The Crimson Assassin [Skyrim Fanfiction]

5: Nothing is the Same

Most of the journey back to Whiterun is a blur to me. I slipped in and out of consciousness, and for the time I was awake I was extremely confused. The clearest image in my mind from the traveling is a consistent and burning pain in my right shoulder, and a coldness overwhelming my whole body.

I feel the cool sheets underneath me as Vorstag lays me down on our bed. The pain is beginning to slowly edge away. However, my right arm and shoulder is still throbbing like a Sabre Cat's jaws are clamped down on it. The cold is still piercing the inside of my body mercilessly, and it feels like it's never going to go away. The tingly feeling in my throat tells me that Vorstag must have given me multiple healing potions, explaining the lessened pain.

Vorstag and Sinding are talking outside the room in hushed voices. My eyes are still closed, but I can hear their conversation.

"I doubt they were normal bandits, Sinding."

"Why? There's plenty of them out there."

"If they WERE normal bandits, I wouldn't have found Jordaan collapsed on the ground, cold as stone. Instead, I would've found dead bandits."

"What do you think happened then?"

"I... I don't know."

After listening to two men talk for a minute, I slowly swing my legs over the side of the bed and push myself to my feet. My balance is slightly shaky, but I'm in way better shape than I was when Vorstag found me.

Vorstag turns and sees that I've stood up and he rushes over to support me. "Good to see you've come to, my love." He wraps his arm around my shoulders and kisses the top of my head. Together we walk downstairs and sit down at the table, where Sinding follows us and sits down on the opposite side.

"How are you feeling?" Sinding raises his eyebrows. His blonde hair is messed up and falls in front of his face.

I shrug. "Better. I guess."

Sinding sighs and rests his head on his hand. "I hate to do this to you right now, as you really just need to rest, but I must ask... who was it that attacked you?"

Vorstags wraps his arm around my waist as a comforting gesture.

The image of my attacker's glowing red eyes fills my brain again. Without much hesitation, I answer. "Vampires. Two of them. Master Vampires by the looks of them. They ambushed me from behind. Threw me onto the ground, stabbed me right in the shoulder."

Vorstag grits his teeth, and Sinding creases his eyebrows. "Vampires?" Sinding frowns and furrows his eyebrows. "Well... you're a werewolf. Like me. So you shouldn't be as affected by the attack as you... as you have been."

"That's what I was thinking." I shiver. "My whole body... is cold. I'm just cold. Not like the cold you experience up in Winterhold. A cold that fills my entire body, and pierces my skin."

Vorstag frowns and brings me closer to him. I imagine it's hard for him to hear this. He's always had an extreme fear of losing me. More extreme than usual. His father was killed by a Sabre cat, and his mother committed suicide shortly after, because she couldn't stand life without her husband. I suppose he's always been scared that the same thing would happen to us.

An anxious silence fills the house. Dread is occupying my stomach like a coiled up snake ready to strike.

I lean my head on Vorstag's shoulder. "I'll be okay. I'm a fighter. Nothing else has brought me down before, and this sure as hell won't."

-~-~-~-

I lean up against the wall of Windstad Manor. My arms are folded and my eyes are watery from the crisp breeze and sawdust that is floating in the air. Vorstag is sitting on a rickety old chair drinking some mead.

"It's all done!" Erik walks out of the manor smiling, rubbing his hands together. I smile back. "Thank you so much Erik."

"Ah, it's no problem. Least I could do."

Sinding walks out of the house a few moments later. They had both been helping me and Vorstag move our stuff from Breezehome into the Manor. We had started building the house a while back, and we figured with the weird turn of events lately it'd be best to live out of Whiterun and further away from mass amounts of people. Sinding is going to stay with us at the house, as it's further away from people he could hurt, but he's not completely alone. Erik is not only our steward, but a long-time friend of mine and my devoted companion.

I hear the spilling of liquid as some mead sloshes over the edge of Vorstag's tankard. We all look over, and see that the liquid in the cup has ripples going through it. After a few moments I begin the feel the trembling beneath my feet.

"What the hell?" Erik furrows his eyebrows and crouches down, placing his hands on the ground. Vorstag stands from his chair, walks over to me, and readies his axe.

"What is tha-"Sinding is interrupted by a deafening roar that is enough to send us all crashing to our knees, covering our ears. The roar is unmistakable. A dragon is circling overhead, and the beating of its wings vibrate throughout my whole body. My head is pounding, and I can taste blood in my mouth.

This is not the first time I've encountered a dragon. But this feels entirely different. The dragon is the same. Same size, same strength. But upon its arrival... I... I feel different. I haven't felt the same since the attack, but it's all coming to surface now.

When I gather the strength to look up, my gaze directly meets the glowing eyes of the dragon. Cold air comes rushing from my mouth as I collapse to the ground, and my vision is filled with a void of darkness.

Nothing is the same.