Finally got chapter 2 finished. It took my way longer than I wanted it to. Oh well, still updated within a month. I hope you enjoy! Please read warning! Reviews and follows appreciated.
Note: I do not own Skyrim or its characters. I have only thought up my own OCs for this story. This is rated M for a reason and will have mature themes. I will try to remember to put a warning before every chapter but if one is missing or you think something should be added please let me know. Also, here is a small guide to help with my writing style.
Italicized with no quotes is the character's thoughts
"No italics with quotes," is the characters speaking the common tongue.
"Italicized with quotes," is the character speaking another language, most likely falmer.
Hope that helps.
WARNINGS:mild langue, blood, and fighting. Mention of rape (nothing explicit)
Ysrae sighs heavily. It is another sleepless night, or what Ysrae guesses is night. She hasn't seen the sky for what feels like ages. According to the marks she made on the cage they keep her in, it has only been a fortnight. She is the only Snow Elf left in this Gods forsaken cave. Some of the bandits left with Faiyis earlier today. Ysrae thought she heard them say something about an Orc stronghold, but she cannot be certain.
She shifts her position. Her hip is starting to ache from lying on her side for too long on the cold, hard ground. Ysrae refuses to change positions. From her current spot, she is facing a wall at the back of her cage. She can't see anything happening around her, but the bandits also cannot see that she is awake. And if they see she's awake, they will make her get up and do something. Ysrae guesses it is to keep her from knowing how long it's been since they brought her here. Or maybe the leader doesn't want her to get proper sleep, not that she could get any regardless. Ysrae's sleep has been light and fitful. When she does fall into deep sleep, she is plagued by nightmares.
"Hey, get up," a gravelly voice says.
She continues to pretend to be asleep. Ysrae knows it's the Argonian. He has a distinct voice and is the only one to show her any kindness. He's also one of the few non-humans. He sighs and Ysrae hears the rattle of a key being inserted into the lock.
"Come now. You're going to get me in trouble with the boss."
Ysrae huffs and sits up. She can't help but stare at him. Before she was brought here, she had never seen an Argonian and his curling horns and feathers on his head are an enigma to her.
He slides the cage door open. She looks away and hugs her knees. She's afraid today is the day the leader will take her by force. She has seen the way he stares at her while she cooks or mines or whatever labor he asks of her. Thus far, Ysrae has done everything he's asked, true to her word. She's managed to rebuff all his lewd comments about getting her in bed, without being too rude. She would bet he thinks she's playing hard to get.
Ysrae hears the Argonian shuffle closer. She glances up at him. She thinks there is pity in his stormy gray eyes but they blend in with his dark gray scales, making it hard to read his emotions.
He crouches next to Ysrae, "Look, I know this hasn't been easy for you. But the more you make him wait the angrier he'll get."
Ysrae swallows hard and nods. "Can I ask you something?" she whispers.
"So you do speak," he gives her a toothy grin.
She doesn't return the smile. "What do you think of your boss?" She keeps her voice low, but the sound of the stream flowing nearby should cover her words from anyone but the Argonian.
"Hmph. He's a right bastard," he whispers back. He grimaces and stands up. "Now, let us go before he comes for us."
Ysrae reluctantly stands and holds out her wrists, expecting him to bind them.
He shakes his head and gently pushes her in front of him, "I don't see the point in restraining you. We aren't going very far and we out-number you."
Ysrae starts walking, "Yes, but I think it's nighttime. There is hardly anyone around."
"Hmm, I knew you weren't as dumb as these Nords made you out to be."
Ysrae can hear the smile in his voice. She could almost smile. Almost. Ysrae pauses at the top of the sloping path located behind her cage.
"He's in his private area," the Argonian answers her silent question.
She nods and continues forward. She turns left when she reaches the stone wall and stares at the thick, brown curtain haphazardly hung across a narrow entryway. Her heart is racing, she has never come to his "quarters" with the curtain closed.
"Here, boss," the Argonian says loudly.
"Bout time. Send 'er in," the Nord grumbles.
Ysrae takes a deep, calming breath and holds her head high. She lifts the curtain and slips through.
The Nord is sitting in a chair and heavily leaning on a small table, a tankard clutched tightly in his hand. It looks like he's barely able to hold himself up and he smells strongly of mead.
"Come 'ere girl," he growls. Surprisingly he isn't slurring his words yet.
Ysrae moves closer but she's careful to stay out of his reach. He leans forward and grabs her arm with surprising speed. He pulls her into his lap. Ysrae is surprised but manages not to react.
"I told you ta come," he rumbles in her ear.
Ysrae suppresses a shudder and keeps her voice even, "I did come."
He growls, "You know what I want. Your pushback was cute at first, but now I want obedience."
Ysrae tries to say something but he covers her mouth with his hand.
"Complete obedience. You elves always find a way not to completely follow through on your words."
Ysrea pries his hand off her face and retorts, "It's not my fault you were not more thorough when we made a deal. I follow your orders and I heal you and whoever else you want me to heal. Besides, you made a deal with a conniving elf."
He slaps her and shoves her to the ground. Ysrae gasps in surprise. He downs whatever was left in the tankard and stands, looming over her.
He slowly undoes his breeches, "We can do this tha easy way or tha hard way."
Bile rises in Ysrae's throat. She shoots him a glare and slowly stands up. Ysrae has never hated another living being the way she hates this Nord. She carefully moves around him and sits on the bed. She hates herself for what she's about to do, but she knows now is not the time to fight. She swallows hard and slips her ragged tunic over her head and tosses it off to the side.
The Nord leers at her, "Too bad. I was hoping you would resist."
Ysrae bites back a retort and allows him to turn her and shove her face into the bed. She bites her lip and braces for the brutality to come.
….
Ysrae carefully grinds deathbell and imp stool in a bowl. She supposed to be making a healing salve, but the bandits here have such a disdain for magic and alchemy there's no way they could know that's not what she's making. They don't even have a proper alchemy lab for Gods sake! Ysrae concentrates on the task at hand. This is too important for mistakes.
Once she's satisfied with the consistency, Ysrae uses the jagged rock she used to crush the plants to cut her finger. She squeezes her finger and lets the blood mix with the paste. She heals her finger and quickly stirs. Ysrae discreetly looks around to make sure no one is paying attention to her. Luckily for her, it seems as long as she doesn't make any sudden moves, no one pays her any mind.
She scrapes the mixture into a cup and takes it to the cooking fire where there is a pot of hot water waiting for her. She fills the cup halfway and stirs it thoroughly. She quickly downs the drink. It tastes foul and burns all the way down. She cannot help but wrinkle her nose in disgust. If she had an alchemy lab, she would be able to make a proper potion to keep from getting pregnant, but this will have to do. Unfortunately for her, this impure drink has painful side-effects. She can already feel her hands starting to shake.
She quickly cleans up her alchemy supplies and heads for her cage. The only good thing about sleeping with the pig of a leader is Ysrae has been able to convince him that she cares for him and in turn she is allowed to move around somewhat freely. She ducks under the mostly open door on the cage and tries to get comfortable on her straw pile. A sharp pain is starting to bloom in her stomach. Ysrae closes her eyes and tries to shut out the pain. Tonight will be a long one.
….
Ysrae stares down at the meat she is mindlessly cutting up. I need to get out of here. I am going to go crazy.
"Wench!" the voice she hates most booms out.
She tightly squeezes the knife in her hand and resists the urge to throw it at his ugly face. She calmly sets it down and turns where his voice came from, careful to keep her eyes averted.
He roughly grabs her shoulders and shakes her, "Where's my dagger you little bitch?"
Ysrae feigns fear and flinches away, "I don't know m'lord."
He backhands her. Pain explodes from her nose.
"Don't lie ta me!" he screams.
Ysrae can feel blood running down her face. She wipes her face with her arm, smearing blood everywhere.
He shoves her against the table and rips at her clothes, "I know ya have it. You've been planning ta kill me."
Ysrae forces a look of surprise and hurt on her face, "Why would I ever hurt you m'lord?"
He smiles widely at her. Ysrae can hear low murmuring. She keeps herself from sneaking a peek over his shoulder and lowers her gaze. Not yet. Not. Yet.
He loosens his grip on her and grabs her chin, titling her head back. Ysrae stares blankly at him. He kisses her tenderly. It takes everything in her not to react negatively. This brute has been pulling stunts like this since he first forced himself on Ysrae; Auri-El knows how long ago. She thinks it's so he can break her with harsh punishments and affection as a reward. Unfortunately for him, Ysrae knows what real love feels like and she hates him with every fiber of her being.
He finally breaks the kiss and steps back. He removes a simple bow from his back and holds it out to Ysrae. She gives him a confused look.
His smile broadens, "You have come a long way since ya came 'ere a year ago. I want ya ta show us yer skills with a bow. If yer good enough, you will teach tha men."
Ysrae tears up at the revelation of how long she's been here. It has felt like an eternity but she didn't think she had been here that long. Because of how long she has been here, she most likely will never see her twin again. He must take her reaction as joy because he presses the bow into her hands and caresses her cheek.
"Show us what ya got, love."
Ysrae almost sneers at his pet name. Instead, she moves past him and goes to the adjacent room set up with targets. She stands next to a basket of arrows, grabs an arrow, knocks it, and pulls it back. Ysrae takes a deep breath and releases the arrow on her exhale. It gracefully flies through the air and hits the center of the target. Ysrae shoots arrow after arrow, feeling a small amount of happiness for the first time in a long time.
The Nord stops her with a heavy hand on her shoulder. Ysrae lowers the bow and drops the arrow she was about to shoot. He looks at the cluster of arrows buried at the center of the target and nods approvingly at her.
"You are tha new expert marksman. Now," he rubs dried blood off her face, "get cleaned up and go rest in yer cage."
Ysrae nods, puts the bow on the ground, and exits.
She goes to the stream that runs under an overhang of rock just past "her" cage. She crouches next to the water and carefully feels her nose. She hisses in pain. It is broken and she can feel that it's a little crooked. She punches and ground and grits her teeth. This is nowhere near the worst thing he has done to her, but Ysrae is tired; she doesn't know how much longer she can take this abuse.
"Dammit," she whispers.
"Need any help?"
Ysrae whips around and sees the Argonian holding a bowl and cloth. She huffs and turns back around, "What are you doing here?"
He walks up to her and kneels next to her, "I thought you might need help with your broken nose."
Ysrae just hums in response. She closes her eyes and takes deep breaths. She has to straighten her nose quickly and heal it before the pain is too much to hold it. She lifts her hands to begin but cold, scaly hands gently pull her arms down. Ysrae opens her eyes to his stormy grays pleading with her.
"Let me help you. I might not look like it but I was the unofficial healer before you came here."
"Why?" Ysrae's throat is suddenly dry and she swallows hard, "Why do you want to help me?"
His expression softens, "Because despite all the pain you are in, I can see that you are a kind person. This world is hard on kind people and I don't want your light to be extinguished."
"If that's true, then why are you one of them?" Ysrae shoots back.
He looks away and lowers his voice, "Let us fix your nose. Then I will tell you."
Ysrae nods, "Ok." She turns towards him and kneels to stabilize herself. "I need you to get my nose as straight as you can and hold it there. I will do my best not to move, but don't stop holding it until I heal myself. Sound good?"
He nods and grabs her face, his thumbs hovering on either side of her nose. "Ready?" he questions quietly.
Ysrae takes a few steadying breaths and nods.
"Sorry," he murmurs, putting pressure on it.
Pain shoots through her face, making her eyes instantly tear up. Ysrae grits her teeth but manages not to move or make a sound.
"Alright."
Ysrae can't see through her watering eyes, but she sends a large, steady amount of magicka to her face. The spell sings around them and lights up the dark area. Ysrae can feel her nose knitting itself back together. When the pain is gone and she no longer feels her nose mending, she cuts off her spell.
"Thank you," Ysrae whispers.
The Argonian nods and gently wipes her tears away, "It's the least I could do."
"Yes, but you did not have to. No one else in this place would have helped," she gives him a small smile.
He stares at her, an unreadable expression on his scaly face.
Ysrae averts her eyes, "Anyways, you said you would tell me why you are here."
He sighs and lowers his hands. He looks at the ground, "I hope you won't think any less of me than you already do. I will have to tell you a lot about myself, so this will be a long story."
"That is ok," Ysrae whispers gently, "I am not exactly busy."
He glances up at her and she gives him a small smile. He looks away and grabs the forgotten bowl and cloth sitting next to him, "May I clean the blood off your face? I know you can do it yourself, but will have an easier time telling you if my hands are busy."
Ysrae hesitates. She eventually nods her consent and sits cross-legged.
"Thank you," he murmurs. He dips the cloth in the water in the bowl and wrings it out. "Lucky for you the water is still warm." He takes a deep breath and gently dabs at her face, "I have been in Skyrim since I was a hatchling. I grew up in Windhelm, but I left once I was old enough to be on my own. I traveled to Hjaalmarch and explored the marshes. There, I learned to sneak and the basics in fighting. I became an excellent scout," he smiles at Ysrae, a twinkle in his eyes.
Ysrae raises an eyebrow, confused as to what the joke is.
The Argonian chuckles uncomfortably, "You know. Like my name?"
"Ah," Ysrae looks at the ground, "sorry, but I do not know your name. I probably have heard someone say your name but…" Ysrae pauses and gives him an apologetic look. "I have been so angry about the wipe out of my clan that I have made it a point not to know anyone's name. Strategically, I know that is not the right move. However, with what happened, I refuse to show any respect to anyone here." Ysrae looks away and picks at her nails; something she tends to do when she is uncomfortable or nervous. "Plus, it's not like anyone knows my name," she mumbles.
"If you say so, Ysrae," he chuckles, tossing the rag into the bowl. Before she has time to process his words, he continues, "Anyways I became a good scout. I would occasionally travel to Morthal to buy supplies or look for work. One day, I learned someone had gone missing. I decided to investigate and see if I could help. The person had last been seen in a cave southwest of Morthal. I found the cave, along with a bear eating someone at the mouth.
"I managed to kill the bear and decided to explore the cave before I did anything with the poor soul. That was a huge mistake," he chuckles. "There were three more bears in the cave. I am good at sneaking, but it is difficult to sneak around a predator like that in an enclosed space, let alone three of them. They caught a whiff of me and attacked. I got away in the nearby river, but not before they ripped my pack off my back and gravely injured me. Tove- er the boss found me down stream. He gave me a couple healing potions and helped me get my things back."
"You owe him your life," Ysrae sighs.
He nods, "At the time he was a lone mercenary. I traveled Skyrim with him until we found this place. He decided he wanted to set up camp here and get more men. He started a gambling ring, hence the arena down there," he jerked his head behind him. "Any man could fight and it was never to the death. Up until the raid on your clan, he hadn't done anything so morally disgusting, at least what I had seen. I used to be away more than I was here."
"So…" Ysrae carefully picks her words, "you did not want to attack my people?"
He shakes his head, "I did not even know about it until he brought you all here. I tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't even see me for a week. I haven't left this cave since you got here either. I think he's afraid I will leave and tell the guards about this."
Ysrae desperately wants to ask if he would even consider helping her get out, but she holds her tongue. She lets out a breath and softly whispers, "I am sorry. You are just as much a prisoner as I am."
He chuckles darkly, "And yet I have it much easier than you." He looks around and moves closer to Ysrae, talking in a low voice, "Look, if an opportunity arises, I will help you get out of here. I can't promise Tove will be killed, but I will do what I can to get you out of here."
Ysrae's eyes well up with unwanted tears. She blinks rapidly and puts a hand to her mouth, "False hope is crueler than torture." The Argonian has been nothing but kind to her, but she can't bring herself to blindly believe him. Her trust in others has been broken.
A cool, scaly hand gently touches her arm. She lets him pull her into a hug. She throws her arms around him, tears streaming down her face.
His arms tighten around her, "I swear on my life, I will help get you out of here. Scouts-Many-Marshes does not go back on his word."
"He better not," Ysrae murmurs into his shoulder, his curved horns resting against her head. A sliver of hope blossoms in her chest.