The worn wood of the bench was moist now by the sun's light, leaving what had been frost a wet sheen across the surface. She wasn't sure what was better: the chilly flakes that would cling to her skin, or the wet drops that sank into her clothes and left them damp. Her fingers were chilled, and she wanted to go stand next to the grates near the yelling priest, but he always made her feel so uncomfortable. Her head was aching a little, but she didn't know if it was from the cold or her angry stomach.

"Hello, little one."

Lucia's head snapped up, body flinching into the wood as she stared into the face of a stranger. Her dark hair was messily pulled away from her face, the long locks along her neck obscuring her features as she stood against the sunlight. "I always seem to see you here when I pass through town." The woman tilted her head as she regarded her.

"Lady," Lucia began as always, praying this would be a kind one, "could you spare a coin?"

"Why are you always here begging?" The tall woman asked, placing her left hand on her hip behind a sheathed sword. She flipped her hair out of her face with a toss of her head, and Lucia recognized her as the sunlight caught her. The woman had given her a few coins weeks before. It had been enough to buy a loaf of bread that she'd made last three days. Brenuin had stressed over and over how important it was to make her food last.

Lucia licked her lips nervously, her mouth dry as the woman said nothing and waited for a reply. "It's... it's what Brenuin said I should do," Lucia began tentatively. "He's the only one that's been nice to me since... since Mama...Since she died." Her throat closed up, the breath stuttering in her throat."My aunt and uncle took over our farm and threw me out. Said I wasn't good for anything. I wound up here, but... I-I don't know what to do. I miss her so much..." She scrubbed her eyes, trying not to get any more dirt on her face.

"What do you- They just tossed you out? Without anything?"

Lucia looked up, flinching at the woman's outraged and incredulous tone. "Y-yes, ma'am." Maybe she shouldn't have told her. Maybe she wasn't supposed to talk about that. Brenuin hadn't said not to tell people; he'd just said to ask for a coin or two-

"When's the last time you ate?"

Lucia blinked, mouth working for a few seconds while she thought about the question. "Um, um, yesterday. Ma'am. I bought an apple from the lady's stall for breakfast." It had been her last coins, too. No one had given her any yesterday or today. And her stomach knew it if the growls it had been making all day were any indication. She'd picked the biggest apple in the bunch, and had eaten half for breakfast and half for dinner. But it hadn't done much to stop her belly from aching, and it had only gotten worse since she skipped breakfast today.

"You haven't eaten since yesterday morning?" The tall woman sounded upset; her bag shifting around on her shoulders.

"Well, I ate half the apple for dinner-"

The woman pulled the enormous and stuffed satchel across her shoulders, setting it down on the bench next to Lucia with a thump. Lucia flinched again, shuffling down the seat until she hit the side to give this increasingly odd woman more room. She peeked a little as the woman rummaged in the top layer of things, sounds echoing from the bag like metal being knocked together. After a few moments and some tugging, the lady brought out a handful of coins.

"Here," she said calmly, holding out the pile to tip into Lucia's hands. "You can have this for now, okay?"

Lucia gaped at the pile in her hands. Six gold. It was enough to buy another apple and a jug of milk if the lady at the stall had any. She hadn't had any milk for over a week because it wasn't easy to save it.

"We'll see about more later. I have to go see the Jarl about-" The woman broke off, seeing that Lucia was watching her with wide eyes. She was going to see the Jarl? Mama had said only the nobles and special people who lived in the big houses got to do that. "Well, it doesn't matter. But eat a nice breakfast, alright? But you don't have to eat it if you start to feel sick." The woman spoke quickly, shifting her bag back onto her shoulders and seeming flustered.

Lucia swallowed reflexively a few times as she stared at the woman, rising slowly off the bench. "Thanks. Thanks so much." Remembering what she'd said about the Jarl, Lucia lower her head as she stood up to curtsy, like Mama said she should do. "Divines bless your kind heart, m'lady."

"Don't worry about that," the lady waved her hand. "I'll be back soon, alright?"

Lucia nodded tentatively, clutching the coins close to her chest. "Okay, m'lady." The woman nodded back before turning away and heading toward the castle steps, jogging up them with a practiced pace.

The little girl stepped quickly down the steps back to the market, rushing toward the stand with Mila and her mother. She was breathing a little heavily as she came to the front of the stall, knuckles white around the shiny gold.

"I'd like a red apple and a jug of milk, please!" Lucia couldn't keep the smile off her face when she held out all the coins, dumping them quickly onto the wooden stand.

The market woman didn't say much, handing her the food with a small smile and a stop by again sometime. Lucia grinned happy before running back to the stairs. The apple was missing a large bite before she'd even sat down again. She could almost feel her empty stomach lurching forward to get to the food faster.

If the woman really did come back later, Lucia wondered if she'd bring her enough coins to buy another loaf of bread. That would be enough to last her until the end of the week.

The sun had risen much higher in the sky over the square when the tall woman appeared again. Lucia had shifted to a different bench so that she could stay in the sunlight and keep warm. Her back was to the loud priest, but he'd stopped talking long enough for Lucia to dry the front of her clothes near the grate. She was lucky it hadn't started snowing. Brenuin liked to remind her that she was really lucky she hadn't been homeless during the worst of winter. Now at least the streets and benches weren't covered with ice.

"Hello," the woman said from Lucia's right, making her whip her head around. She must have made some sort of noise, because the woman held out her hands and stepped fully in front of her. "I'm sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

Lucia shook her head, bring her hands into her lap and clasping her fingers together. "It's alright, M'Lady. You didn't."

"I'm sorry it took me so long to come back. There were a few people I needed to speak with in the palace, and then it all just-." Lucia blinked, swallowing slightly when the woman paused. "It doesn't matter," she sighed. "But it's time for lunch now, don't you think?" She smiled, and Lucia thought it looked sweet.

"If- I don't- um," Lucia bit her lip and looked down, kicking her legs out from the bench. She did want to eat again. But was she allowed to ask for more food from the same lady in one day?

A pale hand appeared not far from her knees. "Would you come have lunch with me?"

Nervousness shot up Lucia's back. It made her skin feel cold and pebbled with goosebumps. She hunched back against the wooden bench, her spine digging into the hardwood. "I'm, I'm not, uh, I'm not supposed to go anywhere with strangers." Mama had always told her that. She wasn't really supposed to talk to strangers either, but Lucia had no choice but to talk to strangers every day when she begged, because that's what Brenuin said she was supposed to do. But even Brenuin had said never go anywhere with someone she didn't know.

The loud rumble of her stomach made Lucia's face go red.

The woman looked sad. She bent her knees and knelt in front of Lucia, leaving their eyes nearly level. Her eyebrows were slanted the way Mama's had been when she told Lucia she was sick.

'Don't be afraid." She answered softly. "I just want to get you some food from the inn. Maybe a hot bowl of stew?"

Once again, Lucia wasn't at all sure how to respond. No one had done this before. They'd always just tossed her a coin, maybe even two, or avoided looking at her while they went past. "I-" Lucia swallowed reflexively. "I can't, ma'am. I don't have any coins to buy a bowl."

"That's alright," The woman smiled that sad smile again. "I'm going to buy a bowl for myself, and while I'm there why don't I grab one for you, too?"

Lucia felt her lips twitch, her confusion and uncertainty making her fidget on the bench. She wanted a bowl of stew, one that was warm and full of chicken like Mama used to make.

"I'm not supposed to go off with strangers," she mumbled. Fat, salty tears bloomed in her eyes and she huffed in frustration. What was she supposed to do now? Her stomach was starting to growl, and her head was starting to hurt again.

"How about I bring you something here, then?"

A few tears squeezed out of Lucia's eyes when she blinked rapidly in surprise, pressing her lips into a thin line. Was it okay to take food from strangers? Brenuin hadn't said anything about that. She thought Mama might have told her not to, that it wasn't safe to trust people she didn't know when Mama wasn't around.

But Mama was ever around anymore and she was hungry and the lady was being so nice -

"Please, please don't cry." The woman ran a hand back through her hair, brushing the dark strands from her face. "It's alright. I don't want to upset you."

"I'm-" Lucia hiccupped slightly and wanted to cry harder for making the nice woman think she wasn't thankful.

The woman rose to her full height again, taking a step back from Lucia and her bench. "Here's what we'll do," she said softly, pulling the leather satchel from her back again. Lucia tilted her head a bit, reaching up to wipe her tears on the dress of her arm. The sleeve was dirty, and felt scratchy against her face. Only a month ago it had been a pretty green, and soft.

Something jingled past her arm, and she blinked her eyes open again.

The woman was holding a small coin purse in her hands.

"There's twelve gold in here. You can take it right to Hulda at the counter and order yourself some stew." The woman crouched next to her again. "It's up to you whether you want to go use it now. I'll be in the inn for lunch though, and you're welcome to come sit with me." The woman still kept up her half smile. "My name is Aneira, okay?" She held out her hand. "It's very nice to meet you."

Lucia swallowed dryly again, cupping the purse in her left hand while reaching out with her right.

"My name is Lucia, m'lady."

Hulda, the older woman who was at the counter in the Inn, looked at her strangely when she brought up the coin purse onto the counter. She poured out the coins and counted them before asking Lucia where she'd gotten them all.

"From Aneira, ma'am." Lucia turned around and pointed at her, sitting at a table near the stairs. "She said I could use it to buy stew." Aneira waived lightly from the table, already preparing the loaf of bread she'd taken for them.

Hulda looked over into the corner, lips pursed slightly before nodding and taking away most of the coins.

"Bowl's only eight coins. You gave me twelve."

"Can I have milk, too?" Lucia bounced nervously on the balls of her feet, practically tasting her lunch already even though Aneira said it was important to eat it slowly.

"Aye," Hulda's lip curled up on one side. "You're a good girl, asking for milk."

"Thank you," Lucia blushed, reaching up to run a hand over her cheek.

Aneira had carved the bread by the time Lucia returned with her milk, and she handed her a small piece when she sat down.

"Dip it in your milk. That softens it up."

"Mhmm," Lucia smiled, dunking the chunk into the mug. She uncrossed her legs under the table, kicking lightly. Lucis had followed Aneira at a distance to the Inn until they were both inside. Now that they were sitting alone at the table, she hardly knew what was okay to say.

"Hulda said that it was horker stew today. I've never eaten horker in a stew before." Aneira tossed a piece of bread into her own mouth, swallowing it down with the water she was drinking. Lucia watched it through her bangs, thinking it was a little funny. Everyone else was drinking mead or wine. Aneira quirked an eyebrow at her. "Have you ever eaten horker in stew?"

"Um, no," Lucia wondered, picking apart her bread into even tinier pieces. "I- I don't think I've ever seen a horker, m'lady."

Aneira paused with her drink at her lips, looking the way adults did when they were thinking hard.

"No, I guess you wouldn't have." Aneira spun her small dinner knife in her fingers, making the metal flicker with firelight. "Do you know what they are?"

"I think Mama said they were like big, fat cows, except they lived in the water."

Aneira laughed around her bottle, reaching up to wipe her lip where the water had flowed over. "Not too far off. They certainly are fat things. But they don't give us things like milk, as cows do."

"Do they really live in the water?" Lucia asked carefully, watching as Aneira swiped a bit of butter across her bread.

"Well, in a manner of speaking. They swim in the sea and eat fish and other creatures that live in the water. But horkers can't breathe underwater, so they sleep on land." Aneira handed Lucia the butter. Smiling, she took it to spread over her broken slice. "But they also have large tusks on their heads. Our cows don't have things like that ."

"Like a mammoth?" Lucia asked, glancing away hopefully when the Redguard woman brought two large bowls from the back.

Aneira blinked at her as the bowls were set down, nodding briefly at the serving woman before turning to Lucia again.

"Well," she began. "Much smaller."

Stirring her stew briefly, Lucia smiles happily as Aneira talked about what a horker looked like, and why no, it probably wasn't something her Aunt and Uncle would keep on Mama's farm.

Lucia slept inside the inn that night, so warm and cozy in a straw bed that her body almost couldn't fall asleep for the change from the dirt outdoors.

Aneira had insisted on paying for it, claiming it was only right to thank Lucia for having lunch with her. That hadn't made much sense to Lucia, since Aneira had paid for her lunch and left her coins to buy dinner.

Aneira had even apologized that she couldn't stay for dinner. She'd said that she still had business around Whiterun, and wanted to speak to the Jarl once more. But Aneira had given her word that she would return to have breakfast with her the next day.

Lucia wasn't sure what all that meant. She knew she had a stomach filled with stew, and a soft pillow to lay her head on. Whatever came after that hardly mattered.