Chapter 60
The Wolf Queen Awakened
"She never stumbled in last night, like she usually does," Vilkas said worried.
"Maybe she met some charming scoundrel and spent the night in his bed," Bishop suggested with a smirk.
Farkas' cheeks burned and Vilkas scoffed, "Shows how well you know her. First off, I haven't seen her even look at another man since Skjor, second she's been taking her role as Harbinger very seriously. She never goes anywhere without telling us first."
Bishop shrugged and then he heard Rona come down the stairs. She was wearing her dress, but was barefoot and her hair was a tangled mess, the makeup she'd worn the night before was a bit smudged in places too. She looked pretty funny, though it was even funnier when she came over asking, "What's going on? Did something happen?" And Farkas turned bright red and Vilkas averted his eyes, covering his mouth and coughing slightly.
Bishop ignored them, glanced at her and said, "Aela's missing."
"What do you mean missing? Like she didn't come back from a job or something?"
"Don't know if she got a contract," Vilkas said, furrowing his brows, "Work's been pretty scarce round these parts."
"Well, come in for a minute," Bishop waved them in, "I'll fix breakfast and we'll get dressed and go out and look for her."
Vilkas narrowed his eyes and said, "It's already one in the afternoon."
"Lunch then, whatever," he scoffed and turned towards the kitchen. The two brothers stepped inside.
"Ladyship, you might want to go wash your face," Bishop said.
She looked at him confused and he took his thumb to her lips and wiped some of the lipstick she'd been wearing the night before off and showed it to her. She turned beat red and ran upstairs quickly, then hurried back down with a pile of clothes in her arms and vanished down into the cellar without looking at any of them.
Bishop laughed at her and started pulling food out of the cupboards. He passed a couple of bottles of mead to Vilkas and Farkas. Farkas took a seat over at the table and Vilkas said to Bishop, "Uh, you might want to wash your mouth too."
"What? Did I say something wrong?" He asked as he started chopping vegetables while Karnwyr sat by, waiting expectantly for some scraps.
"No, but you've got plenty of your own lipstick smeared all over your face," Vilkas smirked at him. Bishop frowned and started rubbing at whatever makeup Rona had left on him from the night before.
Vilkas took a seat next to Farkas and said, "Nice place you've got here."
"Not mine," Bishop said, "Belongs to the Ladyship, but it's probably on loan from the Jarl anyhow. I'm sure they'll want it back once they start looking to collect their property taxes on it and no one's around to pay them."
Vilkas chuckled then picked up the book sitting on the table and said, "Pleasures of a Curved Sword?"
Bishop dropped the knife and the carrot he was chopping and hurried over and snatched the book up before Vilkas had a chance to crack it open. He looked up at Bishop with half a smile and laughed, "Never thought a man like you would need an instruction guide on how to bed a woman."
Bishop cleared his throat and said, "I don't. Just enjoy the pictures every now and then." Always covering for Rona. She'd probably die of embarrassment if she knew they'd found out she bought the book.
"Right," Vilkas said skeptically and he shook his head, "You two always make it so damn obvious what you're up to."
Bishop stuffed the book on a shelf between a few cookbooks and went back to work, "You mean like how you make it so obvious that you're sizing her up? Don't think I haven't noticed your staring gentlemen. But that's why I always remind you who the Dragonborn belongs to."
"Hmph, possessive too," Vilkas smirked.
"She likes it," he replied as he took a bite of an apple, "What about you Farkas? Got anything to say about it?"
"Nope," Farkas said and took a swig from his bottle.
"Smart man," Bishop said through another bite of apple.
"Not that it's any of your business," Vilkas said, "But I've got a lady back in Whiterun waiting for me."
"Oh do you now?" Bishop said with curiosity and flashed him a snarky grin, "What's her name? Maybe I know her."
Vilkas scowled at him and said, "Why? So you can tell me you already bed her? I know all about your reputation, ranger. Don't even start with me, unless you want to go outside and have words."
Bishop laughed and finished throwing together the stew he was making. He always did enjoy ruffling Vilkas' feathers, he made it too easy, being so serious all the time.
Rona came upstairs, dressed and cleaned up and Bishop said, "Heat up the stew for me, I'm going to get washed up then we can eat and go."
"You've got an idea of where to look for her then?" Vilkas called as Bishop ran up the stairs to collect his own clothes.
He came back down and said, "Well, she came out of the Blue Palace yesterday looking like she just saw a ghost, so I'm guessing we can start asking around there." He disappeared into the cellar and Rona quickly heated up their food with her magic.
Vilkas pressed a hand to his chin, "The Blue Palace? I wonder if the Jarl gave her a contract."
"But she didn't tell you where she was going?" Rona asked as she scooped cooked stew into three bowls for each of them.
"No and that's the thing, she always tells us. Must have been urgent for her to run off without a word."
The three of them hastily ate, Rona didn't finish hers and gave it to Karnwyr to lap at. Bishop was quick to bathe and came up to scarf down his own bowl and the four left with Karnwyr in tow.
They hurried over to the Blue Palace and went upstairs where they were greeted by the entire palace court. Several noble thanes sat by in the lounge, while the Jarl's court wizard and housecarl flanked the Jarl herself. Falk Firebeard, the steward was also present nearby with Frothar at his side. The boy was dressed in fine noble's clothing tailored to his size as he observed and looked all self-important. He fit right in with the rest of them. Jarl Elisif was busy speaking with Master Viarmo, the headmaster of the Bard's College.
"I understand that you wish to reinstate the Burning of King Olaf Festival, Master Viarmo, but considering the circumstances of my husband's... passing, you'll see why I am hesitant to bring back this particular Festival."
"Of course Jarl Elisif," Viarmo said, "But if I may, there is an ancient verse which tells the tale of King Olaf. If I were to find it and present it to the court, to prove that the Festival is a celebration of the condemnation of false kings, might you reconsider?"
Elisif thought for a moment, then glanced at her steward, looking for direction it seemed. He gave a short nod and she said, "Very well. Retrieve this verse and present it to the court and I shall reconsider reinstating the Festival."
"Thank you my lady," Viarmo gave a deep bow and turned to leave, he noticed Rona and said, "Oh, Lady Rona, perhaps when you have some time, would you mind stopping by the college? I'd like to have a word."
"Of course Master Viarmo," she said politely, "It may not be today though, I have other obligations to attend to."
"Indeed, indeed," he nodded and quickly swept past them all, heading down the spiral stairs.
They made to speak to Jarl Elisif but her steward spoke up first, "Ah Companions - Dragonborn, were you successful in ridding the Temple of the necromancers and the spirit?"
They all looked at him perplexed. He frowned, furrowing his brows and clarified, "The spirit of the Wolf Queen? Potema?"
"Potema?" Rona gaped at him, "What are you talking about?"
He cocked his head slightly, "I spoke with your Harbinger about it just yesterday - she didn't collect you?" Falk Firebeard looked just as thrown as them, "I thought she'd at least take all the Companions with her. I couldn't pass up the opportunity having you all here to take on a job like this."
"She didn't tell us anything," Vilkas looked worried and whispered, "Really? The Wolf Queen herself... gods."
Rona stepped forward, "Please, tell us everything about it. Aela, our Harbinger hasn't returned yet."
Falk Firebeard explained swiftly, sounding dire, "We encountered some of Potema's minions within the Temple of the Divines recently. They broke through a wall there and attacked some of the worshippers. It seems there are some old tunnels hidden within leading to her old catacombs. But if your Harbinger hasn't returned - then you must move quickly!" His voice grew urgent and terrified as he snapped at them, "We cannot let her return to full power! Solitude is in great danger!" Everyone present in the court looked on fearfully, a few of the thanes in the lounge started whispering frantically to one another, sounding as though they were ready to drop everything and move to a new hold.
Rona had heard just enough and said, "We'll take care of it for you straight away." She turned to leave and hurried down the stairs with the others following closely at her heels. As they headed for the doors Nelkir came running up to them, fully dressed in his steel plated armor, swords on his hips, ready for battle.
"I'll come with you," he said quickly.
Rona turned and shook her head, "I'm sorry Nelkir, but you can't come with us on this one. It's far too dangerous. I promise, soon we'll do something, but not this one."
She left through the doors and hurried down the path with the others. Nelkir was still following too and ran right up to her side keeping pace, looking to argue the matter. He scowled up at her, "How am I ever going to learn anything if you all keep making me stay behind. I'm ready! I can do this!"
Vilkas scoffed, "Two weeks of training isn't enough for anything new blood. We'll get your feet wet soon enough, just be patient."
He stopped, falling behind them all, fists clenched and face furious, "I CAN DO THIS! WHY WON'T YOU LET ME HELP!?"
Bishop looked back at him and shrugged sympathetically, "Sorry kid, not this time." Then he looked down at Karnwyr and said, "Stay with the kid," he pointed at Nelkir and Karnwyr cocked his head slightly. Bishop looked up at the boy, "Look after him for me will you?"
Nelkir just scoffed, arms crossed as they moved along, leaving him fuming alone with the wolf on the path as they raced to the Temple of the Divines. They went in and found it still totally vacated of priests and worshippers. It didn't take long to find the enormous hole in the wall in the back of the store room. Bishop had to pick their way in because it had been locked off, most likely to keep more necromancers from coming through.
They drew their weapons; Bishop drawing his bow and nocking an arrow to it, Farkas pulled his greatsword from his back and Vilkas drew his sword and shield. Rona took only one sword and held a hand at the ready to cast wards.
The group went in, quietly traversing the winding tunnels and watching each other's backs. It wasn't long before they encountered some draugr and then the necromancers that had brought them back from the dead. They quickly wiped them out and moved on.
Vilkas said in a low voice, "I don't understand. Why wouldn't Aela tell us about this?"
Rona stopped and looked at him, "She never told you what happened to her mother?"
Vilkas just shrugged his shoulders and Farkas said, "Aela didn't talk about her much. Kodlak told us all about her glories and battles. Told us about Claudia too."
Rona should have figured Aela wouldn't like discussing it. Claudia and Grella were practically inseparable and nearly every story told would involve the two of them together. Considering how Aela once felt about Claudia, knowing she was forced to execute Grella, she must have avoided the topic altogether.
Vilkas said, "Always thought it was just too distressing to speak of it."
"You know Claudia was forced to kill Grella, right?" Rona asked.
"I remember you all mentioning it after... well..." Vilkas trailed off.
"After she turned me into a werewolf and tried to murder Rona?" Bishop said disdainfully. Rona wasn't surprised, she knew Bishop wouldn't let that one go easily. He was too protective of her.
Rona told them the story, in brief detail, about how Claudia and Grella were sent on a mission to Solitude eight years ago and how Potema's spirit possessed Grella in werewolf form. She explained how Claudia had no choice but to kill her when she made to tear into the innocent prisoners they were sent to rescue.
Vilkas muttered, "Damn... so Aela came alone to-"
"Seek vengeance," Rona said turning back to him, "for her mother."
"Incoming!" Farkas shouted.
They turned and saw more necromancers and draugr headed their way. Rona threw up a ward, shielding them from the bombardment of fire and ice magic then leapt forward and shouted, "YOL TOOR SHUL!" setting fire to their enemies.
Farkas and Bishop quickly picked off the draugr while Rona and Vilkas swept in with their swords taking out the necromancers.
More poured in from the tunnels though and when one of them hissed viciously and glared at her with furious glowing eyes, Rona realized they were not just dealing with regular necromancers but vampires. She swiped at the one bearing down on her, as he attempted to sap her life force. She blast a flames spell into the vampire's face, knocking him down, then buried her blade into his chest killing him.
The others were doing their best to combat the new onslaught of enemies and she saw a vampire that was edging much too close to Bishop for her liking while his back was turned and he was busy providing ranged cover for the brothers.
Rona went to run in and kill the vampire looming over him when she noticed a glint in the firelight and watched as a ten year-old boy buried his blades into the back of the vampire, killing the creature. Having no experience however and forgetting how gravity worked it seemed, he was pulled down with his swords as the creature toppled over. He attempted to remove his swords with no luck.
Rona ran over furious and roared, "NELKIR!"
Bishop looked back and barked, "Damn it kid!"
With a bit of a struggle Nelkir managed to finally pull at least one of his swords free and then he cried pointing behind her, "Look out!"
Rona turned and shouted her fury into the face of three more vampires, "YOL TOOR SHUL!" Utterly incinerating them.
Farkas and Vilkas managed to pick off the rest of them and they took a minute to catch their breath. She stormed right up to the boy and unleashed her anger on him, "What do you think you're doing!? You shouldn't be here!"
He returned her anger with his own and argued, "I just saved Bishop's life! If I wasn't here that vampire would have got him!"
"I was about to take care of it myself, damn it!" She snapped at him, "You don't know anything about this! It's too dangerous, you need to go back now!"
"There were draugr you all missed back there," he said and then quickly added, "But they didn't see me, I was too quiet."
She narrowed her eyes at him, dragon's fire burning dangerously behind her glare.
"Let me help!" He pleaded.
Bishop looked at the boy and said, "Where the hell is Karnwyr?"
Nelkir looked at him and said, "Uh... I don't know. He saw a bird and ran after it."
Bishop grumbled and clenched his fists, "You better hope for your sake that no guards see fit to gutting my wolf kid." Nelkir knit his brows together apologetically and Bishop just sighed and said, "Look, I'll keep an eye on the kid for you Ladyship. Is that fair?"
She shot him a furious look of her own and turned around, "Fine. But I'm not taking anymore chances."
(The song is The Heart of Everything by Within Temptation)
A strange sound echoed in through the corridors and then loud drums banged furiously all around them. Rona began to vocalize, releasing her rage.
Bishop looked over at Nelkir, whose eyes were very wide as he watched his sister summon forth this formidable song from nothingness. Bishop just said, "You've really gone and done it now kid. She's fucking pissed."
Nelkir looked warily up at Bishop and then jumped when her voice boomed through the tunnels and she rushed forward, drawing her second sword.
"For the pain and the sorrow caused by my mistakes
Won't repent to a mortal whom is all to blame
Now I know I won't make it
There will be a time we'll get back our freedom
They can't break what's inside
I'll face it cause it's the heart of everything
Open up your eyes
Save yourself from fading away now, don't let it go
Open up your eyes
See what you've become, don't sacrifice
It's truly the heart of everything"
They all ran in, letting Rona take the lead and watched as she did some very wild acrobatics and swiftly ran by her enemies, cutting them to ribbons and spraying their blood everywhere.
They did their best to help her but she was in such a frenzy that they hardly needed to aid her at all and her voice literally crushed and blasted away all that stood in her path.
Vilkas looked over at Bishop and said loudly over the drums and her voice, "Why didn't she just start off doing this?"
Bishop laughed and shouted back, "I think she has to be in a certain mood to make it really work for her. And thanks to Nelkir here we now get a full demonstration of the Dragonborn's true power."
Nelkir just turned his head away and grumbled something they couldn't hear.
Bishop held a hand to his ear and shouted, "What!? Gonna have to speak a little louder than that kid, you know since," he waved a hand at Rona who was in the process of eviscerating four vampires and six of their thralls, all on her own no less, "well you see why!"
Nelkir shouted loudly, "She's not even leaving anything for us!"
Bishop leaned over and said in his ear, "Because she's protecting you. She can't do her job and save the Harbinger if she's too busy worrying about your safety."
"I can take care of myself," Nelkir insisted, pursing his lips and looking sour.
Bishop just laughed at the boy's grumpiness and they continued on. Letting Rona clear the path with a fury on par with that of a dragon.
"Open up your eyes
Open up your eyes
Open up your eyes
Save yourself from fading away now, don't let it go
Open up your eyes
See what you've become, don't sacrifice
It's truly the heart of everything."
When she finished and the song faded, she stood by, holding her blades out on either side of her and caught her breath. They had reached the catacombs after traveling a ways through the tunnels. It looked like a mix between a prison and a tomb with cells and burial plots dug into the walls and a large body of water, an old cistern with dirty stagnant water stinking up the place. There were corpses and skeletons scattered about as well, some still chained up in the cells and others laying peacefully in their burial plots.
Vilkas walked by and pat her on the shoulder, "Glad I finally got to experience one of your infamous songs of power Lady Rona, but we'll take it from here, you should rest."
Farkas followed his brother and looked back at her and said, "Well done Dragonborn. You never cease to impress."
She pressed her lips together and felt a light blush in her cheeks and sheathed her swords. Bishop stopped beside her and said, "Feeling better now Ladyship?"
She glanced back at her little brother, who was looking away from her sulking. She sighed, "I just worry."
He chuckled, "I know. He'll be alright. I promised I'd keep my eye on him and - hey! Where'd he go!?"
Rona looked back and saw that Nelkir had disappeared from where he was standing. They both looked around quickly and noticed the glint of his armor way ahead of them.
Bishop gave an irritated growl and they both ran off after the boy, catching up with him. Bishop grabbed him by his shoulder and shouted, "Slow down! Where do you think you're going!?"
"I'm going to kill some vampires and draugr and save the Harbinger," he said as he stubbornly tried to pull away from Bishop's grasp.
Rona stepped right in front of him with her fists to her hips and said, "No. You're not."
He shouted at her, "You're not my mother! You can't tell me what to do!"
"I might as well be!" She shrieked back, "I'm the only one looking out for you!"
"Hey!" Bishop frowned.
"And Bishop too! Obviously," she knelt down to his height and said more calmly, "Nelkir... you're my only living relative aside from my ata - my father. I don't want to lose you. I can't."
"You won't," he insisted, "I can take care of myself."
"Nelkir," she made to speak when a loud and menacing voice boomed through the catacombs.
"You've arrived at last. A body most worthy to be the vessel of my soul. Come to me Dragonborn, join me and you shall be more powerful than you could ever imagine."
Rona stood up then and looked to Bishop, "Keep your eyes on him. If anything should happen, you protect him first and foremost."
He made a face which seemed highly unsure of that request. She stared firmly at him until he relented and gave a short nod.
"Come on," she said to Nelkir, "Pay attention, stay close to Bishop and watch yourself."
A broad grin sprawled across his face. Rona carried on, leading them further into the catacombs. They caught up with Vilkas and Farkas who had dismembered multiple corpses in a small room. They both looked exhausted and Vilkas barked, "Where the hell were you two!? These things all came alive in this room, all at once! And we were locked in here!"
Bishop looked around, "Looks like you survived just fine. What'd you need us for?"
Farkas chuckled while Vilkas just rolled his eyes and shook his head. Rona took the lead again and followed another corridor until they finally opened a door and saw an enormous glowing, blue force centered above a throne which sat in a deep inset in the ground with several staircases leading down to it.
Aela was seated on the throne in a relaxed position, her legs crossed and held a haughty look on her face. She had an elbow resting on the arm and her head resting in her hand. There was a peculiar skull sitting in her lap, one which wore an elegant sapphire circlet. When she spoke though, her voice was not her own, "You've come far mortal, but can you stand against my inner council? Let's see!"
(Recommended background music Black Blade by Two Steps From Hell)
Six sarcophagi standing upright in the room shuddered and their lids fell open and six dragon priests flew out of them. Rona immediately looked back at the exhausted brothers and started giving orders, "You two! Watch him," she pointed at Nelkir and told Bishop, "Cover me!"
The two of them ran in and were nearly struck by blasts of electricity coming from the blue force in the air. Rona cast a ward large enough to protect the both of them, using both her hands as the electricity crackled and bounced off her powerful protective spell. Two of the dragon priests hovered nearby, casting shocking destruction spells with their staves and she shouted at them, "YOL TOOR SHUL! - FO KRAH DIIN!"
And as four more of them came near she roared, "FUS RO DAH!" Sending them all spinning. Bishop managed to take out the two she weakened with her shouts and she dropped her wards, drew her swords and leapt in, racing for the next nearest one and swinging for its throat. She caught it with both her blades, crisscrossing them and swinging outward tearing it's head off and then she dodged another explosive shock from the force of power hovering near the ceiling.
The other three dragon priests screeched at her and Bishop fired arrows into one of them and managed to kill it. Rona shouted at the other two again, seeking to bring them down from their unreachable positions in the air, "FUS RO DAH!"
One of them hit the wall hard and plummeted to the ground, then Bishop came out of nowhere and struck it with his own blade. Rona focused on the other which had only managed to fly up higher, evading her. She shouted "WULD NAH KEST!" And used a wall for leverage, bounding off it and spun swiftly at the dragon priest, burying her blades into its chest. It screeched at her and she quickly yanked her blades free as they fell. It crumbled to the floor while she landed softly with her magic.
Then out of nowhere Aela was on her, a glittering silver blade in hand as she swung at her head with intent to kill. Rona leaned back quickly as it cut a swath through the air above her face, taking a few strands of her hair with it. She twisted her body in the backward position, turning and shouting, "FUS!" Sending the possessed woman tumbling.
Potema's voice cackled madly from within as she stood up off the floor and dusted herself off, "You're small, but fast. Your body will be perfect."
"If you need my body then why are you trying to kill me!?" Rona roared.
Potema, held a hand up and laughed, "I'm a necromancer girl. I don't need you alive, I can work with you even if you're in pieces."
An arrow spun by Rona's head and shunted straight into Aela's side. The Wolf Queen didn't flinch in the slightest, however and Rona looked back at Bishop incredulous and screamed, "STOP! We might be able to save her!" He scowled at her and shook his head.
Potema yanked the arrow from her ribcage and chucked it aside, then a wicked smile curled at her lips, "Perfect."
The woman lunged at her and Rona deflected her blow with her own swords. Potema came at her hard, knowing she wouldn't risk harming her friend. Her slashes were fast and deft, she was also surprisingly strong. Rona's blades scraped against the silver one repeatedly while she desperately tried to think of how to save Aela. She didn't know what to do. Would this be just like Claudia and Grella? Would she be forced to kill the woman she'd once thought of as a sister?
Potema kept coming and Rona kept stepping back and blocking until she heard a wild cry from a young boy who ran in swinging a single blade with both hands, going to gut the possessed Harbinger. Potema saw him though and fired a shot of crackling electricity from her hand, throwing him back into one of the sarcophagi where his head cracked hard against the stone.
Rona noticed both Vilkas and Farkas on the ground up by the doorway, shaking from electrical shocks that must have hit when they tried to help or stop the boy.
Rona screamed for Nelkir and Bishop made to launch his arrow into the back of Aela's head but the glowing orb hovering in the center of the room was too quick, firing a shot of electricity straight into his chest, knocking him right off his feet. Rona ran to Nelkir and threw her healing hands to him. He groaned and opened his eyes, squinting slightly then tried to speak, "Behind..."
Rona turned swiftly and felt the silver blade slam deeply into the soft spot on her left shoulder, entirely too close to her neck. Potema cackled at her and sunk it in a little deeper, making Rona howl with pain as blood spilled from her shoulder and trickled down her arm. She looked up into Aela's face and took a sharp breath. "Aela, please. I know you're in there. You have to fight it."
"That woman?" Potema said with a sneer, "She was weak. It was all too easy to break her down and possess her. And to think she was once a powerful werewolf, then gave it up and all for what? Some useless ambition?"
"She's not weak," Rona gasped. It hurt to speak because it hurt to move. Her body shuddered as she tried to stay still so the blade wouldn't sink any deeper. Finally she said, "You win Potema. Here I am, weakened. You don't even have to kill me. Just take me." It was the only way to free Aela from Potema's grasp without killing her.
Potema smiled viciously, "Yes. Bow to me puny mortal. Pathetic, meek, little Dragonborn. I will make you strong. My soul shall consume your own and I shall rule this world once again!"
Aela's body quivered and she gasped, doubling over before snapping backward as a bright blue light burst from her mouth and eyes, leaving her body and joining with the enormous power in the center of the room. Aela crumpled to the ground, taking the sword painfully with her as it slid through more of Rona's shoulder, scraping against her collar bone. Blood spilled from the opened wound copiously and she took long steady breaths, trying to keep from passing out.
She looked up at the blue power as it spasmed and rumbled. It flew down onto Rona and with all the energy she had left, she shouted, "YOL TOOR SHUL!" The fire hit the energy, making Potema scream, but the Wolf Queen did not relent and Rona had no more strength. She felt the world around her fading and saw Bishop at the sides of her blurring vision as he cried, "NO!"
The energy crashed into her body and she was thrown into darkness. When she opened her eyes she found herself in a strange place, the world around seemed to be overtaken by strong and powerful black sweeping winds which consumed everything around her. There were no floor or walls to speak of. She simply hovered there.
Across the way was Potema, the Wolf Queen in all her glory. She was an Imperial woman, beautiful in every sense of the word, with high cheekbones, long auburn hair and sharp blue eyes. She wore the clothes of a queen and held herself like one. She thrust out a hand, with a force of blue energy swirling in her palm and aimed it at Rona, a wicked smile curling at her thick red lips.
She cast the spell and it washed over Rona, making her whole body twist painfully. But then an enormous golden dragon appeared beside her. The beast roared at Potema, casting a breath of fire against her. Potema merely laughed at the creature. Rona couldn't stop staring at it, not understanding why this strange dragon was helping her when for so long they'd only tried to destroy her.
Perhaps it was like Paarthurnax. She felt no animosity coming from the beast, in fact, she didn't feel much of anything in regards to it, only warmth. The dragon turned its head slightly and looked at her with piercing green eyes and she realized then, this was her soul. The soul of a dragon.
She was fighting for her body. Rona reached out and touched a hand to the beast and then she was the beast. She became a dragon. She shouted fire again at Potema, fighting back as the woman cast her magic, trying to claim Rona's soul for herself.
Then Potema's wild cackling stopped suddenly and her face fell and she screeched, "NO! NOOO!"
Bishop and Aela stood over the Wolf Queen's skull and they both struck it again with their swords. The skull cracked slightly this time. They looked at each other and took their swords into both hands, held them up and did it again, striking with all the force in their arms. The skull splintered once more. Then again they raised them and both yelled as they brought their blades down hard and shattered the skull to pieces.
Rona's unconscious body lurched and a blue power shot from her eyes and mouth, leaving her body. She groaned and came to, Bishop ran to her side but it was not over yet. Potema's soul swirled in the center of room, shuddering madly as swaths of energy belted from the blue mass, as though she were coming apart.
Aela was ready for it though. She drew her bow and took aim at a glistening black pearl in the center of the blue mass and said, "Taste my arrow you bitch." She released the spinning arrow straight into the center of the void where it collided forcefully with the hidden pearl within making the whole thing explode. The force of it threw her back and then all the energy dissipated into nothingness.
Bishop looked down at Rona with fear etched all over his face and said, "Hold tight Ladyship." He ran up the steps to get their supplies and came back with several potions and bandages in tow. He knelt beside her, reached around and undid the button on her dress, then yanked the left side of it down exposing her wound more. He quickly poured some potion onto it which burned terribly. She clenched her teeth and whimpered.
"You're doing great Ladyship," he assured her, "You're going to be okay."
"What about the others?" She practically whispered. Her voice felt hoarse from all the shouting.
"Don't speak, just rest," he insisted as he continued to work on her. He held a potion to her lips, making her drink and said, "Nelkir's fine, he just passed out."
"These two are alright," Aela said, "A little beat up, but they'll live."
Rona heard Vilkas' voice as he mumbled, "Damned woman, you almost got us all killed... Should have told us..."
"You're right, I should have," she said regretfully.
Bishop fixed Rona up and got her wound bandaged. When the brothers got their bearings they helped too. Farkas carried Nelkir, Bishop carried Rona and Vilkas grabbed their supplies, all the while chiding Aela, who didn't say much else, she just took his tongue lashing and let it sink in.
They returned to the Blue Palace and Elisif nearly fainted when she saw Nelkir, unconscious in Farkas' arms. She hurried them over to the medical wing and called on their resident nurse, which was Nurse Prothe, to Bishop's dismay.
The rotund breton woman looked them all over through her round spectacles and when she saw Bishop holding Rona she barked, "You all again!?"
He gently laid her down on the nearest bed and pleaded, "Just help her, please."
The nurse's face softened at the fear in his voice and she immediately removed the bandages from Rona's wound, who held back her painful cries and tried not to flinch as the nurse started to clean it. Nurse Prothe held her hands out, casting some restoration to it and muttered, "Still going to need stitches. Gods, what happened to you girl?"
"A sword," Rona forced out through grit teeth.
Farkas laid Nelkir down in another bed while Jarl Elisif fret over him, running a hand over his forehead. The rest of them all stood around, helplessly watching the nurse mend and heal Rona. Vilkas was still laying into Aela though and getting more heated as he went, "This wouldn't have happened if you'd just been responsible. You're the Harbinger for gods' sake! What were you even thinking going off to fight someone as powerful as the Wolf Queen all on your own!?"
"ALRIGHT!" Aela roared at him, "I get it, I fucked up! That's what I do right!? That's why... it's why they're all dead. Because of me," she quickly left then and Rona was sure she saw the tears in her eyes. She couldn't go after the woman as much as she wanted to, considering she was being healed right at that moment.
Nurse Prothe tutted at them all and said, "Out! Out! I can't concentrate with all you busybodies in here. So move along!"
Vilkas and Farkas both left but Bishop stayed firmly in place. Nurse Prothe glared at him, "I said out!"
He frowned deeply and firmly uttered, "No."
The nurse made to shout at him again when Jarl Elisif spoke up and said, "Nurse Prothe, it's alright. He has my personal permission to stay."
The nurse grumbled under her breath but let it go. Then she went over and collected her medical supplies for stitching. Bishop pulled up a chair on Rona's right and he held her hand as the nurse carefully stitched her ripped flesh back together. Every time it hurt she squeezed his hand. She gave him a weak smile and then contorted her face through another stinging puncture from the needle in her shoulder.
When the nurse was finished she bandaged it up and started putting her supplies away and said, "You'll need to stay here for a week so I can change your bandages and clean your wound."
"I can do that myself," Rona insisted. She did not want to get stuck in a hospital bed for an entire week.
The nurse frowned at her, "Oh you can, can you? How do you expect to wrap yourself up with only one good arm? Hm?"
"I'll do it," Bishop said.
The nurse huffed, but with Jarl Elisif there she decided against making a scene about it and said, "Fine. You can go then, but you'll need plenty of bed rest and absolutely no coitus!"
Bishop made a face at her and shook his head, "What?"
Rona laughed slightly and whispered, "No sex."
The nurse moved along over to Nelkir to look after him and said, "He'll be fine, just tired and with a nasty bump on his head." She held her hands to his head, using her magic to heal him and said, "Let him rest."
"Thank you Nurse Prothe," Elisif said, as she held Nelkir's hand and looked over him like a mother would to her own child. When the nurse left Elisif glanced over at both of them and said, "Please tell me what happened."
Bishop said, "He followed us into the catacombs."
Elisif held a hand to her mouth, "He was hurt fighting... those things? Monsters and necromancers?"
"Fighting Potema," Rona said. Elisif looked like she might actually faint but Rona assured her, "He's very strong. He did well. We would have brought him back but... we needed to stop her."
"So she's?"
"Dead, gone, whatever it is," Rona said, "Her soul is no longer in this realm."
Then she was sure she heard Elisif whisper under her breath, "Thank Talos..."
"I'm sorry," Rona said, "I never wanted to put him in danger like that."
The kindly Jarl gave her a gentle smile, "He's very strong-willed. I suppose I'll have my hands full with him."
Bishop rubbed the space between his eyes with his forefinger and thumb and sighed, "You have no idea."
Bishop carried Rona back home and laid her into their bed. He helped her get her boots and weapons off and let her rest then said, "I'm going to go and find Karnwyr."
She looked up at him, perspiring and somewhat pale from the pain and nodded. He looked over her with concern, clearly second guessing leaving her alone in that condition. She took her other hand and cast a healing spell over her shoulder to alleviate the pain.
"I'll be fine. Go find him for me, will you? I need someone to keep me company," she smiled.
"Don't worry, I'm sure he's probably just digging up someone's yard somewhere. I'll be back soon enough to keep you warm Ladyship."
"I meant Karnwyr," she said, still grinning.
He smirked at her and leaned over, giving her a gentle kiss before leaving.
Rona sighed, leaning back against the pillow and thinking over everything that had happened that day. She worried for Aela and her mental state, realizing that she'd been drinking a lot heavier since they arrived in Solitude and she'd been quite aloof.
She tried to stop worrying about it all and just rest for once, closing her eyes and falling into a deep and restless nightmare for the first time in weeks.