Sorry for taking so long to write anything, I've been going through a really rough spot. One-shots seem to be harder to write, and recently on my file in-game with the actual character Annika Vvanderfell, Aela has passed away. It seems only fair to post the thoughts and actions I believe Annika would do if The Huntress really did pass, some of the following have even occurred in-game. Now Annika's POV.
My associations with the Dawnguard had proven to be quite an adventure. It wasn't everyday that you join a band of vampire hunters and actually befriend one of the dark creatures in the process. I had grown very close to Harkon's daughter, Serana. She was an interesting character and we had saved each other's several times through many ordeals. But now that I was in yet another faction it was becoming more and more difficult to return home to visit my beautiful wife, Aela, and I knew that she missed me dearly. I tried my very best to write her letters whenever I had the chance but deep down I knew that words written on paper couldn't compare to face-to-face interaction. I also sent her small trinkets or war trophies by courier, ones that I would see in our home when I ever did return - either put in display cases or hung on the walls.
After riding the province of a gang of bandits and also a rather hard to destroy vampire, I returned to the Fort. As usual I was greeted by Serana. After we put a stop to her father's maniacal plans she simply wandered about the Fort, and we would sometimes have brief conversations regarding the time we spent together if the circumstances were fitting. It was a bit later into the night so I found Gunmar sleeping. After congratulating me for eradicating more of the dangerous menace we were fighting he pointed me to Florentius, claiming the priest had an assignment for me. This I found a bit odd. That man and I hadn't conversed much since I convinced him to join up with these vampire hunters and if anything we were far from acquainted. It must have had to be something fairly serious to demand my attention.
When I approached him I could already see the pity in his eyes. Sympathy was something I was not accustomed to receiving and his demeanor made my brow furrow immediately. He mumbled something about Arkay delivering grave news to him, and then informed me of the actual matter at hand.
My wife had been kidnapped. Taken from our home against her will to some sort of cave. In it were both bandits and one vampire in particular running the operations. He was also the one in charge of the abduction of Aela. The thought of her being put in danger because of my affiliation with this group nearly made me want to abandon it altogether. I didn't even receive Florentius' full debriefing before sprinting towards the door in a tornado of concern, Serana questioning my haste as I passed her by without another word.
My journey to the cave Aela had been taken to was a long and harsh one. I had little sleep, little eating or drinking, and very little time to be calm in the slightest. Whenever I wasn't spritning with all of my night through the snowy mountains of Skyrim or tiring out horse after horse before finally going on foot, I was merely trying to keep myself from having a nervous breakdown. Vampires were unforgiving people. No doubt they kidnapped Aela in an attempt to lead me straight to them, but why in the name of Talos would they do that? Lure a skilled vampire hunter straight into their den? No doubt there were bound to be traps and guards of all sorts in an attempt to stop me, but there was no way I would let that happen. I was going to get to her no matter what the cost. When I finally arrived at the cave, I could feel the rage inside of my on the verge of erupting.
It was dank. And I had been in plenty of caverns and tunnels in my time, but this one seemed to be especially ominous. I had an odd foreboding feeling in the pit of my stomach. Fear was not something I experienced often. But I can honestly say that I had never been so terrified in my entire life. I couldn't lose her. I couldn't risk it. If she so much had a scrape on her knee I was going to tear that vampire limb from limb, set his remains on fire and dance in the ashes. Aela was my world. She was the most important person in my entire life. I was not going to lose her because of one silly little vampire who got cocky.
The bandits that blocked my path didn't stand a chance. Whatever traps were there were small things such as pressure plates I could step over or a bear trap or two that never got to close to closing around my feet. The only slightly formidable opponent that I had was the bandit chief. Clad in steel plate armor and wielding an enchanted ebony greatsword, he was not something to be overlooked. But I knew that he was the only thing standing between Aela and I. And that was enough to make me run him through with my sword and toss him to the side as if he were nothing. It was only what lay behind the buffoon that caught my attention and nearly made my heart stop.
It was Aela. Her face looked beaten up, nose bloody, one eye only partially open as she knelt on the ground with her hands tied behind her back. Her war paint had come off in some spots and there were small, deep cuts running along her arms, some that were still seeping a few drops of blood. She looked more exhausted than I had ever seen her and more weak than ever before. I felt my emotions being torn to pieces, not sure whether to feel extreme sympathy or extreme anger and having difficulty feeling both. My teeth ground together and I growled in the back of my throat, yet at the same time my eyes were becoming glossy.
"Aela!" I called out to her, she hadn't spotted me yet. When our gaze met the feeling of intense love was palpable in the air. The vampire was nowhere in sight, at least not where I could see. Yet for some reason I felt an ominous presence in the area. My shoulders tensed and I didn't want to let my guard down, although seeing my wife in this pitiful state was causing me to lose concentration steadily. I didn't, couldn't take my eyes off of her.
"Annika! Oh thank the Divines, you're here!" Her voice, although still sounding heavenly, was lackluster. It was patchy and rough, followed by a hoarse cough. She clearly hadn't spoken in a while. I felt my heart shattering and crumbling into pieces. The desperation displayed on her face, the yearning to escape this cavern and return to our home was so clear anyone could have deciphered it.
It was only then that the area to her side started to shudder. I looked towards it with a furrowed brow, recognizing the trembling image that indicates an invisibility spell or potion wearing off. That explained where the vampire had gone. I started to sprint forward, wanting to decapitate him before he had the chance to become fully visible, but something made me stop short. Aela suddenly stiffened entirely, her head aiming a bit upward. I waited a few more seconds for the damned creature to become fully visible, and when he did my anger was so intense I felt myself nearly forget any sort of better judgement.
This foul, disgusting, worthless monster had an ebony sword pressed firmly against Aela's neck. I felt myself freeze. I could see how sharp the blade was even from the fair distance I stood. She was sweating. It also seemed like she wanted to start shaking but with the weapon pressed to her skin she didn't dare to. The tears in my eyes were making my vision become drastically blurry. I almost couldn't make anything out in front of me. I felt myself becoming light-headed. I wasn't sure what to do.
"Annika Vvanderfell..." The vampire spoke in a low tone, definitely trying to intimidate me while all it did was influence my anger, "What a pleasant surprise to see you here."
If this had been any other case I would have gone through some playful banter with this scum, simply to make his death more ironic or entertaining to me. But this time the risk was too great. I should have been keeping a level head, I shouldn't have shown him that what he was doing was enraging me to the extent that it was. Yet in situations like these it was extremely hard not to let your true emotions show, too much was on the line.
"Don't you dare hurt her!" I shrieked, voice full of hurt and worry, bouncing off the walls of the extensive cavern in an eerie way.
He chuckled, his white fangs snagging a bit on his bottom lip. It was a Dunmer. His dark skin blended in very well with the dim setting we were in, and although he was wearing rather normal attire you could sense the demonic presence. For some reason, to him this was the most humorous situation he could have been in. He must have known how much it was killing me to see my one true love with a blade pressed to her throat.
"Oh, now why ever would I do that?" He was sadistic. Like most of these creatures were. His rasping yet steady voice reminded me of Harkon. I watched as his reddish orange gaze moved slowly to Aela's face. The sword moved from her neck and he traced it along the side of her face. It broke skin, but only slightly. She emit a low whimper. I growled loudly as he continued, "This... lovely lady has truly helped me out. You see, Mrs. Vvanderfell, never have I been faced with a more enigmatic vampire hunter. Usually their presence is a bit more prevalent and they are easier to seek out. Yet you cover your tracks. You don't leave traces. And for the longest time, many of my associates - myself included - considered you uncapturable. It was only when we discovered that you... had some ties."
I watched as the beast traced the tip of the blade along her earlobe, cutting a bit deep. Blood seeped down it and down her cheek. I watched as she bit her lower lip tightly so as not to give him the satisfaction of noises of pain. I admired her so much. I loved her so much. In the heat of my rage I took another step closer, more than ready to take more, but being stopped when he shoved the blade a little too quickly into her neck once more. I felt myself nearly having a heart attack, but somehow the sword didn't cut her. We locked eyes once more. She was on the verge of tears, as was I.
"Tsk, tsk, Annika. I would have considered you smarter than that. Another step closer and your precious wife will lose her head..." One of his hands was firmly on her Aela's shoulder. I didn't want him touching her. He couldn't touch her.
My anger was still extremely immense. But for some reason, when I truly started thinking about what may happen if she left my life, the tears started to roll down my cheeks. My voice lowered and I asked in utmost seriousness, begging, pleading, "Please... don't hurt her..." I paused as a silence grew, definitely full of consideration on his part, "...I'll do anything."
He chuckled once more, "Anything?" For a moment or two I thought that he just might let her go, take me instead and let her escape in one piece. I was mistaken. Horribly, horribly mistaken.
In one second, one movement, my world fell apart.
He moved the blade. Thrust it straight into the side of her head. It cut completely through. She made no sound. I watched her silver eyes roll to the back of her head before closing. I watched crimson trickle from her mouth, down her chin, and off her jaw. When the Dunmer withdrew the sword, she fell flat onto her face into the dirt. A pool of blood started forming around her skull. She was still. Far too still.
I collapsed. Literally. Falling against the nearest wall and gasping violently for breath. I was sputtering. My eyes were glued to her and I couldn't tear them away, not even noticing that they were steadily shedding tears. I couldn't move. I struggled to keep myself from losing consciousness. It was becoming difficult to hear things as well, but whenever I could listen all I heard was maniacal laughter. He was laughing. He had no idea how badly he had just ruined me. How much he had crushed my life. Either way he found it absolutely hysterical.
My skin became clammy. My head was spinning. The entire room was trembling, the only solid thing being Aela. I stayed in this trance for what seemed like hours to me. Until finally the beast's form blocked my view. I felt his forearm pressing firmly against my collarbones and pinning me against the wall with brute force. I gasped loudly, the wind knocked out of me. I still held my blade in my hand but he wasn't registering it. He knew that I was in no state to fight back. He could tell.
"Well, seems I struck a nerve." His playful tone sounded as if he was trying to entertain some invisible audience. He was toying with me. I could sense the enjoyment he was getting out of this entire experience. I bet my tears were more enticing to him than the warmth of the blood flowing beneath my skin. He stared at me with those cold, harsh orange eyes, piercing into my very core. Never had I felt this much seething rage towards a single creature in my life.
This beast had killed the one thing that mattered most to me. The one thing that I thought would stay forever was now gone and could not be brought back. Although the last thing I wanted in the world was to believe it, my mind wasn't one to be unrealistic. I knew deep down that there was no use. And I also knew that it was entirely his fault. Suddenly all of my anger lashed out of me in one swift movement.
I forced my arm back, blade in hand, and shoved it straight through his pathetic heart. He gasped in pain, struggling against the sword for those few last spasms before death, and he went limp. I watched as his eyes closed, breathing heavily through clenched teeth. His blood seeped around the new hole I had created in his chest and trickled down my blade, onto the hilt and then onto my hand. It was cold and darker than average blood. I growled guterally and tossed him off. I didn't bother wiping my hand on anything.
I looked at his corpse for a few moments, my head running rampant with ideas on how to defile it. It was only when my eyes moved to the other body that my heart collapsed once more. The sword that had previously been held in my hand with a death grip fell out as if it hadn't been grasping it at all. The enchanted blade clattered to the dirt and rolled off somewhere. I didn't even register it, my feet carrying me to her. I feel to my knees, unable to comprehend, unable to cope. Her blood formed a pool around me. Slowly, cautiously for fear of breaking down, I gently grasped her shoulder with as much love and care as possible before turning her onto her back.
My wife. My beautiful, perfect wife. Even now, with the wounds scattered about her body and flawing her complexion to anyone else's eyes, she looked stunning to me. I reached forward and tucked some of her crimson hair behind her bloodied ear. Reaching into my pocket I withdrew a small handkerchief, wiping off the dirt and blood from her face and arms until there was nothing else I could do. I was still crying, that I couldn't control. How could I not shed tears at a time like this?
How long I knelt there, I cannot say for sure. Roughly a day straight with no eating or drinking. I couldn't leave her side. I don't exactly remember what transpired after that. It's all to vague. All I knew for sure was that I was absolutely broken. Shattered into shards that were so jagged and small nobody could ever put them back together, not properly at least. From that day on my life was forever changed, as it had been when I first met the wonderful woman. Only this time, instead of a pleasant beginning to a wonderful life experience, it was a tragic end to one of the best periods of time I ever lived.
