Cearbhail:

So... I'm going to do something special for this series for now on. At the end of each chapter, I will say some random fact about one of the characters. Nothing too spoiler-ish. Just to have a little fun, that's all.

=^^= Enjoy...

Dear diary,

Today is the 4th of Second Seed. Well, the party was… something. Fun, maybe? I don't know, I don't think I do parties the same way everyone else does. I mostly just stood around the food table, watching everyone do fun stuff. Some of the third-year students were making out and playing each other in these weird card games that I guess the Khajiit with glasses, Lani, invented. I guess his magicka is his ability to create Illusion-based cards and actually summon them to the real world. He spent the most of his night battling his purrmate, Bhiia. Ksaan and his friends spent their evening drinking moon milk. Ipyan offered me a glass too, but when I refused, next thing I knew, I was already three glasses in and playing limbo. I had such a headache, and everything was spinning around me. It got bad enough that I asked Ksaan to take me home. He nodded, taking me back to my house. He asked me what happened, and I told him Ipyan may have Influenced me. He was very upset when he heard that.

We sneaked into my house, trying to be as quiet as possible. I'm guessing humans are easy to sneak around. I was falling all over the place, and no one ever bothered to come out to see what was going on. With Ksaan's help, I was able to climb into my bed. Even with night vision, it was so dark I didn't even bother taking in my surroundings. I was worn out, and this headache wasn't just going to go away anytime soon. As soon as I climbed into my bed, Ksaan wished me goodnight and went out my balcony window. I ended up closing my eyes and next thing I knew it was already afternoon. I woke up to the sun glaring in my eyes, and a plate filled with fruits sitting next to me. There's a note too, telling me that I'm grounded for drinking alcohol. Oops. I'll have to tell them it wasn't my fault. Maybe they'll believe me.

Anyway, I should get up now. Not sure what I'll be doing today, but I'm guessing it will be more magicka training.

Ahmbra Dragonis.

…

Eating fruit in my bed. My bed. An actual bed. In my room… my actual room. Everything inside the room was mine. No matter how much I thought it, no matter how many times I glance at everything inside the room… the room itself… it all just feels like a dream. I still remember the stalls, the small wrappings of leather and straw I'd sleep on top of. The wake up calls of buckets of water being thrown on my face. The cages I'd be shoved in from time to time. All the abuse, the laughs… everything that comes with living in a slave camp.

So, I know my room had gone through a little change since I last saw it. Where the old bed used to be was a completely new one. It used to have a pink frilly cover but… Ruby ruined that. My room used to be a nice pink color… but Ruby ruined that. I used to have a really nice carpet… but… you know. The room was so far incomplete but… still… it's very nice. My bed was replaced with an even nicer one, made of some kind of foam material. I sink into it every time I lay down. Just getting up seems impossible for me today. I don't want to leave it.

The room itself was pretty nice, pretty spacious too. I had a full closet, a dresser, a massive flat-screen crystal ball, called a Seer's Stone, sitting on a crystal ball stand near my closet. To the right of my bed was my large glass window door that led out to my balcony. My bedroom was on the first floor, but since the hills of Rimmen were different, the first floor was also the second floor. You had to climb up a set of stairs to get to the back part of the house. The rest of the second floor was just a few more stairs up. I'd like to think of this room as the middle floor, between the first and second. All Khajiit beach houses are built on these massive wooden poles that bore into the sand, keeping everything level and off the sandy floor, if not only by a few feet. Mostly in case of small floods.

Oh yeah… we live on the beach. Right outside one of the more active beaches too. I've been there once or twice, but other than that, I haven't done much here yet. This was the first time I've been back to the house since I saw it nearly a month ago.

I turned my attention back to my bowl of fruit: a banana, an apple, and a vine of grapes. This had to be what my breakfasts would be like. Or maybe it's for the burning pulsing headache I seem to have this morning. I started taking a bite of my apple when I heard soft footsteps coming down the stairs. There was a light rap on my door, "Ahmbra? You awake?"

"Yes." I said through my munching.

The door squeaked open and Mom poked her head in. "May I come in?"

I nodded. "Sure." I had the option to tell her no? That would take some time to adjust to. That would mean that I have privacy, something that never existed for me in the past.

She walked into the room, dressed in an apron and working maid outfit. I remember her telling me that she worked at Moon's Delights… the same place I signed on to work for while attending my first semester. "First off, Ksaan told me what happened. Forget the note I left you. When we woke up, we saw you curled up in your bed, moaning. Ralof sniffed the alcohol on your breath when we tried to wake you up. We thought you broke the rules by drinking… but Ksaan told us you had no choice in the matter. You met M'Ipyan." Mom shook her head. "Please don't hang out with her. She's… well… not a good influence."

She has no idea…

I nodded, swallowing my piece of apple. "Don't worry, I want nothing to do with her." And yet… I bet I just won't be able to get rid of her. If she's deadest on messing with me like she did last night, I bet she'll find some way of interfering with my life.

Mom pat me on the shoulder before standing up. "Well, I have to go back to work. I thought I'd just come check up on you, see if you were up yet." She stood up, walking to the door. "Ralof won't be home until Freedas, unless he catches enough fish to fill up his ship." Dad owned his own fishing vessel. When he moved down here with Mom, he had a friend from Bravil, Cyrodiil come join him in Rimmen. They both take the ship out with a small crew and catch fish to sell to the two towns, as well as other port towns nearby like Senchal.

"Mom." I called after her. She paused in the doorway. "Can I come see Moon's Delights?"

She scrunched her eyebrows. "I'm not sure… I will be working the whole time, and I'll be there for another few hours still. I won't be able to walk you home if you get bored."

I shook my head. "I'll be fine walking home on my own. It's just… I'll be working there, remember? I kind of want to introduce myself and learn my way around town."

Mom stood there for another few seconds before nodding. "Sure. I have a few minutes of my lunch so… hurry up, get washed up, dressed, and brush your teeth. You don't want to meet Sa'Martha smelling like alcohol and vomit on your clothes like that."

I glanced down, noticing I must have spat up a bit after I fell asleep, or during the party, it's hard to tell. And Ksaan just let me crash on my bed like this. I bet he just wanted to get back to that party before it ended. Oh well.

I glanced up at Mom, nodding my thanks to her. "I'll just be a minute."

She nodded. "Hope so."

…

One amazing cleanup later, I was dressed and ready to go. Mom was waiting for me on the balcony. When I joined her outside, I nodded to her. "So… are we walking? Or do we have a carriage?"

She shook her head and started walking towards the street. "We had a carriage. It got destroyed when Ruby was here. I'm saving up for a new one. All our savings went into buying Ruby, which more than likely would have been spent buying you." She rubbed the back of my neck. "The plan was to free as many slaves as possible, bring them to Skyrim, and then convince the High King to declare war on the slave trade. He did it before I could even ask. And then… I would perhaps bring back a homeless child needing a loving home. Never expected Ruby to be there."

Jeez, Ruby was just ruining everything, wasn't she? But still… it's because of her that I get to live here at all. It's because of her that I'm still alive. Or rather, it's because of her mother, Lydia. She did all those things to free me. Ruby quietly gave up and let the slaver do whatever they wanted to us. I can't blame her though. She told me about her friends and how they would be harmed if she didn't comply. I would have done the same in her fur.

I followed behind Mom as she led me to Moon's Delights. I kept my eyes darting around the town as Mom filled me in on all the history of the town that she had learned in the few months she's been here. She told me of how the town was saved by a firedrake named Junna, a warrior named Brahstra, and a mage from Cyrodiil named Granren. These three saved the town from a mercenary troop called The Trade, which had no known relation to Rimmen's questing guild named The Trade. Most of this stuff I already knew, but Mom filled me in on how exactly the town had evolved since then.

I guess Junna had some kind of talent for teaching magicka, and she managed to take everyone from town and helped them embrace a new lifestyle. The whole town was more or less destroyed from the battle that took place, but the healer Granren was able to help with the wounded civilians. It was then that the three heroes found out that the town was a nexus for drug trafficking. The Trade was slowly taking over what the Crushers left behind for them. So, they decided to stay in the town indefinitely as the town's protectors; defending it against the drug trade.

After a while, Junna was able to find out that there were a few other Khajiits with latent magicka potential. If the town was to survive, it would need more protectors. That was how RFA began. Junna and Granren started teaching the new firedrakes how to use their natural gifts. Both Junna and Granren agreed that the old institutions of magicka were not working. The Psijic Monks that began the very concept was the grand design of how the town would work. Instead of practicing known spells that had been regulated for centuries by politicized mage charters, the Firedrake Academy decided that the individual would be responsible for development of their own personal magicka. It was a rare gift, usually soulic in form, and hard to obtain. But the idea was to help the town see what they could be inside if they ever just tried to become greater. The idea behind this was to help ease the drug-diseased town out of its bad habits and embrace a grander destiny.

The academy began with a few students learning from Junna and Granren, but as the academy grew older, and the students growing stronger, the town around these new students began to evolve as well. These newly developing magicka students were helping out around the town, helping along the thought that this new magicka was worth having, that anyone could learn it. Just a few years into the whole program, the town was attacked by some raiders. The new firedrakes stepped up and defended the town, driving the bandits away with no casualties on their side. The firedrakes were trained in magicka from Granren and Junna's example. Magicka that no one had really ever seen before, and it was because of this that the mages on the raiders' side were incapable of a well-rehearsed defense. And the physical prowess of the firedrakes in combat that was drilled into them from Brahstra helped in pushing away the sword masters and the like.

After a series of attacks after attacks, these firedrakes began to militarize themselves. They knew all too well that the town would be harassed more and more as skooma began to deplete from the nearby settlements. Rimmen was originally founded for the moon sugar plantations with easily defendable canyons nearby and a river exiting all the way to the ocean and to the Imperial City. It made Rimmen the ideal location for any skooma trafficking. Knowing this, Brahstra started leading the firedrakes in the town, helping to form something of a watchmen system, calling themselves Fire Sentinels.

Meanwhile, the school was gaining even more attention from the local residents. They saw the changes in the new firedrakes, wanting to be more like them. As more and more firedrakes began to graduate, the more and more Khajiits from the town that began to dress in the same robes. The militarized Khajiits began to coordinate their little army, calling it the Fire Legion; named after Torval's Fire Legion. It had only taken 14 years for all this to take place. And when the Fire Legion began patrolling the streets, enforcing made up laws that governed Khajiit supremacy, the local elven population decided to act in accordance. The Aldmeri Magicka Institute opened up a year later, taught by the eldest Altmer, Dunmer, and Bosmer.

As the elves began to publicly teach their own children how to do this new 'magicka' that the Khajiit were embracing, there seemed to be a power struggle within the city. Elves already had a natural affinity for magicka, and what the Khajiit were learning was not considered real magick. The structured format that the elves had originally created was often mocked by the Khajiits, and sometimes by their own children. The elders began fighting for control of the schools as more and more elven children wanted to learn this soulic magick that seemed so diverse and personal. It took years but the school eventually embraced the new system, and that's when the whole town began to change.

With two powerful school of this new magicka vying for control of the city, there was a bit of a turf war. Elves and Khajiits would meet in the streets, often calling each other out in personal duels. These duels were often non-fatal and often ended up ending with one side admitting defeat. It started to become tradition that whenever one school met another one, there would almost always be a fight. Sometimes with multiple students of each. As the escalations grew, the two schools knew that enough had been enough. The elders of the Aldmeri Institute and the three original instructors of Firedrake Academy met for a peace treaty. It was then that the town decreed that this town would be united in its efforts to learn and develop this soulic magicka, and that the academies, whether not more would develop, would exist in a cooperative manner. Duels still continued in the streets, however, and as time went on, they became more about testing one's strength rather than dominance.

As time went on, the elven spellcasters began to vie for their own version of the Fire Legion. There was still this stigma that the Khajiit were controlling Rimmen, even though Rimmen had seceded from Elsweyr and formed its own nation. As the elders of the schools met up once again, it was decided that they would form a unified guard force called Mage Force. As all this went along, the non-practitioners were going about their lives. There were a lot of shopkeepers, inns, fishers, brewers, and farmers. Mining wasn't so good in this location, but divers were a popular trade. The town had grown economically, opening trade routes with Elsweyr's towns, mostly Senchal by riverboat, Leyawiin to the east, and Bravil to the north.

Soon more and more magicka driven institutions began to open up around town. All focused on this soulic method of magicka. As the town grew, the more this became a way of living in Rimmen. By the time RFA was 60 years old, the town had transformed into a new one. When Junna passed away, the town had already agreed to the original accords signed during the peace treaty between RFA and AMI. The town had evolved to a grand nation with six sub-cities within their borders. The town had grown so much in such a short time, and the majority of the population was dedicated to the practice of her discovery. That was why Junna was a hero to this town. She brought it back from the ashes when it was certain to fall. A city filled with skooma addicts and turned into a town of magicka addicts… well… that sounds kind of bad when you think of it like that, but that was the original intent.

By the time I heard the complete history of this town from Mom, we were already at Moon's Delights. It had been a ten-minute walk, I think. It felt that long. Moon's Delights looked just like the photo I saw. It was a nice-sized diner with an open welcoming feeling. The windows were large and I could see the whole dining area from right where I was standing on the sidewalk. I could see that the majority of the staff were Khajiits, all dressed in the same maid uniforms I saw in the photo. So, I would be wearing one of those. I noticed that Mom's uniform was a little different from the Khajiits'.

I decided to ask her about it. "So… why is your uniform different?"

She looked down, shrugging. "They're servers. I'm a cook." She nudged me, smiling. "You thought the apron was for show?" She rushed into the door, nodding at me to follow. "Come, I'll introduce you to the pastry chef. The owner: Sa'Martha."

I followed behind Mom. As I walked through the doorway, I was welcomed to a welcoming scent of rising dough laden with moon sugar. Donuts. Yum..

There was a teenager just a couple years older than me with shoulder length blue mane fur waiting by the door. "Hi, welcome to Moon's Delights. My name is Keira, and I'll be your server today."

Mom shook her head. "She's my daughter, not a customer."

Keira's eyes lit up as she looked down at me. "Oh, welcome, M'Ahmbra! We've heard so much about you!" She shook my hand vigorously. She bent down, looking me in the eye. "And don't worry! Your secret is safe with us!" She whispered to me, winking as she rose up. Secret? Did she mean me being a slave? She knew?! Did everyone in this shop know? Jeez… who doesn't know?

Mom smiled at Keira. "You seem well today."

She shrugged. "Well, I do have the day off of class today, so… I thought I'd take one of my extra shifts." She smiled down at me. "So, we heard you'll be joining us at RFA!"

I nodded. Was she a firedrake too? "Yeah… I'll be taking the admittance test in a month."

Keira nodded. "Yeah, I took that last summer. I've learned so much this year." So, she was a first year then? "I'm already a Level 3! I'm so happy!" Tiny orbs of light started to develop around her, brightening everything around her. That must be her magicka.

"What's going on over there?" The woman I noticed from the picture walked over to us. She was a thick-furred clouded leopard. She looked a lot like Enji… who I think I saw in that picture too. And seeing how I could see pictures of her on the wall next to the register… I think I knew who Enji's mother was.

The older Khajiit glanced down at me and then up at Mom. "So, is this her?" She smiled as she walked over to me. "Is this M'Ahmbra?" She bent down to see me eye-to-eye. She pinched my cheek, pulling a bit on my whiskers. "She sure is thin. Has she been eating?"

Mom nodded. "Fruits, mostly." Mom looked down at me. "Ahmbra, this is Sa'Martha."

I nodded. "Nice to meet you, ma'am."

She nodded back. "Nice to meet you too. So… I hear you'll be joining us this upcoming semester."

I nodded. "Yes, ma'am. That's why I wanted to come here today."

She looked me up and down. She sighed as she pinched my cheek again. She started rubbing my neck, which started reminding me of my past. I don't really remember what happened next, mostly because I shut myself down. There was a slight pause as I started turning my brain back on.

"She's going to be a tough one alright." Sa'Martha said with a heavy sigh. "One touch and she shuts down like a Dwemer bot." She looked up at Mom. "You know as well as I do that some days this place gets packed. Physical contact might happen at some point. And if she freaks out by one touch on the neck…"

Mom nodded. "I pleaded with her to take a different job. She wouldn't have it. She said she needed this."

I nodded, finally coming back to my full senses. "If I'm to recover, I need to learn how to be above it."

Sa'Martha looked back at me, sighing again. "Fine. I'll let you work here, but… if I tell you to take it easy… you take it easy. If I tell you to take a break, you take a break. If that break doesn't seem to help, you will be told to go home for the day. I don't expect you to just blindly listen to me; I want you to think for yourself. If you think you're fine to work, I want you to combat my decision. If you think you're incapable of working… tell me that instead. And if you get uncomfortable serving any of my customers, you tell me. Understand?"

Keira patted me on the shoulder, smiling. "And I'll be here too!" She looked over to Sa'Martha. "If you'll let me come back next year."

Sa'Martha laughed at the suggestion. "If I fire you, those old codgers will yell at me to no end. Not a chance." Hmm… maybe I don't want to work here after all.

"Um… exactly what is my job here?" I couldn't help but ask.

Sa'Martha glanced at me, looking me in the eye. "To get you used to being social… what Keira's doing right now. Greeting the customers at the door as the hostess. Show them to their tables. Maybe clean up their tables at the end of their meal. Not sure yet. I have a few months to think about it. You're a special case. We don't have a lot of … you around here."

I'm just never going to escape that, am I? "Can I please be treated normal?"

Sa'Martha glanced at me with a mournful look. "I don't know. Can you?" She caressed my neck again and next thing I knew I was standing in the back room with Sa'Martha and Mom holding me down. I glanced around, not sure how I got here.

"Um…" I noticed my arms were hurting.

Mom released my arm. "Ahmbra… please don't do that again."

"Do what again?" I glanced up at Mom to see three long slashes in her cheek. They were bleeding lightly, but I could tell they were fresh. I glanced down to see specks of blood on my dress. Glancing up, I could see three similar stain lines forming around Sa'Martha's face.

"Oh…" I looked at my claws, seeing both of them stained in blood. "Oh no…" This was not good. This was not good at all.

Sa'Martha nodded. "This is not new." She said as she let go of my arm. "We've had to deal with freed slaves all the time. You're regressing. You're no longer a tool, and you realize that. But the torment is still there, still fresh. But you're free now! And you know that. And so… instead of shutting down, you act out. If anyone tries anything on you, you'll subconsciously act out in aggression. To protect yourself, your newly found freedom."

I glanced at Mom. "But… she was hugging me earlier. I didn't… I don't think…"

Sa'Martha nodded. "She's your safe place. You feel trusted in letting her near you. Me… I'm a stranger. You'll shred me if you get the chance. And unfortunately, when you mother tried to stop you, you acted out against her too. You're a hazard, M'Ahmbra. Letting you work here is not only dangerous for you, but dangerous for my business. But… that's why I'm going to let you work here. I know I can help you. You just need time; one tiny step at a time. And while you're here, I can watch you. If you're going to live in this city, I want to know you can handle being touched. Elders love touching; it's a form of social connection for them. And if you go around slashing all the elders… like you did me… it's going to cause trouble for you later on. So, work on actively letting people touch you from time to time. Try holding hands with some of your friends. Maybe let one of them touch your face."

I released a long sigh, trying my best to calm down. "I'll try." This would be so embarrassing. I'd have to ask my friends to hold my hands and stuff. Well, at least I knew one person I could let touch me. Bast. She is a great fighter and has no emotional connection to me. Should be easier for me to let her touch me than Kharan or Ksaan.

Sa'Martha nodded. "Good. Now, I guess it's time you met my daughter. She'll likely be joining you this semester." Oh, right. She's Enji's mother, right? "Enji!", she sang. Ha! I was right.

The door to the dining area creaked open and the shy Khajiit girl I met at camp poked her head in. "Is she normal now?" I could see a line of blood across her forehead. Oh man… her too? Who else did I slash?

She glanced over at me with fearful eyes. I never wanted anyone to look at me like that. So, I waved to her, trying my best to smile like Ruby would have. "Hi… I'm Ahmbra."

She nodded to me. "Enji." She glanced at her mother. "Mom? What did you want?"

She waved at me. "Well, as you already know, Ahmbra is a slave who needs a friend." Oh no… no, no, no! "I want you to help her." No!

Enji looked up at me with the same fearful eyes. "Do I have to?" Man, she didn't want anything to do with me at all. I can understand though. I did slash her across the head. Even I wouldn't want anything to do with me after that.

Sa'Martha placed her hands on her hips, giving Enji a stern look. "If anyone in this room is capable of helping her… it's you."

"But Dad…" She started to say before her mom cut her off.

"That's in the past, Enji!" Sa'Martha interrupted her. "This girl is in the present. You're a mind healer so… you will help her heal."

Enji's ears folded back at being scolded. "Yes, mother."

I looked over to Sa'Martha. "What do you mean she's a mind healer?"

She glanced at me, smiling. "My daughter's magicka is an ability that lets her enter your mind and help you heal from your past trauma. With her helping you along, you'll more than likely heal from that aggression you've unleashed today. Any amount of help from her might keep that from coming back." She glanced back at Enji. "But, before she's fully capable of doing that, she has to attune to the target's aura thingy. I don't really know how it works, I just know that it does." She shrugged. "So, if the two of you become good friends, she should be able to safely crawl inside your mind and help you."

I glanced back at Enji. "So…" I looked around. I had no idea what to do or say next. "What now?"

She glanced at me fearfully before looking back at her mother. "Do I have to?"

Sa'Martha nodded. "Yes, but not today. You can wait until the end of your first semester. But… I want you to heal her before then. Understood?"

Enji nodded. "Yes, mother."

Everyone just stood there for a few seconds. It was very awkward for me. I kept glancing around, expecting something to happen, but nothing did. There was finally a bell chiming, one that made me jump a bit. Sa'Martha glanced at the bell, sighing. "Coming!" She called as she walked away. "Ysolda, we have an order of strawberry shortcakes and three cheese wonders."

Mom nodded. "Right away!" She looked back at me, winking. "I have to get working now." She kissed me on the forehead. "And don't worry about the scratches. I get you were scared. I could see your pupils dilate before… well… I knew you weren't aware of anything."

I tried to nod, but I still felt sick to my stomach. I slashed my mother. I slashed my future boss… and I slashed a newest friend. Who else did I slash?

I looked over at Enji. She was still cowering behind the door. "I'm sorry." I said to her.

She nodded really quickly. "Yeah, ok. Um…" She glanced away. "Bye." She quickly closed the door behind her.

I don't know exactly how long I stood there for. I just tried my best to recall what I did. And I got nothing. All I remember was Sa'Martha rubbing my neck and then I was lying on my back with her and Mom holding me down in the backroom. It was weird. I hated it. I wanted nothing more than this new life of mine to start, and yet… every single day I'm reminded of just how messed up I really am.

As I stood there, I could hear crackling. Lightning was starting to spark off my fur. It wasn't a lot of lightning, but I was forced to calm myself down before I did something regrettable again. I forced myself to sit down in seiza, closing my eyes, and taking deep breaths as I tried to calm myself down.

"You guys want some snacks?" I heard Loshin say as he stepped into the diner. I heard the door slam open as he walked in.

"You know it!" Ipyan responded.

That caused me to pause. They were here? The two people in this entire town I'm supposed to avoid? Great… just great.

Cearbhail:

So, random fact about Keira. She's based on an actual character I have for an older series of mine: Blood summoners. The main protagonist was a girl with blue-dyed hair named Kerra who was the daughter of a major protagonist from the previous series that took place perhaps 5 years ago in Bond Summoners. This series never was finished so I never tried to have it published, but decided to add to this story as a bit of a side-character and friend to Ahmbra. I'm still considering if I even want to work on either of those stories, mostly because I'm having so much fun writing fanfiction, writing my own work seems boring. And just like Kerra, Keira is a spunky rebellious type that works with lightning, much in the same way Ahmbra does, only her magicka manifests as little orbs of glowing plasma. They paralyze people upon touching, but anything beyond that is too hard for her.

The last thing I will say about Keira is that she has a bit of a love triangle going on between her, Prishi, and her friend Scarlett. and that's all for this chapter.