Miraak sat in his chair in the main hall, the old worn journal rested in his lap as he ran his fingers over the cover. His foot tapped against the stone, he was becoming impatient as more time past. He jerked his head up when he heard her familiar laugh and he smiled. It quickly disappeared when he saw the tall elf with his arm around her waist, guiding her as they followed behind the two men he had sent out to search for the Nord. "Who is this?" He pushed himself to his feet, taking the journal into his hand. She ignored him, pointing out her door to the elf who quickly guided her towards it. Pushing it open with his foot as the two laughed, the door slammed shut and it became quiet with in the temple again. The two men stood in front of him, their hands folded behind their backs. "Who is that elf?"
"She did not say, she refused to come with us unless he accompanied her. They were together in the inn, drinking I would imagine by the smell on both of them. From what I could hear on the ride up here, they traveled together for some time before your return, sir."
Miraak glared at the closed door before dismissing the men, slowly sliding back down into the chair. He sighed and opened the journal slowly, letting the thick leather strip slid between his fingers before it fell against his leg and allowed the old covering to open. He looked back up at the door, he had skimmed through some of the pages with in the book. Already knowing what she had written about him just by the few words he had picked up, surprised when no emotion came to him. No anger, guilt or sadness had washed over him when he had seen what Rylan had really felt for him. He had expected to wish he would have been the one to end her life, instead he merely read it as if she were not speaking of him. As if he were reading someone he had never known write about an enemy, someone who disgusted them within their life that he would never know. It was foreign to him and he could not help blame Avari for the hold that she tightly had on him. Whether she knew it or not, he preferred that she not have any knowledge of how easily she could bend him to her will if she even put forth half the effort of any other. Be the tie between them that stopped her from traveling to far from him for too long, the image of her in the midden flashed before him. Her small frame weak with exhaustion, her eyes and skin sickly colored like she carried on her a terrible sickness and yet within moments of being in his presence she had been full of life again. He did not wish to test the ropes of how far they could stretch them before her body would give out and leave nothing but a husk.
He cleared his throat and looked up at the small elf who stood next to the chair. "Would you ask her to please join me outside the temple? If she declines, tell her it is urgent." With that he pushed himself to his feet and carefully placed the old journal down where he had sat moments ago before walking away from it.
Avari pulled her cloak tighter around her body as a cool wind nipped at her cheeks. It was much warmer than Skyrim, but she had became use to the warmth of the island during the day. The nights now were beginning to chill her skin as much as a cold Skyrim day would. "Miraak?" She called softly, her sight still a bit hazy from the ale. She walked further out towards the stone steps that surrounded the entrance to the temple, squinting against the darkness for the man. She stopped when she saw the outline of someone against the moonlight. Their head tilted up towards the stars above them from where they sat at the top of the stairs. She quietly made her ways towards them, speaking softly when she did. "Miraak? Why are you out here alone?"
"I asked to be left alone." He answered, slowly turning away from the dark sky to look over at the girl.
"But they told me you asked after me."
"I did, yes. I asked them to leave us be." He took her hand and helped her step over the stone and gently pulled her down until she sat down next to him. "I wanted to apologize to you for the way I acted. You did not deserve to be treated the way you were by me. I do understand that you are trying to get me to see the error in my past, but using Rylan to do it is not the way. You are hurting me in a way that no one ever has and I think you understand that. She is dead, let her rest. I know it was a mistake to think I could guide her towards myself. I took your advise and read her journal a bit, I did not take the time to read it from beginning to end. But you were right in your judgment of me and watching the way you have touched this world in such a small amount of time has made me realize how much I was attempting to taint it. I wanted to replace the dragons as a ruler to the people, to be worshiped like a god as the dragons were, I was wrong and have seen the errors in my ways. I thank you for that more than you could ever know." He slowly pushed her hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear, giving her a faint, forced, smile. "I am ashamed of some of things I have done, but I am glad that as I neared the end of my destructive path you were their to yank me off of the trail and show me how to be someone that people would gladly stand behind."
Her brow came together in confusion. "All this was brought on from reading her journal?"
He shrugged with sigh and looked back up at the sky. "In a way, yes. It is something that has needed to be said for awhile. I owe you everything, for you pulled me away from death and sacrificing yourself, I thought that just once I could drop my guard and be honest with you before you began to feel the same as Rylan."
"Rylan hated you from the beginning." She put her hands softly on his face and directed it towards her own until she looked into the golden eyes that shown against the light of the moon. "I have never hated you, you have annoyed me yes, but I would never feel hate for you. Pity, sometimes anger, sadness and love. Never has their been hate. Thank you." She smiled widely, rubbing her thumbs against the rough hair on his face. "After what you experienced in the past with trusting someone enough to tell them thoughts within yourself, I am glad you decided to speak with me." She smiled widely as she laughed softly. "Even if you did send me away like disobedient puppy."
"I spoke out of anger and quickly regretted it. You disappeared into cloud of ash before I could even call after you, I knew where you were going but dared not brave back into the town and face your wrath."
She rolled her eyes and shook her head, a smile still painted across her lips.
"Who is your guest? I have taken notice that he is similar to our other guest who enjoys causing discomfort."
She released his face and folded her hands in her lap. "They may look the same, but are far from it. Teldryn is mercenary, he traveled with me for sometime. First friend I found on the island, although he did come at a price."
"You paid him to be your friend?" Miraak's brow rose.
"I paid him for his help, the others I had traveled with had other matters to take care of. I found him in the inn and he offered his assistance for a price. I paid him, he followed and the friendship came about quickly. We became inseparable for a time, that is until I went in for you, I promised him I would contact him once I had finished. We said our goodbyes and once I had you out I just never contacted him, I was more focused on controlling you from trying to slave us all."
"Was he a lover?"
Her cheeks flushed and she looked away from him before taking a death breath. "Once, I was in his bed. After a tough encounter with a dragon that you quickly came along and stole the prize I had won from him. We drank a bit too much and the night ended in his room within the inn. Nothing became of it after that, and we never spoke of it."
He touched the color on her cheeks with the back of his hand and smiled at her worried face. "Would you like to share my bed with me? Yours seems to be a bit over full with all your guests."
"Please? I would prefer not to be shoved into that room with all of them, I can not imagine how miserable it would be."
He pushed himself to his feet and took her hand, helping her to her own.
The sound of quiet voices pulled Avari from her sleep, the residents and guests of the temple had long since woken and left her to sleep in Miraak's bed. She looked towards the heavy door as Miraak pushed it open and quietly stepped inside, he was studying papers that were held in his hand as he slowly closed the door with his foot. She watched him until he disappeared at the foot of the bed, listening to his boots on the stone. She heard him sigh and the papers fall onto the desk and then his boots were on the stone again and the bed dipped slightly at his weight. Fingers ran across the back of her neck and pulled her hair away from her cheeks.
"It's nice to see you have finally opened your eyes." He kissed her cheek softly and continued to lightly touch her neck.
"How long have I slept?"
"It is well into the morning, sun is about mid way." He tested her by slipping his fingers under the neck line of her sleep wear and touching her collar bone. "I sent your friend with some of my men, he said he knew some one who could acquire workers for me to began on the houses that you suggested."
She smiled and rolled over to look up at him, letting his hand skim across her skin to the other side of the bone. "Are they excited to have their own space?"
"They were hesitant at first, but most have started to come around. I informed a select few that are to remain with in the temple. Your Neloth went with them, spewing insults at us for not retrieving the correct things for him."
"I got everything on his stupid list." Her brow came together.
"He seems a hard one to please, he took a bit more of my blood also." He removed his hand from her and pulled the sleeve of his robe up to show her the fresh mark on his skin. "Are you hungry?"
"Very." She sighed and pushed herself till she sat up.
Miraak quickly left the room only to return a moment later with a plate of food that made her stomach growl at the smell. He placed it on her lap and before he turned to the thick old desk where he had dropped his papers.
"What is that?" She nodded towards his desk when he looked over at her.
"I found a book from my time that was falling apart, I saved what pages I could for you. The others are just prices on things that your friend came out with." He looked over at her again. "I wanted to ask you something."
"Go ahead."
"I was thinking, after we finish with the priests here that need to be dealt with at Odahviing's request, when we return to Skyrim I would like to see if the dragons know anything of where my true mask is being held."
"It has been so long Miraak, if they know there is a high chance that it will no longer be there."
"I would like to at least try."
"Of course we can try." She moved the plate aside and slid from the bed, watching as Miraak quickly looked down at her bare legs and followed them up to her torso then to her face. "I am just going to ask you this plainly, against my better judgment. Why did you not make any attempt on trying to bed me last night?"
"You were already in my bed, why would I try to bed you when I already had?" His smile was sly.
She shook her head. "You know what I meant."
He chuckled and held his hand out towards her, pulling her against his chest when she took it. "I have all the time to become familiar with you, I simply wished to have company." He held her hand to his lips and kissed it lightly.