A/N: See, had I not been publishing Beneath the Sky as a WIP, I could have taken five months to write a backstory and stew in writer's block (I think this story really only took one month total of actual writing days) and nobody would have known or cared. But I had to go posting Beneath the Sky, didn't I? Anyway, please enjoy. It's completely written, so I can post the rest of it whenever (soon). I just don't want to overwhelm anyone with too many big chapters too close in time.
Bright Eyes
4E 187
A small girl of five lay in bed, tucked under a thin blanket. Her eyes were bright, her hair was dark. She hung tightly to a stuffed bear, watching the candle on her nightstand flicker. Her nightgown was thick but she was cold.
Her father came into the room. "Why are you still awake? Why haven't you blown out your candle?"
"I'm cold," she answered.
He sighed, rubbed his forehead. "Fine." He left the room and came back a minute later with several sheets of cloth. He covered her up. "Better?"
She nodded.
He went to blow out the candle.
"Wait!"
"What?"
"I'm scared. Can't we leave the candle lit?"
"Do you want to burn whole house down?"
"No. But I don't want the monsters to eat me either."
"There are no monsters. Good night."
He blew out the candle and left, closing her door. There was nothing but darkness.
She closed her eyes and squeezed her bear tighter. She was afraid and sleep took its sweet time before reaching her.
She dreamed of a field where she lay. There were flowers everywhere, flowers of every color and it was beautiful. The field stretched to the horizon where it turned to sky. But the red flowers burst and turned to flames and engulfed her.
The heat gave way to cold and she was on a mountain and her feet were bare and they hurt. A beast, great and gray came for her, opened its mouth to kill her and she'd never been more afraid, but a flash of red took it away. And whatever the red was, she never saw, but she wasn't afraid of it. The snow beneath her feet wasn't so cold anymore.
Suddenly, the beast was coming for her again, and it got closer and closer, but the flash of red didn't take it away and she couldn't run, so instead she shouted and through a scream, she awoke.
No one came for the poor child so she squeezed her eyes shut until dawn broke through her window.
4E 188
The little girl sat in the back of her father's store. They sold clothes. Her mother made them, and her father took care of the marketing. A lot of people liked the clothes and they made much money.
The little girl was dressed in blue. Her hair had been braided but it was tight and she hated it.
She didn't want to stay here, bored out of her wits. As soon as there were no customers in the story, she ran up to her father. "Papa, can I go outside?"
Her father sighed. "No, darling, I need you to stay here."
"But I'm boooored."
He scowled and raised an eyebrow. She huffed and marched back to her corner and plopped down. She tapped her feet. She made little noises. She started sitting on her head.
"Oh, just go outside! But don't go far."
She squeaked in delight and ran out the door. The world was quite big, she reasoned, so surely the whole city wasn't far.
Bruma was a boring city. There wasn't much grass to play in. It was all stone and dirt and snow and cold. She'd never been allowed to really explore it before, but she'd always wanted to. There had to be some kind of adventure here – like the kind she read in books!
The child pulled her hair out of its braid defiantly. She walked along the streets and glanced shyly at the few people who were out. There was a big building - a temple, she'd been told. She'd never been there before. She wandered in.
It was beautiful. There were big, multicolored windows. There was a big red…thing in the middle.
She saw a man sitting in one of the benches that filled up the temple. She went to him. He was wearing robes, and was very old, but he gave off an aura that was very nice.
"Hello," she said shyly.
He turned and smiled at her. "Why, hello child. Come and sit with me."
She did so and parked next to him. "Who are you?" she asked.
"I am Peregrine. I am the priest of this temple."
"What is a temple?"
He smiled. "A temple is a place where one comes to worship the Divines. Most temples worship a specific Divine. Do you know who the Divines are?"
She bit her lip. She'd been taught them, but there were a lot and they were hard to remember. "Akatosh, Kynareth, Arkay…and uh…Mara…and Julianos…and Dibella and Zenithar…and…um…Stendarr!"
The man smiled sadly. "Yes, dear."
"Who is this temple for?"
"For a different Divine."
"There's another?"
"There was."
She stared at him questioningly. "How well do you know your history?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Not very well."
"Do you remember the White-Gold Concordant?"
She shook her head.
"It ended the Great War, but forbade worship of the Ninth Divine."
"Who was the Ninth Divine?"
"Talos."
She frowned. Another one? Wasn't eight enough? "This temple was for Talos?"
"Yes."
"What does it do now?"
"We worship nothing here. The temple grows old. I am nothing but a janitor now."
"You're not a priest anymore?"
"No."
"Why not worship a different Divine?"
"I worship them all – but I devoted my life to Talos long ago."
"Who was Talos?"
"Talos was originally a man named Tiber Septim."
"I know who he is. He united the provinces and created the Empire."
"Some believe he rose and became a Divine. But we are allowed to believe that no longer."
"Do you still?"
His eyes twinkled and he laughed. "The opinions of an old man do not matter."
Emlen shrugged. "I like it here. It's quiet. It's nice."
He patted her head. "You may come whenever you wish. But do your parents know where you are now?"
She shook her head.
"Perhaps you should return to them then, little one."
"Aw." She stood up. "I'll go, but I won't like it."
He smiled and stood up as well and offered his hand. She shook it. "What is your name?" he asked her.
"Emlen Seraphis," she answered. "My Pa owns the clothing store."
"I shall be sure to shop there, Miss Emlen Seraphis. Now return there to your father."
She did.