Chapter 1: Innocent Eyes

By A.R. Lore

The girl they saw before them went by the name Vadalyn Mòrachd. Fair, long, blonde hair, piercing autumn brown eyes, and as petite as one would expect for a young teenage girl of nobility. The Mòrachd family was renowned in her hometown of Carrowkeel. However, they were known to little in Skyrim.

Vadalyn couldn't see a thing with the bag over her head, but she knew there were people staring at her, and speaking in whispers. She was scared out of her mind, knowing that she was going to be put on trial for a crime she didn't commit. Adultery and thievery, which her Nordic husband committed but framed onto her. Her parents wouldn't make it in time to save her as Carrowkeel was a month-long voyage with only a weeks' notice.

"Lady Vadalyn Mòrachd, you are charged under the laws of Skyrim with adultery and thievery of precious family treasure from the Blackmore Clan being your crime. Despite knowing the risks, you still meet your young lord. Do you have anything to say for your crimes?" asked the judge.

Vadalyn did not speak.

"Did you hear me, Lady Mòrachd?" asked the judge one more time.

"I did, but I choose not to speak," Vadalyn answered, "I can see that your judgment is clear. I accept my sentence which was given to me this morning."

There were pitched giggles and men making snide comments. Vadalyn felt her cheeks burning and was grateful for the sack. She hated this. Ever since she came to Skyrim, she saw nothing but hate for her. Why? She didn't know in its entirety. She married for her parents.

"Very well," said the judge with amusement. "Lady Vadalyn Mòrachd, you are sentenced to twenty years in jail. May the Divines watch over you."

Yeah, yeah, right! Just send me to the cell thought Vadalyn. She felt dirty hands on her arms, which were bound together by rope with her hands tied behind her back. They forced her to walk out of the room, down a hall, then stairs, and then into darkness. The sack was thin enough she saw sunlight, but not her surroundings.

"Alright, my lady," said the guard respectfully, "We'll make sure your time here will be as easy as it could be."

Vadalyn rolled her eyes.

They took the hood off her, unbound her arms and hands, and then gently pushed her into the cell. She kept her back to them, stiff and proper, until they locked her in and walked away. She didn't bother to look over her shoulder as she went straight to the wall before her.

This stone was sturdy, but the mortar was brittle. Dragonsreach was certainly a monument to respect, but as old as the tale of the dragon who was trapped in there. With enough time and subtlety, she might be able to wear it down enough that she could get out. It's not just the walls, the floors were the same. She saw the blueprints to this castle once when she visited the jarl on official business. There was a sewage system beneath her that led straight out to the wilds beyond the walls. If she did this at the right time, and if all else failed, she would be able to blend to her surroundings. The fields were yellow and dry at the time of year she planned to escape, which was in less than a month. Her blonde hair would hide her fine.

"Hey, milady!" said a loud prisoner across from her. However, Vadalyn knew she had an audience beside the speaker. She felt her composure diminish but refused to reveal it. "You know you didn't do it, so why are you still here?"

"I knew my husband had something against me," Vadalyn answered in her deep, melodic accent. She didn't turn around, refusing to have them see the nervousness in her eyes.

Vadalyn didn't like people, especially ones with an agenda. She grew up within the walls of her home with servants, her parents, older brothers and sisters, and nobles within her family's circle. She took comfort in familiarity. If she didn't feel it, however, she wanted to do everything in her power to make it so by going home.

Despite being married to a man of Skyrim, she refused to change her name and citizenship. This was an incredible insult to her groom's clan. The Blackmore's had close connections to the Black-Briar family, especially Maven Black-Briar, who was the most wicked woman she had ever met. They were strong in the trading business, so they planned-with Vadalyn being a noble daughter of a trading tycoon-they would get their hands on her father's fortune. They underestimated her parents, though, and agreed to refuse her name change and citizenry, which meant the Blackmore's and Black-Briar's had no clear connection to get to it. Also, Vadalyn's parents had placed her money in a trust that could only be opened when she turned of age. It's sixteen in Skyrim, but eighteen in Carrowkeel with marriage being legal at sixteen if the parents agreed to it. Vadalyn was seventeen. The Blackmore's were arrogant to not check the marriage contracts and ask more questions. There wasn't anything on paper that said they had to tell them the entire truth. Hubris, and lack of proper council, was their downfall.

There was something in it for the Mòrachd family. They knew their plan was a slap in the face to two of the most powerful families in Skyrim, but they wanted Vadalyn to assure them that they were going to get the fortune and connections if there was a true alliance through the family, not just Vadalyn herself.

In Carrowkeel, marriage agreements weren't only about business but mutual respect from both families. That way, there was a stronger foundation for future ventures and fairer court deals if one betrayed the other somehow. Vadalyn's father wanted to test Skyrim's waters, until she was being mistreated by the family through…various means. Her father was going to file a divorce, which was legal in Carrowkeel…unless Vadalyn committed a crime such as adultery and thievery. She couldn't be saved as she had dishonored not only the Blackmore's but the Mòrachd's, too. Thankfully, her parents refused to believe it and wanted to defend her, but the date of the trial would make it too late for them. It was conveniently pushed forward.

"What are you going to do now?" asked the prisoner, who was a woman with greasy black hair, a tick, and a gravelly voice like she had breathed smoke since birth.

"Why should I tell you?" Vadalyn asked instead.

"Well, you are infamous around here, even we have heard about you, milady," she answered, "My name is Tiega, by the way."

Tiega didn't sound Nordic at all. Must be from another country.

"Well, Tiega, if I tell you then everyone else will hear me," Vadalyn answered. "These walls have eyes and ears, some in the spaces between them."

She heard a couple of feet scuffling away from their respected bars. Vadalyn smiled at herself. She might be meek, but she knew how people work. Living with politics around her, she was raised to believe everyone had a scheme, agenda, or whatever one may call it. Even though her parents loved her, they did send her off on a gamble to marry a family with dark promises.

"So, that means your plotting something?" asked a male prisoner.

"I don't know. You wouldn't be the first one to think it. I doubt they will leave me to my own devices anytime soon," Vadalyn answered. "Now, let me warn you. I am not someone to mess with, even if I'm petite. If I am found dead here, war will be declared."

Vadalyn's hands were trembling. She felt herself about to give if they didn't leave her be.

"Very well," said Tiega.

Vadalyn nodded then went to the cot against the wall. She breathed a sign of relief and turned to face the wall. She licked her fingers with enough saliva to coat the mortar. It seized up immediately and crumbled in a pile next to Vadalyn's arm. She smiled. This will take a bit.