Chapter Two

This is a dream…right?

"I hope you will wake, Keira… I do not think I can make this journey without you at my side." A soft female voice came out of the darkness. Soft, comforting, holding a motherly embrace that you would want to be lost in. A voice that offered the safety that most craved. But as those words began to sink in, the name she had used gave a pang of familiarity. It wasn't her own name, but a name that she thought she knew. Keira… It was Celtic if she recalled, a name that she rather liked. But why was it being used towards her? Where was she?

Cillian tried several times to open her eyes, but her lids felt so heavy, sleep calling to her in a beautiful song that encouraged her to rest. She tried to speak out, to say that she wanted to wake, that her name was Cillian, not Keira. But it was no use, after a few moments, she lost her battle to sleep and let it take her.

Sleep soothed the redheaded woman until the feeling of a cool damp cloth touched her forehead, causing a soft sigh to escape her lips. Why did it feel so good? Who was the one taking care of her? So many questions plagued her mind, but again, the voice to speak was long gone as her throat was demanding water.

"Easy, Kiera." The same voice from earlier soothed. It sounded… relieved. Finally, one eye opened, then the other, revealing a blinding light. "Slowly, slowly. You have been out for a week. I feared you would never wake." The voice said beside her, a soft hand being placed over her eyes until her vision adjusted. A week?

When her vision became clear, Cillian slowly removed the hand that covered her gaze, revealing her in a place that was no longer her apartment. But some old looking… shack? That seemed like the best way to describe where she was at the moment. The smell of hay was the first thing to hit her nose, but surprisingly, she didn't sneeze. Odd, she was quite allergic to the stuff. Slowly, her gaze turned to where that beautiful voice was coming from, and Cillian's breath practically hitched at the goddess before her. Even with a tired and worried expression on her face, she was.. Breathtaking. Onyx hair was neatly parted and braided, forming neat swirls on each side. Beautiful silver like beads were spread throughout the braids, adding to the beauty of her hair. Her pale skin was left with no mark, no wrinkle, her skin free of a single blemish. Because Cillian had sat here staring, not speaking a single word, those perfectly shaped Raven eyebrows furrowed over sapphire-colored eyes. "Keira? Are you okay? How about some water." The Goddess encouraged as she quickly reached beside her holding a cup to the confused female. At the sight of the sweet liquid, Cillian didn't hesitate before downing the glass as fast as she could.

"Slow down!" Once again, her tone held such worry and concern.

Once it felt like the fire in her throat had been sated, Cillian finally felt the words to speak, to ask where she was and who this woman could be. "I… apologize, but...who are you?" Cillian asked, in a voice that was not her own. It was sweet, not as soothing as the others, but alluring in its own way. What really caught her attention was the thick Scottish accent that coated each word. That wasn't her voice. Panic began to course through her system as a hand quickly went to her mouth. Her gaze quickly darted around the little hovel they were in. She needed a mirror! Even though her body was against it, she threw back the blanket to look down at herself. All of the thick curves that she had grown accustomed to and loved about herself, were gone. Replaced by a slender but filled out form that seemed to have legs for days.

The raven-haired woman let out a small gasp of surprise at the fact that Cillian couldn't remember her. It drew another look of concern before she quickly but gently took her hands. "You must have lost your memory! You poor dear… I'm so sorry, it should have been me…" a small tear formed before her throat cleared.

"I'm Anna, Kiera. You were my maid, but you're more like a sister to me since we grew up together." Anna kept her tone gentle before raising a hand to gently caress Cillian's cheek. "We were escaping our home, when you pushed me out of the way. Arl Howe… he betrayed my family, laid siege…" she didn't know who all was involved, who all had been targeted.

Anna… Arl Howe…

Holy shit…

"Anna… Vanguard, right?" Cillian asked slowly, causing the dark-haired beauty to quickly shoot up. "Yes! Oh, thank the Maker you're starting to remember!" She breathed a sigh of relief.

Cillian placed her hand on her chest as she started to… hopefully… put things together while Anna stood to quickly gather food. "You must be starving! Let me get you something solid."

Anna Vanguard, Arl Howe… things were slowly snapping into place. Anna was one of the characters in the fanfiction she was writing. The very one that she had taken a two-month hiatus from when a mind block set in. A beautiful, sweet, angelic character who was a mage that only knew how to heal. She sure was beautiful… Cillian was sure of that. If she recalled correctly, Arl Howe had taken over Knight Kinn Vanguard's manor while the male was away to help the Cousland family prepare for their march to Ostagar. He was one of Teryn Cousland's most trusted knights; a minor noble who Cillian wished she would have given more writing time before his untimely death the night of the Cousland slaughter.

Focus, Cillian. Now was not the time to dwell on a missed writing opportunity!

Reaching her hands up to her face, Cillian began to feel the unfamiliar facial structure. Slender, big eyes, strands of auburn hair began to fall in her face as her hands combed through the wild mass. Well, at least that was somewhat the same. The shade was different from her own, but at least she was still a redhead. One thing that made Cillian hesitate was the pointed ears… she was an elf! Inwardly, she was actually rather happy about that for it was always her desired race when in game. But there were quite a few downsides to being such, for they weren't exactly seen in the best light. Off topic once again!

Taking a deep breath, Cillian began to wreck her brain for the name that Anna called her, Keira.. Keira… KEIRA! How could she possibly forget?! One of the deaths in her story that had Cillian sobbing night and day after she posted. OH SHIT! This character was meant to die! When?!

Cillian began to chew on her thumbnail as panic tore through her chest once more, wrecking her brain to try and remember when the elf was supposed to die. She was one of the only closest people to Anna during the beginning of her journey, to help sort out her feelings in the upcoming love triangle between Anna, Alistair, and Nerian Cousland. If she was supposed to help her through that, then it would still be some time before her death. Which meant she had time, the advantage being that she knew exactly what was supposed to happen. In her story as well as the saga. This was a dream, had to be a dream. There was no possible way that she really was in Keira's body, sitting here talking to a character that SHE created. This was her call to pick up the story again, sure, that's what it is. She will play this out and write the continuation from where she left off on the page.

Taking a deep breath, the panic that had been forming in her chest began to ease as the thought of this being a dream seemed to ease her. Never before had she dreamt like this, so detailed, practically life-like… But she had heard of other writers experiencing such when a story was calling out to them.

'It is just a dream. Go with the flow.'

Right, go with the flow. Looking down at her legs, Cillian was curious as to how hard it could be in another's body. Shouldn't be that difficult, right? Legs were legs, arms were arms and so forth.

Swinging her legs off the bed, Cillian ran her hands along the dark fabric of her leggings. They were simple made, but sturdy. If she recalled correctly, Keira was quite the seamstress, having to constantly repair Anna's things when she went on a 'nature adventure'. "This should be easy enough." Cillian said, once again caught off guard by the accent. There wasn't a Scotland here, but a Starkhaven. She remembered loving the place after hearing the actor who voiced Sebastian from the second game. Even though Keira had been by Anna's side since they were the age of six, Keira never lost the heavy accent from where her family hailed.

"Maybe I should rewrite Keira's fate, I wasn't the only one upset by her death." Cillian muttered before standing. The height difference only caught her off guard for a moment before she laid a crumbled mess on the floor, her legs having given out from under her.

This… was going to be harder than she thought.