“Please be safe, lass.” Brynjolf said to me, my backpack full of supplies and journals in his hand.
“You’ll write to me, yeah? If you get contacted by the Dark Brotherhood, tell me straight away.” His free hand found my fleshy one. It was rather cold, I noticed. I wonder if he’s sick?
“Of course. If you get contacted, don’t be a hero. Let me know what’s happening with the guild.”
“If anything happens you’ll be the first to know.”
A kiss was placed upon my forehead. Loving, yet as cold as his hand. I don’t know if I shivered from the kiss or it’s chill. I was about to ask him if he were feeling alright when my two traveling companions made themselves known to us.
“Shit, we are just going to Winterhold. Tone it down.”
“Hoth, please. The two of them are going to miss each other. They were just reunited and now they are going to separate. It’s quite romantic.”
“I dunno if I like you anymore doc.”
“Can I help the two of you?” Brynjolf sighed.
“We didn’t mean to interrupt. Just wanted to inform you that the horses are ready” Axiy said with a small bow of his head.
“Yeah, so enough of this mushy shit. Let’s get going.” Hoth held out his hand to receive my backpack. Brynjolf handed it to him slowly.
“Look after her, will you? She’s a bit of an idiot.” He said. My eyes rolled and I elbowed him in his healing ribs. “I-I was kidding. Heh heh. Ouch...”
When his ribs started aching, he gave me another cold kiss on the forehead. Hoth and Axiy sighed for different reasons. We said our goodbyes and left for Winterhold.
We saw something splendid along the road. It was the same thing Rune talked about on his adventure. Imperial Guards had gotten into a battle with a bright orange dragon. Despite it shooting fire that Hoth, Axiy and I felt from a safe vantage point, the guards were winning. A well placed arrow pierced it’s eye and the dragon let out a final roar and collapsed onto the ground before their feet. The dragon’s body began to make loud sizzling noises like it’s flesh was burning. Scaly flakes began floating slowly in the air like lightening bugs are night. Then as we were getting lulled by the sleepy scene a gust of powerful wind swept the flakes up into the air and flew to the west. The dragon was nothing but bones on the road now.
“What magic did that...?” Axiy whispered. “Nothing I’ve ever read describes this...”
“I think I know what this is. It’s something my father used to read me as a boy.” Hoth had our full attention. “Don’t remember much of it, but the only person that can do that to a dragon, to take it’s essence, was the dragon born. A guy or girl with the soul of the dragon. Thought it was a fairy tail.”
“Looks like it isn’t. I wonder who this dragon born is? Will he or she bring the end of the dragons once more?”
“I must find more books on the Dragon born. How fascinating.” Axiy said with glee.
We waited til the guards left to get closer to the dragon bones and then leave.
Our horses were fast enough to make it to Windhelm before dark. Because of my back that we had to stop, the bouncing of the horse aggravated it.
“I knew I should have had you on my lap. Making us waste daylight.” Hoth helped me down from the horse and carried me past Windhelm’s gates and into the local inn. I could have walked. I think Hoth gets off with being a macho.
Axiy rented us a room for the night and had Hoth place me on my stomach so he could look my back over and heal me. While Hoth was getting drunk elsewhere, I decided to ask Axiy something personal about his life.
“It looks like you will be alright, Miss Mute. Just a little soreness. Stitches are in good condition. A little healing and a health potion will help with the pain. I do suggest riding with either Hoth or I.It will take off some of the shock.” I could feel the warmth of his magic go deep in my back. “I suggest you start keeping track of how long you have a soul gem inside of you. I’ll insert a new one so you can start fresh. Remember, these last a month.”
“Thank you Axiy. I’m feeling stiff in my legs...anything to help with that?”
“Some stretching should help. Here’s what we’ll do. I’ll bend your legs for you and then we’ll do some stretches together.”
“Axiy. Do you mind me asking a question?”
“I’ll answer to the best of my abilities, Miss Mute. I assume it’s going to be personal. How about we trade a question for a question?”
“Fair enough. My question for you is: Are you and your wife not together?”
“Oh. She and I are still together. It’s a..well...”He stopped bending my right leg. “It’s complicated.”
“I believe it’s my turn now.” He resumed bending and pulling at my legs. “Why did you become”
“I was raised to be one. My birth parents are dead or alive somewhere. I was found by a master thief and I just kept at it. My turn. Why is it complicated with your wife?”
“That’s not fair and you know it.”
He sighed. “We don’t love each other. It was a forced...arranged marriage between our families. You are going to be the only I told this to. My wife and I are together for appearances. What our families don’t know is that we...we go outside of our marriage. She’s a very nice women, please don’t misunderstand me. I just don’t love her and she doesn’t love me.” He sighed once more. “I...I don’t know how long we can keep this up.” He moved on to my other leg, using bursts of his healing powers. I was feeling very relaxed. “My turn now. Do you ever feel bad for what you do?”
“No. I don’t. There are people who I won’t steal from. I mostly go for store owners and rich folk. More things to steal and make a profit. So, your daughter doesn’t know that her parents don’t love each other at all?”
“She doesn’t even know that she isn’t my child.” He whispered sadly. I hung on his every word. “She belongs to another man but I treat her as mine. I always feared the day her real father would blow our cover and take he away, but he doesn’t care for her at all. Fine by me.” He was silent for a while. I awaited his next question but he continued. “I wonder if she’ll hate me when I do tell her. Will she want to stop being my little one and go reconnect with her real father? That will crush me more than the disappointment from my family.Well my turn. Do you have any children with your mate?”
“Brynjolf isn’t my mate. And no, I have no children.”
“Really? With how you were so willing to sacrifice yourself, I thought he was your mate.”
“We are dating. Testing the waters, so to speak.”
“Ah. Well good luck to you. I envy how free you are in that aspect. It’s your turn, Miss Mute.”
“Why are you here in Skyrim if your family is in Summerset?”
“I love dwarven ruins. I adore charting out the tunnels and researching the automatons. I’ve been studying how to summon my own automatons with magic. I’ve made a few of my own. I became inspired back home after reading works of Calcelmo. The man is a genius.”
“I know of him. I had to steal his keys to get into his museum. Needed his work to prove that the old leader was a lying fraud. I also built my goggles based on his work.”
“Oh. Stole from him eh? The goggles aren’t his work. They were made by dwarven scholars. I’ve found my own in Blackreach.” He showed me his own. Looked a bit different from the one I have. “How was his museum? I have always wanted to go.”
“Looks like a Dwarven ruin. I didn’t really look and admire the sights. Was trying to solve a decade old murder.”
“Ah. I see. I’ll find out one day once I make it over there. Anymore questions?”
“What are you going to do if your parents ever find out that you and your wife are just pretending?”
“I don’t know. I love my family and I’d hate to bring shame to them, to shun me, but I want to be happy myself. I want my own family, a wife that I chose. One who likes crawling into dark caves. One who won’t get scared when we discover falmer or there slimy little pets. One who actually loves me...” He had longed stop massaging my legs and stared at a spot on the bed. “You think if I start worshiping Nocturnal, I will be lucky enough to keep my family’s love and find my own love?”
“I’m counting that as a question and yes. She’ll mend your family while her children steal everything you own.”
He laughed. “Then sign me up. I have too much stuff anyway.”
The door to our room slammed open, didn’t have to even look at the door to know who it was. “Hey. You two done in here? We going or what?”
“Why don’t we stay here for the night, Hoth. We have the room for the rest of the day. Might as well.”
“Skies look clear. We’re a stones throw away from Winterhold. Come on. Come on.”
“The school won’t be open at night anyway.”
“So we’ll stay in the inn there. Go in there, tell the woman you’re leaving and let’s get going.”
“So be it.” Axiy shrugged and left to the inn keeper. Hoth leaned up against the wall tapping his fingers against his the white tattoos on his arm.
“This is the first place I met you, Hoth. At the bar.”
“Huh? Oh yeah it is. I know how anniversaries are important to you women, so we’ll celebrate later. I’ll bring the mead and you wear something sexy. Red is my favorite color.”
“Oh yeah. Sure. But aren’t you so worried that your sheer male power might break my spine?”
“It’s a special night so I’ll be gentle.”
“I don’t know if I need to throw up because of my back or you?”
“I have that effect on women.”
“Making women want to throw up is something to be proud of? Alright then. Small accomplishments lead to big ones. Why are you in such a rush, anyway? I want to get there sooner than later too, but we might as well enjoy the warmth.”
“I got in a fight with the town idiot outside in the market. Guards are looking for a guy with a skull mask.”
I snorted. “Why did you get into a fight?”
“He got a little handsy with a grey elf. Not the good kind of handsy, either. If you know anything about Windhelm, they don’t give a shit about them. Dirt is more important than the grey elves here. There’re gunning for me because I had the nerve to defend her. So-.” My bag was grabbed and I was scooped up.”- up you go “ We almost knocked Axiy off his feet when we turned the corner.
“The lady wouldn’t give me back my money.” Axiy said.
“Whatever. The bitch can keep it. Let’s go.” Hoth tossed my bag to Axiy.
There were guards outside, questioning about Hoth’s whereabouts. How they missed the big muscly man sneaking away is beyond me. My horse was roped with Axiy’s so he could lead it. I was stuck sitting with Hoth again.
The stars were blocked out with rainbow colored northern lights, the only good thing about the cold north. If I didn’t freeze to death in minutes, I could stare at them for hours. Takes my breath away.
Just before the the innkeepers of Winterhold were ready to go to bed, we came in covered in snow requesting a room. We melted by the fireplace while eating some supplies.
“Are you going to go in the college as well, Hoth?”
“I’m not setting foot in there unless I gotta. Like I told her, you need me, holler. I’ll be around here.”
“Magic is nothing to be afraid of.”
“I ain’t afraid of anything. I don’t trust magic.”
“I yearn for the day Skyrim’s nords will be more willing to learn or be around magic.” Axiy stood up and brush away some un-melted snow. “I hope you are just as excited as I am, Miss Mute. Good night to the both of you ”
“Thought that guy would never leave.” Hoth said in his mug. “Wanna celebrate next to the fire place or in the bed?”
“I’m going to bed, you moron.”
“Bed might be better. Don’t wanna get too hot and the innkeepers might catch us.”
“Brynjolf doesn’t have to know.”
“Goodnight Hoth.” I snapped my voice shut and stood up on stiff legs.
Hoth gave a grandiose sigh and helped me to my room, my arm over his shoulder. With how tall he was, he might as well have carried me. My feet grazed the ground.
In my room, Hoth didn’t let me go, his arm snaked around my waist. I felt something but I’m not sure what is was. Fear? I don’t really know Hoth like that. Whose to say he wouldn’t just take what he wanted? He seemed like the kind of guy. Is it weird that I hope it was fear and not the other thing that’s going to make me hate myself for the rest of my days?
“You’re reacting more than when Brynjolf holds you. Yeah I’ve been watching. Wasn’t anything else to do around that sewer you hide around in.” Please just let it be fear. Not this guy. Why him? Is it because I haven’t really done anything in years with a man? Am I starved and desperate? Body, please. A horker would treat you so much better. “It’ll be fun. I might even let you finish.”
I rolled my eyes and pushed at his laughing body.
“It’s a joke woman. I'm gonna be serious now. I swear.” His deep stare made me ever more nervous than before.” Let’s fuck.”
I pointed at the door, putting all my hatred and annoyance into a glare. He laughed, louder this time, and let me go.
“If you change your mind, I’ll be next door.” I slammed the door behind him and limped towards my bed and collapse.
Let me get this straight, my broken body. Brynjolf, sweetest man I’ve known for all of my life, not interested in. Hoth, crude idiot I’ve known for almost a month, shakes the perch the butterflies were resting upon.
I will set fire to those butterflies if they don’t quit it.
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