Summary: The half-elven half-Reachman child of the Vampire Reach-King and the Dragonborn Listener was never going to have a normal childhood. But when you factor in dangerous and powerful Daedric artefacts in the home, and conniving older siblings up to no good, things are set to get difficult very quickly. Sequel to Nightshade and Juniper and Thicker Than Blood.
A/N: A short one this, but there was a prompt on the kink meme about what happens when the Dragonborn's kids find the Daedric artefacts their parent has acquired, and the Liriel-verse was crying out to have this prompt filled, given that the Dragonborn not only has all the usual Daedric crap lying around, her husband's also a very talented battlemage with a sideline in dark magic in his own right. It's their biological son who ends up getting the worst of it, but their various fosterlings (one adoptee, Liriel's little sister and Madanach's grandchildren as provided by Cicero and Eola) also get in on the act.
No children came to any permanent harm as a result of any of this, and Madanach and Liriel were being perfectly responsible, they just didn't factor in their kids being little daredevils.
THE STORY SO FAR: When dragons returned to Tamriel, the one chosen to fight them was an Altmer woman called Liriel, who went on to become Archmage of Winterhold, Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, Slayer of Alduin and adoptive mother to two little girls called Sissel and Lucia, who lived with her and her husband in Markarth. So far, so canon. However, said husband was no ordinary human, but Madanach the King in Rags, and thanks to Liriel, he and his Forsworn followers were instrumental in helping the Empire defeat Ulfric Stormcloak. As a reward for his assistance, Madanach got to keep the kingdom he'd worked for all this time and now rules from Markarth as Reach-King, with his one remaining legitimate child Eola as his heir to the throne, and Liriel Dragonborn as his beloved wife and Queen. Seven years have passed since they first met, and in addition to Sissel and Lucia, they now have parental responsibility for Liriel's little sister Ancalime, Cicero and Eola's twin girls Amalia and Stelmaria, and their own son Caradach. Madanach, staring mortality in the face and wishing to live long enough to see his Altmer son grow up, made the decision to become a vampire, and given that he comes from a culture that venerates Hagravens (of which his twin sister is one) no one in Markarth greatly cares. Aside from adjusted court hours, little changed and all is peaceful, but Madanach's human kids are growing up - Lucia's left home, and Sissel, now fourteen, is getting ever more eager in her pursuit of magical lore...
"We're not doing that!"
"We'd get in trouble!"
Of all the tricky parts of this tricky plan, Sissel hadn't anticipated this would be the difficult bit. Her twin nieces weren't normally this law-abiding. However, the fact remained that the two young four year old Reach-Princesses, Amalia and Stelmaria ap Eola, grandchildren of the Reach-King himself, normally up for all sorts of naughtiness and an unending source of irritation for Sissel and Ancalime, had chosen today of all days to decide to behave.
"Please?" Sissel asked desperately. "We just need a distraction."
"But we are not allowed in Mama and Daddy's bedroom alone!" Amalia gasped, wide-eyed.
"We are definitely not allowed in the cabinets," Stelmaria added.
"Especially not the chest in the corner with the odd wooden sword-club things with the leather strips and the little bottles and the whips and that odd hood with no eyeholes in it," Amalia said, nodding knowingly. "Mama and Daddy were very cross indeed when we found that."
"It is locked now," Stelmaria sighed. "It is Mama and Daddy's special fighting equipment and we are not supposed to be in there."
Sissel could guess that two Dark Brotherhood assassins might have all sorts of special things, although why they couldn't keep them at the Sanctuary was beyond her.
"But they don't lock the Wabbajack up," Sissel said knowingly. "They keep it on a plaque over the bed and I know they didn't take it with them when they left for Cyrodiil. All you'd need to do would be to climb on the bed and take it down."
Both twins looked very uncertain. Identical dark brown eyes stared unblinkingly at Sissel, before shooting sidelong glances at each other, three and a half foot pictures of innocence with their mother's Breton features and their father's hair and eyes. Sissel knew better. She glanced at her friend who was technically her aunt, Ancalime, taller than her, forty years old but due to her Altmer blood, was developmentally equivalent to a human thirteen year old or thereabouts. Ancalime, younger sister of the famous Dragonborn and being raised by said Dragonborn and her husband after their father died and their mother had to go into exile, had all her older sister's ability to sweet-talk the stubborn into doing as she asked.
"You don't need to actually use it," Ancalime purred, kneeling down to talk to the twins better, tucking long red curls behind golden pointed ears. "Just get hold of it, run into the courtroom, wave it around and ask loudly what it does. Then run and keep running when someone tries to take it off you. Nepos won't be able to keep up with you, he'll just send Borkul to get Da out of his study and you just keep him distracted. You tell him you missed your Mam and Da and look like you're about to cry, he'll fall for it."
Both twins had narrowed their eyes, still looking wary, glancing at each other as if communicating telepathically. Then...
"We want paying," they said in unison.
"A whole two septims!" Amalia said firmly, and who knew the future Reach-Queen was so amenable to bribery. "Each!"
"And stories," Stelmaria said. "You read us stories every day for a whole week."
"And you have to do the voices!" Amalia insisted. While both twins could read, just about, they weren't that good at reading complicated things and still relied on adults to read them things. With their grandfather busy running a country and their step-grandmother and parents often away, Sissel and Ancalime frequently got pestered to step in, much to their chagrin.
"Fine," Sissel sighed. "We'll read you stories. Now, you going to do this distraction or what?"
"Yes Sissel!" the twins chorused, scampering off to make some mischief, both very much their father's daughters, red pigtails flying behind them as they ran off. Leaving one fourteen year old trainee mage alone with her wannabe-assassin accomplice.
"Ready for an adventure?" Sissel grinned. Ancalime hefted the pack with all the purloined gear they'd likely need.
"Never more so," Ancalime smiled.
They didn't have long to wait. About twenty minutes later, the chaos erupted in the throne room, with childish wailing and the sound of magic and Borkul the Beast cursing the twins out. Sissel and Ancalime, hiding behind a cupboard in the corridor outside Madanach's study smirked at each other and waited. It wasn't long before one of the guards ran down the corridor and knocked urgently.
"Sir! Sir! Sorry to interrupt but you're needed."
"What do you mean, needed?" Madanach snapped back from inside his study. "It's Loredas. Court's closed. I'm busy."
"Sir, it's the princesses – well, one of them. Sir, Stelmaria's got hold of the Wabbajack! She just turned one of the pot plants into a frost troll."
"WHAT? Sithis' sake," The door slammed open, and Madanach burst out of the room, racing down the corridor and casting mage armour, war axe in his right hand as he ran to deal with the problem, the guards on the door all following in his wake. Perfect!
Sissel and Ancalime darted into the empty study. They weren't normally allowed in here. Hardly anyone ever came in here, except Madanach, and Liriel sometimes. This was where Madanach did all his paperwork, kept all his personal things, such as his tea set and his shrine to Peryite and all his files, many of which were currently scattered over his table. But that wasn't what the girls were interested in. Their quarry was stored on the shelves, out of reach of even Madanach – but he could use telekinesis or his Vampire Lord form to reach them. Fortunately the two girls had come prepared.
Sissel closed the door while Ancalime stood on a chair then on tiptoes, drawing her dagger and using the blade to nudge one of the tomes off the shelf and on to the floor. The Black Book of Hermaeus Mora landed on the floor in a heap, probably not good for it, but it was down. Apocrypha's secrets were going to be theirs!
"Got it!" Ancalime gasped, getting down from the chair. "All right, let's get out of – no, leave it alone!"
The book had fallen perilously close to the room's other important feature – a sturdy Dwemer built open-topped cage with a stuffed mattress on the floor and full of baby toys... and Madanach and Liriel's half-Reachman, half-Altmer baby son, five years old but due to slow Altmer growth rates about equivalent to a human two year old. Said toddler had put his toys down and was crawling over to the bars of his playcage, seeming very interested in the book.
"Book!" Caradach gasped. "Black Book!"
"Yes, it's a Black Book," Ancalime sighed, reaching out to pick it up before her nephew got hold of it. "No, Caradach, leave it, you can't even read!"
"Wanna story!" Caradach insisted, human blue eyes like his father's pre-vampirism pouting up out of a face rounder than most elven children's but still with the same golden skin and pointed ears. "Cali, read me a story!"
"Not you as well," Sissel sighed, coming to join Ancalime. "Look, not from there, I'll read you one later, right?"
"About stories," a little voice said from behind them, and both Sissel and Ancalime turned around to see Amalia looking up at them, seeming far too shrewd for her four years and having got into the room without making a sound. Definitely Cicero's daughter. "Stelmaria and I were talking and we have revised our price."
She was even borrowing her father's phrases.
"We want three septims now," Amalia said calmly. "And stories for two weeks."
"What?" Ancalime whispered and Sissel glared at her.
"You sneaky little cat," Sissel growled. "We had a deal!"
"Yes, but we did not know you were stealing Black Books," Amalia continued, grinning. "That is worth more. That is even naughtier than borrowing the Wabbajack, and we are only little four year olds who know no better. You're fourteen. You're almost grown-up. You're being bad." Amalia grinned triumphantly at this realisation, not to mention the looks on the older girls' faces. "Three septims and stories for two weeks, or we tell Granda."
"You little – fine," Sissel snapped. "Three septims, now get out of here-"
"Story!"
Sissel and Ancalime turned just in time to see Caradach climbing out of his playcage and dropping to the floor, reaching for the Black Book and flipping it open.
"Story!" Caradach insisted again, staring at sigils and signs he couldn't possibly understand... but that didn't stop the tentacles lashing out and wrapping around him, sickly green light bathing him as the youngest Reach-Prince was drawn into Apocrypha.
"Oh no," Ancalime breathed, horrified.
"Oh, that's bad," Sissel whispered, hand to her mouth. Amalia stared unblinking at little Caradach, then a slow smirk crossed her face as she stared up at Sissel.
"Five septims," Amalia purred, holding out her hand expectantly. Sissel bit her lip and nodded, eager to agree to any price to avoid getting linked to this.
"We need to get Madanach," Ancalime said softly, ever the practical one and despite occasional annoyances, genuinely fond of her little nephew, the sole other elven child in Markarth.
"We need to get out of here!" Sissel gasped, abandoning all hope of an adventure in Apocrypha. If her father found them... it didn't bear thinking about. As it was, all she could do was hope Caradach came to no harm in there.
It was a forlorn hope, but her father would be back any minute. If anyone could help Caradach, Madanach the Reach-King could.
Madanach wearily headed back to his study, the mess cleaned up at least and the dead frost troll being carted out of the city, and the Wabbajack returned to its plaque and the door to Cicero and Eola's room locked. How the twins had got in in the first place, Madanach had no idea, but the little darlings, just like their father, appeared capable of getting in anywhere if they put their mind to it. Stelmaria appeared to have been the instigator that time, but Madanach was sure Amalia had been involved too and both twins, despite wailing and protestations that they hadn't meant to do it, they'd just been curious, had been banished to their room without supper.
Gods help him, children and Daedric artefacts just didn't mix. At least all his and Liriel's were well secured either in here or their bedroom, out of reach.
"All right, Caradach, Daddy's back," Madanach announced, guessing that his son was probably playing quite happily and hadn't even realised he was gone. All the same, hearing his voice usually got a reaction of some sort, and the silence was worrying.
"Caradach?" Madanach said, skin on the back of his neck prickling. Something was wrong. Caradach was a curious, aware and talkative little boy and he was always pleased to see his daddy. Madanach approached the cage, afraid of what he might see.
The first thing he saw was Caradach in his traditional Forsworn furs, covering most of his skin from the neck down, kneeling on the floor outside the cage – outside the cage? Caradach could climb out of his cage now? How long had he been able to do that for?
Then he saw green light, black tentacles around his baby son, and Madanach's mind came grinding to a halt, panic setting in.
"Caradach, no!" Madanach gasped, falling to his knees and desperately trying to pry the tentacles off his son... but his hands went straight through the boy. Madanach recalled everything he knew about the Black Books, which wasn't as much as he'd have liked. Which one was that even? He wasn't sure but he did know that the only way to get out of Apocrypha was to either make your way through to the end, read the book you had with you... or die in Apocrypha.
Caradach was two in human terms and knew none of this. He was all on his own in a hostile realm, at Hermaeus Mora's mercy, and while Madanach knew that Caradach couldn't die permanently in there, the thought of Caradach alone and afraid and in pain... he couldn't think about it, he just couldn't.
Liriel wasn't here and that might be for the best. She was currently off in Solitude with Jordis, escorting their eldest daughter Lucia off to the Bard's College to start her training, not likely to be back for days... until he felt her flickering down the empathy bond they shared, no doubt noting he was panicking.
Everything all right? Should I come back?
No, no, gods no... Madanach took a few deep breaths and calmed himself, sending back feelings of reassurance and of course there was no need to come back, he had it all in hand.
Of course he did. He was the King of the Forsworn and a talented mage in his own right, he could deal with this. Except he wasn't sure how. But he knew someone who could help.
Sprinting to his bedroom, Madanach retrieved a dagger and stood before the bedroom mirror, slicing his arm open and smearing blood on the glass.
"Agar y agarma, gwadorta calwad cavairta! Keirine ap Caradach, tol a mi!"
The mirror misted over, went black, and then his sister's face materialised. Keirine ap Caradach, Madanach's twin sister and First Matriarch of the Forsworn.
"Keirine, get over here," Madanach snapped. "I need your help!"
"Good afternoon, Madanach," Keirine intoned, glaring at him. "How are you today, brother? Were you going to offer any pleasantries to an old witch or are you just here to snap?"
"I don't have ti-" Madanach took in the glare and recalled he did in fact need her help. "Hello Keirine. It's lovely to see you as always and I hope you're well. Could you possibly get over here? I have a problem and need your help."
"That is better," Keirine purred. "All you need is the magic word."
"Oh for fu- fine," Madanach sighed. "Keirine, could you please get over here? I really need your help. Something's wrong with Caradach and there's no one else who can help."
Keirine rolled her eyes, grimacing. "Madanach, I know many many things, from necromancy to fire magic to shapeshifting to teleportals but I do not know a lot about babies. It is probably perfectly normal, whatever it is, but take the boy to the Slan Gwasanaeth if you're worried."
"The Slan Gwasanaeth will not be able to help with this one, I would already have him down there if I thought they could!" Madanach seethed, this close to losing his patience. "Keirine, he's reading a Black Book of Hermaeus Mora!"
"A what?" Keirine gasped, and that had finally got her attention. "Why in the name of Namira did you give him one of those?"
"I didn't give it to him!" Madanach cried. "I left the room with him in his playcage and when I came back he'd got out of it and was reading a Black Book!"
"That's unfortunate," Keirine sighed. "But don't worry, Apocrypha is not permanently fatal. Just wait however long it takes for some denizen to kill him or for him to fall in the ocean and drown, and he'll be back in our realm, safe and sound. Likely he won't even remember it in years to come."
It might be true, but Madanach couldn't even think about harm coming to his son.
"Keirine, I can't just leave him, he's my son!" Madanach cried. "Please... I don't know what to do, please help."
Silence, and then Keirine nodding quietly. "All right," she said, her voice soft and almost human for once. "I'll be right over." The mirror faded back to normal, the magic having eaten the blood, and Madanach healed his arm up, waiting. Then a portal flared next to him and Keirine stepped out of it, rustling her feathers and only wincing a little as taloned feet hit the stone floor.
"Where is he?" Keirine sighed. Madanach could have hugged her, but didn't. Instead he just led her back to his study, where Caradach was still staring intently into the book.
"Is he going to be all right?" Madanach whispered, feeling terror constricting his heart. Caradach was tiny and helpless, and all right, the son of the Dragonborn Archmage Listener and the Vampire Reach-King was never going to be normal but even so, Madanach had hoped for his boy to have a safe and happy childhood. Now this.
"I think so, if we can get him out of there," Keirine said, considering. "Madanach, you have other Black Books, yes?"
Madanach nodded. "Yeah, but... wait, you think we can get into Apocrypha that way and find him?"
"Yes," Keirine confirmed. "We get in, use blood magic to locate him then a portal to get there. We'll find him, don't worry."
Madanach had no idea if this would actually work or not, but it had to be worth a try. Retrieving another book, Madanach took Keirine's hand and, flipping it open, stared into its pages with her.
Caradach stared about him at the strange new place he'd ended up in. He'd wanted to see what the book was about. He'd seen the grown-ups and his sisters looking at books all the time, all looking very interested, and when Daddy or Mama had him on their laps and got a book out, there'd be a story!
Caradach was bright enough to link the books to stories, but beyond that, he had no idea. It was all squiggles and lines. Sometimes pictures! But mostly just the squiggles and Caradach didn't know what they meant.
So he'd tried to look at the Black Book when Cali had dropped it, and there'd been squiggles but different squiggles. Moving squiggles! And then black and green and those scary worms cuddling him, and now he was here. Wherever here was. It didn't look like home. Not Inside or Outside. It was black and had a sky but the sky was green.
Caradach had never seen the sky look green before. He stared up at it but it didn't change. No clouds and no sun but it wasn't night time. Unless it was all clouds of course. He'd never seen green clouds either though.
He'd never seen anywhere quite like this place and it was really quiet! There was no one around at all, and that was nothing like home. Mama wasn't always there, but Daddy was always around, and so were the guards, and Uncle Borkul and Uncle Nepos and his sisters, although Lucia had gone away recently to go live in Solly-chood with Uncle Argis and Auntie Elisif and Lirela and Inga, who Daddy said were really his nieces but he should call them cousins. Caradach had no idea what the difference was, but he did miss Lucia. He still had Sissississel though and Cali and Mal-ya and Stelma-ya, and Daddy said they were his nieces and Cali was his auntie too, but that wasn't right, Cali wasn't grown-up, so Caradach decided they were all his sisters really.
None of them were here though. Caradach looked around and started to feel lonely.
"Hello?" he called out, voice faltering in the silence. "Hello?"
Nothing. Just more black worms in the green lake in the distance waving around. But there were steps leading up and away. So Caradach went off to explore.
Still no sound but his own breathing and soft footstep as fur boots padded on the floor. Caradach could walk although he got tired if he walked very far, what with only having little legs, and sometimes his balance wasn't that good. But there were handrails so Caradach made his way along, slowly but surely.
Up ahead he saw a table with some things on it. Scrolls, pretty shiny stones... and a book with an odd shape, two curves hanging from a straight line and a spot in the middle. Curious, Caradach opened it and stared at the squiggles.
The book glowed and VANISHED! And Caradach felt something change inside, something like a rope leading from his head to somewhere else, and a tingling in his hands and knowing he could do something. Summon something. He wasn't sure what, but he screwed up his face and tried anyway.
Caradach shouldn't have been able to cast that spell. A normal child wouldn't have been... but Caradach had an Altmer's extra magicka and the magical affinity of both his talented mage parents, and when he cast it, it worked. It took all his magicka and left him exhausted but it worked. A summoned Seeker hovered in front of him and Caradach had no idea what it was but he knew one thing. He wasn't lonely any more.
"Hello friend!" Caradach gasped. "Where are we?"
No answer, just gurgling, but Caradach decided that was just his new friend's way of talking.
"You don't know, do you," Caradach sighed. "This way, maybe?" Leading the way, Caradach explored further, wondering where this passage went. It was a dark tunnel made of more books... and up ahead, another thing like his new friend.
"Look! New friend! 'Nother one!" Caradach squealed. It wasn't until the thing turned, gurgled furiously and hurled a magic bolt at him that Caradach realised his mistake.
Caradach had run and hidden, hiding behind a pillar while the two things attacked each other, one even dividing in two as the fight went on. Then the two divided ones melted into ash, a heap of rags on the ground and there was just one drifting towards his hiding place. But was it his friend or the other one? Caradach didn't know but he couldn't feel his friend any more and he had a horrible feeling it was the other one and it was going to turn him to ash like it had his friend and he was scared, scared, scared, he wanted Daddy, he wanted Daddy, where was Daddy?
The thing edged closer, its worms twisting in the air as it shrieked and turned on him, and Caradach screamed.
"DADDY DADDY HELP ME HELP!"
A bird fluttered overhead, then there was a flurry of feathers, and then lightning crackled out and smacked into the thing.
"You have more to worry about than that one, Seeker!"
Keerin, Keerin, it was Auntie Keerin, who had feathers and claws instead of hands but who did pretty magic pictures, and the thing had turned on her instead. Keerin didn't even seem remotely frightened, casting wards to face off the thing's magic and responding with a fireball of her own. Then her claws scratched her arm and as blood dripped to the floor, she gestured with her other hand and a glowing purple hole appeared in the air.
Caradach had never been so relieved in his life to see Daddy step through it, and he knew Daddy did magic, Daddy did magic all the time, pretty illusions or making things come to him when they were out of reach or casting lightning at Uncle Cicero, or a spell to warm his skin up when Caradach cuddled him. Caradach didn't know why Daddy's skin was so cold all the time, but he did his best to try and warm him up by snuggling him.
Daddy was here now, slinging fire at the thing, grunting as the thing's magic hit him and switching to a strange red spell that soon had the thing dividing in to two. Keerin and Daddy just shrugged and took one each, and soon it was dying too.
"Daddy!" Caradach cried, crawling out and holding his arms out, sniffling and homesick and desperately wanting to go home. "Daddy!"
"Caradach, bion, there you are," Daddy murmured, running straight over and scooping him up, robes soft but skin cold, eyes glowing orange like no one else's did, but Caradach didn't care, Daddy was here and Daddy loved him.
"Daddy," Caradach sobbed, clutching on to his father's blue robes. "Daddy, wanna go home!"
"We're going home, I promise, mabion," Daddy murmured. "Now cariad, when you came here, did you have a book with you?"
A book? Yes, yes he had but it had been too heavy to carry so he'd left it on the floor. Sniffling, Caradach pointed back the way he'd come from.
Daddy scooped him up and carried him away, Keerin following behind, clawed feet clacking on the iron floor. It wasn't long before they reached the place Caradach had arrived at. Sure enough, the book was still there and Daddy put Caradach down next to it.
"All right, bion, here's the book, I need you to pick it up and read it. Then you'll go home."
"OK," Caradach whispered, doing as Daddy asked. It was a bit strange, but if reading one book brought him here, reading another might take him home, right? So Caradach read the book and then everything went black.
Madanach sagged with relief as Caradach vanished.
"He's home," Madanach sighed, finally feeling the screaming panic at the back of his head subside as he realised Caradach was safe at last. His boy, his baby boy, so fragile and small and helpless, and seeing one of those Seekers near him and the boy clearly terrified... oh gods, if he'd been any later... He didn't want to think about it. He just wanted to go home himself then put his boy to bed and fuss over him and hold him and just reassure himself his little one was safe. "Now what, how do we get back?"
"Like this," Keirine said and before Madanach could react, she'd pushed him off the iron lattice and into the green ocean.
Keirine watched apologetically as she watched her brother drown, the Black Book tucked under her arm. She was very sorry, of course she was. But he would be fine and it would send him home quickly where he could fuss over Caradach and calm himself down, leaving her able to wander around Apocrypha some more and poke around without her brother becoming tiresome and whining about his offspring all the time.
Changing back into a raven, Keirine fluttered off. So this was Apocrypha, eh? She'd never been here before. Time to find out what this place had to offer an old witch.
A few days later, and Liriel was finally back from Solitude, having wanted to stay to see Lucia settling in, but having her heart break all over again as she saw her sixteen year old making friends, hanging out in the Winking Skeever and making it manifestly clear she didn't need her mother hanging around. So Liriel had gone to the Blue Palace to fuss over six year old Princess Lirela, and her little sister three year old Princess Inga, and then cry her eyes out at Argis and Elisif who'd both fussed over her and sympathised, Elisif whispering how it seemed like only yesterday Lirela had been a baby and now look at her! Even Inga was growing up so fast and could walk and talk now!
But Liriel, while adoring her little step-grandchildren, found that all these babies around just reminded her of her own, and so here she and Jordis were, back in Markarth, and while Jordis was busy embracing her husband Borkul, Liriel had run the gauntlet of first Sissel and Cali (getting to be as tall as her now!) then the twins, and finally Madanach himself, standing in front of the throne and holding Caradach out towards her.
"Mama!" Caradach cried, waving his arms, delighted to see her again. "Mama, Mama, where were you? I misseded you!"
"I missed you too, little man!" Liriel cried, taking her precious baby boy in her arms, and while she loved all her children and her sister and the grandbabies too, she couldn't quite help but feel just that extra bit attached to Caradach, hers, really hers, drawn from her own body, grown inside her, and who'd been so helpless and tiny and who she'd just held and known she'd protect with her life if need be.
"How's he been?" she asked Madanach, who'd come to greet her with a kiss and wrapped his own arms around her.
"Oh he's been fine," Madanach said, and was it her or did he seem a little nervous. She recalled sensing him freak out completely at one point, and although he'd calmed down since, she had a feeling something had happened, and he seemed to notice suspicion in her eyes because he looked a bit sheepish and confessed.
"Apart from discovering he can now climb out of his playcage," Madanach admitted. "But don't worry, I've got Sissel and Cali babysitting while court's in session and I'm supervising him the rest of the time, plus he's got his own guards now." He indicated two young looking Forsworn warriors, one male and one female, and Liriel vaguely remembered both as having lots of younger siblings. She guessed they'd know how to look after a baby, even a half-elven one.
"You can climb out of your cage?" she gasped, staring at her son and realising how much he'd grown lately. He was beaming at her, looking very proud of himself, looking just like his father with that smile, nodding enthusiastically.
"Yes!" he giggled. "Climbed out, read book, went to other place! I made a friend! But he's shy so I only call him sometimes. At night when I'm lonely."
Other place? Well, that could be anywhere in the Keep he'd not been yet. Liriel guessed he'd had quite the adventure. And got himself an imaginary friend from the look of it.
"What's your friend's name?" Liriel asked, curious. Caradach looked a bit confused.
"Don't know," Caradach admitted. "He doesn't talk. But he can float! And he's got four hands and does magic and wiggly worms on his face and instead of legs, and he's got no neck!"
Worms instead of legs... four hands... floating and no neck... Tentacles? Wait, a denizen of Apocrypha? And then it occurred to her – he said he'd read a book and gone to another place. Liriel felt dread prickling down her neck as she realised what must have happened.
"Sweetie," she said quietly. "This other place where you met your friend. What was it like? Was it here in the Keep?"
Caradach shook his head. "No. Don't think so. It had a green sky and lots of books and a black floor and a big green lake with black worms in it."
Apocrypha. She bloody knew it. Slowly, she raised eyes to her husband, who was looking a bit like a prey animal caught in a dragon' sights, and he knew, he bloody knew, he must have done, the books were in his study, how could he be so careless as to leave them lying around for their son to read?
"You let my son read a Black Book?" Liriel cried.
"I didn't let him!" Madanach protested. "I got called out of my study by another drama and when I got back, he was reading a Black Book! I don't know how he got it off the shelf!"
"Were you actually going to tell me?" Liriel whispered, guessing there and then the answer was no.
"I didn't want to worry you, cariad," Madanach said, eyes pleading with her. "He doesn't seem to have come to any harm?"
"Not the point!" Liriel cried. "He could have been killed! Or had his mind damaged permanently. How could you have been so irresponsible, Madanach?"
"Liriel, I'm sorry, I don't know how he did it!" Madanach cried and Liriel was on the verge of bursting into tears and fleeing the Keep with Caradach and going back to Solitude... but she was distracted by a tearful Amalia tugging at her sleeve.
"Please Liriel, don't be cross with Granda!" Amalia cried. "It's not his fault! It... it was me and Stelmaria, we heard stories off Sissel and Cali and wanted to read the books ourselves, so I got Stelmaria to cause a distraction while I snucked into Granda's study. Then I got on a chair and used a ruler to knock a book off the shelf, but it fell near Caradach and he started reading it, and I got scared and ran away, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please don't shout at Granda!"
Liriel stared at Amalia, speechless, and Stelmaria was there too, nodding her head and both girls looking terrified and unhappy and horribly guilty and really, they were exactly like their father sometimes. She could definitely see them planning something like this.
Liriel looked up at Madanach who was glaring at them both, gritting his teeth.
"You mean to tell me that stunt with the Wabbajack was intentional?" he growled. Both twins nodded sheepishly. Madanach loved his granddaughters, he really did, but that did not stop him coming to stand behind them and clipping them both round the ear.
"That is for causing no end of chaos AND lying to me!" he snapped. "You two are not getting any pocket money OR sweetrolls for the next fortnight and you're going to bed right now and missing Liriel's welcome home dinner. How many times have I told you you're not allowed in my study unless I'm there? Caradach could have been badly hurt! Now go to your room, young ladies!"
"Yes Granda. Sorry Granda," the twins said morosely, trekking dejectedly off to their bedroom. Liriel almost felt sorry for them.
"I'm so sorry, Liriel," Madanach said quietly. "Can you ever forgive me?"
Liriel nodded, clutching Caradach to her. It sounded like Madanach had not had an easy time of it himself.
"Those Black Books are coming with me back to my Solstheim house," Liriel said quietly.
"As you wish," Madanach said quietly, hanging his head. "Only they're not here, Keirine took them back to Hag's End with her. I had to call her to help get Caradach back home, and she found them fascinating. So I said she could take them away, stop anyone else getting their hands on them."
Liriel felt her anger fading as she realised there was quite the story here, and it appeared her husband was not nearly as irresponsible as she'd first thought.
"All right, I think Keirine will keep an eye on them well enough," Liriel said tenderly, stroking Madanach's arm. "Come on, you can tell me how you got him out of there. What did you have to do in the end?"
"Eldritch and arcane blood magic," Madanach replied. "No, seriously, that's what it took..."
Liriel listened in amazement as Madanach told the story as far as he knew it, although neither knew that it wasn't entirely complete. Caradach knowing how to summon a Seeker was something Liriel would find out in the coming days when she got up in the night, heard noises from Caradach's room and found him talking to a Seeker, her screams waking everyone and her magic slaughtering the thing, much to Caradach's distress. But as for who had really been after the Black Books, that would remain forever a secret, although had Liriel or Madanach heard Amalia's aggrieved whisper to Sissel, they might have wondered.
"TEN septims," Amalia had whispered as she'd passed Sissel on her way out. "And stories for a month!"
Notes on the Rhanic:
Madanach's invocation to Keirine means 'Blood of my blood, your brother calls for your help! Keirine ap Caradach, come to me!'
I took a few liberties - Black Books don't normally work outside Solstheim, but I'm guessing the Forsworn have ways to overcome that. Also Caradach really should not be able to cast Conjure Seeker at his age, but let's say he's got innate Conjuration gifts and leave it at that, eh?