A/N: If you had read at least one or more of the my following stories ,'List of ways to get on the Dragonborn's nerves', 'In the moment of Darkness', and 'Chronicles of the Last Dragonborn'. Ignore whatever content that is in there. I have decided shape the time of events and my Dragonborn's past differently. So anyway, this story was originally intended to be my take on the Dragonborn fulfilling his destiny and blah... blah... blah but instead I decided to split the story into two separate ones, because it's going to take a long time for the Dragonborn to discover his abilities and I don't know when will that be. This part of the story won't have any presence of dragons coming back to life or Alduin attacking Helgen, but it tells the story of my Dragonborn's life in Skyrim before he was captured at the Cyrodiil border.
By the way, point out any grammar mistakes and weak vocabulary in this story. And please review if possible, the amount of time taken to type out a review is nothing compared to the time taken for me to type this chapter out. Even if you are not good or don't have a habit of reviewing, all you need to do is type whatever thoughts that come to your mind, simple as that. (I am trying to pick up the habit of reviewing frequently myself) Even if it's pointing out a minor flaw or offering encouragement, it will really help and motivate me. Well, if you hate it, either just don't review at all (I don't need flames and swearing in the review section) or point out why it is so bad. This way, I can improve on my flaws.
Chapter One: Into Exile
Winterhold was a city in ruins for seventy-eight years straight and it still remained like that till this day. There were barely any people living in the city, and if the Jarl had bothered to make an effort to rebuild the city, it would have been more lively and active. Instead, the Jarl just bitched and complained about the College of Winterhold, which was seemingly responsible for the Great Collapse which left Winterhold in ruins. It was already nighttime, and Winterhold became eerily quiet. The College was quiet too, as all of the students had turned in for the night.
All except one.
'Tick… Tock… Tick… Tock…' the analog clock hanging on the wall of the Arch-Mage quarters ticked away.
A Wood Elf with black hair was sitting in a chair in front of the Archmage's desk yawned as he continued to stare at the analog clock while waiting for the Archmage, who was sitting in his chair on the opposite side of the desk, to finish reading a book labeled 'Students' records'.
The Archmage, Savos Aren was a Dark Elf mage that had lived all his life and met many talented students, but not as talented as the one sitting opposite him: very young in age, a Wood Elf that mastered the school of Illusion and Destruction. However, that student had a record of breaking the most rules among all of the students of the College, in the past and the present. Savos-Aren closed the book shut and looked into the young Bosmer's eyes. However, the Bosmer just returned him an indifferent expression. Savos Aren sighed at his reaction. Just as always, the Bosmer always had a stoic face whenever he saw him.
"Draco," Savos began. "Do you know why you are sitting down here in front of me in my quarters right now?"
"I don't know," the Bosmer replied boringly. "I have done many things over the years that resulted you and the Master Wizard lecturing me harshly. Can you enlighten me what I did this time?"
"It is good that you are aware of all the rules you have broken over the years," Savos said sternly. "However, this time, don't you think that you have gone too far by stirring up a fiasco?"
"What did I do?" Draco asked nonchalantly.
"The student exchange program. The fiasco you made at the College of Whispers during your visit there."
'Oh, that fiasco,' Draco thought as he started to recall what he did during one of the lectures a few days ago…
In the lecture hall of the College of Whispers, Draco yawned as he heard the professor giving the lecture about Ysgramor and the Five Hundred Companions and their victory in the Nordic-Falmer War, a topic that he knew well. Way too well, in fact. Draco hoped that he could 'survive' his current lecture, although he doubted it.
And the more unfortunate thing is that the professor was a Nord.
"Blah… blah… blah," the professor droned.
That was what the professor said, well from Draco's point of view. He really felt like sleeping already. This went on for ten minutes until the professor said something that caught his attention.
"The Snow Elves brought this fate upon their own selves," the professor said. "Had they not attacked Saarthal, they probably wouldn't have been living as abominations as we see today."
Draco groaned.
"Now, before anyone of you conclude that Ysgramor and the Five Hundred Companions were cruel and forcefully drove out the Snow Elves out of Skyrim, I have to say that it was the Dwarves' cruelty that caused the Snow Elves to turn into the Falmer we see today."
'Directly got that from the Pocket Guide to the Empire First Edition,' Draco thought.
An Imperial student raised up his hand and asked, "But why did the Snow Elves attack Saarthal in the first place?"
Draco wanted to answer 'Because the bloody Atmorans wanted the power of the Eye of Magnus to themselves and the Snow Elves were afraid that the Atmorans would abuse it, as some of them were Dragon Priests'. However, the professor said, "The Snow Elves were afraid of the increasing population of the Atmoran settlers and feared that they would be overrun one day. So, in order to protect themselves, they decided to kill everyone in Saarthal."
'Again, from the Pocket Guide to the Empire First Edition,' Draco thought.
"However, there is some dispute that this was not the reason why the Snow Elves attacked Saarthal," the professor continued.
'Here we go, the Night of Tears,' Draco thought. 'More lies again.'
"There is a source that says that the Atmoran settlers uncovered something of great power beneath Saarthal, and the Snow Elves wanted it for themselves."
'Lies,' Draco thought. 'It was the other way round. Luckily for me, I had an expedition to Saarthal, and saw the draugr Jyrik Gauldurson harnessing the power of the Eye of Magnus.'
"The act of Ysgramor and the Five Hundred Companions was justified."
That did it.
"BOOOOOOOOOO!" Draco shouted from his seat. "BOOOOOOOO!"
"I'm sorry, but what was that booing for?" the professor asked loudly, feeling angry.
"I would really like to know how competent you are as a professor!" Draco shouted. "What you said are all lies! All of them! Okay, except for the part where the Dwemer are directly responsible for the Snow Elves' plight. But the Atmorans are the ones that are primarily responsible for it!"
"Hey! You don't have the right to say that!" a Nord student from the other side of the hall shouted.
"Ignorant elf! You know nothing!" another Nord shouted.
Anyway, all of the Nord students countered back. The non-Nord students just looked at each other in confusion or just kept quiet and listened.
"Since you think you are so smart," the professor said, tone clearly rising. "Why don't you give the lecture instead?"
"Sure! It would be my pleasure!" Draco shouted as he sauntered his way to the stage.
Once he reached the stage, he could feel the professor giving him a glare, but Draco just ignored him. Draco cleared his breath and looked at the audience as he continued the lecture.
"Hello and good afternoon lads and lasses, what a wonderful weather we're having," Draco began as a clap of thunder was heard together with the pitter patter of the rain.
"Now, let's begin. You don't need to know who I am, but I am from the College of Winterhold in Skyrim and learnt many things there. Anyway, let's just cut to the chase and begin. You say 'Snow Elves are just as evil as the Thalmor! Snow Elves slaughtered the people at Saarthal! Ysgramor did a mass genocide and it was only fair! They didn't turn into Falmer because of Atmorans, but Dwemer! Blame the Dwemer, not the Atmorans! Snow Elves attacked Saarthal because they're cowards!' If I hear that, I will reply 'Yeah, you got that from the Pocket Guide to the Empire First Edition, which is completely biased and unreliable'."
"And how are you going to prove that the Pocket Guide was unreliable?" a Nord student retorted.
"Patience, I was just getting to that," Draco replied. "And where are your manners, you didn't even raise up your hand to ask a question, but never mind, I don't wish to waste my time on that. So where was I? Oh yes, the Pocket Guide. The Pocket Guide was written by the victors: Ysgramor and the Five Hundred Companions and it is massively biased against the Elves."
"Yeah, but it was…" another Nord student retorted but he was interrupted not long after.
"I know what you're trying to say. You're going to say that the Pocket Guide was edited by an unknown male elf that has a strong dislike of the humans and the Empire. But remember, the humans dominated the elves that time, so that editor must have some restrictions in editing the Guide. Now please, let me continue. There is another source that says that the Atmorans uncovered something powerful in Saarthal and wanted to keep it away from everyone else. And the Snow Elves invaded Saarthal as they coveted that 'something' and wanted to keep it for themselves. My first response to this? I'd say that it was the OTHER WAY ROUND!"
"Now, I know all of you are wondering how I'm going to prove this claim. Let's just say that the College of Winterhold has approved an expedition to Saarthal for the students. And I saw a draugr harnessing power from that 'something', and I'm not going to say what it was."
There were now murmurs from the audience, except for the Nord students, who gave Draco a glare instead.
Draco continued. "Let me share with all of you my theory. I'd say that the Snow Elves were protecting that 'something' from the Atmorans, because the Snow Elves knew that the Atmorans could not handle the power from that 'something'. Moreover, some of the Atmorans were Dragon Priests, who are brutal and oppressive. Now, all of you must be wondering how I uncovered this idea. I say that according to many books that are written by humans, the Snow Elves were a very proud, prosperous people and did not want war with the Atmorans, which leads us to the question, why attack Saarthal if they were at peace with them? Most scholars would say that the attacked to covet the power of that 'something' to themselves. However, this was not always the case. The Atmorans claim to be peaceful people but just look. Slaughter everyone in one city? Respond by performing genocide on the entire Snow Elf race. Ysgramor's logic. By the way, I don't think the Ancient Falmer wanted to slaughter the Atmorans, they just wanted to drive them away."
"Now, all of you have to realise that the Five Hundred Companions are completely set on being douchebags under Ysgramor's campaign of revenge. Although here was nothing to clearly say whether the Ancient Falmer or the Atmorans were wrong, Ysgramor saw the attack on Saarthal as a 'massacre'. In my opinion, there was no 'massacre' at all, the Ancient Falmer only wanted to drive the Atmorans out of Skyrim. By now, you should have noticed that I address the Snow Elves as 'Ancient Falmer' now. I prefer to address them that way. The Ancient Falmer never wanted to slaughter every single Atmoran, but the Atmorans wanted to slaughter all Ancient Falmer. But as you know, the remaining Ancient Falmer who managed to escape made a deal with the Dwemer, and that resulted in their ultimate demise. Who caused the Ancient Falmer to turn to the Dwemer? The Atmorans."
The entire audience (except for the Nord students) became much more interested in what Draco was saying and begun taking down a lot of notes. The professor's face was now red in anger.
"Well, the Falmer still attacked first!" the professor shouted at Draco.
"I think it's considered false by now," Draco said. "Ysgramor and his fellow Atmorans fled from a violent civil war in Atmora, so it's quite clear that the Atmorans aren't really that peaceful like some would claim. Let me tell you all of this, the Atmorans and the Nords deserved to be KICKED OUT OF SKYRIM!"
"Now, Ysgramor's campaign of genocide on the Ancient Falmer didn't end upon his death," Draco continued. "It continued in Skyrim when it was under the reign of King Harald, the thirteenth of Ysgramor's line. Thirteenth. THIRTEENTH! This is completely ridiculous! For attacking a single city, the elimination of the entire race continues for centuries after that attack! I wonder how many times I mentioned this now. Anyway, the Atmorans are bastards! Douchebags! Assholes!"
There were murmurs of admiration of some of the students, which were all non-Nords obviously.
Draco continued. "Now, before I end this lecture, I have one last thing to add on. Did you know, that in Skyrim, there is this common saying by Nords during a battle, 'Skyrim belong to the Nords!' Yes, it's a common battle cry of a Stormcloak, a Nord bandit, a Nord thief and so on. You know what? I hate it when they say that. Because Skyrim doesn't belong to the Nords, it belongs to the Snow Elves… oh and the Dwemer, but mostly Snow Elves. Anyway, as a result, Skyrim belongs to the Snow Elves. If anyone here agrees with me on this, do me a favour will ya? If you visit Skyrim and hear someone shout 'Skyrim belongs to the Nords!', respond back by shouting 'SKYRIM BELONGS TO THE SNOW ELVES!'"
And after that, the entire audience (except for the Nord students) stood up and cheered, obviously impressed by Draco's lecture.
"Thank you! Thank you!" Draco said as he bowed to the audience.
"STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM!" a commanding voice pierced through the lecture hall, silencing everyone.
Everyone turned to see an Imperial Watch Captain and a few more guards marching up to Draco. Apparently, he hadn't noticed that the professor had left the hall to bring in the Imperial Watch.
'I could tell where this is coming from,' Draco thought. 'The professor hates me and no doubt will report my 'inappropriate' attitude and behaviour to Savos Aren and Mirabelle Ervine.'
"You violated the law! Now…"
"Pay a fine or serve my sentence right?" Draco interrupted. "How about a no?"
"It's off to jail then!"
"If you can catch me," Draco replied as he sprinted past the Imperial Watch guards.
The Imperial Watch guards chased Draco relentlessly out of the College of Whispers. However, Draco managed to give the slip by casting an invisibility spell on himself before fleeing straight towards the border to Skyrim. Fortunately for him, the guards stationed at the Skyrim-Cyrodiil border were not aware of Draco's warrant of arrest yet, and Draco managed to get back to Skyrim.
That was one very interesting day. Okay, maybe he might be a little biased towards the Atmorans and the Nords, but it is a fact that their actions are worse than the Aldmer and the Nedes. While he wasn't proud of his ancsetors, the Aldmer, for stealing the land of the Imga and other native creatures of Valenwood, at least they got along well with the remaining ones that lived. The way Saint Alessia and the Nedes treated the Ayleids after being free from their slavery was justified, although cruel. Well, the Atmorans were the worst. They were hell bent on destroying all of the Snow Elves for several centuries after a single Falmer invasion of Saarthal. And about Saarthal, he was involved in an expedition to the Nordic ruin, which resulted in him encountering a Psijic Monk and found a powerful draugr named Jyrik Gaulderson harnessing the power of a strange magical orb which he had no idea what it was, until some research which identified it as the Eye of Magnus.
"Are you listening to me?" Savos's voice broke Draco's thoughts and brought him back.
"Yes, I'm still here, go on," Draco replied.
"After me and Master Wizard Mirabelle received a complaint about your actions, we had to persuade the College of Whispers to drop the case about you, and it wasn't easy. The reputation of the College of Winterhold is already tainted, and there is no need to worsen it," Savos explained.
"But there is a matter of free speech, right?" Draco said. "Everything we hear and see is a perspective, not the truth, so it's completely fine if I voiced out my opinion during that lecture."
"Draco, just…" Savos paused before sighing. "Look, my point is, don't do anything that will endanger the College, and especially yourself."
"I don't see how that is dangerous, besides…"
"Draco, please let me finish for a moment," Savos interrupted. "You have joined the College four years ago, when you were twenty. Mirabelle and I have questioned Faralda in letting you in the College, but you later proved to be skillful in the schools of Illusion and Destruction, mastering them in just thirty months and surpassed the skill of Drevis and Faralda themselves."
"Actually, it was more than a decade," Draco said. "I started training myself in magic when I was a child."
Savos ignored Draco as he continued. "You have also taken up quite an interest in the Falmer during your years here, did a lot of research and determined to find a cure for them. However, there is a huge list of College rules you had broken."
"What are they? I lost count of them."
Savos cleared his throat. "Other than the fiasco you stirred up at the College of Whispers, used live Falmer for your experiments, set one frenzied Falmer on the loose and allowed it to chase a College member, built an altar of spellmaking without anyone's knowledge, setting fire on Ancano's robes and punching him directly on his face which caused him to have a nosebleed, stole several books from the Arcaneum, blew up an entire classroom, and…"
"Hold it, hold it," Draco interrupted. "Firstly, I did the experiments on the Falmer outside the College. Secondly, Onmund was disturbing me so I had to do somtehing to 'motivate' him to go away. Thirdly, Urag stubbornly refused to lend me the books I seek so I had to steal them. Then I don't see how building an altar of spellmaking is such a bad thing. Oh, and Ancano was a snotty Thalmor jerk and insulted my intelligence, so I had to teach him a lesson. And…"
"Enough!" Savos shouted fiercely, silencing Draco. "Listen," Savos said calmly. "Please stop finding excuses. There is a reason why there are rules. And the main reason is to keep yourselves safe from harm."
"Aren't I sitting in front of you completely fine right now?"
"No. Draco, you see…" Savos Aren trailed off. He got out of his seat to check if the doors are locked before casting a Detect Life spell to confirm that there is no one eavesdropping on their conversation. When there were no signs of life other than Draco and himself, Savos got back to his seat and started to get more serious than ever.
"Draco, I think I should tell you this even though you know," Savos said. "As you know, Ancano is a Thalmor agent, and…. 'serves' as my… 'advisor'. He also reports to his superiors often about what the College is doing, and from what I heard, you are attracting the attention of the Thalmor, especially after you discovered the Eye of Magnus in Saarthal. Look, you mastered the schools of Destruction and Illusion, you are a really good archaeologist and explorer, an avid and committed researcher of the Falmer and even have the ambition to seek a cure for them. In this time of age, there are not many altars of spellmaking left in Tamriel, only Morrowind, High Rock and Summerset Isles are the only provinces that have those altars left. The Arcane University in Cyrodiil used to have these altars, but the Thalmor had taken them all away. Skyrim never had any of these altars, but you have built one of them on your own without anyone's knowledge. Look at all of your actions, skills and talents. And your expedition to Saarthal, Tolfdir told me that you claimed to see a Psijic Monk appearing out of thin air in front of you and warned you about 'dangers' ahead of you. It's a matter of time before the Thalmor put their full attention on you."
"Don't worry, I can take care of myself. I dealt with some of them before back in Valenwood," Draco said. "Besides, if you're worried about the Thalmor, why not send Ancano away?"
"Draco, I never liked Ancano anyway, but the reason why I kept him here is because I don't want the Thalmor to plant students or teachers in the College as spies, which will endanger the College more," Savos explained.
There was a moment of silence before Draco spoke up.
"Fine, I can understand your concerns," Draco said. "So, can I go now?"
"Not yet," Savos said. "Your actions at the College of Whispers are way too bold. As Archmage, I have to do something about this. For many of the rules you have broken, Mirabelle and I have let you off because of Faralda persuaded us not to. Faralda clearly sees a lot of potential in you. However, this time, I can't let you off that easily. You must be punished."
"Okay, so what will it be?"
"I'm afraid that I will be sending you to exile from the College for a year."
Time seemed to slow down tremendously. After what seemed like an eternity, Draco spoke.
"That's it?" Draco asked. "Exile me for a year? Just like that?"
Savos Aren was surprised upon hearing what Draco said. Draco spoke like he did not care what his punishment was, or he took the punishment lightly.
"You seem… indifferent about this punishment," Savos said.
Draco knew that the reason he was indifferent about the punishment issued to him was because he had been somewhat expecting that already. After all Savos said, it would be normal if Savos decided to expel him. However, Savos decided to exile him for a whole year instead, which was considered to be lenient to Draco.
"No point complaining about my punishment," Draco shrugged. "So how much time do I have to pack my stuff before leaving this place?"
"Since it's late already, I will let you turn in for the night, but I expect you to leave at eleven in the morning. You will only be allowed to return on the Eleventh of Evening Star next year."
"All right, I'll take note of that," Draco said. "So, may I go now?"
"Yes, you may. Remember, I expect you to leave by eleven in the morning."
-DF-
Draco woke up at nine in the morning the following day in order to pack up his things and finish up everything he needed to do before he leaves the College. After getting out of bed, the first thing he did was to splash his face with cold water from the water bucket placed on the floor of his room beside his bed. He would always leave a bucket of cold water beside him before going to bed every night so when he wakes up the next day, he could conveniently use the water to keep him fully awake immediately. After splashing his face with the cold water, Draco opened up his wardrobe to change to the only set of armour he had – the plain Valenwood Bosmer armour he had managed to acquire a set back together with a longsword in his homeland ten years ago. He might have not needed it ten years ago, but after he left Valenwood, it had proven to be useful and saved his life many times.
After changing into his armour, he threw his college robes into his knapsack, followed by his books, a quill, an inkwell, a few potions, and food supplies. However, it was a pity to him that he had to leave some of his important research notes about the Falmer, as his knapsack could not really store that many items. Draco looked at the analog clock hanging on the wall of his room and saw that it was now half an hour to eleven. He knew that he better leave soon. After carrying his knapsack, he grabbed his Valenwood longsword that was lying on the nightstand and thrust it through his sword belt, wore an enchanted amulet around his neck and put on his Bosmer mask which covered the lower half of his face. Now he was good to go.
Surprisingly, on his way out to the College grounds, no one he bumped into acknowledged the fact that he was sent to exile for a year. Draco guessed that the news had not really spread yet. Still, it made his exit easier as he did not need to reply to any questions that involved why he was being punished this way. As he reached the main gate, he turned around to look at the statue of the famous Archmage Shalidor of the First Era in the middle of the courtyard. Though Shalidor was a Nord, Draco had a lot of admiration and respect for him. Shalidor was known to have a vast knowledge of the workings of magicka that few had ever known, and Draco had once aspired to be somewhat like him once, but in the end, Draco found himself to be absorbed with the subject of the Snow Elves after learning about those poor elves who became twisted and evil, now known as the Falmer. Now he became obsessed with the Snow Elves and wanted to seek out a cure for them one day. However, judging by his punishment, it's going to be a year before he can continue his research.
'Well, this is it,' Draco thought. 'It's going to be a year before I step back into this courtyard. I had never thought I would miss the grumpy Orc librarian Urag, but it turns out I would, and as well as some of my mentors - Faralda, Drevis and Tolfdir. I won't be missing most of the other students there and that snotty Thalmor Ancano though.' Draco was about to walk out of the College gates before he heard a feminine High Elf voice that was calling out to him.
"Draco! Wait up!"
Draco immediately stopped walking and turned around to see a female Altmer running towards him. She was wearing master destruction robes, had pale skin, light brown with two high ponytails. Draco immediately recognised her as the College Gatekeeper, who was also a professor in the school of destruction and his mentor at the same time.
"What is it Faralda?" Draco asked.
"I heard from Mirabelle that Savos has decided to exile you from the College," Faralda replied.
"It's true, but only for a year. Time will fly quickly and before we know it, I will be back right here. You don't need to worry about me."
"I'm not exactly worried for you. After all, I was the one who let you into the College in the first place and saw what you are capable of. To be honest, I'm impressed that you managed to master the school of Destruction so quickly."
"Well, not exactly," Draco said. "I am more specialised in pyromancy. I am not really that good in electromancy and I suck in cryomancy."
"Still, it is a fact that you are a better Destruction mage than me," Faralda argued. "By the way, the reason I stopped you because I wanted to pass you this." She took out a book from her satchel and pressed it into Draco's hands. Draco saw that the cover of the book depicts the symbol of Cyrodiil's Mages Guild.
"What is this?" Draco asked.
"I had this book with me for a long time. It's called Power of the Elements. You see, over the years there are powerful magics lost to the ages, incredible spells that only the most skilled mages can master," Faralda explained. "This book is the only thing I have ever found. I think it is better off in your hands."
"Thank you Faralda. But why pass it to me?" Draco asked.
"I have lived for a few centuries, and it took me ages to master the school of Destruction," Faralda replied. "However, it is different for your case. You are only in your twenties but yet you have mastered not just only the school of Destruction, but also the school of Illusion. Drevis is impressed that someone like you already surpassed him in Illusion. Besides, I am just a College professor. Unlike you, I have to stay within the College most of the time while you have the freedom to explore and do your own research outside the College. There is no point keeping this book with me, but perhaps you can make better use and progress with it, even more so as you are being sent to exile."
Draco looked down at the book gain before looking up at Faralda. "I'll definitely put this to good use," he said.
"I know you will," Faralda said as she smiled.
"Well… well… well… What do we have here?" a voice of superiority came from nowhere.
Faralda and Draco turned around and saw Ancano striding towards them. His long hair was as white as the snow, face looking grumpy, and wore a pristine set of Thalmor robes.
"So…" Ancano started as he pushed Faralda aside and looked into Draco's green human eyes cynically before continuing, "it appears that you have gotten into some serious trouble that got you exiled. How typical of you."
"What do you want, Ancano?" Draco's asked in a monotone.
"Nothing of importance. Just wondering how in Oblivion you only got exiled now," Ancano laughed. "You were quite a big troublemaker and I am glad that Savos has decided to take action to chase you out. It's about time something like this happened to people like you, half-elf."
Draco did not say anything in response.
"Hmm, you are always being eerily quiet," Ancano said. "But then again, you don't speak with words most of the time, but through actions. I can not believe that Savos actually stopped me from dealing with you when you burnt my robes and punched me in the face."
"Stop raking up the past Ancano," Faralda said sternly.
"Why can't I?" Ancano sneered. "If my memory does not fail me, it was you who persuaded Savos to let this brat off!"
"Yes, I did," Faralda replied. "Because I think a punishment for this matter isn't necessary. After all, you were the one who made threats to him first. And it's not only him, you threatened others as well."
"Enough talk!" Ancano snapped before turning back to Draco. "Let me tell you, I report to my superiors about what's going on in the College, so you watch yourself. Oh wait, I forgot, you're exiled. What I meant to say is, I will be paying a lot more attention on you closely after you step back here, and I mean every word I said." Ancano's eyes then fell on the book 'Power of the Elements' that was still in Draco's hands.
"Let me see that book," Ancano said.
"What book?" Draco said noncahlantly.
"Don't play coy with me. Give me the book that's in your hands right now," Ancano demanded.
"And if I say no?"
"Then I'll make sure that…"
"That book belongs to me, not him," Faralda interrupted. "The book is not his to begin with. I gave it to him. So you don't need to worry what kind of mischief he would be up to next. I can assure that the book will be nothing of interest to you."
Ancano glared at Faralda. "Fine. However, if I find out whatever the importance of the book that will directly affect the interests of the Thalmor, I will report this to my superiors and I will not let the both of you off." Ancano stormed off indignantly.
"I won't miss him," Draco said.
"I'm sure you won't," Faralda said in contempt. "Everyone hates him anyway."
Draco gave a short snort. He hated Ancano when he first saw him. That jerk thought that he was superior to everybody and seemed to dare someone to challenge him. But since Ancano was a Thalmor, hating him was a natural reaction. When Draco lived in Valenwood as a young child, his mother was killed by the Thalmor in a purge, and when it looked like that the Thalmor soldiers wanted to kill him, he had to flee and fight for his life at a young age. Life was really hard for him until he fled all the way to Skyrim and joined the College of Winterhold.
"By the way Draco, aren't you supposed to make a move now?" Faralda reminded.
"What? Oh right. I have to leave now," Draco mumbled. However, after a few steps, he stopped and turned to look at Faralda. Faralda noticed his hesitance and asked, "Is there anything else?"
"Well nothing of sort," Draco replied. "It's just that… I want to say thank you one more time."
"Why?" Faralda asked in curiousity.
"After my mother was killed in Valenwood, I have no more kin and my life became extremely tough. I did many unlawful things to ensure my survival, especially when I was in Cyrodiil. And then I fled to Skyrim. If it wasn't for you, I would probably be still sleeping in the wilderness and live like a vagabond. You were the one that found me and allowed me into the College. Among all the College professors, you guided me the most, showed me a lot of concern, and even pleaded Mirabelle and Savos to let me off when I broke some rules of the College. You are like… an elder sister to me. An elder sister looking after her younger brother."
"You flatter me," Faralda said, laughing. "I feel honoured that you see me as an elder sister. Well, since you see me as your elder sister, I have a piece of advice for you. Don't idle away during your exile. Find something meaningful to do and always remember to take care of yourself, especially when it comes to dealing with the Falmer, if you're planning to interact with them."
"Even without you telling me, I will still do that," Draco said.
Both of them laughed for a short moment before looking at each other in silence. Draco decided to speak.
"Well, this is it then," Draco started. "Farewell Faralda, take care of yourself. I will certainly miss you and the others."
"You take care of yourself too, and I will also miss you," Faralda replied.
After the farewell, Draco turned around and walked out of the College gates as Faralda watched him leave. The moment Draco stepped out of the gates and onto the bridge, he felt both the wind and atmosphere becoming stronger and colder. Despite wearing leather armour, Draco's armour was thick enough to keep him warm in the harsh cold weather, even though it was in the winter season. Draco continued to keep walking down until he reached the end of the bridge, where he turned his head around at that point to take one final look at the College of Winterhold before making his way to the Frozen Hearth Inn.
'Seems that I have a lot of planning to do,' Draco thought.