I do not own Oblivion in any other then owning a copy of the game.
___________________________________________________________________
Sun's dusk 13th E4 Freedas
The rain was coming down hard on castle skringrad that night. Even the guards were running inside for cover. It was at 11:30 exactly when an incredibly load bang on the castle doors was made.
The sound echoed throughout the entire castle. Hal-Liurz, upset that she had been woken up, rushed towards the doors. The loud bang had woken everyone in the castle (except for count Hassildor who was already up).
The door slowly creaked open as Hal-Liurz looked around and saw nothing. She was about close the door when she heard a noise. Something like a hiccup. Hal turned her head and looked down.
There, on the step, was a small basket. Something was moving inside it. Hal, now surprised as she had an idea of what was in the basket, picked up the small wicker basket and held it close. As Hal had feared, it was a baby.
The child was wrapped up in what looked like a large black blanket. Hal sighed in disappointment. She always wanted a child. But she wasn't the dating type, nor did she know anyone she liked that much.
This was not the first time a baby was left on the door step. It had happened at least four times, not including this one. Every time this happened, Hal felt her heart break. The count would never let her keep a baby in the castle.
If she asked him he'd say the same thing "If another human being stayed here, it would only cause... temptation..." Hal tried to convince the count that she would keep the child away from him but he would not listen.
Suddenly, Hal felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped, nearly dropping the basket, and turned her head. It was Shum gro-Yarug. "What was that bang about?" asked Shum. Shum then noticed the basket in Hals hands. "Don't tell me..." Hal nodded her head. "Well... what race is it?" Hal had completely forgotten that the baby was still wrapped in the blanket.
She walked over towards the table in the great hall. She sat on the small chair near the table and rested the basket on her lap. Shum hovered over the Argonian to get glimpse at the child. Hal began to unravel the black sheets.
The blanket seemed to cover the entire baby as Hal had a hard time finding the child. Finally Hal saw something she recognized.
Deep in the basket, in the light of a candle was a pair of eyes staring at her. Though Hal still couldn't see the rest of the baby, she was happy to see something. The eyes were a... strange colour.
The strange thing was that the colour, which was topaz, covered the eyes of the child except for the black pupils. Hal starred at the eyes for what seemed like hours. "Uhh... you gonna see the rest of it, or should I come back tomorrow?" asked Shum.
Hal snapped back to reality and decided to remove the rest of the covers. Hal placed the basket on the table and reached her hand inside. Suddenly Hal snapped her hand back when she saw something that startled her. When her hand was close to the covers, the blanket moved and revelled a small arm.
The hand was slightly bony and crooked. But the hand wasn't what shocked her, it was the entire arm.
The small arm sticking out of the basket was covered in grey fur. Instead of tiny fingernails, the hand had tiny pointed claws, not long or strong enough to hurt someone, but they were still claws.
Shum's eyes widened as the blanket was unfolding reviling more of the infant's features. The baby had fur covering it head to toe. It had a short snout and a small tail. Its legs looked like that of a puppy only longer.
Both gro-Yarug and Hal- Liurz stood still not saying a word. This continued until they heard the sound of boots clanking. It was a guard coming to investigate. Hal quickly wrapped the baby up again and picked up the basket. "What are you doing?" asked Shum.
"Do you want the guard to find him?" Hal replied.
"N-not really, no"
"Then we need to bring him to the count."
"What happened?" asked the guard.
"Nothing really" Hal lied. "Just some hoodlum causing trouble."
"What kind of hoodlum could make that noise?" the guard questioned.
"Would you like to investigate? Outside? In the hail and rain?" Hal asked.
"...never mind..." said the guard as he walked away.
"Well..."said Shum. "What now?"
Hal sighed. "Now we confront the count." She said.
Hal and Shum walked out of the great hall towards the counts chamber. While they were walking, Hal started to play with the werewolf infant.
"What are you doing?" asked Shum.
"I'm scratching his belly." Hal replied.
"How do you know it's a boy?"
"Well I'm pretty sure a girl wouldn't have that" Hal said pointing at the infant's lower half.
"Oh. Well, never mind then..."
"Oh? What's this?" Hal asked pulling two letters out from under the baby. One was a basic letter, flat with a small bulge. It had the words 'to the count, read this only'. The other however, was a little fatter than the other. Also, there was a small bump at the corner of the letter. Hal touched the bump only to find it felt as hot as oblivion lava.
She quickly withdrew her hand dropping the letter. Before it hit the ground, Shum grabbed the tip of the paper and gave it to Hal who, making sure to avoid touching the bump, put it back next to the baby who didn't seem to be hurt by it.
"... Thanks" Hal said.
"No problem." Shum replied.
Finally they had made it to the counts chambers. Shum opened the door and outstretched his arm towards the entry as if to say 'after you'.
Hassildor was standing by the fire place starring at the Argonian and Orc. "What took you so long?" Hassildor said coldly. "I do apologize, sir" Hal began. "But it seems some... one left an infant at the door again."
"Well, send it to the orphanage like the others" Hassildor commanded.
"Well you see sir. This... is... no ordinary baby."
Hassildor made a confused expression. "How so?" he asked.
"Take a look." Hal walked towards the count with the basket tightly in her grasp. Hal held out the basket but refused to let it go when the count tried to take it, for fear of him dropping it.
The count tried to hold in a gasp but failed miserably. "T-this is a-"
"please sir don't scare him"
"Scare him!" the count shouted. "This child is – is – is"
"just like you" Hal murmured.
The room went dead silent from Hal's statement. "What did you say?" said Hassildor in a very angry tone.
"I-I'm sorry sir but I can't stand here as you judge him like he chose to be this way." Hassildor was shocked that Hal said that. Never in all her days of servitude had she spoken to him like that. What was he to do? Hal gave a good point, it's not like the infant wanted to be a werewolf.
And besides, the count would never be tempted to drink its blood, as it is a werewolf and Hassildor was a vampire. In fact, it would be a great challenge for the count to live in a castle with a werewolf. He could even teach the young Lycan to act- no, be civilized. It would be like having a grandson, seeing as the count had quite a few years on the infant. "Very well..." he said in a whisper so quiet, he almost hoped no one heard. But Hal heard him as clear as day. A smile grew across her face. "Thank you sir, thank you so much!" she exclaimed.
Hey it may not have been a human baby, but at least it was a baby. "However" the count continued. "You and your... child must follow these rules. First, he must never leave the castle or be seen by anyone who are now outside this room. Second, every Freedas, he must attend lessons with me if he is to be a civil member of society. Even if no one knows about his existence. Third, he must never harm anyone of innocents. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir." Said Hal in a cheerful tone. "Oh! I almost forgot." Hal reached into the basket and fished out the two letters, making sure not to touch the bump, and handed them to Hassildor. "Don't touch the bump on the one." Hal warned pointing to the letter. Hassildor put the large letter on his desk and opened the regular one. He then read it in his mind.
Dear count Hassildor of Skingrad.
As you know by now, my child is no ordinary baby. He is, as am I, a rare species of Werewolf. He is a Cyrodiilian Werewolf. His is a doomed species, for they cannot work peacefully. That is why I have left him in your or your servant Hal Liurz, care. I understand it is strange for a Werewolf to leave the protection of her child with a Vampire. Yes I know what you are. You have nothing to worry as far as me blackmailing you with the information I have on you, as the town's people have discovered me. And who would believe a 'monster'? There is something you must know about his kind. Once a month, mostly by the full moon, his kind will develop a need to consume human, or any of the other races, flesh, blood and organs. The hunger is unavoidable. So on the back of this letter is a map to hunting grounds he should use. They are filled with necromancers so you shouldn't have a problem with him eating them. Also he is only a quarter Imperial, the rest of him is Werewolf so he can't transform to a human form. This is because his father was a full-blooded Werewolf, which is rare, and I am, or was, half Werewolf and lived amongst your citizens for years. Also never let him know about the other letter, it contains something that will tell him about himself. But you should only give him it when you believe he is ready. Thank you I hope Hal and Shum, and if possible you, raise him well.
Thank you.
Hassildor stood still, letter still in his hands, thinking about everything on the letter. He read it over to make sure what he read was really there. "Well..." he started. "I suppose there's a lot of planning to do."
"Sir?" Hal said in a questionable tone.
"Here" said the count. "Read this letter and we will make the plans for the child"
"What are you- we going to name him?" asked Shum.
"We'll name him..." Hal said. "Kira" she smiled and looked at the pair of topaz eyes staring up at her.
______________________________________________________________________________
Thanks for reading. Next chapter will come as soon as possible, though I do have a lot of other fanfics to write, so I'll do my best to keep up with the updates.