Rona's Story: An Epic Skyrim Romance

Chapter 62 All I Ask of You

There was a quiet scrawling near her ear, it sounded like a quill on parchment. Rona opened her eyes and found herself in an all too familiar hospital wing. She looked over at the sound and saw her father sitting nearby at a writing desk, head in hand as he wrote slowly, then dipped his quill into an inkpot. He looked extremely tired, like he hadn't slept in days. He gave a low sigh as he reviewed his work and Rona whispered in a hoarse, scratchy voice, "Ata... you're here."

He looked over at her, his brows knit together as he choked back a sob, then reached for her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Surprisingly, the shoulder she remembered being injured didn't hurt at all when he pressed against it.

He breathed, "We must stop meeting like this velvynen."

He pulled back and wiped a tear from his eye. She sat up in the bed and tried to clear her throat and swallow, but her mouth was dry, "Ata, what happened?"

He gave another deep sigh and said, "So many things my dear. I just arrived here yesterday only to find you back in the hospital wing. You were attacked four days ago by the World Eater himself and two of his leading Commanders."

She shook her head. She didn't remember that happening at all. Had she fought back? Obviously she'd survived. She couldn't remember anything from before she fell asleep in her bed after being stitched up.

Panic overtook her then and she looked around, searching for Bishop.

Her father put a hand on her shoulder and said, "It's fine, he's fine. He and Karnwyr haven't left your side in days so I sent them out to stretch their legs and get some fresh air."

She felt immediately relieved and her father got up and poured her a glass of water from a pitcher on a side table. He handed it to her and took his seat again while she drank deeply from the glass.

"You were unconscious for the entire incident, when Alduin returned here," he explained, "Bishop protected you, he saved your life and it seems General Tullius has repaid his own debt in full to me as well. He risked his life and the lives of his Legionnaires to keep you safe from the dragons."

She knit her brows together, pulling the glass from her lips, "Did anyone...?" She couldn't bring herself to say the word.

"Die?" Her father finished for her, "No, fortunately not. A few were badly injured. Cecil suffered a severe burn to his arm, but everyone is well otherwise."

She closed her eyes for a moment, just taking that in. Hundreds of people weren't killed because of her for once. Then she looked back at him, "I was out for four days?" Her voice was a bit clearer after drinking the water and she set the empty glass onto the writing desk.

"Alduin used some sort of shout against you," he said looking up thoughtfully with a hand to his beard, "Bishop said it was, Drun Hahnu Bex, though he mispronounced it at first and it took me some time to find the actual words. I looked it up in that book of yours, Dragon Language: Myth No More. It means, Make Dream Open. Bishop said that it made your nightmare appear before them, but I suspect that there was another effect. I believe it was meant to make it last longer. You've been trapped in that awful nightmare for four days my dear. Screaming... crying... gods..." he breathed the last and put a hand to his head.

She sighed. No wonder she felt so exhausted. Being trapped in Jillian's personal Oblivion for four straight days? She hated going back to that place.

She didn't want to talk about that dream so she changed the subject, "Did you get rid of that orb, Ata? The Eye of Magnus?"

He looked even more morose than he did before, but he nodded slowly. "I did," he said, then looked away from her and said sadly, "Savos Aren is dead."