I haven't done any writing in a while. Things have been busy and stressful for me. I really need to get back into the swing of things because I have stories that I need to finish. Yes, this is another flashback.

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Chapter 13: Paperwork

Edrian frowned and lowered his quill, taking a brief break from the seemingly endless pile of paperwork he'd been forced to deal with. Since an idiotic politician essentially shat all over a well-planned publicity scheme, he'd had more paperwork to attend to than usual. Add that to the stress of his mother's impending visit. Last time, she had brought up his current bachelorhood and asked if there was an attractive female Altmer in his life. "I deserve grandchildren." she had said. "I'm not getting any younger and to be honest, neither are you."

Why did she have to bring up his age every single time? She made it sound like he was old. He wasn't old. He was merely middle-aged. He didn't have time for a wife or children. He was, to quote an Imperial aphorism, married to his job. He knew what he had signed up for. It was a job that he was proud of, but it was sometimes extremely stressful. Add that to the fact that his housemaid had quit and eloped with another Thalmor agent, albeit a lower-ranking one. The boy had risen up quickly. Nepotism, no doubt. He had not met the boy's aunt, Elenwen, but he had dirt her. Oh, yes. He knew about her drinking problem, her gambling addiction, and her affair with a married Imperial official. There were many, many names in his hefty blackmail file.

One fairly minor stress, one that could barely even be called such, was the situation about that urchin girl he had interacted with not long ago. He had no dirt on her, but he did have her name in a file. He had looked up birth records for mixed Imperials born around eleven years ago with names similar to 'Rosa'. He had found her. Her real name was Nirosa Mireth, daughter of Mina and Varren Mireth. Mina, an Imperial, had briefly had an affair with Varren Mireth, a Dunmer. The woman died in childbirth and her husband died from a weak heart seven years later. Their daughter's whereabouts were unknown, up until recently. Varren Mireth had yet to be located. The girl was living in the streets. It was none of his business, but he did think about it sometimes. Edrian pinched the bridge of his nose. Blast it, he really needed to find a housemaid. Surely there was no shortage of young women in need of such work! Where was he to find one, though? Suddenly, it dawned on him. Putting his fearsome intellect to use, the Altmer began to form a plan.

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The eleven-year-old Imperial girl stood inside the doorway to his house, her mouth agape. Edrian let out a sigh and asked, "What are you staring at, girl?"

Rosette swallowed and said, "It's a big house."

Edrian rolled his eyes and said, "It's not that big."

"It's bigger than any house I've been in." the Imperial girl elaborated.

The Thalmor wizard was slightly amused at this. He had colleagues with much grander houses than his, with a large staff to maintain it. With a house this size, he only really needed one person to do the domestic work. Rosette turned to him and asked, "Will I be staying here?"

Edrian shook his head. "No. You will have to find other accomodations. I will arrange to pay for your first week at the nearest inn, at a reduced price, until I pay you. Your rate will remain reduced, but you will have to pay on your own after that."

"What will my duties be?" Rosette asked.

"You will attend to domestic tasks such as cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, et cetera." Edrian replied. "You will be allowed meals and will be paid fifty septims per week-"

"Fifty septims per week?!" Rosette gasped.

"Do not interrupt me, girl." the Altmer said tersely. "As I was saying, you will be paid fifty septims per week and will be provided with new clothes." He glanced disapprovingly at her current attire, which was stained in some spots and mended with patches of fabric that didn't always match. "I'll not have someone under my employ dressing in rags."

Rosette smiled happily and asked, "When do I start?"

"Tomorrow at exactly six o'clock." Edrian replied. "I expect to have my breakfast ready when you wake me at seven o'clock. You will, of course, be provided with a key."

"I won't let you down, Edrian!" Rosette promised.

"When in the presence of others, you will refer to me as 'Master'." Edrian said patiently. "When it is just the two of us, you may use my name."

The Imperial girl nodded. "Got it." she said. "You can count on me."

He sincerely hoped so. He was certain that he'd made the right decision. After all, when did he ever make a bad decision? He kept his job by being good at it. It was through the stupidity of others that things went wrong. Something was different about this child, though. Perhaps it would be fit for her to have some schooling twice weekly. He would tutor her, of course. He wouldn't let an idiot dull Rosette's potential. Hopefully, she'd have considerable work ethic and make his life a lot easier. He was a very busy person, after all. He didn't have the time for domestic duties.

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Edrian yawned and climbed out of bed, still a little groggy. He walked across his room towards a table with a large mirror, a baisin of water, and a variety of other items it. He leaned over the basin and washed his face before grabbing a towel and drying it off. He picked up a brush and began brushing his long, white-blonde hair. He glanced out the window and when he saw how light it was, he realized that had to have been at least 8 AM. Immediately, he was furious. That foolish Imperial girl! She was supposed to wake him up! He stormed out of his bedroom and was met by a conspicuous lack of the scent of breakfast being cooked. He angrily searched the house for his young maid. She was not there. Edrian then realized that he was still in his night clothes. He headed back up to his room to quickly put on a clean set of Thalmor wizard robes. Once he was as neat and presentable as always, he left his house to head to the nearby inn where Rosette was supposed to be staying. He made sure to avoid any muddy puddles, as it had rained heavily the night before.

Once he arrived, he strode over to the innkeeper. In a clipped tone of barely concealed anger, the wizard asked, "Whare is the Imperial girl whose room I paid for for the past five days?"

"Some Altmer adventurer said that she stole a necklace from him." the Innkeeper replied. "I felt bad getting the guards, so I kicked her out last night."

Edrian frowned and said, "Your lack of competence has been noted."

He then turned on his heel and left the inn. Where could that girl be? His first thought was to check the place where he had first met her. So, he decided to head to the Arboretum. Once he arrived, he began to search. He looked for almost twenty minutes. As he was about to leave, he heard a cough as he passsed by a bush. He backtracked and looked into the bush. Huddled by the bush was what was undoubtedly a street urchin, wet, shivering, and covered in mud. When he looked at the child's face, he realized that the child under all that dirt was none other than Rosette. She looked up at him with weary eyes and said, "I'm sorry that I didn't come in this morning, Master. I didn't-"

She then let out a loud, rattling cough. Edrian sighed and said, "Come with me, girl."

Rosette stood up and began to follow the Altmer, but seconds later erupted into a painful-sounding coughing fit. She fell on her butt, struggling for breath. Edrian let out an annoyed sigh, assuming that the girl was exaggerating to get out of trouble. He crouched down and placed a hand on the child's forehead. Edrian then said, "Girl, learn to behave in the presence of your bet-"

He paused mid-sentence when he felt the girl's forehead. The girl was burning up. She had a fever. Internally grimacing at the fact that he would have to touch such a filthy child, he reached over and helped her to her feet. Rosette began coughing again and fell down once more. She gasped for breath. "I'm sor- sorry." she wheezed.

Now, Edrian may be an asshole but he wasn't completely heartless. He thought about it for a second before reaching down and scooping the child into his arms. "Mas-" she tried to say, but the Altmer interrupted her.

"Be silent, girl." He said, hushing Rosette.

Edrian tried not to think about the fact that he was getting mud on the front of his robes. He felt a droplet hit the top of his head and less than a minute later, rain was pouring from the sky. Gread. Just excellent. What in the name of the Eight was he supposed to do now? He quickly came to a decision. His house was closer than the nearest healer. He would take her to his home and summon a healer when it stopped raining. As he carried the child towards his home, he felt her head hit his chest as she became dead weight. She had passed out. "Foolish girl." Edrian tutted.

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When Edrian arrived home, his robes were soaked and his sodden hair was almost plastered to his head and neck. He kicked off his boots before looking down at Rosette. Judging from her breathing, she sounded very, very sick. She was also very, very filthy. He carried her over to the bathing area. After a bit of hesitation, he filled the tub with warm water before disrobing the girl and placing her in the water. She let out a soft groan and another cough. With a careful hand, he washed the dirt off the girl. This wasn't the first time he'd had to help a child bathe. His cousin had a young child as well and he'd had to care for her a few times. Once the girl was clean, he dried the girl's hair off and wrapped her in a towel. He gently carried her up to the guest bedroom. He set her down on the bed and headed to his bedroom, where he took one of his own very clean, very expensive shirts. He returned to the guest bedroom and put the shirt on the child. He was six feet, seven inches in height so the tiny Imperial girl essentially looked like she was wearing a tent. He then pulled the blankets back, readjusted Rosette's position on the bed, and tucked her in. Edrian looked at the girl's pallid, sickly face. He moved the girl's still-damp bangs out of her face. He frowned at the misfortunate situation. His own short-sightedness had led to a child under his employ becoming very ill. No doubt he would have to nurse her back to health. Letting out an annoyed sigh, Edrian said, "Foolish child. You've gotten yourself ill. I suppose today's paperwork will have to wait for now."