Windhelm was new to me. Skyrim was new to me.
My family traveled here to start fresh, there was a dock in the city that hired Argonian workers and with the dwindling amount of jobs in Blackmarsh it seemed to be our best option. The new land was harsh, bitterly cold and the people were unwelcoming to my kind. We reside together in a shabby building next to the docks dubbed the Argonian Assemblage. I don't mind it so much except for the complete lack of privacy. In total there was twelve of us living in the Assemblage. I felt lucky just to have my own bed.
I thanked the divines for small blessings as I ducked my head under the blanket to sleep for the night.
I felt like I had only just shut my eyes when my peaceful night sleep was cut short. I was woken abruptly by someone ripping my blanket from my grasp.
"Neetrenaza, wake up. It's time for our first day working on the dock." Stands-In-Shallows spoke rather harshly.
I groaned as I rolled from my cot. How was it morning already? I wasn't prepared for today. I was eager to make a little coin, but I wasn't eager to brace the bitterly cold wind. After summoning all my strength to make it through the day, I dressed in my plain clothing before heading outside to the docks.
I stepped outside to see that the sun had not yet risen. This truly would be a long day. My companions were huddled together receiving work orders from one of the local guards. I joined the group and the guard assigned me to chopping enough firewood for everyone in the town. An all day task.
I set to it, swinging the axe roughly to chop through the blocks of wood. I was in such a rhythm of cutting the wood that I didn't notice a group of onlookers standing very close to our work space.
"See I told you they were lizards! Actual lizard people. By Talos, I've heard stories but I've never seen such a disgusting creature." I heard a female voice exclaim.
That caught my attention. I turned around to get a look at who the voice belonged to.
"Truly revolting." She uttered out as she shuddered.
I felt anger rise in my chest as I stared at the group of young female Nords standing not far from me, gawking at my every movement. The one who had spoken so loudly was tall, blonde and her face was puckered into a scowl. I noted the looks of disgust on their pale faces. I scanned each one of them before finally locking eyes on a petite girl standing next to the tall blonde.
She was different from the others, her features were soft and not twisted up into a scowl. The cold wind was whipping her dark brown hair around her face. She looked as if she wanted to reach out and touch me but thought better of it. We must have been staring at each other for a while because I was again caught off guard by the whiny voice of the tall blonde.
"Why is he looking at you like that? Ew, come on. Let's get back to the stone quarter."
The anger in me was boiling once again. I watched silently fuming as she stormed back toward the direction of the doors to the city, pulling the small brunette along with her.
She glanced back to where I was. An apologetic look plastered across her face.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully, I completed my job with enough time left to do a little fishing. I didn't bother using a pole. It was just as easy for me to reach into the water and grab a fish with my claws. The water was frigid, but after figuring out the best spot to catch salmon, I managed to catch a bucket full in a short time. The sun was just starting to set and a light snow was beginning to fall as I hoisted up the bucket and made for the assemblage. There would be a good dinner for tonight.
A warm fire was crackling next to my bedside. I couldn't sleep. For some unknown reason I couldn't get his face out of my head. I had never seen an Argonian in person, I had only ever heard them described by my father who in turn had painted a much more different picture in my head. He had always told me that they were cold beasts, unfeeling and cruel. But today when Gaellen had so rudely insulted him to his face…I could see the hurt in his reptilian eyes. It was evident he could tell they all were disgusted by the very sight of him.
I however did not think he was repulsive. If anything I found him truly fascinating. His dark green scales and row of sharp horns on his head looked entirely ferocious. Yet, he took their criticism and harsh words when he most likely could have easily ripped them apart. He wasn't a monster like they thought. Just another person trying to make a living in this harsh land. I turned to snuff the candle burning in my room. As I rolled over in my bed for sleep I decided that I would maybe go and speak with him in the morning. Maybe I could apologize on behalf of my fellow Nords and explain that we're not all so nasty.
It felt as if morning came suddenly. My arms were stiff from chopping wood the night before.
I joined Scouts-Many-Marshes next to the boats that were docked. He was gathering the latest shipment to be carried to the warehouse.
"Good morning, brother. Rising kind of late aren't you?" He scoffed.
"I hate this wretched place. Sleep is the only time I'm happy." I replied.
"There is a lot to be done today. Several large shipments need to be taken into the warehouse as well as there are things to be shipped out. Help me out so we can enjoy a night of drinking to dull those sorrows." He stated as he patted me on the back.
The prospect of getting drunk actually helped a lot in lifting my spirits. I could feel my bad mood leaving as I carried two boxes at a time to the warehouse.
The day stretched on. There seemed to be an unending amount of crates on each ship. I stopped to take a break when the sun was at its highest in the sky. A small part of me enjoyed sitting on the snowy bank next to the docks while I ate my lunch, but today I only had a small piece of bread and some fresh water to tide me over until dinner. No such enjoyment was to be had today, the bread was completely stale. A groan escaped my lips as I tossed the rock hard piece of bread into the river. So much for my lifted spirits. Not ready to start working again, I took a moment to gaze at the snow covered hillside that stretched out before me. There was something rather beautiful about it, despite the bitter cold.
I finished off the water in my water skin before standing up to rejoin Scouts at the ship.
The day passed slowly. We were just getting finished with unloading boxes when the sun started to sink into the horizon. As I was carrying the last box from the ship my eyes landed on her again; the same small brunette Nord from the day before. Why was she back here again? To gawk at me and my family some more? I could feel myself getting mad again. I felt heat rise to my face and before I realized what I was doing, I was walking toward her. I stopped a couple steps away from her face.
"Did you come here to say something else about my hideous appearance, Nord?" I spat.
Her eyes widened, she was visibly frightened by me.
"No..I..I…"She fumbled to form words.
"You what?!" I nearly shouted.
She took a step back from me.
"I came here to apologize for yesterday. I'm sorry you heard those nasty things she said about you."
I was at a loss for words. In complete shock, I was unable to say anything to her. That was not at all what I expected. I stood there speechless as I watched her walking away and back toward the steps that lead from the dock and to the city.
She was completely out of sight when I finally regained movement in my legs. I ran after her. I had to run up a flight of steps before I caught up to her. She was getting ready to enter the city.
"Stop! Wait!" I called out. If she went into the city, I wouldn't be able to follow her.
Luckily she heard me and stopped just outside the wooden doors of the city. I stopped in front of her.
"Thank you." I replied.
A small smile graced her features. I was caught off guard by how drawn I was to her beauty. I had never found someone outside of my race attractive, but this girl is the most beautiful creature I've laid my eyes on.
"…you're beautiful." The words escaped my lips before I could stop them.
Her smile grew. Even her eyes seemed to be smiling.
A blush stained her fair cheeks, "Thank you." She paused briefly before saying, "You're not half bad yourself."
Before I could respond she slipped through the wooden door and disappeared from my sight. I walked back to the docks in a kind of haze. Had she really complimented me? Had I really told her she was beautiful?
"Uuuggghhh." I groaned. I needed a drink.
I pushed open the doors to the assemblage. It looked like Scouts-Many-Marshes had already started drinking. A few empty bottles lay next to him in the floor. I sat down next to him at the small wooden table and opened my own bottle of Blackbriar mead.
"Where did you disappear to?" He asked after taking a long swig.
"Oh. I was talking to this girl." I replied nonchalantly as I took a seat next to him.
"What girl? The only girl we know is Shahvee, and she was here with me the whole time." He inquired.
"A Nord girl."
He nearly choked on his drink. "What? Why?"
I took a long drawl from my bottle before answering him. The mead burnt all the way down. "She came to apologize. Remember the group of girls from yesterday?" He nodded his head yes, so I continued. "She came to apologize for the way the other girls reacted yesterday. Even though she herself hadn't done anything to me."
"That's…uh…that's.."
"Really strange I know." I finished for him.
Silence fell over us. And I finished off my bottle of mead before pulling the cork out of another.
"I told her she is beautiful."
Scouts-Many-Marshes laughed loudly. "You told a Nord woman she's beautiful?"
"Yes. It just slipped out." I put my head in my hands.
"Well…how did she react?" He asked.
"She told me I didn't look half bad either."
Scouts' eyes widened with surprise. "She did?"
"Yeah." I stated almost smugly.
"Do you think you'll see her again?" He asked more seriously this time.
"I don't know…I hope so."
The two of us polished off a few more bottles before retiring for the night. As I lay in my bed trying to fall asleep, I couldn't help but wonder if she was thinking of me too. She hadn't left my mind the entire night.