The next morning, they got ready to leave for Witchmist Grove.
Bradas disappeared off to who-knew-where while she got dressed, so it seemed that a morning make-out session was not in the cards for Jackie today. She had to make a concerted effort not to pout about it.
Instead, she took the time alone to write Mirabelle a letter, the gist of which was: I miss you! I'll try to write more! Thank you!
Then she made out a very short missive to the apprentice named Kalas. It simply read: What are your questions? I'll help you if I can.
.
…
.
As they neared Witchmist Grove, Jackie grew quiet and nervous. Bradas wondered what she planned on saying to this girl she'd proposed to—perhaps she was wondering that, herself. On a rather selfish level, he still didn't know why they had to bother with all of this.
Jackie had gone along with many of his more foolish ideas, though, so it was only fair that he went along with hers.
"Wow. This place is kind of spooky, huh?" Jackie remarked, bringing him out of his thoughts. She was right; Witchmist Grove was not the romantic spot he'd thought it might be. In fact, it looked like they had wandered into some kind of bog. Fog was rolling on the ground, seeming to grow thicker as they wandered further into the grove.
Why had they even been here while they were drinking, he wondered? "What kind of people even live in a place like this?" he said aloud. She gave him a baffled look and shrugged.
After a little bit of walking, Jackie spotted something just beyond the trees. "Look, a cabin," she said, pointing. She had a strong feeling that this was it—this was where she'd find her 'fiancée.'
The rickety-looking house was just down the slope from where they were, and they skidded down the hill together. Not only was the house old and run-down, but there were jagged spikes pointing outward surrounding its perimeter. That seemed awfully strange, but she supposed it made sense to protect your house like that in the middle of nowhere.
There was a small set of stairs leading up to the door, Jackie stopped short before they ascended.
It would be really awkward (and kind of uncool) to break off an engagement with him standing right there, wouldn't it? Jackie bit her lip, feeling guilty. Especially since Bradas was kind of her… something.
Boyfriend? No, that sounded weird. Suitor? No, that was even worse.
Whatever.
"Hey, um. I was thinking, it might be better for me to talk to her by myself," she said. He rose a skeptical eyebrow.
"Must you?" he drawled. It struck her that he might be kind of jealous. Was it weird if she thought it was kind of cute?
Still, this was serious business. "Yeah, I think it's best. It's going to be awkward, ya know? I feel like it's the nicer thing to do."
"Alright. I'll be out here," he sighed.
"Thanks," she said, giving him a smile. She braced herself and marched up the stairs.
Time to face the music, she thought, standing up straight and giving the door three gentle knocks.
A raspy voice from within sing-songed, "Come in~!" Bradas frowned at her from the bottom of the stairs, but she just shrugged and opened the door.
"Be right back," she whispered to him with a thumbs-up.
The inside of the house was dark, the only source of light being the dying fire-pit in the middle of the floor. When her eyes adjusted, the first thing she noticed was that there were feathers everywhere. On the counters, by the fire, swept into the corners on the floor… it was beyond weird. Maybe this mystery lady was a bird enthusiast?
"Okay…" Jackie said slowly, looking around for the person inside. There were potions ingredients everywhere, to the point that whoever this person was might have been a hoarder. "Um, hello?"
"Hello!" a voice rasped from the corner, and Jackie whipped around to look. Standing before her was an old woman who could have accurately been described as a hag. Jackie hated words like that to describe women, but there it was. She was covered in black feathers, and wearing a black dress that had long since turned into a rag. Her hair and eyes were ink-black, and her skin was a deathly pale. Upon closer inspection, she realized that her hands and feet were actually bird-like claws.
"What the hell," Jackie blurted, eyes going wide.
"Darling!" the woman croaked, a smile on her chapped lips. For God's sake, the woman's teeth were even sharp! "I've been waiting for you to return, to consummate our love!"
So much for the young woman whose heart she had broken! Jackie's hair stood straight on end.
"Um, hi, hello, yes," she stammered. "I mean, no!"
"You can't resist Moira's charms," the hag crooned, stepping closer to Jackie.
The young outworlder took a deep breath. Just because this woman was… well, terrifying, didn't mean she didn't deserve respect! Jackie steeled herself. "Um, yes, Moira. I'm actually here because… I'm breaking off our engagement."
The hag gasped. Jackie soldiered on.
"You are a very wonderful, uh, woman?" Wait, was she actually even human? "And… you have a lot to offer, and you're going to make someone very happy one day!" she finished in a panicked rush. Moira was walking toward her, a wild look in her eyes.
"What?!" she squawked, and Jackie jumped at the sheer volume of her voice. "You want to leave me for that hussy, Esmerelda, with the dark feathers—don't you?!"
"I-I assure you, I definitely do not—"
"Well!" Moira rasped, "I won't let her have you!"
Bradas waited outside like Jackie had asked him to, bored. He was inspecting his nails when he heard a loud thump and a shriek from within the house. Immediately, he was on his guard.
The door to the cottage slammed open, and Jackie fled through it with a yelp. She skipped over the stairs completely, choosing instead to bound over them in a rare display of athleticism.
"Run! Run!" she yelled, and suddenly fire burst through the door.
It looked like Jackie's 'fiancée' wasn't taking the news very well.
"If I can't have you, no one can!" an angry voice shrilled, and then a hagraven of all things emerged from beyond the threshold. She was so focused on Jackie that she didn't even see Bradas standing slack-jawed at the bottom of her stairs.
Jackie had wooed a hagraven.
The creature shrieked and bound on long legs toward Jackie, who led her on a wild chase around the yard. He watched, shocked, wondering if he was dreaming. This definitely seemed like something that would happen in a dream.
"Bradas! For Christ's sake!" Jackie screamed, scrambling toward him and grasping his arm to get him to move. The hagraven finally noticed him and wailed angrily.
"It's him, isn't it?! How dare you!" she accused, pointing a long, gnarled finger at him. "Homewrecker!"
Bradas finally snapped out of it and cast an ice spell directly at her. Jackie scrambled to take out her knife.
She shrieked, fire coming out of her hands as she cast back at him. "You dare!"
The fight that followed was short but ridiculous. The hag didn't last long, and she screamed the whole time about Jackie's betrayal. Jackie, on the other hand, apologized the entire time, even as she helped Bradas kill her.
"Azura help me," Bradas panted. The hagraven lay dead on the ground, and Jackie was kneeling over her looking sad. "Please tell you don't feel bad about killing that thing."
"No, I don't," she sighed, looking up at him and brushing off her hands. "She tried to kill us first. I just… wow. That didn't really go how I thought it would."
"Me neither," he admitted. He didn't think he'd ever forget the sight of her jumping down the stairs like that, wild-eyed and terrified. It was really funny, despite the circumstances. "You…" he couldn't even finish the thought before laughter took him.
"What?" she asked.
"You almost married a hagraven."
She groaned, and he laughed even harder.
.
…
.
For the entire time they searched for a place to set up camp (well outside of Witchmist Grove, thank you very much), Jackie had the dubious pleasure of listening to Bradas trying and failing to hold in little snickers. It was cute the first time he'd lost it about the goat, but she was feeling weary after having to kill her 'fiancée.'
Not that she felt too bad, now that she knew what hagravens were.
"Why didn't you do anything embarrassing?" she complained. They sat near each other on their bedrolls as they watched some food cook on the campfire. It was a peaceful night, so far, and she hoped it stayed that way.
"Because," he said haughtily, "I have high standards."
"Compared to my low standards?" she said flatly, giving him the side-eye.
"Well… you did almost marry a hagraven."
She heaved a sigh and cast her eyes heavenward. "I am never going to live this down."
"No, you're not," he confirmed with a smug smile. "But in all seriousness, I am a little worried we might be in hagraven territory."
"Oh, no, really?" she asked.
"Yes. We should be extra careful tonight; we wouldn't want you to go out and marry one."
She found a little piece of kindling and flung it at him as hard as she could. He just laughed and swapped it into the fire.
"What's next? Shall you charm a troll? Perhaps a mudcrab?"
"A Dunmer, actually," she said with a huff. "But he's being really obnoxious right now. I might go with the mudcrab, at least they don't talk back."
He laughed again, bright and genuine. "Now, let's not make any hasty decisions."
"Sorry, my mind's made up," she teased. "I'll be going down to the river tomorrow morning—mmph!"
The Dunmer had swept into her personal space and pressed his lips to hers in a quick kiss. His hand brushed her jaw as he pulled away with a smug smile. "Are you certain about that?"
"Hmm. I don't know," she said, looking into his ruby eyes. She snuck her hand to hang onto the gap between his leather armor and the shirt underneath. He was a slippery one, and she didn't want him to pull away just yet. "I'll need more information before I make a decision… maybe a couple more kisses will help me make up my mind?"
It was a lame line, but she was gratified when he went for it anyway. She hung onto his armor as he brushed his lips against hers, slow and deliberate. Jackie let him take the lead, her eyes slipping shut as he slid his hand around the back of her neck. His other hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer.
She sighed into the kiss, which only served to spur him on. He was such a good kisser, and it was all she could do not to close her eyes and get lost.
She didn't plan on sitting back and doing nothing, however. Jackie smiled against his mouth and traced her fingers up his neck, and brushed along his pointed ears—and then it was suddenly over. He shuddered and pulled away, still hanging onto her but no longer kissing.
With a surge of panic she wondered if she had just committed some major faux pas—was she not supposed to touch his ears? She's always wanted to, even when she'd first met him, but maybe that was a boundary she wasn't supposed to cross.
"I'm so sorry!" she said, removing her hands at once. She placed them awkwardly on his shoulders, since he still hadn't completely pulled away. "I didn't even ask, was I not supposed to do that?"
"You may," he said, his breathing quick. "But just know you're making this very difficult."
Now she was completely lost. "What?"
"A… proper courtship. That's not easy when you touch…" He trailed off.
It finally dawned on her that she hadn't violated some obscure cultural taboo; she was just getting him going. Nice! She breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh. So… ears. That's a thing for you?"
"… For most mer, yes."
"That's cute," she said, and he huffed a laugh. She was definitely going to save that information for later. "I don't see the problem," she murmured. "Unless… you really do want to take things slow." They hadn't really talked about it after their first kiss, and she was regretting that now. She could have kicked herself; just because they were already best friends didn't mean they were automatically on the same page.
"Perhaps not slow, but…" He sighed and finally looked away, a little smirk on his face. "… Not out in the woods, either."
"Good point," she laughed. He was right, making out in the woods when there were wolves and other predators out was a bad idea (and she still wasn't sure if he was being serious about the hagravens or not). "So, you're serious about this whole courting thing?"
He frowned. "Did you not think I was?"
If she was being honest, she hadn't really known. "Well, sure…" she said, choosing her next words carefully. "It's just that… that kind of thing is pretty rare where I come from."
Bradas rose his eyebrows. "But you were once engaged."
She rolled her eyes. There was no better way to kill the mood than to bring up old flames. "Engaged to be engaged," she corrected. "Are we really going to talk about my ex right now?"
The Dunmer could hardly imagine an engagement (or a near-engagement, as she liked to insist) without any kind of courtship or tradition. He narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out if he was missing something important. "Are you telling me you've never been courted? At all?"
Her cheeks flushed red, enough so that he could see them in the light of the campfire. "Uh, no, I don't think so. Not like you're thinking…"
"Then how?"
"Oh, Jesus, I don't know," she breathed, eyes glancing down at his lips. Her hands were still on his shoulders, and it would have been all too easy for her to lean in and distract him all over again.
Bradas breathed in and out a few times, fighting temptation. As much as he wanted to throw caution to the wind, he also wanted to solve this mystery. He sat up straight and she mercifully removed her hands.
Jackie sighed. "Okay, let me think. Couples in my world hang out, hold hands, kiss…" She gave him a pointed look. "We text… um, write each other letters, I mean. We exchange gifts on holidays and birthdays... go to dances, I guess? Hmm, that's more for high schoolers, though…" She trailed off and shrugged.
He rolled his eyes. "That can't be all."
She laughed. "Okay, pushy! What else… oh, flowers? We exchange flowers and chocolates, especially on Valentine's Day."
He raised his eyebrow. "Valentine's Day?"
"Ooh, yes! Saint Valentine's Day," she said, eyes lighting up. "It's a holiday to celebrate love. It'd be on the fourteenth of Sun's Dawn. It just so happens that it's a week before my birthday, which means… meant, that I got a lot of discount chocolate every year."
"It's already First Seed," he pointed out. The lover's holiday and her birthday had already passed.
"It's already March?" she asked. She didn't seem overly-concerned about it.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"I never really know what month it is, these days. I lose track of time without a calendar," she admitted. "Wow. I guess I turned twenty-five last month."
Jackie didn't seem bothered by it at all, but it did remind him that he was about forty years her senior. If he was rounding down. Humans did age faster than elves, but it was still off-putting.
"Are there any other traditions?" he asked, resolutely ignoring that awkward realization.
"Not that I can think of," she said. She smiled and gave him a playful nudge. "Think of it this way, as long as we're both comfortable, anything goes. Whatever we do is up to us. It doesn't have to be complicated."
It doesn't have to be complicated. That was a nice thought. Unfortunately, they were a human and a Dunmer living in Skyrim. Worse yet, she was an outworlder and he was the Dragonborn, as much as he hated to think about it. They couldn't have picked a more complicated situation if they'd tried.
"I can hear you thinking," she remarked, poking his side. "You know what, there is something I forgot to tell you about. An ancient, time-honored tradition. My forefathers and mothers have performed this ceremony since the beginning of time…"
"You're being over-dramatic," he said flatly, enjoying her blustering nonetheless.
"This prestigious rite has been performed for thousands of years," she said airily, ignoring him and sitting up on her knees. He grew a little concerned when she placed her hands on his shoulders.
"What…"
Her hands flew to his sides and an instant and she tickled him. He was so shocked by it, that for a few moments he let her get the best of him. She used what strength she'd gained from fighting to tackle him to the ground and run her fingers across his stomach and ribs. Jackie laughed and squeezed his knee. "Are you girl-crazy? Eee—!"
Bradas grasped her wrists and flipped her over onto her back. "You little liar," he panted, trying not to laugh. She smiled up at him.
"Ooh, are you going to punish me?" Bradas rolled his eyes. She was being so obvious, and the worst part was that her ploy would have worked if they weren't out in the middle of a dangerous forest.
"Yes, I am," he said. Her eyes grew bright. "You're taking first watch."
Her face fell. "Oh, come on."
With his hands still pressing her wrists to the ground, he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "Good night, daelha."
.
…
.
The next step was to head out toward Morvunskar to see if they could find any trace of Sam. They packed up their things and headed East toward Windhelm. The weather on the way was cold, but it was beginning to warm just slightly.
They spent two days on the road before finally finding it. Morvunskar was an old keep, run-down and decrepit like so many others scattered across Skyrim. It looked like it might have been abandoned, but experience told Bradas that probably wasn't the case. It was only a matter of figuring out what kind of ruffians had taken it over before going in.
It turned out that the people who had taken over the keep were a group of novice mages.
Many, many novice mages.
Predictably, they were not interested in negotiation. They attacked them on sight, and the next few minutes were spent circling the building to make sure no other mages were waiting to kill them.
"Why does this always happen?" Jackie panted from behind him. "They don't ever want to talk. We could be in and out so fast without a fight!"
Bradas shrugged and restrung his bow. He hadn't ever really thought about it. "At least we can take their coin." She groaned and started searching one of the bodies. "Keep a look out for soul gems," he told her. She responded to that by giving him a dirty look.
The inside of the keep was enormous. They snuck right through the front door and took out mages one-by-one, with arrows dipped in magicka poison. Bradas never was sure when Jackie got up to her potion-brewing, but he appreciated it.
As they went deeper and deeper into Morvunskar Keep, they found all manner of traps and treasures. They stuffed their pockets with gold, jewels, and even took some books that were lying around. Bradas could see why a group of mages might want to be here, though he couldn't imagine where they'd all come from. Luckily, they were all relatively easy to kill.
They wound through halls, various rooms, and up and down stairs. They fought as they went, until finally there were no mages. Jackie was beside him, breathing hard and swearing.
"What the hell," she said. "Where'd all these people come from? I don't get it."
"Perhaps a guild of mages?" Bradas suggested, rather confused himself. "One that we've never heard of…"
"I don't know, but I don't think Sam is anywhere here," she said. "What a waste."
Bradas eyed a set of stairs. "Let's see what's up there, first." He thought he saw a chest and a few bookshelves, and it would have been a shame to leave them without seeing if there was anything useful.
They marched up the stairs, weary, and found something interesting at the top—far more interesting than any chest of treasure (though he did make a point of opening and perusing its contents).
Before them was a great, flat plane of light, rippling like water. Purple-blue light seemed to come from the middle and swirl outward.
"Whoa," Jackie said.
"What is it?" Bradas wondered, narrowing his eyes. The light waved and pulsed, as though it was beckoning to them.
"This is the part of the movie where we touch it and get sucked into a wormhole," she said flatly, fixing him with a wry smile.
"I don't understand half the things that come out of your mouth," he replied.
She laughed and waved her hand in front of the light. "Should we?" He grasped her hand and drew her away from it, suddenly nervous.
"Probably not," he huffed.
"I… actually think we should. Think about it… what if it is a wormhole? Wouldn't that explain how we hopped around Skyrim so quickly?"
"What in Oblivion is a wormhole?" he asked, still holding her hand.
"Possibly something that'll take us to Sam…" She tilted her head. "Or suck us into a space and kill us instantly? But we should think positive. I have a good feeling about it, don't you?"
"Not particularly," he deadpanned.
"I definitely have a good feeling," she said confidently. She squeezed his hand and stepped forward into the light, using her momentum to pull him through.
It was a pretty big risk to step into a mysterious light, but it was familiar, somehow, so she wasn't nervous to step through and see what was on the other side. Bradas was right behind her, clinging to her hand and cursing, but following nonetheless.
They found themselves outside in a beautiful forest in the middle of the night. Their feet had landed upon a dirt path that wound its way through the woods, with lanterns hanging from the trees to mark their path forward.
"Wow," she said softly.
"You're absolutely insane," Bradas said. "Thank Azura we didn't get 'sucked into space,' like you said."
"Would I get you sucked into space? Have a little faith," she laughed and bumped his shoulder with hers.
"Sometimes I don't know what you'll do," he huffed, adjusting their hands to intertwine their fingers.
She grinned at the sweetness of it. "I think we should follow the lights."
"There's no other way forward, so it seems that we must."
They started walking down the path, hand-in-hand. The soft sound of music beckoned them forward, and the lights grew just a little brighter. The air smelled sweet, like a late summer breeze, and she felt reminded of a party that she'd never been to.
They didn't have to wait long before finding the source of the music. They came across a lantern-lit clearing, with a table sitting right in the middle. There were people all around it, eating and drinking quietly. It looked like whatever party was going on was winding down.
A familiar man stood up, a wide smile on his face. "Ah, you're here!" he said merrily. "I was beginning to think you might not make it!"
"It's you," Bradas said, astonished.
"Sam?" Jackie exclaimed at the exact same time.
Now that he was standing right in front of them, she couldn't figure out what she wanted to say. Part of her wanted to yell at him for causing them so much trouble, and the other part… Well, she had to admit that she was sort of drawn to him.
"It took the two of you long enough," he said, looking between them with twinkling eyes.
"It was quite a trip," Bradas scoffed.
Jackie looking around the clearing. "Where are we?"
"I thought you might not remember your first trip here. You had a big night. You've definitely earned that staff." To her surprise, Sam seemed to be addressing her.
Jackie placed a hand on her chest. "Me? But… I was just the judge of the contest."
"Oh, yes, you were," he agreed. "He may have won the drinking contest," Sam gestured in Bradas' direction, "but you. You, outworlder, are something else."
"Outworlder?" she questioned. "How do you know?"
"Ha! I know many things that man and mer do not," said Sam, lifting his arms. A burst of blue and purple light swirled around him, and faded quickly to reveal a new, and slightly terrifying form. He looked downright demonic, with horns and pointy armor.
Bradas jumped. "Azura above," he swore, ruby eyes wide.
"Not Azura," Sam corrected with a smirk. "My name is Sanguine."
"Wow," was all she really had to say to that. She could feel Bradas holding tightly onto her hand, trying to pull her behind him. She didn't let him; everything was just so surreal that she didn't feel panicked at all.
"You see, Dragonborn, I really just wanted to encourage you to go out into the world and spread merriment," Sam—or Sanguine said. He grinned at her. "But you, my dear Jackie, were the real life of the party. I haven't been so entertained in at least a hundred years!"
"So… this was all just a prank?"
"Just a prank?" the man laughed heartily. "Just a prank! The Daedric Lord of Debauchery does not deal in mere 'pranks.' This may have begun as a minor amusement, but it wasn't long before I realized that you'd make a more interesting bearer of my not-quite-holy-staff." He winked and produced a long staff out of thin air. He twirled it with a flourish before holding it out to her.
"Oh… um, is this magic?" she asked, letting go of Bradas' hand and grasping it. It looked delicate, with a rose carved on top of it, but it felt solid in her hands. "Because if it is, I can't really use it…"
"You most certainly can," the apparent Daedric Prince disagreed. "Just try it out, why don't you? Preferably in a very public place."
"That sounds like a very bad idea," she deadpanned. Sanguine laughed.
"Do what you will with it, my champion. I trust you to spread debauchery wherever you might go. But now, I think it's time for you to leave. No fun keeping you locked up here with the staff."
"Wait!" Jackie said quickly, gripping the staff with both hands. If he was a Daedric Prince with knowledge that ordinary people didn't have, he would surely have some insight into her situation. Maybe he knew how she'd gotten to Skyrim! "I have some questions!"
"I'm sure you do," he said, and waved his hand. Reality began to ripple and fade around them, and Jackie stumbled back. The world faded away for a split second, and then—
They were suddenly inside the Bee and Barb.
Jackie whipped around wildly in search of Bradas. Thankfully, he was right there, grasping her arm and staring out at the bar with wide eyes.
"What... what happened?!"
"We're in Riften," he said breathlessly.
"Riften," she repeated, holding the staff close to her body. It was a quiet night in the pub, and no one seemed to have noticed them appearing out of thin air.
Nervous laughter bubbled up out of her chest. "Oh, my God," she breathed. "Did we just meet a Daedric Prince?"
"Yes," Bradas said, equally bewildered. "We drank with a Daedric Prince. And he made you his champion."
Jackie looked at the staff that had been bestowed upon her, still reeling. "What does that even mean?"
"I… don't really know," he admitted. "We're lucky we got away with our lives, let alone an enchanted staff. Mephala!" he swore. He placed an arm around her shoulders and drew her close. "You're insane, and I blame this all on you. Let's go get a room."
"Hey," she protested, letting him pull her along to approach the innkeeper. "I blame you, for starting that drinking contest in the first place."
"And what kind of responsible judge are you?" he asked, laughing. "Going off and wooing a hagraven. I don't think that's my fault…"
Jackie groaned. "You're going to bring that up every time we have a disagreement, aren't you?"
"Yes," he said, smiling and placing an infuriating kiss on her temple.
A/N:
Kind of a cheesy place to end a chapter, I admit! But we're going to be heading into some important plot stuff so a little bit of fluff is okay for now ;) Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing, it means a lot to me!