Chapter 14
Lynne had been unable to sleep yet again, and so she resigned herself to the nearly empty Dining Hall, sipping on a pint of mead. She was too distracted with her own thoughts to see Nazgurat seated near the fire, enjoying a honey ale, but he saw her. A couple of other patrons remained, but the Bard had finished some hours before and taken his leave. Lynne leaned on her arms with her head slightly bowed, deep in thought. She tried desperately to forget her past but it haunted her every step of the way.
The Older Orc watched her for a while, but then he decided to retire to his bedroom. Nazgurat downed the rest of his ale and placed the empty bottle back down on the table. A glimmer of movement out of the corner of his eye brought his attention back to Lynne, and he was alarmed by what he saw.
A slim, robbed woman accidentally dropped a small book near Lynne's feet, and the Nord bent down to pick it up. Nazgurat watched as the woman moved wickedly fast behind Lynne and he could have sworn she dropped a liquid into her drink from a small vial in her hand before Lynne had straightened back up.
He quickly stood up from his chair and intended to intercept as he watched Lynne hand the book back to the flustered woman, who quickly thanked her and walked away. He opened his mouth to shout at her, but Lynne quickly tipped the bottle back and finished her drink. Then she spotted Nazgurat, as he stood in the Dining Hall, staring at her. She frowned, and then shot him a sour look before getting up from the table. She slowly made her way out from the Dining Hall.
Something didn't feel right. A sudden wave of nausea rolled through her, and Lynne stumbled in the hallway. She leaned against the wooden wall, gasping for breath yet somehow managed to make it back to her room. Lynne grasped at the latch to her door and wrenched it open, however, when she stumbled inside her knees gave way. She went crashing down to the floor.
Nazgurat stood in the Dining Hall, thinking hard. Part of him wanted Lynne to deal with her own problems, as he knew she had many ghosts that plagued her. But despite his haughty disposition towards the Nord, the other part of him didn't want to see her get hurt. With that firm thought, Naz lurched forward, and he quickly made his way to Lynne's room and found the door cracked open. He didn't bother knocking but strode in to find a black and red leather-clad figure tying Lynne's legs with rope.
"Are you fucking serious?" Naz blurted out. "Can't you assholes take a hint?"
The figure tensed, and then it stood up. The cowl covering her head made it impossible to see who it was, but Naz knew it was a Dark Brotherhood agent.
"It would be in y-your best interest to leave now," the distinctly female voice responded.
"Oh really?" Naz spat back. "I'm going to cave your skull in if you don't leave, now."
Nazgurat's anger fumed, and he felt it bubbling deep inside of him. It was a rage that couldn't be controlled, and it threatened to break through. The figure was silent for a moment, and then she turned and disappeared out the open window. Nazgurat snorted with a disgusted expression.
Cowards.
Lynne still lay on the floor. Her hands were bound and she was almost completely unconscious. Nazgurat knelt beside her and quickly pulled the rope off of her before trying to wake her up.
"Come on," he growled as he lightly patted her face. "Lynne!"
The Nord groaned, and her head lolled around as she struggled to comprehend what was going on.
"N-Na... Naz...whatisgo...ing on..."
"I think you've been drugged, do you have anything in that satchel of yours to help?"
Lynne was silent, and her chest heaved as she struggled to catch her breath.
"Yes... w-white... vi...vial."
Nazgurat swiftly grabbed the leather satchel from the dresser and rifled around in it for a moment, cursing when something sharp poked his finger. He eventually found a tiny white vial and hoped it was the one. He knelt back down on the floor before Lynne and slid his hand underneath her head, lifting her up, and tipped the contents of the vial into her mouth. Lynne choked and spluttered for a moment, and then she grimaced as the bitter contents slid down her throat. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath.
Unsure of what to do, the Orc gently picked her up from the floor and moved her over to the bed. Then he waited patiently for her to come around. About fifteen minutes passed before Lynne was able to regain consciousness and speech. She wiped at her sweaty forehead and opened her eyes, letting out a couple of shaky breaths.
"What i-in the fuck happened?" She asked Naz.
"One of your former friends was trying to kidnap you."
"Friend?"
"Yeah, a Dark Brotherhood agent?"
Lynne was silent for a moment, and she pinched the bridge of her nose. She let out a sigh. She had let her guard down since arriving at Nightgate Inn. She was used to their desperate attempts to bring her back but kidnapping was going too far. It was insane. She was embarrassed that it had been Nazgurat who had prevented her from being whisked off into the night.
"I'm sure there's nothing I could say to change your opinion of me."
"Try me."
Nazgurat sat at the edge of her bed, and he readjusted his position while she mulled over things.
"I... I can't..."
"How can you ever expect to move on if you can't be honest with somebody?"
"It hurts, Nazgurat. Even the thought of it."
"Just try."
Lynne was thoroughly confused. Between coming down from being drugged only ten minutes ago, and the up and down interactions with Nazgurat; it was all too much. She was sleep deprived, not eating properly, and had a belly full of mead. She started to cry, and suddenly the words flowed out from her like she had been gutted open.
She told Nazgurat everything, and he listened to it all with complete silence. His face remained blank, although Lynne couldn't bring herself to look at him. Tears streamed down her face, and at some point, she couldn't speak for a moment and simply sobbed. Lynne told Naz about growing up in a terrible orphanage, and at the ripe age of sixteen, she had been kicked out and traveled around for a long time until she somehow ended up in Winterhold and became a student at the college. She rushed through the parts where she became involved romantically with a certain member, and their falling out had ultimately led to her leaving the college just before she could graduate.
Lynne's life then took a dark turn, and she ended up meeting Astrid, a member of the Dark Brotherhood. She clutched at her blanket as she recounted the events that lead to the death of almost every member in her guild, and how she had been betrayed by a woman she was supposed to trust like a sister.
"I-I just couldn't stay," Lynne finished quietly, and she took a deep, shaky breath. "I left, and I've never returned. They've been after me for a year now."
Lynne finished speaking, and she wiped at her face with the sleeve of her shirt. She knew she looked like shit and felt even worse. But something inside of her felt a great sense of relief. She had never told anybody what she just confessed to the silent Orc.
"Do you think I'm awful?" Lynne asked quietly, and she finally looked up at Naz.
He looked down at her with a softer expression than she had ever seen before, and he shook his head.
"No. Get some rest."
His response had been so abrupt that it took Lynne by surprise. She watched as Nazgurat stood up from the bed and started to walk towards the door.
"Wait... Naz..."
The Orc paused with his hand on the door handle. He glanced back at her in the half-light. The candle burning on the nightstand beside the bed had almost burned completely out, but it still flickered weakly. His eyes nearly glowed in the dark.
"What?"
"Please..." Lynne wrung her hands in the blanket as she pleaded. "Please don't leave me tonight... not after... it's too much..."
Nazgurat was silent, but he turned back around and walked towards the bed. The light promptly went out, but she could hear him as the Orc quietly laid down on the bed beside her. Lynne shifted onto her side with her back towards him, content with just his presence. However, a moment later she felt him moving, and he slowly slid his arm around her waist.
Lynne let out a shaky breath and sniffled quietly, completely blown away by the gesture. Naz made a grumbling noise as he settled down, and his body relaxed. Lynne hesitated for a moment and then lightly rested her arm against his. The Orc murmured something she couldn't understand and shuffled closer. Lynne was nearly in tears again. His warm body lying behind her and his firm arm wrapped around her waist was the most wonderful feeling in the world.
I don't even remember the last time somebody touched me, in any way, Lynne thought to herself.
She closed her eyes, and sleep quickly took her. They both slept soundly through the night.
When Lynne woke up late the next morning, Nazgurat was nowhere to be seen. She rolled onto her back and lout out a frustrated noise.
Was that all just a dream?