(Thieves' Guild Spoilers)
- I've done my best to keep this story original, meaning there are very little to no relations to the main story, the Thieves Guild storyline, or any DLCs, except for certain major plots regarding Alduin and Mercer Frey's betrayal -
Eventual references to the Dawnguard and Dragonborn DLCs (No spoilers). Vampirism also functions differently from the original game, and the ages of some characters have been slightly tweaked.
~ Artwork done by Vicki73 at DeviantArt ~
Wake up, sweet, sweet Dragonborn...
…Your time has come.
…Time to watch the life you've worked so hard for…
…Crumble before your eyes.
My parents - mother a Nord, and father an Imperial, were hunters, both born and raised within the city walls of Windhelm. Forbidden lovers since birth by their parents, they ran away at a young age from the oppression they faced to start their new lives in the small, secluded town of Ivarstead.
They made their living by hunting and selling their spoils to the local inn, until the innkeeper, had to refuse the excess of raw meat they were hauling in. So, together, they packed whatever belongings they had, and headed to Riften, a city controlled by the Imperials but infamously run by the Thieves Guild.
They named me Aela - after the huntress they had met - who had saved both their lives during one of their hunts.
They would always speak highly of her, and they hoped that one day I would be as kind and selfless as her. She was their saviour, their protecter – they had wished for me to follow in her footsteps, but their dreams were short-lived. I became a thief – I never chose to become one, I simply had no other option.
When I was 10, my parents took me on a trip. We were in the dense forests of Falkreath. I hated it - The people and the surroundings in Riften is what I was used to; This, this was completely different. Nothing but trees, coyotes howling in the backgrounds, the shadows of eagles hovering above; I despised it.
I could make out a campsite that was hidden within the trees.
"They're just campers Aela, no need to worry," my mother kept reassuring me, but I knew there was more to the eerie scene than what my parents thought. I kept my lips shut, I knew they wouldn't listen.
That's when the bandits came charging. We were outnumbered 3 to 5, if you count the child trembling in her mother's arms.
My father stood over my mother and I, protecting us whilst she cradled me in her arms, like she had when I was a baby.
With one quick swift of an iron greatsword, and with such great precision by the bandit leader, an Orc, my father's back was sliced right down the middle, creating a gashing wound right across his spine.
It would be the last memory I would have of him; My father, protecting all he had loved and cherished his entire life.
My mother screamed and cried in utter fear as she watched my father's lifeless body hit the cold, hard ground. His soul off was now off to Sovengard, as he deserted the only two people he would have sacrificed his life for.
My mother was next, I knew it – we both did. And I knew I would be their last target. Save the best for last, I suppose? To let the weak, defenceless child watch as her parents were butchered before her own eyes.
It wasn't the Orc who came charging at my mother, it was a Nord, with one sharp motion of her bow, she picked an ebony arrow from her quiver, and put in position of her bow, also ebony, and aimed the arrow straight at the back of my mother's head.
And in a split-second – but what seemed like an hour – she released the arrow from her bow, and it came jolting to my mother.
My mother eyes locked onto mine, sadness and sorrow enveloping her. And just like that, any life in her eyes had vanished, as her body too, fell lifelessly onto the ground, next to my father's.
As my mind began to spin out of control, I heard the voices of the bandits, the bastards who slayed my parents ruthlessly right before my own eyes, were contemplating what to do with me.
"She's just a child, we can't kill her! All of Falkreath will come after us if they know we butchered a kid, you all know that," shouted one of the bandits.
It was a woman, but not the one who murdered my mother. No. she seemed different. Her voice sounded soothing, even with all the chaos ensuing around me.
"Then what do you plan to do with her? What could she possibly offer to our clan?" proclaimed their leader, the Orc.
I stared blankly at him, were they actually considering to let me go?
"What the hell are you staring at?!" he yelled.
It took me a few seconds to realize he was talking directly to me. I was too busy trying to keep eye contact with him, trying to hold back my tears, I blocked out the voices and sounds fuming all around me.
"Well!? You have something you'd like to say girl?" He was screaming now.
I slowly shook my head from side-to-side.
"I'll take care of her, Rorik." The woman said.
She grabbed my arm with her long, cold fingers and instructed me to walk in front of her. She took me deep into the forest, away from the bandits. Will she let me free? I doubt it.
"A-are…are you going to… k- kill me…?" I asked as we continued walking. I could barely speak, choking on my own words and tears.
"No, I'm going to save your pathetic ass," She answered.
"What are you going to do…?"
"I'm going to make you a changed girl, a changed woman. You'll understand once that brain of yours can grasp what's going to happen now."
If I wasn't scared a few minutes ago, I was absolutely terrified now.
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"You'll see, now be quiet and keep walking."
We walked in silence for what felt like hours. Why was she taking me so far out? Maybe she will let me go after all…
"Stop," She finally said, "This is a good spot. Hopefully they will hear the screams, but not be close enough to see…" She was talking to herself, trailing off into her thoughts.
"S-Screams? Please don't hurt – "
"Shut up! Now this will only hurt a bit, but I need you to make it sound like I'm eating away at your frail little body." She said quite hastily like she was in a rush. She looked at me from up to down, like I was some sort of delicacy.
"Oh how I would love just a peck at your skin.. the blood of the young tastes so… pure."
"Please don't hurt me! Please!" I begged as my hands began to tremble.
"Just do as I say! Gods help me this girl will be the death of me!" She was staring up at the sky, as if expecting a reply.
"Okay… okay, just please.. tell me what I need to do…"
I had no other choice. Talking this woman into letting me go definitely wasn't an option.
"I need to bite your neck. I'm going to inject this… venom into your blood stream, and you'll become like me," She paused, waiting for a reaction, but I simply stared, tears filling up in my eyes and streaming down my cheeks.
She continued, "I could simply cast a spell on you to have you contract the disease, but that means you'll be stuck in the body of a naïve little 10 year old girl... and I would love a taste at your blood…it's been so long since I've feasted on a child…" She trailed off, her eyes staring into the distance as she smiled, biting her lip. She turned back to face me "I'm guessing you wouldn't want that, correct?"
Did she say feast? "No..?" I answered, as I began to choke on my tears, my throat begining to swell up. Might as well agree if I want to live.
"Good, now if you'll just tilt your head over a bit…"
And just like that, her cold hands reached around my neck, and before her teeth sunk into my skin, she whispered "Scream, act like you're in pain, they need to hear it to believe it."
There was no need to act, it was the most excruciating pain I had ever felt in my life, like someone was tearing my body apart. Her fangs digging deep into my skin, I began to scream and yell furiously, begging her to stop, my hands pounding against her chest - but with each hit, I felt my body being drained... of energy, of life.
The last thing I remembered was seeing her eyes lock on to mine, telling me that I'm now the same monster as her. Monster? Before I could react, or even ask her what she meant, I had fallen to the ground, unconscious, just like my parents' lifeless bodies.
- Feb. 2013: My spelling and grammar were pretty crappy when I began writing this, and I tried tweaking the first two chapters. If you pick up on any spelling/grammatical errors in later ones, then bear with me, I'll try to clean up them up whenever I can. -
