AN- Hello all. So this is a small story that I have started. It's more of a little hobby story than anything serious. I have my AvP story that I am working on. It is my true love but I need something else to give my head a little variety. I don't want either of them to grow stale. So I hope you like this little Skyrim tale. There are some intersections with another Skyrim fic. that I have. I will hopefully bring that one back from the dead soon as well. This will most likely be a short one only a dozen chapters or so. Unless I find I like where it is going and you guys like it. Sorry for grammar. I do try to edit edit edit but sometimes I miss stuff.
Usual disclaimer: I don't own any of the story line or characters created for the sole use of Bethesda and its software. I do not own any of anything that is copyrighted, patented or whatever other legal mumbo jumbo that is associated with doing stuff like this. Nor do I profit from any of the stories that I create or publish on fanfic. If I did I would definitely have a better benefits package then I have now.
Chapter One…. Merry Christmas
The little brass bell that hung from the door rang yet one more time. Its little chime sounded like a tiny church bell. Derrick sighed and walked back towards the front of Mr. Paul's hardware store. The day before Christmas Eve and everyone in the city had decided that they needed something.
First it was wreath hangers and then nails to hang decoration and then the flood of people needing the disposable turkey roasting pans. His back ached from the constant bending over and lifting boxes. It had been everything he could do to keep the shelves stocked.
It didn't help that Mr. P had to leave to meet his wife at the hospital.
Fine time to go into labor Mrs. P.
Finally four o'clock had come and he was beginning to start his closing chores…..that is until that damned bell rang.
"I'll be right there!" he called over the shelves.
Honestly he couldn't be angry; in truth he was ecstatic that Mr. Paul's baby son had come so close to Christmas it would be a wonderful holiday for them and they deserved it. They were good people.
The thought cheered him slightly as he made his way towards the front. Things may not be that great for him but it always made him happy to see good people have good things.
"Hi how can I help….." Derrick's question trailed off as he rounded an aisle corner.
The front of the store was as empty as he had left it.
"Well that's creepy" he mumbled.
He could have sworn that the bell had chimed and he was sure that he had heard someone shuffling around. Immediately derrick felt his stomach drop and he rushed to the register.
The machine sat as he had left it and when he opened the cash drawer all of the money appeared to be there.
"What the hell?"
The shaken man slowly walked along the rows of shelves to make sure no one was lurking in the back.
Finally he accepted that he was alone.
With a shrug he locked the door and went back to his last minute chores thinking the wind was to blame.
It was starting to snow again when Derrick was finally finished with his closing duties. He walked to the front of the store and turned off the lights. With one final check of the dark, silent aisles he turned to set the alarm and leave.
That's when he noticed the object hanging from the door knob. He could feel his heart skip a beat.
What the hell is going on?
He quickly opened the door and looked left and right down the darkening street. Only a few last minute shoppers walked the snow dusted sidewalks.
Derrick ducked back inside and slowly lifted the item off of the knob. It was a necklace or pendant of some sort; he leaned over to get better light on it.
He sighed softly at the beautiful work in his hands; the metal work was astounding. A large circle with an intricate cross hung below several smaller circles, in the center of the large cross nested a large perfectly spherical milky blue stone.
"Were did you come from little beauty?"
The jewelry seemed to sparkle in answer. Wherever it had come from Derrick knew that he would have to try and find the owner. It looked to be pure gold and extremely old. Someone would be missing it.
"I wish I could take you home with me lovely; but you don't belong with me." He whispered to the necklace.
Derrick looked up and realized that several people walking by were looking at the strange man standing in the doorway talking to himself.
Shaking himself he stuffed the necklace into his pocket and went about closing the store.
The wind blew cold and biting as Derrick made his way through the streets. His frustration only grew with each minute he spent walking through the mess.
"Three dollars and seventy five cents I won't get back!" he grumbled to himself.
After leaving the store he had caught the bus over to the local police precinct. His intention was to turn in the pendent and hopefully find its owner. After standing in the lobby for nearly an hour he finally was told that since he hadn't seen the owner and didn't know how long it had been on the door knob there wasn't much the police could do.
"Besides it just looks like a piece of cheap costume jewelry or crappy decoration. You are welcome to keep it if you want." The obviously bored officer had told him.
Now he would have to walk across the entire city of New York to get home. His jacket and gloves weren't doing any good against this kind of weather.
"I'll be lucky if I don't catch the flu!" he growled.
It was well after midnight when he finally could see the familiar buildings in the distance. The water treatment plant wasn't the most pleasant place to call home but it was dry and warm.
Derrick shuddered at the thought of some of the other places he had called "home". Being homeless was hard enough but being homeless in New York City was something else entirely. Nights on the streets were terrible in the summer and were downright deadly in the cold winter months. After almost six years of wondering he had discovered the little maintenance hatch in an older section of the water facility; it had taken some work to clean up and make it livable but he had managed.
No one knew him as homeless or living in poverty and he had worked hard to keep it that way.
Shortly after finding his "mansion" he managed to get his job at the hardware store. It didn't pay much but it was enough to keep him clothed and fed. He even managed to have enough to shower at one of the truck stops and ride the bus pretty regularly. Mr. Paul, the owner, would even let him have some of the returns and broken items to fix.
Looking at him no one would guess at his situation.
Climbing through the heavy, rusted hatch he made his way down the inky corridor. He had been there so long now he could walk the dark hall without banging his head on any of the pipes or cables. Around a corner sat his humble abode. A small cot with some thrift store quilts, a small camp stove and heater and along the wall was a rickety old shelf that held his few possessions.
His most prized were his small collection of books and a bundle of maps. Derrick had not always been in this situation….once upon a time he lived at an orphanage with many other children forgotten by most. There he had learned to read and write and even managed to get math and science studies in. From that early age had had loved to read and was even more enthralled by maps. Every time he had discovered a new one it was as if he could travel there and escape this world. He had collected several as time had gone on.
Then the day came when he was no longer a child and the nuns had to turn him away, to wonder the streets all of these years, until he found this place.
He sighed as he turned on the small space heater and fired up the stove to heat the take out he had picked up.
It wasn't much but at least he was warm and dry and fed. Lost in his thoughts he hadn't noticed the flame flicker and die on his propane stove.
"Ah damn it!"
He stood and made his way towards the back of the small room and through a door. The limited space meant that he had to store his supplies in another area down a long hallway. Halfway through the corridor he had to pass one of the concrete canals that the cleaned water left by.
He hated this part because during the winter the floor tended to ice up and become slippery. He made his way cautiously and crossed without any issue. Grabbing a few propane tanks he headed back to his supper, his mind wandering to one of the far off places in his maps and books.
The slick ice caught him by surprise on the return trip; he threw his hands out to catch himself. Only there was nothing but air to grab as he went airborne, the small gas tanks clanging and rolling into the dark.
His head slammed, with a sickening crunch, into the floor before the rest of him tumbled behind. At first he just laid in the dark gasping for air and trying to sense if he was badly hurt then as if on a tide the nausea crept in. Shortly before the darkness took him he knew he was going to die in this cold dark place and in a puddle of his own puke to add to the horror!
As his vision tunneled into itself he swore that someone stood over him….It was a woman….flowing robes and a hooded face…and she smiled so beautifully at him.
Then there was nothing…nothing but the voices in his mind.
Odd….I don't remember women being here.
"Well that was most unfortunate."
"I had hoped for a less….dramatic means I assure you."
"Well I do hope you didn't kill him. That would be such a waste….he is very pretty."
"Dibella I would greatly appreciate you not groping him like that….oh don't pout like that! He belongs to someone else."
"And who might that lucky girl be."
"errr... well to be honest…..I'm not sure."
"What!"
"Well what I mean is I haven't chosen a match….I was hoping that it will happen more…naturally."
"This is a terrible gamble sister. We risk much in tampering like this."
"I know! But we must interfere or we could lose all."
"You had better be right Mara."
AN: Okay…well for some reason this chapter just sort of rambled. No matter how I worked it. I'm usually much better at environment and character development. This…this just WAS NOT cooperating with me. I promise that I'll do better. Also two things.
1. I am by no means an Elder Scrolls expert. I do play the games and am very much a long time fan. However my lore and such are not complete. I do research extensively before I publish; but just in case I do apologize for any inconsistencies.
2. This story is not a part of the main storyline BUT will weave in and out of the places and events. It will also tangle up with my other Skyrim story (when I can finally get it edited and posted).
I promise that I will not have long notes after this. So please read on and I hope you will rant, rave review.