Chapter Text
Down in the Ragged Flagon Delvin and another thief watched a young Bosmer girl with wavy red hair playing with a pair of carved wooden horses. The other thief was Gwihir Duskhollow, father to the young girl, and an expert burglar. His daughter Arianon had come to live in the guild with him after her mother passed away from some illness or another. He wasn't sure what had happened since they had split up years before. It was quite a surprise to find an eleven year old girl standing at the ratway entrance with a note for him last year.... Gwihir had been thrown from his wife's house before he ever knew she was pregnant. As he reflected on the last year trying to figure out how to raise a daughter Mercer appeared and gruffly cleared his throat to catch the wood elf's attention.
"Maven has asked to see you Duskhollow... She's in the Bee and Barb, don't keep her waiting." Mercer turned and walked away without another word and Gwihir chugged the rest of his ale with a resigned sigh and walked over to his daughter, sparing a few words to tell the child he was leaving and to behave. He left her with the news that Delvin was in charge of her until he returned and then walked out of the little tavern without another glance at her. Once he was out in the open Gwihir pulled his hood off because the sun was beating down today. He quickly climbed the stairs up to the main level of the hold and crossed the small bridge to the inn. Maven would be upstairs in a small corner table so he wasted no time moving toward her. The meadery owner wasn't exactly known for her patience. Gwihir nervously ran his fingers through his own red hair and announced himself to the intimidating woman.
"Ah, you're finally here. Mercer tells me the item I sent you to retrieve was destroyed.... Do you have any idea how expensive that artifact was?" The Bosmer thief gulped and shook his head minutely as Maven glared at him with open hostility. She looked ready to kill him herself, his only consolation was that Maven wouldn't dirty her own hands so he wasn't going to die immediately.... But she could easily send assassins after him later! Damn woman had too many powerful connections, there was no way this would end well for him....
"I paid 125,000 septims for the statue that you allowed to be destroyed. Mercer and I have agreed that the rest of the guild should not be held responsible for your mistakes, so you will be accountable for paying my losses. Until the debt is paid off, seventy percent of your cut from jobs you accept will be paid to me. You may take additional jobs to pay the debt sooner, or sell items to me at half their value." Maven spoke of thousands of septims with a coldly casual air while Gwihir sat gaping in disbelief. Seventy percent of his income straight to her hand while he was trying to raise a daughter?! Wait... His daughter!
"That is... harsh but I can't quite argue with the logic. However I have a child to support, and I don't think I can manage on the amount you are generously allowing me to keep. I have an idea you may find agreeable..." Maven stared at him blankly for a moment, the thief's whelp was none of her concern but she was curious to hear him out. If only to see what idiocy he would spout at her. Gwihir sighed as she gestured for him to continue.
"Maybe you'd be interested in buying her from me? I'd take whatever price you offer and you could use her as a servant to continue paying the coin I owe. She's a good kid, but I never wanted to be a father and now I can't afford to feed and clothe her anyway." Maven narrowed her eyes at him shrewdly, and then asked a few questions. Finding that the girl was twelve, a fast learner, had a talent for magic, and had been quite obedient from the moment she arrived at his door. It seemed that maybe she would have some use for Arianon after all, and Gwihir's idea had some merit.
"I will give you 200 gold for the girl, bring her to me tonight." The thief's mouth opened to protest, but he thought better of it as Maven's mouth pulled into a flat line of irritation. He nodded and quickly signed the contract she pulled out. Gwihir felt guilt settling into the pit of his stomach but there was nothing he could provide for his daughter that the Blackbriar clan couldn't get ten times better. Of course he was delusional if he thought Maven was going to put Arianon in the lap of luxury. Truthfully the young girl would be exceedingly lucky to get more than the bare minimum she needed to survive. The contract was snatched from under his hand as he finished writing his name and then disappeared into Maven's satchel. The older woman dismissed him curtly and Gwihir retreated as fast as he could while clinging to the last shreds of his dignity. He trudged slowly back down to the cistern with an unreadable expression. Arianon was smiling as Delvin showed her some "magic tricks" which were just sleight of hand that any thief could pick up.
"Arianon, come here." Gwihir called, and his daughter came to him easily. She had no reason to suspect he wanted anything more than to greet her and tell her what he had been doing after all. When she got close to her father he set his hand gently on her shoulder and looked down at her almost sadly. Suddenly Ari was a little worried. She took his hand and smiled sweetly. It tugged hard at Gwihir's heart to see her looking at him that way.
"What's the matter papa?" She asked softly, with love and concern written on her delicate features. He sighed and gave her the answer he now dreaded. Funny how quickly you can regret a hasty decision isn't it?
"Your papa has made a big mistake that cost him almost all the coin he can earn for the next few years, so he- I... I am sending you to live with Maven Blackbriar. She will take care of you, and in return you'll work for her and help me pay off the debt I owe." Arianon's eyes went wide and teary in shock, he was just casually talking about sending her away to live with strangers.... Again! Her own father was giving her away! The betrayal on her thin face almost made Gwihir rethink his decision, but then he pictured Maven sending assassins to the ends of the earth after them if they fled. Besides he told himself, he didn't really feel that strongly for the girl. He was lying to himself, but he would take that to his grave.
"Papa... Please! Please don't send me away. I want to stay with you and Delvin and Vekel!!" She threw her arms around her father's waist and sobbed loudly, now just sniffling out incoherent pleas. Gwihir stood frozen with his hands hovering awkwardly a few inches from her shoulders... He had never been very good at handling crying females. Delvin, who was like Ari's honorary grandpa, walked over and gently pulled her into his arms. Arianon went willingly as her father stood there with a shamed expression. Delvin led his daughter over to Vekel's bar with a glare over his shoulder at the Bosmer thief. He ordered her a honey nut treat. He sat her down and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder,
"Don't cry little song bird, at least ya aren't leaving the Rift. I'll send one of the boys to check on ya every little while, even me and Vekel sometimes. That's right innit Vekel?" Delvin asked pointedly and glared at the barman who nodded seriously. Ari looked slightly cheered up but then she frowned deeply and answered him with a pretty decent argument.
"But Maven's children are awful! Hemming always calls me names, and Sibbi tries to hurt me. I don't want to go..." Neither of the men had an answer for that. The Blackbriar children were spoiled brats with a mother powerful enough to make any problems they caused go away. But there was no choice, Gwihir had backed himself and the guild into a corner and none of them could interfere in this without pissing off their most powerful backer. Vekel stared sadly at the tankard he was cleaning as he muttered,
"Sorry Arianon, but there's nothing we can do. Your father already signed a contract with Maven. We can't go against her and survive.... but you'll be okay." And that my friends is how Arianon Duskhollow became a Blackbriar, and spent the next fourteen years in service to the family who abused her at every turn. All so that her father could try and pay off his debts a little faster...
Fourteen years later:
"Hurry up Arianon, we need that honey now!" Indaryn shouted, and the young Bosmer woman did her best to move faster while carrying a pair of heavy clay jars of honey for the mead. Today would be spent making an experimental recipe that Indaryn had come up with using honey from thistle flowers. Arianon set the jars down by Ungrien and Indaryn with a huff, pushing her unruly red hair out of her eyes. The Dunmer glared at her and shooed her away to fetch more of the jars. Ari sighed heavily and turned to follow his orders, she had only been at work for an hour and she already wanted to go home... Not that she would be any better off at the Blackbriar manor. In fact the moment she walked in the door one or more of her adoptive family members would descend on her with more things to do. She took a couple of minutes to catch her breath and quickly tie her hair back before Ungrien sheepishly called for her.
"Coming Ungrien!" Sighing again she picked up another two jars of thistle honey and went back to work quickly. Hours passed slowly as Arianon did practically every sort of job the meadery had to offer. By the time the sun went down and she was allowed to go home Ari felt ready to drop. As she expected the moment the lock clicked Maven was calling out for her, so she fixed a calm expression on her face and walked into her "mother's" room. Maven sat at her table with a ledger and quill out, going over numbers from the family business over the last season. She barely looked up when Ari came in, just snapping,
"Ingun wants your help with an experiment, and after you are finished with that you'll be going to see Sibbi at the jail." Arianon's shoulders slumped, tonight would not be a fun night. Ingun would want to test poisons on her, which meant that by the time she had to see Sibbi she would be feeling miserable. She waited patiently to hear if there was anything else, but apparently there wasn't if Maven huffing and throwing a ball of paper at her was any indication. Ari retreated and quickly bathed and got changed before going to Ingun in the manor's basement. The dark haired young Nord woman was distilling something in her alchemy station and once again Arianon waited to be noticed. Her adoptive sister turned to see her and grinned.
"Ari, you're finally here! Sit down and take this for me." Ingun handed her the vial from the table and eagerly picked up her journal to take notes on the effects. Arianon sighed softly and popped the cork out of the vial and downed it quickly. Whatever was in the bottle smelled bitter and unpleasant, and it didn't taste any better. The Bosmer grimaced and shook her head in distaste. Within a few minutes she felt her stomach begin to rumble, and a sick feeling crawled up her throat. Ingun jotted down the visual effects and laughed as Arianon bolted over to the basin in the corner and threw up what little she had eaten, and then continued to gag long after everything was gone. She was feverish and pale, covered in a sheen of sweat.
"How do you feel?" Ingun asked as she watched her subject sit back on her heels shakily. Ari climbed to her feet slowly, wiping her mouth and groaning her answer.
"My head hurts, I'm overheated, and I still feel like puking. Also I feel weak... What was in it this time?" Ari asked tiredly, she hated this but thanks to her natural resistance to poison she would survive. She was honestly to used to the routine to care. Ingun was always so pleased with her curiosity that she answered the question with enthusiasm each time.
"It was bone meal, deathbell, and namira's rot. This time it wasn't as strong as I wanted but now I know what to change!" Obviously she didn't care at all about Ari suffering, that was sort of the point of her experiment anyway. When the wood elf asked if there was anything else the aspiring alchemist shook her head and went back to scribbling out the alterations she would make to the next concoction. Arianon went back upstairs and got cleaned up and changed for the second time that night. She changed into the revealing tavern clothes Sibbi favored, let her hair down and dutifully brought him the fresh, home cooked meal he practically demanded. Mistveil Keep was just a short walk from home and the guard let her pass without comment. Being part of the most influential clan in the Rift had it's advantages... Ari still looked a little ill when she made it to Sibbi's cell and he frowned at her pale face.
"Must my sister always test her creations on you before you visit? You look like a corpse." He muttered angrily as the guard opened his cell and let her inside. Ari didn't respond to that, there was nothing to say anyway. It wasn't like she volunteered to be a lab rat or had any fun drinking poison night after night. Instead of answering his griping she laid out his dinner and a glass of spiced wine then sat in the chair across from his. Sibbi fell into his own seat and stared blatantly at her chest and bare thighs in the skimpy dress. Ari was uncomfortable with the look on his face, but at least while he was in here his options were limited. Maven may have a lot of clout but the guards would draw the line at letting a prisoner fuck in one of the cells.... Hopefully.
"The least you could do is smile a little, after all you're spending the evening with the Rift's most eligible bachelor." Sibbi intoned with a smug smirk. Ari resisted the urge to cringe or shudder. He was a bachelor because he had killed the brother of his betrothed and she had fled in fear for her life. Sibbi had had an affair going with another woman and when his fiance told her brother, he had gone to talk to Sibbi and ended up dead. Sibbi saw no problem with any of this and had even told Arianon that he wanted Svidi dead too. His attitude chilled Ari to the bone. To satisfy him she forced herself to smile pleasantly, and Sibbi's smirk widened to a full grin as he began to eat his dinner. He continued to talk about how Svidi was an ignorant wench who should have realized how lucky she was to have a chance to join one of the strongest and wealthiest clans in Skyrim.
"Like you, what could your worthless thieving excuse for a father give you in comparison to the Blackbriars?" Ari nodded absently, thinking about her situation. Sure, she had a nice room in a lavish manor.... But she spent her days doing back breaking work at the meadery for free and then her nights were spent being experimented on or forced into lascivious sex acts, including being involved with Hemming screwing his own mother! Maybe with Gwihir she would have been living in the cistern with the other thieves but then at least she'd be free to make her own decisions and earn money for herself. She was pulled suddenly from her thoughts by Sibbi dragging her over to his bed and pulling her in with him.
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"Ow Sibbi, please be careful." Ari yelped, and then she cried out in pained surprise as he nipped her neck roughly. He only laughed as he pulled her against him and began sucking red marks into her skin. His hands roamed over her body and squeezed harshly at her chest and ass. So much for her hopes that the guards would step in and kick her out of the jail if he started this... She knew for a fact it wouldn't happen when one strolled by and shook his head in amusement at the scene. Arianon closed her eyes and tried to relax while Sibbi pushed her dress up around her hips and rubbed the soft insides of her thighs. Then his hand cracked against her skin in a stinging slap and her eyes flew open!
"I want you to watch Arianon. Keep your eyes on me." The young wood elf nodded rapidly and kept her gaze on him obediently. Sibbi would make this even more unpleasant than it already was if she disobeyed him. He pulled her underwear down her legs and tossed them into the walkway outside his cell. Ari whimpered as he pushed two fingers into her with no concern for her comfort. She wanted to close her eyes again, to think about anything but this, but she kept them on Sibbi's dark gray gaze. It didn't take him long to lose patience with preparing her, just a few rough thrusts and then he was crawling up between her legs and shoving his dick into her in one quick move. His wet hand slapped over her mouth to muffle her pained squeak and the other pulled her dress down to expose her breasts to his eager mouth. Like everything else he did to her, Sibbi was too rough... Biting at the tops of them and sucking her nipples hard. Ari pulled her head away from his clutching and pleaded with him to ease up.
"Ah! S-sibbi please, it hurts..." She said as quietly as she could manage, but he only chuckled darkly at her. He didn't take it easy on her. If anything he pushed her a little farther, becoming just a bit more cruel. He bit the tip of her pointed ear and Ari sobbed, flinching away with her eyes squeezed shut.
"Poor little Arianon, can't handle a little rough handling and a big cock... Tell you what, keep quiet for a few minutes and maybe I'll slow down for you..." Sibbi punctuated that remark with a deep thrust that nearly made her scream, but Ari clenched her fingers into the sheets and gritted her teeth in silence. She only let out a breathless grunt, and Sibbi gave her a sadistic grin. He was enjoying the sight of her golden yellow eyes open wide and filling with tears. Ari turned her face away and just stayed still as he continued rutting into her quickly. When she did he snarled, tightly grasping her chin he forced her head back toward him and gave her a kiss that was more biting and clashing of teeth than anything resembling affection or passion. Arianon badly wanted to bite him back, but she had been down that path before... Maven had had her whipped until she was bloody for biting Hemming when she was fourteen. It had been a harsh lesson about her place in the family.
Several more minutes of this intense treatment passed and Ari managed to keep mostly silent and didn't retaliate against Sibbi. She noticed that he was beginning to lose his rhythm and thrust into her a bit more erratically. He was getting close to his finish, she thought with relief. Even though she had done as he asked Sibbi didn't slow down, or treat her any less harshly, not that she expected any different... This was just how he always acted. Another few minutes went by and then he was pulling out and painting her belly with his release. Sibbi laid down in the bed and shoved Ari roughly out of it. The slim young woman landed on the cold floor, bare ass first and let out a groan. He laughed loudly as she stood up gingerly, pulled her dress down, and called to the guard to let her out. As Arianon walked down the hall with the guard she looked around for the underwear Sibbi had tossed out and didn't see them... One of the guards must have picked them up, no doubt for sone perverted reason Ari thought with a frown. To her face many of the human men would call her "Elf" and look down on her like she was somehow dirty, but many of them looked at her like they wanted to eat her alive.
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"Blackbriar slut...." The guard at the door muttered as she passed. Ari sighed sadly at that, she really had no choice in the matter. It was do what she was told or die! Maven would never let her go, not as long as her father still owed her coin. Arianon unlocked the front door to the house and leaned back against the door as it closed with exhaustion. She heaved another deep sigh and resigned herself to just heading to bed, there was no way she had the energy to do any of her training tonight. She had nearly made it to her room when Hemming's whiny voice reached her ears, demanding she come and warm his bed. Ari groaned and turned around to go to his room. She stripped out of her dress after she closed his door, and wiped away the remains of Sibbi's release from her skin. Hemming would complain to no end if she sullied his sheets Ari thought with a roll of her eyes.
"Now, what can I do for you Hemming?" She asked respectfully, and Hemming just lifted the blankets, muttering,
"Come here and keep me warm!" Ari just nodded, at least he wasn't demanding anything sexual... Maybe she'd be able to get some sleep for a change. Of course she fully expected this simple cuddling to shift into something sexual, a night in either of the brothers beds that didn't was rare. It seemed luck was on her side though because a few minutes after dragging her tightly against his chest he was snoring. Although the sound was grating in her sensitive ears Arianon was just happy to be left mostly alone. She wiggled into a marginally more comfortable position in Hemming's tight grip and tried to fall alseep too. It was much harder with him snoring into the back of her head, but she eventually managed.
Purely from deeply ingrained habit Ari woke up as the sun rose in the morning and slipped out of Hemming's bed without disturbing him, she had work in the meadery again today. She returned to her room to change her clothes and tie back her tangled red hair. As soon as she ate a hasty breakfast she made her way over to the warehouse and greeted Ungrien before she reported to Indaryn. The other wood elf was one of the few outside of the guild that Arianon liked, even though he was timid almost to the point of being pathetic. She had harbored a small crush on him for a little while but it eventually fizzled because even if he returned her interest, which seemed unlikely, what man would want to be with a woman who was essentially a sex slave? It didn't matter anyway, she was not allowed a relationship of that sort...
"You're late girl, since Romlyn is out on a delivery already I need you to take a few cases of Blackbriar reserve to Ivarstead. The stable master will have a horse waiting for you outside the gates, and Ungrien is to help you load it. Go now." Indaryn snapped impatiently, and Ari didn't bother arguing that she had made it to work early. The bossy Dunmer would just get angry, so she walked back down the stairs and collected Ungrien and the cases of mead. More than once as they walked the male wood elf opened his mouth like he was going to say something and then cut himself off. Arianon glanced over as he did it again and then shook his head with a faint flush across his cheeks. She sighed, curious what was on his mind, but she wouldn't prod him. Most likely if she did she'd scare him away.
" I-I hope I'm not being too forward, but y-you look very pretty today..." He finally managed to stammer, looking embarrassed and nervous. Ari was surprised by the comment, but by no means offended. Hadn't she just been thinking it was impossible that he would like her? What funny timing! Ungrien seemed to take her silence as a bad thing and began to fidget with discomfort, so she gave him a light smile to reassure him as she replied.
"Thank you Ungrien, that's very sweet. Ah.... You look as handsome as always." His faint flush bloomed into a full red blush all the way to the tips of his ears with her compliment, but he grinned happily even while his hands shook in surprise. The bottles of mead rattling quietly in the crate until he readjusted his grip. By this time they had reached the stables and were loading the crates onto the large dappled grey horse Hofgrir was renting to the meadery for the day. The older Nord helped Ari mount the tall gelding and gave her a bit of advice for handling him. Arianon nodded along calmly, as a Bosmer she was pretty easily able to handle most beasts, she was sure that this would be no different. She struck out on the road to the west toward the small village at the base of the mountains.
Her mounts slow, plodding pace had her reaching Ivarstead by late afternoon. She passed by the guards with a wave, and made her way to the Vilemyr inn and tied her horse outside. Ari went in and told the owner Wilhelm that his delivery had arrived. The balding Nord followed her out and carried one of the crates back inside. Arianon nearly dropped her own crate when the bard walked out of the back room and she recognized Svidi! She had changed her hair, but it was undeniably Sibbi's ex... Ari managed to hide her surprise and keep from dropping the mead bottles. She set down her delivery and asked Wilhelm for a glass of water because of course she had no money, and Indaryn wouldn't have given her any. Wilhelm nodded and added in a serving of stew when he noticed the thin woman's wistful hungry expression.
"No charge." He murmured gently and Ari looked up in surprised curiousity.
"Are you sure?" She stopped herself halfway to reaching out for the food and Wilhelm pushed it closer with a smile.
"Aye lass, it's the least I can do since you made an expensive delivery for me without breaking a single bottle on the rough roads. Enjoy." Now that she knew he actually meant it Arianon couldn't resist a warm meal. She dug into the food eagerly and then forced herself to slow down, she hadn't eaten all day and didn't want to upset her stomach. As she set the bowl down the pretty young bard approached her somewhat fearfully.
"Arianon...? Is-is Sibbi with you? Please tell me he isn't!" Svidi, who was now calling herself Lynly Star-sung stood behind her wringing her hands anxiously. Arianon turned around and gave her a reassuring shake of her head. Svidi sighed heavily in relief, nearly slumping down to the floor before the slight wood elf caught her elbows.
"He's still in prison, thank the divines for both our sakes... but he's looking for you, he wants you dead too. You have to be crazy to stop here! This is still the Rift Lynly..." Ari spoke urgently to the other woman, she was in danger! It would only be a matter of time before Sibbi hired someone to track her down and Ivarstead was too close to be overlooked. Svidi looked sad but resigned, Arianon was right and she knew it. She would have to leave soon...
"I'm sorry Lynly, but I have to get going. Indaryn is going to jump down my throat the moment I get back because I took so long." The other woman nodded and surprised Ari with a sudden firm hug. She let go before Ari could return it and thanked her before returning to work. With a groan of resignation Arianon got off of her stool and walked out into the fresh air outside. She stroked her horses velvety soft nose as she untied him and then mounted up and headed for home. The sun was somewhere near an hour from setting and she was slightly worried about being in the middle of nowhere after deak, so Ari spurred her horse to move a little faster. The gelding tossed his head and trotted for a short distance before slowing.
"Ugh, you stubborn jackass... Fine... I'm not fighting with a horse." Arianon grumbled and the horse snorted loudly. Things continued in this vein for a little more than three hours before the horse began to shuffle nervously and tug at the bit, seeming reluctant to move further into the woods. She pulled him to a stop and he pawed anxiously at the soil and yanked his head downward to turn and run the other way as some twigs snapped in the bushes ahead of them. Ari tried to use her natural talents to calm the panicked beast but his fear was too strong and he continued to fight her.
"Easy now, I'm sure it's nothing more than a skeever. Calm down big guy..." She was just about to start humming a soothing song when a chorus of sinister laughter erupted from the trees around them and Ari realized that the noises weren't being made by the large rat-like creatures... Arianon let the horse have his head so they could flee, but by now it was too late, several pairs of fiery orange and red eyes appeared in the darkness, and two people stepped forward, a man and a woman.
"Hear that Falira? The morsel thinks you're a skeever!" The tall dark haired vampire male spoke in a darkly amused tone as the female and a few others surrounded her. The one called Falira sneered with disdain and growled at her companion,
"Shut up Cassius, who cares about the opinions of cattle? At least she looks healthy... Could use more feeding though." The way they were talking made Arianon realize these vampires intended to feed on her, it seemed like they were going to keep her too, since the woman used the word cattle... The very idea of being fed on by many vampires until she was nothing but a husk terrified her, but the fear motivated her to escape! With a determined glare Ari kicked the horse into a swift run and he slammed his chest into the vampire standing in their way, the creature hissed and shrieked as it was trampled under heavy hooves! Her success was short lived though because in the next moment one of the vampires had leapt onto her mount in front of her and bitten into the poor beasts throat with a spray of blood. He went down hard and threw Arianon off his back as he fell.
The slim Bosmer rolled heavily into the stony earth, feeling the small rocks cut into her skin and then something in her hand snapped loudly and she screamed. As she finally slowed, and ended up curled into a ball on her side, cradling her badly broken hand the vampire Cassius strolled over to her and shook his head with mock sadness as he looked over all her injuries. In reality he was quite amused, it seemed this little meal was fiesty! Not that it would do her any good in the long run, but it was almost a shame to use someone with such fight in them for food... She'd make a good vampire... Ah well, it made no difference now, they'd been ordered to bring in new food and that is what they would do. He sighed and bent down to lift Ari by her hair so he could look into her golden yellow eyes.
"Such strength won't help you in the cattle pens, do yourself a favor and just behave...." Ari stared back at his glowing eyes defiantly, she may be a slave, but she wouldn't just sit by and obediently let them eat her alive! Mustering up as much energy as she could, Ari spit a mouthful of bloody saliva at Cassius' face. The vampire snarled in disgust, jerking her head back and biting the side of her throat. The last thing Arianon felt as things went dark was searing pain and then, strangely.... Bliss? Cassius hauled the bloody and unconscious elf over his shoulder and walked away with the others trailing behind. He had been right, fighting back had done her no good...
Chapter 2
Summary:
Ari's disappearance has finally been noticed as she doesn't return to the Blackbriar home well after dark. Maven confronts Indaryn and finds he sent her to Ivarstead alone, her reaction is unpleasant to say the least. Maven immediately has Indaryn send a courier to the Companions to aid in the search for her "daughter." In the meantime Ari is waking up in an unknown place, locked in a cage with a few other people who have been fed on for much longer.
Notes:
This chapter contains mild non-consentual touching, and graphic violence. Both the touching and torture are marked.
Chapter Text
Darkness had fallen completely over the Rift and Arianon had not yet come home from working at the meadery which was highly unusual, but not strictly unheard of. Maven stormed across the city to her business and found Ungrien nearly asleep at his post by the front desk, he jolted upright as the door slammed and Maven let his negligence pass this once, she had more important matters on her mind than the pathetic elf for the moment. Her feet thudded up the stairs to Indaryn's room and jerked the door open without an invitation. The dark elf looked up with mild irritation and saw her stony expression and gulped slightly. She paced slowly toward his desk and loomed over him angrily, Indaryn was rather intimidated but he was fairly sure he know what the problem was and he had no defense for himself,
"Where is Arianon?" The Blackbriar matriarch snarled, and this time Indaryn gulped loudly, shuffling papers on his desk and avoiding eye contact and the question for as long as he could until her hand slapped down on the paper work and startled him into looking up. Her blue eyes were narrowed coldly and hinting that he was in serious danger if he didn't speak now... He gathered his courage and admitted what had apparently been quite the mistake,
"I sent her to make a delivery to Ivarstead. Hofgrir rented us a horse, I ah... expected her back by now." The Dunmer rubbed at the back of his short hair awkwardly as Maven stared him down with clear burning anger. She sighed slowly and shook her head in disbelief. How this idiot still worked for her was beyond comprehension, certainly he ran the day to day operations quite well but then he would go and make stupid decisions like this without consulting anyone!
"Let me get this straight, you sent my adopted daughter all the way across the hold alone? A twenty-six year old, thin, inexperienced, wood elf... with no escort? If any harm comes to one of my most valuable workers then you will wish for death before I am done. The first thing you are going to do to make up for this moronic course of action is have a courier send a message to Jorrvaskr asking to companions for aid in finding her, immediately. Once we have news of Arianon's fate, yours will be decided." Indaryn nodded quickly and began writing the letter as Maven dictated and then bolted out of the room as soon as it was done. If he had to wake the entire office to get a courier out to Whiterun then he would, and the price for such a hurried delivery would be nothing if it saved his life. Maven strode down the stairs more slowly and stopped beside Ungrien's station.
"If I ever find you dozing off at work again then you will be out of a job permanently." She stated with cold seriousness. Ungrien agreed nervously and attempted to promise to do better but the owner really didn't care, she was out the door before he could force the words past his fearful lips. Outside the gates the tough gelding Hofgrir had loaned to Arianon returned to the stables, riderless and covered in blood from a deep wound on his neck. The poor beast was weak and shaking like a leaf as he entered his stall. Noise from the other horses woke up the stable master and he came out to see what the commotion was, spotting his injured stock. Hofgrir woke up Shadr and the two patched the horse up as best they could and then the young Redguard went to the meadery to report what happened. Of course Indaryn wasn't there at that moment, so he left a note with Ungrien and returned to the stable. Shadr would be keeping watch over the wounded horse tonight. It was going to be a long night.
Redwater Den
Ari woke up up with a low groan, slowly sitting up and looking around herself. It took a moment for her mind to catch up to the situation, and then she gasped as she remembered what had happened before she had been knocked out. Ari took a few deep breaths to try and stifle her growing panic. Much of her life was unpleasant, and really this wasn't much worse than things she already went through, so she took the chance to slowly look around. The cage she sat in was occupied by a few others who groaned and wobbled around listlessly. It was obvious most of the people here had been fed on many times. She moved over to the back corner of the barred cell and curled up with her arms wrapped around her knees. Against an entire den of vampires she had no chance to fight her way out. Arianon had secretly trained in fighting with daggers, destruction, and illusion magic, but she was unarmed and weak from blood loss. Her only real hope was that Maven would value her enough to try and find her.
It suddenly occured to her that she wasn't in nearly as much pain as she had been before. Ari distinctly remembered mangling her hand, hitting her ribs, and cutting her head. The vampires must have healed most of the damage... After all a farmer would do that with a beef cow, if he wasn't ready to butcher it yet. Not the most comforting thought, but at least she felt a bit better physically. Arianon sat wondering both how long it would be before someone came to feed off her, and whether or not her absence had been noticed yet. She truly had no idea how long it had been or if Maven would even care to rescue her. The cold hearted bitch might just shrug at the lost investment and gouge Gwihir for more coin. Probably half an hour went by with Ari deep in thought when a trio of vampires walked into the room from upstairs, two of which chose to feed on older members of the cattle. The vampire who had bitten her walked in and lifted her from the floor easily. Cassius smirked down at Ari's pale face.
"First day here and the boss wants to see you, aren't you lucky? Don't let it go to your head much, Venarus just prefers feeding from the fresh ones." Ari saw no point in resisting when he picked her up as easily as a stuffed toy. Cassius set her on her feet while keeping a firm grip on her wrist and led the way down several corridors and staircases to a central room full of coffins. Several vampires stood around the chamber but Cassius headed straight toward one with gray hair and deeper gray robes. She guessed this would be Venarus... He appeared to be an Imperial, certainly the name suggested that. Natives of Cyrodiil often had stuffy sounding names. Venarus turned at the sound of his fledgling clearing his throat, and strolled over to the pair. He bent forward and looked at Arianon with his head tilted, then grasped her chin and moved her head from one side to the other like a shopper choosing fruit at market.
"This is the one you said might make a good addition to the den? I don't see it... But she certainly smells tasty. Thank you Cassius, you may go and join the others for dinner." Cassius bowed slightly and wandered out while Venarus was still looking Ari over. She felt chills running up and down her spine as he stared at her with those inhuman, burning eyes. Her breathing picked up as he leaned in close and smelled her with his nose skimming her throat, and then she recoiled as his tongue darted out to trace the same path! Ari turned her face away, unwittingly giving him better access to bite, but he didn't just yet.
"No need to be so frightened, look at me child." Arianon didn't want to look, but there was something soft and compelling to his voice that she was sure hadn't been there before. Against her will she lifted her gaze to his eyes and then couldn't look away no matter how badly she wanted to. Everything else faded to non-existence in the face of those orange irises. Sounds, smells, her fear... It was all gone, and in its place was a heavy numbness. Even as Venarus pulled her head to the side and licked a broad stripe up the length of her neck Ari stood still calmly, and then allowed him to bite her without a single sound of pain or an ounce of struggle. She felt a bit of pressure as his fangs sank into her flesh but nothing more. The world faded out again and Ari didn't care... Blackness crept in until there was nothing else and when she woke up she was back in her cell with healing teeth marks in the crook of her neck. Over the course of the next few days Venarus, Cassius, Falira, and a couple of other nameless vampires fed from Ari and the others many times. The cattle were given free access to water, but food was... sparse to say the least. Ari found it harder and harder to focus as her hunger grew, and that bit of iron will Cassius had seen in her was dormant.
Venarus was quite taken with the young Bosmer, there was just something about the way that she submitted to him so easily that was attractive. He wondered what made her behave that way. None of them had any way of knowing that she had learned to be so accommodating out of fear. Only one of the thralls who changed her into the rough spun clothes had seen her scars from the few times Ari had refused to listen to Maven or her sons, and it wasn't as if he had reported it to his masters. Even if he had, without directly asking the elf they wouldn't know how the scars occured. Not that the reason mattered much in the first place. The Imperial vampire only knew he enjoyed the result, a bright eyed captive with a bit of spirit left who didn't fight him during his feeding. He had even found he didn't need Vampire's Seduction to keep her calm! Venarus felt as if there was some connection between himself and Arianon, she often shivered slightly with his touch and let out soft whimpers when he fed from her.
Nothing could be further from the truth, Arianon was just doing whatever she needed to survive. If it meant he wasn't hurting her then she was happy to let him believe whatever he wanted. Her shivers and whimpers were from revulsion, not pleasure. Lately he had taken to having her spend time at his side, to the annoyance of a few of his coven. The anger Ari sensed worried her, because she had no hope of fending off an angry vampire alone and unarmed. At the moment she was marginally safe, sitting against Venarus' leg while he read an old history book. His fingers were threaded into her hair, petting and Ari allowed it but hated the condescending feeling of the action.... Like she was some favored pet.
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"Why don't you come up here? You must not be very comfortable on the floor little pet." There was the confirmation she hadn't really wanted, Arianon thought with a small sigh as she got up and sat in his lap as requested. None of the vampires had learned her name of course, if they bothered to address her at all then they called her things like morsel, snack, dinner, or simply elf. Venarus placed his free hand on her waist and ran it slowly up and down, huffing with irritation at the rough cloth under his palm. After a moment he pushed the shirt out of the way with a hum and began rubbing over her soft belly. Ari's brows lifted with surprise as he followed the action by tilting her head toward himself and kissing her and squeezing at her breast. This was the first time he had done anything remotely intimate and Arianon couldn't hide her disgust anymore! Venarus was cold and as he slipped his tongue past her unwilling lips he tasted like old blood and earth. Ari twisted her head away from his almost painful grip on her hair and flailed in a bit of panic. Her struggles caused her to hit the Imperial violently in the jaw, throat, and chest. He shoved her off of him onto the stone floor and got up in a blind rage.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I was just scared! Please don't hurt me Venarus." She pleaded with her hands held out in front of her. The man she had reluctantly accepted as her temporary protector sneered down at his captive with none of his usual affection. That's what made Ari fully realize she had made a big mistake.... Venarus leaned down and grasped her ear tightly between his fingers, using it to haul her up, and she had no choice but to stand with the sharp pain of having it yanked on. Once she was on her feet whimpering, Venarus led her back to the cages by her ear and lashed her to a pole near the edge of the room. The entire time this went on he was silent, and once she was securely tied with her chest against the splintered wood he pulled out a blade and cut away her tunic, breast band, and pants. Arianon's breathing quickened as she realized that whatever he did next would be terrible. The knife tapped briefly on her shoulder as Venarus seemed to debate on what he wanted.
"Not the blade... Doesn't seem appropriate. I think a whip suits better, don't you pet?" He asked with faint amusement. He laughed as his victim began to shake with fear. She gave a barely audible answer,
"Please Venarus! Please don't..."
"Oh poor little thing... You know it pains me to to this since it will spoil your lovely skin even more. But you can't go unpunished for something like this. Still, we'll leave that pretty young face unmarked." With that he stepped back and swung the rawhide whip over her back hard. Ari shrieked at the burning pain as the end of the lash wrapped around her shoulder to strike her chest. Another blow struck across her lower back, and another to her thighs. Each was followed by a wail of anguish from Arianon. Venarus landed more than twenty lashes across her back, buttocks, and thighs. She ended up kneeling with her arms stretched above her head and blood streaming from the worst hits. Writhing against her restraints had given her rope burns and splinters, just adding to her misery. The vampire stood back and admired the picture for several minutes as his victim sobbed and shivered, then he licked a trickle of blood from her shoulder as he cut her arms down and ordered her to return to her cage.
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Ari struggled to even make it off her knees, more than once falling back on her haunches with a yelp or a hiss, but eventually she was standing hunched in front of Venarus and stumbling painfully toward the cells. He opened the door and shoved her inside, causing the weakened woman to fall forward clumsily. She looked over her shoulder to find him licking her blood from his fingers with a pleased hum. The entire back side of her body felt like it was on fire and she slowly sank belly first onto the cold stone floor as Venarus walked out of the room. When the bleeding had stopped Arianon rolled onto her side and curled up in a loose ball. Her tears had long since dried up, and the crying had only added burning eyes to her list of pains. She had a feeling that this time she would suffer the full healing period of her injuries, and she cursed herself for not controlling her reaction to his touch better. Ari was losing hope that she would be rescued and almost wished Venarus had killed her. At least back at home she had a few small comforts... But here she was nothing more than a meal, sleeping in filthy cages, wearing dirty rags, and now beaten bloody for her mistake. From the shadows on the level above, Falira had watched the entire scene and smiled.
"Maybe now the master will tire of the weak little mortal and turn his attention on someone more worthy......"
Blackbriar Manor, Several Days Earlier
Athis knocked on the door to the large house and waited for the owner to answer, standing silently behind him like a brick wall was Farkas. A moment later a dark haired young woman opened the door and ushered them in eagerly.
"Thank the Divines you were able to get here so quickly! We've been worried sick about my poor sister." Ingun gushed as she led the men over to her mother. Maven had told her daughter and son to play the part of concerned siblings, and to keep their mouths shut about Arianon's true role in their house. Farkas let out a commiserating hum, and Athis nodded. This sort of job came up pretty often for the Companions. People went missing all the time.... Dangerous wildlife, treacherous terrain, bandits, vampires, feral werewolves, and even rumors of dragons made the land a veritable labyrinth of hazards. Maven gestured for the pair to sit and explained the situation in more detail.
"Thank you for joining me. I've asked you here because my adopted daughter Arianon went missing on a delivery for the meadery late the night before last. Her horse came back without her hours after she was expected to return, looking like it had been attacked by beasts. We need your help finding out what happened, hopefully she is alive... But you'll be paid handsomely for your efforts either way, we just need to know." Maven spoke as if she was worried, but still held hints of her usual imperious manner. The men looked at each other and nodded. Both turned back to Maven and Farkas spoke up for the first time since coming into the city.
"We'll do our best to find her. Where was she traveling to?" Maven looked pleased they had accepted the job and quickly explained the details of where Arianon had been going and what the job had been. The trio agreed on a price for the work and shook hands to seal the deal. Afterwards they left the house and stopped by the stables to see the injured horse. Farkas hung back a bit while Athis spoke to the stable master and looked over the beasts wounds. He came back with a deep frown creasing his brow and pulling his mouth down. Farkas sighed, that expression didn't look good...
"What is it Athis?" The big Nord warrior asked with concern. The smaller dark elf shook his head and glanced up with a pessimistic look.
"Vampires, Farkas.... This is probably going to be one job that doesn't have a happy ending." Athis didn't like the idea of searching for a girl that was probably already dead, but it happened more often than any of them were willing to talk about. They set out on the road toward Ivarstead to find Arianon's trail. Neither man was very talkative, so the long walk was a mostly silent one until they found what looked to be the site of a struggle along the stony path. Athis checked out the churned up earth as Farkas quietly sniffed around at the blood. It was mostly horse, but he could catch whiffs of elven blood too... A healthy young female wood elf. Definitely the one they were looking for, and she had been alive when the vampires carried her away. Farkas gently nudged Athis to get his attention and pointed back to the northeast. At least now they had a concrete trail to follow, and with Farkas' keen sense of smell they weren't likely to lose it. The larger warrior continued following his nose while Athis scanned for tracks.
Athis finally persuaded his shield-brother to stop for the night only half an hour before sunset, giving them barely enough time to set up a small camp. Just bed rolls and a fire. Farkas wanted to continue the hunt, his inner beast was relishing the pursuit and eager to kill some undead leeches. Athis was right though, they needed to get some rest to be of use if the girl was still alive. He settled in quickly and was asleep just minutes later, but Farkas took longer as all with the beast blood felt, restful sleep was elusive and he wasn't quite ready to lay down and try yet. Instead he looked up at the aurora and twin moons and thought about their job. To him something had seemed a little off, like maybe there was something being hidden... He figured they would find out soon, because they were close to finding their quarry, he could sense it, like eyes watching in the dark. After an hour or two of stargazing Farkas laid back and closed his eyes, drifting off to dream of the hunting grounds in Hircine's realm. They repeated this cycle for a few days, each night made Farkas more anxious to find the girl.
Morning brought heavy mist and cold weather as the two Companions packed up their beds and spread dirt over the fire to extinguish it. The chill sort of made Athis wish for more substantial armor, but at least Dunmer were naturally warmer than other races. By mid morning the mist had burned off, but it was no less cold as they approached the mountains near the borders of Eastmarch and the Rift. Up ahead were the burned out remains of a small shack with two bandits guarding it. Their trail led straight to the hovel so both companions drew their weapons and walked cautiously forward. The man and woman outside were strangely calm at the sight of two armed strangers approaching, and the woman stepped forward with a little grin,
"No need to be hostile boys, go on in and have some fun. Just sheathe your blades and we'll have no trouble." Farkas and Athis both paused for a moment before putting their weapons away again and walking into the building. Inside they were given the same warning by a bouncer before they entered a basement full of people getting high on potent skooma. Farkas wrinkled his nose at the smell concentrated in the room, but then moved along because he could faintly smell Arianon under the unpleasant odor. They were surrounded by loud coughing and a thin haze of smoke as they moved further inside, at the back of the room was a locked gate and as soon as Athis even touched it the guard and attendant became aggressive. Advancing on the warriors, both people angrily brandished weapons and cornered the Companions against the gate. Farkas' beast growled at that, disliking the confinement. So the Nord pulled out his great sword and almost effortlessly beheaded them both in one swing.
"Well that's one way to deal with a problem..." Athis muttered as he bent down and pulled the keys off the dead guards belt. With the gate unlocked the two men cautiously walked further into the vampire den with weapons drawn. The first room they came across seemed to be used for distilling skooma since there was a massive vat steaming in the center of the room with pipes leading out of it to an alchemy station, a vampire thrall shouted in alarm and leapt at Athis from above, knocking him back into Farkas who took the hit from both grown men like it was nothing. Athis grunted and shoved his attacker back roughly with an irritated growl. His daggers flashed in the torchlight as he fended off the thrall's wild sword attacks. He kept on the defensive until a chance for a lethal blow came up, quickly slashing at the thrall's wrist to make him drop his weapon, and then stabbing him through the heart.
"Nice job Athis." Farkas said with a smile and patted him on the shoulder as he passed to look at the cell in the back of the room, "There's a dead wood elf in here but it's not the Blackbriar girl... Hair's the wrong color." He muttered, he felt bad that whoever it was had died in this place, but at least they weren't the person he was searching for. The werewolf and the rogue continued to explore the passages, dispatching more thralls with pathetic ease. They finally reached a doorway into Redwater spring, and both of them grimaced at the sudden overwhelming smell of blood. The T-shaped passage they had entered was not occupied by enemies just yet so they took the chance to catch their breath and look around. Athis picked up a journal on a table at the junction of the three paths and read over it. The small book contained the story of Venarus Vulpin and his use of the blood spring. After reading a few pages Athis tossed it back onto the table and they turned down the right hand passage. As they walked toward the opening in a wooden wall both of them heard voices muttering from below,
"Why can't you just drink directly from the spring, instead of using the skooma addicts?" Asked one deep voice curiously. The other, who must have been a female vampire replied with exasperation.
"Do you think we didn't try that first? Without blood as a carrier the effects wore away too quickly to be of use." The conversation continued quietly but both Companions had lost interest as they heard soft groans and a feminine whimper from below. Farkas could also smell their damsel in distress, so they drew their weapons once more and strode into the room to attack the foes. The vampire hissed angrily and charged toward Farkas while it's ally went after Athis. She slashed at the Nord with long, ragged claws and forced him back toward a pitfall trap in the floor! He stepped onto the metal grate and heard a squeal of the hinges giving way... It was only his keen hearing and quick reflexes that saved him from falling into a cluster of spikes jutting from the floor below. Farkas twisted around and got the vampire between himself and the pit. He grinned and she seemed to realize her mistake but it was too late, as her face fell in shock the warrior kicked her back into the trap and she landed hard in the viciously pointed wooden stakes! There was a brief struggle and some truly terrible screeching from the doomed creature, but it ended quickly with a nasty sounding gurgle, and Farkas turned to see Athis ending his fight with a slash to the man's throat.
The men and women huddled into the cages at the back of the room watched listlessly as their guards died, but there was no reaction from any of them. Sadly many had been in the cages for so long that they had lost that spark of vitality... They were truly no more than cattle now. Farkas opened the cage and the others shuffled out of the way as he walked in and saw a small figure huddled into the back corner. His eyes widened in shock and then quickly narrowed in fury as he saw the state of the poor young woman they had been sent to find. Arianon Blackbriar was curled in a tight ball on her side, wearing nothing but torn and blood stained underwear with her entire back side covered in angry red whip marks. She was trembling slightly in her sleep and when he touched her shoulder he was surprised at the heat coming from her skin. Under the smell of unwashed skin and fear was the stink of fever and infection. Ari's wounds had been left untreated for too long in filthy conditions. They had to get her out of here quickly!
"Athis, I need you to find a shirt for the girl... Maybe some water and a healing potion if you can, she's in bad shape." Farkas called urgently, and heard his shield-brother exclaim something in the dunmer language that was surely a curse word. While Athis searched for the items he pulled the girls tangled hair back to see her thin face flushed and tight with pain even deeply asleep. The dark elf returned a few minutes later with nothing more than some linen wraps and a small vial of healing potion. It wasn't enough, but it would have to do, at least they wouldn't have to carry her out topless. Right now her bare breasts didn't matter, neither man was looking at Arianon that way, but if they could preserve some small measure of her dignity and keep from chafing those wounds then they needed to cover her up. Farkas lifted the unconscious girl up from under her arms and draped them over his shoulders while Athis poured the potion over her back and began wrapping her in bandages.
"Damn it..." He muttered as he accidentally brushed a hand over her breast, he wasn't trying to bu he couldn't really see from behind her. Athis just dismissed it and kept working. Eventually he was able to tie off the linen wraps around her hips in a way that would keep her underwear on and then he helped Farkas get the girl arranged over his back. The smooth cold steel armor was a relief to her fevered skin while it lasted. Both men tried for several minutes to persuade the vampire's other victims to leave, but none of them responded. The only thing they could do was bring in some food and hope to rescue these poor souls later. Arianon desperately needed a healer as soon as possible! A brief debate later they decided to head back the way they had come instead of continuing through the dungeon. Fighting their way through vampires with a sick and injured woman on Farkas' back couldn't end well. Twenty minutes later they made it back out under the open sky and breathed deep sighs of relief.
"What's going on 'ere?" One of the guards outside asked loudly causing them to flinch. Both men had forgotten about the bandits outside. Since neither of them seemed to have heard the commotion inside Athis gave them a made up tale of coming to retrieve their friend when she ran off after a successful job, looking for a fix. The guards either didn't care or just believed the smooth lie and let them pass. Several miles down the road toward the mountains they came across the walls of an Orc stronghold, Narzulbur. It was the nearest inhabited place where they might be able to seek help, so despite the Orcs distrust of outsiders they approached the gates and halted some distance away as the guard caught sight of them.
"That's far enough! This is and Orc settlement and men are not welcome, what business do you have here?" She asked in a harsh growl. Athis rolled his eyes irritably and opened his mouth to give some snarky answer but Farkas cut him off with a shake of his head and replied with more respect. He gestured carefully to the feverish Bosmer resting against his back.
"We have an injured woman in need of healing we can't provide. If there was anywhere else to go then we wouldn't disturb your peace, but there isn't... Can you help?" Arianon suddenly shivered hard and let out a pained moan, unknowingly adding to the warrior's plea for help. The guard at the top of the wall frowned and then turned toward a gruff feminine voice. She was joined by a much older woman with a scarred face and a sparse mohawk of gray hair. The older woman, Bolar, studied the trio standing before the gates and nodded slowly. She waved them forward and stepped down off the wall to meet them as the gate opened. Farkas followed Bolar toward a small open hut near the wall and gently set Ari down on the fur covered bed in the corner.
"What happened to the girl?" Bolar asked as she knelt and looked her over.
"Kidnapped and fed on by vampires... We were hired to track her down and found her like this. Neither of us have any skill in healing so we just bandaged her and got her out." Athis replied quietly. He was still sickened by the condition the poor young woman was in. The wise woman nodded slowly and then set to work. It would be difficult and painful to remove the bandages and clean out the gashes but they had done the best they could. Fortunately the elf was still deeply unconscious or the pain would be too much. Bolar slowly cut the linen away along her ribs and used water to loosen the cloth from the places it had stuck. Beneath that her entire back was criss crossed with deep, inflamed whip marks and scars from similar treatment before. Whatever this woman had been through had been a long lasting battle, starting long before the abduction. The old shaman began rubbing a thick layer of herbal salve over the elf's skin once she had it uncovered and clean, then rebandaged all the wounds from her shoulders down to her knees.
"She will need much rest and a great many potions to see her through the infection, but she should be out of the worst danger now. A day or two longer and it would have been too late, thank Malacath you found her when you did..." Bolar muttered seriously, mostly to herself and the Comapnions thanked her sincerely. Now that the most important parts were taken care of Bolar pulled a shift over Arianon's body and gently washed her face and detangled her hair. The salve had eased a great deal of her pain and now that she was clean and sleeping more peacefully, both men realized that Arianon was a rather pretty young wood elf, even while she was in the worst shape of her life so far. Farkas sat down by the fire at the other side of the hut with Athis, there was nothing left to do but wait until Ari woke up and was able to travel back to Riften.
Chapter 3
Summary:
Arianon finally wakes up in Narzulbur, and tells Farkas and Athis what her position in the Blackbriar clan really is. She is still too weak to travel, and she spends her recovery convincing the Companions not to bring her home. Admittedly it isn't that difficult...
Chapter Text
Several days pass in the stronghold with Bolar caring for Arianon, the poor girl is still very sick, and there isn't much for her rescuers to do. Ari sleeps almost all the time and they grow bored sitting and watching, so both men go out hunting and help the small settlement with whatever the proud Orcs will allow them to. Farkas is enjoying the quiet and the cold mountain air but Athis is ready to go back to Whiterun and his own bed. Mid-afternoon on the fifth day in Narzulbur Arianon finally stirs awake with a sudden gasp! She has no clue where she is now, because she had been unconscious through her entire rescue. A wave of dizziness and nausea sweeps over her as she sits up and she sways unsteadily. Bolar returns to the open hut as her patient is squeezing her eyes shut and taking slow, deep breaths.
"Where... Am I?" Arianon mumbled in a tired croak as Bolar handed her a wooden cup of water, making sure she had a good grip before letting go.
"Narzulbur. Two of the companions from Whiterun brought you here to heal before they take you back home." The older woman said gruffly. While she had been in Redwater Den Arianon had hoped for any sort of rescue. Even if it meant going back to Maven, because even as a slave at least in Riften she had the ability to walk freely around the city and sleep in a bed. Now though.... Maven had sent people to save her that might give her the chance at freedom! If the Blackbriar matriarch had used her own men, or worse, her connections with the Dark Brotherhood then Ari would have no choice but to go "home." She smiled genuinely for the first time since leaving for Ivarstead more than a week before, maybe life would finally begin to look up now...
"Thank you ma'am, can you tell me where they are?" Arianon asked brightly as she swung her legs out of the bed, only to have them collapse as she tried to stand up. Bolar shook her head in exasperation and pushed the elf back into the furs to lay down. She made her promise to stay while she fetched the young woman's rescuers. Ari nodded and Bolar hurried out of the hut to keep the injured Bosmer from getting impatient and trying to find them herself.
"Damned energetic young people.... At least she's healing." The shaman grumbled as she went to find Farkas chopping wood and Athis stacking it by the chief's longhouse. She may be an old woman, and human men were not to her tastes, but even she couldn't deny that the muscular Nord was an attractive sight, his muscles flexing smoothly as he swung the maul and split the logs easily. Shaking off the distraction, Bolar walked over and called out to them. Athis set his armload of wood on the pile and joined them with a heavy sigh.
"Your friend is awake and asking for you. She's weak, but in good spirits." Farkas smiled widely as he put the axe down and wiped sweat from his brow. He was pleased to hear the woman was finally up and well enough to speak. During her feverish days she had briefly woken up but she had been delirious and hadn't realized she was free yet.
"Should we finish up here first or-"
"NO! No.... Go and see her before she tries to get out of bed and falls down again." Bolar snapped, and then turned to walk toward the mine. Athis chuckled quietly at the impatient old healer. The Dunmer was eager to see their little damsel too, he had a feeling that there was more to the tale than Maven had told them and Arianon would probably be able to give them more information. With a quick nod to Farkas he led the way toward the healer's hut. They both walked in to find Arianon idly untangling her hair with her fingers and she jumped slightly as they got closer. She had been so focused that she didn't see them but after a second she smiled cautiously at the men. Farkas grinned back but Athis kept his face more cautiously neutral. He was naturally less outgoing and had quite a few questions for the woman before he had any desire to make friends with the woman curled up in that bed.
"Good to see you finally conscious. I'm Athis and this is Farkas. Your mother hired us to find you and bring you back, but I feel like there's more to the story than she said. Can you tell me more?" Athis asked in a serious tone. Arianon studied his face, wondering if she could trust him... Deciding it was better to just take the chance she nodded slowly. She spent the next several minutes explaining how she lived with the Blackbriars, what her actual role in the family was, and how it had all started. Ari left nothing out of her tale, so they could get the full picture and would hopefully be more willing to abandon the job and help her. When she finished the hut was so quiet she felt as if she could hear her own heartbeat. Farkas looked horrified and sad, but Athis was furious! Maven had lied to them, spinning some story about taking in a poor orphan and raising her kindly. To find out that they had been hired to track down a sex slave made his blood boil.
"I guess what I'm asking is if you'd be willing to help me get away from them? Now that I have a chance to really live, I couldn't stand going back. Maybe tell them I died?" Ari asked hopefully. Athis was pacing restlessly so that he didn't have to sit and stew in his anger but Farkas let out a low groan, scrubbing his hand over his cheek.
"There's just one problem with that idea... I sent a letter back letting Maven know we found you." When he saw the panic on Arianon's face he backpedaled quickly, holding his hands up and explaining, "I didn't tell her where we were! Uhm, we could send another message telling her the fever was too much?" The big black haired Nord looked worried but hopeful, and Ari found herself liking him right away. He looked big and rough, and he could clearly handle a fight, but he seemed soft under that tough exterior. Athis appeared to have a dark elf's typical surliness but he had saved her life and was outraged at what she had been through so Arianon was grateful to him.
"Farkas you ice brain! You should have talked to me about that first, we're supposed to be partners on this job!" Athis snapped, and Farkas glared back at him before giving him a light punch that still made the smaller man stumble. The big warrior chuckled and it made Ari smile to see them bickering playfully, even though Athis was mostly serious.
"Watch who you're calling ice brain, milk drinker." Farkas growled with a wide grin. After the short exchange the men agree that Farkas' idea is a good one, which is a relief to Arianon. At least now there is a plan! She can relax knowing these capable men are on her side. Now that the panic has faded and she knows they won't send her back into slavery, Ari can't help but notice they are both rather nice looking. She's never been allowed to do more than look at anyone outside of the Blackbriar household, so looking is all she does, but it's a good view. Athis is quickly writing the letter, since Farkas claims to have illegible handwriting. This is more peaceful than Arianon has felt since she lived with her mother. After several minutes of peaceful silence Ari suddenly laughs out loud, startling the men into looking at her with questions clearly written on their faces.
"I'm sorry, it's just.... For the first time in fourteen years I can do whatever I want to! The decisions are in my hands now and it's incredible. I could just kiss you both!" The exclamation and her adorable blushing has both men laughing now. She puts her face in her hands and giggles helplessly at herself. It's an endearing sight and Farkas finds himself enjoying it very much. He certainly wouldn't object to a kiss from the pretty girl, but maybe some other time? When she is strong enough to stand up and isn't recovering from being fed on by vampires...
Blackbriar Manor
Maven is pacing in her room irritably because several days have passed since she last heard from the Companions that Arianon has been found, but there's been no other news. The letter said she was in poor health but expected to survive if she beat the infection she was fighting. It was rare for Bosmer to become ill, but she should recover. If the letter had said where they were then Maven would have gone to retrieve her already, but it did not. As Maven contemplates what to do next there is a timid knock on her door. She opens it to find Hemming standing outside with a letter in hand and takes it as she ushers him in. Her son watches with interest as she opens the letter and her expression turns from curiosity, to shock, and quickly to rage as she reads.
"What is it mother?" Hemming asks, with possibly the worst timing when she is so angry. He realizes this when her cold eyes lift to his face and he fidgets nervously. However Maven is stubbornly dignified, and although she continues to glare she doesn't make any sort of outburst at her son. Instead she sighs heavily, rubbing her temples as she leans her elbows on the desk.
"The letter says Arianon was too weak to survive her illness. The infection killed her..." Hemming knows his mother's low, calm tone is deceptive and he frowns sadly. He rather liked Arianon, in the same way one might like a friends pet, but still. She had certainly been entertaining to have in the family. Arianon had added quite a bit of fun to his relationship with his mother, an extra pair of skilled soft hands and lips... Among other things, was always exciting in bed. But right now he needed to try and comfort Maven. The pompous man walked around his mother's desk and began rubbing at her shoulders and along her jaw.
"That is rather sad, I had hoped to see her come home, but at least we know now." He leaned down and kissed slowly toward her lips, only to have Maven put her hand in his face and shove him back roughly. She had no desire to be pawed at now! Hemming looked startled and then hurt but Maven didn't care about his feelings, she cared about her investment in the girl.
"Imbecile! Arianon was not only a source of pleasure and free labor, but also a useful pawn in keeping her useless father in my control! Get out idiot, I need to think!" Hemming bolted from the room as Maven threw a paper weight across it at him. Maven returned to her pacing, panting irritably and dragging her fingers through her dark hair. She cared nothing for the girl she had raised, beyond the fact that the elf was smarter and more obedient than her own children. All that mattered to the shrewd Nord was that she had lost a good money maker with Arianon's death. After a short time Maven had decided the outcome was not entirely unexpected and now she wanted to deal with that moron Indaryn. Grinning coldly Maven strode out of the manor and straight toward her business. It was mid-afternoon and the Dunmer was almost surely taking his lunch in his office. The door slammed open and Ungrien jumped and then stammered something that made Maven pause,
"What was that? Speak up!" She snapped.
"I'm s-sorry, I said.... Is there any news on Miss Ari?" He sounded quite hopeful, and maybe a little too concerned.... Did the pathetic little man harbor some crush on her adopted daughter? How ridiculous! He continued to wait for an answer getting more and more nervous with her silence until she replied with no real concern,
"Dead apparently, of an infection after being beaten by her captors. Weakling..." Maven enjoyed the way his face fell at her words. It would have been enough for her to say Arianon was dead and leave it at that but she cruelly twisted the knife, so to speak. Ungrien's gaze dropped to the floor, but not before she noticed him beginning to tear up. Oh how sad... She felt only amusement at his clear pain, and then she turned her back on him and walked up the stairs to Indaryn's office. This would not go well for her foreman....
Whiterun
Arianon rode behind Athis on the horse he had gotten for their return trip, with one arm looped around his waist and her thighs pressed against his. Athis was more distracted by the feeling of her soft chest against his back than the rest of it, but he made a valiant effort to focus on the road and any conversation there was. The trio was just leaving the foothills of the mountains at the edge of the hold and his passenger was leaning around him to look at the open plains with wide eyes. Arianon had been in the Rift for as long as she could remember and had never seen so much grassland devoid of trees. Athis wished she wouldn't squirm so much, it was annoying their horse... Or at least that's the reason he gave himself, it had nothing to do with the way it made her rub against him! Farkas chuckled as he looked over and noticed the slight flush on his shield brother's face.
"Look up there Ari, that's the city ahead of us to the north." He pointed toward the capitol, and thankfully their Bosmer companion stopped her constant fidgeting to look. Farkas winked at Athis and only got a scowl and rolling eyes, but at least Arianon was holding still now. She has an excited smile pulling at her lips and the Nord smiles back at her. Their trip through the mountains had proved that Arianon was a kind and calm young woman, with a strong work ethic, but a bit of low self esteem. Not that anyone could blame her after how she had lived.
"It's so much bigger than Riften! You have a beautiful home." Ari's soft voice was raised with excitement, though she kept it down a bit, well aware of how sensitive elven ears were. She didn't want to deafen one of her heros by shouting right by his head after all. She went quiet as she studied the city on it's large hill, with a mix of wooden and stone walls, partly surrounded by chattering streams, with wide open fields on all sides that eventually gave way to forests and mountains. In the Rift the trees quickly blocked out the view, but here she could see for miles, and it was beautiful. Ari sighed happily, everything was about to change and she was excited by the challenges that might bring. No matter what she faced now, she was finally free! An hour later all three were walking into Jorrvaskr to speak to Kodlak. The Harbinger raised a brow at the two warriors returning with the woman they had set out to return home, what were they doing here?
"Maven lied to us about Arianon being her daughter. This poor woman was kept as a slave. We couldn't bring her back to that." Farkas said in a sad tone with Athis behind him glaring angrily at the mere mention of it. The girl nodded when Kodlak looked to her for an answer. Heaving a sigh he waved her forward,
"Come here child, let me get a good look at you." She came to him obediently, both out of habit and because she felt she could trust him. Kodlak gestured for Ari to sit, and then spent a long period looking into her eyes. Her gaze shifted with discomfort briefly but she eventually looked back and held eye contact. The old man saw quite a bit of turmoil, pain, and betrayal in those golden yellow eyes, but beyond that was great strength and resolve. This girl would be formidable with some time to explore her new freedom. Then there were the dreams he'd had of a faceless figure coming to the companions and changing his fate. Kodlak had the strongest feeling that the mysterious savior was sitting in front of him now, and the idea filled him with hope. Arianon was looking at him curiously now because he had looked away and was musing in silence.
"Harbinger, are you alright?" She asked in a worried tone.
"I'm fine child, thank you for your concern. How would you feel about joining our family?" The young woman's eyes widened comically as she sat up straighter in her chair, and Athis couldn't help but snicker at the sight. Her eyes flicked to him for a moment and he wilted at the annoyance on her face, but it quickly turned thoughtful... Her head tilted as she considered the idea. Arianon had never been allowed to be much of a fighter, but she enjoyed her secret late night training and there were worse things to do than earn coin saving people, hunting down artifacts and wild beasts, or occasionally handling bullies. She was living proof of that. Besides all that, here she could have a place to call her own, friends, and maybe even more, as she looked back to the men who had saved her. In her opinion this was likely the best opportunity she could ask for!
"I would love to! Is... Is that an invitation?" She seemed unsure, most likely because she was never given such consideration in her old life. It was just orders and other peoples desires. Kodlak could see why even easy going Farkas was angered by the girls past. She was nervously waiting for his reply again when he finally spoke up.
"It is, Arianon. Welcome to the Companions!" He said warmly, and laughed aloud as the thin girl leapt up and hugged him tightly. The three men laughed and Ari jumped back with a blush spreading all the way to the tips of her pointed ears. Farkas patted her shoulder lightly and then led her off to shoe her the sleeping quarters and introduce her to the others. Later they would get her fitted for some armor... After she was fully healed from her time in Redwater Den.
Chapter 4
Summary:
It's time for Ari to get to work among the Companions, she's understandably eager and nervous. Who's going to join her on her proving? Let's see!
Chapter Text
Ria led Arianon up to the Skyforge for Eorlund to measure her for a set of armor, the warrior woman was chattering away about this and that while Ari nodded along, not fully listening as she mused quietly about what was coming next. The armor fitting was no problem, but her Proving made her feel anxious. Arianon had never been in a real fight, never killed anything beyond rats and insects in the meadery. Over the last couple of weeks she had taken part in a lot more training than she had in Riften... Enough to know her self taught skills were woefully lacking, but at least Aela hadn't been too harsh of a teacher, not like Vilkas had. Honestly she had no idea how such a sweet man as Farkas could be twin to such a jerk.
"Hello there new blood, here for a fitting?" Eorlund asked her pleasantly, pulling her back to the present. Ari nodded calmly and the blacksmith pulled out a marked length of leather and his ledger to take note of her measurements. Being fitted for armor was a new experience for her. Eorlund was nothing if not professional, keeping any touch brief and innocent, he even had Arianon hold the top of the string when he measured her inseam for her legs. After hearing a bit about her past the blacksmith thought she would appreciate the gesture and he was absolutely right. When he had taken careful stock of all the numbers Eorlund handed over a set of leather and scale armor to use until the properly fitted one was completed. Ari nodded gratefully and headed back down to Jorrvaskr to put it on.
Fifteen minutes later she was groaning in frustration at the awkward fit and feel of the armor. She had never worn anything like it before and was struggling with the buckles. Athis watched from the doorway for a minute as she spun around gracelessly, trying to catch one of the straps on her cuirass. The little wood elf caught sight of him when he laughed and let out a loud yelp of surprise, flailing off balance and falling into her bed.
"Aaahh! Dammit Athis, stop laughing at me and help!" She cried, blushing deeply at the embarrassing situation. Still chuckling helplessly at her plight and finding her flushed cheeks and downcast eyes endearing the Dunmer walked over and helped her up.
"Sorry, sorry, that was just adorable. Never done this before have you?" He asked with a light tone, and she shook her head slowly. Instead if teasing her further Athis pulled the chest plate down into the proper spot and buckled the straps into place, frowning slightly at the tight armor. It was pretty obvious that Ari lived a soft life compared to the rest of the companions. He knew she had worked hard for the Blackbriars, but she'd also been fed on rich food and it showed in the plush curves squeezed into the leather. Ari huffed with discomfort, but didn't complain... much.
"Is it supposed to be this tight? I can barely breath!" She grumbled quietly as she squirmed and stretched.
"New armor is always a bit stiff, but you're just a little out of shape..." Athis replied with a smirk and dodged her swatting hands "I don't mean you're fat or anything, you just don't have a warriors physique yet, hey owww!" Arianon had managed to land a sharp slap to his bare shoulder. He laughed it off though, he'd deserved that. Actually he found those full hips and soft belly and chest appealing but he wasn't going to say that and risk her hitting him again... He wasn't very good with words and worried he'd come off sounding like a creep. Then again she was also laughing with him and he was struck by how cute that quiet giggle was. Vilkas walked into the bedroom and growled loudly at the wood elf,
"Hurry up whelp, we won't get to the fort until midnight at this rate!" Ari flinched at his harsh voice, it just figured that her shield-brother for her proving would be the one Companion who seemed to genuinely dislike her. Njada was rude too, but she was like that with everyone. Vilkas was gruff and dismissive to everyone except his brother, but with Arianon he almost appeared to go out of his way to snap and growl at every opportunity. Ari didn't want to travel anywhere with him alone but this time there was no choice, this was her last barrier to becoming an official Companion. So she steeled herself and nodded, checking over the last straps of her armor and grabbing her pack to follow the grumpy Nord out of Jorrvaskr.
Ragged Flagon two weeks earlier
Gwihir sat at the guild's bar with his chin resting in his hand nursing a drink slowly when Vex slapped a note down on the countertop beside him and walked away in silence. Mildly confused, the Bosmer thief picked up the folded parchment and frowned anxiously at the name and emblem on it. 'Damn what does Maven want now?' He thought... No sense in delaying the inevitable he opened the letter and scanned it quickly, then dropped the paper from nerveless fingers. Delvin and Brynjolf wandered over at the sight of the normally exuberant man going completely still and silent, Delvin picked up the note from the floor and grunted in surprise.
"Listen to this Bryn! It says 'I regret to inform you that Arianon has passed away from an infection she obtained during her kidnapping. Nothing about our current arrangement has changed, beyond the fact that you are now solely responsible for the payment of your debt to me.' I always knew that Maven was a cold fish but that's just...." Delvin cut himself off, looking sad. He'd always liked the little elven lady, she'd been a good girl and would have made a fine thief if her damn fool father hadn't sold her off. Brynjolf's face fell from his usual cocky grin and he groaned.
"Ah, poor lass. As if she didn't have enough misfortune in her life it had to go and end that way. Damn..." All the guild members had liked Ari, their little dysfunctional family had felt a lot lighter with her in it. None of them had been happy to see her go to the Blackbriars, but Maven was the most powerful backer they had and they needed her support. Maul regularly passed messages between them, making sure to keep the guild posted on how she fared in the house. Obviously she wasn't treated like a princess in that house but she was surviving... Now she was gone.
Fort Greymoor
"Alright whelp, we've been asked to clear this place out. The bandits inside have been harassing trading caravans and travelers for weeks. Let's see how you handle yourself in a fight." Arianon and Vilkas were crouched in the brush outside the moldering castle watching the thugs move around inside and on the walls. Ari trembled slightly with anxiety and anticipation but then began creeping forward with a dagger drawn and spells ready to go. Vilkas stayed in position at her back while the young woman gets as close as she dares to the broken down gateway and fires off two ice spikes at the first pair of bandits standing by the fire to the right. The female bandit highwayman is quickly taken down by the spell hitting the base of her skull in a sickening smack, but the man beside her is only grazed when Ari's second spike misses its mark.
"We have intruders! Rally to me!!" He bellowed and hefted a massive war hammer. Arianon was still stunned at the grotesque sight of the woman she killed when the other bandit spotted her and knocked her back into the wall painfully. She gasped harshly and scrambled back to the sounds of Vilkas shouting angrily at her to move. In response Ari lowered her dagger and blasted the bandit with flames. He began to scream and she darted forward to plunge the dagger into his eye. The nasty squelch and crunch of bone surprised Arianon, but this time she didn't have a moment to dwell on it because five more bandits charged the entryway. Vilkas stepped in now and the pair stood back to back and fought off the outlaws, with the Bosmer firing spells and the Nord's sword cleaving flesh. In a matter of minutes they had taken down all five men and Ari gagged suddenly at the gore all around them, and quickly lost the battle with keeping her lunch down.
"Damn girl, we don't have time for your theatrics. So stop acting so pathetic. Let's make sure there are no more left inside." Vilkas muttered as she wiped her mouth shakily. Arianon went to make some snide remark but just shook her head and followed him inside. She wouldn't let him see it but she was flushed red and tearing up from the embarrassment he caused her. 'We can't all be so cavalier about killing, you big brute...' She thought to herself. Even if these men and women were murderous thieves it wasn't easy for Arianon to end a life. In the past, saying something back to Maven or Sibbi's harsh words would have gotten her punished severely, so Ari held her tongue and did as he asked. The two of them cleared the fort without much more trouble and returned to the city by the following morning. Ari was quiet and subdued the entire trip back, thinking about the fight and what Vilkas had said. Skyrim was a rough land and if she was going to live among the warriors of Jorrvaskr she would have to be stronger. The thoughts didn't really change how she felt at the moment after killing people for the first time but it strengthened her resolve to realize these things.
When they returned to Jorrvaskr all of the companions gathered behind the hall for her joining ceremony. When Kodlak asked the questions of Vilkas, Arianon panicked for a moment. The gruff and angry man glanced at her with an unreadable look and then gave positive answers. Ari let out the breath she had been holding and smiled weakly at the relief that gave her. What would she have done if he had ridiculed her in front of the others? She couldn't think of a single place she wanted to go. She didn't have to worry about that now though. Ria suddenly hugged her and Arianon jumped and then laughed and returned the hug. The Companions all filed back into the hall and celebrated their newest member in true Nordic fashion, with copious amounts of mead, folk songs, and fist fights! Ari had never had much to drink before, so she indulged in a fairly large amount of mead and enjoyed the night thoroughly. Watching with concern when Njada and Athis started fighting again, she was nervously chewing on one of her nails with her eyes wide at the punches the pair threw.
"Are those two at it again? Don't worry Ari, they never really hurt each other and we'll patch them up just fine after. Just have fun." Farkas rumbled happily as he sat beside her and threw one heavy, muscular arm around her shoulders. Arianon looked up at the much taller man with a soft blush and a smile that he returned. 'Gods he's so handsome' she thought to herself. It was so nice to sit and lean into his warm side, especially since he was out of his steel plate armor for once. Both their attentions turned back to the Nord and Dunmer fighting in the open space between the dining table and Vignar's room. Athis hit Njada with a straight jab that bloodied her lip and made her snarl angrily, his eyes widened as she went on the offensive for real now. A flurry of blows fell and he could only block desperately and move away. Njada followed him across the floor and hit him with a body shot that forced his guard away from his face when she feigned hitting the same place again. A feral grin curled her lips and she hit him in the jaw. The fight ended with Athis laid out on the floor and the others cheering Njada for an excellent punch.
Arianon didn't feel right joining in on that and quickly moved to Athis' side to help him up. A dark bruise was already starting to show on the left side of his face and she frowned sympathetically at the mark marring his slate gray skin. His hand was hot in hers, dark elves always seemed to radiate heat that way. Ancestor's wrath had interesting affects outside of battle it seemed. Athis groaned as he stood up and kept his hold on her so he could walk steadily as she led the way over to one of the small tables at the edge of the room. Ari helped him lean against the table and ran her relatively cool fingers over his skin gently, with concern.
"You fought well Athis, I'm impressed." He leaned into the touch despite it aching and grinned at her. It changed to a frown a moment later though.
"I ended up on my ass after she tricked me... Shoulda seen right through that feint." His voice was bitter and his eyes narrowed at Njada, who was chugging down a tankard of ale to the sound of Torvar chanting 'go,go, go!' Arianon sighed softly and turned his face back toward her to smile at him. He couldn't help but smile back, especially at what she said next.
"You'll just have to remember that next time won't you? Next time you'll kick her ass! But for now I think I know how to make you feel better..." Warm golden light flashed from her soft palm as she healed the bruise, and the last thing Athis saw as his eyes closed was her golden yellow gaze sparkling. The pain faded away quickly to be replaced by relaxation, and then Arianon's full lips were tentatively brushing against his and he gasped! She moved to pull back at his sound of surprise, but Athis caught her by the waist and one hand at her neck as he kissed her back. Her lips were like satin against his slightly chapped ones, and heat ran up his spine at the little mewl of surprised pleasure she made into the kiss. Ari's free hand clutched at the strap holding his pauldron on and he growled as her lips parted for him to deepen the kiss.
Before he could do much more than trace the shape of her lower lip Arianon yelped in shock and stumbled back with the tips of her fingers brushing her lips and a vibrant blush coloring her cheeks. Athis was bewildered by the sudden halt to a very pleasant consolation prize from the newest member of the little family. He was about to ask her what was wrong but she muttered a rough 'I-I'm sorry!' and bolted out the back door of Jorrvaskr. Athis groaned as he realized the affect just that simple kiss had had on him and wandered down to the bedrooms to avoid being laughed at for an erection. Arianon was standing out in the little alcove of the city walls taking deep breaths of fresh cold air to clear her head. The young woman was pretty shocked herself, she had intended to give Athis a little peck on the lips to cheer him and then...
"Mara help me, I never expected him to like it that much! Not that I didn't too..." Truth be told she had fled when she felt him hardening against her belly. Not because she wasn't interested in him that way, because gods knew she was (Farkas too) but because she had been overwhelmed by the intensity of her desire. Arianon was afraid to get that close to anyone yet. She had no clue how to deal with attraction like this! Her only experience was being used by men for their own pleasure. It had never been her choice to act before, so she didn't know how to proceed. Feeling a little calmer, she stared up at the stars and the shifting auroras making the two moons shine with blue and green lights. Ari knew she would have to face this one way or another soon, because she liked Athis very much and didn't want him feeling like she was shunning him. She could hear the party winding down a bit and wandered back inside with a yawn, hoping to make it to bed and sleep before the other drunks made a racket snoring.
Athis lay in his usual bed facing the wall and appearing to already be asleep. Sighing at not needing to explain the awkward situation that night, Arianon slowly changed for bed. As she stripped her dress off over her head Athis glanced at her for a moment and then flushed and went back to pretending to be asleep. His new shield sister was only wearing underwear, and the view of her soft legs, round butt, and narrow waist was enticing, but he felt guilty for sneaking a peek. Especially at the sight of all those scars... Whip marks extended from the base of her neck almost down to her knees. Now sobered up a bit and more clear headed the Dunmer warrior felt a surge of shame for handling the poor girl so roughly. He'd obviously scared the like out of her, or she wouldn't have run away. Athis only hoped she wouldn't hate him come the next morning.
By the time he woke up Arianon had already been out of bed for an hour or two before him. The habits of someone used to rising at dawn were hard to break, and poor Athis had a bit of a hangover. Groaning quietly, he dragged himself out of the bed and got ready for his day. When he walked upstairs Torvar was asleep under one of the tables and Vilkas was kicking him awake irritably. "Get up you damned drunk!" But Ari was nowhere to be seen.... He sighed wearily and sat down to eat. While he was absently chewing he tried to get his thoughts in order to make his apology to her. He had no idea what he could say that wouldn't sound like some poor excuse. Then he jolted at the feel of a small hand on his shoulder!
"Oh, I didn't mean to startle you! It's just... There's something I wanted to talk to you about. Is that alright?" Athis turned to see the woman currently occupying his thoughts nervously twisting a strand of her bright red hair in her fingers, and immediately felt even more guilty about the night before. She had never looked so uncomfortable to be near him.
"It's alright, actually I wanted to apolo-"
"I'm so sorry about last night. Wait, why are you apologizing?" Arianon sounded very confused and surprised looking back at him with wide eyes. Athis rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and huffed, gesturing for her to sit next to him and looking relieved when she did without hesitation. It took a minute to be able to speak again but Arianon waited patiently.
"I'm apologizing because I obviously screwed up last night. You kissed me and I handled you like a brute and took it too far... I'm sorry I scared you, and I hope you can forgive me for being such an ass." He was staring down at the table with shame in his red eyes until Ari giggled helplessly with her hands over her mouth. He looked up with a slight glare and she reached out and grasped his hand, gasping out her reply,
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It's just... I thought... I was worried you'd be upset with me for leading you on or something. I kissed you and then ran away... I'm not afraid of you Athis, and I'm not upset with the way you responded to being kissed. I ran because I was overwhelmed with how I was feeling, I've never... Had a relationship, or been with a man by choice. But I did enjoy it." Ari's fingers were cool and soft against his rough palm and the expression in her yellow eyes was genuine. It was a huge relief to know she wasn't angry or afraid after last night, and her explanation made a lot of sense. Athis squeezed her hand and gave her a warm smile.
"So.... Since you liked it can we try again sometime?" He asked with his happy grin changing to a teasing smirk when she blushed bright pink and gasped. A pretty, soft smile graced her face before she hid behind her hair and stammered her answer,
"U-uh, yes... I'd like that." After a moment she tucked her hair behind her ear and looked back up at Athis seriously. Studying his gray-blue skin, crimson eyes, and red hair. He was handsome, and it was sweet that he had been so worried about her. Ari wanted to do this right even though she had no idea how she would do that. Besides that, there was the not so little hint of attraction to Farkas... Both men had rescued her from a terrible situation and saved her from returning to slavery in the Rift. They were strong, kind men, each in their own way. "Just give me a little time-"
"Ari! It's time for us to go, we have that job today." Ria called out from the front door and Arianon sighed, promising she would talk more to Athis about it later. The plump little wood elf grabbed her pack and followed her impatient friend outside, leaving one of her heroes to stare after her. All in all the conversation had gone better than he felt he had any right to expect. At least he no longer felt like an utter ass about the situation, and Gods that sweet smile and the sound of her amused laughter! Athis sighed with contentment and got up from the dining table to get some training done.
Chapter 5
Summary:
Arianon finds out some pretty shocking news, is she really the Dragonborn of legend? How could that be...
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The pair of women headed west out of the gates toward a small farm at the edge of the hold that had been plagued by a bear killing their goats and chickens. The farmer begged help from the companions since he could scarcely afford their help, and his call had been answered. As Kodlak said, these jobs weren't always about the money, sometimes it better suited their honor to help those in need without the promise of coin. Ria and Arianon were only to happy to agree to the assignment. The day was one of those rare occasions that the sun beat down on their heads, and made Ari very glad that her armor had been broken in. It would have been unbearably uncomfortable to sweat and struggle in the too tight leather from just a few days ago.
"I'm so excited to do this job together," Ria called brightly from her spot ahead of the Bosmer, "It's always fun to be paired up." Arianon nodded at her enthusiastic friend and hurried to catch up. They had almost reached the place marked on the map and could smell the rich soil, vegetables, and livestock up ahead. The farmer greeted them with relief, waving quickly and shouting a greeting. He showed them the damage to his fences and the tracks of the bear leading into the forest near his home. It was a shame to have to hunt the beast down, but this was a man's livelihood being put at stake. Even the farmer himself wished it wasn't necessary, being rather fond of bears. Both women nodded and promised to dispatch the animal as painlessly as they could manage then turned together and strode off into the trees, following a clear trail of paw prints. This was one big bear... The tree cover was thick and dark as they reached the end of their path at a low hanging cave in the rocky soil. It's entryway was too short for either woman to walk through upright, and it would be far too dangerous to approach a bear doubled over at the waist or crawling...
"What do we do now Ari?" Ria asked with a frown, looking to the wood elf who was studying the cave, head tilted and a thoughtful look on her face. Arianon paced back and forth, peering into the dark downward slope of the soil and then smiling.
"I'd say toss a lit torch down the hole. Draw out the bear, no wild animal likes fire." The other Companion's mouth dropped open in surprise. Whatever plan she expected, it wasn't something so simple and clever. She worked quickly to pull an oil soaked torch, flint, and tinder from her pack. Striking sparks onto it and setting the cloth ablaze. Ria threw the torch down into the cave and was quickly rewarded by the sounds of the bear snuffling curiously and then growling with fear and anger as it lumbered out of the cave slowly. The women darted to either side of the cave with their swords drawn and readied themselves for a fight. It wasn't much of a challenge really, beyond its size, the bear was young and rather stupid. They ended up splitting up to distract it and Ria killed the big beast with a single sword thrust right into its throat and up. Neither of them wanted to waste such a valuable pelt so they worked together to skin the bear quickly and bundled the hide up so they could report their success to the farmer amd collect their coin. He was deeply grateful and happy to hear the tale, handing over a coin pouch and a basket of tomatoes and eggs as payment.
"We're glad we were able to help sir, please call on us again if you have need." Arianon said with a small bow as they took their leave and headed back toward the city. Several minutes later Ari sighed and looked up at the sky, "It looks like it's going to rain soon, which is better than this heat but I hope we make it home before it starts..."
"So do I, I hate getting soaked while wearing armor." Ria muttered as she looked at the darkening clouds with a frown. They both silently agreed to move a little faster, keeping a good pace for the next few miles. As they neared the western watch tower two things happened within seconds of each other... The rain began to fall in a steadily increasing downpour, and an unearthly roar shattered the air from the direction of the mountains. Ria and Arianon froze as a huge shape came into view in the sky, eyes wide and mouths hanging open as a dragon swooped toward the tower and blasted the watchmen at the ramparts with flames. Shock kept them rooted to their places at the sight of the legendary beast wheeling through the air, screaming in rage. None alive today had seen a dragon, not for centuries! And yet there was no denying the sight as the gigantic beast snatched a guard from the tower and threw her into the air to land not ten feet from the frozen Companions.
"We have to help them!! Come on!" Ria cried, sprinting toward the tower and overwhelming danger, with Arianon at her heels. In spite of the terror making her heart race and pound, Ria was right, they couldn't leave good men and women to fight this beast alone. Not while they were able to join the fray. Arianon pulled her bow over her shoulder and nocked an arrow from the quiver at her hip, taking aim at the thin skin of the dragons wing to ground it. The beast turned its huge head toward her and growled. Taking advantage of the new distraction, one young guard ran for the city to rally reinforcements. Ari steeled herself and drew her sword as the dragon landed near the tower. The remaining two guards and Ria joined her, dodging strikes from his wings and snapping jaws. A torrent of flame blasted from the dragon's mouth and one guard leapt in front of Arianon to shield her, grunting as the heat seared through his armor. He was swatted away from the small Bosmer with another swipe from a wing. Both of them falling back into the hard soil with the air knocked from their lungs.
"Uhf... *gasp* that... Hurt..." Ari grumbled breathlessly as she rolled to her feet. She could see reinforcements coming their way from the east, and took a moment to make sure her lungs would actually work before she glanced around the battle field. Ria and the other guards might not have time for those distant men and women to make it to them... She helped the brave man beside her to stand and bolted toward a broken stone walk way above the dragons head. By pure luck and willpower she managed not to stumble over the uneven and rubble strewn surface until she reached the edge of the high vantage point and shouted at the dragon at the top of her lungs, "Over here you stinky scaly bastard!"
A deep affronted snarl left the dragons mouth as he bared his teeth aggressively and his head lifted toward her. Arianon cursed under her breath at the fear welling up, then with a single deep breath she leapt off the ledge with her sword pointed down toward the dragons head. She landed hard on his snout with the sword only sinking a few inches into the space between his eyes. Certainly enough to hurt and irritate the massive beast, but nowhere near fatal. Arianon pulled her legs away from his snapping fangs and gripped the hilt of her sword desperately as he whipped his head back and forth to dislodge her. With a determined grunt, she tightened her knees around the top of his snout and drove her weight into her sword, managing to pierce another couple of inches with a sickening grinding sound.
"*Ofaal vau zey mal fahliil!" The dragon rumbled, and Arianon had no idea what he was saying, but she had no intention of listening anway, although she was a bit surprised he spoke at all. With no other options available, she dragged herself to stand up on the tip of his snout and put every bit of her weight into her sword. A grinding crack resounded into air as she screamed with the effort and her blade plunged into the dragons forehead. A full body shudder shook Ari so much she nearly fell to the ground but she managed to keep her grip until his head smashed into the dirt. Suddenly the scales under her began to heat up and Arianon scrambled onto the ground and away clumsily. She ended her flight with her back pressed to the stonework behind her and watched wide eyed as the flesh burned away from the dragons bones. A beautiful multicolored light swirled through the air and then rushed toward her, and Arianon gasped harshly as it entered her body and filled her with an overwhelming and almost unbearable sense of power. The reinforcements arrived just then with Irileth in the lead and watched with gaping mouths as the dragons soul flowed into the elf.
"Dragonborn!" Cried one of the Nords at the front of the group, "I can't believe it, there hasn't been a dragonborn since Tiber Septim!"
Arianon heard all the commotion with startling clarity as the lightshow faded as suddenly as it had appeared, but the rest of it began to fade away along with her adrenaline until her head fell back into the rubble behind her and she passed out. Several hours later Arianon would wake up, once again in unfamiliar surroundings... Something she suddenly wished never to do again, and just as quickly realized would continue happening. Sitting up in the bed and seeing Ria and the Jarl at her bedside at least let her figure that she was in Whiterun. There was a sudden rumble like thunder from outside and a chorus of inhumanly powerful voices called out,
"DOVAHKIIN!!!" Ari covered her sensitive ears with a wince as the others in the room looked out the windows in awe. Balgruuf looked at the small red haired elf in the bed with even more respect. Not only had she and her friend raced to aid the guardsmen without fear and managed to defeat a beast from legend, this young woman was a figure of myth herself. A hero to inspire the entire province in this time of war and turmoil. Arianon herself had no idea what was going on or the things that were to come from this new part of herself. The very idea would be horrifying when it was brought up.
"So it's true... You are dragonborn," Balgruuf said solemnly as Ari's hands dropped to the blankets in her lap. She looked up at him with a blank expression, seeming frozen. The Jarl could see recognition forming, and being just as quickly replaced with terror.
"I... I couldn't be... There has to be some other explanation," she mumbled, devolving into quiet incoherent ramblings for a few minutes and her audience allowed it until she looked back up and asked, "What does that even mean for me, what do I do? And what were those voices?"
"That was the greybeards recognizing you as Dovahkiin, a mortal with the soul of a dragon. You will need to travel to High Hrothgar and speak with them, they will tell you all you need to know." Balgruuf told her calmly and with an air of reverence. Arianon's head was still spinning with what these new changes would mean for her. She had just gained her freedom, was just settling into her life as a companion and beginning to think about exploring her options a bit more... Maybe even a little romance now that she would be allowed to pursue someone of her own choosing. Now though... Being raised by Nords, she had heard many tales of dragons and the heroes who fought them especially those with the souls of such beasts. No peaceful life earning coin among her shield siblings seemed very likely now. Dragonborns showed up in times of great upheaval and were destined to battle their way to the very end of whatever conflict stood before them. A deep instinct told Arianon that world changing things were coming for her, and she was scared.
"I don't want this... but there's no running from it is there," she asked softly, receiving head shakes from the Nords. "Then there's no point in avoiding it.... I'll go to the Greybeards tomorrow. For right now I want to go back to Jorrvaskr." Arianon threw her blankets back and swung her legs to the floor, at least this time she was able to stand up without falling. A nice change from the last time she woke up in an unknown bed. Ria handed over her pack and both women respectfully said their goodbyes to the Jarl and headed to the main hall, at which point both Athis and Farkas burst through the front doors. When they spotted Arianon, Farkas jogged up the stairs and pulled her into a bear hug with her feet dangling more than a foot from the floor. She squealed in surprise when he squeezed her and then set her down and inspected her for injuries while Athis glowered at her.
"What in Oblivion were you thinking going after a dragon with only a couple of guards to help you?!" He shouted gesturing wildly while he did. Arianon was in no mood to be scolded and glared back at the Dunmer with narrowed yellow eyes until he stopped yelling. He noticed her hardened expression and the flow of words just sort of petered out awkwardly. Athis scratched his cheek sheepishly and broke eye contact with her, stammering a few fragmented words as her arms crossed over her chest and she continued glaring at him until he finally shut up. Maybe it was the newly discovered soul of the dragon perking up in her but Arianon was feeling more confident than she ever was before.
"Athis, I appreciate that you were worried enough about me to come up here and check on me, really I do. But the next time you want to lecture me about what I choose to do you'd better rethink it. Especially when you are gonna scold me for trying to save lives." Athis' face flushed with a dark blush over his slate gray cheeks and her gaze softened. Ari walked over and hugged him fiercely, whispering in his ear, "I was scared too, but it's okay Athis, I'm just fine." He nodded over her shoulder and returned her firm hug. Both men had been in a panic the moment they heard that the newest Companions had encountered a dragon of all things on their way home. Arianon understood the fear but didn't like the way he handled his concern. At least Farkas had been his usual calm self, that hug had been a very nice surprise after all the stress. The wood elf woman knew she was going to have to face this Dovahkiin situation head on but she was still reeling. Still, she was a Companion and a free woman now, she would have the support of her friends through it all. The four companions walked out of Dragonsreach together and headed back to their mead hall. Arianon filled the two men in on everything that had happened since they left that morning, with Ria filling in the parts she hadn't been conscious for. The path ahead was bound to be rough but Arianon wouldn't have changed it for the world if it meant anything other than living among these incredible people.
Notes:
*Ofaal vau zey mal fahliil- Get off me little elf
JFinne on Chapter 1 Tue 01 Sep 2020 09:26PM UTC
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JFinne on Chapter 2 Tue 01 Sep 2020 09:59PM UTC
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Kiba_Lover23 on Chapter 5 Fri 10 Jun 2022 07:47PM UTC
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