Gidian was standing before a news bulletin in the Imperial City, enjoying some relative peace away from the palace. Gidian was a bit above average height, dark brown hair that took on a gold tinge in the fading sunlight, and dark brown eyes, which became almost black due to the shadows cast by the curves of his face. Although one would be hard pressed to see any of these features behind the deep cowl and partial face mask. It was suicide to journey the streets this close to dark without being prepared for the worst. He made sure his triscabbard and weapons were visible to ward off any would be muggers.
His back was to the setting sun, he didn't put much value in such things these days. He remembered a time when he was younger, much younger, that he might've stopped to enjoy the sunset, and bask in its fading glow. But the time was past, and nowadays he had more important things to concern himself with. Like the happenings of the empire, and his present predicament.
Just let her stay in the workshop, huh? What's the worst that could happen? Gidian thought to himself. Hopefully she'd survived his absence. He'd been gone for quite a few weeks now, and she'd probably wrought all kinds of destruction. He rolled his left shoulder, ghost pains from one of his newest scars agitating him. Life had become much more hectic in the palace since he'd allowed Skadi to take refuge in his workshop. He'd received more death threats and visitors than he'd ever had before. Everyone seemed determined to disturb his peace. His only consolation was that it gave him an excuse to scare some of the pompous fools. He'd enjoyed himself giving them a thorough wake up call and a few broken noses. People knew better than to hang around him unwelcome, after all. But what he hadn't counted on were all the attempts on the princess's life. Four assassins had tried to claim her life and the bounty already, and that was just this month. One of them had caught him in the shoulder with an arrow, and cauterizing it had been painful. Sure, the wound had healed, but it didn't make Gidian feel any better. Another mark to add to the history of his mistakes, so cruelly written over his body. Gidian hated scars, and didn't understand why the nords he had been raised around had enjoyed comparing them so much.
As for the bounty, he was looking at two bounty posters on the news bulletin. One for the older princess, and one for Skadi, the younger one. There wasn't a picture for Skadi, likely because she was never seen outside of the palace, but Gidian found it strange non the less. Both of the amounts were exorbantly high, and the price was only getting larger as more people pitched in to reward anyone who would have a go at putting them down. The country's problems, and there were many, had been blamed on the two unfortunate young women. It had started with a supposed curse on the royal family had been discovered via prophecy from the divines. Sure, there was someone who could break the curse somewhere, but that wasn't the only thing people had to be hateful about. The divines, along with the any other aedra, and even the daedra, seem to have abandoned the common man. Times were tougher than they'd been in awhile, and they found an outlet in the "Vile whoring daughters of the honorable Emperor Frigus." Apparently, their ungratefulness and general unholiness had in some way brung about this mess. Hence the long list of grievances on the poster. Gidian usually read them to see if there were any useful new swears or insults he could borrow before he ripped them down. The assassins and the harassment was getting annoying. Finished reading the posters and learning no new swear words this day, he ripped the bounty posters off the bulletin and disposed of them. Not that it would help much. there were countless posters like this everywhere, and practically anyone who didn't live under a rock could tell you about it. Idiots were capable of amazing feats of arithmetic and memory when large sums of money were up for grabs.
Walking back to the palace, eyes constantly moving and watching for possible threats, he made his way back to the Imperial Palace. The Emperor rarely let him leave the damned place, except work under his orders. He could, occasionally, get away with an excursion or two. And so, he had been compelled to put as much distance between himself and the hated prison as possible. Even though he had walked for what seemed like most of the day, he had not lost sight of it. Neither had he seen the edge of the city's limits since he'd returned earlier in the day. The Imperial City had grown into a huge, confusing mass since the Great War. The Emperor had put a lot of time and effort and resources into renovation, rebuilding, and expanding the city. Whether this was a smart decision or not seemed obvious to Gidian. Of course it was a stupid idea. It spread resources thin, and put a lot of mouths to feed in one place. It also considerably weakened the surrounding countryside in both productivity and defense. This city is choking itself. He thought somberly.
A prime example of a foolish waste of resources was the new Arena. The original had been renovated and expanded, as if it hadn't been large enough to begin with, and now seemed to take on a whole personality of its own. It towered over the building around it, and it could fit at least a small town inside of it with ample room to spare. A lot of homes and business had been uprooted by it's construction, and how Frigus funded it was beyond Gidian. It was nothing more than a mechanism to distract the foolish from their real problems. Like poverty and starvation.
As for the participants in the games that were hosted in the massive coliseum, they were volunteers seeking fame and wealth, political adversaries to the king, criminals, people who had gotten on the wrong person's bad side, traitors. It was the ultimate prison system, designed to get rid of any enemy to the king while simultaneously serving a purpose. One such purpose was draining the people's already meager funds. If the Emperor had struggled to fund building the monstrosity, Gidian could not fathom how those idiots managed to pay for entry.
Gidian sighed to himself. The sun had set, and dark had set in quite quickly anywhere where there wasn't light. Much of the city never slept, so much noise could be heard coming from inns and taverns, and always the Arena. The Arena never seemed to cease activity.
No matter how much noise and activity there seemed to be though, you were never safe from the rabble that now plagued every inch of the city's streets. They were very bold. At least, unless they meet someone capable of defending themselves. Gidian sighed again as the city's other commonplace activity was taking place. Screams of victims of various crimes. Indeed the city might look healthy to an outside observer, anyone who as much as peeked below the surface could see that it was anything but healthy. The buildings may be nice in many areas, but one shouldn't let that fool them. Poverty was almost everywhere.
Gidian made a show of putting his right hand on the hilt of his sword as he realized he was being tailed, and whoever it had been seemed to disappear back to whatever shadowy plopshole they had crawled out of it. Speaking of plopsholes, the city was abundant with such smells. It was almost enough to make him want to go back to the palace. Almost.
Satisfied that the would be assailant had been sufficiently cowed, Gidian continued on his way. He tried to delay the journey as much as he could, taking as many back roads and long ways around as he could. He supposed he should be a bit more earnest in returning, as someone might slip in and kill Skadi or her older sister, Bergdis, while he was away. But they had managed to survive for years before he'd come along, they would be able to survive for at least a few more hours. He sighed again. He supposed he should care more, but quite frankly he disliked or hated just about everyone in this city. They all seemed to make it their life's goal to grind his gears and try to sway him with useless promises. Yes, everyone wanted the Emperor's favorite pet to owe them a favor. Skadi had been particularly keen at getting under his skin. She remembered everything in exact detail, and didn't miss much. Though for such a swift learner, she didn't seem to understand the subtleties of human social interaction. Particularly when Gidian wanted to be left alone. She treated Gidian as if he was one of the worst things since the Sweetroll shortage, which was saying a lot. But despite all her glares and general dislike of all things Gidian, she kept coming back, kept asking questions, kept wanting to know more about what Gidian was doing.
Maybe there's some truth amongst all the bile people spew on those posters. Those two think they're entitled to everything, he thought spitefully.
The older one understood social interaction disturbingly well, which Gidian didn't know what to make of. She wasn't anywhere near as naïve as her sister, but that keen understanding unsettled Gidian more. Her contempt was different from her sister's. She always had paranoia in her eyes, and was always tense, as if carrying around a great weight. And a great weight she was burdened with. She was the supposed cursebreaker after all. It had been her desperation to protect her sister that had finally enlisted Gidian's help. She had pestered him for days, threatening murder and torture, and even sexual favors. Gidian almost laughed. The more he wanted to be left alone, the more people wanted his attention. It was the same everywhere. The more antisocial he became, the more persistent people became in annoying him.
With that, he'd allowed Skadi to take refuge in his workshop, which most people knew better than to approach, and grudgingly allowed her to eat some of the food off his plate. That had been the hardest part. Gidian was a ravenous eater due to years of never knowing when the next meal was coming. Apparently people weren't above poisoning young women whom they'd never met in their entire lives.
Gidian stopped suddenly and listened. Something had changed in the natural noises of the city. He couldn't put his finger on what it was. The arena still roared, the taverns and inns were still open, the sound of the victimized still rang out. He glanced around his immediate area, taking in everything he could. The buildings were growing more substantial as he got closer to the palace, and the sounds of the nightscape were also lessening. But something for a brief moment had changed. A noise, a slight shuffle of something, as if someone were trying to move without being heard. He looked at the moon to check the time. There was still quite a lot of time until sunrise. He decided to get back to the palace ad make his way to the workshop, and hopefully, peace. He dismissed the slight disturbance, and continued walking. He was confident that he could handle any would be attackers if they decided to jump him.
He wasn't sure whether it was lucky or unlucky that they hadn't. it wasn't long after that he was approaching the gate that separated the richer side of town from the poverty. He pulled his cowl and mask down to reveal himself, as the watchmen strained his eyes to identify him. The gate was opened and Gidian made his way into the palace and to his workshop as fast as possible, avoiding as many of the denizens as he could. He could not avoid them all though, and cursed as he saw Bergdis in one of the hallways, waiting for him. He tried to get out of sight and go the other way, but she spotted him and there was no use. He approached her, and waited for what she was inevitably going to accuse.
I don't take my promise seriously enough, do I realize what could've happened to Skadi while I was off meandering among the filth...
Which was all usually a tactic to buy time for her sister in his workshop. But surprisingly she just stared him down for a few moments, a defeated look in her eyes, sizing him up, as if she was weighing his value. Gidian hated being judged by these people. He pushed past her and went to his workshop, and cursed as he heard someone at work at the forge. She had been buying time for her sister after all.
Gidian angrily shoved the doors of his workshop, which was filled with everything from music boxes and jewelry to swords and battleaxes, open. His eyes narrowed on Skadi, who was acting as if she hadn't noticed him storm in. But he knew better, that girl seemed to notice everything except for social cues and hints to stay away from his forge. He approached, doing his best to control his temper. He caught her wrist as she brung a hammer back for a strike, and she panicked and went to swing a red hot sword at him. He shoved her away before she got the chance, ignoring the flash of horror he had seen in her eyes. She hated being touched more than he did.
"Just what did you think you were doing?"
She didn't recover as quickly as she normally did, nor did she recover at all. Her dark blue eyes, which had an unsettling effect on Gidian, seemed to be pleading for something. Her long black hair, as always, was in a dirty mess. She'd attempted to tie it in a ponytail, but some of it had still been singed by the forge. The sight of her being terrified made it hard for Gidian to stay angry, but he did with some effort.
"I..."
She struggled trying to say whatever was on her mind, some sort of desperate look in her eyes. He got tired of waiting and held a hand out to gesture to put the sword down. She panicked again and backed off several paces like a cornered rat, brandishing the freshly constructed weapon. He glared, annoyed.
"What do you think you're playing at? Put the sword down and get out!" He practically yelled at her, taking an aggressive step forward, conscious that she was armed and poised for disarming her.
She dropped the weapon and heat resistant glove and made her way out of the workshop as fast as she could. Strange... he thought, putting on a heat resistant glove and picking up the sword, careful to avoid hurting himself with the still red hot end of it. She's usually jumpy, but she looked terrified... not just jumpy.. Trying to put it out of his mind, he focused on the sword, and had to catch his breath. He carefully set it aside, and drew his own sword. The sword she had made was solid work, though not a masterwork like his own. Still, it seemed impossible that she could have possibly made so much progress in such a relatively short time. He removed his own weapons and armour and got into something more comfortable, including his Jacket which he decided to wear more out of habit than comfort. Tonight, it seemed, would be a night of little sleep for him. Despite what he let on, he did care about these people, and he despised the fact that Skadi had so much fear and dislike for him. So, like most nights, he buried himself in his projects until he was tired enough to rest. He finished and improved the sword Skadi had started, and it was now of high enough quality to rival his own. Since most blacksmiths usually left their trademark on their work, he almost habitually put his on the sword, before thinking better of it. Skadi had done most of the work, so by all rights she deserved the credit. While the sword was cooling, he set out thinking what kind of a trademark fit the strange girl. Eventually, he dozed, but was awoken by a scream. The scream triggered a nightmare of a knife thrown from a tree to snuff out the life of one in great suffering, and he immediately woke up, reaching for weapons that weren't there.
The scream hadn't just been from his dream. He was sure of it. He rose to his feet, stretching, and casually grabbed the now finished blade from where he'd left it. He was used to screams, so he wasn't quite sure why this one had gotten such a response from him. Living here for a few years had desensitized him. He walked, casually at first, towards the door. But he could not stop himself. He allowed everything he'd been forced to put up with since being forced to live in this place flood his mind. His anger gave way to worry, and as he worried, one scenario after another flashed by in his mind's eye. Each worse than the one before. Soon he was running, and he burst out into the hallway and heard sounds of struggling. He pinpointed where it was coming from, one of the rooms near his workshop, and in a fury kicked the door down and stormed into the room, thinking the whole time, Not while I can do something about it!
He was so used to crime being a faraway thing that he couldn't do much about, and never had anything beyond the usual assassination attempt ever found its way inside these gates. Upon entering the room, he saw someone trying to keep someone else from making noise, while trying to keep them subdued and get their clothes off at the same time. In a fury brought on by a deep setted hatred for base men, he grabbed the man violently by the arm and attempted to pull him to his feet and throw him against the wall, but after getting the man to his feet Gidian realized he had a knife, and the man attempted to use the momentum of being pulled to his feet to get at least one stab in this knight. The man let out a loud battlecry, which Gidian found strange, but didn't have time to dwell on. He used the sword to parry the knife attack, then automatically, before he even put real though into it, ran the man through. As the man died, taking his last breath, Gidian was finally close enough to get a good look at him in the dark room. He cursed. It was one of the Emperor's retinue. He withdrew the sword, and let the body fall to the floor. He then focused his attention on the young women who was now trying to disappear into a corner of the room, holding herself and rocking back and forth, sobbing, her clothes ripped in several places. She was looking at Gidian, terrified of him now as well. He let the bloody sword drop. There was blood on his hands, the floor, the bed, and even some on Skadi. He could hear a swarm of guards approaching the room, and he already predicted what was going to happen. It seemed the Emperor had grown tired of his favorite pet.
The girl was still crying, and he recognized the black hair, and the shape of her body. It was Skadi, and his heart sank. Gidian slowly leaned against a wall and slid down it to a sitting position. This was going to be a long night indeed. This was supposed to be one of the empty guest rooms of the palace. Skadi had probably came here to seek refuge after Gidian had ran her off.
It wasn't long before the guards found their way in, weapons drawn. They likely woke up the whole household on the way here. A guard got him to his feet, and disturbingly, they approached Skadi and sent her into a panic. She began to kick and scream and fight as they pulled her to her feet, and now Gidian was confused, and the confusion gave way to a great rage as they were hauled to their feet.
He'd expected this to happen eventually, the day the Emperor would get tired of him and throw him into the arena, but not so soon. And he certainly hadn't expected him to use his daughter to do it, though he probably should have. The Emperor's judgment would be swift, murder of a loyal and law abiding member of his retinue or something of the sort, and then Gidian would became one of the Arena's new attractions. Another discarded and disgraced warrior. His arms bound in front of him, they hauled him off.
To Gidian's surprise, on the way to the dungeons, the guards suddenly opened some sort of hidden entrance into a solitary room. In this room was Bergdis, and the guards forced him to his knees. Skadi was taken to another room, though he didn't know why. The guards just hated her that much?
Gidian glared at Bergdis, recovering quickly from his surprise, "How many sexual favors did you have to give the guards to pull this off?" He opened cruelly. The guards were following orders, and they'd forced him to kneel before her. Her. A deceiver and a traitor and a hypocrite... but then she gestured for the guards to leave, and they left. Gidian immediately rose to his feet, a bit taken aback, but still wanting to strangle her. He ignored the sorrow in her eyes. He thought for a moment, but decided to wait. She would speak in her own time.
"I am out of time. They have decided of a child was going to be born, I would be with child by now..." Gidian rolled his eyes at this, "I have told them that I am pregnant, and some of the servants and healers helped me add some credibility to the lie... they were going to kill me soon anyways, and after that..." she managed to maintain a very controlled voice, as if she was in control of the situation, and maybe she was.
Gidian wanted to believe her, and it did make sense, but it was not in him to be anything but skeptical. And he kind of wanted to kill her.
"I owe you nothing. And I desp..."
She cut Gidian's rant off abruptly, "We don't have enough time to argue, and you don't have a choice. You are going to the arena, as I'm sure you've already guessed. You have ended up just like all the rest..." she means framed, "and... and you're taking Skadi with you."
Gidian was about to retort something along the lines of "Can't kill me yourself?" But the last part stopped him. Any words died in his throat. What kind of a fool wanted someone they cared about taken into the arena?
"You're going to keep your promise, and you're going to protect her. If you don't, I have arranged it so that the precious estate you called home will burn along with your two brothers and sister inside of it." And with that, there was no more fight. He knew she would do it. After all she'd endured, she was finally at the end of her rope, and she would do anything to ensure her sister's protection. He could see it written on her face.
"And how am I supposed to do that? The arena will claim us eventually."
"You're going to figure out a way to escape and get Skadi to safety, or your family and home will burn." the guards re entered. "And with that, we are out of time. Goodluck, and do not fail my sister."
Gidian glared murderously back. As soon as the door was closed, he lamented missing the opportunity to kill her, but then considered the bigger picture. Even if he had, his family would have burned and he would have gotten nowhere. If he played along, then perhaps he could make this work to his advantage... or at least make the best of a bad situation. There would be no use crying over it.
His hands still bound, Gidian was hauled outside and thrown unceremoniously into the back of an armored wagon type container, followed shortly by a gagged Skadi, who was struggling frantically to get loose. They'd managed to get her covered, though she wasn't any less terrified. And with that, the moon still in the sky, Gidian is carted off to the Arena in the back of a wagon with a hysterical young woman who gave him quite a few bruises on the trip there.