DRAGON BRIDGE, 4th of Hearthfire

Leliah looked down into the horrible porridge, wondering how to avoid eating it without Egor noticing. She had regretted her choice for breakfast the same moment the innkeeper had brought it to her, as it smelled funnily. Egor had opted for a piece of bread and cheese which looked far nicer than what the girl had been brought. She did not dare to leave it, considering how generous the men had been during the trip – they had paid for her rooms at the inns, food and had not charged her a septim for the transportation, and she did not wish to come across as ungrateful.

The girl always paid close attention to her appearance, especially during the trip. She made sure to have her hair tied back in a bun, that her shoes were as shiny as they could be and that her dress was ironed. Ratibor appeared to have quite a few different sets of clothes, all of which were black. Vecheslav was immaculate and never emerged from his chamber or the carriage with the same outfit two days in a row. His hair was always perfectly combed back, and tied with a band at his neck. Egor, too, usually looked his best. As opposed to Vecheslav, who had a difficult hairstyle, Egor did not really have to do anything to his hair for it to look good. The man had light brown hair, which was longer at the top of his head and shorter further down, with a four-inch bang, which he wore to his left side. The texture was slightly wavy, yet not as apparent as Ratibor's.

The older Goldwine brother had to be somewhat careful with his hair for it to look good. Leliah had noticed that he did not comb it, and most probably for a good reason. The girl had never seen a Hammerfell lion, but imagined that the older Goldwine brother probably resembled one when waking up in the mornings, before wetting his mane.

Egor, who was sitting next to her by the table had almost finished his bread and cheese. Leliah forced a spoonful of porridge into her mouth, and had to struggle not to grimace when noticing that it did not merely stink, but also that it was now cold.

Suddenly, her attention was caught by Bogdan, who emerged from his room in his trousers only. Egor quickly placed his right hand in front of Leliah's eyes and stared at the Goldwine brothers. Egor's sleeve ruffle nearly hit the girl in the eyes as he had brought his arm up, but she quickly found herself and pushed the bowl of porridge to the far side of the table as Egor was looking at the Goldwines.

"Every fucking time, Ratibor!" Bogdan hissed, storming out of the room he had been sharing with his brother.

Egor looked at Leliah and lowered his hand. The girl began to smile upon hearing Bogdan complain at his brother. He did do that quite frequently, and usually, it was rather entertaining to watch. Egor winked at her and smiled too, after what Leliah looked down to the table, hoping that she would not blush. The half-Nord, half-Imperial appeared to be in the same good, charming mood as always.

"Oh, come on! We've been on the road for weeks!" Ratibor exclaimed, throwing his arms out.

A moment later, Leliah saw Bogdan walking past her, quickly and in an annoyed manner. She could feel his smell as he headed towards the entrance door, leading outside. Leliah followed him with her gaze, not as much due to the fact that he walked around without a tunic, as to him looking rather irritated.

"Good morning to you too," Egor said and raised his cup of tea as if to say cheers to Ratibor.

The older Goldwine brother had reached the table, by which Leliah and Egor were sitting. He wore a loose-fitting, white tunic, which looked as if belonged in Bogdan's wardrobe rather than his own. The man had not tied it at the front, thereby exposing a hairy, somewhat chubby chest. The sleeves were rolled up to the elbows, Leliah noticed as Ratibor sat down opposite her and Egor. The girl looked at his hands – his fingers were wide, the knuckles apparent, and she could see tiny, dark hairs on the back of his hands. Even though they were more to the masculine side, it was apparent that they did not belong to a worker – his nails were too well kept, and she could see no blisters or cuts.

Leliah threw a quick gaze at Egor and realised that he had been investigating Ratibor's appearance as much as she had. He was still looking at the older Goldwine brother's tunic, though.

A moment later, the girl noticed something moving behind Ratibor. As Leliah redirected her gaze towards the brothers' room, she noticed a short, blond woman hurry from where Ratibor and Bogdan had emerged just moments prior. Leliah understood that it was inappropriate to stare in her direction and instinctively looked at Ratibor instead. However, she was not able to hide her surprise. Thankfully, this was also the case for the painter.

"Seriously?" Egor asked, raising his eyebrows. "With your brother in the same room?" he added, wrinkling his forehead.

Ratibor leaned in over the table. "He was passed out from void salts," he spoke in a low tone. "Either way..." he continued and looked at Leliah, hinting to Egor that it was not a suitable subject. "Where's Vecheslav?"

"He's washing his hair," Egor grinned, probably still thinking of what had occurred seconds prior.

The same moment, Bogdan marched back into the building and past the group with an angry look, reminding Leliah somewhat of an upset giant who had just realised that his cow had been stolen. "Someone's washing his freaking mermaid hair," he spoke before returning to his chamber without stopping.

"Perhaps you should freshen up too," Egor said to Ratibor with a deliberately disgusted expression.

Ratibor grinned insincerely and got up from the table, looking towards the open entrance door, probably trying to catch a glimpse of the man who stood bent over forwards with a bucket by his side. "Mermaid! Let me borrow some soap!" he exclaimed.

Bogdan returned in the same marching manner, this time with a tunic on. As he walked, his gaze was pinned to Ratibor, who was now standing by the entrance door, laughing at Vecheslav's hair washing method. Bogdan sat opposite Egor and Leliah.

"And now he took my number in the line!" he exclaimed.

"Isn't he an arse?" Egor grinned.

The atmosphere was as gloom as the day the group arrived: thick, grey clouds appeared to have been hanged just above the rooftops of the Dragon Bridge houses, the ground was brown and muddy, with water filled potholes, and a cold, late summer wind tickled the skin.

Ratibor, Egor and Vecheslav had all dug through their coffers containing clothes and taken out autumn coats. Leliah, who had never experienced the good life, tried to hide the spots she had added pads to in order to cover holes in her knee-long coat. Bogdan, on the other hand, appeared to be untouched by the weather, and stood by the entrance door in his old white tunic, waiting for Ratibor to pay for the stay at the inn.

The younger Goldwine brother had pulled his sleeves to the elbows, but did not notice how they had fallen back over his hands. For some reason unbeknownst to Leliah, the man only seemed to own tunics that were too baggy around the stomach and had too long sleeves. His boots were of the same kind as Egor's, but combined with the rest of his outfit, Bogdan looked scruffy and slightly unorganised.

Ratibor emerged from the inn and looked at Vecheslav, as if to say that they were ready to go. He walked straight towards the first carriage with Egor following him. Bogdan, who was standing at the stairs with Leliah further up than him, looked at Egor and Vecheslav following Ratibor. He snorted and threw his arms out.

"I'm going with Leliah. I hate the rest of you," Bogdan exclaimed at the rest of the men.

Egor made a rude gesture just as he was getting up in the first carriage. Bogdan chuckled and answered it in the same manner. After remaining still for two seconds, he appeared to be thinking for a while before sticking his tongue out. He then hastily proceeded with turning his heels towards the second carriage, ignoring, or rather – not noticing the fact that Leliah seemed troubled by the puddles. The man sat down in his seat before looking out through the window and leaning forwards, wondering what took the girl so long.

Leliah pulled herself up into the carriage with great effort, holding her skirt up in order for it not to drag along the ground. Bogdan closed the door after her, feeling unusually gentleman-ish. The girl sat down opposite him, looking as if she had just been through an troublesome endevour and threw him a slightly ungrateful gaze, as if it had been his fault that there were puddles on the road. Bogdan leaned forwards and hit the wall behind her thrice, after what they began to move.

The landscape seemed as gloomy as the weather – there were no trees, no buildings, not even farmlands. All there was were some heights with grass. The nothingness of it all was nothing Bogdan appreciated – the man preferred being surrounded by life rather than the desolate nature.

The man had his gaze set on the window frame for many minutes, thinking. He did not know what to expect of his new life up in the north. He did not know if the people were as non being as the landscape, if Solitude even had a cultural scene at all. Perhaps they did not even have a winery. That would be nothing short of a personal tragedy. Ratibor sure felt that they needed to travel to the end of Tamriel in order to escape their father, Bogdan thought. The younger Goldwine would much rather have left for Hammerfell – at least the weather was nice over there, and the wine.

He then remembered that Egor had given him Namec's latest collection of lyric tales and reached for it. "I owe Egor for this one," he grinned towards the girl. "The Master of the Weald," he began.

I have a staff, it is magical

This is altogether natural

I own the forest, and it is my home

Day and night, this is where I roam

My previous life is long passed

I learned to live anew at last

When my inner daemon was set aflame

As I escaped my human frame

Nowadays, all the beasts of the woods –

Giants, spriggans and their likelihoods,

Approach me with the highest of regard

I am King of every retard

Now, wisps and every single vampire,

Necromancers in full attire,

Faithfully serve the Master of the Weald,

No one wishes to be expelled

"It's not supposed to be read that way," Leliah said, smiling and throwing a quick gaze at him.

Now wisps,

and every single vampire

Necromancers

in full attire

Faithfully serve

the Master of the Weald

No one wishes to be expelled

It was evident that Leliah had a genuine interest in Namec's lyric tales – she listened with a smile stretching from ear to ear as he read. Her version of the last couplet was indeed rather good, and she pronounced the words with such expression that even Bogdan lit up. The Goldwine smiled with his characteristic, drunken smile. "You are very well informed," he said.

Leliah shrugged her shoulders. "I like reading," she said, almost as if she begged him to pardon her.

"Yet you want to work at a book copying house," Bogdan said with a disappointed tone.

Leliah chuckled. "Don't take me the wrong way, I'd love to be a poetess or a writer, however, I haven't been gifted with any talent," the girl said and looked down with somewhat of a gloomy expression. "Therefore I can only do what is second best – in time I hope to write for a news pamphlet, perhaps even review contemporary novels, plays and… art."

The man did not nod or say anything. Instead, he leaned his head back, having placed the book in his knees. He had decided that he liked the girl. There were not many people whose company he enjoyed, but Serge's sister was a clear exception – she was well read, literate and obviously passionate about her thing in life. There was much to her that Bogdan found outright boring, such as her obsession with always coming across as decent, formal and neatly dressed, yet he could overlook this due to her interests.

The man did not consider her as a child – she knew enough of what was her area of expertise in order to generate interesting discussions. He saw no need in brushing her opinions off merely due to her age. On the other hand, he did not see how she could become a close friend of his either, unless she dramatically changed her lifestyle, which she most certainly would not. She would grow up to be a boring Vecheslav one day, Bogdan figured – thought provoking, but not particularly fun to be around.

Ratibor had usually respected Bogdan's theories whilst they grew up, even though there was a six year age difference between the brothers. The younger brother always went to Ratibor when he had thought of something interesting, and Ratibor was always happy to discuss it with him. It perplexed Bogdan how his older brother could treat him with such undeserved respect from a young age, but would see only a small child in Leliah, undeserving of attention.

Simultaneously, Bogdan did not understand what on Nirn Vecheslav was doing with them. He was awfully boring and pompous. He was indeed a good poet, but he did nothing new – it was always the same old themes of nature and time, or love. Bogdan was not amazed by Vecheslav's character either – he could sometimes let his guard down, but that rarely happened, and only in Ratibor's company.

The man had moved into Oskander's chamber at the apartment in the Imperial City, and even though quite some time had passed since his friend's death, it still troubled Bogdan that the chamber had a new resident. He would have preferred if Egor lived there instead of Vecheslav, with whom Bogdan rarely spoke of anything interesting.

"What do you want to accomplish in life?" he suddenly heard Leliah ask.

Bogdan turned his head towards her but remained silent for a few seconds. "Eternal love," he spoke after a while.

"You want to find love?" the exclaimed, almost happily.

The man shook his head. "I want to learn to love eternally. Those are two different things," he said. "One is naïve, believing that coming across the right person will solve everything. It won't. Most of it is in here," he said and twisted with his finger against the side of his head.

Leliah turned her head towards the window, but seemed to think more than watch the landscape. Bogdan too, smiled a little before turning his gaze in the same direction.

"I have to ask you…" she continued whilst pinning her gaze to the window. "Which poets are your favourite?"

Bogdan thought for a while as he looked up to the side of the ceiling. "Vittor Kiors of course," he began. "Costas…"

"Seriously?" Leliah asked. "I wouldn't think you'd appreciate him. He comes across as slightly… over patriotic."

"He has his interesting sides. Besides, he was the first one to actually perform with his poems on stage," Bogdan stated.

"Oh, he is stationed in the Imperial City, isn't he?" Leliah asked, probably remembering that Bogdan and Costas lived in the same city until recently.

Bogdan nodded.

"How old is he now, isn't he about fifty?" Leliah asked, wrinkling her forehead.

"Yes."

"Vittor Kiors isn't stationed anywhere, is he?"

"He lives in a carriage," Bogdan said.

"Have you met him?" she asked, breathing in.

"No," Bogdan said. "He often visits the Imperial City, but as you can imagine, it's impossible to get through to him. He is always surrounded by people."

"He is very private, isn't he? Neither Vadic nor Namec have met him, from what I know," Leliah said.

Bogdan once again looked out through the window – this time due to the carriage slowing down. It almost stopped, and the man was trying to understand why. As he leaned forwards, he saw a huge line of caravans and carriages, all turned to the same direction. Far ahead, he saw a city, built on a stone arch. There was a tall tower, but aside from that, Bogdan could not identify much else.

The line of people and horses was astonishing. The man had never seen anything like it before – Nords, Imperials, Khajiits… even mer were travelling towards Solitude. They all moved slowly – painstakingly slowly. The city was not far ahead, but the speed, at which they were moving was probably not sufficient in order to get their before nightfall. To make matters worse, the road was very narrow, and to the left, there was a mountainside, and to the right – a ridge. There was no chance of passing anyone.

Bogdan looked at Leliah, who appeared to be thinking rather than investigating why they moved at such an insufficient speed.

"Do you know the Jarl?" Leliah asked when noticing that Bogdan was looking at her.

"Nah," he said. "I've been out drinking with her twice. That was three months ago, though."

"What is she like?" Leliah asked with an excited expression.

"She's alright," Bogdan said and looked through the window. "We did have an Oblivion of a night," the man continued with a dreamy gaze.

"You and the Jarl?" Leliah asked, wrinkling her forehead.

"We went to the Dockhouse and drank our minds away," he grinned. "I don't really remember it as I awoke in a bathtub."

"A tub?" Leliah chuckled. "With the Jarl?"

"No, she awoke in Ratibor's bed," Bogdan smiled.

He remembered how he had met Aurora at the bridge in the Imperial City. She was a funny person, he thought. The woman made her opinion known, and she did indeed have quite a character. He had taken her to the Dockhouse and managed to get drunk together with her, before taking her to the apartment. Bogdan did not remember how they got there, but did remember the back ache he experienced from waking up in the bathtub.

The girl looked at him with a wide-eyed expression, which made the man grin even more. "Have you been drunk?" he asked, changing the subject.

"I'm fourteen," Leliah said.

"So? I began taking substances at thirteen," Bogdan said.

Leliah looked at him. "No…" she said with a wrinkled expression. "There is a lot of substance abuse in the cultural circles," she stated. "Namec has lost quite a few of his teeth to the addiction…"

Bogdan chuckled. "You think?" he winked. "I'm not the only one. Ratibor, Vecheslav and Egor also take them. No, maybe not Egor, but my brother and Umbranox sure do."

"Does Vecheslav…?" she asked, looking down.

"Fire salts, mostly."

"Oh…" the girl began.

Suddenly, Egor opened the door. Neither Bogdan nor Leliah had seen him approach, causing the girl to jump and Bogdan to turn his gaze towards his right side. The young painter appeared to be in a rather good mood, holding a small case in his right hand.

"I'm going with you guys," he said.

"Oh, they banished you too?" Bogdan grinned.

Egor got up in the carriage, speaking as he pulled himself up, breathing out. "No," he said and sat down next to Bogdan. "But they put their noses where they don't belong!"

The man immediately opened the small case, which he used for important documents and letters, and retrieve a letter. Leliah and Bogdan both looked at him as he opened it.

The younger Goldwine leaned over to his right, noticing the seal. "Oh, the Melissaea family. Has Eupaxia's father made another commission?" he asked.

Egor threw him an irritated look. "Sod off," he said.

Bogdan looked Egor, who was staring at the letter. "Keep discussing whatever your were talking about," he said, raising his gaze. "Pretend I'm not here."

Bogdan looked at Leliah and raised his eyebrows.