Two Graves - The Song of Nephiah and Brelyna

Chapter 13: Forever Yours

The heavy door swung open. Nephiah instantly got to her feet, crossed her hands behind her back and looked at the floor. Frokwulf slowly stepped in, stopping halfway between her and the door. "Do you know what day it is.", he asked in his disturbing, calm voice. He didn't get a reaction, he didn't expect one. "Today is Heart's Day. The day that people all across Tamriel celebrate love in all its many forms." He gave of a short sarcastic laugh. "And as it so happens, it is our anniversary." Nephiah looked up at him. "Yes, five years ago to the day, you arrived here and began your new life." Memories flashed through her mind, immense sadness settled in. She had pushed those memories out of her mind, hadn't thought of them for a very long time. "And I thought we should celebrate with a gift."

He gestured behind him, signaling someone else to enter. Hjornskar stepped through, pushing a young Bosmer boy in front of him. He was still wearing regular clothing, he must have been captured very recently. "Listen.", he said, "I don't think the boss is going to like you removing items from our inventory like this." Frokwulf turned around and looked up. Hjornskar was a full head taller than him, taller than anybody, really. "Our fearless leader doesn't have to know. You know how these raids go, chaos ensues, people die. It's not like your silence in the matter goes unrewarded." Hjornskar looked past him at Nephiah and grinned. Then he looked back at Frokwulf. "Make sure she's cleaned up this time. What do you think I am, some kind of savage?" He laughed and ungently pushed the boy forward, making him stumble and fall to the ground. Then he turned and left, closing the door behind him.

Frokwulf turned his attention back to Nephiah. "Wood Elves are such tiny, fragile creatures. Remember him?" Nephiah looked at the child cowering on the floor, crying softly. "Remember that act of defiance and the result it yielded?" He took a rolled up whip from his belt, moved close to her and presented it. Nephiah silently looked up at him, a tear rolling down her cheek. "Do you remember how to count?" She nodded, looking at the whip in his stretched out hand. "You will strike him..." He paused, she looked him in the eyes. "Well? How many times. Answer." "Ten times.", she said faintly after a moment, one could hear she didn't use her voice much. "Take it." She took the whip and slowly stepped up to the boy. He was still cowering on the ground. While holding on to its handle, she let the end of the whip go, it dropped to the ground. Frokwulf took a step back and watched with fascination. Sadness was now clearly visible on Nephiah's face, even though she had trained herself to not show anything to the outside world, no matter how it hurt. She raised her arm, Frokwulf smiled in anticipation. The whip cracked down on the boy.

He instantly began to cry out in pain, another tear dropped from Nephiah's chin. She hesitated. "Go on, nine more times.", Frokwulf said calmly. The whip cracked down again. "Please!", the boy cried. A whimper almost escaped her as she raised her arm again. Another crack. The boy's cries of agony were unbearable, her arm remained at her side. "SLAVE!", Frokwulf yelled menacingly. Nephiah flinched and instantly raised her arm to bring the whip down yet another time. And another. It seemed to take forever to reach ten. The boy was crying uncontrollably as tears and blood wet the floor boards beneath him.

Frokwulf stepped up behind her. She turned and looked up, her cheeks glistening. He took the whip off her, rolled it up and reattached it to his belt, all the while looking into her eyes. Then he reached behind his back and crouched down, now looking up at her. He produced an iron dagger with Dunmeri symbols carved into its hilt. "Remember this?" He held it up in front of her face. "You should, you had it on you when we found you." She silently stared at it. "Now for the final test. Pass it, and you will have shown you understand the world that surrounds you. Take the dagger." She looked at him not sure if that was the test. "Go on.", he said reassuringly. She hesitantly took the small blade that was resting on his open palm. He instantly grabbed the boy and pulled him up in front of him. The sudden movement and loud cry of the boy made her flinch yet again. His right hand pressed the tiny torso against his chest, his left pulled his head back by the hair, exposing the throat. "Left to right, you've seen me do it." Nephiah was breathing heavily, her eyes started to beg him. "Not a sound out of you.", he said more firmly. Then he whispered "Left... to right."