Ylva
Would the pain ever stop?
It was the same every day. They came, they tortured me until I passed out, and when I woke back up, they started again. They had used every tool in their extensive arsenal against me. Twice.
When the damage they had done became life-threatening, they sent down a healer to ensure I would live until I could talk. The healers never completely restored my injuries; they only ever healed the worst of the damage, the most dangerous of the damage. It was a tactic that both kept me alive and kept me submissive.
Elenwen rarely did any of the tormenting herself anymore. She knew better than to get close to me, after all. After being burned so severely by my Fire Breath Shout, she had been keeping a safe distance between herself and me. Her healers had managed to mend her, but there was still evidence of her unfortunate accident.
However, she oversaw all of the torture sessions. She stood just outside my cell, sneering with sick glee, and asked me the same question, over and over.
"Do you concede?!"
"No!" I shouted back, screaming as the Thalmor torturer screwed another blade into my side. My bloody nails dug into my palms, and I bit my lip so hard, it bled, but I refused to give in.
Elenwen sighed, brushing her fingers through the one-half of her head of hair. The other half, though growing back, was kept shaved, and it gave my captor an even more menacing look.
Maybe that was what she was going for.
"That's enough for now," she said, motioning for the torturer to step back. "I'll send a healer down here to make sure your knives didn't puncture too deeply."
"You insult me, Madame Ambassador," said the torturer, whose grin matched his crooked personality. "My knives never critically injure. I know exactly where to stab to cause both the most pain and the least damage."
"All the same, she is too valuable to lose. If you'll please stand aside. I'll have the healer pull the knives from her when she arrives."
"Yes, Madame."
Then, Elenwen turned to me. "As for you, we will continue this shortly. You've been here for three weeks now. You are going to break."
I spat blood at her, but it only hit the floor in front of her. "We'll see about that."
Without another word, the pair left.
Panting, I closed my one good eye—my other one had swollen shut from the beating I sustained yesterday—and tried to ignore the pain in my sides and legs. Tried to ignore the weak voice in the back of my mind begging me to submit. Tried to ignore the nagging fear that I would be trapped here until my heart gave out or they broke me.
Elenwen had said I had been here for three weeks, but to me, an era had passed. An era filled with pain and suffering.
I only opened my eye when the door to the prison had creaked open, and it was only to make sure that Elenwen had not come back to inflict even more pain on me.
Instead, I saw a friendly face staring back at me.
"Faerie?" I croaked. Was she really here with me, or was my mind playing tricks?
"It's me, General," she said as she opened the cell door. "Gods, what have they done to you?"
"Are we getting out of here?"
She smiled. "Yes, General. First, though, I've got something for you." She reached into the folds of her healing robes and produced a small, red vial. "I couldn't smuggle much in, since they're already suspicious of me, but this is a really powerful healing potion. I'll remove those knives, then you can take it."
I nodded. "Just do it."
Before she took hold of the first knife, Faerie helped me wedge a strip of leather—something else she had smuggled in—in between my teeth. I bit down on the leather hard as she grabbed the first knife. She pulled it out, slowly but smoothly, and let it drop to the bottom of the cell. She repeated the process until every blade had been removed and discarded, and I was left a teary, bloody mess.
"Worst of it's over, General," she said as she took the leather strip out of my mouth and unstoppered the vial. "You'll feel much better after this."
With her help, I drank the potion in one gulp, moaning as it took effect instantly. I could feel my skin crawling as it mended, feel the pressure in my eye lessen, until I could actually see and stand on my own.
"I know it's not perfect," said Faerie as she produced a key from her robes, "but it'll do." She reached over my head, having to stand on her tiptoes, and unlocked the shackles. I fell into her waiting arms, and she managed to hold me upright until I could get my feet under me.
"That's enough talk," I said, groaning as I placed a hand over my ribs. Despite the pain, my spirits were lifted. I was free. We were getting out of this dreadful place. "We need to move before they come back."
"Agreed. This way." As she led the way out of the prison, she handed me a dagger. I grinned. At least I could defend myself should we have to fight.
"You know how heavily guarded this place is, don't you?" I asked as we crept up the stairs, towards the door leading into the Solar.
"It's not now. Elenwen's in the Embassy. Had something to discuss with her commanders. I don't know what, exactly, but I'm pretty sure it had to do with you not surrendering."
I smirked. "They're getting restless."
Faerie glanced over her shoulder and grinned back at me. "And now that you're free, something's bound to give."
We made our quick and quiet way through the empty Solar, blessing the gods for keeping us out of danger. It seemed strange, but I wasn't about to complain about the quiet. Not when it meant my freedom.
"There's no way we could make it to the front gate," said Faerie as we crouched by the door leading outside. She had gotten her own weapon out of her robes while we worked out the escape plan, "but there's a place we can slip through undetected. Can you climb a fence?"
"If it means leaving this godsforsaken place forever, I can fly."
She smiled. "I'm so glad you're my General."
With that, we stood and opened the door.
Right into an army.
Two dozen or so Thalmor had gathered in a semicircle around the front of the Solar, all with weapons at the ready.
I wasn't going back there. Not to that horrible place. I would rather die.
Faerie made the first move, and it was a bold one. She charged right into the middle of the Thalmor and cut down two of their soldiers before they even knew what was happening. The snow-covered cobbles ran with blood as she kept up her voracious attack, and soon, I joined in. My dagger flashed in the noon sunlight as I cut through fingers and severed tendons.
We fought, but the Thalmor just kept coming. Four of the soldiers came at me and grabbed my arms, wrenching my dagger from my grip and fighting to restrain me with chains. One slipped a gag over my head, but before she could tie it around my mouth, I bit her finger clean off. The taste of her blood filled my mouth, and I spat to rid myself of the coppery tang.
Two more guards took her place, and I had to think fast before I was chained. Picking my feet up, I leaned backwards into their grip and Shouted, "Fus, ro DAH!" All six of us went sailing backwards with the force from my Thu'um. I landed on top of them and rolled away, scrabbling for any weapon I could get my hands on. I eventually found an elven blade and snatched it up, before running to regroup with Faerie.
We stood back-to-back amidst a sea of gold armor, swords pointing in front of us as we circled.
"You'll never take us alive!" screamed Faerie.
"Correction: we'll never take you alive."
We both froze as the Thalmor parted and let Elenwen through. My heart stopped, and my knees buckled. No. No, I couldn't go back there.
"Faerie," I whispered as Elenwen got closer, "please. Run me through. Kill me. I can't—"
"Cut their knees."
One of the soldiers lunged forward and slashed his sword across our kneecaps, causing us to fall to the ground. Two soldiers raced forward and restrained us before we could stand, pulling our hands behind our backs and yanking our hair so we had to look up at Elenwen.
"Did you really think you could get away that easily?" The Ambassador clucked her tongue and shook her head. "I knew it was only a matter of time before this Bosmer tried to free you. No self-respecting Wood Elf would willingly come here."
Faerie spat on Elenwen's feet. "At least I have honor. At least I care about my General."
"Enough to die for her? Pathetic. You've been in this land for too long; these archaic Nord beliefs of honor and glory have corrupted you."
"No, when your soldiers burned my village and laughed, when they slaughtered my family, that was when I was 'corrupted,' although I like to think that was when I found my calling. And I'll be damned if I let you do that to Skyrim."
"Would you like to see your family again?"
Her orange eyes only blazed. "Send me to Sovngarde. I go knowing that I did my part."
Without another word, the Thalmor holding her ran his sword through her chest. The fire in her eyes died as she took her last breath.
"No!" I screamed, tears welling in my eyes as the Thalmor ripped his blade out of her still chest.
Elenwen sidestepped Faerie's body as it fell, then grabbed my hair and pulled me to my feet. "As for you, I'm not finished with you yet." She looked over my shoulder. "Take her back to the dungeons. Break her legs. And double the security outside my Solar. There's no telling if those rebels will risk another rescue attempt." She shook her head. "These people never learn."
I let my head fall against my chest as Elenwen released me. Two Thalmor, one on each arm, dragged me back into the Solar, and I went without a word. I could not get Faerie's dying eyes out of my head. It was my fault she had been killed.
I couldn't give in now. I couldn't let them break me. I couldn't let her sacrifice mean nothing. As if I didn't already have enough motivation, seeing Faerie willingly and bravely go to her death showed me I wasn't done. I could hold on.
Sovngarde awaits me, and I don't want to go a coward. I can, and I will, hold on.