for me, but I couldn't wait for that to happen. I had to get to this Denerim and find my mother and father. I looked down to tuck the necklace safely into my shirt, that's when I realized what I was wearing. A plain white t-shirt and a pair of cotton blue pajama shorts. These people would think I was dressed down right scandalous.
I had to form a story in my head, I was robbed on the road by bandits, I'm sure they had bandits right? I began walking, terrified of what to say if someone spoke to me. I was shaking violently, not only from fear that had grabbed onto my chest but also from the cold. I thought I might burst into tears at any moment.
"My lady?" A soft male voice came to me suddenly.
I nearly screamed as I jumped. One of the armored men was staring at me with a concerned expression, his hands were held in front of him as if to show he wasn't a threat.
"Are you in need of help madam?" He asked slowly. A hand reached out to me and I suddenly burst into tears and nearly fainted. He caught me with ease.
"She is freezing." He said to himself. "Guardsmen! Ride ahead and alert the Teyrn that there is a woman in need of help in the village, I think she might be a noble." I heard the sound of hoofbeats galloping away and then I passed out into the kind strangers arms.
I was so comfortable, I felt myself waking up but I wished I could sleep for many more hours. The bed I was on was the softest I had ever laid upon. I was sure of it. Someone was wiping my face with a wet wash cloth and humming a pretty tune. I opened my eyes and saw a purple velvet canopy hung over the bed and I remembered where I was.
"My lady? Are you waking up?" A soft voice asked me.
I glanced over to the woman beside me, she was beautiful. She had caramel skin that was flawless, her hair was an even darker brown than my own mahogany locks. What caught my eye the most about her appearance however was her ears. They were pointed at the end. The woman was an elf.
"Lady Cousland will want to know you're awake, I will fetch her promptly." The woman hurriedly left the room, still humming the tune to herself as she went.
I pushed myself up in the bed trying to formulate a plan. I remembered the guard thinking I was a noble, perhaps I could go with that. I wondered why they had thought me noble. I was still having an internal struggle when the door to the room opened again and an elegant woman not much older than myself walked through. She had long blonde hair and pretty brown eyes. This must be the Lady Cousland.
"You poor thing, you must have gone through quite the ordeal." She said softly as she sat beside me. I simply nodded, still not knowing what in the world I should say.
"What is your name?" She asked.
I cleared my throat before answering. "My name is Bretta… Bretta… Donnicks." I decided to use mother's maiden name.
The woman's eyes sparked in recognition.
"Of the Ostwick Donnicks?" She asked excitedly.
"Yes?" I said, not knowing what an Ostwick was.
"Oh! Are you in relation to the Lady Elizabeth Donnicks, well Lady Theirin now." Mother, she was speaking of mother.
"Yes! Yes I am, I was… On my way to Denerim to visit with the Lady Theirin and that is when my… Party" I was trying to word things like a person of this time would. "Yes my party was attacked, by bandits. I then wandered into the village."
She listened intently as I spoke and grabbed my hand as she smiled at me. "I am so sorry such a wretched thing has happened to you Lady Bretta. I will fetch my lady's maid and she will help you into a spare dress of mine. You must join my husband and I for dinner, he will be most excited to meet you."
"He will?" I asked, the wheels turning in my head. More people to engage with meant I had to be all the more careful.
"Yes! You share family after all, he is cousins with Lady Elizabeth's husband. Prince Daniel."
I blanched, prince? Prince Daniel? My father was a prince? So didn't that make me? Oh my word. I sat back into the pillows.
"You look pale Lady Bretta, I will have Cecilia come and draw you a warm bath. I know that will make you feel better, that and a hot meal. I will go now and find a dress for you to wear." She got up to leave me, her long hair swishing as she walked.
I watched her go, my heart beating rapidly in my chest. What in the world had I gotten myself into?
AN: Until next time.
Also, I'm aware that some of you may be wondering how Flemeth is here. Seeming as it appeared as if Solas killed her at the end of Inquisition. I have a hard time believing that was the end of Flemeth. After all, you can kill her in Origins and she's always there in DA2 regardless. So, just something to chew on.