I do not own anything from The Elder Scrolls or Bethesda except for Roza, she's mine.
Roza's mind was reeling. She was stuck inside of the mind of a dead Emperor. Not only that, she was stuck with the Deadric Prince of Madness!
Go down the mountain they said. It'll be good for you they said.
"Now I know what you're thinking." Sheogorath continued. "Can I still rely on my swords and spells and sneaking and all that nonsense?"
The last comment made Roza raise an eyebrow at him. How did he know she did those things? No one knew that she was part of the Thieves Guild but the members. And how did he know that she preferred the sword over any weapon?
"Sure, sure… Or you could use…" He continued like he didn't notice her questioningly look she was giving him. With a snap of his fingers, an odd looking staff appeared before her. Roza noticed that on the head of the odd staff were three faces that held individual emotions; happy, angry, and sad.
"The Wabbajack! Huh? Huh? Didn't see that coming did ya?" He asked proudly.
"I think when it comes to you my lord; it's hard to see things coming." She told him with a grin on her face as she looked up at him.
"Why, thank you." Sheogorath responded proudly.
"So, what am I supposed to do with this?" Roza asked him as she motioned the staff at him.
"Isn't obvious? You're going to use it silly!" He said excitedly.
"And… What exactly am I going to do exactly?"
"Oh sweet little Roza, use those beautiful eyes of yours and look around."
Feeling her cheeks burn from his compliment, Roza looked around to see what he was talking about and to avoid his gaze. For the first time since arriving to the strange place, she noticed three arch ways that circled around them.
"I'm assuming that I'm going through those arch ways and do what you want me to do?" She asked the Prince almost sarcastically.
"Beautiful and smart; careful now my little rose, keep this up and I might just steal you away." He said with a wink.
Don't take anything he says seriously, he's mad and he's a Daedric Prince. After all of this is done he's going to leave and you're never going to see him again. She told herself as she tried to calm her racing heart.
With the Wabbajack on hand, Roza started to walk past the Prince toward the first arch way.
"I will come back when I'm finished." She told him as she walked past him. His only response was another of his wolfish grins as he watched her walk away. When she was gone from his line of sight, Sheogorath sat back down on his seat and propped his chin on top of his cane. Since he was the Daedric Prince of Madness, he could see and hear her every move in this realm.
"Ah, now this is a sad path. Pelagius hated and feared many things. Assassins, wild dogs, the undead, pumpernicle…" Sheogorath said as his voice surrounding her.
Pumpernicle..? Roza thought with a shake of her head as she continued forward.
"But the deepest, keenest hatred was for himself. The attacks he makes on himself can be seen here fully. They are always carried out on the weakest part of his fragile self. The self-loathing enhances Pelagius' anger! Ah, but his confidence will shrink with every hit. Ya must bring the two into balance." Sheogorath stated as he watched Roza see the scene unfold before her.
"Balance…" Roza muttered to herself as she watched a tiny Pelagius being hit by a man twice his size. Without thinking about it, Roza aimed the staff at Pelagius and fired a red ball of magic at him. In a flash, Pelagius was gone only to come back the same size as the man hitting him. Thinking that it was over, Roza was about to turn to walk away when two spirit formed men wielding weapons went after Pelagius.
"Oh, no you don't!" She exclaimed as she shot at Pelagius again. Just like last time, a flash appeared again and Pelagius was gone only to come back larger than all three men. And in a flash, Pelagius and the others vanished leaving her alone in the field.
Sheogorath could feel a smile spread across his face as he watched her. Smart lass…
"Wonderfully done. Pelagius is finally ready to love himself… And hating everyone else." The Daedric Prince's voice rang out.
"So… Is that a good thing…?" She asked shaking her head confused as she started walking toward the exit. Walking out of the first archway victorious, Roza noticed that Sheogorath summoned a small table with a tea pot set, and food on the table. He had the cup up to his lips drinking his tea peacefully, watching her over the rim of the cup. She felt her heart skip a beat when their gazes locked. She quickly turned her head and hurried toward the second arch way ignoring the deep chuckle that came from behind her.
"Oh, good choice. Well, good for me. I find everyone being out to get ya so terribly entertaining heh, heh. You might find it… Less so."
Roza couldn't control the chuckle that slipped out of her. "Somehow, you being entertained by others coming after you does not surprise me, my lord." An amused chuckle surrounded her making the fine hairs on her arms stand on end and making her heart race. Roza took a deep, calming breath as she walked a little further down the way, and noticed a set of stairs leading up to a colosseum ruin.
Sheogorath continued as she started walking up the steps. "Ya see, Pelagius' mother was… Well let us say… Unique. Although, I suppose in the grand scheme of things, she was fairly average for a Septim." Finally reaching up the top of the steps, Roza saw before her two storm atronachs fighting each other and sitting across the colosseum was Pelagius with two body guards standing on either side of him.
"The woman wielded fear like a cleaver. Or did she wield a cleaver and make people afraid?" Roza could almost see him furrowing his brow thinking about it. The thought made the corners of her mouth twitch as she tried to fight off the grin. "I never get that part right…" He admitted to her making the grin finally break free.
I don't think I have grinned or smiled so much in one day, let alone on a mission.
"Oh, but she taught her son well. Pelagius learned at a very early age that danger could come from anywhere. At any time. Delivered… By anyone." He said ominously.
"I'm not sure unique is the right word to describe her." Roza muttered as she watched the two atronachs continue to fight each other to the death. Sheogorath leaned back on his chair watching Roza's eyes move from the atronachs to Pelagius and his men. Her eyes darting between the two body guards; she aimed the staff at the body guards.
"By anyone." Roza said to herself as she fired the Wabbajack at each of the body guards making them transform into wolves. She then proceeded to watch them attack Pelagius. Just like in the first archway, the two wolves and Pelagius vanished in a flash of light leaving her alone with the two atronachs still fighting each other.
"Oho! I thought ya would never figure it out! But you are just full of surprises aren't ya my little rose?"
Roza could not control the blush that broke across her face. Every time he called her his 'little rose' it made her feel happy. No one has ever called her that, let alone rarely call her by her name. It's always either Dragonborn or Dovahkiin, to have someone call her by her name and give her a nickname, made her feel warm inside.
"With the threat gone, Pelagius is under the delusion that he is safe, which means you've helped him… Sort of."
"Sort of?" Roza asked him feeling confused.
"Sort of." The Mad Prince repeated. "And we're that much closer to home."
Him mentioning of them going back home made Roza stop as she was on her way back to Sheogorath. She was so lost in thought of her emotions and the way she was responding to the Mad Prince that she almost forgot the main reason of her coming here. Get Sheogorath to return to the Shivering Isles and continuing to find her path in life. A wave of sadness overcame her at the thought of it. She didn't want to go back; she wanted to stay here with Sheogorath. Placing a hand on her forehead, Roza felt a sad smile form on her face.
Oh Gods, I think he's rubbing off on me, I'm starting to lose my mind.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts and emotions, Roza continued her walk back to Sheogorath, ignoring the heavy weight that seemed to linger in her chest. Once arriving back to the clearing, she noticed that Sheogorath was no longer drinking his tea but was sitting back on his chair watching her walk toward him. He was grinning at her as he shamelessly watched her.
"Two down, one to go lass. Are ya ready for the final arch and go home?" He asked her.
Roza grinned at him, "I'm not the one who has been on vacation for a few decades, I should be asking you if you are ready to go back home?" She asked him teasingly.
His laughter was the only response that she got as she turned to the third and final arch way. When Roza went out of sight once again, Sheogorath wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes with one of his fingers. "Oh my little rose, what am I going to with you?" He asked himself with a grin.
"You've headed down the path of dreams. Unfortunately for you, Pelagius suffered night terrors from a young age."
"If I had a mother like that I would have night terrors too." She said as she spotted what looked like a large bed ahead of her. Sheogorath barked a laugh at her comment. The longer she stayed here, the more he was starting to think of letting her go was not a good idea. Roza approached the bed seeing Pelagius sleeping peacefully.
"All ya need to do is find something to wake our poor Pelagius up. You'll find his terrors easy to repel… But persistent."
"Wonderful…" Roza muttered to herself as she placed a hand on top of his head only to jerk it back with a hiss. He was ice cold as if he was dead. Already knowing what has to be done, Roza took a step back preparing for anything that might appear. Aiming the Wabbajack at Pelagius and releasing a ball of magic at his sleeping form; a flash of bright light appeared when the ball of magic hit Pelagius and then… Nothing. The hairs on the back of Roza's neck stood on end and all around her was deathly quiet.
Something's not right…
She saw movement in the corner of her eye, making her turn her body in the direction and in the last second shoved the staff in front of her. Roza fell backwards, closing her eyes instinctively bracing for the impact as she landed on her back. She heard an animalistic growl in front of her and the creature was trying its best to get to her. Roza snapped her eyes open and saw a large gray wolf biting down at the staff in front of her.
Struggling to fight off the wolf, Roza felt the power of her thu'um rising in her throat only to be stuck.
"Gods dammit!" She swore as she continued to struggle to fight off the wolf. For the first time in a very long time, Roza felt fear. Fear and panic ran through her body making her arms almost give out. With the wolf still biting on the staff and looking at her with murderous eyes, Roza bent her arms and gathered the last bit of her strength throwing the wolf off of her. The wolf didn't land far away nor did it seem like it was ready to give up its meal. Not wanting to give it a second chance of attacking her, Roza got on her knees and shot the wolf with a ball of magic as it was lunging at her. Red mist surrounded the wolf making it disappear and in its place was a mountain goat.
With the last bit of energy drained from her, Roza fell back landing on her butt. She watched the goat walk around and innocently stopping to graze on the grass. Suddenly for no reason, Roza started laughing hysterically wrapping her arms around herself. After a few minutes of non-stop uncontrollable laughter, Roza started taking deep breaths trying to calm herself down and wiped the tears from her eyes. Feeling more calm and ready to finish the mission she got up on her feet, wiping the dirt off of herself the best as she could and shot Pelagius with the Wabbajack again.
This time a bandit chief appeared and was ready to attack, but Roza was prepared this time. She did not waste any time of shooting the bandit. Red mist surrounded the bandit and in its place was young Pelagius himself. The third time, a hagraven appeared and then it was turned into a sultry maiden; fourth time was a flame atronach, that was turned into a bonfire; and the last one was a dragon priest that was quickly turned into a chest that was sitting behind the bonfire.
After the dragon priest was slain, Pelagius started waking up from his slumber, looking well rested.
"Well now, that's something to crow about! With Pelagius up and ya have completing all three tasks, now it is time for us to go home." Sheogorath's voice surrounded her one last time before disappearing. His words made her chest tight and she was almost angry with herself for feeling that way.
You knew that after you're done that he was going to leave. Him giving you nickname didn't mean anything to him. You are just another mortal in his eternal life.
Shaking her head at herself, Roza proceeded to walk out from the final archway making her way back to the Prince of Madness. Back to the clearing, she found Sheogorath standing up from his chair, clapping his hands for her.
"I've done it. I've fixed Pelagius' mind." Roza announced as she stood in front of him across the table.
"Hmmmm… 'Fixed' is such a subjective term. I think 'treated' is far more appropriate, don't you? Like one does with a rash, or an arrow in the face." Sheogorath said as he sat back down on his chair.
"The rash I understand, but I don't think it works the same for the arrow in the face my lord…"
"Reeeeeeaaaaalllly? I was trying to compare apples to tomatoes."
"You mean apples to oranges?" Roza asked feeling a grin forming on her face.
"That's what I said!"
Not really…
"Ah, but no matter. Since you've actually succeeded and survived all of the trails, I am forced to honor my end of the bargain. So congratulations! You're free to go!"
"Um… Thank you?" Roza said feeling confused.
He scowled slightly as he looked at her with almost like a pained expression. He looked like he was thinking of something but was fighting against the thought.
"I… Have been known to change my mind. So… Go. Really." Sheogorath explained to Roza as he still looked at her with a pained expression.
"Well I suppose it's back to the Shivering Isles. The trouble Haskil can get into while I'm gone simply boggles the mind."
Roza's only response was a small grin. She knew that it was time for him to go back; his people needed him more than her wanting to stay.
And staying inside a dead emperor's mind is just… Insane.
"Let's make sure I'm not forgetting anything. Clothes? Check. Beard?" He asked as he placed a hand on his chin. "Check. Luggage? Luggage!" He paused looking around like he just realized that he had forgotten something. "Now where did I leave my luggage?"
A large purple cloud appeared behind Roza as if to answer his question and stepping out of it was none other than the mad Wood Elf from Solitude having a crazy smile on his face and tears on the corner of his eyes.
"Master! You've taken me back! Does this mean we're going home? Oh, happy times! I can't wait to-"
"Yes, yes, that's quite enough celebration. Let's send you ahead shall we?" Sheogorath asked with an annoyed tone in his voice.
With a wave of his hand, Sheogorath interrupted the old Wood Elf's ramblings, making him disappear into thin air, leaving Roza and the Mad Prince alone once more.
"And as for you, my little rose… Feel free to keep the Wabbajack. As a symbol of my…" He trailed off trying to find the right word.
"Appreciation?" Roza suggested.
Shaking his head as he closed his eyes deep in thought. "No, something more than that…"
"Ummm… Respect?"
"Nope."
"Gratitude?"
"No."
"Kindness?"
Sheogorath's eyes shot open making it seem like she hit the nail on the head, only for him to scowl and shake his head again.
"Close, not quite what I'm looking for."
"Affection…?" Roza offered once more.
"Affection…" Sheogorath said under his breath. A smile slowly spread on his face and Roza couldn't help but do the same, his smile was contagious. "I like the sound of it! Yes, keep the Wabbajack as a symbol of my affection."
Once again a dark purple cloud appeared behind her signaling that it was time for her to go back home. Swallowing her pride and her self-doubt, Roza swallowed the lump in her throat that was starting to form.
"Pardon me my lord…" Roza said nervously.
"What is it my little rose? Don't ya want to go home?" Sheogorath asked her curiously.
"I-I do, but I was wondering if you would do me the honor of having tea with you…" She stammered out.
Her question caught Sheogorath off guard. He couldn't help but to look around to make sure she was talking to him and not the person that might be standing behind him.
"Me?" He asked while he pointed a finger at himself.
It was either due to her nerves or the fact that for the first time that she can remember, a man had an effect on her that she can't yet describe, but enjoyed the feeling none the less. A laugh broke out of her making some of her nervousness melt away.
"Yes, you. That is if you would have me, my lord." Roza replied, as she was trying to fight back the rest of the laughter that was threating to come out.
"Please call me Sheogorath, no need for the formalities." He said as another chair appeared along with another tea cup on the table for her. "Please, be my guest."
"Thank you Sheogorath." She said as she sat down across from him.
Sheogorath smiled in response enjoying the sound of her saying his name for the first time.
We're going to need to find reasons for her to keep doing that…
Grabbing the steaming pot that sat between them, Sheogorath started to pour the tea into Roza's cup.
"So, I have a question for ya my little rose." He said after he was done pouring both of their tea. Setting the pot back on its place, Sheogorath propped himself on his elbow leaning on the table, having his wolfish grin on his face.
"So lass… Do you come here often?" Sheogorath asked her with a wink.
"You mean being inside the mind of a dead mad emperor and having tea with the Daedric Prince of Madness?" Roza answered his question with a question. She brought the tea cup to her lips taking a small sip and feeling surprised by the flavor.
"What kind of flavor is this? It's amazing." Roza complimented.
"It's Dragon's tea. It is said that it is made from a fruit that dragon's go crazy for. Kinda like catnip for Kahjits." Sheogorath explained with a grin as he watched her enjoy her tea. "I thought you might enjoy it considering that you're the Born Dragon Lady."
"Thank you, that's very kind of you my-I mean Sheogorath." She said catching herself.
Sheogorath just grinned at Roza as she took another sip of her tea savoring the flavor.
"So tell me about yourself Roza. How does a place like this end up with a woman like you?"
"What is it that you would like to know?" She inquired.
"Everything that you can tell me, I am all ears. Well not literally, but you get my point."
Giggling at his ramblings, Roza found herself telling the Mad Prince pretty much anything that she could remember and answering all of his questions. Sheogorath was an excellent listener; he hung on her every word that she said and sympathized the pain and hardship that she had to go through in order to defeat the giant world eating lizard. Sheogorath learned that not only was Roza beautiful, smart and brave; she was kind hearted and never judged anyone, but always judging herself. The longer she told stories of her adventures, more of the strange feeling inside his chest grew. For the first time in his long crazy life, someone was enjoying his company and not try to run away from him or him being annoyed and killing them for it. And for the first time, Sheogorath felt nervous because he was going to ask the little mortal sitting across from him a question that he has never asked anyone before.
"One final question my little Roza then I must let you go." Sheogorath stated as he looked at her blue serpentine eyes.
Sadness and disappointment weighed heavily in her chest but she brought a smile to her face like his words didn't affect her the way that it did.
"Yes, of course Sheogorath." She replied smoothly.
"Would ya truly accept the Wabbajack? Not just a symbol of my affection, but as a part of me as well?" Sheogorath asked her holding her gaze. Roza sensed that his words held meaning and it meant a lot to him if she agreed to do it. And since she did not want to disappoint her Mad Prince, she had but one answer.
"Yes, of course I will accept it as both as a symbol of your affections and as a part of you." Roza replied with a gentle smile that came straight from her heart.
Sheogorath let out a loud yet cheerful shout and the table that sat between them disappeared as he went over to her unexpectedly; Roza was caught off guard when he wrapped his arms around her and began to spin them both around. She squealed in shock as he laughed joyfully by her ear.
"Oh, my dear little rose you just made me the happiest Mad God in Mundus!" He exclaimed as he kissed her on the cheek with a loud smack.
"O-Oh I-I'm glad to have made you happy Sheogorath…" Roza stammered as she felt her whole face heat up and she held on to him tighter as he continued to spin them both around.
After he stopped spinning, Sheogorath gently placed Roza on her feet, but kept his arms around her. Summoning the purple cloud one last time, Sheogorath noticed the look on Roza's face and he felt a string in his heart snap.
"Do not worry my dear sweet little Roza. This will not be the last time we will see each other, you will see me again soon. Very soon." Sheogorath promised her.
Roza couldn't help but look up at him and smile. "I will hold you to that Sheogorath." She said with a grin.
"You have my word as a Mad God." And as a seal to that promise, he grabbed her hand gently and placed a tender kiss on top of it making Roza's heart almost leap out of her chest.
"Now go my little rose, we will be together again soon." Sheogorath promised, keeping an arm around her waist as he gently led her to the portal. "Until next time little Roza."
With a nod, Roza stole one final glance at her Mad Prince and stepped into the portal, disappearing before him, leaving Sheogorath alone.
"I can't wait to tell Haskil the news." Sheogorath said to himself with a smile.
A small author's note here: I am terribly sorry for the delayed update! With work and a terrible writer's block, they do not make a good combination when writing, ugh. But needless to say that I am alive and well! And with the writer's block finally out of the way I can continue finishing this story! Thank you everyone for the kind reviews and favorite/alerting this story! It literally brings a smile to my face when I get a notification that someone has favorited it! But please, as always leave a review and subscribe!