Chapter 11

Miraak yawned widely as he sat idly by the front door of his home. He was waiting for the Dragonborn to return. It was something he normally did when she left him behind. The intruder that the woman left with him was somewhere on the balcony, napping in warm afternoon light. Miraak barely paid him any heed.

The man resisted the urge to leave and find the woman himself. He understood that she would not like that. Miraak knew he was to stay and so he continued to wait.

Miraak felt it when something seemed to shift inside of him. He frowned and pressed a clawed hand over his heart where the strange feeling began to grow. A moment later, the area erupted in agony. The feral man opened his mouth to scream, but only managed a pitiful cry.

The First Dragonborn collapsed onto the ground and did not move. The house was silent, the only other occupant still sleeping and too deep in that slumber to hear anything amiss.

The Last Dragonborn sluggishly made her way back to her manor alone, Lydia already having left back for Breezehome. The female warrior was exhausted as her previous night had been full of nightmares that she could not quite recall when she awoke.

As the Dragonborn neared her home in the light of the setting sun, a feeling of anxiousness began to overtake her. Something felt wrong. It was then she noticed that the strange connection with Miraak was not presenting itself. Upon realizing this, the female warrior urged her horse to run.

Had Miraak run away?

Valis was outside the manor, chopping some wood, when the female Dragonborn arrived in a flurry. She leapt off her horse.

"Woah! I see you are in a rush. Something wrong?"

"Miraak is here?" The Dragonborn asked, trying to keep the panic out of her voice.

"Of course! He was sleeping in his room last time I saw him. Looks like he enjoys it quite a bit, I've only seen him in bed since I put him there. I had to pick him up off the floor where he decided his new bed would be yesterday."

"He's been sleeping that long?"

"No, I don't think so. I think he's just been avoiding me and just pretending to sleep when I drop by. Kind of childish if you ask me but that just means I've had no trouble with him." Valis shrugged. "He's fine though. I told you I can handle things. I'm even helping out with some of your chores here."

"... Thank you Valis." The Dragonborn replied, grateful, but also wondering if that was really true. She would have felt him if that was the case. And Miraak never pretended to sleep to avoid people before. The woman quickly put her horse in the barn and removed the saddlebags and tack. She just left them on the ground in her haste to return to the house.

Finally inside her home, the Dragonborn frowned. Something did not seem right. She carefully walked forward, on high alert for any threat. Everything seemed to be in order but she heard no sound from Miraak. She felt a pang of worry but the man had been behaving quite well for months now. He was able to move freely in and out of the house now with little problems. If Miraak left, he would always come back.

The woman continued towards Miraak's room and peeked in. A feeling of relief overtook her as she saw the form on the bed. He was alright. The Dragonborn crept closer, seeing the gentle rise and fall of his chest.

The Last Dragonborn froze when Miraak moved, jerking wildly. He settled down quickly but then blinked his eyes open. He lifted his head and then turned to look at the only other person in the room. The woman noticed the man's eyes were glazed over, looking rather confused.

But it took only a few moments for them to focus. The female warrior shivered while looking into those completely black eyes. It was unnerving how they felt more… Aware... Than ever before. The woman hadn't felt this way around him since that first week she had taken him in.

Thankfully, the man's eyes glazed over once more and his head fell back onto the bed. Uncertain, the Dragonborn waited to make sure he was asleep before she left the room. She gave one last look at her charge before making her way to the kitchen.

Well, that was rather unsettling, the Dragonborn thought. She brushed it off as nothing though, just a random quirk of her housemate. She sighed, glad everything was okay. It looked like Valis was right.

Yawning, the woman wanted nothing more than to curl up in her bed and sleep. The nightmares yesterday had been brutal. The Dragonborn began to heat some water then poured a little in a mug with her nightly tea. If last night was any indication, she was going to be needing this.

The Dragonborn grimaced as she sipped the steeped tea after sitting down. She might have added too much of the herbs this time as it was rather bitter. Hoping it would knock her out and prevent her nightmares, she continued to drink.

Valis popped into the kitchen to say goodbye and the Dragonborn thanked him for his help once again. She ended up giving him a souvenir as well, letting him have an enchanted sword he had been smitten with that she used to wield. He walked out of her home a very happy man.

Finishing the tea off, the female warrior yawned once more. She blinked her eyes sleepily, feeling more exhausted than ever. It really was time for bed.

The Dragonborn decided she'd deal with the saddlebags tomorrow and briefly made sure all of her doors were locked before heading upstairs. She stumbled into her bed, not even bothering to change. Sleep came quickly.

Waking up, the Dragonborn did not feel as rested as she hoped she would. Refusing to open her eyes, she dozed until she finally felt the need to move. She stretched out on the bed, feeling a few pops in her joints.

The woman froze mid stretch when the back of her hand hit something cold and hard. She blearily turned her head and stared, unable to comprehend the sight before her.

Why was there a sword embedded beside her? It was sticking straight out, plunged deeply into the mattress. The female warrior felt panic bubble up within her and she raised herself into a sitting position.

Maybe this was some kind of sick joke from the Miraak? The Dragonborn sat up and looked around the room. Her eyes were drawn to a certain chest and the feeling of panic intensified.

It was open. The chest that contained all of Miraak's belongings was open. The robes, the staff, the sword… The mask. It had all been in there.

… Did he remember? The woman thought with alarm as she bolted out of bed. She checked the chest and found that only Miraak's belongings were missing.

Miraak must have remembered somehow. Who else would do this? Maybe a thief, but that did not seem right.

How had he come back? The Dragonborn questioned, dread settling inside her. She then remembered the pain she felt on Solstheim in that crypt. Something had been ripped out of her when she touched the runes.

She closed her eyes and thought back on that day. What could have been taken from her?

His soul. The Dragonborn finally came to the startled realization. Miraak had once said that he would take her soul when he defeated her. Had she done the same to him and not known it? There had been many dragon souls she absorbed from Miraak once Hermanus had killed him. Every soul she absorbed that day felt no different to her than any other. The woman did not have the ability to take human souls, at least that was what she believed. But maybe since Miraak was Dragonborn, his soul, and possibly even her own, felt just like the soul of a dragon.

Questions overwhelmed the Last Dragonborn. Was that why Miraak listened to her? Stayed with her? Because she had been housing something so vital that belonged to him? Had she basically been controlling him this whole time, not teaching like she thought she had been?

Oh Gods, where was Miraak? And why hadn't he killed her when he had the chance?

The Dragonborn hastily armed herself and searched throughout her home. But there was no sign of her former housemate. She did notice however that many of her things had been rifled through. And certain items were missing. A pack, weapons, armor, potions, ingredients, food and gold. Everything a person needed to go on a long journey.

Back to Solstheim.

It took some time for the female Dragonborn to notice a sheet of paper on the front door. It was pinned deep into the wood by a small knife. With trembling hands, the woman removed the note and began to read. It was short, with elegant script.

I shall await you at my temple for our final battle.

I will not hold back.

The woman slumped to the ground in horror, letting the note drop from her hands. Miraak really was back. And it was the Dragonborn's fault for letting him live. She would need to stop him once more.

… But could she? Did she really want to stop him? If that meant she would have to hurt him?

Over the past year, Miraak had been her constant companion. Though he did not speak, his presence had done more for her than anyone else in her life. He had made her feel happier. Her friends had even noticed she had changed for the better after the arrival of her former and now once-more foe.

The Dragonborn didn't want to kill him. He was her Miraak, or had been. What could she do?

What should she do?!

The female warrior closed her eyes and allowed a single tear to fall. I wish I had never gone to Solstheim, the woman thought with all her heart. Whether she meant the first, the second or just this previous time she did not know.

What the woman did know was that, as the Dragonborn, she had a duty to fulfill. Miraak would have to be stopped before he could cause any harm. She would have to put her feelings aside and deal with the threat.

Another trip so Solstheim would be in the Last Dragonborn's future. The Last would face the First once again. And then she would have to kill him. Likely for good this time.

Part of her hoped Miraak had changed. He had not killed her. He had spared her when he could have so easily cut her throat in her slumber. She hadn't even woken to him invading her room. But it could also just be because he did have some sense of honor, from what she remembered of him. Killing his foe in such an easy, unfair way was likely abhorrent to him.

The Dragonborn decided she would not be traveling today. Even if she knew she should, the woman needed just a little time. It was too soon. She needed to mourn the loss of her Miraak... And prepare herself to kill the current one.

The woman dazedly picked herself off the floor and made her way to Miraak's room. She found herself curling up in his bed and wishing all of this was just a dream.

Alone in her manor, the Dragonborn allowed herself to cry.

Still a bit rushed, so once again I apologize for that. I'm glad I've finally finished this though. This was the ending planned from the beginning. Not happy, but also not quite sad. Who knows what could happen in Solstheim?

I do have other ideas for Miraak stories but I'm not sure if I'll be writing them any time soon, or at all.

Thank you to everyone that has read, favorited and reviewed this and every other story I wrote in this fandom! Thank you for giving me the encouragement to keep going when I was about to give up on some of them. You guys are awesome! 3