Cold Madness

Skyrim

The Dragonborn has gone missing and Skyrim's skies are still filled with dragons. Where has the Dragonborn gone? Does anyone care about the fate of Skyrim and it's citizens? Serana begins her search for the Dragonborn while accidentally teaming up with an unlikely fellow.

Chapter 14: Look at the Flowers

Serana stepped out of Half Moon Mill. She didn't like the idea of wandering Falkreath at night. She decided to spend the night at the mill once more. It wasn't like she was afraid to venture out during the night, though she didn't like the idea of getting lost. She began walking out in the morning sun. It was bright and fresh outside. She made her way towards the path, she held her stomach. She was starting to get hungry again. It was bad timing, it was much easier to feed during the night. Serana sighed admiring the beauty of Falkreath as she passed the carriage, the bodies were no longer there. It was a relief, to be honest.

Something colorful caught her eye. Serana looked out across to see some butterflies hovering near her. They fluttered about, their blue and orange hues going back and forth between her and the wildflowers on the road.

"Butterflies," she said out simply as she watches them flutter about. She walked out to the side near the flowers and into the shade. It was hot and humid because of the rainfall yesterday. She took off her hood momentarily. She stood there staring at the scene wiping off the droplets of moisture that was on her face. She sighed when she heard something strange. Buzzing, she turned around and looked up, there was no sign of bees anywhere nearby. "It can't possibly be?" she let out. When she heard something down below it was a rabbit attacking her foot. "What the?" she let out and shooed it off but instead it continued to try to attack her. Soon a fox came at her as well. Though neither of these creatures where dangerous she couldn't understand why there were after her.

Then she saw a shapeless tree move. "Spriggans," she couldn't see them exactly but could hear it. Serana put on her hood and started to take off. She ran through the woods south. She could hear the buzzing follow her, she turned around casted lightning, and instead, she hit one of the bunnies and fox. The bunny fell dead twitching. Serana frowned as a green like spray hit her in the face. "Ugh," she yelled as she turned around. "Where are you?" she yelled out. "I know you're there!" she cried angrily. She decided to make haste once more. More strange wildlife was now chasing her, two bunnies, a fox, and two deer. She tried draining some of the animals it worked but was swiped by some wood. It turned out there was more than one Spriggan after her. She growled as she clawed back and tried to drain it, though, what blood could she get from a Spriggan? She continued to run instead. Finally, the sounds of buzzing started to fade. Perhaps they were tired of chasing her? Serana chance a look back when she suddenly tripped on something hard. She fell forward and hit the side of her head on a stone. Serana held her head her vision blurry, her stomach empty she moaned staring up at the light blue sky above her before closing her eyes once more.

Cicero had tipped the carriage driver as he reached Dawnstar. It was cold as usual and he sneered a bit as he hugged himself. He was so used to being down south of Skryim he almost forgotten how cold it was at Dawnstar. He made his way towards the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary, ignoring the quick glances people gave him, as they tried to mind their business. The people of Dawnstar had heard of the rumors of the Dark Brotherhood hiding nearby. They all knew the colors and decided it was best to leave it and them alone. When he reached the black door and uttered the password. The door opened and Cicero rushed down the stairs and announced himself. "I'm back!" he said happily.

Babette gasped startled as she made her way towards Cicero.

"Welcome back, did you manage to find the Listener?" Babette greeted as she made her way towards him. Cicero frowned.

"No, no Cicero and the vampire has not yet to find her!" he admitted shamefully. "Why?" he mourned as he made his way to the Night Mother's coffin and opened it. He immediately began to inspect the Night Mother's remains. "Hmmm," he let out as he let his ungloved fingers glide against the decrepit remains. "Hmph, fair enough," he let out. "How have they been treating you? Mother? O, unholy matron!" he said as he bowed. Babette crossed her arms and sighed.

"The two initiates have been taking turns keeping her. Everyone has agreed that it's best to keep her coffin closed to keep the rodents and bugs out of her remains," Babette answered. Cicero grimaced before nodding.

"Where is that Nazir?" Cicero asked.

"He's out in Dawnstar he has been drinking a bit lately, with no Listener, there are no contracts, also he's been trying to get in touch with the Shadowscales," she said as she crossed her arms.

"Drinking… foolish, psh," he said as he made his way downstairs. The initiates were out roaming the halls. Cicero entered the Listener's room. It was empty, well kept, though the Listener should be there. Shouldn't be gone this long. He grimaced before kicking her chest, "Owe…you….grrrr," he said as he held his toes. He turned running out of the room and into his own bed. After a couple of hours, it was well into the night, he woke up from a nap and grumbled to himself. The halls were quiet in the Sanctuary he passed a weapon rack and picked up an extra dagger on the way as he made his way back towards the Night Mother. He stared at it before bringing out some flowers he collected at Falkreath. They were dry and a bit brittle now. He delicately placed them throughout the Night Mother's remains, humming to himself. "Don't you like the pretty flowers I brought you? Blue ones, purple ones, red ones, all bring the color out of your eyes," he said with a smile. Afterwards, he bent down and lit the Night Mother's candles and murmured the incantations. He got down on his knees.

Silence.

There was nothing but silence. His eyes watered up as his breath became heavy. "Not again…this deafening silence…" he said to himself. "Mother the Listener is alive isn't she?" he asked out. "She must be… we cannot survive without one!" he cried out. He shook his head. "Why… why can't you speak to me?" he banged his fists to the cold stone floor. "I have been nothing but loyal, loyal to the void and Sithis… but alas… you cannot speak…the Listener she must be alive," he said a bit hopeful. He was silent remembering the months of silence, the months without no listener, only the laughter in his head, the same laughter from the one, laughing until the bitter end. He shook his head, he couldn't bear it, not being able to know what Night Mother had to say. Even if it wasn't directly to him. "No…not again…no… Cicero will find the Listener. You will speak again Mother! I swear it!" he said getting to his feet. Cicero walked out of the Dawnstar Sanctuary and into the cold. He made his way towards the shipping yards though no ships were at the docks. "Pity," he grumbled to himself. He began walking towards the edge of town and realized the carriage driver was still there. Though the carriage driver was nowhere to be found. Cicero then unhooked the carriage and climbed up on his horse.

"Yah! Go move it, you!" he commanded the horse as he slapped the straps. He then took the quickest route back to Whiterun.

Back in Whiterun, he arrived at night time once again. It took a day's travel on horseback, stopping only to let his horse take a break. He was dead tired from traveling all day but he had some business to take care of first. Dark in Whiterun only some guards and a few local drunks were out and about. He wasted no time making his way towards Jorrvaskr. He climbed the steps that lead to the boat like structure. He carefully opened the doors. The Great Hall was empty only an elderly woman was sweeping by the corner.

"I see you, I hear you, I know who you are," she said simply as she continued to sweep. Cicero chuckled devilishly as he made his way towards the table and sat on it arrogantly.

"Is that so? Then perhaps you can tell me where the fancy schmancy bloodsucker went?" he asked. The woman shook her head.

"You mean that you woman who was with you, the other day?" she asked. Cicero nodded exaggeratedly.

"Ah-huh," he replied.

"Knew something was off about her, welp, to be honest, I don't know. Though I think either Aela or Vilkas might know. The problem is Aela isn't here… and Vilkas well he's sleeping," she said as made a pile of dirt. Suddenly Cicero hopped off the table and headed downstairs. "You heard me he's sleeping… oh never mind," she said as she shook her head and continued to clean.

Cicero searched all the rooms until he found the one Vilkas was sleeping. A grin spread across his face as he pulled out his dagger and placed it around his throat. He leaned real close to his face, he could practically smell the scent of ale and meat. Suddenly with a loud snore, he woke up and gasped.

"What in Talos?" he let out. "You!" he let out angry.

"Na-ah-ah, Cicero only wants answers… and answers Cicero will get!" he let out. Vilkas growled.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"Where is the vampire? The old lady told me you know something, so spill," Cicero demanded.

"You mean your female companion?" he asked confused.

"Yes," Cicero hissed. Vilkas sneered.

"She mentioned going to Riverwood, then back to Falkreath to head towards Ivarsted," he answered simply.

"Oh really…then Cicero will head towards Ivarsted," he said standing up taking away his ebony dagger.

"Why I ought to gut you like a pig!" Vilkas said sitting up.

"You could try," Cicero said twirling his dagger. Vilkas grimaced.

"Get out!" he growled.

"He he he he," Cicero chuckled. He ran out of the halls and into the Great Hall. "He he ho ho," he said as he jumped on the table then jumped off toward the doors. Cicero headed towards the Bannered Mare Inn. He rented a room and fell fast asleep. Cicero awoke the next morning he got up and ate some breakfast. Soon he stepped out into the daylight. He smiled happily, making his way through Whiterun. He hummed happily passing by the Khajiit caravan that was out by the side. "Not today," Cicero let out as he continued on the road.

He continued to walk down the path and head back on the road. He stopped once or twice to let a giant slowly pass. He heard stories of people being tossed up high into the air by giants but never seen it happen. Though he'd like to see it, he wasn't ready to jump into the void just yet. There were things still to do. He wanted to find the Listener, he wanted to still hear the Night Mother speak. There were still too many things to kill, to slay, to dance and sing to. He soon made his way towards the forest towards Falkreath. "Been here too many times before," he let out.

Isn't that right?

"Mother?" he asked out. But nothing but the sounds of nature returned to his ears. "Tsk, tsk, tsk," he clicked with his tongue as he carried on his way towards Falkreath, eager for a stray animal to attack. Though there seemed to be none. This irritated him a bit. He was getting used to killing again. It was a bad habit, the feel of adrenaline, the rush of excitement. For months practically years he had been Keeper, guarding the Night Mother day and night. Months he had not killed, he almost didn't feel like an assassin anymore. All that changed when he traveled to Skyrim. Now that they had a Listener the Dark Brotherhood still had a chance to recover.

It was afternoon when he reached Falkreath, he was contemplating stopping or just moving on. Though he heard the guards talking as he was passed.

"You heard, Runil says there's a pale woman sleeping in the graveyard," Cicero looked but kept walking.

"Strange, weird place to sleep," a guard replied. "Who is she?"

"They don't know," the other guard reply back. Cicero clicked his tongue as he stopped. He then made his way towards the guards.

"You say there is a woman in the graveyard, eh?" Cicero asked.

"Yes, Runil tried to wake her but felt an eerie presence from her and decided to back off," the guard said.

"I heard she was quite pretty to look at, would look for myself but no one wants to take my post," the guard replied.

"Hmm, where is this graveyard?" Cicero asked, placing a hand under his chin.

"Ah want to sneak a peek and see for yourself, eh?" a guard replied.

"Just go down the center of town then make a left, you can't miss it," the other guard answered. Cicero walked back into Falkreath, finding his way through the town where he made his way towards the graveyards. Long grass grew over the mass number of graves. Curious, that unlike the rest of Skyrim that this graveyard stood, not in a mound but of tombstones. He soon saw a body near one of the far graves. Cicero made his way towards the dark body and smiled. Serana laid out conscious, a red mountain flower by her side.

"Sleeping? During the day, tsk, tsk tsk, naughty bloodsucker, you," he cocked his head crossing his arms when he realized she wasn't stirring. "Hmmm, you are not dead, are you?" he asked as bent down lower. He couldn't tell if she was sleeping or dead. He frowned, holding his breath though he could slowly hear her breathing. He smiled once more. "You are not dead, oh you silly vampire, just sleeping," he said to himself, relieved.

"Hey, you there! What are you doing over there?" someone shouted out. A bald Nord came towards them.

"Why I'm here laying down next to this sleeping bloodsucker, what else does it look like?" Cicero asked.

"Bloodsucker? So Runil was right, you know this fiend?" he asked.

"Hmm, yes, Cicero is just waiting for her to wake up," Cicero said as he laid on his side and propped his head on his hand.

"You're a weird fellow, you know that…you better wake her soon, others are starting to hear word, might come nosing around," he said.

"He he, of course," he replied.

Cicero waited patiently, he wandered around the cemetery, occasionally checking up on Serana. Though, she continued to sleep. He soon became impatient as it became late afternoon and dusk began to fall. He contemplated kicking her, though knew if she did wake, she would be angry and he'd never seen her angry but he had seen her deadly. Deadly, angry, vampire didn't seem like a good combination. Cicero sat back down and huffed crossing his arms. He mumbled on to himself, complaining how she practically wasted the day sleeping. He contemplated shaking her gently as well. He suddenly nudged her gently. She didn't move an inch. He then placed his hands on her shoulders and shook her gently.

"Vampire….wake up," he sang but nothing, though he did hear a groan of sorts. He shook his head, pursing his lips. He picked up the red flower and sniffed it, it made his nose twitch like he wanted to sneeze. "He, he," he let out as he placed the flower under her nose. "You, you need to wake up or Cicero will leave you here to rot!" he said angrily. He smacked her head with the flower and chuckled. He contemplating leaving her there, though he realized he didn't want to travel alone. It was more fun with someone else. At least with her, she could take care of herself, even though she wasn't too fair with a blade. He picked the flower and stared at her peaceful face. She had a pretty face, to say the least, with smooth delicate skin. Cicero sighed as he admired her complexion. He gently placed the red mountain flower on her forehead, sliding it down towards her nose. Her mouth twitched. He smiled and did it again.

Serana felt something brushing against her face, causing her mind to stir. Her heart skipped a beat, her adrenaline shot out as she forced her body to move, anything but all she could do was feel something gently on her face and some words. She managed to move her head to the side away from the brushing. She moved her head upwards once again, as her eyelids felt heavy.

"Wakey, wakey," she heard. She opened her mouth and took a light breath as her blurry vision focused to see a familiar face grinning down at her.

"What…you…" she managed to breathe out. Her body felt heavy as she forced herself to sit up, groaning as she looked around confused. "Where am I?" she asked out.

"Here," Cicero answered simply. Serana groaned.

"My head… it stings…headache, ugh… I feel so…normal," she admitted. She looked around and noticed a tombstone. "My head must have hit that, a tombstone?" she let out.

"Yes, many of them," he added. She looked at him confused as he held on to the same Red Mountain Flower that was in her hair.

"Give me that," she said and took it from his hand. She stared down at the red flower and suddenly remembered how she ended up here. "Spriggans," she said narrowing her eyes. She looked down a bit embarrassed, she got chased by Spriggans and a pack of harmless animals. She didn't want to hurt the animals at first and began to run. If she had just stood her ground and attacked them and the Spriggans she may have won, she thought. She shook her head and began to stand up. She held her stomach. "Ugh, I need to feed," she admitted.

"You're in luck we have a whole town to feast upon!" Cicero announced.

"Shhhh," she scolded as she looked around more. The graveyard was rather large. "Wow, I can't believe I didn't notice this place when we were first here," she admitted.

"Oh, yes, hidden and not so hidden," Cicero admitted. Serana looked back, she was getting used to no one replying back. She began making her way towards Falkreath.

"It's dusk already," she said to herself. She looked around, some of the locals were still out doing their business. It was still early to find someone to feed. "Let's head towards the Inn for a while," Serana suggested. They stepped into Dead Man's Drink and headed towards the table. They both sat down and Narri made her way up to them.

"Need anything?" she asked. Serana shook her head as she placed her hand to her temple.

"Ugh...not at the moment, thanks," Serana replied.

"Cicero would like an ale and a sweet roll," he asked bringing out some coin. Narri smiled.

"You got it," she said with a wink and smile. Serana sighed thinking of what to do. She only hoped once she fed that the pain in her head would also go away. Soon Cicero was eating and she was left alone with her thoughts. The bard played in the opposite corner, his strings sometimes triggering, sometimes soothing. She carefully eyed Cicero as he drank his ale and soon, the mammoth in the room became apparent. Why did he come back? He was loyal to the Dark Brotherhood and to the Listener, she was neither. How did he even find her? She could have been anywhere, then again he was an assassin, so maybe tracking and finding people where one of his expertise. She tried very hard not to stare at him and ask him right out. Would he be honest with her? Could he be honest? Would he lie? Would he make any sense? Her head began to sting once more as she groaned. All this pondering was making her head hurt. She released a toothy grimace, as she looked away. To be honest, maybe she was better off not knowing the reason. Asking him might actually drive him away and though she had to admit at first she wasn't too fond of him, he was better than no company.

"Just relax once night has fully fallen I'll find my victim, be prepared for a quick getaway," she warned lowly.

Cicero smirked as he eyed her, he took a long drink of his ale and got up and made his way towards the bard. After a couple of hours Serana had set out and looked around, the predator in her was making her run on some sort of instinct. Cicero soon stepped out as well. "Meet me back on the road, this shouldn't take long," she said simply. Cicero, grinned as he started walking back out of Falkreath, a dagger in his hand as he chuckled to himself in the distance. She ignored him as she made her way towards the shop across the street.

Serana entered the shop and looked around only a blond Nord was behind the counter. Serana casually looked around, sniffing about she tried to listen for any signs of anyone else but couldn't hear anything. It seemed he was the only one here.

"Look around all you want, but don't try anything funny," the shop owner warned. Serana turned to look at him and smiled.

"Try anything funny, it might be too late for that," she said as she stepped up to him and entranced him. She suddenly leaned over the counter and placed her fangs into him. She drank calmly, feeling his warm blood, rejuvenate her. She backed off, she was satisfied, to say the least, his blood strangely neutral tasting. She drained enough not to kill him though he would be weak, she suddenly left the shop putting on her hood. She calmly made her way back on the road, let's hope the apothecary has a potion of Cure Disease, she thought as she passed the guards.

"It's getting late traveler, stay safe," he said as she walked out of Falkreath. She walked up the road and found Cicero leaning against a tree, twirling one of his daggers.

"Are you ready?" she asked simply. Cicero smirked as got off the tree.

"Let's go find the Listener!" he said happily.