Being in the market reminded Leola of exactly why she tended to avoid the market.
The moment she rounded the corner and emerged into the market area of town, she immediately felt the harsh eyes of Grimvar Cruel-Sea looking intently in her direction. Whenever she was in the area, he was always glaring daggers in her direction. He'd been a part of Samuel's little team back when he'd been trying to stop her from saving her mother and becoming the future Queen. The first time she'd ever laid eyes on Grimvar, he'd been guarding her childhood home, Lakeview Manor, lest she and her friends try to find Samuel there. Aventus had snuck up behind him to choke him out, and he still held a grudge against her for it.
"Your majesty," came the voice of Oengul War-Anvil, the blacksmith, as she approached. Immediately, all heads in the marketplace turned to her, and she smiled somewhat shyly.
"Good morning," she said politely, giving a nod of her head.
"Is there something you need, my lady?" asked Oengul, but Leola shook her head.
"No, no," she said, smiling at him. "I'm simply accompanying Lady Torygga here to the White Phial. Please, return to your work."
"Of course, of course," Oengul said with a nod.
Past his shoulder, Leola spotted Oengul's young wife, Hermir. She'd never quite known how to read the woman - although she was happily married and had children just a few months younger than Leola, she still seemed somewhat resentful of the fact that Ulfric had chosen the Dragonborn, and that he'd managed to produce Leola. She was never anything but kind, but there was just something...off...about their interactions.
"Your majesty," called out Niranye from her stall, waving her arm slightly. "Do you mind coming here a moment?"
"Not at all," Leola replied. She exchanged a look with Torygga, who smiled.
"Go ahead," said the other woman with a nod. "I'll head into the shop, you can join me when you've finished."
"Alright," Leola said with a nod. As Torygga carried her two little ones into the White Phial, Leola walked over to Niranye's stall, smiling. "What do you need?" she asked.
"I've been meaning to come by the palace and talk to you about this," Niranye said, "but I've been terribly busy as of late. It's good that you're here. An...associate...of mine recently acquired a rather interesting item that I know to have belonged to your mother - of course, if I had mentioned that, they'd have charged me at least double what I paid, and I already paid an exorbitant amount of gold to retrieve this for you."
"Oh?" Leola asked curiously as Niranye knelt to search around beneath her stall. A moment later, the elf stood upright and held out an unusual-looking amulet. It appeared to be made of bone, with a rectangular token in the middle and a few smaller, tooth-like pieces on the sides.
"The person who sold it to me believed it to be the Gauldur amulet, though I do not know how that can be - the amulet was destroyed, and the pieces separated. Unless, of course, your mother retrieved those pieces and reforged them - I certainly wouldn't put it past her."
Leola was quiet, thinking back to the journal she'd read the night before. Gauldur amulet...it sounded familiar, that was for certain. "She might have," Leola said softly. "How much for it?"
"Nothing at all," Niranye replied. "I believe I owed your mother a favour or two before she disappeared - consider it repaying my debts."
Leola's eyes widened at hearing the elf's words. "Really?" she asked softly. "I - I couldn't. You said you paid a lot for it."
"I did," Niranye replied, "and it wounds me that my Queen won't accept my gift." There was a slight smile on the elven woman's lips, indicating that she spoke in jest - which came as a relief to Leola. Niranye had always been tricky to read, but overall, Leola had typically seen her as kind and genuine.
"Oh, Niranye," Leola said with a laugh. She outstretched her hands and took the amulet from her, examining it closely. "I do appreciate this, I really do - please, if there's anything you ever need, do not hesitate to ask."
"Believe me, I won't," Niranye replied with a smirk. "Which reminds me - I've noticed a newcomer in town, an Altmer man, coming to the market to buy food. Any idea what his name is?"
Leola blinked in surprise. She hadn't realized that Nericano was making himself visible to the townspeople - she'd expected that, as a Thalmor in Skyrim, he'd have been keeping himself hidden in Hjerim. Maybe he'd simply changed his clothing - after all, surely an elf in Thalmor robes would have garnered attention from the guards. "His name is Nericano," Leola replied with a smile. "Why do you ask?"
"It's not often that I find my eyes so drawn to one of my own people," Niranye replied with a sly smile on her lips. "I tend to be more partial to Redguard men - oh, those Redguards - but this Nericano...do you know if he's married?"
Leola felt her heart sink somewhat. She wasn't entirely sure why - after all, Nericano was just a friend, and Leola loved Erith...but she felt almost jealous at hearing of Niranye's admiration for the Altmer man.
"I'm sorry, but I don't," Leola replied, shaking her head.
"Ah, a pity," Niranye replied. "I'll just have to ask him myself, I suppose. Now, I won't keep you from your company any longer - good day to you, your majesty."
"And to you, Niranye," Leola said with a nod. She held up the amulet and gave a warm smile. "Thank you for this."
She turned and headed towards the White Phial, trying to ignore the heavy feeling of Grimvar's glare as she approached the store. She opened the door, heading inside and smiling at the sight of her new friend Torygga. Lorelette was sitting on the counter while Quintus rummaged around through some boxes below the counter, and Torygga carried Anders in her arms still. Just as Leola entered, she saw Torygga somewhat awkwardly shift Anders from one side to the other.
"I can take him," Leola offered, moving forward and opening her arms.
"Thank you," Torygga said, handing the little boy over. He was heavier than his sister, but Leola smiled down at him as she held him, and he gave her something akin to a smile in return.
"Your majesty!" came a voice from the doorway off to the side. Leola turned and glanced over, smiling slightly as she saw a redheaded Breton girl, one who couldn't have been more than fifteen or sixteen.
"Hello," Leola said kindly. "I don't believe we've met."
"Er, no, ma'am," the girl said, shaking her head. "My name is Lysiane Madauche - I'm Master Navale's apprentice."
"Oh, you've taken an apprentice?" Leola asked, looking at Quintus as he poked his head up from beneath the counter.
"I have," he replied. "She's a very bright girl - oh, Lysiane, do we have any more nirnroot in the back room? I have only a few here."
"I'll go and look," said the girl, turning and hurrying into the other room.
Leola's eyes fell upon Lorelette, sitting cheerfully on the counter while she waited for Quintus to prepare her remedy. The girl was so lovely, and so well-behaved. Leola, just from having met her last night, had no doubt in her mind that she, like Lysiane, would be a bright girl. Maybe Lorelette would apprentice to an apothecary. Maybe she'd one day be Archmage of the College of Winterhold. Maybe she'd be a graduate of the Bards College in Solitude.
And Leola...Leola had to take that bright future away from her.
She glanced away, taking a few breaths to compose herself. No. She didn't have to kill Lorelette. That was the entire reason for her plans with Aventus. They would talk to Dagon. She would spare Lorelette…
But, then again, if Leola was going to kill the child, now was perhaps her best opportunity. Quintus probably had some poison on hand, or some poisonous ingredients - if she could slip some nightshade into the remedy, her task would be done. They couldn't track Lorelette's death back to her, although Quintus and Lysiane would likely be held responsible. She couldn't do that to them.
She also wasn't sure she could go through with killing Lorelette in the first place. Back to the plan. Talk to Dagon.
Before long, Quintus had prepared the remedy that Lorelette needed. It came as a green liquid in a tiny bottle, and he told Torygga to give the child a few drops with each feeding until her symptoms went away. Torygga thanked him before scooping up Lorelette and beginning to leave. Leola followed, still holding Anders.
"You seem quiet," Torygga remarked when they were halfway back to the palace.
"Do I?" Leola asked, feeling a warmth come to her cheeks. "That wasn't my intention."
"What's on your mind?" asked Torygga.
"I - er - it's Erith," Leola said quickly. "I just...miss her. I want her to come back."
"Ah," Torygga said with a nod. "I know the feeling...you and Erith have been together a while, though - I'm sure she'll realize that she doesn't want to throw it away. Mara has blessed you with one another, and she'd be a fool to reject such a gift."
"I only hope that she can see it that way," Leola replied, shaking her head.
Back at the palace, lunch was just being served. Farkand was biting into a chunk of bread as the girls walked in, and he smiled.
"Ah, so I won't be dining alone after all!" he said, and they both laughed.
"No, you won't," Leola said, walking over and sitting beside him. She let Anders sit in her lap. He seemed calm, much calmer than he had been when Torygga and the twins had first arrived.
"I'm assuming all went well at the White Phial?" Farkand asked, his gaze shifting towards Torygga.
"It did," she replied, and sat across from him and Leola. She had Lorelette in her own lap, and gently placed a kiss on top of the child's head. "I was thinking that we'd leave tonight - I found on my way here that the motion of the carriage was soothing to the little ones and they slept quite well, so I'm sure that traveling at night will let me get some sleep, too."
"That's a good idea," Farkand said with a nod. "Nothing worse than crying babies when you're trying to sleep."
"You say that as if you know from experience," Torygga teased, and he chuckled.
"I have a few siblings - trust me, I do know from experience," he said. "Luckily I was never the one who had to deal with them, that was my poor mother's job."
"Poor mother indeed," Torygga said with a laugh.
Leola was quiet as she listened to the pair of them laughing and talking between themselves. She watched Torygga bounce her daughter in her lap, watched her feed the little girl. Lorelette was completely dependant on Torygga, with no way of taking care of herself. It hardly seemed fair for Leola to even think about hurting her.
If Torygga was leaving that evening, Leola wanted to leave with Aventus as soon as possible. She wanted to talk to Dagon, wanted to see what could be done to change the terms of their deal and spare the child.
The three of them made conversation as they ate. They mostly discussed the children. Torygga was obviously a happy and proud mother. Farkand, to Leola's surprise, didn't ask her any questions about their father, although perhaps he simply knew better. After all, it was well-known among the Jarls and their households that Jarl Elisif's daughter had given birth to her children out of wedlock.
After they ate, all three went their own ways. Torygga wanted to put the twins down for their nap, and to have a short nap along with them. Farkand had business to tend to in town, and though Leola didn't have much to do, she decided to write up a short letter for Aventus, requesting that they meet at the palace at sunrise to go to Dagon's shrine. She took care to include in her letter that Torygga would be leaving that evening, meaning that he had no need to be concerned about running into her. After all, it seemed that he kept a watchful enough eye on the twins as it was already…