A/N: So, that was the most boring apocalypse ever. Congratulations on surviving! And Merry almost Christmas! Or Hanukkah. Or Kwanzaa. Or Yule. Whatever you celebrate. Hope you enjoy the chapter! Reviews make me happy.

Chapter 14

Emlen opened her eyes, but her vision was hazy. Her shoulder burned. Her hands were bound behind her back and she was gagged.

She struggled with the bonds for a long moment before giving up and trying to figure out where she was. Her vision adjusted quickly. It was a cellar of sorts, damp and cold. There was an empty fireplace across from her. Musty barrels all around, a few shelves and old crates. She was tucked into a corner beside stairs that led to a door.

The door opened and she winced against the light that flooded in. The door closed with a bang and she looked up at the man coming down the stairs. He was familiar. Bearded, blue robed… She should have known.

"Suppose you didn't suspect, young Dragonborn," Wuunferth said.

He reached her and lit a fire spell in his hand, illuminating his face ominously. He knelt down and brought the fire dangerously close to her face. "Don't worry. I've sent word to Eleutherius. He's coming to pay you a visit."

A string of profanities poured from her throat, caught and muddled against the gag. Red was beginning to cloud her vision. She'd never been so mad.

But she wasn't scared.

She was trapped in a cellar by a man who had no aversion to harming her, with her worst nightmare coming for her, and she wasn't scared. Her whole entire being was consumed with anger. Anger at this man for tricking her, trapping her, lying to her.

Wuunferth laughed and extinguished the flames, dropping her into momentary darkness before her eyes adjusted. "I hope you are comfortable," he said and then stood and walked up the steps and opened the door. "I will return in one hour, Dragonborn. You will remain in this place, and you will not try to escape. You will obey me, Emlen." And then he left.

Her whole entire body gave a horrible shudder as fear made it's way in. Obedience had been something Eleutherius had drilled into her, with force and anger and pain and a lot of other things. Anything to mess with her mind, to break her, to force her to obey his ultimate command – shout.

She lifted her face to the sky that wasn't there and breathed. She bit the gag in her mouth for a long moment. And then she looked down. It took a total of five minutes to calm herself. The anger hinted at her again, but she forced herself to focus.

She looked around the room for anything to help her – there was always something to help, in every situation. Whether a lucky coincidence, or a work of the gods, or a few Daedric Lords messing with fate to keep her around for comical reasons, there was always a way out.

And lo and behold, there was a rusty iron dagger discarded on a crate. It would be hard to reach, what with the height of it, and the inconvenient lock of her hands in the binds.

Breathe. Panic leaned in at the edges, but anger easily overpowered it.

Five minutes to slide across the floor, reach the dagger, and pull it down.

Five minutes to get the knife in a position she could cut at the ropes with.

Fifteen minutes and she was half-way through, but her wrists were raw and bleeding. Unwanted tears slipped down her face, but she didn't stop.

Fifteen more minutes and the rope broke and she reached up and yanked the gag out of her mouth.

Five minutes to rub her wrists, wipe her tears, breathe, and focus.

She forced herself up and ran to the door and shook the knob. It was locked.

Breathe.

Ten minutes searching unsuccessfully for a lockpick or anything to help her. The rusty dagger wouldn't help her much in a fight against a mage as strong as Wuunferth. On a shelf, she found a small intricate box. Inside was a piece of metal, similar to the one she found beneath the floorboards of Ysolda's house. But it did her no good now.

She heard movement outside of the door, and felt a swell of anger and panic rise like bile in her throat. A shovel lay on the floor and she grabbed it and hid in the same corner her left her in and waited. Not a moment passed before footsteps came down the stairs – and then she swung the shovel, and Wuunferth hit the ground, face-down.

He turned over onto her back and she was on top of him, the shovel pressed lightly against his throat. She didn't have to push hard – the threat was hard enough.

Wuunferth glared at her but didn't dare lift his hands to fight.

"Where are the other pieces?" she demanded.

He glared at her, before relenting. "Mercer Frey had one."

She was surprised. He was the former leader of the Thieves Guild, before he betrayed them all. The leadership of the guild had been passed to Emlen officially, but Brynjolf, another thief, was really leading them. He just didn't want the title.

She swallowed. "Why did you kill those girls?"

"Eleutherius wanted them to study," he answered. "I don't know why or what he got from them."

She gave an involuntary shudder. She should have known Eleutherius was really behind this. "Why do you work with him?"

Wuunferth looked as though he might fight. Emlen tensed and pushed down and he yielded. "Brothers."

"What?"

"Brothers, stupid girl. We were born to the same mother and father. We went to the college of Winterhold together, and then we parted ways. He came round recently with all of his plans."

Emlen stared at him, trying to process. This was unexpected. Absurd, really. Eleutherius didn't have a family. He wasn't once young. There was nothing in this world that could give him any sort of humanity. She wouldn't have it.

It would be easier if Wuunferth fought now. If he fired a spell, his death would be her defense. But he was at her mercy, and she had none.

Was killing a defenseless man as bad as killing an innocent?

She looked away. Her arms tensed. He let out a strangled cry. And then it was over.

She stepped over the body and grabbed the box with the piece of Anathema, and then she was out the door, into an abandoned house, and then free in the gray quarter.

Two minutes later, she found Odahviing and was wrapped in his arms. His hands were shaking but she didn't know why and he was holding her tighter than he ever had before and she didn't care because all that mattered was that he was here and she was with him.