"Lydia, the jarl has sent for you."

Lydia nodded and followed the servant to the Throne room, where Jarl Balgruuf waited. She knelt at his feet. "You wished to see me, my Jarl?"

"Yes, Lydia," the Jarl said, lounging on his throne. " Did you see the girl who was in here earlier? The one who went with Irileth?"

"Yes my Jarl."

"If all goes well, I am appointing her Thane of Whiterun. And I am assigning you to be her Housecarl."

"Y-yes, my Jarl. Thank you," Needless to say, Lydia was very surprised that such an honor would be bestowed upon her.

"Speak with Grem. He will tell you what is to be expected of you." The Jarl dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

Grem was a large old Nord man who was a retired Housecarl. His Thane had died of old age. He was sharpening a dagger at the moment.

"Grem," Lydia entered his room. "The Jarl is assigning me a Thane. He said you would have some advice for me."

Grem stopped sharpening the weapon and stood. "A new Thane, eh? You know who it is?"

Lydia shook her head. "Not really. I haven't seen her before. I think she's new to Whiterun."

"Heh. She's probably new to Skyrim as well," he started to polish the blade. "Surprised the Jarl trusts her enough."

Lydia couldn't help agreeing with the old Housecarl, but she knew she had to say something in her Thane's defense. "That may be true, but she helped the wizard. And she left with Irileth to kill a dragon."

"Dragon? Where?" Grem looked a bit concerned.

"The Western Watch Tower," she replied. "They are going to see if it can be killed."

"Killed? By the gods, how do you kill a dragon?"

"That's what they're going to find out."

Grem shook his head. "Such strange times we live in. Dragons, Civil Wars, strangers being appointed Thanes... Which reminds me; the Jarl didn't send you here to talk of Dragons. He sent you to learn about the propor behavior of a Housecarl, right?"

Lydia nodded.

"Right," he set the dagger on a desk. "Well, the first rule is that you are sworn to protect your Thane with your life. If you must die to fulfill this duty, then you die with honor and a sword in your hand. Next, a Houscarl shows no fear and no mercy. Even if the one who has attacked your Thane is on their knees begging. Third, you are sworn to carry your Thane's burdens, whether it be armor, weapons, potions, food, or drink. Also, you must do anything and everything your Thane tells you to. If they tell you to jump off a cliff, you do it, no questions asked." Grem took a steel Greatsword from a weapon rack and started wacking a dummy.

Lydia stood there, waiting for him to say more. Grem said nothing. After a while she said, "Anything else?"

Grem stopped wacking the dummy and turned, leaning on the sword. "Just one other thing: First impressions count... Loose the sarcasm." He went back to hitting the dummy.

Lydia sighed. That was one thing she doubted she could loose.

She was soon called back to the Jarl. She found him speaking with the girl. Apparently, they had succeeded in killing the dragon. Not only that, but her new Thane was Dragonborn! Lydia waited by the door until her Thane and Jarl finished talking.

Her Thane walked over to her. She was average in height, had long black hair held back by two braids, and curious blue-grey eyes. Her lips were painted the same grey as her war paint, which looked like a pointy cross, going down her nose and under her eyes. She looked very young, perhaps 19-22, and didn't have much muscle on her. Lydia couldn't help but wonder how this shrimp of a girl managed to best a fully grown dragon.

"Honor to you, my Thane." Lydia nodded respectfully.

The girl raised an eyebrow and the corner of her mouth twitched as if she was trying not to smile. She bit the nail of her index finger.

Lydia was a little worried and suddenly felt self-concious. "My Thane? Is there something wrong?"

"No, sorry," the new Thane giggled a little. "It's just... We match!" She gestured to their armor. They both wore iron armor, gauntlets, and boots.

Lydia glanced at herself, then at her Thane. "Oh..." She caught Grem's eye, who had decided to walk in at that moment, and gave him a 'My Thane is weird... Please help' kind of look.

Grem just chuckled and gave her the 'They all are and no I wont help' look.

Lydia looked back and was startled to see that her Thane had changed armor. She now wore an Imperial cuirass and boots.

"Well, lets go!" The young Thane jerked her head toward the door and started walking.

Lydia raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised at this strange young woman, and followed her Thane out of the door.

(end)

A/N

Edit: I fixed some of the typos, but I would love it if you guys could tell me about any others. Thanks!

Ookay! My first Skyrim fanfic... honestly, This isn't my best work. I wrote this in like half an hour (I'm a slow typer :P) And... Yeah... So tell me what you think! I would love some feedback.

I think I'm going to make this a series of oneshots that will go in no particular order ;P

Anyhoo, This is Lydia's first impression of her Thane, Saorise (SHEY-see)

Leave a comment or the Night Mother will send Cicero after you!