The morning sun crept over the horizon and gently illuminated Erika's face as she stirred from her dazed consciousness. All was quiet... all was peaceful... and the agonizing chaos of Markarth's grand battle against the Order of the Dagger seemed a distant memory. Erika weakly gazed at the view from the tower she found herself resting upon, and embraced the serenity of the moment with a resigned and relieved sigh.
"You're awake..." Rikka said quietly, sitting just across from her sister.
Erika looked pitifully at her. "You... saved me..."
"I did." Rikka nodded.
"They... they know who you are now..."
"It doesn't matter... I am accustomed to life in the dark, with not but the light of the moon to guide my path."
"... I..."
"Sister...?"
"I never wanted this for you, Rikka..." Erika's voice broke ever-so-slightly. "I wanted you to... to be happy... to live a good life... ... I tried so hard... I..." A tear rolled down Erika's face. "I've failed..."
Rikka solemnly rose to her feet and calmly approached her sister, then knelt before her. "Erika... why do you do this to yourself?"
"Do what...?"
"You blame yourself, for the blood on my hands... as if you yourself killed in my place."
"I was your keeper..." She breathed shakily, "I swore to mother and father that I would look after you... ... and now look at us. I... I might never even... see you again..."
A genuine look of pity and sadness came over Rikka's face as she looked her sister in the eyes. "Erika..." She put her hands to Erika's face, wiping away her tears before speaking again. "You did not falter in your oath... no matter my crimes, no matter the consequences... you were always there for me, ready and willing to do everything in your power to help me. .... And you did do everything in your power. Don't you dare deny that to yourself."
"But... look at you... what you've become..."
Rikka shook her head sadly. "That was never your choice to make... I... I'm sorry..." She looked down, unable to maintain visual contact with Erika's grieving expression. "But the choice to... to kill... ... the choice was mine. And when I killed, I felt neither guilt nor shame. ... ... Except when I thought of you. ... ... ... ... I never wanted you to know... I never wanted this... for either of us. I wanted us... I wanted you... to live in peace. I wanted you to pursue your lifelong dream of danger and excitement... without carrying the baggage of my... my bloodlust."
The two remained silent for 20 long seconds, before Rikka spoke again.
"Do you remember... back in Cyrodiil, when we read of the Oblivion Crisis?" She chuckled sadly. "We went searching outside for Daedra to conquer, and... all we found was a mudcrab."
"Those dreadful things..." Erika choked up, attempting to smile at the memory.
"Yes..." Rikka, too, shared a smile as they recalled their misadventure. "But you've actually met Daedra in Skyrim... haven't you?"
"Once... it was quite the adventure."
"I'll bet it was. .... And that's where your mind ought to be." Rikka put a reassuring hand on Erika's shoulder. "That's where you belong; going out there, prowling ancient crypts, fighting all manner of beasts and monsters... ... ... giving honor to the Northwing name. That's what you were born to do... ... that is your calling. Please... I beg of you, for your own sake... ... do not carry my burden on your shoulders any longer."
"But... what about you...?"
Rikka looked down again, then looked back up at her sister's teary eyes with a solemn yet peaceful expression. "My calling is in the shadows... to kill silently, and to slip away into the night without a trace. .... That is what I was born to do. Of that I have no doubt. .... .... As wretched a creature as it makes me, it is my calling... it is my curse... and it is my destiny."
Erika sadly shook her head, her lip quivering as she spoke. "It doesn't have to be your destiny..."
"It is the destiny I have chosen... and its path is mine alone to bear. Whatever destination awaits me for it... I shall accept the consequences for my actions. This is my choice, Erika... I can live with it, but you cannot. Nor should you try to."
"... ... I've missed you, Rikka... ..."
Rikka was taken aback. "... ... Yes... as I've missed you... Erika ..."
"Oh, look at us... what a mess we've gotten ourselves into..."
"Wouldn't be the first..."
Erika finally set loose an honest chuckle. "No... no it wouldn't."
Rikka smiled warmly at her sister and hugged her gently. Erika could feel her sister's tears against her neck, and as Rikka drew back she took a deep, shaky breath before rising to her feet. "But in spite of everything... no matter what... I swear to you, if anyone should threaten your life... I will not rest until they themselves have died."
"Thank you..." Erika said in a fragile tone.
Rikka nodded in response, then turned her attention to the staircase leading up to the tower's highest point. She could hear the sound of Marudil's footsteps rushing up the steps, and knew that the Markarth guards would no doubt take advantage of this and attempt to arrest her. She walked to the edge of the tower, and admired the sunrise... somehow, she felt, a new day was on the horizon. And whatever that day would bring... things would never be the same as they once had been. Rikka took one last look at her sister, before leaping over the edge of the tower and vanishing into the streets below...
Erika sat wearily in the captain's quarters of the Crimson Wing. She'd not said a word since Marudil and the Markarth authorities had recovered her from the tower and tended their wounds (though it was discovered that most of Erika's injuries had been well-mended already). Marudil recognized that something was amiss, but concluded that Erika was best left alone for the time being. Whatever pain her sister had brought, he recognized that it was far too personal for him to be involved in. And so he tended to his own troubles, recovering gradually from the grievous injuries he'd sustained in battle.
In her private chambers, Erika stood from her desk and approached the bookshelf just beside her bed. She looked through the various stories and historical accounts she'd collected over the years, when a particularly familiar book caught her attention. Specifically, a book she hadn't seen since she left Cyrodiil. She took the book from its shelf and opened it up, revealing the table of contents. Every story she'd ever loved as a little girl was recorded here... it was the book that had molded her into the adventurer she grew up to be. But there was something else... just behind the first page of the book, there was a note that had been tucked away, addressed to her. Erika curiously opened the note, which read One day they'll tell of your quests in a book like this. May your path lead you to glory and happiness. As Marudil passed by her door, he could hear the muffled sound of Erika weeping...
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