Bound-Two
"I don't..I don't know what you're talking about!" Alandrin half-yelled, half-croaked out to these Aldmeri bastards for what seemed like the thousandth time. They were apparently searching for some enchanted piece of jewelry, an amulet of some kind that, despite them describing in full detail to him it's appearance, he had never seen or heard of before. Yet they still insisted he had it stashed away somewhere. Stupid bloody elves!
"We've tracked it all across Skyrim, all the way to your quaint little village, in fact," Larendil stated, charging up another spell.
Alandrin struggled against his constraints, but it was ultimately useless. They had shackled him to a cold stone wall, so tightly he could barely move an inch. He glared at his captors through his swollen and bruised eyes.
"Tell us where it is now, you wretch," Elenwen demanded.
"I don't know-AHHHHHHH!" He seized up as searing electricity fried every nerve in his body. The initial pain subsided slowly, but his muscles still spasmed all over, quite randomly. The dazed Imperial let his head fall forward as he felt himself drifting towards unconsciousness. Good, he'd either pass out or die soon. His heart ached at the thought of leaving Anna or Sadena behind, but at least this horrible turn of fate would be over for him.
Talos, please keep me in your grace, and in your favor!
"I have grown quite tired of your insolence," Larendil complained, and the Imperial heard him firing up another spell.
He did not even try to resist this time. Instead, he let his thoughts drift to his family. His mother had been all that he'd had left because of the war. But she was gone now, too, leaving him with just the feisty Sadena and the sweet Annalisse. My sweet Annalisse. Alandrin had always secretly been in love with the beautiful Nord, but had never worked up the courage to actually tell her, mainly from fear of rejection. And now, he'd never get the chance. What a fool he had been for all these years!
"Stop," Elenwen told her guard before stepping forward.
Larendil let the electricity crackling around his hand pitter out and stood up straight. "You have other uses for this one, Madame?"
"Perhaps," she replied. "But he is near death now." She placed her palms out flat and let them hover just an inch or so over his bare chest. A faint glow accompanied by the sounds of chimes and possibly the warmest and most contented feeling he'd ever felt suddenly enveloped him. But it only lasted a few seconds, unfortunately, and afterwards he almost felt as bad as before. Physically, at least. Mentally and emotionally, he was still an absolute wreck.
"Take him to the servants' chambers for now, but alert Arendol to keep an eye on them."
"Right away, Madame," the Aldmeri guard replied indifferently, moving over to unshackle the Imperial. Alandrin was pretty much unconscious, so the tall mer hoisted the other up over his shoulder and carried him off.
The High Justiciar stood there for a few moments more, thinking. Where was the sole item that would grant her long-standing wish for immortality? All of the information they'd gathered during the course of their search pointed to the Imperial.
It has to be him!
But even after enduring their proven information-extraction methods, the mortal still swore his innocence. She was inclined to believe him, as well, for she knew all too well by now the sound of someone put into such great agony that you would know there was no possible way they would lie to you again.
If not him, then who? Who possessed it? Their intel pointed them to that village, and that's the reason it now lay destroyed and desolate. But could it be possible that they had made a mistake?
Annalisse started awake at the sound of a heavy wooden door slowly creaking open. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to this overwhelming dimness, but once they had she swore her heart nearly skipped a beat. It was one of the Aldmeri guards from earlier, and he had Alandrin's body swung over his big shoulders. He was still alive!
The high elf bent over to dump the man on a nearby bed, more roughly than she cared for, before addressing Annalisse: "When he comes to he'll need plenty of water. You should see that he gets it." Then he left them, closing the door back behind himself.
She wasn't sure if he'd locked it and, in this moment, did not care very much. She got up out of bed, being careful not to wake Sadena. She was also careful not to accidentally sit down on her injured friend in this near-darkness.
When she sank down beside Alandrin and put a hand to his forehead to brush a few loose, dusty-colored strands aside, she discovered that he was very warm and had been sweating profusely. He had no shirt or shoes on now, only a pair of raggedy trousers that were currenlt soaked through. And the Thalmor had every intention of just leaving the poor guy like that all night, or perhaps who knew for how long?
By the Nine Divines' most tactful teachings and blessings, the three of them were really going to have to watch out for each other!
Her friend's smooth, handsome features were now battered and bruised, eyes mostly swollen shut and lip busted. She also noticed what looked like dagger cut wounds inflicted along his arms. May the gods themselves damn them all, the inhuman monsters! Just what all had they done to him? She actually felt afraid to learn the true answer to that question.
Annalisse thought about waking Sadena up so she could heal him; the Dunmer's restoration skill far surpassed her own, after all. But since they had all been through so much, she decided to just let both of them sleep for now.
With what small magicka resevres Annalisse did have, she mustered up as strong of a Heal Other spell for him as she could, then blasted him with times two that amount. Even though it completely drained her magicka for the moment it was totally worth it, and quite rewarding as she watched the bruises fade a little in their hue and the swelling go down a bit. She knew it wouldn't be enough to take all of his pain away when he did come to, but if it helped him even just the slightest little bit, it was worth it to her.
Sometime during her and Sadena's slumber earlier, someone had brought in a platter with smoked beef roast, some veggies, a few fruits and, most importantly, a very large pitcher of water for them. She still wasn't very hungry yet, but could absolutely use a drink. After refilling one of the cups on the tray several times until she'd had her fill, she dampened a ripped-off portion of quilt and used it to wet Alan's forehead. The water was still nice and cool, so she hoped that it would help to bring down his body temperature.
She contentedly sat there for almost half an hour stroking his lovely tan skin with the wet cloth until he finally came around.
"It's ok now, Alan," she quickly assured him lest he start to panic. "You're here with Sadena and I, and we're safe for the moment, so don't fret!"
His eyes still darted around wildly beneath their swelling, observing all that he could. "Anna-Annalisse? Am I dreaming?" he croaked out, voice most likely damaged from screaming.
Again, rage flared inside of her on his behalf, but she was quickly able to reign it back in. He needed her right now, so she had to be the strong- level-headed one.
"No, you're not dreaming, sweetie," she said to him, offering a warm smile.
He started to weep, but also returned her smile with a small, timid one of his own. He reached up to stroke the soft skin of her cheek with a few trembling fingers, as if he was checking for himself to make sure that she was really real.
The Nord leaned into his touch and gave him a friendly, reassuring smile. "Shh, it's ok now, Alandrin; we're all here, together, and it's gonna be ok."
His smile brightened. "Thank you, Anna. I can always look towards you to help cheer me up."
"Well, you know that I can't stand to see you upset," she replied.
"You're too good a friend to me, my dear." He took one of her hands and brought it up to his mouth to plant a kiss against her fingers. "Truly, you're one of a kind, Anna, and I thank the gods I'm fortunate enough to have you in my life."
Annalisse felt very touched by his words, but also a bit surprised. He'd never opened up to her like this before and, admittedly, she was quite taken aback.
"Thank you for such kind words, Alan!" She replied, letting go of his hand so she could go get a little more water. "I do appreciate your thinking so highly of me. And I thank Talos for you, too!"
"He saved me, Anna," Alandrin exclaimed suddenly. "I prayed to him, and he took mercy on me! Our mighty Divine saved my life by making them stop!"
His outburst woke up the Dunmer. Annalisse looked over at her and said: "He's alive!"
"Oh, thank Lady Azura!" She replied, stretching and then getting up to come stand in front of them. "So, how are you feeling, Alandrin?"
The Imperial sat up in bed and the Nord moved over to give him more room. "I feel like I got tossed back and forth between two frost trolls." Annalisse winced at the thought of those bastards torturing her friend, and also decided that she'd rather not know exactly what they'd done to him, even though it made her feel kind of selfish.
"That bad, huh?" Sadena chuckled lightly, trying to cut through the tension in the air. Because of where they now were, though, that was nearly impossible.
Alandrin smirked at her. "You have no idea."
"I'm so sorry," Annalisse told him, leaning her head (gently) against his shoulder. He took her hand in his and reveled in her closeness, and in the fact that he was actually still alive and here with her and Sadena, his dearest friends. He would cherish this moment for the rest of his days.
"As long as I have you two, I think I'll be ok no matter what," he told them. "I know I never say it often enough, but I love you both, very dearly."
Both women smiled at him with swelled hearts.
"We love you, too," Annalise replied for the both of them, because she knew that Sadena and affection didn't really go together. The dark elf wasn't mean or uncaring, just very, very traditional and very private. She leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek. "That's from the both of us. Right, Sadena?"
The elf nodded enthusiastically, humoring her friend. "Indeed, Sera."
The Imperial laughed and gazed at the Nord with love and longing in his brown eyes. The Dunmer was very perceptive and so had figured out a long time ago that he was in love with Anna, maybe even before he fully knew it, himself. He told on himself in the way that he looked at her, talked to her, but most of all, the way he touched her, like she'd float away if he didn't hold onto her for long enough, but just as easily shatter to pieces if he grasped to hard.
But he didn't know that she knew. And of course, somehow, maybe perhaps by sheer force of will and the fear of ruining their friendship, Anna still seemed to be oblivious, too.
Shaking her head, Sadena realized that she was wasting time and quickly got back to the task at hand. She double-cast a Magelight spell toward the ceiling right above them and the room was immediately illuminated. Now she could properly see to inspect his wounds. Both women noticed that they had originally appeared much worse in the dim light. Thank the gods!
"Can you stand?" The Dunmer asked him, offering her hand.
Alandrin took hold and got to his feet, swaying only slightly. "Thank you,"
"Don't mention it," she told him. "Now, stand still and I shall heal you to the best of my abilities."
The Imperial did as she asked, actually looking forward to the feeling that warm, cozy sensation again. His friend's spell didn't seem quite as powerful as their captor's, but it was still strong and lasted a hell of a lot longer. Her experienced hands roamed over his body till she was sure she had covered everything.
"I feel so much better now, Sadena," he exclaimed, pulling her into a hug. She allowed it for all of about three seconds before beginning to squirm in silent protest. He let her go and stepped back. "Thank you so much! Your skill is quite amazing." He felt his face, especially round his eyes and mouth. "I was almost certain they'd broken something,"
The dark elf accepted his gratitude with a smile and simple nod of her head. "Yes, well, like I said before, don't mention it, Alan." She went back over and sat down on the bed her and the Nord had shared. "I need to rest, now. I'm afraid that was a bit taxing for me."
"Would you like any food or water before you retire, dear?" Annalisse asked her, going over to get a cup for her own self.
"Not right now," Sadena replied, laying down on her side facing the bed that Alandrin had just sank back down on. "Maybe later, Anna."
"Okay. What about you, Alan? Would you like anything?"
"Just some water for now, thanks. My stomach is still in knots,"
The tall brunette found two empty tankards on a nearby shelf and filled them both up from the pitcher. Then she handed him his before sitting back down on the bed beside him. "Tell me about it," she muttered, mostly to herself.
Her Imperial friend drank his water down surprisingly fast, then got up to go refill his cup. She couldn't blame him, after what he'd been through. His body had probably become very dehydrated after their cruel torture session. She couldn't get upset with him, even if he drank the entire pitcher. However, after about four refills he'd seemed to have his fill for now.
Annalisse watched him closely, looking for any signs of distress. He seemed to be alright, but still him even just being out of bed right now made her worry. Sadena had patched him up pretty damn well, but he still needed to rest. "Please, come back over here with me and sit," she requested. "I don't want you to pass out and fall or something."
Alandrin gave her a warm smile; he loved to hear her fret over him, although she hadn't the slightest clue and he intended on keeping it that way. "Just a moment, Anna." He walked over to the other side of the room from where the women were currently resting, where he utilized the rudimentary facilities their slave masters had set up to relieve himself. Then he splashed water on his face and washed his hands in the washbasin. He spotted an outfit laying on a nearby dresser-top and picked up the ordinary shirt and trousers to change into. Now, he at least felt a little bit more like an actual person.
When he returned he found Annalisse laying on her side, eyes closed. He sat down beside her and laid a hand on her head, brushing her dark hair out of her pale face. She opened her sleepy eyes to look up at him. "May I sleep here with you tonight, Alan?"
He kissed her on the side of the forehead before laying down beside her. "Of course you can." She grinned and snuggled up close to him, resting her head on his chest and curling a leg around his. Even though it was really hard, he tried to let all that'd happened fall away from his mind, focusing instead on the amount of warmth coming from the body he held in his arms, on how great she felt pressed so close against him and how comforted her presence made him feel in general. No matter where they wandered, Annalisse would always be home for him.