21

It was going to be another cloudy day. Aya sighed heavily as she opened her red rimmed eyes. She was facing the wall-less south side of her home. The sun was hidden amongst the clouds, barely shining down. Tears rolled down her cheeks unheeded as she stared out the house at nothing in particular.

She closed her eyes and cried for a long while before she forced herself into action. She had to build that south wall. She could not put it off any longer. She grunted and rolled gently off her bed. She could barely sit up any more, her belly got in the way. Aya was nearing the end of her pregnancy, she figured. Danica had told her ten months, she had fled the College almost nine months ago.

Ancano had not known, had died… she closed her eyes and gave her head a shake as two more tears rolled down her cheeks. She had to stop. She couldn't think about him… She had to build that wall, the elements and the predators would need to be kept out. She would be bleeding a lot soon and did not want to draw their attention. Not to her or her baby.

Her hands rubbed along her distended midriff as their child moved and kicked. She smiled and cooed at her stomach. Wouldn't be much longer. She had trees to cut and logs to gather. She had to finish this… she couldn't be idle any more, no one else would help her. Aya stretched and felt her bones in her back crack. She shivered and her stomach growled loudly.

A thick fur blanket fixed her temperature while jerky staved off her hunger. She would eat, and then she would get to work. More tears rolled down her cheeks as she ate in silence. She wiped them away absentmindedly. She debated not building the wall and making her way towards Whiterun instead.

The temple would not turn her away… she swallowed her mouthful. Did she want people to know she had an affair with an Altmer? She was not ashamed of Ancano… but in these war torn times… she sighed heavily again. Why was she thinking about this? She rubbed a hand down her face, rubbing the sleep away. Maybe if she kept rubbing, she would erase herself.

Her heart ached. It hurt so much… more tears fell from her eyes. She missed him. Every day. She had fled Winterhold as though Alduin himself had chased her out, his black jaws and wings hanging over her mind. She'd seen him… had been the one to find him… the misfortune of noticing the blood soaked snow… his black robes… he'd been cut to pieces...

Aya pushed away the memory as her stomach clenched. She had to stop! He was dead… he was dead… no amount of restoration would have brought him back… a noise to her left had her whip her head to the side. Her eyes widened to the size of shields she was sure, for there in the doorway, was Ancano. Hooded, and cloaked, but alive .

"Ancano…." She breathed his name as though he was the reason she drew breath, and in that moment he was. Her heart swelled. He was alive! Gloriously alive !

The jerky dropped from her nerveless fingers and she struggled to her feet. Mara be praised… She was crying and smiling, about to throw herself at him when her eyes met his green ones and the illusion shattered with piercing agony. She froze, the smile on her face disappearing. His lips were drawn in a tight line across his mouth.

This was not Ancano…

Fear lanced her heart and she backed away slowly. His green eyes pierced through her skull before they lowered and she physically felt as though he had stabbed her through the gut. Oh fuck… he was here to take her baby or kill her… her heart accelerated so fast, she was momentarily dizzy.

She was glad in a way the south wall was not built and was about to dash away when Estormo raised both his hands and dropped to his knees where he stood.

"Wait!" He called loudly, his green eyes were focused on her intently. He raised his hand, and she noticed it was fur clad instead of black studded leather. He pulled the hood from his cloak back and she realized he wasn't wearing the Thalmor hood. Instead long white hair, longer than Ancano's had been, was pulled back from his face, exposing his pointed ears.

Aya paused. Her blue eyes wide in her face. Estormo was staring at her intently, his mouth opened and he licked his lips.

"I am no longer Thalmor," he said quickly, "I've been looking for you…"

Her mouth went dry. "Why?"

Estormo slowly stood to his feet and swallowed. He opened his mouth to say something but then thought better of it and snapped it shut. He didn't know what to tell her… he had been so intent on finding her that now that he had, he didn't know what to say.

He had been surprised to find out that Ancano had been killed by the Dragonborn. So surprised that he had stared at the corpse of his superior for a long while before he demanded to know what had happened. No one had seen anything, and while he had done his investigation, the Nord hunter had vanished. He had not been able to give chase.

That was until he realized that as a Thalmor, he would be more dangerous to her. He had resigned, rather abruptly, by faking his own death. Ancano's fate had made him realize that this Dragonborn business was something beyond their control. The Thalmor resources had been stretched thin, he would be alone in Winterhold, surrounded by enemies.

The hunter had haunted him then.

With Ancano dead… the little voice in his mind had whispered, temptation lacing its words. She was free…

Estormo was ashamed to admit he had barely thought his options through before he acted on them. He'd toasted bandit beyond recognition and had placed some of his artifacts on the corpse. He made it look like an unfortunate rune accident. He ditched his robes and had gone on an extended tour of Skyrim.

He had found her. Auriel… she was heavy with child…

His stomach had knotted and fierce protectiveness had come over him. That could be his child in her womb. Oh gods… it spurred him on.

"I want to help…" he swallowed and took a step towards her, "I realize you may…" he cleared his throat, and his face darkened as he blushed, "You may not trust me…" his eyes looked at her and then looked away.

"It's Ancano's baby…" she said quickly, tears rolling down her cheeks. He swallowed and stopped when he was standing in front of her. His green eyes searched her white face.

"I don't care," he murmured and then grabbed her small hands that clutched the blanket tightly. His large thumb rubbed along her knuckles. "Let me help?" She was visibly shaking, her head raised up, her tear-filled eyes staring at him. He licked his lips again and took a step closer to her. His eyes glanced down at her mouth before he raised a hand to her cheek. "What do you need me to do?"

She blinked at him and pulled away from him. "I don't have any room for you…"

"We can share your bed for now," he said quietly. She froze and her eyes raised back to his. "You are safe from me…" he murmured, "It's a cold place…" he trailed off and then sighed heavily, he was acting like a fool, "Listen, Aya…" he licked his lips again.

"You never said my name before," she spoke suddenly, looking at him.

He smiled faintly at her and took a deep breath. "I know you loved Ancano," he pressed on, "I am not anywhere near the same caliber of mage, nor can I provide the same luxuries," he chuckled and squeezed her hand, "but I am willing to wait for you. I would help with your child," he swallowed, "treat it like my own," it would be his own, "I want to help… we can…" he paused, "We can be a family…"

Her eyes widened further and more tears rolled down her face. He lowered his head until his forehead touched hers. She closed her eyes and pushed her forehead against his. "I'm very tired…" she murmured.

Estormo nodded. "Rest," he eyed the lack of a southern wall, "Might want a fourth wall…"

She glanced up at him and chuckled. "I guess you can help build it…"

The Altmer chuckled and nodded. "I will."