Hello, readers! It's me again. I don't know if this is something that you've been curious about, but I've decided to treat you to a bit of a flashback. It starts many years ago on the day when a middle-aged Thalmor wizard named Edrian met a young street urchin named Rosa.

ooooooooooooooooo

Chapter 11: One Day In Imperial City

Today was an oddity for Edrian. This was actually one of the rare occasions when the busy wizard wasn't busy blackmailing people, covertly spreading propaganda, manipulating politics from behind the scenes, and generally being what many people would consider an amoral bastard. That was something that he found quite rude. Yes, he was most likely amoral. However, he was by no means a bastard. He was an Altmer of the purest blood. He was the result of fine breeding from the arranged marriage between two High Elves, both with completely untainted ancestry that could be traced as far back as such things were recorded. His position among the Thalmor was well-deserved in his opinion and he fulfilled that role with utmost competence. Edrian clasped his hands behind his back and gazed at the hustle and bustle of the Market District. The people coming and going were a very diverse bunch, consisting of many different races. No doubt the majority were glorified vagrants who sometimes referred to themselves as adventurers.

The statuesque, well-groomed Altmer then noticed some movement out of the corner of his eye. He gave a subtle glance at a group of barrels and saw a face peek around them. It was a somewhat unkempt Imperial girl, though some of her featured might possibly indicate mixed ancestry he thought with a frown. Still, he was curious about what she did next and he had nothing better to do at the moment. With surprising stealth, the child crept over to one of the food stalls. Once she seemed sure that no one was looking, she swiped a loaf of bread from the shelf and tucked it into the worn cross-body bag that she was wearing. She looked around once more before dashing away. Edrian's gaze darted to the guards, who did not react to the thievery. In fact, they didn't show any indication that they had seen it at all. Edrian tossed his immaculately groomed white-blonde hair back and sneered at the incompetent guards, who gave no indication of seeing him. "Incompetent." he huffed.

Really, is it too much to ask for to want guards who actually did their jobs? Sure, the girl was surprisingly stealthy for one her age, but she was no master and a guard who was actually doing their job might have spotted her if they were looking in her direction. As long as the guards failed at their jobs, things like this would surely happen again. Edrian scoffed and left the Market District. Maybe he might find something less droll in the Arboretum.

oooooooooooooooooo

Rosa glared defiantly at the much older boys who had cornered her. "Give it to us, Rat." the largest boy, a scruffy Imperial of about fifteen ordered her.

"No, I don't think so." Rosa replied.

The other boy, a rather scrawny Nord, echoed the Imperial boy. "Yeah, give it to us!"

"I won't give it to you!" Rosa raised her voice.

"I'd like to see you stop me." the Imperial boy sneered.

Rosa groaned and said, "Just leave me alone, Corvis!"

"Make us!" the Nord boy taunted.

"Did you really come up with that on your own, Erik, or did the taste of Corvis' boots inspire you?" Rose shot back.

"Give the bread to us, Rat, or we'll clobber you again." Corvis threatened.

"Never." Rosette gave the older, larger boys her most defiant stare yet.

"You asked for it!" Corvis gave her a mean look. "Erik, get her."

Erik grabbed her by the arms and held her so she couldn't move. Corvis took out a knife, cut the straps of her satchel, and yanked it away from her. He opened it up, pulled out the loaf of bread, and waved it tauntingly in Rosa's face. "Who's go the food now, Rat?"

"I need that for food, Corvis!" Rosa said desperately.

"You can just eat garbage." Corvis threatened, followed by a laugh. "After all, rats eat garbage all the time."

The Imperial boy passed the bag to the Nord, who had released Rosa and shoved her away. He opened the bag and pulled something out. It was a worn stuffed rabbit toy, which had been damaged and mended repeatedly over the years. "Look what I found, Corvis!" Erik exclaimed.

"Give that back!" Rosa shouted.

"Here!" Erik laughed out loud as he tossed the toy over to Corvis. "Catch!"

Corvis laughed loudly as Rosa jumped up, trying to catch it but it was out of reach. "You want it back, Rat?" He sneered. "Come and get it."

Corvis and Erik tossed the stuffed rabbit back and forth, quite successfully keeping it away from Rosa. "Come on, give it back!" the petite eleven-year-old pleaded. "It's mine!"

"It's mine now, Rat!" Corvis cackled as he caught the toy once more and waved it out of reach.

Rosa had reached the end of her rope. Instead of trying to catch her bunny again, she charged at Corvis. Once she reached him, she gave him a sharp kick in the shin. On reflex, he dropped the toy and Rosa caught it. Before she could run away, the older Imperial grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her against a statue, he wound his hand back before it flew towards her and met her face in a harsh slap. He was breathing loudly as he lowered his face to right in front of hers. "You made a big mistake, Rat." He sneered. "Do you know what happens to rats that bite?"

"Yeah, do you know?" Erik echoed.

Rosa's eyes widened as she swallowed audibly. In a meek voice, she whispered, "What?"

A wicked grin appeared on Corvis' face as he said, "Rats who bite... get stomped on."

He flung her to the ground. No sooner had she hit the ground, the older Imperial drew his leg back before sending it into her side in a harsh kick. Erik crouched down and held Rosa by the arms, preventing her from escaping as Corvis brutally kicked and punched her. Eventually, the boy lowered himself to her level. "Say you're sorry, Rat." He had that wicked grin on his face once more.

His face was so close to Rosa's that she could smell his foul breath. Rather than surrendering, Rosa spat at him, hitting his face with a mixture of saliva and blood. Once again, she had that defiant expression in her face as she said, "Never."

He wound his fist back and was about to punch her again when a smooth, masculine voice said, "Pathetic."

The trio turned their heads to see an Altmer male looking at them with blatant disdain. He stood well over six feet tall and had bicep-length white-blonde hair. His facial features were the very image of Altmer perfection. His Thalmor robes were in perfect order, not a flaw or stain in sight. "Excuse me?" Corvis questioned. For the first time, he appeared uneasy.

"Are you deaf as well as stupid?" the High Elf sneered.

Corvis balled his fists tightly. In a forcefully polite tone, he asked, "What do you want?"

The tall male scoffed and said, "What I want is for you to vacate this area so you no longer offend my senses with your foul stench."

The boys paused. The Altmer gave the two of them his most intimidating glare as he said, "Go, now. If I'm feeling merciful, I'll give you a head start before I summon the guards."

The two boys wisely fled. Rosa struggled to sit up. The Thalmor wizard calmly walked over to her. "Rise, urchin." he said coldly.

Rosa attempted to get up once more, but pain shot through her side and she fell back onto her knees. "Did you not hear me? I said rise." the Altmer repeated himself.

Rosa tried again and managed to get to her feet. She was shaking from the pain and her right arm didn't seem to be obeying her. The High Elf gazed at her coolly and said, "You're injured."

Rosa nodded and mumbled, "Yeah."

"Hold still." he ordered.

The tall male crouched down to her level and examined her. "Your arm is dislocated," he observed, "and you appear to have broken a few ribs."

Rosa nodded, which was followed by a loud exhale. The High Elf seemed to be considering something. Finally, he said, "Hold still."

Without a warning, he grabbed her right arm. Rosa bit her lip to muffle a shout of pain as the Altmer jerked her arm harshly and quickly returned her arm into its socket. The Imperial girl was breathing hard, but she hadn't let out a sound of pain. She was about to walk away, but the white-blonde said, "I did not dismiss you, girl."

Rosa turned and looked at him, a questioning expression on her face. An unreadable expression was displayed on his golden features. He seemed to be thinking something over. Finally, he grabbed her left arm and said, "Hold still."

Rosa obediently stopped moving. The Altmer released her arm and moved his hands over the side that hurt the most. A golden glow appeared in his hands, a clear sign that he was about to cast a healing spell. He placed his hands over her side and unleashed the glow upon her. She felt the bruises fade from her skin. She felt her cracked bones rejoin and mend. Even her split lip healed. Rosa looked at the Elf who had healed her with a look of wonder in her eyes. "Thanks." she said dreamily.

"Don't look into it, girl." the Altmer scoffed as he stood up. "It was merely on a whim that I decided to aid you."

Rosa couldn't help but smile. "Thanks anyway."

He turned and began to walk away. When he was about twenty feet away from her, he turned back to her. With an expression on his handsome face that could almost be described as amused, the wizard said, "Do try to avoid getting into scrapes again. I might not be bored enough to help you next time."

He then turned to walk away. Before she could stop herself, Rosa called out, "My name is Rosa."

The Altmer let out an irritated sigh before looking over his shoulder. "You're too small to be a proper rose." He said with that half-annoyed, half-amused expression. "You're more like a Rosette."

"You can call me Rosette, then!" The Imperial girl grinned broadly.

The High Elf then turned to walk away once more before she could stop herself, Rosa asked, "What's your name?"

Without looking back at her, the wizard said, "Edrian."

"It's nice to meet you, Edrian." Rosa called out.

"I can't say the same to you." There was definitely a note of slight amusement in his voice. "Rosette, the filthy urchin who doesn't show her pain."

"Well, it wasn't my idea to live this way." Rosa replied.

"Find a better place to live then." Edrian snorted.

"Hopefully I will eventually, Divines willing." the Imperial girl said.

"You'd better." Edrian replied haughtily. "I so despise seeing filthy urchins infesting this city."

Rose groaned and said, "Have a nice day!"

"Are you dismissing me, girl?" She could practically hear the scowl in his voice.

"I think I'd like to be dismissed." Rosa said.

"Of course you would." Edrian waved his hand dismissively. "You may leave."

Rosa picked up her toy and scampered past the Altmer male. She took one last look at him, smiled, and said, "Have a nice day, Edrian! Thank you for your help!"

Edrian rolled his eyes and groaned. "Was I not clear enough? I told you, girl, you are dismissed!"

Rosa grinned at him one last time before turning to jog away. She decided that she rather liked the nickname that the High Elf had given her. She hugged her bunny and giggled. Something told her that this wasn't the last time she would run into the handsome Thalmor wizard named Edrian.

ooooooooooooooo

And thus the seeds of friendship have been planted!