Title: Vicissitudes
Author: BurningSilence
Disclaimer: I don't own it, Bethesda does. I barely own the plot, but I do own anyone in this story who doesn't seem familiar.
Summary: see chapter one.
This chapter is also dedicated to dreamysherry, mostly because she gave me that very special first review. But also because her stories are made of win.
Chapter II:
The Long Road'Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it!' Felicienne cursed in her mind as she rushed to make her way to the back door out of the captain's cabin. It was only a matter of time until the crew managed to get the door open. She'd been able to sneak past all of them, kill the captain, and then somehow, they'd over heard the 'commotion' in his room. So she did the only logical one would do if they were out numbered and taken by surprise.
She bolted.
She flung the door open, jumped into the harbour, and swam for all she was worth. It was lucky she found that talisman with the water breathing charm in Xedilian, at least she could stay under the water and, hopefully, remain hidden.
By the time she made it back to the Cheydinhal Sanctuary, she was sure she would come down with a cold. She was still very wet, it was dark and cold, and she couldn't stop shivering.
And to top it off, it was raining.
She just wanted change into some dry clothes, and get some sleep. She immediately made her way to Vicente's chambers to report to him she'd finished the contract.
"So, the pirate has been eliminated. Excellent. No one will mourn him. And as promised, here is your reward," he said as he handed her a ring. "Now, get some rest, you look like you may need it."
Immediately, she went to the living quarters and changed out of her wet armour and into a set of dry cloth clothing, and readied herself for bed. It was bad enough that she was cold already; it made it worse that their Sanctuary was underground, where it just happened to be even colder.
She'd decided she'd sleep here during the morning, and then go on her way to Chorrol in the afternoon. If nothing handicapped her, she should be in Chorrol by late evening. She pulled out her bookand settled down for the time being, hoping to drift off to sleep.
"Oh, hello dearest Sister! I see you're back from your contract," announced Antoinetta's cheerful voice.
Felicienne looked up and smiled, "Yes, I'm just glad everything went according to plan. Things just became a little dicey when the captain's crew tried to enter the room while I was still there. But no harm done, well, to me anyway. The captain may feel differently."
Antoinetta laughed, "That is good to hear, sister!" She happened to glance at the book the younger girl was reading, and furrowed her brows, "Azura and the Box?"
Felicienne blushed and replied, "Yeah, I know. It's a little childish." Then she lowered her voice to a whisper, "At least it isn't The Lusty Argonian Maid."
The blonde woman just laughed as she got into her own bed and blew out her candle.
Felicienne sighed as she continued on the Red Ring Road; she'd started out later than she'd wanted to. Now, by the time she'd get to the Chorrol, it'd probably be around midnight, so she'd probably need to spend the rest of the night somewhere.
"But, maybe I'll just swing by Weynon Priory to see if anyone is still awake, first," she mused aloud to herself.
As she thought about it, it was interesting what, exactly, compelled her to go through with this little errand. Although she wasn't an unkind person, Felicienne rarely took up 'expeditions' such as this, merely out of the kindness of her heart. Usually, her reasons were usually very selfish; either she would gain something out of it, or it was mere curiosity. However, this was different. This was the Emperor for divinity's sake! She was a nobody, a simple a Breton who'd run away from her home and her problems. And yet he'd spared her life from his guards and allowed her to escape her fate in the Imperial Prison.
And, she had to admit, she felt a tad guilty for his death. Even though he, himself, had told her that he was going to die, and that he'd accepted that, she still felt she should have been more on guard, at least. How could that assassin have snuck up right behind them? The least she could do was honour Emperor Uriel's last wishes.
'Although,' she cringed, 'It's been more than a month since that happened. It's already the third of Frostfall.'
Indeed, the weather was turning more unpleasant, and the night's were colder. She enjoyed the change, but it didn't seem the other citizens enjoyed it as much as she. Coming from High Rock, she was used to much colder weather.
That didn't mean she'd packed for it, considering she'd left in the middle of Last Seed, and expected warm weather. Maybe while she was in Chorrol, she'd pick up some warmer clothes.
'I need to buy a horse,' she thought as her feet began to ache. She stopped at a grassy knoll that looked to be particularly inviting, and sat down to rub her feet. She didn't have any way to check the time, but she guessed that it must have been around eleven o'clock. Maybe even later. She sighed, she probably wouldn't be able to get a hold of anyone this time of night; it would have to wait until morning.
Felicienne got back up on her feet and continued her trek, eyes widening in excitement as she saw she was coming up on the Black Road, because she sure as hell wouldn't miss it this time! She decided to cut down on time, she run. And she ran as fast as her legs could carry her. As she came up to Fort Ash, a Khajiit dressed in leather armour jumped out of his hiding place.
"You must be kidding," she mumbled, to no one in particular, feeling her temper spike.
"I can assure you, girl, this is no joke. Now, your money or your life," snarled the highwayman.
She sneered, "Take it from me, if you can, you tatty housecat!"
He glared at her and said, "Fine, that's how I like it anyway," and then brandished a, rather large, mace.
Felicienne flung a fireball at the highwayman before she could even think about it, and he collapsed dead at her feet.
She looked down, surprised, "Well, that didn't take long. I'm actually a little disappointed."
She leant down to see if he anything valuable on his person, then withdrew, dissatisfied.
"You obviously weren't a very successful at this, were you? You've no gold on you!"
As she looked towards the western entrance of the fort, she could faintly see the outline of Chorrol, and before it, Weynon Priory. 'Finally,' she thought with a sigh. She spied a little makeshift campsite across from her in the fort and decided she'd just sleep there for a few hours.
"After all," she said, looking over and her recently deceased 'friend'. "It's not like you're going to be using it anytime soon."
She curled up on the bedroll and let her eyes drift shut, trying to stay warm.
"Uhhhmm, I hate the sun…" Felicienne grumbled as she tried to shield her eyes from the harsh morning light. "Oh, it's morning!" she exclaimed, trying to rub the sleep from her blue eyes. "I guess that means I better get to the Priory," she muttered to herself. She pulled the Amulet of Kings out of her pack to look at it one last time. "Well," she began, "It's been a fun run, and I suppose I'm going to miss carting you around everywhere, but it's time for you to go to the one you belong to." Then she stopped herself.
'What in Oblivion am I doing?' she thought to herself. 'I'm talking to a pendant, for pity's sake!' With that, she shook herself off, and made her way out of the fort entrance.
She decided she may as well run the rest of the way, best to get this entire fiasco over with. To keep herself, slightly, entertained, she thought to make a game of it. So she began trying to see how much faster she could go by jumping from boulder to boulder.
After awhile, she decided that wasn't such a good idea, she was tiring herself out too much. "I wish I had some company," she mumbled. "That'd make this whole thing go quite a bit faster."
She came up to a large building that looked like a chapel, and let herself inside. 'This must be it,' she thought, looking around. She cleared her throat and asked, "Excuse me, do you know where Jauffre is?"
An older man looked up from the altar in the back and smiled, "Yes, he's in the Weynon house. Do you have business with him?" he inquired.
"Yes, actually, I do. It's about a…friend of his," she replied.
The Prior (or at least, she assumed he was the Prior), looked skeptical, but let the issue be. "Well, alright then. He'll probably be up the stairs reading."
"Thank you, sir," she smiled as she let herself out. She ran over to the Weynon house and opened the door, hoping someone was in. She poked her head inside, but didn't see anyone, so she decided to head upstairs like the Prior instructed her to.
She looked around and saw another man at a desk, reading something rather intently.
"Excuse me," she murmured. "Are you Jauffre?"
He looked up at her with a sour expression and replied waspishly, "I am Brother Jauffre, what do you want?"
Her back straightened in response to his rudeness. Her eyes narrowed a bit as she told him, "The Emperor sent me to find you."
The old man's eyebrows rose and he responded, obviously skeptical, "The Emperor? Do you know something of his death?"
She swallowed heavily, aware of how this appeared, "I was there when he died…"
"You'd better explain yourself. Now," he bit out.
"He gave me the Amulet of Kings," she stated, now a bit more anxious as she twisted the material of her shirt.
"You brought me the Amulet of Kings? That cannot be. Let me see it," he assessed.
Felicienne reached into her pack and handed over the piece of jewelry, glad to finally have this over with.
Jauffre grabbed, (rather rudely, she thought), and examined it carefully, turning it every which way before he exclaimed, "By the Nine! This is the Amulet of Kings!"
She was sure the look she gave him said, 'I told you so.'
Then he looked at her sharply and asked, "Who are you? How did you get this? What do you know of the Emperor's death?"
"I was in the prison when the Emperor's family was attacked. I think there was some sort of mix up with the guards and they placed me in the cell the escape route was located. After the Emperor and his guards left through the tunnel I—I followed. I wanted to get out. When I caught up with them, his guards thought I might have been involved with the assassinations, and they wanted to kill me! But, Emperor Uriel stopped them, he saved me. They let me follow the rest of the way, but then we were caught at a dead end…it was a trap. They had me stay with the Emperor while they looked for another way out, but we were ambushed. While I was trying to fight off an assassin who had charged at us, another one had apparently been waiting behind the Emperor in a hidden alcove…and he killed him. I didn't have time to stop him. But, before he…passed on, he told me take this amulet," she gestured towards it, "to you, and that you were the only one who knew where to find his last heir. That I needed to stand against the Prince of Destruction and his mortal minion…And then he said something very…unnerving, I suppose would be the best way to say it." Felicienne stopped, looking thoughtful.
Jauffre indicated for her to go on, looking mystified.
She looked down, pensive and continued, "'Close shut the jaws of Oblivion.'"
Jauffre seemed to think on all that she said, but still managed to look quite skeptical. And he let her know it as well, "As unlikely as your story sounds, I do believe you. Only the strange destiny of Uriel Septim could have brought you to me carrying the Amulet of Kings."
Felicienne bit her lip, still thinking about that one phrase that filled her with a sense of foreboding. She looked up at Jauffre and asked, "What do you think he meant, 'close shut the jaws of Oblivion'?"
He rubbed his chin, contemplating her question and shook his head, "His meaning is unclear to me as well. The Emperor seemed to perceive some threat from the demonic world of Oblivion. The Prince of Destruction, Mehrunes Dagon, is one of the lords of Oblivion."
Jauffre adopted a confused countenance as he said he next words, "But the mortal world is protected from daedra of Oblivion by magical barriers."
The dark haired girl shook her head, now frustrated more than anything at this point, "Well, then how can Oblivion threaten us?" She didn't think it'd be prudent to let Jauffre know she'd had her fair share of…experience…with Daedric princes. Even though he was just the crazy sort…maybe not harmless, but Sheogorath obviously didn't favour the meaningless sort of destruction Mehrunes Dagon did. That was why he'd wanted a Champion after all, wasn't it?
Jauffre then cracked a small smile at her and replied, "I'm not sure. Only the Emperors truly understand the meaning behind the rituals of coronation. The Amulet of Kings is ancient. St. Alessia herself received it from the gods. It is a holy relic of great power."
Felicienne blushed; embarrassed that she did not know much about the history of her own country, especially about something as important as the Amulet of Kings. She should have at least read up on the damned thing!
Jauffre continued, oblivious to her inner denunciation, "When a new Emperor is crowned, he uses the Amulet to light the Dragonfires at the Temple of the One in the Imperial City. However, with the Emperor dead and no new heir crowned, the Dragonfires in the Temple will be dark for the first time in centuries. It is conceivable that the Dragonfires protected us from a threat that only the Emperor was aware of."
Felicienne nodded, then remembered something she'd let slip her mind before, "The Emperor mentioned something about finding his son…" she trailed off.
Jauffre seemed to understand explained, "I am one of the few who know of his existence. Many years ago, I served as captain of Uriel's bodyguards, the Blades." At the brunette's look of exasperation, he smiled and decided to get to the point. "One night Uriel called me into his private chambers. A baby boy lay sleeping in a basket. Uriel told me to deliver him somewhere safe. He never told me anything else about the baby, but I knew it was his son. Every once in a while he would ask after the child's progress." Jauffre chuckled a bit and continued, "Now it seems this illegitimate son is the to the Septim throne. If he yet lives."
Jauffre's face darkened at that last thought. Felicienne was just now beginning to understand the gravity of the situation they were now in. She wouldn't just be able to pass off this piece of jewelry and be on her merry way. This would effect everyone's lives. She sighed and looked directly into the monk's eyes while she inquired, "Where can I find him?"
He smiled softly and answered, "His name is Martin; he serves as a priest of Akatosh in the city of Kvatch, south of here. You must go to Kvatch and find him at once. If the enemy is aware of his existence he is in terrible danger. And…let me know if you need anything. I have limited resources, but I will help you in anyway I can."
Felicienne smiled, and shook her head 'no', "Thank you, but I'll be alright. I'm sure I have everything I'll need." She furrowed her brows and asked, "What about the Amulet?"
"It will be safest here with me, when you return with Martin, we'll figure out our next move."
She nodded in the affirmative, and decided it'd be best to get started now, before any other distractions made themselves present. And as she continued on the train of thought, she remembered she needed warmer clothing. She cursed under her breath, she wondered if she could make it a couple more nights with out heavier clothing. She'd briefly entertained the idea of wearing her shrouded armour, but discarded that thought. That would cause…unnecessary attention. It looked like she'd need to stop in town after all.
When she arrived within the city wall, she asked a guard for directions and, while his manner did seem a bit…surly, he directed her to Northern Goods and Trade and then there was Fire and Steel if she wanted armour. She made sure to head off to Fire and Steel, after all, she just wanted some leather armour. You know, the kind that wouldn't make people suspicious.
Fortunately, after buying her armour, and repairing her weapons, not too much time had passed, and the blacksmith at the shop was kind enough to let her use a back room to change it, so she didn't have to scurry around to find a place to maintain her modesty. She made sure she tipped the woman for her trouble.
Looking at her map, Kvatch was a way off, but if she left now, she could make it to Skingrad, stay there for the night, then continue on to Kvatch first thing the next morning, since that would be a much shorter trip.
On a whole, her trip to Skingrad was uneventful. Just a couple bandits, a few wolves here and there, it wasn't anything she couldn't manage. However, it was her time in Skingrad that proved to be more interesting. If it wasn't a paranoid Bosmer asking to meet her behind the chapel after midnight, (like she was stupid enough to do that) it was the rough treatment of one of the Orc innkeepers, (Mog gra-Mogakh her name was). Then there was a member of the City Watch coming to her room to inform her to 'stay away from Glarthir', the paranoid Bosmer. Apparently he was crazy, not dangerous allegedly, but that could always change.
Needless to say, she wasn't that upset about having to leave Skingrad. She had woken up just at daybreak to ensure she had plenty of time to get there. Not that she had to worry about the chapel closing, but it wasn't like she wanted to interrupt the poor priests sleep. She wasn't like some people, particularly a man who wore black and had dark eyes, who found it completely normal to wake someone up in the middle of the night, even though if he'd been watching her, he'd known she'd had a difficult few days, and would've appreciated the sleep.
She sighed and rolled her eyes at herself, 'No use getting worked up over it, besides, you accepted his offer.' She'd always had an ability to hold a grudge, anyway. She was sure after awhile she'd warm up to Mr. Lachance—Lucien, she corrected herself—she already found him interesting. Although, she laughed, she felt Antoinetta was warmed up to him enough for the both of them. After her first encounter with the blonde Breton, she was sure Antoinetta was sweet on him. It was adorable, really.
"I'll always look at Lucien Lachance as my savior," she said wistfully, trying to imitate Antoinetta, as she clasped her hands to her chest. She couldn't say anymore because she was had started giggling too hard. She didn't mean to poke fun at Antoinetta, she loved her dearly, but she'd always found 'starry-eyed' women to be a bit…strange. Perhaps that was just because she'd never been 'boy-crazy' as her mother called it. She had a feeling that was a relief to her father.
She noticed it was getting darker a bit earlier than she thought it would have as she started climbing the hill to get to the actual town of Kvatch. She glanced up at the sky and noticed what looked like large plumes of smoke. As she continued her climb, she noticed a terrified Altmer running from the city. At first, Felicienne assumed he was running from the guard, or some such, until he approached her.
"Run!" He screamed, "Run while there's still time!"
"Time?" she asked, confused.
"The Guard still holds the road, but it's only a matter of time before they're overwhelmed! We need to run!" he cried.
A feeling of apprehension came over Felicienne as she asked her next question, "Run from what?"
At this, he looked shocked, "God's blood, you don't know, do you? Daedra overran Kvatch last night. There were glowing portals outside the city walls, gates to Oblivion itself!" He began to speak distantly, as if whatever happened in Kvatch had happened to someone else, "There was a huge creature, like something out of your worst nightmare…it came right over the walls…blasting fire! They swarmed around it…killing…"
Felicienne felt her heart drop to her knees and swallowed thickly before continuing, "The whole city can't be destroyed…"
"Go see for yourself! The whole city is a smoking ruin; we're all that's left! Everyone else is dead!"
"How did you escape?
"It was Savlian Matius…some of the other guards helped some of us escape. They cut their way out, right through the city gates. He says they can hold the road…but no…No, I don't believe it! If you'd seen it, you'd know!" and he pushed her out of the way and began running again. She just watched him go, trying to figure out what to do next.
If there was a small encampment up ahead, maybe one of them would know what happened to Martin, maybe he escaped. So, with that thought, she continued marching up the hill, hoping to find the small refugee camp the guards would've made for the survivors.
What she came across was maybe ten people…that was all that survived? The first person she ran into was a Bosmer man who looked rather worse for wear, like he'd been out all night.
"Excuse me?" she asked. "I'm so sorry for what has happened to you, and I know this is a difficult time, but I need to know something. Where is Brother Martin?"
The Bosmer turned tired eyes onto her and responded, "The priest? I…I don't think he made it out of the city…"
She must have looked as despondent as she felt at that answer, because he was quick to continue on, "but Savlian Matius should know more. He's up the road, trying to hold back the daedra."
"Thank you," she murmured, and began to trudge up the road, once again. As she continued, she'd noticed the sky beginning to turn a red hue and the faint hum usually associated with a portal, and she feared the worst. When she got up to what looked like a small militia she saw them struggling with a scamp, it looked as though they killed off the other daedra so far.
She ran up and fired off a frostball*, hoping that would at least help, although if she were honest, her frost spells left a bit to be desired.
A stern looking Imperial with a short military hairstyle, who she assumed was Matius, came up to her while the other soldiers continued to hack and slice at the creature and told her to stand back, that it wasn't safe.
"This is no place for you; get back to the encampment at once!"
"What happened here?" she questioned.
"We lost the damned city, that's what happened!" he snarled, then in a calmer tone, "It was too much, too fast. We were overwhelmed…we couldn't even get everyone out. There are still people trapped in there! Some made it to the Chapel but others were just run down in the streets. The Count and his men are still holed up in the castle. And now we can't even get back into the city to help them, with that damn Gate blocking the way!"
Felicienne frowned and fought an oncoming wave of nausea long enough to ask, "What will you do now?"
"The only thing we can do. We'll try to hold our ground, if we can't hold this barricade; those beasts will march right down and overrun the encampment! I have to try to few civilians that are left…it's all I can do now."
"Do you know what happened to Brother Martin?" she asked, dreading the answer.
He looked thoughtful for a moment before he replied, "The priest? Last I saw him, he was leading a group of people towards the Chapel of Akatosh. If he's lucky, he's trapped in there with the rest of them, at least safe for the moment. If he's not…" he let his voice trail off.
The girl bit her lip, angry at herself now…if she hadn't gotten distracted she would have gotten here before any of this happened. She let her flights of fancy cloud her judgment and divert her priorities…and now the only remaining member of the Septim line may be dead. And it would be her fault. She'd let down the first person in Cyrodiil who'd been kind to her; he'd kept her alive, allowed her to escape, and trusted her; a complete stranger to find his only living son. He hadn't just been the Emperor; he'd been an old man, a father, wanting to protect the last of his family and his country. She bit her lip more harshly to stifle the tears of frustration she felt stinging behind her eyes and clenched her fists so hard she heard them crack.
She looked up at the Captain and swallowed the lump in her throat before stating resolutely, "I want to help."
He appeared taken aback, "You want to help? You're kidding right?" However, whatever he saw, be it in her face or in her stance, made him regard her seriously.
"If you are serious, maybe I can put you to some use…it'll likely mean you're death, though," he mused.
"I don't care!" She cried out, stubbornly.
He nodded to himself, slightly taken aback by her vehemence. "I don't know how to close this Gate, but it must be possible, because the enemy closed the once they opened during the initial attack. I sent men into the Gate to see if they could find a way to shut it. They haven't come back. If you can get in there, find out what happened to them. If they're alive, help them finish the job. If not, well…I suppose it'll be up to you."
She turned to leave towards the Gate when Matius stopped her. She looked back at him, head inclined in askance.
He stood a bit straighter and said, "Good luck. If you make it back alive, we'll be waiting for you."
She nodded once, keeping her jaw clenched. She would not show any fear now; this was something she had to do, something she was supposed to do. She would close the gate so these people could rebuild what was left of their lives. And maybe, just maybe, Martin Septim was still alive.
* This line seems to be an oxymoron, doesn't it?
A/N: Alright, so that's it for chapter two. I used actual lines from the game again, but you all probably knew that anyway^_^. Reviews would be lovely, just no flames. They accomplish nothing. However, constructive criticism is always welcome. And I always welcome ideas (especially for the title -_-). If there are any mistakes, they're all mine. I beta my own material, so I'm bound to miss some things. But I do try my best. Thank you for reading.