A/N: Hello, my lovelies! First story, right here! But I think I did an all right job. If you don't think so, review, and tell me what I can do better. My original plan was to complete the story before I started posting any chapters, but I decided I will post the first, and see if you people like it. Then I will finish it, so don't expect another post anytime soon. Sorry, but when I finish I will put the rest up all at once! So put it on Story Alert, and be dazzled by the feisty main character!
I do not own Oblivion, and I never will. OKAY BETHSEDA LAWYERS? Stupid lawsuit….
Floating. Beautiful, simple, chaotic floating. Now I was falling into nothingness. Hmm, I liked floating better. Somehow I could see everything, yet nothing. Colors were bursting all around me, but they weren't. It was a very odd dream. Or was it a nightmare? I don't know, I felt too safe. But most off all I felt wonderfully cold. It was…orderly chaos. Suddenly a Voice spoke.
"Not yet, faithful servant. Not yet."
And there was no more chaos.
I woke from blessed, painless sleep with a jolt that set my leg on fire. With tears in my eyes, I grit my teeth to keep from crying out in the pure agony that was my limbs, I raised myself and looked around. As I took in my surrounding, my brain went into hyper-drive mode as I tried to make sense of everything. My leg was not helping in the slightest. The small room I was in was astonishingly bleak; lit only from the small beam of light that seemed to be originating from above my head. Craning my neck, I looked up and blinked the combination of sleep and tears out of my eyes. Yep, there was a small, half moon window. But it was not a pure light source, something was blocking parts of it. I blinked again, and could make out bars.
"Barred windows...? How strange..." I thought to myself.
Okay, here are the facts. I am in a small, dreary, drab cell that is in desperate need of a redecorating. There were bars on the window, and in place of a door there was a barred gate. I was lying on a flea bitten blanket and it was so dirty I had to wonder who was here before me. Bars = Prison. Okay, now what the hell did I do? I looked at the ground, and barely seemed to register that there were dark red stains on it. Blood.. Ohnoohnoohno. Now I really had to get out of here.
It's not that I had a problem with blood. No, not in the slightest. I just didn't want my blood being the only decoration of this godforsaken cell!
I shook her head lightly, attempting to clear the fuzziness that was threatening to take over, and was assaulted with a pain to end all pain. I must have hit my head when they brought me in. This time (even with my incredible self-control) I couldn't stop myself. I let out a truly pitiful yelp, alerting a nearby figure.
"Finally awake, are you?" Said the figure dryly. Against my better judgment, I stood, knees shaking. Hugging the wall, I limped forward until I was close enough to see more than shadows. A Dark Elf watched my progress, smirking the whole time.
Intending to speak, I opened her mouth, yet nothing came out except a dry whimper. I spotted a jug of stale water on the rickety table near me, grabbed it and chugged it down. I set it back down on the table shakily, feeling a bit of strength returning. The Dark Elf watched me patiently, smirk still in place. I tried again, this time with success.
"Where am I?" I looked at him pointedly, fully expecting him to answer. Thing is, I'm not the most intimidating creature ever. The stupid elf just stood there, smirking. I was really beginning to hate that smirk. "Answer me Dunmer, if you want your internal organs to remain internal." Whoa, where in Oblivion did that come from?
I was shocked at myself, but the descriptive threat seemed to come so naturally. That worried me slightly, but I decided I had more pressing things to dwell over. I brushed a strand of dark red hair out of my face, and continued to stare him down.
The ever-present smirk grew if that were even possible. "So, we've got a fiesty one, do we? Too bad I don't go for you corrupt Imperial fetchers. Although," he added thoughtfully, "the guard does owe me a favor, and I haven't had a good time in so long. I could get us in one cell together, you're not bad looking for an Imperial. Prison garb suits you, but it would even look better off." The smirk changed to a leer. It was not hard to guess what was going through his head.
Ew ew ew ew ew. Must. Not. Vomit. I swallowed it back, and smiled coyly. "Try it and I'll slit your throat with your own bone shard." This idiot disgusted me, but he had said one useful thing. If I was in prison clothes, than obviously I was in prison, like my original guess. But which prison... The architecture looked like Imperial.
Once I get out I can go home and...and...
That's when it hit me; I couldn't remember anything! SO not good! Not where I was from, if I had family, why in Oblivion I was in jail- All I knew was that my name was Selena. Imperial. No last name, even! I remembered what I looked like, at least. Dark red hair and ice blue eyes make a combination one doesn't forget quickly. I groaned and rubbed my head. The injury must have been more serious than I had thought. It wouldn't be healed by a simple spell, which was all I remembered. No, I would need a Healer, and Healers cost money, which I was a little short of at the moment, being a prisoner and all. Not to mention she had to get out of jail.
I sighed, and chanted under my breath. The simple healing spell would not help my head, but at least it closed the sword shaped slash on my leg. I assumed I got it when I had tried to get away from the guards. Wait, I did? I don't remember that. Now able to move freely, I walked around the small cell, seeing if there was any hope of escape. The window would be no good, I observed. Too small even if I managed to get the bars off. I checked the lock on the door. Top notch, I'd have to pickpocket the key from the jailer, which would probably be suicide. My hopes were dwindling, and in desperation I searched the walls for a weak point. To my surprise, an area on the right wall seemed slightly movable. I was investigating when the Dunmer interrupted.
"Awww, too bad. The guards are coming. For you! Too bad, we could have had so much fun! I shall miss your fieriness when they kill you! He he he he he he he he!" His laugh was tinged with the accent of madness. Gods, I hate Dunmers. No, I am not racist. (Well, I'm not against any other species. Shut up.)
My eyes darted around frantically. No where to hide, and nothing to use as a weapon. I took a deep breath, and decided if I was going down, I'd go fighting. Least I'll show the Dunmer what I want to do to him. Slowly, I raised my fists, and prepared to fight.
I heard clanging of armor and swords. What the hell had I done to deserve the death sentence? I thought back to when I threatened the Dunmer, how easy it was.
What looked like two Imperials and a Redguard came into view.
"What's this prisoner doing here? This cell is supposed to be off limits!" Shouted one of the Imperials, a middle aged woman who looked like the leader of the little group. The Redguard struggled to explain. He looked the youngest of the group.
"The usual mix up with the Watch, I- I,"
"No time for that now," Snapped the woman. "Get that gate open! Stand back prisoner! We won't hesitate to kill you if you get in our way!"
"Over by the window!" The Redguard shouted weakly, trying and failing at intimidation. He was new, I realized, to whatever club they were in. I stepped back slowly, to show I won't attack yet, but I kept my defensive pose.
They unlocked the cell door, and stepped inside. My eyes widened, and I did a double take. My original head count had been wrong. One more Imperial stepped into the cell. He held a sense of purpose and strength around him. I had an urge to protect and serve this strange man in robes of red and gold. Around his neck was a large amulet, somehow glittering in the poorly lit cell. He was obviously very important.
I bowed her head to the odd man, (It seemed like the right thing to do) and he noticed me for the first time. His brow furrowed, and he approached me. I shrank back, not in fear, but somehow reverence.
"You," He said softly. "I've seen you. Let me see your face." I lifted her head slowly. I felt like I was in a trance. Yes, this was a very, very important man. A look of recognition and awe, (and possibly fear?) graced his wise features. "You are the one from my dreams. Gods give me strength!"
I shook her head, trying to clear it. So what, they weren't there to execute me? That's something. Maybe my luck was changing.
Somehow, I managed to speak calmly. "Who are you? What's going on?"
He was surprised, but answered swiftly. " I am the Emperor of Tamriel, and shall serve her with my dying breath. You too, shall serve her in your own way." His expression changed to one of grief. "Assassins attacked my sons, and I am next. My Blades are leading me out of the city along a secret escape route."
She noted all of this new information. The Blades. It sounded slightly familiar. He was the Emperor... The Emperor of Tamriel was standing in her prison cell... I pinched myself, hard. Due to the sharp pain I felt, I concluded that this was no dream.
The Emperor continued. "By chance, that escape route leads right through your cell." He looked at me with piercing blue eyes, as if trying to scan me.
"Why am I in jail?" Although it was unlikely he would know, I wanted to know what law I had broken. Murder...? She shivered.
"Perhaps the gods have place you here so that we may meet."
Fetching perfect. That told me nothing.
"As for what you have done, it does not matter. That is not what you will be remembered for. As I said, you shall serve in your way."
"I go my own way." I said, without realizing it.
He smiled at me, the laugh lines around his wise eyes crinkling, giving him the impression of a kind ol' grampa. "As do we all. Take care. There will be blood and death on your hands before the end." He did not say it accusingly. I stared at him, betraying none of the confusion felt. So...what? I was a killer? How did I feel about that?
He stared back with that all-knowing gaze of his, and everyone was quiet. The woman Blade was the first to break the tension.
"Please, sire, we must keep moving."
I jumped a foot in the air (No, not literally) at the unexpected noise, and at the oddly loose bricks on the right wall sinking into the ground.
"It's your lucky day prisoner." The young Redguard was the last to walk into the cavern-like passageway. I froze. Freedom... It had to be an illusion. I took a tentative step away from the horrible cell and into the cave, then paused and ran back to the cell bars. The Dunmer was looking at me incredulously. I arranged my hand into an incredibly unlady-like hand gesture and smiled sweetly.
"I hope I get to kill you soon," and skipped off after the Blades, leaving one rude and dumbfounded Dark Elf wondering what in Oblivion had happened.