I do not own anything of the Elder Scrolls series and their characters. Except for Roza, she is mine.
With a loud grunt, Roza pushed the heavy doors that led into Solitude. The doors were heavier than she remembered.
"This is what happens when you sit on a mountain for a year doing nothing but meditate day in and day out. You get out of shape." She muttered to herself.
Checking her hood for the hundredth time that day, pulling the edge down to make sure that it covered her eyes. Roza continued to walk across the entrance of the town taking in the sights. Her eyes landed on the execution stage, she remembered her first visit here was not a pleasant one. A shudder ran through her as she kept walking forward. As she walked past the citizens of Solitude, she realized that nothing much has changed over the past year. Everything still looked the same as it did before.
"Why does everyone ignore me? Why do you turn your heads? Will no one help me?"
Roza looked in the direction where she heard the pleas and saw an old Wood Elf pacing around looking helpless. Standing in front of her the Wood Elf was trying to trying to grab anyone's attention.
Maybe if I walk past him like everyone else, maybe he won't notice me, she thought to herself. Steeling her nerves, Roza started to walk towards the Bosmer trying to act casual. She almost made it until she felt a hand grab her wrist. She turned to glare at the owner of the hand but it was none other than the old Wood Elf. If he saw her eyes, he didn't react nor did he say anything about them, only looked at her pleadingly.
"Please, take a pity on an old mad man!"
Roza deepened her glare knowing full well he could see her eyes now.
"Let go of my wrist!" she hissed coldly exposing her fangs before she snatched her wrist away from his grasp and started to turn away.
"Wait hear my plea! My master, he is lost between worlds and I cannot bring him back!" He cried out. Roza stopped at mid turn and looked at the old man from under her hood. She slowly felt her annoyance turn into confusion. Her curiosity was getting the better of her and she was starting to feel sorry for the old man.
"He is lost? How did he get lost?" She asked.
"My master has abandoned me! Abandoned his people. And nothing I say can change his mind. Now he refuses to even see me. He says I interrupt is vacation! It's been so many years… Won't you please help?" He pleaded.
How many years has he been vacation? Who in their right mind takes a vacation between worlds? She thought to herself.
"I do not know if I can help but I will try." Roza answered him honestly. "Who is your master?"
In an instant, his eyes lit up with hope and something else Roza could not name. A crazy smile spread across his face, like she just gave him the answer to the meaning of life.
"Oh he is a great man, but one rarely praised. He rules twin empires that span the length and breadth of our minds! All know him, but few can name him! And without his guidance, our homeland is falling apart. North wages war against South! The holy flame flickers and dies! We need his return!" He explained, but all it did was confuse Roza more than she was before.
Twin empires? Holy flame? North and South at war? None of this makes any sense… Maybe I can get a name it might help me out.
"What is your masters' name?" Roza asked him.
As quickly as it came, the light in his eyes disappeared and the old man looked upset at her question.
"He has forbidden me to say his name. He says that it distracts him, and woe to those who draw his ire. But you will know him when you see him. He's the one who made me this way!" He said it like he was proud of that last statement.
"A madman?" She asked almost sarcastically.
"Yes! Oh and you'll need the hip bone…" He told her as he began to dig through his bag.
"When you mean hip bone, you don't actually mean…" She stopped her question when she saw the crazy old Wood Elf pull out an actual human hip bone. "Never mind." She mutteredas she took the bone from him and placed it in her bag as quickly as possible before anybody saw them.
"It's very important." He began to explain, "No entering Pelagius Wing without that." He concluded with another mad grin, like he was proud of himself.
Roza snapped her head up from her bag at the mention of the name of the wing.
"Pelagius Wing? As in; the haunted wing in the Blue Palace?" She asked him. "What is he doing in the Blue Palace? Is he visiting the Jarl?"
"He was visiting a friend. Oh but no one as mundane as the Jarl. No, no… Such people are below him." He explained like it made perfect sense.
The Jarl is beneath him? Just who is this guy? Roza wondered. A tired sigh slipped out as she turned to the direction toward the Palace.
"Lucky for you, old man I was on my way to the Blue Palace."
The walk to the Blue Palace was a quite one; Roza enjoyed the sights as she walked toward her destination. Making sure that her hood was still in place, she couldn't help but wonder about the crazy old man from before.
I know he saw my eyes, but he didn't react to them. Almost like he has seen them before or he has seen worse…
With that thought in mind, she wondered about the mysterious master that she was going to retrieve. Making her wonder what kind of man would abandon his people just to visit a friend in a haunted wing. If that wasn't the worst of it, now the master is stuck between worlds, for years! Who does that? She pondered.
Finally reaching her destination, Roza pulled the Palace doors open and she was greeted with guards guarding the entrance and a couple of young maids sweeping the area. The entryway was clean, pretty much spotless if Roza was honest with herself. She could see the sun's afternoon rays leaking through from the glass ceiling which made it look warm and welcoming to any visitor.
Closing the door behind her, she took a moment to look around the area before she went off to her quest. Thinking about it only reminded her that that this would be her first quest without wearing an armor of any kind since leaving High Hrothgar. She felt… naked without wearing her dragon bone armor. When she left, the only clothes she brought with her were normal attire and her ebony dagger. If she wore her dragon armor or brought with her any of her dragon bone weapons, people would know it was her in a heartbeat.
How many people carry or wear dragon bones in Skyrim? Only one; me. She thought bitterly.
Snapping herself out from her thoughts, Roza saw the door that led to Pelagius Wing. She went to the door and tried to turn the knob only to find it locked.
"Of course it is, that would be too easy." She muttered under breath. Looking around again she saw the Jarls' steward and knew that if anyone would have the key to the wing, it would be him, but she doubted that he would give it to her willingly.
So the steward is out of the question…
Looking around a final time, Roza saw one of the young maids that was cleaning… alone. If that wasn't good enough she had a key ring on her hip. She would bet with all gold that she had, that was the key that she needed.
Walking like she didn't see the maid, Roza bumped into her with enough force that it made the girl almost fall down. In the last second, she caught the girls' wrist before she fell and pulled the maid close to her.
"Oh my Gods I am so sorry are you okay? Did I hurt you?" Roza asked with concern in her voice.
The maid could not see the woman's face from above her nose but the young girl knew that the woman holding her so close was beautiful just by seeing her smooth skin and full lips. She felt a light blush creep across cheeks.
"N-no I-I'm fine, thank you." She stammered as she straightened herself up. Roza couldn't help but smile at the girl. She had been told that she had that effect on people; both men and women alike.
"I'm terribly sorry I was so distracted by the Palace that I didn't see you." She gently took the maids' hand letting a small frown form. "I hope you can forgive me." She whispered pleadingly.
The girls' face turned blood red right before her eyes and Roza felt her pulse quicken from underneath her fingers.
"O-of course…" the maid responded breathlessly, her eyes glazed over in a daze.
Roza bowed gracefully toward the girl and turned to walk away with the key in hand.
One of the many perks for being in the Thieves Guild and trained under Brynolf. She thought with a grin. Slipping the key inside the key hole, she heard a loud 'click' when she turned the key. "Gotcha." She whispered to herself. Looking around to make sure that no one saw her, Roza opened the door and slipped inside unnoticed.
The wing itself was deserted; it looked more like an old storage unit than a wing that the Emperor used to live in. Storage boxes and cobwebs were everywhere; random items could be seen throughout the wing. Trying her best to avoid tripping over the boxes and the random items, Roza walked toward the hallway that hopefully lead to… somewhere. She continued to walk through the hallway, until the floor fell from beneath her feet and the world went black.