No Elves in Sovngarde Book Two, NEIS continued Options

[Elisabeth Hollow]

No Elves in Sovngarde Book One is here, and is currently being spiced and touched up, bit by bit.

For those who don't want to read the first book, or need a refresher on what has previously happened, I have included a brief summary of the first book, which will be written later, when I'm not freaking out about how to write a summary.

I really am terrible with summaries. To prove my point, here's my summary of Toy Story:

"After sitting here with my fingers frozen above the keyboard, all I can say about Toy Story is that it made me terrified of having toys as a kid, and gave me nightmares. The only thing I took away from that movie is that you shouldn't judge others by appearance. Except the bad kids. They wear skulls so you can identify them easily."

-shakes head in shame-

Anyways, I've got a prologue written up. The summary should be up, hopefully, within the next few days or so. Or when my computer's plate isn't so full, lol.

Enjoy!

[Elisabeth Hollow]

Where we were before: Kayla and Emelia had picked up a couple of wolf pups the last time we checked on them.

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Sai and Miriam pawed at Emelia's head while she slept. Emelia blinked groggily, then a smile spread to her face. The sun was setting, and like clockwork for the last few weeks, the pups had woken both myself and Emelia up. They had grown larger and become more playful. Especially Miriam. She barked and yipped, which was not something I was used to hearing from wolves.

Watching Emelia with the wolves reminded me of something painful. Not all of Asta's army were as old as Asta. Not all of them knew better. Some of them were like Emelia, if not most of them. Emelia relished being a child, playing with the pups, her blue eyes alight. When she had to feed, something in her turned off. The bright look in her eyes was gone in a snap, and the look of a calculating predator took its place.

It saddened me.

It took a few moments for the look to fade, but eventually she was herself again. And like he knew, Sai would bound up to Emelia and plant his paws on her chest, and she would dissolve into a puddle of giggles.

We stayed in the cave for a few months, feeding on any unfortunate adventurer that stumbled in. The wolves watched curiously as we fed, cocking their reddish-brown heads to the side at the sound of the high-pitched screams of grown men. They sniffed the corpses and pawed at them, then wandered off. They watched stoically as we disposed of the bodies, and went off to hunt their own food.

One particular night, Emelia asked me an unexpected question.

"When are we going to kill Asta?"

I paused, startled at the question. Miriam cocked her head and whined when I stopped scratching her exposed belly.

"I don't know." I said truthfully. "I...really don't think I'm in any position to actually FIGHT her. I'm...no different than her anymore."

Emelia blinked, her brow furrowed in thought. "No, I guess not anymore. I think that's my fau-"

"No, it's mine. I'm the one who can't help but tear at everything with a beating heart."

I sat on my makeshift bed, made from leaves, grass, and shed wolf fur. The cold, stony cave floor was made slightly softer by the padding, but the chill still seeped through. I sorely missed my bed at my house in Whiterun, the roaring fire downstairs, the warmth of the animal skins against my own bare skin, Onmund's hands snaking around my bare waist...

"You're getting that look again."

I turned to Emelia. "What look?" The wind blew harder, making the mouth of the cave howl loudly. The wind whipped her golden blonde hair around her slender, petite face. Her eyes were a little sunken in, the last time of her feeding edging on a week. Her lips were turning ashen, and she was looking more like a corpse than a healthy little girl. Her fangs poked over her bottom lip, and she wore a look of slight irritation.

'She's really hungry. I have to feed her soon or she'll start snapping at me.'

"That dreamy look you get when you stare off into nothing sometimes. What are you thinking about?"

In spite of the cold, a semblance of heat rushed into my cheeks. Emelia kept her curious look on my face as Sai begged for her attention by nuzzling her hands. She petted his head absently as she watched my face. I shook my head slightly to signal I didn't want to talk about it.

"Nothing, it's nothing."

"I want to know what it is you're thinking about."

"Just thinking about a warm bed. And a bath."

"Oh. That's it?"

No. "Yeah, that's it."

"Oh. I'm getting really hungry."

"I know, me too."

"If we go into the city, we can feed freely."

"If we go into the city, I'll probably eat everyone in sight."

Emelia shook her head. "No, you won't."

"Why not?"

"Because surviving long enough to kill Asta is more important than a few drops of blood." She rubbed Sai's belly.

"Emelia, I can't control myself."

"You're not trying." She looked up at me. "I know you can. If I can, then you can. We're the same."

"The same?"

"Asta made us both. Asta was made by Movarth, who could control himself. The vampires you've been fighting aren't like us." She flicked a strand of hair threatening to go into her eye. "They can't control themselves. Kayla, I hate to tell you this, but there's a complex system for vampires." She furrowed her brow. "Asta called it a food chain. The smart ones get to be nobles, the less-smart ones make little clans, and the dumb ones get killed by people like you."

"Nobles?!" I felt sick. I've never been one to hang around nobles, as I was often viewed as "common rabble," but the few that allowed me into their presences had earned my respect. Jarl Balgruuf, for example. It sickened me to think of him sipping blood with his evening meal while his children sat at the same table.

I shook the disturbing image from my head and looked at Emelia. "So, what are we? Hunter fodder?"

"I guess so."

"I don't like the idea of that."

"Me neither. You stink."

I frowned. "Well, so do you!"

"I know." Her pale lips curled upwards in a small smile when the wolf pup's legs twitched in satisfaction at her belly rubs.

"If we were to go into town, we couldn't go like this." I said. "People would take notice. We're covered in blood, our hair is a mess, and we look like we're dead."

"We ARE dead."

"That's beside the point. How have the vampire nobles stayed undetected all of these years?"

"They probably feed on a regular basis and know how to control themselves."

"Exactly."

"I can control myself." Emelia said with pointed look at me. I rolled my eyes.

"Look, I'll try, okay?"

"Yeah, I know. But we gotta do it fast. Hey, I'll even teach you how to only take a little."

Take a little? The idea sounded absurd to my ears, but deep inside it's how I wanted to live. Was it? The constant conflicting emotions wore down on me. Was I a killer for purpose, or a killer for my own satisfaction?

I had long ago, mulling over the thoughts that I couldn't escape on the frozen nights in the icy cave, came to the conclusion that I was a killer. Always had been. I'd killed bandits, vampires, draugr, and even the Dark Brotherhood on accident. Not all had been in self-defense. Most vampires had been shut away in caves, forts, old ruins, perhaps to hibernate away the years until the war subsided. Yet I sought them out and ended their unlives, simply because Meridia...no, compulsion. Compulsion drove me.

After a year and a half of feeding off of hapless adventurers, and after spending half my life killing those who did what I now do, I had to wonder if there wasn't some sort of sadistic lunacy in my former life. I wanted to survive, and the only way to do that was to take from another. The question rose in my mind, and my breath caught in my throat with a hitch.

Was there a chance that I was the bad guy?