Alrighty then, so here's the next chapter. I intended to upload this last week, but a couple of problems arose and prevented that, so here it is. :D Hope you like it. It's not the best one, but I enjoyed writing it all the same. :) xxxx
Solitude was always a fun place, no matter who was in charge, and now that it was under no rule, it was simply beautiful. Everyone was visibly more energized by the fresh blood spilling freely from new corpses. Even Vighar seemed to be enjoying himself, and I rarely saw him smile in all my years as a vampire. The old man was usually so grouchy, but it was as though this new change in Skyrim had made a change in him as well.
"Everyone had fun?" The words were received with a full round of nods and rumbles of 'yeah', 'of course' and 'indeed'. "Well, this was only one city and everyone was asleep. We took this one at night, but, thanks to the Dragonborn and her… trip with my daughter and ex-wife in the Soul Cairn…" A flash of anger rushed through me at the thought of the 3 women. It was obvious from the very beginning that Valerica was against Harkon's plans, but still Serana was upset when she left and it took the younger woman hundreds of years to even find out where her mother went.
Between the 3 of them, they probably could have overtaken Harkon, should they completely have combined their power, but apparently that didn't happen.
It would be a personal privilege to destroy the woman that turned against her own husband. Valerica was always a particularly vile woman, her efforts to stop Harkon's plans only made her more and more of an enemy in my eyes and I was severely disappointed when I found that Serana was following in her mother's footsteps.
I would be eager to find out exactly how Harkon would deal with his EX wife, should she return to Nirn.
"… We have the means to attack during the daylight and make Skyrim a place where vampires would be free to roam, come 'night' or 'day'…" Ahh, yes. The bow that would require my blood to activate and, hopefully, would destroy the sun permanently. As he spoke, Harkon pulled the bow from his back, addressing all 17 other vampires in the courtyard as we stood were guards once stood training day and night, but now lay lifeless on the floor, not including myself and him, lifting the thing into the air to admire it.
I admit, it was a beautiful bow and its supposed powers made it all the more glorious.
Harkon then proceeded to turn to me, his hand extended in my direction. "My Lady. Are you ready?"
I grinned up at my husband, gesturing to him with my hand. Obviously he knew exactly what I was gesturing for as he handed me an arrow that was apparently made for the bow.
To hold it in my hands felt divine and, as I thrust the tip into my hand, the metal of it quickly becoming coated in my blood, I couldn't help but smile at the sight, my only thought becoming that of 'Finally, our millennia of plans coming to fruition in mere days… and all thanks to the Dragonborn… destined to 'save' Skyrim, yet was the ultimate key to its downfall…'.
"I've been ready for centuries my love." Handing back the arrow, I watched as Harkon grinned back to me, readying the arrow in the bow and firing it directly at where the sun was just now peaking over the walls of the city.
Too long went by where nothing happened and dread filled my being. Why hadn't it worked? Was it my blood? The arrow? Did the Dragonborn do something to the bow? Were the scriptures wrong?...
I could tell similar thoughts were going through the minds of the others and the anger that radiated off of Harkon was almost to the point of combustion, but then I saw it and my eyes clearly widened as I watched eagerly, my body moving closer to my husbands as the sight became more and more exciting.
The sun seemed to bleed. Slowly, but gaining speed as the darkness seemed to spill through it, flooding the ground and air in a familiar darkness that was the shadows of night.
I didn't feel the movement of my body until Harkon's hand was pressed against the side of my face and I noticed that I was visibly shaking, my face morphed into a feral grin as I looked at the man that made this possible.
"We did it." My words came out almost as a snarl, but the grin was matched on Harkons face as I spoke. "Harkon, we did it! Finally! After all those years of not being able to, we can now walk freely whenever we choose! YES!" It was so very difficult to hold back my excitement as I took hold of Harkon's face and pulled him in for a brutal kiss, pulling away after a moment and turning back to where the sun as it was completely absorbed by the darkness.
The chuckle from beside me was ignored, but I felt Harkon's hand on my shoulder as we watched the sight. "Yes Lina. We did it. And now we can take what it ours."
No matter the plight, our plans for the takeover, had only changed a handful of times. And those were when new people were added to the fray and when Valerica had left with her daughter. The Dragonborn's insistence on helping at first was amusing to say the least, though her betrayal came as no surprise, considering her connection with Serana. It was only a matter of time before she turned towards the Dawnguard and away from the Volkihar, though it was a pity I had little chance to watch the aggravating little woman squirm as her body was torn open slowly. I partly regretted my choice of killing her so quickly. It would have been a privilege to have watched her suffer on the racks, or become cattle in the dungeons of Castle Volkihar, a slave to the court.
The ideas were interesting, but now all I could do was look towards another goal and instead focus on making sure the plan went off without any more hitches. Namely Serana and Valerica coming back to try and stop us.
While in Solitude, a thought came to my mind as I wandered the streets once again, and I made my way back to the Palace, only to call on Antonia, who was by my side in moments, everyone else seemingly having made their presence scarce as I talked with the woman.
"Antonia, you knew the Dragonborn, correct?" I received a nod in confirmation.
"And would I be correct in assuming that she owns property in each hold?" I turned and stepped back out the front door of the Blue Palace, into the small garden-like-courtyard, Antonia close behind me.
"Yes. Most of them. She owns Proudspire Manor, as I'm sure was going to be your next question. It is down the street there…" She pointed, I'm sure, but I was already on my way towards the house that simply reeked of the woman. It was a house I was sure that she'd have kept some interesting artefacts in, since it was one of the best protected houses in Skyrim, barr those held by the Jarls' of course, and Castle Volkihar, but that was kept protected by the rumour mill spread over Skyrim of curses and such.
The house was 3 stories, that much was obvious. 2 entrances, one on basement, the other on the 'ground floor' or entrance area, I suppose as it would have looked if you entered it properly.
No-one was in the place, so I assumed someone had already been here since the dreadful woman's housecarl also lived here. Information gathered from Sybille Stentor was always accurate and interesting of course.
It was one of the more expensive buildings in Solitude, but the only thing on the bottom floor that caught my eye was a set of armor on one of the 2 mannequins. I'd heard the legends of Nightingale's from many people in my years, and knew them to exist. You don't live as long as I have and not know at least some things that were meant to have been kept secret. But the knowledge that the Dragonborn had been one… That was new. I stood in front of the armor that bore the sigil of the Nightingale, trying to get a full feel of just how powerful some of the armor's in Skyrim actually were.
The set was made out of nothing I'd ever seen before, but I wanted it, so I took it off the mannequin, finding it to be surprisingly light. I was eager to find out what it felt like to wear, so I carried on, leaving the second mannequin completely alone, figuring that a set of Thalmor robes wouldn't come in handy anytime soon, if ever, though the 'ground' floor was simply boring, consisting of only an entrance hall type room and a kitchen, though I did find the corpse of, what I assumed to be the housecarl I'd heard about, though the name eluded me.
The upstairs was easily more interesting. Apparently, the Dragonborn had had children… at least at some point. I decided to leave that room, knowing that most children only kept things such as toys, or plants, and other things they find interesting, which would be nothing of use to me.
The master bedroom was significantly more amusing. As I entered, I could immediately feel power radiating from everywhere. It was very intense, though the chest at the foot of the bed seemed to draw my attention more than anywhere else and, as I opened it, I found out why.
The horde of weapons that were seemingly dumped on top of one another inside was amazing. A number of them I recognised from drawings and encounters with others that had held them in the past.
Did this woman not care that she'd had encounters with some of the most feared individuals in this realm? And probably other realms too…?
The Blade of Woe… Previously carried by Astrid, Matron of the Falkreath Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary. A weapon of Sithis, the Dread Mother and the Void.
Mehrunes' Razor. I had only experienced it once, but back then it was coveted by the Mythic Dawn. Then it was split into 3 parts. Apparently Miss Dragonborn had had it repaired somehow.
The Mace of Molag Bal. The last I'd heard of it, it had been sealed away somewhere in a cave.
More weapons came up that were linked with more and more Daedra. The Rueful Axe, Volendrung, Sanguine Rose… Now I'm sure THAT was a night and a half. I'd heard about the antics there and the gossiping that had ensued over the following days in the Castle… Of course the ever amusing Wabbajack. A weapon that no-one knew the complete power of, since it was created by the Mad God himself. And also Dawnbreaker, which no-one had even seen or touched in decades.
But then came more interesting weapons, and as I dropped fully to my knees in front of the box, I smelled a new presence in the house, smiling slightly as I recognised it to be Harkon as he moved through the house with ease, making his way up the stairs.
I waited a moment before he entered the room and saw what I was doing.
"Antonia told me where you'd be." Figures. "I can feel the power, Lina. Is that Mehrunes' Razor?" The man stepped closer to me and bent down to pick it up from where I'd lain it carefully on the floor to my side. I turned my head to nod at him before gesturing my head to the other weapons.
"It seems the Dragonborn was a woman who got around. Mehrunes Dagon, Molag Bal, Sheogorath… Even Sanguine… I'd bet that guy would have given her an… interesting night, don't you think?"
The smirk, and knowing look I received from my husband was amusing to say the least, his words forcing a smile onto my face. "Lina, my dear, you never cease to provide entertainment in your words." He leaned over and pressed a kiss to my temple, before whispering. "Such lewd words coming from a woman who almost rivalled Sanguine countless times over…"
"Hey! Don't let him hear you say that." He only laughed at me, pulling a small laugh from me as I turned back to the box I was meant to be looking through. "Anyway. Look at this…" I reached into the box as my eyes fell on a sword, hidden under most of the others, laying against the wooden bottom of the chest itself.
Pulling it out carefully was difficult, but thankfully, the other weapons didn't make too much of a noise and I unsheathed the blade that was the same shape as my own, and Harkon's.
"Akaviri? I don't recall hearing that she went anywhere near anyone related to any of the Akaviri warriors…" Harkon muttered as he picked up another of the weapons that lay on the floor beside us.
"Harkon, there's probably a lot she's done that we wouldn't have heard about. The next room certainly proves that. I don't remember hearing of any children birthed, or adopted by the woman, nor of any… partners either, though if the scent lingering in here is anything to follow, she was frequently… in the company… of one." I looked over at my husband and saw his nose twitch slightly before he met my gaze and shrugged, rolling his eyes.
"I see your point, Lina. Very well. Though the smell is… partially familiar. I recognise the scent of this… partner of hers. Clearly she hadn't been around him for a while before coming to the Castle, otherwise I would have smelled him on her there aswell." Lifting an eyebrow at him, I watched as he shook his head and gestured to the chest. "Alright. Are you done with this chest? We have other business to attend you, you realise…"
"Yes, yes. I realise. Though I insist that we explore this room. The power collected here is phenomenal and I would like to see just what that woman has collected over her short time in Skyrim. If the Nightingale Armor and Daedric weapons are anything to go by, the collection should be very interesting and would make ours even better than it already is."
Harkon was clearly amused by my request of searching the room, and agreed quickly enough, but insisted that the task would have to wait for the time being, as there was the matter of 'who to let live' to deal with, that would include the entire collection of vampires that we'd assembled.
A number of things came to mind about how wrong that was.
Why we'd even assembled them as a group was one. Myself and Harkon could easily have defeated Skyrim by ourselves. Bal, both of us could do it single handedly, should we so choose to.
Another issue was why we had to consult with the others in the first place. Agreed, it would be a diplomatic solution, should there come someone that was a favourite of another, they would be kept alive, but the issue remained that the whole point of this endeavour was to conquer the country, not make these pitiful decisions with vampires that would die within minutes of a battle.
Despite their growing excitement for the battle, there was still fear lingering in their minds that was grating further and further on my mind and still, there was only a few I could see living this through, though the options as to who would be put forward as potentials for a 'lifestyle change' were intriguing. I had a few ideas of my own.
Some people in Skyrim were due to be put in their place, not simply killed brutally, and some, I had a high enough view of to give the kindness of changing them.
Whether Harkon would agree with me mattered not. I would not kill those I would rather see serve me, nor would I destroy those that would make an exceptional member of the new court of Skyrim.
Alright, there we go. I must admit, I had no idea I was going down this road on a plotline, but I though, HEY WHY NOT!? :D
Let me know what you thought and if there's anything specific you want me to slip in anywhere. :D