The young woman packed the bare essentials for a two-day journey on the road while everyone was asleep. She did not want anyone to be woken up or know that she was leaving the Companions this early in the morning. She padded her armour with leather to muffle it, a trick she had been taught by Jenassa, a dark elf in the Drunken Huntsman.
Before she left she checked on Tarthas to see if he was sleeping. Keri did not want to walk with him this morning, not now. He would feel uncomfortable, but Keri had made her mind up, she wanted him.
It was Azura's hour, the hour of twilight before dawn. The fires that lit up Whiterun's streets were still lit and luna moths fluttered around the light tantalizingly. The sky was a grey shade of dark blue, and the streets were silent. Only the guards walked about. As she reached the gates she put a pouch of 300 septims in the palm of the gate guard's hand "I want to leave the City silently, if anyone asks where I've gone, stay mute. The guard put a finger to his face hiding helmet and shh'd.
Keri took her time walking to Riverwood; she had changed her mind and thought it might be a good idea to catch Tarthas on the road. The waking birds were already chirping their morning song as she passed Honnningbrew meadery and went south, up into the forests of southern Skyrim.
She saw a green figure flit through the trees as she neared Riverwood. From years of hunting rabbits and deer with the bow she had gained a quick and sharp eye and with merely a glimpse she saw it was a young woman, lithe and pale green in skin, her arms and legs were knotted like bark. Leaves covered the strange woman’s intimacies along with her belly and thighs. Before Keri could chase after the lady she was already gone, deep into the green forests camouflaged by the trees and bushes.
Nobody was around to see this strange figure and she soon started doubting that the green lady had actually run through the trees. It did not leave her mind.
Not wanting to do anything in Riverwood she paid a visit to Dorthe and Gerdur. Gerdur’s husband was no more; people say he died of an accident at the lumber mill. He was found there, head sawed off. People thought it was a tragic but fated accident, a drunkard lumber mill worker tripped while hauling a log and ended up under the saw blade instead of the log.
There was a completely different story behind it. Hod was a drunkard and abusive, to his wife, and when little six-year-old Dorthe was adopted she was a horrified spectator to the beatings that happened nightly in that household. Soon at the age of eight she started to be abused as well by this father. First it was harsh punishment from her father when she did minor /things out of line but as she grew more into a woman the more the beatings became abusive in a more private way.
One day, three years back, Dorthe was helping Hod at the lumber mill and she in a spur of hope and madness pushed Hod over and watched as his head got sawed off and blood spattered her dress.
She had to admit it to someone, guilt of murder. And so she told the one person that had given her hope and looked after her, showed her what love truly was; Tarthas. Sadly this shocked Tarthas, and naïve; 14-year-old Tarthas could not believe it and never spoke to her. He didn’t see it as just or right. It was just plain wrong, thus she was plain wrong.
Tarthas told Keri this and Keri would visit poor Dorthe whenever she could, the poor girl needed it, her world was completely shattered and twisted.
Keri knocked at their house, which was slightly off the main, and nearly only, street of Riverwood. Through the front garden where their long haired and horned cow, Bersi, grazed day in and day out. It was their source for milk and provided one of Riverwood’s trade resources other than wood: cheese, yoghurt, cream and most obviously milk. No one replied and the door was unlocked so she just entered.
She looked around the one roomed house, on the left was the kitchen and dining area with the typical furniture and paraphernalia accompanying those living spaces, on the right was a vacant and now spare bed along with farther round the corner an old bar where Hod would have stored and served his liquor and two more beds further on. It obviously wasn’t a rich house nor anything you would see in a city like Whiterun but it was all that they knew.
Before she could make herself comfortable at the dining room table she got grabbed by behind and a dagger was held to her throat, the scarily sharp edge pressing just soft enough not to cut her flesh. She breathed in shallowly; an assault was the last thing on her mind. Panic rushed through her.
“What do you want Blade thief! One wrong word and I’m cutting your throat! You are not supposed to be here!” Dorthe’s voice whispered from behind her shoulder, sharp and demanding. Keri let out a sigh of relief, “Dorthe it’s me, Keri, cool down.” The young lass dropped the dagger and spun Keri round to face her, she squealed and hugged her.
“Keri! I missed you! I am so sorry! I didn’t recognize you. That armour. Oh it is great to see you again! You haven’t changed! I am sorry. So sorry.” Keri hugged her closer “It’s okay, mistakes can happen,” She let her go and took a seat at the dining table, feeling quite at home in the cottage. Dorthe followed suit.
“So tell me, what has happened the past year? What’s it like being part of the Companions, what bandits have you gotten rid of, any great hunts? You have to tell me everything!” And so Keri tried to tell as much as she could of events that had happened in the year she had joined the Companions, although she avoided Tarthas as much as she could, for her sake as much as Dorthe’s. Once her tale was done she remembered the green lady in the forest. She asked Dorthe about it.
“Oh you’re talking about the dryad!” She remembered
“The what?”
“The dryad, at least that’s what people say she is. Nobody is really sure what they are. According to the Bosmer from Valenwood, dryads are the children of spriggans and Bosmer. They are extremely elusive and are usually very protective of nature, with one glade in particular, much like a spriggan. But they are more human, or elven if that suits it better. They live as long as oaks and, and. Well people have been sighting a dryad around Helgen and Riverwood. Some even claim that the dryad actually comes to town doing as if she is a local ranger called Trahel, a Bosmer so it would work. I wouldn’t know, Trahel always keeps her hood up and her head low. She just comes into Helgen after hunting trips with pelts and trades them for arrows and other supplies. She doesn’t talk much.”
Keri absorbed the knowledge and stared into the fire, thinking of the green lady she had seen. The door opened and Gerdur walked in. She smiled and greeted them friendly, setting down the shopping from the Riverwood Trader.
“Those bargains Lucan Valerius makes are getting greedier and greedier by the day –“Mum”- Last month it was three septims for a loaf of bread, yesterday it was four and today it is six! I had a right row with him and do you know what his excuse was? –“mum”- he needs to pay for his sister’s marriage!”
“Mum! Aren’t you surprised? Keri is paying us a visit after all this time!” Keri blushed at her celebration.
“No, I expected her to be here, Tarthas walked into the Inn, he always does when you and Keri have a girls day.” She carried on putting away the bread and the lettuce, picking some of the dried elves ear. All Keri could think of was that she needed to intercept him fast. She said her goodbyes and briskly walked to the Sleeping Giant Inn.
She did not want to enter as not to make a fool of herself. And for ten minutes she stood there imagining how she would greet Tarthas when he arrived out of the Inn. She finally tried the nonchalant approach and settled down, leaning against the gate beside the Inn, facing the building.
After a minute that lasted an eternity, Tarthas exited the Inn and looked at Keri, she looked away and thanked Stendarr that her helmet was hiding her blushing cheeks.
“Care for a companion?” She asked still looking the other way. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Tarthas shrug before continuing on his way, Keri briskly followed. She felt uncomfortable again, nervous, butterflies and dragons waged war in her stomach, and she felt dizzy on the walk. She wanted to say something but the atmosphere didn’t allow for it. She was dying inside because of it. Not only was she infatuated with the boy walking next to her something else was dawning: arousal. By the time they were near Helgen she was ready to take him right there, kiss him at the very least. What if he was feeling that same arousal, what if she could unleash it.
They passed through the gates of Helgen and as they passed Ashthread Tailors she got the idea for the means to arouse Tarthas. They rented a room at the local inn and she took her armour off behind the changing blinds and put on her favourite blue dress and a leather corset. As she was changing she told him her evening plans: “Tarthas, I am going to have a look at the new selection in Ashthread Tailor before they close and I am thinking of getting a bottle of the mead they sell here in town, mum and dad always drink it on special occasions.”
She entered the Tailor and looked around feeling and eyeing the cottons, the linen, the silk and the velvet, all in rich and elegant colours and fancy and seductive cuts. A Redguard lady swayed out from behind a rack of clothes. She was tall for a Redguard and her cotton dress could not hide the femininity that emanated from her. Her hair was long and shone like a raven in the setting sun. “Welcome, welcome. A new customer! At this hour, I think I know what you need let’s look at you.”
She danced around Keri who found herself feeling nervous. “No, this can’t do. How am I supposed to see how to cover and enhance your… assets when you are dressed?” The Redguard was now behind her and untying the strings that held her corset and dress up. It fell to her feet around and once more the dark skinned lady looked at her pensively, taking in every detail of her pale nudity. “Blonde curls, blue eyes... perky breasts. Slim waist, long supple legs, toned and firm body. Hmm… I know what you need to make this night special!”
She rushed round the rack she came from and came back a couple seconds later with a pure white gossamer dress that showed the silhouette of the hand holding it to show.
“Go ahead put it on!” The woman helped Keri into her nightdress.
She looked in a mirror that was stationed between two racks and examined herself. Her shoulders and arms were completely bare and a white silk corset covered her waist and upper torso. The dress cut after the waistline asymmetrically at the front so the legs were shown when walking, though her form even through the gauss-y silk was showing slightly.
“Innocence with a slight spark of allure and seduction. Recent shipping from Leyawin in Cyrodiil, capital for clothing, if you can afford it. This gown doesn’t come cheap.” She looked her over carefully and testing.
After a slight bit of bargaining she got a price of 847 septims. And she changed back into her daily dress and went off to her next stop, the meadery and got the bottle again a hefty price for the reserve: 263 septims.
She got back to the inn and snuck behind the blinds to change and had a night she could only dream of.
*****
The sun shone softly through the veiled windows of their room in the inn. The carts were already trudging through Helgen’s streets and laughter was already heard from the pub just a floor below. Keri lay against Tarthas’ bare chest. How had she gone without love for so long? Just lying in his sleeping arms was bliss. Dawn was well over and they needed to be at pinewoods cottage after noon. She lay on top of him and kissed him, his lips responded.
“Come on Tarthas, mum and dad are waiting.” Keri whispered. Tarthas in response pulled her lips close and turned her round, making Keri squeal, so she lay underneath and last night’s events repeated themselves.
Outside of Helgen, the couple didn’t see anything wrong with the world. Everything seemed benign. The smallest things seemed marvellous like a fox chasing a blue butterfly or the simple gesture of Tarthas picking a purple mountain flower and setting it in Keri’s hair. As they were walking down the path to the cottage Tarthas was telling Keri the intricacies of a Dance in Fire, the book he was reading before Keri arrived in their room, all Keri could look at where his fierce green eyes as he animatedly told his story. They glittered and reflected the pine green forest. His voice stopped and his eyes grew wide, Keri stopped and looked herself.
A smoking charred pile of what seemed to once be a house was in front of them. She stopped Tarthas walked in front of her carrying on, wanting to see the damage done. Keri’s heart shattered. This is not what she wanted, tears started spilling but not a sound came. She wanted to scream, but all she could feel was emptiness. The world turned hollow and everything muted. Slowly she stepped forward towards the charred ruins.
She saw Tarthas lying over a charred body this is when she screamed and shattered. Broken. Alone. She had seen this before. Long time ago, an age and a life she had forgotten. Visions flashed by of her raped and slaughtered mother, stormcloaks raiding her village, her all alone in the rubble that was her home. It could not and should not happen again. Why her? She was merely a child then, and no more than a child now. She sobbed but sound did not register.
After what was hours, Tarthas stood up and pulled her up. He held her close and guided her to the Jarls’ Longhouse in Falkreath. Tarthas still fought, his spirit would not die so easily. But the words never reached her ears; the sights never reached her eyes. She just stood there.
“DREM!!!” The Dragonborn’s shout hit her hard, one word in the fade that was her conscience. It soothed her, she felt better. A bit more awake a bit more aware. The Dragonborn was persuading the jarl to let him look after them. His voice was strong, persuasive and filled with compassion, the voice of a sweet talker or a storyteller. No, it was the voice of a leader.
The effect of the word faded and with that everything faded. This day was misty and foggy, it seemed that weather reflected her mood. Everything felt distant again.
In the Dragonborn’s home his wife brought her to the bedroom. She lay there quietly on the horsehair mattress. Just seeing the grooves in the wood that was above her head, visions of flames and swords, flashes of blue quilted soldiers raiding her town.
A smooth grey hand rested on her arm, Glistel, the Dragonborn’s wife smiled gently.
“Here, some soup. An old recipe me mam taught me back in Chorrol. It always cheered me up when I was down. Take a couple sips. It won’t kill you.”
She took a sip and it really did taste nice, it was sweet like honey and also spiced. The shroud disappeared again and a smile grew on her face.
“Old recipe from Morrowind, hard to get the ingredients from here, only place you’ll find this in Skyrim is in Windhelm. Come down when you’re ready. You could help me cook some more for all of us.”
The next morning she woke up alone. It seemed she had overslept. She stepped down stairs and saw Glistel knitting and muttering. The old dunmer looked up and smiled caringly. “Could you go round to the general goods store, I need some more yarn, tell the khajiit that I need them, he still owes me.” She winked.
Keri realized that the dunmer wanted to keep her busy and active so she wouldn’t think too hard on the events that had happened. There was no sight of Tarthas so she went off to the store. It was off the carpenter and close to the inn. Snow had fallen the night before, probably because of the altitude and the sun shone brightly, the air was crisp.
When she entered the warm store she observed a woman in skin black leathers and a dark hood, silver armour protecting her sides and her wrist and shoulders, her left arm being covered more with the metal than her right, giving her right arm more flexibility A black bow with stunning grey patterns lay sheathed on her back. Her metal boots were knee high. She was arguing with the khajiit about the price of pelts. Finally the Khajiit won the argument and she sold the pelts and left passing a glance at Keri. Her skin was a pale shade of green and cracked like bark, it was hard to see in the light, if Keri hadn’t eyed her closely she would have looked like any young wood elf, except she was tall like a nord.
She quickly bought the yarn from the Khajiit who was mumbling about some stupid debt. Should never have stolen that coin.
She left the shop and saw the hooded ranger leave the west gate. Keri took a sprint. She had to catch the dryad. A creature so innate with the trees would know enough about the fire that burned down her family’s home.
She saw the black figure flit through the trees a few yards off the path she rushed after her. After a mile of chasing through bushes the trees disappeared and she stood in a lush glade, mist hung low and nightshade was growing around. At the other end was an old and wrought tree with ancient Nordic stones surrounding it. The ranger was nowhere in sight. The world seemed to stand still. Luna moths were out at day. She heard the creak of a bow being drawn. “Don’t move.” A voice whispered like the rushing of wind through the trees “I don’t want to waste two lives. What do you want from me?”
The voice seemed to be coming from her right in front of her but all she could see was nature.
“I am Keri-Anne. I mean no harm” she stammered, gosh how pathetic she sounded.
“Then what do you mean, if not harm? That is what you have cause, chasing after me blindly.” Her voice was cold and come from her left now.
“I have questions, about the fire that happened a while back.” She muttered, still trying to discern where she was. She stepped from the trees and lowered her hood. Her hair was like autumn leaves, gold and brown, frizzed and messy. Her lips a luscious green along with her eyelids, her eyes glowed amber, but not malevolently like ones of a vampire.
“Ah, the trees have whispered of you, the child of two mothers, the lover of her brother. Brought up by Vyctorya who was burnt by the flames that destroyed many of the beings in my care. Yes. It was her husband. That man only saw destruction and power. And the princes valued that; they needed him, to break what was fixed an era ago. But that is all I know.” She turned around and was about to walk off back to into the trees. Till Keri screamed
“Wait! You said two lives?” The dryad hesitated and turned around.
“Your womb is bearing life, small still, I could barely sense it. But life always catches my eye, so does death. Young for a child, no? Aren’t you one yourself?”
“That was three nights ago. I don’t want a child yet, not now.”
“If that is the case, an elixir of nightshade and bleeding crown should cause abortion. Too young and you might die, too young and the child won’t be brought up right. I hate wasting life, but as you said the time isn’t right. When you go to your room, there will be a vial with the elixir, take it before a meal. Don’t offer anything, it is a return favour for an old friend. Now go. I have had enough of you.”
That night Keri took the elixir. Tarthas was only there for dinner. He went down to the basement. The next day he did the same, Keri snuck soon after and found Tarthas doing the black sacrament. Nightshade was scattered across the floor. From the shadows a man appeared, glowing amber eyes, pale skin, the skin tight, red and black leather of the assassin’s guild the dark brotherhood. It was the infamous listener.
“The Night Mother heard your summons”
{+},{+},{+},{+},{+}
I hope you enjoyed, comments would be appreciated.
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