DULCE ET DECORUM

The Archdemon gazed at me with its sharp and intelligent eyes as it watched my life-blood colour the cold stone battlefield. "Dulce et decorum," I recited, smiling as I closed my eyes, "est pro patria mori."

A girl finds herself thrown into the world of Thedas, and into the hands of the infamous Witch of the Wilds and her daughter. As she grows up in a body that isn't hers, she can't help but ask the question no one wants to answer; why was she brought there?

AU. Eventual Zevran/OC.

Welcome! So, this is a try at another girl-thrown-into-Thedas with a twist! The other is still ongoing, called 'Learning How to Fly', and the response has been fantastic! So before LHTF, there was a random little chapter that started this story, still in-complete but with potential. A year later I visited my folder of the-ones-that-didn't-make-it, and bought it to life! I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Don't expect anything you've already seen or read before, that is not my goal. Rowan is going to be a complex character to write, but you'll have to wait in order to find out more!

I do not own anything you recognize.

PS: If you haven't played the game. . . well yea I totally own this.

PSS: The above statement is a lie, please do not sue me.

PSSS: If you don't sue me, you get a cookie.

The cover is a downloadable wallpaper and when I saw it I knew it was exactly what Rowan looks like. Not sure if because it's a public wallpaper I'm allowed to use it, but please tell me if I can't.

Chapter One: Forever Young

Peace.

It was something you could find in only the most hidden and discreet places, away from the bustle of the city and the relentless beams from the hot summer sun. Places like those are rare and beautiful, making ordinary acts seem magical. You could forget everything for a while and simply be, no responsibilities lying heavy on your shoulders. As illogical as it seems, you could forget everything about your life and for a moment, just one little moment, the impossible could become possible.

Laughter filled the small clearing as a young woman ran into it, her bare feet pounding against the ground as she looked over her shoulder, her mouth pulled into a large grin. Stopping for a moment, she hung her head and rested her hands on her knees, still chuckling between her gasps for air. Behind her the bushes rustled suddenly as a man burst from them and gently tackled the woman to the ground, causing her to shriek in surprise. They rolled among the small flowers and overgrown grass, the woman giggling as the man tickled her, his fingers finding her weak spots with ease. Finally they came to a stop, the man holding himself above her with his hands placed firmly on the ground. Lowering himself slowly, the man placed a small chaste kiss on the woman's forehead, causing her to blush, her cheeks going slightly pink.

"You know," he whispered softly in her ear, his breath tickling her skin, "I think I love you."

\o/o\o/o\o/

I gritted my teeth - an unlit cigarette hanging dangerously close to falling between them - before slamming my foot on the brake, swerving around the corner as the air was filled with the smell of burning tyres. Then I shot forward, my eyes focused on the stretch of track that lay in front of me. I was gaining speed, going faster than I had previously dared. Whether the reason was because of the half full bottle of vodka that lay abandoned on my lap, or the haze of red that clouded my vision, I didn't know. Perhaps it was both. My hands flew across the controls of the race car automatically, years of practice did that to you, and I took the next corner as easily as the last.

It was too much too soon, the 'whys' and 'what ifs' filling my thoughts. The scenery flew by, nothing but me and the road as my rage grew.

"I think I love you."

"That cheating, lying, son-of-a-bitch!" I shrieked angrily, my knuckles turning white as they gripped on the wheel.

I had trusted him, trusted him with all of my being and with one picture burned into my mind everything had fallen apart. Him lying underneath her, as she swayed and moaned his name in ecstasy. Him pleading for forgiveness, and my absolute favourite, him telling me that it was my fault. That he was a man with needs that I refused to satisfy.

"Well fuck me for wanting to wait," I spat at no one, as it was only me in the car. Alone.

I took the next corner recklessly, barely managing to stay on the track. Grabbing the lighter, I expertly lit my cigarette and held it between my fingers before grasping the bottle between my thighs and flicking off the lid. Using one hand to steer and one to hold the bottle and the now burning cigarette in the air, I started to speak, "This is for all of those stupid bitches who could never say no to a pretty face and sweet words; this is for all of those stupid bitches who couldn't see through the lies."

I took a quick drag of the toxic smoke before tipping the bottle into my mouth as the burning liquid poured down my throat, throwing my mind into a sharp focus before it blurred into a deliciously fuzzy haze. It was enough time to note that the next corner was coming up, faster than normal, and that there was no time for me to take it. I desperately tried to twist the wheel, discarding the bottle as it crashed to the floor, spilling vodka across my feet and lap; the cigarette went flying and landed on the dash, the soft light of the flame flickering as the ashes fell.

No! I'm not ready to die yet! Oh God, no!

The car skidded sideways off the track as I screamed, horrified at my stupidity. Hitting a bump in the grass, it flipped into the air and started to spin. I was thrown around like a rag doll as I felt something crack and my vision went black for a moment, my head hitting the rood of the car before slamming down on the dashboard. The car hit the ground with a loud crash on its side, the impact crushing it slightly. Glass shattered and my screams grew louder as the tiny shards burst onto my face, my helmet lying forgotten on the stands. Finally sliding to a halt, the car fell down, its tyres spinning uselessly in the air. My screams turned into sobs as I tried to move, only to find out that my leg had been trapped underneath the seat, twisted into a grotesque and impossible angle. Everywhere I looked blood was splattered, little red drops reminding me of my mortality. At that moment the adrenaline faded as the pain hit me, causing me to realise what had happened and how badly I was hurt. My leg had definitely been broken, if not crushed and completely useless. My nose had also snapped, blood trickling down my lips. As I rose my hand to feel the damage, I realised my entire face had been impaled with minuscule pieces of glass. A large gash to my forehead bled copious amounts of blood as nausea set in. Tears fell down my cheeks, the salty sting of them providing hope as I gasped for air, my chest expanding greedily for the oxygen that I could still breath in.

I'm alive? Oh God, thank you! I'm alive!

The smell of burning filled my senses, but it wasn't only of rubber tyres. "No," I panted, turning my head towards the source. Small flames had grown along the front of the car and were brazenly growing bigger.

"No!" I cried out hysterically. "No, please no! Somebody help me!"

Alcohol is highly flammable, and you're covered in it. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

I moaned and cursed as the fire grew closer and closer; and I could do nothing except watch it. My leg wouldn't move, no matter how much I had tried to pry it out, and it was the dizzying pain that had prevented me from touching it any further.

"Get me out of here!" I shrieked, trying desperately to swat at the incoming fire.

But I was alone, and no one would hear my screams. Mercifully, my eyesight dimmed as the closest flames licked my legs and I faded away from the scene, my eyesight going black.

\o/o\o/o\o/

I woke up to the smell of burning wood, something familiar and unexpected. Deciding that the small room I had woken up to was definitely not a hospital, I rose and placed my feet upon the cold stone ground. I was dead, truly and irreversibly dead. My vision felt slightly blurred, as though I had been sleeping for a very long time. Taking a deep breath to calm my sudden nerves and trying to ignore the feeling of wrongness that had overtaken my body, I stood up. Swaying slightly but still confident, I took a tentative step towards the door. Perhaps this was heaven, perhaps it was hell, either way I didn't want to wait any longer to find out.

'Face the future, head held high, my love. Don't make the mistake of forgetting the past, but start on the road to accepting it.'

The words comforted me; it had been something my mother had once told me. Walking felt strange, foreign. In fact every movement was an effort, requiring me to mentally command my limbs into action. I spotted a bookshelf, groaning with leather bound pages. Open books lay on the floor depicting symbols and writing in a language that was unfamiliar. A fire crackled, shedding warmth and light over the room and there were two large chests. Animal skins provided a break from the cold stone. It looked like a strange, but slightly normal, cottage, albeit the larger furniture. I stretched my arm out towards the knob on the old wooden door, only to gasp in surprise at the small hand and tiny fingers that were attached to my arm. My eyes travelled along my arms to my stomach, then lowering to my legs and finally resting on my feet. Everything was small, delicate and childlike. And I had no womanly features at all to show my age. Backing away from the door, I looked around the small room for a mirror, anything that would show my reflection, but there was nothing. Around the back of the room, a place that was previously not visible, two barrels held up a wooden plank to make a table. A table adorned with the bones of animals and . . . was that a human skull?

Hell, I decided quickly, my eyes darting around the room, looking for a place to hide, definitely hell.

The door creaked open, causing me to spin around in surprise and fear. A slender silhouette of a figure stood in front of the daylight pouring through the entrance, its face invisible as my eyes tried to adjust.

"I see you have awoken, I shall fetch mother." The voice was smooth and feminine, portrayed in such a way that it demanded attention even though she had not shouted. The figure disappeared as quickly as she had come, leaving the door open behind her. The urge to dive under the bed was overwhelming, as though I was in danger from the people that lived in the small hut; in danger from the girl and her mother. It was a natural instinct that made no sense to me, but to the body I was in.

This isn't my body.

The thought sickened me to no end, what had happened to the body's previous owner did not seem like anything natural. And if I was here, where was the child?

Unhurried footsteps came from outside, the sounds of a soft conversation filtering through the open door.

"How is she?" an elder voice questioned.

"Awake, mother," responded the younger girl from the doorway.

"Don't be insolent girl," the elder voice spat. "I mean does she look like a child? Are there any deformities from the possession?"

"None at all, mother. It seems that the spirit has chosen to remain in its given form. 'Tis quite a change from the . . . previous attempt."

A mature woman that couldn't be anything younger than fifty appeared in the doorway, she stood silent for a moment before a soft chuckle came from her mouth.

"Mother?"

"Look at her, she's perfect!" the woman laughed, entering the small room with a gracefulness that wasn't human.

I shifted uncomfortably, trying to find the courage to tear away my eyes from the beautiful woman. Her dark black hair was sprinkled with grey, while her sharp golden eyes studied me critically. But despite the signs of age, there was no reservation that she had once been perhaps the most gorgeous woman I had ever seen. As if called on by my thoughts, the girl entered the room. There was no doubt on their relationship, it was as though the woman had made a copy of herself and raised it as her child. The girl had the same striking dark hair tone and eye colour, and if it wasn't enough, they both wore the exact same expression of calculated interest.

"Hel-llo? I spoke shakily, my voice at a childish pitch. I didn't even need a mirror. My voice belonged to a child along the age of nine or ten, a child with big doe eyes and rosy cheeks, a child that was no doubt the pride and joy of her parents. A child that had disappeared and left its body behind.

If possible, the look in the woman's eyes turned predatory as she smiled toothily, reminding me of a feral wolf about to take down its prey.

"Are you happy, mother?" the girl sighed. "A suitable replacement, surely?"

"We shall see," the women cackled insanely.

Suddenly, she wasn't that beautiful anymore.

"Excuse me?" I inquired timidly. "Where has the child gone? Who are you? And just what exactly have you done to me?"

The girl smiled grimly before stalking up to me and placing her hands on my shoulders.

"You," she hissed, "are going to listen carefully, because I am only going to explain this once."

I nodded, terrified by the girl who towered over me and glared, lightning crackling in her eyes.

"The child is you. I am your sister. She," the girl motioned towards the woman, "is your mother. Got it?"

I sucked in a sharp breath, my eyes opened wide as she spoke words that made no sense, were impossible and highly unlikely. My mother lived in a small town just outside Calgary, Canada, with my step-dad and their kid, my half-brother, Jeremy. I didn't have a sister, last time I checked, and I sure as hell didn't think my entire life had been a dream and I was only just waking up. But there was no way I was risking telling her this, so I simply nodded again.

"We have not done anything to you. You simply fell sick for a very long time and have only just recovered. We live alone, away from the towns and villages filled with people and Templars - who we hate."

She let go of my shoulders, but not before staring into my eyes coldly for a moment and shaking me slightly, asking deadly quietly, "Do you understand?"

'No!' I wanted to scream, but self-preservation was one of my fine qualities - despite my previous dim-witted lack of judgement on the race track – and I mumbled something that sounded almost like a 'yes' but was more of a squeak.

She smiled the same predatory smile as her mother and walked off to the back of the small hut, humming softly to herself.

I turned my nervous gaze to the women, but she supplied no information and only watched me, tapping her chin with her forefinger as though in deep thought. Suddenly, her eyes snapped back into focus and she called loudly, "Girl, teach this child our ways." She walked out of the door, mumbling as an afterthought, "And how to cook."

A small pile of clothes were roughly shoved into my arms as the girl walked past, she looked at me once before ordering sharply, "Get dressed and meet me outside."

She immediately stalked off, slamming the door closed behind her.

I let out a half choked sob before backing away from the door and hugging the garments tightly.

What the fuck was going on?

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