Chapter Three
A very loud, and a very shrill shout awoke Yosa'Min from her sleep. At first she jumped up from her bed, clutching her green blanket tightly to her lightly clothed form, blue eyes darting around her home and a hand reaching towards a dagger that rested on a chest nearby. She looked ready for battle, almost, until she realized she wasn't under attack by some insane creature or dragon. Which had actually happened before in the past so she didn't put much stock into it not happening once more.
Instead, Lydia came stumbling up the stairs without so much as a scrap of clothing on her body, pale skin white as snow. "Dammit Lydia!" Snarled Yosa'Min, bringing up a hand to shield her eyes from the housecarl's bare form. "As much as I like women, I do not need to see you like this."
The brunet nord glanced down at her body, an already present blush growing even redder across her face and rushing over to snatch the blanket Yosa'Min held out towards her. Once she had covered herself up, the flustered woman sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at the wooden floor. Yosa'Min could easily guess what it was all about, but she wasn't going to push it, instead she'd wait until Lydia decided to talk.
The nord held her hands on her lap, head down and eyes closed as she tried to talk but couldn't get her mouth to agree with her. "Iona and I..." She trailed off, muttering under her breath with frustration and then leaning her head back to the ceiling. "We-" At that moment a rather tense redheaded nord came up from the basement, dressed in a shirt and pants, and left out the front door of the home. It slammed shut rather loudly, Lydia flinching. The two women on the bed watched her depart, Lydia feeling guilt boil up inside her at the distress on Iona's face.
"You two had sex," Yosa'Min concluded, though she'd heard first hand what was going on downstairs. Lydia nodded, lowering her head into her hands that were propped up on her elbows now. "So what?" The redguard asked with a shrug.
Instantly Lydia jolted up, turning to face her so sharply the blanket had nearly been loosened from her body. "So what?" She was a bit hysterical for a moment before calming down enough as she continued, "So what is that she's a woman! I'm a woman!" Yosa'Min arched a brow at her with a rather annoyed expression, hands gesturing at herself as she lounged on her large bed.
Shaking her head apologetically, Lydia rose to her feet and started to pace, one hand on the blanket. "I don't mean you any offense Yosa, it's just, I mean, I don't like women! Not like that anyways, and I thought she didn't either."
"You two were drunk?"
Nodding her head, Lydia agreed. "I suppose, that's the only thing that makes any sense. I don't exactly remember much after sitting down for dinner last night, so, we must have gotten drunk." The thought that it was only the mead seemed to put her at rest for a moment.
"But you liked it?" Asked Yosa'Min, shattering the few thoughts that had put the housecarl at ease into countless pieces. "You sounded like you were," added the redguard. She wasn't smug or teasing in the way she spoke, just a certain type of matter-of-fact tone to her words that irritated Lydia more than a joke or a taunt would have.
"No!" She objected fiercely, "I mean, obviously I liked it then but now? No, I mean, I don't do women, I do men, if I even ever have that chance."
"She seemed to have liked it," Yosa'Min remarked, her tone still flat.
"We were having sex, and I admit it was good sex, so of course we enjoyed it!" Huffed Lydia.
Blue eyes flicked up to the frustrated nord. "So, you two had sex, good sex as you put it, and now you only want to blame it on the mead?"
Lydia's lips were pulled into a tight line, hazel eyes narrowed at her Thane as she tried to figure out exactly what she was asking. When she was more like herself, Yosa'Min would speak in riddles to her sometimes and other moments she was crudely blunt. But lately she was rather confusing, as if she meant to say one thing but couldn't bring herself to say it so instead she spoke something else. "What do you mean?" Lydia asked slowly.
"She's got a nice bum don't you think?" The redguard seemingly asked out of the blue, Lydia's expression changing to obvious confusion as she shook her head, trying to follow along with the conversation. "Lovely hair too."
"Iona?" Nervously guessed Lydia.
"Yes Iona," Yosa'Min snorted, "Who else?"
Biting her lip as she pictured the woman from what she could recall from the night before, Lydia nodded her head with a blush. "Well I suppose she does. But what do you mean by all that?"
Shrugging, "I don't know," Yosa'Min said flatly, leaning her head back against the wooden wall, twiddling her thumbs on her lap. "Perhaps that you liked it and women more than you're letting yourself think?"
"I don't like women Yosa'Min, I'm not like you, Vex or Mjoll," objected Lydia. Upon mentioning the nord adventurer, a shadow seemed to have fallen across the redguard's face. Instantly she stopped twiddling her thumbs, hands instead falling flat against the bed. "Yosa, I'm sorry I-"
"No, you're right," she cut her short, tone cold, "You're not. It was just the mead," venom was slipping into her words, blue eyes glaring at the nord woman. She moved swiftly up, resting on her knees and leaning towards Lydia rather aggressively across the bed. "If you want to pretend like that's all it was, then by all means live in your delusion. But I've seen you two flirting with each other. Small remarks that would normally be innocent sure, small little touches that you think don't mean a thing."
"When do we ever do that?" Objected Lydia haughtily.
Yosa'Min clenched and relaxed her hands several times over, muttering beneath her breath, "You nords are so bloody stubborn and blind sometimes I swear!"
"What?" Hissed Lydia, "At least we're not bitches without reason redguard!"
"I have perfectly good reason nord!" Shouted Yosa'Min, not even a half a foot away from her. "And what I mean to say is that you two have had some kind of attraction going on for months now, and yet neither of you realized it. And then you get drunk, something happens, and it's suddenly oh so scary to deal with what it means. So you deny it and bury it and pretend its not there."
Hazel eyes were narrowed with fury, Lydia forgetting her duty and honor for a few moments. She'd hoped Yosa'Min would help her figure out what to do next, how to fix what had happened with Iona. But instead, the Dragonborn had only proved to have been a mistake to come talk to even though she easily should have been able to relate. Her own frustration bubbling, Lydia stood up and glared at Yosa'Min. "I learned from the best."
It was like a slap in the face, Yosa'Min stiffening for a moment before she slumped down in defeat. Lydia had turned around and been about to stomp her way downstairs to get dressed beyond that of a blanket when the redguard spoke up. She sounded broken again, the cold mask removed with that one blow. "Don't go," she whimpered, "I'm sorry."
Pausing, Lydia bit her cheek before looking over her shoulder at Yosa'Min. "I'm going to get dressed, give us both a minute to cool down," she said with a twinge of guilt. Yosa'Min nodded her head, and then fell back onto her side, shivering a bit in the cold that seeped inside between the wood that made up the house. By the time Lydia had returned, she felt like an icicle despite a slowly burning fire in the kitchen.
The housecarl draped the green cloth over Yosa'Min's body, blue eyes blinking thanks for a moment before she shuffled back into a more conversational position, the blanket wrapped tightly around her body. Lydia sat down on the bed, legs crossed. She'd changed into her regular clothing, a white blouse with a bit of blue lining and leather pants. An apologetic smile was offered, and Yosa'Min simply nodded her head in response. "Look, I'm sorry, I was out of line," Lydia said, "I came for advice, I should have been willing to listen to it at least."
"I wasn't being the best person about your sexuality either," Yosa'Min replied, "It's yours, not mine, I don't know what you really feel or think."
Offering a small smile, Lydia shrugged, "So, what do you think?" Nerves flooded back over her body.
"Honestly?" Lydia nodded her head, "Alright, well I think you like women. But, that's just what I think. I don't know, maybe experiment with Iona. You've already opened that door with her, and it's too late to shut it." Yosa'Min frowned a bit, "But you two live together, and I'd rather not have you want to kill each other or something, so do be careful. Just, approach her about it and if she wants to try things out or if she wants to pretend it didn't happen, then whichever you're alright with then do it."
"That's it?"
"That's it," Yosa'Min nodded her head. "And, if you decide that it really was just the mead, then hopefully you two can return things to normalcy."
Lydia sighed, "And what happens if we both decide to... pursue it?" A blush worked its way across her pale face, Yosa'Min actually smirking a bit.
"Well," she paused for a second, each word slow and mystical, "You two kiss, hold hands, care for each other, spend time with one another, hug, hold one another, laugh and play and enjoy each other's company. You make love not just have sex," blue eyes were glassed with memory, her heart wrenching inside her as all she could think of was Mjoll.
The redguard continued after a moment. "If you give it enough time, and you two really are falling for each other than your head feels like it's in the heavens, and you get this warm feeling all up your body. You'd do most anything for them, and they'd do it for you too. But it can't be forced or rushed or happen overnight. It takes time and patience and slowly that little sapling grows into a huge tree where you can rest beneath. If it's meant to be, then that tree will keep on growing even after you're gone. No fires or pestilence or ax can bring it down."
Pain flooded her words as she continued, "but if it isn't then the tree will fall, and if you don't realize it soon enough, you might not get out of the way in time."
"Yosa-"
"Don't," Yosa'Min cut her short, fingers firmly holding onto the blanket around her. Despite the wisdom coming from her, Yosa'Min looked like a child to Lydia all swaddled in the green cloth. It was almost hard to take such serious advice from her. "It might still hurt a little to think about, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to break down anymore okay?"
Dipping her head respectfully, Lydia replied, "Okay, I understand."
"Good," Yosa'Min was firm for only a few moments before her soft words returned, "being in a relationship with a woman isn't much different from a man," she said, going back to the question Lydia had asked earlier. "I mean, aside from all the obvious physical differences that is." That got Lydia chuckling a bit, growing more comfortable with the conversation.
"Emotionally though, you're just two people connecting on an intimate level hoping for something even better to come from it. Maybe it will, maybe it won't, and there is still a chance for you to get hurt. But with how things have already progressed with you two, then I personally thing that if you can get it started, you're not going to get hurt that bad if you do."
"So you think it could happen?"
Yosa'Min looked at the slightly hopeful Lydia, and smiled encouragingly, reaching one hand out to squeeze Lydia's. "You're both fantastic women, I'm sure that if you both want it, it'll happen and it'll be lovely."
Blushing, Lydia averted her gaze for a few moments before she nodded her head, "So now what?"
With a smirk, Yosa'Min let go over her hand and laid back down, pulling the blanket closer to her body, "Now what is you go after Iona before she thinks you don't care and I get some much needed sleep. I've got plans tonight,"she said over her shoulder as she shuffled back into a comfortable position.
Laughing, Lydia got to her feet and started out the house. Before she left though, she paused by the door and looked down for a second in thought. "Hey Yosa," she called over, "thanks. It really means a lot."
The redguard raised a hand and waved in response, Lydia rolling her eyes and leaving a moment later.
Lydia found herself by the keep when she found Iona, along side the wall where the guards practiced their skills in either fighting close combat or archery. It was closed off like the other side of the keep, stone all around with a platform that ran along the whole of the building besides it. There was dead ivy just about everywhere, killed off in the sudden frost that not even the tenacious plant had been ready for. Though it would probably pop back up come spring time.
Iona was talking with a guard rather seriously as Lydia approached, not realizing she was about to have company and instead near to shouting herself at the armed man. Once she was close enough to hear what was being said, her name and kissing slipping in there a few times over, Lydia felt her feet grow hot with apprehension.
Perhaps she should just walk away and let her have her own discussion and catch her later at dinner time. Right as the nord housecarl was about to lose her nerve and run the other way, the guard noticed her and pointed her out to Iona who abruptly turned towards her. They stared, and stared, and stared a little bit more before either of them dared to make a move.
"Iona-" Lydia started.
"Lydia-" Rushed Iona.
"We need to talk," they finished together. The guard dipped his head and scurried off back to his duties patrolling the city before anything happened. The two walked a bit closer, Lydia crossing over to where the redhead stood besides the platform close to the training dummies. Iona shifted where she stood, a hand brushing her hair back behind her ear only for her to accidentally shake it back free. Lydia raised a hand as she started to speak, but then dropped it as she found herself uncertain what to say.
At last her mouth started to work, and she forced herself to swallow her pride and her worry and speak even if her feet felt like they were about to melt. "About last night, look, I just..." she trailed off, frowning with uncertainty.
"It was unprofessional," Iona said before Lydia could regather her scattered thoughts. The brunet blinked, actually feeling disappointment in the response but she quickly pushed it aside. "We're supposed to work together and we've just gone and complicated it over a few pints of mead."
"I wouldn't say a few," muttered Lydia.
"Exactly, we got drunk, which was a mistake in the first place," the Riften housecarl said with a disapproving tone. "I'm sorry for what happened, it was inappropriate and certainly out of line."
Frowning, Lydia was rather alarmed to find herself struggling with Iona's clear stance. She opened her mouth and closed it several times over, eyes flicking over the training grounds and away from the woman in front of her. How could she shut that door so quickly and not even give her a chance to ask about it? How could she be so certain on what happened?
"You don't want to talk about it?" Lydia balked.
Shaking her head, Iona gave a rather strong response, "No, because there would be no point in discussing it. Neither of us would ever feel that way for one another for real, so why bother bringing it up and just tainting what we do have? I like being friends with you Lydia, really, I wouldn't want a drunken night of stupidity to ruin it."
Iona frowned as she saw the conflict across the nord in front of her's face. "Lydia," she lowered her head a bit, choosing her words carefully. "You didn't think that was in anyway more than a mistake? Did you?" Green eyes stared at the slightly taller brunet who kept averting her gaze. Brow furrowing, Iona crossed her arms expectantly as she saw the usually together woman fight with herself. It confused her as to why it should even be a struggle to agree that it wasn't right and that they shouldn't try to pursue it. After all, neither of them were into women much less themselves, weren't they? The thought boggled her mind.
"I thought that maybe..." Lydia closed her eyes, legs shaking before she opened them back and shook her head, "No, I thought wrong is all. Don't worry, if you want to pretend it didn't happen then by all means. Let's just... resume our professional and friendly relationship and leave it at that." The words came out with some difficulty, part of her screaming at her to stop and refuse to give up so easily but it was quickly silenced.
A smile pulled across her face and she held a hand out to Iona, though it felt rather forced. "So, to friendship?" She asked.
Iona hesitated for a second, Lydia wondering if perhaps that was a sign of something she should take heart in, but all too swiftly Iona shook her hand with a warm smile. "To friendship."
They didn't pull their hands back right away, a twinge of sadness in Lydia's eyes as she looked at the woman who was smiling back. When they let go, Lydia cleared her throat and shoved her thumb over her shoulder. "So, who was that guard you were talking to?"
"Oh," Iona smiled completely as they moved on, "that was my brother. He and I don't talk too much since I became a housecarl, it was nice to... lay things out for him."
"I take it he gave you some advice?"
Shrugging, Iona gave a half smile. "Well yeah. Yosa talked to you didn't she?"
"Yeah..."
"Right..."
They stood in the small training grounds silently for a few more moments before Lydia brought her hands together in a sudden clap. "So! How about we go and do a bit of shopping? We should probably stock up on food before more of this winter sets in huh?" She suggested, trying to move past the very sudden awkward moment.
Nodding her head in agreement, Iona started to walk towards the marketplace, "Sounds like a good idea. We should probably hit the apothecary for some herbs too. I have no doubt someone will catch cold this winter too."
"Mhm, and how about some fresh arrows for some hunting later? It'll be interesting to hunt Riften game in the snow," suggested Lydia as she caught up to her, walking alongside the redhead away from the stone keep.
"Ah, it certainly is a rare occasion, we'll have to do it!" Laughed Iona enthusiastically, looping their elbows together at the prospect of a fun day shopping. Lydia however, despite how innocent the gesture was, found herself a bit off-put that she wasn't even going to get a shot to find out. The smile she displayed for once, felt a little untrue.
AN: Sorry for the delay compared to the last two, I've been sick these last few days. Either way, we'll be moving back towards Yosa and Vex in this next chapter, so I'd love to hear what you think is going to happen there and about what had transpired here between our two housecarls in a review. Thanks for reading.