Blue Palace

A quartet consisting of a violin, two lutes and a drum was playing in an energetic, joyful manner as the Jarl entered the Bards College. Pantea Ateia was singing beautifully while genuinely catching the mood of the music, but Aurora's gaze went over the crowd, searching for the painter or perhaps one of the Goldwine brothers. Instead, Nilsine emerged from the side and grabbed her sleeve.

Suddenly, some ten yards away, Bogdan jumped up on a chair which had been rather obviously been prepared for this event. The man wore his usual red tunic and trousers, paired with his equally wine red hair and drunken expression. Below him, one could just about spot Egor from the place where Aurora and her stewardess were standing.

"Ladies and lords, peasants and dressed-up whores..." the younger Goldwine brother yelled to catch everyone's attention.

He was giggling, probably finding himself terribly amusing. Egor jumped up on the chair too, almost knocking his friend over. Clinging to one another, they both laughed.

"Welcome to my third exhibition! It's a pleasure to have you all here," he began.

Egor was dressed in black this time. His coat reached halfway down his thighs, and was open at the front. One could not quite make apart what fabric it was made of from where Aurora stood, but it was probably velvet, as it caught the light from all the candles in a characteristic manner. His tight trousers were the same colour, but made of leather, which caused quite a contrast to the more expensive coat. Underneath, he wore an ordinary black shirt which probably had puffy sleeves, but ones that were gathered snugly at the wrist. The man was smiling widely, exposing his perfect teeth and charming grin.

"This year, I've been working on landscape motifs, but I'll let the paintings speak for themselves, so enjoy!" he added.

After a short pause and an even faster gaze at his friend, the younger Goldwine raised one arm up in the air. "Egor!" he exclaimed to the applauds of the people gathered at the Bards College.

It was almost impossible to get through the crowd, but somehow the older Goldwine brother managed to reach Aurora. She smiled as she met him, and he immediately reached to kiss her hand, after which she curtseyed. After acknowledging Nilsine's presence, Ratibor turned to Aurora.

"Have you seen the paintings yet?" he asked.

"No, I just came," she replied.

The man was throwing gazes toward the door behind Aurora, then back at her. It did not appear to the Jarl that Ratibor was particularly interested in either the paintings, or keeping up a chat with Aurora.

"Bogdan and Egor are close," Aurora said, trying to get a conversation going.

"Mm, they've become," he answered, turning his gaze toward her.

"Egor's a good guy," Aurora smiled.

"Solitude has been good for my brother," Ratibor said. Aurora looked at him, to which she received a slight smile. "And it will only become better. I've heard from Serge," he continued, this time looking at the door but as if searching for the horison. "He's on his way. Apparently he got stuck in Bruma for some weeks."

"Finally," Aurora said, now wondering whether to try to end the conversation so that Ratibor could be released, or to salvage it somehow. "We've been waiting for him for many weeks now."

"Apparently there was some kind of love story," Ratibor grinned. "Did not say much about it, but that was the reason he gave for his delay."

A section of the man's hair had fallen from where it belonged, and was now covering parts of his left eyebrow, eye and cheek. He flipped his head slightly, pushing it back here it came from.

He had smiled rather charmingly and had been looking directly at her, so Aurora decided to provoke him slightly. "And you?" she asked. "Have you encountered love?"

Aurora was smiling from ear to ear, but she did not know if that was the reason to why he laughed. "There might have been one or two such occasions, but nothing that has lasted particularly well. I've never felt the need to marry," Ratibor answered casually. "I've preferred the occasional company of women," he added with a wink, probably referring to what Aurora had seen in the first week in the Imperial City with the Goldwines. "Whilst Bogdan wants to have them entirely."

"Yes, his obsession of Kalliope. I've heard of it," she smiled again.

"Ridiculous," he stated in an amusing manner.

"You think so?" Aurora asked.

"He doesn't know her. He's in love with an idea – that's all," he stated more sternly.

"Is that all of your position?" Aurora grinned, quickly following up with a question to his comment.

"Egor doesn't get involved," he answered, almost as fast as the woman. "But Umbranox is definitely against it."

"Vecheslav can be a pain in the arse," Aurora said.

"True that," Ratibor said and raised his chin. "Us – marry? Oh please," he continued.

Aurora smiled calmly and was met by an equally warm and joyful grin from the man. "Whom are you going to marry then?" she asked, laughing.

Ratibor looked at the door once again and kept his gaze there for a few moments, before turning his eyes toward Aurora again. "When I find the right woman, I'll marry her," he said.

"So… What qualities should she have?" Aurora asked. She knew she interrogated him, but it was light-hearted and amusing for them both, she figured.

Ratibor shrugged his shoulders. "She's probably a poetess, a writer or a journalist," he said. "With an appreciation for the eternal."

"You're a romantic!" Aurora exclaimed as she had just busted him, once again grinning from ear to ear.

Ratibor chuckled. "You don't even imagine," he said as he leaned in closer toward her. "I'm going to..." he said and moved the chest part of his coat slightly to the side, exposing a tube of something orange, which Aurora suspected were fire salts. "Let me know if you want some," the man added with a more serious expression than before. He then proceeded toward the door, opened it and disappeared outside.

Turning her head, Aurora once again noticed Nilsine standing two feet away from her, but she had completely forgotten about her. The Stewardess had a disapproving expression on her face but did not say anything. Aurora twitched her shoulders and continued deeper into the building. Some yards away, she could see Bogdan engaged in a conversation with Viarmo, the headmaster of the college. Not noticing any other of her friends nearby, she decided to walk up to them.

"But do you know what? I have recently received an invitation to apply for the Literary Academy," Viarmo proudly proclaimed.

"Oh," Bogdan said in his usual, calm manner, but did in fact raise one eyebrow. "Congratulations."

"The Literary Academy?" Aurora asked in order to catch the men's attention.

Both Bogdan and Viarmo turned their heads. Viarmo bowed slightly toward Aurora, but the younger Goldwine brother did not pay much attention to her. His gaze immediately returned to the Headmaster and he was just about to open his mouth as Viarmo began speaking to the Jar.

"It is the highest honour. I cannot believe they asked me," he stated sternly, but not in any way unfriendly. It was more as if he was pondering inside of his own world.

"Well… I might… Will you remind me of the Literary Academy?" Aurora asked, wrinkling her forehead and slouching as she felt uncomfortable not knowing about that institution and did her best to fake having forgotten about it rather than acknowledging the truth.

"Only the most prominent workers of the written culture are admitted. Poets, writers, philosophers, playwrights…" Viarmo explained factually and not in the slightest way in an annoyed manner. "It is headquartered at the University of the Imperial City."

Aurora separated her lips slightly and nodded. "Oh, right. Congratulations on joining them."

She knew there was a large university in the Imperial City, but she had never heard about the Literary Academy. Judging by Viarmo's explanation, it was not as much a college as some kind of elite gathering of Tamriel intelligentsia, she thought.

"I haven't… yet. I have been invited to apply," Viarmo chuckled nervously.

Aurora quickly found her confidence and placed a hand reassuringly on his arm. "Well, you deserve a place in the Academy."

"Thank you very much, Jarl Aurora," he said before falling into his own world again for a few moments. Then, it was as if he had awoken from a dream, for he turned hurrisome. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, I should have been preparing the quartet for the next performance. Forgive me, my Jarl," he continued and hurried away.

Aurora and Bogdan were both looking at the man as he hurried toward a group of musicians whom the Jarl assumed were the next ones to perform. She then leaned in closer to Bogdan. "Wow, that sounds pretentious," she whispered to him. "You basically have to apply… to apply."

She could see him grin in her peripheral vision as she kept her gaze straight forward. "They only accept the best. Heck, even that is no guarantee to be accepted. You have to have made vast contributions to the cultural development," Bogdan said, also looking straight ahead. He spoke in a much louder manner than Aurora had, though.

"Is Vecheslav part of it?" she asked and began turning towards him.

"No," Bogdan chuckled. "He's only been around for a few years, even though his work is popular. They might consider him in twenty years or so," the red-haired man said and looked straight at Aurora. "Viarmo has been around for… ages, and done exceptional work as Headmaster."

She smiled. "Would you want to join it?"

Bogdan grinned in his usual, drunken, but genuine manner, exposing those teeth with equal distance between them. He looked boyish, even though his beard was rather massive. "I have a feeling it's a group whose main purpose is to sit and masturbate to their own chrestomathies."

Aurora's expression changed from calm to inquisitive. She had no idea about what Bogdan had just said, but at the same time, she did not want to ask. He had spoken the last word as if it was nothing special and everyone probably knew what it meant. The man had grinned widely as he spoke the sentence, so Aurora assumed it was some kind of joke, and laughed almost automatically, even though she did not get the funny part of it.

Someone else did, though. A high-pitched but almost silent laughter was heard to the right of Aurora. It was as if the person expressing it was trying to suppress it, but the clinging sound escaped her throat regardless. Turning her gaze, Aurora saw Leliah.

"Oh, hi Leliah," Aurora said.

The girl curtseyed and lowered her gaze as her laughter died down and eventually disappeared.

"What do you think?" Bogdan asked the girl.

Aurora looked at the man as he spoke to Leliah. It was a genuine question from him, and he did not appear to look at her the way Aurora saw the little Imperial who was barely reaching the Jarl's shoulders with the tip of her head. It was just a young teenager, but Bogdan's expression when looking at her was as if… he saw her as an equal – and adult whose opinion he was interested in.

Leliah looked up at Bogdan and smiled. She was far more cocky and confident meeting his gaze than she was when speaking to Aurora. "I must say that I think plenty of them are true egoists."

Bogdan was not smiling anymore, but had a more stern appearance. "Well, egoists are the kindest of people. They never think anything bad about anyone," he spoke before a smug grin spread across his lips yet again. "Fact of a matter is, they don't think of anyone except themselves."

Egor had been standing some ten yards away, speaking to Pantea about the exhibition. He did his best to give each guest at least three minutes of his full attention but not to get stuck in a longer discussion, for that would mean that he would not have time to properly greet everyone. He knew that roughly a third of the attendees could afford to purchase paintings in that price category, but it did not matter much to him. He loved large gatherings and to meet new people – that was the main joy of exhibitions to him. Selling artwork was just a part of his job.

"Oh, Master Egor," the Pantea spoke as she had turned her head to the side, looking at a man she just placed a hand on. "Let me introduce Lord Ernest Constantius, the Baron of Sancre Tor."

She grabbed the man's arm and thereby caught his attention. It was a somewhat short gentleman in his mid-forties dressed in a quite excuisite burbon coat, with a dark brown west underneath, matching knee-length trousers and black, silk socks. His short and wide neck was dressed in a black jabot on top of a white, flannel shirt.

"Lord Constantius," Pantea smiled. "This is the man I wrote to you about."

The Baron turned to Egor and held out a chubby hand, smiling. He had a round face, was slightly overweight and had a red undertone to his skin. His mouth was small, but he had bold eyebrows, which reminded somewhat of Ratibor's in shape and colour. His eyes were brown and hooded, and had a warm shine to them. Overall, he had a kind appearance.

"Nice to meet you, Lord Constantius," Egor answered, smiling a little as he took the hand offered to him.

"Ah, my pleasure, Master Egor" he said, enthusiastically shaking his hand.

"Rumour has it that Lord Constantius traveled to Solitude solely due to your exhibition, Master Egor," Pantea spoke and gave the Baron a wink.

It was obvious to Egor that the man and woman knew one another well, and probably had for a long time. She was formal purely for public appearance, but the warmth between her and the Baron was evident.

The Baron smiled and looked down to the floor. "Well… solely is slightly exaggerated, however…" he began before looking up at Egor yet again. "I am glad to attend this event."

"Lord Constantius works with many painters, bards, poets and writers," Pantea continued. "He has quite an eye for talent," she added, raising her index finger to the height of her chest. She then gave the pair a meaningful expression before turning around and disappearing into the crowd.

The Baron was looking at Egor as the painter turned his gaze from Pantea and their eyes met. Egor raised his eyebrows slightly and gave the man a smile. "So…" he began. "That bourbon coloured coat is exquisite, is it you or the Baroness I should compliment for having good taste?" Egor grinned charmingly.

The Baron's expression turned into one of surprise, before he held out an arm to inspect the fabric of his coat. Then he lowered it and looked at Egor once again, smiling proudly. "I'd say it's my Steward who appears to get a pay rise," he chuckled.

Egor laughed too. "Damn, it's usually women who have such an eye for detail. Where did you find your Steward?" he added, making it obvious in his tone that it was not a genuine question, and ending the line with a laughter.

The Baron chuckled. "I must return the compliment, Master Egor. Black velvet and leather is not an obvious combination until you see the shine they give in candlelight. A rather interesting contrast together, and especially given your blue eyes which stand out."

Egor raised his eyebrows yet again, but this time due to the fact that he was indeed surprised. That was indeed his idea behind the day's look, but he also had considered his hairstyle, where his bangs hung partly over his right eyebrow and reached diagonally over the outer corner of his eye, ending at the highest point of his cheekbone. His aim was to give himself a bit of a unapproachable look and for the eyes to stand out, catching the attention of the observer. He knew that he could charm most people, so the contrast between his choice of clothes only played in his favour as it contributed to him making stronger impression on his converser. He did not expect to be busted on this, especially not from someone who was not a painter himself.

"Well… I am a painter. I should have an eye for matters like these," he winked. "However, I must admit that it surprises me that someone else in this building noticed details like those you mentioned."

The Baron smiled – looking especially kind as he did so. "This might sound peculiar, but I have a strong interest for textures."

"Textures?" Egor asked.

"Yes, you see – my late father had a poor eyesight… Very poor. He could barely make apart colours, unless they were bright it was daylight. Textures, on the other hand, helped him to experience the world in a different way. I used to gather different materials and make collages, thereby painting our village in a way he could understand."

"Oh wow," Egor said. "That is quite extraordinary."

The Baron smiled nostalgically as he looked down to his right. "Yes… Seeing my old man lit up as he felt the work of an ungifted, but enthusiastic child…" he chuckled. "Well, that was a long time ago. As you can imagine, I don't do that anymore. But I do draw once in a while."

"Well, you have my attention!" Egor said, clapping him on his right shoulder. "Do you have anything with you that you can show?"

The man chuckled. "I am afraid I have far too little talent within drawing to be showing off my so called work. However, I am greatly interested in yours. How about you come over for dinner tomorrow?" he asked. "I believe there is a potential for a good conversation."

"There is, thank you," Egor smiled.

"Good. Then I'll send someone to escort you at eight o'clock tomorrow."

"Great. See you then, Lord Constantius," Egor said and bowed his head slightly.

The Baron did the same, after what Egor turned around and set his sight on the table where wine was being served. As he approached it, he quickly inspected the surroundings. He saw Ingun, Idgrod, Olfina and Aurora standing by one of his paintings about seven or so yards away to the right. He decided to take a glass of wine and go up to them, but suddenly overheard a rather interesting conversation.

"You will never find better friends than your parents. Only they speak good of you behind your back, and in your face – what a massive disappointment you are," he heard a woman's voice. It was a pleasant tone, warm and full, and the way in which the sentence was spoken conveyed confidence and dignity.

Egor stopped and looked for the woman who had spoken. He was grinning at the wittiness of what he had just heard, and very much wanted to know whom it was who had said such a thing. Standing about two yards away from him, he saw Vittoria Vici and Gisli, both in profile to him.

It became evident that the former was the one who just spoke, as the Thane's sister was laughing. The painter was looking at Vittoria, though. She was standing with her back straight and head held high. Every part of her portrayed pride and regalness, but she was relaxed and comfortable as she stood in the middle of the chamber, conversing with Gisli.

"Yes, I am very thankful for the inferiority complexes they have installed in me. Absolutely thrilled," Gisli replied in a sarcastic manner.

The women both laughed. Egor was particularly fond of Vittoria's laughter. It was a ringing one, almost like a bell, but at the same time, warm and majestic. The woman's entire presence and way of conducting herself was very attractive to Egor, and he remembered seeing her at the Burning of Olaf festival, thinking that it was a person who knew what she wanted.

"Yes, being the second-born child cannot be an amusing position to find oneself in," Vittoria said. "Especially with that brother of yours."

"Yeah you know what happened the other week? My brother wanted to raise the rents for the warehouse. I told him I'm sure they'll agree it's a fair price to pay in order to avoid interacting with him on a daily basis," Gisli muttered, to which both woman then laughed.

"You should marry, though," Vittoria said. "Working for your brother your whole life isn't exactly an honour."

"Yeah… I don't know," Gisli said. "I mean… I would like to find a husband, but it doesn't feel like anyone I know is the one."

"Just marry someone you like," Vittoria said. "Love will come eventually."

Egor wrinkled his forehead. She had said it in a very straight forward type of manner, without much emotion. Looking at her face, it appeared like she genuinely believed the words coming out of her mouth. Gisli looked more skeptical, though.

"I think it's easy for you to say – you learned to know your future husband many years ago. But I haven't grown to feel like that for anyone I've known for a comparably long time. Oh, you must be so happy," she said.

"Indeed," Vittoria smiled, regally as ever.

But there was something off, Egor noticed. She was very convincing, but Egor had met enough wealthy people stuck in loveless marriages during his career as a painter. Spending many hours together, even in silence, gave him enough time to observe the human mind to know when someone had a wall built up against the outer world. The reason was always the same.

She was one of those women who hid it well – behind a regal façade, looking inaccessible and practical. People like her were strong but often had a fierce heart and amusing rebelliousness to them. Being confined in by such a person was a true privilege as they did not open up to many others, and they often had a rich inner life which contained vigour of emotions felt by few others. He found those women intriguing. They were few and far between.

Smiling, he went up to the drink table and took a glass of wine while contemplating his observations. He took a sip and brought his lips together while drawing his tongue against the back of the upper front teeth, wetting them a little. Vittoria reminded him of Eupaxia – she was also standing firmly with two feet on the ground. Her character was refined – intelligent, witty, and very amusing. She knew when to behave ladylike, and when she could get away with a surprisingly uncouth comment which enhanced the point of the joke she was telling. Being a lover of contrasts, he could not help but to fall for such a woman.

He looked up. Bogdan and Leliah, the printing house assistant were speaking not far from him. He had no idea what those two had in common and found it rather odd for someone like Bogdan, who did not find any reason to express any type of insincere emotion, to speak so intensively to a teenager. The painter decided to learn to know the girl a bit better as his friend apparently respected her regardless of her young age.

The man took another sip before setting off toward the female high nobility of Skyrim. The women were standing in front of his painting of Solitude in an autumn morning, all with their back towards the crowd. He had little time to finish it due to the changing colours of the trees, but he was rather pleased with the end result. He had managed to paint a light fog on the ground, which looked like a thin veil on the open areas of the city. The technique behind it was challenging, and he had made multiple studies before finishing the landscape painting.

"But I really like that one with the flowers," Ingun said. "The one with the Blue Mountain flowers."

"Yes, I saw it. Lovely," Idgrod said. "But I prefer this one with the view of Solitude. That fog is something like out of a saga."

"I want to buy it," Aurora said. "Just don't let Vittoria hear it, or she will bid higher just to spite me."

Egor smiled. It was always pleasant for the ego when one's work was being praised, but he tried not to let it define him. He was happy though for being able to make people feel by observing his art. Well, when he meant people, Olfina Grey-Mane obviously was not one of them. She stood with her arms crossed and looking at the wall to the left of her rather than the painting. Moreover, she looked as if she had swallowed a chaurus egg.

Egor could not quite understand why until he saw her throw a quick, but all too telling gaze at the Goldwines, who were now talking to one another by the wine table. He had been observing her for about two minutes before she made that move, and running through different scenarios involving everything from disinterest in art to having a fight with one or some of her friends. Instead of approaching the women, Egor instead went to the Goldwines out of curiosity. Perhaps they were talking about something which gave Lady Grey-Mane a reason to be upset.

Vecheslav arrived and placed himself next to Aurora. He bowed to the ladies, and they slightly curtseyed to him – well, everyone but Olfina, who just lowered her gaze quickly and brought it straight back again.

The man asked for their favourite painting of the exhibition, which provoked a long, but shallow discussion about everything from landscape painting in general, to what type of flowers could be seen in one of the works. Ingun obviously enjoyed it, being an expert at plants and herbs. She excelled in labeling the flowers correctly, even the ones which did not belong in Skyrim.

"But surely the last one, the one on the left, had Deathbells? Those were almost of a purple colour," Idgrod said.

"Indeed," Ingun replied. "Oh, I remember when Egor asked for some Deathbell serum," she added. "I was rather astound before realising he wanted to use it for the paint. It's an unusual request – Drathbell serum…" she spoke dreamingly.

"What is it used for?" Idgrod asked.

"It's poisonous," Ingun replied. "Basically the only usage is killing or seriously hurting things."

"Oh," Idgrod said.

Olfina looked at Ingun with a combination of disgust and concern. This caused the conversation to die down and made Aurora slightly uncomfortable as she did not know how to salvage it. Apparently Ingun felt the same.

"I will speak to the painter," she excused herself but walked off in the opposite direction to where Egor and the Goldwines were.

"Okay…" Idgrod said.

"Yeah, perhaps we can go home now?" Olfina muttered.

Aurora turned towards the Grey-Mane with an open mouth, portraying slight annoyance. Olfina hated every second of the event and made it well known. Aurora saw no reason whatsoever for her to feel that way and was becoming increasingly frustrated with her friend. Apparently she was not the only one.

"What do you have against Egor?" Idgrod asked. "He's been nothing but charming. As has Vecheslav."

"I have nothing against them," Olfina stated dryly.

"Really?" Aurora asked, she was genuinely surprised at that comment and was suspecting that Olfina was lying.

"Sincerely?" Idgrod asked at the very same moment.

"That is true, however, so is the expression you are like the friends you keep," Olfina replied.

Aurora looked at Olfina, this time more than simply annoyed.

"Well, not you, Aurora. But I do not understand what you can possibly have in common with them," Olfina continued.

"Whom?" Aurora exclaimed.

"The Goldwines of course," Olfina replied.

"That's it," Aurora said. "I'm going to get us all gathered and actually learn to know one another."

"I have no interest in learning to know the Kvatches!" Olfina hissed.

"That will be lovely," Idgrod smiled, holding up a hand toward Olfina while looking at Aurora.

"I'll inform you about time and date," Aurora smiled superiorly at her best friend and turned walked away before she could protest.

Aurora walked along the wall and was just passing past a painting of the fields outside of the Imperial City as she felt a hand on her waist and before she knew it, she was quickly spun toward a man. For a moment, she was taken by surprise, but smiled when she realised it was Egor who had stopped her. His hand was on her back as she stopped her pirouette and she was leaning slightly back, facing the painting with the man standing behind her.

"What do you think?" he asked, looking over her shoulder, roughly two inches away from her.

"They are all wonderful!" Aurora smiled and looked at him over her shoulder.

The man smiled widely, showing off his beautiful teeth and charming grin. "I'll show you my favourite," he said, pushing her to the left and then making her turn around and head toward the opposite wall.

"You enjoy landscapes," Aurora said, quickly looking over her shoulder as he led her forwards.

He was looking straight ahead, making sure that they did not bump into anyone on the way. "Yes, it's been a great change to the dozens of portraits I've done. Although, I must say that I miss some of it."

"Are you selling them?" Aurora asked, once again looking at him before also turning her head forward.

"Of course I am, how would I make a living if I didn't?" he asked, laughing.

Thet stopped in front of a lovely picture of mountains, which took up almost all the canvas. They were rather sharp and almost fully covered in snow. Aurora had spent a few minutes observing it previously, but she did not understand why it was his favourite. She thought the fog over Solitude was far more beautiful. Also, that painting had warm, autumn colours to it, while this was far colder.

"Where is this?" she asked.

"Bruma," he spoke rather sternly.

"It looks a bit like Markarth," Aurora said, still looking at the canvas.

"It's been a life dream of mine to visit the city carved out of rock. I think I'll go there in the spring," he said, still as sternly as before.

Aurora looked at him but noticed that he was still looking at the painting. After a while, he saw that he was being observed and turned his gaze at the woman.

"How much would I have to pay for the Solitude one?" Aurora asked.

"600 septims," Egor said.

"You don't get rich on being an artist," Aurora stated. "Ingredients to the colours aren't cheap, and neither is the canvas," she smiled.

Egor did the same. "No, I'm in a slightly different situation than the Goldwine brothers or Umbranox," he said. "But it's decent pay for a job I love."

The woman turned around and looked at the Solitude painting from across the chamber. "I want it to hang above my bed," Aurora stated. "Will you bring it over when the exhibition is over?" she asked, turning her gaze toward Egor again.

"Sure," he said. "In a fortnight, then?"

"That's fine," the woman replied in a soft tone. She was just about to walk away as she stopped and looked at him again. "Oh, and Egor… May I ask you to paint my portrait? I will pay you better of course."

"Naturally," Egor said. "It's always a pleasure to paint friends."

Aurora was just about to walk away, but Ratibor came up to the pair from nowhere. He was in a splendid mood and appeared full of energy, holding a glass of wine which had recently been topped up.

"Egor, I forgot to ask you. What will you paint now?" he asked in passing, apparently being on his way to someone else.

Egor looked at the man with a mischievous expression. "Sirens."

"So…" Ratibor said, "naked women. Looking forward to it," the man grinned before hitting Egor on the shoulder and walking away.

"Oh, that's what you meant!" Aurora exclaimed, grinning in a surprised, but amused manner.

Egor was smirking and it looked absolutely charming. His bangs covered part of his eyebrow, which gave him a boyishly mischievous look as he looked down at her with a sexy expression.

"If you ever need a model…" Aurora continued, chuckling.

Egor grinned and went quiet for a few moments before leaning over her right shoulder. "I didn't know Jarls were so wicked," he spoke in a low tone.

"I am," she smiled intensively.

His reaction was not one she anticipated though. To her, it was just a fun suggestion, and she would happily have done it, no strings attached. She enjoyed having a teasing atmosphere with her friends and thought nothing more of it. Egor leaned in over her shoulder again.

"That wouldn't be appropriate, Aurora," he said.

"Why? Because I'm a Jarl?" she asked, nowhere near as quiet as he had spoken, and smiling coquettedly.

He placed a hand on her lower back and steered her toward a wall where there were fewer people around. He looked over his shoulder to ensure no one was listening to them. "No, because you are my friend," he said, looking directly at her and being perhaps three inches away.

She looked at him and wrinkled her forehead. "Does that render me not a woman?"

"Yes," Egor said. "And…" he leaned in a bit closer. "It's with the best of intentions I say this… But be careful with going too far with either of the men you are friends with. Unamicable splits can tear entire friendship groups apart, and I dare say that none of us have the wisdom to handle such a situation. But if you like someone, pick, don't…"

She looked at him with an expression so discontent that he stopped mid-sentence. "What do you imply?"

"I did not mean to offend you," he smiled, characteristically flirtingly.

"I'm just curious," she said, trying to sound as emotionally nonchalant as possible.

"I'm not drawing conclusions," he said. "But you appear to have a poor judgement when drunk, and while there is nothing wrong with clinging to friends, it becomes problematic when you make sexual advances. Particularly when it comes to brothers."

She looked at him wide-eyed. "It's just harmless flirting!" she exclaimed, but kept it quiet enough not to catch other people's attention.

The man nodded. "Good," he smiled, once again exposing his beautiful teeth. "Aurora, I genuinely did not want to offend you," he added before reaching for her right hand with his own and bowing slightly. He kissed her hand and she looked him in the eyes while he did so. She did not show anything in her facial expression, but she felt as if she had made a fool of herself.

The man straightened up and was just about to turn around as she stopped him. "Egor!" she said.

He stopped, looking at her with a calm and kind expression, awaiting her to say something. She looked down to the floor, then up at him with her head tilted to the right. "Does no one see me as a woman?"

Egor grinned and looked down to the level of her waist, before quickly raising his gaze to meet hers. Then he took a step closer to her and leaned in over her shoulder. "I think the problem is the fact that we all do. Ratibor is determined not to sleep with you because of the reason I told you about, but you know how he is. With enough wine in his system and the wrong circumstances, he might. And Bogdan… he'd do it without even thinking."

She grinned, looking straight into the crowd while Egor was almost whispering in her ear, his mouth being perhaps two inches away from her. "He only has Kalliope on his mind," she stated far louder than he spoke.

She could sense him smile for a seconds before he replied. "She is just a dream, but you are here and you are real," he said and was just about to turn away again.

"Egor?" she asked, this time turning her head toward him but looking down to the floor.

"Mm?"

"Even Vecheslav?" she grinned.

Egor turned his head away from her and laughed for two seconds. "I don't know him well enough, but when people are so vocally negative about a matter, I begin to question whether they are hiding something."

The evening had been a success. Egor was left alone as the college's students and members of faculty had gone to bed as the last guests had gone home. He was leaning against what had been the drinks table and looking at the wall where three of his paintings were hanging. There had been so many people at the exhibition, and more were expected over the following days as Viarmo had promised that the Bards College would have an open doors policy for anyone who wished to see the work the coming fortnight. The man remembered how he had tried to have an exhibition hall rented to him in the Imperial City and how much trouble it caused him as no property owner wanted any riff-raff to enter their premises. Of all his options, moving to Solitude was a good choice, he thought and smiled. Nords were less hierarchical than their Imperial counterparts, and more willing to accept engaging with people from lower social circles – and Aurora perhaps even more so than most Jarls. He did not pay much attention to the fact that he did not have a nice sounding surname, but some people were vocal about the fact that he was not originally from their circle. In Solitude, this barely ever happened, even though members of nobility were unlikely to marry beneath them, they were more accepting in general.

The candles around the chamber were on their last inch, and he walked up to a floor stand candle-holder, blowing out the lights. He remembered doing the same thing at the Melissaeia manor a cold night in the Imperial City just a year ago – in Eupaxia's chamber. She had a large, golden candle-holder in the far left corner of her chamber, just in front of a large mirror, which cast the soft light of the candles all over the room, enhancing the warmth of the red drapes, sofa and carpet. Her bedroom was tastefully decorated, pleasant and thought-through. Perhaps if Eupaxia was a Nord living in Solitude, they could have been together.

"You are talented," he suddenly heard a voice.

The man turned around. He had not noticed the door being opened, but swiftly felt cold air blowing in his direction as it was being shut. He recognised the voice immediately, even though he could not see the woman it belonged to yet. Egor casually stuck his hands into his pockets, letting the thumbs remain on the outside as he approached her at about half the speed she was walking towards him.

"I know," he replied calmly.

Lady Vici was beautifully dressed. Previously in the evening, he had only seen her in her usual, green dress, but now she was wearing a thick, fur coat. The true colour of it could not be made apart in the dim light of the chamber, but it was beautifully sewn to enhance her shape. He was rather intrigued by the fact that she had returned to the college after all the guests had left, and realised that she was probably interested in him as a person, as she had decided to talk to him without other people present.

"Not as much in technique as in being charming, though," she said.

She was standing three feet away, looking directly into his eyes. The woman smiled as she spoke the sentence, but her tone was of a superior kind. Egor chuckled a little while remaining eye contact and crossing his arms in front of his chest. "It helps."

She smiled at first, but then humphed and turned around, gripping a candle-holder from the window as she walked toward the wall directly to the left of the entrance where three of Egor's paintings were hanging. She lifted up the light toward the first one and looked at it for about a minute while Egor observed her from his place further into the chamber. She walked between the canvases as he appreciated her confident body language. Every part of her aura was regal and inapproachable, yet she was there, with him, on her own. She behaved like she wanted to be impressed by him – she had thrown out a silent challenge to him, and he enjoyed that flirtatious type of game.

Then, suddenly, she turned around. Her lips were slightly separated in the movement, but were locked shut the very moment her hair had fallen into place after her spin. It had all happened very quickly, and was probably made to see whether he was observing her or not. Having busted him, a self-righteous sneer emerged on her lips. Egor responded by pulling one side of his mouth into a smirk and winking at her. What was he supposed to do, he thought. Act apologetic. No!

The woman observed him for two seconds before smiling and lowering her gaze. He knew that he had her as she did so and chuckled a little, but out loud. All women were alike, and he was happy about the fact that he had indeed analysed the situation correctly, even with a person many people were intimidated with.

Regardless, she had caught his attention, and he wished to make her think of him after their meeting, wherever the coming conversation would take them. He doubted she would let him approach her in a sexual manner at this very first meeting, though, as she did not come across as someone who would jump into the sack with just about anyone. However, he was confident that he would get under her skirt eventually… if he played his cards right. Being eager to enter the next stage of this mating dance, he walked up to her while sticking his hands into the pockets of the coat. He moved slowly, keeping eye contact at all times, and with a small smirk present on his face.

Egor stopped about three feet away from her, just about the distance she had chosen as she approached him. He then lowered his chin a little, but not to show reverence – he wanted her to pay attention to his eyes. He knew he had a rather masculine expression when looked at from that angle, as there was not much distance between his eyes and eyebrows, and his gaze turned very intense. Then, slowly, he took out his right hand from his pocket and held it out with the palm turned to his left to show he wanted to get her hand, not to kiss it.

She took it while looking into his eyes. Then she did the opposite of Egor, rising her chin up, but her expression turned into a content one. That made the man smile wider while simultaneously allowing air to escape his mouth. She had accepted him at this stage, letting him know it, but also proving that she was indeed judging his masculinity. She knew that he knew that, and the situation made them both let go of the façade.

Egor held her hand in a softer manner than she held his. He was relaxed and wished to portray it, while she was more frigid – but her hard, businesslike handshake soon softened as Egor took a step closer to her. He shook her hand slowly.

"Egor," he introduced himself in a voice slightly less soft than his handshake.

"Vittoria," she said, smiling.

"Nice to finally speak to you, Vittoria," he smiled, still looking into her eyes as he let go of her hand.

She looked at him for a second or two, then to the side. "I'm usually known as Lady Vici around here."

Egor let his arms out to the sides. "You introduced yourself as Vittoria… But if you want to be Lady Vici, so be it," he spoke kindly, but with confidence.

The woman observed him, but something had changed in her expression again. The challenging appearance was back. "Vittoria is fine," she spoke as she turned around.

She walked up to the wall, to the painting hanging in middle. "I want the painting of Solitude," she stated coldly. Or rather, it was not exactly cold, but yet again, it lacked the friendliness Egor had expected at this point.

He wondered whether he had read her wrong, she had regretted the flirtation, or if she was unsure how to proceed. Egor walked up to her. "Aurora has already bought it," he spoke softly, trying to make his voice sound as calm and soothing as possible. He stopped less than a feet behind her, looking at her neck – or rather, trying to make out here it was under her fur coat.

"Well, has she paid?" she asked and turned around harshly, with her hair being flung.

She appeared somewhat surprised by the fact that he had been standing so close to her, but soon hid that emotion. Egor looked down on her, smiling a little. He knew what kind of woman she was. She was fine with playing dirty if that meant she got what she wanted, and he would probably tagged along in her game if it were not for the fact that he considered Aurora a friend and knew that Solitude was of great personal importance to her. "Yes," he lied.

"Shame," she said, lowering her eyes in a displeased expression, but soon looked up at him again, this time with a challenging gaze. "Perhaps you can paint it again."

He chuckled. "That's not how I work," he said while smiling kindly at her.

"What do you mean? You are a painter – you paint what people want you to."

He grinned wider while observing the very attractive woman in front of him. "There was a time when I did that, but not anymore."

"What? Are you tired of gold?" she asked in a genuine manner, almost laughing.

"I have enough not to be forced to step aside from my principles."

"Principles?"

"I only paint what I want to. I am fortunate enough to be able to control my work myself."

"You don't have patrons?" she asked, wrinkling her forehead but keeping the challenging gaze.

"I don't work for patrons," he said. "But there are people who are quick to buy the paintings as I produce them. Nowadays, I don't offer them to see the work before I show them to the public either."

"Why?"

"Because once they buy them, the painting is theirs. I want as many as possible to see my work."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "Validation perhaps? To feed my ego," he replied in the same, calm manner as before.

"At least you're honest," she smiled. "We all have an ego."

He smiled. "You too?"

"Oh, I have a big ego," she said.

He grinned. She too did too as they looked into one another's eyes. He considered whether to take one last step up to her, or to do quite the opposite and take some intensity off the situation. At the end, he turned his gaze to the side and smiled even more to show that he was indeed interested in her, but did not dare to kiss her.

"A drink?" he suggested, looking at her again.

She laughed. "I am married."

He made an upset expression before taking one step back and reaching for her hand. "I already dislike him," he said, lifted and kissed her hand.

"Why so?" she asked, but this time in an evident, flirtatious manner.

He remained silent for a while to create a tickling pause in their conversation flow. "Need I state the obvious?"

He let go of hand and stepped to the side, walking towards the door. "It's late. Let me walk you home," he said.

He had broken the moment and it was intentional. However, he kept looking her straight in her eyes with a warm expression. A few seconds later, she found herself and nodded, before walking up to him and accepting his arm.

They walked through the town in silence, but Egor knew he had acted exactly in the right way. Soft lights were cast through the windows onto the snowy ground, adding to the romance of the situation. Vittoria was a mighty woman, yet she had allowed him to call her by her first name. No woman found a weak man attractive, Egor thought, and Vittoria was most probably unused to being treated womanly. As attraction was made up of contrasts, she must have enjoyed the moment.

As they reached her house, he turned towards her.

"Good night… Vittoria," he said.

He spoke warmly, but took a distance.

"Good night Egor," she said.

The man kissed her hand without breaking his eyes from her. He wished to give her the impression that he, subtly, longed for her but accepted that she was married. That she would go to bed, thinking about him that night.