Disclaimer: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim © Bethesda. I own nothing except original content.

One-shot #1: Properties

"Housecarl Lydia!" The Nord in question winced at hearing her full title, especially considering that both of them were in the same room of the house, never-mind the fact that Breezehome was a tiny house with only four rooms to begin with (five if counting the hallway between their bedrooms and the lower floor).

"My Thane, you know you don't have to address me by my full title?" Quietly, she added to herself, "Especially not so loud when we're in the same room."

Alyssa seemed to ignore the comment and joined her at the table, pushing aside a couple plates and cups to make room for a map that she had with her. She unrolled the map and laid it across the table for Lydia to see. Lydia stared at the map for a few long seconds before asking, "What am I looking at?"

"A map of Skyrim. But look at it."

Lydia stared at the map for a good three minutes before asking Alyssa, "So... what am I supposed to see?"

The Khajiit's grin widened and she pointed at the map, "I own property in all Nine Holds now. See, there's this house here, Breezehome. I now own Hjerim in Windhelm, Honeyside in Riften, Proudspire Manor in Solitude, Vlindrel Hall in Markarth, Windstad Manor in Hjaalmarch, Lakeview Manor in Falkreath, and Heljarchen Hall in The Pale!"

"...This is what you were doing when you disappeared for three weeks?" Lydia's tone of voice made Alyssa's ears fold back in shame and her grin fade. Lydia didn't raise her voice though, "You know, I worry for you when you leave and don't return for days, or even weeks. When I last saw you, you had Steel Plate armor on, now you're wearing this." She gestured to the black armor with silver trimmings. "I know buying and building houses is safer than say, exploring Nordic Ruins or going toe-to-toe with the Dark Brotherhood, but at the very least I could've helped!" Alyssa was about to open her mouth to mention the vampires and the Forsworn she dealt with among other things to get the houses, but elected not to say so. Lydia glanced at her mug, half-full of Nord Mead and muttered in a somber tone, "We haven't done anything together for a long time, my Thane."

Alyssa was surprised at Lydia's sudden expression of sadness, having gotten used to the reverent and sometimes sarcastic comments the Housecarl normally made, "...I'm sorry we haven't done more together. And I blame the Courier's route and schedule for not being around to deliver my letters. But you know what? Now that I've got some free time, I was thinking maybe we'd hang out here for a bit. I was going to rest up a bit, then we could head over to the Bannered Mare. How does that sound?"

Lydia gave a weak grin, "It's a start. Maybe I could tag along for the next Bounty you hunt?" Alyssa's eyes widened at the question.

She glanced ahead at the wall before answering, "I'll think about it. I am a bit tired after all that work. You're welcome to join me." At Lydia's surprised stare, Alyssa tried to correct herself, "You know- You could- We could..." The Khajiit found herself at a loss for words, unable to tell Lydia what she meant to say. She growled in frustration and rested her head on the table.

Lydia took note, "My Thane? Did you mean to say that we could continue this conversation upstairs?" Alyssa looked up and nodded, calmer than she would have expected. She got up from the table, telling Lydia she was going to get out of her Ebony Armor and into something more comfortable and for Lydia to come upstairs whenever possible.

When Lydia finished her small meal, she made her way to Alyssa's room and found the Khajiit, stripped down to all but her black undergarments, wide awake and staring at the ceiling, arms folded under the pillow of the bed she was laying on. Lydia, having gotten used to Alyssa's 'sleepwear,' took a seat at the table next to the door to the bedroom. "Lydia, could you close that door? I know I locked the front door, but I'd feel better if you did." As per her Thane's command, Lydia stood back up and closed the doors before sitting back down. Alyssa decided that it was the perfect time to speak, "I've been thinking about it. Next bandit leader, tomorrow, we'll go do that, and then we'll go explore a Dwemer ruin together, unless something turns up."

Lydia leaned forward in her seat, "Dwemer ruin? My Thane, are you certain that you could handle something like that?"

Alyssa gave a half-hearted chuckle, "Maybe, there's no time like the present. And Lydia? Could you please just call me Alyssa? I know you're my Housecarl and I'm your Thane, but I'd rather you see me as your equal, not your superior."

Lydia grinned a bit, "I always saw myself more as your guardian. It worked out pretty well when that dragon ambushed us during our raid on that Stormcloak encampment."

Alyssa responded with a hearty laugh, "Yeah, those were good times... Tell you what, after we clear Mzinchaleft and Broken Oar Grotto, how about we go and visit Hadvar? I don't think you've been properly introduced to him. He's the Nord who..." Lydia asked Alyssa if everything was alright when she trailed off. Alyssa shook her head to clear her thoughts, "Yeah, he's the Nord who you saw me talking to outside of Riverwood, when we were on our way to Orphan Rock."

Alyssa couldn't suppress the yawn that followed and Lydia acknowledged it, "Perhaps you should take a nap. From the looks of it, you need it. I'll wake you up around nightfall."

Alyssa turned onto her side and curled up slightly, "You should sleep as well, Lydia. We have a long night ahead of us." Lydia nodded and left the bedroom, shutting the doors behind her as she did. Shortly after she left, Alyssa drifted off into the deep recesses of her dreams.

Her eyes snapped open and for just a moment, Alyssa felt like she couldn't move and panicked. She gasped and felt her entire body twitch. She frantically scrambled into an upright position while looking every direction she could. Realizing that she was back in reality, she tried to calm down, slowing her hyperventilation and pressing her hand against her chest as if hoping that would calm her racing heartbeat.

She took in a slow, deep breath through her nose, and exhaled through her mouth, reassuring herself mentally. 'It's just a dream. There's no dragon burning down villages, no executioner trying to cut my head off, no fiery rocks falling from the sky. I'm in my house in Whiterun, with Lydia.' She pressed a paw against her head, 'Gods dammit! Ever since I visited Dawnstar, I've seen that goddamn nightmare!' She tried to distract herself from the nightmare by trying to remember what her plan was for the night.

Her answer came in the form of Lydia opening the door to her room, "Ready for- Alyssa? Is everything alright?" Alyssa tried her best to give a calm nod. Lydia seemed to accept this, "Then we better get ready. I received an invitation from Hulda inviting us to a small celebration at the Bannered Mare."

"...Lydia? Remember what I said about going to Broken Oar Grotto and Mzinchaleft? Slight change of plans. We're going to stop by Dawnstar before then."

Lydia expressed her disbelief, "What do you expect to find there?"

Alyssa's answer came out shakier than she would've preferred, all but telling Lydia that she'd been scared by something, "W-we're going to talk to someone I know... After we go to the Bannered Mare." Lydia grinned a bit.

As she turned to leave, she glanced back at Alyssa, "I'll be downstairs if you need me." With that, she closed the door, leaving Alyssa alone with her thoughts for the moment. She got up off the bed and began getting dressed, choosing to slip back into her Ebony Armor in the hopes that she'd feel safer. She found herself slightly uncomfortable in the chest area upon managing to slip into the Cuirass. 'I ought to get this refitted.'

After having gotten ready, the duo left Breezehome and walked up the empty street to the Bannered Mare. The sun was setting and it was bound to be dark soon. Everywhere else was closing up shop for the coming night. Coincidentally, nightfall was when the party was supposed to take place. Thus, the only people not at the party or going to bed were the Whiterun Guards, who had switched to the night guards.

Once they were inside the pub, the duo found seats at the bar and decided to, at the moment, spend their time there. Alyssa had ordered a mug of Honningbrew Mead, which surprised Lydia a bit herself, having not expected Alyssa to be much of a drinker in the first place. When asked about it, Alyssa simply told her, "It's sweeter than all the other varieties I know about." This satisfied Lydia a bit, who decided to listen to the Bard singing about Ragnar the Red, a song that she'd heard before, one of her favorites. Things remained relatively quiet for the next hour.

"Say, isn't that the Khajiit you mentioned earlier?" A conversation near her piqued Lydia's interest and she decided to listen. "The one you said was adopted by a Bosmer couple?"

"Looks like her. But it was a Khajiit and a Nord who were raising her."

"A Nord and a Khajiit living together? How do you know that?"

"I know because that Nord was one of the people I delivered to. We got into long conversations about her. I first met her when I was still a courier and she was a little kitten, barely able to hold a dagger. But if you'd seen her, you could tell she lived like a Nord and carried a Nord's name proudly until you lost track of her and realized she'd taken your sweetroll. She was so innocent, it's a damn shame what happened to her caretakers."

"What happened to them?"

"I'm not sure. I was on my way through Elsweyr to deliver a package of sweetrolls, the Nord wasn't where he usually was, so I figured I'd leave them at the house. Door was open, and the poor girl was curled up in a corner crying. I found out later that she'd been sent to another couple, but beyond that I lost track of her."

"And you're certain that's her?"

"With the Divines as my witness. She looks exactly like that little one from my working days."

"I think I saw her a few days ago, she was visiting the stables with another Khajiit. One from the trade caravans, I think."

"Why would one of the traders leave the caravan?"

"I heard something about a favor, something about helping the trade caravan with carrying their stock. They bought a horse, from what I saw."

The conversation intrigued Lydia, who turned to ask Alyssa a question, only to see that she'd passed out, mug in hand, on the bar. She reached and gently shook the Khajiit awake. Alyssa gave a small groan and looked up, "Hmm...? Lydia? Everything alright?"

Lydia gave Alyssa a half-grin, "Can't hold your mead?" Alyssa gave her a drunken glare that made her chuckle. Alyssa couldn't help but laugh a bit as well. She seemed much more relaxed than Lydia had expected. It made her wonder just what she'd been through the past few days, and she was a bit interested in hearing about this other Khajiit. She had seen the trade caravans a few times and had a couple ideas about who it might be. She then realized that Alyssa was giving her a sultry look and asked, "Is there something on your mind?"

Alyssa managed to slur out, "Yurr braids is purty." She stood up from her seat and looked over at Lydia. She stumbled a bit, causing Lydia to shoot out of her seat and steady her. Alyssa gave her an immature grin, "You're holdin' muh hand." Lydia started wondering if the Bannered Mare was a good idea in the first place. Upon seeing Alyssa almost fall over again, she realized that for her, the party was already over. "Let's get you home, my Thane." Alyssa mumbled in protest to being called Thane, but gave up as she was escorted out of the Bannered Mare and back home.

Once back home, Lydia helped Alyssa get out of her Ebony Armor, and get her into her bed. As she left, Alyssa called out to her, "Lydee?"

Lydia sighed at the new 'nickname' and turned around, smiling, "Yes?"

She was slightly surprised to see Alyssa looking scared, "Cou'd yuh stay here wif me t'night?" Lydia thought about it.

She turned and asked Alyssa, "Is everything alright?" When Alyssa shook her head, she closed the doors and knelt next to the bed.

Despite being out of sorts, Alyssa was able to tell Lydia what the problem was, "I had a nightmare 'bout Helg'n." Lydia reached across the bed and held Alyssa's hand.

"I'll stay with you until you go to sleep, alright?" Alyssa gave a small grin and mouthed out a thanks before settling onto the bed and curling up, still holding Lydia's hand, though her grip had loosened enough that Lydia could slip out without a problem. She looked down at Alyssa and realized that the Khajiit had already fallen asleep.

A/N

→ Where did this scene come from? The original version of this oneshot was going to be about Dovahkiin's first trap (a hint of it is mentioned in passing). I decided instead that maybe, it wouldn't be a bad idea to instead try and show personal relationships between characters, as well as provide some backstory for fun. This oneshot might hint at some concepts that might be explored later on in additional oneshots, AU's, or Miniseries.