With her cheery little flowers nestled happily in their new homes on the window box, she steps back and observes the bright pink and orange impatiens and swaying clusters of creeping jenny with a satisfied smile. The bright, clear sun warms her skin despite the breeze that still carries a fading winter chill. She hears car tires rolling into the driveway and turns to see Samuel arriving home from work. She walks toward him as he gets out of his car, a bright blue civic he had just bought a month prior.

"Do you like the flowers?" she asks as he leans in for a kiss.

"They're perfect."

"You didn't even look," she scolds as she snakes her arms around his waist and looks up at his handsome features. The breeze is tousling his chestnut hair, rays of sun revealing a tinge of red.

He smirks and turns his hazel eyes toward the window boxes to make a show of looking. "I don't know, Vee, a few of those flowers might be wilting."

She scoffs, "What do you know about flowers?" She pushes him away playfully and he tightens his arms around her, pulling her closer.

"Mmmm, nothing." He nuzzles into her neck, the tickle of his breath making her giggle. "But you smell really good."

In his arms, surrounded by his solid presence, she doesn't worry about the talking heads that harp about the constant volatility around them.

It's far away, out of their control, it's another world.

A strange sound causes her to open her eyes and in the distance, a cloud rises, billowing into the shape of a mushroom. The dreaded sirens begin the song that heralds the end of life as she knows it. The sky is red. Samuel has stopped moving and when she steps away she tries to scream but finds that her voice has fled. His face is slack, his skin burnt, black holes where his eyes should be.

Her voice returns. "Sam! No!" A strong gust of wind explodes his charred frame and she covers her face with her arms as his ashes blow around her. The wind is constant, searing, and she has to run to the house for cover. Barely three steps in the door she is thrown against the wall, the weight of a heavy body pins her. She looks up to see green skin and a malevolent smile with two protruding bottom teeth.

"I've been looking for you."


"Vanya!" Niyya's voice pulled her from sleep. "You're having a nightmare, wake up."

She sat up, breathing heavily. Niyya was sitting close to her on her bed, rubbing her back. "You're alright, you're safe," she soothed.

Vanya leaned into her friend's embrace. "No, I'm not."

"Shhh." Niyya stroked her hair. "I'll stay with you, okay?" She nestled into the bed and pulled Vanya down into her arms. "Come and sleep, things will be better in the morning."


Bralsa was reclined against a rock, blowing 'O's with the smoke from her pipe. "I'm getting pretty good. I can't believe I never learned this until now."

Vanya smiled while scrubbing sheets on the washboard.

She continued, "You know, the Imperial that taught me this said the trick is to make a face like you're sucking a dick."

Vanya scoffed, "How is it he learned it then, I wonder?" She raised her brows at the dunmer, laughing as her expression went from smug to disturbed.

The corner of her mouth quirked up. "I may have to ask him that."

They sat in companionable silence, the only sounds being the swish of water and the inhale and exhale of smoke. After a few minutes, Bralsa mused, "I heard they're shipping Mogrul and Slitter off the island today. I guess killing three miners in the tavern doesn't make one very popular, even if it was in self-defense."

"Good riddance," Vanya spat. She would have preferred a public hanging but there weren't any formal charges on either of them because, on the advice of Geldis, she had not reported what she heard that day. Geldis was afraid that Mogrul would put a bounty on her head if he thought she was responsible for his imprisonment. The fear was not unfounded since the man who had escaped the barrow had not been seen since his brother's confrontation. Whether he'd fled or disappeared due to more nefarious reasons, nobody knew. If anyone else had information, they were keeping their mouths shut, too.

Water splashed from the rinse bucket as she tossed the scrubbed sheets in a little too hard.

She wasn't talking about Gjollmir either. Geldis knew that something had happened and complied when she'd asked him to make good on his offer to ban the nord from the tavern. It did little to make her feel secure. Gjollmir walked freely around town and though it galled her, it galled her more how she'd stood there and done nothing. He'd put his hands on her. She was disgusted.

"Are you nearly done? I need to be getting to the mine soon," Bralsa interrupted her thoughts.

"Yes, just one more sheet."

Unable to trust herself, she'd insisted on not being alone outside the Netch. It wasn't too difficult since she and Niyya always drew water together in the morning and she could usually manage to snatch Bralsa for a while before she went to the mine for the day. Mostly she stayed in the tavern. Her safety bubble used to be Raven Rock, now it had shrunk to the Retching Netch.

"Bralsa..." Vanya asked as she dumped out the wash bucket.

"Hmmm?" Bralsa got up to dump the other, then stacked the buckets together to carry.

"Do you know how to fight? Like, to defend yourself?" She gathered the laundered sheets to hang inside by the hearth. They'd be full of ash if left out in the open.

"I carry this dagger but usually if I have any problems, a fireball to the face gets me out of it," she said with a crooked grin.

Figures. Vanya wished she could do magic. She really didn't know whether she could, to be honest. How would she even find out?

She sighed, "I think if I carried a dagger, it'd be more of a danger to me than anyone else."


"There's a tray of bread in the oven and other than that everything should be ready." Niyya said as she untied her apron. "I'll tell Geldis you're back."

"Thanks, have fun." Vanya smiled, knowing Niyya would be going straight to Glover's house. She was grateful that the redguard had spent the last few nights with her as she struggled with her nightmares.

"Vanya, there's something I've been wanting to ask you."

"Okay," she said, stirring a pot of horker stew.

"Who is Sam?"

Vanya nearly dropped the wooden spoon. "What?"

"In your dreams, you often call for Sam. Are you...remembering anything?"

Her heart melted as her mind drifted to twinkling hazel eyes. She blinked the memories away, going back to stirring the pot. "I don't know anyone named Sam," she said quietly.

"Oh."

Niyya made no move to leave and Vanya could feel her lavender eyes boring into the side of her head, unasked questions hanging in the air.

"Are you going or not?" Vanya said sharply, not looking at her friend.

"Yeah," Niyya replied quietly and Vanya could hear the hurt in her voice. "See you tonight."

Vanya heaved a sigh. She should not have snapped like that and would apologize next she saw Niyya, but the question had blindsided her. She was hardly sleeping and what she managed was fitful. This could not continue; she had to do something to break the cycle she was in. It was apparent to her now that she would have to learn to defend herself, but how? Perhaps if she asked Fethis to get her a book about dagger techniques? That would be a start, at least. She knew that Glover would give her a good deal on a blade, and plenty of advice. Formulating a plan was already making her feel a little better.


A few days later she had a book called The Finer Points of Dagger Combat laid out on her bed along with a small steel dagger that Glover had simply given her when she had asked to buy one. It had even come with a nice little sheath that could attach to her belt. She picked up the dagger and lightly ran her finger on the flat of the blade which made the hair on her neck stand up. She couldn't imagine actually...stabbing someone with it. She set it back down and picked up the book.

A/N: Just fyi, the title of the book is 100% made up. I thought it was cheesy enough to pass the smell test, though. XD At least I enjoy my own jokes.