Really sorry this one took so long but i had to do some research (i.e. taking down the dialogue for this mission cuz i'm a perfectionist). I really enjoyed writing this chapter and i hope you enjoy reading it. I also apologize for it being so short in comparison to the others. Owell, here ya go 3
Fralia was restless. Memories from a time long past haunted her and caused her to toss and turn in her sleep. The screaming was getting louder. A reminder of pain. Of loss. Everything was dark and senses were clouded...
Skooma.
A lovely thing it was.
It dulled the senses yet at the same time, everything felt clearer... more real.
The room was dark. She held her lover close. He was all dark fur, black as the night, and blue eyes, bright as the stars. She was pale skin, fiery hair and eyes green as the forest.
Dark fur on pale skin.
Warm.
Soft kisses.
Shivers.
His voice captivated her as it spun tales of death and shadows, divulging secrets of a clan that served the void.
Head spinning.
Hands all over.
Dark fur and pale skin.
She felt safe with him. Safe and accepted. She learned so much from him.
The air stirred. Something wasn't right. The light came, unwelcome, uninvited. A voice, far too loud, uncomfortable. "YOU FILTHY BEAST! GET OFF OF HER!"
Dark fur. Pale skin. Warm. Wet?
Blood.
Blood?
"RI'SAARA!" Fralia awoke, panicking, tears streaming down her face. Once she was painfully aware that she was severely lacking her furry companion, she fell to her knees, shaking with the force of her sadness. That night... that was the start of everything. There was so much blood...
"Bad dream...?" a smooth, captivating voice pulled her from her darkness. The red cleared from her vision and she finally took in her surroundings. She found herself in a dark, abandoned shack just barely lit by candlelight. The voice had come from a dark figure seated on top of a bookcase that held a collection of ruined books. It was a female, either a nord or a breton, dressed in tight leather and a masked hood.
"Who are you? Where am I?" Fralia could feel a dull pounding in her head. A result of last night's drinking. The tears still streamed steady down her face. A result of the dream. But last night... "Jen..." she looked up at the mysterious woman, concern causing her to panic again. "Where is she... what did you do with my dunmer?"
"Does it matter? You're warm, dry, and still very much alive. Which is more than can be said for old Grelod, hm?" her head began to clear up at the mention of the old woman. She knew. She hadn't quite expected to be kidnapped, but they had contacted her. So soon, too.
"You know about that..." it wasn't a question. She stated it, as a declaration of clarity.
"Half of Skyrim knows. Old hag gets butchered in her own orphanage? Things like that tend to get around... Oh, but don't misunderstand. I'm not criticizing. It was a good kill... Old crone had it coming. And you saved a group of urchins, to boot. Ah but there is a slight... hm... problem." the woman's voice was smooth... seductive... her manner reminded Fralia very much of a certain midnight colored khajiit... he would speak of blood and the cutting of flesh and the crushing of bone with a sexual edge that suggested he enjoyed his work a little too much. The shrouded assassin continued when Fralia only looked on and listened. "You see, that little Aretino boy was looking for the Dark Brotherhood. For me... and my associates. Grelod the kind was, by all rights, a dark brotherhood contract. A kill... that you stole. A kill you must repay."
"You want me to murder someone else... who?" it took all she had to keep the excitement out of her voice. The nightmare she had awoken from brought her mind to a dark place... the events of that night playing through in her mind... she wanted nothing more than to bury her blade into someone. To replay what happened next...
"Well now... funny you should ask. If you'll turn around, you'll notice my guests. I've 'collected' them from... well, that's not important... The here and now. That's what matters." Fralia turned to see three people, bound, on their knees, and heads covered in execution hoods. A male khajiit, a female nord(?) and a male whose race she could not discern, perhaps an imperial? "You see, there is a contract out on one of them and that person can't leave this room alive. But... oh which one? Go on... see if you can figure it out. Also, when I... picked you up... i noticed you were unarmed, but don't worry. I made sure that you would have your sword for this little test..." Fralia's hand immediately leapt to the spot she would usually have Dawnbreaker and found that it was there. She grabbed the hilt and slowly pulled the glowing sword from it's sheath, turning towards the bound victims.
"Make your choice... "
Fralia took a few steps towards them, her cloak billowing around her, a little awry from being slept in.
"Make your kill..."
The events of the nightmare were still fresh in her mind. She felt warm fur against her. A smooth, heavily-accented voice whispering in her ear.
"I just want to observe... and admire."
"kill them, my little nightshade..."
The female turned her head towards the footsteps and started shouted something at the unknown creature approaching. Something that sounded vaguely threatening, followed by the khajiit asking to be let go and the male whimpering in the corner. Their words were drowned out by the screaming in the bosmer's head... which was soon to be met with louder more immediate screaming.
Without a hint of hesitation, Fralia grabbed onto the back of the woman's head, taking a handful of hair and hood, lifting her to eye level and stabbing her, repeatedly in the stomach, eliciting bloodcurdling screams that were drowned by a gurgling noise once she was stabbed in the center of her chest. Her bloodied body caught fire from dawnbreaker's enchantment and was tossed aside as the enraged elf descended upon her next unfortunate target: the khajiit. He was rambling something in a questioning tone but was soon cut off when he was grabbed by the throat and pinned against a wall. His clothes were torn from his torso and he soon felt a burning pain on his flesh as a certain flaming sword was drawn intimately across his stomach, leaving a shallow scar. This torturous action was repeated until the whole of his abdomen was covered in scars and singed fur, each scar rewarded it's creator with a cry of pain. When she was through toying with him, she dropped him on the ground, on his back, and sunk her blade in his neck, eliciting grotesque drowning noises.
She then moved on to her last victim, whom was curled up in the corner, shaking after having to listen to the pained cries of those before him. He was grabbed roughly by the arm then thrown down and forced to lay on his stomach. A boot landed hard on his back, holding him in place as his attacker grabbed his bound hands and slowly pulled them up as if to push them over his head. He could feel his muscles stretching beyond their limit and gritted his teeth, panicking as he knew she wouldn't stop till he broke. Before his arms reached that point, the heated edge of Dawnbreaker cut straight through his left leg, chopping it off at the knee. The shack was filled with his screaming and desperate pleading. Just as his shoulders were about to be forced out of place, his other leg was sliced off, this time from the middle of his thigh. The pain of his lost right leg mixed with that of his arms finally pulling away from his body, ripping muscle and scraping bone. Tears fell freely down his covered face as his assailant stepped off of his back and turned him over.
His breathe caught as he was dragged across the floor and propped up against the wall. His execution hood was removed. He blinked his eyes, trying instictively to see his surroundings through tears and a weak shade of red. Before him was crouched a wood elf, pretty, covered in blood with shocking red hair, weilding a sword of light. Behind her, perched on a bookshelf, was a dark female figure dressed in tight leather, looking on in horror. He turned his head to his left and saw the bodies that belonged to the screams he had heard moments before. His disembodied legs lie useless behind the bosmer...
Fralia held his chin in her hand gently, pulling him to face her, wanting to see the look in his eyes when she delivered the final blow. He was shaking uncontrollably and getting dizzy from the large amount of blood loss. He felt heat approach his face as the sadistic creature licked blood from her sword hand before smiling at him, giving a soft "goodbye" and then slowly and painfully pushing the tip of her sword through his chest and to his heart, seeming extremely aroused by the act...
Feeling sated, Fralia turned back to her captor, but not before pulling her sword out by slashing it through what was left or her unfortunate prey. The screaming made it's way back into the background of her thoughts and she saw clearly again. She walked back up to the Dark Brotherhood assassin and found that the woman looked horrified. The elf smiled from beneath her messy and blood-clotted hair. She then sheathed her weapon and gave an expectant look. The assassin's expression changed back to the aloof gaze she had donned before the vicious scene she had just witnessed.
"Well well, aren't we the overachiever? Three possibilities, three victims. Had to be one of them, right? So why take chances..." she was silent for a moment, expecting an answer but was only met with focused eyes and a determined expression. "Hm... When most would speak, you listen. You think. That's good."
"Is my debt repaid, then?"
"Of course..." she tossed Fralia a key, which she caught deftly. "Here's the key to the shack. But why stop here? I say we take our relationship to the next level... I, Astrid, as leader of the Dark Brotherhood, would like to formally extend to you an invitation to join my family..." a phrase resurfaced itself in Fralia's mind. The line that Vex had given her about the guild being a family. "What is your name?" being addressed pulled her from her thoughts.
"Fralia" she replied.
"Fralia... In the southwest reaches of Skyrim, in the Pine Forest, you'll find the entrance to our sanctuary. It's just beneath the road, hidden from view. When questioned by the black door, answer with the correct passphrase, 'Silence, my brother.' Then you're in. And your new life begins..." Fralia felt a bit of panic rising in her from the intensity of how important this moment was. She only wished that Jen had been there to share in her excitement. Wait... Jen.
"Hold on... you never answered my question. Jenassa... the dunmer that was with me... is she alright?" Astrid chuckled lightly before replying.
"Not to worry, your companion is fine. The most you should worry about is that she is wondering where you are. I left her sleeping in that house of yours, untouched I assure you." Fralia was visibly relieved and hoped to the gods that Jen would just stay put and trust that she would find her way back home.
"Thank you... Astrid." the higher ranking assassin nodded.
"I'll see you at home..." with that, the Dark Brotherhood initiate stole one last glance at the leftovers of her gruesome handiwork before using her key to exit the small building and step out into the cold and foggy landscape...
