AN: Trigger warnings for past mentions of, and current threats of, physical and sexual abuse.
.
Nala's eyes felt like they'd been gummed shut. They were heavy, but she finally pried her lids apart. Her arms ached, and she was surprised to find them wrapped around a beam behind her and tied together. She corralled her fuzzy rolling thoughts as best she could, and tried a simple untie cantrip, only to feel a little fizzly popping sensation, and her hands remained tied. She was drugged, apparently, badly enough her magic was out of reach.
At first, she thought the shifting room was due to her still drugged state, but given the steady pattern of rocking, the familiar creak and heft of timbers, and the pervasive moisture, she realized she was on a boat. How fantastic. She was kidnapped, tied to a beam, and on a boat. Nala shifted uncomfortably on the stool, properly surprised she was offered even that much comfort. Well, she couldn't stay drugged forever, and the sooner she knew what she was working with, the better she could plan her escape. She marshaled her unruly thoughts and took stock of her room.
The cabin was fairly large, for a room on a ship. Light filtered down from a door to her left, though a few lanterns burned dimly. Most of the light was eaten by the shadows in the corners, and it took a few more moments of her eyes adjusting to realize she wasn't alone. The far side of the room was barred off, wrought-iron bars forming a cage in which two familiar teenagers had been locked. Heron was lain out on the floor, Sura kneeling by his head, hands pressed to his temples. Between her and the cage, the shadows seemed to twist somehow, and it wasn't until a shaft of light from the door fell directly on Shell's autumn hair that she could even see the Bosmer, tied as she was to a post, unmoving.
"Holy Hepcats, who has the death wish?" Nala was horrified beyond belief. She could feel her fur fluffing at what Rommy would do when he found out. She wasn't even sure Telki could keep him from pulling an Alduin.
Sura jumped at the sound of her voice, looking up with tears streaking down her face. "Miss Nala?" she said softly, scrubbing at her cheeks. "You're awake!"
"There goes my hope that I'm having a nightmare. Are you alright?" Nala hoped some of the fear spike had burned off the ill effects, trying the cantrip again. Her wrists remained stubbornly tied, her hands balled into fists and bound with cloth so she couldn't simply cut her bindings with her claws.
The girl looked down, fingers brushing lightly over her friend's forehead. "They're taking us back to Alinor," she revealed, sounding defeated.
"Did they get the twins?" Nala sighed through her nose. Forget Rommy. Talon had enough dirt and contacts to tear them to shreds himself. He'd finally let someone in, and this happened. She was expecting Alinor to cease to exist in the very near future. She shivered, unsure whether it was the moist air, fear, worry, or some other unnamed thing she didn't want to examine too closely right now.
"Yes, but I'm not…I think they may have actually handed them over to the Council," Sura's wide red eyes glowed slightly in the dim light. "Miss Nala, Demeus…he's with them."
Nala had studied extensively, and had to learn a lot of languages to study everything she wanted to learn. She cursed in Ayleid, Aldmeris, Ta'agra, Dunmeris, Orcish, Redguard, and for flavor added the few choice Nedic epithets she'd learned. When she ran out, she rolled her head to take in the rest of the cabin. There wasn't a whole lot to see besides some crates stacked against the back wall, about four paces beyond the edge of the cage. There was a single cot in the room, slightly behind her and to her right, making it hard to see unless she twisted. A small figure had been laid out on it, tangled orange-gold hair half-covering her little face.
Nala thumped her head against the beam and groaned. Yep. Rommy was going to show Alduin and Mehrunes how it was done. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. "Any sign yet of weather gone wonky? It's typically the first thing to destabilize when a great deal of chaos magic is play."
"The ship hasn't tossed very much," the girl said, sitting back against the wall behind her and carefully moving Heron's head onto her lap. The grey pallor was back in her skin, the shadows accenting the darker half-moons under her eyes. "It must be nearly sundown by now, if not after."
Nala sighed. "So, we can assume Romulus doesn't know yet. Once he does, all Oblivion is going to break loose, possibly literally." Just hearing the story of what happened in Atmora and Alinor had been enough to curl her fur. This? This was in some ways a worse betrayal, and she didn't expect the Mad God to take it well. Forcing herself not to dwell on things she had no control over, she watched the two, her brows furrowing with concern. "Is he going to be alright? I'm assuming he's hurt, and not merely taking advantage of your lap to nap."
Sura shrugged. "They poisoned him and Shell again. I'm no threat, and I guess…they don't really think you are, either?" She wrinkled her nose apologetically. "The Justiciars seemed pretty skeptical when Lizard brought you on-board, anyway. They said you were the wrong 'kind' of Khajiit to worry about. They did give you another dose of magicka poison, though. And they were pretty horrified that Murril was growing up among heathens."
Nala was testing her knots. Didn't think her a threat? One sister had taught her how to use weapons, whether she liked it or not, the other how to pick locks and escape bonds. Though that one is usually more helpful when awake enough to finagle some leeway. She wasn't sure if she could manage it, even if she could dislocate her thumbs like Ama could; the bindings around her hands butted up against the ropes and held fast.
A faint, grey mist rose from the floor, spreading momentarily and brushing against her, chilling her. It faded after a few seconds, leaving a pale elf standing there, staring into the shadows at the back of the room as if he didn't realize they were there. Seconds passed before she decided to break into his reverie.
"So, hello, I suppose you're one of the ones with a deathwish. Hi, I'm Nala, one of the reasons you're going to die horribly. Another's knocked out on that cot over there. You left the other two with the Council. Seriously, what were you thinking?" Sura stared at her as if wondering the same thing about her, but Nala had found belligerent demands to work well for gathering information, if only by irritating those withholding it. She was also angry enough to spit tacks.
The Altmer blinked, then turned to look at her. Though it took him no extra time to reach her, his movements were somehow attenuated, as if he moved through water. Kneeling before her, he peered into her eyes with a puzzled expression, silent.
"The only chance you and your friends have to survive this is to turn this tub around, return us, and beg forgiveness, before you wish it were only an Oblivion Crisis," Nala said earnestly, willing him to believe her. "Not joking, not lying, not even exaggerating. Test me if you need to believe me."
"Your eyes are very blue," he noted matter-of-factly, still staring into them.
Nala cocked her head at the strange elf. "Are you already one of his? It would explain why you thought this a good idea. It won't help you, though. I'm not kidding. Return us. Now."
He reached out, gently taking her head between his hands and moving it so the light hit her eyes at different angles. "How do you hold so much color? So bright? What is it like?"
Nala took the time to really look at him, and then Look at him, horror and pity welling up inside her. "Sweet mercies, your poor soul," she breathed. Closing her eyes against it a moment, she shook off her consternation and returned to the matter at hand. "Well, if I had even a speck of magicka, I might could show you. As it is, it wouldn't help just telling you. But it won't matter at all if you don't. Get. Us. Back. Home, before the weather turns."
"We're taking you home, don't worry," he murmured, still examining her keenly.
"Really, send Demeus down here. He knows what I'm talking about, at least. How did the Saints and Seducers miss you, I wonder?' Nala studied the pull from the other side on the poor mer, and wondered what brainiac thought putting yet another syphon on his soul was a great idea. The Thalmor had so much to answer for, and she was sure she was only seeing a fraction of it.
That was bad enough, though. "May I at least help Sura heal Heron? You can watch my pretty colors at work, then."
"There is no point," he replied, still in that soft, impersonal tone. Releasing her, he turned just as the door opened, though his eyes never left her face.
"Well, that must be a riveting conversation," Demeus commented, regarding them a moment.
"Demeus! You have got to get us back home, before you know who comes looking for us!" Nala was frantic, looking around to Demeus, hoping she could get some sense out of him, at least. Her Sight caught the flicker of his aura before she could actually discern him from the gloom, and her mouth went dry. "Oh holy Hepcats, you were a plant." He carried himself straighter, he looked older, little about him now seemed like the unsure and angry-at-the-world boy he had been just yesterday. She wondered what they'd done to him that Telki couldn't See it. "You realize this plan is going to end badly, and soon. You're killing this team, and everyone wherever you're taking us. You know this."
Demeus sighed and turned away, going over to the cage to look down at the younger Young Ones. "How's it going?" he asked Sura.
She shook her head, looking down and away, and he sighed.
"I can feed her energy, it would help. Of course, you'd have to reduce the poison you're dosing me with." Nala wiggled, "You don't even have to untie my hands, just move me close enough Sura can touch me with one, and heal with the other. Please. Do this much?"
"The moment I give you back your magic you'll burn right through those ropes," he said, examining her, then glancing to Shell. Even though she remained slumped where she'd been tied, he very carefully stayed out of her range.
"Demeus, it won't matter. The only way this ends well is if you take us back. You might as well let me help now; you won't have a later. Not if you insist on this madness."
"Sura has another task," he told her, then looked pointedly at the girl. "You know how to contact the estate?"
She gaped at him, and even Lee seemed a little more animated at the question. "That is not possible, Demeus," the Altmer said, a hint of curiosity and color seeping in. "Even I could not contact home from here."
"The way Sura uses magic is different," he said, holding the girl's eyes. "Very, very low levels, but it never runs out. It regenerates as fast as she uses it. It will take a while to reach, yes, but she could hold it, and she could make it subtle enough to slip through whatever barriers the Empire has keeping us from calling home."
Nala smiled sourly even as she screamed in her head. "You're not getting it, Demeus. It doesn't matter if you had all the secrets to Tamriel, they'd have maybe a day to do something with it before that place becomes burnt slag. Do you understand? Sheogorath, The Mad God, the Prince of Two minds. He is coming because you messed with his family. Hell, Sanguine might even help him. That would make not one, but two Daedra rampaging across the Summerset Isles. It literally doesn't matter if your news gets there or not. Think fast, because once the weather turns, it'll already be too late. Turn. This Tub. Around! It is the only chance you, and whoever you think you serve, have." Nala still vividly remembered the face Sanguine had made upon her causing Merc distress. The man she saw in that moment could easily cause the world to burn. She did not want to think what making Romulus mad enough to rampage would do.
Finally, he turned his head to look at her, blue eyes icy. "I will gag you if I have to. I probably should."
"Why are you so bent on your own destruction?" Nala furrowed her brows at him. "You know I'm telling the truth, but you are insisting on continuing something that will get you killed, get the people waiting on you killed. Why? It makes no sense!"
"In your world, it must seem futile," he finally said. "Not in mine."
"Explain to me, what exists beyond the fury of two Daedric Princes pushed to wrath, please?" Nala looked to one and the other. "Because I'm pretty sure the Summerset Isles would be nothing more than a smoking pit when they are done. The only reason it isn't already is because Telki stopped him last time someone messed with his family. You messed with her family this time. She won't stop him. Hell, she'll probably help."
"Lee, go through the safehouses and find somewhere to keep her that's not here," Demeus told the Altmer, who nodded and vanished with more chilling mist. Turning back to Sura, he told her, "You will do this, one way or another. I know you can boost the spell, and I know you can get through barriers. Don't make me force you."
"Compromise? Let her use me to heal Heron, then she can send your signal. Your signal will get sent quicker, and she'll quit worrying over Heron. Make sense?" Nala offered on an exasperated huff.
"You are staying right where you are, and she is going to do this. One more word about it and I'm stowing you with the bored Thalmor in the lower decks for target practice," he said, shooting her a sideways glance.
Nala narrowed her eyes at Demeus. He was very lucky she was magicka poisoned, or he might be sporting a perfect small hole in his forehead right now. Threatening to send her helpless into such a position was low, and the lack of hesitancy in his gaze convinced her that he meant it. Whatever he used to be, he wasn't worth helping anymore.
Sura was pale, looking from one to the other. When Demeus looked back down at her she flinched, then glared at him. "I'm not above injuring him further to assure your cooperation," he told her softly. "I don't want to, but by now you know I will."
"You killed the others, didn't you?" she asked flatly.
"Not all of them," he replied, turning and going to one of the shadowed corners, a small crystal obelisk lighting up at his touch. He carefully carried it to the center of the room, setting it down on one of the cushions set near the door. "I was asleep for most of that."
"Yes, how did you 'go to sleep?' My sister's Sight is better than mine. How did you hide what a piece of work you are from her?"
Placing a small nightstand directly under the brightest part of lamplight, he took a long moment before he answered. "They regressed me. Suppressed all my memories and training for the last several years until I was, basically, as I used to be. Then they woke me up again when I had what we needed."
"How?" Nala searched his aura. "I can See the splice, now, but it wasn't there before, and where was it in the meantime?"
"I was trapped in my own mind," he said, meditatively, "Able to watch and learn, but not act. I came out once in a while, to preserve my older self, but couldn't manage for long, and the longer it went on, the more difficult it was. Killing the thief, destroying the wardrobe…all things that my younger self wouldn't have done. Now, the part of me that was brought out is where I was, screaming at me. He'll fade, just as I would have had Lee left me there."
"The saddest part of all this? Once upon a time, you were a person worth saving." Nala filed that last tidbit of information away. That boy had promise. This one? Not so much. If it were possible, she'd see if he could be returned to that fading space.
"I was nothing," he countered, no rancor in his voice.
"Hogwash. You were never nothing until you made yourself nothing," Nala scoffed. "You were worth keeping, and Telki kept you. You were worth helping, and a Paladin of Shor helped you. You were worth befriending, and Lucia and Frankie befriended you. Now? Now you're just another Thalmor bully threatening defenseless women to get what your masters sent you after. Even when you know it's going to kill us all. That is nothing."
Demeus paused, examining the crystal. "Sura? Are you ready?"
"The sooner you do it, the sooner you can get back to healing Heron. Might as well get it over and done," Nala sighed, wondering what exactly Demeus thought this exercise in futility would gain anyone.
Sura nodded tightly, gently moving Heron's head to the floor and standing with difficulty. Demeus let her out of the cage, keeping a wary eye on her as she knelt before the nightstand, hands coming up to cup the crystal. The moment she was absorbed in what she was doing, the Redguard moved over to Nala, reaching past her and producing a scarf, which he quickly turned into a gag. "There are some things you definitely shouldn't talk through," he told her. She ignored him as much as she could with a scratchy scarf being stuffed in her mouth.
The dead didn't matter.
.
.
Salonia paced delicately, fan fluttering furiously, as she waited for her co-conspirators to show up. What was keeping everyone? After all, she'd gotten the brats secured when all other efforts failed, the least they could do was be punctual.
"Salonia! What is the meaning of this?" Alexia barged in, ladylike as always.
"You'll find out soon enough if the rest of our counsel ever arrives," Salonia smirked, "But it'll be worth it."
"Oh?" Alexia's eyes narrowed. "What have you done?"
Salonia's smile grew. Her fan waved languidly towards the settee. "Have a rest, dear, you'll learn the same as everyone else."
Amaund burst into the room, glancing around and relaxing a bit when he saw them. "I just got the message from Eirik. He said to come here immediately? Is something wrong?"
He was waved to the settee and chairs same as Alexia. "Once everyone is here, I'll be happy to share my news."
"Did you have to have us come to the actual Council Hall to share it, or was that the Chancellor's idea?" he asked, a tad sourly. He had orchestrated this whole thing, but he couldn't help feeling as though the Nord had somehow taken his idea and run away with it.
"Of course he did," Salonia smiled. "News this good deserves such a fine venue for sharing, I think. Plus, it will require, shall we say, legitimacy?"
Amaund's head whipped up, eyes narrowing. "What?"
"Am I too late?" Dum's quavering voice followed Amaund's. His tottering form shortly materializing out of the hallway, and headed straight for the sweetmeats left on the serving tray.
"What kept you so long?" Alexia huffed at Dum, but his mouth was so full, the answer was garbled at best. She raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Salonia, who only smirked back at her. Perhaps they'd actually accomplish something without Dum's more 'helpful' outbursts.
"Ah, you're all here," the High Chancellor said, coming in through the entrance to the back offices. "Lady Salonia, would you care to share your news, or show? The young woman you spoke of so highly has arrived."
"Ah excellent. Mistress Orchid, if you please? Show our guests?" Salonia graciously waved, and took a seat where she could watch everyone's faces.
Orchid looked just as perfect as the last time the woman had seen her, despite the fact that she was leading a small, slightly frightened-looking boy by the hand. The Argonian that followed carried a matching girl, who glared at them all groggily. The young woman curtsied, giving the boy an encouraging smile. Glancing at her with wide violet eyes, he bowed, then glanced at his sister. She glared and hid her face in the Argonian's shoulder. One of her arms was in a sling.
"My lords and ladies, may I present Orien and Blossom Amulius?" Orchid announced the children with all the cheerful indulgence of an older sister accompanying her siblings to their first social event.
"Salonia, you magnificent bitch," Alexia breathed. She considered the children. The boy looked biddable enough, but the girl worried her. She knew stubborn when she saw it. She might let Salonia foster her, but not Dum, never Dum. The little brat would be running his estate within a week.
"That's a bad word, you old biddy," the girl said tartly, proving her point.
The Argonian bounced her slightly. "Behave," she said softly.
Alexia laughed. "Are you staying as well? You might be the only nanny that could make that little heathen behave."
"There are more than enough nursemaids that specialize in recalcitrant girls," Amaund said, eyes narrowed as he examined the girl. "Though I think everyone would agree the boy has better heir potential?"
Salonia sighed. "So, I suppose here is where the bickering begins about who shall foster our dear little heirs?" She flicked her fan at Eirik. "Do remember who ultimately made this happen. I would like to foster them." It wasn't that she had any sympathy for the waifs. They were, at best, unbroken pets, but they could be trained, and would bring her both status and power. For that, she'd tolerate them.
Amaund shot her a sharp look. "I was the one that instigated this. I was intending to take them; I have everything prepared."
"You may have started it, but I completed it. I think that's more important, no?" She gave Amaund a dark, challenging look, "And precisely what, may I ask, have you prepared that my own estate is lacking?" Salonia sniffed.
"I have been researching this since we heard the news. I have all the best nannies, tutors, child chefs, trainers…they would be best off with me," he retorted, standing straight.
"Child chefs? Are you insane? They're children, not a new species of bird!" Salonia scoffed. "Obviously, with you, they'd become spoiled tyrants, the exact opposite of what we're after." Salonia rubbed her forehead.
Alexia hummed. "Well, we could always foster them separately." She shrugged, "Less fighting betwixt ourselves. I wouldn't mind taking the boy. Hell, we could rotate care if it'll shut you up and get this thing rolling. We can say the rotation's to teach them management practices, familiarize them with their people and governing styles, blah blah blah. Yes? May we move along now?"
Eirik was examining the children still, gaze hovering over Orchid a moment in a way that had her eyes widening slightly. "I'll take them for the moment," he said, hands folded easily in front of him. "It would look odd that you all had the facilities immediately available, and I can simply put them with my daughter. They will likely find the company of another child comforting. In the meantime, the Elder Council has started to arrive."
"Already?" Amaund shut his mouth on his previous argument to stare at the High Chancellor.
"But of course," Eirik replied, eyes lazily hooded like a cat, "We knew they would be here soon when we started this, did we not? I simply asked a few of the Councilors who had business within a few days of the city to take care of it first so they would be easily called back."
Both ladies present found their gazes meeting after fuming silently at Eirik. Alexia sent Salonia a sharp, barely-there nod, while Salonia regarded her a moment longer, and sent her a slow wink. If Eirik tried to keep the heirs all to himself, they might be in short need of a new Chancellor.
The Nord ignored the rest of the room to kneel before Orien, looking the boy over. Orien held Orchid's hand a little tighter and tried to hide in her skirts. "None of that, boy. I just want a better look at you," he said softly, holding out a hand. When Orien simply looked at it, then at him, he smiled slightly. "I have a little girl about your age. Would you like to meet her?"
Orien shook his head. "I want to go home," he said, then glanced up at Blossom, and over to Orchid. "I want to take Murril and go home."
"Murril?" he asked, glancing at Orchid.
She smiled. "A friend of his. She's on her way back to her own family."
"Ah," he said, rising. "Do see that she gets there safely," he replied, a hint of command in his tone.
"Anything else would be unspeakable," she replied, looking slightly insulted.
He made a noncommittal noise and went to the Argonian, taking Blossom's arm while she jerked back distrustfully. "Were all your mages on holiday?" he asked scathingly, Healing light arcing around them both. Orien's mouth dropped open and Blossom looked confused, twisting her wrist experimentally.
"This doesn't mean I won't stab you," she warned him, but considered him carefully.
"I'll watch my back," he replied, looking very amused. "Though it is rude to attack your host."
"It's rude to kidnap people," she replied, staring right at him, "Doesn't seem to stop you all very much." She pointed at Alexia, "And she has a potty mouth!"
Hubro actually laughed, then shook his head before going to the door and whispering something to a servant there. "Mistress Apatecia, your assistance is appreciated, but no longer required."
"We wouldn't want to overstay our welcome," she replied smoothly, giving another curtsy. Leading Orien to a bench, she helped him on to it and gave him a smile. "Be good now. In a few days, your friend will be back with her family, and you'll be all set here."
Orien swallowed and didn't let go of her hand until the Argonian put Blossom down beside him, and he could grab hers.
Orchid tapped Blossom's nose. "Don't let them take that fire out of you, little one. Ladies need to have a bite now and then."
"I don't bite. I stab. It's much more effective," Blossom retorted.
"Well, this is going to be fun," Amaund muttered, already looking slightly as if he were dreading it as the mercenaries left.
Dum had been watching the children with fascination since they arrived, and gestured them over to the sweets. "Come, come! Have one, please." Alexia could only facepalm while Salonia hid a smile behind her fan.
"We're not supposed to take candy from strangers," Orien said, ducking his head down and watching them all with wide eyes.
"True, true, one does not always know when a stranger is a friend or a foe. However, I am offering you sweets from the same as I am eating, so you know what I am offering is not tainted. Besides, I would like to get to know you two, so that we are no longer strangers." Dum smiled at them.
Color Alexia shocked. It was the most sense she'd heard out of Dum in years. She thumped the back of his head. "Who are you, and what did you do with Dum?"
He turned, huffed at her, and turned back to the children, smiling gently at them. Salonia was watching the interaction keenly. Strange as it seemed, the old fool might have the best rapport with them. Perhaps she needed to cultivate him, to cultivate the children. As nobody else seemed to be noticing, the smile behind the fan grew. Yes, this might work.
Eirik was speaking softly to a servant (who was too well-trained to stare at the children, but certainly kept glancing at them). After a moment he dismissed him, turning back to the room and watching Dum talk Blossom into trying a sweetroll with a faint air of indulgence. "The Elder Council will convene at one tomorrow afternoon. We will have exactly twenty members within the city by the noon hour."
Salonia fluttered her fan. "Precisely what would you have done, had I not been able to procure the children in such a timely manner, High Chancellor?"
He lifted an eyebrow. "I had every faith in you, Lady Carvain. Is that so surprising?"
"Considering I did not know myself what the timetable would be until I sent you that message, yes, a bit." Salonia shook her head. "Oh, I knew I would attain the children soon, but this soon? To have an Elder Council ready this quickly? Did you have someone scrying the future?"
"There may have been a babbling Khajiit that joined the Moth Priests recently, but I only asked the Councilors to finish their business near the city before heading home. Had this taken longer they simply would have returned to their estates and we would have settled this come summer," he shrugged.
"Well, Gentlemen, it appears I have a Council meeting to prepare for. I suppose I shall see most of you there. Good day." Salonia sailed out of the room, head held regaly high. She was quite sure she would be calling upon Orchid's, or rather, Malero's, other talents in the near future. Such a pity. She had liked Eirik Hubro. He was effective. If he cut her out, he'd learn precisely how she had managed to attain and keep her position and power all these years.
Alexia waited a good two minutes, the longest she could stand the spectacle Dum was making of himself with the children, before taking her less graceful leave. She knew what that slow wink had meant, and she was not going to sit idly by if it came to it. She'd preempt Hubro if she actually thought she could pull it off, but she was wise enough to know when someone's fin was bigger than hers. To put it bluntly, Hubro was the most dangerous shark in the entire Empire. So she'd wait and see. If Salonia actually did contract on Hubro, she'd be a part of it, simply for the spoils of war, and to dance on that jumped-up Nord's grave. At least the children didn't look Nord. She'd never seen such pretty eyes.
Amaund stormed out trying very hard not to look as if he were storming. They were cutting him out! No matter what Vicci said about "rotating" the children, it was clear they had no intention of letting him near them. Thinking furiously, he realized he'd need to find ways to remove their influence. Or, at least, increase his own.
Eirik watched the children until his carriage arrived, then rose and walked over. "Little ones, our carriage is here. Dum, would you like to take tea with us at my home? I've sent ahead to ensure there are fresh sweetrolls." The mistrustful little girl perked up a little, and his smile widened a hair.
"Oh, really? I'd like that, very much." Dum smiled gratefully at the High Chancellor. It was quite probably the first time the man had addressed him.
Orien reached up and took Dum's hand, despite Blossom's rather disapproving look. "Will we see Da soon?"
"He's still in Skyrim," the Nord replied urbanely. "Shall we?"
"Might as well," Blossom sighed. "Go on, bribe away."
"I can see you already have a healthy grasp of politics, young Blossom."
"Don't make me stab you," she replied, following him out into the City. Her parents would be doing that soon enough, anyway.
.
.
The two Young Ones gazed at the ship a moment as it came into view, only to be swallowed by buildings as the ground dipped back down. "I am not looking forward to this," Orchid sighed, rubbing her forehead. Bad enough she looked so out of place in this area, with her fashionable attire. The prospect of going on a boat again, usually one carrying younger Thalmor soldiers who assumed they could do whatever they wanted, made her stomach churn with nausea.
"It is most unusual for your mark not to call us a carriage," Lizard commented, hissing at a ne'er-do-well trying to sneak up on them. The pickpocket held up his hands and carefully moved in the other direction.
Orchid shook her head. "I think we offended him. Did you see the way he looked at me? I felt like the pot scrubber that's been caught in the lady's good jewels."
"So he's an elitist," Lizard snorted, her tail lashing slightly to ward off anyone trying to use Orchid's full skirts to stay out of her range of vision. "We deal with elitists all the time."
"It wasn't a class thing, Liz," she shook her head. "He thinks we're reprehensible scum, and he thinks the same of just about everyone else in that room. I don't know why he joined that conspiracy, but it wasn't out of any fellow feeling with the other Councilors."
"If you tell me he's a moral politician I'm carting you over to the Temple of Auriel to have your head examined," Liz hissed a laugh, side-stepping a pile of best unidentified muck in the street.
"He's not our problem anymore," Orchid said firmly, "and believe me, that's best for us."
"I do not know," Lizard said doubtfully. "You have always struggled with that aspect of your assignment. Those who have power over you frighten you."
"I perform well enough," Orchid sniffed, looking forward.
"You get better every job," Liz confirmed, giving her a sideways look, "It is your actions outside of the job that have started to concern."
"I've already gotten the talk on trying out new poisons on my brother," she rolled her eyes, heart pounding just a bit.
"That's not what I'm referring to. You're lucky no one has caught you two," Liz's sibilant voice was just loud enough to carry to her teammate over the clamor of the street.
"There's nothing to catch," Orchid insisted. "We've done nothing."
The Argonian sighed. "I worried when they assigned you to our team that you and Malero's sibling bond would interfere with business," she said, surprising the courtesan, "but I didn't anticipate you forming more dangerous attachments. I like you, Orchid. You are good at your job, but Lee is is only partially in this world anymore, and only occasionally in his right mind. He hasn't the capacity to hide this should it progress. Demeus has used your bond to make Lee more present, but even he can not go for much longer without reporting what he's observing. Likely, he is giving you time to come to that realization yourselves."
Cold despite the fur stole she wore, Orchid thought on that a moment. "If Demeus has used my ability to ground Lee to advantage, why is it a problem?" she finally asked as they turned the corner, walking parallel to the river now.
"Lee is Altmer; you are not."
"I told you, we're not sleeping together," she shook her head so hard a pin slipped out.
"I have spoken my piece on the matter," the Argonian replied as they drew alongside the ship, a member of the East Empire fleet that had been requisitioned to carry things to and from the Embassy, "What you do now is up to you."
"How'd brat delivery go?" Malero interrupted, hopping over the edge of the ship like a sailor and garnering the disapproving looks of half the people around them as he landed on the dock, coming over and swinging his arms around their shoulders. Liz shrugged him off.
"If I never talk to another Elder Councilor again, it will be too soon," Orchid informed him.
"Well," he said, removing his arm and looking up at the railing of the ship above them, "if it was the high-handed pomposity you were looking to avoid, we got one of our own. Came in to oversee half a dozen teams, of course, but he's dropping them in favor of us being far more interesting."
"Was it the Emperor talk or the orphan Altmer?" she asked wryly. Altmer, as a rule, did not let their children out of their hands. They had lost too many in the Oblivion Crisis, then the Great War, for them to fully recover their original population. Ones stranded in the Empire tended to be snapped up so fast their little heads spun, immediately sent home to be reeducated and indoctrinated. Finding an orphan was as big a deal to some of the more conservative ones as working to overthrow their enemies.
Malero snorted. "I think he was considering making himself look good by providing for her himself after the blood test proved she is, in fact, a Pure. Then Demeus told him she was mad as a hatter and liked rubbing soup in people's hair and he changed his mind."
Liz sighed slightly, one hand coming up to rub her arm. "Why couldn't the other girl have done the soup thing and this one stabbed?"
"Yeah, you don't have hair but now you have a few less scales," Malero laughed, following them up the gangplank.
Orchid paused as the group of robed Altmer halted mid-conversation, turning to look at them. That was never good. Liz kept right on walking—the black-scaled Argonian and Lee both got away with such behavior simply by being so unnerving that not dealing with them was a relief—but the siblings had no excuse to ignore the perfunctory wave beckoning them over.
The lead Altmer looked them over, pursing his lips. His Justiciar robes were immaculate, the gold bands denoting his rank gleaming brightly in the light. It was clear he thought this entire conversation was a waste of his time, though his second watched with the same relish as a bored housewife catching her neighbors fighting in the backyard. Given the Inquisitorial stripes across his Justiciar band, that wasn't entirely off mark. "You are the courtesan with the use-name Orchid?" the head Justiciar asked her.
She nodded, painting a polite smile on her face and giving a slight curtsy, "How may I help you?" she asked.
"Our Lady Dessnia is quite put out with you," he said, making her blood run cold. Next to her, she could feel Malero's usual restless energy still. "It seems you've not been entirely forthright with her."
"We've not had time to prepare our reports," she said carefully. "Anything she wishes to know or have elaborated upon will of course be included."
The Inquisitor snickered, tsking at her and wagging his finger in front of her face as if she were a naughty child. "This has been going on long before your last report omitted it, Young One," he said. "You know you're not supposed to play with your fellows without permission!"
The first Altmer shoved his second's arm down, giving him a quelling look. "Her Ladyship is quite distraught you did not bring this matter to her first, though I should not have to point out to you that The Null is not only an important asset to the cause, but a full Altmer. You have grossly overstepped yourself."
Mouth dry, Orchid gave him a solemn look. "I have overstepped nothing: the situation has been misreported. I have a talent for talking Lee back down to himself after he uses his abilities, nothing more."
"Nothing?" the second smirked, looking her up and down with open insinuation.
"I'd be a poor courtesan if I required sex to get everything done," she told him primly, her skin crawling under his gaze. "Just as you'd be a poor Inquisitor if you needed to torture all your contacts for cooperation."
"Whatever the case, Lady Dessnia has been offended," the Justiciar said, making Orchid's heart stutter at the phrase. Dessnia's temper was legendary, and her punishments…she kept herself from looking at the scar ruining her brother's face with difficulty. He at least had survived it. "The matter will have to be examined further. Until then, she has left orders for you to begin to redeem yourself on the journey back. Our report on your behavior will go a long way toward earning her forgiveness."
"Meaning you're at our disposal," the Inquisitor was outright laughing at her, reaching out to tug at the curl that had escaped with the errant pin as her heart hammered, panic setting in as she realized exactly how far her situation had fallen. "All our disposal, really. I think I'll have you polish my boots first. Then there are some things I've been itching to try. Don't worry, though, none of them will permanently scar."
Orchid whirled and ran, incredulous laughter following her as the second wondered aloud where she thought she was going. Her brain woke with the frantic realization that there was nowhere to go just as she reached the edge of the ship, looking out over the water of the harbor as if to underscore her plight. She had to get off the ship. If they followed through with their intentions…Her stomach lurched and sweat broke out on her skin, chilling quickly in the spring air. She wasn't sure she'd survive a second time, but Lee…Liz was right, he wasn't always in control of himself, and he'd slaughter them for it. Neither of them would survive the aftermath of that.
The steel cage of a set of arms closed around her and she kicked, trying to force Malero off balance as he went to drag her back. Air rushed out of him as she elbowed him, twisting to slip out of his grasp, keenly aware that he'd be able to sense her panic, feel her heart pounding so hard and fast she couldn't separate heartbeats anymore.
The Justiciar sighed in vexation as he and his second followed the fleeing agent, watching the girl thrash like a hellcat before the scarred human wrenched her around. The sound of snapping bone broke the sound of their footsteps as he and his men froze in shock, staring as the limp form of the girl toppled over the railing and into the water below.
The human man tilted his head, gazing down at the water. "Huh. Those dresses sure do soak up water fast," he noted.
His second gaped at the Imperial. "W-wasn't that your sister?" he demanded, appalled.
"Yeah," Malero gave a mock-rueful wince. "But she was much less of an asset than Lee, and even he wouldn't get away with killing a ship full of you, which is where you were headed." Bounding passed them, he slapped the Inquisitor's shoulder companionably, staggering him, "Congratulations, idiot, I just saved your life. Not like Dessnia would have forgiven her anyway, it was her third strike. Would have been a long, humiliating journey home just to die. Well, I still have to write my report. Have fun cleaning your own boots."
With that, he bound back around to the doorway going below deck, pausing slightly with his hand on the doorframe, gripping it so tightly his knuckles were white. Expression taunt, he gazed back over the water for a long moment, before the footsteps of someone rounding the forecastle hastened him down into the sheltering shadows of the ship.
.
.
.
Welp, that was a heavy chapter. I hope you liked it regardless.
I didn't end up going to my parents' for Thanksgiving. They were all too worried about me having to drive, and kind of how rushed everything was, so I stayed in Michigan. Ended up getting a migraine all weekend, yay me. On the bright side, I got to dogsit! Diesel came over to our place this time, and he just had an absolute blast. Best of all, my boyfriend's Autistic little brother wasn't afraid of him! I had a talk about doggy body language with him, and what "happy" and "mad" look like on a dog, and since Diesel is so well-trained, they got along great! Nathaniel would walk over and tell Diesel to give him kisses and pet him. It was so sweet. I haven't seen him take to an animal like that since the ducks, who he generally likes to just look at and quack at.
It's snowing again after a few days of warmer weather. The ducks looked positively offended, it was great.
Thank you everyone who read and reviewed!
GalacticHalfling: We became randomly fond of Amaryllis. She shows up next story too. :P
Wynni: I tend to forget about all my headcannons until they come up.
The Celtic Dragon: The Dutchess would make a very bad sheep and an even worse mutton.
KStormblade: Have you read With A Dragonborn Like This? All about the Cicero. And it was a pretty good Turkey Day, just a few hours north of where I expected to be.
.
Next chapter: Cicero and Telki finally reach where the Mad God is currently sitting in the mud, and Ama lights a fire under everyone's not-always-metaphorical tails.