Tsukimomo's Elder Scrolls IV:

Oblivion

Chapter 1

A sigh escaped the lips of a red haired Breton as he looked up at the small, barred window as rays from the golden sun managed to sneak its way into the dimly lit room. While most people are happy to see a bright, warm sun, the Breton was not. He was more of a dark, in the shadows person. He shifted his position on the floor so that no part of his body was touching the ground where the light shone.

"What's the matter vampire? Don't like the sun? Hehehe heh!"

A growl escaped the Breton's throat as he turned to the cell opposite him where a Dark Elf stood, his hands grasping the metal bars. Many times before people had asked this Breton if he was a vampire because they 'hadn't seen him outside during the day'. And whenever they asked that same question, they would get the same reply. A punch in the face and an electric shock. This was one of the reasons why he had been imprisoned in this cell in the first place. One of them. He had done far worse things that gave him a place in the jail cell. And as for the whole vampire business, he wasn't afraid to admit that around ten years ago he was in fact a vampire, explaining why he looked younger than he was. He had spent months trying to find a cure and eventually managed to do so. The other reason as to why he looked around twenty, when in fact he was fifty-two, was because one of his ancestors was an elf, giving him a longer life span than normal Bretons.

The sound of the door up the stairs that lead to where the jailor, who usually sat drinking mindlessly and complaining every time someone wanted to visit a prisoner, resided. The Breton could hear chains rattling. That could only mean that another prisoner was being dragged down here.

"Prisoner! Stand over there, by the window!" a guard suddenly shouted to the Breton.

Another growl escaped the redhead's throat as he moved over by the window, the sunlight hitting him dead on, making his hair seem to glow somehow. The barred gate was suddenly opened, the unconscious body of a young male being thrown in, then closed as quickly as they opened. Turning his pale blue eyes to the unconscious body, the Breton noticed that the male appeared to be a Wood Elf, no older than eighteen. His long, golden hair was tied up by a small band, and his eyelids were closed, keeping the color of his eyes a mystery. He wore the same sack cloth shirt, pants, sandals a wrist irons as all the other prisoners.

Great, just what he needed, a cell-mate. Sitting down on the small stool in the cell, the redhead took a fairly small bite out of the molded bread. A look of disgust washed across his face when he stared at the dirtied water in the filthy cup. The jailers really knew how to treat a guest. And by guest I mean prisoner. Putting the moldy bread aside, the Breton stood up and laid down on the filthy bedroll. He yawned before slowly drifting off to sleep.

He awoke a good few hours later. Glancing over near the gate entrance, he saw that the Wood Elf was still unconscious. The guards must have really done a number on this guy if he was still unconscious. Putting all thoughts of the Wood Elf aside for a moment, the Breton stood and made his way over to the barred gates. He was only met with that annoying Dunmer. "Attempting to use your magic to open those bars again, Breton?" he snickered.

"You're a nutcase. It doesn't make much of a surprise that you were put in that cell," the redhead retaliated.

"Well I can say the same for you! I heard that you had a bit of trouble with the head. Cut, saw, hack. It just wouldn't sever."

"Where in the Gods' name did you hear that? Who told you!?"

"'The Gods'' name? I thought that your God would have been Sithis."

"Be quiet! The both of you!" a guard yelled, stopping in the centre of the two cells. "And might I remind you that if you try to escape it will result in your execution. Just a friendly reminder."

'If that was a 'friendly' reminder then I must be an Orc,' the Breton mused in his mind. He gave the Dunmer an 'I'm keeping my eye on you' look before turning back, nearly tripping over the Wood Elf's body on his way over to the small stool. A brick in the wall close by suddenly caught his attention. It appeared to be sticking out slightly. He was about to get up and investigate when he heard a groan come from the blonde Bosmer behind him. He turned, seeing a pair of emerald green eyes slowly flutter open. After a few seconds he stood up and looked around, looking as though he was panicking. He then, in less than a second, backed up against the barred gate as he set his eyes on the Breton. "Calm down or you'll attract the guard's attention," the redhead ordered. Luckily the Bosmer did so. "Now then. First off, allow me to introduce myself. I am Kira. And You?"

The blonde hesitated for a moment before replying. "H—Hikari! Hikari Valmoor!"

Kira sighed, rubbing two fingers against his forehead. "You don't need to act so alarmed. I'm not going to kill you."

"K—Kill me!? You're a murderer!? What am I even doing in here!?"

"Hold up a second!" The Breton suddenly raised his hand up. "Don't you know who I am?"

Hikari's look of panic was replaced with a look of stupidity. "Am I supposed to?"

Kira blinked. Was this Wood Elf serious? Did he not know who he, a man who had taken the lives of many innocent people, even was? A sad smile appeared on his face. "No," he said. "It's better if you knew not. I have...Done things that I cannot say that I am proud of."

A smile plastered Hikari's lips. "Don't worry. The Nine shall forgive you for whatever crime you have committed." He moved over next to the small, rotting table and sat down on the floor. "So...are we in prison? And if so then why"

The redhead looked at his new companion as if to say 'are you serious' then chuckled. "The guards must have got you pretty hard if you can't even remember why you are here."

"The last thing that I remember was...I­–I can't remember. It's odd. I know my name and where I am from but...I don't remember the events which have past in my life."

"You know who your are but not what you have done? It'll come back to you in a few hours or so. In the meantime you should make yourself comfortable. You're probably going to be here for a long time. I've been here four years already."

Hikari gasped. "Eh? You've been here four years? Is that even legal?"

"Depending on what the crime was then yes."

The young (or at least he looked young, Wood Elves don't age as quickly as humans) Bosmer was about to speak when once again the Dark Elf in the opposite cell decided to speak up. "Hey, Wood Elf! You're a little far from the forest, huh?"

"Just ignore him," Kira told the accused one. "He's a nutcase. Probably the reason they sent him down here."

"Looks like your days of woodland frolicking have come to a tragic end," the Dunmer continued to taunt. "To go from the gladded home of Valenwood to a rat-infested hole like this...How very sad. Those walls must feel like they're closing in on you."

Hikari's fists clenched into small balls. "You take that back you filthy Dark Elf!" He passed his arm through the bars and shot a small ball of fire at the Dunmer.

He simply shook his leg and poured the molded water over where his cloths had set alit. "Pretty soon you'll go mad, and the guards will cut your throat just to stop the ranting. That's right. You're going to die in here, Wood Elf! Die!" He paused for a moment, appearing to be listening for something. Then a smirk as dark as his skin appeared on his face. "Hey, you hear that? The guards are coming...for you. He he he he he he."

It seemed as though the Dunmer was not as crazy as everyone thought, as Hikari's advance hearing picked up the sound of voices. But were they really coming down here for them both? And if so: why? Surely they couldn't have known that the Bosmer attempted to set the Dunmer on fire. So what other business did they have? No chains could be heard, ruling out that another prisoner was being sent down here. And the guards didn't make their round until about two hours later.

"Baurus, lock that door behind us," a female Blade, Captain Renault, commanded, followed by a nervous 'Yessir' by the supposed Baurus. Judging by his voice he was a Redguard.

Hikari, seeming curious, attempted to look out of the cell but could only see the shadows of the people who were speaking. Kira suddenly yanked him back by the arm and shook his head as the Bosmer gave him a confused look, signaling that it may not be a good idea to try a snoop at what these mysterious people were doing.

"My sons...they're dead, aren't they?" an old and solemn voice said.

"We don't know that, sire. The messenger only said they were attacked," the Captain attempted to reassure this aged man.

It seemed as though it had no affect as he replied, "No, they're dead. I know."

"My job right now is to get you to safety." Three people dressed in heavy armor, suddenly stopped outside of the boys' cell. They looked at each other as the two prisoners stared at them, one confused, the other seeming annoyed. "What's this prisoner doing here? This cell is supposed to be off-limits!" the female demanded.

A new voice, one of the armored men, Glenroy, turned to the female. "Usual mix up with the watch. I..." he trailed off, unsure of what to say.

Captain Renault sighed. "Never mind, get that gate open." She then addressed the prisoners. "Stand back prisoners. We won't hesitate to kill you if you get in our way."

Kira grabbed his new cell-mate's arm and dragged him to the back of the room by the window. After being in the cell for so long, he knew that whenever the gates were opened for whatever reason, the prisoners must stand by the window. If not then that would usually end up in the prisoner's execution. He had seen it before and did not want it to be him.

One of the males, the redguard, came into the cell and pointed at the floor where then prisoners stood. "Stay put prisoners," he said as the other two armor-dressed Blades, one Imperial and the other a Redguard, made their way into the cell. Guessing by their uniform, Kira deciphered them as the Blades. It was the Blades' duty to protect the emperor at all costs. But why were Blades in their cell.

The three Blades seemed to gather around the prisoners. An old man in deep violet and expensive looking robes soon followed. A red diamond shaped amulet was around his neck that Kira instantly recognized as the Amulet of Kings. The elder frowned upon seeing Hikari and Kira. "You..." he said. "I've seen you..." He stepped forward so that he could take a better look at the boys. "Let me see your faces. You are the ones from my dream. Then the stars were right, and this is the day. Gods give me strength."

"What's going on?" the blonde Bosmer asked, a look of concern on his face.

"Assassins attacked my sons, and I'm next. My Blades are leading me out of the city along a secret escape route. By chance, the entrance to that escape route leads through your cell."

"Who are you?" asked Kira, hoping that the answer will confirm his suspicions on who this old man was.

"I am your emperor, Uriel Septim. By the grace of the Gods, I serve Tamriel as her ruler. You are citizens of Tamriel, and you, to, shall serve her in your own way."

"Nice to meet you sire, but might I ask why I am in jail. Not once have I broken the law and upset the Nine," asked the Bosmer, hoping that this powerful man could answer his question, because he certainly didn't know why he was here.

For the first since arriving the prisoners' presence, Uriel smiled. "Perhaps the Gods have placed you here so that we may meet. As for what you have done...it does not matter. That is not what you will be remembered for."

'Well that helped,' the blonde thought. 'Obviously a man of wisdom and not information.' "What should we do?"

"You will find your own path. Take care...there will be blood and death before the end."

"Please, sire, we must keep moving," Captain Renault requested before moving to a part of the wall. She ran her hand over it as if looking for something. As her hand met the brick in the wall that Kira had noticed earlier, she stopped moving her hand and pushed on the brick. The wall next to it opened like a door to show a secret passageway. "Better not close this one. There's no way to open it from the other side."

"Don't get in our way," Glenroy spat as Captain Renault, the emperor and then himself made their way through the passage.

Baurus, who had been standing by the gate to ensure the prisoners didn't try to run out, closed the gates and then he, to, made his way over to the passageway. He turned to the two boys. "Looks like this is you lucky day," he mused before speeding as he had fallen a little behind.

Kira and Hikari exchanged a glance before following the Blades and Emperor through the secret route.

After going through the tunnel and down a staircase the group appeared in a large room. Two red cloaked figures jumped down and ambushed the Blades. Kira and Hikari stood close to the emperor in case either of the two figures got through the Blades. As Baurus and Glenroy ended the assassins' lives they heard a blood curdling scream. They turned to the source of the scream. Captain Renault lay on the floor, a pool of blood surrounding her and a third assassin stood next to her. Both Blades lunged at the assassin who apparently wasn't as tough as he seemed and fell to the floor almost instantly, any sign of life gone from him.

Baurus sighed, sheaving his Dai-Katana and approached the Emperor. "Are you alright, sire?" he asked, trying to hide the sorrow spiraling inside of him as Glenroy closed the Captain's eyes and give his blessing. "We're clear for now."

"Captain Renault?" Uriel asked, concerned about the female Blade.

The younger redguard sighed, shaking his head. "She's dead. I'm sorry sire." He straightened himself, remembering his duties. "We have to keep moving."

Glenroy, who stood near a gate at the far end of the room, gritted his teeth, balling his fists. "How could they have been waiting for us here?" he asked, anger showing in his voice.

"Don't know," replied Baurus, heading over to the elder Blade, Uriel, Kira and Hikari following close behind. "But it's too late to go back now. Don't worry, sire. We will get you out of here."

"They won't be the first to underestimate the Blades." Glenroy eyed the two prisoners suspiciously.

The Emperor looked at the door that stood behind the gates. "There's trouble ahead," he stated.

Nodding, and apparently calmed down a little, Glenroy opened the gates. "I'll take point. Let's move."

Baurus remained where he was as his comrade and the Emperor proceeded through the door. Once they were gone he turned to the prisoners. "You stay here, prisoners, don't try to follow us," he said before catching up with the other two.

After they were gone, the elf looked at Kira. "So what now?" he inquired, his eyes following Kira as the Breton made his way over to the fallen Blade, taking her Dai-Katana and dagger. "I—I don't think you should be doing that. Looting a dead woman isn't exactly a nice thing to do."

Rolling his eyes, Kira threw the dagger towards Hikari. "We need weapons," he stated simply.

Hikari cocked his head to one side. "For what?"

"For this!" Kira threw the Dai-Katana to the floor, simultaneously pinning a rat to the floor. Another rat jumped up at Hikari who just swung the dagger aimlessly until the rat was dead. Kira chuckled. "Not very good with a blade are you?"

Frowning, Hikari pointing the dagger at Kira. "I'm an elf. I'm used to using a bow and arrow." His gaze shifted to the fallen Blade. "I guess the Emperor was right."

"About what?"

"'There will be blood and death before the end.'"

Kira sighed. "And I guess this is only the beginning." He scanned the room quickly and saw a small hole that the rats must have knocked down. "Might as well get it over with. And standing around here won't hurry it up. Let's go."

Hikari nodded, taking one last look at Captain Renault's body before following Kira as they went through the small hole in the wall.