The Tale of Zooryuvokogan
Disclaimer: I don't own Skyrim or anything involved with it.
My mother cradles me in my arms like she use to do when I was a kid. I can't keep from sobbing. Being held captive like that is horrible and my mother does everything she can to comfort me in the gray fog. This limbo is a world between worlds. Not really life and not really death. People that you had connections to can meet you here and take you to Shor's Hall.
The pull hasn't tugged me back yet and I think I might be dead forever. Once, Nonvul told me that the pull is a signal from your body. When it starts to pull your soul back, it means it is done making repairs and is stable. There really was no need to heal after coming back. My body would have done it quicker.
Nonvul also told me why he drinks. He always got drunk because his whole family was killed by giants. His two brothers, his sister, his mom and dad. All of them gone. None made it except himself. He fought to stay alive in the wild and was adopted by a rich family in Solitude.
Finally, I feel the pull and my mother is more relieved than I am. She gives me a kiss on the head and tells me to watch out for my father.
My body pulls my soul back and I feel how weak it is. I try to move but someone holds me close.
"She's alive! Someone, get her something to eat!" My father yells commands as he holds me, gently rocking.
A healer gives me a sweetroll. How ironic. I eat it hungrily and my strength seems to return a bit. They give me some more food and a glass of water. I can tell resources are limited because we are still on the road.
"Praise Talos. You're alive." Ulfric whispers into my hair and he stops rocking me. He has tears in his eyes and I put my hand to his cheek which he covers with his own. "I thought we lost you. Your heart stopped but the healers somehow saved you." He starts to rock me again and I fall asleep peacefully.
Something jars me awake and my dad lifts me off the wagon and carries me to my room in the Palace of Kings. Galmar follows and once Ulfric sets me down, they start to converse quietly. I look at them through dreary eyes and fall asleep again.
The next morning is sunny and rays of light dance across my blankets. I get out of bed slowly and try to walk but I stumble. After bracing myself with the bed and nightstand, I walk to the full length mirror my father gave me when I turned 12. My cheeks are a bit hollowed out and my skin is a pale white. I lift the nightshirt I somehow got into last night and see that my ribs are visible and any muscle I had is gone.
I can't be a vampire because I am a werewolf and that keeps me from catching any disease. Maybe my skin is pale because of the way my body was treated. I move away from the mirror and pull on some different clothes which takes a lot of effort and makes me feel weak. Then I open the door but to guards hold me back lightly.
"The cook will bring your food up. You need to gain your strength back from rest and balanced meals." One of them says and directs me back to my bed.
This seems like a no win situation. No matter what I say or do, they'll force me to stay in my room. Fun. I get back to my bed slowly and throw the covers back on. It's too warm because a fire has been lit in the hearth. I throw the blankets off but a healer comes in and insists I put them back on.
"I don't want to." I whine like a child while crossing my arms. The healer seems amused and tucks me in. Then the cook comes in with my food. My special meal is portioned and includes more vegetables and fruits than meat. I complain about that too but the cook tells me it was prepared to help heal me and make me strong again. What bullshit. I want real food, even if I have to hunt it myself.
"Your father approved of it." The cook adds and then quickly scurries away to avoid the incoming apple at his head. It seems harsh but I just want to get out of here. I was cooped up in a cave before but is this room any better? Hunger takes over and I eat my food slowly so I don't choke. It tastes good but I wish there was more.
After a few days of bed rest, portioned food, visits from Ulfric and most of Windhelm's community, they let me go outside. With guards and supervision of course. They bundle me up and let me take a walk outside the city with guards flanking me everywhere. I can hardly enjoy this little freedom but the fresh air soothes me. All to soon, they order me back inside and up to my room.
I enter my room alone and it is eerily quiet. The atmosphere is colder and I don't dare move from the closed door. Unfortunately, my father confiscated my weapons so I feel very vulnerable. "Who are you and what do you want with me?" I whisper to nothing I can see or hear. Only its presence is known to me.
A dark figure drops down from the ceiling and lands elegantly on the bed canopy rail. It slides down the pole and sits on the chair in the corner in swift movements. "In due time my Sweet. In due time. I am non other than the Listener. I have been watching you and have been admiring you from afar. I am the shadow in the allies at night. You have particular talents that I find intriguing. Very intriguing indeed. And your blood, its fascinating in not just smell but taste as well. I thirst for more. That is why I captured you." The voice is male and his red eyes glow from underneath his hood. This person smells of death and it reeks, filling my chambers with more unpleasantness. In a second, the figure is gone. Only to reappear in front of me, his fangs at my neck. "But dear old daddy interrupted my plans to slowly drink your blood until nothing was left." He breaths on my neck and pushes me against the wall.
"Then why don't you do it now?" I squeak, barely audible. I squirm at his touch but he only holds me stronger.
"That would take the fun out of it. And besides, with you still alive and your blood still flowing, I can get my fill and turn you into my blood thrall. My mindless walking slave that live only to provide your enchanting blood." Thirst is in his eyes and I know he is serous. The Listener lifts my chin, making me stare into his crimson red eyes. Then he moves back to the chair and sits on one of the arms, balancing perfectly.
I let out a small breath and slink over to the handle on the door. "You're a bastard." The lock clicks and I change into my Beast Form. My limbs strengthen as the spirit of the wolf comes forth and I let out a blood curdling roar.
The Listener doesn't even flinch. His eyes brighten and there is knocking and banging at my door. My guards are screeching for me from the other side but they can't get in. I locked them out.
"Now we're going to have some fun." He stands up and walks over to me.
I back away and growl, slashing my razor sharp claws in his direction but he evades them. Then he starts to change too. His form is non like any other. The Listener is a winged demon vampire. His skin is a pale gray and his wings are like serrated blades.
"I am Lord Harkon's successor. Receiving his gift and killing him with Auriel's Bow was an easy task. I will defeat you just as I did him." The Listener attacks with ferocity and speed as do I. Noises from the guards on the other side of my door increase with each guttural growl or sickening clasp of fangs. The furniture in my room slows my hulking Beast Form down but the Listener is having no problem because he can float.
Eventually after playing a failed game of cat and mouse, the Listener manages to clasp his jaws around my neck and the pain is even worse than before. I feel no venom which means I am not a vampire but the force is crushing my neck. Gurgled roars come from my snout and I change back, falling out of his grip. I scramble for the window and break it with a heavy steel candle holder.
Too late. I'm too late as the Listener slugs me in the head and I fall from the window. I don't feel any impact from the snow but the blow makes me unconscious.
"My Brothers and Sisters of the Night! I have brought you the reincarnation of the first vampire made by Molag Bal! Tonight, we celebrate!"
Shouts of praise and hoots come from the vampires around the blood stained tables jar me awake. I have been beaten when the field was mine. The Listener is my superior and I may never surpass him. I look on as the gathered night stalkers feast on the dead. He has succeeded in his plans to take me but nothing has changed. No part of me is a vampire and I do not thirst for blood and I still have control of myself. The only problem is that I can't even try to escape because they have me chained to a throne.
"I can give you everything you've ever wanted. All you have to do is give in to my rule." The Listener is in his Vampire Lord form as he looms over me. He seems larger than before and much stronger.
"Never." I spit at his feet but it doesn't phase him. It seems to make him even more headstrong.
The Listener waves one of his clawed hands to the left and beckons someone forward. He gives me a smug toothy look and someone I didn't expect to see strides in. It's Nonvul with glowing yellowish-red vampire eyes. He bends in a bow to the evil in front of him.
"Yes my lord?" Nonvul seems stronger from the last time I saw him and he regards me with a pained look. His skin is a bit pale and his fangs peek from the corners of his mouth. Someone's been busy.
"Take her to the courtyard and chain her to one of the trees." The Listener unchains me for only a second but I try to break away. He grabs me with his claws and digs his sharp bony wings into my shoulders. I let out a squeal of pain and the merriment in the hall stops. Everyone stares as the Listener releases me from his painfully strong grip. He shoves me forward and Nonvul takes hold of me.
After walking through the massive castle and into the less impressive courtyard, save the massive moondial, Nonvul chains me to one of the trees.
I look at the night sky and can only see Masser, our planet's largest moon. "So. How did you get your lot in with the King of Kidnap?" Sarcasm seems to be the only thing that is keeping me sane. I need to get out of here. Every inch of me is yelling to run and escape.
Nonvul shouts at me shut up and the sun slowly peaks over the castle in a few hours. Occasionally, the Listener comes to visit us with his shrouded cowl off but a hood on. It is the first time I have seen his whole face and I am amazed at what I see.
He is a Nord and a very handsome one. About mid 20s and has dark brown hair that is cropped just above his ears. He probably had brown or blue eyes when he lived. The only thing that worries me, besides the fangs around here, is that he is making an altar of some sort.
Next they pull a shrine into the courtyard. It's obviously Daedric and then they bring out some of their human cattle.
The Listener strides over to me and pulls a blindfold over my eyes. "Today is the 20th of Evening Star. Do you know what that means?"
I shake my head no. This can't be good.
"It is Molag Bal's day. We are sacrificing you to him. It's a great honor." He then unchains me but ties my hands behind my back and binds my feet together. Then I'm forced to sit in front of the altar and shrine.
I hear the vampires start to chant. The air gets cooler and the voices get louder.
"Today, we summon Molag Bal to turn the reincarnation of Lamae Beolfag back into a Daughter of Coldharbour. Hear us and turn her!" The Listener shouts in a booming voice and my blindfold falls off. Vampires surround me and the shrines. They bow on their knees and raise their arms up and down as they summon and chant for the God of Rape. It seems like everyone has their eyes closed. Except Nonvul who isn't worshiping and summoning.
He rushes over to me and tears off my bindings. Nonvul puts a finger to his lips to tell me to be quiet. I shrug the limp bindings off and the whole summoning circle stops. The Listener glares at us and lunges for me.
"Traitor!" He yells at Nonvul and changes into his Vampire Lord form. The Listener slashes at us and I kick him in the face. He grabs my leg and twists me, making me fall to the stone cold ground.
It seems like we have the same idea and both Nonvul and I shout the Unrelenting Force shout at the Listener. He is sent flying and I turn into my dragon form and set fire to the vampires and the castle. I grab Nonvul in my jaws and fly away.
After the castle is out of sight, I drop Nonvul and he turns into his dragon form mid fall. He flies up besides me and we quietly land at Eldersblood Peak. Then we change back and Nonvul gives me a sheepish kiss on the cheek.
"I don't own you anything. Be seeing you around." His face is flushed with red and he flies off in his dragon form.
I walk to the wordwall and kick a rock I find. The word was already learned by me and I slide down the wall and sit. "Well that was awkward." I say out loud. Then I too, change into my dragon form and fly north of Windhelm and change back away from the city.
I walk back to the Palace of Kings and head upstairs without a word to my father. Taking slow strides, I reach my room and change into my old black armor. I see that they tried to fix the window. They will probably have to make a new one and place it in. I head back down the stairs and take my seat across from my father on the bench at the table.
"The Moot is tomorrow. Try to stay out of trouble." Ulfric says as he starts to eat his meal.
It looks like I get full meals now and no one has questioned the broken window or my disappearance. "That's going to be easy." I say as I roll my eyes and start on my food too.
Ulfric stops eating and slams his fists on the table. "I mean it. Every time you leave or move, there is a greater chance of you dying. Your mother wanted me to take care of you. The least you could do is not try to find trouble!" He yells at me and then leans his head on his right hand.
"Fine. Why don't you just lock me in a cell?" I say sarcastically.
"I've seriously thought about it!" He says angrily.
"I'll stay out of trouble." I finish my meal and head back up to my room. The day slides by and I go to sleep early.
My father says goodbye to me in the morning and then he leaves. I spend the day lounging around the Palace of Kings and the rest of Windhelm. Also, I stop by the infirmary and heal the wounded. The day isn't very eventful except for the dragon attack. We kill the dragon and I take its soul. It wasn't Nonvul so that's good.
My dad comes back much later. He has a huge grin on his face and the Jagged Crown is on his head. "I'm the High King of Skyrim now. Guess who's the princess."
"Ugh. Congratulations dad. Are we going to live in the Palace of Kings still or the Blue Palace?"
"We are still going to live in the Palace of King but there are going to be some renovations. Windhelm is now the capitol of Skyrim."
Author's Note:
Really short but interesting chapter. I won't be writing this story for a bit but don't worry. I'll give you guys a lot of chapters when I do. I'll also be working on two of my other stories but they will have chapters out. One of them is 'Would You?' You may have already read it but if you haven't give it a go. The other one is still in the writing progress and I may be doing a little Drabble about Cicero. That little Drabble won't have anything to do with any of my other stories. Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated.