Chapter Five: Goodbyes (Tirdas, 30th of Hearthfire; Middas, 31st of Hearthfire)
"You're leaving, aren't you?" Narri asked quietly.
The two women lay in bed, their nude bodies wrapped around one another. Narri lay on top of the elf, the Nord's head resting upon her breast, and though she couldn't see Mari's face when she asked the question, she felt her wince.
"I am," she replied after a few quiet moments.
"When?" the Nord asked.
"Tomorrow," Mari replied. "I didn't know how to tell you, and I wanted to enjoy our last few days together without the sadness lingering in the air."
"You can't stay?"
Mari sighed. "Falkreath isn't my home, Narri," she replied. "I have studies to continue, and I wish to reach my desination before winter sets in."
"But that's not for months," Narri argued. She'd given up her hope that Mari would stay forever and was now just trying to get even a bit more time with the elf who had stolen her heart. "And you're traveling south."
"Through the mountains," Mari answered. She hated to lie to the woman. She knew she could trust Narri, yet for some reason, she'd never let her in on the truth of who she was, where she'd come from, or where she was going. As far as the Nord was concerned, Mari was returning to her home in Cyrodiil to continue her studies in the Imperial City. "Winter can come early to the mountains."
Narri sighed and nodded against the other woman's chest. Mari could feel the tears falling from her eyes onto her bare skin. "Will you ever come back?" she asked.
"I don't know, Narri," Mari replied. "I've enjoyed my time in Falkreath, and you know I've come to care about you, but we want different things from life, and I could never be truly happy here. I'm not saying I won't come and visit - because I will try my best to do so - but this place will never be my home. I'm sorry if that is harsh or if you hadn't realized that, but I don't want you waiting on me out of some misguided dream for our future. There is someone out there who can make you very happy and give you the things that I can't, and I don't want whatever you hoped this could become to hold you back from that."
Narri nodded and lifted her head. Mari frowned when she saw the woman's blue eyes swimming in tears. The Nord leaned over and kissed her lips then sat up and covered herself with the furs from the bed. "I think you should leave."
Mari nodded. She quickly climbed out of the small bed and dressed, pausing in the doorway and looking back on the heartbroken woman. "I'm sorry, Narri. I'm sorry I can't give you what you want, and I'm sorry for hurting you. I promise that was never my intention."
Narri nodded.
Mari opened the door but stopped as the other woman called out to her.
"I love you, Mari," she said, her voice having a hint of desperation to it. "I love you. I had to say it. Just once."
Mari gave the woman a sad smile and then left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
Runil and Kust walked Mari through Falkreath after breakfast the next morning. They were both sad to see her go but understood why she needed to. Mari had fought tears as they said goodbye at the edge of the graveyard and had succumbed to those tears when they had given her a spell book and a set of novice robes.
"We didn't want you showing up at that college looking like a complete charletain," Runil teased. "I know you are much more advanced in your studies than a novice, but they'll start you out at that level nonetheless. You just be yourself and show them your talents, and you will rise through the ranks in no time."
They stood outside the inn, saying a second round of goodbyes. Zaria had joined them and had some potions and a few rare alchemical ingredients in a bag as a parting gift for her friend. Mari had confessed to Zaria where she was truly going.
"You make sure and write to us," the Redguard insisted. "And if they don't treat you well up there, you let us know."
Mari laughed and hugged her friend. As she made her way toward the gate, walking away from three of her favorite people, she glanced toward the inn and saw Narri standing on the porch, leaned against the wall with her arms crossed. She didn't say anything. She didn't even wave, but she had come to see Mari off, and that made the elf smile. Maybe someday, when the Nord woman had gotten over the pain of her leaving, she would be able to look back upon what they had shared with fondness, and perhaps, someday, she could even call her a friend.
The trip to Whiterun had taken much of the day. Mari wasn't conditioned for long distance travel on foot, and it didn't help that she collected any interesting flora she came across and had felt the need to explore the ruins of Helgen. It was much worse than she had ever imagined, and she thanked the gods that her sister had survived her ordeal there. In Riverwood, she stopped at the inn to rest and eat a midday meal. The Nord man who did the cooking wasn't terribly chatty, but she did have some good conversation with a man called Embry who was already drunk despite the early hour. He knew Aerenwen well and bought a mug of mead for the sister of the 'greatest elf he ever met'.
Whiterun was a sight to see, and although Mari hadn't decided if she would stay there long previously, as soon as she saw the beautiful city rising out of the plains like a man-made mountain, she decided she would need to take some time to explore it. This idea was further affirmed in her mind when she stepped through the gates and saw the busy, welcoming community within the walls that her sister now considered home. The buildings were well-kept and quite different in architecture compared to those in Falkreath. The townspeople were friendly. As she walked down the street, she never heard a disparaging comment about her being an elf, and the looks she garnered were not of contempt or distrust but rather friendliness and curiosity. A few even greeted her with "welcome to Whiterun, elf!" And there wasn't a cloud in the blue sky. The atmosphere was entirely different than the dreariness of Falkreath. She could certainly see why Aerenwen was so at home in the city, and if she hadn't been so set on checking out the college in Winterhold, she probably would have decided to stay as well.
She hadn't traveled far into the city when she saw a familiar face. Aela the Huntress sat on a set of steps at the front of a small home, sharpening a dagger with a wetstone.
"Hello," she stated as she stepped up to Aela.
The Nord warrior glanced up and smiled when she saw who had greeted her. "Mari, it's good to see you. Welcome to Whiterun," she stated as she stood. "What brings you here?"
"I'm on my way to Winterhold," she replied, "and thought I would stop to visit for a time as I passed through."
"Aerenwen will be thrilled," Aela replied, "though I'm afraid she's not home right now. She had an errand in Kynesgrove for all this Dragonborn business, and I'm not entirely sure how long she'll be away. You're obviously welcome to stay, though, and I hope you're able to do so long enough to see her return."
"I can probably manage that," Mari replied. "If it isn't an imposition."
"None at all," Aela insisted. "Your sister told you that you're welcome here any time. I've been staying with Hamish until Lydia returns, which should be sometime tonight. But aside from working, I'll be around, and I'll do what I can to keep you entertained in Aerenwen's absence. Besides, it will be great to get to know you better." She opened the wooden door behind her. "Come in. Have a seat. I'm sure you're tired after traveling from Falkreath on foot."
Mari followed the other woman into the home. It was a small cottage but extremely homey and inviting. Bookshelves overflowing with books and weapon racks heavy with weapons spoke to the personality of the home's owner. A fire burned in a small pit not far from the door, and delicious aromas wafted out of a pot hanging above it.
"I have some horker stew cooking," Aela explained. "It should be done soon. I would expect Hamish back at any time now. He'll be pleased to meet you. Sit, sit." Aela insisted, gesturing to one of the chairs by the fire. "Can I get you anything to drink? Some wine? Are you hungry? We have some fruit and cheese you could snack on until the stew is ready."
Mari chuckled at the woman's eagerness to make her comfortable. "Some wine would be lovely," she replied, "but I will be fine waiting for the stew. I stopped in Riverwood for lunch."
"Good," Aela replied. She sat down in the chair beside Mari and appeared a bit nervous. "I'm sorry. You've got me a bit out of sorts. I just want to make you as comfortable here as your sister would, and I admit, I'm still a bit nervous when it comes to getting to know you all. I'm already so invested in Aerenwen that I just want us all to get along. I know how much you all mean to her. I'm not used to big families. I was an only child. And now I'm rambling."
Mari laughed and smiled at the woman. "Just relax, Aela. I promise you, as long as you keep that smile on my sister's face that I saw when you two visited Falkreath, you and I will always get along just fine. Now what is our dear Aerenwen off doing now? Elain told me she'd met with the Greybeards and that she was accompanying you on a trip to explore some tomb. Now what's happening with the Dragonborn?"
"Well," Aela replied with a frown, "she's in Kynesgrove waiting for some dragon to come back from the dead, so she can kill it with some random woman who knows a great deal about the history of dragons and Dragonborns but won't tell Aerenwen anything until she has proven that she is Dragonborn by killing a dragon and absorbing its soul in front of her."
Mari stared at the woman, her amber-colored eyes wide. "I think I'm going to need you to start from the beginning with that one."
Author's Note: There's the end of the second part of Mari's story. She's left Falkreath and has set off to travel deeper into Skyrim and begin her adventures. We'll pick up with her story again later. For now, let's check in on Nesta in Riften . . .
