Here we go, another chapter. ^.^ I hope you guys are enjoying this as much as me. From this point on, it's mostly going to be Fiana's point of view with a couple chapters of Neloth's. Also, there are going to be a couple time skips which I will indicate in the beginning of the chapter.
I own nothing aside from bits of my story line and Fiana.
~Two years later~
"Fiana! Hurry it up, girl! This is a very delicate machine and I need that gyro!"
Fiana nearly tripped over herself carrying over the bits of metal and soul gems in her tired arms. Running back and forth between the Dwemer library and all through the tower was exhausting, but she found herself too curious to mind too much.
She gently dropped the assorted metal and gems on the ground beside her master. He was currently paying no attention and instead simply reached out a grey and slender hand. Fiana looked at it for a moment in confusion before it suddenly dawned on her what he was asking for. She snapped down and picked up a gyro and handed it to him. And, as always, he never thanked her. Most would have probably been offended, but it was a compliment that she was even here as his apprentice, so Fiana had no qualms about her master's rudeness.
Since he had said nothing else, Fiana took it as permission to peer over his shoulder at his little machine. It looked nothing like the automatons created in the ruin, so it wasn't a defense mechanism. It seemed to only slightly resemble one of the Dwemer ballistics, but instead of the loading dock for bolts, a spigot stood in it's place. And the whole thing was held up on two solid pieces of Dwemer metal. In her thorough examination of the machine, she didn't hear her master sigh in annoyance before it was too late.
"Would you stop hovering? This is delicate work and having you standing over my head is distracting." Fiana flushed and took a few steps back.
"S-sorry, master. What would you like me to do?" Neloth grumbled at something in the machine, then waved a hand at her.
"I don't care, go and take a bath or something. You smell like Ash Spawn." Fiana frowned and gently brought her sleeve up to her nose. It smelled of sulfur and ash. She scrunched her nose slightly at the scent.
"Yes, master."
She quickly walked to the portal and floated up once again to where the bathing chambers and Neloth's bedroom resided. As she landed, she glanced at the door to Neloth's room. She could probably draw the door to his room and all of it's marks and scratches from memory for how long she had stared at it. The door was simple, just like the one at the front of Tel Mithryn, but it held several slight burns and marks as if he had taken out his anger on it. Fiana shook her head, tearing her gaze away from the door and her thoughts of what resided behind.
She stepped instead into the ornate bathing chambers and sighed happily when she saw that Verona had placed her favorite bathing oils there again. She wouldn't have been at all surprised to find out if Verona was psychic. She always seemed to know what everyone needed without even being there
Fiana pulled the doors shut behind her and drew her bath in the large tub as she dumped a small amount of the rosewood oil into the bath. She breathed deep as the hot water steamed up the chamber and the scent of rosewood assaulted her nose. She stepped behind the small screen before stripping herself of her Telvanni robes and smalls, finally noticing the amount of ash that had gathered on them. She closed her eyes and sighed. All you had to do to get dirty in Solsthiem was to just walk out of your front door it seemed.
She opened her eyes and looked at the large, floor length mirror. She examined her body, a little surprised each time she looked at herself. She examine the curves of her hips and her long, slender legs with interest and was very surprised at her flat and toned belly. It shouldn't have really been a surprise, though. With the amount of heavy lifting and retching from side effects of Neloth's spells, she could imagine the muscles there would be pretty solid.
She then noticed her ample chest. Not large like Verona's, but moderate and not problem causing. Fiana then looked at her face and frowned slightly. Her skin was just as grey and smooth as the rest of hers, but her face seemed to combat the curves of the rest of her. Her nose was sharp and her jaw matched. She looked at her bound hair in a tight bun and reached back with long, slender arms and untied the ribbon that tied in place, letting the black tendrils of hair wave down her back to end just past her shoulder-blades. It had used to be longer, but a mishap with yet another of Neloth's spells had forced her to cut it.
The final thing she noticed, mostly because she wanted them to just disappear, were her eyes. Almond shaped and an odd, yellow color. They always seemed to glow ever so slightly, but that could just be her imagination playing tricks on her. But every time she saw them, she also saw the glaring truth, no pun intended.
The only reason she was even here, was because of those eyes.
One of the things she always remembered in the first thing of being in Tel Mihthryn was his extreme fascination in her eyes. He even considered actually removing them, but he decided against it when he realized that she could make a pretty good cup of canis root tea and lacking sight would probably hinder many of his experiments. But one thing that he kept saying when it came to her eyes, was that they reminded him of Hermaeus Mora.
Fiana shook her head, hoping to the Three that her eyes weren't related to the daedric prince of fate and forbidden knowledge. The idea itself was enough to make her want to remove her eyes herself. She took another breath of the rosewood scented steam and smiled as it seemed to calm her nerves. She turned and walked to the bath, walking up the few short steps and cutting off the water. She eased herself into the hot water and let out a soft moan as she realized just how badly she needed this. She submerged everything in the water aside from her head and breathed out happily. It was rare that she could enjoy such luxuries, and she planned to milk as much time as she wished from this peaceful time...
"Aaagh!"
Bang!
Fiana jumped, looking at the door. That was master Neloth's scream. He hardly ever screamed like that. She jumped out of the bat and grabbed the first article of clothing she could find and threw it on to cover herself up and and ran to the the teleporter to see what happened.
The sight she saw after hitting the second floor made her jaw drop.
The machine he had been working on had exploded, sending fragments of metal everywhere. It was sticking out of the walls and laying all over the floor along with a large black mark. And worst of all, one of the larger pieces of shrapnel had lodged itself in Neloth's back. Luckily, he was on his stomach and unconscious, so he didn't put up too much of a fuss when she sprinted over to him and checked him for a pulse.
She put two fingers against the base of his throat and let out a sigh of relief when he was indeed unconscious. She then turned her attention to the hand-sized piece of shrapnel in his shoulder. It hadn't ht him in any major arteries, but it could have very possibly shattered his shoulder blade, something that a simple healing spell couldn't fix right away. She moved quickly to tear his robes where the shrapnel was so she could easily peel back that cloth. She couldn't help but color slightly at the thought of undressing her master, but quickly dismissed the thoughts. He could be dying, and I'm acting like a timid little girl.
She tested the area around to wound, earning a long, pained moan. Damn, the bone was shattered. She looked around the lab and found some netch jelly on one of the tables. She ran over and grabbed it, kneeling down before her master and applying the goo by dumping it around the wound. The jelly should paralyze the muscle for a short time and relive him of some pain. After the goo seeped in, she tore a piece of his robe off, figuring he'll yell at her for it later anyway. She held the cloth in one hand than wrapped a small hand around the shrapnel. She took a breath, then pulled it out quickly, pressing the cloth into the wound before he could lose too much blood on the floor. Keeping the cloth pressed firmly, she reached over and grabbed his robes again, ripping off a long strand with her teeth. She released her other hand after a few minutes and lifted Neloth slightly so that she could wrap the makeshift bandage around him. He let out another groan, reminding her that the jelly's effect was probably wearing off already.
She hoisted the injured wizard onto her shoulder and dragged him to her bedroom, laying him down on his belly. She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment and sending a silent prayer to the Three that he would be okay. She went back and grabbed the rest of the jelly and applied it directly to the bandage, ignoring the loss of feeling in her own fingers. She just wanted her Master to be alright.
When Fiana returned from making his tea, Neloth was awake and already starting on a tirade.
"Where in Oblivion are my clothes? And why cant I feel- Where are my pa- Oh... I still have those..." Neloth looked around frantically for his robes, but found Fiana instead, holding one of his teacups. He sent her a glare.
"Are you drinking my tea?" He growled, seeming much more angry that his apprentice was holding one of his favorite teas cups than the fact that he was wearing torn strips from his robes and half naked in his apprentices bed.
Fiana paled and quickly moved toward him, handing him the cup.
"Sorry, Master. I thought you might like some tea to calm you after that explosion." He looked at her, confused, then he suddenly seemed to remember, and, if it was even possible, he looked even more peeved.
"Fantastic. Not only did my experiment fail, I am now wearing rags in my apprentices bed and ca-... can't..." He suddenly looked like he was trying very hard to speak, his face scrunched in pain. Fiana took that as her cue to help her Master sit up and remove the rags. She looked at the puckered injury and frowned.
"Master, you aren't going to be able to do many experiments for a while. A piece of your machine lodged itself into your shoulder and shattered the bone. You will be in quite a bit of pain for at least a week." Neloth didn't seem to be listening. He was too busy groaning and gritting his teeth as she prepared a healing spell to at least close the wound. She closed her eyes and focused on a white light behind her eyes and felt the warmth of a healing spell leave her fingertips and mend the flesh of the wizard. When the opened her eyes, she knew that the injury would probably mar his grey skin forever. She cursed herself silently for not being there with her Master, but settled on getting new rags to wrap him up.
When she returned with a new bundle of rags he seemed... Truly sad. Master Neloth didn't show many other emotions aside from annoyance, anger and intrigue. It was... heart breaking to see the look on his face dull his usually bright red eyes. Fiana stepped closer, to wrap him in the clean rags, but he didn't seem to care.
"I'm sorry about your machine, Master." he simply gave a sad and irritated sigh in response.
"You should be. I nearly had been working on that automated tea maker for months."
All of that just for a cup of tea... Ah, Neloth.
Hope you guys enjoyed! ^.^
