A/N: Nothing like a dramatic cliffhanger to end on, eh? Well, you'll be pleased to know Eola lived... and this chapter deals with all the ramifications. The first scene was going to be in the last one, but it seems to fit better thematically here.
Summary: Eola's injuries require urgent medical assistance, and where else to go but her kin in the Reach? Of course, once back in Markarth, certain other things become issues, due mainly to a concerned father realising one problem could solve another, and Elisif realising she has some tough decisions to make.
Eola remembered very little of the next few days. They'd carried her back to the Falkreath Sanctuary, and then Athis and Serana had watched over her while Cicero had ridden on Arvak for Lost Valley Redoubt, and the very next day a squad of ReachGuard with some skilled healers had arrived and treated the wounds, removing the bolts, repairing tissues and organs, providing blood infusions straight into her veins and injecting her with powerful antinamirene drugs which apparently killed the namirene spirits that caused gangrene. There was definitely an irony in that and, high on painkillers, Eola swore she wouldn't mind being infected with namirene organisms.
"Hush, Brenyeen, you certainly would," the young Reachwoman in charge scolded her. "Continue to follow all standard medical protocols, team, the Brenyeen's delirious and I'm not explaining to Madanach how she died on our watch."
So Eola submitted to injections and surgery, and finally she was deemed well enough to be stretchered on to the supplies wagon and carted back to the Reach. She slept most of the way, secure enough in the Reach healers' ability to do their job, even if Cicero did keep wringing his hands and getting in the way.
When she finally woke up properly, she was in the room Madanach kept for her in the Keep in a forlorn hope she'd visit more often. Dimly lit, but definitely lit and it seemed her vision had survived.
Next to the bed was her father, currently engaged in murmuring something to the small baby on his lap, a small baby who was the first to notice Eola was awake and promptly beamed at her and whispered "'Ola!"
"Yes, that's Eola," Madanach murmured and Eola's heart constricted with the unfamiliar feeling of guilt as she heard the worry in his voice. "You need to be quiet, little one, Eola's not been well."
"Hey," Eola whispered, her voice rough and she was going to say something flippant but the look on Madanach's face stopped her.
"You're awake," Madanach said softly. "Thank the gods. Eola, are you all right?"
Yes, I'm fine. Eola tried to sit up, but every muscle in her abdomen screamed at her and she promptly collapsed on the pillows.
"Don't try to move," Madanach said swiftly, depositing Maia on the bed next to her and taking her hand in his. "Are you in pain? Should I call the healers?"
"No," Eola managed to say. "I mean, a bit, but… I think I'll be OK?"
Madanach didn't say anything, just squeezing her hand and looking away.
"When they brought you in and told me what happened," Madanach said quietly, and Eola felt the guilt pile on as it occurred to her she rarely saw him quite this emotional.
"I'm sorry," Eola whispered. "I didn't mean to worry you."
"Not your fault," Madanach growled, glaring into space. "When I get hold of Isran… I already wrote to Elisif and told her. I've asked how much we're willing to put up with in the name of saving our kingdoms. She's at Hag's End, looking after the Joint Task Force. Last I heard she'd already had something approaching a stand-up fight with Isran because she didn't put him in charge. I'm thinking this will give her the excuse she needs to cut him loose."
"You're going to execute him?" Eola said hopefully. Madanach laughed bitterly.
"Would that I could but sadly we've no evidence the ones who attacked you had any idea who you were," Madanach said, scowling. "It's possible they just saw two vampires with you and decided to deal with the problem."
"Bastards," Eola muttered, and Maia responded by crawling up towards Eola, babbling and looking concerned.
"Don't swear in front of your sister," Madanach said firmly.
"She's a baby?" Eola said, eyeing the little one up, wincing a little as Maia climbed on top of her, pouting at her.
"They grow up," Madanach said, retrieving his baby and perching her on his lap, grinning down at her as Maia squealed and smiled up at him. "This one, for example, already recognises people, has names for a lot of them, and from the way she keeps babbling at me and her mother, is very keen on joining in conversations sooner rather than later. They grow up fast, Eola. One minute they're toddling around the camp experimenting with fire spells, and the next thing you know, they're fully grown and being ferried in with crossbow bolts poking out of them." A stern look from Madanach, which was a little unfair, considering Eola hadn't asked to get shot by the Dawnguard.
"They took the bolts out back in Falkreath before I even got here," Eola pointed out, and Madanach just shivered.
"Yes, which is why I had the joy of being presented with the bloodstained things on your arrival," Madanach said gruffly. "Eola, is this going to happen a lot? You were lucky this time, you weren't far from the Reach, but if you'd been on a glacier in Winterhold or out in the more remote bits of the Rift? We can't be there to save you all the time."
"Cicero and Athis will be," Eola said stubbornly. "And I hardly ever get taken unawares. This time was different, I was doing a ritual. Da, I know where Auriel's Bow is!"
"Yes, Athis told me, and no, you aren't going," Madanach said, capable of just as much stubbornness as Eola when required. "Look at you, you can barely sit upright. Athis said you'd said this bow was in Darkfall Cave near Druadach Redoubt. Eola, are you sure? Scrolls aren't easy to interpret, and we've scoured that cave before. Nothing there but spiders and an old mine."
"It's there. I swear it," Eola said, unmoving. "The Scrolls wouldn't lie! It was definitely there, and there's no other caves around there."
Madanach sighed and seemed to capitulate. "If you say so, I will have it searched again. Serana wants to go, and Cicero and Athis both seem keen too. Kaie's willing to lead a party with that new bodyguard of hers, Borgakh – have you met Borgakh yet? She's a lovely girl with a right hook that could knock out a Briarheart. Borkul's her older brother."
"Think you just told me all I need to know right there," Eola said, grinning a little. Borkul had a little sister? This she had to see. "Has Cicero met her yet?"
"Yeah, and amazingly, he's actually behaving. He's been as nice as pie to her. Polite. Respectful. Keeping three feet away at all times. Heard him calling her ma'am the other day. She's not entirely sure what to make of him, but apparently men who know their place and aren't swinging their dicks about all the time are a refreshing change."
"Now who's swearing in front of Maia," Eola teased and Madanach just shrugged.
"She's got to learn words for it at some point," Madanach said, apparently unbothered… at least until he looked a little bit awkward and coughed. "Er… maybe don't mention this to Elisif?"
Eola laughed and, loyal as ever, promised not to say a word. Then Elisif's name reminded her of something else, something forgotten in all the excitement.
"When's Elisif visiting?" Eola asked, hand going involuntarily to her stomach. "I, er, need to ask her something. It's important." She had to be here soon, Hag's End was only a portal ride away, and Elisif didn't like being away from Maia for long.
"Tonight, why?" Madanach asked, surprised. "Eola? Something wrong?"
Yes, of course there was, Eola was going to have babies of her own in a few short months, and the presence of Maia sitting on her father's lap, wide-eyed and smiling at her, and definitely cute but also a lot of work, reminded her that her life was about to change forever. And she had to tell her father this.
"Did – did the healers give you a full report?"
Madanach scowled at this, narrowing his eyes.
"No. Something about you having put Cicero down as your next of kin, so they gave the full report to him and Athis rather than me," Madanach said, clearly not pleased by this, but what did he expect? She was married now, not a little girl any more.
"Honestly, I was this close to issuing an official writ to compel them to give me the details," Madanach continued, still clearly annoyed. "Nepos talked me out of it. Said you were going to be fine, so when you woke up, you could tell me the details. That man continues to be annoyingly sensible."
"You'd be lost without him," Eola whispered, smiling despite her nerves, and Madanach did, however grudgingly, admit he'd have difficulty running the kingdom without his steward.
"Anyway, you were saying something about your health report?" Madanach said, keen eyes returning to her. "Eola? Eola, what is it? Cariad, you look like you're about to cry."
"Da, I'm pregnant," Eola managed to get out. "Pretty sure the healers found out while they were examining me, which is why I didn't know if they'd told you… Da, I don't know anything about kids, what if it goes wrong, what if…?"
Madanach was staring at her, eyes widening and face still and he looked like he was about to cry.
"You're… are you sure?" he whispered. Eola nodded.
"Yeah, Serana found out and then I asked Keirine and she confirmed it and… Da? Oh no, Da, don't cry!"
Madanach was looking down, cuddling Maia with one hand while the other wiped at his eyes.
"I'm gonna be a granda," he said gruffly, and Eola nodded, carefully pulling herself upright and reaching out to touch him.
"Yeah," Eola said softly, touching his knee gently and Madanach responded by looking up, tears rolling down his cheek but a smile on his face like you wouldn't believe him capable of.
"My little girl, all grown up with a baby of her own," Madanach said, about brimming over with pride, getting up and moving his chair closer before sitting right by the bed and cuddling Eola with his free arm, the other cuddling a baby who was staring confused at her father and sister who seemed, from her point of view, to have gone a bit mad.
"Dada?" Maia cried, tugging at her father's robes and then starting to babble and while the words made no sense, the tone was all too clear. Maia wanted to know what was going on.
"You're going to have a niece or nephew, little one!" Madanach told her. "Someone to play with, you'd like that, wouldn't you?"
Eola imagined she would, although Maia was staring up incomprehensibly at her father, still confused.
"I don't know what I'm doing," Eola whispered, clinging to her father and finally feeling able to admit just how much it had all been weighing on her. With Cicero and Athis and Serana, she'd felt like an adult who knew what she was doing. Not so with Madanach. Especially seeing him with Maia and seeing how naturally it all seemed to come to him. "You make it look so easy!"
Laughter and Madanach grinned as he kissed her forehead. "Maia's kid eight, and the fifth baby I've had to wrangle. And it is not nearly as effortless as it looks. Especially now she's getting to that exploring stage, and suddenly you realise that if you put her down, she will not be where you left her..."
Well, obviously, kids moved around, didn't they? Except Eola hadn't really thought about it from the point of view of someone who was supposed to be looking after kids before, and she couldn't stop a frightened whimper escaping her lips. Madanach chuckled and cuddled her.
"Point is, I will not be judging you if you're having problems. We'll all help," Madanach promised. "And Elisif's going to be ecstatic, wait till I tell her! Don't worry, I'll get some more servants in to help – you're raising it here, right?" He looked almost hopeful, and Eola didn't want to disappoint him, but the idea of living here, giving up being Harbinger, possibly losing Athis… Eola couldn't do it. Even if it meant lots of people on hand to raise her kids.
"I'm staying at Jorrvaskr," Eola admitted. "Cicero and Athis know, we think the kids are Cicero's, you know, he had that little problem when taking the antifertility potions, so we told him he could stop..."
"Oh, don't remind me," Madanach said, torn between laughing at the memory of Cicero's wailing and weariness at having to deal with the inevitable complaints from Cicero to the herbalists in Markarth who'd made the potions in the first place. "Hang on… kids? You're not expecting twins? Keirine could tell that?"
"Serana could," Eola whispered. "When we were going to the Soul Cairn." And so Eola ended up telling her father everything, how Serana had scanned them in preparation for offering a bit of their soul to the Ideal Masters (that alone made Madanach twitch), and then discovering she had two barely-formed souls inside her, which could only mean pregnancy… with twins. And then Eola decided what the hell, she might as well mention the whole Dragonborn thing, and so she told her father how Cicero had made a deal with a dragon who'd been trapped in the Soul Cairn and agreed to ferry its soul out… a soul which had promptly entered the body of one of the twins.
"So I talked to Keirine, and she reckoned it wasn't a plot of the Ideal Masters because they were furious, and I spoke to Paarthurnax, and he reckoned Dragonborns happened when Akatosh allowed a dragon soul to be born again by becoming one with a mortal… but if a dragon soul's discarnate, and it comes across an unborn child with the dragon blood… it doesn't need Akatosh's blessing. So, thanks to Cicero, looks like I've got a Dragonborn kid."
"You've got a Dragonborn kid," Madanach said faintly. Eola nodded, not sure how her father was taking this, but he'd married a Dragonborn, right? He couldn't be that prejudiced against them.
"My grandchild… Dragonborn," Madanach said firmly. "A possible future King or Queen of the Reach. Dragonborn."
"Um, yeah," Eola said. "Unless Kaie has kids. And we think the dragon blood actually came from Cicero, believe it or not."
"Kaie's thirty two years old and shown no inclination to find a husband, unless she finds one in the next few years, she's not likely to have kids of her own," Madanach said brusquely. "Your twins are the future Heirs of the Reach, Eola. If you'd rather raise them at Jorrvaskr, I can't stop you, but you're not raising them alone. I will be sending a detachment of ReachGuard to help keep an eye on them… including a few people skilled with young children who can help out with the practicalities."
Eola should be objecting, but to be honest, the promise of help was something of a relief, a lifeline to cling to. It was going to be all right, although the Jarl of Whiterun might object to a detachment of ReachGuard in the city. Still, that was what the High Queen was for, right? And Eola just knew Elisif would lose all sense of proportion over anything to do with babies.
"Thank you," Eola whispered. "I love you, Da."
"Love you too," Madanach said quietly, kissing her hair and cuddling her again. "Is this why you wanted to talk to Elisif? You need another mother to talk to?"
"Sort of," Eola whispered. "Da, there's something else..."
"Something else?" Madanach said, disbelieving and staring at her even as Maia started fussing and reaching up to play with his braids. "What else is there?"
"Paarthurnax thinks the Dragonborn twin will kill the other one," Eola whispered. "That the other one will die. He says the only hope is to get another discarnate dragon soul who might be willing to make the other one Dragonborn too. So… so I need to ask Elisif if she has one going spare."
Madanach had gone very quiet, managing to quiet Maia absently, but all his attention was on Eola.
"So both your kids would live and they'd both be Dragonborn," Madanach said softly. "But you need a soul from Elisif – tell me, is the soul going to live on? Would the child remember anything from the… the donor? I mean, the donor would be gone?"
"Seems so," Eola said, trying to recall what Paarthurnax had said to her. "He said it was Laat Kogaan Akatosh, the Final Blessing, where a dragon with no way out and no other honourable path left to it could sacrifice itself, become discarnate and maybe it'd get reborn as a Dragonborn… but Paarthurnax emphasised the final bit. He said it was a new start as a mortal with dragon's powers – the dragon doesn't remember who it was."
Relief in Madanach's eyes and Eola was surprised at how much stress seemed to have suddenly faded out of him. He let her go and sat back, Maia nestled in his arms, apparently hopeful and content.
"I'll talk to her," Madanach promised. "If she can help, she will. Meanwhile, I'll get Cicero, he was worrying about you and generally getting under everyone's feet, so I got Borgakh and Borkul to spar with him – last I saw him, he was enjoying losing on purpose."
Which sounded like Cicero, and then there was a quiet knock on the door and a familiar cooing.
"Ma-da-naaaach! Dearest, belovedest Ma-da-naaaach! Is Eola awake yet? Cicero was worried…."
"Speak of the Daedra," Madanach murmured, placing Maia on the bed next to Eola. "Eola, make sure your sister doesn't decide to fling herself off the bed or anything."
Babies did that? Babies… probably did that, didn't they. Eola picked Maia up, a faint sense of dread filling her as she wondered how parents could actually function when their children weren't right in front of them at all times. But she didn't have time to think about that for long. Madanach had let Cicero in, welcoming smile on his face – too welcoming. Madanach closed the door behind him and before Cicero could finish drawing breath to squeal at Eola, Madanach had pounced, moving surprisingly quickly as he grabbed Cicero and shoved him up against the door.
"Eola told me," Madanach said, sounding surprisingly calm. "Eola told me that you were stupid enough to make a deal with an entity from the Soul Cairn, and now it's infected my grandchild."
"Ah," Cicero laughed nervously, glancing to one side and trying to edge away. "Madanach, dearest Madanach, Cicero had no way of knowing that would happen..."
"OF COURSE YOU DIDN'T, BECAUSE YOU NEVER FUCKING THINK!" Madanach roared into his son-in-law's face, and Maia promptly burst into tears, still not able to figure out when parental anger was directed at her or not, and it was probably that which saved Cicero, as Madanach let him go and went to reclaim his little one, scooping her up and hushing her.
Cicero crawled over to the bed and peeped over the edge, unsure if it was safe to emerge or not.
"Da, I've already shouted at him, you didn't need to," Eola said, rather disapproving of her father inserting himself into everything all the time.
"Oh, I think I did," Madanach said, still glaring at Cicero. "He can just count himself lucky that Dragonborn heirs is quite a coup for the Reach, and that Elisif can probably help with the other one. As it is, you recklessly endanger my grandkids again, and I'll have you gelded."
"Da!" Eola cried, knowing he likely meant it too. Cicero let out an extremely high-pitched whimper and ducked behind the bed again, and Madanach relented… slightly.
"Ugh, fine, perhaps taking the kids into official custody and barring him from seeing them would be sufficient," Madanach growled. "For now, I'll settle for him going on this trip to find Auriel's Bow. If you come back having successfully found it, you can consider yourself forgiven. And if you die in the process, well, I'll see your kids are provided for."
"I can provide for them," Eola snapped, reaching out to put a protective arm around her husband. Madanach did smile then, acknowledging the point.
"True enough," he laughed. "Although with twins, you will need all the help you can get. Here, I'll let you two talk, and I'll send Athis and Serana in when they wake up. In the meantime, I need to send a note to Elisif, warn her a situation has arisen. Eola, I will see you later."
"See you later," Eola whispered, waving to her baby sister, who'd calmed down enough to wave goodbye as Madanach left. As he did so, Eola let out a sigh and collapsed on the pillows. She loved her father, knew he meant well, but honestly, the overprotectiveness was wearing sometimes. There was a reason she'd seized the opportunity to not live in the Reach. She could definitely understand Serana's feelings on her own complicated family – maybe one parent had been bad, but the better one was no less trying sometimes.
"Are you all right?" she whispered as Cicero slowly emerged from hiding and climbed on to the bed, snuggling into her arms. "I'm so sorry about him, he overreacts to everything..."
Cicero, not a man known for his calm and understated emotional reactions either, just shrugged.
"Cicero does not mind. It is not the first time Madanach has threatened poor Cicero with bodily harm. He has yet to carry any of them out. Cicero has noticed the ice spikes and lightning bolts mostly miss, and yet Madanach's eyesight is as good as ever and his aim is normally excellent."
"Just because he's missing you on purpose doesn't mean it's OK!" Eola sighed, and Cicero actually giggled.
"Oh, Cicero just likes the attention," Cicero said, grinning before propping himself up on one elbow. "So, you are well? And Madanach has promised to crush Isran's Dawnguard and talk Elisif into donating a dragon soul?"
"He's gonna talk to her," Eola promised. "I think she'll help if she can, you know what she's like about babies. Don't know about Isran though."
"WHAT?" Cicero yelped, sitting upright, appalled. "But beloved, his nasty Dawnguard shot you! We have the crossbow bolts as proof even if we had not heard them shout 'For the Dawnguard!' when they attacked!"
"Yeah, but Da reckons we can't prove they knew who we were," Eola sighed. "And we did have two vampires with us. Could have been just a routine patrol thinking they were hunting Volkihars up to no good."
"But… but that is not true!" Cicero cried. "And Isran knew who we were! He was even in Falkreath not long before, did he not tell his people at the time to not attack us?"
"He nearly attacked us in Elisif's court, do you think he'd stop out in the wilds with no witnesses?" Eola said bitterly. "But we have no proof, Cicero. And he couldn't have known we'd be in Falkreath – we didn't even know we'd be going there until two days before we headed out there. Still, don't fret. Da seems to think Elisif can be easily talked into stopping his funding after we've dealt with Harkon. I imagine that will include his tax-free status as well – you know how reluctant Maven was to agree to that."
Cicero's eyes lit up as the prospect of Isran getting on the wrong side of Maven Black-Briar occurred to him.
"Oooh! You think Maven will start taxing him and become angry if the taxes do not materialise!" Cicero squealed. "And we all know what Maven does to people who are holding out on her… Cicero shall drop by and visit Karliah, let her know that if Maven needs any stabbing done, he'll be happy to help."
"Yes you shall!" Eola laughed, cuddling Cicero and giving him a quick kiss. "After we've sorted out Harkon, because much as I'd like to say he and Isran are as bad as each other, that's not strictly true."
In that living in a world with no sun was undoubtedly worse than living in one where you might be shot and killed on suspicion of being a vampire or a thrall with no evidence other than Isran's paranoid suspicions, yes, this was the case, but it was also certain that neither world was one where you would actually choose to live.
"Maybe Isran will die in the battle," Cicero said fondly. "Ooh! Sweetling! Should we let him go in first and then accidentally trip him so the vampires kill him first?"
That did make Eola laugh, until her still aching muscles protested and she had to subside, swatting Cicero for his trouble.
"Find that bow first," Eola said sleepily. "Then you can think up ways to justify your usually impeccable aim going awry in the midst of battle and accidentally shooting Isran in the throat."
Cicero crowed with delight, and snuggled up to her, and while they were both too tired and injured for anything sexual to happen, the prospect of a foe to take revenge on had a way of healing any remaining rifts in their relationship. Isran would never know quite what he'd just wrought.
The bars of Miraak's cage rattled, jerking him awake as a steel-coated fist slammed into them. Elisif was done playing around. Not for her a Jarl's robes tonight. Finally, she could see a way out. Finally, she'd exchanged robes of state for armour and a Jagged Crown, and by the Eight, it felt amazing.
Miraak was sitting up, rubbing his eyes and staring at her in confusion before a grin split his face.
"Well now, Yolaazov. Changed your mind? Finally letting me out?"
Elisif decided not to give him the satisfaction. Madanach had told her if she responded to him, she'd let him take control of the conversation and he'd win. So she ignored him completely.
"Laat Kogaan Akatosh!" she intoned cheerfully. "Mean anything to you, Miraak?"
Miraak's smile faded, eyes regarding her coldly, and Elisif guessed from that the answer was yes.
"Now who has spoken to you of that," Miraak murmured. Good, she'd surprised him. Hopefully she could keep him on the defensive.
"A Dovah I trust," Elisif said firmly. "A group you do not belong to, Miraak. But I am merciful. Laat Kogaan Akatosh, Miraak. Take the option and I can guarantee you rebirth. I know of a dragon-blooded embryo you can merge with. You still die but your gifts can live on. Well? What do you say?"
Silence, and his face couldn't have given less away if he'd had the mask on. All the same… he didn't look surprised.
"I see," was all he said.
"I see," Elisif repeated. "Is that it? I'm telling you you're done, your only hope for redemption is dying and being reborn as another human child and all you can say is 'I see'? Most people would have shown a little emotion over that?"
Miraak shrugged, getting off the bed, then next thing she knew he'd crossed the room and was standing barely an inch from her, only bars separating them. Elisif shuddered and stepped back, still glaring at him. The son of a bitch had the nerve to smirk.
"Who's the child," Miraak asked. "What manner of parents do I have? Tell me I'm not going to be born to some peasant family out in the Hjaalmarch."
"Somehow, Miraak, I think you'd make something of yourself regardless of where you ended up. But you're fortunate. You're going to be born noble – in a way."
"In a way?" Miraak asked, raising an eyebrow. "Don't tell me I'm illegitimate."
"No, just a bastard," Elisif said, her turn to smirk now, and really he'd left himself wide open to that one. To her surprise Miraak blinked… and then actually laughed.
"You're good," he said, approving. "So. Tell me who my parents will be, if not you and Madanach. Too much to hope you're the pregnant one."
"No," Elisif said, doing her best to hide the disappointment on that score… and then she realised why he'd kept asking about it. "Wait… you knew! You knew this was possible! You were hoping I'd get pregnant so you could sneak into the baby!"
Shrug from Miraak who didn't seem bothered.
"And? You must know I had no desire to remain here forever. If the name Miraak is lost in the wuldsetiid, I care not. But I would know freedom, one way or another. If I could not be inside you one way, I will take another."
Elisif shivered, appalled and revolted at the very thought.
"Well, it's not me," Elisif said firmly. "Your mother's Reach-Princess Eola, your father's Cicero, her husband. You are in line for the Mournful Throne… but there's a catch. You're one of twins."
Miraak shrugged again.
"I will destroy and consume the weakling in the womb, have no fear."
Exactly as Paarthurnax had predicted. Elisif sighed and prepared to break the news to him.
"The other one is also Dragonborn. You were not the first to be trapped in a Daedric realm, seeking a way home. Ever heard of a dragon called Durnehviir?"
"Durne- he's still alive?" Miraak gasped. "I thought… but if he is not dead, where was he? Years, I waited, centuries! We studied together, perused forbidden arts, the arcane arts unfurled at our touch! Then he went to perform some forbidden rite involving necromancy and… I never saw him again. I turned to working for Mora after that. I was hoping he might have knowledge that would help me find my friend… but he never revealed it to me."
"Friend?" Elisif couldn't help but ask. "You had friends? And Durnehviir was one?"
"Yes," Miraak snapped. "Do not look so surprised. I did not always work alone. What happened, where did the Ideal Masters have him?"
So Elisif told him how Durnehviir had ended up enslaved to them, trapped in the Soul Cairn, and even freed from servitude, he could never return to Tamriel as he was. So he'd got Cicero to ferry him out, and then chosen incarnation as Eola's unborn child… one of them anyway.
"And you wish me as the other," Miraak murmured. "I'm touched."
"Don't get too full of yourself," Elisif warned him. "This is another chance. Don't waste it."
"I won't," Miraak promised, looking a bit too gleeful for Elisif's liking. "Truly, it will be good to see my old friend again. Maybe in this life, we can pick up where we left off."
"And where did you leave off?" Elisif asked, already regretting this.
"Now that would be telling," Miraak purred. "But I am already looking forward to this. Very well. Take me to my brother."
Elisif stepped back and felt something like magic flow through her fingers, along with the familiar envy of those who could just summon magic like it was nothing, and the cell bars vanished. The entire prison vanished, and suddenly they were standing at the top of a cliff, the night sky above them and the abyss beneath.
"This would be it, Elisif," Miraak said, using her actual name for once. "Once I enter the abyss, I will no longer exist as you see me now. You'll wake at that moment. I hope Eola is not far from you, because you won't have long to find her."
"She's down the corridor," Elisif said quietly, not sure suddenly how she felt about this. She was doing the right thing, she knew she was, and Madanach had been ecstatic at the opportunity to get him out of her head… but this was still an ending and Elisif always cried a bit at those.
Miraak nodded, a rather strange expression on his own face as he reached up and wiped a tear of her face, before leaning forward and kissing her lips. Not roughly, no tongues involved, just a gentle but firm kiss that said more than words would.
"Thank you," Miraak said softly. "It is more than I deserve. Thank you for saving me from Mora."
Elisif nodded, too choked up to speak so she settled for a hug instead. Miraak returned the embrace for a few moments, and then he let her go.
"Don't forget me," Miraak told her, and then he was running, shedding human form as he did so and turning into a vast blue and gold dragon that circled the abyss before descending at an alarming rate, wings folding up, and then he was gone, the world exploding in light as he collided with the pit, a cold wind sending Elisif staggering back…
And then she was awake, sitting up in the Reach-King's bed in Understone Keep, and her mind felt like it was on fire.
"Madanach," she whispered, but her voice sounded different, more Dov than human, and it came out as Maar-Dinok, the Dovahzul version of his name.
The Thu'um's vibrations shook the Keep, and in her cradle across the room, Maia started to cry, but Elisif couldn't go near her like this. She was glowing, for Kyne's sake!
"Maar-Dinok," she gasped again. "Tend to the kiir. I need Yol-Ah."
Without waiting for a response from the husband who'd woken up, rubbing his eyes, Elisif staggered out of bed and made for the door, hoping she remembered where Eola's room was. She was barely aware of Madanach swearing, coughing, swearing again about why he never ended up with the sane ones, staggering out of bed and picking Maia up before chasing after her.
Eola started up as Elisif flung her bedroom door open, and Serana and Athis both got up, reaching for spells and weapons… then stopped as they realised it was Elisif, skin glowing and eyes twin orbs of fire, even as members of both the Oculatus and ReachGuard were crowding after her.
"Elisif?" Eola whispered, as Cicero woke up next to her, rubbing his eyes and looking confused.
"I have a ziil for you," Elisif rasped, just about able to focus thanks to the dragon soul loose inside her. "Still want it?"
"I'm really not..." Eola began, and then Cicero grasped what was going on and squeaked "Yes!"
Good enough. Elisif closed her eyes and let Miraak's soul go free. Eola cried out as the dragon soul swarmed out of her, all light and fire as it dived for Eola's stomach.
Then it was gone and Elisif was herself again… and Miraak was gone. Elisif could tell, Elisif could feel the hole inside where'd he'd been. She'd not felt so bereft in a long time.
"Madanach?" she whispered, desperately needing a cuddle, and he was there, Madanach was there, first handing Maia to one of the Oculatus and then pulling her into his arms.
"Come on," he said, his voice low and urgent. "You're coming back to bed. You need to rest, you and Eola both. Everyone else, you're dismissed, go back to work, apart from you with Maia, bring her with us. Not a word about this to ANYONE, from Nepos to your own mothers."
Elisif clung on to her husband and let herself be led away, exhausted and ready to cry, and before long the room had cleared, leaving Eola lying back on the pillows, having forgotten how much that'd hurt the first time.
"Eola?" Cicero whispered, snuggling up to her. "Eola? Are you alright?"
"I think so?" Eola managed to say. "Two crossbow bolts and a dragon soul in three days takes it out of you."
Then Athis was there on her other side and Eola leaned in gratefully to him. Particularly as he had a healing potion on hand.
"Think you could do with it," Athis said gruffly. "Here."
Eola knocked it back and closed her eyes, vaguely aware of Serana's magic flaring.
"Well, they're both intact and now… hey, you've got two Dragonborns now!" Serana said, excited. "They're cute!"
"How can you possibly tell," Eola murmured. "They don't even have faces yet, do they?"
"Their auras look cute," Serana said, taking a seat at the end of the bed. "Like they're cuddling."
Cicero actually beamed and snuggled up to Eola, tears in his eyes.
"They will live!" he gasped. "Our little ones will make it! Elisif saved them!"
"They will," Athis said, reaching round Eola to cuddle Cicero as well, and as the three of them cuddled, Serana quietly slipped out to give them some privacy and time to rest. Two Dragonborn twins. Serana had a feeling the hard part hadn't even started yet. But for now, the little family were at peace and content. All was well.
Elisif hadn't said anything as they'd taken her back to bed. Madanach had helped her to bed, laid her down, retrieved Maia and then booted everyone else out, before returning with their baby in hand.
"Cuddle Maia?" Madanach said gruffly, holding a sniffling infant out to her, and Elisif instinctively held her arms out, calming down as her baby nestled into her arms. Madanach climbed in alongside her, sitting in silence for a bit, the lamps burning down and leaving them in darkness.
"He's gone," Elisif whispered, and Madanach wordlessly put a hand on her back, wanting to comfort her, albeit clearly and definitely not missing Miraak.
"Are you all right?" was all he trusted himself to say to her. Elisif glanced down at the baby snuggling in her arms, who was still looking a bit pensive but no longer crying.
"I don't know," Elisif whispered. "He agreed – he wanted to in the end. Turns out he knew Durnehviir, they were research partners."
"And they both ended up trapped in Daedric realms of Oblivion, there's a thing," Madanach observed, somewhat hypocritically given some of the projects he'd signed off. Then he edged closer to Elisif, putting an arm around her.
"Maybe this is for the best, love," he said gruffly. "He's probably happier getting another shot at life, a new start, than stuck inside your head, as much a prisoner as he was in Apocrypha… oh no, Elisif, don't."
Elisif couldn't help it as the realisation she'd never see Miraak again hit her, and even though she'd hated him, she couldn't help but mourn. Who else understood like he had, after all? And so she started sobbing her heart out, unable to stop despite Maia whimpering at her, and then Madanach pulled her into his arms and held her, with his free hand comforting Maia.
"I'm sorry," Elisif sobbed. "I'm so sorry!"
Madanach didn't say anything, only holding her and at length Elisif subsided and it seemed Maia was dozing off. So Madanach undertook the delicate operation of placing her back in her cradle before returning to his wife.
"You know, there's not many husbands who would put up with their wives essentially having an affair with the man who tried to kill her, and then comfort her after it all ended," Madanach said at length.
"I didn't have an affair with him!" Elisif cried. "I told him no!"
"I know," Madanach said softly. "But part of you was tempted, wasn't it?"
To that, Elisif could only shamefully nod, not able to meet Madanach's eyes.
"He kissed me," Elisif whispered. "Right at the end. I think I liked it? But I don't… I hate him, Madanach, why do I want him to kiss me again?"
"Because we don't always fancy people who are good for us, for which, see my entire romantic history before meeting you," Madanach sighed. "I can hardly judge you for some moments of weakness. You did the right thing in the end, and you saved my grandchild. So, you're forgiven. If you think you need to be."
Elisif leaned closer and cuddled him, and while her grief didn't stop, she could at least be glad it had worked out. She kissed his cheek and nestled next to him.
"I love you," Elisif whispered. "Do you think we should tell Eola and Cicero whose soul it was?"
"Absolutely not," Madanach said firmly. "This is the man who mind-controlled Eola and had her slaving away on a temple for weeks, and told Cicero he was the Listener, all Cicero had to do was sacrifice you to him and take Miraak to the Night Mother, and he'd prove it."
Yes, he had, and Cicero had almost considered acting on Miraak's words… until he'd met Elisif, accompanied her out to Saering's Watch after everyone else she'd brought with her had fallen under Miraak's spell, and learnt the Thu'um they needed was a mind control one, at which point his suspicions that Miraak was lying were confirmed. Elisif had turned round from learning the Thu'um to find Cicero standing there, shaking all over with his knife in his hands, and then he'd dropped it and burst into tears, throwing himself at her feet, begging forgiveness and telling her everything.
By rights she'd have been entitled to execute him on the spot, but something in her had told her no, he'd not followed through and she knew Miraak was persuasive. So she'd quietly held him and then told him he was officially pardoned as long as he helped her. He'd been very pleased indeed to help with that, and he'd rejoiced on Miraak's death – Eola hadn't been displeased either. It occurred to Elisif that neither would be pleased to learn Miraak's soul had lived on in Elisif all this time, and they'd definitely not be keen on him reincarnating as their child.
"You think they might not love a child they thought was Miraak?" Elisif whispered, feeling her heart clench.
"I think I'd be taking my own grandchildren into care for their personal safety," Madanach growled. "No. No, they never find out, Elisif. Safer for everyone that way."
Cicero wouldn't stab his own children, would he? Except Elisif recalled that the founding myth of the Brotherhood had involved the Night Mother sacrificing her own children to Sithis for power, and she realised she couldn't rule it out. No, best he never knew.
"All right," Elisif whispered. "We never speak of this again."
Madanach smiled and, letting her go, lay down to prepare to go to sleep. Except Elisif wasn't quite done, not yet.
"Are you sure it doesn't bother you?" she asked him, and Madanach shook his head.
"No. Eola seemed to think the donor would die and their memories vanish. Miraak's dead and he died saving my grandchild. I can be magnanimous under those circumstances. Not to mention a guaranteed future Dragonborn Reach King or Queen."
Elisif should have known he'd be pleased with that.
"That appeals, does it?" she said, lying down next to him.
"Oh, absolutely," Madanach said, grinning. "Think of it, Elisif, all those Nords out there who revere Dragonborns as heroes but tolerate Reachmen at best? They find out Kaie's heirs are Dragonborn, the chosen of Akatosh, how do you think they'll react? Oh sure, we know they weren't supposed to be Dragonborn, but Skyrim won't."
Elisif could see this all too clearly and gave up arguing. Of course those kids would first have to be born, grow up, master their powers, and who better to mentor them than another, older, Dragonborn? Also babies! Yes, clearly it was in everyone's best interest for their step-grandmother to be closely involved with their lives.
Miraak was gone, and it hurt… but Elisif's sensible side knew it would never have worked, they'd have struggled constantly, and Elisif couldn't have lived with being a subordinate consort again, any more than Miraak would have wanted anyone to rival him. They'd have destroyed each other. No, give her Madanach any day, who respected boundaries both political and personal, but was also strong enough to stand up for himself and just wild enough to keep things interesting.
But Miraak's soul in a small child, a cute and impressionable child who might well look up to Elisif… yes, Elisif could live with that. Two of them, even better! There wasn't a baby out there that Elisif couldn't love.
So Elisif snuggled up next to her husband, finally at peace for the first time in months, and when she dreamed, she dreamed only of flying alone, wild and free, a dragon in charge of her own mind and destiny. It felt good.
A/N: This is all either cute or a terrible idea, but everyone seems happy. Next chapter, the quest resumes as Serana, Cicero and Athis go off to find Auriel's Bow... with a little Reachman assistance.