Hey, guys! Here's Chapter 4! Please review, favorite, or follow! This is my first Fanfic, so I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Ch. 4
—Fadrielindë's POV—
Loki's deep emerald eyes meet mine, amazed. I cannot help but smile smugly. He is only the second person with whom I have shared my memories.
"Any questions?" I ask teasingly. He is no longer hiding beneath the uninterested guise as he was before.
"What was that voice that came out of the sky?" he asks thoughtfully.
"It was the Greybeards. They live on the Throat of the World, the highest point in Skyrim. They are masters of the Voice. They summoned me to High Hrothgar to learn more about being the Dovahkiin and to teach me the way of the Voice," I reply. I watch as he considers this.
"What exactly is the Voice?" he asks. "You have mentioned it a lot, but I still do not fully understand what it is." Hmm, how to explain it.
"Well, remember how I Shouted "Fus" at the guard after I killed my first dragon?" I ask him. He nods. "That is the power of the Voice. It is an ancient form of magic, that not many can perform. Those trained in using the Voice say certain phrases in the Dragon language to create powerful magic effects." Loki still looks confused. I stand up. "I'll show you," I say. I think of a Shout that will not cause too much damage to the bunker. Ahh, Whirlwind Sprint. I walk to the end of the hallway.
"Watch carefully," I tell Loki. "This is called Whirlwind Sprint." I take a deep breath, drawing power from the innermost depths of my dragon soul.
"WULD NAH KEST!" I shout. Flurries of snow and wind propel me down the hallway in less than a second. I stop next to Loki, whose mouth is open in awe.
"That is incredible," he says, amazed. I simply smile. I love showing people how powerful I am. Most see my petite slender build and assume I am incapable of defending myself. Little do they know that I am the mythical Dragonborn, as well as the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold, Stormblade of the Stormcloaks, and the Guild Master of the Thieves Guild.
"Thank you," I reply. "Would you like to see another Thu'um?" He nods eagerly. Before he acted disinterested, but now he has completely given up the act. "I can show you a more destructive one. Is there somewhere we can go where I will not destroy anything important?"
"Yes, we can go to the room across from the armory. We are not using it for anything." I follow him down the hallway to an empty room except for two metal chairs in the corner.
—Loki's POV—
"This one is called Fire Breath," Fadrielindë tells me before taking another deep breath.
"YOL TOOR SHUL!" Red hot flames leave her throat and blaze against the metal wall of the room. The wall warps and turns red-hot, almost burning a hole straight through the steel. I feel the heat on my face, watching as Fadrielindë revels in the feeling of her power. She turns around and faces me.
"I could watch you do this all night," I say, forcing a smile. She smiles back. It is not a complete lie. I am amazed by her great power, a power I never knew existed. She seems to unleash this power with little effort, and I am surprised to find myself a bit envious of her. But with Fadrielindë's Thu'ums, my power, and the Staff, I will be unstoppable when the time comes to release the Chitauri. I must simply trick Fadrielindë into trusting me.
"I could too," Fadrielindë replies, perching on the edge of one of the chairs. "But if I am to assist you tomorrow, I need to save my energy." I stride over and join her in the chair next to hers.
"Do you have a limited supply of Thu'ums or something?" I inquire. She tilts her head to the side, her emerald eyes shining. She is so petite and graceful…she sort of reminds me of a bird.
"Kind of…since I have the body of a mortal, my body can only hold so much energy. I need to give myself time to recharge," she explains carefully, as if she does not want to leave out a single detail.
"I suppose that what you get when you have a dragon's soul in the wrong body," I note. She nods, smiling. My eyes linger at her soft pink lips. It is truly incredible how such power could come from her delicate mouth. I mentally shake my head. I mustn't think of Fadrielindë of anything more than a tool for my future reign.
"I'll show you one more." She stands up and carries her chair over to the end of the room. She confidently strides back and faces it. "This is my most powerful Thu'um, and the first one I ever learned." I stand from my chair and watch on.
"What is it called?"
"Unrelenting Force. I have trained long and hard to perfect it." She breathes in deeply. I can almost see the power surging through her veins.
"FUS RO DAH!" Her voice takes on an unearthly tone as it echoes throughout the room. The metal chair slams against the wall with so much force that it shatters into a thousand tiny pieces. I stagger backward, my back pushed against the cold steel, as the Thu'um fans out around Fadrielindë. The whole room reverberates with the force of the Thu'um. I press my hands over my ears to drown out the hollow ringing of Fadrielindë's unworldly echoes. The sound finally dies down. Fadrielindë turns and smirks at my reaction.
"Wow," is all I say, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor. She put her hands on her hips and laughs.
"Thank you," she says, bowing sarcastically. No longer able to hide my amazement, I shake my head.
"That was…amazing," I admit unable to comprehend what just passed. So much power! And from such a tiny maiden. I cannot help but be impressed. She is incredible. I chide myself for admiring this strange woman. "If I had the power you possess…" She glides to me and sits on the floor next to me.
"It took a while for me to become accustomed to having so much power. I was raised on the streets of the Imperial City. I was never able to defend myself until I travelled to Skyrim."
"So when you killed the dragon, that was the first time you ever fought?" I ask, incredulously.
"Yes," she replies proudly. She pauses, thinking. I glance over and smile at her furrowed brows. "I think I was able to kill it because my body wanted to absorb its soul. After traveling to the Throat of the World, the Greybeards taught me how to fight and how to control my power." I nod, smiling softly.
"That is quite impressive," I muse.
I hate that I admire her. She is a tool, not a friend. Or something more? a small voice says in the back of my mind. No. I shake my head faintly. I must rid myself of such thoughts if I am to rule Earth. I did not come here to meet strange women from other worlds. It is hard not to be impressed with her, though. She is so strong and intelligent. I can see in her eyes that she has been through hard times. I want to know more about her, the powerful Dragonborn, destined to save the world from total destruction.
Jarring me from my thoughts, Fadrielindë's long black hair brushes my shoulder as she stands. She grabs the other metal chair, the one that wasn't smashed into a million pieces, and sits down facing me.
"So, I have basically told you my whole life story," she says, smiling at me with that teasing smile. "Tell me about yourself." I hesitate.
"There is not much to tell," I say slowly, not wanting to reveal the things I've done. She cocks her eyebrow.
"Why don't you begin with what the Tesseract is and what you plan to do with it?" she says, watching my face for my reaction. I smile.
"I had a feeling you were listening in," I say. "The Tesseract is an unlimited power source. I intend to use it to help the Earth." The lie rolls smoothly off my tongue.
"Help the Earth how?"
"The people of Earth are extremely volatile and disorganized. They need someone to lead and guide them. With the Tesseract, I will be able to show them how to maintain peace on their planet," I explain. She studies my face, probably trying to see if I am lying. Little does she know that I have the gift of deception.
"Why do you need the Tesseract to lead the people of Earth?" she asks warily.
"The Tesseract acts as a portal to different worlds. If the humans decide to attack, I need to make sure I have an army to restore the peace." I sigh. "You must understand. The humans are an extremely primal race. Their attempts at civilization and government have been failures. With my help, I will make sure they have stability and tranquility." She nods, seemingly unconvinced.
"You said earlier that you are from Asgard," she recalls.
"Yes."
"Where is Asgard in relation to Earth and Tamriel?" she asks. I furrow my brow, thinking.
"It is actually not too far from Earth. As for Tamriel… I honestly have no idea where Tamriel even is," I confess.
"Hmm, neither do I. I did not even know there were other worlds until I fell to Earth," she admits, a small smile spreading across her mouth.
"And I never knew there was such a thing as a maiden with the body of a mortal and the soul of a dragon," I reply, unable to stop the smile spreading across my face. She chuckles to herself.
"I suppose we are both expanding our knowledge of the universe," she says, her eyes shining. "It is a good thing you were the one who found me when I fell." She carefully meets my eyes.
Agh, I can't believe I am entranced by her. I look away, trying to keep myself sane. I cannot afford the distraction, I mentally yell at myself. I turn my head and find her still searching my face. I cannot afford the distraction, I say again. My eyes move down from her emerald orbs to her lips. I cannot afford the distraction. Trailing down from her lips, I see the tips of her golden markings at the base of her neck. I wonder what the rest looks like. No! I shake my head. I cannot—oh what the hell. I stop fighting my logical side; a mental switch flips and I allow myself to connect with my reckless side. Almost immediately, I fall into my mental pit of foolishness, allowing my thoughts of Fadrielindë flow freely into my mind. She is beautiful. She is strong. She is intriguing. She is mysterious. I'll let myself have this one distraction.
"Tell me more about your life in Skyrim," I tell her, standing up.
"I will, but let us go to my room. We can sit on the bed and talk."
—Fadrielindë's POV—
I stride down the hall to the medical room and sit down on the bed. Loki sits down next to me, the bed shifting as he does so.
"What do you want to hear about?" I ask him. He thinks for a while. My eyes flit over to his face and I smile. His protective wall has fallen away, leaving me with what I think to be his true self.
"What do you do for a living?" he asks. I laugh lightly.
"Well, I suppose you could say that I am currently trying to save the world," I reply, half joking. "I mentioned it before, but the prophecy says that I am the only one who can kill Alduin and save the world from destruction." I look down at my hands. "That is why I need to get back to Skyrim so desperately. I need to go back and kill Alduin before it is too late."
"That is a lot of pressure for one person," Loki muses.
"Yes, it is."
"What else do you do in Skyrim? And where did you learn your stealth skills?"
"Well…I am in a few…organizations." I hesitate, not wanting to tell him about my not-so-honest involvement in the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild. "I am the leader of a guild and…I play an important role in a brotherhood of sorts."
"You do not want to tell me about it, do you?" Loki spots my unwillingness to share.
"I would rather not," I reply. "It would ruin the way you view me."
"And how do I view you?"
"I am guessing you think I am a heroic justice-seeker who never does anything for personal gain."
"Are you saying that you have a darker side?" he presses, smirking. I sigh, not wanting to tell him. But something in me wants to trust him. After being attacked and betrayed time and time again, I have learned to be wary of strangers. I trust no one. But Loki seems…different somehow. I suppose it will not hurt to tell him. I will probably never see him again after I travel back to Skyrim. An almost undetectable bout of sadness pulses inside me at this thought. It is gone before it even begins. Frowning, I pause for a moment before explaining.
"I am the leader of what is called the Thieves Guild. It is basically just what the name implies. We take jobs from people all around Tamriel in exchange for gold," I explain.
"That is not too dishonest," Loki notes.
"Yes, it is not too bad." I pause. "But I am also an important member of the Dark Brotherhood."
"The Dark Brotherhood?"
"It is a group of assassins."
"Ooh, that is interesting. What role do you play in it?"
"I am the Listener. When a client wants us to make a kill, they perform a ritual called the Black Sacrament. They pray to the Night Mother. As the Listener, the Night Mother tells me who the next target is."
"Couldn't the Night Mother just speak to the others to tell them the targets?" Loki inquires.
"No, the Night Mother only speaks to one person," I reply.
"How did you find out that you were the Listener?" I smile at the memory, hearing Cicero's joyous shrieks in my mind.
"It is actually a quite funny story. I was eavesdropping on the Keeper. I thought he had left, so I went into his chamber to view the Night Mother's corpse. I heard him coming back and had to find a place to hide. I ended up hiding in the Night Mother's coffin! I was in there when she first spoke to me," I explain. Loki shakes his head and laughs.
"So you are the Listener in an assassin guild, the head of a thieves guild, and the Dovahkiin," he says, ticking them off on his fingers. "Do you hold any other leadership positions?" he asks jokingly.
"Actually, I am also the Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold and an honorary soldier in the Stormcloak army," I say, laughing. "I am quite busy in Skyrim." Loki laughs. I like his laugh. It's mischievous, like a little boy laughing about a prank he just pulled.
"I can imagine," he says. "Do you even have time for friends or family?" I grow solemn.
"I do not have a family. My mother died in childbirth and my father died in a bandit ambush before I was born," I say, suddenly melancholy. "I am never in one place for a long period of time, so I do not have friends. Too many people have died because of me. I have learned to avoid becoming close to anyone. I like to travel alone anyway."
"I am afraid we only have one plane to travel in tomorrow," Loki says jokingly. I smile widely.
"I suppose I will have to manage," I banter.