TITLE: Building Something
WORDS: 2,756
COMPLETED: 5/29/21
[REQUESTED BY: @Azureman136 ]

The only thing that I was aware of was the revolting taste in my mouth. Ash. It was ash. The next of my senses that returned was smell. The smoke and charred flesh scents caused my stomach to roil. However, I wasn't about to allow myself to react to such a weakness. I've killed so many, so what made this any different? My fingers tightly clung to the blood-covered dagger within my shaky grasp. The only sounds within the room was the crackling of flames and the soft groaning of the dying human being who laid in the center of the circle of candles. Sight was the last of my senses to return, which only allowed me to see that this scene laid out before me wasn't just another one of my twisted nightmares. This was all really happening.

Astrid was dead. Burnt to a crisp, yet still clinging to life when I stumbled upon her. She barely had enough energy to explain her antics to me, then I put her out of her misery. The entire sanctuary was beginning to cave in around me, but I still was yet to leave. Something inside of me was preventing me from doing so. At first, I wasn't entirely sure what was keeping me there, staring down at Astrid's corpse and just listening to the chaos taking place around me. However, that abruptly changed when I heard something within the madness. It was a jolt hearing something other than the crackling of flames.

"Anyone!" A voice cried as my heartrate spiked, adrenaline beginning to pump through my veins. I whipped my head around, looking deeper into the sanctuary, which was where the voice had emanated from. There were so many flames within the room, but if someone was still trapped inside, then there was no way in hell that I was leaving them behind.

Luckily, I was quick on my feet. I sprinted in through the flames, trying so hard to avoid getting severely burnt. There was a little pond located inside the Sanctuary, and that was where I found the body. At least, I had fully believed it was a corpse; but that had been until it began moving. It was simple to identify the individual, because they were lucky. Veezara didn't have many burns, seeing as he had made it to the pond. However, he had inhaled a lot of smoke and would die if he remained in here.

"Veezara!" I shouted, running through the water and grabbing onto him. His green eyes slowly opened, then proceeded to widen in surprise that someone had found him. He grabbed onto my wrist, meanwhile I helped pull him onto his feet. On his own, he swayed. I wrapped an arm around him as he began coughing, attempting to clear the smoke out of his lungs. However, I knew it was futile.

"Come on!" I added, beginning to help pull him through the flames, hearing him hiss in pain as soon as the flames began licking at our calves and feet. But I kept up the pace, forcefully yanking him along with me.

It only took us a couple of painstaking minutes to find our way out and into the natural scene of Skyrim. Clean air was immediately sucked into our lungs. We trudged over to the small pond just outside the door, collapsing in a heap of coughs and exhaustion. Veezara remained on his hands and knees, meanwhile I had landed on my back to breathe in the clean oxygen. Collapsing rock could be heard from inside the Sanctuary, sounding as if the entire room was crumbling to pieces.

"Are you okay...?" I panted, tilting my head over to observe Veezara once more, wanting to ensure that he wasn't loosing any blood. Luckily, he wasn't. However, he did procure a few severe burns.

"No. Are you?" Veezara asked next, which caused a rough and breathy laugh to escape my soot-covered lungs.

"Oh, absolutely not," I replied as he exhaled a laugh next. It was coarse and weak, but it was still an attempt.

"Do you have any severe wounds?" Veezara inquired next, which was the first time I considered analyzing myself for any injuries.

At first glance, nothing looked too bad. Was there blood? Yes. Bruises? Yes. Burns? Absolutely. However, as the adrenaline began to wear off, everything felt so much worse. My side felt as if it were still on fire, resulting in simply breathing being painful. Next, I felt a strange warm liquid drip down my leg. Looking down, I noticed the large gash on my left thigh, blood soaking into my Dark Brotherhood armor. My head was throbbing in pain, blood coursing down my forehead and cheek.

"I'll make it," I replied, but that wasn't a good enough answer, apparently. Veezara forced himself up to his knees, beginning to assess all of my wounds. Gritting his teeth, he observed each and every injury that I had obtained.

"Yes. You'll be alright," He confirmed as I glanced around, still desperately sucking the clean air into my lungs. The taste of ash still sat on my tongue, resulting in everything tasting awful.

"Do you see any signs of the others?" I asked him, looking at him and pushing myself up on my elbows. He immediately forced me to lay back down.

"Stay down. You're quite injured and you'll just strain yourself. And, no, I haven't seen any of the others. They probably headed up towards Falkreath to seek somewhere to lay low and regroup. We'll head that way whenever we can move," Veezara explained as I hesitantly nodded, not liking the fact that no one else had been seen. There could have been other people still inside; other corpses that I hadn't seen while rushing to find Veezara.

Instead of arguing, I listened to what he had demanded. I laid back down and allowed him to patch up my most detrimental wounds, knowing that I needed the aid. Once he had finished, the two of us drank health draughts from red glass bottles, tasting the syrupy and sour liquid. By the time we were both feeling a bit better, night had began to fall.

"Are you ready to try to move?" He asked as I nodded, stumbling to my feet and helping him up as well. Standing was so much worse than I could have ever imagined. Pain shot through every limb and organ of my body, resulting in me gritting my teeth.

"Where do you think they'll be situated?" I asked as we wrapped an arm around one another for support, beginning to trek up the cobblestone street.

"Who knows. Maybe the bar. Perhaps an inn. Either way, it's safe to assume that they ditched the armor and are attempting to blend in a bit better. We'll have to search a bit to see who all made it out alive," He expressed as I felt my insides go ice cold. The thought that someone got left behind was still far too much to bear.

"I really hope that they're all okay..." I whispered carefully, leaning into his side. He squeezed me in a reassuring manner, understanding entirely what I meant. Because these people were our family.

"They're all fighters. They wouldn't go down easily," Veezara explained as we made it to the entrance of Falkreath, walking into the village's limits.

Glancing to the left, the two of us made our way into the bar. Loud barks of laughter emanated from inside, the room filled with the scent of strong mead and the sounds of someone playing a lute. Relief hit my body abruptly when I noticed the individuals seated at the table in the corner. They were one of the more solemn groups in the room, each of the three individuals drinking from their metal tankards in silence.

"Arnbjorn? Gabriella? Nazir?" I beamed, quickly approaching their table with Veezara at my side. They looked up, faces brightening when they noticed our presence.

"Oh! You're alright!" Gabriella exclaimed, rising to her feet with excitement on her face. Perhaps she had the same thoughts that I had; neither of us wanted anything to happen to our broken family.

Arnbjorn looked between Veezara and I for a moment, a troubled expression settling over his face. He looked as if he wanted to ask a question, yet was afraid to know the answer. And I could take a rather good guess as to what he wanted to know.

"Did she...?" Arnbjorn started, his voice carefully disappearing. But I knew what his question had been.

"I'm sorry... I couldn't save her," I carefully explained, deciding to spare him of all the details about what had really happened to Astrid and what she'd been involved in. He deserved to keep his version of her alive rather than having to hear about the tainted person she had become at the end.

He nodded solemnly in understanding, yet he had the right to grieve her; she was his wife, after all. Next, Arnbjorn grabbed his tankard and tipped it all the way back, downing the dregs of his mead. Slamming the tankard back on the table, he rose to his feet and exited the bar. Veezara and I placed our attention back on Nazir and Gabriella.

"He's going over to the inn. Babette went ahead and got us a few rooms. We're the only ones who made it out. We thought you two hadn't made it, either," Nazir explained, anxiously tapping the side of his tankard.

"It's just the six of us, then..." Veezara murmured as Gabriella nodded, closing her eyes and exhaling a shaky sigh. She seemed to be barely holding herself together.

"Did all of you make it out unscathed?" I questioned, looking between the two of them while they sipped on their drinks. They glanced up at one another before looking back at us.

"For the most part. Nothing too fatal. Babette got it the worst, but she's alright. You two are definitely in much worse condition," Nazir expressed, staring at all of my wounds with a nervous look on his face.

"I'm going to get us a room here in the bar. I'm going to finish doctoring (Y/N) up and hopefully get her feeling a bit better. She's gone through quite a bit today. Tomorrow, we'll all group up and make a plan on what to do from here," Veezara determined, watching the other two nod in agreement to this claim.

Veezara and I approached the bartender, renting out a room for a mere ten gold and then heading in that direction. He motioned for me to sit on the bed, therefore I did without much complaint. My body seemed grateful to be sitting once again, all of my limbs crying out in pain and exhaustion. And this hadn't gone unnoticed to Veezara.

"You need rest. And I have another healing draught for you," Veezara explained, pulling a wooden chair over to the bedside. He sat himself down in it, handing me the potion. I accepted it, drinking the liquid down, feeling it sting the whole way down my throat.

"Thank you, Veezara," I quietly mumbled to him, a placid smile forming on his lips.

"Don't thank me. If anything, I should be thanking you. You risked your entire life for me, which is something I'll never be able to repay you for," He expressed, grabbing onto one of my hands in a comforting manner. I grinned, squeezing his hand gently.

"Please don't worry about it," I carefully requested of him. But he just smiled a bit wider and squeezed my hand a bit tighter.

"Just get some sleep, (Y/N). We have a lot to discuss tomorrow," Veezara carefully explained to me, standing up and putting out all the candles, placing the room in a deep darkness.

"Where are you going to sleep?" I asked, not wanting to take up the whole bed if he needed to sleep on it. I scooted to one side, making room for him. Luckily, this room had a queen sized bed opposed to twin sized.

"I can go get another room," He suggested as I shook my head, not wanting to make him do that.

"No, it's alright. There's enough room for you," I explained, which was followed by a vast silence. A few moments later, I felt the weight of his body settle onto the mattress on the empty side. He was a bit stiff at first, but he carefully began to relax.

During the night, I occasionally woke up due to nightmares and unpleasant thoughts that formed within my mind. Shifting around, I found myself unnerved. At one point, I began calming down a slight bit. When I opened my eyes, I found myself encased in his arms. And, honestly, it was so nice and comforting that it put my troubled mind at ease.

• • •

It had been a couple of months since the destruction of the Sanctuary, and it took all six of us to restore it to its former glory. In the end, I was voted to step up as the leader of the Dark Brotherhood, which was (somehow) a unanimous vote. However, we would have to find ourselves new recruits and just genuinely work much harder than we've ever had to before.

"(Y/N)? Did you look at that new contract yet?" Veezara's voice came from the bedroom door, catching my attention from the place I had been situated by the fireplace.

"Hmm? Oh, the poor teenager from Markarth? Yes, I did look into it. An ex, by the sound of things," I explained the newest contract to him, observing him as he listened with interest. A grin spread over his lips.

"Who were you going to send?" He questioned as I leaned my head back, motioning for him to come closer. He obliged, making his way to my side, where he sat on the arm of my chair, one of his scaly hands messing with my hair.

"I was debating on going myself. Gabriella has her hands full making poisons, Nazir is still going around and collecting contracts, Babette has her assignment in Solitude, Arnbjorn has an assignment in Riften, and you're still attempting to find some new recruits. Therefore, that just leaves me," I explained myself to him, watching him shift with unease.

"You're the leader now. You shouldn't be running jobs. You should be doing other things," He attempted as I arched an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? Like what? There's nothing else to do around here other than sit at my desk and be completely useless. I'm not Astrid. I'm not going to act like Astrid. I'm doing things my own way. I'm going to help, because that's what needs to be done around here," I spoke, giving him an assertive stare. He only nodded, knowing that I wasn't going to change my mind any time soon.

"Of course, my love," He replied simply, leaning over and pushing a gentle kiss to the top of my head.

"Where are you heading next? I have a few more ideas for recruits if you're not having any luck," I spoke up, grabbing onto one of his hands and lacing our fingers together. He smiled weakly, utilizing both of his hands in order to mess with my fingers.

"I think I'm heading out to Ivarstead. Rumor has it that there's a skilled archer living there who's in need of a job. I think I might be able to get to them before the Thieves Guild does," He explained to me as I nodded, watching him mess with the wedding band that was located on my left ring finger.

"Sounds like a plan," I responded with a grin of my own, looking up at him and feeling him press a kiss to my lips.

"But we'll handle all of that tomorrow, correct?" He asked as I nodded, standing up and heading over to our bed.

"Absolutely," I confirmed.

I was rather proud of us, thinking about how far we've come. We rebuilt the entire Dark Brotherhood from the ground up, and it was taking everything we had, but it would be worth it in the end. Another thing was that Veezara and I had built a permanent relationship, getting married only a week ago. And I know I won't regret it. I never would. After all, we were in this together. And we always would be.