Pairing: F!Altmer DB/Madanach Relationship: het Kinks/warnings: none this chapter Summary: Liriel gets home and rests before setting out on her next adventure, but her path inevitably leads back to the Reach. When a visit to a Forsworn camp goes wrong, it's north to Druadach Redoubt for answers. However, Madanach has questions of his own, and it turns out the Forsworn and the Dark Brotherhood are more closely linked than Liriel ever imagined... A/N: This chapter's a bit of a talky one with a bit of an info-dump, but on the other hand if you wanted invented Forsworn lore, there is a lot here. A lot of Dark Brotherhood stuff starts coming in as well - Liriel's membership there is more than just backstory, it's an integral part of the plot. Spoilers for Hearthfire and the Pieces of the Past quest in this chapter.
Markarth had been awash with blood and death that night – Thonar Silver-Blood had only been the first of many to die. Mostly guards but even so, the screams would stay with Liriel for a while.
She'd done as Madanach had suggested, kept her head down and ran for the gates, darting past the guards and out, grabbing her horse from the stables and riding for home as fast she could. She'd not stopped until the Druadachs fell away and the tundra rose to meet her, Whiterun silhouetted on the horizon. Whiterun. Beautiful, peaceful Whiterun, where everyone knew her and trusted her, where no one was murdering anyone on the streets and certainly no one was framing her for it. Whiterun. Home, and the place where she kept the most precious and valuable of all her treasures.
She finally got in to Whiterun in the early evening, having been on the road for nearly twelve hours, saddle-sore and weary but finally home. She let herself in to Breezehome, hoping news of her arrest hadn't made it as far as Whiterun.
“MAMA!”
And there they were, the two lights of her life, more precious than any Daedric artefact. Her two baby girls, adopted of course, but she'd seen them and been unable to resist taking them home. Lucia, who she'd run into on her very first visit to Whiterun, learnt was a homeless orphan and made a point of giving money and food to whenever she saw her, right up until she had enough coin saved to finally buy Breezehome and get it furnished. Then she'd gone to Lucia on one of the coldest, wettest days she'd seen yet and shyly asked the girl if she'd be willing to let her adopt her. Lucia had hugged her in disbelief and nodded, and Liriel had taken her home.
Sissel was a different story – she'd had a father and sister out in Rorikstead; a father and sister who'd bullied and ill-treated her constantly. Liriel had been furious to see it happening, and after remonstrating with Lemkil had done no good, a return visit and a stealthy arrow from the hills had solved the problem. She'd stopped by again a day later and when she'd left, Sissel had come with her. Now both little girls lived at Breezehome, and Lydia, her housecarl, took care of them both when Liriel was away.
Liriel might be a murderer, Liriel might be a thief, but Liriel still believed in Lady Mara and Liriel couldn't have walked away from them. They were her babies and though they were human, she adored them both.
“Mama, you're home!” Lucia cried, flinging her arms around her mother. “We missed you!”
“Ri'saad the Khajiit told us you'd been arrested!” Sissel cried. “He said you'd been locked up in a dungeon in Markarth and were never coming home!”
Liriel was going to wring that cat's neck next time she saw him.
“It's all right,” Liriel soothed, kneeling down and putting her arms around them both. “I did end up in prison for something I didn't do, but it was all a terrible misunderstanding and it's all sorted out now. I'm home and safe, I promise you.”
“We knew you'd come back, Mama,” Lucia murmured into Liriel's hair. “We knew you wouldn't leave us.”
Nightshade and Juniper 2.1
Relationship: het
Kinks/warnings: none this chapter
Summary: Liriel gets home and rests before setting out on her next adventure, but her path inevitably leads back to the Reach. When a visit to a Forsworn camp goes wrong, it's north to Druadach Redoubt for answers. However, Madanach has questions of his own, and it turns out the Forsworn and the Dark Brotherhood are more closely linked than Liriel ever imagined...
A/N: This chapter's a bit of a talky one with a bit of an info-dump, but on the other hand if you wanted invented Forsworn lore, there is a lot here. A lot of Dark Brotherhood stuff starts coming in as well - Liriel's membership there is more than just backstory, it's an integral part of the plot. Spoilers for Hearthfire and the Pieces of the Past quest in this chapter.
Markarth had been awash with blood and death that night – Thonar Silver-Blood had only been the first of many to die. Mostly guards but even so, the screams would stay with Liriel for a while.
She'd done as Madanach had suggested, kept her head down and ran for the gates, darting past the guards and out, grabbing her horse from the stables and riding for home as fast she could. She'd not stopped until the Druadachs fell away and the tundra rose to meet her, Whiterun silhouetted on the horizon. Whiterun. Beautiful, peaceful Whiterun, where everyone knew her and trusted her, where no one was murdering anyone on the streets and certainly no one was framing her for it. Whiterun. Home, and the place where she kept the most precious and valuable of all her treasures.
She finally got in to Whiterun in the early evening, having been on the road for nearly twelve hours, saddle-sore and weary but finally home. She let herself in to Breezehome, hoping news of her arrest hadn't made it as far as Whiterun.
“MAMA!”
And there they were, the two lights of her life, more precious than any Daedric artefact. Her two baby girls, adopted of course, but she'd seen them and been unable to resist taking them home. Lucia, who she'd run into on her very first visit to Whiterun, learnt was a homeless orphan and made a point of giving money and food to whenever she saw her, right up until she had enough coin saved to finally buy Breezehome and get it furnished. Then she'd gone to Lucia on one of the coldest, wettest days she'd seen yet and shyly asked the girl if she'd be willing to let her adopt her. Lucia had hugged her in disbelief and nodded, and Liriel had taken her home.
Sissel was a different story – she'd had a father and sister out in Rorikstead; a father and sister who'd bullied and ill-treated her constantly. Liriel had been furious to see it happening, and after remonstrating with Lemkil had done no good, a return visit and a stealthy arrow from the hills had solved the problem. She'd stopped by again a day later and when she'd left, Sissel had come with her. Now both little girls lived at Breezehome, and Lydia, her housecarl, took care of them both when Liriel was away.
Liriel might be a murderer, Liriel might be a thief, but Liriel still believed in Lady Mara and Liriel couldn't have walked away from them. They were her babies and though they were human, she adored them both.
“Mama, you're home!” Lucia cried, flinging her arms around her mother. “We missed you!”
“Ri'saad the Khajiit told us you'd been arrested!” Sissel cried. “He said you'd been locked up in a dungeon in Markarth and were never coming home!”
Liriel was going to wring that cat's neck next time she saw him.
“It's all right,” Liriel soothed, kneeling down and putting her arms around them both. “I did end up in prison for something I didn't do, but it was all a terrible misunderstanding and it's all sorted out now. I'm home and safe, I promise you.”
“We knew you'd come back, Mama,” Lucia murmured into Liriel's hair. “We knew you wouldn't leave us.”