I slowly make my way through the catacombs of Solitude, my two-handed sword already out and ready to slay the living dead. Elisif herself entrusted me with taking care of Potema once and for all, and I don't plan on failing the queen of Skyrim. I step in a puddle as I walk, water splashing my cinnamon colored pelt. I ignore the water, my iron armor is already rusty. But it matches my iron weapon, these rusted things the only things I can afford. However, they'll do the job. All I have to do is kill some old necromancer, bring her skull to some priest, and be hailed as a hero. Not to mention the reward I'm promised.
I'm almost done with the ruin, the last door right in front of me. I nervously swallow, my throat dry. I'll need to get a drink after this. I slowly walk into the gigantic throne room, looking around at all of the tombs in the room. A booming voice resonates around the room, "You've come far, mortal, but can you stand against my inner council? Let's see!". I realize the words are coming from a floating ball of energy, and barely dodge the bolt of lightning thrown at me. Coffins burst open, the dead stumbling from their eternal slumber to feed on me. I quickly go to work, hacking and slashing at my enemies. I manage to get a brief breather once they're all dead, but more are raised. The spirit of Potema shouts, "Don't applaud yourself too soon, worm!".
The dead creatures rise once again, and even more come from their graves. I scream and begin swinging even faster, Potema shouting to her minions, "Rip the eyes from her head!". I'm rather attached to my eyes, I've been told the blue orbs are my best feature. And I have no intent of letting a necromancer have them. I begin fighting even faster, but then a blast of electricity hits me. I scream and fall to my knees as I spasm, my sword flying from my hands. Multiple pairs of strong hands grab me, dragging me away. A door is opened, and I'm yanked into the room holding Potema's remains.
Her skull gleams on the woman's ancient throne, and I'm forced to kneel beside it. A vampire makes his way into the room, the creature able of finer motor skills than his fellows. He produces a dagger from his sleeve, and I quickly begin fighting as hard as I can. I won't die! Not today, not like this! The vampire walks over to me, yanks my head so my neck is over Potema's skull, and begins to chant. He brings his knife down to the side of my throat, and I realize his chant has reached its end. I hear my neck being ripped open, but I don't really feel it because of how sharp the blade is. The man is a professional, cutting my carotid arteries and jugular veins. My blood spews from me, splattering Potema's remains. Her minion pushes me to the side, beginning to chant once again. All I can do is gargle, blood filling my mouth.
Potema POV:
I feel the Khajiit's lifeblood running through me, her innocent blood renewing me. My minions are doing their duties, chanting the ancient spell that shall revive me. Powerful blood is the key to the spell, and the Khajiit is strong enough to provide it. The chanting ends, and I feel myself being reborn. A slow heartbeat starts my revival, a deep breathing the second item. Slowly but surely, my body returns to me. Heart, mind, spirit, and organs all reappear. Finally, I feel the transformation is final. I open my eyes, already sitting on my throne as my minions bow around me.
I look to the side and see the Khajiit's cooling body, her throat gaping and glassy eyes looking at my feet. I make a nonchalantly flick a wrist at her corpse, a dragur yanking the body over to me. I examine her wounds, the first words I speak in my mortal form, "Sew her neck shut.". It takes a few moments, but one vampire somehow manages to fulfill my request. I don't want to know why he had a needle and thread, but I'm thankful. I grasp the Khajiit's still warm face, going to work. I take a deep breath and release, reaching out for her life force. I feel the tail end of her soul, her spirit already fleeing to whatever afterlife awaits her. I grab onto the strand of spirit and yank on it, insisting it return to its former home. The Khajiit's soul is surprisingly strong, and insist on dying.
I grasp onto it harder, forcing it into a small ball that I can control. The woman puts up a good fight, but weaker opponents have fallen slower. When I've got her under control, I force her back into her corpse. The body in my hands twitches, the two blind eyes rolling around in the skull. I allow her to drop from my hands, the woman sliding to a floor. She'll get use to being a living corpse, it'll just take her a few minutes. The woman slowly gets her eyes under control, and gets to her feet. Her knees wobble, but they don't give out. The Khajiit simply stands there, her mouth hanging open as she stares at the wall.
I click my teeth together, the zombie's head slowly turning to look at me. Her blurry eyes focus together, the woman blinking as she looks at me. I crook a single finger and the woman stumbles over to me, almost falling onto my lap. I push her away and grab onto her arm, lifting it up and examining her armor. I scoff and tell one of my vampires, "Find a better suit of armor, I think I'm going to keep this one.". The man nods, slinking away to do as I've commanded. I reach out to the woman along the invisible pulsing energy that ties all thralls to their makers, and try to figure out what's wrong with the woman. She seems to have gone deaf and dumb, something odd for a zombie of her age. I find what I'm looking for with only a little digging.
Her mind still hasn't settled into her body, the lack of blood causing her thinking to be slow and stunted. I sigh and tell one of my vampire minions, "Go fetch some blood, put it in the woman's skull.". My creatures don't have heartbeats, but at least some blood is required for movement and thoughts. I want the woman to be able to comprehend situations and make rational decisions, so I don't have to revive her every five minutes in battle. I want to keep this beast as my own personal guard, she's proven she's worthy of the honor by defeating the necromancers in Wolfskull Cave. Besides, she has strong shoulders and muscular arms.
She can hold off a few enemies, at least for a short while. My vampire returns, a wine skin full of blood in his hand. The Khajiit doesn't fight as he finds an embalming tool, opening a small area of her skull. He pours a small amount of the liquid inside, puts the shard of skull back, and stitches her up. I've been waiting for hundreds of years to be reborn, so I can wait a few minutes for the added blood to take effect. Sure enough, after a few moments the woman's blue eyes seem more clear. I once again reach along the invisible cord that connects us, the woman now conscious and sentient of her own being. But with one major change that benefits me. Unwavering and unquestioning loyalty to me, who she sees as her true queen.
Just as it should be. The nearly mindless drone has begun to stumble away from me, but I sharply whistle and the woman stops. I nearly forgot how zombies act, the dragur and vampires completely different beings. The Khajiit manages to come over to me, her leg hitting my throne. I reach up, grab her skull, and drag her down to me. The woman doesn't even blink, her eyes taking in every feature of my youthful face. I clear my throat and order her, "Return to your false queen, relay my death to her, and return to me.". The woman doesn't nod or blink, but we both know she knows. I snap my fingers, my minions already knowing what I want.
A draugr hands me a skull, and I take off my crown and place it on top of the bone. I force it into the Khajiit's hands, my fake remains looking as real as can be. I shove the zombie away from me, her footsteps growing faint as she goes to tell her fake queen of my death. I smirk and relax in my throne, bringing my fingers up to feel my own heartbeat. Perfection. I motion for my minions to gather around, already giving them orders on what to do. One day the Blue Palace shall once again house Skyrim's rightful queen, but that day is not today. Today is the day I hide in the shadows, beneath the feet of my unknowing subjects. I might as well make the best of it, and begin preparing for the day I get what I deserve. I can already tell that day will be soon.
Elisif POV:
I'm sitting in my throne when the Khajiit returns to me, a skull grasped in her hands. Relief and joy spread through my body, the woman safe and sound while Potema finally lies dead. The woman walks up to me, drops the skull in my lap, and announces in a raspy voice, "The queen is dead.". I swallow my squeamish at the dead body, and carefully hand it to Falk. He mumbles something about not being a delivery boy, but takes the remains and heads to go to the priest. I turn and tell the Khajiit, "Well done! All of Solitude is thankful for what you've done, please allow me to reward you.". The woman just stands there, her eyes seeming to stare off into nothingness.
I wave my hand to get the woman's focus on me, but she doesn't even react. I clear my throat and say, "Yes, anyway.". I motion for Sybille to give the woman her reward, and my wizard hands the Khajiit a shield. The woman looks down, her hand limply clutching the shield. She nods her head, and I notice the fur on her neck is wet. I stand and slowly make my way up to the woman, reaching out to feel her wet fur. In an instant, the woman turns and begins stumbling away. I blink and go back to my throne. However, I ask Sybille, "What do you think that was for?". My servant shrugs and answers, "Probably just nerves. She just needs a strong drink.". I nod and mumble, "A strong drink.". That's all she needs. Hopefully.
Potema POV:
The woman in front of me is uncaring of the vampires moving around her, changing her armor. It wouldn't do to have my bodyguard in pathetic iron armor, the weak defense was probably a major factor leading up to her death. While they do that, I examine her throat. When she returned she announced her accomplished mission, but her voice was weak and raspy. It's not that surprising, her throat was nearly ripped out. I'll just have to cut it open later, tie everything back together, and sew it up again. But for right now it's fine, I don't plan on the woman speaking any time soon. My vampires stop moving, my zombie encased in daedric armor.
She's a walking corpse, so the weight is nothing to her. The only visible fur is her tail, everything else protected. I nod in approval, holding out my hand for the woman's new weapon. A sword made of a dragon's bone is presented to me. I have no idea where my minions got all of these magnificent items, but I'll highly pleased. I strap the weapon to the Khajiit's back, her improvement complete. I clear my throat and announce to my followers, "Prepare yourself! Tonight, we take back the palace! Ready your brethren, get your arms, and don your armor! We have a city to win!". My draugr and vampires make their approval known, but the Khajiit just stands there and stares. I feel her soulless eyes upon me and smile, pleased. Everything's coming along nicely.