ESO Short Stories; 06

  • Story 06

     

    The shadows of evening crept across Belkrath as the folk were still busy to make last moment deals with the merchants.  A few deals were struck before the folk went on their separate ways.

    Ciel’nn shifted in his place, when Vevan spoke, or was it a hiss, “I don’t see him. He’s late, that mortal.” The vampire snarled in frustration.

    “He’ll come.  I’m sure of it.” Ciel’nn assured the vampire. “You can leave if you want to.” He would be fine with it, but he was also certain that Vevan wasn’t going anywhere before Elam Drals would show up. The older Dunmer was probably delayed somehow. “He better!” he heard the vampire snarl as he looked at him and Ciel’nn flashed a smile at his friend.

    They waited for a while before Elam finally strode toward the market area and walked up the few stairs. He raised his hand to wave but lowered it when he saw the vampire. Whoa, that’s a scary sight. Elam walked over to Ciel’nn, “I’m— “

     



    “You’re late, mortal!” Vevan hissed, cutting off the Dunmer, leaning close to him. “Don’t make that happen again.” He looked to Ciel’nn, speaking in a tender tone, “I’ll see you soon.” Vevan waited for the nod from the youngling, “Of course, take care,Vevan.” The vampire marched away and disappeared into the shadows.

    The two Dunmer looked at each other. Ciel’nn flashed a smirk while Elam stepped closer to him, “I’m sorry. I’m late, Ciel’nn.” He gazed into the younger mer’s eyes. “And?” He heard Ciel’nn asking. “I missed you. A lot.” Elam confessed in a softer tone. What do you want, Ciel’nn?

    Ciel’nn studied the older mer with his sharp eyes— Elam seemed to be sincere. “I missed you, too. What took you so long?” He truly had missed Elam while he had to travel long distances to fulfill the contracts. Sometimes Vevan traveled with him; when Ciel’nn went for the target — Vevan went after for a meal. When he slept, Vevan took the guard role and watched Ciel’nn sleep at night. But lately the younger mer found himself missing Elam more than usual.

    “Ciel’nn, I’m not going to disappear anywhere.” Elam frowned as the younger mer looked like he’d worry too much about him. He brought up his hand to touch Ciel’nn’s cheek. “So, where do we go from here? You had a house?” His voice was soft, but urged the young mer to make a decision to move. Elam wanted to be somewhere else with the mer, but Belkrath wasn’t the safest place in all Craglorn.

    Blinking, breathing, after the touch Ciel’nn just smiled and shifted in his place, “Um, yes, I have a house but it’s in the other location.” He replied. “I have rented a guar for you. I have my own at the stables. Shall we be off?”

    “Yes, lead the way, Ciel’nn.” The older mer replied and followed the younger mer to the stables. They took the guars after paying the stable master and headed on the road. Elam was delighted on the fact that Ciel’nn had managed get him a guar, too. It was a nice surprise. Maybe he needed to visit home more often. No, not there.

    After a while riding their guars, Ciel’nn looked to Elam, thinking if he should suggest a race, but the older mer didn’t know where his house was. He caught Elam’s gentle smile and flushed — thinking about that he’d spend the rest of the evening with the older mer, having dinner and watching the fire in the dim light. He felt a bit nervous, and didn’t know why.

    Ciel’nn’s house was on the other side of the river, right the next to the big border wall. Ciel’nn led them across the bridge while his heart raced. It felt right, though. He never had anyone else than Vevan visiting him. Now he had Elam with him and he felt like opening his heart and everything to him. Ciel’nn just couldn’t believe it — that he finally had someone. Of course, he had Vevan, but it didn’t count for romance.

    Elam followed the stairs up with his rented guar and he noticed the walls surrounding the house that was apparently medium built. He had read the house belonged to some Imperial scholar originally, but the mage had gone missing. He watched as Ciel’nn hopped down from his guar and stepped toward the gate. “We’re taking them inside?” Elam asked while he looked at the guars.

    “Just follow me,” Ciel’nn replied before he unlocked the gate and pushed them open. It was already dark, but the young mer took a lantern from a nearby rock and lit it. “This way, let’s take them to the backyard,” he said, taking the lead again. He could swear he could hear Elam gasping at the surroundings as if he could see them — maybe he saw them? Or, he was gawking at the house to their left. Ciel’nn smirked to himself. It took a lot of work to buy the house — weeks of work. There was a lantern set aside the path that he lit as they reached the the small stable, at the backyard.

    The older mer let Ciel’nn take his hand and led him to the front door. He’d get to see Ciel’nn’s house! He felt silly for being excited as he never had seen inside an imperial house before. Wondering how it might look inside, Elam tried to calm his racing heart. Calm down! You’re older than him and feel like a… Well, damn! You’re not so old after all. He allowed himself a smile.

    While Ciel’nn was preparing Vvardenfell Cliff Racer Ragout and Ash-Hopper Dumplings on Scathecraw for the dinner and Sweet Scamp Mazte for the drinks, Elam observed the younger mer’s fine skin and the tattoos that spiraling around his arms. He watched  every move of the cutting the meat and the greens. It was fascinating work to look at — that precise cutting with a cook’s knife. What puzzled the older mer was, Ciel’nn didn’t have a cook book with him. Is he doing it from memory? If so, that’s amazing. I’d never remember all the recipes myself. And, to think he’s an assassin, who can use the knife for killing as well as for cooking. You’re more dangerous than I thought.


    Ciel’nn dropped the green into a bowl and looked up to Elam. Their eyes met and he saw the older mer flushing up. “It looks good, doesn’t it?” he asked as he was finishing the preparation. “Not as good as you,” he heard Elam replying with a twinkle in his eyes. Ciel’nn tilted his head and gave a smirk, “Juohn, daelheg.” He said in a coy tone that made Elam nearly choke and squirm. The younger mer let out a chuckle before he grabbed the plates and walked over to the table. “Come, let’s enjoy while we can.”

    Elam did his best to behave politely, but it was difficult since Ciel’nn had thrown a flirt in their own language. The young mer had pulled a shirt on himself for the dinner — a pity, he didn’t get to gaze more at those fine muscles and tattoos. The food tasted delicious and it was well nutritional, though. They talked about Ciel’nn’s travels for the contracts, and how things were elsewhere. Elam listened to the younger mer carefully and nodded while he ate the dumplings. “I’m glad you’re back safely, Ciel’nn.” He paused at sip of his chalice while he looked to Ciel’nn. “When you’ll be off again, I’m going to miss you and your foods.” He chuckled. “I really like your house, too.” It feels like a home.

    The young mer smiled, “I can teach you to cook.” He mused before taking a sip of his chalice. “I’m glad you like it here, but you haven’t seen the upstairs yet. Unless you plan to leave early?” The older mer shook his head to the question. Ciel’nn felt more happy than he had felt for years — he had someone.

    The fire reminded of them of home as they were sitting on the couch, in front of the fireplace. Ciel’nn thought home was here now, but he visited  the homeland sometimes — especially to buy Sujamma and other goods. With Elam beside him, he was able to forget how cruel Tamriel was and all the horrors he faced during fighting for the Pact.

    His cheek was touched and Ciel’nn turned his head to gaze into the older mer’s eyes. “Ciel’nn, from the moment you came to the Sanctuary, I could see you’re something different from the others, but I never thought you’d steal my heart.” He heard Elam whispering to him. Ciel’nn smiled and leaned in to kiss the mer. He felt Elam pulling him closer to him,  wrapping his arms around him before their lips met, and they kissed passionately.

     

    Back to ToC

    Note: “Juohn, daelheg” means “thank you, lover.” Source: http://casualscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Dunmeri_language

Comments

2 Comments   |   GailOlm and 1 other like this.
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  August 25, 2017
    Scathecraw.. an interesting choice. I prefer Hackle-Lo Leaf myself... not so bitter. Add a few Saltrice to taste. 
    As GailOlm said. So much nostalgia for Morrowind here... Got to get back into Morrowind...


    With regards to ...  more
  • GailOlm
    GailOlm   ·  August 19, 2017
    I love the references to Morrowind, such as the guar, the
    dinner menu, and the Dunmer specific phrase. Very creative menu comprised of
    foods found on Morrowind. I like Elan’s observation that Ciel’nn could use the
    knife for killing as we...  more