Disclaimer: I don't own Trailer Park Boys or Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

I'm sorry for keeping you all waiting for so long since my last chapter, things weren't well with my mental health in past months due to personal complications. But rest assured I'm doing better now and are very excited to finally release this chapter. Boy time is sure moving by, its already a new year now and so to is it near the end of of the first arc of this story. This chapter was an interesting one to tackle what with it being a combination of two storylines. One of them being the 5th episode of TPB season 1 and the other being a Skyrim quest that many players will be familiar with in regards to Riverwood. With enough said now it appears to be time to return the story, so enjoy!.

The Noble Lies Of Love

In the midday hours of the current day an aged yet somewhat wooden railing provided the perfect smooth surface for Julian and his favourite drink of choice. As he leaned on the railing with both his arms crossed against the wooden plank, the Breton took in the view of the village while deep in thought. Earlier today Julian had given permission for Ricky to take the carriage and his new horse whom he had named Emeric after the Breton king of Wayrest. The Nord had told Julian of his wish to take Lucy, Trinity and Ray out for a picnic at a location near the village which overlooked the river, one which had some wooden tables for seating and surface room for food.

Knowing it was for a good cause Julian lent him the wagon and horse for what would be quite an enjoyable occasion for his friend. Plus there was the scary fact that Ricky actually seemed to be getting his act together, having not had any drinks the prior night. Speaking of which Ricky could be seen driving up to the house with his family in the back passenger compartment of the wagon. "A little early for him to be back" Julian thought as he saw the wagon come to a stop, one of the wheels looking very loose as it spun to an end.

Ricky jumped out of the drivers seat and made his way up the stairs, "hows it going Rick" Julian greeted the Nord.

"Whats going on man" Ricky said back, "can I borrow some salt?" he asked, hoping the Breton would have some in his house given the lack of any back at Lucys house right now. Plus it saved him a trip to the store.

Suddenly a loud creak was heard causing Julian and Ricky to look at the wagon, just in time to see the loose left wooden wheel pop off dramatically. The sudden separation from the main body of the vehicle caused the carriage to shake very unstably and startle its passengers in the compartment.

"All right its no big deal, its just the fucking wheel!" Ricky said as he went over to the backside to reassure the not so convinced and on edge passengers.

"By the gods does someone want to get me out of this thing before it fucking falls over!" Ray yelled out in an irritated tone.

Ricky with the help of Lucy helped lower Trinity out of the wagon and back onto the ground, the mother shortly following after her child in getting out of the transport.

Julian assisted Ricky in getting Ray plus his wooden wheel out of the shaky carriage. Just as they brought the mobile Ray back onto the ground, the supervisor wagon showed up and parked on the either side of the street.

"Randy, its looks like we got a situation with the wagon!" Lahey said to his partner who nodded back as the both of them disembarked the vehicle. The group over the house save for Trinity glared at the pair of village supervisors as they made their way over the wagon. "We need bring Alvor down here, quickly before mr stupids wagon topples over!" the old man jeered.

"Fuck off Lahey" Ricky replied as he pointed the finger at Lahey.

"Did you just call my son stupid, Lahey?" Ray said as he wheeled over to the senior supervisor, not at all happy with his old rivals mock towards his son. At the same time Ricky made his over to confront Randy who looked ready to fight back.

"Yeah I called your son stupid, what are you gonna do about it" Lahey apathetically retorted causing Ray to leap out of his wheelchair and tackle the old man to the ground. The two having an all out brawl on the driveway.

"Get the frig out of the way Ricky!" Randy ordered as he tried to lay a hand on Ricky to move him away.

"Fuck you Randy!" Ricky said as he savagely shoved the big gut Breton away from him, instantly enraging the deputy supervisor.

"Thats it I've had it, your fucked bud!" Randy shouted in anger as he attempted a bull charge at the Nord.

Remembering a certain shout he had learned on High Hrothgar Ricky prepared his dodge manoeuvre. "Wuld!" Ricky shouted as he zoomed past Randy before the latter could reach him.

The sudden effect of momentum also causing the younger supervisor to trip up and fall face first onto a open wet bare spot of dirt.

Having had enough of the chaos right at his doorstep Julian decided to end it right now, "break it up!" he yelled as he pulled Ray away from Lahey and back onto his wheelchair. Confident he had ended their side of the brawl Julian marched his way over to Randy and Ricky's current tussle.

"Get the fuck off of him Ricky!" Julian growled as he got between the two, forcing Ricky and Randy to seperate from their current fight. Once he made sure Ricky was calm Julian now in control of the situation marched his way back over to Lahey, with Ricky following behind.

"Look Lahey we're gonna get the wagon fixed up and back on the road, alright?" Julian said, hoping this reassurance would put an end to the current situation happening at the moment.

"You'd better Julian otherwise I'll be stepping in personally and then you'll be paying for it" the old supervisor warned. "I will not allow a potential hazard to cause any incidents in Riverwood".

"He said he'd take care of it asshole, so you and the no shirt wearing dick can fucking go do whatever dumb supervisor shit you do" Ricky snarked. Randy shooting him an angry glare upon hearing this though the Nord didn't care at all.

"You watch yourself Ricky, your on thin ice boy" Lahey threatened, "the wheel of shit is turning and soon it'll come crashing down on you". With his point said the elder supervisor then turned to leave, Randy following behind as the two jumped back into the wagon.

"Nyah nyah the shit wheel will fall on you nyah nyah" Ricky mimicked in a parodic form as he watched the supervisor carriage start up and ride off into the distance. "Oh fuck off".

Turning his attention back to his family Ricky could see that Lucy had a grumpy look on her face that practically screamed how unimpressed she was with him right now. "I can't believe you Ricky" she said in a very ticked off tone.

"What?" Ricky asked, feeling very confused concerning why she was mad at him. Especially considering in his mind he had done nothing wrong. Julian seeing the tension in the air and not wanting to get involved decided to leave to go get Alvor to fix the carriage.

"Do I have to spell it out for you, you fucked up today for the family" Lucy replied. Each of her words having an impact on the Nord who found himself very upset at how she was unreasonably treating and faulting him for things that were outside of his control. Most of all making it out like he had also ruined things for the rest of the family as well which made him even more aggravated.

"Lucy I can't believe your blaming me for this" Ricky responded rather hastily.

"Your the one who caused the wagon wheel to fucking fall off" the blond woman accused, her point despite its aggressive stance remaining fair and logical given it was true.

"Well I wasn't, how-" Ricky stammered as he tried to use what brain power he could to shift the blame off him. To no avail.

"Your the one who left the wheel like that, it wouldn't have fallen off otherwise" Lucy replied with a short explanation, "this is all your fault, family day is ruined".

"No the thing is Lucy is that I didn't see the wagon wheel cause I had all these things going on, and you fixing your hair and that" the Nord explained. "If I wasn't distracted I would have probably seen it".

"Your gonna turn this around on me, I ruined 'family day' this is all Lucys fault " Lucy argued, not at all thrilled with Ricky seemingly labelling her as the cause of the problem.

"Its not all your fault, but 90%" Ricky replied, his response seeming fair to him but not at all appeasing to his girlfriend who was getting more angrier.

"This is never gonna work, its ridiculous" Lucy seethed, her response instantly unsettling Rickys who knew exactly what she was referring to.

"Whats that supposed to mean?" Ricky asked angrily," what is wrong with this relationship?" He added with a follow up question that went unanswered by a currently sulking Lucy. "Nothing thats what, we'll have another picnic tomorrow" the Nord declared, hoping that it would put at ease Lucys agitation.

Though it had no affect on the blond nord who had clearly made up her mind regarding how she felt towards Ricky.

"Ricky come on forget about it, lets go down to the house and get drunk" Ray interjected, the father wanting to put an end to the current argument between his son and Lucy.

"Look dad, I gotta get the wagon fixed" Ricky pointed out as he gestured at the wagon which was tilted funny thanks to a certain missing wheel on its left side.

"Julians already gone to deal with it, come on man lets go" the old Nord urged, knowing it was Rickys best interest to step away from the situation with a current grumpy Lucy.

Although the Nord was heavily swayed by the powerful impulse to get wasted with his dad, the desire to set things right with his girlfriend remained strong as well. Looking back at Lucys still glaring face and then back at his dads pleading one he found himself in a conundrum with which one to choose.

In the end it would be the third face of his daughter that would help him make his choice, "sure, I'll be there in a minute" Ricky said to Ray who nodded and wheeled off towards his home.

Going over to Trinity he picked her up and gave her a hug, "tell mommy I'm sorry alright, I'm just stressed cause I wasn't able to get drunk last night" Ricky said to her.

"Its alright, I know its not your fault" Trinity kindly replied with an understanding tone. Making Ricky feel all the better, knowing that at least the person he loved most in the world didn't hold a grudge against him right now.

Eventually Ricky put her back on the ground and said his goodbyes to her before he walked away down the street in the direction of Ray's residence.

Back over with Julian the latter had went over to Alvors house and brought the blacksmith back with him to help fix the wagon. The man was agreeable to help get the broken wagon wheel back to its proper position provided the Breton provided compensation, which Julian did with an amount of 7 gold coins back. In the space of about 10 minutes, with help from Julian to lift the wagon for a bit to allow him to bash and lock the wheel back into place. The job was done.

Having fixed up the wagon Julian thanked Alvor and allowed him to take back Emeric with him to the same stable area Alvors horse inhabited. Just a place the mule could relax and call home during the periods where Julian or the rest of the group didn't need transport anywhere.

Shutting the door behind him the Breton grabbed his current drink which was now two quarters drunk and sat down at the table. Julian would sit contemplatively in silence as his mind strayed into one of his more common thought processes. Trying to brainstorm a way to gain large amounts coin whether through legal or illegal means.

This was an understandable concern of his especially given the expenses with Rickys incident with Mrs Petersons dog and more recently one of the carriages hind wheel. Julian was also starting to run out of coin due to other factors such as weekly tax and food plas beverage purchases on top of what had occurred recently. With no way to replace and make up for the coin that was vanishing day by day, the Breton found himself in a stressful situation which he tried to find a way out of.

To make matters worse his strained mind would become even more frustrated once he heard the repeated knocks suddenly sounding at his door, and the voice that would follow them.

"Hey Julian its me Lucy, I just wanted to let you know that Ricky and me are totally over" Lucy said, her tone weirdly happy for who had decided to break up with her boyfriend. "You should come over, I'm just gonna be at the house getting drunk and you can come by if you want to, I'm gonna have lots of drinks".

Upon hearing this Julian immediately sighed in frustration, " I thought I was past this fucking shit" he grumbled to himself. Julian had thought that Lucys flirtations and attempts to hook up with him were behind her, but now she was back at it because of a small incident, and again he'd start to pay for it once Ricky heard about it.

The Breton would remain silent, hoping eventually Lucy would eventually get tired and go back home, which fortunately for him she would after a few more minutes of flirtatious and not at subtle comments. Her loud footsteps echoing across the surface of his wooden deck, fading away till it could no longer be heard,

As soon as he was sure Lucy was not longer within sight of his home Julian left the house and went in the opposite direction the blond woman walked down. He needed to go to the one person who could give him advice to deal with all that was troubling him.

Lydia looked down at the wheelbarrow which had been turned on its underbelly, its upturned position allowing for her work partner to get a good look at the current damage.

"Well thats no fucking good, the handles all rotted to shit" Bubbles remarked, knowing that the old handle was too rusted and degraded to fix.

The only solution to salvage this wheelbarrow would be replace it with a new one. Bubbles immediately, went to work unscrewing many of the black bolts in the wooden handle and throwing away any which were bent to a bad angle.

As he did that Lydia went to the shed to grab a fresh handle from a collection that Bubbles had personally prepared for any replacement jobs. The Housecarl had become quite adjusted to the various duties and prep work parts of Bubbles semi legit cart business in the short time since she had started in Riverwood.

Her thane was naturally happy to have someone helping him out with fixing these wooden contraptions. It allowing him to split his duties rather than take them all on as he had stressfully done in the past. Allocating certain duties to his employee such as sanding the wood, something which she was currently dong with applying a block of sandstone to the wooden handle surface allowed for his deadlines to be completed with no panic.

Once finished she made her way over to Bubbles who upon taking it from her hands analysed it in order to perform a last minute scan of its length, as well the marked out places to hammer the bolts in. Upon confirming that everything was ready to go Bubbles began to hammer the bolts in while Lydia held the handle steady so it wouldn't slip off.

Once the Imperial had finished this stage of the fix up he stood back to observe the new part he had installed in the wagon. "Looks pretty damn good" Bubbles remarked, pleased with the end result. "Should be good to go".

"What does that make it now" Lydia asked.

"About seven, only five more to go" he replied, thinking of the weeks deadline in cart and container delivery. "We're doing fucking good today".

"Your friend expecting much by the end of the week?" the housecarl inquired, feeling pleased and proud at the amount of progress they were making. Especially given the rate they were going would ensure the promised deadline amount would be done earlier than expected.

"Shitty's wanting a fairly sizable dispatch, but he won't be too fucking worried if its not a large amount" Bubbles responded. "Always sayin he prefers quality over quantity".

Lydia nodded along, "a sound business strategy" she thought in aprroval. Lydia had personally never met the man nicknamed "Shitty Bill" but from what she had learned he was an old friend and business partner of Bubbles. The very elegantly put name originating from a story told to her by the Imperial where Bill had apparently pooped his pants when he was a child.

In adulthood he had created a second hand business in Whiterun which sold fixed up wooden carts, wheelbarrows and other transportable containers. Shitty Bill worked in tandem with Bubbles in order to operate a semi legit but proficient business practice which benefitted them both. The man would retrieve any left over or seemingly broken wooden containers lying around for Bubbles to fix, the Imperial would then bring them back to Shitty Bill to sell.

The coin they made from selling the items would be split into equal shares, Lydia herself now a a minor but third share in the business. It was not a huge payment but it still provided enough for daily living, which she was thankful for. Plus the work helped the Housecarl keep herself busy and productive, the positivity also gained from the fact that she was supporting one of her Thanes in his business.

Due to not being able to fufill her role as a bodyguard due to the lack of enemies, the next best thing for Lydia would be to aid her Thanes in whatever businesses they currently conducted.

As she finished her round of thought Lydia caught sight of Julian walking up onto the property, "hey Bubs, Lydia" the Breton greeted as he strides over to them.

"Hey Julian" Lydia replied alongside Bubbles, the Imperial in a happy mood as he went over to see his friend.

"How are you doing?" Bubbles said.

"Oh you know, just getting through daily life shit" Julian said before moving onto his next point, "listen buddy I need some advice about something".

"Well tell me whats been bothering ya" Bubbles replied.

The Breton then explained his current situation with Lucy apparently having broken up with Ricky and now back to making uncomfortable attempts to sleep with him. As Lydia listened in she found herself disgusted by Lucys actions. She had known upon interacting with the Lucy in their first meeting that she was unpleasant person.

Immediately she was expressing her dislike and jealousy by threatening the housecarl to stay away from Ricky. From it Lucy showed how spiteful she could be even though Lydia had been nothing but polite and cordial to her. Even after she had explained that she had no romantic interest in the Dragonborn Lucy continued to be petty and distrusting. Throwing derogatory jabs at her to the point that she was close to considering breaking the latters nose, had Bubbles and Julian not stepped in.

She cursed herself mentally afterwards, feeling embarassment at not having more restraint and professionalism a housecarl should have in the particular situation. It didn't help however that her thanes so called beloved Lucy was a hypocritical and selfish indvidual. Despite how faithful Ricky was to Lucy the woman was anything but. In times where she was not getting her way, she would try and sometimes successfully cheat on him with single or even married men in Riverwood. The Housecarl had even seen her unsucessfully attempt to drunkenly flirt with the Mill owners brother.

And now she was stooping as low as try to sleep with her former beloveds best friends, mere hours after they broke up. As if she could get any worse.

Coming back to it looked like Julian had wrapped up his explanation to Bubbles who now looked deep in thought.

"What should I do?" Julian asked.

The Imperial hummed as if in trying to concentrate on a particular memory, "well I think I got the answer to your problem" Bubbles said.

"What do you have in mind?" Julian queried, eager to hear what advice his friend had to offer.

"Well… I don't remember what fucking book it was from or who said it but I fuck'n remember an ancient figure from back in the day who said it was okay to lie if its benefits the cause of the people" Bubbles explained. "Cocksucker thought of it as a noble lie… so you have to lie to Lucy Julian, otherwise she won't leave you alone".

"You think its the best approach?" Julian asked, wanting to know more before he followed through with the advice given.

"The way I see it its your best play" Bubbles answered, "besides Ricky and Lucy love each other, its not gonna hurt anybody".

"If you could call it 'love' " Lydia thought, to her it mostly seemed in Lucys case to be sexual attraction.

"Alright I'll see if I can get the two of them on board" Julian said, declaring his intentions. "Thanks for your help buddy" he added in a grateful tone.

"Anytime Julian" Bubbles replied with a smile before wishing him good luck as the Breton turned to leave the property and head towards Lucy's place.

Noticing the housecarls gazing off in Julians direction he then turned his attention back to Lydia, "your welcome to go after him if you want, I have feeling Julians gonna need all the help he can get".

"Are you sure?, won't you need my help with finishing the carts?" Lydia replied, wanting to help out the Breton but conflicted over whether or not to get her other thanes current assigned work done first.

"Nah I should be able to get these last ones done in no time" Bubbles assured. "besides it'll do ya some good to be away from carts for a bit.

The housecarl stood in contemplation for a bit before coming to a decision. "Very well" Lydia said reluctantly as she gathered up her weapons and gear before fast walking after Julian in the direction he had left in.

Julian was about halfway to Lucys house when Lydia caught up to him, the Housecarl stating that she wanted to help him today with his plan concerning Lucy and Ricky. He asked if she was alright with aiding his scheme to end the twos current breakup. Knowing her stronger inclination towards honesty and more honourable virtues, Julian didn't want her to go through with something she didn't want to do.

Despite her obvious conflicting feelings about it Lydia agreed to help him, believing it her duty to help one of her thanes (Ricky) in a bad situation. Julian then thanked her for helping him and slightly raised her guilty self by reminding Lydia that the tweaks of manipulation were for a good cause.

The pair then made their way over to Lucy's house, the Breton taking the lead as he made his way onto the front deck and knocked on the door.

8 seconds would pass before the door swung open and an obivious tipsy and swaying Lucy stepped out. "Julian, what a surprise!" she giggled, though her drunken joy would evaporate as she locked eyes with Lydia. "Oh and I see you brought Lydia with you" She grumbled.

"Lucy" Lydia greeted with a frown on her face as she locked glares with the blond woman.

"Hey Luce I need to talk to you about something, can I come on in?" Julian said as he looked up expectedly at Lucy.

"Sure, make yourself home" Lucy drawled as she welcomed him into the home, whilst completely ignoring Lydia who walked in behind him into the house.

Upon walking into the living room Julian was instantly greeted by a small figure who looked joyful to see the both of them. "Hey Julian" Trinity said as she ran up to give Julian a hug, one which he gladly returned.

"Hey Trinity, how have you been?" Julian replied.

"Its been really really boring lately without dad in the house" the little girl admitted, her boredom incredibly evident in the bogged out expression she wore.

"Well thats kinda why I'm here, I gotta sort something with your mother" Julian added, walking over to the table where Lucy had taken a seat at.

Trinity meanwhile made her way over to Lydia whose stone faced expression altered to that of one that contained a small but noticeable smile at seeing the very friendly and bubbly child again. If there was one thing that made Lucy's presence tolerable it was her daughter Trinity who brightened the day of many who interacted with her.

"Hey Lydia, its good to see you" Trinity greeted, "have you guys gone on any more adventures lately?" she added with adorable curiosity.

"None at the moment" Lydia revealed much to Trinity disappointment," but if we do go on another, I'll be sure to tell you all about it little one" she added, lifting the girls joy.

"Thanks Lydia, I can't wait!" she said in very enthusiastic voice, "its sucks that you haven't been able to come over sooner".

"Yes, unfortunately certain things have prevented me from being able to come here" Lydia replied, giving a momentary glance towards Lucy who was conversing with Julian over at the table.

At the current moment Julian was current enacting his plot and trying to convince Lucy. "He loves you guys so much, you know that right?" the Breton stated though it did not seem to get through to her.

"Why are we talking about Ricky?" Lucy smiled deviously, not in the mood to discuss her partner as she put her hand on Julians shoulder. "Why are we talking about anything?" she added with a seductive expression, one that immediately made Julian all more uncomfortable.

"Look Lucy I wasn't supposed to tell you this" Julian said, building tension as he progressed towards the main goal of his plan . "But Ricky told me that he was gonna ask you to marry him at the picnic".

Upon hearing this Lucy immediately snorted in disbelief, "no I'm being serious, thats why he was so upset" Julian said hoping it would help edge her closer to being convinced.

"Really?, hes gonna ask me to marry him?" Lucy quipped, feeling somewhat agitated.

"You should give him another chance" Julian responded.

Lucy face contorted into one of puzzlement before finally morphing into one that displayed extreme irritation, "you're lying" she accused.

"Lucy I'm-"

"You know how I know your lying because she's in the fucking house" Lucy spat, pointing an a accusatory finger at the housecarl who looked at her with confusion.

"Lucy, Lucy she's got nothing to do with this, I'm trying to tell the truth" Julian lied, trying to calm the agitated woman down.

"Don't Lucy me, I know what the fuck your doing?" shot the blond woman. "You two banging huh?, working together to make a little of bit family drama to get rid of me and Trinity" Lucy said in a case of irrational anger that left both the Lydia and Julian in a confused state.

"Lucy I'm not lying" Julian said, trying reassure by putting a hand on her shoulder. Something which would fail immensely with Lucy smacking his hand off.

"Get your hand off me" Lucy snarled, "if your not lying then tell me why isn't Ricky on his knees right now, begging for my hand in marriage" she furiously retorted. When neither of them gave an answer she shook her head, "no reason because its not true, I'll believe it when I see it".

Once Julian had heard the admission made by Lucy he felt immediate satisfaction that he had achieved the first half of his main objective.

"Alright if thats what you wanna believe I'll respect" Julian replied, showing that he wanted to end the argument.

"Good, now kindly get the fuck out of my house" Lucy threatened in a harsh tone as she eyed him angrily

Knowing he had overstayed his welcome the Breton turned to Lydia, "c'mon lets get going" Julian said as he got out of his chair and walked out of the living room with the Housecarl following behind.

"Bye Julian, bye Lydia!" Trinity farewelled behind them, the two sent their goodbyes back just as they walked out the front door and shut it behind them.

The pair walked down the street until they were out of sight of the building, "hope that wasn't too shitty for you" Julian said in a guilty tone to Lydia.

"Its fine" Lydia responded, wanting to put duty before her current personal feelings. "I assume you managed to achieve what you were looking far?" the housecarl inquired.

"Yeah, all I have to do now is convince Ricky to go through with" Julian said, declaring his intentions for the next half of his plan. "And that might not be easy…".

The two would eventually find Ricky, albeit in a way that made things more complicated. The Nord plus his dad Ray were currently seated in wooden chairs in the middle of the street, all the while arguing fiercely with Lahey and Randy beside a wooden container of alcoholic drinks.

"You guys can't be sitting in the middle of the road like this, its against village law!" Randy reprimanded, snatching the bottle of alcohol from Rickys hand.

"Give me that fucking drink back, Randy ya fuck'n prick!" Ricky growled as he tried to force the drink back though the big bellied Breton fought back against him. Ricky found himself close to personally unleashing a shout on the associate supervisor, had Julian not decided to intervene.

"Guys break it up!" Julian said as he stepped between Randy and Ricky, allowing the latter to keep ahold of the beer.

"You give me that mead back!" Ricky yelled as he tried to charge at Randy, Lydia and Julian barely holding him back.

"Ricky shut up!" the Breton ordered, holding him steady alongside the housecarl till Ricky would stop struggling against them.

"This is drunk and disorderly!" Lahey chastised.

"You owe me a new thing of mead, you asshole!" Ricky shot back furiously, jabbing a accusing finger at the elder supervisor.

"Ricky, Ricky would you just stop it!" Julian said, as he forced the Nord to a halt regarding his efforts to agitate the supervisor trio.

"I cannot believe how stupid these guys are" Lahey sneered, earning him the attention of an irritated Julian who was not letting him off the hook. "Like father, like stupid son".

"Lahey shut up!, just get him off the street!" Julian admonished angrily, pointing at Ray who continued to be seated. Ricky not being a problem in his mind due to him being taken care of.

"We've been trying to get him off the damn street!" the old supervisor responded.

"Well get him out of here" Julian demanded Lahey before turning his attention to Randy who was trying to get up in his face. "Go supervise at lawn or something you greasy bastard" the Breton insulted as he shoved Randy away from him.

"Hey Lahey you want a smoke, cause I got one right fucking here for you" Ricky mocked as he made an inappropriate gesture with his crotch.

"You got one joke in your resitory, do ya Ricky?" Lahey retorted in a agitated tone.

"You owe a drink, and you owe me a drink you assholes!" Ricky commented in a hotheaded manner as Julian and Lydia lead him away from the situation.

"Come on Randy" Lahey said to his younger partner as he got him to help him move Ray and the leftover alcoholic bottles plus container off the street.

"Don't you have some hogs to fuck?!" Ricky yelled mockingly, catching the attention of Randy who stood facing him with the wooden container in his hands.

"What?" Randy replied in complete confusion.

"Fuck off!" Ricky responded before being pulled away from where he stood by the housecarl and Julian.

"C'mon Rick I gotta talk to you about something important, all right?" Julian said, urging the man to walk with him.

"What are you gonna talk about?" Ricky queried, curious as to why Julian was so immediate about conversing with him.

"I'll explain it" the Breton responded, "I got the answer to your current problem" he added with a promising point.

"And what the fucks that Julian?" Ricky quipped, both intrigued and somewhat distrustful of whatever thing the man was gonna propose to him. Hopefully in his opinion something that wasn't going to condescending or aggravating.

"Well I'll say it to ya, you know what you gotta do to stop this current shit with Lucy" Julian explained, surprisingly capturing all of Rickys attention. "You gotta ask her to marry you".

Ricky looked at him in shock, having not expected such a suggestion let alone one from his best friend. "What are you talking about, I've got not much coin" the Nord retorted, showcasing his hesitance on the matter of marriage. "Besides I'm not really in any rush to fucking marry Lucy" he added. "Whats the big deal anyway, why do you give a shit?".

"All right I didn't want to tell you this, okay?" Julian replied, launching off his convincing fabrication. "But the reason you guys relationship keeps falling apart is cause you haven't done the knot in" he lied to the even now more befuddled man.

All the while Lydia kept her eyes gaze in the distance and away from the current situation, feeling guilty about the fact that Ricky was being lied to by another one of her thanes. She knew it was for a good reason that was not meant to cause harm but it still was not a nice feeling maintaining Julians current dishonesty.

"What the fuck are you going on about?" Ricky shot, not believing the so called reasoning Julian was stating about the failures of his past relationships. "You don't know what the fuck your talking about".

"No Ricky, you guys have been on and off for 8 years, you've got a child together" Julian explained, using half truths to weave a convincing narrative that seemed to slowly working on Ricky. "You two haven't taken the next step, thats the reason for all your problems" he added, finishing his deceptive explanation.

The Nords facial expression shifted as he took on a look that signified that he was accepting what Julian was telling, "I don't know man, maybe your right" Ricky said as he started to grasp the concept of marrying Lucy. "But how the fuck am I even gonna pay for the fucking marriage and everything?".

"You leave that to me Rick, we'll see if we can sort something with Levi" Julian answered, inwardly feeling glad that everything was going to plan now that he at last had Ricky following it. Though now it all relied upon whether Levi would help and that would be entirely on chance due to past difficulties caused by his friend.

"Well then what we are we waiting for, lets get the fuck going to Levi's" Ricky said incredibly eager to get going. The Nord absolutely excited of the thought of finally having a near perfect relationship with Lucy that would never again be troubled by complications.

"Relax Ricky we are gonna go, we just gotta go get Emeric from the stable" Julian said as he gestured for Lydia and Ricky to follow him to Alvors place. The trio made their way over to the blacksmiths house.

From there they collected Emeric from the small fenced paddock like area at the back of the house. They then with Julian leading the horse by rope went back to Julians house where the wagon still sat in front. Reattaching the horse by lead back to the carriages frame the transport was now set to take off towards their destination.

With that said the 3 climbed into the wooden vehicle, with Julian taking the drivers seat. The responsibility being his both due to it being his animal that he bought and that he preferred himself as a driver compared to Ricky. Julian then got the wagon started and with that the mobile transport sped off through the village. Soon emerging out of the wooden structures and back out into the forest, the carriage made its way towards Lakeview manor.

Meanwhile in the village Bubbles continued to fixate on his current task, that being a wheel on a wooden cart that was in midst of being reattached. As he worked on completing the final movable container the Imperial was unaware of the individual approaching the yard he was working in.

Hearing the gate groan as it swung open and then finally slammed shut again with a loud creak would finally gain Bubbles attention. He looked up to see a mid 20s long blond haired Nord stop some feet away from. Upon seeing his face the Imperial recognised him as the Sven, the bard who played music down at the Riverwood tavern.

"Good day Bubble's" Sven greeted with a nod of his head.

"Oh hey Sven, how are you doin?" Bubbles replied back, feeling rather awkward. Truth be told he didn't know the man too well and had only had few quick interactions with the bard in the past, so to see Sven approach him out of the blue was very surprising.

"Well enough" Sven answered back as he walked to the right of Bubbles before turning back to face. "Say you don't mind if I make a request of you, do you Bubbles?" the Nord bard queried with an odd look in his eyes.

"Uh, I guess" the Imperial shrugged, awkwardly noticing the changing vibe of the current conversation between him and the strangely eager Nord.

"Your friends with Camilla Valerius, right?" Sven asked with a look that seemed to gouging Bubbles face for answers.

"Yeah me and her are good friends, why do you ask?" Bubbles inquired, feeling some concern pop up in his head as he saw Svens high interest in Camilla.

"Well I was hoping you might give her this letter" Sven said, pulling a piece of written parchment of his pocket. "Tell her its from Faendal".

Taking it from his hands Bubbles carefully read the letter which 'allegedly' came from Faendal, Riverwoods hunter of the forest. To his disgust the contents of the letter seemed to only contain venomous nonsense that spouted racial prejudice and superior high elf pureblood garbage, all aimed in derogatory stance against Camilla.

There was also something off with the written letter, not once did the writing actually match the tone that the Imperial knew Faendal possessed. Bubbles had admittedly had a bad history with Faendal, the Bosmer elf hunter having once nearly killed one of Bubbles cats with an arrow. Despite a amazing recovery the poor cat would never be the same again and from then on the Imperial had a vendetta against the hunter. Not entirely unreasonable given how arrogantly the hunter had acted without apology in claiming it as a hunting accident and blaming his cat for getting in the way.

However much of an asshole he was Bubbles knew it was out of character for him to act and talk like the racist bigoted Thalmor of the oppressive Dominion. Which was why he immediately came to the realisation that the dodgy Sven was trying to use him.

"Well I'll best let you get to it" Sven said as he wrapped up his instructions, turning to leave as he did.

"Hold the fuck up, what is this line of bullshit yer trying to sell me" Bubbles growled, causing Sven to halt and turn to face him with an anxious look.

"Ex-cuse me?" Sven queried in a shifty manner with his eyes.

"You heard me what the fuck are you trying to do?" the Imperial inquired with a fierce glare, " trying to feed me a load of fucking horse shit".

"Bubbles I don't understand what your talking about?" Sven lied, though it was a very weak fascade that the mage saw right through.

"Don't even try fuck'n lie to me I can see right through your fucking bullshit" Bubbles jeered, "tell me what the fuck your trying to do Sven?".

"Bubbles I don't know a thing of what your talking about?" Sven again fibbed much to the aggravation of Bubbles who now realised he had to take a more dramatic measure.

"You know what if your so fucking innocent, then you don't mind me burning this fuck'n letter do ya" Bubbles said as he activated a flame spell in his other hand.

"Wait, wait!, STOP!" Sven begged, immediately giving the jig up the moment he saw his plan was about to be undone. "Alright what do you want to know?".

"Well for starters tell me why the fuck your doing this?" Bubbles angrily questioned, deactivating his flame spell as he did. "Why the fuck are you trying to fuck'n use me".

"Look I wasn't trying to cause any issues with you personally" the Nord bard replied, "I just needed someone close to Camilla to give the letter to her".

"So the fuck did you need me to give her the letter?" Bubbles inquired with a narrowed gaze, wanting hear Svens motive behind his current shadiness.

Sven released a sigh as he began to explain, " Faendal has been spending a lot of time with Camilla at the trader, no doubt vying for affections by sneaking over to chat her up". "That elf is kidding himself if he thinks she would choose him over me, I'm the best man in Riverwood" the bard jealously sneered with a false degree of confidence. "But back to the main point I couldn't take my chances that they could become little more than friends so I decided to make a letter that would destroy what connection they had".

"So thats why you lied to me and nearly fooled me into yer fuck'n shitty scheme, all because of fucking jealousy!" Bubbles snapped back. Feeling angry not just at the fact that he had nearly been manipulated in being part of a scheme but that he had nearly unwittingly manipulated a good friend for idiotic reasons.

"Yes yes, now are you still going to help or not" Sven replied in a grumpy tone much to Bubbles disbelief, bewildered that he would still make demands.

"You still believe I'm gonna help you after what you just fucking admitted to, your fucked!" Bubbles snapped in aggravation.

"C'mon Bubbles think bigger, this could be your chance to get back at Faendal for what he did" Sven responded, taking on a manipulative tone as he tried to use the past incident to his advantage. "Do you really want Camilla to date the uncaring prick who shot your cat, doesn't she deserve better than that" the Bard added as he saw the emotions conflicted in the Imperials head.

Bubbles wanted to respond with a hostile verbal reply but found himself unable to with thought process at war with one another. As annoying as it sounded Sven may in the Imperials opinion be right about Faendal.

Seeing the conflict in Bubbles expression Sven made his final remark, "think it over Bubbles" he said before turning and leaving the property. The gate clanging as it was forced open and then quickly shut up again.

Still standing in place Bubbles mindscape was one of inner turmoil with his inner angels and demons fighting over influence over this decision which struggled to reach a climatic end result. The Imperial did not want to give into the dickheads demands but at the same time he did not find himself comfortable with Camilla starting a relationship. He also found himself kept going back to the noble lie he proposed to Julian earlier, one he spoke of as being for the betterment of people in reuniting them.

His demons argued this could be an honourable lie as well, one that could be used to sway Camilla in a more positive direction than dating Faendal. Though his angels reiterated that would make him a hypocrite given this would be nothing like what he had spoke of. Instead of using a half truth to reunite lovers it would this time be harmful manipulation that could emotionally damage Camilla by poisoning her against someone she had previously had a friendship with. The points and truths in mind both countered one another and challenged the other in a way where none could win.

For 20 minutes his mind would remain a war zone till finally an unspoken truce emerged as a solution finally presented itself to him. One that he didn't necessarily like. For him to resolve this situation he would have to talk to Faendal. But Bubbles knew that it would be best to hear out both sides of the story.

A couple hours later the carriage containing a certain trio of individuals had arrived at the property of lakeview manor. Julian carefully parking the carriage up against the rockface of a hillside, just next to a couple ore veins. Once the wooden vehicle was parked well enough the 3 hopped out and made their way over to the massive households front door.

Julian gave a few knocks on the door as he, Lydia and Ricky waited to be greeted by whoever would come to the door frame.

Eventually the door swung open and a certain Redguard housecarl stood in the door frame with a small but noticeable smile on her face. "Julian, Ricky, its awfully nice for you two to swing by" Rayya remarked with a intrigued expression, no doubt curious towards the reasoning of their current visit.

"Hey Rayya" Julian greeted with a nod.

"How've ya been?" Ricky added.

"Oh nothing out of the ordinary, just attending to regular duties and fending off the occasional feral animal that wanders through here" Rayya replied with a honest answer, turning her gaze to meet the third person alongside the two. "I see you brought a friend with you".

"This is Lydia, shes our friend, and housecarl" Julian said, introducing Lydia who nodded her head sternly at the other housecarl.

"You two have a housecarl?" Rayya remarked with an amused smirk, "I never thought I'd see the day". The Redguard women then held her hand out to Lydia as gesture to shake hands, to which the latter would accept. "Its nice to meet you Lydia" she greeted with a honest smile on her face.

"Likewise" Lydia returned .

Upon finishing up her introductions the housecarl the turned to face Ricky and Julian, "well I'll let you in, they're just up on the outside higher deck" she said while gesturing for the 3 to follow her through the front door.

Entering the wooden house the trio instantly felt the warmth of the place flood in, especially once the door slammed shut and the heat became insulated all around them. The group followed behind the housecarl who lead them into the living room and up several flights of stairs that went up to the second level of the manor.

Eventually the group led by Rayya found themselves at a wooden door at the end of the second floor corridor, opening it the four found themselves back in the outside air on a large wooden balcony. At one end of the balcony stood a large wooden table at which Levi and Desiree could be seen drinking glasses of alto wine.

Upon hearing the trio lead by Rayya walk over to the table the Redguard couple turned to address the group.

"Hello boys, its good to see ya" Levi greeted with a hearty tone as he jumped up to give Julian a hug and then shook Rickys hand after.

"Hi Julian" Desiree said with a warm smile on her face as she gave Julian a hug and a kiss on the cheek before greeting Ricky, "hi Ricky".

"Hey Des" the Nord replied back with a gesture of his hand.

Julian noticing the couples eyes turn to Lydia decided to set up the introduction between them, "Levi, Des this is Lydia" the Breton said as he motioned to the housecarl who gave a nod of greeting towards the pair.

"Hello dear" Desiree said with a welcoming expression.

"You never tell me you had a housecarl?" Levi queried to Julian who shrugged back, the Redguard man then walked over to Lydia. "Well its interesting to meet ya Lydia, I'm sure Julians told you somewhat about me" Levi greeted as he gestured to shake hands, Lydia reciprocating the gesture as she shook hands with him.

"A fair bit" Lydia responded with a honest answer.

"Good or bad?" Levi joked.

Feeling uncertain about what to reply in regards to her fears about upsetting the current host of the manor the housecarl gave a more positive response. "Most of a good nature".

Hearing this Levi gave a small well hearted laugh, "this ones modest" he said as he looked at Julian who gave a small smile back. "I like you Lydia" Levi said before turning back to face before walking back over to his seat.

"So tell me" Levi commented as he sat back down into his chair, "how in the name fucking Ruptga did you two get a housecarl?". His question would be answered by a certain Nord standing across from him.

"Well long story short me, Julian and Bubbles saved Whiterun from getting fucking destroyed by killing some fucked up dragon called Mirmulnir" Ricky explained as he went into summary mode. "After that Jarl Balgruuf gave her to us as a 'housecall' as thanks for doing all that shit" he added finishing the tale.

To say he would gain quite a reaction from his audience would be understated, Rayya and Desiree appeared to have flabbergasted while Levi looked to have an unreadable expression his face.

"Hmmm, so I'm guessing one of you boys is the Dragonborn?" the Redguard man inquired with a narrowed expression on his face.

"Yeah thats me, how'd you fuck'n know?" Ricky queried with curiosity towards what Levi had to say.

"News gets around fast about the crazy shit thats been happening in Skyrim, especially about the return of old legends" Levi answered. "To think you of all people is the Dragonborn" he said shaking his head in disbelief, "you really don't know what you've been given".

"Yeah man its awesome, I've got these new shout powers that me blast shit and run fast, its fuck'n amazing!" Ricky explained, hyping his new abilities.

"You have no idea" the Redguard repeated towards the Nords seemingly obliviousness. "So tell me what brought you two up here to Falkreath?" Levi said, changing the conversation.

Julian took a glance at Ricky before he provided the man with his answer, "well Ricky here wanted to ask you a favor".

"I know you ain't gonna ask me for no coins now boy" Levi joked with a small laugh toward the Nord.

"No Levi I'm not asking for you coins, the thing is I'm looking for a job here" Ricky explained, the serious demeanour he displayed instantly ending the Redguards amusement towards what he thought was a joke. "I want to marry Lucy".

"He was hoping you could set up something for him, maybe get him working somewhere in Whiterun or Falkreath" Julian added, hoping to convince the currently contemplative Levi who appeared to a deep frown on his face.

"Do you remember what happened last time?" Levi said in accusing tone, reminding the Nord of a certain past incident that caused the Redguard trouble.

"Levi look, I haven't drank and drive in two years alright, I'm sorry alright" Ricky replied, attempting to apologise to Levi who found himself annoyed at the current excuse. "If I could go back in time I would, its one of those things you do when your young, your stupid" he added in a emphasising manner. "You have a couple of drinks, next thing you know your in a carriage smashing into things and falling into a fuck'n creek, it was an accident.

As Ricky continued to plead his case to Levi Lydia who stood by the side turned to Rayya."If I may ask what exactly transpired with Ricky?" she asked.

"Well Levi employed Ricky 7 years ago as a cargo carriage driver" Rayya explained. "Something he seemed to have a reasonable handling with until…" she added, trailing off as she awkwardly regretted what she would reveal next.

"Until?" Lydia queried.

" Ricky showed up on the job one day completely intoxicated and high on drugs, decided to show off the carriage to the locals via reckless use of the transport" the Redguard housecarl said to Lydia, enthralling her in the tale. "Something went wrong with the carriage and it spun out of control, detaching from the horse and crashing through a residents property before ending up in a creek" Rayya continued. "His accident would result in much of the cargo being lost alongside the wreckage of several owned areas of built on land".

Lydia found herself gaping upon hearing the extent of the destruction caused by Ricky. "My word that sounds like…. quite a large incident" she replied while cringing at the thought of being responsible for such a concerning amount of damage. Especially in regards to what repercussions it would have reputation wise.

"Indeed, it was also one of the most angriest states I'd ever seen Levi in" the housecarl stated, "not that I don't blame him with all the expensive shit he had to pay off and personally apologies he had to make thanks to Rickys antics" Rayya added in a tone of sympathy towards her thane.

The two then turned their attention back to the current conversation on the other side of the room where Ricky continued his one sided appeal to Levi.

"Look I'm not gonna screw up again like last time, I fucking promise ya that" Ricky begged.

"Okay Ricky, now you really want to get your life turned around?" Desiree said, gaging his current expression to see if he was genuine regarding what he was asking for.

"Yes thats why I'm here, I want to get married to Lucy, and our family can fucking live happily ever" the Nord exclaimed in a hopeful fashion. "I'll get a real job, grow some dope-".

"Are you gonna work hard at that job?" Desiree quizzed.

"Yeah" Ricky answered with a determined tone before turning his attention back to Levi, "I swear to the divines Levi I would not come here and ask this unless I had changed".

Unfortunately Levi had become sick of Rickys continued spiel of excuses and decided to make his stance permanently clear. "I'm not an idiot" the Redguard stated to Ricky.

"I never said you were" Ricky responded.

"I'm a big fucking man, and your trying to come here to ask me to do you a favour and your lying to me" Levi ranted in a speech like manner before shaking his hand dismissively at him. "Get out of here".

"Levi-".

"Get out of here".

Upon realising that he would get no where with Levi in getting a job Ricky turned to Julian with a scowl, "I knew this was a stupid idea you dick" he shot with a glare.

"Well your acting stupid again Ricky, thats why" Julian responded back with a harsh reprimand.

"I just don't know how to express myself sometimes when I need to properly different" Ricky retaliated in frustration.

In response Julian shook his head in irritation before turning to face Levi, "is there really nothing that you can do for Ricky?" the Breton inquired.

"My positions made, I ain't giving him a second chance" Levi responded, firm in stance though sympathetic towards foster son trying to help out his friend.

Whilst Julian kept trying his best efforts to persuade Levi, Rayya and Lydia had also begun to converse among themselves again.

"I suppose you three will be leaving soon" Rayya noted as she watched the interactions between Levi and Julian, knowing its very clear end result.

"Seems like it" Lydia replied, finding herself in agreement with the Redguard housecarl.

"You know I never asked but whats it like being Ricky and Julians housecarl?" Rayya asked with much curiosity evident in her tone.

"Well to phrase it best, its certainly been unique having them alongside their friend Bubbles as thanes" the Nord housecarl admitted with some honesty regarding her views of Ricky and Julian.

At this Rayya gave a small chuckle before responding back, "fair answer, I can't imagine how tiring it must be to look after those three".

"I never expected any of this" Lydia said with a heavy tone, "growing up I worked incredibly hard to reach where I was in the jarls household, I always thought I'd wind up being the housecarl to a rich noble or lord". Rayya listened intently with a supportive expression, understanding exactly where she was coming from.

"When Jarl Balgruuf told me I would be the housecarl of the warriors who saved the city from a dragon I was astounded, an incredible blessing I later believed I was granted in serving such honourable men" the Housecarl stated, recalling her past feelings of the matter. "I never imagined the ones I would be bound to would be anything like them" she added, gesturing at Ricky standing at the side and Julian who was still arguing with Levi.

"You can never be prepared for everything" Rayya said, somewhat speaking from experience.

"They're different than anything I could ever have imagined, the complete opposite of most people of proper stature I had known" Lydia said, thinking of their lack of formality, self awareness of words/actions and not to mention their 'criminal habits' compared to the other lieges served by her fellow housecarls. She even questioned their sanity sometimes given the sort of things she heard Ricky had done when it came to his lack of emotional restraint and unhygienic habits.

"Admittedly they also possessed honourable qualities such as loyalty to one another and kindness to those who deserve it" she said fondly of the trios positive side. "It was shock when they befriended me, I'd never thought I'd have a personal relationship with well anyone really" she confessed. "They've changed everything I thought I knew and prepared for, its all so confusing now" Lydia finished as she looked out at the sky with a troubled expression

Rayya met her gaze with one of certain understanding. I can't claim to fully understand how you feel, hell I probably had it a little easier with Levi" Rayya said, " but I do know this, nothing is ever constant, life is ever changing and most things are never simply absolute black or white when it comes to who we are". "I believe the best choice you make is the one which feels right in your heart"

Upon hearing this Lydia found herself falling into deep pondering around the advice given from the more experienced housecarl, words said that had somewhat altered her view of things.

She would be brought out of her mulling by Ricky and Julian who made their way over to her.

"Hey Lydia, we're gonna head off now" the Breton informed the housecarl.

"Alright" she replied back with a nod.

"Well I'm sorry things didn't work out for you" Rayya said to the pair in a sympathetic manner.

"Its all good, we'll see if we can find something in Whiterun" Julian responded in a determined, already having an idea in mind which might work.

"Oh, well best of luck to you" said the housecarl.

"Thanks, see you Rayya" Julian said as a farewell with Ricky and Lydia following after.

"Farewell and may the divines watch over you" she said replied.

The trio then said their goodbyes to Levi and Desiree before making their way back down through the home and out the front door. Making their way over to the parked carriage the group immediately climbed in and got the wooden transport going again on the road. Disembarking and travelling towards the city of Whiterun where Julian hoped would allow him to have the means to get Ricky a ring to propose with.

Over in Riverwood Bubbles had been searching for Faendel but did not seem to have any luck in locating the elf at all. He did not appear to be at his residence nor was he anywhere to be found in Riverwood. Frustrated the Imperial had nearly decided to give up when by miracle Faendel could be seen walking through the village entrance, with several dead rabbits slung over his shoulder.

Urgently needing to speak to the latter Bubbles rushed up to him, "hey Faendel!" he called out, catching the High elf hunters attention.

Seeing Bubbles approach him rapidly Faendel let out a sigh, "look Bubbles if this is about your cat again I've already told you about a fucking million times-"

"This ain't about that you dick, this is about something else" Bubbles responded with a harsh tone.

"Bubbles wanting to talk about something other than his annoying little furballs, well this certainly is news" the high elf hunter mocked, "very well what is it you wanna talk to me about".

"Whats the fucks going on with you and Sven?" Bubbles asked with a narrowed expression.

"Oh him" Faendel spat in contempt, "well I don't know what you've heard about that so called bard but he thinks his ballads and songs are enough to convince Camilla Valerius to marry him" he addingly sneered. "As if she would say 'yes', an intelligent beautiful woman like her wouldn't fall such nonsense… I hope".

"So you got the same jealous fuck'n obsession he does" the Imperial remarked as he found himself finding Svens paranoia the exact same.

"Sven thinks that lowly of me too" Faendel said in annoyance, "figures he would try to take her away from me, but what exactly did he say to you?" he questioned with a glare.

"Just the same shit your already saying, thinking your gonna win her over" Bubbles summarised, "he gave me a letter full of fuck'n lies to give to Camila so she would hate you.

"And well… did you give her Svens stupid letter?" the wood elf questioned with a furious expression, one giving away his inner fury towards his rival upon hearing the latters intention.

"Fuck no I was never planning on lying to my friend, I just had to talk to you before I made any decision" Bubbles responded somewhat honestly, relieving the Bosmer instantly.

"Then you made the right choice" Faendel said in a smug tone, "you know I've been thinking" he added ominously. "Maybe Camilla needs to see Sven for what he is".

"The fuck do you mean by that?" the Imperial inquired, not at all liking where this was going.

"Could you… could you give her this letter and say its from Sven" Faendel requested, holding out a piece of written parchment. "I think I've matched the Nords lack of cleverness".

Upon hearing this and snatching up the letter Bubbles became both enraged and shocked at now being stuck in the same familiar situation twice, "COCKSUCKER!, YOU GOTTA BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!".

"What, what is it?" Faendel asked, startled by the Imperials anger.

"'What is it?', I'll tell ya what it fucking is" Bubbles growled, "you trying to pull the same lying bullshit Sven was trying to do!".

"How is it the same" Faendel defended hypocritically, his feelings for Camilla blinding his rationality.

"You both are trying to use fucking words on paper to fuck over each others chances with Camilla" Bubbles sneered in anger, "using me as a fucking courier!".

"Bubbles I promise you it is for the betterment of her" Faendel said with a not at all convincing voice.

"Yeah right for her, you don't give a flying fuck about anyones feelings except yourself" the Imperial shot angrily at the now irritated Faendel.

"Whatever, are you gonna do this or what?" Faendel asked in the same impatient tone Sven had used a few hours back.

"What the fuck makes ya think I'll do it?" Bubbles snapped.

"Oh I don't know probably the fact that if you don't things will get really shit for you in the future" the wood elf threatened.

"What the fuck you sayin Faendel" Bubbles said, barely restraining himself from viciously assaulting the latter as he thought of his kitties whose vulnerable state he worried about.

"Oh nothing Bubbles just a little warning to make sure you do the right thing" Faendel said with a smirk as he projected the aura of a douchebag.

"Get the fuck out of here" the Imperial said in disgust as he stared at the now aggravated Bosmer in fury.

"Gladly, I've had enough of your wonderful presence for the day" Faendel mockingly replied as he walked away down the street. "Remember what I said!" he yelled back once he made a considerable distance.

"Just get going you fucking pissrat!" Bubbles threatened with his fist, causing a slight pace to build in the Bosmer hunters walk as he vanished down the street.

The Imperial wanted nothing more than to beat the living daylights out of that selfish arse but knew deep down beneath the irrational anger that it would not achieve anything. It may drive a wedge between him and Camilla if she heard about him beating up a friend of hers for no reason. That would not solve anything about the situation and would only satisfy one side of the conflict which he disliked as much as the other.

No, the only way to solve this situation he had been roped into was for the truth to be told to the person who needed to hear it the most. And Bubbles intended to tell her everything.

Meanwhile back with a certain trio the Nord and Breton plus the Housecarl had finally arrived in the city of Whiterun. Parking the carriage over by the main line of transports the 3 made their way over to the particular destination Julian had in mind. The Whiterun treasury. Arriving at the doors large 3 storied, multiple room wooden building complex the group made sure to talk over what they would do before they walked over.

The goal was to get a coin loan which would cover the payment that Ricky intended to use to pay for a ring for Lucy. With this ingrained the trio made their way through the double doored entrance and into a large semi crowded room filled with a mixture of citizens, treasury workers and various Whiterun guards. They would wait in a small line for a bit before they arrived at a wooden table where a Nord with long brown hair and several sideburns sat.

"Yes?" the man asked with a somewhat tired tone.

"We're here to see if we can get a loan from the treasury" Julian explained to the Nord who nodded as he took in the information.

"Alright I'll see what I can do" the Nord as he walked off towards one of the doors on the back wall, opening and closing it behind him as went to perform his duty.

It would be several minutes before the Nord returned with a Breton in more fashionable clothing, the Treasury owner looking more lively than his counterpart.

"Which one of is looking to get a coin loan?" the Breton inquired with a smile.

"That'd be me" Ricky piped up, eager to get this done.

"Very well, follow me to my quarters and we'll discuss this further" the treasury owner said as he gestured to follow him. Julian and Lydia walked up to Ricky when the man made a motion with his hands. "Just him".

Turning to Ricky Julian looked at him with concern, "you sure you got this".

"Yeah man, you don't gotta fuck'n worry" the Nord reassured as he made his way over to the Breton who lead him over to one of the back rooms.

As they heard the door slam Lydia whispered over to Julian, "do you think this will go smoothly?".

"I sure fucking hope so" Julian said, equally to himself as well as Lydia. Truth be told the Breton was feeling anxious that Ricky was handling the loan request, rather than him. Between the two of them Julian admittedly found himself the more calmer negotiator and better talker in most professional sociable situations.

It wasn't that Ricky wasn't a bad talker (although he had bad record of misspelling words and meanings), it was just that he tended to let his emotions easily overtake his rationality and common sense. Something Julian feared would mess up this particular event, his anxiety would worsen up hearing Rickys raised voice echoing through the room at the back room.

"What do you mean I can't get a fucking loan!".

Inside the room the now angry looking Ricky was staring at the now somewhat anxious Breton who was staring at him as if he were a rabid animal.

"Richard I'm sorry but we just can't give you a loan" he explained as he tried to calm the now angered Nord. "Due to your lack of history and payment with the treasury, region law does not trust or justify a loan".

"This is fucked up, I paid my debt to society, I killed a dragon for you guys!" Ricky yelled in frustration towards the individual who would allow him what he wanted. "I still can't get a loan, thats pretty fucked!".

"Look just calm down-" the treasury owner said, being cut off midway by Rickys fiery temper.

"I'm not calming down here I'm pissed off!".

"Now I really don't think you should have this type of attitude".

"I don't give a fuck" Ricky countered before lowering his voice down to a more quieter tone. "Look between you and me I'm gonna be growing a bit of dope" he added, refusing to admit defeat as he tried to bribe the man. " I'm gonna have lots of fucking coins".

"Look I think you should just leave" the Breton said with a cold tone, destroying any hope that Ricky had that would get him his coins.

This action caused the Nords brain to short circuit as anger overrided what little sense he had, "fuck you and fuck this shit!" Ricky insulted as he jumped on the table.

"Guards!" the treasury owned yelled in fright, as he tried to put some distance between the aggressive man standing on his table.

It would take a few seconds before several guards burst into the room, "fuck you!" Ricky said as he jumped around on the table as the two law enforcers tried to force him off.

"Fuck off, fuck you!" Ricky cursed as the two guards managed to grab his arms and pull him off the table and out of the room. The treasury owner following behind awkwardly.

"Fucking asshole I've been sexually assaulted here!" Ricky yelled out as he was forced out into the main treasury room, the crowd of people looking at him with a mixture of shock and weirded out looks.

"That man tried to abuse me at a party!" Ricky lied as he gestured at the treasury owner who became embarrassed as the onlookers turned their attention to him. "He feels up men and women all over the place".

"Thats not true!" the man said as he tried to prove his innocence to the confused and bewildered people in the Treasury.

"Julian, Lydia I need some help here!" Ricky said as he passed by the pair with the guards pulling him towards the outside entrance.

The Breton let out an immense sigh of annoyance as he and Lydia followed Ricky out of the treasury.

The doors were swung wide open as the guards flung Ricky out of the treasury onto the ground of the outside world. "Fucking blockheads!, your lucky I'm not in the mood to fuck'n fight ya!" Ricky yelled out as he watched the two guards walk back in and slam the door shut.

"Great job Ricky" Julian said in a dry sarcastic tone to the very peeved off Nord.

"Go fuck off Julian" Ricky retorted with a hotheaded comment, rubbing his left arm which had been somewhat bruised by his fall onto the ground. "I can't believe the way those fucking assholes threw me out of the treasury" he complained.

Looking over at the other two in his company he could see that unlike the more stoically composed Lydia Julian appeared to be more stressed out as he tried to brainstorm what else they could do.

"You gotta another plan we can fucking do?" Ricky asked.

"To be honest, I don't fucking know Rick" Julian said, trying to look around their environment as though to assess if there was any opportunity available for them to take advantage of. Casting his sights as far as the rest of the city which from their vantage point midway up the hill stretched far in all directions.

"Lydia is there anything we can do?" Ricky inquired with a hopeful expression on his face.

"Unfortunately not much else comes to mind" the housecarl replied with a frown as she tried to think of something. "Perhaps an option would be take on one of the stewards bounties" she suggested, recalling Proventus role as the man in charge of handling the regions dangerous contracts.

"Yeah thats sound like it could be a good-" Ricky said before he froze suddenly, his expression turning to annoyance as he remembered something forgotten. "Fuck we forgot our gear!" the Nord moaned.

"Well that complicates things" Lydia said.

"It does, FUCK!" Ricky cursed.

Julian kept his gaze out in the distance as he kept trying to think of a way to solve their current dilemma. It was starting to seem hopeless to find a way to get enough coins in a day to pay for a ring for Ricky to propose with. Just as he was about to give up he spotted a familar dwelling far off in the distance.

"Hey Rick" the Breton said catching the latters attention.

"Yeah" Ricky replied.

"You remember that one dope deal back in the day" spoke Julian in a nostalgic manner , "that one with the fucking dickhead who didn't pay you back".

"What about it?" Ricky asked, his eyebrows creased in puzzlement as Julian gestured for him to stand beside him.

"I think I found a way to get you a ring for Lucy" Julian said as he pointed out a household off in the distance. Rickys eyes widening as he realised what Julian was talking about.

"A B&E?" Ricky responded with an accusing tone.

"Yes" Julian replied back with a nod.

"Thats pretty smart Julian, last time we did a B&E we got spotted by some fucker" Ricky reprimanded, reminding his friend of their job with Sam Losco. "I'm not going to jail".

"Don't worry about that, we're gonna get you a ring I fucking promise you" Julian vowed, hoping his declaration would win over Ricky to his side.

"Alright then" Ricky said, willing to go along with it if it meant he and Lucy would finally be married. "Do you think Lydia will want to help?" the Nord asked as he gestured towards the Housecarl who still stood patiently behind them.

Julian looked at her with concern, knowing her conviction to do what was most morally principled and law abidingly right the Breton knew she would probably not agree with what he had planned.

The housecarl noticing their looks towards her decided to walk over over to the pair, "so have you decided on anything?" Lydia inquired as she stood in front of them.

"Yeah, we figured out something" Julian said to her with a look that showed tiny flickers of guilt.

"What is it you two came up with?" Lydia asked with a small measure of curiosity, not being able to help herself due to the somewhat sensitive nature of which they were struggling to fully reveal.

Glancing over at Ricky who looked back with encouragement Julian cut to the chase, "well… back in the day Ricky did a dope deal with a rich old noble merchant from here, the guy ripped Ricky off".

"He's a fucking dick Lydia, I sold him a bunch of weed which he never paid back" Ricky added much to the housecarls confusion. "Fuckwit also called the guards on me when I showed up at his house to get payment".

"So how does this indvidual relate to our situation?" Lydia questioned as she tried to comprehend the relevance.

Julian now felt himself at the hard part with what he had to explain, though fortunately someone with less discretion would do it for him.

"Well me and Julian were fucking gonna break into his house to get me a fuck'n nice ring propose to Lucy with" Ricky explained in a blunt manner.

As expected this did not well with Lydia who despite her obedient professionalism as a housecarl immediately voiced her concerns towards their plan. "Ricky, Julian, my thanes if I may, I don't believe its the best idea to go rob someones household" she said, thinking of not just the illegal wrongness of it but the punishment of jail time should they get caught.

"I know it doesn't sound like the best idea, but its the only choice we got" Julian responded.

"You don't gotta worry Lydia it'll be an easy fucking job" Ricky added hoping it'd ease her unease, "its not like we're taking all the shit in the house".

"I don't question much of what you do but do you really wanna run the risk being caught?" Lydia queried, hoping to appeal if not to their sense of non existing criminal decency, but to their enjoyment of freedom.

"Look Lydia if you don't want do this its all good" Julian said in a reassuring tone, "we not gonna get you involved if you don't wanna". The Breton knew deep down he had no qualms with stealing from this individual, what with how he cheated his friend out of money in a deal. What they were simply doing was exchanging an eye for an eye or a ring for a missing sum of coins.

But Lydia, he knew she was uncomfortable with the very idea of stealing from anyone due to her strict upbringing and clear adherence to the law.

"But what about you, I can't let you two go off without my protection" she said in a concerned manner.

"We'll be fine, we've done this kind of shit so many fucking times" Ricky interjected, reminding the housecarl once more of their past unlawful behaviour. Something which she hoped they'd grow out of but as time had proven was a part of who they are.

"He's right we're gonna get out of this just fine" Julian said before moving back to his main point, "you can come with us or take the local carriage home, its your choice".

Lydia not knowing what more she could say to convince them to turn back from what they were doing remained silent, her mind waging a war of pressure within itself to produce a vocal answer. The housecarl wanted to uphold her duty to protect her thanes, but at what cost if it meant she would participate in their misdeeds. Aiding in the crime stealing from a house in her home region no less.

Her mind then reminded her that in perspective the two were merely rightfully paying back a lying scumbag who cheated them out of a fair exchange and backstabbed them. The theft even being seen even by honourable terms in certain legal courts as proper payment for the missing total fee.

Going back to Rayyas words she found a certain truth now coming to mind, one which now held weight with the current situation. "Nothing is ever constant, life is ever changing and most things are never simply absolute black or white when it comes to who we are"," I believe the best choice you make is the one which feels right in your heart". Perhaps there was a justification in what she would do if she agreed to help them and a dishonour on the other hand. The past where she saw things as good and bad no longer held relevance as what she saw in the previous sides were understandable views. Some ones even contradicting perspectives she once thought held the best interests when they clearly did not.

With that in mind it was clear that despite the hesitancy she felt, in her heart the best thing she would do was to help out the people she had to see as more than just her thanes.

"No I'll stay" she said with stern tone.

"You sure?" Julian asked, leaving last minute options available.

"Yes, I am gonna help you get what you need" Lydia vowed with strong conviction in her body language.

"Alright, its good to have you on board" Julian said, patting her on the back.

The group then left the area to go stake out the place which they would plan to break into.

At the same time in Riverwood Bubbles had entered the Riverwood trader with a detirmined look. The Imperial wasting no time as he made his way over to the shop counter which Lucan Valerius stood behind. A certain golden claw resting amongst other items upon the wooden desk

"Bubbles, what can I do for ya!" Lucan greeted enthusiastically.

"Hey Lucan, I'm not here to buy anything I gotta talk to your sister" Bubbles replied in a concerned tone which immediately caught the shopkeepers attention.

"Shes upstairs cleaning at the moment" Lucan answered, signalling to the right with a nod of his head. "What is it you two have to discuss?".

"Just gonna sort some personal fuck'n shit thats been going on lately in the village" the Imperial responded with a subtle honest rundown.

"Well alright then, but don't take too long she's still on working hours" Lucan said as the Imperial nodded and went up the wooden stairway to the top level of the Valerius shop/household.

Bubbles marched his way up to the top level of the house where Camilla stood sweeping the wooden plank floor of any dust or mess that covered the otherwise standard issue floor.

"Hey Cam how are you doin?" Bubbles greeted the woman who switched her attention from the floor she had been cleaning to the Imperial standing across from her.

"Oh hello Bubbles, its good to see you again" she said back with a warm smile on her face, "didn't expect to see you pop by".

"Well I wish it was under better fucking circumstances but I got some stuff to talk to you about" Bubbles revealed to the woman whose cheerful demeanour switched to that of a more serious look.

"Alright, what is you wished to discuss" Camilla said as she stuck the broom she was using against the wall, leaving it just across from her.

"Its got to do with Sven and Faendel, they've got-"

"Affections for me, yes I've known for some time how they've felt about me" Camilla answered, knowing what he was gonna bring up. "I didn't realise they'd involve you in their attempts to win me over" she added with a curious tone, "what exactly do they want?".

"Well they wanted me to give you these false letters full of shit" Bubbles replied awkwardly, feeling an immeasurable amount of guilt and regret as he pulled the written papers out of his pocket and handed it to the Valerius sister.

Camillas expression narrowed as she read the each of the two pieces of parchment, her face scrunching up into a furious expression as she took in it all word for word. "Those selfish idiots, I can't fucking believe them!" she growled, fury written all over features.

"I'm sorry" Bubbles said in a sympathetic tone.

"All those years I called them a friend and they thought it was okay to take advantage of me and manipulate me!" she raged in a mix of heartbreak and boiling anger.

"If theres anything I can do to help with how ya feeling" Bubbles offered, feeling awful towards her current distraught state.

"No I'll!-I'll be fine, I just need to calm myself" Camilla said in a somewhat agitated tone as she placed a hand on her forehead. After a brief moment to compose and soothe herself the Breton woman gazed at Bubbles with a tired out expression. "Thank you, Bubbles for telling me the truth I clearly needed to hear" the woman said.

"Its no big deal, I'm just sorry it caused you a whole fuck'n deal of pain" the Imperial replied in a apologetic tone.

"You don't need to apologise at all Bubbles, its Sven and Faendel at fault here" she said, "after this I'm gonna have a chat with those two" she said in an ice cold tone that chilled Bubbles.

"Do you need help sorting out that pair of fucking asswipes" Bubbles said, his crass terms gaining a laugh from Camilla.

"Thank you for the offer, but I think I'll be alright on my own" Camilla said before her cheeriness evaporated back to her somewhat annoyed expression. "I still can't believe those two would pull something like this out of petty jealousy, I thought I told them I wasn't interested like that" she added while shaking her head.

"You didn't have feelings for any of them?" Bubbles queried.

"No, I considered them friends but they weren't the ones I had feelings for" Camilla replied back with honesty towards the pair.

"Who did you have feelings for?" the Imperial queried, hoping his question wasn't too inappropriate to answer.

"Well that" Camilla said, her tone becoming somewhat uneasy and anxious as she prepared to reveal the person she had in mind. "That was-".

"Camilla come downstairs!" Lucans voice cut through the conversation, "we got customers!".

With that loud call any chance of revealing the individual would be halted.

Camilla turned to Bubbles with a somewhat sheepish expression, "sorry about that I have to go" she said as she walked past him. Just as Camilla was about to step down the stairway she turned to face the Imperial, "we'll talk about this later" she hastily said. With that said she walked down the wooden stairs to join her brother at the Riverwood traders front counter.

Processing all this Bubbles would make his way down shortly after her and make his way out of the shop, making his way back to his home where he could finally wind down for the day.

Currently with Julian, Ricky and Lydia the trio had been staking out their target household. Waiting for the opportune moment once the buildings occupant had left. Eventually that time would arrive when the merchant exited his estate and walk off into the city.

Upon being certain that their was no one around the 3 made a mad dash to the door which Julian opted to try open with a lock pick he had. Miraculously Julian was able to unlock the door on his first attempt, the Breton being surprised by the weak defence of the lock though shrugged it off as he opened up the door.

Stepping into the house cautiously Ricky took the lead as the other two followed after him. "Hello its Mr Peterson here to replace your hinges" the Nord yelled out as a last minute counter measure to see if anyone was home.

The answer became apparent as only the long silence continued to fill the void.

"Alright Ricky go downstairs" Julian ordered the man who obliged by marching his way down the left stairwell leading to the basement. "Lydia you go upstairs" the Breton instructed as he pointed at the stairway ahead of him. The housecarl nodded as she made her way up the stairs.

Julian meanwhile went on with his bit of his job, checking the main level as he looked around through the rooms for any kind of rings that Ricky could use for marriage. The search would prove to be frustrating as other than finding a few other unrelated pieces of jewellery, unique stones and soul gems there was not much related to what he was looking for.

Suddenly just as he was about to check a drawer in one of the rooms a loud voice broke through the house.

WHAT IN THE FUCK!" a certain Nord yelled accompanied by the sound of a shout blast rocking the house. "JULIAN, LYDIA I NEED SOME HELP OVER HERE!".

Julian quickly rushed out into the hallway, nearly bumping into Lydia who appeared to be moving as quickly as he was towards the lower level basement. Opening up the unlocked basement door Julian could see Ricky standing a tense and shock manner in the cellar designed room. Some feet away sat the corpse of a Skeever who from the angle of his head had his next snapped from impacting the wall.

"What are you doing" Julian asked, as he eyed the scene of the event cautiously.

"Cocksucker came at me and I fucking shouted him" Ricky said as he gave a short rundown of what occurred. "Did it fucking poison me" he asked with concern as he pointed out a notable tear in his shirt.

"Nah you just got a fucking scratch" Julian reassuringly replied.

"Thats good" Ricky responded as he cast a glare the slumped corpse of Skeever, "Walk in there and the thing just jumps at me, could have been fucking killed" Ricky complained in a over dramatic fashion.

"Did you find a ring?" the Breton questioned, the pressure of time still on his mind especially with the previous occurring shout that had distinct possibility of being heard by anyone outside.

"Yeah man I found a case full of them fucking things" Ricky responded as he angled his head towards a glass display case that had a set of rings placed comfortably in the fabric interior. "Check that out

"Great, smash the fuck'n thing and take the rings up there" Julian ordered to Ricky who complied by grabbing a nearby hammer and shattered the glass before grabbing up the rings. The Nord wincing a bit as broken some glass pricked at the fingers, though it vanished quickly after once his hands were away from the small shards.

With the rings in hand Ricky followed Julian up the stairs with Lydia, the trio making their way into another room where the Breton had them sit down at a table. Julian then took the rings from Rickys hands and laid them out on the table surface in front of the Nord.

"Take your time Ricky, this is important" Julian advised, trying to make sure his friend would have the best choice for his proposal.

Taking his advice to hear Ricky sifted through the plain and gem encrusted circular bands of gold, displaying a rare focus he only reserved for weed and cooking. "What about this" Ricky piped up as he pulled out a ring with a dark oval pattern gem in the center.

"Let me see" the Breton requested with his hand held out, the Nord dropping the ring into his open palm. The particular ring would be inspected by Julian before the latter handed it back to him. "No thats not Lucy" Julian said declining the ring, knowing she had different preference than the suggested mineral style in the gold band.

"Yeah I guess your right" Ricky replied before pulling out another ring, "this ones nice" Ricky said as he displayed a ring with a gem that looked a little too smooth.

"Nope that looks like one of those fake gems fuckers will try to con you with" Julian replied, dismissing the idea of using that ring.

"Well what do you think?" Ricky said in a grumpy manner as he decided to let the Breton take over and choose the ring."Clearly I'm not very good at this shit, I've never done it before".

Julian would shift through the pile before laying his eyes on the one that would best fit Lucys expectations, "there we go ,thats Lucy" he said as held out a ring with an encrusted gem similar to an opal.

"Oh man thats perfect!" Ricky exclaimed, feeling excited at the fact they now had completed their main objective. Now all that was left was to get back to Riverwood.

Unfortunately that joyous feeling would not last as Lydia voice interjected in alarm, "Ricky, Julian I believe we've been spotted!" she said as she pointed out the window at little girl who was looking right at them.

The staring would last for 3 seconds before the girl took off yelling out for the guards.

"Everybody out!" Julian yelled as he proceeded by Ricky and Lydia ran through the house and back out the door. Ricky clutching the opal ring tightly in his hand as he, Lydia and Julian sprinted and dashed through the streets towards the cities exit.

So far they had not encountered any guards yet fortunately, only various confused citizens who they passed by. Things looked to be in the clear as they made their way towards the entrance, only for Ricky to trip on a piece of wood and bump into a patrolling guard.

"Fuck" Ricky groaned as he and the guard fell onto the ground, Julian and Lydia halting their run in shock as they realised the situation before them, panic stirring in their minds as they saw the two individual's rise steadily to their feet.

"Watch where your running idiot" the guard warned as he rubbed the back of his neck, "your bound to run over people in the streets.

"Well I'm fuck'n sorry, we were just trying to get to the blacksmiths" Ricky replied with a false apology, tucking away in the ring secretly in his back pocket.

"Why were you in such a hurry to get to the forge?" the law enforcer queried in a somewhat interrogating manner, his helmet tilting as he tried to bore holes into the Nord.

"Well my friend here was really excited to see if his armour upgrade finished" Ricky gestured to Julian who nodded back, "so we thought it'd be a great idea to fucking run over to see it".

As Lydia watched the tense exchange she felt an old fear grip her heart, one she had felt as a child after causing an accident or infraction. The fear of being punished, or in this case arrested.

"Yes a clearly not stupid idea" the guard mocked to Ricky who was barely biting back a hot headed response, "whats your name?" he inquired.

"Randy Lahey" Ricky responded without skipping a beat in his deception.

"Randy… Lahey" the Guard parroted back, as if the name didn't sound right out loud.

"Yeah man" Ricky replied with a nod before proceeding onto the next part of his ploy, "your voice sounds familar, I think know you from some place" he commented, the observation remark confusing the guard. "You know Bjorn or Bjorn knows you" Ricky said, using an old mind game of his.

"Bjorn, you mean my father Bjorn" the Guard responded with a surprised tone. The situation now changing in favour the Nord who now held all the cards much to the amazement of his two companions who watched on.

"Oh he was your father man I didn't know that" Ricky replied in faux astonishment, "he mentioned he had a son in the guard, thats right" he added.

"Is that right?".

"Yeah, you know him and my dad go way back".

"Small world".

"Yeah it is for sure" Ricky responded in agreement, "sorry about bumping into ya we weren't looking to cause any shit" he added with a dramatic apology.

"Yeah well sorry about the hassle, but I just gotta make sure nobody runs into people in these streets" the Guard said back with a sincere tone.

"Yeah definitely" Ricky said with a pretend interested voice.

"I guess everything okay here so I'll let you be on your way" the guard said, his words bringing relief to the trio.

"Thats great, you don't have any smokes on ya?" Ricky asked, his need to get high resurfacing at an 'appropriate' moment.

"Smokes?, ya I got some in my pocket" the Guard replied as he pulled two linen wrapped smokes and handed them to the Nord who eagerly pocketed them.

"Thanks man" Ricky replied back gratefully.

The guard then farewelled the group before walking back up the path further up the hill, once he was a considerable distance not facing them the group dashed to the carriage line. Not having to worry about getting Emeric from the stables due to the stallions still being strapped up the vehicle. The wooden vehicle was made ready to go with Julian as its driver.

The carriage drove the entrance and back out into the country, moving at a speed that practically screamed how much the passengers wanted to leave the city behind in the dust. Only once the city vanished behind them did the group on the carriage finally relax and talk amongst themselves.

Ricky noticed Lydia held a worried expression her face as she looked off into the distance, as if deep in self reflection. "You all good Lydia?" he asked.

"Me, I'm fine, just a bit tired out from todays events" the housecarl lied, hoping to convince her thane so as to not burden him with her current state.

"Well alright just making sure" Ricky said before going on to converse with the Breton handling control of the moving wooden transport.

Lydia continued to stare out into the ever moving country side, as if hoping it would distract the current feelings of immense guilt she felt towards herself. Distaste for a singular emotion that the housecarl could feel, not one of relief at having avoided arrest. No, one of excitement at the thrill of getting away with their stolen valuable with no consequences and adrenaline built up from a tense run from authority.

She did not know how she process how she currently felt in a way that made sense to who she thought she was. Lydia knew this was a part of changing to fit the world that Ricky, Julian and Bubbles lived in. But the guilt and regret she felt from conditioning in her old life would always serve to cause strife in her being. Splitting her between two different worlds and two different versions of herself.

As the housecarl pondered this the carriage finally left behind the grass plains of Whiterun and reentered the now afternoon cast forest which cast shadows that contrasted as brilliantly as the light that shone in certain areas of the environment.

Bubbles sat in deep concentration as he read one of his spell tomes in silence. One he had looked at beforehand to learn the books spell but none the less found it compelling to reread again. Just as he was about to finish the page he was on a loud resounding knock could be heard on his shed door.

Opening it up revealed Camilla standing on his doormat, with a weary expression made ever more tired by the fading lights of the afternoon sun. "Hey Bubbles" she said with a tired smile, walking into the small cabin as she did.

"Hey Camilla" Bubbles greeted back, "are you doing alright?" he asked the woman who had knelt down to pet one of his cats gently on the head.

"Yeah I'm fine" she responded, downplaying the physical and immense emotional drain her body currently felt from the events of today combined with work. "Just a bit a tired is all, I had to sort out things with Sven and Faendel ".

"I hope Fucko the bard and Fuckbrain the hunter weren't too much to deal with" Bubbles responded, his harsh names stemming from the crap he went through because of them.

"It didn't go too bad" Camilla said, leaving out the part where they tried to lie to her again to the point where she flipped out. "Needless to say I won't be talking to those two for a long time" she added in a bitter tone of her former friends.

"Well I hope things get better from here on out for you" Bubbles said, the Valerius sister appreciating his well wishes towards her.

"Thank you Bubbles" Camilla replied back with a appreciative look before changing to a more uncertain facial expression, "Bubbles… is it.. is it alright if I ask you something?" she asked.

"Uh sure Camilla what is you wanted to ask me about" Bubbles replied as he gazed at her nervous facial expression.

"Do you remember what I said to you earlier, about the one I had feelings for" said Camilla, her hands in a somewhat fidgety manner.

"Yeah, what about it?" Bubbles inquired, noting the anxiety in Camilla as if she was about to release a big secret.

"Well the person I was referring to he was.. was Ricky" she revealed, feeling a weight move off her shoulders as she did.

"Oh" Bubbles said, his voice one of both shock and immense guilt, guilt for what he was about to tell her. Something he felt responsible for given his earlier actions.

"I know me and him have a complicated history" Camilla admitted with a sigh, "but I still care for him deep down and when I heard that he had broken up with Lucy today I thought, maybe we could have a fresh start" she said in a hopeful manner.

Unable to hold it in Bubbles spoke up, "Camilla theres something I need to tell you" said the Imperial who felt regret overwhelming his entire being.

"Yes?".

"Earlier today I- I told Julian to help get him back together with Lucy by proposing to her" Bubbles said, struggling to get the words out of his throat as he watched his friends positive spirit crumble along with her heart.

"What?" she uttered in a distraught tone, her voice sounding shaky.

"I'm sorry, I was just trying to help them get back together so they'd be happy" Bubbles responded, trying to explain the reasoning behind.

"How will they be happy!, all Lucys gonna do is betray, blame and hurt him again" Camilla criticised, her demanour shifting to a negative one as emotion started to override rationale.

"You don't know that, if they get married it'll get fuck'n better" the Imperial rationalised, hoping she would see what he was getting at.

"No it won't, even after all he's done and the fact that they have a child it was never ever enough for her" Camilla stated, remembering much of the heartbreak and pain Ricky went for Lucys apathetic self in the past. "She'll just keep taking from him like always and abandon him when it suits her, Lucy will never change!" she said harshly.

"Maybe, maybe your afraid that things will change and they will get better" Bubbles countered, his points slowly aggravating and intensifying the rage in Camilla as its emotional impact effected her further. "I know you don't like her, but she deserves a second chance".

With that last point her emotions were instantly lit up like a flame to a powder keg.

"NO SHE DOESN'T!, ITS NOT RIGHT THAT I LOST MY HAPPINESS WITH RICKY LONG AGO ALL BECAUSE OF HER FUCKING MANIPULATING!" she raged in absolute fury, paralysing Bubbles who was not at all accustomed to seeing the normally sweet woman this furious in volcanic anger. "WHY DOES SHE DESERVE TO BE HAPPY WHEN ALL SHE DOES IS EMOTIONALLY ABUSE THE MAN I LOVE AND WHORE AROUND, WHY SHOULD SHE BE HAPPY WHEN I HURT SO DAMN MUCH!".

She was so caught up in her emotional tirade for a few more seconds, releasing repressed and pent up anger from inside her that she became unaware of Bubbles who shrank into the corner of the room. Eventually she came to a stop upon seeing her friends absolute shocked face, immediately causing all anger to vanish as an ocean of guilt overwhelmed her.

"Bubbles I'm… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get angry at you" she said with a upset expression, finding self hate towards herself for causing the poor man frightened demeanour in the current moment. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that" Camilla said in a remorseful voice as she stuck a hand up to cover her face, not noticing the Imperial slowly make his way from the corner. "There's something wrong with me".

"No theres not, theres nothing fucking wrong with you in the slightest" Bubbles said as he put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her, "your a good person with one of the kindest hearts I've ever fuck'n seen, I'm proud to call you my friend" he added.

Hearing the Imperials kind words caused the woman to tear up a bit, feeling beyond thankful for the support he had given her.

"I know what happened to you was wrong, what Lucy did to ya and Rickys relationship was fucking wrong" said Bubbles in a sympathetic tone, "I understand".

"I should never have taken it out on you Bubbles, you don't deserve any of it" Camilla spoke up, her voice now sounding low.

"Neither do you" he said back to her, his words causing ripples of emotion to further the ache in her heart.

"I don't know what to do Bubbles, I still love him so much" she said with a somber tone, "I just wish I could go back in time to what we had before she ruined it".

"Unfortunately thats one of the things we can't do" Bubbles remarked, thinking somewhat bitterly of the one incident he wished more than anything to change. But the past was cruelly irreversible.

"Indeed" Camilla replied in agreement while casting her sad looking eyes at the floor, "I just hope someday I'll be free of this pain I feel in my heart".

" You will one day, I promise you that it'll fuck'n happen" Bubbles responded with a reassuring voice, "but till then I'm happy to help ya through the shit your dealing with" he added with a vow.

"Thank you Bubbles" Camilla said as she hugged the Imperial tightly, Bubbles returning the favour as he wrapped his arms around her short frame. Comforting the poor woman who had been through a truly rough day.

The days to come would be just if not as emotionally affecting what with the challenges and personal inner sorrow Camilla dealt with every day. But at least she knew had a friend who could help support her through the times ahead.

By the time Ricky, Julian and Lydia had arrived back into the village of Riverwood the last light of day had vanished and now the night reigned supreme over the sky. Eager to initiate the final stage of the plan Ricky had been dropped off at Lucy's so as to hopefully finally cement their relationship once and for all.

Though now that he was standing there in front of home about to walk in, the Nord began to have doubts and second thoughts about what he was about to do. What stirred him forward through the uncertainty he felt was the simple advice Julian had given him, "all you can do is ask her and all she can do is say is yes or no".

Not exactly the most inspiring quote but one that was enough to quell any exaggerated fears that would be conjured up by a worried mind.

Entering the household Ricky could see Lucy sitting at the table with a weed blunt in her hand and a half full bottle of ale in front of her.

"Hey Luce, you look good" Ricky complimented the woman who merely nodded back in acknowledgment towards him.

"Thanks" Lucy replied.

"You got much going on" Ricky queried, as he noted the weed and drink she currently partaking in.

"Not much, was mostly just gonna get wasted out of my fucking tonight" Lucy answered as she gestured towards her current activity.

"Sounds good" the Nord replied in agreement before moving onto the big question on his mind, "hey Lucy there was something I wanted to ask you?".

"What?" she asked.

Ricky reached into his pocket and pulled out the opal ring which he then held in front of Lucy, " what do you think, do you want to get married or something?" he asked in an excited hopeful manner.

The blond woman took the ring from his hands and looked it over, "do you love me?" Lucy asked, looking him dead center in the eyes.

"Lucy I love you so much" Ricky said a tone with the utmost conviction, displaying how serious he felt concerning his love for the woman in front of him. "So what do you think, would you want to get married to me?".

It would take some time before the woman gave her response, "okay" she replied with a deadpan look back.

"We're gonna get married?" Ricky asked with the happiest expression imaginable. A stark contrast to the woman sitting across from him.

"Sure" she said back while maintaining her look of disinterest.

With that Ricky found himself overjoyed and nearly to the point of tears of happy joy as he hugged her tightly, expressing his profound elation towards finally becoming married to the woman he had loved for his whole life.

Truly it seemed after all the insanity and messed up things he had gone through Richard or Ricky as he preferred was on his way to the happy ending he had always wanted. He was now not only the legendary warrior destined to save the land but a man on his way to marrying the mother of his child and finally they could be a family trully. Nothing could get better than this.

To Be Continued

Looks like we've reached the end of a truly immense chapter full of ups and downs for our cast of characters. I hope my dear readers that you have enjoyed this latest update to my story. The balance I tried to maintain regarding the twin storylines of romance alongside some of Lydias personal development was something I found quite an interesting challenge to write. Hopefully I've done that well enough regarding writing and fitting those all together. Anywho look out for the next chapter which will be the finale of Arc 1. Until then have a good day everyone.