Chapter Two
"Mead?"
Pale green eyes looked up at the brunet nord, a smile crossing Iona's face. "I'd certainly love some," she agreed, holding her cup out as the fellow housecarl began to pour the drink into the metal cup. "Thank you Lydia."
Smiling, the nord from Whiterun dipped her head and took another bite of the salmon Iona had cooked for dinner. The past few months had been hard on both of them, watching their Thane struggle with her grief and sorrow and being pushed away every time they'd tried to help. Lydia couldn't deny however, that it was a lot easier to handle the redguard with another person, than on her own. Vex certainly did a more than fair share of the work, after all she was around Yosa'Min more often than either of the two women were these days. However they were the ones that saw her at the end of most days and had to listen to her in the night.
They both slept downstairs, an extra bed replacing a bit of shelving in the room set aside for them. There were three rooms in the basement. One for sleeping, another for enchanting and displaying armor, and the one that connected the two was filled with alchemy potions, ingredients, recipes and of course a table to work at. Neither of them allowed Yosa'Min to work on her alchemy alone, both of them secretly fearing the redguard would poison herself.
It had been awkward at first, sharing the responsibility of the redguard and her well-being, but soon enough they both began to appreciate the extra set of hands. They'd take shifts watching her when Yosa'Min was particularly bad, and when she did venture out aside from on a Thieves Guild job they both were at her side. Yosa'Min had complained at first that she felt like she had two mothers, but then after a little while she just stopped talking entirely.
They spent plenty of time just waiting around for her to come home and see where she was. Iona liked to cook, the redheaded nord surprisingly adept with stews and fish. Often enough, they'd sit down for a meal and Yosa'Min would silently walk in about midway into eating. She'd serve herself whatever was prepared, sit down and eat with them, and then walk to the back to watch the lake from the wooden walkway.
To pass the time Lydia would tell Iona all about their adventure across Skyrim and how Yosa'Min used to be. Iona would then return with some stories of her youth growing up in Riften, most of them were tales of her fishing on Lake Honrich with her brother or training with her father who had long since retired from the guard. Despite what was happening, she'd often remark how honored she felt to be serving the Dragonborn, Lydia agreeing with not quite as much vigor.
More than a few times during the fall before the cold started to set in, Iona had convinced them both to fish with her from the docks. The redhead had laughed when Lydia had found she wasn't quite as good with a rod as she was with a sword, while Yosa'Min had found only the slightest bit of fun from the relaxing day on the docks. Lydia would then take them each hunting along the shore for the large elk she saw often, but after a misadventure that ended up with a bear chasing them all the way back to the stables, they'd not gone out together for some time.
Both of them had hoped that more simple adventures and pastimes would help bring Yosa'Min to herself, Lydia explaining that Yosa'Min used to go hunting all the time, especially to clear her head or work out her problems. But not even that was working anymore. From what the brunet had told her, Yosa'Min would have been the most interesting person Iona had ever met. If only she had met her earlier though.
With snow falling outside and night pulling along, the duo had settled down for another dinner. At some point mead had been broken out and they'd gotten rather drunk already at this point. And for nords, that was certainly a hard task to achieve. The house was drenched in the smell of alcohol, making it nearly as strong as the Bee and Barb was during a celebration.
"You know what," Lydia abruptly said, "I don't care if she doesn't come home!"
Iona frowned, "What? Yosa'Min?" She questioned, Lydia giving a large nod of her head, "Now don't start talking like that."
"She's not been home for three nights! I talked with Vex and she says she isn't showing up in the Guild much either as of late," Lydia slurred.
"Maybe she's just taking jobs that make her travel?" Iona who was slightly less drunk suggested, "You're the one who said she disappeared a lot when she was down, maybe she's just doing it again?"
"No," countered Lydia, "this is a different type of down. Her brother was one thing, this is another! She is completely at fault here and that's what is tearing her up." A finger was held up to make a point but she didn't exactly know what the point was. "So if she doesn't want to come home, then fine, I'm not staying up waiting!"
"Now Lydia, we have to be patient with her," cooed Iona, finishing her meal and then nudging the brunet under the table with her knee. "Even a hero needs time to heal."
Frowning deeply, Lydia finished what was a tangy bit of mead and pushed it away with a dissatisfied look on her face. "What is this?" She picked the bottle up and tried to read it but her vision was too blurry for her to figure out when it was bottled.
Sighing, Iona took hold of the brunet's hand and lowered it to the table before she dropped the bottle. "We've got some downstairs, if you want to check it out," she offered.
Nodding her head, Lydia got to her feet swiftly but tripped up a bit, nearly falling onto the ground if it weren't for the redhead catching her. With a grunt Iona lifted the brunet back up and chuckled faintly at the blush burning its way across the hazel eyed housecarl's face. "Careful there Lydia," teased Iona, "the floor is a terrible cheat."
Laughing, Lydia straightened herself up the best she could and the two made a drunken path over to the stairs that led down to the basement. It was a trying task to not slip down it, but somehow they'd made it work. Iona took the lead as she bent down to look through some barrels to try to find the particular bottle of mead she was looking for. Lydia stood a bit back, and slowly found her gaze captured by the redhead's rump.
Since her arrival in Riften for good, Lydia certainly had found her gaze flickering to the redheaded nord when she wasn't looking. Iona was a pretty woman, strong and certain of herself. She perfectly understood how difficult it was being Yosa'Min's housecarl, something few ever would be burdened with. It wasn't like Lydia wished she was anyone else's housecarl, more like some days she wished she wasn't anyone's at all. But with Iona, it was bearable, both of them cracking jokes about the redguard's behavior when they were alone or complaining about something that had happened. She could hardly think of going back to being the only one that was there for the redguard anymore.
Iona stood back up, Lydia snapping her gaze up to the woman's face. Both of them were dressed in casual clothing, seeing no point in wearing their armor around when Yosa'Min never took them anywhere these days. Most often if they wanted to go anywhere, they'd have to convince the redguard along with it. Iona had jokingly likened it to playing house, both of them married and Yosa'Min their daughter. At first, Lydia hadn't gotten it.
But now, drunk as she could be, the nord was starting to see how Iona could think like that. Yosa'Min had left the entire decoration of the home to them both, giving them a large sum of money that neither of them were going to ask where it came from, and telling them to buy whatever they wanted. So, they'd gone up to the keep and purchased the right pieces from the steward Anuriel and set the home up themselves. It was a quaint home, the porch that turned into a little dock one of Lydia's favorite parts. They'd been mindful of course of what their Thane would prefer, but it was clear the redguard hadn't said a thing about the decor in her home.
Staying up late into the night as she did before for her to come home, or taking her on trips that were rather family like, there certainly was a domestic feel about them. If she had to put them up like that in her mind, Iona would probably fit the motherly role more than Lydia, though both of them would make better cases for either role. She hadn't given if much thought before, but now as it returned to her mind Lydia found it a bit... appealing. Although what kind of parents gave the child the better room, Lydia had no idea.
Walking back over to her, Iona pressed the bottle into Lydia's hands. "Here we are, the good stuff," she purred with a wide smile. Hazel eyes flicked from the bottle to rather enticing lips for a moment before Lydia nodded her head and started back upstairs for a corkscrew. Iona followed her back up without a word, instead humming some tune that Lydia wasn't familiar with.
Once the bottle was opened and poured into a cup for them each, Lydia's gaze found its way back to Iona's lips as she gulped down the alcohol. "Divines," muttered Lydia, shaking her head and averting her gaze. Iona frowned, lowering the cup and resting it on the table besides them once more.
"What's wrong?"
"You're beautiful you know that right?" Lydia came right out with it.
Blinking, Iona's face began to brighten to the same fiery color as her hair, "Uh, thank you Lydia. You're a beautiful warrior too."
Running a hand nervously through her brunet hair, Lydia put the drink to the side as well and gave a half laugh. "Right, well I'm very glad that Yosa'Min decided to move here."
"As am I," Iona agreed, nodding her head. She was still blushing as she started to realize that perhaps Lydia wasn't quite as platonic with her as she thought. "Working with you has been some of the most pleasant times of my life."
Lydia snorted, nodding her head wholeheartedly, "Oh most certainly. It's far nicer to have someone to speak with that understands exactly what is going on rather than trying to explain it to someone who will never get it."
There was a bit of silence, the duo awkwardly glancing around each other before Iona dared to speak up. "So, is that all?"
Sucking in a deep breath and every bit of courage she had, Lydia shook her head. "No, it's not."
"What is it then?" Iona asked hopefully. Taking a note from Yosa'Min's stories on romancing women, Lydia reached out and intertwined their fingers. Iona gasped, looking down at the gesture and then back up at the blushing nord. "Lydia?"
Instead of answering with words, the brunet leaned forward and brought her into a kiss, one hand cupping the redhead's cheek. Iona squeaked for a moment, shocked, and then seemingly melted into the kiss. Lydia's heart was racing as it was returned, hands reaching forward to wrap around the other nord's waist to pull her closer. Iona's eyes had fluttered closed, pressing herself against Lydia as the kiss started to pick up. A small moan formed in Lydia's chest, bursting forward with want.
Just as they started to dare to separate their lips and deepen the intimate gesture, the door creaked open. They jumped back with a yelp, Lydia stumbling back a few steps and trying to fix her clothes up. Iona sat down as quickly as she could to avoid suspicion, but she completely missed the wooden chair and ended up falling backwards onto the floor with a loud sound. Lydia blinked at her, and before she could help herself, the drunk housecarl started to laugh, Iona joining in a moment later.
The person who entered raised an eyebrow with confusion, Yosa'Min blinking at them as the two drunk nords roared with laughter. Silently shutting the door behind her, Yosa'Min sniffed the mead drenched air and scowled a bit with distaste. "What are you two doing?" She questioned, fixing the two women who still were laughing with a very confused expression.
Lydia's laughter only grew worse as she caught the look across her Thane's face. "We were just having some fun!" She announced, holding a hand out to help Iona to her feet. "There might be a bit of salmon left, I don't know really though," her words were broken up with giggles.
"Oh and some mead! We opened some good stuff too!" Iona chimed in, face flushed and pale green eyes glassy. "Very sweet and different," there was something about her words that made the Dragonborn guess there was a second meaning behind it, but she was certainly not going to figure it out. Shaking her head, Yosa'Min looked at where a plate of salmon was resting near the cooking fire. "Go on, that's yours, might be a bit cold though," Iona slurred.
Shrugging, Yosa'Min took it and sat down at the table, chewing it down as the two stood there, watching and giggling still. Blue eyes glanced at them with a twinge of annoyance. "Okay mothers, I can eat on my own. Why don't you two go to bed, you're obviously drunk as can be," drawled Yosa'Min.
Lydia gave Iona a sly smirk, one arm looping around the redhead. "Yes, off to bed?" Yosa'Min dropped the fork onto the plate, mouth agape as it continued.
"That sounds rather nice," suggestively purred Iona, wrapping her arms around the brunet's waist and nuzzling against her. A rather mischievous smile grew across both of their faces, and without another word they started towards the stairs, giggling like a pair of drunk fools.
Yosa'Min was stunned where she sat, staring after them with confusion and shock rising above anything else she felt. Out of everyone there was, she far from expected them to hook up. "Wait!" She shouted, getting up to her feet to try to find out if they were being serious. Last she knew both of them were very much so into men. "Are you guys for real?" She called as she ran down the stairs, the door to their shared room shut. A bit nervously, Yosa'Min crept over and pressed her ear to it. The sound of some rather heated kissing seeped out of the cracks of the wood, Lydia moaning a swear as Iona did something to her that was already driving her wild.
Stunned, Yosa'Min stepped back and stared at the wood door until Lydia's voice picked up into a scream that sent redguard scurrying out of the room back upstairs. She quickly grabbed her green blanket from her bed and ducked out the back door to the porch that overlooked the lake. Needless to say, her mind was racing with the sudden change in her housecarls. After her talk with Vex, she'd expected to find them eating dinner as usual but more likely telling jokes and stories than kissing and rolling around in bed.
The image that popped to the forefront of her mind made her shudder, it certainly wasn't fun to be on the other side of this situation. Sure, she found herself happy that they'd found each other attractive and liked each other enough to kiss and then some, but it made her jealous too. There was no drama with them, at least not yet, and she doubted there would be any at all either. They were both very open and honest people, the type of pain that plagued Yosa'Min's heart and soul came from just how dishonest she was.
Sighing with mixed feelings, the woman sat down on the edge of the porch, feet hanging over the lip under the railing. Blue eyes gazed out at the lake, the snow having picked up to a very steady pace. She lowered her head, leaning forward and resting her arms on the middle support beam that ran beneath the top bar. The redguard didn't know what to do anymore.
Anytime she tried to win back Mjoll's heart, she was met with such venom it was mind boggling. The nord certainly was stubborn, a trait about her she used to appreciate but now it drove her made with frustration. It wasn't like she'd ever expected it to be easy to romance Mjoll once more, but she hardly even got past the nord's trained guard Aerin. Muttering under her breath, she looked at the lake and soon found the scene made her heart ache. With all the snow and ice, it looked faintly like the lake that Vex and Mjoll had fought on months back.
The same night that she had freed herself from the Guild and been able to take Mjoll entirely as her own, was the same one she lost everything. While she appreciated everything her friends were doing for her and trying to help, it didn't stop the ache in her heart. The only thing that ever could make her feel better would be to the source of one of Mjoll's laughs or for her fingers to be intertwined with hers. She missed the nord with every passing moment, the longing she felt growing stronger every day more.
She curled her fingers into a tight fist, and then forced the thoughts of the golden haired nord from her mind just long enough to think back to Vex and her plan. A heist certainly would be good. Even with the Guild back on its feet it still could always use more jewels and treasures in its coffers. The imperial had done an impressive job getting it back to the glory it once had, but even Yosa'Min could tell that sometimes things were only temporary. The hype wouldn't last forever unless they made it common practice to pull of grand schemes and heists.
Robbing a fort full of trained warriors would be hard, even more so considering how secluded it sounded like it was, but that was where the triumph and glory came from. The bards would sing of the dastardly group all across the Empire. She could already hear some telling stories in the tavern of pieces pulled together. A tale of a redguard and imperial who broke out of the inescapable mine for instance, was one of her favorites to listen to. Most of the details were wrong, like how Vex was made into a man in most retellings of the glorious tale, or saying that some of the others inside Cidhna mine survived when no other soul had.
When she thought about that, it made her smile a bit to herself, reflecting on the adventures she'd gone on. To think it had all happened because she was drunk and angry with a foolish noble in Whiterun? Shaking her head, Yosa'Min looked at the waters and sighed. "I get why you won't forgive me," she whispered to the wind, "I don't deserve it after everything I've done to you. But please," she shook in the cold, blue eyes gazing out where she imagined Mjoll was, "just for once listen to me."
"I shouldn't be asking for it, I shouldn't be bothering you at all," she continued, pretending she was speaking to Mjoll when at last she had the chance, refusing to believe she wouldn't. "But you're always on my mind and you're always in my heart. When you walked away I wanted to die, I wanted go back into that cave and drown like I was going to. I've thought to myself over and over how I could win your heart back, but none of those plans ever work. Flowers, apologies, trying to regain my honor, all that stuff. But you're not some simple minded woman!" A bittersweet laugh escaped her, blue eyes closed.
"I guess that's why I fell for you right? That brave, smart, confident woman who knew exactly what she wanted and how much shit she was willing to take," Yosa'Min sighed, "I'm not the person who deserves you, so why do I even try?" She ran a hand under her hood through her short hair, staring at her reflection in the water that lapped the wooden pillars that supported the porch.
Unlike Vex, she didn't see anything beautiful left in who she was. The scars, the hair, the dark look that was always on her face because of how she felt. Whatever the imperial saw, she couldn't. Yosa'min leaned her head back and peered at the ragged blanket of grey clouds, snow falling heavy around her. "Just focus on the heist," she whispered to herself, "Forget about Mjoll and focus." Forgetting that woman however, would be utterly impossible. But that wouldn't stop her from trying.