A/N: This one came to me while I was starting Skyrim for the umpteenth time. My character just felt... wrong without a back story of some kind. So, here it is. While this is a oneshot, it's a very long one, filled with a bunch of flashbacks for story filling and explanations.
The Untold Story: A Khajiit in Chains
Oh sweet Talos, what did that worthless Argonian get me into this time?! I thought as I ran through the streets of Daggerfall, lunging through the alleys and scaling the walls and rooftops I knew so well.
"Stop that Cat!" I heard a guard shout behind me. I flattened my ears and kept moving.
Racist. I hate it when people judge me just because I'm Khajiit. It happened everywhere I went, unless I went back to Elswyr, which I promised myself I would never do. That place was not home. No place was. I ran down another alley while looking to the sky.
Another... five minutes and I'll lose these bumbling idiots easily, if I haven't already by then. That was one thing I had always appreciated about my odd fur color; it made blending with the shadows so much easier. The fact that other Khajiit mocked me for having pitch-black fur always stung. My own people shunning one of their own just because of their fur. They should know better, after being labeled thieves and skooma dealers wrongfully for so many centuries. Well, mostly wrongfully, anyway.
"Ausmidious! Through here!" I turned to see a small Breton girl gesturing to me, holding her door open. I bolted through it and hid out of sight. The Imperial and Redguard entourage soon jostled by, shouting at civilians to move. One of them jogged up to the door, seeing the girl staring with wide eyes.
"Young lady, have you seen a pure black Khajiit?"
She nodded her head vigorously and pointed to the alley opposite her door. "He ran that way, mister! Did he do something bad?"
"Yes, he did. He stole from the lord." he then turned to the alleyway, calling out to his comrades, who ran after him as he entered. When they were finally gone, the girl closed the door and snickered.
"Stupid morons! They should know they'll never catch you after the thirteen other thefts!"
I chuckled as I stepped out of hiding. "Thanks, Nikai. They almost had me there for a second." Nikai's eyes widened and she shook her head violently,
"No way! Those big dumb jerks could never catch you! You have too many friends here in the Smog!" I had to concede this point. The Smog, or the slums for those outside of Daggerfall, was my territory. Anyone who wanted to heist had to get my okay. All the pickers and cuts had to pay a dividend to me from their takes. But I wasn't arrogant or mean about my position. In fact, everything I got from the takes, wether my own or my dividend, I gave out to the people who needed it; the beggars, the single mothers, the orphanage, only keeping enough for myself to pay for food and new clothes every now and then, once the old ones got ragged and unusable.
"So, what'd you take this time?" Nikai asked, jolting me out of my small reverie. I looked at her, seeing her jumping excitedly. She knew I had something for her. I always did. It was the least I could do after her and her mother had saved my life.
Flashback
I had just made it to Daggerfall after some crazy Argonian wizard had chased me halfway from Blackmarsh. I limped into the city, my left arm limp and my right side slashed to bits. My tail was singed, as was most of my back, courtesy of a very large fireball spell. My right ear was torn to shreds, and I walked with a pronounced limp. The only clothes I had were a pair of sack-cloth pants. No tunic, no shoes, nothing but the pants.
I staggered through the streets, barely managing to avoid falling over and bleeding to death. Unfortunately, I didn't know a single healing spell. Though I had showed an aptitude for magic at a young age in Elswyr, all I knew were combat spells, and minor ones at that. No-one wanted to train an orphan. I think I collapsed in the market.
I smelled baking bread and grilled fish as my cheek hit the pavement.
"Help..." I called weakly, wishing that ,for once in my life, my abysmal luck would leave me, if only long enough to save my life.
I faintly heard laughter around me. Everything was getting fuzzy.
"Bron, get yer skinnin' knife! We got a new rug!" I tried to move, tried to lift myself from the dirty street, but I had no strength left. I felt a sharp kick to my side, and closed my eyes for what I was sure to be the last time.
I woke to the feel of a blanket covering my legs, and a needle shutting my skin. The smell of healing herbs were everywhere, and I heard little feet rushing around, accompanied by the clinking of a mortar and pestle.
"Ma, I got the Nirnroot." a high-pitched voice said quietly.
"Add it slowly, Nikai. Remember what happened last time." the needle resumed it's movement into my skin, and I squirmed slightly.
"Shhh, it's okay. You're going to be okay now. You're safe." the voice was obviously feminine, but it sounded very comforting, sparking a distant memory of warmth, and milk, and joy. I groggily opened my eyes, groaning as all the pain hit me.
"Where...am...i?" I croaked through my parched mouth. A kind-looking Breton woman appeared in my view, holding a glass of water, which she slowly tipped into my mouth.
"You're in my home in Daggerfall. My daughter Nikai and I are treating your wounds." I grunted.
"Thank... you."
Flashback end
"Well, Nikai, I got you..." I said dramatically, reaching into the sack filled with my newest loot. "This!" I cried as I whipped out an ornate dagger, the pommel and scabbard covered in precious gems. She squealed happily, causing me to wince slightly and I folded my ears, and yanked the dagger from my grasp, fawning over it before she even unsheathed the blade, which I hadn't told her was made of pure gold.
"I will never understand why you feed her enthusiasm for blade-play, Ausmidious," her mother sighed as she walked into the room, accompanied by the smell of baking beef. I shrugged and grinned.
"Someone has to spoil the girl. She deserves it. This little girl is a natural born thief." her mother scowled, but Nikai beamed at my praise. She saw me as the older brother she never had, even though we come from different races. Being the actual oldest of twelve children, most of them twins or triplets, she only had her mother to look up to, until I came.
"She might even take my place as Street-Master when I leave," I added, ruffling her hair affectionately. Now, it was Nikai's turn to scowl.
"Waddya mean when you leave?! You can't leave!"
"Nikai, I can't stay here in Daggerfall forever. As much as I care for all of you," her siblings had scampered in when they heard my voice, and were now clamoring for my attention, the two youngest actually trying to climb my legs by way of my fur. "This isn't home. I never stay in one place too long. I've already stayed here longer than normal."
Nikai pouted. I had told her the story of why I never stay in one place for more than a year. Just her, no-one else. Even her mother only knew that I had a past that I didn't want to catch up to me.
I pretended to scold the thirteen-year-old. "Now look here, missy," I said, wagging my claw at her, "We'll have none of that! You knew this was coming. I trained you for three years to be a master thief, and I will be damned if you throw those teachings away just because I'm not there to smack you when you do!"
"Ausmidious! Language!" her mother scolded me sternly.
"Sorry, Sintala. But you have to admit, they hear worse from the drunks who stumble through here every night." she opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Shinkasi, her four-year-old daughter.
"Amodis! No go!" Shinkasi was autistic, so she was just learning to form coherent thoughts. She still couldn't pronounce my name, which even the Two-year-old twins could, but I couldn't fault her for that. I looked down to see her clinging to my leg, tears streaming from her eyes. "No go! Family no leave!"
I felt my throat constrict at her words. Shinkasi had called me family. That word brought forth a plethora of emotions. Mostly fear. Overriding, debilitating fear. But when she said it, this sweet, innocent girl, it brought only one thing forward, something I thought I would never feel again after Morrowind; heartbreak. This child didn't look at me and see a Cat person, though she loved feeling my fur. She saw simply another member of her family, someone who took care of her. I didn't even live with them, and they called me family. I knelt in front of her.
"Shin, I'm not leaving just yet. And I promise, I'll write, I'll visit as often as I can. I'll always be here for you." I fought back tears as she jumped at me, crushing my neck in a spine-breaking hug. She may be autistic, but my little Shin would grow up to be a fighter.
"No leave..." she sobbed into my neck, her tears feeling hot through the fur. I rubbed her back soothingly.
"Alright... alright, I won't leave." I looked at Nikai and Sintala, my eyes flashing in pain. They nodded sadly. They knew I was lying, that I would have to leave eventually, but none of us could bring ourselves to break little Shinkasi's heart.
"So I'm guessing you'll stay for dinner?"
"But of course!" Sintala just smiled a little. She already knew I'd be over for dinner when she heard thee alarm bells ringing out through town. She returned to the kitchen as I moved to the dining table, Shin now sitting on my lap, playing with my fur, and began thinking about the feeling of Shin calling me family. Morrowind was a dark time in my past.
Flashback
The guards below took no notice of me as I stalked along the high wall of the Telvani compound. One of the most powerful Dunmer families in the province, and I infiltrated their home like it was nothing. I knew all their defenses, from the guards, to the tamed guard ashbears. A little known breed, so rare the only way to find them is to search out a breeder, ashbears were big, vicious, and always hungry. I waved at them and threw scraps of bacon and horker as I jumped over their territory. Not like they'd attack me anyway. Their mistress wanted me there, though her family didn't know it.
Silvia Telvani. She was the most beautiful being put onto this plane of existence by the great god Talos. I reached her balcony and sat on the marble railing, my tail swishing slightly. I heard voices inside though the closed door, indicating Silvia was in company at the moment. Fine by me, I needed to clean my blade anyway. I unsheathed my dagger and began wiping it down with a rag I kept in my waistband for just this purpose. Once it was free of blood, I wiped it on my fur to remove any leftover grime and put it away, out of sight.
Silvia didn't need to know what I did for a living here in Morrowind. She already had enough problems getting her parents to consider letting me come to court and begin courting her. They despised me because I was Khajiit, and not Dunmer. They wanted her to marry some pompous ass of a Dark Elf and be 'true noble lady', sucks for them Silvia and I were actually already engaged.
The voices soon turned to shouts, and then a door slammed. I winced at the noise. Having hyper-hearing sucked sometimes.
Silvia stormed out onto the balcony, not even noticing I was there. She seemed really angry, so instead of bothering her and having her fury turned on me, I sat there with my back leaned against the wall next to her giant double glass doors and observed her.
Silvia was a head shorter than me, standing fully erect at 5' 9". Her long, dark hair flowed down to her lower back, framing her face, with it's abnormally low cheekbones and lack of clearly defined jaw. That was odd on any elf, especially a Dunmer. Instead of the sharp, angular eyebrows of most of her family, Silvia's were soft and flowing, accentuating her warm chocolate eyes in all the best ways. Though I couldn't see them at the moment, her breasts weren't very large, maybe enough for me to have a full hand with some left over if I were so crude as to grab them. Her waist was average, not too skinny and not too thick, and flowed into her wide hips.
She had what I'd heard the boys at the cornerclub call a 'bottom-heavy hourglass figure', and she really didn't care.
She was also different from her entire family in that she cared about others before herself, and never sought to harm others in any way, unless in self defense. She was a gentle soul who enjoyed animals and gardening, and never disobeyed her parents' wishes. Except when it came to me, that is. With me, all rules went out the window for her.
"How long are you going to sit there and look at my butt Ausmidious?" I gulped quietly. I loved her, and she had a lot of patience, but when that runs out, like say after a fight with her father, watch out, the Red Mountain is exploding again.
I stood from my spot and sauntered over to her silently, then wrapped my arms around her waist from behind and nuzzled my nose into her neck. "I wasn't looking at your butt Silvia. I was trying to avoid pissing you off." I said as she hugged my arms and sighed unhappily.
"When can we get out of here, love? When can we leave and never look back? Every day it's the same thing, meet this lord's son, or that wizard's son, or this minor noble's son who has distant family ties to the Telvani. I'm sick of my parents trying to marry me off to someone I don't love..." I heard the tears in her voice as she turned to me and buried her face into my chest, running her fingers softly through my fur. I never wore a shirt when I visited Silvia, because she said she loved the silky feel of my chest fur on her skin.
"I only need a few more Septims, Silvia. A few more gold, and we can run away, find someplace comfortable and settle down together."
"Why won't you just let me use the allowance my father gives me to help? We could have been gone so much sooner." I sighed.
"You know why. Your father keeps careful track of where your money goes, and if he traced it to me, he'd kill me. He'll have control over you until we're gone. Just play along a few more days, let him think you'll let him marry you off to some idiotic Dunmer who wouldn't treat you right." she sniffled and nodded against my chest.
"I hate only being fifteen," she whimpered softly into my fur. I stroked her back with one hand and lifted her chin with the other, directing her gaze to my eyes.
"Being fifteen and knowing your parents is better than being seventeen and being an orphan, even if you hate them." she nodded and leaned back into me, folding her arms between us as I wrapped mine around her shoulders and rested my chin on her head.
We stood there for a few moments, holding each other lovingly, before a loud knock on her bedroom door jolted us out of our little world. A voice I didn't recognize, which is a feat considering I recognized the voice of every occupant in the Telvani compound, called out.
"Silvia, may I come in? I must speak with you!" Silvia bit back a curse as she removed herself from my hold, sending me a longing look as she went to open the door for her uninvited guest. I stepped into the shadows of her balcony, there in case she needed me.
I heard the door open, then a male voice cried out after a quick shuffle was heard.
"Silvia, my dear! You must come away from the window! There is an assassin about!" I felt myself stiffen at his words, but Silvia just huffed, and I guessed she had her arms crossed and was shooting him an annoyed glare.
"Do not call me 'dear' Lucthain, we are not married yet. And what is this nonsense about an assassin?"
Lucthain... where have I heard that name before? I tried to wrack my brain for an answer, but he conveniently provided one.
"My brother was killed just outside your compound! The gateman swears he saw a black shadow swoop in and plunge a glinting silver blade into his back, then disappear!"
Oh... damnit. This fucking Talos-damned... I peeked cautiously around the corner to get a look at this Lucthain, and saw what I feared: my next target. I bit back a very violent curse and thumped my head against the wall softly. Of all the people that could have been the one her father was trying to marry her off to, it had to be one of two assassination targets I was assigned. The Dark Brotherhood had a sense of humor, it seemed.
"Nonsense. There are no shades and shadows, no assassins in the night. And if there are, they are far from my home." I almost laughed out loud at the irony of what Silvia was saying.
"Silvia," his voice hardened, "You will listen to me. I am your fiance and I told you to close the window!" I growled lowly. Now I had a legitimate reason to kill this guy other than money. A loud smack was heard, and an affronted cry.
"You are not my fiance, you are the man, and I use the term loosely, my father is trying to marry me off to. You can not give me orders." I silently cheered for my love, but stopped a moment later when I heard a growl and the sound of a fist hitting flesh. Silvia cried out in pain. I bolted from the shadows and tackled Lucthain to the ground, whipping out my dagger and holding it to his throat.
"Who gave you permission to hit a lady?" I growled quietly and I pressed the blade against his neck, drawing a thin line of blood. I knew my pupils were dilated to slits, and I could feel my pulse pounding. I smelled urine and noticed the milk-drinker had pissed himself.
"You...you're him! The assassin!"
"Call for the guards, and you'll be dead before you finish a sound." he snapped his mouth shut, fear in his eyes. "Silvia? Are you alright?" I heard a grunt as she rose, likely rubbing where he punched her.
"Yes, I'm fine. And thank you for defending me, dear." I nodded slightly with a feral grin at Lucthain horrified expression.
"It was my pleasure. After all, if a man doesn't defend his fiance, then what good is he?"
She walked over and stood behind me, leaning on my back just to prove a point. "No good at all, obviously. And a real man never hits a lady, isn't that right Ausmidious?" I nodded again in confirmation.
"So, my love. You are the offended party here. What shall we do with this swine?" she made a fake 'hmmmmm' in thought.
"Well, this actually isn't the first time he's laid a hand on me," I snarled and he began crying, "And you seem very eager to defend my honor as your future wife... so I will to defer to you on this subject."
I gazed at the sobbing snob before me, bloodlust radiating off me. "Any last words?"
He nodded his head violently, "I'm sorry I hit your fiance,"
"No you're not. If you were, you wouldn't have done it in the first place."
"But I wasn't aware she was engaged to someone else. Her father said she was looking for a fiance!"
"Her father doesn't know a lot of things," I snarled. "But that still doesn't excuse you. Sadly enough for you, you caught me on a really bad day. Normally, I would just cut your tongue out so you could never tell a soul what you learned here tonight," pure terror flashed across his angular face, which showed me he didn't know how to write. What an idiot. "But not only did you hit my fiance, you also tried to order her around. On top of that, I just plain don't like you. And the word has gone out to kill you if given the chance. You've cheated a lot of people a lot of times, and now it's catching up to you." I leaned in close as Silvia rose to cast a muffle spell on her room to avoid anyone hearing his final screams.
When I was close enough that only he could hear me, I whispered two words that sent him into the afterlife silent, "Hail Sithis." his eyes widened as I jerked my blade across his throat, cutting his vocal cords and his jugular vein. He was dead in seconds.
Silvia looked at me with a mix of lust, astonishment, pride, and a little fear. "What do we do with his body?" I stood and threw his corpse over my shoulder and stalked to the balcony.
"This." I threw his lifeless body over the rail and into the territory of the ashbears. They descended on the meat like flies to honey. The evidence was gone in moments. I turned to see Silvia kneeling down with a rag to wipe up the blood. I went to help her.
Once we got the blood cleaned, and I burned the rags outside with a quick flames spell, she looked at me, and held out my dagger, hilt first. Normally, this wouldn't worry me, as that is the correct way to hand someone a blade. It shows you didn't want to injure them. But this time, I knew the game was up. The Black Hand of the Dark Brotherhood was showing clearly. I sighed as I took the dagger and she rested a hand on her hip, demanding an explanation.
"It was either this, the Morang Tong, or move out of Morrowind to earn money and come back possibly years later to get you. And the Morang Tong don't let Khajiit join their ranks. I hate killing, you know that Sil. But it was the only job available where I could stay in Morrowind and watch over you. I did it because I love you, and I was going to leave the Brotherhood once we ran away." Her eyes softened and she hugged me gently.
"That you would do what you hate, to make me happy, I know how much you love me. Thank you for suffering, that we may find joy together."
"Forever, to the end times and back. Till Alduin swallows the world, and after. Talos as my witness, you will always hold my heart." I spoke with all my heart, showing her the depth of my love. Even going so far as to vocally announce my chosen deity, Talos. I had never told anyone I worshiped Talos, not even her. She gasped slightly and looked up at me, her eyes shining. Then she reached for her gold neck-chain and lifted an Amulet of Talos, one that matched my own.
"But... I thought..."
"My family worships Julianos. I do not. I believe valor is greater than magic."
"Talos did not represent blind valor, my love. He represented valor and knowledge. He himself worshiped Julianos above all others, aside from Mara." She nodded her head happily and buried her face in my chest once more. I was about to return her embrace, when I heard a quiet twang from the wall. Then, suddenly, an arrow sprouted from her back. She stiffened in shock and began to slide to the floor.
"Silvia!" I screamed as I caught her. I heard loud footsteps out in the hall, but ignored them as I focused on my love, my sweet Silvia. I brushed her hair to the side as tears began streaming down my cheeks. "No, Silvia, no. This isn't happening. Please, let this be a horrible dream." I rocked her gently as she came to rest on my bent knees, the arrow forcing me to tilt her up.
"Ausmidious... please...don't be sad. We will meet in Sovengarde..." she said quietly, weakly lifting her hand to caress my cheek. Then, her hand flopped across her body, her eyes grew dull, and her head lolled to the side. I screamed and held her body. Then, realizing hazily that the guards were trying to get in, I lifted her body and carried it with me as I fled the way I came; silently.
Two days later, I finally got out of Morrowind, having stolen a horse and ridden, holding my love to me the whole way, to the Skyrim Border. Skyrim, the home of our god Talos. I got far enough in that the ash wouldn't disturb her, then I dug a grave in the snow and soil of the free land. Silvia had always wanted to visit Skyrim. My only regret is that she could not see it in life, and was instead confined to a crude grave on the border.
Flashback end
Four years had passed since that night. I had run to Blackmarsh for a year, then been chased out by pissed off Argonians who thought I stole their vegetables. They had run me right into the arms of the Psycho Mage who had nearly killed me and chased me to Daggerfall.
"Dinner's ready!" Sintala cut into my thoughts as she came through the curtain, carrying a large side of ribs. Like, two whole cows large. My eyes bugged out of my skull, which Shinkasi laughed at.
"Where on Nirn did you get the money to pay for that?!"
Sintala just sent me a look. Then I remembered that not only did I give a large portion of the money I gave out to this family, which was by far the largest in Daggerfall, but I had also helped Sinatala gain business as an apothecary when I made connections. Now, she was the most successful one in the city. I ducked my head in embarrassment and put Shin in her seat as Sintala began dishing out the servings. Everyone who could chew it got a share proportional to their size, and how much work they put in that day. I had suggested that little tidbit as incentive to get the kids to help their mother around the house with chores. The ones who were too young for ribs, were given apple sauce mixed with pork bits.
Sintala cut off a chunk of five ribs and dropped them on my plate. The largest portion.
"Sintala... I didn't help out around here today. I was off stealing from the second lord of blah blah blah."
"Exactly. You stole from a lord, which means he will increase security. That will make his guards more tired."
"Aaaand they'll come to you for herbs to help them stay awake, putting more coin in your pocket." she smiled and nodded. She sat down, and we began dinner. It was loud, playful, and filling. It was the closest to home I had felt since Silvia died.
Afterwords, when all the kids were sleeping from their full bellies, I stood in the doorway, looking out into the night. I felt Sintala's arms wrap around my waist from behind, and she kissed my shoulder gently. We had never told her children of the fact we were... together. I could honestly say I loved her, just not like I should. Not like Silvia.
"When?" she whispered, her voice watery.
"Tonight, after I spread word that Nikai is new Street-Master. I can feel my past gaining ground. I don't want your family to have to go through that. It's time I left now. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help to you." I turned to give her a soft kiss, squeezing her butt a little. Just because. I looked at the woman who was nine years older than me, and saw love in her eyes.
"Where will you go?"
I looked to the north and took a deep breath. "Skyrim," I exhaled. "It's time I went to see Silvia." Sintala nodded sadly and kissed me once more. Then I turned and vanished into the night, to spread word of a new Street-Master, then to disappear from Daggerfall before the sun rose, on my way to a new adventure I never dreamed of.
And it all started with an Imperial ambush just South of Helgen.