The Lost Boy
I've never really liked Windhelm very much, though it is a beautiful city- often blanketed in an elegant haze of snow- its aesthetic qualities tend to mask the cruel underbelly of the people that live there.
"Let's find the thief and be done with this frozen hell hole." growled Zany, as we passed through the city gate.
"Where were you when the thief struck?" I asked my grumpy Argonian companion, his arms crossed over his chest as his eyes darted about from under his hood; no doubt feeling quite exposed and vulnerable without his beloved enchanted blades.
"Where the bloody hell do you think?!" he spat angrily, his agitation rising by the second.
"The tavern I'm guessing? Well… why not go investigate there while I look around the city?" I suggested, knowing very well if I let Zany go there alone he was more likely to investigate the bottom of a flagon than the tavern itself; a mellowed and tipsy Argonian makes for a far better travel companion than an edgy and irritable one any day. Zany said nothing as he quickly ascended the steps before us, entering Candlehearth Hall and leaving me to hunt down the thief on my own. Frankly it was when I stood there alone amongst the falling snow that I realized now would be an excellent time for one of our recent additions to the family- Arren, a skilled tracker- to be present… though I hadn't thought of this before Zany and I left the Sanctuary in as much haste as we had. I if I had been allowed to think for five minutes without Zany raging about his stolen weapons, it probably would have occurred to me to bring Arren along; but that was out of my control, so I might as well see what I can do on my own. As I stood and debated which section of the city I should search first, my eye caught a slight movement from around the other side of Candlehearth Hall- a person hiding around the corner had just peeked out to see if I was still standing there. I walked slowly, careful of the crunching snow beneath my feet as I neared the corner. Jumping around the edge of the building to watch the person- a young man of perhaps 23- dash headlong into the stone wall of a building… only to skillfully clamber up it, finding handholds were I never could have thought possible on the seemingly well wind-worn stone. The man turned to face me from high above, and I could barely make out a toothy grin amongst the snowstorm; but there was no mistaking his fangs gleaming in the moonlight and the two glowing red eyes. This man was a vampire, and by the familiar twin scimitars that now hung from his belt, he was also Zany's thief.
The man dashed off across the rooftops, and I followed suit along the streets; keeping him in sight as best I could. Though eventually I lost sight of him, his vampiric speed and agility far greater than my own mortal body was capable of… though he apparently thought I had lost sight of him long before. As I saw him jump down from the rooftops not far from where I stood, and saunter off cockily onto another street that veered off our current one. I followed silently and smirked when I realized the vampire had cornered himself in an alley leading to an abandoned shop with an overhang blocking any ascent to the rooftops.
"Damn it…" he swore audibly, and I stood with a hand on my hip- his misfortune being my good luck.
"Give me back what you stole and I will let you live." I said bluntly, my eyes locked on this vampire; watching and waiting for him to try to escape.
"I have stolen nothing tonight, save for the virtue of a farmer's daughter… then her life." he said with a sarcastic chuckle. I narrowed my eyes at him in annoyance,
"I never said it was tonight, rather those scimitars you stole from an irritable Argonian two days ago." I said as I motioned towards the swords at his belt, a scowl appearing on his face.
"Damn it…" was all he said, though with more aggravation than before.
"I will only ask once, return the blades or risk the wrath of Sithis… for he is not kind to those who wrong his children." I said coldly, warning the thief of who he had dared to tangle with. His eyes going wide before he did something I was not expecting… he removed the blades from his belt and handed them to me, though it was his words that truly caught me off guard.
"My apologies Sister, I was unaware of the origin of these blades." he said with a half smirk, the look of a scolded child hidden in his dark amber-red eyes. I was stunned; this young vampire was a member of the Brotherhood? Impossible.
"You are of the Brotherhood?" I asked curiously, though doubting his claim.
"Yes. I left several years ago only to return roughly a week ago to find the Sanctuary in ruins, my family dead and buried. I assumed I was the only one left, though I did wonder who had buried them." He explained, though I was still skeptical.
"Really? Where was the Sanctuary? Who was its Matron? Name the other members." I asked him, testing his information should he be lying.
"Just south of Falkreath, and our Matron was Astrid. The other members being her husband- the werewolf Arnbjorn, Veezara, the un-child Babette, Nazir, Gabriella, and my Grandfather Festus." he said with a confident smirk as I blinked in further surprise.
"Excuse me… but… Festus was your grandfather?" I asked bluntly, surprised that grumpy old man had even procreated much less had a grandchild.
"Yep." he said with a heavy sigh. I saw no resemblance at all between this man and the old man that could have given Zany a run for his money in a competition of the grumps. This young man stood roughly 5'10" with spikey ear length crimson hair- with an oddly silvery gleam to it; his ears peeking out from behind his hair seeming slightly pointed… possibly from his vampirism, but something about his facial structure seemed somewhat elvish.
"I don't see it, but I will take your word for it… Brother." I said simply, giving a slight sigh of reluctance; hesitant to believe he was a member of the Brotherhood, but his facts lined up. Only Babette and Nazir could prove his claim now, as by his account he had left long before Cicero ever arrived; however the Night Mother could also prove him true or false.
"Shall we return home to Falkreath?" He asked innocently, apparently believing us to still be based out of the ruined cavern.
"We no longer operate out of Falkreath, by order of the Night Mother we have begun the restoration of the Sanctuaries across Skyrim. Currently I call Winterhold home, now that you have returned the blades you may come with me there and be welcomed home once again." I explained, the young man smirking broadly.
"I'd rather you welcome me into your bed." he said perversely, and all I could do was sigh heavily; just my luck to find yet another recruit who wants to sleep with me… Sithis help me.
"I would watch what you say to your Listener." I said simply, though making my warning obvious. His smirk faltered little at hearing this,
"So you're the boss? Nice… a big improvement on Astrid. You single?" he asked, no doubt pressing his luck to see how far he could push my buttons before I reacted violently or caved to his flirtations.
"Perhaps I am. Perhaps I am not. Doesn't really matter does it? You are not the only Brother trying to weasel his way into my bed, I will treat you the same way I treat him. With refusal. Now if you're done flirting, perhaps we should locate my companion and return home?" I said coldly, turning on my heel and heading back to Candlehearth Hall with the currently unnamed young man in tow; disappointment on his face the entire way.
As we approached the tavern, I could hear a scuffle occurring within- though it soon spilled out into the streets as a very familiar Argonian came tumbling out of the tavern with a burly Nord man in a headlock.
"Zany. Let him go, we're heading home." I said simply, never breaking stride as I headed for the city gates. Zany released the Nord man and gave him a boot to the ass, sending his head straight into a snowdrift before following me and our other companion.
"Who's the kid?" Zany asked bluntly, his words slightly slurred by the effects of too much mead. I chuckled and looked to the young man, waiting on his introduction.
"Vaughan Sanguino, and I'm not a kid. I was 23 when I was turned about 5 years ago." he explained with slight anger at being called a child, letting his fangs show enough for even the drunken Argonian to see.
"Great, another blood-sucker. Remind me not to tell him to 'bite me' next time I get pissed." Zany said with a scowl as I sighed and handed him his scimitars.
"Please refrain from violence against our Brothers and Sisters… and no biting any of them Vaughan- at least not without my permission and their consent?" I said irritably, addressing them both in turn; at this point, I was simply eager to be heading home after this ordeal and was not in the mood to referee an altercation. The pair remained silent, though I could tell they would not get along anytime soon, and we left the city of Windhelm behind- heading home to Winterhold and our island Sanctuary. As I mounted Shadowmere's saddle, I could see Zany and Vaughan glaring at one another- daring each other to suggest riding home with me. "Zany. Get your ass on the horse." I said angrily, my patience thinning as I chose the man less likely to attempt to take advantage of the closeness sharing the horse would require. Zany smirked at Vaughan, who simply attempted not to pout in further disappointment as Zany climbed skillfully onto the back of the saddle.
"Tsk, I can run faster than a horse anyway." Vaughan said dismissively, putting his current position off as nothing before dashing off towards Winterhold. Shadowmere whinnied indignantly as she clopped her hooves as if to say: "Let's show this boy who is truly faster, shall we?" I simply chuckled at her eagerness and snapped her reigns, giving her the signal to speed off after Vaughan; Zany's arms zipping around my waist to keep himself from flying off as we jolted from motionless to breakneck speed in a matter of seconds.
Shadowmere caught up to Vaughan in moments, catching the vampire by surprise; his stride faltering in his moment of dumbfounded shock to see us catch up so quickly. Zany still clinging tightly, his heart no doubt hammering as Shadowmere thundered along the road- cutting through the wilderness every so often, jumping over everything in her path with speed and grace. Vaughan regained his composure quickly, returning to our little race to prove he could outrun my demon horse; though I was confident his pride would be taking another shot below the belt by the time we reached home. We soon overtook Vaughan, passing him as we neared a deep and swiftly moving river. Shadowmere could bound over the large rocks with little effort to land on the opposite side with ease… though I hadn't expected Shadowmere's footing to slip as she landed, her body lurching forward to slam into the rocky shore. My demon mare cried out in pain, throwing Zany and I from her saddle as she crumpled to the ground. While Zany fell onto the shore… I fell into the swiftly moving river, hitting my head on a rock and passing out as the current carried me downstream. The last thing I heard before I lost consciousness was Zany shouting my name over the roar of the rushing water and what sounded like someone diving into the river after me.