Two days passed, Alistair avoiding me. Every time I tried to catch his eye, he would suddenly find himself extremely busy doing absolutely nothing.
"Speak." Morrigan stepped up, keeping pace beside me.
I glanced at her, then returned my focus to his back, "What?"
"Something is on your mind. Has been, since I found you the other day." her no nonsense tone made it clear I would have to work hard to convince her otherwise.
"We got in to a fight. I-"
"That is nothing new." she raised an eyebrow, "'Tis an off day, when you aren't arguing. And yet there has been a tense silence between the two of you."
My eyes fell to the ground, making it seem as if I was concentrating on my footing, "I told him of my vision. That I occasionally get them."
"Ah. I see." her shrewd eyes homed in on the topic of our conversation, "Perhaps he is fearful because you are a mage."
"I..."
"Or mayhap the details have him so withdrawn." she added gently.
My lips quirked slightly; the apostate had a gentle side, "That's what I think. The Rite of Annulment was mentioned. He said it meant-"
She hissed through her teeth, "The Templar are planning on killing anything that moves, mage or no. Why anyone would feel safe in a Circle is beyond my comprehension."
"Maybe you would feel differently, had you grown up in one."
"And maybe I would be married off to a wealthy noble, had I not been born with magic. We do not live in a world of what ifs." her sudden vehemence caught me off guard, causing me to actually stumble.
The warrior Warden looked back at us, concern on his face for a moment before his expression smoothed over.
"I know. Trust me, I know, Morri."
She brushed her fingertips across my shoulder, then slowed her steps so she lagged behind with Leliana and Sten. Seraphine had gone off on her own, periodically bounding back to me to show me things she'd found.
The rest of the journey, silence reigned supreme. Good thing I was used to my superiors ignoring me, or I would have been upset.
...
Lake Calenhad was terrifying. To a normal person, it would be beautiful. Breathtaking. For me, it was literal hell. Water as far as the eye could see did not soothe my aquaphobia. Not in the slightest.
My chest tight, I looked to my left, spying an old building. An inn. The Spoiled Princess, read the sign dangling from a post just in front of the door. While the others were talking with a man standing on the docks by a small boat, I ducked inside and sat at a table at the far end of the quaint room. Walls bare, there wasn't much in the way of decoration. I suppose, what with being right outside the Circle Tower, they didn't get many travelers aside from mages and Templars. There probably wasn't that much foot traffic to these parts, the fear of mages too strong.
That's where Sten found me some time later.
"The other Warden failed to convince the Templar to let us cross the water."
I sighed, "Did anyone else give it a go?"
"I offered the soft, chewy pastries."
"Cookies?" looked him up and down, bemused.
"Yes."
"And?"
"I was not successful."
"That's a shame. I would love to be bribed with cookies. They're so delicious."
He gave a single head bob, silent.
"Wait. Leliana and Morrigan didn't try?"
"No. The fool would not let them." he frowned, "He said something about being embarrassed."
"By you?" I stood up, "Give me the cookies."
Wordlessly, he held out a small pouch. I took it and marched out of the building.
Sure enough, the others were standing in a small group by the edge of the lake. No doubt trying to figure out how to cross without the aid of the boatman.
Centering myself, I felt my features soften. My whole stance shifted, becoming relaxed.
"Can we cross, ser?" innocence dripped from me like slime.
He blinked down at me. I'd caught him off guard. Good.
"No." his voice whipped out, then adding "No, miss" at my wide eyed, hurt expression.
"Why not?" I gazed beyond him, eyeing the Tower.
"It's too dangerous, miss."
"But... But I have cookies." With a hopeful expression, I offered the pouch.
He hesitated.
"And a biiiiiiiig Qunari! Besides, I think my friend has a treatsie or something for the big leader of the magicians."
The man looked toward my companions, weighing my words. I knew the moment the lightbulb went off. What if my friend had the Rite but didn't want to say?
"Alright. You be careful, though, miss. And listen to the men in armor that are in the Tower, okay?"
"Thank you!" I pushed the cookies in to his hands, "I'll listen to them."
Waving over the others, I got in to the boat. My heart hammered, feeling as if it was trying to burst free. Or explode.
...
"Isemay! Are you almost ready? Dinner is on the table!" my mother's voice rang out.
"Almost!" I answered, staring in to the mirror.
A smudge of dirt on my cheek added to my excited features. I rubbed at it, remembering the hike from this morning. Of how I'd seen that deer, and it had cautiously approached me.
I'd stood stock still, not wanting to scare it off. When it was close enough to touch, it sniffed my face and butted its nose against my cheek. Leaving the smear of dirt. Shortly after, it had darted off.
I shook myself free of the memory and skipped down the stairs.
My mother stood by the table, my father already sitting at his place. The head of the table.
"How was the hike?" my father asked.
I grinned, "It was great! Unbelievable, actually!" I threw my arms around wildly, "There was a deer, and it came up to me! It touched my cheek with its nose and stared at me. It was so strange, but it was great! It was unlike anything I've ever read about!"
He and my mother exchanged looks, nodding to each other.
"What?" I asked through a bite of chicken fried steak, "You're acting awfully suspicious."
"I think it's time. We have something to tell you." Mother bit her lip hesitantly, "You see, when I was trying to get pregnant-"
"I know." I interrupted, "You were told you couldn't. Not that you shouldn't, but that you couldn't. it wasn't possible for you. I'm a miracle baby."
"Yes, but there's more to the story." Dad's deep voice rumbled through the room.
More to the story? I waited in silence.
"I went to a psychic."
My jaw dropped. Neither of my parents had shown any sign of believing in anything "other." Religion, magic, or whatever. It wasn't as if it wasn't talked about, but they never went to church.
"She told me that you were waiting. You were waiting for a specific time to come in to our lives. She said you had seen the past, present, and future, and you had chosen the best future for me and your father. At first, I was skeptical. How could you, a supposed 'spirit,' influence my body like that? But, as more time passed and more things she had predicted occurred…. I started to believe. In you." She paused, taking a deep breath, "That's why we chose your name. Isemay can mean 'iron strength' or 'loved, esteemed.'"
"And Anastasia, which means 'rebirth, reborn,' was a close second." Father sipped from his coffee.
"I don't…." I frowned deeply, confused, "What does all of that mean?"
"You're special. You chose your path. You chose us."
"I…. May I be excused? I'm not that hungry."
"Of course. It's a lot to handle, and so suddenly, too. Take your time, hon."
I slowly stood and made my way to my bedroom.
I wasn't alone.
A blonde teenage girl stood by one of my windows, staring out.
She glanced back at me, "There you are. You're a hard kid to find."
"Who…?" a deep sigh, "Don't call me a kid."
She gave me a raised eyebrow at that, smiling slightly. Sadly.
"I am Meghan. Meghan Chase."
"I'm Isemay. Isemay Snow."
"I know who you are." A knowing glint in her eyes, "I know you're not meant to be here. This isn't the real world."
"What are you talking about?" I inched closer to her, curious, "Are you from another world or something?"
"I am. But so are you. And this isn't it."
"Where are we, then?"
"We're in some place called the Fade? I don't understand it, but that's what whispers in my mind. It's almost like there's an unseen being, telling me what I need to know in order to help you."
My blood ran cold. The Fade. Thedas. Alistair, Morrigan, Seraphine, Sten, Leliana, and Wynne. Of course.
"I was mistaken. My name is Anastasia Snow."
She nodded, "That's better. Do you remember now?"
"Yeah…. I remember everything." My eyes dropped to the floor, "But I don't know who you are."
"Oh, that. We've never met, but we will, in the future. When you're done helping this world. Anywaaaaaaaay, your friends need help. The ones who came with you. They're trapped here, too, living through their own…things. Whatever they are."
"The future?"
The knowing look again, "Miss Psychic. I'm from the far future. A few years or something. How old are you?"
"Nine."
"Ah. So it's…two, two and a half years from now, I guess. That doesn't matter, though. What matters is that your mind isn't clouded anymore, and that we'll meet again in the future. The me you meet won't know we met. I'm from waaaaaay after that. Well, only a year or so, but that's pretty far off." She clapped her hands, "Now! I have to go. To be perfectly honest, I shouldn't be here at all. Glitch is going to be so angry, but what can you do?"
"Glitch?"
"Puck will probably just laugh and want to know what happened, in great detail." She grinned happily, "Glitch is my advisor. Puck is my best friend."
Advisor? Who was this girl?
"Oh, uh. If you can keep it a secret, I'll tell you."
I chewed my lip, debating, "Will it put me in danger?"
Head tilted, she thought about it, "No. Not if you don't say anything about the secret. Which you won't be able to. Promises are binding, for my kind."
I skittered back several steps, gasping, "You're a faerie?"
"Promise me." Her features turned cold in an instant.
"I promise I won't tell anyone unless I absolutely have to or I have your permission." I carefully chose my words.
Her eyes narrowed for a moment, her expression smoothing out, "Alright. That's good enough for me. I'm Meghan Chase, Queen of the Iron Fae. Glitch is my royal advisor."
"And in the future, we have a friendship?"
"I like that about you. You immediately jump to being friends. You must be so lonely." A soft sigh, "But yes. We become the best of friends."
"That's great and all, but how do I get to that future, if I'm trapped in the Fade?"
She shrugged, "That's not my area of expertise. You never told me how you managed it, now that I think about it. You might wanna do that in the future. If you even remember to mention it to me."
"Wait…." I looked back, toward the door, "How can I trust you? What you're telling me…. It leads to a paradox. If I never made it out of here, I would never meet you. Which would stop you from coming back to get me out. Which would prevent us from meeting at all."
"I can't lie."
"If you're really a faerie, you mean." I rubbed my temples, "This is giving me a headache."
"Well, you are just a kid, after all. I guess it would take time."
Glaring, I gritted my teeth, "Stop calling me a kid."
"Then get out of here." She stepped forward, "If you can. Kid."
With that, she turned and went back to staring out the window. Ignoring me completely.
I went back to the kitchen, my parents still there.
"My father is dead, and my mother hates me. Kindly choose a different façade."
They both glanced at me, their forms morphing in to those of desire demons. They had decided it wasn't worth it.
"Is this where I threaten to kill you?" I murmured.
"We can give you what you want. We-"
"Are desire demons. You're dangerous. You can only give me false happiness."
"But you would be happy. For once in your life, you wouldn't be sad or lonely." One of them purred, coming closer.
I looked up at it through my lashes, "Why don't I just kill you and be done with this? I don't need to beg for my life, unlike you."
Fear flitted across their faces.
Using their hesitation against them, I pulled magic to me. It came easier than normal, us being in the Fade. The heart of Thedas magic.
A soft glow covered them. Closing my eyes, I concentrated. Demons were only demons because of the mind's perception. If you expected a spirit to be a demon, then it would accommodate you. It would become its own opposite.
Purpose now stood before me, both dropping to one knee.
"You have granted us mercy, where we would not have shown you any." A whisper of a voice drifted in the air, "What would you have of us?"
"Nothing. I wasn't sure I would be able to change you. I'm glad I was, though. Wait. Could you possibly tell me how to get to my friends? I need to get all of us out of here."
Simultaneously, they each lifted an arm, pointing to the front door.
"That is the way from your desires. To reach the others, you must simply find them."
Pressing my lips together, I nodded and steeled myself.
Walked to the door and opened it.