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The Road to Ruin	By : pirouette Category: +A through F > Elder Scrolls - Oblivion Views: 2501 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I neither own nor am affiliated with Bethesda or TES:Oblivion, and am making no money from this fic.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
The
Road to Ruin, Chapter Eight: Knight and Blade

The sun had been rising
steadily in the sky for two hours when a watchman shouted that there was
someone on the road. The gates were thrown open, and two people entered�but
only one was walking. A Nord, carrying a mer, began to climb the steps with
agonizing slowness.
Caleigh.
�No!� I shouted, taking the
stairs toward Burd three at a time. We met on the middle landing. His long
blond hair was matted with sweat and blood, but Caleigh was covered in
it. Her armor was dented and cracked, and she dangled unconscious in his grip,
head lolled back, arms hanging limply out to either side. It must have been a
long walk from Bruma.
I helped him ease her to the
ground. �By the Nine, what happened?�
Burd shook his head. �She
was determined to get us all through it alive. My shield broke halfway through,
and she decided she'd serve as a replacement. Ran out of potions in the last
room, and none of mine know how to heal. We got ambushed right at the end, and
she took the brunt. Collapsed when the Gate closed.�
I rubbed at the blood on her
face and found a cut at her hairline, which thankfully appeared to be the
source of most of the blood. Jagged at the edges. Made by claws. The right shoulder of her cuirass was
scorched, and I was sure that if I removed it I'd find heat blisters on her
skin. And her hands: charred black, sickeningly familiar.
Had to grab the stone to
close the Gate. Something about this thought caused the Xarxes to
stir, but I was too worried to pay it any attention.
Burd shifted her head
carefully, moving it to a more comfortable position on the stone, and it was
only then that I noticed his hands were just as damaged.
�Give me your hands.�
He shook his head. �Save
your magicka for your girl.� I cast anyway, and he grunted his thanks as he
turned to go. �We will keep you safe, my Lord,� he said by way of goodbye. �She
showed us how.�
It took me the better part
of an hour to heal her completely, and I still feared it would not be enough.
Healing magic is best cast when the wounds are fresh, before the body begins to
suffer from blood loss. I had Baurus take her armor to be repaired because I
could not tolerate his constant pacing. Cyrus proved to be a much more useful
aid. He helped make a pallet for her in the Great Hall, and as I cast and
waited, cast and waited, he washed the worst of the blood from her face, hands,
and hair. We changed her into a set of clean clothes together and threw those
she'd had on under her armor into the fire. The room was flooded with that same
thick smell she'd brought with her into the chapel at Kvatch, and then it
faded. After that, we simply waited for her to come to.
I heard her stir as I sat
beside her, pretending to read a book�honestly, I had been praying, but I had
not wanted Baurus to see and worry. She smiled as I looked over at her.
�Did you have fun being a
human shield?�
The smile faded. �I didn't
want them to die. It would have been my fault.�
I nodded at her, then looked
up to find Jauffre approaching.
�Thank the Nine,� he said,
falling to his knees beside her. She stared at him uncertainly. �It is good to
see you awake, Caleigh.�
She blinked once. Twice. �Thank you, Jauffre.�
�Do you need anything? Let
me get you some water.�
�Thank you.�
As he rose to get her drink,
she stared at me dazedly. �Am I hallucinating?�
�There was a lot of blood,�
I replied. �It unnerved him that most of it was yours.�
She sighed and sank weakly
back into the pallet. �So I feel.�
Jauffre and I spoke that
night, and he sent out for special rations from Bruma. She needed mutton, she
needed broth, and she needed to stay in bed for at least a week. We moved her
to the library, which was active enough to keep her from getting bored, but not
so busy as to exhaust her. To my surprise, the two of them spent large portions
of their days simply sitting and talking as she recovered her strength. When
Jauffre was not there, Cyrus and Baurus would read to her, or tell her stories
from their childhoods. Nights she spent with me, wrapped in my arms to fend off
the nightmares that my presence only partially prevented. She healed quickly.
Soon, her restless sleep was the only sign she'd been through another Gate at
all.
And then she had to leave
again.
Sancre Tor. I vowed that if
it took her from me, my first act as Emperor would be to find a way to destroy
the entire structure, completely and forever, Mehrunes Dagon and Tiber Septim
both be damned.

You know, we've tried to
have that place destroyed three times. There's no way to do it.
Those words have never
stopped me before.
And that's why you've
spent half your life in one sort of trouble or the other.

I gave myself three days
after she was up and about again before I allowed Jauffre to tell her she had
another task. He explained quite bluntly that we were likely sending her to her
death. But she left without protest, wearing the same armor that had seen her
through the Bruma Gate, and riding her unicorn. Both of them glistened in the
dawn sun, and for a moment I felt as though neither of them actually existed at
all. She goaded the beast into a gallop with a joyous shout, and they careened
down the mountain-face together, headed for Bruma, becoming more alive and more
themselves the further they moved from the walls of the Temple.
Once they were out of sight, I collapsed in the stables�the only place I knew I
would have any privacy for long�and cried. A frantic Baurus found me a few
hours later and proceeded to helpfully get me so inebriated that I couldn't
climb into my own bed without help. For once, Jauffre said nothing as he
ministered to me the next morning. That is how worried we all were.
I buried myself in the Mysterium
Xarxes in her absence, allowing it to draw me in, and snarling at anyone
who tried to pull me away, feeling strangely comforted by the terrible images
it insisted on showing me when I lost control. Soon, I managed to tear another
secret from its pages: a great Welkynd stone was the third item I would need
for the spell. I forced myself to throw the evil volume aside and turned to
researching the location of such an object. But the Xarxes had a strong
hold on me by then, and even as I read over the locations of known Ayleid
ruins, I found myself wondering what other spells were in the book. The
man I had been three years previous would have tried to find out without a
second thought. I was somewhat more capable of resisting the temptation, though
I had to think nearly constantly of Jauffre and Caleigh to keep my resolve
firm.
Thankfully, this time she
returned to me within five days, and when she threw open the doors to the
library and tackled me out of my chair, all thoughts of the Xarxes left
me. My hands moved to her side to shift her into a more comfortable position
and came back sticky with blood.
�Darling, you're bleeding.�
�Ow. Yes, that just
re-opened.�
Seconds later the wound was
gone, and she was telling me about Sancre Tor at breakneck speed.
�So you have the armor,
then?�
She nodded. �Yes, I gave it
to Jauffre.�
I sat up half-way and almost
bumped heads with her. �How long have you been here?�
�About an
hour.�
�Why did no one inform me?�
She giggled. �No one wanted
to! Jauffre said he's glad to have me back, because you've been simply
insufferable.�
I realized she was right
when I saw how happy everyone was to have her at the table again. All
our moods were greatly improved. The fact that she left me three days later to
retrieve the Welkynd stone meant nothing. If she had survived Sancre Tor, if
she had survived two Oblivion Gates, we knew that she could survive anything. I
took a week off from the Xarxes when she returned with the stone. The
fourth item was eluding me, in any case, and I wanted time to enjoy being
around her.
We knew it couldn't last.
Spending the rest of our days as a happy couple from morning until night was
impossible, but during that week we pretended that we would go on like that
forever. We rose late, went to bed early, paced the courtyard talking about
nothing important, and sat together at dinner as a couple. The only time she
left my side was to take Celeste out for a wild ride once each day, when I took
advantage of the quiet and prayed. Our days had a perfect rhythm. But, when
Jauffre approached us at breakfast on the eighth day with a look of foreboding,
we let the fa�ade crumble without a fight.
�Caleigh, I have a request
to make of you.�
Her, not
me. I tried not to glare at him.
�What is it, Jauffre?� She
poured and handed him a glass of water.
�I've been in contact with
the Countess again. Captain Burd has told her he does not have the manpower to
keep holding off the Mythic Dawn for long.�
She nodded. �Bruma is a
small city, but if you're thinking of sending me down there, I doubt I'll make
much difference.�
He shook his head. �No, I am
hoping to send you for help.�
She took my hand under the
table and squeezed it reassuringly. �To where?�
�Every
major city. If the Counts and Countesses know Martin is here, they will
send soldiers to aid in Bruma's defense.�
My heart sank. Another
extended absence.
She picked at her food.
�This is because I'm the Hero of Kvatch, isn't it.�
He nodded, and she sighed.
�Don't take this the wrong way, Martin, but sometimes I wish I never closed
that Gate.�
�I understand, darling.�
Jauffre looked away politely as I kissed her cheek.
�Do you want me to leave
today?�
Jauffre glanced at me before
responding. �No, tomorrow will suffice. I have gifts for you, in any case, and
I am certain someone will need to show you how to pack them.�
�A gift?�
Jauffre stood. �Both of you, come with me.�
We followed him obediently
to the library, where Cyrus was draping several gowns over a free table.
Caleigh saw them and stopped in her tracks.
�Surely you're not thinking
of me wearing these!�
Jauffre chuckled at her, then explained patiently that she would need to look the
part when she went to ask for aid. �No one is going to give heed to a Bosmer in
man's trousers, Hero or no. Jena
picked these out for you herself.�
She took a step forward and
fingered the material of the dresses. There was a black velvet gown, heavily
brocaded, a red one, and a blue one that matched the color of her eyes
perfectly. Her fingers moved to touch the final dress, made of a finely
embroidered green silk, then twitched away. After listening to her lament that
she would never be able to fight in them without them getting ruined, Jauffre patiently
explained that she'd be wearing them in town, not on the roads or in the
wilderness. She should get a room in an inn, change, and then proceed from
there.
�And for Talos' sake, keep
your face clean!� He concluded. As he left us in the library, she rubbed at her
cheeks in paranoia, and I pulled her to me.
�Wear the blue one at dinner
tonight,� I whispered into her ear. �It will do amazing things for your eyes.�
She giggled and shook her
head.
�Please. You're going to be
leaving me alone again, and I want the image for company.�
She sighed. �You are very
lucky I love you.�
�I know.�
The kiss she gave me made
Cyrus cough awkwardly. She gave him a merry grin, but that night in the Great
Hall he claimed his revenge. We were all seated, passing food around for
dinner, and chuckling at her conspicuous absence from the table. Just when I
was considering sending Baurus to collect her, the barracks door slid open
quietly, and she stepped into the room. Her hair was just as tangled as ever, a
fact which served to accentuate how clean her face and hands were.
All conversation died. She
eyed us wildly and turned to flee, but Cyrus rose and caught her by the hand.
�My lady!
Allow me to escort you to your seat.�
Her face flushed scarlet.
�Don't tease me, Cyrus.�
�No, no! If we can just get
you to walk with some confidence, you'll fit right in with the castle crowd.
Baurus, don't you agree?� he added, smiling mischievously.
Baurus, who had been staring
at her open-mouthed and vacant-eyed, suddenly realized we were all looking at
him and began to sputter.
�Exactly.�
Cyrus seated her beside me and returned to his bench.
I don't remember much else
of that dinner�her gown was far too wide-necked, and her expression far too
vulnerable. Afterward, however, she returned to her more assertive self and
pulled Cyrus and Baurus aside. I watched them speak softly, making a point not
to look at me. An agreement must have been made, because they all nodded and
walked their separate ways.
�Well, my Lord, what shall
we do with our last night together?� she smiled at me, but her eyes were sad.
�Let me brush your hair.� I
took her by the wrist and led her to my room. We settled together on the bed,
and I began to work the tangles out of her hair as she rested her head in my
lap. Her eyes slid shut, and she made periodic hums of enjoyment. It hit me,
then, how terribly I was going to miss her, but if she noticed how my eyes
reddened she gave no sign. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep in my lap, and
I watched her drowse. I was worried, at first, that
she would have nightmares, but none came.
A knock on the door startled
us both into full alertness. Cyrus opened it partway and stuck his head in.
�Caleigh, the coast is
clear.�
�Mmmm. Thank you,� she
murmured, stretching. I stared at them both in confusion, but all Cyrus did was
wink.
�Come with me.� She took me
by the hand and dragged me out of the room, leading me to the library. We stepped
through the doors, and after she slid them shut she kissed me with a ferocity
that brought all manner of dark thoughts to the forefront of my mind.
�Not here,� I gasped as she
nibbled at my ear.
�It's safe. Baurus is
watching the outer door, and Cyrus is making sure no one enters from the Great
Hall.�
By San�Akatosh, I love
you. �Why?�
Her lips brushed mine as she
began to unfasten my collar. �A change of routine for you.
I don't want the walls to close in again when I leave.�
I didn't tell her that they
likely would, anyway. Instead, I bit her, taking advantage of the wide neckline
of the gown. She hissed at me and yanked at my hair. As pain seared through my
nerves, I felt the last of my priestly resistance crumble. My fingers tangled
into her hair, and I shoved her stomach against the long, low table that had
just hours earlier held the gown she was wearing. And it would hold it again. I
began to work at the laces keeping it against her as she struggled
just enough to be encouraging. The table legs scraped against the floor as I
pressed myself against her and nipped at her shoulder again.
The laces undone, I grabbed
her by the shoulder and pulled her standing, allowing her to kiss me as I slid
the shoulders of her gown off. It fell to the floor with a quiet rustle,
leaving her naked in a pile of velvet. She tugged at my robe insistently, and
soon it had joined her dress on the floor. When she reached for my trousers, I
stopped her.
�No.�
She looked at me in
confusion, and I smiled. �I want to set the pace.�
I laughed as she groaned in
frustration. �Fine!�
I pulled her to me and
kissed her lips, neck, shoulders. My tongue traced
along her collarbone and trailed down toward her nipples, which I licked and
sucked until she staggered and groaned.
�Let-let me sit down,� she
gasped.
�No,� I grinned, and shoved
her until her back was against the banister leading down to the main door.
�Hold on.� Her fingers clutched at the wood and she tossed her head back,
arching against me. My teeth sank into her neck and I gave her backside a solid
spank, which was something I could never do in my room for fear of how well the
sound would carry. She whimpered happily and nuzzled at my neck. I took the
opportunity to elicit a few louder noises from her by sliding my hand between
her thighs and teasing her until her grip on the banister became
white-knuckled. I slid my fingers inside her and leaned my head down to get at
her chest again, chuckling at the way her arms were shaking as she supported
herself.
It took a few seconds for
the sound of the door at the base of the stairs clicking shut to register. I
looked over Caleigh's shoulder and spied Baurus. He was standing with his back
to the door, for once completely unarmored, and looking up at her naked form.
Our eyes met, and his mouth opened in surprise. His hand grabbed at the door
handle to back out again, but he stopped cold when I smiled at him. I lowered
my mouth to her neck and licked at her skin with excruciating gentleness, keeping
my eyes on him and my fingers working inside her. A slow smile spread across
his face as he heard her groan in response. I felt a pleasant pang in the pit
of my stomach at the sight. It had been far too long since I'd had an audience,
and I doubted Caleigh would mind. If I gave her the chance to
notice at all. I raked at her back with my free hand to make her groan
again, and Baurus released the door and let his arm fall absently to his side.
Knowing that he was watching
made me more intent on making her moan. I did everything I could to bring her
to the edge, to hear her make the frantic little gasps I loved so much. I was
acutely aware of how ragged my own breathing sounded in the openness of the
room, and once or twice I heard him sigh softly.
�Martin,� she gasped at
last, and I grinned down at Baurus, who swallowed nervously.
�Yes, my dear?�
Her eyes came open for the
first time since my fingers had entered her, and she pressed her face against
my own. �Please.�
�Do you want me?� I growled,
and she nodded desperately. I brought my lips to her ear and whispered four
words: �keep your eyes shut.�
They closed without protest,
and I kissed her fondly on the forehead. �Now turn around.�
As she obeyed, I saw Baurus'
mouth fall open again. He took her in raptly, eyes sliding along the curve of
her breasts and hips. I pulled her toward me by the hips, bending her at an
angle, and she grabbed at the banister for support. I let her stand that way
for a moment, waiting impatiently, as I moved away and unfastened my trousers.
As I stepped out of them, I spared another glance at Baurus, and found that he
was watching me�not her. Our eyes met again, and suddenly I understood.
When my hands grabbed onto
Caleigh's hips, she groaned in annoyance. Baurus chuckled silently at the
sight, and I spared him another smile before I made her mine.
�Is this what you wanted?� I
asked, mostly for Baurus' benefit, and smiled at him again as she nodded and
gripped the banister more tightly. He licked his lips as he watched her show me
the pace she wanted by pressing back against me forcefully. Soon she had me
groaning, the sound of which caused Baurus' lips to part and his eyes to
unfocus. I wondered if he were pretending he were in
my position or Caleigh's�or if he were the one eliciting those noises from me.
I spanked her again, using the sound to snap him back into the moment. She
tightened around me, and I nipped at her shoulder blade in response. Baurus
took a quiet step away from the door, making sure to keep his boots from
echoing on the floorboards. Not that Caleigh would have registered the sound by
that point�she was far too focused on the feel of me inside her. I licked at
her back and dug my fingers into her shoulders, and she gasped and bucked
against me, tightening even further.
I lost all sense of time and
continued on in a haze, letting his responses to my actions dictate what I did
to her. When our eyes met, neither of us could smile any longer�his face was
fraught with need, and it was taking everything I had not to beckon him up the
steps. I almost managed to rationalize it, but I couldn't quite convince myself
that Caleigh would actually be accepting. Admitting to me that she would
bed Baurus was not quite the same as actually agreeing to do so. And so I
forced my hands to remain against her skin and tried not to think about what he
would look like shirtless and pressed between us�how his lips would feel
against mine�what the two of us could do to her together.
�Martin,� she gasped, losing
her grip and beginning to slide for the floor. I caught her around the waist
and guided us both to our knees. She was making sounds that were halfway
between pants and groans and clawing at the hardwood floor. I felt just as
desperate as she sounded. We climaxed together, her with eyes still tightly shut, mine locked on Baurus' face. He bit at his knuckles to
keep himself from adding his own voice to ours. He backed out of the room while
she recovered in my arms, panting and drenched in sweat. She refused to put the
dress back on, insisting that it would get dirty, so I loaned her my robe and
we sneaked back to my room. If anyone had stumbled across us it would have been
painfully clear what we had just done, but even Baurus and Cyrus were nowhere
to be found.
I managed not to feel guilty
until the next morning when she woke me from my nightmares at dawn with a
gentle kiss. My priestly conditioning had taken back over in the night, and I
was soon convinced that I had violated her trust. If she ever found out I had
let him watch, she would never forgive me. Akatosh would turn away from me for
backsliding into my old habits. Baurus would never be able to look us in the
eyes again.
I was wrong in that regard,
at least. Baurus was quite able to look us both in the eyes�into hers with open
longing, and into mine with purest terror. I tried smiling to reassure him, but
all that did was remind him more fully of the events of last night, and his
breath caught. After that, he focused his attentions on the floor.
Jauffre and I both sent her
off with letters of introduction to facilitate her requests for aid. This we
had discussed beforehand. What we had not discussed was my decision to
send Baurus along with her, as well. When I announced that little detail to
them, everyone jumped.
�I want someone along with
her who can keep us updated on her progress,� I said to Jauffre. I did not tell
him that I believed that I would go insane if I went another month with no word
of her actions�his expression told me this was not a new fear of his.
When he went to go pack, I
followed, glad to find the barracks empty.
�Baurus,� I began, and he
cut me off.
�Sir, if this is about��
�It is not. I want to warn
you about something.�
He stuffed a change of
clothes into his pack and began to belt his sword, still not meeting my eyes.
�I believe more Gates will
be opening up soon. If that is the case, Caleigh is going to need you. I'm
sending you along because I can't be there for her myself,� I muttered,
resisting the urge to kick at Jauffre's pallet.
I was worried he would ask
how I knew�I did not want to have to tell him that the Mysterium Xarxes had
shown me. At first I had believed that the visions of Gates outside of
every city had been more of its lies, designed to torment me as I attempted to
glean more information. But the visions were recurrent, and always fleeting,
and came to me when I was winning our struggles. Something the book did not
wish me to see. Thankfully, Baurus was used to working with my father, and
seemed to assume that I had inherited his powers as a seer.
He turned to leave the
barracks, then looked back over his shoulder
uncertainly. �I'm sorry.�
My head jerked up. �What?�
�About last
night. I'm sorry. I didn't want you to know.�
I gave him a small smile.
�By Akatosh, don't think I am sending you away because�Baurus, I'd planned this
at dinner.�
And then they both were
gone. I tried to resign myself to being alone. I tried to keep myself from
fleeing at once to the Mysterium Xarxes and flinging open
its pages. But I had it in my hands within the hour, and it latched onto my
mind with unusual force. I tried to ascertain the fourth item needed to
retrieve the Amulet. I tried to keep control. But its evil power soon overtook
my mind once more, and my vision filled with a single image: Caleigh, on her
knees in the middle of the ruins of a great city, staring skyward with empty
eyes and
blood
on her armor because of you
in
the rain screaming because of you
I flung the book away with a
shout and discovered that the day had passed me by. But one image lingered in
my head for an instant after the others had faded away�a Gate such as the one
that had opened outside Kvatch, massive in scope. The tower inside, which I had
never seen but Caleigh had described to me, and the stone in its center.
�Great Sigil Stone,� I
whispered, and I knew that I had won. I ran to Jauffre with a shout of joy,
ignoring the fact that I also appeared to be crying. I told him the news in the
middle of the hall, and he gave a small smile.
�Excellent. That means we
can lock that book away until it is needed for the spell.�
I faltered. �What?�
�Martin, I am not letting
you near it any longer.�
My fingers began to tingle
as a spell rose unbidden in my mind, but I forced myself to remain in control.
�Why?�
�Do you have any idea how
much weight you have lost since it was brought here? How haggard you look?� He
shook his head and took steps toward the library. My fingers rose, and the air
crackled�
Cold mountain air brought me
back to my senses. I had fled the hall. Thank Akatosh. But even as relief at my
freedom washed over me, I felt a sense of regret, because my last escape had
been taken from me. There was nothing else left for me behind these walls.
Baurus became my saving
grace in the weeks that followed. He returned with regularity, keeping me
updated on Caleigh's actions, and telling me about the state of the world at
large. It quickly became clear that Jauffre had been keeping a great deal of
the unease and fear of the populace from me. I could not be angry with him for
it�since the Xarxes had been taken from me, I'd watched myself recover,
and I had to admit I would not have been able to handle the news until
recently. As soon as I started to put weight back on, he began to plan with me
once more. We were in near constant communication with the Countess of Bruma,
keeping her updated on our progress as she politely kept us informed of how
many Gates Burd and his men had prevented from opening. She was a pleasant
enough woman, and I hoped the rest of the Counts and Countesses would be as
direct as she tended to be. It would certainly make my life easier.
Much of the news from
outside the walls was dire, indeed. Caleigh had gone first to High Chancellor
Ocato, who had not only refused to send any of the Imperial Legion to Bruma's
aid, but had also attempted to proposition her. When she declined, he'd shoved
her into against the nearest wall and whispered something into her ear. She
returned to where Baurus waited in the hall in tears, and with a dark, angry
bruise on her neck. I asked what Ocato had said, but he shook his head.
�She wouldn't tell me.�
It took all my diplomacy not
to let this tale affect the tone of my response when he finally sent us a token
message.
And then the Gates began
opening. By this time they had made it to Cheydinhal, and Caleigh sent Baurus
back to me with word. It had been a week since they first left. I was already
upset by Ocato, but when I heard that she intended to closing the Gate that had
opened outside Cheydinhal, I snarled at him for not being there with her. When
he told me his plan was to leave that night to return to her side, I was
somewhat chastened.
�I am sorry to have to pass
on such bad news,� he muttered at last.
I shook my head. �Bad news
is better than no news, believe me. How did she handle the appearance of the
Gate?�
Baurus shook his head and
didn't reply.
We fed him and gave him more
money for when he and Caleigh moved on to the next city, and I walked him to
the stables, ignoring how Jauffre shook his head. Baurus had lamed his horse on
the ride to the Temple. I decided
to loan him the one I had ridden in from the Priory, which certainly had energy
to spare. When we stepped inside and began to repack his gear onto his new
horse, he sighed and shook his head.
�I'm supposed to pass a
message on to you.�
�Oh?�
He stepped around the bay
and drew close to me. Opened his mouth, closed it. Shook his
head. �By Talos, I can't believe��
He grabbed me roughly around
the waist and pressed his lips to mine. My initial shock passed soon into a
thrill of nerves as he coaxed me to respond. We staggered backward, and I
slammed into the wall of the stables. My eyes slid shut, and I took in the
smell of him. The warmth. The desperate need he
couldn't quite conceal in the pace of the kiss�
And then he pulled away from
me.
�From
her?� I panted, and he nodded.
�She knew I was there that
night.�
�Clearly.�
I straightened my robe and resisted the urge to pull him back against me.
Finally, he looked me in the
eyes again. �Anything I should tell her?�
I grinned and spoke before
the priest in me could shriek too loudly in protest. �Go ahead and give her a
kiss for me.�
His eyes widened. �Sir?�
�Baurus.
A kiss. You're allowed nothing more.�
He chuckled and took the bay
by the reins. �If she stabs me, I am never forgiving you.�
�Oh, she won't stab you.� I
let him take his leave wondering exactly what I meant by those words, then
spent the rest of the evening in prayer to Akatosh.
And so it went. I'd have no
word for a few weeks, and then he would rush into the Great Hall and tell me
everything he could of her before riding away to return to her side. When he
was not there, I fell into a sort of limbo, praying, and reading about the
Amulet and the Dragonfires. I couldn't shake the thought that there was
something I was missing, but Jauffre refused to hand the Mysterium Xarxes
back over to me, insisting that I was not yet healthy enough to return to its
pages.
She passed through the Gate
at Cheydinhal safely, returning with the Count's foolish son and one of his
equally foolish friends. They had entered while half-drunk, determined to earn
the name of Hero for themselves. As a reward for her
service to the Count she was given a sword; for the son, a necklace; and for
the city, a house, which she moved into and began to use as a base while she
was away from the Temple. I tried
to hide just how angry that bit of news made me: it was unreasonable, I knew,
but I still felt betrayed. My room should have been her only home.
They traveled next to
Chorrol, then to Skingrad, before Baurus could return to me again and tell me
that two more Gates had fallen to her. I wanted to be pleased, and share in
Jauffre's hopeful smiles, but I felt sick in the pit of my stomach. Of all
those assembled in the hall, only he and I knew what she went through at night,
in her sleep. When we found ourselves alone in the armory, collecting new
arrows for Caleigh, I asked him how she was sleeping, and he found it suddenly
difficult to meet my eyes.
�She has�sir, she has been
sneaking into my room and climbing into bed with me at night. It's the only way
she ever gets any sleep.�
Electricity sparked between
my fingers, but I forced myself to think. He caught the change in the air and
continued hastily.
�All I have done is hold her! I would never�by Talos, she would never!�
As he invoked her, my anger
faded. �I know, Baurus. I am sorry. It is hard being here alone.�
He sighed. �I've been
dreading telling you that.�
I shook my head. �No,
continue. Start sleeping in the same room, if you wish. I trust you both.� I
had a sudden vision of the two of them growing close, of Caleigh moving on when
I was crowned and having a happy, normal life with Baurus, and felt utterly
paralyzed.
- 7
- 8
- 9
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The Road to Ruin