Elandaae strolled between the market stalls down by the docks, looking over the strange, foreign materials. She already carried two skeins of Ri'ima's favorite yarn, but she'd hoped to find something interesting to compliment it, something special for the kind khajiiti maid. A particularly shiny stand drew Elandaae's attention and she slipped away from the fabrics to gaze at the glittery gems.
She knew her mother wouldn't be pleased with her if she spent too much on frivolous objects for the help, but surely a small gift for the matron as well would help to sway her.
And then she saw it.
Among the emeralds and rubies, sapphires and amethysts, was a tiny gem - fractured like quartz but with an opalescent shine that shouldn't exist in a naturally occurring crystal, especially not quartz. She pointed to it, looking up at the khajiit merchant as she did so. "What is that one?"
"A sapphire, miss. A very rare, light colored one at that. Quite the prize, and only once and half the price of a normal one," she replied smoothly.
Elandaae smiled tightly. She didn't know the natural crystal shape of sapphires, but doubted it was this, and she did know that they shouldn't be opalescent either. "I'll take it."
The khajiit squinted happily.
Elandaae continued around the rest of the market circuit, though distracted as she was, she never did find a nice fabric for Ri'ima or a gift for her mother. The tiny crystal weighed heavy in her pocket.
She was jumpy on her way home, and had to keep reminding herself: If someone saw it she would tell them what the khajiit had said. They didn't have to know that she knew better. She'd feign ignorance.
She couldn't have been more relieved to close the front doors behind herself, and it must have shown on her face. Her father had been coming down the hall and he raised an eyebrow at her. She felt her face heat. "Hello Father!"
"Elandaae. Did you have fun at the market?"
Her face heated further, "The market?"
His eyes crinkled in amusement. "My apologies if you meant it to be a secret, but you've failed rather spectacularly to hide the evidence."
Her eyes dropped to the skeins of yarn under her arm. "Oh."
His lips twitched into a smile. "Ri'ima will be pleased, but hurry along before Eleussa sees you."
Elandaae grinned fully, nodding her head in thanks. He could have easily reprimanded her for going, especially without a chaperone.
She set the skeins aside as the door to her study clicked behind her. She'd see the khajiit later. Her hand slipped into her pocket to grasp the tiny crystal again. She rubbed her thumb over it and cast a glance at the door. She wasn't likely to be disturbed until much later.
Just as she pulled the crystal from her pocket, there was a thump and a blur of motion at the far end of the room. Elandaae's heart leapt into her throat as she jammed her hand back into her pocket, raising the other in defense, ready to cast a protection spell.
Her paperweight was on the floor. She sagged when a small grey rat waddled out from behind the desk where it had darted after knocking the stone down. Just a rat. She shooed it away. She should probably call the help to come kill it, but it wasn't a pressing matter; they would get to it eventually.
She sat down and pulled the crystal out again. It was so strange. Translucent while still appearing opaque, the light catching it different ways that made it seem blue, then purple, then white, then black. A sapphire, right.
She reached across and peeled back the false panel of her desk to retrieve her forbidden books. She flipped quickly to the page with illustrations of the infamous Soul Gems. The drawings were colorless, and could have been of common quartz were it not for the odd way they'd been shaded. She set her crystal on the page. She understood now why they'd been drawn that way. She flipped a couple pages back to reread the passage about how they looked.
"The crystals should be easy to recognize. They are blue or purple and shaped as a quartz is shaped. The colors and transparency may seem to shift as if they were made of pearl nacre or the shells of fine beatles."
It continued on from there about the sizes and classes. She wasn't sure hers was even large enough to be considered Petty class, but this was still certainly a soul gem. She had absolutely no doubt. Elandaae wasn't sure how to feel.
She set the gem off to the side and flipped a few more pages. It went a bit into how they think the gem actually works, though a lot of the magic cited didn't sound very plausible, given the outlined spell for trapping the soul. The spell looked almost painfully simple, and, if she was reading it correctly, the soul wouldn't even be harmed - just trapped for a while. The enchantment etchings looked much more complicated, but among them were runes clearly meant to ensure that the expended soul still return to Oblivion. It might not seem pleasant but…
And the book was so blasé about it all. Among men this was the most practiced magic. It all just seemed so… commonplace! She didn't understand.
Motion drew Elandaae's attention back to her right and she watched the rat bumble along under the windowsill. It was just an animal. They put animals through much worse here in the mortal plane. She looked again at the spell. It would only really take effect if she killed the rat right away - otherwise the effects would dissipate... it would be so easy...
Before she even realized she'd made the decision, she cast the spell.
It was as simple as it had looked, but the rat shrieked in distress and Elandaae startled. It was loud. Now that she was paying attention, pulled from her musings, she realized that she could hear footfalls echoing down the hall. She couldn't draw attention to herself in here - not with her books and the damned gem out on her desk! She grabbed the rat with telekinesis but rather than quieting the creature, the rat's shrieking grew louder.
Elandaae dropped the rat and leapt from her chair, intending to shove everything back into the hidden panel of her desk, but the chair pitched sideways and fell heavily, directly onto the screeching rodent. She scrambled to right the chair, but it was too late.
As Elandaae numbly watched a warm glow shoot away from the rat and seat itself in the gem, there was a knock at her door.
Eleussa was in the dining hall when one of the help came rushing in. The khajiiti woman came to a halt and stood rigidly just inside the door, keeping her eyes glued to the floor, waiting to be allowed to speak.
Eleussa considered her for a few moments. Did she really feel like dealing with whatever was the matter right now? She'd been rather pleased to have nothing pressing this afternoon. Curiosity won out. "Yes?"
"This one is sorry to interrupt the missus during her mealtime. Mister Vitrano Maeshaien is at the door."
"Oh?" She pursed her lips. "Have the butler show him in. I'll be there momentarily."
"Right away ma'am."
Eleussa pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose. Her daughter's fiancé had been well chosen indeed. The two were just alike in their disregard for what is polite and socially acceptable. Honestly, what could be so important as to warrant an unplanned visit in the middle of the day?
She rose and made her way to the parlor. As she entered Vitrano stood from his seated position and strode directly to her, bowing and extending his hand to take hers. She obliged. He drew it to his lips and kissed lightly.
"My apologies, Mrs. Caemus, for the rude interruption to your day."
Eleussa hummed. He was aware and yet had chose to do so anyway.
"Your daughter has confided in me her unlikely interest in sunbirds."
Eleussa raised an eyebrow.
"You see, there's been an unexpected migration of them. There are easily a hundred of them north, by the cliffs. I was hoping I might be granted an impromptu date to take her to see them. I'm quite sure she'd be delighted."
Vitrano seemed earnest. Eleussa clicked her tongue. On the one hand, this was utterly unheard of and vastly inappropriate courting behavior. On the other, it was incredibly sweet, and he had clearly paid close attention to Elandaae. It was indeed something that she would greatly enjoy.
Vitrano, for his part, stood calmly and patiently waiting for her answer. Eleussa was sure that, while disappointed, he would accept her refusal of his request.
She let her stony front soften. "Very well then." He smiled far too openly in response. It was difficult not to roll her eyes at him, as she would have at her own daughter. Quite a perfect match indeed.
She waved the butler over. "Fetch us someone to act as a chaperone."
She turned back to Vitrano again. "Follow me then."
She strode down the hall directly to her daughter's study, by far the most likely place to find her at this time of day. A loud thump as they strode towards the door only confirmed her suspicions. She knocked, but did not wait for a response before opening the door.
Nothing could have prepared her for what she would find inside.
Elandaae looked terrified, and it only took her mother a few moments to understand why.
Necromancy. Oh gods, no.
The books strewn about were damning enough, with absolutely no subtlety. Enchantment, Enchanting Runes, The Art of Enchantment, The Soft Side of Necromancy.
Elandaae began to anxiously shout half sentences, "Mother! No, it's not - this isn't - I didn't!"
She waved her hands defensively, but all Eleussa could see was the gem in that flailing hand. A real one. Here. In her house. Glowing warm and sickly as if drawn by dark magic directly from the book that laid open on the desk behind her.
"Elandaae!" The dead rat on the floor could not be mistaken. "What is the meaning of this?"
"It was an accident!" She let go as if the gem had suddenly burned her and it fell to the wooden floor next to the rat with a clatter.
"An accident that required research!? Where did you get that thing!" Eleussa could feel her face growing red as she spit the word at the soul gem.
"The market! I- it was- she said it was a sapphire?" Elandaae looked flustered but no more guilty than a child caught thieving sweets.
"Do you even understand how serious this is?!" Eleussa grabbed at her own hair. "This is necromancy! They'll lock you up for this! Your father will lose his job!" She was struggling to keep from raising her voice and screaming across the house.
Vitrano made a choking sound and Eleussa suddenly remembered his presence beside her.
Gods. She should have turned him away! Her daughter's necromancy be damned, but this could still be remedied were it not for him. It was improper and informal and she shouldn't have allowed it! What had she done in bringing him here?
Eleussa saw him take a horrified step back, eyes flicking from Elandaae to the rat and then to Eleussa herself again. His eyes were wide and he looked to be hardly breathing.
"You can't tell anyone. Vitrano, you cannot tell a soul, do you understand me?"
The boy locked his eyes on her and shook his head. No, no he did not understand. Or no, perhaps it was no, he would not agree. He made to run and she grabbed his shoulder, "Vitrano," she hissed his name at him, "she is to be your wife, this will ruin you too. You have to keep your mouth shut!"
When he finally spoke, his voice was too high pitched and his words came far too quickly, "No! No I can't go down for necromancy, I can't do it! I can't! Forget the wedding!" He swung his hands out in obvious rejecting motion, "Strange interests in birds and dead languages I could handle, but I can't do this!"
Eleussa's eyes flicked back to Elandaae who was looking at Vitrano, tears finally beginning to well up in her eyes. "Fine! Fine the wedding is off, but don't say anything, please, Vitrano you can't."
He ripped his shoulder away from her hand and took two more quick steps backwards, "And what do you suggest I say was my reason for calling off the betrothal?" He stepped back again, more slowly. He was shaking. "I can't do this to my family." He shook his head, turned, and fled down the hall.
Eleussa whirled to face her daughter once more, "You have to leave. Now. Grab what you can and go." She felt her own tears beginning to stream down her face, "There's no coming back from something like this Elandaae!"
"I wasn't thinking, Mother, I didn't mean it I swear I didn't!"
Eleussa knew she hadn't meant it. Her daughter's curiosity was always going to be her downfall. But she didn't have it in her to feel sorry for her daughter, not right now. She was too afraid.
When it came out what had happened, they'd do worse than lock Elandaae up… they'd torture her, steal away the best years of her life, she'd go mad - she'd never be the same. "No, you weren't thinking." And in not thinking she'd not only ruined her own life; this would impact their entire family. She didn't even understand what she'd done. "You've ruined us Elandaae."
Elandaae flinched back as if struck. Eleussa looked away. "Leave. Leave now and maybe you can find a life for yourself somewhere else."
Elandaae made no attempt to move.
"I am serious Elandaae you have no time left, you have to get out of the Isles before this comes out. Go, now!" She grabbed her daughter by the neck of her robes and practically threw her into the hall. "Go!"
Elandaae began to run. Eleussa turned and ran the other way, after Vitrano. Maybe, somehow, she could still stop him.