Elder Scrolls Drabble

Memories of my Brotherhood

Woah finally done with this one and two chapters in one day! Wow.
There is violence. With Lucien there always is. Enjoy please and if you do, comment! And I did change the way Lucien comes about so if you're confused about anything just ask!

Words:~1922
Rain. I've always loved the rain. With its thousands and thousands of droplets falling like tears, wetting everything, and making the world seem as if it is weeping.
Now that I begin to remember, it was raining then.
Heavily. As if the Nightmother herself were weeping sweet tears of joy for the coming of her child. Or perhaps they were not tears of joy, but rather tears of anger. Rage borne from the betrayal of one's own progeny.
Calm yourself, Lucien. I smile feeling the presence of my dread father Sithis invade my mind as I float aimlessly in this black void of darkness. I should
be in the Void.
I should be hearing the sweet sounds of nothingness, seeing the flowers that bloom grey and crimson, feeling the wind that is never there kiss my pale skin--but no. There is no place of resting like the Void for me. My soul is damned. Trapped onto the mortal plane, bound by shackles made from forgotten memories. It's quite pathetic really.
I can feel your restlessness. You are uneasy. What is it my child?
I close my eyes and try to sort out the dark blur of my memories. Ever since my death, my thoughts have not been my own, but rather a part of this interminable darkness. Only flashing images are left of the mind that I use to control.
---
"Traitor! How dare you defy the will of the Nightmother?! The will of Sithis?!" The banging on the door, the pounding of the rain in sync with my heart, the harsh words from my assailants--there were no other
sounds that I could remember.
I believe that, for the first time since I was a child, I was genuinely terrified. I was no longer the cold, calculated killer that I had grown to become, but a young boy once again.
Then the banging stopped and all that was left was the rain. And my beating heart, my ragged breathing. And silence. It drown out all other sounds. That maddening silence that had been my ally for most of my twenty eight years, had now turned on me and was out for a mistaken
revenge.
"Lucien," I heard the voice of Mathieu, one of my fellow brothers in the black hand, but something was off. He sounded wounded, angry, desperate, insane, "Lucien, love, open this door." And sickeningly calm and collected all at once. It sent shivers down my spine.
"Lucien. Open this door."
---
The silent laugh of the dread father echoes throughout the darkness, filling my mind and body with a sense of calm.
So that is what's troubling you, Lucien?
"No," My body, as if on its own, tensed.
The fact that you died by the hands of your own family?
"No," My fists clenched, my jaw locked.
That you could not save yourself?
"No," My eyes shut tightly.
That you failed.
That you could not spare your sanctuary.
You can not have her.
"...." I can't speak. I want to scream. To curse Sithis and his beloved bride. To release all of the pain and suffering built up inside. The pain of truly knowing loss, for the first time. Of myself. Of the one's I called family--Vicente, Ocheeva--and her.
Don't waste your time, child. You're dead. She's not. A complicated relationship, if I've ever seen one.
I open my eyes to stare off into the darkness. There is nothing for me here. Nor there on the mortal plane. I shall spend eternity locked in oblivion, but I feel myself slipping. How much time do I have left before my soul dissapears forever?
"How long has it been?" I whispered, starting to feel his presence slowly fade.
Two hundred years, Lucien. Give up. She's long forgotten you. Besides,
With every syllable he speaks I feel myself slipping even further away. Down into darkness.
You're mine now.
---
Splinters of wet wood flew through the room as the door to Applewatch was broken from its hinges. I watched as my three hunters approached slowly as if taunting the prey that they had backed into a corner. As they taunted me.
Arquen, Banus, Mathieu. They came forward, drawing their weapons in perfect sync. Bellamont was their leader. He had a fierce hunger in his eyes similar to Vicente when he had thirst for blood, but different. A thirst not for blood but bloodshed. A thirst for taking life. My life.
Fear ran through me like water in a river. My knees grew weak and I dropped to the ground.
"Mathieu. A-arquen. Banus," I looked at each of them, my voice shaking from the emotion that was making my lips quiver.
"I am not the--"
"Shut. Up." it was Mathieu who had cut me off. My face dropped to the floor, and I began to feel the rain. The salty drops of water that rolled down my cheeks rapidly and falling to the floor. I did not cry out as I sat there listening to the rain beat against the house and the water pats of my tears hitting the floor. And my face did not change. I kept my stone cold expression as it seemed that I had no other.
"So you finally show emotion?" Mathieu scoffed. Laughing at my pathetic state that I too found quite ridiculous.
"But it is only for yourself. What an arrogant bastard you are." I felt the cold wet leather of his glove dig into my scalp as he gripped my hair and forcefully pulled me up to look in his eyes. Still, despite the slight pain, I did not cry out. I would not give him the pleasure.
"Look at me you damn traitor!" The bite of his dagger bit into the sensitive flesh of my throat, drawing blood and immobilizing my breathing.
"You and all of your kind will pay for what you have done. You don't deserve any last words."
Then all I could do was feel as the dagger was removed from my throat and planted deeply in my abdomen. The cold steel ripped through flesh, sinew, and muscle, but still I did not cry out.
"You and your ilk are nothing!" A sharp kick to my side and I felt my ribs crack and break, digging harshly into the inside of my chest.
The fronts of my robes were slit, the cloth falling to the floor, clinging to my skin where the dagger held it in place. I was left in nothing but my small clothes, now vulnerable to the frigid chill of the room, causing me to shiver and intensify the pain. But still, I refused to cry out.
"Once I'm done with you, I'll kill that slut of yours! Maybe I'll have a round of her before slitting her throat!"
"Don't you dare touch her!" I tried not to be broken by him, but when it came to her, something inside of me shifted.
"Or what, Lucien, my love? What will you do when you're dead?"
Nothing. I had nothing to say. I could think of nothing to give to this pathetic piece of trash.
"That is what I thought. Now, perhaps I should start by cutting off your lips? That way you cannot anoy me with your iddiot replies and pleas of mercy!" I tried to push away from him, but when I did, my legs were broken. When I tried to grab my sword, my arms, too, were shattered. And all the while I did not cry out, even as the cold steel dagger was ripped from my stomach and began to saw off the skin of my face.
"Save some for us, brother!" Then all at once, every part of me was peeled away, piece by piece.
---
I gasp as I suddenly jerk upright into a sitting position. I look down at my nude torso, the only part not obscured by a dark black water like liquid. I look up and around, squinting up at the sky that burned my eyes, even though it was dark as if it were about to storm. I did not recognize my surroundings but unlike my usual self who would have stopped immediately to find out some kind of information, I just stared up at the sky, sitting naked in this pond as dark as the void, and I felt as the first droplets of rain fell onto my face.
I laughed. A genuine happy laugh that I have not had the pleasure of having in a very long time. My dark hair clinged to my pale skin as the rain came down heavier and heavier. But I did not care.
Then there was an opening of a door. I jerked my head to the side to see carvings like those that I was very familiar with. It was a black door. A welcome sight in my unfamiliar surroundings. And who came out, was a woman in a dark red and black suit. And once I saw her, my heart felt light and my worries were blown away by the wind.
"Shadowmere! By Sithis you damn horse! Get over here out of the rain!" Shadowmere? As soon as I heard that stubborn horses name, I jumped out of the water, a little clumsily from not being used to walking, and made my way closer to the woman.
"She likes the rain." I said, standing far enough so that I could just make out her face. She whipped around to look at me, and almost immediately, her face turned red.
"What the hell?! Don't you know how to put on a pair of pants!?" I looked down at my pitiful self and laughed, just remembering that I was clothes-less. The woman had turned her head but I could still tell that she was embarrassed.
"Sorry." Was all I could manage to say before the woman sprinted back inside and came back out with a cloak.
"Here!" She yelled and threw it at me. The dry cloth almost instantly got soaked from the rain, but at least it covered me.
"Usually I would have killed you by now, you strange man, but you said something that peaked my interest. How did you know that Shadowmere likes the rain?" The black demonic horse stared me down intensely. I could tell she was waiting for me to act first, as Shadowmere would have never forgotten me.
"She is my horse after all." Leaning down I picked up a nightshade and smiled. Twirling it between my fingers, I sidewaysed glanced at the woman and could tell that she was not happy.
"Come, Shadow. I know you hate me for leaving, you stubborn horse, but I will make it up later." And with that she galloped toward me and snatched up the small flower.
"Lucien Lachance." I stated without looking at the woman. I honestly don't know if I expected an answer, but was surprised when I heard her mummble: Astrid.
With one last pat, I left Shadowmere's side and approached the black door. I placed my hand on it's cool surface and felt the vibrating boom of a heartbeat echo throughout my being.
"What are you doing, you twat? Don't think you can come in here, flaunting your goods so I'll give you a cloak, then take my horse, and automatically assume you're part of the brotherhood!"
What is the colour of night?
"Hey I'm talking to--wait, that's not what it usually says..."
"Sanguine, my brother."
Welcome home.

Lucien.