[SKYRIM]: The Name of Time - Miraak & Female Dragonborn Fanfiction - Chapter 44: Chapter 44

The front door of Lakeview Manor was wide open. Ammra instantly felt something was not right when she saw this from a distance. Miraak was obviously not a type who'd let anyone in, so this could only mean one thing: trouble.
She held her breath in surprise as she stepped in. The entryway had turned into a mess. The woman quickly moved on to the main hall and saw the large dining table had split in two. The chairs were all around the place as if being violently thrown away. Scratches of blades and weapons could be found on the pillars. While at the same time, traces of fire spell explosion left many nasty scars on the wall, the effect of ice magic and lightning magic had caused no less great damage as well.
' "Miraak..." she whispered under her breath.
Ammra felt as if her world crumbled to pieces to see the sight before her. When she checked the second floor, there was only a wreckage of battle.
Still, Miraak was nowhere to be found.
"Who...?" her mind began to rapidly guess the assailant. Every neuron of her head was instantly plunged into labor to draw any sensible deduction.
Ammra noticed numerous footprints on the wooden floors. The attackers must have been coming in groups of 10 or 11. Yet Miraak was left alone to face them all. They proved to be quite powerful for they managed to take him away. A combination of panic and fear began to increasingly brew inside her mind. After few moments, she thought of one possible conclusion: Hermaeus Mora.
Boop!
Ammra jolted in surprise when someone gently touched the tip of her nose with a finger.
"Sheogorath..." she mumbled, still too overwhelmed by the situation to utter more words.
A burst of loud and merry laughter escaped his lips. "Your insane distress put more distress to the already distressed realm of mine. What happened? It's been a while I feel such a chaotic state of mind from you again? You want some cheese?" he asked.
Ammra looked at him in the eye. "I need to go to Apocrypha." She urged.
Sheogorath frowned. His grin faded. "But you just destroyed it. The whole plane!"
"I know. But maybe there was still a chance for some fragments of the plane to escape the explosion. I think Hermaeus Mora took Miraak again." There was a brief pause before she desperately said "I must find him. I must visit Apocrypha!" at that time, Miraak was her only priority. Everything else was secondary.
"High-spirited one, aren't you! Now, how much cheese..."
"Sister, I can't delay." She cut him midsentence.
"Maybe Sanguine know where your Miraak is."
Ammra frowned. "Why would he had something to do with Miraak?"
"I sensed the trace of his power here, you simpleton!" he exclaimed. "Near the lake. It was from a few days ago."
At first, the idea sounded incomprehensible. But she thought for a while and Ammra held her breath. It dawned on her that Miraak might have met Sanguine before. Perhaps that was the day when Miraak was under an illusion spell that made him looked like Ammra. To add the deduction, Miraak had been asking her a lot about Sanguine after that day. Whenever they talked about the Daedric Prince, Miraak would turn dark and agitated. Clearly Sanguine might be involved.
All of a sudden, a cry of surprise escaped her mouth. A body was literally emerging in the air and fell right above her. Ammra fell her bone rattled and grunted in pain.
"Ugh," The stranger grunted. "Where am I?..... Sheogorath!" she exclaimed when seeing the Daedric god sat on a tree stump next to her.
"Hello there!" he waved her hand.
"Where am I? What did you do?" she asked but before he could answer, she gasped in surprise when noticing Ammra was crushed beneath her. "Oh..sorry!" she sprung to her feet and helped her to stand. "I am sorry. Are—are you okay?"
"Ye—yeah." She replied promptly. Ammra looked at the stranger who appeared to be a Breton young woman. She was wearing a unique set of armor unknown to her. But from the robe and trousers she wore, it seemed the stranger was a mage. "Who are you?" Ammra finally asked after the pain from the fall left her body.
"I am Carla Sparrow, by the way. Just call me Carla. I am sorry for falling on top of you. I believe he could explain why it happen." She turned to Sheogorath who was conjuring few butterflies.
"This poor girl here...needs your help." He told Carla and gestured Ammra who already appeared to be deep in thought again. "So, you help her."
While they were talking, Ammra was actually guessing if Sanguine was indeed behind all of this. All this time that Debauchery Lord had been trying to pull a prank on her. The last time they met was when Ammra beat him in his own game, making Sanguine do the labor work to take care of the orphanage.
"Could he be doing this to revenge?" she wondered in distress. At that time there was a wave of the hand from Carla before her face but Ammra didn't react and kept staring into space.
Carla turned her head to Sheo who just shrugged. "I told so," he added.
No one knew what a Daedric Prince could do. All this time Sanguine had been harmless, but who knew he might want Miraak as a servant just like Hermaeus Mora did? Miraak was an excellent choice when it came to getting the job done.
By now Carla had poked Ammra two times but she remained unmoved. When she tried to poke for the third time, suddenly Ammra burst to say, "I must see Sanguine!"
"OF WE GO!" Sheogorath exclaimed in excitement. He conjured the Wabbajack from wherever Ammra stored it. His hand skillfully spun the staff once then thrust it to the ground.
"Wait....No!" Carla was about to protest. But a cluster of pinkish smoke rapidly emerged from the soil and wrapped them.
Ammra felt her body being pulled backward at the speed of light. She recalled her memory when Sanguine took her to his domain—Misty Grove. It was many moons ago when he made her drunk with the spell he put inside her tea. Ammra remembered the somewhat melancholic domain; dark sky adorned with countless stars. She was expecting to see it again.
But in a blink of an eye, Sheogorath's spell took them into a cold room of an underground prison. Ammra and Carla were seated on a bench with their back against the cold stone wall. They turned to each other, then jolted in surprise when seeing a human skeleton between them. At the same time when they suddenly appeared, Sanguine almost got choked by his mead out of surprise. He coughed viciously and gestured Sheogorath to wait before he talked.
"Your new domain looked like a place where people are tortured" Sheogorath spoke anyway. "Look at that skeleton! Want some cheese? Ha!" he offered the thing.
He immediately told them to pipe down after his cough subsided, especially when seeing Ammra opened her mouth to speak. From her aura, Sanguine knew he was in trouble.
"Don't make too much noise, or he'll hear you?" he whispered.
"Who?" Carla asked.
"Molag Bal." he retorted. "Wait... who are you?" his brow furrowed.
"But this is your domain. So why are you hiding?" Carla whispered.
"This is his domain. I am here because he caught me stealing one of his...human offerings."
Ammra instantly glared at Sheogorath. As the one who had fought the vampire lord of Volkihar in person, she knew how malicious Molag Bal could be.
"Don't blame me!" Sheogorath said plainly. Not the slightest panic could be seen from his eyes. "You only said you wanted to see Sanguine, and here it is." He made a point and Ammra bit her lip out of frustration.
"Anyway...I have been here for like few hours and it gets boring. I'll leave the place. Do you want to come along?" he asked as if inviting someone to take a stroll on one beautiful summer day.
"Why don't we just teleport?" Ammra asked impatiently. She wanted to know immediately if Miraak was okay yet she was trapped with them.
Sanguine gulped. "Well...Molag Bal knew I'm still here. He put a barrier around the castle so none could teleport out." As if wanting the others to trust him, he promptly added, "But once we got to the castle courtyard, I can use my power. I'll take you out of this realm."
Before they could commence their plan, Molag Bal had sensed their coming, especially the presence of mortals on his plane. The main door of the prison swung open, showing several Dremoras who were ready to attack.
"This should be good." Sanguine muttered.
Without she could evade, Sanguine pulled Ammra closer. He shoved then lifted her; one arm supporting her back, another supporting from below her knees. "Hold tight!"
With that bridal style, he darted forward, carrying Ammra passing through the iron bars. The Last Dragonborn gasped when she thought they might meet the pain of crashing into solid metal. To her surprise, Sanguine took her running through the walls as if walking past shadows.
Ammra watched how Atronach, Gargoyles, Dremoras, and other beings that she couldn't name, after them with the lust of blood. But Sanguine's speed was no match for the enemies. Next to them, she saw Sheogorath ran with the same speed. Just like Sanguine, he could use the skill to run through the wall. The only difference was he's carrying Carla on one shoulder like a sack of potato.
"Watch out!" Ammra screamed when a Dremora stood on their way and swung a warhammer.
In one single jump, smooth and seemed totally weightless, Sanguine rose several feet away to the air and landed as soft as a feather on the rails of the higher floor. Ammra could sense his prideful smirk after she reflexively clung tighter to him because of his sudden attempt to evade. A flock of enemies came from both sides, and Sanguine run forward through the window.
The Daedric Prince of Rose and The Daedric Prince of Madness managed to step out of the castle as if playing tag. As they ran across the front yard, the army of the Molag Bal immediately came forth to surround them from all directions.
"After taking the previous mortal, it was generous of you to bring me two replacements as the new Daughter of Coldharbour." The voice of Molag Bal filled the air.
At that moment, Ammra sensed darkness as big as the castle itself moved and it had a pair of eyes. The darkness walked closer, shaking the land in its every step. Only then Ammra realized, it was Molag Bal himself in the size of the castle.
Sheogorath and Sanguine ran side by side. When the army was about to clash with them, Sanguine seductively said, "Wait for a moment, sweet roll!" Without Ammra could protest and stop, he threw her high to the sky. As soon as her body was sent flying upward by the formidable force, Sanguine conjured his Daedric two-handed blade then swirled to slash the enemies.
The merry yet hysterical laughter from Sheogorath filled the air when he released his magic to defeat the enemies by turning them into anything he pleased. The Wabbajack was skilfully moved and spun in his hand.
As the two Daedric Princes enjoyed their battle, Ammra felt her gut heaved her body was launched upward. She heard Carla screaming for she met the same fate. They gazed at each other as they reached maximum height then they screamed hard as they fell back downward.
"I'm going to kill you, Sheogorath!" Carla cursed.
The princes caught back each of the women with a nimble precision as they managed to drove back the nearby enemies.
"YOU...!" Ammra ran out of breath.
"We'll talk after this, sweetheart." He told her and teleported out of the realm.
Instantly, they were brought to another place where the stars were strange. Homeless hills were about them, covered in mist and shadow of the trees. Ammra yanked herself away from Sanguine and glared at him. Sheogorath and Carla appeared right after them.
"Where are we now?!" she snarled, finally had the chance to speak. "I thought we'd be back to the mortal realm!" she demanded. Her voice was full of agitation. Miraak was yet to be found and she was brought again to someplace unknown. Ammra was getting more distressed thinking of what might happen to Miraak now.
"I cannot carry two mortals at one time," Sanguine said. "Especially when Molag Bal put some barrier to weakened my power."
"Ok, enough with that. I need to talk to you, Sanguine!" Ammra said. "I did not come this far only to see you dragging me around in your little game."
"Okay..okay. Don't be so upset. I am sorry." He apologized.
"You sorry? Ha!" Ammra scoffed, no longer hid her scorn. "What did you do now?"
"As I said, I was taking the mortal who was an offering for Molag Bal. She was sweet and it would be a waste if she spent the eternity for him," he explained in a regretful laid back tone.
"No! That's not it. I want to know where Miraak is! You took him with you, right?! You met him by the lake and I know..."
"Wait!" he cut her off. "So, you came this far because you were looking for him?"
"Yeah! You were the last time seeing him."
Sanguine frowned. "Why would I see him?" he said confidently. "Besides, it was you whom I met. And you were so angry because of just one single kiss. I thought that's why you're here."
"You, WHAT?!" Ammra rose her voice. "You..kissed...me... by the lake?"
"Oh, don't pretend you don't remember it, sweet roll."
"YOU FOOL!" Ammra cried. "IT WAS MIRAAK! He accidentally had some illusion spell on him!"
Silence fell about them. Sanguine took some time to register what Ammra's said. Carla on the other hand gazed at Sheogorath who was holding back his laughter.
Before any of them could talk again, they felt the land beneath them shaking. Carla suddenly fell to the ground when someone fired her a paralyzing dart on her shoulder. Ammra was agile enough to evade and take few steps back while shouting to the air.
Lok Vah Koor...
Her thu'um blew away the mist. Only then was revealed a pack of wolves that had been waiting with their watchful eyes. Their bodies were of dark mist and eyes gleaming white.
There were dozens of them and they immediately charged. Ammra stood next to Carla and protect her from the foes. The wolves managed to put some distance between Ammra and the other two Daedric Princes. They keep on attacking them while the bigger and stronger canines insisting on cornering Ammra.
Carla grunted in pain and slowly got to her feet. Luckily she had great immunity against poison and thus recovered fast. Flame immediately emerged from her palms. She stood next to Ammra and fought together. But not so long, a whip hit Ammra's hand and tied it firmly.
A strong force of the wipe instantly pulling her away from the group. Her body landed on the ground with a loud thud. She cursed under her breath because she had been thrown away for many times in a single day. Before Ammra could stand to her feet, a man pushed her back to the ground, pinned both of her arms above her head. The man was hovering over her, propped by his knees on each side of her body.
"Well, well, well, my lost little pup has returned."
Horror struck her heart for she knew who the voice belonged to. There was no mistake he was Hircine. Ammra trashed to free herself but Hircine was much stronger in that position. He could hold her arms with a single hand, while using another one to touched her chin, forcing her to face him.
"How insolent of you to throw away the beast blood I gave!" he said sternly. "Now, what should I do to such treason?"
With the ambush and his army of magical wolves, it was impossible to escape even with two Deadric Prince on her side, and Carla was far away, occupied by the enemies. Thus, Ammra was left alone to face her destiny before the wrath of Hircine. Just when things seemed to be hopeless, Sheogorath made a quick move.
"WAAABBAJJJACCKK!"
Whether it was on purpose or not, the light of Wabbajack hit Ammra and turned her into a chicken. Luckily, the new shape gave her an advantage. The chicken flapped her wings and managed to run away. Shegorath immediately thrust the staff on the ground, conjuring another thick purplish fog that rapidly covered them. All of the wolves instantly fell asleep.
Hircine withdrew deeper into the lines of trees to avoid the touch of the colorful fog, waiting to strike back. The party took this chance to escape the Hurcine's Hunting Ground. Of course, before they left, they needed to catch the chicken—Ammra. It ran away frantically as Sanguine and Sheogorath tried to catch her.
At the back of her mind, Carla was getting frustrated by the whole event. She was at a loss of words when seeing two Deadric princes absentmindedly running around inside the purple fog to catch a chicken. The whole situation was too much for her common sense to handle.
Long story short, the chicken Ammra was caught. They immediately returned to the living realm, and emerged by the lake, behind the Lakeview Manor. The chicken which Sanguine had been hugging tightly popped into Ammra as the Wabbajack effect wore off. She was now carried by him on both hands in bridal style—again.
"Welcome back, sweet roll," Sanguine said.
Ammra's confused face gradually came to sense when she noticed their surroundings. However, she immediately burst to cry and sob. Even if she had been through so many oblivions realms—and turned into a chicken—she still had no clue about Miraak's location.
"I need to find Miraak." She sobbed. "By the nines! Just teleport me to the Akatosh's shrine so I can ask the God of Time myself!" her cry didn't cease.
"Why Akatosh? How would The God of Time relate to Miraak?" Carla asked. She had been hearing about that name ever since Sheogorath dragged her to that place, yet she had no idea who Miraak was.
"He's a Dragonborn. The first one." Ammra replied.
Carla gasped sharply. "So, you have been looking for him all this time?" she asked and Ammra just nodded. "This Miraak is a Dragonborn too, right?" again Ammra nodded. Carla sighed. "Get down and follow me. I know where he is."
Ammra's face instantly brightened. She scrambled to get to her feet, totally forgetting about the two Daedric Prince—they deserved it anyway, after what happened. To her surprise, Carla led her back toward the Lakeview Manor.
"How do you know if he's here?" Amrma asked.
"I can sense the presence of another Dragonborn. Can't you?" she asked back. This reminded Ammra of Miraak's ability. When Ammra shook her head, Carla said, "You should hone your skill more, dovahkiin."
"So...you are a Dragonborn?" she guessed. Her pace halted. Carla stopped several steps before her and turned around.
"That's what people call me too. But I am from this realm I believe. Clearly, Sheogorath had something to do with it." she explained. "But don't worry about it. I'll nag the old man. Let's find your Miraak first." They continued walking.
Then on the front doorway of the Lakeview Manor, stood the very person she'd been looking for. Ammra couldn't wait to run closer and hug him.
"Miraak!" she called. Tear of joy rolled down her cheeks.
The man turned round to see her coming. His deep gaze watched Ammra and he immediately ran to her. When things appeared to be a teary romantic reunion or some sort, Carla gasped when seeing Miraak throw a handful of flour right to Ammra's face.
There was a sudden silence. Both Miraak and Ammra halted.
"Little one...I.." Miraak spoke after few seconds of pause.
Ammra rose her hand to gesture him to wait. She turned her head away and inhaled sharply.
"AACCHOOOOO!" she sneezed, followed by the panicked flap of wings from the birds a distant away.