Chapter 1: Story of Her Life
The year was E4 201, a difficult year for Nord farmer couple, Karlundr and Abegira, - older, but not yet elderly – and their small farm, just to the East of Falkreath. The family's profits were at an all-time low. Vegetation didn't produce as well as normal, money was tight, and tax season was creeping around the corner.
One afternoon, in the mid of the month of Hearthfire, a teenage female Khajiit named Kirra was assisting Abegira in the garden with salvaging what they could find in the poorly-developed patch before winter.
Karlundr approaches them from his daily farm duties. "I'm going to Falkreath for some firewood and supplies. I'll speak with the Jarl about an extension on the taxes while I'm there. We can only hope he will have mercy on us. After all, we've always done so well paying on time."
"Can I go with you, Papa?" Kirra asked. "I can help you carry items back."
"That is up to you, Kirra."
"I'll go get ready!" She brings the vegetables gathered in her arms to the collection basket nearby, and then takes off to the house.
"Be careful out there, dear." Her mother calls out to her from the garden.
"I will, Mama!" Kirra said as she continued her pace toward the house.
"Don't worry, Abby, I'll keep an eye on her." Karlundr assured her.
Kirra goes to the dresser in her small bedroom of the farm house. She pulls a scarf from it and ties it over her head, folding her ears down flat, and then pulls an old, brown hood over the scarf; a routine she carries out before ever leaving home. She's never felt content with walking through the streets of Falkreath without it as she tends to attract unwanted stares and comments from guards and some townsfolk, there. Regardless of the trouble, she still enjoyed the outings with her father.
Later that day, Kirra and her father arrive in Falkreath from the East entrance. Karlundr nods at the guard standing nearby. The guard stares at them through his faceless, iron helmet before giving a small nod back. Kirra, towing an empty cart for her father, refused to lift her head, and tightly wound her spotted tail around her waist beneath a faded yellow tunic. The silence always unnerved her. Even though the guards don't say as much as they used to years ago, she still braced herself for insults.
Upon approaching the Longhouse, Karlundr reaches into the small satchel attached to his belt and pulls a coin purse from it. "Here's some gold for the firewood. I'm going to speak with the Jarl. I'll be as quick I can."
"Yes, Papa." Kirra takes the coin purse and puts it into the small pouch on her belt.
He turns and walks away on the path to the Longhouse. She watches him as he approaches the doors. He pulls his ragged cap down from his head and holds it tight in both hands, against his chest. He takes a deep breath as the guards permit him to go inside. Kirra whispers to herself, "May Talos be with you, Father."
Some of the citizens of Falkreath didn't mind Kirra's presence at all. They were well acquainted with her parents and knew they were capable of raising any child after their own hearts. It was those ciitzens that Kirra would try to stay close to during her visits to Falkreath.
But there was one man in particular that relentlessly gave her a hard time every time he spotted her in town. Bolund, owner of the Deadwood Lumber Mill, did not welcome outsiders and made it known without hesitation. Unlike Bolund, his brother, Solaf, was more neutral toward Kirra, but was still protective of his store.
Kirra walks ahead and moves toward the large porch of the blacksmith's house with the wooden cart. She finds the owner, Lod, working at his forge.
"Hi, Lod!" She says with her small voice.
He turns and smiles. "Hello, there, Kirra. How can I help you today? How's the family?"
"We're fine; just busy on the farm as usual. My father sent me to purchase some firewood."
"Sure thing," Lod says, and then drops a hot, glowing piece of steel into the water-filled trough to cool. He wipes his hands on his apron as he leaves the forge and makes his way off the porch. "Are you here by yourself?"
Kirra turns with the cart to follow Lod to the chopping block over by Dead Man's Drink. "No, he had some business to take care of. He'll be back soon." Ever since Kirra's father injured his back on the farm a few weeks ago, he's offered Lod a bit of coin to chop wood for them until he's healed.
Lod begins chopping wood for Kirra and loading pieces into the cart. They continue to chat as he does so. He soon finishes the task and places the last two pieces into the cart. "Here you go. All done."
"Thank you and here's your payment." Kirra pulls a few coins from the coin purse and drop them into his hand.
"Say, why don't you come back over to the forge with me. I have something to show you."
"Oh? Sure, I can." Kirra props the wagon off the stone path, then curiously walks over with Lod. "What is it?"
They approach the workbench up on his porch. "I've been holding on to this piece of steel. It was specially ordered months ago, but the owner never claimed it." He pulls a small object wrapped in leather and straps from under his workbench. "It's a fine piece; you are welcome to have it."
"Really?" Kirra carefully takes it from Lod, excited to see what it is. She unfolds the covering to find a uniquely designed, steel dagger. "It's beautiful. Do you want anything for it?"
"It was paid for in advance a long time ago. My theory is the man that bought it died before he could pick it up. It's yours now."
"I… I don't know what to say."
"I think you deserve it. It's not a sword, but it will provide you with a bit of protection. Here, take the clasp and hook it to your belt." He helps her attach the dagger to her belt and takes a step back to admire. "Look'a there; you look ready to take on the world, now!"
Kirra stares down at her new possession and giggles.
Just then, Karlundr walks up to the porch and greets Kirra. "Ah, got the firewood, I see?"
Kirra turns to her father, "Yes, Papa!"
"Very good." He looks at Lod. "Good evening, Lod. How's business?"
"Evening, Karlundr. Business is doing well."
Kirra walks down the steps and off the porch. "So, how did it go with the Jarl?"
"I'll explain it over dinner tonight with you and your mother. Before we head out, I need to visit Gray Pine Goods for a few things."
Kirra's smile disappears. "Oh… okay." She was hoping he wouldn't say that.
"I know, Bolund may be in there. You don't have to go in with me if you're not up for it."
Kirra looks down at her dagger and takes a deep breath. She looks back up to him and nods. "I'll go with you, Papa."
The two say farewell to Lod and leave.
Kirra enters the store with her father. She cautiously peaks around from under her hood, then is relieved to find that Bolund is no where to be found.
"Welcome back to the Gray Pine." Solaf greets from behind the counter.
Kirra browses items on a shelf while her father speaks to Solaf.
Not long after, Bolund walks in the door and spots Kirra. He breathes deeply in frustration. Kirra keeps her eyes on the shelf; a dire feeling falls over her.
"They're still allowing beasts in Falkreath? When will they learn?" Bolund scoffs, keeping his eyes on Kirra.
Without turning, Karlundr speaks calmly, "We'll be leaving soon enough."
Bolund looks down and notices Kirra's steel dagger. He then drums up a malevolent idea. He points to her in alarm, "Solaf! This Khajiit has snatched a dagger right off your shelf!"
Kirra is startled and looks down at her dagger, then up to her father and Solaf, whom also look to her in shock.
In a rush, Bolund runs up to the helpless Khajiit and grabs the dagger, ripping it from her belt.
"No! That's mine!" She cries.
Karlundr darts in between them with his arms out. "Bolund, mind your distance! Get away from my daughter!"
Bolund yells in Karlundr's face. "Your 'daughter' is a thief! I warned this town about her!"
As Bolund and Karlundr argue, Solaf quickly grows tired of the nonsense and marches from behind the counter in a huff. "Enough, Bolund!" Then he looks to Karlundr in empathy. "I'm afraid I have to ask you and your daughter to leave. I want no more trouble, here."
"Very well. It was good doing business with you, Solaf." Karlundr looks back to his quiet and shaken daughter. "Let us go home, Kirra."
Karlundr and Kirra exit the store with their items and make their way off the porch. Solaf steps out onto the storefront behind them and is hailed by a guard, whom heard the commotion from outside.
"Anything going on, here?" The guard asks.
Solaf folds his arms. "It was just a misunderstanding. Everything is fine." Bolund appears from behind and quietly steps out onto the porch with a new steel dagger in hand.
"Very well, then. Good day." The guard walks back to his position nearby at the West entrance.
Solaf turns to Bolund, makes a disappointed "Hmph," then returns back to work inside, shutting the door behind him.
Bolund watches as Karlundr and Kirra load the cart. He grabs the handles and pulls it away as Kirra follows. Bolund smiles to himself and admires his new possession before going back into the store.
Later that evening, the father and daughter arrive home, pulling the cart full of goods onto the thin footpath, past the stone marker on the side of the main road.
On the whole way home, Kirra quietly reflected, saddened about losing her gift, but refusing to speak about it as she wanted to avoid a fuss. She knew her father wouldn't think twice about marching straight back to Falkreath to retrieve it. She feels she's caused enough trouble today.
Her father breaks the silence, "I'm sorry about what happened, today."
"It's my fault for going. I know they don't want me there." She softly spoke, trying to hold back her feelings.
"I wish things were different. Perhaps from now on, we should go back to chopping our own wood, and you can come with me. What do you say?"
"But what about your back, Papa? I don't want you to further hurt yourself because of me."
"Bah, going to Falkreath for it is just a convenience. We should be saving our gold. We will manage just fine, daughter. We always have, right?" He smiled at her in a way to make her smile.
Kirra couldn't help but smile back as he made impossible for her not to. "I suppose so."
"Let's go inside and see what your mother is making for dinner."
Later that night, the family of three sat down at their small, square table for dinner. They eat and chat after a long day. Karlundr discusses the exchange between him and the Jarl.
"The good news is he has agreed to give us an extension. Unfortunately, the extension isn't as long as I'd hoped for. It's only until one week after the first of Frostfall."
"So, we only have two weeks to gather the rest." Abegira spoke with worry in her voice.
"Jarl Siddgeir isn't as easy to speak to as his uncle, Dengeir. It's a shame he had to step down from leadership."
Kirra hasn't spoken very much during dinner. Memories of a bad day and worry from their financial problems weight down on her. She's exhausted from it all. "May I leave dinner and go to bed?"
"Yes, you may dear. Sleep well." Says Abegira.
"Thank you. Goodnight all." Kirra stands up from the table and walks off to the bedroom.
"Goodnight, Kirra." Her father says.
Abegira rises from her chair and collects dishes as Kirra leaves.
"Poor girl has had a long day." said Karlundr.
Abegira places the used dishes in the wash basin and returns to the dinner table. "Karlundr, what happened today?"
"What do you mean?"
Abegira sits down. "Kirra seems to be bothered. She tries to hide her feelings, but I can still sense that she is hurt. What happened in Falkreath?"
"Ah, it was just Bolund being himself, again. He tried to start problems, and I ended them. He hates all outsiders to Falkreath, Abegira."
As Kirra slips into her nightgown, she overhears her parents talking in the kitchen from the bedroom. She moves closer to the door.
"Perhaps… it's time that we tell her everything." Karlundr continues.
"Oh, she's not ready for that."
"When will she be ready? We can't hide it from her forever."
"She is part of our family, nothing else matters. The poor girl has enough on her mind right now."
"I think it would be best for her to know who she is now. Kirra isn't a little girl anymore. I believe she will understand."
Abegira sighs, "We can only hope."
Kirra moves from the door and sits down at the writing desk near the foot of her bed. She lights the candle nearby, then pulls a personal, hand-crafted journal from the drawer of the desk. The leather cover is a deep red color with an engraved, decorative border. She opens the book and flips through to the next blank page. She picks up the writing quill, dips it in the ink jar, and begins a new entry:
24th of Hearthfire
Today was eventful; the most eventful in a while, in fact.
We gathered what we could from our garden, and father and I traveled to Falkreath for supplies and to speak to the Jarl. Lod gave me a beautiful dagger… but I lost it.
The Jarl has granted us more time to pay taxes, but wasn't very generous about it. Father assures us we will manage, but…
500 gold in two weeks…
I feel helpless… I want to provide more for the farm. But, how?
It didn't cross my mind until now that I could have sold the dagger Lod gave me to another vendor for gold, as bad as that sounds.
Still, losing a piece of steel isn't as grand as the concern for my father's health.
One day, I will stand up to Bolund. I swear it.
But I wonder, what do my parents need to tell me? Could this be about my past? My birth parents? It would certainly answer so many questions about being… different. Maybe I'll finally get the answers I need soon.
Kirra closes the journal, puts it away, and then crawls into bed. As she lies on her back, one arm crossed over her forehead, she takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. "Soon."
Chapter Comment:
Bolund is a jerk. I'm not sure if he would ever go this far, but as bitter as he seems to be toward my Khajiit, he might! He's super annoying. Every time I go into the store in Falkreath, he appears and makes the same snarky remark. So, I find pleasure in shouting at him, then immediately reload the save file. Worth it!
Also, I wish I could find aging info on Khajiits - though if you know, please let me know! I came upon threads where it's still a debated topic and no clear answer. Kirra is young at heart because she's lived in a sheltered home with her adopted Nord parents. She's about 18 in human years. Not sure what this would be in Khajiit years. I just wanted to put that out there as I wish to steer clear from as much misinformation as possible. Ah, well… on to Chapter 2!