The Labyrinthian

Kathryn looked up from the spell tome she was reading and audibly sniffed the air. "Aela's coming," she said.

"Is she?" Aila said excitedly. "Oh, good." She went over to the door, and pressed herself up against the wall next to it.

Kathryn smiled and shook her head. "I'm telling you, it's not going to work."

"Oh, hush. You've gotta think positive."

"Fine. I'm positive that it's not going to work. She's far too perceptive. She's going to notice you."

"We'll see. Now, shh, or you give me away."

Kathryn sighed and closed the tome, setting it on the night stand. A few moments later, there was a knock at the door. "Come in!" Kathryn said. The door opened, and Aela walked into the room. "Hey, Aela. Long time, no see."

"Kathryn! How wonderful to see you again!" Aela glanced around the room, utterly failing to notice the little elf just behind her. "Isn't Aila with you? I thought I smelled..."

It was at this moment Aila chose to reveal herself and announce her presence. Loudly. "BOO!" The resulting surprised yelp from Aela, which sounded incredibly similar to that of a dog's, sent her into a fit, and she fell to the floor, unable to control her laughter.

Even Kathryn was struggling not to laugh. "I'm almost disappointed in you, Aela. I can't believe you fell for that."

Aela just stood silently, her hand over her mouth and her her cheeks turning a rather pleasant shade of red.

Aila desperately tried to compose herself. She tried to lift herself onto the bed Kathryn was laying on, but only ended up falling back to the ground.

"You really shouldn't startle wolves, Aila," Aela said through her embarrassment.

Aila took a deep breath, finally managing to sit on the bed next to Kathryn. She wiped tears away from her eyes. "I've come to a recent conclusion that none of you are actually wolves, but are, in fact, rather large puppies."

Kathryn rolled her eyes at the comment and Aela just stared at her, not really sure how to react.

After a few moments, when Aila had managed to recover a bit more, Aela asked, "What are you two even doing here? I wasn't expecting you back so soon."

"Well, it wasn't long after I returned that I found out that I needed to go to Solitude. We're really just passing through."

"I see..." Her tone of voice suggested that she wasn't at all satisfied with her answer. Aila couldn't really blame her, considering what she had caught her doing the last time she was here.

"Oh!" Kathryn exclaimed. "That reminds me. Do you think you could help us with something?"

"That depends..."

"It's nothing like what you're thinking," Aila said. She picked up the rucksack sitting by the foot of the bed and rummaged through it. She brought out two items: a map, and a wheel of cheese wrapped in cloth. She handed the cheese to Kathryn.

"Oh, bless you, love," Kathryn muttered.

Aila smiled at her and stood from the bed, carrying the map to a nearby table. "We just need help deciding which road to take." She spread the map out over the table.

Kathryn unwrapped the cloth from the cheese wheel and proceeded to cut a slice out from it. Then she walked over to Aila, with the slice, and put her arm around her waist.

"We were planning on taking this road here," Aila continued, trying not to get distracted by Kathryn nibbling on her cheese. "And go through Rorikstead and Dragon Bride, but then we saw this road here, the one that cuts through the mountains. The only stop is Morthal, and it's a much shorter route. It could shorten the trip by half, but it's marked as a trail, not a road. Why is that?"

"It's probably because that road gets very little use." Aela answered. "It cuts through the mountains by way of the Labyrinthian."

Aila waited for her to explain. When she didn't, she asked. "What's the Labyrinthian?"

"Sorry, I forget you don't know much about Skyrim's history. The Labyrinthian is, well, a labyrinth built around an old Nordic ruin. It can be rather dangerous, so many people stay away from it."

"How dangerous?" Aila asked. She grabbed Kathryn's wrist and brought it to her mouth, taking a bite of the cheese she was holding.

"Gods above, that was adorable," Kathryn said. Aila ignored her.

"Well, I've taken the road a few times and I've never encountered anything more than some Frost Trolls," Aela said.

"Do you think we should take it?" Aila asked.

"If you think you can handle yourself well enough in a fight, then I say go for it." She seemed to suddenly remember something. "Oh, then again, a dragon is rumoured to have been sighted near there lately."

"Another one?" Kathryn asked. "Where are they all coming from? No one's seen any for thousands of years, and then suddenly it's like every time we turn a corner there's another bloody dragon."

"It's worse than you think," Aela said. "We've been getting requests from all over Skyrim to kill some dragon. It's like they just popped into existence. Either way, unless you looking to pick a fight with one, you'd best take the long way."

"Yeah, I've fought one dragon already, that was enough. We'll take the long way."

That's when Aila spoke up. "I think we should go through the Labyrinthian."

Kathryn looked at her. "What? Aila, do you really want to fight another dragon?"

"Kat, with everything we know about me being dragonborn, do you really think we won't encounter a dragon if we take the long road?"

Kathryn thought about it silently.

"What do you mean?" Aela asked.

Aila was silent for a moment. She thought about telling her of the dream she had, but she decided against it. After all, the man told her to tell nobody. She had told Kathryn because, well, it was Kathryn. Instead, she told a half-truth. "If I am dragonborn, then I think dragons are going to show up in my life no matter where I go. It seems to be a requisite."

"You're probably right," Kathryn said. "Let's go through the Labyrinthian."

"Well, that's settled, then." She began to fold up them map and put it back in the rucksack. "Besides, I've killed two dragons already. What's one more?"

Aela laughed and clasped her on the back. "That's the spirit!"

Aila sighed. Kathryn sat back down on the bed and Aila followed in suit, laying down with her head on Kathryn's lap.

Kathryn ran her fingers through Aila's hair gently. "Aela... there's... something else I wanted to ask you."

"Yes?"

"Well..." She bit her lip, trying to figure out how to word her question. "I've started turning recently."

"Oh?" Aela seemed genuinely surprised. "I thought you said you would never turn if you could help it."

"I've changed my mind." Kathryn said simply. "I turned willingly for the first time a few days ago, and once more since. It's... amazing, really, but the transformations themselves are just so..." She paused to try and find the right word.

"Excruciating?" Aela suggested.

"Yeah. Isn't there anything I can do to... I don't know, make it not hurt so much?"

Aela sighed sadly. "I'm afraid not. It's the price we pay for turning. The only thing we can do is try and turn as fast as possible and get it over with. You get good at it, you can managed a transformation in just a few seconds."

"Seconds?!" Kathryn exclaimed. "It takes me minutes to turn!"

"That's because you've only just started turning. After a while, your body starts to get used to the changes, and can manage them more quickly. Doesn't hurt any less, though."

Kathryn sighed sadly. "Oh well."

Aila reached out and grabbed her hand that wasn't massaging her head and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Kathryn looked down and smiled at her.

"So!" Aela said. "What are you two heading to Solitude for? I can't imagine you'll just be sightseeing."

"Oh, well we were just going to... uh... well..." Aila wasn't sure how to tell why they were going without mentioning the fact they were going to interrogate an Argonian as to his part in selling an incredibly important asset to the Thieves' Guild. She looked to Kathryn for help.

"Well... you see..." It seemed Kathryn was at a loss as well.

Aela sighed. "I knew it. Whatever the reason, it's nothing legal, is it?"

Neither answered.

Aela shook her head. "I just don't understand what could lead you two to thieving."

"It's... complicated," Aila said.

"Is it? Stay in Whiterun. Stay here with the Companions and stop your thieving."

"Aela, I told you, we're not coming back. Even if you don't understand it, we like doing this. We're not going to stop." They were quiet for a moment. "You're not going to turn us in, are you?"

"Aila, you saved the city, last you were here. How can you expect me to turn you in after that?"

"Well I don't, really."

Aela sighed once more. "I wish you would reconsider. The Companions would love to have you back. Speaking of which, you must come to Jorrvaskr while you're here. You can catch up with Vilkas and the others."

Aila smiled and sat up. "Yeah, let's go now. We're not doing anything at the moment."

"Good, let's go."

They stood and left the inn, headed toward Jorrvaskr. That day was far too short for Aila's liking. They spent most of it at Jorrvaskr, talking and spending time with the Companions. Aila also had a little archery contest with Aela. Each was given five arrows, and whoever scored the most points was the winner. The middle of the archery target was ten points, the ring around it was five, the one around that was worth three, and near the edge was worth one. The game ended in a tie. Both had scored the maximum points, hitting the target dead-center each time. Aela was pleasantly surprised to see that Aila had become significantly better with the bow. They also ate their dinner at Jorrvaskr, and they watched and laughed with the others as the Companions partook in their nightly merrymaking, though they exempted themselves from drinking and dancing. At one point, Kathryn did want to dance with Aila, but she refused, saying that it probably wasn't a great idea. Kathryn was disappointed, but she understood her reasoning. Plus, Aila wasn't all that good a dancer.

As it stretched later into the night, Aila began to grow tired, and so she said farewell and walked back to the inn with Kathryn. When she reached her room, she pulled Kathryn into the bed with her, and may have performed some rather carnal activities before eventually falling asleep.

They left early the next morning. Aila wished she could have spent more time with Aela, but they had business in Solitude to take care of. They took the road that headed north, up into the mountains. It was their second day out of Whiterun that Aila noticed that it was steadily getting colder. By the end of that day it was near freezing, and she found herself incredibly grateful for Kathryn's warmth.

Kathryn also went hunting that night. She asked Aila repeatedly if she was alright with her leaving for a while, and Aila insisted that she was even though she would rather have her stay. She didn't want Kathryn to suffer because she was being selfish. After she left, Aila was having trouble thinking about anything but her. She kept thinking about how she felt when her arms were wrapped around her waist, and when her lips were locked with her. Since that only made her miss Kathryn, she tried to think about something else, and her thoughts shifted to Aela and the Companions.

Aila wished she could have spent more time with them. She didn't see them very often and they were rather fun to be around. Even if she didn't drink herself, she had a lot of fun with everyone the night before they left. She was also extremely glad that she was able to keep up with Aela in their archery Competition. But thinking about Aela just reminded her of when she told her of lycanthropy, how scared Kathryn was of her leaving, and the first time they kissed.

Aila shook her head, trying to think about something else. Her thought moved on to Byrnjolf, Delvin, and the others. She missed them. Well, most of them. Not Mercer, or Vex, really. She thought about her sparring matches with Brynjolf, and how odd it was how she was getting better so quickly. When she was training with Vilkas she had made barely any progress. But then thinking of Brynjolf made her think of when she first met him and the job she did for him, as well as the subsequent night she spent with Kathryn, and the first time they made love.

Aila gave up with with a sigh and let her mind fill with the indecent things she would to Kathryn when she returned.

On the third day, it started to snow. Heavily. Aila would lean into Kathryn as much as possible to get all the warmth she could. The snow didn't stop, only periodically lightening and and intensifying every few hours, and lasted until the next day, the day they reached the Labyrinthian.

They left Frost by the entrance to the ruins as a precaution and entered by themselves.

Aila felt the dragon long before she saw it. Oddly though, it felt different from usual. When a dragon was coming before, she had this sense that could only be described as inexorable doom, but now she felt somewhat similar to how she felt while breaking into someone's house. This was the dragon's land, and she was trespassing. "We shouldn't be here."

"You're the one who wanted to come this way," Kathryn replied.

"I know, but..." Aila looked around through the snowfall, seeing the ancient Nordic structures. She never finished her sentence.

The roar pierced the sky. She saw it appear in the air just as it began to land on some sort of domed building "Bo nah gut!" It roared. "Daar nori! Lif nu uv dir!"

"It seems those rumors were right," Kathryn said, putting her hand on her sword hilt.

Aila barely heard her, as she was busy being very confused. She understood the dragon. Sort of. While she didn't understand the words it used, she understood it's meaning. It wanted them gone. Part of her wanted to oblige it and turn tail and run, but another, very small part of her grew angry. He dares tell me what to do? She called out to it. "We're just passing through! The only other road to Haafingar would add days to our journey! Let us pass and we'll be on our way!"

"I don't think you can reason with a dragon, Aila," Kathryn said.

The dragon seemed to agree. "Nii los do nid volzahdroz wah zey. Daar hin laat grozein!"

Aila tsked, the angry part of her growing. "We're not going anywhere!"

"Wait, can you understand it?"

Aila looked at her. "Sort of. It's... weird, but it's like I understand his..."

The dragon's roar interrupted her. "Ruz hein dez los strin!" it shouted before taking to the skies.

"Well, there goes that plan," Kathryn said, drawing her sword while her left hand began to glow with frost magic.

Aila heard her take a deep breath. "You nervous?" she asked as she grabbed her bow.

"A little. You?"

"A bit."

"Glad I'm not alone. Aim for the wings?"

The dragon was diving toward them. "It worked last time."

They dived in opposite directions as fire spurted from the dragon's mouth to the ground they were on a moment ago. Aila nocked an arrow and aimed for it, but it was already flying away. It turned to make another pass at them, and Aila had to avoid another stream of fire.

"It won't stay still!" Aila yelled. "I can't hit it!"

"I have an idea!" Kathryn sheathed her sword and put her hands together. They began to glow, and an icicle began to form. It grew in size, becoming much larger than the normal ones. As the dragon came for another pass, Kathryn stayed her ground.

"Be careful!" Aila said.

"I know!" The dragon flew towards her, and as it opened it's mouth, Kathryn threw the spike.

The sheer surprise of the spike lodging itself in the dragon's throat sent it crashing to the ground. It regained its balance, and Aila heard it gag, trying to get the spike out of its throat. It lifted its head and breathed a stream of fire into the sky, melting the spike. Then it turned to Kathryn and started moving toward her.

Uh-oh, Aila thought. I can't let her get hurt. She slung her bow across her back and drew her sword and dagger. "SU!"

The dragon's attention was pulled entirely away from Kathryn and straight to Aila. It growled angrily at her. "Dovahkiin."

It started its clumsy walk toward her, and Aila ran towards it. When she was close enough, the dragon snapped its head forward, trying to grab her with its jaws, but Aila jumped to the side. She ducked under the dragon and thrust her sword upward. The thin scales of its underbelly cracked as the sword plunged into its stomach. The dragon bellowing in pain.

Kathryn came up behind it then, and it roared some more as she sliced the membrane that connected its wing to its torso.

The dragon beat its wings, but with the damage Kathryn did to one of them it could barely get any height. Its tail whipped around, hitting Kathryn in the back and she fell to the ground. It kicked Aila out from under it. It landed again, with its claw over Kathryn, pinning her. It swung its head at Aila as she tried to stand, and she was sent flying.

She landed face-first into a snow pile a few meters away. Her body was screaming at her, but she forced herself to stand, just in time to see the dragon pick up Kathryn with its claws and slam her onto the ground. Kathryn's scream filled her ears, and Aila's rage took over.

She ran screaming toward the dragon. It saw her coming and opened its mouth as fire erupted from its throat.

"FEIM!" Her body melted away and the flames washed over her, its heat going unnoticed. She neared the dragon, and the instant she became corporeal she sliced the skin connecting its upper and lower jaw. As it roared in pain, Aila dug her dagger under one of the scales on its neck and pulled as hard as she could. She felt it loosen, and then finally pop off, allowing her to plunge her sword into its neck as far in as it would go.

Its roars became gurgled cries until it finally fell to the ground, dead.

Aila's anger faded away, replaced by overwhelming concern. "Kathryn!" she called as the dragon started to burn away. "Are you okay?"

Her voice was sounded shaky and strained. "Oh, I'm just peachy."

For obvious reasons, Aila didn't believe her. "Are you hurt? Can you move?"

"'Can' being the operative term." She coughed and then winced at the pain the cough caused. "You think you can get this dragon off my back?"

Aila tried, but it was too heavy. She couldn't manage to move its claw off of her. Eventually though, the dragon had burned away completely and Aila took its soul. Its skeleton was all that was left, and all she had to do was break the bones over Kathryn.

After, she rolled Kathryn onto her back, trying to cause her as little pain as possible. She held onto her as tightly as could without hurting her. "How do you feel?

"I've been worse, believe it or not." She coughed again, and then just looked at Aila for a while. "You're really beautiful, you know that?"

Aila laughed. "Kat, we have more important things to focus on."

"Right, right." She placed her hand over her ribs and it began to glow with a golden light. She sighed at the small relief the healing spell gave her.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Aila asked.

"I'll be fine, Aila. I promise. But... I do need you to do something for me."

"Anything."

"There are a few healing potions in Frost's saddle. I need you to go get them for me."

"I'm not going to leave you alone," Aila said.

"Didn't you just say you'll do anything?" Kathryn chuckled, and then grunted. "I'll be fine. The dragon's dead, and Frost isn't too far away. I really need those potions, Aila."

Aila sighed. "Okay." She gave Kathryn a kiss and set her gently down onto the ground before going back to Frost.

He whinnied happily when he saw her. She dug around in the saddlebag until she found what she was looking for, and then went back to Kathryn with Frost trotting behind her.

She knelt beside her, uncorking the potion bottle and holding it up to Kathryn's mouth.

Kathryn tried to drink without spitting it back up. "Blech. It tastes like rancid skeever piss."

"Just drink it," Aila told her, uncorking the other bottle. "It'll help."

"I know, I know."

"Can you stand?" Aila asked after she downed the last bottle.

"I think so."

It took some effort, and no small amount of pain, but Kathryn was able to stand and climb on top of Frost. Aila climbed up after her, and they headed out of the the Labyrinthian. Kathryn kept a healing spell going, but it wasn't very strong and did little more than alleviate the pain. Even so it helped.

Aila hoped they would find a healer in Morthal.