Author's note:
My dear readers, as usual I take this chance to thank all of you who have taken the time to read/follow/favourite this story.
The special mention du jour goes to the lovely ShpperofTrashyShips for their review. The bit about Sheogorath had me laughing out loud!
As you can see, here I am with a new chapter for this story. This instalment marks the end of a long section of this fanfic and the beginning of the last part of Agda and Stein's troubled adventures. Worry not, however: there are still many chapters to go - and the next instalments will see our two friends go through a lot of new experiences and topics...
Enjoy and stay tuned for more!
16th of Sun's Dusk - 4E 202
Agda woke up in a room she didn't know. Frowning, the mage tried to sit up, but soon realized that the world was spinning around her at a crazy speed. Falling back against the pillows, the girl let out a pained whine. In that moment, she heard someone call her name.
"Agda? Agda, wake up! Come on, it's Adaeze here! Wake up!"
Confused by the unexpected sound of her friend's voice, Agda opened her eyes to find herself face-to-face with the young Redguard soldier.
"You're finally awake, you sleepy beauty", Adaeze said.
She was smiling, but her hazel eyes seemed troubled by something.
"What... What are we doing here? Where are we?"
Confronted with Agda's confusion, Adaeze sighed.
"I wish you could tell me more about what happened yesterday. I was in Dragonsreach with Lydia, Hadvar and the other guards when Accolyte Jenssen came to ask for our help. He said that Steinarius was hurt and that he had given you a draught in order to calm you down. You have been sleeping for the last ten hours".
Those words caused Agda to remember the events from the previous night. As she recalled the way Steinarius had goofily fallen off the stairs of their house, the girl let out a sigh.
"Now I remember!", she explained Adaeze. "Yesterday evening Steinarius fell off the stairs and seemingly broke his ankle. I was a wreck when I got to the Temple to ask for help, therefore Danica and Jenssen decided to have me spend the night here. They forgot to tell me about their plans and simply slipped a draught into my tea, but I really cannot blame them for that. I'm sorry they bothered you, actually".
Agda had expected Adaeze to complain about being called to the Temple to look after her, so she was very surprised when her friend didn't say anything. Noticing how worried the Redguard was, the young mage felt a tingle of nervousness.
"Adaeze, is everything alright? Did anything happen to Hadvar? Are you angry because Danica called you and not Lydia? Did I...?"
"Danica called both me and Lydia, Agda", Adaeze broke her friend off. "I'm with you, whereas Lydia is with Steinarius and his parents. Hadvar instead has just left for Solitude. Your husband's accident is causing quite a lot of problems".
Agda frowned.
"Why?", she asked, confusion well evident in her voice. "I mean, nothing serious happened! Stein is the goofiest man in Tamriel, so I should have expected him to fall off the stairs of Breezehome sooner or later. And then, I don't see any connection between that accident and Solitude".
"Balgruuf does, apparently", Adaeze informed him. "Agda, Steinarius didn't simply break his ankle. By the time Ancarion got to Breezehome, your husband was unconscious. Apparenly, Steinarius hit his head while falling off the stairs. He still hasn't come to, so we don't know his side of the story. Yet, we do know that you didn't talk about any head injury when you got here yesterday evening".
Shocked by what she had just heard, Agda sat up in her small bed.
"What are you implying, Adaeze? When I left Breezehome, my husband was perfectly conscious. He was in pain, sure, but he was awake and cursing because of the pain in his leg. He didn't hit his head at all!".
"Well, Agda, then someone between you and Ancarion is a liar. The thing is, the situation seems serious. Hadvar went to Solitude to tell Elisif that the Dragonborn's life is at risk once again".
Agda remained speechless for a second. What had Ancarion done to her husband? How could Steinarius' life be on the line again? Her husband had been almost tortured to death by the Thalmor less than three months earlier... How was he supposed to recover once again from another a grave injury?
Without hesitation, the young mage hastily left her bed.
"I need to see my husband", she told Adaeze. "I don't care if everyone thinks I'm a liar, I know that he was fine when I left him. And if you believe that I'm a liar, or that I hurt Steinarius intentionally, you are wrong! Do you hear me? YOU ARE DAMN WRONG!"
In an attempt to calm down her friend, Adaeze grabbed Agda by the elbow and told her to lower her voice.
"Agda, believe me: I know you didn't do anything to Steinarius. Yet, his mother is keen on blaming you for his injuries once again. Balgruuf has been hosting her in Dragonsreach ever since you regained possession of Breezehome, but she still hasn't forgotten how her own son seemed to choose you over her in that occasion".
"I don't care what Lucretia thinks", Agda hissed. "I just want to see my husband".
Adaeze nodded in sympathy. Yet, before Agda could leave the room, she stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Agda, Lucretia doesn't know about your pregnancy. Actually, she doesn't even know about your wedding to Steinarius. Your dress..."
As Adaeze trailed off, Agda remembered that she was wearing the pink dress her friend had given to her as a present for her pregnancy. As well as being really ugly, the dress did nothing to hide the fact that her belly had visibly swelled over the previous weeks. Yet, Agda had other problems to think of.
"I don't care if Lucretia understands that I'm pregnant. Steinarius wanted to break the news to her gently, but I have no respect for a woman who believes me capable of hurting my own husband. By the Divines, this situation is so ridiculous! Had I really hurt Steinarius, why would have I run to the Temple to fetch Danica? It just makes no sense!"
Noticing the hysteric tone in Agda's voice, Adaeze tried to calm her down before the meeting with Lucretia. When the Redguard noticed the angry look in her friend's usually peaceful eyes, however, she could do nothing but sigh.
There was no way to ease the tension between the Archmage of Winterhold and her mother-in-law.
Over the following days, Agda felt as though she was living in a nightmare once again. Steinarius seemed unable to regain consciousness and to react to Danica's cures, whereas Lucretia treated the young mage with hatred and disdain. Ancarion was often in charge of treating the Dragonborn's injuries, while Agda was too weak to help. The mage actually could do nothing but sit by her man's side and hope for the best - and when her flu got worse once again, she was forced to abandon even that simple task.
Almost a week after Steinarius' injury, the Archmage of Winterhold woke up to Adaeze's alarmed voice.
"Agda, come on! Your husband is finally awake!"
Shocked by that news, Agda quickly jumped out of bed and put on the first dress she got hold of. Running despite the dizziness that risked to overwhelm her at any moment, the young mage made her way to the Temple of Kynareth and to Steinarius' room.
As soon as she reached her husband, Agda let out a sigh of relief. Steinarius was sitting in his bed, a letter in his hands and a focused look on his face. He seemed tired, but at least he could already sit up and read without problems.
Before Agda could rejoice and throw her arms around the Dragonborn's neck, however, she noticed the weird atmosphere inside the room. Everyone had turned to look at her as soon as she had appeared on the threshold - and everyone, from Lydia to Lucretia, from Danica to Jenssen, from Ancarion to Aburius, was looking at her with a mixture of anger and confusion and disgust. Only Hadvar, who had just returned from Solitude and was sitting in a distant corner of the room, seemed completely unable to raise his eyes towards the young mage.
As Agda had feared, the first one to break the silence was her mother-in-law. Lucretia had tears in her eyes and spoke to her with a low tone full of hatred and disgust.
"How dare you show your face in here after everything you did!"
When no one did anything to protect her, Agda felt a shiver run down her spine. What in Oblivion was going on?
As soon as Ancarion noticed the confused look on the mage's face, he took a step towards Lucretia and gently tried to calm her.
"Lucretia, don't shout at her: just give her the chance to explain why she behaved so horribly to your son".
Before Agda could talk, Lydia stepped into the conversation.
"There are no explanations for what she did. And to say that Steinarius married her and that she's now carrying his child!"
Lydia's words echoed in the perfect silence of the room, but no one seemed surprised to find out about the recent marriage between the Dragonborn and Agda. The Archmage was actually shocked by that silence - apparently, everyone in the room already knew about her pregnancy and her wedding to Steinarius. Yet, who had given her secret away? Why was Lydia so mad at her? And why was no one taking her defense?
Noticing the confusion on her face, Aburius let out a long, pained sigh.
"Maybe it's better if we explain what we just found out, if you all agree".
Everyone nodded in consent, then Ancarion started talking.
"If you don't mind, I will be the one to talk to the Archmage", he solemnly said. "Agda of Anvil, you must know that Hadvar Haraldsson just came back from Solitude with very bad news regarding you and the Dragonborn. Elenwen, the First Emissary of the Aldmeri Dominion, has retrieved a letter you sent to Steinarius shortly before he was tortured. Apparently, you did know that he was in danger, but you did nothing to help him - nothing but sending him a letter that one of my Thalmor colleagues retrieved on the body of a dead courier".
As she heard those words, Adaeze let out a cry of surprise. Agda, instead, felt her jaw drop to the floor. The girl perfectly remembered the letter Ancarion was mentioning: she had written it after Vigdis' visit in Winterhold, when her anxiety and fears for Steinarius' future had finally become unbearable. Agda had given the letter to a courier she trusted, but the message had never been delivered. Ironically enough, the dead body of the courier had been found by the Thalmor - the same people who had tortured Steinarius. As soon as Ancarion informed her of that discovery, Agda realized that the Thalmor themselves had probably been the ones to kill that poor Imperial courier in order to get hold of her message.
When Ancarion noticed that Agda was at loss for words, he didn't give her the chance to defend herself - simply enough, he just resumed speaking with his mellifluos, hateful tone.
"My dear Agda, this letter shows that you were aware of the threat to Steinarius' life - yet, you did nothing to defend him. You didn't rush to his rescue, you didn't send one of your mages to Whiterun, you didn't even ask the guards of Whiterun for help in protecting him. Since you do not care about the fate of your man, you just ignored the risk and sent an ordinary courier to him. Later, after Steinarius was tortured, you never spoke to anyone about your letter, just like you didn't talk to anyone about your suspicions regarding his torturers. Maybe you were scared they could hurt you too - or, more probably, you felt guilty for the consequences of your actions, or lack thereof".
As Ancarion continued talking, Agda felt overwhelmed by anger. She knew that the Thalmor had tortured Steinarius, but she hadn't spoken to anyone about it because she wanted to avoid an open war between the Dominion and Skyrim. Also, had she publicly spoken against the Thalmor, she would have been killed within a very short amount of time.
I have always done the right thing, Agda thought to herself as she listened to Ancarion's accusations. I have always done what was best for Skyrim and I will not let this arrogant Thalmor describe me as a ruthless woman who put her husband's life on the line for no reason.
Yet, proving Ancarion wrong was almost impossible.
Agda tried to explain that she loved Steinarius, that she cared about him, that she had done everything in her power to protect him from his enemies. Still, her protests were easily silenced by Lucretia's angry yells - and a moment later, they were completely annihilated when Hadvar, sweet, innocent, good Hadvar, looked into her eyes and said few, meaningful words.
"Had you really cared for Steinarius' safety, you would have turned to the Legion for help".
Agda was shocked by the look of disgust in Hadvar's calm eyes. Yet, the young soldier had no idea of what he was talking about: turning to the Legion meant turning to the Thalmor's closest allies - and in Agda's delicate circumstances, turning to the Legion would have meant letting the Dominion know that someone was aware of their wicked plans for the future of Skyrim. As a consequence, turning to the Legion would have meant starting a hunt for the Blades and for their allies all over the Empire, a price Agda wasn't willing to pay.
I have always done the right thing, the mage repeated to herself without lowering her gaze. Hadvar's brown eyes were fixed in hers, but she had no reason to feel ashamed in front of him. I have always done what was best for Skyrim and for its future - and had the Thalmor not killed that poor courier, Steinarius wouldn't have been hurt at all.
In reply to Hadvar's accusations, the Archmage of Winterhoold simply shrugged.
"Had it been so easy, Hadvar, I would have turned to you personally".
"Why wasn't it easy, Agda?", Aburius Crepusculus suddenly asked. The man was usually very protective of the young girl, but that morning he looked like an angry bear trapped in a cage. "Who tortured Steinarius? How did you know that his life was at risk? Why didn't you turn to anyone for help? Why did you trust a simple courier with the survival of my son? Why, Agda, did you have to put Steinarius through all of this?"
As she heard that endless string of questions, the Archmage of Winterhold felt on the verge of breaking into a rageful cry. She couldn't reveal that the Thalmor were the true enemies of Skyrim and at the same time she couldn't speak about Vigdis, Delphine and her meetings with them - after all, had she revealed their part in her story, her helpers would have been hunted across the whole of Skyrim by their most feared enemies; also, she would have probably been put to trial for ignoring the threats to Steinarius' life. Unfortunately for her, the Imperial wasn't just the man she loved - he was also the only one who could save Skyrim from the dragons.
As she realized how complicated her situation was, Agda tried to come up with an explanation for her actions. At the same time she understood that, in light of the recent accusations, even Steinarius' domestic accident was now looking incredibly suspicious.
"Aburius, there is a simple reason if I didn't turn to the Legion", the mage slowly said. "I wasn't sure I had the right to be afraid".
Those words caused everyone in the room to fall silent. Ignoring the looks of suspicion on their faces, Agda resumed speaking. She had just come up with a lie that could help her get out of that dangerous situation.
"As you may know, the College of Winterhold hosts a strange being called 'the Augur of Dunlain'. I was visiting him when he told me that danger was looming over my man. He was very unclear, as all mysterious augurs are. I nonetheless decided to write a letter to Steinarius about this hypothetic threat. Sttill, I didn't think that a message from an Augur was reason enough to contact the Legion".
As she finished uttering her lie, Agda nervously chewed the inside of her cheeks. She knew she was looking like an idiot, but the Augur of Dunlain was the only thing she could think of at that moment to save herself from the accusations that were being made to her.
Apparently, Agda's lie had the effect she desired. Hadvar shook his head in disbelief, Aburius scoffed, Lucretia screamed something about having just met the most stupidest mage in Tamriel. Ancarion, instead, gave Agda a weird, menancing look.
You have found your way out of this, girl, his eyes seemed to tell the young mage. But you won't be able to escape the Thalmor forever.
During the whole time of that weird discussion, Steinarius still hadn't said anything. Agda was worried by his silence, just like she was worried by his indifference towards what was going on around him. Somehow, it looked like her husband was only interested in the letter he was reading.
Also Lucretia seemed to notice Steinarius' weird absent-mindness. Turning abruptly to him, the woman grabbed his chin and looked her son in the eyes.
"This is the woman you married, Steinarius", she hissed at him while pointing at Agda. "This is the woman who is carrying your child. A woman who lied about your injuries from last week, a woman who did nothing to save you from a threat looming over you, a woman who isn't showing any sign of regret for the way she acted in the past. What do you think we should do with her?"
When all eyes turned to him, Steinarius seemed slightly confused. His grey eyes briefly locked with Agda's, but then he immediately turned away from her. In that moment, however, the mage noticed that her husband seemed incredibly tired, tired of everything that was going on around him.
"I... I have read the letter", he said, his voice as feeble as a whisper. "I have read the letter, but I don't know what it refers to. I don't remember being tortured, I don't remember hitting my head last week, I don't even remember marrying a woman or waiting to become a father. I just... I just wish all this was over so that I could just go back to sleep again".
As Agda listened those words, she felt as though a knife was cutting through her heart. What had happened to her husband? Why was he so indifferent to everyone and everything, why had he forgotten his whole life once again? And why did no one else realize that Ancarion had something to do with that? He was the one to blame for the situation Steinarius was in, not her!
Steinarius' unsettling words actually caused everyone in the room to feel unease. However, Ancarion was quick to calm Lucretia down.
"It's a consequence of his injury to the head, my dear", he calmly said. "He will feel better soon".
Reassured by the Thalmor's words, Lucretia nodded and looked at her son again.
"Steinarius, you didn't answer my question", she gently reminded him. "What should we do with Agda?"
For the second time that morning, Steinarius' eyes locked with Agda's. The man seemed to briefly analyze her distressed look, her ridicolous pink dress, the way her hands were nervously clutching her belly. Then, he spoke.
"I don't remember marrying this woman", he said, confusion evident in his voice. "Actually, I don't remember her at all. I... I think she's not bad, because she doesn't seem bad. Also, if she's the one who wrote the letter, maybe one time she actually loved me, since this letter is so full of worry and love".
Surprised by that reply, Lucretia spoke once again to her son.
"My sweet boy, this woman is evil, incredibly evil! She's not good for you, not good at all. She's..."
"Lucretia, enough", Aburius unexpectedly broke his wife off. "Don't push him. He's not in the position to make a decision about Agda, I think that much is clear. We should wait for a couple of days until he retrieves his memory, or else we should turn to a judge to find out whether we can annull his marriage".
When she heard those words, Agda felt on the brink of fainting. Was this what Steinarius' parents had in mind?!
Surprisingly enough, at that moment Steinarius spoke again.
"If I understood correctly, you want to annull my marriage to this woman", he told his parents. "You don't need a judge for that: I don't remember marrying her, so I don't think the wedding is valid".
As Steinarius said those words, Adaeze let out a disdainful cry and started talking about the ceremony where she and Hadvar had served as bridesmaid and best man. For Agda, however, that was too much to take: feeling bitter tears forming in her eyes, the mage left the Temple of Kynareth and ran to the gates of Whiterun. While escaping the city, she took off her wedding ring and gave it to a beggar, then she asked a carriage driver for a lift to High Rock.
She had had enough of that situation and she was looking forward to forgetting Steinarius and everything that was connected to him in the same way he had seemingly forgotten about her.