A/N- Oh goodness! I apologize for not posting for so long- I've been super busy with schoolwork and travelling. But, I've gotten a good chance to clear my mind and really envision where this story is going. Hopefully you're as excited as I am! ^_^ Without further ado, I present the confrontation between Dibella and Vivienne! Enjoy! -mm235678
"Welcome, ladies. Can I help with some herbal needs?" asked an old Breton woman. As Dibella looked into the woman's kind eyes which radiated innocence, she couldn't possibly imagine how such a pure spirit could be related to a slut like Vivienne. Sometimes, the world she had created confused her.
"Actually, we're here to meet with Vivienne. I'm Fastred, and this is Dianne," Fastred said while pointing to Dibella, who was contemplating her existence at the worst time (as usual).
The woman's eyes lit up. "Ah, so you two are the one Vivienne mentioned. Such beauties, you are…" Her expression saddened as she longingly looked at Dibella. After a few moments, she softly spoke, "What did you say your name was? Dianne?" When Dibella nodded, she continued sadly, "That is such a lovely name. You remind me of my daughter. She had the brightest, most adventurous eyes, just like yours. But she lacked the control over that adventurousness…" Dibella could feel her mortal heart break watching the old woman break into tears. "I told her that the Imperials would kill her… But she refused to listen. Where did that leave us? It left her dead, and left me not a mother anymore…!"
Dibella felt tears form in her eyes, but it wasn't because of her sadness. Being divine, Dibella had never truly experienced sadness or loss. She got to visit all of her favorite heroes in Sovngarde, so they were never truly gone to her. What moved her to tears, however, was watching the sadness and emotion wrench the woman apart. It was moving enough that, for a small moment, Dibella understood what sadness was. But as quickly as it had come, the feeling passed. On the other hand, Fastred was a puddle, and it was obvious to Dibella that she was thinking about her own parents at the moment, wondering if they thought they could still call themselves that.
"But… Vivienne has been very helpful. She may be my sister's daughter, but she reminds me very much of my own sweet girl. You probably want to see her now. Go on, just past that door and up the stairs. I brought up some mead, salmon steak, and sweet rolls a few minutes ago. Hurry, before it gets cold."
Nodding, the two slowly proceeded up the stairs. As they walked, they could still hear Angeline murmuring, "I never got the chance to tell her I love her… How proud of her I was… I now I never will…"
Before Dibella could shed another tear, however, she walked into a room and found herself face-to-face with Vivienne Onis. This made her blood run cold.
Fastred however was overjoyed to see the whore. She exclaimed, "Hello, Vivienne! Your aunt just told us the most tragic story-"
Vivienne cut her off, "Yes, yes, about my cousin. She shouldn't have run off to war like that. Men are supposed to do the fighting and women are supposed to… well, to put it tamely, 'welcome them home'. With a sly grin, she beckoned them to walk into the room.
After they sat and poured out mead, Vivienne spoke up.
"Well, let's get right down to business. As I've mentioned before, I'm a very devote worshipper of Dibella; the Goddess of Love and Beauty. Of course, many others also claim to be very devoted, but they don't understand what the goddess really wants."
"And what would that be?" Dibella snapped impatiently.
Vivienne cast her a dirty look. "Patience, Dianne. I'll get there. Let me explain a little background first. As you may or may not know, the official Temple of Dibella in Skyrim is located in Markarth. The priestesses there try to convey simple practices of Dibella's worship."
"Like what?" Fastred asked.
"Like that it is important to forgive others and love them just the same. Or that it's always important to find beauty in the simplest things. Or even that women are just as equal as men."
"And that's all not true?" Fastred said with a slightly horrified look.
"It is true. That's what Dibella is trying to say!" Dibella huffed.
"Not entirely," Vivienne said with a smirk. "Look, Dianne. In the Rift, they may do things differently than here. Although, that's where Haelga runs her business, so you must be socially ignorant."
Dibella was fuming. No one… NO ONE dared call her socially ignorant in the Pantheon, not even the other Gods. If only she knew who she was talking to….
Vivienne continued, "Dibella wants to encourage women by showing them that a woman's love is too valuable, too worthy, to spend on one man alone. It is her gift to girls. She expects them to share it with all men. But each woman's love is different, unique from the others. When a woman shares her love, a part of Dibella, with a man, she gives him this…"
From underneath her robes in a hidden pocket, Vivienne pulled out a sparkling gem with the cut of a sapphire but the sparkle of a diamond.
Fastred marveled at it, and Dibella couldn't help but admit it was a beautiful gem. Fastred, awestruck, asked, "What is that?"
Vivienne positioned the gem so that its sparkle beamed and danced all around the room. "It is the most sacred gem of all: the Mark of Dibella…Blessed by the goddess herself."
Fastred's mouth formed an 'o' shape, while Dibella sat trying to remember if she had blessed anything other than that paintbrush in the last hundred years.
"What does it mean?" Fastred asked.
"A woman's goal is to give out as many Marks as possible to different men. As the men collect more and more Marks, the more enlightened they become by Dibella's guidance. Do you understand?"
Fastred nodded. Dibella stayed silent and preferred to try and read Fastred's emotions rather than make eye contact with the common whore. Fastred looked like a mixture of disgust and wonder was filling her brain. Nevertheless, she said, "Yes."
"I have a question," said Dibella as she flung her gleaming hair. "How many men have you given these Marks to?"
Vivienne beamed with a prideful look. "Nearly every man in Solitude! I have yet to claim any male from the Castle Dour or the Blue Palace, but I'm making my way up there."
Fastred had many questions: "So, does that make you well-respected? Why don't they tell people about this at the Temple? Do lots of women give Marks?"
Vivienne laughed. "You're an eager student, I see. In fact, amongst other women I'm seen as no more than a common whore. But to men…. To them, I am an incarnate of Dibella herself. It's a way for me to get noticed. When I was young, the little boys said I was pretty, but then they gave up on me. But not anymore… Now I lured them back! The cowards at the Temple would call me an extremist. They think I read into Dibella's commandment too seriously! The other women are too afraid as well! Haelga and I are the only ones that I know of who bring Dibella to Nirn. Everyone else is just a critic."
Dibella simply could not take any more. She stood up so furiously that Fastred could have sworn smoke poured out from her nostrils. Dibella screamed, "It would do you well to be open to criticism! I- err, Dibella should not have her good name soiled like that. I think… No, I know that Dibella frowns upon this. Come on Fastred, let's get going."
She didn't even wait for a response. Dibella just stood up and left. She stomped through the building and slammed the door, not wondering if Fastred was behind her or not.
As it turns out, Fastred indeed was behind her and was lucky she was paying attention: her nose almost got slammed in with the door. Neither girl said a word until they had reached the inn again. Dibella stormed up the stairs, not making eye contact with a soul at the party. Fastred saw Sorex watching Dianne concernedly as she stomped up to her room. Fastred had begun to follow, but then decided against it. Instead, she slunk down next to Aquillius who greeted her with a grunt as he was talking to some soldiers from the Castle Dour. After a good half-hour of them talking about pointless marketing plans and tactics, the soldiers departed. Aquillius sat down next to Fastred. He said, "You've been working well, my dear. How are you enjoying it?"
She sighed and traced the pattern of wood on the table with her spindly fingernails and muttered, "It's fair enough".
"You know, the job you have now is the one I formerly had. Then Vittoria died and I took her place. But you remind me so much of her."
"How so?"
"You have to same color hair she did. The same dark, beautiful eyes that held a thousand secrets that she never got the chance to tell me. You have the same fiery spirit, but are always willing to put the well-being of your friends and family before your own wants. I suppose that's why she decided to marry that brutish Stormcloak."
"All Nords aren't that bad, you know."
"Yes, my dear, I know. He gave them a bad name, but you came and restored it. I do believe an apology is in order. I've been awfully cold to you these past few days. Once I met Vivienne, it was getting to be a little crazy having two women remind me so much of Vittoria, yet neither are Imperials."
"It's not just my race that sets me apart, Aquillius. She had good ties with her cousin, which proved to help her in the long run, but she seemed very modest too. Nord, Breton, Imperial, Elf…. None of it matters. Love sees through the skin."
"That was beautifully put, my girl. Now I must be heading out. I'll see you early in the morning. Would you do me one last favor and grab me my coat from the front?"
"Of course, Aquillius"
"You're such a sweet girl. I'm so glad to have met you, Fastred."
Fastred stood up, her heart racing a hundred miles per hour and her feet flying off the ground. He had just apologized, and it made her feel so loved. As she glanced through the coats, she found Aquillius'. It was large and green with fur trims. But it was also very heavy. As she struggled to pick it up, an Argonian knocked into her from behind and sent her tumbling to the ground.
"Ouch! Watch where you're going!" she yelled, irritated. As she staggered to get up under the weight of the coat, something fell out of one of the pockets and into her lap. In a daze, Fastred carefully moved to pick up the small object, thinking it was something important that surely Aquillius would need. But as she picked it up, she noticed that it seemed to radiate with a blue shimmer, unlike any other sapphire she had ever seen. For a few moments, she sat there on the ground, trying to place where she had seen something like this before.
Suddenly, it hit her... and she felt her heart break in half.