Thank you all so much! Yeah I was pretty ill, but people seem to think that the fact I'm only 20 helped me recover as I'm so young! Haha

Good news! I managed to invest in a portable hardrive so I'm able to transefer Lissa's story to my friends computer which has internet, so you can expect the update on friday!!

I can't wait for you all to read it! It's my favourite chapter yet

Here it is guys! The next part in the Lissa Show. I want to thank each and every one of my readers for their patience, I promise you it is greatly appreciated.

A few notes before I get started:

I understand it has been a while so if any reader would like me to PM them a brief 'Story so far...' summary I would be more than happy to, but most of the tale can be gathered through the 'PREVIOUSLY' sections before the chapters.

Also, this chapter is a little long. I did split it into two parts but the first part I thought was to boring and not a viable return for Lissa so I combined them, HOWEVER I have split where the chapter would have been split, so you can keep track should you want to return to it

Anywho enough dribble. Enjoy! This is my favourite chapter yet

21. Chapter 8 ~ Kvatch ~ Part 1

It took the girls and I about a day to reach the city of Kvatch, where my mother was. However what we found was less than inviting. As we approached the road leading to the city we saw a man running full speed towards us. However as he was sprinting he went past us.

"It seems the Altmer is running from something..." Anyanka pointed out.

I shouted after the Altmer.

"EXCUSE ME! WHY ARE YOU RUNNING!"

He ignored me, which I thought was rude. I brushed it off and turned to the girls.

"So... what are we expecting when we get to Kvatch?"

"Whaddya mean?" Jessie asked me, slightly confused.

"Well that dude was clearly running away from something."

Anyanka shook her head. "That doesn't mean we are to expect danger. The Altmer could have possibly running from the guards for committing a crime."

"... I guess." I said, slightly disappointed that Anyanka had more common sense than I did. Jessie looked at me, worried.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah..." I lied, terribly. My voice gave it away too obviously. "Do I really have to go and speak to my Mother? Can't I just leave her a note?"

I heard Rihanae laugh. I don't think he realised that I was being serious.

"You have a lot on your mind, Lissa, It'll be good for you to get it out and speak to your mother about your queries."

I looked at Anyanka and smiled sheepishly.

"Why do you have to be so right about everything?" I joked.

"Of that I am unsure. I seem to just be a natural when it comes to common knowledge."

I laughed, then Rihanae prompted conversation.

"Why are you so afraid to speak with your mother? I thought you wanted to get answers from her?"

I do, more than anything. I just suck at confrontation, not to mention she'll probably go troll-ish at me for skipping out on her.

"I'm sure she has had time to get over it. If not, then you will have to just bear the consequences. You have a job to do, don't be afraid."

Well it's alright for you; you're already dead so she can't kill you!

Rihanae laughed, which caused me to laugh, which caused the girls to look at me. I looked at them, coughed and spoke.

"Shall we proceed?"

I started to walk, the girls trailing behind me.

Every step I took make my heart beat just that little bit faster. I was terrified. I had no idea how my mother would react to my being there and I had no idea how she would react to the question I travelled miles to ask her. She had a lot of explaining to do, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear it. I knew there was a reason that she forgot to inform me that I had a brother, let alone one that tried to kill me at every turn.

Did she know that Leinahtan was evil? Is that why she didn't tell us about him? Or did he turn evil because of how mother and father treated him?

Those were questions that flowed through my mind like clockwork. But questions were meaningless without answers, and I knew that the only way I could get answers was to speak with to the source.

Just as I finished thinking those thoughts I noticed something. At the end of the road there was something that looked like a campsite. Anyanka mentioned nothing of what looked like a refugee camp outside the city, and judging by the look on her face she knew nothing of it either.

Suddenly I saw Anyanka jolt past me and head toward the camp.

"Annie!" I yelled after her. I turned to Jessie. "What was all that about?"

Jessie shrugged her shoulders. We then began to jog after Anyanka. When we reached her she had already stopped speaking with the person she was talking to and began to run up the steep hill leading to the city. Jessie and I didn’t follow her, but instead decided to speak with the woman Anyaka had just finished conversing with.

"What's going on here?" I asked the Redguard woman.

"Oh it's terrible! They came in the middle of the night! They've taken over the city!" She panicked.

"Who's taken over the city?" Jessie asked her.

The woman looked at her, a haunting look in her eyes.

"The Daedra."

My heart stopped for a beat.

"...Daedra?"

The woman nodded before collapsing in a fit of tears. Jessie kneeled down to comfort her, but I did no such thing. Instead I followed Anyanka's steps and sprinted toward the city. The Hill was steep but i didn't care. If Daedra had taken over the city, the city that my mother was in, then I had to do something, Anything. I wasn't about to leave her there.



The trek up the hill was hard, and what was terrifying was that as I ran closer to the summit the sky began to turn blood red. A storm began to roar, the air turning dense and evil.

Once I reached the summit I saw something incredible. Something I had never seen In my entire life.

A large gate stood in front of the city gate. The gate was producing what appeared to be large thorns which looked like they were dipped in blood as they ripped through the ground. The gate itself emitted a horrifying fiery glow, screaming loud and proud. I stood in awe. Forgetting for a moment that this thing was obviously dangerous. It was beautiful in a petrifying kind of way.

I snapped back into reality when I heard Anyanka call my name. I looked at her and she beckoned me over. She was stood with a soldier. They were stood behind a wooden barricade with other soldier that all looked like they were preparing themselves for combat.

"This is Savlian; he is captain of the guard here in Kvatch."

"What in oblivion is going on here Savvy?" I asked, terror and anger erupting from my voice.

"The gate came in the middle of the night..."

"Yeah and the Daedra have taken over the city, I know this."

"LISSA!" Anyanka scolded me. "Do not speak to the captain like that. It is very disrespectful."

I looked at Savvy, my eyes apologetic.

"I'm sorry, sir. It's just... my mother is in Kvatch and I just need to know she is safe."

"Apparently each and every person who didn't make it out of the city is dead," Anyanka said to me in that blunt, cold tone of hers. I wasn't appreciative of it. Before I could reply, Savvy did instead.

"That isn't strictly true. We have reports that there are a few survivors located in the chapel..."

My heart fluttered and I began to giggle with excitement.

"My mother lives in the chapel! Does that mean she is okay?"

"You're mother is in the chapel?" Savvy asked me, pondering a thought. "Could your mother be Oleta Cristenn?"

"YES! Yes that's her, that's my mother!"

"As I haven't heard back from anybody in the chapel for quite some time I can't promise you she is safe, but knowing your mother I am almost certain she is. She is a strong and determined lady."

I screamed with elation as I grabbed Savvy for a hug. Once I realised I was making a fool of myself I let go. I think he appreciated that I did.

"So, how do we destroy the gate? What is the plan?" Anyanka asked Savvy. He shook his head.

"I do not know. I have sent men in to investigate but so far we have come up with nothing as none of my men have returned."

"So we have no idea how to get rid of this thing?" I asked, worried.

"No, we do have something. According to some old books that we managed to salvage from the mages guild these are gates to Mehrunes Dagon's realm of oblivion. It seems that if we extract a sigil stone from its pedestal in the highest room in the tallest tower then the realm should destroy itself."

"So basically this sigil stone thingy-ma-bob is, like, the self destruct button?"

"Exactly." Savvy said. I looked at the gate. I wasn't sure if any of us would be able to get the sigil stone with our lives in tact. If what Savvy said was true, the realm may destroy itself with us in it. I wasn't going to take that risk.

"What is that?"

I spun my head and saw Jessie staring in awe at the gate,

"Is that an Oblivon gate?" She asked me.

"Yeah, and it's annoying." I said, turning back to Savvy. "Is there any way I can get into the city without disrupting the gate?"

"Well it appears that the gate formed about 30 feet from the front gate. If someone should get behind it they could enter the city with ease."

"Great, thanks."

I didn't need to hear anymore as I leapt over the barricade and headed to the city gate. However I was stopped in my tracks as Anyanka screamed at me.

"MAELISSA CRISTENN YOU GET BACK HERE IMMEDIATLY!"

I turned and looked at her.

"Annie my mother is in there and I'm going to rescue her, okay?"

My reply was met with a look of anxious disproval from Anyanka. Suddenly her expression changed from that look to a look of panic, a look which Savvy and Jessie also shared.

"LISSA, LOOK OUT!" Jessie screamed.

I turned my head toward the gate to see a fireball heading directly at me with incredible speed.

Before thinking I ducked to the ground, performing a split technique with my legs. I saw the fireball fly over my head as I unsheathed my bow and notched an arrow. Everything felt as if it were slow motion as I took aim at my attacker. It was a scamp. I'd seen them in some Aylied ruins on my travels and knew that they weren’t that tough an opponent. I pulled the string back and fired, still in the split position, and watched as the arrow hit the scamp perfectly. It was a headshot, killing it instantly.

Once it was dead Savvy and the girls ran toward me.

"Lissa, are you okay?" Jessie asked me, a panicked tone to her voice.

"Yeah…" I assured her, out of breath from the adrenaline. "Could you help me up?"

Jessie obliged and gave me her hand, hoisting me up back onto my feet. I brushed myself off.

"That was a reckless thing you did then, Lissa. You could have gotten killed!"

I ignored Rihanae's nagging, but I wasn't prepared for Anyanka to say the exact same thing.

"That was a reckless thing you did Lissa-"

"Yes, I know," I said, interrupting her. "I already got the memo."

I turned to Jessie, who had a more positive look about her.

"That was so awesome how you took care of that scamp!" She smiled. I smiled back.

"What can I say, acrobatics are just my thing I guess," I turned to Savvy. "So it seems the gate produced the Daedra?"

"Yes, we have been lucky to only get a few come out after they took over the city. We've only had possibly five appear each hour-"

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch..." Jessie said, looking at the gate in horror. We all joined her to see what she was looking at.

Dozens of scamps were strolling out of gate. I looked around at everyone. Everyone looked terrified, apart from Savvy and Anyanka, who both looked prepared for confrontation.

"Lissa..." Jessie said, slowly grabbing my hand.

Before we knew it there was at least sixty Scamp stood in front of the gate. They stood staring, waiting to attack.

They didn’t wait for long.

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First, Welcome Back Rihanae !!! I hope you are feeling much better and are OVER IT !!!

Second, None of this was boring! You have always had a knack for bringing out personality in your characters !!




I roared at this line, lol.

LOVED the chapter and having you back !!! Awesome Write !!

So nice to have Lissa and company back! Darn that Rihanae – his silent conversations at the most inopportune of times have a knack of making Lissa look silly to those around her.

I thought for a moment that Minerva was going to dress Lissa down and tell her to keep her pretty little Redguard mitts off Manheim! In the game at least, Minerva tells us she thinks the big Nord is sweet on her.

’I stood in awe. Forgetting for a moment that this thing was obviously dangerous. It was beautiful in a petrifying kind of way.’
What an effective description!

I agree with Lissa’s concern that pulling the sigil stone and destroying the gate from inside sounds sort of like suicide. I therefore like her plan of just slipping behind it, going into the city and sneaking back out with her mother – and then be on their way! Oops. . . not so fast. Three score of scamps seem not to have gotten the memo about Lissa’s plan. Gulp.

mALX: Thank you so much for the compliments! It is wonderful to be back and I hope you enjoy what is to come

Acadian: I'm so thrilled that you are so correct with Lissa's way of thinking! However, her plans never seem as simple as they do in her head thank you so much for the compliments

Again another slightly overlong chapter, but it is my favourite so far. I hope you enjoy

PREVIOUSLY: As Lissa and the girls reach Kvatch they discover that overnight it has been ovverrun and practically destroyed by Daedra that spawned from what Savlian, captain of the Kvatch guard, called an 'Oblivion gate'. When Lissa plans to avoid the gate and go directly into the city to rescue her mother her plans are scuppered by an army of Scamps that block her path.

22. Chapter 8 ~ Kvatch ~ Part Two

"BACK! Everyone spread out!" Savvy ordered to his men. The soldiers all took their positions, the swordsmen charging at the scamps and the rangers taking shield behind the barricade.

Before even having a chance to think, the girls and I readied for attack. Jessie and I unsheathed our bows and fired at the incoming Scamp. They shot fireballs at us but, luckily, they were slow enough for us to dodge.

We continued to fire as Anyanka took her blade and charged at the scamp, casting a shield spell as she ran. I watched as she stabbed, slashed and sliced a bunch of Scamp before I had time to even blink.

I looked over at Jessie who was preparing a summon. I looked back over at the Scamp. One of them was glaring at me. I smiled as it charged for me. I notched an arrow as I ran towards it, leapt over its head, spun to face it once I hit the ground and fired, killing the scamp.

Before I had time to appreciate my victory I heard Anyanka scream that something was behind me so I spun again, performing a roundhouse kick and knocking down many of the Scamp with a domino affect. I backed away as the scamp began to approach me, but just as they got closer I felt a chill of cold breeze past me and hit one of the Scamps. I turned my head and saw Jessie stood with what looked like a frost atronach. I smiled and looked back.

I stared as the Scamp in the distance began to scurry towards us. For a moment it felt as if time stood still as I took a moment to observe my surroundings for some form of assistance in battle. The sound of the battlefield was terrifyingly real. From the sound of the Scamp screeching at us to the sound of Savvy's men shouting across to each other some form of soldier lingo I didn't understand. The thunder from the blood red sky still roared, it almost felt as if it was cheering the our enemy onto victory.

I looked to my left and noticed what looked like a collapsed guard tower near the city wall. It was high enough for me to climb, but not high enough to avoid one of the scamps fireballs, but at least they can't physically reach me up there. Maybe if i get up there I have a good position to use my bow...

I ran and jumped over the incoming Scamp toward the tower, dodging many a fireball as I did so. I reached the rock and scaled it with a run and jump technique between it and the city wall. I took a breath and turned back to look at the battle ground. More scamps had appeared out of the gate, more than I could count. What had been sixty had soon turned into over a hundred.

I looked in horror as everyone struggled to fight the massing army. Luckily the scamps did not seem that tough to begin with, but saying that I've never had to fight tonnes of them at one time.

Savvy and his men took down the scamps with ease, decreasing the numbers but not by a lot. Jessie and Frosty double teamed the scamps from a distance, which was impressive. Then there was Anyanka. She was like a machine who couldn't be stopped. She killed two of the Scamp per second and was basically a blur. No one had any difficulty, but that didn't mean the fight wasn't hard.

I considered using this opportunity to enter the city seeing as everyone managed to be holding their own.

"Lissa what are you doing? Help them!" Rihanae ordered.

They're doing fine! This could be my only chance to find mother!

"That doesn’t matter! If your mother is safe then you don't need to worry! You need to concentrate on ridding the battleground of those Daedra!"

Once he said this I noticed something. Jessie seemed to have ran out of Magicka as Frosty had disappeared. She struggled to use her bow in time as the Scamp approached her. I also saw Anyanka was being dragged to the ground by a Scamp. One of them had caught her off guard and had her pinned to the ground. Savvy and his men seemed to be doing fine, but none of them were noticing my friends predicament.

I took a breath and aimed an arrow, firing at the scamp that had Anyanka pinned to the ground. Once the Scamp was dead she stood up and nodded at me in gratitude. I looked at Jessie as the Scamp began to approach her. I leapt from the rock, sheathed my bow and unsheathed Shatterheart.

I took out many Scamp en-route to saving Jessie. I ran to Jessie and yelled for her to duck. She did so and I threw Shatterheart, knocking the head clean off the Scamp that was close to her from many feet away.

I looked in surprise as Shatterheart, which was still midair, flew back to me like a boomerang. I smiled thinking that the ring Rohssan had given me must of had some sort of homing enchantment linked to Shatterheart, but I didn't smile for long as I saw another scamp approach Jessie. I leapt off of my feet and landed on the Scamp's head, crushing it with Shatterheart.

I stood up, removed Shatterheart from the Scamps skull with a tug and approached Jessie.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" I asked her. She shook her head.

"No, I'm fine. I just need a moment to give my Magicka a chance to refuel itself."

I smiled, nodded and turned my back to her. "You do what you gotta to; I'll watch your back."

I stood guarding Jessie as more Scamp began to emerge from the gate. When is this going to end? As the Scamp began to approach me I managed to take them out with my bow one by one before they could cause any real damage. Luckily, their numbers were less than earlier and Anyanka was making sure that their numbers would deplete as quickly as possible.

"I'm ready!" Jessie shouted. I turned to look at her as I saw her summon a Flame Atronach.

"When did you get so good at that?" I asked her, smiling. Before she had a chance to show any kind of response I heard Savvy shouting at us.

"Girls! Watch yourselves!"

I looked at the battle field to see that in the short moment I was distracted the number of Scamp had grown again, back into the hundreds.

What?

I looked at Jessie. "There's too many of them. I can't even see Anyanka anymore..." Suddenly the realisation of what I said had dawned on me. "Wait! Where's Anyanka?"

Without hesitation I sprinted toward the battlefield, sheathing my bow and arming myself with Shatterheart again. As I ran I could hear Jessie screaming at me to stop. It was me versus a hundred Scamp, but I wasn't about to let Anyanka die. As I charged through the Scamp I swung Shatterheart, Killing some; sending most soaring through the battlefield. I was like an untameable wild animal. I could feel the blood splashing on my face as I crushed the Daedra with daddy's hammer, but I didn't care enough to wipe it off.

I continued forward, and just as I was getting ever so closer to the Oblivion gate, killing as many Scamp as humanly possible, I saw a sight that made my worry feel lighter. I saw Anyanka knelt on the ground. She had cast some form of fire force field spell on herself. I looked at the Scamp that set themselves ablaze as they tried to break through the force field. It appeared that Anyanka was tying her shoelace.

"ANNIE!" I bellowed, still taking down the Scamp. She looked up at me, lowering her force field and going back into attack mode. We spoke as we fought the Scamp.

"What are you doing here? You were supposed to take rangers position?" She asked me, slicing the head off a scamp.

"I was, but then you disappeared so I came to find you!" I replied, crushing the head of another.

"That is foolish! I am able to handle myself."

"I know that, but I wasn't about to leave my friend to be killed!"

I saw her scowl turn into a half smile. We stood and looked at each other for a moment before returning to battle.

*

Many kills and minor injuries later, the battle was over. All of the Scamp were dead, their corpses forming a Daedric carpet over what was the battlefield. We all gathered behind the barricade.

"You fought well, girls. Any injuries?" Savvy asked us. We all shook our heads. He then looked over at the battlefield to the bodies of his fallen comrades.

"The battle was tough, but we were successful... but I think it is important that we find a way to close that gate sooner rather than later." Anyanka informed him. He sighed.

"I know, but with our sudden shortage of men it seems like it would be impossible. Now it seems it is unlikely we will find any help, what with there being so few of my men left."

Savvy's reply was met with a mourning silence as he headed over to his remaining men, most likely to check it they were okay. I eventually broke the silence.

"Right, now that's done and dusted I'm going to the Chapel."

"What?" Jessie said, staring at me with wide eyes.

"I have to go and see if my mother is okay."

"You saw how many of the Daedra came out of the gate just now. What would happen should you come across the same amount ALONE in the city?" Anyanka said, her eyes disproving.

"Then I'll double back." I replied, to which she had no comeback. "Guys, I'll be fine. If I run into trouble I PROMISE I’ll head back, but other than that I'm going. You're more than welcome to come with me."

I looked at them a while as they both had a look of concern in their eyes.

"Well there you go then..." I said. Before either of them had a chance to say anything else I left their company and headed for the city gate.

"We will keep an eye on things out here! We'll come get you if there's trouble!" Jessie shouted to me. I turned and saluted her as a thank you. I was grateful that she knew that what I had to do was not a choice or an option, it was a necessity. I had to make sure my mother was safe; but at the same time I was terrified about what would await me in the city.


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I really appreciate the ‘Previously. . . ‘ summary you provided to snap us right back into where you left us last time. Well done!

’For a moment it felt as if time stood still as I took a moment to observe my surroundings for some form of assistance in battle. The sound of the battlefield was terrifyingly real. From the sound of the Scamp screeching at us to the sound of Savvy's men shouting across to each other some form of soldier lingo I didn't understand. The thunder from the blood red sky still roared, it almost felt as if it was cheering the our enemy onto victory.’
What a great pause to render the sights and sounds of your battlefield!

"Lissa what are you doing? Help them!" Rihanae ordered.’
Listen to him, Lissa!

’All of the Scamp were dead, their corpses forming a Daedric carpet over what was the battlefield. ‘
A wonderful description of the morbid aftermath.

Overall, this battle really showed what everyone is made of. Plenty of courage all around for sure. And in Lissa's case, even some acrobatics!

I’m really enjoying that Lissa is taking things at Kvatch based purely on her perceptions and priorities. You are doing a great job of making this ‘Lissa’s quest’.

Acadian: Thank you so much for your comments! I'm glad you appreciated the description of the battlefield, It was truly terrifying for poor Lissa. Yes, this very much is Lissa's quest, she has no intrest in anything other than rescuing her mother, much to the dismay of the other girls!

I would like to share something with you guys. Whilst I was sick my little brother decided to use my XBOX and play some of my Oblivion characters. LUCKILY he didn't delete anything. However on my computer I discovered this. It's a picture that I can only assume my brother made. He is only 12 and I think it is amazing. Bless him

PREVIOUSLY: Lissa and the gang engaged in an epic battle against an army of scamps. After Lissa, the girls and Savlian defeated the army of Scamps, Lissa decided it was now time to enter the city and attemp to rescue her mother.





I entered the city and it looked a lot worse than I could have ever imagined. Rubble from burnt, destroyed buildings surrounded the area leaving most of the city inaccessible with fire roaring from every crevasse. The Oblivion gate has really done a number on the place.

Directly in front of me I could see the bell tower from the chapel collapsed onto the ground, blocking another path. Whatever had the power to do that, I didn’t want to meet it.

I observed my surrounding for a clear route the Chapel entrance, and by that I mean I had a look to see if there were any Scamp about. There weren’t. Not that I could see anyway.

"Okay Lissa, what's the plan?" RIhanae asked me.

"Well luckily for me it seems that the Chapel is a lot closer than I originally thought so a danger filled trek through the city is off my to-do list..."

"But?"

I thought a moment.

"But, even though I would be able to take down any Scamp I see, I don't know whether that would be the best thing to do..."

"Interesting, explain."

"Well think about it, Say, hypothetically, those Scamp were placed there by, like, a commander Scamp."

"Commander Scamp?"

"I'm not saying anything like that exists, but IF they do, think about it. I kill the Scamp, commander Scamp dude notices his Scamp are dead and he sends more Scamp to search the area for me, then they enter the Chapel and go all trigger happy on us."

"... That's very clever indeed." Rihanae said, genuinely. "So what do you suggest we do?"

"The simple thing; sneak. We see a Scamp, I go into crouch mode and make my way over to the Chapel."

"Good plan!" Rihanae said, "Good luck."

I smiled to myself; I always liked it when Rihanae praised me.

After our conversation I continued forward, looking around as I walked. Everything seemed fairly normal encounter-wise.

However, pretty much as I thought that I heard the familiar cry of a scamp.

Dagnamit! I've been spotted!

I dived behind some rubble and looked around. I hadn't been spotted, but i did see three Scamp hanging out in a house opposite the front entrance of the chapel.

I looked for a way to sneak into the chapel without them seeing me, but it seemed impossible. One of the scamps had his eye on the chapel; which was super annoying.

I thought about what to do, but before I could think of anything good Rihanae came up with a plan.

"Lissa, cause a distraction!"

Like how? Strip naked and do a little chicken dance by the chapel door? I somehow don't think that will end well...

"No, I mean cast a fireball near the front entrance of the chapel and if the scamp go to investigate, sneak in through the side entrance.

Okaay...

Although highly sceptical of his idea I thought I’d at least give it a go. I cast a fireball and sent it to a small area near the front chapel entrance. Nothing happened.

Like they're going to notice a small ball of flame amongst this chaos. Points for effort, Rihan-

However, before I could finish I noticed one of the scamps heading toward where the fireball had landed, shortly followed by the other two. Once they were there I laughed to myself in excitement as I watched the three scamps stare at the floor in confusion.

I took the opportunity to sneak to the side entrance. I watched closely as I crawled toward the door. I didn't get too close as I noticed one of the scamps turn his head to look at the chapel’s front entrance. Even though he couldn't see me my body went into panic mode and I scrambled into the burnt down house they were originally in.

Oh great. Thanks, Rihanae.

"What did I do?"

ZIP. Don’t talk to me.

Silence.

...So what now?

"You need to try the same thing again but this time, aim the fireball near the chapel door you were aiming for."

"How am I supposed to do that without being spotted?"

"Look to your left."

Disgruntled and frustrated i did what he said and noticed that there was a small room to the far left of the house. I smiled to myself, looked at the scamp, who hadn't budged, and headed to the hidey-hole.

"This is so cool..." I said to myself once I was inside. I looked around and then screamed.

"AHHHHH!!!! That is so gross!" I had spotted a severed human head with his head caved in placed on a stool. It was disgusting.

However, once I screamed I looked through the small window in the hidey hole at the scamps. They had heard me. I looked at them wide eyed as they headed in my direction; luckily they couldn’t see me. Yet.

Oh dear... this ain't good...

I started to freak out and didn't know what to do. Performed a strange panic-stricken-body-jig-type-dance as I flustered about trying to figure out some form of plan, watching as the scamp slowly approached my hiding place.

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*

Your brother did an Awesome job on that screen!



ROFL on all three of these !!!




My exact reaction the first time I saw that head!


I am going to love going through Kvatch with Lissa and Rihanae, the inner dialogue between them keeps me roaring.

You have a real talent for developing endearing personalities in your characters, Lissa has been a gem since the first chapter and continues to charm !! Loved these two chapters, this last one especially. It is so great to have you back and well !! <3


*

What an adorable shot of the GOC! Methinks your little brother’s a keeper!

Nice description of the burning city and great interaction between Lissa and Rihanae here. It was a sound plan till the severed head and subsequent scream kind of nixed it. I could so envision Lissa doing the chicken dance trying to figure out what to do as those scamps approached her hiding place!

I hope Lissa finds that Oleta is safe inside the chapel (once she gets past the commander’s scamps).

As dear mALX said, it is so nice to have you and Lissa back with us.

mALX: Hehe I'm so glad that you enjoy Rihanae and Lissa's interactions so much! they are a joy to write. Although most of the time their dialogue is based on conversations I myself have had with Lissa, so not alot of imagination was needed I'm also glad that Lissa wasn't the only one to react like she did with the head! it was gross. And thank you so much for your kind words regarding Lissa in general, it really means alot

Acadian: Hehe in a way I think Lissa was hoping that Rihanae would aprove of the chicken dance. I'm sure Lissa would have loved it Thank you so much for your kind words :0 I am so pleased to be back!

In regards to both of your comments about my brothers artwork, when I asked him about it he said that he wanted to make it for me, then print it out then put it in a frame to put by my hospital bed. Unfortunatly for him I got healthier before he had a chance. But the thought was so sweet

PREVIOUSLY: Once Lissa makes it into the city she spots three scamps near the chapel entrance, and as she is unwilling to kill them due to the possibility of a 'Commander scamp that placed them there' she distracts them with a fireball. Once they are distracted she hides in the house they were origionally in, but a severed head casually lying about casuses her to scream, alerting the scamp of her hiding place...






I looked back out at the scamp, still in a panic.

Rihanae, what am I going to do?

“The plan, Lissa! Shoot the fireball at the side entrance! Maybe it’ll draw their attention!”

I thought about it for a moment. Whilst it worked the first time, this time it was too risky. There was every chance that they would see the fireball being shot from the hidey-hole, so that was out of the question-

“Lissa, look!”

I looked out at the scamp and noticed that they had stopped in their tracks, and soon enough started to head back to the chapel door.

YEAH! That’s more like it, now I can-

Then I felt it. A feeling I recognised but really didn’t want at this particular moment.

“Heeeeh….Heeeeh…”

“Lissa, what are you doing?”

“Rih… Rih… Reh….RaaaaTCHOOO.”

I sneezed. Of all the appropriate moment I could have sneezed, but body decided to sneeze now.

I covered my nose to prevent anymore nose burps and looked at the scamps again, and as I feared they had heard the sneeze and were heading back in my direction to investigate the delightful sound.

GREAT! Now what?

I began to panic again, but this time during my panic I looked to my left, noticing a small crawlspace which would get me out of the hidey-hole.

How did I not see that before?

“Maybe because-“

Hush you. It was rhetorical.

I looked back at the scamps to check that they wouldn’t see me escape before ducking down to crawl to the crawlspace. Unfortunately the sheer size of Shatterheart and my bow almost left me unable to get through, so I was forced to leave them behind.

Unarmed in the city of death. Marvellous.

I just about managed to squeeze through, although my breasts didn’t help make things easier.

I took in my new surroundings; I was now on the other side of the large wall of rubble that blocked most of the city. In the distance I could see the Castle, as well as a large statue of a man with a sword. I had no clue who he was, but he looked cool.

Well that was easy. Now we can just walk to the chapel.

"I don't think it will be that easy..."

Why, guy?

I looked toward the chapel to see a group of scamps hanging out near the entrance. I looked that them, my jaw hitting the ground at the unbelievable-ness of the situation. After everything I went through to get to a safer part of town, I ended up having to deal with more scamps WHILST being completely unarmed

SERIOUSLY! Urgh, that’s annoying. I'm annoyed.

"Lissa, maybe you should just take them out."

Um, no? One, I have no weapons and two, Commander scamp, hello?

"There IS no commander scamp, Lissa!"

I'm not prepared to take that chance.

"Lissa stop being so ridiculous!"

Rihanae, stop being so sensible! You're giving me a migraine.

I stood in silence, angry at Rihanae. It was easy for him to brush off the commander scamp; HE wouldn’t be the one to deal with him. I decided that I had had enough of the endless scamp that seemed to appear around every corner, so I decided to do something about it.

“Lissa, what are you thinking?”

You’re the spirit who can hear my innermost thoughts. You tell me.

I began to head to the group of scamp, my hands on my hips. Once I was meters away from them I shouted to me.

"You know, hanging outside that chapel is not cool. You're disrupting my pray time."

The scamps looked at me.

"Oh, sorry. Was I interrupting something?"

The scamps began to edge slowly towards me.

“You know, as much as you guys seem super cool, you ARE in my way, so why don’t we all be grown ups here and all be on our way? Whaddaya say?

The scamps began to give chase.

“See, that’s not very mature now, is it?”

After letting them get closer to me I ran toward them. Once they were merely feet away from me I leapt over them, but my landing wasn’t as successful.

Once I touched the ground I collapsed onto my front. I struggled to get up in time as the scamps started to chase me again.

Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no...

"Lissa get up!"

It's easy for you to say! You have no feet!

Once I managed to scramble to my feet I realised that it was to risky to run straight into the chapel, so I took a detour. I ran to my left, the scamps close behind me, and headed to the castle.

I sprinted as fast as I could, reaching the castle as quickly as possible. I kept looking behind me to see the scamps; luckily they were so far behind me i could hardly see them AND they weren’t firing any fireballs at me, which was a delightful bonus.

It shouldn't be long before I lose them-

As I continued to run I looked forward again before instantly colliding with something and fell to the floor. Something large. Something living. I recognised it almost instantly. It was a Xivilai. I'd seen only one before on my travels as it had been conjured by a mage, but that didn't make it look any less terrifying.

I kept my eyes closed in horror as I heard it growl ferociously. I wanted to scream but I couldn’t. The fear had left me cemented to the ground.

"Lissa, get up!"

Maybe this is the commander? Is it going to kill me? I hope not. But what if it does! I'm going to die I know it!

I waited for it to attack, but it didn't. I opened my eye ever so slightly and saw it run past me.

Eh? What? Huh?

For some reason it didn't notice me lying before it and instead of attacking me it went to attack the incoming scamp instead.

It must have assumed that it was the scamps that hit it just now. Haha, Idiot.

I looked at the mighty Xivilai as it attacked the scamps and I took the opportunity to run into the castle. I ran across the drawbridge and into the castle gate. I ran into the small space just to the left of the gate and saw something which made me grin with relief.

THE GATE SWITCH THING! COOL!

I ran up the stairs to the switch and pulled the lever, listening as I heard the castle gate slam down. I turned and approached the gate, looking out at the city I was now protected from.

It still looked as terrifyingly real as ever, but for now I felt just that little bit safer. As far as I was aware the Daedra wouldn’t be able to break through this gate; but I soon remembered not to underestimate them.

I simply smiled to myself, grateful that I was out of danger for the time being.

I then turned and looked at the castle.

"You're not out of the woods yet, Lissa."

I sighed as I thought about what he said. He was right. If things were bad in the city, what would they be like in the castle?

*

Not just the inopportune sneeze, but these (quotes below) had me in hysterics !!




You make a perfect blend between terror and humor in this chapter. Lissa's fear can be felt readily, but her arguing with Rihanae makes even the tension have moments of hilarity that I'm sure THEY didn't feel, lol. But I did. AWESOME WRITE !!!


*

mALX nailed it with her comments! What frightening fun!

Rihanatchoooo!!! Talk about bad timing.

And she finally met Commander Scamp. Clearly he was unhappy with the performance of his minions and charged out to punish them!

Out of the frying pan with weapons into the fire without them? Yikes!

mALX: I'm so happy that you understand Lissa so well! Yes, her sneeze was unfortunate, but it was certainly not as unfortunate as meeting the commander ;P Thank you for your kind words

Acadian: Hehe thank you! As with mALX I am so thirilled that you understand Lissa so well! Well even if the Xivilai isn't the commander, it was still wrong of the scamps to anger him, but at least it created a great distraction for Lissa

PREVIOUSLY: Lissa managed to escape the hideyhole by squeezing through a small opening, but having to leave her weapons behind, to the other side of the wall of rubble. She fopund herself on the chase by more scamps bloking the chapel door and whilst running accidently bumped into a Xivilai, who attacked the chasing scamp as it was unaware of her presence. She took the opportunity to run inside the castle a close the gates behind her. Now she is heading to see what the castle has in store for her...

26. Chapter 8 ~ Kvatch ~ Part five

I walked forward slowly, approaching the castle's main door. I kept my eyes peeled for scamps but there were none to be seen. Yet.

What are we going to do now, Rihanae?

"In my honest opinion I think you need to find some form of weapon and fight your way out. There should be an armoury somewhere with blades-"

NO!, I thought, stopping him from speaking.

"No, what?"

NO blades. I don't use them.

"Lissa this isn't the time for snobbery,"

It isn't snobbery. I HATE blades and I won't use them. Comprande?

I hated blades. I hated the feeling of sticking a sword through flesh, that’s why I preferred to use blunt weapons.

It wasn't just that though.

Ever since I watched my dad die I’ve had this hatred toward any form of blade. Even knives.

"I understand that Lissa, but in a matter of urgency you must-"

"Rihanae, no. I'm not going to use a sword and I’m never gonna change that okay?"

"But-"

RIHANAE! Leave it alone! Even if I'm stuck in a room of monsters and the only weapon available is a sword I’d very much rather use my hands and do a good job on them with my fists, okay?

Silence. What I thought totally came out in a different way than I intended, but I got my point across and that's all that mattered.

I approached the castles main door and slowly opened it, peeking my head around the corner as it was ajar.

Well apart from the fact that the place is in ruins it looks safe enough.

"Be wary Lissa. You don't know what you'll find inside."

Yeah, yeah, granddad. I will.

I carefully entered the hall, closing the door behind me. The excessively large room was in ruins. All i could see was destruction and decay.

I casually moved forward, eventually reaching the Count's throne.

I looked around to see if there was anyone around, and when it was confirmed that it was just me, myself and I, I slowly sat in the Throne. I smiled to myself.

"Lissa."

Yes.

"What are you up to?"

Nothing.

I looked around whilst sat down. I made by posture upright and royal.

"You there! Peasant! Countess Lissa doesn't approve of what you are wearing! One should never combine a brown shirt with those shoes!"

I laughed to myself. The troubles of my life melting away with my moment of silliness.

"Are you quite done?"

That was fun. I'd be a great Countess.

"Yes, of course you would, but is this really the time?

Alright yappy doo, It was only a bit of fun-

I was interrupted by the sound of a scream behind me. Well not a scream, more of a battle cry.

What was that?

"Lissa, you have to investigate."

Yes! No. I'm not investigating a scary noise, guy, what are you talking about?

Stop calling me that.

Stop calling you what?

"Stop calling me 'guy'."

I don't understand what you mean. Why on Nirn would I stop when I am now aware that it annoys you so much-

Again, I was interrupted by the screamer. I stood up from the throne and looked behind me. Behind the Throne was a staircase which led to another hallway.

After a moment of hesitance I decided to investigate the noise. I slowly headed to and climbed up the stairs. Once I reached the top and walked through the small hallway towards the door.

If I get murdered I will not be happy with you, dude.

I put my hand on the door knob, contemplating whether or not opening the door was the best idea. I had no idea what could have been on the other side. It could have been thousands of Daedra, or zombies, or RATS! It could have been anything.

Rihanae, do I have to? Really? Is it necessary that I investigate? Can't someone else do it for-

"OW!" screamed as I collapsed to the floor. Something had opened the door i had my hand on with such force it cause me to land painfully on my rear. I was annoyed.

"Why does that keep happening to me today-"

I looked up and saw a man in the doorway. He was tall, blonde and manly, most likely an imperial. He was dressed in a Kvatch cuirass, so I assumed he was a soldier. As I looked at him I saw him stare at me with a smile on his face; it looked like a smile of relief.

Suddenly I heard the familiar cry of scamps, and the roar of something I hadn't encountered in Kvatch, yet. The soldier looked behind him then back at me, dragging me to my feet as we ran back to the courtyard. As we ran I looked behind me seeing dozens of scamp and what I assumed was a Daedroth on our tail.

Once we were outside the Soldier turned and locked the door with a key. He then turned to look at the castle gate.

'NO!' he shouted as he saw the gate was closed. I looked at him sheepishly, not ready to admit that it was because of me that the gate was closed. He then looked at me and grabbed my arm, a look of distress on his face.

We ran to the gate and he told me to stand by it. I did so, keeping an eye on the castle door as the soldier ran to the gate switch i had used earlier. I watched as he struggled to lift the lever, but he wasn't having any form of success whatsoever. I then looked back to the castle door. I looked wide eyed as I saw the Daedroth burst through the door like it was made of webbing.

"SOLIDER DUDE!" I screamed to him. He quickly stopped what he was doing and ran to my aid, standing next to me, the same horror filling his eyes as we watched the Daedra approach us. We were cornered.

What a sweet picture from your brother!

Cute Kvatch guard, yay! Cornered by a daedroth, oh no! Lissa’s ups and downs are so fun to read. I love that she sat on the throne.

I’m with Grits in chuckling over Lissa sitting on the throne.

’RIHANAE! Leave it alone! Even if I'm stuck in a room of monsters and the only weapon available is a sword I’d very much rather use my hands and do a good job on them with my fists, okay?
Silence. What I thought totally came out in a different way than I intended, but I got my point across and that's all that mattered.’
I’m glad to see that dear Rihanae was gentleman enough not to rib Lissa’s unintentional reference to doing hand jobs on monsters.

’I don't understand what you mean. Why on Nirn would I stop when I am now aware that it annoys you so much-‘
As a Marine aviator, this was our basic response to young pilots who didn’t like the call signs we gave them.

What delightful twisting, to do the Kvatch quests almost backwards. I really had to laugh at the thought of Lissa and Soldier Dude being trapped inside the castle by the stubborn gatehouse controls.

This is great fun, Rihanae!

*

First the funny lines that had me rolling :




Loved the entrance of the guard, finally someone to protect Lissa !!! (and got a kick out of him dropping her on her butt right away, lol)

Awesome Write !!


*

Grits: GRITS! How wonderful to see you reading! Thank you so much for your kind words

Acadian: Hehe I think Rihanae is to simple minded to even contemplate the raunchey nature of her harmless comment Hehe I liked the idea of, as you said earlier, Lissa making the journey in Kvatch purely her own. It was fun to explore the castle with her without following the main quests storyline, although this is purely imagination as in game it is impossible to explore the castle without doing the quest, which annoys me! Haha. Thank you for your kind words

mALX: Haha you're comment on your favourite lines always make my day Haha Lissa has a habit of fallin on her butt at innapropriate times, but at least now she has a companion!

PREVIOUSLY: Lissa explores the castle only to find it in ruins. Whilst exploring she abrubtly stumbles upon a Kvatch soldier who is being chased by scamps and a Deadroth. Together they try to escape the castle through the main gate, the gate which Lissa closed earlier. As the guard struggles to open the gate again, they find themselves corned by the horde of approaching Daedra...

27. Chapter 8 ~ Kvatch ~ Part 6

"Quickly! In there!" The soldier bellowed as he aimed my attention to a metal door in the ground to the right of the gate.

We ran to the gate as he bent down to unlock it. I kept watch as I could see the Daedra getting closer.

"Hurry up..." I said to him. Luckily for me the soldier managed to open the trapdoor before the Daedra got to close. He beckoned for me to climb down the ladder first before he followed. Once I was off the ladder I watched as he locked the door after him and jumped off the ladder.

We were now in some sort of escape hatch; although the hallway of which we would use to escape was engulfed in flames, and I didn't feel like getting extra crispy.

I turned to look at the soldier, and smiled softly.

"Well this is fun."

"Indeed." He replied. "I thought I was the only survivor..."

"Oh no, I'm not a survivor, just a tourist. Although I wished I'd picked a better time to take a vacation."

The soldier laughed. He looked around, but gave an expression of defeat.

"Well it seems that we could be stuck here for a while."

"Yeah..." I replied.

Soldier boy sat down against a wall, one leg arched and one leg stretched out. He was so casual for a soldier. It was weird.

"So... you're one of Savvy's men?"

"If you mean Savlian, yes. I volunteered to watch the Count when the first signs of trouble started, but eventually things got worse and I managed to find myself trapped."

"Oh... that sucks. What about the count?"

Soldier boy remained silent, a look of disappointment on his face.

"Oh... he's dead?"

After a moment of mourning silence, soldier boy looked at me, a smile forced on his face.

"What is your name?" He asked me.

"I'm Lissa. Lissa Cristenn..." I replied, sitting down next to him.

"Simon Flynn."

"Hello mister Flynn."

We shook hands, and I laughed a little.

"So what are you doing in Kvatch?"

"Well I came to see my mother in the chapel, but now it seems I’m testing my survival skills; extreme style."

"How ironic. This escape hatch leads to the chapel. If it wasn’t for the fire we would make it there in no time."

"Oh, great. That's wonderful to know." I replied sarcastically.

I was slightly angry at Simon for being a bit TOO casual at that point.

"Who are you visiting?" He asked me.

"My mother. Oleta."

"Of course! Cristenn! I should have guessed."

I smiled, "Golly, it seems everyone knows my mother, doesn’t it?"

"She is highly respected within the chapel and the castle. Your mother is a remarkable woman."

I smiled again, but this time it was more of a grateful grin. I laughed to myself. I felt embarrassed for some reason.

Once I looked at him again I noticed something above the right of his deep, blue eyes.

"You've got one heck of a scar, there mister."

"Oh, yes, I got it when I was a child."

"Oh yeah?" I said, interested.

"Yes. When my parents died I used to get into lots of fights. It was a form of coping; avenging those that didn't need to be avenged. That's why I became a soldier."

"To start fights?"

"To help people." He smiled. I smiled back and then looked at the floor. His smile was so cute I was too embarrassed to look at it.

This isn't bad is it? I am allowed to find someone cute even though I have a boyfriend, right?

I looked back up at Simon, brushing a stray hair behind my ear and then looking away again. A moment of silence followed, the roar of the fire before us filling the quiet space.

"Sooo... how long do you think we will be down here for?"

"Until someone rescues us I imagine, or until that fire goes down."

I sighed to myself. I was beginning to regret my whole 'Commander scamp idea'. If I’d just killed those scamps by the chapel mother and I could be out by now and Simon would have been able to escape the castle.

But he also could have bumped into that Xivilai, and goodness knows how dangerous those puppies are.

I decided not to regret any of my decisions and focus on the task at hand; thinking of a plan to escape.

"Right, where do you store your weapons?" I asked Simon.

"Back in the castle."

"Oh turkey giblets. Is there nowhere else I could get any form of weapon?"

He thought for a moment, but eventually shook his head.

"Not outside the castle, no; not unless you loot a fallen soldier."

"Well I'm not about to do that any time soon."

I thought for a moment, before deciding to ask Rihanae for his advice.

Rihanae, what do you suggest, guy?

He didn't reply, which I thought was rude. I understood that he was probably angry with me for something because, well, it's Rihanae, but he didn't have to ignore me.

Rihanae? Talk to me.

Still nothing. I knew that an empty threat would be the only thing to get him speaking again.

Rihanae if you don't talk to me I'm going to throw my bracelet into that fire and-

I looked down at my wrist; the bracelet was gone. I shot up, spinning in circles as I searched the floor frantically.

"Oh no!"

Simon stood up and walked to me.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm okay; that’s why I’m clearly NOT!"

I grabbed my hair trying to rack my brains as to where I had it last. I definitely remembered having it in the castle, and I remember having it in the courtyard when Simon and I were escaping.

It must have broken off when Simon grabbed my arm.

"Have you seen my Sapphire bracelet?" I asked Simon with a look of hope in my eyes.

"No I haven’t..."

"NO!" I screamed. I looked at Simon, grabbed the key to the trapdoor from his hand and began to climb the ladder to the courtyard.

"What are you doing?" Simon panicked.

"I'm getting my bracelet back!" I replied, unlocking the trapdoor.

"Why? It's stupid to risk your life for a bracelet!"

"It's not just a bracelet! He's my best friend."

Simon looked at me with confusion on his face. Eventually he looked defeated.

"Well I’m not going to let you go out there alone." He told me.

"I should hope not, sir!"



Once we had both climbed the ladder we edged toward the wall and slowly moved across it with our backs against it. Simon put his finger to his mouth in a 'Shushing' motion and looked around the corner. He then quickly sprinted the other side of the wall and signalled for me to stay put.

We were both now on each side of the opening, looking into the courtyard.

I couldn't see any of the scamps, but the Daedroth was still stood proudly in the courtyard.

I guess it could have been worse...

I looked on the ground of the courtyard; trying to find my bracelet, until eventually I saw it shining at me like a beacon of hope. Unfortunately it was right at the Daedroth's feet. The Daedroth had its back to the gate and was facing the castle door; the bracelet was placed just behind it.

I looked at Simon, pointed at him and then to the gate switch, then I put my finger on me, then pointed to the bracelet.

He knew exactly what my orders were, but despite a look of reluctance on my part he obliged.

As he ran up the stairs to try the lever again I got into crouch mode and slowly began to approach the bracelet. I kept my eyes on the Daedroth the whole time, occasionally glancing at the bracelet. As I got closer to it my heart began to beat faster and faster. Every sound I made sounded nuclear, a simple gulp sounding like a thunderstorm.

Eventually I managed to get to the bracelet and slowly reached to grab it.

Once I had it in my hand I felt a sigh of relief.

"It's about time! I thought you'd forgotten about me!"

I laughed in my head. It felt good having Rihanae around again. Those last five minutes felt like a lifetime.

However, it seemed Simon had managed to work the switch as I heard the loud rumble of the castle gate opening behind me. I panicked as the Daedroth obviously heard it too, turning to look at the source of the noise, but seeing me instead. He glared at me, and I smiled awkwardly.

"Excuse me... you wouldn't know where I can find the nearest inn, do you?"

My quick wit wasn't appreciated as the Daedroth swiped its claw at me


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*

This had me roaring:



I don't know why this (below) hit me as funny, but it did - maybe because Lissa and Rihanae snipe at each other constantly:



And Rihanae's response had me rolling, especially after she risked Simon's and her own life to rescue him!




And here I lost my monitor to a spray of coffee:



Lissa is her most endearing self in this chapter, Awesome write !!!!


*

This truly is going back to front. I love it – using the gatehouse tunnel to escape from the castle!

‘I decided not to regret any of my decisions and focus on the task at hand; thinking of a plan to escape.’
Wise words from our young archress.

"Well I’m not going to let you go out there alone." He told me.’
Simon sounds 100% Kvatch born and bred and undoubtedly trained by Savlian Matius!

Whew! A close call almost losing Rihanae. I thought he was ignoring her at first because she called him 'guy' and we know he doesn't like that.

‘I panicked as the Daedroth obviously heard it too, turning to look at the source of the noise, but seeing me instead. He glared at me, and I smiled awkwardly.
"Excuse me... you wouldn't know where I can find the nearest inn, do you?"
My quick wit wasn't appreciated as the Daedroth swiped its claw at me.'
What a perfect cliff to hang the end of this delightful episode on!

mALX: I'm so glad that Lissa comments tickle your funny bone She is a witty one our Lissa

Acadian: Yes, Lissa does have moments when she really focuses on the now rather than the past, but those moments are usually when she is faced with a dire situation! I like your comment about Simon being possibly trained my Savlian, it is interesting to see how their (Savvy and Simon's) interation is, should Lissa and Simon escape!

NOTE: You may be wondering why I'm posting updates so frequently. As you all know I have a heart condition which led to me having two minor strokes. My doctor last week informed me that as my attacks are random there is no telling when the next one, if there is a next one, will be. Seeing as i've written and finished the first book I'm updating every day (with breaks at the weekend). In my eyes I can't waste anytime as who knows what will happen tommorow

PREVIOUSLY: Lissa and the soldier, revealed to be called Simon, escape the Daedra through an escape hatch near the gate. Unfortunatly most of the escape hatch is blocked by fire, leaving them stuck. The two spend time conversing and getting t know each other. However, Lissa finds that she has lost her bracelt, so she drags Simon back to the courtyars to find it. Once she finds the bracelt, Simon opens the castle gate and attracts the atention of a Daedroth, which attacks Lissa...





I bent over backwards to avoid the Daedroth’s attack, then performed a backward flip as it tried to attack me again.

From behind me I heard Simon scream at me to hurry up, so I quickly turned and ran to the gate. Once we were on the other side of the gate, the Daedroth still after me, Simon threw his sword at the gate switch, breaking it and causing the gate to come crashing down again. We were safe from the Daedroth as it pounded at the gate.

"Not so tough now are you?" I said to the Daedra before turning to Simon. "See, that wasn't that bad, was it-"

"LISSA!" Simon bellowed as I turned to look at what he saw. The Xivilai from earlier was stood glaring at us from the end of the bridge.

"SERIOUSLY? Not even five minutes?"

Simon looked around; noticing that behind the Xivilai there was a fallen soldier.

"Lissa, you stay here. I'm going to collect a sword from my fallen comrade and defeat the beast."

"Pfft, you think you can take that on alone?" I said, looking at the Xivilai. "No, no I’m not going to leave you to fight it alone. I'll distract him and you collect your weapon. Kapeesch?"

Simon smiled; a worried smile, however.

"Are you sure?"

"As sure as chickens are birds."

"Make sure you use this on it. I salvaged it from the court mages quarters earlier."

He handed me a potion. I looked at it, then at him.

"What is it?"

"It's a potion of Silence. It will leave him unable to cast any spells."

I smiled at him, then looked at the potion thoughtfully.

"Will you be okay Lissa?"

Yeah, I'll be fine. He doesn't look that... tough.

I looked at Simon.

"Are you ready?"

He nodded as he charged toward the Xivilai. I followed him. Once her rached the beast he slid under the beast's legs; which I thought was impressive. Before the beast could react, I threw the potion at it, which smashed purple liquid over it that quickly absorbed into his body, then I shouted to gain it's attention.

"HEY! Mister! That's MY cookie."

It tried casting a spell at me, but once it realised it couldn’t it angrily glared at me.

"Sorry about that, buddy. Looks like we're gunna have to have a bit of fisticuffs doesn’t it?"

Then charged at me. I ran toward it.

Once it was established that this was going to be a Hand-to-Hand battle, the Xivilai went to swing for me, but I ducked and then punched it in the face. I watched as Simon picked up a sword and charged for the Xivilai. The Xivilai turned and grabbed Simon by the neck and squeezed it tightly.

"NOO!" I screamed. The Xivilai looked at me, then threw Simon's lifeless body to the ground. I stared at Simon, he wasn't moving.

I was angry. I stormed over to the Xivilai and slapped its face. It stared at me and I stared back, hatred fuelling my body.

It punched forward, which I avoided by moving swiftly to the left.

It went to grab me and I grabbed its arm with both of my hands, then I ran up its body, kicked it in the face, flipped backwards and landed on the floor. I then performed a sweep kick on its legs. Causing it to collapse on the floor.

It swiftly got back onto its feet though and punched me in the stomach. I recoiled from the attack. I quickly recovered, though, and ran toward it, performing a cartwheel which connected with its torso. Once I was back on my feet I span and kicked it in the torso again.

This time the beast recoiled in pain and then looked at me with a toothy grin. I grinned back. I ran towards it. It tried grabbing me but I slid under its legs, much like Simon did earlier. I jumped to my feet and grabbed the Xivilai's shoulders as it had its back to me. I jumped off the ground and balanced on the beast's shoulders perfuming a handstand. I quickly grabbed its head and forced my body back onto the ground performing a backwards roll and taking the beast with me as it jolted backward.

I span and jumped back to my feet, looking as the Xivilai led on the ground. I walked over to it, leaned over it, ducked down and repeatedly punched it in the face.

"THIS. IS. WHAT. YOU. GET. FOR. BEING. A. TOTAL. MOTHER-"

It grabbed by hand, pulled me towards it and head butted me. In all the concussion it grabbed my neck and lifted me as it rose onto its feet.

I struggled for a moment, panicking about what my next move would be; then I remembered all my play fights with Maelona and the simple, yet effective move it took to get her to surrender.

I grabbed the Xivilai's hair and yanked it back. It roared in pain as it let me go. I fell to the ground, landing on my knees. I coughed as I tried to regain control of my breathing.

"Are you okay, Lissa?"

I'm fine, I just don't know how I'm gunna kill this thing without any weapons.

Then I remembered something from earlier. During the scamp battle with the girls I had thrown Shatterheart and it returned to me. The ring I wore had some form of homing device. I prayed that it would work,

I lifted my hand and thought about Shatterheart... but nothing. I didn't have time to try again as the Xivilai approached me again.

"Can't we just have a breather?"

The Xivilai continued to approach.

"No? Okay..."

As it approached I ran past it, barely dodging its attack. I made it off the bridge and looked around. I decided that the best thing to do was to get on high ground and plan my next move.

I ran forward and climbed onto the statue I admired earlier.

I watched as I realised I wouldn't have enough time as i thought as the Xivilai prepared a spell. The potion was wearing off. It stood at the bottom of the statue, preparing a spell. On instinct I leapt off the statue and onto the Xivilai, wrapping my legs around its head, twisting my body and dragging it to the ground.

It was in pain and struggling to move as I got up onto my feet. I ran over to Simon, who was still pretty much dead and examined his fanny pack. He had another potion, luckily undamaged, and it looked like the potion he had earlier.

I took the potion, the continued to look at Simon. I felt a tear well up as I observed his corpse. Anger fuelled me again as I turned to see the Xivilai was directly behind my.

It put its hands together and slammed onto the ground as I dodged its attack by rolling to my left. I shot up and ran back to the bridge, dodging it's spells.

Once on the bridge I quickly span and threw the potion at it.

Luckily for me it was another silence spell. Frustrated the Xivilai charged for me, arms raised. Once it approached me I punched it three times, each punched blocked by the beast. On the fourth punch it grabbed by arm, then lifted me up above its head and slammed me to the floor.

"... good.... move."

I edged backwards as it approached me, I was in too much pain for any kind of quick retaliation. I was done for.

Prologue I:Good way to start the story off! I enjoyed reading every bit. Very humorous and it showed us how Lissa was when she was younger. The troubles of getting up in the morning to the boring lessons of the arcane. I laughed when Lissa showed her spontaneous moment when talking to her mother. "Bam! Health drain goodiness!" I loved her response to her mother's questioning of running into ogres and trolls. When you run like Maiq, you can outrun anything . The chapter got a bit more serious when Lissa and her father went to the fishing trip. The horror of seeing the dead bodies must of been overwhelmingly frightening. Her shocking suspicion that her father was involved must of been truly horrible, and it would set our Lissa into a world of adventure.

Prologue II:The death of Lissa's father came as a surprise, considering he was killed so soon! I expected him to be in the story for awhile, not perish at the vampire's blade. She's a tough lass, taking out the creature, even after it was dead. Though it got better with her father's words of comfort and a reconciliation with the family. And the first kiss! Seemed it is the same way even in the ES universe . The end where she decides to leave to Hammerfell brings us some curiosity and concern...considering she is going a bit earlier.

Chapter 1:Her warm welcome was good to read, and I enjoyed how you showed us the old man's reputation by revealing that he was a mage and that everyone looked upon him with hostility. With Jak being in and Lissa mentioning a "Springheel", I thought we were seeing Springheel Jak here!

The Breton girl, Aliss, is a *insert vulgar word here*. Don't like her one bit, reminds me of this girl I once knew.

Chapter I, part II: Unexpected murders! E-gad! Poor Kolling being scorched and Gord being shattered into frozen pieces. Should of never trusted that girl to begin with! Things did indeed get better with Jak giving her the stone with you() being as her guardian!

Chapter II, part I: Oh oh oh! We got a Bosmer guardian over here. For sometime, when I read your actual avatar name, I related it to your picture. But when I read this I came to know Lissa is the Redguard in the avatar, and Rihanae is the Bosmer! And which better teacher to teach Lissa than a Wood Elf?

I have to catch up to the others! But I will post soon!

Regarding your health, we wish only the best for you. Know that what counts when it comes to your story is Lissa’s journey, not her destination or whether she even reaches it. The best journeys are those that are not rushed, but savored.

"As sure as chickens are birds."
Or imps got wings!

Lissa shows her bravery by refusing to let Simon take on the Xivilai by himself. I loved her idea of a distraction: "HEY! Mister! That's MY cookie."

Fun way of using a potion. You explained and demonstrated so skillfully that it seemed as natural as a cliffracer flying.

What a fight! I bet Lissa’s acrobatics skill shot up during that!

Clever thinking as she tried to recall Shatterheart.

Poor Simon.

And the acrobatic archress is still in trouble herself as, once again, we’re hung on a cliff.

Tiny tip that I hope will serve you well: Make yourself a note and post it by where you write that says, It's = it is // Its = possessive.

*

As for why you are updating every day, I kind of thought that may be what you were doing and why. Don't worry, just do your posting however you want to. There may be times when some of us have to catch up read if we have a horrendous day (like I had today, lol), but we'll get to it when we can.

I really hope the doctors can do whatever necessary so you can live without that kind of worry over you, that has to be very stressful.


Now for the chapter: GAAAAH !!! A cliffhanger !!!! Is Lissa okay? Is Simon dead? GAAAAH !!!!!! Great Chapter !!!!


*

Darkness Eternal: Thank you so much for reading! I understand there is quite a bit to get through, but I'm thrilled to have you join us

Acadian: Hehe, Xivilai's have always troubled me with their magic, so a good old hand to hand match seemed perfect. Lissa is quite the fighter. I imagine she learnt to fight like that during her travels Thank you for the tip

mALX: Thank you for understanding, but I'm going to refrain from my previous statement and update every couple of days rather than everyday now

PREVIOUSLY: Lissa and Simon managed to escape the Daedroth and leave the castle, with Simon closing the gate shut. However as they go to leave the Xivilai blocks their path. During an attack the Xivilai kills Simon. Lissa uses a Silence potion and fights the Daedra but it isn't long before it overwhelms her and has her cornered...

29. Chapter 8 ~ Kvatch ~ Part 8

I edged backwards away from the Xivilai as it approached me. I was in too much pain for any kind of quick retaliation. I was done for.

I tried to stand, but I was in so much pain. It got closer to me. I prepared for another attack, but before It could land a punch I saw a blade slice through it's head from behind.

I watched as the Xivilai collapsed onto the ground, blood dribbling from the head wound. Simon was stood proudly behind it. He was alive.

I stood up and limped toward him, hugging him out of pure happiness, wincing in pain from my wounds as I wrapped my arms around him. I felt him go to hug me back, but he immediately stopped and politely pushed me away.

"Are you okay?" He asked me.

I nodded my head then cast a healing spell. I watched as the cuts and bruises on my arm slowly disappeared and healed themselves. I looked at Simon.

"Let's just get to the chapel."



Once we were inside the chapel Simon headed over to speak to one of the soldiers. I stood. Brushing myself off, and I was approached by a Kvatch soldier, a female redguard who was probably one of the soldiers Savvy had sent earlier.

"How did you get here?” She asked me, worried and excited at the same time.

"The miracle of walking." I said to her. I don't think she got my sarcastic sense of humour.

"How are things looking out there? are there any other survivors." She asked me.

"I don't know. I came from the city entrance and decided to take the scenic route to the chapel. It's quite beautiful." I replied, again sarcastically.

"Is the gate gone?"

"Gate? What gate? The city gate?"

"The oblivion gate?"

"Oh, right, THAT gate," I said, face palming myself mentally. "Yes, it's still there."

"Right... Is Savilian sending anymore-"

Before she could finish somebody interrupted her. Somebody whose voice I recognised immediately.

"Lissa?"

I turned and looked to my left, seeing mother stood in the distance.

"Hey mother..."

She looked at me in disbelief. She scanned me slowly before carefully approaching me. When she was directly in front of me she looked me up and down again. She then looked right into my eyes and slowly touched my face. Once she was convinced I was real she burst into tears and hugged me. Then I started to cry.



"So is that why you came here?" Mother asked me as I sat on the alter.

After telling mother all about my travels, I was reluctant to tell her the true purpose of my visit out of pure cowardice, so I told the secondary reason.

"Yeah,I came to rescue you."

"You came all the way here simply to rescue me?"

I nodded, a lying nod. A nod full of lies and deceit!

She smiled at me as she grabbed my hand.

"I'm very glad you did, despite my disproval of how risky it could have been for you. I'm glad you're back, I've been ever so worried about you."

I smiled back at her.

"Although, I wish we could have met under better circumstances..." she continued.

I laughed. "Yeah, hardly reunion of the era is it?"

There was a brief silence as I noticed mother simply staring at me, the biggest grin spread on her face.

"I'm sorry for disappearing."

"I know you are honey. I won't lie to you I was pretty upset. I wasn’t that angry though. It took a while but I realised you chose the best course of action for yourself, I just wish you trusted me enough to tell me."

"It's not that at all honestly-" I started. She interrupted me, still smiling.

"I understand Lissa, truly. When your father died I wasn't there for you. I was selfish. I was an awful mother..."

"MOTHER! No. You were NOT awful, okay? Don't even think that!"

"... I still could have been better..."

"Mother, you were grieving. Grief affects us all in different ways. Heck, I dealt with my grief by skipping out on everyone and exploring Tamriel."

She smiled again and put her hand on my face.

"You're so grown up..."

I put my hand on hers and smiled. Our eyes locked for a short moment, before I sparked conversation again.

"Well now I'm gunna repent for my actions."

"What do you mean?" Mother asked me, curious. I smiled. I jumped off the alter and stood with my hands on my hips.

"I'm going to get you guys out of here!"

Mother didn't reply.

"Didn't you hear me? I said I'm going to save you..."

"Oh, I heard you. But... you can't."

"What? Why?"

"Because of the Gate that destroyed the city."

"You don't have to worry about that mother, it's easy to slip around."

"I don't think Martin is willing to take that chance."

I stood looking at her, my arms folded.

"Martin? What's Martin got to do with anything. He's not the emperor, he can't tell you what to do."

She laughed at my comment. She clearly found my stubborness hilarious. I didn't.

"He is the one who saved us. I trust his judgement and I refuse to do anything without his word."

"But... mother, don't you trust me? I mean, if you ignore the whole running away thing."

She chuckled to herself.

"Of course I do! Don't you ever think I don't. And you didn't lose my trust, Lissa. You earned my respect if anything."

"Then why won't you come with me?"

She looked behind me.

"I answer to a higher power now. I am a servant of the Nine!"

I turned to see what she was looking at, seeing a window with Akatosh on it. I looked at her, my lip curled.

"And I am a servant of 'Whatever'."

She suddenly looked at me very sternly."

"Do not be rude to me Maelissa."

"Then YOU stop being so stubborn!"

She laughed again.

"Haha... you remind me so much of your father..."

She stopped laughing and sighed to herself. She put her hand on my chin ad looked me in the eye. Her tone was sweet and assuring.

"Go, Lissa. I will be fine. The church is protected by Akatosh's blessing and as soon as the gate is destroyed, I will leave. I promise you I will be safe."

"But-"

"Do as I tell you. You owe me that."

A part of me couldn't believe what she said to me, but I knew she was right. She was protected here and if she believed it to be the best course of action, no matter how hard I refused to accept it. She had a look in her eyes which convinced me that her way was the right way, not matter how much I hated the thought. It was at that point I knew I had to do what she wished, but not without revealing my true intentions first.

"Mother... I know."

"You know what?"

"What you've been hiding from me all these years. I know."

She looked horrified, but tried to hide it with a smile. She didn't try to deny it however.

"...how did you find out?"

"I found the picture in your chest at the university."

She looked confused.

"What? What is it you know, exactly?"

I looked at her. It was almost as if she had completely forgotten that she had practically admitted it to me. I decided it was best to refresh her memory without any cryptic riddles.

"Mother... why didn't you tell me I had a brother?"

Simon’s alive, woo hoo!




Oh, I hope Oleta dishes out some good information! Lissa has gone through so much to reach her!

*

Yeah! Lissa made it, and Simon is alive too!

Very touching scene when her mother saw her alive! These lines had me rolling:




GAAAAH !!! A brother? Holy Cow! You are cliffhanging me again !!


*

Not only is Simon alive, but he bravely saved Lissa!

"The miracle of walking." I said to her. I don't think she got my sarcastic sense of humour.’
This is very ‘Lissa’.

And Oleta is safe! Whew!

"Martin? What's Martin got to do with anything. He's not the emperor, he can't tell you what to do."
Like Grits and mALX, I found the clever irony dripping from this to be priceless!

"Do not be rude to me Maelissa."
Uh oh! Using Lissa’s full name means Oleta’s serious!

A cliff hangar indeed! I can’t wait to see what Oleta has to say about Leinahtan/Nathaniel after all the trouble her brother has caused Lissa!

Grits: Thank you for reading! Thank you for your kind words

mALX: Yes, it was revealed earlier that the mysterious Leinahtan is, in fact, Lissa long lost brother. As always, thank you for reading

Acadian: Hehe thank you for your comments! Yes, the full name trick parents use so well! Haha. Thank you for reading

PREVIOUSLY: Just as things look dire with the Xivilai Lissa was fighting, she is bravely saved my the alive Simon who kills the monster. They go into the Chapel and Lissa reunites with her mother. After a rebonding session Oleta reveals that she will not leave the chapel until the city is saved and asks Lissa to leave, promising that she will be okay. Before she leaves Lissa asks her mother why she didn't tell her she had a brother, Leinahtan.

30. Chapter 8 ~ Kvatch ~ Part Nine

Mother looked at me, shocked by my question.

"What? You don't have a brother-"

I interrupted her. It was pointless for her to even try lying to me.

"Don't play dumb, I found the picture." I started. There was moment of silence as she looked at me reluctantly. "Are you going to tell me?"

She gave a sigh. I could see that she wanted to say something but she struggled to find the words.

Eventually, she did.

"I knew this day would come sooner or later. I just hoped it would be later. Yes, you have a brother."



Mother and I sat on one of the chapel benches. She held my hand as she began to tell me the story of Leinahtan Cristenn

"Your brother, Leinahtan, was a gifted child. He was born with an immense amount of natural magicka flowing within him. Your father and I didn't know how that came to be, but all we knew was that he was a special child. When we lived in Hammerfell lots of people wanted to use Leinahtan for their own selfish deeds. Some thought his presence would enhance their own Magicka, and some sick individual wanted to sacrifice him to raise a Daedric lord. We refused every offer, we didn’t even think about any of them. However one day when Leinahtan was four we were approached by an Altmer named Reina, She said that she would teach Leinahtan the correct way of using his powers and turn him into a powerful sorcerer, possibly the most powerful Nirn had ever seen."

She took a a brief pause, recollecting the painful memory before continuing.

"We didn't trust her. There was something sinister about her, So we rebuffed her offer. We thought she went away, but she didn’t. That same day Nathaniel and I left Leinahtan unattended for mere minutes inside the house so we could de-moss the outside window pane. When we came back, Leinahtan was gone."

After saying this she began to cry.

"Oh, mother..."

I tried supporting her by squeezing her hand tighter. She regained her speech and continued.

"Somehow Reina had come into the house and stolen our baby. We knew it was her because she left a note saying 'you should of accepted my offer." and the piece of paper smelled like her. We searched far and wide for over five months but no one knew anything. We accepted we would never see him again and moved to Cyrodiil for a fresh start."

I looked at her, shocked. What she had just said, about accepting something so horrible made no sense to me.

"Why would you just... accept something like that?" I asked her.

Mother looked at me.

"It wasn't easy. Believe me. Your father was worried I would go mad if we kept searching, so we stopped. I regret it heavily but what's done is done. It wasn't all horrible. A year after we moved to Anvil Maelona was born, and twenty years after that you were born. We had our family, and although we missed Leinahtan very deeply every single day, and even though we never forgot him, we couldn't let what happened affect you girls."

There was another moment of silence.

"I guess I understand..." I lied.

I tried to calculate my thoughts into a plausible one, but everything just seemed to overwhelming. Her revelation horrified me. The fact that she and dad so willingly gave up on their son was to much to handle. My idea of the perfect, loving parents had been shattered in an instant. I almost wished I hadn't even asked.

I let go of mothers hand and stood up. She remained seated.

"What are you doing?" She asked me.

"I... I need to go. I have people waiting for me." I said.

I needed to go. I couldn't bear to be in the same space as her. I needed a moment to collect myself, and I couldn't do that with her around. She didn't argue my decision, however, only stood up and hugged me. She must have understood how I was feeling. She probably knew that any pleading she would have to do would lead me to resent her more.

"Okay, honey. You do what you need to do." She said, releasing me from the embrace.

"... will you be okay?" i asked her, my tone slightly cold. She nodded, kissing me on the cheek.

"Thank you for coming, Lissa. Never forget that I will always love you, no matter what happens. I PROMISE you that I will leave the chapel soon. Somebody is sure to close the gate."

"Okay..." I said quietly as I slowly walked away from her. I didn't look back at her. I didn't want to see her expression. Would she be crying? Would she be guilty? I didn't know. I didn't want to know. All I knew is that I wanted to leave. Now.

So you got your answer Lissa..."

I guess so...

"Are you okay?" Rihanae asked me, genuine concern in his voice.

Let's just get out of here...

Before I could reach the chapel door I was stopped by Simon.

"Lissa, You're going?"

"Yeah, I need to."

He looked at me, then at my mother, then back at me.

"Is everything okay?"

I looked at him, tears slowly welling up behind my eyes. I shook my head mouthing 'no', unable to get the words out.

I turned my head to the left so my mother wouldn't see me crying. After a short moment hiding my tears from everyone I spoke again.

"Can you take me to my friends, please?"

"Of course, where are they?"

"They're waiting for me by the oblivion gate."

Simon had no hesitation with his answer, he simply smiled.

"Of course."

For all Lissa went through to find her mother, I doubt very much she is the type that would have just stood by and let someone kidnap her family member (like her mother and father did). Now that she knows of the brother, I'll bet Lissa will be seeking him.

The battle for Kvatch was sandwiched into Lissa's personal quest for her mother and (and if I'm not mistaken, her brother next) - that was Awesome !! Very well done !!! Great Write !!!!

I suspect there is more pain to Oleta’s story than she is telling. I would not be surprised to learn that she is somehow still shielding Lissa. Oleta readily forgave Lissa for running away from home; I hope our Redguard archress learns from that example. Her youthful inability to understand parental motivation shines through here.

Simon continues to impress here in the last scene, just when Lissa needed his heroism in a different form.

You continue to do a wonderful job with this story!

Another short chapter. Looking back I should have put this and the previous chapter together, but what's done is done. Plus the number makes it nice and even.

mALX: I'm sure it won't be too long before Leinahtan manages to find Lissa! He's very stalking with his murder attempts

Acadian: For the short amount of time Simon has been a part of Lissa's life, he has most certainly made an impact.

mALX & Acadian: I'm intrigued about the fact that both of you seem to think that Oleta is holding onto more information than she is giving. It's interesting






Simon and I left the chapel he defeated the scamps as I collected my weapons from the hidey-hole. The destruction of the city suddenly seemed less scary. They seemed minor. I didn't think about them.

Once we got past the oblivion gate we headed over to Savvy and the girls. They were still waiting by the barricade.

Once they saw us Jessie came running over to me.

"Are you okay?" She asked me. I didn't say anything; my watery eyes did all the talking for me.

Jessie walked with Simon and I back over to Savvy and Anyanka. Once we were all one Savvy began to speak.

"Simon! What news do you bring from the castle? I assume that as you are here you managed to get the count to safety?"

Simon took Savvy off down to the refugee camp for a private conversation after giving me a look asking me if I would be okay, to which I nodded in reply.

Once the soldier walked away the girls and I spoke to each other.

"What did you manage to get your mother to reveal?" Anyanka asked me.

"Um..." I felt like crying again, but I was strong enough not to. "She told me he was stolen as a baby because
he had strong magicka or something."

"OH no! That's horrible!" Jessie stated.

"And your parents knew nothing of his whereabouts?" Anyanka asked me.

I shook my head. Jessie noticed my lack of clear responses.

“Are you okay, Liss?”

I looked at her.

“I just… I don’t understand why they just let him get kidnapped, or why they didn’t try harder to find him! They just forgot about him. They abandoned him! And mother acted as if she couldn’t care less.”

Anyanka looked at me, a supportive look on her face.

“I’m sure that was not the case. Your mother is a warm and caring woman. I highy doubt she would just forget about a child.”

I looked at her, taking in what she said. She continued.

“You must understand that I know Oleta from the perspective of that not of a child, but a friend. She is a very proud woman.”

“What do you mean, Annie?” I asked her. She was beginning to confuse me.

“I won’t confirm nor deny anything of your mothers motives, but from experience I understand that there are just some things a mother honestly cannot admit to a their child.”

I continued to look at her, then looked at the floor. What she was suggesting that mother wasn’t telling me everything I wanted to know. She must have been protecting me from something more horrible that happened around the time Leinahtan was kidnapped.

Maybe it was something to do with the actual kidnapping, or possibly something to do with the aftermath.

I still wasn’t entirely convinced. Either way mother lied to me and that was all I needed to know.

I kept face and looked back up at the girls, smiling.

“So, where to next?”

The girls looked at each other, a concerned look in their eyes.

“Lissa…” Jessie started. I interrupted her before she could continue.

“OH! Yeah, Cheydinhal! Right. It’s time to vistit the rest of the Lythandas clan, right? LET’S GO!”

I began to walk off, the girls didn’t budge for a short while, but eventually the began to trundle behind me.

“Is it wise to just ignore this Lissa?” Rihanae asked me.

I’m not ignoring it. I’m just locking my doubts in a imaginary box which I don’t plan to open again for a while.

“And is that healthy?”

Yes. Yes it is. Are you done with the questions? You’re spoiling my mood.

“Lissa…”

Rihanae… I mocked.

Rihanae remained silent after that. He knew he wasn’t going to win. I mean sure, he was right about one thing. Ignoring what I’d learned and the pain it caused me maybe wasn’t the best way to go but hey, I was a big girl.

As we walked I saw Simon in the distance coming back up the hill. I approached him.

“Right, we’re off now.”

“So soon?” He asked me. “I was hoping we could have a conversation. There was something I’d been meaning to ask you.”

“Sorry! No time. Busy busy.”

I began to walk past him, but he grabbed my arm, slowly pulling me toward him.

“What are you doing?” Simon quietly asked me, his tone compassionate and concerned.

I looked into his eyes. I wasn't sure what to say to him. He was the only person who I felt I could trust with everything, considering he save my life in'all

“Please don’t make this any harder than it has to be. I need to get out of this place.”

He continued to look at me. We held a look for what felt like hours. After a moment I broke away from him.

I started to walk away from him, but I couldn’t. There was still something I had to say.

“Thank you.”

“What for?” He asked me. I smiled.

“Just… thank you.”

He smiled at me, and nodded. I smiled back. I watched as he turned to head back up the hill. The girls walked past him, looking at him then approaching me.

“Everything okay with Soldier man-“ Jessie started

“Simon,” I corrected her. “His name is Simon.”

I continued to watch Simon as he walked up the hill.

I looked back to the girls. I clapped my hands together and smiled.

“Right, let’s go, shall we?”

The girls nodded as we continued down the path and out of Kvatch. The city that changed everything.

Very powerful insight into Lissa here! Awesome line !!! Lissa has put up a wall to protect herself, good move for the short term !!! You are doing a great character with Simon too! Awesome Write !!!

At around 940 words, this was not an overly short episode at all. In fact, it was both powerful and satisfying – fully deserving to stand alone. I have posted several in the 800 word range. I consider 1300 to be about perfect. My average is 1600. I cringe when I very rarely drift slightly about 2000 words.

You gently displayed Lissa’s personality wonderfully here via her words and actions. The interactions she had with Rihanae, the girls and Simon were very well done.

She knows she should probably listen to Rihanae and Anyanka. . . but we know her well enough to realize that she won’t – at least not yet.

“Everything okay with Soldier man-“ Jessie started
“Simon,” I corrected her. “His name is Simon.”
Given Lissa’s own name-irreverent habits, this can only mean one thing. Lissa’s more than a tad smitten!

“Everything okay with Soldier man-“ Jessie started

“Simon,” I corrected her. “His name is Simon.”

That says a lot! I love how Lissa's friends show their concern for her.

mALX: Thank you for your comments! I'm glad you like Simon. Hopefully this will not be the last time we see him

Acadian: I'm so glad that you've picked up on Lissa's personal traits when it comes to dealing with things. I'm also glad you noticed some for of significance when it came to Lissa correcting Jessie

Grits: Hehe thank you!

PREVIOUSLY: After Lissa tells the girls what she found out about Leinahtan, she decides it is time for them to continue on to Cheydinhal, with her friends worried about the sudden emotional wall shes built around herself regarding her horrible discovery...

32. Chapter 9 ~ Detour ~ Part One

Our next destination was the city of Cheydinhal. The girls and I walked up the road toward the imperial city. We still had a long way to go, but it was fine. A long journey with my best friends was tonnes better than being given a chance to think about stuff.

"Oh, Anyanka! I'm so excited to meet your father!" Jessie proclaimed.

"Why is that?" Anyanka asked her, slightly confused.

"Your father is the most famous painter in Cyrodiil!" Jessie replied quite excitedly.

"Yes, I am aware of this, but you have not answered my question."

I looked at Anyanka and laughed.

"Well... uh... well he's, like, a celebrity!" Jessie responded. She acted as if she was being questioned.

"That is a reasonable response. I appreciate your excitement regarding meeting my father. I, however, do not share your joy."

"Aww, Annie!" I started, putting my arm around her. "You don't have to worry! I met my mother, didn't I? That turned out fine."

"Well yes, I suppose, if you ignore that fact that you reacted to her revelation inappropriately and rather selfishly, causing you to draw a rift between you two when there isn't need for one; yes, it turned out as you would say, 'fine'."

I smiled to myself and removed my arm from around Anyanka.

That was like taking an arrow.

"I'm sure she didn't mean it quite like she said."

Rihanae, this is Annie. She could find a way to make a Dremora cry using words alone.

We continued to walk. I could tell that this journey was now going to be a bundle of laughs.



After spending the night in the Wawnett Inn We decided to take a pit stop in the Imperial City. Anyanka wanted to check a few things with Raminus and Jessie wanted to shop for a new bow. We stood outside the city's main entrance.

"Right, what time are we meeting back up?" I asked Anyanka.

"It appears to be nine AM, so how does Midday sound to you?" Anyanka suggested. I nodded.

"Sounds great."

Before I had a chance to say anything else Anyanka had already wandered off in the direction of the university. I laughed to myself and looked at Jessie.

"Are you sure you don't want to join me?" She asked me.

I shook my head.

"Nah." I think I'm just gunna hang about here for a while. Maybe go and see the horses."

Jessie smiled.

"Okay, but I’ll be in the market district if you need me, okay?"

"Okay, Hon."

We hugged and Jessie wandered into the city gate. I turned around and looked at the city bridge. I sighed to myself.

Everything was starting to get to me. There was so much going on in my life at the moment that it felt like I was emotionally drowning. But despite everything there was literally only one thought that crossed my mind. My brother.

Where is he...



I spent my time sat by a large tree near the main gate. I was thinking about a lot of stuff. Mother, Rhano, Leinahtan, Simon, whether I should get a new haircut. All these things were important, and they were all driving me insane.

I just don't understand why Leinahtan doesn't just reveal himself in person. It's not like he has anything to be afraid of.

"He must be biding his time. Or maybe, just possibly, he has lost his little need to kill you."

I laughed at Rihanae's abruptness.

Let's hope so!

I continued to gaze out into the view, but my smile suddenly turned into a frown again. I drastically turned the subject to a new one.

I think... I think Simon means more to me than he should.

"What do you mean?"

I don't know. I really don't, but every time I think about him I feel... guilty.

"Because of Rhano?"

Well, duh, guy. The award for smarty pants of the year goes too-

"Okay, sorry."

No. No, don't be sorry. I'm sorry. It's just... ARGH! Why is it SO hard to be-

"Branwen!"

I looked to see an Argonian guy running towards me from the main gate.

Me...

"BRAAAANWEN!"

He was looking directly at me. I turned around to see if there was someone to my left, but there wasn't. It appeared the dude was talking to me. He approached me.

"Where have you been? I was worried!"

I looked at him, confused.

"Um... What? Do I know you?"

The Argonian laughed. Once he realised I was serious he changed his tone.

"Oh, you're not Branwen?"

"Not even the slightest little bit. I have no idea who this 'Branwen' is."

"Oh, I apologize, it's just... my, the likeness is uncanny."

"What?"

He was confusing me more than ever now.

"My friend, Branwen. You look so much like her... only your skin is a bit darker and you smell better."

"Um... thanks? I'll take that as a compliment!" I laughed.

"We usually train outside the arena. We are aiming to be combatants you see."

"Wow. Fascinating. So, you're trying to find your friend?"

The Argonian nodded.

"Yes. I am, and it would be most helpful if I had some assistance." He hinted to me.

I thought for a moment. All I wanted to do was chill out for a couple of hours with my thoughts, but obviously, because I was such a charitable person, I had to help.

I sighed with annoyance and dragged myself back onto my feet.

"Okay. I guess I'll help you. I've got nothing else on."

"Oh, thank you! I am so worried about my dear Branwen!"

"Uh, huh." I replied. I didn't mean to sound cold and uncaring, but I really was.

"This is a wonderful and noble thing you're doing, Lissa. Helping this poor man in his time of need."

Meh, I guess. My bottom was getting damp from the wet grass anyway.

"Oh, Lissa..."

Three amigas in the big city!

'I was thinking about a lot of stuff. Mother, Rhano, Leinahtan, Simon, whether I should get a new haircut.'
Knowing that she was a bit smitten by Simon, I was just waiting for Rhano-guilt to hit – nice job with that. A new doo would be just the thing to cheer Lissa up!

"This is a wonderful and noble thing you're doing, Lissa. Helping this poor man in his time of need."
Meh, I guess. My bottom was getting damp from the wet grass anyway.
"Oh, Lissa..."
This is sooo Lissa and Rihanae.

Now I’m really curious about your plans for Branwen!

*



I loved this little interchange between the girls! Lissa isn't always right, and Annie is the conscience for the group - Loved that !!! Like taking an arrow in the knee? Lol.



SPEW !!! Do all Redguards look alike to Argonians? ROFL !!!! SPEW !!! LOVED this !!! And I know whose daughter Branwen is, lol

I understand Lissa's guilt feelings over Rhano, time apart leaves the heart open for another to move in. Rhano better get on the ball and hunt down Lissa before Simon steals her away, lol.

And then this:



Had me in hysterics !!! Nothing like making sure he realizes it is an imposition by sighing loudly while patting yourself on the back for being so charitable - you had me rolling on the floor with that line !!!

Gotta love Lissa, AWESOME Write !!!!!


*

Hey guys. A bit of bad news I'm afraid. I recently fell ill again. It was inevitable but I didn't think it would be quite as soon. Haha.

Chances are, I wont be posting any more on 'Valentine', but as I've already finished book one of this story I will continue to post as often as humanly possible.

I won't be able to read or comment as much as I like because I'm unable to use the computer very well (I'm currently writing this through my friend, somewhat of a 'ghostwriter' haha)

So not worry! I WILL be absoloutly fine, it'll just take a couple of months to fully recoupurate, I just hated Lissa being on my computer and not shared with you guys

Thank you

Oh no babe! That's sad I hope you're okay!

Although I was getting into Valentine, you getting better is the key thing

love&hugs

x

I was worried it might be your health when you disappeared! Just get better, that is the main thing!

Sorry to hear it, Rihanae. You have my best wishes for a smooth recovery.

And thank you to your ghostwriter friend! I know how frustrating it is to not be able to communicate.

I really like this It's a shame Rihanae is so Ill... has anybody heard anything from Rihanae? It looks like it's been a while since the last update?

*

Yes, where are you Rihanae and Lissa?

Maybe Rihanae comes on silently... but once he sees we want more he will come back! Haha

Thanks for the PM Eva. With regards to the story, I will be returning! I very rarely get any internet time ATM but thats due to change very, very soon. Thank you for your interest in my little redguard archress

I'm glad you got it! I'm glad you're doing better

There's honestly no rush, I was just wondering because I liked the story

Gosh, we've missed you, Rihanae, and look forward to the return of both the wonderful Lissa and your warm cheer.

So glad to hear you'll soon be back, Rihanae!

WOO! My mum let me use her computer to upload the next chapter! WOuld have been tricky using my phone again haha. SO here it is, the next chapter!

I understand it has been a while so if any reader would like me to PM them a brief 'Story so far...' summary I would be more than happy to, but most of the tale can be gathered through the 'PREVIOUSLY' sections before the chapters.

So without further ado...

PREVIOUSLY: Lissa, Jessie and Anyanka made it to the Imperial City for a quick break on their journey to Cheydinhal to see ANyankas parents. While Jessie and Anyanka head off to do their own chores in the city, Lissa sits and thinks about her life; mainly the situation with her mother. Not before long she is asked by a friendly Argonian to help him find his friend, Branwen. Lissa reluctantly obliges...





As the Argonian, Saliith, and I walked through the city toward the arena district, I checked my nails for dirt. They were filthy. It was disgusting.

“She told me she would wait at our training spot, but when I returned from the market she had vanished.” Saliith informed me.

“MmHmm…” I mumbled, attempting to clean my fingernails with my teeth. Horrible and unhygienic, but totally necessary.

“Branwen has never disappeared for longer than five minutes… one hour is too long for her.” Saliith revealed.

I shot him a look, my eyebrow raised, “Wait up; she’s only been missing for an hour? As in sixty minutes?” I asked, and Saliith nodded. I creased my forehead, “What makes you absolutely sure she is missing?”

“She told me she would wait for me to return… then she was gone.” Saliith said, worry in his voice.

I chuckled to myself, “I don’t mean to sound super rude but did it occur to you that maybe she was lying to you?” I asked.

Saliith gave me a curious look, “Lied? What do you mean?”

“Maybe she wanted to go somewhere alone and didn’t want to hurt your feelings.” I said.

Saliith stopped for a second to think, then shook his head, “No, no; Branwen and I do everything together. Absolutely everything.”

I gave him a look that said, ‘that’s the point I’m trying to make.’

It was then that Saliith stopped again, this time giving me a heartbroken look. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He was obviously incredibly close to this Branwen, and finding out that Branwen might have lied to him must have hurt.

It made me think about what I’d just come from.

I put my hands on my hips, the trotted over to the unhappy Argonian. I put my hand on his shoulder, then smiled at him. “Come on. I’m sure we’ll find her.”

Saliith gently grinned a toothy smile, before nodding. We then continued to the Arena district.

“Do you really think she’s okay, Lissa?”

How should I know.

“You were so certain with Saliith?”

I know… but whatchagunnado. People lie and people get hurt. Some people just obviously handle it better than others.



Saliith and I reached the arena district. The sounds of cheers from the arena filling the entire space. Simply staing outside the arena was giving me spirit. Crazy.

Saliith led me to an arched , stone section of the district where he and Branwen lived and trained. It was a hovel; simply two bed rolls, a couple of boxes and a rug. That was it.

However, our mission was soon complete as when we arrived to Saliiths home, a redguard woman was sat on one of the bedrolls. She looked miserable; like she’d lost something dear to her.

“BRANWEN!” Saliith shouted as he charged toward his friend. Branwen looked up at him and performed an unenthusiastic smile.

So that’s the illusive Branwen… creepy; she really does look like me. She’s BEAUTIFUL.

“Hey, Saliith.” She miserably greeted.

“Where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you?” Saliith worried as he sat with Branwen.

She gave him a look, locking information tight behind her lips and not saying a word.

I approached Branwen, and decided to give my two pennies, “You should have said something to Saliith. He’s been really worried about you.”

Branwen then gave me be a surprising look of utter disgust, getting up onto her feet and confronting me face-to-face, “Who are you to tell me what to do? Who are you full stop?”

I put my hands up in surrender, “Woah, calm down chick fit, I’m not judging; I’m just saying.”

Branwen gave me a cold, angry stare before storming back over to Saliith, punching one of the archways pillars as she sat down.

“Branwen… what happened?” Saliith asked, perturbed by his friends behaviour.

Branwen remained quiet, her eyes tearing up ever so gently. Even I, a total stranger, started to worry. Only a bit, though.

“I wen’t to see Owyn.” Branwen admitted.

“Oh, Branwen…” Saliith said, consoling his friend.

“Who is Owyn?” Rihanae asked me.

Shh! N.O.Y.B.

“… Noyb?”

None of your business. Now Hush. I wanna get all the dirt.

“I went into the arena bloodworks and tried to explain to him that I was his daughter, but he wasn’t having any of it. I knew he believed me… I knew he knew I was telling the truth but he… he shut me out. He said he wanted nothing to do with me.” Branwen said.

“You shouldn’t have gone in there alone…” Saliith gently scolded.

Branwen smiled gently, “I know… and I’m sorry I disappeared. I just didn’t want you to stop me going to see him.”

Wow. Imagine that…

“What?” Rihanae asked.

Having a parent treat you like nothing more than rat dung. I couldn’t imagine having my mother shun me the way Owyn shunned Branwen.

It was true. Thinking about Branwen’s situation, seeing utter loneliness in her eyes… I couldn’t imagine being in her situation. I was lucky enough to have one parent that lived… and I’d treated her horribly—Nope. No, I’m not going to think about that now… I have way to much to do. Too much. Busy busy.

“If everything’s okay here, I’m going to go.” I said to Saliith.

“Lissa, I’m so sorry,” Saliith said, standing up and walking over to me, “Thank you for helping me look for Branwen.” He thanked, shaking my hand.

I smiled warmly, “No problem. Glad to help.”

Then Branwen stood up and walked over to me, “Sorry about just then… I’m kinda in a bad place right now.”

“That’s okay. I can only imagine what you’re going through…” I said, trying to sympathise with her as much as possible.

It was true; I could only imagine what she was going through. I had no idea what it felt like to be completely ignored by a parent. It must have been heart breaking…

It was then I remembered how truly lucky I was.

I really liked this.

I like how the chapter subtly focuses on Lissa finding it in her to forgive her mother. But I wonder... is it pure coincidence that Branwen and Lissa look so alike?

I really lile Lissa's coversations with Rihanae... always a highlight for me well done

P.S glad you're doing better