A/N: I know, it's been quite a while - please, don't kick me! *cowers* You know how it is with life and stuff, always throwing curve balls. Anyhoo, I was searching through my documents folder and realized that I had two more chapters to post of this story that I haven't done yet, so I figured the least I could do was upload and publish them. It's only fair, seeing as you've all waited this long.
I'd like to thank each and every reviewer whom was kind enough to leave me a review - you all kept me going, even when I didn't think I could. You've all left such kind, wonderful words that have touched my heart in ways I couldn't dream possible. Whenever I'm having a bad day, all I have to do is get on fanfiction, go to my review page, and read over some of the things you all have said to me. Never fails to cheer me up - or make me cry; tears of joy, of course. Argh, I'm so bad at this. What I basically wanna say is, THANK YOU! Without you guys, I wouldn't have made it this far! I love you guys =]
Chapter Eleven
Home
It felt good to be home.
'Home'. She never thought she'd be using that word to describe Whiterun, ever. But here she was, awakening on her makeshift bed on the floor, and feeling immensely glad to be back, mostly safe and somewhat sound.
When she arrived late last night, she told Arcadia all about her misadventure in Markarth, from the way she had been drugged up to being saved by a cannibal whom wanted only to rule over the coven – leaving out the part where she had to eat the flesh of a dead body. The muscles in her stomach were still tight from heaving up everything from that night. Arcadia offered her stew, to which she declined. Though, she was hungry, she wanted to stay as far away from any type of meat as possible for at least a month.
She rose from her bed and got dressed into the dress Arcadia had sewn and patched up for her. Once her boots were laced, she grabbed fifty gold from her coin purse, which had plumped up a bit since the day she bought the soul gems, and made her way downstairs.
"Good morning, dear," Arcadia said. She was picking up the displayed ingredients from the shelves on the counter and wiping beneath them with an old rag.
"Good morning. Shall I take that order to Farengar now, or wait until after lunch?"
Arcadia laughed. "It is lunchtime right now."
Lynette gasped. "Oh dear, please forgive me – I didn't realize how tired I was. You could have woken me up-"
"-Shh, it's alright," the woman interrupted. "If I had needed you up early, I would have gotten you up. Don't worry so much – it will make you age faster, they say."
Lynette put on her overcoat, grabbed the bucket of juniper berries, and made her way to Dragonsreach. Her legs trembled from the lack of food she'd had over the past few days – she hadn't eaten since she had emptied the contents of her stomach in Markarth, she realized. Perhaps I'll have a bite of bread and cheese when I get back.
She passed Anoriath's stall and gave him a friendly greeting. "Don't worry, I'll be coming back again later today!" she told him, and he laughed and gave her a wave as she passed by and started up the long path of steps.
The large tree in the center of the district seemed to sway sadly as she walked by, and as she passed the temple of Kynareth, she made a note to stop in later and pay her respects.
Her heart began to race as she neared the Jarl's keep. Why was she getting so worked up?
The guard at the door let her through, and she walked up the steps and to the right, toward the wizard's office.
He was standing over his alchemy table today, and seemed to hear her when she came in, as he said, "You have what I asked for?"
"I do," she answered. "Where do you want this?"
He turned and glanced at the bucket, then pointed to his side. "Set them by my feet."
Lynette did as she was told, then stood there, waiting for him to acknowledge her presence.
"Yes?"
"About my studies..."
"Not tonight. The Jarl's birthday is today, and there is to be a celebration that I cannot miss."
"Ah. Well, that works out then," she said. She wanted to dive into an explanation about her not being able to practice tonight because she wanted to stay up and make up for her lost hours of work this morning, but thought better of it and said instead, "The juniper berries are for this party, then?"
"Obviously," Farengar said. "Why else would I have ordered a pound?"
"Speaking of..." She held out her hand. "Payment."
Farengar nodded to the desk behind him. "Over there, top drawer on the left."
Lynette went to the desk and opened the drawer. Inside was a coin pouch, a few soul gems, and a book with a symbol on it. She touched the symbol – it was some kind of metal; a diamond in the shape of a dragon. There was no title on the outside. This only made her curious.
"Did you find it?" Farengar's voice came from right behind her head, and she jumped and turned to see him staring down at her, hands behind him.
"Oh, er, yes!" she said, reaching for the coin purse. "The whole thing?"
Farengar nodded.
"Okay then, I suppose I should be going..."
She hurried away and past the threshold, refusing to look back. She felt so embarrassed. Now he was going to think she was so sort of sneak. She'd already spied on him when he was speaking with the hooded woman about finding something for him, and now he caught her staring too long in his desk drawer. How could she be trusted?
The sun greeted her upon exiting the building. She held a hand over her eyes to shield them while she took a good look at the city before her. It was breathtaking, to say the least. She soaked it all in before heading down the steps, away from Dragonsreach.
. . .
. . .
Farengar made his way down the long beige carpet, toward the end of the Great Porch, where Jarl Balgruuf was having his lunch. He could not help but feel a sense of duty to the graying man, be it defending Whiterun or serving up the Jarl's favorite mead for his birthday.
"Jarl Balgruuf, I pray I am not interrupting," he said, approaching his his arms held out. He lowered them to his sides and gave the man a smile.
"Ah, my court wizard. Have you acquired what you needed to make that mead with the juniper berries mixed in?"
"I have," Farengar answered. He swung around to the other side of the table and took a seat, facing the Jarl. "Mind if I join you? I have yet to eat today."
Balgruuf waved a hand at the table, signifying him to go ahead and dig in. There was a bowl of apples in the center, with a plate of cheese and fresh baked bread, and beside that a steaming rump roast surrounded by boiled salt potatoes. On the end was a bottle of aged wine. Farengar took a goblet from the table and poured himself a glass.
"How goes things with the apprentice?" Balgruuf asked, taking a spoonful of potato into his mouth.
"Good. It doesn't cut into my time nearly as much as I thought it would," Farengar admitted, sipping his wine.
"You don't think you're taking on too much, what with your regular duties to the hold, and your dragon research?"
"There always seems like too much to do when you look at it that way. I just take it a day at a time, and so far there seems to be plenty of hours in the day to get done what I need done. The research is a little slow, though..." Farengar helped himself to the roast with a knife and a fork.
"Why haven't I met this young mage yet?" Balgruuf asked.
"I haven't thought to introduce you," Farengar said. "Honestly, I didn't think you would want to meet her."
"Nonsense," Balgruuf said. "Anyone you train, I would take it as an honor to meet. Why not invite her to the events this evening?"
"Her? She's not a shopkeeper, or a farmer. No one important to the hold. She picks flowers for Divines sakes."
"But she is your apprentice now. That makes her someone. Invite her, I insist."
Farengar took a long, hard look at the Jarl. For such a rough, stone exterior he had, he was quite soft on the inside. "As you wish, Jarl."
. . .
. . .
"...And then I woke up – my second time blacking out, mind you – and the girl from the coven is there, chewing on a piece of him like he was nothing, nobody," Lynette said.
Folkvar gave her a little woof to let her know he was listening.
She smiled and scratched behind his ears. "Anyway, she let me go, thank the Divines. Turns out, she only wanted to be the leader of the coven. So I got away. And I got the berries to Whiterun in time." She turned to the dog. "So, how was your day?"
Folkvar barked twice and began panting happily.
"Aw, that's good to hear," Lynette said, followed by a silvery laugh. She really missed him while she was gone. "Well, I've just about used up all the time I can spare here. I'm going to have to go back to the shop before it starts getting dark." She petted him gently, from the top of his head to his shoulder blades, and gave his neck a good scratch before standing and dusting herself off. "I will see you tomorrow. Hope the night isn't too cold for you tonight."
She began walking up the hill and out of the valley toward the road, and Folkvar followed.
"Aw, you're such a gentleman, walking a girl up the hill like that," she said.
She continued on the road, watching him follow along side her, and wondered, was he actually going to follow her home this time? Was today the day?
Folkvar followed Lynette further than he ever had, past the guard tower, toward the farms around Whiterun. Lynette was speechless, half afraid that if she said anything, the dog would turn right around and run. How was he going to react to all the people in Whiterun, if he made it that far?
Only one way to find out.
They passed by the stables and to the gates of the hold. They were let inside, with a snide remark about how "mangy" her dog was, but she ignored them, being more concerned about how Folkvar was taking the entire ordeal.
He stayed very close to her legs as they walked, almost pushing right up against them, and his tail was tucked so far between his legs, his butt was nearly dragging the ground. But he still followed her, right up to and inside the Cauldron.
"Arcadia, I'm back, and I brought a handsome young man with me!"
Arcadia came from the back room, quickly smoothing down her hair, and looked stunned to see the dog standing beside Lynette.
"Ah! That's the pup then?"
"Yes," Lynette said with a giggle. "Isn't he beautiful?"
Arcadia came closer and held out a hand, but Folkvar backed away and hid behind Lynette.
"He needs some time to adjust," Lynette said. "And a bath."
"Well, go heat up some well water and we'll soap him up out back. Has he eaten yet?" Arcadia asked, going to fetch the buckets.
"Yes, I just fed him." Lynette's eyes wandered to something different in the room – a bulky cloth package, all wrapped up in twine, was on the counter top between the displays. "What's this package?"
"Oh, that's for you," Arcadia said, rounding the corner with the buckets. She set them down and wiped her hands on her apron. "Came while you were away."
Arcadia picked up the package and handed it to Lynette in exchange for her basket of ingredients. Lynette quickly unwrapped the twine and unfolded the cloth – there was a dress of some type underneath. She unfolded it and held it up, and a letter dropped from its middle. She paid no mind to it just yet, as she was staring wide-eyed at what she was holding in her hands. It wasn't a dress. They were robes – mage robes.
She picked up the fallen letter with trembling hands and read it.
To Lynette,
Jarl Balgruuf has requested that you personally come to the event of his birthday, starting tonight at sundown. Consider this an invitation letter. Be prompt, as I do not want my apprentice embarrassing me in front of the Jarl.
Farengar Secret-Fire
"What is it?" Arcadia asked.
"R-Robes," Lynette said, her voice wavering. She felt as though she was about to cry. "Real apprentice robes... And an invitation to go to Dragonsreach tonight."
Arcadia smiled and clasped her hands together in front of her breast. "Isn't that sweet of him."
"But...I can't go," Lynette realized aloud, her heart sinking. "I promised myself I would stay here and help you-"
"-Oh quiet, you," Arcadia intervened. "You can go. Work can wait until tomorrow." She sighed. "Besides, there won't be many customers tonight, what with the events and all. Most will either be at Dragonsreach or at the Bannered Mare if they didn't get an invitation."
"Didn't you get one?"
"Yes, but I'm not going," Arcadia said. "Farengar will be there and... I still can't bring myself to look at him now."
"Well, then I can't go because I'd feel terrible if you were here instead of there-"
"-Lynette! Go!"
Lynette quieted down and nodded. "Alright." A slow smile crept across her face. "Alright, I'll go." She gave Arcadia a hug and made her way upstairs to try on her new robes, Folkvar following close behind.
