Chapter Text
Darkness.
Flashes of colors, mostly greens and blacks.
Screeches that sounded like nails on a chalk board all around me.
My eyes kept fluttering as the shadows moved close.
Closer and closer they came.
Reaching with icy fingers.
One got close enough to rake a sharp nail down my arm, drawing blood.
I thought I was going to die at the hands of the screeching.
Then there was a bright light.
Yellow, warm and home.
It sent all the screeching away.
It brought warmth to my unknowingly chilled body.
“Return to the Living” a soft voice whispered to me.
“Go to your new home, Ashlyn.”
There was shouting, and whistling but I knew it hadn’t been from the place I had just been. It sounded clear and real. I tried to open my eyes but the light was too bright. Resting my head back, I felt the pang of icy cold on my neck, shivering.
“Is this even possible?” A voice asked as shadows flashed from behind my eyes.
“How did she survive that?” Another asked, and I felt something get pressed to my forehead. A hand maybe?
“What is she wearing?” It sounded like it could have been the first person talking but, I couldn’t be sure. My body felt heavy all the sudden, making my head swim. I tried to talk but nothing came out.
“Someone get a Healer!” An arm moved under my neck while another went under my legs and just as I was lifted into strong arms, everything started to fade to dark. I just hoped the screeching wouldn’t be in my dreams.
~ ~ ~
“Wake up, prisoner.” The barked order jolted me awake but I stayed still, blinking my eyes. Prisoner? Was this a joke of my brothers? He must have found my spare key and wanted to go do something. But that wasn’t Jared’s voice. It was a woman’s. And she was pissed.
“I said, wake up!” This time, the command came with a swift kick to the side, flaming my whole sore body with pain.
Hissing, I sat up on my elbows. I blinked once, twice before I was able to take in my surroundings. It was damp and cold in the stone structure that was lit with fire torches. I caught a figure moving in the shadows with their face just out of the light. My head cocked to the side in question, I recognized that armor but, how? From where?
“Cassandra, please-” Another voice that wasn’t the mean one said from the corner and I immediately turned to see two more forms, lounging against something. I shifted my body so I could sit up, finally noticing that my hands were chained with ancient wide-band cuffs.
“I’ve had just about enough of people we don’t know falling out of Rifts from the Fade.” Mean voice growled and took a step forward.
When I saw her face I gasped, scooting away from her. She might have thought it was from fear of her but, it was the exact opposite. Her armor. It was familiar because it was the armor of the Seeker. Her face. She looked exactly like Cassandra Penteghast, Seeker of the Chantry and the Right Hand of the Divine. This place. I knew it because I’d seen it in my play through of-. I shook my head, not allowing myself to even consider what could be going on.
“It’s strange that it has become a common enough occurrence to be a nuisance.” The other form in the corner piped up, voice thick with a velvety accent. She sounded just like a certain Antivan ambassador. There was no way. No way.
“Cassandra?” My quiet question came out more as a croak that sent me into a coughing fit.
“How do you know me?” Cassandra took a threatening step forward before crouching to my height, arms resting on her legs.
“Leliana? Josephine?” I spoke to the two in the shadows.
The first to step forward was the Left Hand of the Divine. Leliana’s arms were crossed, a single eyebrow raised in question. In her usual hooded garb, her face was chiseled emotionless as she looked at me with a calculated gaze. The click of heels gave away Josephine before she even stepped into the light. She tugged absently at the corner of her yellow and purple Antivan dress. It took her a moment to look at me but, when I finally confirmed that it truly was one of the well-known advisors, I dropped my head.
“She seems to know us all.” Leliana commented.
“Oh my God, I must be dreaming.” I mumbled to myself, shaking my head.
“This is a dream, right?” I said more loudly, looking up to see Cassandra still close to me. She looked real, and so did Leliana and Josephine. The intent staring I was doing to the three women was making them nervous, Cassandra stood and moved away from me while the others took a step back.
“But it has to be.” Continuing to talk to myself, I felt my body start to shake.
“You all aren’t real.” I looked back up at Cassandra, finding her glancing between Leliana and myself.
“She seems to have hit her head.” Josephine said quietly, sounding scared at my ranting.
“Or she’s just crazy.” Cassandra scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest and tilting her weight on her hips. I was half waiting for a disgusted huff to come from her.
“I am not crazy.” I told them, rubbing my face with my hands the best that I could.
“Where are we?” I asked suddenly, looking around again.
“I’m not tell-” I interrupted her before she could bark at me anymore.
“Are we in Haven or Skyhold?” For a heartbeat, all three women froze, looking at one another and then back at me.
“What is this Skyhold you speak of?” Leliana asked, taking a step forward with her arms still crossed.
“So that means the dragon hasn’t attacked yet.” I said, mostly to myself but Cassandra was standing the closest to me and heard me despite my whisper.
“What dragon?!” She squawked, swooping down to my height again in one movement and got her face right in mine.
“You better start answering me right now, girl, or Maker help me I’ll-” Her threat was stopped before it could get any bloodier than necessary by a new voice.
“Cassandra, enough.” It was a man’s voice. And it was familiar too- surprise, surprise.
“Let the girl speak.” With the clanking of armor, I heard him move from the door behind me and around to where I could see him.
It wasn’t possible.
No way in Hell’s high water was this happening. First, I woke up here. Next, I get interrogated by a royal family member of Nevarra. And then my Inquisitor shows up, the first and only human male Inquisitor I ever created. It lightly crossed my mind that I had been about to play his story when I ended up here.
“I know who you are, Archer Trevelyan, Herald of Andraste.” I said shakily before he could introduce himself.
Standing taller than all the women in the room, his hard lined and serious looking face was framed with a light shadow of facial hair and bright green eyes. All the characters I created had the same green eyes. I just theorized that since the Anchor was bright green, like Rifts, then it might have changed their eye color as well. His black hair was shaved close to his ears and was long on top, swooping to the side a bit. It went well with his perfectly tanned skin and strong muscular body.
“The only way she could know so much about us is if she is a spy.” Cassandra’s comment but my on edge and I jumped to defend myself.
“I’m no spy.”
“Then prove it.” She ccountered, leaning forward slightly and glaring harshly.
“Do I look like someone trying to fit in here?” I motioned to myself the best way I could. All four people took in my appearance. Thankfully, I was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a tank top with an over shirt. Usually, I play my games in my pajamas. That would have been embarrassing.
“Because I’m not from here.” I continued.
“You don’t seem to have an Orlesian accent-” Josephine mused, looking at my outfit more critically than the other three.
“I’m not from Orlais either, I’m from a completely different world.” You could have heard a mouse skitter across the floor at the silence that filled the stone room. They all looked at me like they didn't believe me. And I couldn't say that I blamed them. It would have sounded asinine if I was in their shoes.
“I was in my room, playing Dra-” I stopped myself. How could I tell them that I was playing a game that let me look into all of their lives? That’s right, I couldn't. “Playing this game, when all the sudden, everything went black.”
“Then there were voices, screeches and touches. I remember one of them actually touched me.” Looking down at where I remembered the claw touching me, my stomach sank when I saw a trail of blood. It had been real after all.
“There was a bright light, it was warm and it spoke to me.” I kept going, keeping the shaking from my voice the best that I could.
“What did it say?” Archer pressed, crouching down to my height. He wasn't trying to intimidate me, like Cassandra had. He was doing it so he could watch my features. To see if I was lying.
“I don’t remember. I just know it was a woman’s voice.” I answered.
“A woman’s voice? In the Fade?” Leliana asked, looking at Cassandra.
"The Fade? I had come from the Fade? And the only like to the Fade and the world of Theadas was Rifts. Just the thought of it made my heart stop.
“I fell out of a Rift?” I asked, not caring if I sounded scared at this point.
“From the middle of the sky, into a tree and hit every branch all the way down.” I sucked in a breath and held it until I felt my anxiety ebb slightly. No wonder my body as so sore. The whole time, Archer was watching me, taking in my every feature.
“Remove her shackles.” His request made every eye in the room fall on him. I’m sure my eyes looked about to bug out of my head as I gawked at him.
“But, Herald-” Cassandra fumbled for her words, still reeling from shock.
“Please Cassandra.” Archer turned his face to look up at her, asking in a calm tone that immediately made her uncross her arms and reach towards her side.
“Very well.” She mumbled as she flung a single set of keys at Archer, who caught them expertly from the air.
I know they didn't believe me but getting out of the dungeon was a good as start as any.