A Frightful Night (Anna)

 A frightful night Halloween 2022 prompt: Anna making a haunted house with Spectre!Lucien using magic and scaring the shit out of the companions

When Lucien first approached me about a potential plan for the Witches festival I was hesitant, but now as I sit carefully planning all manner of details I don’t regret agreeing to his idea one bit. It seems that while festivities occur in Whiterun, they’re not particularly interesting, sure you get the usual seasonal flora and fauna and perhaps a pumpkin carved with a spooky face and all that, still there lacks a certain flair. “How’s whatever you’re doing going?” Lucien asks, appearing out of thin air quite literally with a handful of something I can’t quite make out from the angle I sit at. “It’s going, but this whole ordeal reminded me why I never kept up sewing.” The spectre peaks over my shoulder to look at what I’m doing, makes a brief noise of approval, sets his things down, and disappears just as quickly as he dropped in, only to return moments later. How Issy isn’t startled by that every single time is beyond me, though I guess you get used to it over however many hundreds of years? Turning back to my own project I work slowly on sewing together a sort of spider web out of scraps of fabric I’d found laying around, Lucien pops in and out with other items, a cauldron, various kinds of plants and empty bottles, even a skull or two…I hope they’re fake. “Where’d you get the skulls?” I question the spectral assassin, wondering in the back of my mind if I’ll truly want to know the answer. He picks one up casually and tosses it up in the air before catching it “Oh these old things? I found them.” He responds with a slight grin and setting it down, refusing to elaborate further.

Lucien is an interesting fellow, his current form takes some getting used to given he’s essentially a ghost with some more autonomy, and his personality is rather outgoing for someone of his profession. Issy once explained to me that’s simply how his brain works, he’s always on the move and always going, sometimes even if he doesn’t want to. Satisfied with the explanation of the skulls, or lack thereof, I finish what I was doing before moving on to my next task. Thankfully the rest of the circle have been busy with their egregiously boring meetings about diving up the next few weeks jobs, a meeting I am very glad I do not have to be a part of. That means Lucien and I have all the time we need to plan and scheme for our little surprise we’ve concocted for the three werewolves who remain blissfully unaware of such developments.

After more gathering of objects, some more times in which basic crafting skills come in handy, and a bit of magic things are just about ready. Issy stops by to check on the progress, and drop off a much needed spellbook for me that the college of Winterhold for some reason lacks entirely even with its extensive archives and rather fearsome librarian. “Boo!” Lucien appears in front of me, startling me somewhat and laughs, apologizing that he didn’t mean to scare me. Once my wits are back in their assigned places the two of us clean up for the day having achieved most of what we needed to do. All that’s left is a few finishing touches, to put things where they’ll actually go, and wait. In the mean time I’ll have to think up a good excuse to get the circle to visit the underforge in a few days…hhhmmmm.

Dinner time comes and goes and with the twins and Aela still hard at work my options are either sit with the rest of the companions who happen to be here and not out on jobs, or sit with Lucien in relative peace and quiet. I choose the latter, rifling through the pantry to find something appetizing enough to eat and sitting with the ghost. “Do you wish you could still eat?” I ask him as he quietly watches me while fidgeting with his robes and he shrugs “I miss it sometimes” he pauses and adds softly “I miss a lot of things sometimes…” before cheering up again “but most of the time no, I don’t miss it. Especially food in Skyrim, I was never a fan of it when work brought me here, too bland I think.” Bland would be an understatement, and a massive one at that. If prepared correctly however it is capable of being surprisingly delicious, once you get used to it. Over dinner to pass the time the spectre tells me tales of the oblivion crisis, how he managed to meet Isabelle, a lot about his father figure of sorts who happens to be a vampire that’s allergic to garlic, and some of what he remembers about his early childhood in Daggerfall. Apparently he lived not too far away from where I grew up, the more you know, I suppose. Eventually the hour grows late and I begin to get tired, deciding perhaps now is a good time to head to bed. Lucien wishes me goodnight with a nod and a soft smile before disappearing into thin air with a wave, while a genuine smile it seemed almost sad. To exist without being able to sleep or eat must have it’s difficulties, even if they aren’t admitted. Behind the mysterious exterior of a professional killer I think Lucien LaChance is an incredibly complex person, who is in some ways more wholesome than the most innocent appearing clergymen. As Issy has said he can be rather animated at times, energetic, hyperactive, and yet even in our brief conversations demonstrated a wide variety of emotions, and a depth of character I’ve found in very few other people among the many I’ve met. The thought of his grin with eyes reflecting a buried sadness sticks with me as I fall asleep, something the assassin has not done in two hundred years.

The next day I bring up my thoughts to Isabelle who confirms most of my suspicions, Lucien LaChance as she explains is perhaps the most emotionally complicated assassin you will ever meet; he kills for a living, but has a strong moral compass, and all he does in life and in death he does out of care and to varying degrees love for those he cares about. “Lucien loves his horse more than anything or anyone in the world, hence the reaction in Falkreath.” Issy states during her explanation, I remember that time well, somehow Shadowmere had gotten into the hands of Astrid, and upon being summoned against his will Lucien was not happy regarding the treatment of himself and more importantly his beloved horse, who was promptly returned to her rightful place at Fort Farragut. She also tells me a bit more about Lucien and his sometimes erratic personality, as it turns out just like I was diagnosed with a disorder that affects the way my brain processes information at a young age, so was he though a few years later in childhood. Attention can be difficult for him when it comes to certain things, strategies that would help most children did the opposite, and navigating a world build to sitting still and being quiet proved challenging until he got the proper help. It’s not surprising, really, I would have guessed he fell somewhere on the spectrum of neurodivergence from the moment I met him.

The two of us meet again to move things under cover of darkness to the underforge, a secret area known only to members of the circle, and stage our haunted house of sorts for the other companions. Soon things will be in motion, and we are very excited to see what happens. It will be a frightful night, at least for them. For Lucien and I, it will be more amusing.

After quite a bit of thought I think up a convincing enough lie to lure the twins and Aela away from their work to the underforge, and with a bit of magic and careful effects they go through a rather spooky experience. Knowing them well enough we managed to tailor things to subjects each one feared. Farkas and spiders, Aela and Hagravens, Vilkas and feelings of unworthiness, etc. by the end of it I think all were scared sufficiently, though given our abilities when it came to creating props it was obvious everything not magical was fake. “I’ll get you back for that you know.” Vilkas mutters and the other two agree, however any hard feelings are smoothed over quickly with an offer of chocolate that is accepted almost immediately…almost. Lucien disappears for a few minutes and returns with four cups of hot chocolate, not explaining where they came from other than if someone is looking for a ghostly figure from the inn who punched a bard and took over singing briefly it wasn’t him. I’ve heard weirder things, and a warm drink on a night like this is always an offer I’ll accept. It may have been a frightful night for some, but in the end I think everything worked out- the circle had a break from their arguably scarier task, I had a chance to practice my conjuration skills, and I think Lucien had the most fun of all simply getting to be a part of something with company he enjoyed. Loneliness can be the most frightening foe of all, especially when you’re already dead. Luckily he knows a few werewolves with insomnia, whom biologically don’t need sleep. Despite all his many years alive and dead, I think Lucien LaChance may have vanquished his most fearsome enemy of all, having to be alone.