Chapter Twenty Two: Getting Rid of a Few Nuisances
Anjaarra and Hulgar spent a good portion of that morning helping Hert tend to the mill and get everything resituated. Most of the logs had been returned to the stack but a few had escaped into the lake, floating out in the open water. It had taken almost an hour to bring them all back in and Anjaarra's arms ached before they were even finished. Hulgar didn't seem to complain too much. He worked quietly but kept a soft smile on his face while he did what was asked of him.
Hert plopped down on a tree stump with a satisfied sigh, the unlikely couple doing the same. The Nord woman grinned at them, watching as Hulgar wrapped an arm loosely around the cat-woman's waist. It was a sweet thing to witness and filled both women with joy. Anjaarra stretched and yawned, a few joints in her body snapping and popping.
"Not used to hard work, eh?" Hert teased. Anjaarra winced slightly as her bones and muscles settled differently in her body, a shuddering sigh leaving her lips.
"No, this is much different than farming." The Khajiit said. Hulgar grinned at her, patting her back softly before standing up and stretching as well. Hert glanced between them before clapping her hands against her legs and standing up.
"Well, I'm not sure about you two, but I'm going to make some lunch for us." The Nord woman said, starting to walk towards the house. The couple watched her as she disappeared into the house, an awkward silence falling in the space between them. Hulgar glanced at the Khajiit and cleared his throat.
"So, um…" He started, his voice faltering for a second as the cat-woman gazed up at him. "We should probably leave in the morning. The storm may have slowed down the Thalmor as well and we should have a pretty good head start tomorrow." Hulgar said. Anjaarra nodded her head in agreement, her tail swishing slowly behind her.
"Okay. That sounds good." She said, standing up from her seat. The Nord watched her with his plum eyes as she stretched for a moment and yawned. He went to say something but there was a sudden shout from the road. Both companions quickly looked over to see eight Thalmor sitting upon golden horses, swords and bows in their hands. Anger and rage were on their hardened faces as the golden elves glared at them.
"You have escaped us for too long, Talos-worshippers!" A Justiciar shouted at them, his elven made great sword wielded in a single hand. Hulgar stepped forward protectively as four of the Thalmor notched arrows against their bowstrings. "Now, it is time for you face the might and power that is the Aldmeri Dominion!" He shouted at them. With a swift motion, he swung his sword down and shouted out in the Aldmeri language.
"Move!" Hulgar shouted. The four archers quickly released their arrows at the odd pair. The Nord quickly pounced at Anjaarra and pushed her down against the damp ground as the four arrows whizzed past where they once stood. The dull thuds of the arrows could be heard as they struck random trees only a few paces away. Hulgar looked down at Anjaarra with an apologetic look before rolling off of her and ducking behind a large log. The Khajiit watched him for a moment before quickly rolling behind a nearby tree. She leaned against it and panted hard with fright, glancing over the Nord man.
Hulgar was lying on his stomach behind the log but he was slowly crawling towards a tree stump. She watched him confusedly before seeing what was sticking out of the stump. It was a rusty looking wood axe, but it looked like it could do well for chopping Thalmor, though. She watched him for a moment before craning her neck around the trunk to see what the Thalmor on the road were up to. The four archers were still on their horses, arrows pulled back and at the ready as the four other elves had dismounted from their geldings and were slowly advancing towards where the pair were taking cover.
A shuddering breath left her lips as Anjaarra leaned back against the tree again, cursing herself under her breath for not caring her dagger. She glanced back over at the Nord, seeing that he had reached the tree stump and was waiting for the right time to grab the axe. She gnawed on her lip for a moment before grabbing a nearby stick and slowly getting to feet, leaning her back against the trunk of the tree. Her orange eyes closed and she drew in a deep, steady breath and slowly let it go. The Khajiit slowly opened her eyes again and tensed her body before quickly running out from her hiding place. She heard a shout from the archers and heard the twanging of sound of the arrows being released but the cat-woman was too fast for the projectiles as she ducked behind a large boulder.
Dropping down to her knees, she peeked behind the rock to see Hulgar on his feet and with the wood axe in his hands. He was swinging at two of the Justiciars, the sounds of metal against metal ringing out in the otherwise quiet air. The other two swordsmen were starting to close in on her, though, and the only weapon she had was the stick she had picked up. She hissed and bared her teeth as one of the elves came towards her, her ears flattened back against her head. The elf stared at her and laughed obnoxiously.
"You cats are so primitive. You can't scare me by flashing your teeth." The Thalmor said with a smirk as he brought his sword around and swung it out at the Khajiit. She quickly ducked out of the way and rolled behind the boulder, hearing a second sword whiz through the air and clash against the rock. With a quick motion, she smacked the wrist of the Thalmor who swung at the rock, only succeeding in hearing the Justiciar curse under his breath. Jumping back a few paces, her orange eyes glanced back and forth between the Thalmor as they raised their swords at the ready and began to advance on her. She stared at them with fearful eyes, glancing over at Hulgar to see him still battling his own Thalmor.
The Khajiit looked back at the elves in front of her, gripping the stick tight in her hands. She felt cool stones beneath her feet and she knew that she was near the lake. The cat-woman rose up her stick and held her ground, staring dead on at the two Thalmor, trying to remove all fear from her face. The golden tyrants paused at the spectacle, another roar of laughter escaping their golden lips. Their heads were tilted back as they continued to snicker at the Khajiit. She glared at them before quickly stepping forward and smacking the closest one in the face with the stick. When he shouted out in pain and stumbled back, Anjaarra quickly snatched away the sword, skipping a few steps back as the other Thalmor lounged forward. The cat-woman whacked him with the flat of the blade, smirking as the elf stumbled forward and fell to the ground.
Anjaarra quickly swung down at the fallen Thalmor but the blade contacted only smooth stones, the elf had rolled out of the way and back on his feet. She regained her posture and raised the sword, ready to take on the high elf. She growled at him and bared her teeth again, this time only a sneer was returned her way. Her tail flicked about behind her with agitation, anticipation making her arms and body twitch.
"Come on, elf. Strike me and show me who the dominant one is." Anjaarra taunted at the elf. The elf's face grew hard as he glared at the cat-woman. She saw his body relax slightly and his sword lowered only a fraction of an inch as he opened his mouth to speak. But before a syllable could be spoken, she stepped forward with lightning speed and swung down hard at his hands, severing them at the wrist. Golden blood spurted out at her and coated the sleeves of her dress as the Thalmor screamed out in pain and stumbled back. Anjaarra didn't have time to grimace and wipe away the blood, quickly bringing her sword around and striking the pain stricken elf in the neck. Though the sword didn't cut all the way through, it did the trick to shut him up.
With a rough motion, she yanked the blade out of the golden flesh of the Thalmor, blood spurting out of the wound in his neck as he slowly fell to his knees. His mouth opened and closed like a fish as blood streamed out from his golden lips. With an almost reluctantly slow speed, his body fell forward onto the stony ground. Anjaarra watched the elf fall before looking up at the other Thalmor. His eyes were wide with shock and surprise as he watched his fallen companion lay still on the ground. Before he could collect his wits, Anjaarra lounged forward and drove the elven blade through his armor and through his stomach. He gasped in pain and wrapped his hands around the blade, staring into Anjaarra's eyes. She stared back at him, seeing pain cloud his once evil glare. His eyes seemed to soften slightly, as if to apologize for what all the Thalmor had done. But the look had disappeared just as quickly as it had disappeared as the life light dimmed in his eyes and he slumped against the blade.
Anjaarra tried to keep up the blade and tried to push him off but with the weight of the Thalmor and the combined weight of his armor, his was too heavy for her. She let go of the sword and stepped out of the way, watching the elf fall at her feet. She stared at the corpses before shaking her head sadly and kicked the hands away from the other sword. The cat-woman picked up the blade and looked back over towards the cottage and where Hulgar was waging battle.
One of the two Thalmor that he had been battling had fallen to his wood axe. The Nord was now taking on the Justiciar with the great sword, who Anjaarra assumed was probably the leader of the group. There were only two archers now and at first the cat-woman thought that they had left to get more Justiciars but then she saw that Hert had also taken up the fight, firing arrows from her doorway. Anjaarra grinned at the courage that the Nord woman was displaying towards her and Hulgar. It only showed how deep the hatred for the Thalmor ran in Skyrim.
With a soft grin, the Khajiit ran forward and ran towards Hulgar to aid him in the battle. The Justiciar with the elven great sword had backed Hulgar up against the river bank. The Khajiit knew that if he was pushed back a few more feet, he'd probably slip and fall into the river and who knew what kind of creatures were attracted by the smell of spilt blood. The grimacing thought of Hulgar being torn apart by slaughterfish made her feet pump even faster toward the fight. Only a few more feet, her mind sounded at her.
Anjaarra raised her sword at the ready to strike at the Lead Justiciar but then the worst thing happened: the Thalmor struck Hulgar in the chest with his sword, tossing him into the river. Anjaarra's body froze as she watched the Nord fall back into the swollen river, his body disappearing below the surface. The Justiciar turned his back at her and smirked at her over his shoulder, raising the great sword with one hand and turning halfway to face her.
"Don't look too surprised, cat. It was only a matter of time before we finally killed him. And now," The Justiciar said, raising his sword and pointing the tip towards the Khajiit's chest. "It's time for you to join him." Anjaarra growled at him and batted the blade away from her chest with her own sword, taking a few steps back and raising the sword at the ready.
"I will cut you down myself." She hissed through her teeth, gripping the sword with both of her hands and raising it level to her shoulder. The Thalmor looked back at her will dull surprise but he didn't look as worried as she had hoped. He raised his own blade and took a step back, getting into a battle ready stance. An arrow or two whizzed past her head but she ignored the potential danger of being skewered by an arrow. All she wanted was to strike this elf down and see him die by her blade.
Anjaarra couldn't take the pain of losing her loved ones by the blade of someone else. First her S'Baadar was taken by the blades of the Imperials and now… Now Hulgar had been taken from her before she could even grow to truly love him. She shook her head and closed her eyes for a moment, her mind focusing on her anger and hate. She couldn't take it anymore. She was tired of hiding her pain and she wanted to heal. She had to. The Khajiit slowly opened her eyes, a new fire burning in them as her glare focused on the Lead Justiciar. A look of brief confusion crossed the Thalmor's face but Anjaarra didn't bother waiting for him to attack.
With angry shout, she lounged forward, thrusting the elven made sword out towards the elf. He stepped away from the attack and prepared to swing his blade but the cat-woman was too fast for him. She brought up her sword and struck his chest plate, catching him off balance for a moment. Taking this opportunity for her own, she raised the sword and slashed at his shoulder, cutting through the armor and creating a deep gash in the golden shoulder. The Lead Justiciar shouted out and grabbed his shoulder, but his hand still gripped the great sword.
Without a moment's hesitation, Anjaarra struck out at him again, this time the blade slashing at the chest plate again. The Thalmor stumbled back again, his feet standing less than a yard away from the steep river bank. Anjaarra saw this and raised the blade high above her head. She yelled out a rebellious shout, preparing to swing down her blade but a sudden pain filled her side. The Thalmor had struck at her and the blade had skimmed through her side, just below her ribs. But she didn't let this stop her. With all of the strength she could muster, she brought the elven blade down hard. The sword chewed through the armor of the Thalmor and embedded itself into his shoulder next to his neck. He yelled out in pain, stumbling back and standing right on the edge of the river.
Anjaarra raised her fist to his the elf but she had no need to push him in. There was a sudden splash from the river and Hulgar exploded from the murky surface. He wrapped his large hands around the Thalmor's ankles and yanked him into the river. Fear and shock crossed his face for only a moment before he fell away into the river. Anjaarra smirked for a split second before grimacing in pain as the great sword was yanked out of her side, her knees giving away below her and making her stumble to the ground.
Hulgar saw Anjaarra fall and quickly climbed out of the river, dragging himself onto the river bank and crawling towards the cat-woman. Her hands were wrapped around at her side, blood seeping through her furry fingers. A pitiful whimper was rasping through her lips as her orange eyes looked over at the Nord. They pleaded for him to help her, to make the pain stop, to make her stay in this world with him. He nodded at the silent plea and laid her back against the ground.
Hert quickly ran over to them after she defeated the last two archers, dropping to knees beside them. She looked down at the Khajiit with frantic eyes, pulling out an iron dagger and ripping open the dress. Hulgar winced slightly at the sight of the deep gash in the cat-woman's side. The sword had gone cleanly through her flesh and blood was pouring out of the window. Hert sighed softly and pushed her fingers against the wound, hearing a gasp of pain from the wounded Khajiit.
"It's alright, Anjaarra…" Hulgar whispered softly, stroking her hand with his dripping fingers. The furry paw quickly attached the pale hand. The Nord looked into her eyes, seeing the pain and fear. He rubbed his thumb over the back of hand and squeezed her reassuringly as Hert closed her eyes and brought a healing magic to her fingertips. The fingers around the wound glowed and swirled around the gash, slowly closing up the wound. Anjaarra's breath was fast and shallow from the pain and eyes were squinted shut, but she stayed quiet during the process.
"Sit forward a little, Anjaarra," Hert said quietly. The cat-woman nodded slightly and did as the Nord woman instructed, wincing slightly. Hert placed her fingers against the wound in Anjaarra's back and healed it close. Patting her back slightly, she helped the Khajiit lay back down.
"Take it easy, okay? You may be in pain for a few more minutes." Hert explained to her, staring down at the cat-woman with a mother-like gaze. "Did you get hurt anywhere else?" Anjaarra shook her head.
"No, I didn't." She said hoarsely, slowly sitting up again. Hulgar placed a hand against the middle of her back, helping her sit up. She smiled gently at him, nodding her thanks at him. Hert kneeled beside them for a moment before looking about at the corpses of the Thalmor, a bitter laugh puffing out of her body.
"Well, I guess we should clean up this mess." She said, pushing herself up. Hulgar nodded and also stood up before helping up the Khajiit. She winced slightly before looking about at the corpses. It was surprising that the Thalmor had sent so many Justiciars after them, or more of, just for one man. She flicked her orange eyes in Hulgar's direction, letting them roam over him with curiosity. What other things has he done to anger the Empire and more importantly, the Aldmeri Dominion?