Sonmia awoke late the next morning. The smell of apple cabbage stew filled her nostrils, making her stomach growl louder than a sabre cat.
She sat up and looked around the room. It was fairly dark, except for the light that cracked through the wooden ceiling from upstairs. After a moment of letting her eyes adjust to the dark, Sonmia finally managed to get out of bed, making sure to put all of her weight on her left leg. Giving herself a second to retain her balance, she limped to the other side of the room, hesitating before forcing herself to climb up the stairs.
Once she was upstairs, Sonmia saw Sigrid sitting at the table, sewing some patches onto some clothes. Alvor and Sigrid's daughter, Dorthe, was sitting on her bed, playing with some straw dolls.
"Oh, good morning, Adisla," Sigrid greeted, cheerfully. "Would you like some stew?"
"Yes, please. I think I can get it myself, though, thank you." Sonmia proceeded to grab a bowl for herself, but Sigrid stopped her.
"Please, dear, sit down. You need to keep off your feet as much as possible before your big trip." Sigrid grabbed the bowl out of Sonmia's hands, then went over to the cooking pot hanging over the stove and scooped some stew up for Sonmia. She then placed the bowl in front of Sonmia, and handed her a spoon. "Here, enjoy."
Sonmia felt a pang of uselessness as she observed Sigrid serving her. She wanted to get her own food, to prove that she could still help herself. "Thank you, so much," Sonmia said, quietly. She then grabbed the spoon from Sigrid's hand and started shoveling the stew into her mouth, as if it was the first meal she had had in months.
"My goodness, dear, slow down. You'll give yourself a stomach ache," Sigrid warned. Sonmia continued eating, but slowed down as Sigrid said to. "Oh, also, Alvor needs some help at his forge. I'll help you over there once you're done eating."
"Of course. Thank you." Sonmia then proceeded to take her time finishing her late breakfast. "By the way, where's Hadvar?"
"At the forge, helping his uncle."
"So I'm guessing Alvor told you everything that happened?"
"Both Alvor and Hadvar did, mostly Hadvar."
"So was there really a dragon?!" Dorthe blurted from the other side of the room. She looked straight at Sonmia with wide, playful eyes and a small smile.
"Yeah, there really was!" Sonmia answered with the same amount of excitement.
"Dorthe, honey, don't pester the poor girl."
"Oh, she's fine," Sonmia insisted.
"What did it look like?! Did it have big wings?" Dorthe asked as she ran over to sit next to Sonmia.
"Oh yes, his wings were huge. And his scales...they were blacker than any black I've ever seen. And his teeth were sharper than a bear's claws."
"Whoa...sounds scary."
"Terrifying, actually."
"Okay, Dorthe, I think it's time you started your chores."
"But Mama, I wanna hear more about-"
"Dorthe, now." Sigrid gave Dorthe the stern look that all mothers gave when their children didn't listen.
"Okay, Mama..." Dorthe went off to start sweeping the basement.
"I suppose I should go out to the forge now," Sonmia said. "The stew was delicious."
"Oh, thank you. Here, let me help you walk over there." Sigrid helped Sonmia stand up; Sonmia wrapped her arm around Sigrid's shoulders, and the two slowly made their way over to the forge. "Alvor, Adisla's here!"
"Ah, you're finally awake! Here, girl, sit down over here for a minute." Alvor directed Sonmia to sit over by the tanning rack. He then grabbed two small wooden boards, about seven inches wide and over a foot long; both of them had cloth padding on one side. He then grabbed a chair and sat down in front of Sonmia. "Bring your leg up onto my lap."
"What are you doing?" Sonmia did as she was told, and slowly lifted her leg.
"Watch." Hadvar sandwiched her ankle between the padded sides of the boards, and instructed Sonmia to hold them in place. As she did that, Alvor wrapped a very, very long strip of cloth tightly around the boards, making her an ankle splint. "This is to keep your ankle in place."
"Wow, thank you."
"Of course. Now, your job for today is to help me make some leather strips. Do you know how?"
"Yes, I used to do it all the time as a kid." He knows I know how to do it, Sonmia thought, I used to help him back then. Damn bastard.
"Ah, good. Here are the tools you'll need and the leather to strip. I need the strips to be about ten to fifteen inches long, all right?" Alvor handed her twenty squares of leather and some stripping tools, and left her to work.
Within a few hours, Sonmia had eighty strips made. Being engrossed in her work for so long, she had not noticed that both Hadvar and Alvor were gone. Sonmia decided that since her work was done, there was no reason to stay put. She stood up and left the strips neatly on the workbench for Alvor to find later. Knowing she couldn't go very far, Sonmia decided she was going to see where Hadvar and Alvor could have gone.
Around the corner, Sigrid was sitting on the porch, delved into a book.
"Could I ask what you're reading?" Sonmia asked as she slowly limped toward Sigrid.
"Oh, nothing special. It's called 'Chances Folly.'"
"What's it about?" Sonmia leaned against the railing of the porch. Reading was one of Sonmia's passtimes, nothing peaking her interest like hearing about a new book.
"About a theif in Morrowind who can steal anything and some warrior who can only hear the voice of Sheogorath. It's not peaking my interest at all."
"Could I borrow it? It sounds interesting to me."
"Sure, keep it. I'm never going to finish it." Sigrid handed the book to Sonmia, who took it gratefully.
"Thank you! I haven't read a good book in so long. I think I'm going to go sit by the river and start it."
"All right, you have fun. I have to start supper anyways. And be careful with your ankle there." Sigrid got up and went back inside the house. Sonmia stepped off the porch and slowly limped her way over to the mill. As she made her way there, she could see both Alvor and Hadvor chopping wood by the river.
"Don't overwork yourselves, boys!" Sonmia called. Finding the perfect spot along the riverside, Sonmia sat down and cracked open her new book. A moment later, Hadvar came over and sat down with Sonmia.
"Aye, girl, what do you have in those hands?"
Sonmia looked over at him, seeing that he was covered in sweat and dirt. "Sigrid gave me this book, said she wasn't going to ever finish it. I can't turn down a possibly good book."
" Ah, you read?"
"As much as I can." Sonmia turned her attention back to her book, engrossing herself into it almost immediately.
"I'll leave you to it, then. I'll come back for you when supper's ready." Hadvar got up and went back to cutting wood, leaving Sonmia to her sweet solitude. He came back a few hours later and sat down next to Sonmia. Next to her, he placed a single bottle of vigorous healing potion. "Here girl, drink up."
Sonmia looked up and saw the potion. She gave Hadvar a look of disbelief. "How were you able to pay for this?! This stuff is expensive!"
"I helped out at the mill, got about a hundred and fifty gold for it. I also got you this, for afterwords." Hadvar pulled out a small jar of honey from behind him and placed it next to the healing potion.
"No way!" Sonmia took the honey and opened it, looking at it as if it were an entire chest of gold. "This is actual, real honey. Thank you, Hadvar."
"For what?"
"For...this! Spending your hard-earned gold on me, taking care of me, saving me back in Helgen. Just all of it. I really appreciate it."
"Hey, you saved me just as much as I saved you. Now come on, drink that potion. Supper's going to be ready soon, and it's starting to get dark."
Sonmia grabbed the bottle and opened it, grimacing as she brought the bottle to her lips. The smell alone wanted to make her throw up, but she looked at the bottle of honey she could have afterwards, and chugged the entire bottle of the potion. She then threw the bottle aside and grabbed the jar of honey, stuck two fingers in and scooped up as much of the sweet concoction as she could, stuffing it into her mouth. "Oh gods, that's so good," she whispered.
"Whoa, okay, slow down. We still have supper to eat. Come on, let me carry you over there." Hadvar helped Sonmia stand up.
"I think I can actually walk back. I don't feel any pain. Just some pressure."
"Well all right, let's get heading back then." Hadvar and Sonmia both headed back to the house for supper, both exhausted and excited for relaxation.