Keri had tried to rationalize her thoughts through the month that followed her manic outburst the morning Tarthas had disappeared. That name invoked mixed feelings, ones of care and loving but of repulsion as well. No matter it being a daedric Prince. He had slept with another woman. She was sick, lying in her bunk in Jorrvaskr with nothing much to do. She had tried to go to the training court and smack a few straw dummy’s heads off but she couldn’t manage one swing without her head spinning and retching.
Thus she stayed in her bunk most of the day. Most left her alone, nervous around the strangely sick young girl. But Aela knew better and was disgusted, yet the only one who helped her. Aela’s beast blood made her immune to all diseases though that wasn’t what made her confident.
Once more Aela brought Keri a bowl of venison stew. Keri had been craving food the last month more and more. Like a hungry wolf she slurped the bowl, a little trickling down her chin.
“Could you get me more?” She reached out handing the bowl to Aela.
“And what? So you can throw up again, Keri?” She took the bowl and roughly placed it on her side table. “You do know what is wrong with you don’t you?”
She looked blankly.
“You haven’t noticed your nightgown is tighter around the chest? Your mood swings? Your constant nausea? Your craving for food? You’re pregnant!”
A manic laugh escaped her lips; her blonde curls ruffled and tangled. “That can’t be.” How could she be? She had taken the elixir.
“I know the signs, Keri-Anne, I have a son.” It never dawned upon Keri that the fierce redheaded huntress had a son. She didn’t look like she was much older than Keri. But as she took a closer look she saw that Aela was actually much more mature under her green camouflage.
“Please don’t tell me Tarthas is the father?” She held Keri’s hands in hers. Keri-Anne just shied away, giving a yes. “You do know the shame you will bring unto this unborn child?”
“I know. I tried an elixir of nightshade and bleeding crown, I heard it kills a babe in the womb. But the babe’s still living and growing.”
“Let it grow. Tarthas left you. Lie; say it was an accident in a bandits lair. Or the simplest; a one night affair in a tavern.” She grinned, “Every woman needs to let loose sometimes.”
Aela stood up and left, just before she shut the door to the dorms she hesitated but left. Keri just lay there in her own sorrow for hours, often going to the loo in-between. She finally fell asleep.
“Wake up, sweetie.” A female voice she did not recognize said. It was youthful, with a Cyrodiilic accent. “C’mon, Keri, I need to talk to you.”
Keri rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. No nausea or dizzyness overcame her when she sat up. It was a dream, why should it? Sitting on her bed was a young imperial, probably Tarthas’ age. Her hair was auburn and her eyes glistened violet. “Good morning. I’m Vera.”
Keri yelped. Vera just giggled at that, a hand covering her mouth. “Oh silly, just here to help you with your dreams.”
She was livid. This was the girl that had made Tarthas cheat on her. She wanted to lash out at her. Rip her sparkling eyes from their sockets.
“Now, now, wouldn’t want to attempt that. I haven’t done anything out of the ordinary, to mortal standards. I just wanted to show you that the hatred my brother Sheo is attempting to provoke is wrong. Sure, hate me. But not Tarthas. After all, it was my temptation. And who could resist that?”
The confident insolent bitch. She did not want to admit to the allure that she had going. It was diminishing.
“Now, stop being silly, Keri, we have some memories and futures to visit.”
She pulled Keri out of bed and tugged through the door. Out of the door she stood in her blades armor.
“Tarthas! Come here! We have a family heirloom to retrieve, it isn’t that hard to strap on some boots!” Keri stood leaning against the door as Tarthas struggled to strap on his steel cuffed boots.
“You don’t understand, sis, this steel is making these boots tight and impossible to loosen to put on!” He was rolling around on his bunk his knee under his chin trying to get his second boot on. With a kick to the jaw he got the steel cuffed boot on. He sheathed his sword and chased after Keri who was already on her way up the stairs.
“Our first job together. I’ll show you how I’ve improved!”
Keri chuckled, her little brother was always so enthusiastic. Though she was elated as well. She had as much to prove to him as he had to her.
It was a simple job. Retrieve Amren’s family sword from Whiteriver Watch, which was overrun by a group of bandits. Amren had promised free training in sword fighting and the companions would pay them a couple sweet septims for clearing the bandit gang knows as the Whiteriver Gang lead by Hajvarr Iron-Hand.
It was just east over the White river, just a few yards up the Throat of the World. Tarthas just couldn’t stop telling about his lessons that he got from Farengar. How boring the dragon sermons were, how he just couldn’t seem to get conjuration right nor illusion.
“Maybe those two schools just aren’t for you.” She tried to say logically. Honestly magic never truly was her thing; she could brew a good flask if she needed her wounds healed. She had a belt covered with cross-strapped flasks. She was lucky to have been taught by the best alchemist in Skyrim, her step mum. Though Tarthas was a miracle healer with his skills in Restoration. Which made him just as valuable a companion as any.
“Yeah, I’ll stick to destruction and restoration. You know Farengar taught me a more advanced ward spell? A steadfast ward!”
“Pfft, wards? Those pathetic things that necromancers think will stop a sword?” She mocked
“Hey! It’s not meant for a sword, even I know that! But a sword can’t stop magic. A ward can. So basically, if I got this right… uhm… parry a weapon, ward a spell. Plus, it has a similar effect that a flesh spell has.”
“But. You need to keep it concentrated, which drains your magicka.”
Tarthas patted his apprentice’s robes and she noticed two flasks attached to his belt, “I concocted some magicka potions yesterday. Arcadia taught me a recipe. Elves Ear and the petals of a red mountain flower.”
“Sounds disgusting to drink.”
“I mixed it with ale which should drown the taste.”
They were nearing the bridge crossing the White river. So they hushed their voices. As the crossed the bridge arrows were already wizzing past their heads. The bandits had spotted the two travelers. Keri observed that it was surprising that they challenged someone clad in the armor of the renowned dragon slayers known as the blades. Nothing more to do than show them their down fall. She lifted her shield over her head. Charging right into the fray.
“I’ve fought mudcrabs fiercer than you!” One of the bandits yelled. They always tried to bolster their own lack of balls with calls like that. Two of them came at Keri at once. She let them both bash at her shield before slamming them to the side. Stabbing one down the shoulder.
Tarthas closed in to parry another hit from the second bandit that would surely land on Keri. He looked her way and winked. Before twisting the parry into a counter stabbing the bandit through his fur armour, pulling his sword out and spinning around to gain force strong enough to slash a hit to the Redguard’s side. Unfortunately it left him open to an arrow into his shoulder and he staggered.
Keri ran at full speed to the archer and hacked away shrugging off the arrows that splintered on her blades plate. With a shield bash the bow flew from her hands. The bandit was fumbling for a dagger but was already stabbed in her guts. Her eyes turned wide and she choked blood. Keri turned around to see Tarthas still staggering
“Tarthas! Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, won’t be on guard duty just yet.” He chuckled, pulling the barbed arrow out with a grunt. He rested his palm and healed the wound efficiently. “Not a scratch on me, let’s get going. We need to retrieve this sword remember?” He winked again.
Talos! Her brother was stubborn and such a show off. She took a small swig from a stamina flask, just to keep her energy up. Tarthas’ healing restored his energy as well as closing his wounds, something an acolyte of Kyne had taught him.
The Spellsword opened the door to the cave hideout. Keri ran in ready for anything. But it was just an old bandit reading a blank book. He grunted “Huh? Rudolf that you?” He looked around with blank staring eyes, unfocused. He was blind.
“Game’s up bandit!” Keri announced.
“Hey! Somebody get down here! Help!”
Two bandits in fur and hide, one orc and an imperial. The imperial carried a mace and a hide shield, the orc the largest warhammer he’d never wished would come down crashing on your head. But it was coming right at Tarthas. Keri intervened, buckling under the heavy blow of the warhammer that she had blocked. Tarthas’ hands combusted aflame.
In both hands he molded a fireball. He lashed the flaming ball at the orc. When it hit the orc the flame burst to thrice its side. Singing the imperials arm giving him a third degree burn on his mace arm, he dropped the mace in agony. Nothing much was left of the orc but a charred corpse. Was that the power of adept destruction magic? Stendarr, he had to be more careful.
Keri stood up and cupped his face, “Tarthas your eyes, they’re black.” Her brother shook his head and blinked to show his dark green eyes again.
“Stop teasing, K.A.” He grinned nervously “It’s creepy.”
She hadn’t imagined those eyes. But she dismissed it for now.
After getting past three more waves of bandits and climbing up the cave in the mountain. Light came at the end of the tunnel. Through it was a little cliff-like clearing. Sitting down counting coins was a heavily armor clad bandit with the most menacing dwemer warhammer on his back. Keri halted Tarthas and unslung her bow, beckoning for Tarthas to do the same. She grabbed a tiny green bottle from her belt and dipped an arrow into the vial. A poison. “It’ll slow his movement and thinking, giving us a heads up.” She whispered. It was a perfect plan. They couldn’t possible take Hajvarr Iron-Hand at full strength.
Tarthas was shocked. “You can’t poison him it isn’t honorable!”
“Shut up Tarthas, we can’t take him! We need an advantage.”
The nord pulled the bow and let the arrow go. It thunked into his calf. He grunted and looked at his leg lazily. “Who shot that… stick? Is it two arrows?” He was stumbling like a drunkard, getting out of his seat. Limping he lifted his war hammer ready for a fight.
Keri charged up to him trying to cut the week spots in the steel armour. She had worn it herself; she knew where it was most prone to gashes, right above the waist, under the chest plate. She slashed at his kidney, which made him stagger. But he was readying a devastating bash. It fell like a log and she avoided it easily.
But he had another one coming. What she hadn’t anticipated was that he could put more force behind his hits now he was slowed. Or was that because of his enchanted gauntlets? She readied her shield and got the full force. Breaking her arm and her blades shield went flying over the cliff-face into the White River, not to be seen again. She lay slumped against the table await the final blow from the devastating warhammer that would end her life.
After a second that felt like an hour she opened her eyes to see Tarthas standing over her gripping the hammer. Keri couldn’t believe her eyes. The spellsword had stopped Hajvarr’s finishing blow with his bare hands. He kneed the bandit leader in the groin that made him fall to his knees. Tarthas unsheathed his sword and with a single arm lopped the bandit’s head off.
“How is your arm? I need to take you to Kyne’s temple. I can’t heal broken bones. Not here. He took off the plates to see her arm was splintered and odd pieces of bone were sticking out at horrid angles. Keri felt feint. But toughed it out. “So much for honorable combat.”
“Anything goes when you are down. We need to get you to Kyne’s priest. It’s not far. Half hour’s walk. Take a swig from some healing potions. It won’t cure bones but I pray it makes you feel better.”
“You see, Keri.” Vaermina smirked. “He’s always tried to be there for you. Faithful to the hero that saved him from the bullies… until he could protect his hero himself when she was in need.”
Keri was speechless. She had nearly forgotten that event at White River Watch. Her shield arm had always been weaker after that fight Hajvarr. His gauntlets were in a trophy case by her bunk in Jorrvaskr.
“Tarthas was so skilled he joined the Circle in his first year. And believe me, if it hadn’t been because of your tough sparring in childhood he never would have. But I have another event to show tonight, dawn is on the horizon, but a lie in will do you and Nightshade some good.”
Once more Vera pulled Keri up the stairs through another door. But instead she was looking through a frosted window in a house she did not recognize.
Lakeview Manor was caked in snow. Little Nightshade pranced around in the foot high snow, tripping often. Dunking her face into the snow making the powdery snow poof up, slowly trickling back over her bushy black hair. Gaily she would jump back to her feet and chase the fox in the wintery morning. Everything glittered as the frigid sun’s rays touched Nirn.
Tarthas and Kerri-Anne watched from the frosted window, his arm hugging her closely by the waist. She leaned against him dreamily. “She’s grown so fast, our little cub. She needs to learn how to fend for herself in a couple years time. You and I both know how dangerous these woods are.”
“Frost trolls venture south this time of year. Do you think she has the strength for a bow? She’s agile enough to climb trees and shoot from a vantage point.”
Keri moaned “I love it when you get all tactical. Maybe not, but it is so good to have you back. She should be ready for a bow.”
“Zephyr is easy to draw. She should be able to shoot that.”
“The dwemer compound? It’s a heavy bow. She couldn’t lift it… draw it maybe. But it is made of dwemer steel.”
“Has your bow arm gotten weak, Keri? Nothing is heavy once you’re used to it. I’ll get it from the basement. Heck, you shoot a Nordic carved bow. Now that weighs a ton.”
He walked off down to the basement. Examining the mannequins with various suits of armour the blank wooden faces stared back at him. He was undaunted. He checked the weapon racks adorned with different artifacts and enchanted weaponry. The bow rack had three bows: zephyr, Keri’s bow and Tarthas’ 3E Ebony bow. He picked up zephyr lightly and a quiver of dwemer arrows.
Nightshade was chasing after an ancestor moth. What was one of those doing so far north? He called to her. The little lass stopped and grinned at her father. “Daddy!”
“Sweetheart.” Keri called. “Daddy is going to teach you how to shoot a bow. Listen carefully; he’s a very good teacher. But only if you listen.”
Nightshade pouted “Yes mum.”
Tarthas burned four rings onto a tree with a circle in the centre. He took ten large steps and drew a line in the snow with his boot. “Now look, Nightshade. One foot in front of the line, one foot behind. Your shoulders always have to be straight. As well as your back, like a T. Come closer. Look, an arrow has three feathers. Do you know what these are for?”
She shook her bushy head “No.”
“They are to make the arrow fly straight. The side with two feathers faces the bow. Otherwise…?”
“The feathers break?”
“Exactly!” Nightshade giggled at her right answer “Now stand straight. Pull the arrow closer as you are lifting the bow. Rest your pulling hand on your cheek. Then when you think your aim is right, let loose.”
And he shot the arrow, right into the bull’s eye. She cheered and exclaimed she wanted to try. So Tarthas gave their daughter the bow. She took an arrow from the quiver fixed in the snow. And followed her father’s instructions. She shot the arrow in the outer ring. Keri ran up and lifted her into her arms. “Who’s my brilliant archer?”
“But, mum, it didn’t hit the circle like daddy’s.”
She chuckled and stroked her head “Oh sweetcake, Daddy has practiced since your age. If you practice you will be just as good a shot as him. When the time comes.”
“But I want to be that good now!” she whined.
“In due time, with enough practice, honey.” Tarthas promised. “Go ahead and practice away. You’re a natural. I didn’t hit the tree when I got my first bow.”
The rest of the day, Nightshade stood in that one spot, shooting arrow after arrow with Tarthas correcting her and instructing. Cheering when she got closer to the bull’s eye.
Keri was at peace. This was the family she had dreamed of.
“Do you really want to forget Tarthas?” Vera asked, “That is your future. Don’t follow Sheogorath and kill Tarthas, or this dream will never come to fruition.”
She woke up to the typical clanging of Jorrvaskr. She felt refreshed and for once not entirely dizzy. She stroked her belly and whispered, “Nightshade…”
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I hope you enjoyed, comments would be appreciated.
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Cant wait to read more.