Author's note:
My dear readers, after the longest break ever, I have finally started writing again. The last few months have been absolutely hectic, but fear not: I have already outlined the rest of this story, so there is no risk for me to run out of inspiration. Free time for writing, unfortunately, is a completely different matter... Luckily enough, I seem to have got over my writing block, so here I am with a new chapter. Also, yesterday I published my first Dragon-Age fic on this website - if you're curious, you can find it on my profile.
Before I start, I thank all those who have been reading my story despite the lack of updates. Also, I thank all those wonderful people who left a review on chapter 73 and BarricadesDemon216 for leaving a few comments about earlier instalments. I love reading readers' opinion about the first part of this fic, so keep them coming!
As for LadyBuggin's review, thank you for letting me know that the new chapters of your story are out. I'll definitely take a look at them! Also, I'm glad you enjoyed Steinarius' list. As ShpperofTrashyShips underlined, the current situation is very sad, so I needed something to make it look brighter - and Stein's imagination was perfect for it. And yes, Stein's mum is creepy indeed.
Last but not least, a huge "thank you" to Elspeth: Stein does have a very scary mother, just like Agda's! Also, glad you liked the fact that people came to see their poor Dragonborn. I think it's the least he deserves after getting so badly injured while trying to save the world!
As for today's chapter, here it finally is: Steinarius is fighting for his life after being tortured by the Thalmor, his mum won't let anyone see him, Agda is feeling guilty and powerless for ignoring Vigdis and Delphine's warnings. What else could go wrong? Let's find out!
As she gently caressed Steinarius' hair, Agda let out a loud yawn. It was three o'clock in the morning and the girl couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so tired and weak and dizzy; yet, she was keen on spending some time with her man while Lucretia Galantis was asleep.
Upon meeting her future mother-in-law, Agda had tried to find a reason for her snobbish behavior; a week later, however, the young Nord had realized that there were no excuses for Lucretia's rudeness. The woman had insisted on curing her son by filling his room with many different amulets, but soon enough she had realized that prayers and jewels couldn't help Steinarius' recovery; for that reason she had been forced to rely on Danica and the other healers again - and for that reason she had taken all her rage out on Agda.
You are the reason why my son went to Riften and you are the reason why he got hurt so badly!, the former priestess had shouted during a particularly heated fight with the mage. You shouldn't have left him alone and you shouldn't show your face around here for the rest of this Era! I hate you, Agda of Anvil, and I hope you will never spend time with Steinarius again!
After shouting those evil words, Lucretia had ordered two of her servants to to prevent Agda from visiting Steinarius. Luckily enough, those two shy Imperials were very sympathethic towards the girl and made everything they could to let her spend a few hours with her man every time Lucretia was asleep.
Sighing, Agda thought once again of her future mother-in-law. Although no one could imagine it, it was truly her fault if Steinarius had been tortured - and for this reason the mage hadn't protested against Lucretia's decision to ban from her the Dragonborn's room. To say it all, in those days not only did Agda feel guilty every time she looked at her man: she also felt completely useless because her feelings of guilt caused her to burst into tears every time she thought about his injuries - and a healer who couldn't look at their patients without crying was not exactly that helpful.
There was a low whimper as Steinarius frowned in his sleep. Agda made to shush him, then she gently kissed his cheekbone. The man was slowly getting better, sure, but no one knew whether his recovery would be complete; considering that the safety of Skyrim depended on his health, the whole country was very worried about that fact.
The sound of a door creaking open caused Agda to frown in worry. Fearing Lucretia might be paying her son a visit, the girl made to cast an invisibility spell. Before she could do it, however, she felt a cold hand on her mouth and the tip of a dagger against her neck.
"You're always too slow, Agda of Anvil".
When she recognized that female voice, Agda stiffened. Vigdis had seemingly managed to walk past the guards at the entrance of the Temple thanks to an invisibility spell - and if her previous encounters with the thief meant anything, Agda knew that she was about to be fed a potion that would drain her magicka for the rest of the night.
Just like the Archmage had predicted, the other woman immediately pushed a small vial into her hand. As Agda gulped its content, Vigdis closed the door of the room and waited until her invisibility potion finally wore off.
Agda was surprised by the rough appearance of the thief: Vigdis was incredibly pale, her hair were tousled, her eyes were surrounded by dark circles. Moreover, she was limping more than usual. Before the mage could say anything, the other woman suddenly started insulting her.
"You!", the thief hissed with a tone full of rage and disgust. "You didn't believe my warning just because you are too proud to take advice from a thief, right? Well, see where your pride got you! Aren't you ashamed? I told you Steinarius was in danger and what did you do? You gave your soul to a Daedra just because you didn't trust me and you sent a normal letter to warn your man! A letter, for Talos' sake! Had it not been for me, Steinarius would have died for good!"
Those words caused Agda to frown. She had made a mistake in not trusting Vigdis and Delphine's warnings, but the other women had their fair share of guilt too. Also, given her current situation, the girl was in no mood for a fight.
"Don't tell me I should be ashamed, Vigdis", she replied, tiredness well evident in her voice. "If your warning was so serious, you should have talked to Steinarius, not to me. Yet, you chose the easiest option because you didn't want to be confronted with all the pain you caused him in the past. You are definitely as guilty as I am".
Those words caused Vigdis to hiss in anger. Luckily enough, the guards at the entrance of the Temple were asleep, so there was no risk for her and Agda to be heard as long as they kept their voices down.
"Don't you dare blame me for all of this, Agda! Steinarius is your man now, not mine: it was your job to keep him safe".
"Just like it was my job to pick up the pieces after you broke his heart, right?", Agda sighed. "You are a coward, Vigdis, a coward who is ashamed of her choices and cannot face her past. This is why you didn't talk to Steinarius, isn't it?"
"Are you really so stupid not to realize it, Agda?", the thief cried out in response. "There's a very simple reason why I warned you instead of Steinarius: you two are happy together and I didn't want to ruin everything".
Confronted with that reply, Agda shook her head. If Vigdis had come all the way from Riften just to make her feel guilty, she was in for a bad surprise.
"You couldn't ruin anything, Vigdis", Agda coldly replied. "Steinarius wants to marry me, so there is no risk for him to change his mind about you. Had you wanted him to be more careful, you should have spoken to him directly".
"Steinarius may not be in love with me anymore, Agda, but my feelings for him haven't changed", the thief unexpectedly revealed. "I still love him, which is why I've been trying to keep both of you safe for years now. You will forgive me for being such a selfless bitch".
Confronted with those words, Agda felt as though time had just stopped. The desire to keep her safe, the choice to abandon her on the steps of Nightcaller Temple rather than meeting Steinarius, the habit of stalking the Dragonborn while he was still in the army... Vigdis had done all of that because she was still in love with Steinarius and because she wanted her man to be happy without him.
While Agda was still struggling with that discovery, Vigdis resumed speaking.
"What do you think happened in that cave, Agda? Do you really think that the Thalmor stopped torturing Steinarius just because they were tired? Do you really think the people in there began fighting each other and eventually forgot about the man they were about to kill? I'll tell you the truth, girl: I received word from the Blades that Steinarius had left Whiterun without telling anyone about his whereabouts. I got to the city as soon as I could and started looking for him in my beastform. Luckily enough, I found him while he was still breathing and I killed all the people who were in the cave with him. He is still alive just because I intervened, Agda - and a thank you would be pretty welcome now".
To Agda, those words felt like a slap in the face. Not only had she missed the importance of Delphine and Vigdis' warnings - just like she feared, she also owed the thief for saving the life of her man.
There was a long moment of silence, then Vigdis sighed and ran a hand over her tired face, a gesture she had in common with Steinarius.
"I'll tell you what, Agda: I'm sorry I'm not as heartless as you think, but now it's time to move on and work together in order to make it up for our mistakes. I would really like to kill you for ignoring my warning, sure, but Steinarius will need you once he regains consciousness - and to me, his wellbeing is the most important thing. For this reason I will spare your life - and for this reason I have come here. I don't want you to keep thinking about the past - I want you to acknowledge your mistakes and be ready to face the next challenges.
"The Thalmor have already tried to kill Steinarius once, but I prevented them from reaching their goal. Unfortunately, they will give it another try soon. I know that Elenwen has already offered one of his best healers to Steinarius' mother and I know that Lucretia would like to accept her help. Cornelius doesn't agree, but if their son doesnt get better any soon, he will be transported to Solitude and cured there. This is why I need you to get over what happened and focus on healing your man. Right now, we cannot allow a Thalmor to be close to him.
"There are other two things I need to tell you, Agda. First, Steinarius is in danger as long as Alduin lives. For this reason he must recover soon. Also, your man is in danger as long as the Thalmor can count on their 'Altmer Dragonborn', as they call it. This is why Delphine and I would like to kidnap that poor girl from Northwatch Keep in the coming weeks - and to do that, we may need your help".
Agda's eyes widened at the sudden revelation.
"How do you know that the fake Dragonborn is in Northwatch Keep?"
"We haven't been idle, Agda: after warning you that Steinarius was in danger, Delphine and I believed you would keep him safe. This is why we focused on killing the fake Dragonborn rather than protecting your man. Unfortunately, Elenwen's fake Dragonborn is but a girl of fourteen who has no idea of her powers. Delphine and I may be ruthless, but we don't kill innocents. We have gathered information about that little Altmer and we would like to offer her a life with the Blades. Elenwen treats her poorly, so we believe that Laenara will accept our offer".
Agda was surprised by that discovery. She thought Vigdis and Delphine to be cowards because they had done nothing to protect Steinarius from his enemies, but apparently she'd been wrong all along.
"There is also another thing Delphine is taking care of right now", Vigdis unexpectedly added. "She's trying to track the letter you sent to Steinarius. If Lucretia discovers that you knew about the danger and did nothing to protect her son, she'll become even meaner".
Agda nodded in confusion. She disliked Delphine and Vigdis for many things, but it looked as though now they were going to become her most important helpers in keeping Steinarius safe.
There was a moment of silence and Vigdis slowly shook her head. At that point, for the first time since she'd entered the room, the thief finally seemed to acknowledge Steinarius' presence. The dark-haired woman approached his bed and carefully studied his broken nose, his partially mutilated ear, his bloody lips and his ruined features; she murmured something under her breath, then she peeled the blankets off his body with a tenderness Agda had never witnessed before. At last, the thief silently examined Steinarius' torso and gently ran the tips of her fingers along the hem of his bandages.
Vigdis was reunited with her former lover for the first time in years and Agda could clearly see the effects that that meeting was having on the thief. Her features looked sweeter than usual, her black eyes weren't cold and distant anymore, her movements were slow and precise. In few words, everything in her attitude pointed at the strong bond that had once connected her to the Dragonborn. There was worry on her face, and together with worry Agda could see sadness and the faint shadow of love.
"Whoever did this you, they won't get away with it...", Vigdis whispered while slowly caressing Steinarius' jaw. A moment later, the thief unexpectedly looked Agda in the eyes. "Whoever did this to you, Agda and I will avenge you", she added.
Confronted with the rage and the determination in the black eyes of the thief, Agda couldn't help but nod.
She'd finally found an ally she could trust.
After her unexpected meeting with Vigdis, Agda found the concentration she needed to cure her man. Despite Lucretia's protests, the young Archmage spent her nights by Steinarius' bedside, whereas during the day she walked through the plains of Whiterun in order to collect alchemy ingredients. Everyone was surprised by her new attitude towards the tragedy that had struck her and many people thanked her for the efforts she was making to save the Dragonborn from death. Luckily enough, among those people there was also Steinarius' father.
Aburius Crepusculus was a very popular man in Cyrodiil. A former Legate of the Legion, he was considered a just and kind man even by those who didn't appreciate the Empire. He had reacted to his son's injuries with a surprising calmness and, unlike his wife, he was doing his best to help the healers do their job. One morning at dawn, Aburius reached Agda at the Skyforge, her favourite place to rest after a long night at Steinarius' bedside.
"I'm sorry my wife doesn't allow you in the Temple during the day", he told her without any further preamble. "This has been a bad blow to her and she's not thinking rationally".
Agda didn't know what to make of that apology. Steinarius' father was a very popular man and until then she'd never spoken much to him.
"You're probably wondering why I'm here at this time of the day, right, Agda?", he said with a smile. "You should know that the Skyforge has always been my favourite place in Whiterun. When Steinarius was little, we'd usually climb to the top of the stone eagle and have breakfast there. Lucretia hated me for doing that".
Aburius smirked and Agda couldn't help but notice the similarities between him and his son. Both of them had the same grey eyes - also, both of them had the same warm smile and the same singsong accent.
"This morning, however, I'm not here to revive the past. I did bring you breakfast, don't get me wrong", Aburius added while pointing at a small package he had in his hand, "but my main goal today is to express my gratitude to you. Lucretia is being harsh on you, but your love for Steinarius is stronger than my wife's maddening ideas. You clearly adore my son and I have the feeling you'll live a long and happy life together. He deserves it - and so do you, little one".
Agda was surprised by those words, and she was even more surprised when Aburius goofily pinched her cheek. She made to thank him for his kindness, but she fell silent when she noticed a healer running towards her.
"Archmage, the Dragonborn is getting better! He's repeating your name and we think he may regain consciousness soon! Danica thinks you should be there and Lucretia Galantis agrees!"
Feeling as though her heart had just skipped a beat, Agda exchanged a brief look with Aburius. The man smiled at her, then gestured for her to start running - and run she did.
If her man was about to regain consciousness, she wanted to be there for him.