#veezara my beloved

[galaxy-jessie]

A particularly bothersome target

[lynxfang]

Skyrim oc rambling up ahead. CW for horror language/descriptions, dark brotherhood stuff, violence, etc.

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"You were a fool, Commander Maro," her rough, reptilian voice purred as she slunk around him. The fin-like neck fan down her spine quivered, signaled by the clinking of the piercings. "No man is immortal." Beejara growled in his ear right before he swung around, sword meeting shadowy nothingness where he expected argonian.

"I never thought myself immortal, lizard!" He hissed through gritted teeth, pointing his sword towards the darkness that surrounded him in the small guard house. "I just knew you daedra-worshiping shite-stains weren't either! I'll put you down like I did the dog and the other lizard!"

A rough laugh echoed around him as from the shadows behind him, she emerged. Shadows poured from beween her teeth like water and steam, and light seemed swallowed up by her presence. It was like a night terror which choked the life out of tbe dreamer with one wet, ragged breath at a time.

"Veezara lives. Arbjorn is with his family and his wife now... but you failed, Maro." She whispered, fingering the wedding ring around one of her clawed fingers. He lived, but her husband was certainly a lot worse for wear. The burns on his hands were so deep that he had no feeling in his palms. Scars riddled his chest where arrows found near miss purchase alongside his organs. They had been a nightmare to wrench free of the thick scales. Worse was how he dreamt. As a daughter of Vermina, Beejara could dreamwalk into her husband's nightmares. She had tried to figure out what plagued him only to be choked in smoke and fire. Blood in her throat. The scent of slaughtered loved ones. He may live, but the Veezara before the attack had died there.

This time, when he swung around to face her, the argonian didn't cast another illusion spell to shroud herself in shadow. She simply ducked his swing and caught his sword arm in the crease of his elbow with the blade of woe, hissing as she felt a surge through her arm as blood quenched the Dread Father's thirst. Her blood sang in thanks. The Shadowscale bared her teeth with a sneer, letting more shadow pour out as her eyes glimmered gold and red in the dark.

Maro hissed in pain as the blade made contact, but the soldier had felt plenty of pain. The two glanced blows, dagger on sword, but eventually he secured the upper hand, parrying a stab and flinging the blade from her hand. As he advanced on her growling something she didn't care to listen to about how vengeance for his son would be complete, she dodged his swing again, and as he stood, he felt a blade nick the tender skin of his throat.

"Woah there, my friend. Wouldn't do that if I were you." A raspy growl sounded in his ear as a scaled hand brought two dagged to him. One at his throat, another at the small of his back.

"You forgot one thing, Commander," Beejara let the shadows lift as she let the spell drop. Now she could actually look at her handsome husband. It was too rare for him to smile like this for her to hide it away in black shadows. Doing what he was made to do. Hail Sithis for making him beam like that.

She smiled fondly, ignoring the grunt of pain as Veezara dug the blade into Maro's spine and the look of abject horror on the commander's face. He knew he'd lost.

"What is that, snake?" He spat the word like venom. Well then, may as well indulge him there. She threw off a small illusory spell, watching horror come firm across his face as he hallucinated something no doubt horrific. Probably snakes.

"It’s the Dark Brotherhood." She strode up, leaned down to pick up her dagger, and lifted his chin with the point to force him to look her in the eyes. "We're never alone."

The stab and slice was perfect unison as the two Shadowscales worked in harmony. Her handsome husband. His beautiful wife. Their horrendous work in the Dread Father's name. When it was all said and done, they dumped his body in the woods, and set off towards Dawnstar. Overall, a wonderful start to a date night.

[skyrim-said-that]

How did Lavinia react to the sanctuary being ransacked, and eventually finding Gabriella's corpse on the table? How did she feel about Astrid?

Okay so i just wrote a whole fucking fic for this ask, its the first time ive ever written anything that wasnt for school and i really hope you like it bc im lowkey proud of it. Also big thanks to @awesomeundertalelover3 for helping me out!

Alright kids, enjoy just over 3000 words of badly written but surprisingly sad angst

tw for death, blood, gore, angst

Lavinia’s Death Incarnate

The moment Maro revealed that the sanctuary was gonna be ruined, she shot him in the heart. She didn’t even give him the rest of his stupid speech, she just fuckin shot him. And then she started running. She quickly took out the rest of the guards as she ran and she just booked to the sanctuary.When she saw the flames she had to force herself to not break down then and there because she HAD to find Gabriella. She NEEDED to find the rest of her family. Besides Brynjolf? They’re all she has.She saw Festus first. The man was pinned to the tree and her rage got closer to a breaking point. She quickly ran up and laid his body on the ground with shaking hands, promising she would mourn him later, but for now, she had to see who in her family remained. If Gabriella was alive.She got in and she saw Veezara first. she saw him curled on the ground dead and she just broke. Her rage took over and all she saw was red. In her rage and grief, she took out every invader from the rooms at the top of the stairs and the entire main room. Then she heard Nazir fighting and her vision cleared to try and find him, get to him because she knew he was alive, she could hear him.Then she saw Arnbjorn. She saw that there was a dead guard, whether she or the werewolf killed it she had no idea. And then her eyes travelled up to Arnbjorn in his beast form. She could barely keep herself from going into a rage again. She was standing above him, about to reach down to touch his fur, if she had, she would have surely broken down. Just before she did, she heard Nazir again and went to find him.

But then she found Gabriella.

She was rushing to find Him and then she saw her. Her love, her life, her beautiful Gabriella. She saw her and she just.. broke. She couldn't hear or see anything but her love, lying dead on a table. She staggered over so she could see Gabriella's face. Her girlfriend has always said she thought she might die soon but Lavinia always thought she would have been able to stop it. But here she was, laying on a table, blood leaking through her robes and yet, she looked like she had accepted it. Her eyes shut and her face relaxed. She almost looked asleep.

Lavina stood beside the body of her love while her home burned around her and that was it. All those years of building herself stronger so she would never break again and yet this was what broke her all over again. She took Gabriella’s cold hand and fell over the table with a scream of anguish. So loud, so full of emotion that Nazir and the guards he was fighting stopped in their tracks. It was a scream so raw and full of grief that would haunt Nazir for months.

Nazir was first to get back to the fight. He had realized the scream belonged to Lavinia and he knew she had found Gabriella. He used the guards shock to his advantage and quickly stabbed one through the stomach and then slashed the other across the throat. He quickly made his way back to the dining room where he saw a terrible sight.

Lavinia had collapsed with her head on Gabriella's chest and held the dunmers cold hand to the other side of her face. Her green eyes wide but unseeing, blinded by grief and tears. Half of her face was covered in Gabriella’s blood from a wound on her chest but she didn't notice. She just focused on the feeling of her beloveds soft chest and hand, holding her just she would when they would share a bed.

When Lavinia was remembering the betrayal of mercer or the death of her adoptive parents. Gabriella would run her long nails down Lavinia's cheek and hum while the bosmers tears would stop flowing and she would drift into a dreamless sleep.But now Gabriella wasn't humming. Her long nails weren't running down Lavinia’s cheek and she would never be able to dry her tears again.

Nazir almost didn’t want to disturb her, he wanted to let her be with her girlfriend and grieve in peace but he knew that the room would be falling soon and there would be more guards arriving soon. He tried calling her name but she didn't seem to notice, she didn't move or even look at him. The dead woman's blood was starting to get in Lavinia's red hair that the dunmer had loved so much. Nazir heard the bang of a rock falling in cicero's room and he knew that they needed to start moving.

He walked over so he was in Lavinia's line of sight but her blank expression didn't change, she just held Gabriella's hand to her face even closer. Nazir sighed and crouched down to try and make eye contact with the woman lying over the table.

“Lavinia we need to go. The sanctuary is collapsing.”

She didn't answer him, her teary eyes just flicked to look into her best friends eyes before looking back down into nothing. Nazir saw in her eyes and it was like all the grief of every betrayal, every kill, every death that she had ever experienced was pouring out in just one look and he had to look away. She just stared into nothing until he reached out to touch her face and she jolted up so she was shielding Gabriella from him.

“Don’t touch her!” she screamed. She no longer saw her best friend, she just saw another person trying to hurt her love. “Don't touch her or I swear by sithis there will be nothing left of you.”

Nazir just stared at her while she defended the corpse of her beloved and realizing her dagger was on the ground he made a decision.

“I love you Lavinia, so don't hate me for this.” and then he rushed to quickly drag her into his arms while she struggled. She screeched and scratched and struggles while he dragged her away from the table. He got to the stair and she was still screaming and trying to go back to Gabriella, she couldn't leave her there, she couldn't let her go.

She started begging and sobbing, “I can’t leave her, I won't let her be alone! Please let me go I need her!” she continued like this till Nazir shifted so he could grab her jaw with one hand. “Dammit, Lavinia stop it! She's gone!” He yelled in her face and looked right into her wide, frantic eyes. She froze in his arms and finally made eye contact with him again.

And then she whispered, “I can’t be alone again.”

He moved his hand from her jaw to her cheek. “You have me, Lavinia. You have me and Babette and Brynjolf and the night mother. We will never leave you alone.”

She searched his face for any sign that he might be lying and when she found nothing she went limp in his arms and whispered “okay.” into his chest. He adjusted her in his arms and made his way towards the coffin room, searching for a way out. He got there and the exit back to the main room was all blocked up.“Dammit. Blocked.” Lavinia looked u from his chest to see the closed off entrance and then buried her face back into his robes, feeling hopeless."Hush child, I will help you" a smooth and low voice called from inside Lavinia's head. It was terrifying but ... calming. It seemed to know what to do and with what Lavina was going through, she needed that kind of guidance. "Come to me, Embrace me, child... I will save you. I am the only thing that can save you" If she was in her right mind, she would’ve never listened but her grief was clouding her judgement."Nazir put me down." Nazir was going to argue but stopped when he saw the look in Lavina’s eyes. With a quiet nod, he set her down and watched her closely as she steadied herself."Yes my Listener. Join me." The sarcophagus doors creak open and she heard Nazir's sound of surprise."Embrace me my child.”

She desperately wanted to listen to that comforting voice but she looked back to Nazir who was staring at the coffin doors. She looked back to the night mother.

“What about Nazir,” she said quietly. No answer.

“Dammit, what about Nazir! I can’t just let him die!” She yelled at the mummified body of her night mother. She was about to start yelling more when she felt Nazir’s hand on her shoulder. She turned to him and he looked her in the eyes.  

“Go. If she says you will be safe in there then that's where you need to be.”

“What about you” she started rambling. “You said I had you, you said I wouldn’t lose you dammit Nazir. I can't lose you, not when I already lost her, I can't do this.”  Nazir cut her off by dragging her into an embrace. He held her to his chest as she sobbed and he whispered into her hair.

“It doesn't matter what happens to me. You are the listener, you will keep the brotherhood alive. I love you, Lavinia.”

And with that, the man kissed her head and pushed her into the coffin.

She started screaming but he shut the door before she could escape. She screamed her lungs out and scratched at the coffin doors, not hearing Nazir’s apologies and goodbyes before the cave rumbled and the coffin fell backwards through the stained glass. She felt it hit the lake below and sink into the soft sand and the water. It was pitch black and she was screaming Nazir's name until the night mother spoke“Sleep, my child. Accept my embrace and sleep.” and as Lavinia tried to fight it, she got quieter and drowsier until she fell into a dreamless sleep.

When Lavinia woke up she didn't have even a second before it all rushed back, ending with her realizing Nazir was most likely dead. She was just about to start panicking when she heard it. The voice of one of her best friends, Babette, the childlike voice sounding urgent.

“Hurry Nazir! I’m telling you she’s in there!”

“Nazir..” she thought, “He couldn't have survived…”And then she heard him.

“I’m going as fast as I can, you stupid she-devil, I don't see you helping.”Lavinia was about to start screaming for them, suddenly feeling very claustrophobic inside the coffin. Before she could scream she heard the night mother, she could no longer hear her friends, only the night mothers voice.

"You must speak with Astrid. Here, in the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary."And then the night mothers voice faded away as she felt the coffin being dragged from the water.She heard Nazir's strained voice as he pulled her up the rocks

“One more…pull… yeah!”Babette spoke again, sounding even more urgent, having heard Lavinia awakening with her heightened senses.

“Can you get it open”“I think so, just hold on a moment.”Lavinia heard a few more grunts and then the doors of the coffin were opened and she shot into a sitting position. Before she could do anything, Babette had thrown her small body at her and was hugging her tight.

“I came back and the sanctuary was burning.” Babette cried into her neck “And then when I got inside I found Nazir and got him out, he said you were okay but I thought...”Lavinia finally wrapped her arms around Babette and reassured her that she was okay. She didn't really feel any relief anymore. She didn't feel anything. She just knew she had to find Astrid and she felt the night mothers pull to Astrid and Arnbjorn’s shared room. She dragged herself out of the coffin and immediately stood, needing to get there as soon as she could. She was about to start walking when nazir grabbed her arm.

“Lavinia, you should sit down, you look exhausted.” Lavinia wouldn't even look in his eyes.

“Let me go, Nazir. Astrid is alive and I need to find her,” she said coldly. He knew she was mad at him and wanted to talk to her but their leader still being alive that was more important. He let her go and trailed behind her as she made her way to the stairs.

She basically had to drag herself up them, her muscles screaming but she could barely feel it. She didn't feel anything but the urgency to get u the stair and see Astrid. The woman who invited her to join the family. The woman who kept everyone organized and getting along. The woman she trusted and respected. When she got to the room she saw that the wardrobe had opened to a secret room and she knew that's where Astrid was, all the while Babette and Nazir trailed behind her, not saying a word.The sight she saw when she went in would be one that would never leave her. It would haunt her nightmares for years to come, be yet another source of her anguish when she tried to sleep. Astrid's body laid out, burned to expose flesh and muscle, almost unrecognizable. The whole room smelled of burned flesh and blood. Around Astrid lie the items of the black sacrament, items that Lavinia now knew well. And then she saw movement. She saw Astrid's breathing. And then she spoke.

She cried out her sins, everything she had done to her family. How she exposed them and got most of them killed. How she was just another person that Lavinia trusted, betraying her without a second thought. Lavinia remained silent as she desperately explained that the sacrament was for her death. How Lavinia needed to kill her so she may be judged by sithis.

Lavinia wanted to scream at her, get angry at her for all she had caused, yell until her lungs gave out and then scream some more. But she didn't. She looked over the ceremony before her and picked up the blade of woe. She moved so she was straddling Astrid's stomach hearing her hiss as Lavinia's armour made contact with her raw burnt flesh. She gently lifted Astrid's head, feeling burnt flesh move and shift under her hand but she didn't care. She brought Astrid to look her in the eyes and Astrid saw. She saw the raw pain and grief and sadness in Lavinia's eyes and she regretted it all. And then Lavinia leaned down to the mangled flesh of where her ear used to be and she whispered.

“I will kill you but it will not be mercy. It will not be to end your suffering, especially since you have been the cause of the endless suffering I will endure for the rest of my life living without her. This is for the night mother, this is for sithis, and this is for my Gabriella. Goodbye, you traitorous bitch.”

And she leaned back and stabbed Astrid in the middle of her chest and she screamed. She dragged the blade out, skin dragging back on the serrated edges as she lunged it back in on the right side. And then the middle again. And then lower. Always missing her heart, wanting her to feel her death instead of just dying.

She didn't hear Astrid whisper her thanks as she died, she just kept shoving the blade into the mangled body over and over until she heard Babette yelling and nazir dragging her off the body. Once she was off Astrid's body she stopped struggling. And slid out nazirs arms, fleeing down the stairs only to get to the bottom and stop.

She just stared at the rubble that used to be her home. She didn't know when Babette got to her side or grabbed her hand, but she held it as they stared into the smoke and rocks. They were silent until nazir came to take her other hand, and she turned and slapped him across the face.

“Sithis Lavinia what was that for!” he exclaimed. She slapped him again before screaming at him.

“How could you! How could you push me in that coffin, alone! I thought you were dead dammit! How could you do that to me, Nazir!” She managed to sob out the last words before she fell to her knees and curled in on herself, crying. She heard him sigh from above her and sit down beside her.

“I needed to know you would be safe Lavinia. I was okay with dying as long as you would survive.”

Her crying subsided to hiccups from her balled u form. Then she felt Babette's small hand on her back.“I would have done the exact same thing. Just as you would have done for use. Just as Gabriella would have done for you.”

At the mention of Gabriella's name, her entire chest exploded in pain and grief, before she launched herself into Nazir's lap, dragging Babette with her so they were both sitting between his outstretched legs, and his back was up against the wall. She balled her hand up in his robes and the other in Babettes skirts as she cried into his chest. Looking at each other, Nazir and Babette were finally overcome by their own grief. Babette pressed her face into Lavinia's hair, and nazir held them both tight as he cried into the top of their heads.

They cried for a long time. They cried for each other, they cried for their home, for their family. For Arnbjorn and Veezara and Festus. They cried for Gabriella, Lavinia even sobbing her name into Nazir's chest as she grieved, they even cried for Astrid, her death and the pain of her betrayal.

It would be a long time before they moved. Lavinia would be the first to stop crying but only because she exhausted herself into a deep sleep. Next would be Babette, her childlike cries finally stopping as Lavinia’s steady breaths calmed her down. Nazir took the longest. Babette eventually had to drag his face down to look at her and get him to start breathing normally again. When everyone was done crying, Babette gestured at Nazir to pick up their listener and he gently got her into his arms.

With one last look at everything they used to be, the left. Set up Shadowmere with a cart, laid Lavinia down in it with her head in Babette's lap, and they were off to the Dawnstar sanctuary with nothing but the clothes on their back and grief they will have for years.