A/N: Well, here we are people. The second to last chapter of arc 1 is here. We're wrapping up this arc so we can dive right into the next one, Oblivion Walker. But before the fun can start, I needed to fix something that had fucking bothered me about halfway through this chapter. Astrid got her sexy ass bitten by TWO Daughters of Coldharbour, and multiple times. You know damn well she didn't take a cure disease potion or wear a necklace of disease immunity. WTF!? How wasn't she changed!?
So, that ended with me changing a lot of this story. Don't worry; it'll be a hopefully seamless fix…come on, admit it. Vampire Astrid is fucking awesome.
Whispers of the Night
Summary: One year after Serana died and she left Astrid, Alana has left for Solstheim to be alone and never harm another innocent. Enemies new and old are rising, and it is never easy for one to free themselves from the shackles of their demons…
*Book 1: The Black Swordswoman Part 7*
Nazir was a man who was loyal to his mistress to the point that some would call it obsessive. He followed her lead wherever she went and obeyed her every order without hesitation or a mere thought of objecting. He had told her that several years ago when she became the leader of the Dark Brotherhood in Skyrim and it remained true to this very day. He worshipped the ground she walked on, always admiring the passion she had for the art of delivering painful deaths to their enemies.
That was the very reason why it hurt him as much as it did to see Astrid in her current state. The once formidable and dangerous assassin was a mere shell of her former self after Alana left, her heart having been completely shattered by that act. Nazir could still remember the day the Brotherhood's few remaining members received Alana's letter. They were all affected differently by the message their former Listener had scribbled, but Astrid definitely took it the hardest. For days after it was like she had died and was replaced by someone else who wore her face as a fleshy mask. She couldn't sleep and refused to eat, only eventually snapping out of it briefly thanks to both Nazir and Babette endlessly pestering her. When she did start eating again, Nazir was hopeful that the dangerous assassin he respected and admired had returned to her former self.
He was wrong, so horribly wrong. Astrid was nowhere to being the person she was over a year ago, when she could reduce even a battle hardened bandit chief into nothing more than a weak whimpering mess with the deadly aura that rippled from her slender frame. Losing Alana and Serana was a very devastating mental and emotional blow to her.
Nazir didn't even want to think what their former Listener was going through at the moment. He had known that her mind was very unstable in the time she was with them, constantly being tormented by the daedric prince of lies, sex, murder, and secrets. The Webspinner was a much more dangerous enemy than he anticipated; even though Alana had been gifted with the blood of one of the Nine Divines, she had been unable to prevent Mephala from dealing a blow so devastating it broke even her.
He could understand why Alana left them the way she did. In her eyes she was nothing more than a monster, a bringer of death and darkness no matter where she went and unable to escape the cold chains that kept her in its clutches. She felt responsible for the death of Festus, Veezara, and Gabriella, unable to stop the Penitus Oculatus from killing them.
The Redguard man sighed in frustration and looked over at the cooking pot, seeing the warm light brown broth bubbling within. 'Dammit. Little more than a year ago, things were looking up for the Dark Brotherhood. We had a Listener who turned out to be the damned Dragonborn of all people and the gold was piling in. Then her past came back to haunt her and everything was cut down mercilessly. Our plan to kill the Emperor fell to pieces and the hunters became the hunted.'
He didn't blame her once. He knew perfectly well that it wasn't Alana's fault that the grandest assassination plot they had ever planned fell apart. That could be blamed on Arnbjorn becoming envious of the affection displayed between his ex wife and the Listener, prompting him to turn traitor and kill both of them. The rest of everything he blamed on Mephala. He didn't think she'd be powerful enough to show her true form in Tamriel, let alone strong enough to summon a horde of her own spider daedra in an attempt to kill Alana and claim her soul for herself. But she was. She was more than strong enough to manifest in Tamriel and her daedra were able to kill even a pure blooded vampire of Serana's power.
The rich smell of the stew wafted up his nostrils and his stomach let out a longing growl, already anticipating the divine concoction he had started preparing ten minutes ago. He was finally trying his hand at making the famous Potage le Magnifique, though not quite the way Alana had made it during their attempt to assassinate Titus Mede II. He doubted anyone would be pleased with him if he wasted such a valuable resource such as a piece of jarrin root. Nor did he think Astrid would take kindly to him poisoning their remaining members. Poor woman had enough on her mind as it was without worrying about her faithful second in command trying to poison everyone as a sort of incredibly lame joke.
He doubted Astrid would be affected by the poison. She had been bitten by two pure blooded vampires, multiple times. The natural stormy blue of her eyes had gradually started changing to the eerie gold that Alana's were after the Listener left, showing signs that she herself was turning into a vampire. Nazir was honestly surprised that it had taken this long for her to change. Normally mortals bitten by vampires turned into one of them within days, not over a course of several months. Perhaps Astrid's depression had slowed down the changes of her body to the point where processes that should take days took months.
It sure as hell explained why the blonde was suddenly staring at one of their new recruits with a rather predatory stare for the last few months and why she suddenly preferred performing her acts of assassination in the night. 'Usually those bitten by a vampire turn into one in less than a week. I guess Alana leaving her had an impact on more than just her heart. It affected her physically as well.'
Nazir picked up a wooden plate with neatly chopped carrots on it and dropped them into the stew, using the elven dagger he used to cut them to push them into the broth. The boiling liquid hissed and bubbled in the pot, several drops of it spitting up and landing on his skin. He ignored the burning sensation and instead picked up a wooden spoon to give it a few brisk stirs. The steam rising from the cast iron pot made him sweat under his traditional Hammerfell garbs and the Redguard briefly removed his Alik'r hood to let his skin breathe a little.
'By Sithis it's hot in here.' He wiped his forehead with the back of his left arm and continued to stir clockwise for another four complete circles, tapping the spoon on the rim of the pot when he was finished. All he needed to do now was let it simmer for a few more minutes until the carrots were no longer crunchy and he'd have made the Gourmet's signature dish, said to make even battle hardened warriors weep with joy.
Not that he could actually ask the famous chef if that was truth or a mere rumor spread by the masses. Alana had killed him as part of the Dark Brotherhood's plot to assassinate the Emperor. 'I would've liked to meet him at least once or twice. Oh well. I'll see him in the Void when my death finally comes to me.' He was looking forward to serving Sithis in Void once his end did come. There was no greater honor than being able to serve the Dread Father after a lifetime of faithful servitude. The Dark Brotherhood saved him from himself, something he never forgot.
His previous life as a skooma addicted beggar roaming Hammerfell was something he was not at all proud of. He still remembered the day one of the Dark Brotherhood's assassins came to him after he witnessed them killing their target and instead of asking him to join told him to either walk away or suffer the same fate. For some reason Nazir didn't know at the time, he picked up the victim's fallen scimitar sword and stood his ground, engaging in battle with the deadly assassin. It ended with his eventual loss as the sword shattered, but instead of killing him the assassin smiled. They saw the potential in him and made him an offer. Either he could join the ranks of the Dark Brotherhood or continue to live the life of a drug addict.
He chose his new life without a moment's hesitation and his new life began.
"Babette?" he called out. "Dinner is almost ready. Would you be so kind as to set the table for me?"
The immortal ten year old vampire looked down from her personal alchemy perch and smiled, showing off her fangs. "The Potage? Nazir, you spoil us too much. I'll be right down. I just finished tending to the garden." She still wore her signature red shirt with the black handprint on it, however after Alana left them she started wearing a long black scarf that bore markings on it that resembled the crest of the Nightingales, the shadowy guardians of Nocturnal. Perhaps it was simply to compensate for the much colder climate of the Pale as opposed to Falkreath and the symbols were just coincidence, or maybe it was a way for her to remember their old Listener and her ties to the patron daedric prince of thieves. He never asked why she started wearing it for he felt as though it wasn't his business to know.
A few moments later Babette was downstairs in their new Sanctuary's grand dining hall and she reached into the cupboard to pull out a pile of silver bowls. They were the spoils of a recent assassination to take out the housecarl of Falkreath a few months ago, stolen by their newest addition. The man was gifted in the art of the blade, using perfectly sharpened glass daggers. However, he wasn't on the same level of deadly as either Serana or Alana. The two vampires were responsible for bringing the Dark Brotherhood from the brink of extinction.
Those brief months of prosperity seemed so far away now.
Babette set the table in a hurry and Nazir lifted the pot by the handles, being careful not to burn himself. He set it down on the table and began to pour the stew into the bowls, glancing at the empty spot at the head of their table with a frown. "Where's Astrid? I thought she would have been back from her contract a few hours ago."
Babette pursed her lips before shrugging. "Maybe she stopped to enjoy the city for a bit. Solitude isn't exactly somewhere we get to visit very often."
Nazir didn't think his mistress would meet her end out on a contract. Not after she had survived the attack by the Penitus Oculatus and Mephala's spider daedra. He also didn't believe that she was merely out enjoying the many sources of entertainment the city of Solitude was able to provide.
"Have you noticed the changes Astrid has gone through?" he asked. "She seems…different from how she once was."
Babette had taken a mouthful of the potage and she took a minute to swallow before speaking. "I have. I can smell it. She's no longer human. She has become one of my kind."
"I thought she had," Nazir agreed. "Her eyes have changed color entirely. They are the same shade of gold as Alana's."
Babette winced at the mention of their former Listener and looked down at her bowl. "I wish she didn't leave us. It wasn't her fault things went the way they did."
"I know, my dear." Nazir reached over and patted her head. "She was so strong, stronger than all of us, and yet she was unable to save a person she cared so deeply about. In her eyes, it was her fault and she took the blame. All the death she's seen finally caught up to her." 'Even a soldier like her can only see the death of their friends so many times before it finally starts to haunt them. She was already hurting from it before Serana died.'
Nazir heard the creak of wood and he turned to see his mistress descend from the ladder. She had taken the secret entrance back inside as opposed to using the front door and the Redguard man felt a sudden uneasiness being around her in her present condition. 'I do hope she was responsible enough to feed while she was out. Sithis knows Alana postponed it for as long as she could.'
When she turned to look at him he was able to see a slow trickle of blood dripping away from her lips and her bright gold eyes seemed to glow with power. "Apologies for my lateness. I'm afraid I had to make a slight alteration to my ride home. A necessary stop, sadly."
"You had to feed?" Babette asked. Astrid looked surprised for a moment and the much older vampire rolled her eyes. "For Sithis' sake, I can smell it, mistress. Your scent changed. You smell more like Alana than you used to."
Astrid bristled at the mention of Alana's name. A year had done nothing to heal the wounds left behind by her departure and Astrid's bright eyes flashed with fury and pain. "Is that so? I doubt she would actually care that she turned me."
"She left because she didn't want to hurt us!" Babette protested. "Astrid, I—"
"You say she didn't want us to get hurt, but that's exactly what happened, is it not!? She left like a selfish bitch!" Astrid hisses furiously. Nazir took the opportunity to pick up his bowl and excuse himself from the table. He didn't think Astrid would intentionally lash out if she was like how she once was. But her mind was still clouded with the pain of losing both Serana and Alana and she was gifted with powers she didn't have full control over.
He had seen Astrid fight enough times to know how deadly she was; a furious Astrid with the blood of a pure blooded vampire running through her veins was something that was out of a nightmare.
Nazir retired to his quarters for the night, passing by Astrid's room. He stole a glance inside and could make out the lump under the covers that could only belong to that pretty young Nord barmaid who worked in the Windpeak Inn in Dawnstar. The Redguard rolled his old eyes in exasperation. He would follow Astrid into the depths of Oblivion, yet she was going about trying to mend her heart the wrong way. Attempting to replace Alana with a common wench she happened to seduce after both a few drinks and an illusion spell or two thanks to her newfound vampirism was not going to work. He had a feeling Astrid knew it and was just being stubborn anyway.
The only way he could realistically see her getting any better was if she went after Alana, wherever she went. Her letter didn't exactly leave them with a lot of clues as to her whereabouts, but it was obvious that she was no longer in Skyrim. 'She felt as though she needed to disappear. So, where would she go? Hammerfell or Morrowind perhaps? No one knows of her there.'
He heard the sound of shattering glass followed by a sharp hiss and he rubbed his temples before sitting down in his quarters. His scimitar sword rested on a nightstand and he picked it up, running a hand over the curved blade.
A faint smile etched itself onto his old face as he remembered the first time Alana had seen the weapon. She was simply fascinated by it and actually managed to convince him to let her sharpen it to the point where it would cut through even ebony and glass armor with ease. He never let anyone touch his prized sword before. He was beginning to think that she had used her vampiric seduction powers to convince him.
"Nazir." He looked up and saw Astrid leaning in the doorway, one leg propped up against the smooth wood. "Am I intruding?"
"Not at all, mistress." Nazir shook his head and offered her a chair to sit after her long trip back from Solitude. "How did the contract go?"
"Too easy." Astrid scoffed and shook her head when Nazir offered her a bottle of rum. "It actually didn't feel enjoyable to wipe his miserable existence from the face of the earth."
Nazir poured himself a glass and took a hearty swig, blinking back as the strong alcohol flowed over his tongue. "You miss her, don't you?"
"No." Astrid bristled and gave him a dirty look. He tried to resist smiling. He knew damn well that she was lying. If there was one thing she could never do, it was lie to him. He had an uncanny knack for knowing whether or not someone was telling the truth.
"Liar."
"I'm not—"
"You do want her back. So, what's preventing you from finding out where she is and going after her?" Nazir asked. "You told Lucien Lachance to follow her, for Sithis' sake. You know you can ask him anytime where she's currently hiding. If I know you, you'll be on the first ship out of Skyrim to smack some sense into her. She needs it."
Astrid opened her mouth as if to say something snappy to him, but she shut her jaw and glared at the ground. If looks could kill, the entire Sanctuary probably would've been nothing more than a smoking ruin by now. "I don't abandon my family, Nazir."
"You wouldn't be. You would be on a mission to get the Listener to open her eyes and see that she still has something worth fighting for."
"…you really think I ought to go after her? After she abandoned us?"
"If it'll get that damned barmaid out of your bed, then yes," Nazir answered dryly. "Your attempt of replacing Alana with her is insulting. I know damn well you used vampiric seduction on her. Poor girl's probably been enthralled now."
"I have no idea what you're talking about." The faintest trace of a smirk flickered onto her lips before she let her hand become cloaked in the purple and black of a conjuration spell. A portal opened and out of it stepped a ghostly man wearing the achingly familiar shrouded robes of the older assassins of the Dark Brotherhood.
Lucien Lachance dusted off his robes, pulling the cowl down to give his mistress a smile. "Ah, Astrid, my dear. I was wondering when you would call upon me once more. It has been far too long since we last had the pleasure of speaking. You have changed greatly since we last spoke."
"Lucien." Astrid nodded respectfully to the ancient assassin. "I apologize for not calling on your aid sooner. "My mind was…occupied."
"And rightfully so. Losing the Listener was a devastating blow. However, the Dark Brotherhood has survived much worse. We will recover in time," Lucien said simply. "But I know you don't want to hear me say the words you already know. You desire to find her."
"I do," Astrid said quietly. "I need to find her. Where is she hiding?"
Lucien was silent for a few moments as if he were trying to hone in on Alana's location, then he answered the question everyone in the Dark Brotherhood had. "She is not in Skyrim. She has retreated to a land tainted with the influence of the daedric princes of Oblivion. An island to the north of Skyrim, part of Morrowind. Solstheim."
'Solstheim? Why would she go there, of all places? It doesn't make any sense.' Nazir frowned and looked over at Astrid to see if she knew anything about why Alana would go to Solstheim. As far as the Redguard was aware, the island was little more than an ash waste after the eruption of Red Mountain. "Astrid?"
The blonde's bright gold eyes flashed briefly and she swallowed. "Thank you, Lucien. That will be all for now. If I require your assistance, I'll let you know."
"As you wish, mistress." Lucien vanished in a pile of ghostly essence and left the two assassins alone.
"You know something, don't you?" Nazir pressed. "You know there is a reason why she went to Solstheim."
"I think so." Astrid's lip curled in anger and she reached for the Blade of Woe that was still resting in its sheath. "That selfish bitch…when I find her, I'm going to smack her for her little stunt."
"Please do. Give her one for me, too," Nazir requested. "I think she could use a good wakeup call."
"Oh, I will," Astrid said with deadly promise. "Selfish little…"
Nazir could only chuckle to himself and he nodded. "Go, my mistress. May Sithis follow you."
He knew as well as everyone else in the Sanctuary that Astrid wouldn't be content with not being able to go after Alana. Now that she knew exactly where she went, Astrid would head out to Solstheim and knock some sense into the Listener. Hopefully she would open her eyes and see that she did more harm leaving than she did staying.
He would give Astrid a few moments to herself. She needed it.
Astrid felt a surge of anger course through her body as she went off towards her chamber to prepare herself for a journey to Solstheim. 'Damn her. Is she really so arrogant to think Serana's death only affected her? The selfish little bitch.'
Astrid knew how stubborn Alana was. She never stopped blaming herself for the deaths of her friends and loved ones, even though she knew it was Mephala. But for her to blame herself for Serana's death and act like she was the sole reason she died was arrogant of her. 'She's an idiot. Acting like she's the one responsible for everything is foolish. When will she open her eyes and see that it wasn't her fault?'
Astrid reached her quarters and glanced at the sleeping form of Katria in her bed. She was showing signs of being enthralled; she spent a lot of time in a trance-like state and was very lethargic.
The leader of the Dark Brotherhood wasn't surprised when she woke up one day and discovered the outside of her eyes were starting to turn gold. She had been bitten several times by two Daughters of Coldharbour without her consuming a potion to cure disease or a necklace with an immunity enchantment; it was only a matter of time before she was changed into a vampire herself.
She didn't anticipate how powerful she felt. She could feel the power coursing through her veins and it was intoxicating. Astrid was always deadly with a blade in hand, but with her newfound vampire powers she felt as though she could do anything she desired. Even though she was transformed against her will, Astrid didn't mind too much. She was now immortal. Even if the sunlight bothered her and she had to feed every few days to prevent herself from going absolutely berserk from bloodlust, she was glad to have her powers.
Though she wouldn't mind having someone who could teach her more about what she was capable of. Babette was powerful for a vampire, but even her abilities paled in comparison to what Alana or even Serana could do as pure bloods of the Volkihar clan.
'Why would she go to Solstheim? There's nothing there for her, except her contact who gave us the information about the Elder Council Amulet.'
Astrid picked up an alchemy pouch and strapped it to her left thigh. It never hurt to have supplies when going on a long journey and the blonde knew that the island was a dangerous place. Being unprepared would be unwise, even for someone who was immortal.
"Mistress…?" Katria lifted her head up, her blue eyes glazed over from being Astrid's main source of blood for the last nine months. "Where are you going?"
Astrid turned her back to her and picked up a beautifully crafted ebony sword, twirling it in her hands. It was a little heavier than the Blade of Woe, but she could still call herself an expert with it and she slid it into the leather straps on her back.
"I'm going to get our Listener back."
Astrid was going to hurt Alana when she got her hands on her.
A/N: I know. What the fuck, Strife? You're going to cocktease us by not letting us know if Alana's dead until the next chapter? You're a prick.
I know. XD. I wanted to do one chapter with the Dark Brotherhood for awhile though. They're important. Specifically sexy vampire Astrid XD. I'm making her take up dual wielding too, but not to the extent of Alana's skill with it. Alana's a true master swordsman, whereas Astrid would be at least a tier or two below that. That's not a knock on Astrid's skill at all; it just shows how damned good of a swordsman Alana is.
C. Strife#5371