Blade in the Shadows

Leaving again; for good?

A/N: Sorry for being gone so long but here's the chapter.

I stood in a field covered with white, blue and pink mountain flowers with a light breeze ruffling them. A borealis stretched itself across the sky. Its colours of pink, green and blue painting pictures as they danced across the sky. A roar suddenly shattered the peaceful sky. A shadow as black as the night swooped overhead. It banked around and landed in front of me, sending tremors through the ground.

"Hi nis vonun do zu'u. Zu'u fen siiv hi, dovahkiin, (You cannot hide from me. I will find you, dragonborn)" the shadow said, its voice echoing in my head yet its jaws didn't move. Its glowing red eyes bored into mine. Before I could do anything, it opened its jaws and bright hot flames spewed towards me.

I bolted upright with a scream. Cold sweat poured through my trembling skin. I covered my face with my hands as tears began to silently fall. The nightmares wouldn't stop. This particular nightmare has haunted me the last couple of weeks.

I felt strong arms envelop my shoulders and a warm voice soothingly say: "I'm here Lora, I'm here." Eventually I calmed down and turned around to see Nazir's form seated next to me. I've only told Festus about my unusual ability and he had researched what it is and what it could mean for me. Turns out that I could see souls, and not just people's souls, but animals' and plants' too although they were slightly different. Plants and trees were different shades of green depending on how dangerous they were. Souls belonging to animals and people, luckily, looked almost exactly like they would if I had my sight but with glowing light around them. The light, or auras as Festus calls them, are all different from each other; some are brighter than others with different shades between black, grey and white. My family have dark grey auras, most likely since we're assassins.

And then the nightmares started.

"You alright, Crow?" Nazir asked. I nodded although I wasn't, and he knew it. He briefly hugged me then stood up. "Astrid is looking for you. Do you need help to get there?"

"It's alright, Nazir. I'll manage," I said and swung my legs off the edge of the bed, wiping the remaining salty liquid off my face. I felt around for my armour, eventually finding it, Putting it on was a struggle. When I'd finally secured the final leather strap, I made my way towards my mother's war table. As I approached the stairs leading to her office, a couple of raised voices caught my attention.

"They are not going to help, Astrid! They don't care about the people down here; much less a Dark Brotherhood assassin," A gruff, male voice said. It sounded like my father. It sounded like they were fighting about something.

"What other choice do I have? She can't serve Sithis like this!" I heard Mother shout back. "And besides, they've already agreed to see her." Her form crossed its arms which was an indication that she was done with that conversation.

"Mother," I greeted, announcing my presence. She looked over in my direction before going to stand behind her table. "How may I be of service?"

"I'm sending you to the Greybeards up in High Hrothgar," She stated. 'Straight to the point as usual' I thought to myself.

"Who in their right mind would want to kill the Greybeards?"

"It's not a job," she said with a sigh. "It's too help with your condition."

"I don't need their help. I can serve the Dark Brotherhood just fine," I argued.

"No you can't!" Mother shouted but then sighed again at the tense silence that followed her outburst. She had never raised her voice at me in anger before. Her voice softened. "I don't want to risk you dying because you didn't see a sword about to strike you down."

I bit my bottom lip to keep myself from responding. I can't tell her about my ability to see souls. I don't know why. I just have the feeling that I can't. Almost like there was a voice that wasn't my own telling me to keep quiet about it. I nodded my head and turned to head back to the sleeping quarters to pack. I could hear my parents start to argue again as I left the room.

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I could hear Nazir huffing and puffing behind me as we climbed the 'Thousand steps' up to High Hrothgar.

"Why do they have to live at the top of the highest fucking mountain in Thedas?" He huffed angrily, slightly out of breath. I chuckled at his outburst. It was his own decision to accompany me. He blew into his hands and rubbed them together to try and keep them warm. As with any tall mountain, the Throat of the World was covered with snow and ice. Snowflakes fell in a flurry around us, battered by the wind as it came racing down the mountain.

We were forced to fight our way through several scattered wolves. The sun was starting to set as we came across our toughest foe yet. A bloody frost troll!

"Are they trying to discourage visitors?" Nazir yelled as he slashed his knife across the troll's broad chest before rolling out of the way of its claws.

"Maybe you're just getting old!" I taunted as I snuck in with my own strike while the troll was focused on Nazir. I ignored his death glare as I thrust my twin blades into its chest, puncturing its heart. The troll let out a final roar before I saw its soul leave its body and disappear like dust in the wind. I yanked my swords out and cleaned them on the creature's fur while sending a smirk to Nazir. He huffed good-naturedly and crossed his arms in a pout. He was very much like an uncle to me.

"Come on; we're almost there, old man," I said, giving him a reassuring pat before walking off. He spluttered in protest before catching up. The monastery loomed over us from its perch on the mountainside in all its gloomy glory. We walked up to the large wooden door. Nazir grabbed the iron knocker and let it bang against the door. The sound could be heard echoing through the stone structure. We wrapped our cloaks around us to try keep warm while we waited for someone to open the door.

Eventually the heavy door scrapped against the floor as someone opened it slightly. They could see us without leaving themselves vulnerable to attack. Smart. It was an old man with a large, long beard that he had tied up so that it wouldn't be ruffled by the strong winds. He took one look at me before opening the door wider. "Ah, you must be Lorena. Please, come inside. Your companion may come in as well," He said, smiling, and stepped to the side to let us in. His voice was warm and welcoming.

Nazir and I sighed in relief when the door closed behind us, shutting off the freezing alpine air. We followed the man into what seemed to be the welcoming hall. I could sense several passages leading off from the reasonably large room and several life forces approaching us. Soon those life forces revealed themselves. They looked very similar to the man who'd let us in.

"I am Arngeir," he introduced himself. "You must be very tired from your journey."

"No kidding," Nazir muttered. The Greybeard must have heard him because his form flickered in frustration. I discreetly yet harshly elbowed him in the ribs. If I were to get any help from these people then we needed to stay on their good side. Arngeir continued as if Nazir hadn't spoken. "We will allow your companion to rest here for the eve but we kindly request that he leaves at dawn. We need to limit all distractions for this treatment to be effective."

I nodded to indicate that I understood. I then turned to Nazir to see if he agreed. He said nothing for a few moments before sighing. "Guess it can't be helped."

The Greybeards led us to our rooms for the night. I collapsed into a deep slumber as soon as my head hit the pillow. Well, I'm finally here. Now to let Sithis guide me in whatever plan he has for me.