Chapter Nine: Life is but a Dream
Silence filled the Barrow... but it was a cold silence: a soundless emptiness that could only be found the most barren of places.
Faendal shifted his position since his shoulder was aching a little, but he was much too tired to open his eyes.
Then he realized that the pain had faded greatly compared to the previous evening and forced them open to see why: however, the first thing he saw upon doing so was Ula's beautiful face resting only two inches from his own. Her large eyes were closed and she was breathing deeply, but her white eyelashes were dusted with tears and one of her hands had been completely covered in blood. He blinked again and slowly shifted his head to glance at his shoulder.
The wrap had been removed and his wound had been healed down to nothing more than a scratch.
"Even after all that, she still had enough energy to use more restoration Magicka on me?" he groggily wondered, yawning a bit before closing his eyes and flopping back down again. "Divines... this little girl is one of a kind."
He was just about to fall back asleep when he shifted his leg and pain lanced through his calf: he instantly twitched and shot out of the sarcophagus, eyes widening and ears pulling almost all the way back. He looked around for the enemy, and even grabbed his sword... but then he realized he'd cut himself on a stone plaque lying in the stone coffin. He instantly frowned and bent down to touch it, but a shock went through him and he jerked back.
"What in the name of Nirn?" Faendal gasped, watching as a blue light twinkled around the tablet. "How odd..."
After a moment of thought, he glanced at Ula, but he'd realized a little too late that her eyes were open slightly and she was vacantly looking out at nothing. His expression twisted a little in dismay before he rubbed his ear: he was feeling a little guilty for waking her up, but she didn't seem to be completely conscious yet, so he figured it would be better to wait. However, when she lifted her hand and saw red, she turned her head and glanced at his shoulder.
Then she sat up and looked around, seeming to be extremely confused.
"Are you feeling better now?" Faendal asked, swallowing when Ula slowly closed her eyes and rubbed them. "If so, we should ready ourselves to head back."
The mute girl nodded in reply and simply sat there with her eyes closed: even though she was awake, her mind kept trying to pull her back into the dream world she'd been swimming around in, and she jumped nearly three times as she sat there.
"Um... you're, uh... d-drooling a little," Faendal suddenly stammered, biting his lip and awkwardly averting his eyes. "Are you sure you're all right?"
Ula made an incoherent gesture since she could only halfway hear him.
She was slipping in and out of consciousness: she could feel the gears in her head turning as unclear images made their way into her mind. They were all made of various colors, shapes, and sounds with nothing in particular standing out: these dreams were nothing a bunch of swirling colors that continued to mesh together in her head... only half-formed. She started twitching when she started having visuals of a screaming dark-haired man leaning down over her face... his fists smashing into her temples...
Ula's face contorted, shaking her head and weakly lifting her arms.
"Hey, are you okay?" Faendal squeaked, voice pulling the girl back to her senses for a moment. "If you're tired, you should just lie down again. I could probably use some more rest, too... I can barely keep my eyes open."
Even though he said it clearly, it still didn't really register with the albino that well.
His soothing voice was already melding away... and a screaming woman was in front of her.
However, she was blurry... swirling and not really tangible.
Then... more faces.
All of them angry... all of them roaring that it was her fault.
No... Ula whimpered, lifting her hands and weakly trying to cover her face; she twitched when a dream hand flew at her. Please...
"Child, honestly, are you all right?" Faendal demanded, gripping her arm and shaking her; then he froze. "By the Eight! You're burning up! Are you ill?!"
The moment he touched her, Ula's muscles seized and she curled into a little ball. She couldn't even manage to let out a wheeze because of how badly her body had locked up on her. Faendal abruptly stared at her with concerned eyes... but when he set his hand down down on her shoulder to see how badly she was trembling, inhumane terror jolted through the mute girl's body, shocking her insides with an abrupt and unexpected prickling sensation. The electrical feeling ran all the way down to her fingertips.
However, Ula nearly had an aneurism when the dream came to life right in front of her eyes.
Then she was roughly jerked backward into the darkness by angry hands.
She was back in her village.
A redheaded man was screaming at her, the sound surging in and out of her ears as the world spun. Her vision shifted sickeningly while she lay huddled on the sandy, blood-soaked earth, desperately covering her head as she was beaten by the ones she loved. The silhouettes above her were roaring insults as the world wavered in and out: her body jerked every time they kicked her. When another man got down on his knees and started shielding her, he was quickly dragged away and someone began punching her in the temples, screaming the same thing over and over.
"YOUR FAULT!" he roared. "YOUR FAULT! THIS IS YOUR FAULT, ULA, YOUR FAULT! WE'RE DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!"
Her heart practically exploded with emotional agony: she knew this face... this voice.
Chief Rain... Svena's uncle.
The man who had taken her in.
Everything went dark even though her eyes were open.
"Hey!" Faendal's distant voice shouted. "Wake up!"
The mute girl suddenly shot upright, covered in cold sweat and breathing unevenly.
She was terrified.
Ula whimpered, choking and clutching her burning neck as the mark on her throat started glowing once again.
She swayed and stretched her hands out to Faendal's voice, but her arms closed on air and she weakly fell out of the Sarcophagus, too weak to even lift her head. She felt sick to her stomach, and her muscles wouldn't work right any longer. The Bosmer shouted something in a terrified tone and warm hands were suddenly being slid beneath her body. She slowly turned her head and glanced at the glowing wall as more and more images roared into her head. They were hurting her... she had to get away from the wall... it was a window to other worlds, not a relic of a time long past.
Somehow, almost instinctively, she knew she had to get out of the Barrow: she couldn't sense anything in this place.
It was a dead zone.
To wake herself before she could fall into another nightmare, the girl lifted her arm and girl bit down on the loose skin around her wrist, ears twitching and pulling back from the agony. This painful method had generally worked in the past to keep her from falling back asleep whenever her nightmares had gotten bad, but this one had been so much worse, so far beyond just 'bad' that she found herself crying past the grip on her arm.
Once she was awake, Ula finally let go of herself and retracted her teeth: her breath escaped in quiet sobs, even though she fought them back.
"Are you all right?" Faendal asked, drawing her attention to his face. "You're not... injured, are you?"
The eyes that were now staring at her were alarmed and full of worry, so Ula merely gave him a tired shake of her head.
However, right when she figured she had herself under control, her foot brushed against something and a brilliant blue glow roared up her leg. Her skin went icy cold and her stomach dropped through the floor when power surged into her, Jerking her foot back, the girl turned and found herself staring at a familiar stone tablet. She didn't know why it was familiar... after all, she'd never even seen it before.
And yet, even though she'd never before set eyes on it... somehow, she knew deep down that it belonged to her. She knew that she needed to take it. So, with careful fingers, the girl shakily gripped it and stuffed it into the pilfered backpack. It was fairly heavy, but she'd be able to haul it back to Kai and Svena if she tried hard enough.
At an rate, she had to get out of here... the Barrow was suffocating her.
"Are we ready?" Faendal inquired, watching when she tiredly stood up and hefted the pack. "Are you ready to get out of here?"
When Ula nodded weakly, the elf sighed in relief and the two of them stumbled around the ancient wall: Ula weakly followed him when they moved up a set of stairs that Ula hadn't seen the previous day. Then they slid into a natural cavern and hiked up the incline leading to what she presumed was an exit. However, Ula and Faendal were both confused when they found themselves face to face with a dead end stone wall.
Ula instantly glanced at him in confusion, but he seemed equally lost.
"Perhaps the old exit caved in," he muttered weakly, closing his eyes with drooping ears. "That's the only explanation I can think of. We might just have to circle all the way around in order to free ourselves of this place."
However, Ula's shackles rose at the thought of doing all that work a second time, and she had no intention of trying to run through corridors full of swinging axes just to get out o a crypt. So, against her better judgement, she shoved Faendal back a few steps and lifted her hands; she was just preparing to toss some lightning at the wall when he gripped her hands and forcibly lowered them, making the girl pause.
She glanced up at him in confusion, but jumped when she saw how serious he looked.
"Don't rely on your Magicka too much right now," he warned, letting her go in favor of inspecting the dead end. "The last thing we need is for you to drain your energy before the hike."
Ula wanted to protest, but since she couldn't talk, she settled for pouting at the ground.
However... that's when she noticed something odd about the wall beside her and blinked: there was a torch resting on a small, badly placed sconce. Thinking she should at least give the Bosmer some light, the tiny girl stood on her tiptoes and gripped the unlit torch with both hands before attempting to pull it down.
The girl jumped when the entire sconce ground itself downward automatically, and Faendal yelped since the dead end stone started moving. Both pointy-eared folk watched with large eyes as the stone began to rise, revealing the rest of the path and shocking them to the core. Once the false wall thunked into the ceiling, Faendal did nothing but stare at the spot it had seamlessly meshed into the cavern ceiling.
"Those Nords did a fearsome job with their temples and shrines," he muttered, leading Ula around several twists and turns. "I didn't even spot the seam."
The white-haired girl blinked when she and Faendal walked out of the tunnel and found themselves standing in front of an ancient shrine: it was ensnared by ancient bricks, and above it was a very fearsome carving of a Dragon's head. Dead flowers had been lain on the pedestal within the alcove, which also held a human skull, and directly in front of it was a withered flower wreath.
Ula figured that someone done this to honor the memory of someone who was now long-forgotten.
Then the girl turned her eyes away and followed Faendal as he headed for the light at the end of the tunnel.
The sunlight nearly blinded the girl when she finally slipped out of the shadows.
"Finally," Faendal groaned, shivering violently in dismay. "We're out of that damnable tomb!"
Ula nodded in agreement, then shivered under her borrowed Parka and let out a sneeze: her face was flushed and her face felt hot, but she knew she was well enough to travel. When a snowflake landed on her nose, she remembered that she didn't have any shoes and winced, not wanting to step forward onto the snow. The blizzard from the previous evening had blown over, but it was still snowing and the sky was grey.
Ula tried to make her feet warm up using her Magicka, but it wasn't working: she didn't have enough strength.
Even worse, Faendal had started descending down the treacherous mountainside without even noticing that she was falling behind, so the girl took a deep breath and decided to tough it out. Hesitantly climbing over the unstable, ice-covered stones and rocks, the white-haired girl followed her companion with a shivering body. Faendal turned around twice to help her down from places that had been difficult for even him, and when they finally made it to the road, the two of them started walking towards Riverwood.
However, about halfway back, the girl grew dizzy and started stumbling: she tried to keep going, and she even attempted to use a few passing trees to keep herself upright, but eventually she collapsed. Faendal only turned around when the sound of her body hitting the ground met his sharp ears.
The moment he saw her, however, his face drained of color and he ran to her aid.
"Hey, are you all right?" he asked, rolling her over and patting her flushed cheeks. "Child! Are you okay?!"
Ula didn't respond; she merely lay there breathing hard with her eyes squeezed shut. However, her eyes snapped open when the Bosmer unexpectedly lifted her body into his arms and slid her onto his back. After he was finished adjusting her weight, he started walking again, ignoring the weak flail of protest she gave him. The girl finally gave up when his hands tightened on her legs, preventing her from moving them.
He carried her over uneven terrain and down several dangerous-looking inclines without faltering.
"We have to get you back," the Bosmer muttered after a long, lulling silence. "You're ill, so just rest until we get back."
Ula blinked and weakly nodded against the back of his neck.
They continued walking in silence: Ula eventually closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax. She felt safe like this... and even though she didn't know him very well, she knew that Faendal would never let anything happen to her. Somehow, a deep bond had been formed between them due to the terrors they'd experienced together in the Barrows. She trusted him just as much as he most likely trusted her.
She only opened her eyes when she heard several familiar shouts of alarm.
"Ula!" a female voice wailed, sounding absolutely horrified. "Ula, oh Gods! Kai! Kaaaai! It's Ula! Someone found her!"
"Is she okay?!" Kai bellowed, making the white-haired girl lift her head and peer over Faendal's shoulder. "Oi! Is she all right?!"
"She seems to have fallen ill," the wood elf weakly admitted, "but aside from that, both of us are unharmed."
"What do you mean?!" Svena demanded, blue eyes sharpening in an instant. "What happened?! Where did you find her?!"
"They went into Bleak Falls Barrow," a familiar Nordic voice explained; Ula twitched when she saw the expressions of horror on her friend's faces since Ralof had just come jogging up. "I told you not to worry so much."
"Are you NUTS?!" Svena screeched, tearing over to Faendal and gripping his sleeves; her eyes were large and full of horrified tears, but first and foremost she was angry. "Did you really take my little sister into such a dangerous place?! The Barrows of Skyrim are absolutely dangerous, you idiot! They're full of traps, and pitfalls, and lots of wild creatures! Who in the name of Talos do you think you are?!"
"I... I'm sorry," Faendal squeaked, leaning away from her with large eyes. "Miss, I really am!"
"What were you thinking?!" Kai roared, joining in with the ranting. "Hand Ula over right now, and after that, stay away from her!"
Ula's pink eyes immediately flashed with anger and she pushed herself off Faendal's back.
Svena and Kai spread the arms, expecting her to run to them, but instead... the girl stepped in front of Faendal and spread her arms with an angry expression. Both of them halted, since they hadn't been expecting this: the girl merely shook her head and turned so she could tap Faendal's chest.
Then she pointed at the mountain where the Barrow was located and shook her head.
"What?" Svena whispered, blinking in confusion when the girl pouted at her. "Are you really saying that this wasn't his idea?"
The albino nodded before gesturing at herself with both hands and stomping her foot; then she folded her arms and looked away with an angry huff. Both of her friends looked stunned by what she'd just insinuated, but the rest of the people who'd gathered didn't have a clue what the gestures were supposed to mean.
Suddenly, a voice split the air, making the Bosmer glance up in surprise.
"Faendal!" Camilla shrieked, running towards them with her skirts hiked up; when she saw the blood on his jacket and his torn shirt, however, her eyes widened even further and she burst into tears. Without hesitating at all, the pixie-like woman shoved Svena and Kai aside and threw her arms around the wood elf's neck. "Faendal! Are you okay?! You're covered in blood!"
"I-I'm fine, thanks to the child who came with me," the Bosmer stammered, patting the woman's back with a bright red face and enormous maroon eyes. "I-I... well, um, we had a bit of a run-in with the bandits, and... if it hadn't been for her, I definitely would have lost my life."
"W-what?!" Camilla gasped, eyes widening in horror. "What do you mean?! What happened?!"
"I was stabbed through the heart," Faendal whispered, rubbing his chest with a wince. "Somehow, that girl saved me."
"Impossible!" Svena whispered, eyes bugging out of her skull. "That can't be true! There's no way she could have healed an injury that serious, because Ula doesn't know any real curative magicka! She hasn't read a single spell tome for healing!"
For a long moment, everyone merely stared at her in stunned surprise, but nobody looked as shocked as Faendal.
"She healed my injuries several times," the wood-elf muttered, glancing at the swaying white-haired girl. "How is that possible?"
"I don't care if its possible or not!" Camilla wailed, letting go of the Bosmer and throwing her arms around the fifteen-year-old's skinny shoulders; Ula instantly gasped and flailed, but then she realized she was being hugged and paused. "Thank you so much for keeping him safe. I don't even care about that stupid claw anymore! Those bandits can have it... I'm just glad the two of you came back safely!"
"Oh, about that," Faendal chuckled, smiling a little in relief. "We actually managed to retrieve it."
"Eh?!" Camilla squeaked, jerking her head up and staring at him in shock. "Y-you... you did?!"
So saying, Ula pulled herself out of the woman's arms and weakly opened the backpack she'd taken from Arvel. Then, with little fanfare, she pulled out the Golden Claw and showed it to Camilla: Svena and Kai were both stunned by this point, and all they could really do was stare at the scene in front of them with large eyes. Camilla covered her mouth with both hands and stared at it with a similar expression.
"Like I said," Faendal uncomfortably murmured, making the dazed woman glance up. "Anything that's important to you is important to me. I wasn't going to back down... so..."
Without warning, the beautiful Nord's eyes filled with tears and she burst into laughter.
"You silly little elf!" she hiccuped, throwing her arms around him again. "That claw isn't nearly important to me as you are! I was so scared, Faendal! I was scared that you wouldn't ever come back! I thought you might die up there, and I... I didn't..."
"I'm fine, aren't I?" the Bosmer soothed, patting her back. "I'm alive, Camilla."
"Silly, silly elf," she mumbled, lifting her head and pressing a kiss against his mouth.
Faendal's ears shot straight out from the shock that went through him, but then his eyes glazed over and he relaxed. With gentle arms, he wrapped the woman in a hug and held her close, making Ula turn an even brighter shade of red. She instantly clamped both hands over her mouth and started jumping up and down in girlish delight. When the two finally pulled away from each other, Faendal's ears were limp and his eyes were so glazed that they seemed to be sparkling. He blinked several times when Camilla giggled.
"Camilla," he mumbled, staring down at her with a dazed expression. "W-what...?"
"I love you," she mumbled, pressing her face against his chest. "Don't ever be so silly again, okay?"
"O-okay," Faendal squeaked, face flaming dark crimson with shock. "I... I..."
"I know," the woman whispered, then pulled away with a smile and turned to Ula and her friends. "Follow me! You two have to hurry up and tell Lucan you have the claw! He'll be so excited!"
With that, she grabbed Faendal's arm and took off down the street towards Lucan's shop.
Upon entering, however, the man jumped in surprise.
"What in blazes?!" Lucan growled, glaring at Ula and Faendal when the walked up to the counter. "What are you two doing here?"
Without a word, Ula grabbed the claw and smacked it down on the counter in front of him. The man instantly gaped, blinking at it before looking up at them in surprise. He seemed unable to process what was actually going on, and for a moment he did nothing but stare at the people in front of him.
"You found it?" he stammered, eyes slowly lighting up with dismay; Camilla's eyes sharpened and she folded her arms, waiting for him to continue. Her brother instantly winced, since he obviously hadn't been expecting them to return. "Hahaha, there it is! You really did it! Strange, it seems smaller than I remember. Funny thing huh?"
"Lucan," Camilla warned, glancing at the pouch resting on the counter next to him. "Remember your deal?"
"Yes, well," the man sighed, finally giving in and sliding the pouch over to Faendal, "Take this, friend: I'm gonna put the claw back where it belongs. I'll never forget this: you've done a great thing for me and my sister."
"It was no trouble at all," Faendal murmured, voice growing fainter. "I couldn't have done it without the help of my friend."
Ula hesitantly tried to push away from Svena and Kai so she could step forward, but pain seared through her head and a swarm of black and red spots immediately began to overwhelm her. Before she could even blink, the girl clutched her head and swayed as her vision swirled sickeningly and began to fade. The girl soon felt herself falling backwards and landed hard on the wood, smacking her head against the floor without feeling it.
At the moment she was so dizzy that she didn't care anymore: all she really wanted to do was go to sleep.
Ula heard Svena and Kai shouting her name in alarm along with the concerned voices of several people.
However, only a few moments later, the girl went limp and passed out.