Lucy hissed as she came to, lifting bound hands to feel at the knot on her head. Her head throbbed as she gently probed at it; it was as big as she'd thought. She supposed sassing that Imperial soldier hadn't been her brightest idea. But how had they even found where she and her team were moving through?
It had to have been the Thalmor, she thought angrily as the cart passed Ambassador Sirius and General Callaghan (a strange name for an Imperial; she sometimes caught herself wondering about it). The smug look on the First Emissary's face told her everything she needed to know. Damned elf. The General just scowled, as usual. Funny; she thought he'd finally be happy, having caught most of the elite scouts and warriors, and the rebellion's second in command. She glanced over. Mayhem sat at her side, looking as miserable as Lucy herself.
The fighting had been going on for roughly two years. The Thalmor had outlawed the worship of Temu at the signing of the White-Gold Concordat; apparently it offended their delicate sensibilities that a human could ascend to godhood. But it hadn't stopped people like her from continuing their worship, and the open defiance had apparently prompted the Thalmor to act. And it got ugly.
The General was too damned good at his job. The war, such as it was, was already nearing its end. The Black Knight was still free, somewhere, but they had lost so many in such a short time. Half of their command had been killed or captured (and then later executed) in the past year alone. Lucy had found herself climbing the ranks at an alarming rate.
Not a fact she could take pride in anymore, when her first real chance to make some decisions for the rebellion ended in them all getting captured. She buried her face in her hands, ignoring the way Mayhem leaned against her in attempt to comfort her. "It's not your fault," the other woman spoke softly. "It was just bad luck."
"They were waiting for us, May," she muttered back. "I'd hardly call that bad luck. They planned that."
"You were careful. If they found out, someone else leaked it."
"Doesn't matter now anyway, you know we're all headed for the chopping block..."
"Shut it back there!" the Imperial guard driving the cart growled at them. Lucy snarled back, kicking the back of his seat. Another minute, and all the carts were pulling into a circle in the center of the town the Legion was currently camped at. They had an audience of the villagers, gathered at every vantage point they could find to watch the proceedings. Her gaze caught that of a plain-looking young man. Unlike the curiosity or vehemence of the other villagers, he simply looked... sad. She glanced away.
As she had predicted, there was the chopping block, along with the headsman, and a priestess ready to give them their last rites. They were prodded off the carts one at a time, their names read off a list to ensure they had everyone. The General strode over to oversee their sentencing, and Lucy flinched; he was huge up close. Easily as big as the Black Knight.
"It's a shame your leader escaped," he growled, "but I'll settle for his second in command and his rising star officer. This rebellion is over; your Black Knight will be caught soon enough." He paused in front of one of the scouts. "You first." Lucy bit her lip as Denny squared his shoulders, glaring defiantly back at the General before making his way to the chopping block. He'd been one of their best scouts. She had to look away as the axe came down, and nearly retched at the sound of his head falling into the basket. "You next!" the General barked, pointing at her. Shaking, she took a step forward, then paused in confusion as a strange sound rang over the town. It sounded like a cross between a scream and a roar, and from a distance.
"What was that?" one of the Imperial soldiers asked.
"It was nothing. I said next prisoner!"
Swallowing down bile, Lucy stepped toward Denny's headless body, dropping herself down onto the block and staring up at the headsman. She would not close her eyes, not for this.
And she was glad she hadn't as another strange roar, louder this time, was accompanied by something huge and black flying over the town.
"What is that?!"
It landed on the tower, all scales and horns and claws and teeth, and raised its head to the sky, shouting the clouds into turmoil. The skies started to churn, turning a strange red color, and the creature turned its attention back onto the people below. Lucy had half a breath to get out of the way, shoving herself away from the chopping block in time to watch the headsman go flying into the house on the opposite side of the square. She was still grazed by it though, and stumbled, the blast dazing her.
All around, villagers were trying to flee the flames falling from the sky as the Imperial soldiers readied their bows. The General himself had grabbed a discarded shield and flung it like a discus, striking the beast in the head hard enough to throw off its aim. It leapt off the tower and circled the town, swooping down to snatch up hapless victims. One of the villagers- the young man with the sad eyes- was right in the monster's path, and against her better judgment, Lucy sprinted toward him, tackling him out of the way. "Come on!" she barked, yanking him back to his feet, and pulled him along to the safety of the tower. Mayhem and several other rebels were already there.
"Is that a dragon?!" the young man yelped. "I thought they didn't exist!"
"I guess we all thought wrong then," Mayhem said, peeking outside. General Callaghan seemed to be putting up an impressive fight, keeping the beast's attention on him so the archers could do their work unimpeded. "Is there any other way out of here?"
The young man fidgeted as all gazes were on him. "Uh, well... I heard some of the soldiers say there's supposed to be tunnels under the fortress, once... Maybe through that door, I think it needs a key though-"
"Leave that to us," Lucy said, approaching one of the barred doors. The young man watched in amazement as she did... something that forced the door open. He hesitated as the rebels passed through, and she turned back, raising an eyebrow at him. "You coming or what?"
"Um..."
"Would you rather take your chances with the dragon?" His eyes went wide and he shook his head vehemently, jogging after them.
He really hoped he wouldn't get in trouble for this. It wasn't like the rebels gave him much choice.
YOU ARE READING
Murphy's Law
Fanfiction[Skyrim Crossover] As if Skyrim wasn't already hectic enough, with its inhabitants fighting both the Aldmeri Dominion and the Empire. Now there's dragons, too, and Emmet finds himself unwittingly roped into the whole mess. What else could go wrong?
