Moonlight's Embrace (A Skyrim Fanfic) (ORIGINAL)

Brynjolf

WBE: 257
WAE: 640

(BRYNJOLFPOV)

((13th of Sun's Height, 4E 205, 11:53 p.m.))

After the lass laid down to sleep, I kept a careful eye on her skin. It remained as creamy pale as it was the day I had first seen her. The scar on her cheek edged out in the torchlight.

Farkas slowly let the lass down on a bedroll, and I was surprised that such a burly man could treat someone so softly. He and Karliah laid down on their own thin bedrolls, though I found myself unable to sleep. My hand went to my pocket, where the silver dragon necklace stayed hidden in a bundle of fabric.

I remembered buying it, of course. Years ago...

It was months after the lass had joined the Guild, and... Well, I'd been more than a little endeared to her. I'd dug out as many septims as I could muster and gone around looking for something that probably didn't exist.

Starmetal.

I had read about it in a book once. It was more precious than gold and ten times harder to find. It was a legend, and not many people knew exactly what it was. But still, I kept looking.

Eventually, I'd heard tell of a mysterious occurrence in northern Cyrodil. Some kind of meteor had crashed through Bruma's temple, and it glistened like the brightest of stars. That had been my cue to take the slim chance and run with it.

My attempts to bribe the priests hadn't done much, but paying off the guards worked out fine. I left with what I'd come for, a hunk of starmetal. I wasn't a god-fearing man, but it had to be the work of the Divines for something like that. It couldn't have been a coincidence.

I'd gone to the only person who might be able to temper starmetal-- the smith in Whiterun. That in itself took most of the money I had, but I'd continued to tell myself that it was worth it. That she was worth it.

I asked for a small dragon pendant, to represent her. As an afterthought, I'd requested a single detail-- emerald eyes to match my own. A ridiculous thing to do, but it was an impulse. I'd finally procured the rarest metal on Nirn and convinced someone to create a pendant out of it.

I recalled her glee when I finally presented it to her, and a smile crept unbidden to my lips. She clearly didn't know the extent of what I'd done to be able to give it, but I didn't care. I'd been thinking of nothing but her happiness and that it was the only thing that mattered.

Then why had I acted like that was the one thing that didn't matter?

A blast of wind coursed through the temple, extinguishing our torch. "Damn," I cursed, searching for flint to relight it. The temple was pitch-black, no light to help me.

What if Russet's being attacked? What if she's dying? What if she's already dead?! I shook Karliah's arm, but the Dark Elf continued to sleep. I shoved her, and still she slept. There was a stillness that sent chills into my bones.

Whatever happened, I needed to make sure Russet was safe. Stumbling over to her sleeping form, I dug out my dagger and held it to her hand. It was covered with dragon's scales. There was no opening on her body except her face. Her beautiful skin was nearly entirely unblemished, and I made a split decision.

I ran my fingers over her face, searching for the scar. The lass was cold to the touch, and I gasped in fear. Acting quickly, I swiped the blade down her cheek.

A terrible minute passed.

Then two.

The waiting was heart-wrenching.

"Please, lass," I begged. "Please wake up."