Author's Note: This was very quickly written and probably riddled with errors, and terribly written. I just wanted to get it out of my system. Enjoy!
With all the creepy letters she'd been receiving from someone in Jorrvaskr, Agedele regretted joining the Companions.
It wasn't Farkas. She knew as much after he confronted her in the training yard.
"Agedele, what's happening?" he asked her, searching her eyes. He may not be very smart, but he was a caring guy.
She simply sighed, curling her tail in discomfort. "Nothing, Farkas. Just… nothing." And she had walked away.
Soon, it was her time to ascend the mountain to High Hrothgar. While there, she had learned many shouts that would help her along the way, but nothing to comfort her when she returned home early in the morning. Lydia sat at the table in Breezehome, sipping something out of a cup and staring down at two letters that were sitting on the tabletop.
"Looks like you have an admirer," Lydia said nonchalantly, looking up. "He's a little creepy."
Upon reading them, Agedele calmly rose and locked the door. "No one is to enter here unless I am present and know who it is, all right?"
"Yes, my Thane," Lydia replied.
Later that afternoon, another letter had been slipped under the door as the Dragonborn was napping. Her admirer was in the town square, waiting for her. Against her common sense, she donned her armor, bow, and quiver. Telling Lydia she had an errand to run in Dragonsreach, she slipped out the door and walked briskly. Past the bazaar, up the steps, and into the square she went. Nobody was there except Aela, who sat on the bench facing Jorrvaskr. She skirted around the other side of the tree that stood in the middle of the court, confused. The admirer must not admire her that much if he wasn't here. Heading up to Dragonsreach, she decided not to worry about it.
After girl talk with Lydia late that night, Agedele headed up to bed. She pulled the covers over her body and settled on the wooden bed. Dreams danced on her eyelids… until something tickled her nose. She grabbed whatever it was—paper—and sat up in the darkness. Dread poured into her heart as she looked around for whoever had put it there, but no one stood next to her bed. Whoever this man was, he was stealthy.
She unfolded the paper and fear poured into her veins. Not Lydia. The Khajiit didn't sleep after that.
"I'm going hunting," she told Lydia tiredly in the morning. "Stay here and lock the door."
"Of course, my Thane," Lydia said, confused.
"And if anyone knocks, don't answer it."
"Okay."
"Lydia! You have to take me seriously."
"Okay, my Thane."
Agedele gave her a warning look as she slipped out the door. She waited outside until she heard the lock click and headed out of the city limits to hunt. The Khajiit spent all day hunting, bringing in a few different pelts and meats.
As she approached Breezehome after selling the meats, the Dragonborn noticed the door was slightly ajar. She drew her dagger and ran inside. Not watching where she was going, she slipped on something wet, like water, and fell forward, hitting her nose on the chair. Blood began to trickle from it as she turned to see Lydia lying lifelessly in a pool of a dark liquid. Her neck had been opened up and her eyes stared into the distance.
Resisting the urge to vomit, Agedele closed her dead friend's eyes. Not Lydia…
After agonizingly cleaning up her nose and Lydia's blood, the Khajiit gave her friend a proper burial. The tears never left her eyes, but they were there. She sat at the table in Breezehome where Lydia used to sit, staring down at her lap.
Another letter slipped under the door.
This time, she was determined to find out who it was. She jumped up and threw the door open.
No one. No one was there, just like the last letter. Agedele slammed the door in anger and frustration, leaving the letter and storming upstairs. She flopped down on her bed and didn't move, eventually falling asleep.
After waking up, she immediately remembered the letter. The Dragonborn retrieved it and retreated to her room to read it. Then she crumpled up the paper and threw it across the room in a fit.
"Lydia didn't deserve it!" she screamed.
Weeks passed. Agedele left Breezehome only to hunt when she needed to, or go on bandit raids to get rid of pent up anger. This 'admirer' had killed her friend in her name. Not only was she pissed at whoever it was that was doing this, she was furious with herself. Had she not been the Dragonborn, this would not have happened.
Eventually she began to move on… until she received two more letters. After that, she left the blinds closed.
Aela was ruining her life.
She awoke in the middle of the night. Breathing other than her own reached her ears. The breaths caressed her neck and sent shivers down her spine. Her own quickened in response before she could think to calm herself.
A hand touched Agedele's face and gently scratched her cheek, as if it was petting a cat. She flinched unwillingly, but the hand did not withdraw. It slid down to her waist and stopped, resting there. The fur on the Khajiit's tail slowly puffed. A few hours later, the intruder left; however, she couldn't shake the violating sensation of Aela's hands on her body. She rose out of her bed and transferred to Lydia's. It would be a long rest of the night.
The next few letters became progressively creepier. The fourth letter gave her cause to run. My dagger will be our vehicle.
Agedele left in the middle of the night, taking everything she could carry. Perhaps one day, she would return, but only after Aela was dead.
Outside of the city limits, Agedele found the Khajiit caravan. Ri'saad was still awake.
"Ri'saad," she whispered. "Can you do something for me?"
"This one will do what he can," Ri'saad replied. "What do you need?"
"I need to get away from someone," she said. "Her name is Aela. She is an experienced marksman, but also has a way with a dagger. She wants to murder me."
"Say no more. This one will help you escape. Stay in this tent for now." He rose, sneaking to the tent next to his, and shook Atahbah awake. The pair returned to Ri'saad's tent.
"Atahbah has heard," Atahbah rumbled. "This one will help as well."
Agedele looked at her curiously. "What do you have in mind?"
"Atahbah will pose as you, Agedele, and run. The one called Aela will pursue her and you will escape," Ri'saad rasped.
"I don't want you to die because of me, Atahbah. Can I not just hide in the tent until we are safely at Markarth?" she asked.
"Do not worry. Atahbah is strong and can take a few arrows," Atahbah assured her. "It is a flawless plan."
As instructed by Ri'saad, Atahbah and Agedele switched their clothing. The former slipped back into Whiterun, entering Breezehome before dawn. The latter laid on Atahbah's sleeping mat, feeling uneasy about the plan. What if Atahbah dies before I can kill Aela?
She sighed apprehensively. It would do no good to dwell. The plan was already in action.
The next day, she kept her head down as she clumsily went about Atahbah's duties. Atahbah herself burst out of the Whiterun doors, sprinting down the path and parkouring her way up the rocks, heading toward Markarth. Agedele prayed to the Divines to help her.
Aela stalked out some time later. It was very much like her to let her quarry get a head start. The Dragonborn ducked into Atahbah's tent as she passed by, coming out when Aela had glided past without a glance their way. Drawing the Imperial bow that Ri'saad had given her to use in this predicament, she followed the soon-to-be-murderer.
Aela knocked her own bow with an arrow, having spotted her prey. She let loose, hitting the target square in the back. Atahbah fell, lying on her stomach. Agedele could only pray that she was still alive. Her own target ran towards the fallen Khajiit, and she followed.
After watching her write her last letter, Aela took her own life with her dagger. Agedele watched resentfully, bounding up when she was sure the Nord woman was dead. She pulled the arrow out of Atahbah's back and applied healing potion to the wound. It healed in a matter of seconds, and Atahbah rose.
"Thank you, friend," Agedele lamented. "I owe you my life."
On the other side of death's barrier, Aela screamed in anger.