Someone wrote in [personal profile] skyrimkinkmeme 2014-02-26 10:54 pm (UTC)

Re: Thicker Than Blood 9.7

“Sure,” Madanach said, feeling Liriel off to the south-west, no longer pleading but still worried. “Elisif, by your leave, I wanted to meet her on the road, see if we can intercept personally, but that'll be a lot easier if you can lend me some men and your consort...”

“Of course!” Elisif said, nodding at Argis who immediately ran off to get his armour. “But if you're ahead of her... how exactly did you get here so fast? Don't tell me, you used that heathen teleportal of yours then rode from Deepwood non-stop?”

“I used the teleportal, yes,” Madanach said, deliberately leaving out the bit about Solitude having one in its catacombs. Elisif tutted disapprovingly but mercifully didn't complain or ask questions.

“Well, I suppose even abominations have their uses,” Elisif sighed. “Anyway, don't you worry, Madanach, I'll go and organise everything. Meet the men by the stables in fifteen minutes – I'll make sure you and Borkul have fresh horses, I'm sure yours must be worn out.”

Elisif gave him one last hug and was gone to make sure her orders did actually go to the right people. As she left, Argis emerged in his ebony gear, Shield of Solitude on one arm and an ebony Sword of the Vampire at his side. Ulfric Stormcloak's old sword in fact.

“Exhausted horses. Right. And you such a horseman and all,” Argis said grinning, and Madanach schooled himself into the picture of innocence. Argis just patted him on the shoulder.

“I won't ask, Da. You got here and raised the alarm in time, that's the important thing. I just got one question. The Forsworn Bond of Matrimony's telling you where she is, right? So why'd you not notice her being taken?”

The question Madanach had least wanted to answer.

“We argued that morning,” Madanach said quietly. “I – may have been drowning my sorrows. It wasn't until much later it became apparent she'd not left of her own free will.”

“Drowning your sorrows.” Argis was staring down at him, having gone very still, apart from raising one finger to get a better look at Madanach's eyes. “You hit the jenever, right? Please tell me it was the jenever.”

Argis had guarded Cidhna Mine for over a decade, he knew half the prisoners were on Skooma. He'd turned the other way on Madanach's own orders while it got smuggled in. He'd seen men get re-arrested just because they knew the mine was a good source of Skooma. He'd seen the symptoms before now. There was no lying to his son about this.

“I'm sorry, son,” Madanach said, lowering his eyes. Well, there it was, out to his son, he'd be lucky if he ever saw Lirela again, and he could forget retiring to Solitude.

“Da, you... you didn't.”

Madanach couldn't even look Argis in the eye at this point. “I'm sorry, son. I'm not proud.”

“He's on the meds now,” Borkul said, patting Madanach on the back. “We'll take care of him, get him into the programme. He'll be all right.”

Argis didn't say anything, just pulling his father into his arms and holding him.

“I wondered,” Argis said quietly. “How you'd never got addicted when everyone else who came out of that mine was a complete mess. How you could just bust out of there and go back to normal, or normal for you anyway. Guess you didn't, huh.”

“Hey, he held out this long,” Borkul said, actually far prouder of Madanach than anyone had any right to be. “Longer than the rest of us managed, and that's without help or meds or anything. I think it was mostly Restoration magic and stubbornness.”

“Liriel,” Madanach said softly, reaching out to his wife again and feeling her at the other end of the bond, still there, still strong but he could feel her anxiety, and if he was having a bad day, hers was worse. “I had my Liriel. But not any more... Argis, please, we need to find her, I need my wife, she's in trouble, please.”

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