An Imperial Masterpiece
The nervous Imperial carefully placed the final piece on top. He had finished it at long last, his masterpiece. He had been attempting it for weeks... even months now. His so-called friends laughed at him, saying it couldn't be done and that he was better off trying something that wouldn't drive him mad. Well, he was already mad; the fact that he was even doing it in the first place was proof of that. It took him what seemed like forever, but now who was laughing?
He stared at his masterpiece, imagining the looks on the face of those who said he couldn't do it. His smug smile broke into a hearty laugh, and he felt a twinge. He realized what was about to happen too late, though considering the circumstances it was surprising it didn't happen much sooner. His obsession with his masterpiece left little time for eating or sleep, let alone cleaning the gathering dust that laid thickly on every surface of his home.
He sneezed. He sneezed so strongly that it made his eyes water and nose hurt from the force of air coming out of it. He didn't manage to cover his mouth beforehand, and heard a sound that filled him with dread. He quickly wiped the tears out of his eyes, only to replace them with others after seeing his once-great masterpiece strewn about the floor.
He composed himself after a few minutes, wiping his eyes dry once again. He took a few deep breaths, which caused him to sneeze again, and slowly got to his feet. He spent the next few hours cleaning his house, which took little time since it wasn't that large and he didn't own very much.
After sleeping for a short while and getting something to eat at the Eight Plates, he returned home to start again. He removed his broken masterpiece from the cupboard and took it to the table, slowly beginning to rebuild it. He recalled what Nine-Toes had said as he did, that doing this was easy.
Upon reflection the thought either Nine-Toes simply had a knack for it, or he was a liar. Of course, he had given Nine-Toes a rather loathsome mission a few days before he mentioned it, so perhaps it was his idea of revenge. Regardless, he had to finish it and show everyone, Nine-Toes in particular, that he could do it.
It was the easy comment that annoyed him most as he toiled on his masterpiece. By now he knew full well, making a model of a Dunmer Stronghold out of playing cards was NOT easy.