[A/N] For whatever reason, I was not feeling terribly motivated this week - I think being rudely shoved back into the hustle and bustle of school might have had something to do with it - and whenever I sat down to write, everything seemed to come out subpar. But I also happened to, after hearing its name mentioned in whispers for roughly a year, stumble across "My Immortal"... and after reading a couple of chapters out loud in the midst of literally rolling on the floor laughing, I came to the conclusion that no matter how terrible I felt my writing was coming out, it couldn't possibly get worse than that "goffik" Mary-Sue monstrosity of a fanfic.

Anyhoo... chapter, anyone?

[DISCLAIMER] I do not own The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim or anything related to it; that's Bethesda's deal, not mine (sadly). I also do not own "New Way to Bleed" by Evanescence. However, Kajsa Red-Blade and Justiciar Orthorien are my original characters, and they belong to me.

CHAPTER XXXV – New Way to Bleed

But it's my heart, my life
That you're calling a lie.
I've played this game before,
And I can't take anymore.

I feel it coming over me.
I'm still a slave to these dreams.
Is this the end of everything?
Or just a new way to bleed?

"New Way to Bleed," Evanescence

"I still can't believe it," Brynjolf repeated, completely dumbfounded. "Mercer Frey, a father? I never even knew he had a family! Karliah, did –"

The Dunmer shook her head. "I'm just as shocked as you are, Bryn."

"I wonder who the mother was," the Second mused to himself. "Did Mercer marry her or was the child illegitimate? Whoever she was, was she even willing?"

"The Mercer that I knew before his betrayal wouldn't have forced himself on a unwilling woman. The Mercer after that..." Karliah sighed sadly. "Gods only know."

Masser and Secunda did little to illuminate their surroundings as the three of them – Brynjolf, Karliah, and Ulfric – rode on the road to Windhelm. After their conference with Nocturnal, they'd fetched horses from the Riften Stables (at the jarl's insistence, both of the Nightingales had somewhat grudgingly paid for them) and started on their journey. They'd finally left the Aalto behind them as evening had begun to fall, and the trio were once again surrounded by the pine woods that signaled their proximity to Kynesgrove... and to Windhelm.

The three of them hadn't spoken much on the ride, but Ulfric knew that the same issues, in varying degrees of urgency, were all on their minds: Kajsa, the Blades, the Thalmor, Nocturnal's words. For the longest time, Brynjolf had been the only one to speak his thoughts aloud over the clopping of the horses' hooves, and now, Karliah had joined him. However, the jarl was more than content to keep his furious thoughts to himself.

What doubts has that damned Prince put in my head? "A woman you almost know nothing about"... lies, all lies. I know plenty about Kajsa: her Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood ties, her being the Dragonborn, her lycanthropy, her temperament and responses... what don't I know?

He tried to force himself not to answer that question, but it kept creeping up on him. I don't know much about her past. I still don't know how she ended up on the cart to Helgen. I don't know – I don't know if she truly loves me. I don't know if –

"I'm just not sure what to think," the Nord thief was saying in disbelief. "Mercer just never seemed like the kind of man who would be a father. Did he even know – or care – that he had a son?"

"We may never know, Bryn," the Dunmer said firmly. "Nocturnal asked us to find him, not to speculate on his father's actions."

"But why else would She have mentioned Mercer?" Brynjolf demanded. "And why does She task us with this now, at this crucial time? Nocturnal's got something up Her sleeve, lass, and I've got a bad feeling about whatever it is."

"I agree," Ulfric concurred, breaking his silence. "Your Lady, Karliah, is playing us like strings on a lute."

Karliah shrugged helplessly. "It's what the Daedra do, Jarl Ulfric, and Nocturnal is one of the Princes that especially delights in manipulation. But I believe there's a reason that She is being so cryptic. Whatever Kajsa has hidden away in Hjerim, it must be of enough importance that Nocturnal Herself wants us to find it."

"What is this Hjerim place, anyway?" the Second asked. "You seem to know what it is, Jarl Ulfric."

"It's one of the manors of Valunstrad, the oldest section of Windhelm," the jarl answered. "Hjerim used to belong to Friga Shatter-Shield, but her parents left the house abandoned after their daughter's murder."

"By the infamous Butcher of Windhelm?" the Nord thief questioned. "I've definitely heard of him."

Ulfric nodded grimly. "The killer used Hjerim as a... lair for a time before Kajsa tracked him down and killed him. I ended up buying the house from the Shatter-Shields and giving it to her as a reward for her services to Eastmarch."

Brynjolf whistled. "No wonder she's sticking with you. I'm only joking," he defended after a look from Karliah. "It's just that that's a pretty extravagant gift."

"What 'services to Eastmarch' do you refer to, Jarl Ulfric?" the Dunmer inquired, interrupting the Second.

"Stopping the Butcher for one, and helping to defend the city from an attacking frost dragon. She's also collected many bounties for me across the hold. And, of course, her service with the Stormcloak army; it seems as though she's single-handedly turned the tide of war."

The Nord thief shook his head, half in amazement and half in realization. "Hearing all that, it's no surprise that the Thalmor have it out for her."

Swallowing, the jarl didn't respond.

"We'll likely get to Windhelm soon enough," Karliah said softly, urging her horse on a little faster. "Before we head to the Palace of the Kings, we'll stop to take a look inside Hjerim."

Ulfric nodded silently, his mind drifting back to Kajsa and Nocturnal's taunting words about her. What could Kajsa possibly have hidden in Hjerim? What purpose does it serve in our little quest?

And why does Nocturnal seem to think that I'll break faith with her?

The first thing Kajsa noticed as she stirred were the floorboards below her: old and bloodstained and beginning to bend and twist out of shape – or, it certainly seemed to her that way, as her vision brightened and darkened, blurred and sharpened before her eyes. Dizzied, she squeezed her eyes shut again and then re-opened them, but the only good that did was the floor beneath her stopped spinning.

The second thing was that her body felt curiously, heavily numb, as though each of her limbs weighed as much as a mountain. She tried to lift her throbbing head, but it seemed like a boulder had been put in its place, and her chin dropped back upon her chest.

The third thing was that her Guildmaster's leathers and Mehrunes' Razor were both gone, and she was only clad in the leggings she wore under her trousers for added warmth and her breast band. The amulet of Talos and the arrowhead necklace that Ulfric had given her were missing as well.

What happened to me? she thought dazedly. Where am I?

Attempting again to lift her head, the Dragonborn forced her neck to bend back as far as it would go. Her skull cracked against the wall and suddenly, she realized that she was kneeling on the floor with her hands and feet shackled to the wall and a cloth gag tied tightly over her mouth.

Everything came back to her: the meeting with Maven, the negotiations, the drugged wine, the Thalmor soldiers...

I've been captured. She shivered almost involuntarily – not just from the chill biting into her skin, but from dread at what she remembered last: a pair of cruel, piercing golden eyes. By – by –

The opening of an iron door, hinges squeaking and bars rattling, grated on her ears and then stung them sharply as the door was slammed shut. Light, prowling footsteps brushed over the floor towards her. Her eyes squeezed shut again, even tighter than before, not wanting to see who was coming.

Suddenly, the Nord woman gave a start as cold fingertips trailed up her throat and underneath her chin, raising it up – a gesture all too familiar to her. It's – it's him...

There was a low, amused chuckle. "Oh, how precious. Closing your eyes won't make me go away, Katarina. I am very much real."

Swallowing at his caustic mockery, Kajsa opened her eyes as slowly as she could, narrowing them in a fierce glare. If only looks could kill...

The hood of his Thalmor robes was down, no longer casting a shadow over his face with its pale-yellow coloring and its handsome, sharp features so typical of Altmer men: straight nose, pointed chin and ears, high cheekbones. His long hair had been smoothed back and tied at the nape of his neck in a conservative queue. The only thing that would have made him stand out in a crowd were his eyes: angular and rimmed with thick white lashes, the irises the color of gleaming gold.

His thin lips quirked up at the ends in a fond smile that didn't reach his eyes. "You haven't changed much, my dear."

She only glared more viciously in response.

"I forgot you won't be able to respond." His fingers left her chin and tapped her lips, still covered by the gag. "Necessary precautions, I'm afraid. But fear not: I'll be back soon to catch up with you, work permitting." Now his eyes lit up with a delightedly malicious light. "Then the fun begins. You do remember all the fun we had a year ago, dearest Katarina?"

The Dragonborn's stomach turned over, but she kept her expression as fixed as she could. You won't get anything from me. Not this time.

Orthorien laughed. "So stolid. So stubborn and defiant." His fingers dancing along her bare shoulder, over the scars that Alduin had given her, the Altmer leaned in to whisper into her ear. "It will be my greatest pleasure to break you... again."

"Well, there's nothing down here out of the ordinary." Arms akimbo, Brynjolf scanned the cramped secret chamber again, but saw nothing out of place: not the enchanting workstation, not the alchemy lab, not even the soul gems and bowls of alchemical ingredients arranged on the wooden shelves. "Being that it's a secret chamber, I thought there'd be something more mysterious in here."

"If you'd come back here while the Butcher was still making his lair here, you'd have found something suitably macabre enough for you, I'm sure," Ulfric said darkly.

The Second laughed uneasily as he stepped back to let the jarl through the narrow doorway, and then closed the doors of the false wardrobe after he'd gone out himself. "I could live without seeing that."

Ulfric smiled wryly as he emerged into the main room of Hjerim. With a pang in his heart, he realized that it looked much the same as it did the last time he was here, waiting for Kajsa to meet him for dinner. He half-expected to hear a knock at the door, some sign that she was really here, not imprisoned in the Thalmor Embassy on the other end of Skyrim...

He shook his head. Damn that wishful thinking. She's gone, Ulfric. This is no nightmare; this is really happening.

At the sound of hurried footfalls to the left of him, the jarl turned his head just in time to see Karliah rushing downstairs, clutching something to her chest, and his heart nearly stopped. She found something. "What is that?"

"I'm not quite sure. I found it in her nightstand drawer upstairs." The Dunmer cleared a spot at the end of the dining table and dropped her find on the wooden tabletop. "I also found the dagger that I gave to her – the one that I found on the Justiciar's body – and the note." She held both things out to him.

Ulfric took them from Karliah and spared the simple steel dagger only a glance before uncrumpling the note and scanning it:

Justiciar Ondolemar,

You have disappointed me greatly. First, you disgrace your station by fleeing the Reach like a common craven before the Stormcloaks could take over – and now, you deny ever knowing that the Dragonborn lived in Markarth?

Your pitiful excuses weary me. I am greatly tempted to inform your superiors on Alinor of your cowardice and gross ignorance and leave your fate in their hands; however, I understand that there is another task for you.

Report to the Embassy Headquarters in Solitude and meet with the Justiciar there. Carry out his will to the letter, and perhaps there will be a chance of redemption for you.

By my hand and seal,

First Emissary Elenwen

Frowning, he folded up the note again and stepped up to the table beside the Dunmer to see what she had found. It appeared to be a bulging leather folio, kept in check by a length of cord wrapped around it. Tucked under the cord was a small, leather-bound book held shut by a buttoned flap that seemed familiar somehow.

Struggling to keep his breath steady, the jarl undid the cord, setting the book and the note to one side as he did so. A pile of papers and journals, along with a marked-up map, spilled out over the table.

"This will prove quite a bit to sift through," Karliah commented, arranging some of the contents into a neat pile. "I wonder what they are."

Ulfric nodded absently, picking up the book from before and opening it up to the first time. Two lines of neat, evenly spaced text pounced on him:

Thalmor Dossier: Katarina of Solitude (Kajsa Red-Blade)

Thalmor Dossier on the Dragonborn mercenary-thief, Katarina of Solitude (Kajsa Red-Blade)

His breath stuck in his throat with a sudden gasp, and all of the muscles in his body tensed in shock. Of course... this has to be what Nocturnal was talking about. Hands shaking, the jarl turned the page and forced himself to read onwards.

Status: Fugitive (Capture Only), Highest Priority, Emissary-Level Approval

Description: Female, mixed races (possibly Breton and Nordic), mid-20s

Background: Katarina of Solitude first came to our attention in 4E 201 when our Embassy in the Imperial City was robbed by agents of the Cyrodilic branch of the Thieves Guild, seeking highly classified documents for a still-unidentified client. While most of the thieves in question were either captured or killed, Katarina escaped with their haul and vanished without a trace. After vigorous questioning of one of the survivors, who confirmed her to be a freelance thief and sellsword affiliated with the Lionheart mercenaries, Justiciar Orthorien was dispatched to track her down to retrieve what had been stolen and dispose of the thief.
Eventually, Katarina was captured just inside the southern border of Skyrim along with her mercenary band. While her companions were killed, Justiciar Orthorien kept the thief alive for interrogation at nearby Fort Neugrad. Unfortunately, the documents were not in her possession and Katarina proved unwilling to provide their locations, but she was eventually broken through torture and deemed "beyond recovery." She was sentenced to be executed at Helgen along with a band of Stormcloaks led by Ulfric Stormcloak himself (captured at an ambush at Darkwater Crossing a few days earlier), but was believed to be dead after the dragon attack.
Katarina reappeared roughly six months later when she was identified by First Emissary Elenwen as one of the guests at a disastrous breach at a party held at the Thalmor Embassy in Haafingar. As she had been declared dead following the destruction of Helgen and was going under the name of "Kajsa Red-Blade," she was not apprehended and succeeded in infiltrating the Embassy, causing her to be stamped as a high-priority target. At peace negotiations at High Hrothgar (which First Emissary Elenwen also attended for a brief time), Katarina was revealed to be the Dragonborn. Thanks to intelligence from our informants, it has been confirmed that she survived her battle with the World-Eater and has subsequently gone on to Windhelm to join the Stormcloaks.
Operational Notes: Katarina of Solitude is a serious enemy to the Dominion and should be considered armed and extremely dangerous; she has succeeded in slaughtering our execution squads and infiltrating Thalmor headquarters and prisons. Any attempt to capture her (as the missing documents from the Imperial City Embassy are still unaccounted for and it is believed that she has information that is crucial to the success of Operation Priesthood) should be undertaken with extreme caution.
Katarina is suspected to have connections with the Skyrim branch of the Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood; she is known to be the Harbinger of the Companions and, more recently, a high-ranking soldier with the Stormcloaks. It is highly probable that she is a confidante – or perhaps even a mistress – of Ulfric Stormcloak himself. She has houses in Whiterun and Markarth and an undetermined number of "safe houses" in several unknown locations. Justiciar Orthorien is currently tasked with this case, and any information about Katarina's current whereabouts should be immediately given to him.

[A/N] Would I be correct in assuming that you are going to review and leave me some much-appreciated feedback? If not, make it happen! ;)