"We'll have to go through Eastmarch," Dominae said, though it was a sudden burst in their comfortable silence. Farkas, atop his dark steed, glanced over at the blonde with a questioning look. She had her very worn map out in front of her, her finger running through the trail they were taking. The fact that they had to go anywhere near the territory seemed to put her on edge.
"What's so wrong with that?" Farkas inquired, prodding the horse he was riding to go just a bit faster so her could ride alongside his Harbinger. Dominae let out a sigh and ran a hand through her tangled locks.
"The problem is that Ulfric is there."
"I'm still not seeing the problem. Ulfric, though Jarl, is only one man."
"One man who likes to get what he wants," Dominae sighed, folding the map back up and putting it safely in one of her pockets, "Ever since we escaped Helgen together, he's been asking for me to join his ranks. It only got worse when he figured out I was Dragonborn."
"Just tell him you don't have time to join his cause."
Dominae chuckled and gave Farkas a wise and amused look that was a little unsettling. "I've dealt with dragon and man alike that were like Ulfric. You do not simply refuse someone with that much power. But you're right about one thing; I don't have time to join this war, and I refuse to. I will not pick a side and end up being their prize. As the Dragonborn, I have more important duties to conquer."
"Would you join Ulfric, if you had to participate in the war, or would you chose to side with the Empire?"
"A question I've been asked by many," Dominae mused, looking forward to keep her eyes on the road, "But it is not a question I can answer. I see what Ulfric is trying to do, freeing Skyrim, but his battle is splitting Skyrim in two and killing the people that Ulfric is trying to protect. But I cannot feel any connection to the Empire. They are puppets for the Dominion, who are slowly taking over. However, while the Empire still rules, there is still a chance to keep the Dominion at bay. It is a confusing and tiring war that I want no part of."
Farkas brought his horse close enough to Dominae so he could reach across the gap and place a hand on her shoulder, though only for a second. "If you want to, we can sneak around the Hold and continue onto the College. You'll have to confront Ulfric later, but by your own terms."
Dominae smiled and was about to agree to the idea of her Companion when something in the distance caused her to pause and pull on the horse's reigns. The beast snorted at its rider rudely, not liking the way she had stopped him, but did as was told. Seeing this, Farkas stopped as well and gave the Nord a questioning glance.
"Dominae, what—"
"Dragon," she cursed, quickly jumping off the horse and readying Wuuthrad.
With wide eyes, Farkas did the same, pulling out his greatsword and setting his eyes to the sky. He didn't see, or hear, anything, but he trusted Dominae's judgment. He'd seen a total of one dragon in his life, and that beast hadn't been hostile. If the woman said there was a dragon, he didn't doubt there was one.
And when he heard a menacing roar behind them before something flew over their heads, he sure as hell didn't doubt her then. The horses, scared for their lives, ran off a little ways, far enough away from the dragon they knew they were safe. Dominae and himself ducked to the ground, narrowly missing the chomping of the dragon's jaws.
It roared out again, though this time they could both tell it was in anger. Both of them watched as the scaled beast landed down the road, it's serpent eyes glaring at them from only a handful of yards away. The Companions slowly started walking forward, watching as the thing waited for them, but as they got closer and closer, the familiarity of the dragon struck something in Dominae. Her blade went to rest at the ground as she stared.
"Keinmaarnah," she said softly, catching the attention of the dragon as well as Farkas. The reptile turned his large head to look at Dominae and his green eyes scanned her for a long, tense moment. He didn't recognize her until the power of her soul hit his senses. If it was even possible for a dragon, his eyes widened in shock before they narrowed into slits.
"Saviikserah," he hissed, his tail swishing angrily behind him, "the briinah responsible for my death. It seems as if your punishment is the body you now wear."
"Your death? You live before me, brother," Dominae said, ignoring what he had said. Keinmaarnah let a roaring laugh rip from his throat, one that caused the horses to make noise in the distance.
"Kiin do Alduin," he hissed, razor sharp claws digging into the soft ground beneath him, "Like the others that fly, I was reborn from Alduin. He used his magic to resurrect me."
"Dominae, what's going on?" Farkas whispered next to her, desperate for an answer. The dragon hadn't attacked them yet, but even the man could feel the hate and anger radiating off of him. Unless the woman placated the beast, he was sure he was to attack. He just wasn't sure when.
"I have never betrayed you, brother," Dominae assured, taking one step closer. Keinmaarnah growled, telling her to back off, but the blonde only held her place.
"But you did, Saviikserah. You forced me to your side, to betray our leader and in the end I died. Your Dovahkiin, your precious Dragonborns, were quick to turn on us once our usefulness was gone. Today, I get a second chance to live, to kill as many of those pathetic mortals as I can. Yol!"
Dominae pushed Farkas out of the way of the flames, making them fall to the ground not too far away from the scorch marks. Neither stayed long on the ground, jumping back up as quickly as they could. Farkas, sword ready, rushed at the dragon and made a quick slash at his face before diving out of the way. Keinmaarnah growled out in pain, but his eyes were glued to the woman who had yet to attack him. Wuuthrad was ready, but Dominae made no move to attack.
"Are you scared I will end you?" the dragon growled, snapping at Farkas as he tried to get in another hit. Luckily, he dodged just in time. When he went to go at him again, the dragon was already advancing on his Harbinger.
"I don't want to hurt you, Keinmaarnah!" Dominae shouted, blocking his snap with the double edged blade. She had plenty of time to injure him, but still she held back. He pulled back from his attack and snarled at her, wanting the second born of Akatosh to do something.
"But I want to end you!" he screamed, knocking Farkas to the ground with his tail and making the man grunt, "I gave you my ov, briinah, my trust! I turned against my brothers and sisters, tasted their sos as they died, all because I trusted you! And I got killed."
With a wail of pain, the dragon knocked his head against Dominae, sending her light body flying away until she rolled to a stop. Groaning, she shakily got up and reached for Wuuthrad, but found it out of her reach.
Farkas sent Dominae a worried glance, hoping she wasn't too hurt, but couldn't focus just on her. With a war cry, he went at the distracted dragon, impaling the beast with a strong thrust of his sword. The blade only dug in a couple of inches because of the protection of the scales, but Keinmaarnah shouted in pain anyway. Glaring at the mere mortal, he batted the man away with a wing, knocking him flat on his ass.
"Keinmaarnah, stop! We do not have to fight like this," the Dragonborn shouted, earning the dragon's attention again, "We were together once before, we can be together once again. Just because Alduin brought you back to life does not mean you have to serve him. Join Paarthurnax and I and you will be safe, I promise you that."
"You promised many things, Saviikserah, and I fell for them all those years ago. But the ahraan, the wound, is still too raw. I will not give into you again."
With that, he flapped his wings and started to fly, though only to circle around his two opponents. He blew fire at them, which they infuriatingly dodged, and he screamed down at them with everything he had. He was letting his anger control him, and it made him weak.
He landed not too long after that, figuring he could do more damage to them on the ground than he could in air and snapped at them, watching as their small bodies danced away. He happened to get them a couple times with his tail or a butt of the head, but it wasn't enough to stop them from attacking. And with two of them and a fogged mind, it was hard to keep track of them both.
While Keinmaarnah gave his full attention to Farkas, Dominae had managed to sneak around his other side where the dragon was giving her full access to his vulnerable neck. The ebony blade she had taken out in place of Wuuthrad shook in her hands, but the blonde knew she couldn't afford to waste any time. With her eyes tightly closed, she slashed at the beast's throat, hearing him give a wail. His head dropped down to the ground with his life dripping to the ground, and his eyes locked onto Dominae's as soon as she opened them.
You betrayed me.
The last words of any dragon always came to Dominae's mind, but they had never affected her like Keinmaarnah's words of betrayal. She could only watch as the life drained behind his serpent eyes and could only stand there, shaking, as his soul started to swirl around her, as well as the memory of his death.
There were so many of them surrounding him, their eyes narrowed and weapons drawn. Keinmaarnah was scared, and that wasn't something a dragon could so easily admit, especially when all he had to be afraid of was pesky mortals. But they had something not even he could fight off, and it was that damned Shout. It had forced him from the sky, taking his very soul and commanding it to ground himself, and he couldn't fight it. When the Shout was close to wearing off, another one of the pesky Dragonborns would shout it again and a whole new pain erupted in his chest. He was trapped and he felt too weak to move.
He wanted to ask them what they were doing, why they were doing this to him when all he had done was help, but the words wouldn't leave his mouth. They didn't even give him much of a chance to talk anyways. When they felt him at his weakest, they attacked.
Their sharp blades tore at his scaled skin, rendering him a bloody mess while he could do nothing but sit there. He tried to fight back, use his teeth and claws, but they were too fast. Before he even knew it, one had gotten on top of him and had sent a sword through his skull. That was how he had died that day. Humiliated and betrayed.
Dominae was shoved out of the memory and she gulped for air, feeling lightheaded and sick to her stomach. The dragon that had once been before her was only bones, unrecognizable bones rendered useless on the ground. But they had been Keinmaarnah. They had been her friend.
"Dominae, are you alright?" Farkas asked loudly, falling beside his friend. He turned her face to him and could see the tears streaming down her face. He bit his lip in worry and was about to repeat his question, but she opened her mouth to speak.
"They turned on us Farkas," she whispered, her voice choked with the tears that flooded her eyes, "After we had given them their victory, they turned on us. They used Dragonrend to trap my kind to the ground and kill them when they were too weak to defend themselves. They killed them all after everything we had done for them!"
"Dominae, I—"
"Without us, they would have been slaughtered!" Dominae shouted, letting the power of her Thu'um shake the ground with her anger, "Had we not helped them, this whole world would have been under the control of the dragons. Alduin would have had his wish! If those bastards weren't already dead, I would kill them myself!"
Farkas held tighter onto the woman next to him, tight enough that he was sure it hurt, but she was still too angry to care. When she went to get up, that anger still in her eyes, Farkas held her down. Turning, she gave him a growl, but it didn't scare him. He just set his face and gave her a look.
"I understand you're hurting right now, but you can't possibly do anything. You said we have a mission to accomplish, something that we can't take any time away from. They're all dead, and there's nothing you can do about it."
It took a couple minutes for his words to register in her mind, but once they had, Dominae slumped in his hold, her head down as she looked at her bloody hands. Hands full of dragon blood.
"I wasn't there to protect them from their fate," she whispered, seeing in her mind the deaths of the rest of her siblings and companions.
"I know, and I'm sorry."
"Me too," the blonde mumbled, closing her blood stained hands, "me too."
Yeahhh, updates are going to be strange for a while xD I'm slowly writing them, and now I'm a little busy with work, so I can't guarantee that they'll be flooding in like they used to. I hope you guys don't mind Dx
But to tide you over, you can always read the new One-Shot I put out :3 But anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed!
