Cearbhail:

I'm back everyone. And I have a tear jerker for you today. And soon, Cecilie will meet the Battle-Borns. Remember the chapter where Lydia walked into town with Asger and we saw how the Battle-Borns interacted with her? Well, family is still family. I'm guessing you'll see that nothing has really changed over the years here in Whiterun. And you'll get to meet Vignar Battle-Born. If you don't know who that is, I'm sorry to tell you that I won't ruin the surprise.

Oh...and enjoy =^.^=

[Cecilie, age 7]

Dear diary of shadows,

Today is the 19th of Frostfall. It took us a few days to get to Whiterun, which is where we're staying to begin my training. Since we're trying to keep me away from Winterhold until I'm strong enough to fight my father, we decided to move in with the other Battle-Borns in Whiterun. So, until further notice, I guess I'll be living here in Whiterun with the rest of my family. That sounds pretty awesome, really. Ruby and Maleek are moving into Mommy's old house, Breezehome. I'm actually kind of excited. Don't tell anyone this, but throughout this journey, I started dreaming again. My dreams have been pretty normal lately. I thought that I had just outgrown this whole watching my mother do stuff phase. And that's still pretty true. It's a special day when I get to dream of my mommy. But this dream… I don't know. It's well… it's hard to explain. But I'll try my best. If I write it down, I can read it later and see if I can add to it. I've dreamt it three times over the past five days.

I'm standing in this room. It's not like any room I've seen before, but I know it's in the Crystal Palace. I'm looking out a window down at the town of Winterhold. I can't really tell what's going on down there, but it's noisy. A lot of people running around. I seem to be worried about something, like I know something is coming after me. Whatever is going on outside is trying to find its way up to me. I hear a knock on the door and I turn to look at the door. That's when I wake up. It's a pretty short dream, but… there's something more to it. I can't tell yet, but am I able to see into the future? Nah… that… that seems impossible. People can't see into the future.

Oh, our carriage is pulling up to the town now. Time to meet the Battle-Borns.

Cecilie Battle-Born.

…

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather be back with your daughter, son, and wife?" Ruby asked Neloth for the twentieth time since we got him out of his tower.

I sighed as I waited for everyone to exit the carriage. The journey here hadn't been a quiet one, or a quick one either. We first had to book a ship to get to Winterhold. It took us a day to get our tickets for the ferry between Raven Rock and Winterhold. They're trading partners, so there are lots of tourists that come and go from the two places. Our ferry was pretty busy since everyone from Tel Mithryn wanted to follow us to Winterhold. Once we got there, the whole town of Tel Mithryn went crazy. They had to touch everything, impose on the High King for a tour of the castle, and had to see Veselle and Draseth at Adularia Hall. Boy was she surprised to see Gwen. I think I'm not the only one that's afraid of her. Veselle didn't seem too happy to see her either. She even covered her chest and ran away when Gwen wanted to grapple her. Not sure why, but it made me laugh.

So, we left Winterhold the next day on carriage. And four days later, we're in Whiterun. It was a long trip, but mostly because Master Neloth had to stop every four miles to see the sights and breathe the clean cold air. I will say this: I did miss the clean crisp air. Tel Mithryn is so ashy… it's hard to breathe sometimes.

I waited for Neloth to step out of the carriage next as he turned to look at Ruby. "And why would I want that?" He said as he followed behind Ruby.

I looked over at Ruby. She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Oh, I don't know… because they're your family?!" She screamed to him. "Your daughter and son are going to miss you. You shouldn't just… disappear from them."

Neloth nodded, looking up at Ruby. "You are speaking from experience, aren't you?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Ok, fine. Put on your crying glasses, because it's sob story time." Ruby announced sarcastically. She turned to look at Neloth. "I don't remember my parents. I was raised by slavers. I spent most of my childhood in either Hammerfell or Morrowind. My best friend was an Ashlander girl named Ashana, who I met when I was ten. Until that time had come, I spent most of my time in a cage. And yeah, I was pretty lonely. The closest thing I had to a father was this really scary Redguard named Ranjier. He let guys do stuff to me all the time."

"Are you going anywhere with this?" Master Neloth asked as he finally scooted out of the carriage. I was up next so I jumped off my seat and out onto the hard ground. I stumbled for a second. I wasn't quite used to hard ground yet. I was still used to falling into a pile of ash every time I fell. If I fell now, I'd probably hit a rock or at least really cold had ground.

Maleek followed out behind me with Ranjha on his lap. "It's not like me to interfere in my wife's personal speeches, but honey-breath…" He gestured down at Ranjha. "Perhaps we shouldn't expose our daughter to this stuff."

Ruby sighed heavily, almost hissing at Maleek but then nodded. "Ok, fine." She glared up at Master Neloth and stuck her finger out at him. "But this conversation is not over. I'll give you the abridged version. I never knew my father, and I hate not knowing who he was. And you're doing the same thing to your children now."

Master scoffed and knocked Ruby's finger away from his face. "While I understand your anger by projecting your past onto what you think is the future of my children, I assure you I plan on seeing them after we're doing training Cecilie. I would have brought them with me were it not for the fact that I need to focus on training Cecilie. If they were here with me, they would maintain most of my attention, and not Cecilie." He turned to look at me. "I know for a certain that this girl will become quite important. I can feel that whirlwind of destiny that follows her. And there is no one here capable of teaching her what she needs to know except for me."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Yeah… no capable mages here. Not your daughter Veselle or her boyfriend Draseth. Certainly not Solomon. Or anyone from the College in Winterhold."

Neloth scoffed at the idea. "The only capable mage worth teaching young Cecilie at the College has long since passed away. My brother, who used to be the Arch Mage, was the only one at the College capable of teaching Cecilie anything worth knowing. And while Veselle is a wonderful student… she is a horrible teacher. Did she tell you of the time she was teaching Gwen's children that basics of a Flames spell?" Ruby shook her head. "You'd be amazed how splendidly she messed that up. I would not trust Veselle with Cecilie's studies. And this 'Solomon' character I always hear about. I've never seen him, never talked to him. I hear a lot about his epic-level magicka and how he's a seer much in the way Cecilie is, but… where is he? When was the last time you saw him?"

"Lydia's funeral. And then once more in a portal in the Soul Cairn." Ruby replied.

Master nodded. "Not very good at staying in one place, is he? He's certainly not here, even though he can see the future. You'd think if he thought he was up to the challenge, he would be here now, offering to be the rolling star in Cecilie's golden future." Master concluded before crossing his arms. "So, there you have it, Ruby. There is no one in this entire country of backwards conservative axe-swinging Nords capable enough in the theory and practice of magic to adequately teach Cecilie the complications of magicka creation and application."

Ruby covered her ears and screamed out loud. "Gods, so many big words!" She screamed to him. "Just speak dumber for me. Can you do that?"

"Certainly. Oh, pardon my eloquent tone. Umm… duh… sure, Ruby." He replied with a drawl.

Maleek held a chuckle as Ruby fumed at Master Neloth. He always liked watching her get angry. Ranjha just sucked on her thumb while she watched them fight. And I just stood in my spot, waiting for them to finish their argument. I was getting pretty used to it actually. They always fought. I don't know why, but I'm guessing it had something to do with what might have happened in the past. I didn't feel like spacing out to find out, however. Maybe later.

"Can we just go inside already?" I asked both Ruby and Master Neloth. Not only did I want to see my new room, and meet my new family, but I just wanted to get them to stop fighting. I looked over at Ruby and Master Neloth. Ruby looked more than ready to move. Master Neloth was the only one not ready to continue on. "Master?" I looked over at him. He looked down at me, and I shrugged. "Can we go?"

Master stood there for a second before sighing. "Fine with me." He took the lead as we walked up the long walkway that led up to the city. I took a few seconds to look around as we walked up to the giant gate keeping us out of the town. There was this really long wall that stretched on the whole way through. It was loaded up with ballistas though, and plenty soldiers all dressed in blue TAL uniforms with some sort of crystalline armor. I knew enough to know that Ruby had prepared all of Skyrim for war against the Dominion by putting them in crystalline armor and weapons. Whiterun was well-prepared for war.

We pretty much stayed silent the whole way up. Master Neloth and Ruby were still pretty fumed over their fight, which had been growing the past few days while sitting in our carriage. Actually, I think it was more Ruby than anything else. Master Neloth is perpetually annoyed at something, and Ruby is perpetually annoying to someone. Don't tell her I said that; it's just an observation.

"Halt." A guard said as we walked up to the gate. "Before we let you in to Whiterun, I need to ask you a couple questions."

Ruby stepped forward and flipped her long hair over her ears. "Does the Great and Powerful Ruby Battle-Born have to be questioned at this gate?"

The guard looked stunned for a second before nodding. "Yes, she does." He chuckled as he watched Ruby's smile fall. He pulled out a quill and pad. "First question. What is your business in Whiterun today?"

"I'm totally going to break into several kiosks and steal everyone's valuables." Ruby announced while checking her nails. "And then I'm going to pants all the royals in front of their crushes. Then maybe roll around in the daisy field. Maybe fling my poop all around the Cloud District."

The guard nodded, grunting. "Ok… so… are you bringing any illegal substances into Whiterun with you?"

She nodded and pulled out three large bags of colored sugar. "Yup. 13 cups of grade A moon sugar, baby."

The guard grunted again before turning to look at Neloth. "What is your reason for visiting Whiterun today?"

Neloth stroked his chin before looking over at Ruby, smiling. "I've been looking into acquiring a new slave. Perhaps a Khajiit." That caused Ruby to growl. "Or an Argonian." Which made Maleek groan.

The guard looked perplexed. "You… you know that Whiterun has an anti-slavery law, right?"

Master Neloth nodded. "Indeed, I do. However, there are certain facts that I believe you should know." His body exploded into Fire, Frost, and Lightning. "I am a powerful mage of House Telvanni. You cannot begin to stop me, and neither can this tiny pathetic town of insolent whelps."

The guard looked genuinely scared so I stepped forward. I did a quick scan of the guard and everything he had seen or been through. Once I knew who he was, I cleared my throat before saying, "Georgie." That drew his attention.

"Georgie. Only one person ever called me that." He said with a growing frown. Then, he focused his eyes and looked at me, like really looked at me. He bent down to see me eye-to-eye. Then, with wonder, he said, "Wow… you look just like this girl I knew."

"Lydia Battle-Born." I replied. And that made him nod. "She was my mother." I said to him.

It took him a few seconds to acknowledge what I just said to him. His face started to crack up and he rested his hand on my shoulder. Frowning, he nodded. "I'm sorry for your loss…"

"Cecilie." I replied.

"Cecilie. Your mother and I were good friends back in the day. She was an amazing woman. I heard that she passed away after giving birth to her daughter. But… to see you here… I know she would be proud to see how well you've grown."

"I know." I smiled. "If you look closely, you'll notice that I'm blind. And these two idiots to my left and my right are my servants. I am Princess Cecilie Battle-Born, daughter of High King Asger Stonearm and High Queen Lydia Battle-Born. And our business in Whiterun is very simple. I've been kicked out of Winterhold by my apathetic father and I need a place to live. I have family here in the Battle-Born clan and wish to have a loving family to surround myself with while my two teachers: bardic teacher Ruby Battle-Born, my adoptive mother, and magicka teacher Neloth Maryon. While I stay here, I will be learning how to fight like a mage, and like a bard."

Georgie nodded. "Ok then." He stood up and wrote that on his pad. "That's all I needed to know." He paused before he looked at Maleek. "Wait… what's your deal in all this?"

Maleek sighed. "I'm a highly trained Assassin from the Dark Brotherhood. I'm married to Ruby, and this is our daughter, Ranjha." He pushed Ranjha forward for Georgie to see.

Georgie nodded. "Ok, that's all then." He nodded to the gate master. The gate started to move open and he nodded us through. "Enjoy your stay here in Whiterun."

I nodded my thanks to Georgie as we walked into the town. As soon as we did, both Master Neloth and Ruby turned to look down at me. It was a sudden turn too. Like a giant shadow had been casted over their faces while they glared down at me.

"You called me an idiot?!" They both screamed in unison.

I crossed my own arms and huffed as I turned my head away. "The way you two were acting, I was lucky if we didn't end up in prison overnight."

"The Lord of this town knows who I am." Ruby said. "He would have punished that guard if he did anything to me. And the guard knew that. I was just having some fun with him." She looked over at Neloth and narrowed her eyes. "But Neloth would have been lucky if the entire town didn't try to kill him for his little show of magic."

Master shrugged. "After your aggressive display, I thought the only way we were getting inside was to show ourselves as intimidating. I had no idea you were messing with him for fun."

I rolled my eyes and walked away from them as they started to fight. I looked over at Maleek, saying, "So… where's our house?"

Maleek nodded to me as he took the lead. "It's over here. Now, you could go live with the Battle-Borns. They have a really big mansion in town."

I shook my head. "Nah, I'd rather live with you guys. You're my family."

Maleek smiled and ruffled a hand through my hair. "Aww." He replied. "Buttering me up like that. I'm going to buy you a sweet roll."

"Yay!" I replied, throwing my arms up into the air. "Reference joke!" I thought out loud and briskly covered my mouth. What on nirn did I just say? Reference joke? What the heck was that? Oh well, I'd best not dwell on it.

Maleek paid no attention to whatever it was that I just said. He was too busy answering all of Ranjha's questions. "Daddy, what's that?"

"That's a Redguard." Maleek stated.

The Redguard huffed, crossing his arms. "Do you get to the Cloud District often? Oh, who am I kidding, of course not."

He looked down at me for a second and I smiled as huge as possible. "Do you get to the Crystal Palace often?" He shook his head. "Oh, who am I kidding… you have to be born there." And then I pointed to myself. "Like I was." He smirked but started to walk away. "That's right, you're not important!" I screamed after him as he briskly walked away. I laughed to myself as I looked over at Maleek. "Well, that was fun."

He only shook his head. "Was that really necessary."

I nodded. "I've seen him interacting with Daddy and Mommy in the past. He's always saying that same stupid line. He's not too bright or original in his mocking material. And he mocks everyone he considers lower class. And mocking someone based on their economic standing… what a douche." I shrugged. "According to his logic, the only one that can effectively put him down is someone in a higher station than him. I may be disowned, but I'm still a princess, and that is way above his station." I crossed my arms. "And I took him down. And I'll do it again too." Every chance I get. Call my mother arrow fodder will he? I'll get him for that. No one makes my mother feel like less than a real person other than everyone that noticed she lacked personality.

Maleek shrugged. "Well, I guess that's ok. As long as you don't do something like…"

I didn't let Maleek finish. With a snap of my fingers, I large pile of horse bedding filled with horse crap materialized over the Redguard's head. It rained poop and straw on the Redguard for a few seconds. I didn't look over at him as he glared at me. "Ok, so… where's this house?" I asked Maleek as he led me to Breezehome.

I paused by the house and just looked at it. This was where Mommy lived. And it became Daddy's house when she became his Housecarl. I waited patiently for Maleek to unlock the door. As soon as he did, I pelted past him and into the house. I ran up the dirty floors, up the filthy stairs, and right into Mommy's old room. I opened the door to her room, ran straight for the bed, jumped into the air, and crashed down right on top of it. I grabbed the dusty pillow and hugged it close to me as I rolled around on the bed.

My mom used to sleep here. She grew up here, living in this house. She slept in this bed…on this pillow, looking at these walls every time she went to sleep. I looked around the room, looking at the books, the pieces of armor that she left behind. The swords with the whetting stone sitting next to them. And the finished journals that my mother wrote as a child. I didn't hesitate as I grabbed one and opened up to the first page.

Dear diary,

I miss mommy. I don't remember how she died, but daddy says that she died of food poisoning when she ate the birthday cupcake I made for her. I hope she forgives me for killing her, and I'm really sorry. If I could go back and do it over again, I would eat the cupcake instead. I can't imagine living without her. And if that wasn't enough, daddy left me. He just packed up and left. I was alone for a day or two before Uncle Olfrid came by the farmhouse. He told me that daddy wanted him to take care of me. So, I moved into this little house called Breezehome. He said there was no more room in the mansion for me, but he bought this house for me to live in. He didn't want me living in the farmhouse anymore. He wanted me nearby where he could get to me quickly. He said writing in a diary would help me feel closer to my mom. She used to write diaries all the time. I went back to the farmhouse to get them. I feel closer to her when I read them. Like she's still here with me. It's ok, I guess. I miss mom, and I guess I miss dad too. I wouldn't bother reading any of his diaries though. All he ever talks about are the epic level monsters he fights. Yuck. I just want a normal life where nothing overly exciting ever happens to me. And if I somehow ever end up with some sort of prince on an epic quest to save the world from an evil overlord, I think it will be the death of me.

So, today, I hung out with Ysolda and the gang. Ralof was doing his impression of the old man Vignar Gray-Mane. We all had a great laugh at it. Hadvar wanted to play tag, but Georgie settled our tie-breaker with the game hide and seek. I won. No one ever looks in the library, even though I never leave. Quantum Physics, what an interesting concept. Might have to learn more about that someday. Anyway, I've had a long day. I really wish mommy was here to tuck me in. I wish I could hear her wish me goodnight. Sleeping alone in this house… I don't like it.

Lydia.

…

I looked at the page as I suddenly realized… I was just like my mom. She lost her mother too. And she felt what I was feeling now. Her father was just as apathetic as my father was now. We were the same. That somehow brought a smile to me as I hugged the diary close to me. I lied down on her bed and curled up in a ball. I tried to fight the tears but they started flowing out of my eyes. I missed my mom. I got to see memories of her, but that wasn't enough. It was nice learning about who she was, about what she was like. But I wanted to talk to her, be with her. Lie in her lap and fall asleep while she combs my hair. Anything! Too bad I couldn't fix this. She wanted to go back in time and save her own mother from dying. I wanted to do the same.

"Cecilie, are you ready for lunch?" Ruby called from downstairs.

I nodded. "Yeah, sure." I sat up and looked around the room. Well, I wasn't exactly like Mommy. She had her uncle take care of her, and I had Ruby. Maybe that wasn't so different, not really. I made sure my tears were dried up, throwing up a large smile as I ran out of the room to find out what we were having for lunch.

Cearbhail:

Ok, so we have now established a relationship between Ruby and Neloth. This will never, ever, ever change. And (I never noticed this trend until this chapter) Cecilie is just like her mother in the respect that they both caused the death of their mothers and drove their fathers away. That was a ... major surprise for me to find out. And if you think about it, Ruby was the cause of her mother's death (but not so much driving her father away, unless you take into account when she met him at the age 13 when she hated him for speaking in 3rd person). Huh... I wonder if I even have a main female character in this story that didn't cause one of their own parents to die a horrible death. Umm.. Veselle, I guess. her mother dying was totally Neloth's fault. but she did drive her father away so I guess that doesn't count. Anyway, see you next chapter.