Thunder rumbled overhead as I made my way down from Dragonsreach. I'd gone out to hunt down some bandits for a bounty set by Jarl Balgruuf and returned with a mammoth tusk strapped to my back for a townswoman named Ysolda. The bounty money in my purse, I walked back toward Breezehome. I tugged on my hood to ensure it covered my head and kept off the rain.
Through the patter of the falling droplets on the cobbles I heard what sounded like crying. I stopped and looked around for the source.
Between the large roots of the dead tree at the center of the plaza I saw a small figure. It was a girl, maybe ten years old. She sat with her knees curled into her chest. Her dark blonde hair was plastered to her olive face and she was dressed in rags. I saw that she was shivering violently.
Kneeling down, I asked her, "What are you doing in there?"
She blinked up at me with large hazel eyes before quickly looking away again. "It's the only place I feel safe."
I inched a little closer. "Why are you out here and not at home?"
"'Cause I don't have one. I was begging until the storm came and everyone left. It's… It's what Brenuin said I should do. He's the only one that's been nice to me since… since mama…" She shivered again and wrapped her arms around herself. "… Since she died. My aunt and uncle took over our farm and threw me out. Said I wasn't good for anything. I wound up here, but I… I don't know what to do. I miss her so much…"
Suddenly I wasn't seeing that little girl. I was seeing myself. Only a bit older than her, with no home and forced to beg on the streets of Balmora just to survive until Habasi found me. This girl wasn't so different from me. Were those her only choices as well? Starving or freezing to death in the streets, or forced to join the Guild?
Not if I could help it.
I held out my hand to her. "Come on. Let's get you out of the rain." She hesitated, frowning at my outstretched hand. "Please. I want to help you."
Slowly, she crawled out from between the gnarled roots. Her legs were trembling so badly that she could barely stand. I saw that her bare feet were dirty and cut up from walking on Whiterun's cobbled streets. When she took my hand with her own smaller one I hoisted her up into my arms. She was so light.
"Hang on," I told her. She put her arms around my neck. Ensuring I had a good hold on her, I made my way back with her to Breezehome.
Pulling open the front door, I stepped inside and sat the girl down in one of the chairs by the fire pit.
"Lydia!"
The Housecarl hurried down the stairs. She stopped halfway down and looked between the girl and me.
"Grab some blankets," I told her. "And food."
She nodded and hurried off. I grabbed some things and returned to kneel before the child.
"This I probably going to sting," I warned her. She nodded. I began to clean the dirt off her feet and heal the cuts that covered her soles and toes. She bit her lip to stifle a whimper and I murmured an apology. The cuts quickly healed over and were replaced with stripes of new pink skin. The girl wiggled her toes. A small smile touched her lips.
Lydia returned with the blankets and I let the girl change out of her soaking wet rags and into one of my shirts. Soon she was bundled up in the chair and nervously munching on some bread. I continued kneeling in front of her.
"What's your name?" I asked her.
"Lucia," she murmured.
"And where do you come from, Lucia?"
"We lived on a farm outside of Skingrad."
Skingrad. I inhaled sharply. This little girl had made it all the way from Skingrad to Whiterun by herself?
"How did you get all the way out here?" I breathed.
She shook her head. "I… I don't know. I just ran and found myself here."
There was silence after that, save for the crackling of the fire behind me. Lucia stared at me, frowning.
"Why are you helping me?"
I took a deep breath and looked at her earnestly. "Because I know exactly what you're going through and I don't want you to end up like I did. Now get some rest. I'm sure you're exhausted."
She nodded, her eyelids drooping. Her head lolled to the side. I got to my feet and headed up the stairs. Lydia was waiting for me on the landing.
"What are you doing?" She asked me quietly.
I crossed my arms and glanced down at the bundle of blankets that obscured the girl. "I was in her position once, a long time ago. Things happened that I wish hadn't. If I can keep this one child from suffering the same fate, I will. But, more than that, there's something about her that I just can't explain. She came here from Cyrodiil. That's an impressive feat for one little girl on her own."
Lydia nodded. "I just hope you know what you're doing."
"I do."
I headed out to the market early the next morning and picked up several dresses for Lucia, all in shades of brown or green. It just seemed fitting for her. When I returned, setting the package on the table, the girl stirred from her place in the chair. She blinked and looked around in surprise as she seemed to remember where she was.
"I got you some clothes," I told her, nodding to them.
She stared at me, her hazel eyes wide, and stammered, "Th… thank you, lady."
"My name is Mara."
"Thank you, Mara." I nodded and she said, "I don't know how I can repay you…"
I put my hands on my hips. "What can you do?"
She shrugged one shoulder. "I can sew a little. I can cook."
"Can you fight?"
She hesitated. "Mama didn't really like it…"
"I'm not your mother," I told her, crossing my arms.
"I… I can shoot a little. A bow, I mean. I picked it up watching hunters around home."
That settled it.
"Right. You're not going back out in the street. I've got a room I can give you and I can teach you to shoot properly. In return I want you to help Lydia around the house and help me when I go out sometimes. Sound fair?"
Lucia stared at me, shocked. "Are… Are you sure? You really wouldn't mind?"
"Of course not."
A grin slowly slid onto her face. "It's everything I could have hoped for. Thank you so much."
I nodded to the package of clothes on the table. "Get dressed. Let's see what you can do."
Some time later we stood behind the house, facing the target I'd set up before for myself to practice on. Lucia held a smaller, lighter bow in her hands. She'd braided part of her thick blonde hair back to keep it out of her face. Her brow furrowed and the bridge of her nose crinkled as she concentrated. I watched, my arms crossed.
"Relax," I told her. "Don't tense up."
She fired, hitting the edge of the target. Her lips pursed in irritation.
"It's fine. Just try again."
As she drew another arrow, I bent down beside her and adjusted her arms.
"Relax. Now draw all the way back to your cheek. Like that. And don't drop your arm too soon. It'll mess up your shot."
She nodded and adjusted. When she fired that arrow, it struck just a little off center.
"Good. Again."
For over a week I helped Lucia with her archery. Once she let go of her nervousness it quickly became clear that she was a natural at it. She was almost better than I had been at her age, and Da had trained me.
The only hiccup was the day she'd come back to Breezehome covered in mud and carrying a small rabbit.
"His name is Claudius," she'd said with a brilliant grin. "Can I keep him?"
"Do you know how to take care of a rabbit?" I'd asked her. When she nodded, I knew there was no sense arguing. As long as she took care of him, there didn't seem to be much harm in it.
We were out walking through the city one day when she stopped to look at something in the distance.
"That big tree in the park looks so sad," she said. "I feel sorry for it."
I glanced over at her. "It's dead."
"No, it's just hurt. It's dying, though."
"How can you tell?" I asked, frowning.
She shrugged and played with the dried leaves she'd braided into her thick hair. I stared at the girl long and hard.
"It's a shame, isn't it?" A voice sighed from nearby. Lucia and I both turned to see a woman in brown hooded robes watching the tree sadly. I recognized her as a priestess from the temple, Danica.
"What is that tree?" I asked her.
"It's the Gildergreen," she explained. "It was planted as a seedling in the early years of Whiterun. Disciples of Kynareth could sense something holy in it, and traveled far to hear the winds of the goddess in its branches. They built the temple. Of course, not as many pilgrims these days."
I crossed my arms. "Why is this tree so special?"
"To the east of here is a hidden grove where the Eldergleam resides. It's the oldest living thing in Skyrim. Maybe all of Tamriel. Our tree here in the city was grown from a cutting of that tree. You can still feel the glory of the mother tree through it. Even its name is an echo."
"Is there any way to save it?" Lucia piped up.
Danica looked down at her, surprised. "I've thought about that. Trees like this never really die. They only slumber."
"Told you," the girl said quietly to me. I rolled my eyes.
"I think if we had some of the sap from the parent tree, we could wake up its child. The sap is precious. It can restore barren fields or bring life to rocks. I can use it to repair the Gildergreen, so we can worship properly again."
"We have to do something," Lucia said. Her brow crumpled in a worried sort of way as she looked at the Gildergreen. I let out a long sigh.
"So where is this tree?"
Against my better judgment, I took Lucia with me. She'd begged me to let her come along, and I sensed that it was a battle I wasn't going to win, so I relented. Lydia stayed behind to keep Claudius happy and the house from burning down.
Danica's directions led us to a cave some distance away. I led Lucia inside, indicating that she should be cautious. She nodded and gripped the knife I'd given her tightly.
At first I wasn't sure what we were looking for. Then the tunnel opened up into a massive cavern. Pine trees and wildflowers grew along the trail that wound up, snakelike, through the chamber. High above a waterfall fell through holes in the cavern's ceiling and into large pools below. A light mist filled the grove. At the top of the path was a gigantic tree blossoming with soft pink flowers. I stared at it all, shocked. How could all of that exist down there?
Lucia tugged at my arm. "Come on!"
I snapped out of my daze and we kept walking up the trail. Through the trees I thought I saw other people and heard voices. Worshippers of Kynareth, I expected. As we neared the tree, its giant roots blocked the path. I helped Lucia climb over them to reach the Eldergleam itself.
It was even bigger up close, staggeringly so. Now it was just a matter of getting the sap. I pulled out the vial I'd brought and drew a knife. Lucia grabbed my arm and shook her head.
"Don't. You'll hurt the tree!" She cried.
I lowered my knife a little. "You have a better plan?"
She looked at the Eldergleam and bit her lip. "I… I think so."
I waited while she stepped up to the ancient tree. Putting a hand on the bark, she looked up at the branches. The tree seemed to shudder at the touch. I frowned as my gaze flitted between it and the girl.
"Hello, Eldergleam," she said softly. "I'm here to ask for a favor. Your baby is sick, really sick, and it needs your help. Please let us have some of your sap so we can save it."
"Lucia…"
My fingers twitched. It was a tree. It couldn't hear her or–
I froze when I saw the emerald-green sap start to ooze out from the bark. It dripped down over Lucia's small fingers and she laughed. Shaking my head to snap out of my surprised state, I hurried forward and caught some of the sap in the vial still clutched in my hands. When I stepped back, Lucia kissed the tree and whispered, "Thank you."
As we walked back down the trail toward the cavern's entrance, I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye.
"How did you do that?" I asked her.
"I don't know. It just felt like something I should do."
People weren't able to just do things like that. She'd asked for the sap, and the Eldergleam had given it to her. Just like that.
There was clearly more to that girl than met the eye.
Danica was tending to a farmer's injured leg when we arrived back at the Temple of Kynareth. She left the woman in the care of an assistant and hurried over to the two of us with an expectant look.
"Do you have the Eldergleam sap?" She asked us. Lucia instantly held the vial of sticky green liquid out to the priestess, who took it and cradled it in her hands with a look of reverence. "Oh, wonderful. I'll use this to repair the tree. Thank you both so much for all your help."
We left the Temple and stepped out into the gathering dusk. As we passed the Gildergreen, Lucia said, "I hope the tree feels better soon."
I made a noise of assent in my throat. We passed through the market, where the shopkeepers were packing up their goods for the night. I watched Lucia as she walked, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Wilted flowers from the Eldergleam cave were still braided in her blonde hair.
That girl was blessed by Kynareth, of that I was growing more and more certain. It explained how she'd managed to make it through the inhospitable wilderness between Skingrad and Whiterun alone. A goddess was looking out for her. That was certainly an interesting thought, if not a bit worrying.
We stepped back into the house and Lucia immediately hurried over to scoop up Claudius. The rabbit sniffed her, his nose wiggling. Lydia looked harried.
At my raised eyebrow she jerked her thumb in Claudius's direction and told me in a hushed voice, "That rabbit is a menace."
"You can't handle one little rabbit, Lydia?" I snorted. "What did he do?"
She looked at me darkly. "You don't want to know. But everything's clean and unbroken at the moment, and that's what matters I suppose."
Before I could respond to that worrying statement, there was a loud rumble that shook the house and what sounded faintly like, "Dovahkiin!"
Lucia looked around wildly. "What was that?"
"I'm being called," I said, grimacing. I'd almost forgotten about the original summons. Clearly the Greybeards were getting impatient with me.
Lydia rolled her eyes and sighed loudly. "I've never heard of the Greybeards having to call someone twice. I'd suggest actually going to see them this time. Who knows what they'll do if they get angry."
"Thank you for that input."
My stomach twisted with what I supposed was probably nerves. I still had my doubts about being Dragonborn, as those soldiers had called me. But clearly I was the one the Greybeards wanted since I'd refused to answer the first summons and they'd just called again. Me. Dragonborn. It was a dizzying thought.
"I'll go," I finally relented.
"Good plan."
I glared at Lydia and she backed off, raising her hands in surrender.
"Lucia, watch that rabbit. Make sure he doesn't destroy the house. And Lydia… watch Lucia."
Both of them nodded at me wordlessly. I sighed and rubbed my forehead. I didn't like this. At all. But it looked like I didn't really have any choice but to go.
Right.
