[SKYRIM]: The Name of Time - Miraak & Female Dragonborn Fanfiction - Chapter 46: Chapter 46

This is Halloween, when future might be seen
This is Halloween, when things are not like what they seem
Ammra never expected Vaernima's Torpor would give another effect. It had been a few days since she freed Dawnstar from the nightmare that plagued its people. In addition, Erandur said the Torpor only worked one time. But why did he enter someone else's memory now?
She found herself as a child who was walking down the road with a basket of treats. It was the effect of the Topor that made her say and do something she did not intend. From her first experience, she learned that all she could do was watch.
The neighborhood she saw was of the earth—her origin planet. Besides herself, Ammra saw other kids in their Halloween costumes. They were coming door to door for the Trick-or-Treat moment.
The body she hosted continued walking until she coincidentally came across a boy who stood alone at the park. He was wearing the blood-red cape and vampiric teeth. In a single glance, Ammra noticed his empty basket.
"Hey," she called hesitantly—once again, this was not Ammra's doing. The boy turned to her. His bright blue eyes were a wonder she couldn't miss. "Why are you here all alone?"
He just shook his head and shied away. The host of her body continued talking. "The night is getting late. You need to hurry to collect the treats."
Again, he just looked down at his feet.
"Are you afraid to go alone?" she guessed. The boy slowly rose his face and nodded. Ammra felt the warmth of the boy's skin as the host grabbed him by the hand. "Let's go! We can do it together!" A wide smile adorned his face and he excitedly nodded.
They managed to visit several houses before the sun went down. Ammra even shared half of her treats for the boy. His thankful smile was the sweetest thing she received for the day.
"Hey, kid," the old man of the last house they visited called. "Why not try the old house at the edge of the grove?"
"But nobody lives there." Ammra chided. "It has been empty for years."
"Your choice." The old man smiled and resume his reading.
Their basket was still enough for more treats. At length, Ammra went to the old house with the boy. As they drew near, they could see a light in the front window. Perhaps someone moved in.
As the old iron gate creaked open, Ammra and the boy exchanged gaze. They knew they were nervous. At first, they were hesitant and stood still by the gate. Sure enough, there was a light—a candle on the indoor windowsill.
"Maybe...they just moved in...and the electricity isn't on yet..." Ammra chided, trying to be braver than she actually felt. She wanted to run back, but she thought of having more treats for them kept her going.
The two stood closer together at the front door. Ammra used the old weathered door knocker to signal their arrival. The sound was distant and hollow. A strange unwelcoming atmosphere enveloped them.
A face appeared at the window. It was a thin old man with long silver hair. His candlelit wrinkled face appeared slightly yellow and extremely old.
"Ha—happy Halloween." Ammra stuttered, in a voice that showed regret coming there.
But the old mand smiled and said,
"Happy Halloween,"
Ammra forced a polite smile. The boy next to her stood silent and clutched himself closer. All they wanted to do was run. Apart from the candlelight in the window, all around the house was dark. The trees in the garden looked twisted and strange, and the house even older and more broken down than it seemed from the street...
"I have some treats for you." The old man spoke slowly, and the candle flickered. All of a sudden, a chill sensation ran down her spine. Ammra felt what her host began trembling.
She gasped when she felt the boy holding her hands tighter. It seemed he noticed what she went through.
"There are many apple trees in my garden," the old man smiled. The dim candlelight made him appear twisted. "Today, I picked some of the best apples." He gave her a piercing gaze; looking right through them. "You can have all of them." The man lifted his bony finger and pointed to a basket near their feet.
"Thank you very much." The boy spoke this time instead of Ammra.
Ammra's heart skipped a beat when she spotted the basket, quite near her feet on the wooden floor by the door.
"Was it even there before?" she wondered.
After the boy picked up the basket of apples, he gently pulled her to walk for the gates. When Ammra turned her head to look back for a moment, the house was dark again and the candle had gone out.
She exhaled deeply as they were away from the creepy house. "T-thank you." She said to him. "Without you, I might have passed out back there."
"I can feel you trembling." He said softly. "It is okay now. You don't have to be scared"
Ammra felt her host blushing. She sheepishly tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear while evading his gaze. "Um...I must go home." She said, and the boy handed her the basket of apples.
"It is yours." He told her.
"Let's share."
He shook his head. "This is enough for me. You can have the apples." He smiled.
"Thank you. And you have such beautiful eyes." She suddenly said.
The boy's smile froze. Now it was his turn to avert his gaze while scratching the back of his head. He was slightly blushing as well.
Both were hesitantly waving each other goodbye. They turned around and took a few steps away. However, as sweet as it may seem, both halted and turned again at the same time. When their gaze met, they sheepishly smiled.
"I don't know your name," she said. "I am Ammra," the moment the words came out from her mouth, only then Ammra realize all this time she was acting as herself.
The boy smiled. "I am Miraak."
"See you again, Miraak." She gave another wave of goodbye, then ran home with a smile. Her heart was beating fast and she was sure Miraak caught her blushing.
When she got home, Ammra put the basket of apples on the table.
"I hope you get a lot of treats," her mother muttered. When she saw her real parents, a wave of emotion immediately ran through her chest.
"A lot of it." her host body replied. "I even got some from the old man from the house at the end of the road."
"The old creepy house?" her father asked. "But nobody lives there," he shook his head, and she shared her story about her experience. Yet strangely enough, she did not mention anything about Miraak to her parents.
The next day Ammra was called for breakfast.
"What on earth were you thinking, leaving a basket of rotten apple on the table?" her mother nagged.
"No, mama. It can't be." She chided.
"They were rotten. Full of worms," her mother retorted. "The basket even crumbles as soon as you even touch it. It is so old..."
"But it wasn't like that last light," she frowned. Ammra stared into the basket and saw the apple turned brown and rotting. They were moldy with worms and maggots crawling all over. Flies buzzing near them.
Her mom threw the apple eventually.
"How was it even possible?" she wondered while walking down the street toward the old house. Then she found a few men with their chainsaws standing in front of the gate.
"Hey kid, stay out of here. It is dangerous." One of them said.
"But someone lived here," she retorted. He furrowed his brow and nodded to the sign by the gate.
' Keep Out – Dangerous Building'
"It has been there for years now." another man said. "The building and wall are old and might fall on you."
Another man with his friend entered the garden followed by a sound of a chainsaw. "We are here to cut down the old rotten trees. You won't find any apples in this garden..."
Despite what the man said, Ammra could smell the sweet scent of fresh apples...
Her eyes yanked open and Ammra found herself on the bed at the Monastery of High Hrothgar. She was summoned by the Greybeards after her identity as Dragonborn was revealed. since she need to retrieve the Jurgen Windcaller horn the next day, she resumed sleeping while hoping the effect of Vaermina's Topor won't come forth again.
Far away across Apocrypha, Miraak gasped as he was awakened from what seemed to be a long sleep. He had spent eons in that place without the feeling of being hungry, thirsty nor tired. It was now strange for him to fall asleep.
At the back of his mind, he knew Hermaeus Mora was plotting something.
He exhaled and pick up the quill from the floor. It must have fallen when he fell asleep. He dip the quill in the ink and began writing. However, without him knowing why, his first word was...
'Ammra'
Deep inside the oblivion realm, his dark tendrils and tentacles writhing in shame and anger. Half dozen of his eyes fixed on the lunatic man across the table, while another half dozen stared at the big table beneath them, where small puppets lying motionless.
"Admit it, Mora! You lose!" a hysterical laugh echoed.
"I might have lost this battle, Sheogorath. But not the war," Hermaeus Mora replied.
Sheogorath grinned ear to ear. "We managed to temporarily pull out their inner child souls to these puppets. But you saw how they got along well." He laughed and conjured a slice of cheese to gnaw. "You should see the blushing scene...Oh...Love is in the air...how funny! Your champion would leave you!"
This is Halloween
When future might be seen
This is Halloween
When things are not like what they seem
So, beware and be warned
This is when a fate is born