The New Housecarl
"Lydia, this is Iona, Iona this is Lydia," awkwardly introduced an all too glum Yosa'Min, "Lydia is my Whiterun housecarl and Iona is from Riften." The trio of them were standing in front of the redguard's home there in Riften, the smell of the canal to their left mixing heavily in the twilight musk of the city. Torches spotted the streets, and the guard or two that passed by granted them curious glances behind their helms, but none of the women payed them any mind.
The brunet haired nord cracked a slight smile and held out her hand. "You're not here to steal my job are you?" She joked, the fiery haired nord laughing in turn. "Was I not enough for you Yosa?" The redguard's eyes widened slightly and she gave a quick apologetic look but Lydia simply rolled her eyes. "That was a joke Yosa, do calm down." The redguard darted her gaze away, embarrassed for not realizing it.
"To be honest, I didn't even know the spot was already taken," Iona responded, taking the offered hand and giving it a firm shake. "I hope you're not bothered by it any."
Lydia hesitated for a minute, eyes roaming up the woman before her as if deciding something based upon what she saw, but it soon passed. "Of course not, the more the merrier right?"
Between them, the redguard gave a slight sigh as if relieved. She would be lying if she said she hadn't been the least bit worried about the housecarls meeting. "She kinda did the same thing as you did," she said to Lydia in a half reminiscent joke.
"Follow you home?"
Yosa'Min nodded. "Without giving me any choice in the matter either. I do suppose that with my new thanehood there are perks however, personal bodyguards being one."
"Let's see if you get along any better with these nobles than the ones back in Whiterun," jested Lydia, much to Iona's confusion. As she caught the look upon the redhead's face, an adorably crinkled brow, Lydia moved swiftly to an explanation. "Our Thane is not one for politics and schemes, especially if they appear pointless or entirely greedy."
Iona gave a nod of her head, pale green eyes settled on Lydia's hazel orbs before they flicked across to a dim blue pair. "It sounds like we have much in common my Thane," she said.
Instantly Yosa'Min cringed, a hand rushing through long wild black hair with almost sheer panic across her face. "Oh Gods! I have to break you too!"
"Break?" Repeated Iona warily, Lydia snickering to the side. She forgot sometimes that the antics and daily dances the pair of them had established could appear so foreign to others if not worrisome. Most housecarls didn't end up having to care for their Thane like she did, but most didn't become quite as important to their Thane either. Most housecarls remained professional with their superior, a loyal servant that perhaps could reminisce over good and fun times but at the end of the day they could still find who they were without their Thane. Lydia on the other hand had slowly begun to find she couldn't separate who she was without Yosa'Min in the picture, her purpose shifted to whole-hearted devotion. The redguard was like family to her, something that two years ago seemed entirely impossible but now it simply was fact. It was a dynamic she'd grown to accept and appreciate, despite its unorthodox nature. Iona, she hoped, wouldn't see this relationship and find it something revolting but instead could at the very least understand it. This had been something they'd had to work on greatly to reach this point after all and some outsider entering it left a lot up to chance. She'd be lying if she didn't say Iona's presence was worrisome, but she had grown to trust Yosa'Min and her decisions... for the most part.
"She means the formality," Lydia clarified with a wave of her hand, thoughts slipping away from her fears and back to her duty, "it took me years before I started calling her by name rather than title." Iona relaxed a bit at her words.
The redguard stood there a bit longer and then gestured towards the wooden door besides them. "Would you like to come in?" The sun was already gone from their view, the last rays clinging to the sky like the dying embers of a great flame, stars dancing to the forefront of the black stage to take its place and carry on with the second act of the sky's great play. "It's getting kind of late."
"Very much so," said Iona and the trio entered the quaintly sized home. To Iona's surprise, there was hardly any furnishings about the place. The doorway entrance led into a kitchen and dining area that had only a cook pot over the fireplace, a small wooden table and a pair of chairs as well as a cupboard in the corner. She could see where the house opened up on the right to a den of sorts, a bed centered against the far wall with another door that led to the back porch which overlooked the lake. All in all, it was devoid of any personal affections or decorations, as if they had just recently occupied the home or never felt as if it belonged to them.
"I hope you don't mind much," Yosa'Min said as she started to tiptoe towards the back door, "but I'm going to slip away for a bit."
Lydia shook her head. "No of course not, I'll show Iona around." The redhead brightened at the hospitality being shown, and nodded her head in agreement.
"Well so long as you're okay with it," Yosa'Min said as she picked up the pace. Lydia waved her on and so the Thane fled outside. The pair lingered for a little while in silence, Iona taking in what was to be her new home while thoughts gathered like storm clouds in Lydia's mind, threatening to burst into a downpour of housecarl concern.
"So then," Lydia said abruptly, breaking the silence and temporarily dispelling the mental clouds. "You have already seen the top floor, but allow me to show you downstairs." Iona gave a smile and nod, and the pair were swiftly making their way down a wooden set of stairs into a cobblestone basement. There was a pair of doors in the two two walls facing towards them, one which was simple an open doorway and the other nice wood. In the room they were in there was a pair of open cupboards, each littered with bottles and alchemy ingredients. Along the walls were a whole host of crates and barrels filled with Divines knew what. Tucked in the corner was a round greenish table cluttered with tools in which Yosa'Min practiced her alchemy with.
"I don't let our Thane concoct on her own," Lydia said, "I'm afraid she might poison herself if I do."
Iona's brow furrowed at that, greatly alarmed at the thought of Yosa'Min taking her life with a vial of strange herbs. "What? Why would she ever do that?"
With a sad frown, Lydia shook her head. "It is a very long story I'm afraid so I shall tell you after dinner when we don't have things to do. Just know for now that our Thane is not as cheerful or spirited as she used to be." Obviously annoyed at not getting the whole story just yet, Iona simply nodded and waited to be shown the rest of the house. "In that room on the left Yosa likes to enchant armor and weapons," Lydia said as she pointed to the doorless room.
"I take it we sleep in there," Iona said as she gestured to the closed door. With a half nod, Lydia led the way inside a very small room. To Iona it seemed no larger than a broom closet, hardly any floorspace left with a bed on one end and a wardrobe on the other, a half dresser stuck besides the animal pelt bed. "A little tight in here for two people don't you think?" She groused softly.
"We can move some furniture out as needed," shrugged Lydia.
"I don't suppose the second bed is on hand."
The brunet shook her head. "That's part of why we'll be busy tomorrow. Do you have all of your belongings here already?"
"I still need to get a few things, but for the most part yes," replied Iona. Lydia mulled over something in her head for a short while, debating what to do first and where to go to take care of some things. Yosa'Min had only faintly mentioned had plans to become a Thane in Riften but for the most part Lydia had been unaware of it. Iona's arrival was mostly a surprise, leaving her trying to make arrangements fairly last minute. The room and the state it was already in was evidence enough. "Where shall I stay for the night?" Iona inquired.
"You can have my bed, I'm sure Yosa'Min wouldn't mind sharing with me for a night until we get you a proper place to rest your head."
Iona cocked a brow suspiciously at her words. "Truly? She wouldn't have any problems with that?"
"She's not had problems with sharing her bed with women before, I doubt tonight would be any different." The response confused Iona but she decided not to ask of it.
After a minute or so more they left, heading back up the stairs to where they were hit with the smell of food. Lydia crept around the corner and was struck with silence as she found the redguard she lived to serve bent over the cooking pot, stirring the contents with a disgruntled frown upon her face. The table was littered with chopped vegetables and beef, as well as a few cloves of garlic. "Yosa are you cooking?" Teased Lydia as she found her voice once more, though Iona could detect levels of genuine shock.
Blue eyes rose to look at the pair, a slow shrug rolling off the redguard's shoulders. "Perhaps..."
"Well I'll be..."
A flush spread across the dark skinned woman and she dashed her eyes away. "I wanted Iona to have something nice to welcome her into our home," she tried to explain but she was quite flustered, words mumbled with embarrassment and half heard.
"So you decided to cook?" Lydia teased as she came over to inspect the stew.
Huffing, Yosa'Min shouldered her away. "I can cook you know!" She stuck her tongue out for a moment, playful if not a bit haughty. The ladle was held outwards at Lydia like a blade, warning her not to draw near once more.
"Oh certainly my Thane, but if you want to welcome someone into our home right, the meal should be of the highest caliber possible," Lydia said with a gleam in hazel eyes, "and I'm sorry Yosa but that would not be you." Yosa'Min swatted the brunet's arm with the ladle, but relented to Lydia's inspection, stepping to the side and watching the brunet taste and change the meal with curiosity. Something about the way the two of them interacted and spoke of Honeyside as their home and not just the Thane's made Iona smile softly. Most nobility she met were rather full of themselves and the notion that the whole of the world was beneath them or revolved around them. Those kinds of nobles made Iona sick and she had feared Yosa'Min would be one such noble upon hearing she would be serving the Dragonborn of all people, but she was quickly being proven wrong and she was beyond relieved for it.
The decor of Honeyside and the garments her Thane wore were simple, void of any fanciful embellishments that served no true use or purpose beyond stretching that of one's ego. It struck her as odd at first but already she could tell Yosa'Min was no average noble. No noble she had ever known would even think of having a meal prepared in welcome to a new servant, much less cooking for their servant themselves, yet here the woman was before her, trying to wrestle control of the stew back from Lydia who was beginning to laugh at the attempts. The arrangements for the night when it came to sleeping were also certainly uncommon, only helping to build an entirely new mental image of the Dragonborn.
Iona watched from the side for a bit, smiling at the scene before her with arms crossed as she leaned against the wall. The duo were caught up in a whole host of antics as the ladle returned to its deadly food tossing purpose, Lydia's shirt having been stained red and Yosa'Min's hair now in need of a washing. It was like watching a pair of children at play, unrestrained and pure. As she laughed at the duo, Iona realized something quite tremendous. This was not just a job she had found, it was a home. The thought warmed her from the toes up, and before she could help it Iona was making her way over to join in the fun, the pair welcoming her in with gusto. If things kept up like this, Iona would probably come to love it here, but of course things could never be that easy.
AN: So I had this little notebook at Basic, that I'd write stories in, little things to keep in touch with my characters and because honestly I can never stop writing. What I decided was that the stories that I don't plan on later incorporating into my main stories are going to be put here instead in a compilation of one-shots that will tell all sorts of different stories and hopefully not be as focused on Yosa'Min. This won't be updated that often (as I'll focus on those actual main stories) but there will be things here sometimes too. Feel free to tell me who you'd like to read a story focused on next time, because I might just take you up on that idea. Thanks for reading, until next time.