Chapter 21: Somewhere In There
"Ou ou ou!" They had found themselves a little cave to rest and wait for dawn. Sitting at a small campfire, Nephiah was tending to Brelyna's wounds. "How do you do it?! Ou!"
Nephiah was focusing on stitching up the back of her hand, having finished the palm first. "Do what?"
"OUCH!" Brelyna was trying hard not to pull her hand away. "Deal with the pain?!"
"Used to it."
"OUCH!"
"Done." Nephiah removed the needle from the thread and stuck it back into her pouch. Her face didn't show it, but every time Brelyna cried out, she felt it too.
"Well I'm not used to it, what am I supposed to do?!"
She made a knot at the end of the thread.
"OU!"
She moved close to Brelyna's pain distorted face and looked at her until she stopped looking at the wound and into her eyes. As the expression on her mage's face turned from agonized to confused, she moved in and kissed her, both their eyes closed, Brelyna's brows rose. After a moment Nephiah moved back and looked into her eyes. "Better?"
Brelyna giggled. "You have all of this figured out, don't you?"
Nephiah pulled a bandage from the pouch and gently wrapped it around the now stitched up hand. "This will leave a scar."
Brelyna gave off a faint moan as she lay down sideways. "Well, now we have something in common."
She noticed Nephiah lying down as well. "Nono! Over here!"
Nephiah confusedly looked at her.
She pointed at her back. "Like me, just, over here."
After a moment of contemplation, Nephiah moved to her love and lay down as instructed, wrapping her arm around her. "See? This is nice. Read that in a book once."
"You read a lot."
"Used to warm the lonely nights."
Nephiah took a deep breath. The fire crackled calmly, yet the warmth they gave each other was all the more comforting.
"We have a bounty on our heads in Windhelm, you know."
No answer.
"They are looking for two Dunmer women, a warrior and a mage. If we walk in like this, there will be trouble."
Still no answer.
"Are you still awake?"
"I don't care about the guards."
Brelyna turned her head to look at her. "Well you should. There is way too many of them." She turned back and rested her head on Nephiah's arm. "Lucky for you, I have planned ahead."
"I don't like this."
The guards outside the city had closed the massive gate shut behind them, they stood in front of an inn, the Palace of the Kings towering in the distance. They had hidden their armor and weapons on the road and were now dressed in common clothing.
"They are looking for a warrior and a mage. Now we are just of the common folk! Nobody will even look at us twice."
Nephiah exhaled audibly as she scanned the roads and windows. People everywhere, workers, traders, every single one of them a potential threat. "Should have brought the swords."
Brelyna looked at her for a second, then grabbed both her shoulders and turned her towards her. "Don't start anything, all right?"
Nephiah's gaze slipped into the distance, taking note of yet another dangerous commotion on the streets.
Brelyna touched her chin and turned her head back to face her. "I am serious. We mustn't draw attention to ourselves. No amount of kisses is going to repel the trouble that will descend upon us if we get caught here."
Nephiah's look darkened. That sounded more like a challenge than a warning.
"Nephiah... Please?"
She closed her eyes and loudly exhaled yet again. She wanted to scream and take down everything that moved. But Brelyna's presence made it bearable, calmed her, provided security where she would not have found any. She nodded quickly.
Shouting approached. Nephiah flinched and nervously looked over her shoulder to see where it was coming from. A Dunmer woman turned the corner at a brisk pace, followed by a Nord wearing dirty, ragged robes, a beggar by the looks of it. "Who do you work for?!", he shouted.
The woman moaned. "Not this again."
"Who do you report to, Dark Elf?!"
"I am NOT a spy! Get that through your thick head!"
The man stopped her movement by grabbing her shoulder and turning her around.
"Don't touch me!"
Nephiah's fists tightened, she looked to her side.
Brelyna looked her in the eye and slowly shook her head, thusly denying her request to charge in and kill the man.
"I'll call the guards!" The woman looked genuinely worried.
"What guards!", the beggar yelled back. "The ones we just passed in that alley? Or those over there!"
She turned to see a couple of guards warm their hands by the fire. They had clearly noticed the scene but didn't look like they had any interest in getting in the middle of it.
"Nobody is going to help you." He menacingly took a step towards her, she backed away.
Nephiah looked at Brelyna again, her eyebrows raised as if to ask 'How am I not killing him right now?!'.
"No!" was the whispered response.
The woman began to slowly reach for her dagger. "Why don't you ask the Argonians?"
"Who are they going to spy on from outside the city! YOU they let in!" He took another step towards her. "Oh you love the Dunmer people."
Confused, they both looked to the side. Brelyna approached, followed closely by her warrior who continued to scan the beggar's every movement.
"How dare you?!" They stopped standing at the woman's side. "A poor man like you...", Brelyna continued, "...a cripple, begging for scraps of food from other people's tables..." The man's rage stopped, he was not used to backtalk from them. "We give you something to look down upon. Makes you feel better about yourself."
The woman gave off a short laugh as her stance relaxed a bit and watched the shock on his face with amusement.
"And you love us for it. You don't want us gone, that would make you the lowest rung of the ladder."
His shock turned to anger, he turned towards her.
Nephiah instantly stepped between them, the rage in her eyes meeting the rage in his.
"What are you going to do, Dunmer filth?! This is OUR city!" His right arm moved back, he took a swing at her. She grabbed his wrist mid air with her left hand, deflecting its course down and to the right, twisting it, spinning him around. He released a short pain filled scream.
She held him there and continued to twist the arm upwards behind his back, making him bow forward. The woman laughed again, more out of surprise than anything else.
"Trouble?" The two guards had left the fire and were now standing behind them.
"Guards! Do something!", the beggar screamed.
"You had that coming, Angrenor. We told you before, if you keep teasing the animals, eventually one of them is going to bite.", one of the guards replied.
The woman now looked thoroughly entertained. "Looks like they don't care much about you either."
Nephiah gave his arm another twist, he screamed again.
"All right, all right, that's enough.", the other guard reprimanded her. No reaction. She twisted again, she wanted to hear a snap.
The guards stepped closer, ready to grab her arm. "I said, that's enough!"
Noticing the incoming danger, she turned her head slightly and looked to her side, already planning out how to take them on. But instead she felt another hand on her, coming from behind. Brelyna touching her shoulder softly was a signal she would respond to. She let go of his arm. He stumbled forward a few steps, then angrily turned around.
One of the guards pointed at him in a commanding manner. "Walk it off, Angrenor!"
The beggar begrudgingly began to leave, emitting unintelligible mumbling. The guards turned and walked away as well. "Stay out of trouble, Elf."
"Thank you, sera.", the woman said relieved. "He can be a real nuisance."
Brelyna's eyes finally detached from Angrenor in the distance. "Not at all. I never liked coming here. If I wanted disapproving looks I would have stayed at home."
The woman laughed. "My name is Suvaris, where are you headed?"
"I am Eravani, the silent one is Nevrith."
Nephiah gave her a confused look.
"We were hoping to see the court wizard."
"Wuunferth?", Suvaris said surprised. "He only works for Ulfric as far as he is concerned. Generally not a pleasant man. What do you want with him?"
"We were hoping he could help us with a magical problem at our farm..."
"Huh. He doesn't grant audiences. And looking like you do I doubt the guards would let you through without a good reason."
Brelyna looked down on herself, trying to find a fault in her wardrobe. "Looking like me?"
Suvaris put a finger on her ear.
"Oh." Brelyna said part sad, part offended.
"You know what you could do? You could try talking to Hillevi Cruel-Sea. She's got a stall in the market. Wuunferth has some kind of standing order with her, she is always looking for couriers."
Brelyna's eyes lit up. "Aha! That we will do, thank you!"
"Least I could do. They are closing up though, you should try in the morning."
"All right, I guess we better find a place for the night. Thank you again." She turned towards the Inn.
"I wouldn't." Suvaris stopped her. "I'm headed for the New Gnisis Corner Club over in the Gray Quarters. If you want a place where you can rest undisturbed, you may want to try there. They don't have any rooms but the owner never threw a Dunmer out that fell asleep at his table."
"All right?" Brelyna looked at Nephiah and made a quick head motion to follow.
Snow began to fall over the ancient stone walls that made up most of the city. As they traveled through streets and alleys, the face of the city began to change, less guards on the roads at first, then none. The cities well maintained houses and infrastructure turned into a rundown slum. The number of beggars in the streets grew exponentially, so did the number of Skeevers one could hear rattling about in the city sewers.
Brelyna shuddered.
"Never been in the Gray Quarters, huh?", Suvaris inquired, noticing her discomfort.
"No... I usually just went to the White Vial."
"So you're an alchemist then?"
"Just a farmer... Are you sure we couldn't have stayed at the Inn back there?"
"Well." Suvaris' face showed that she was about to talk from personal experience. "It is a Nord Inn, if you know what I mean. The innkeeper will take your gold but that's about as far as their hospitality to our kind extends. And then you'll still have to deal with the derogatory remarks made by the patrons."
Nephiah watched two beggars huddle together as the winds began to rise. She was tense ever since they entered Windhelm, registering every face and their intentions, trying to find the dangerous ones. Even the ones that were just going about their business were constantly monitored. She had seen the cruelty of the common people, she knew that often times you can't tell until it is exercised. But looking around the faces here, bitter, void of hope, something else flared up in her. She couldn't quite define it but it made her sick to the stomach. The need for action became overwhelming.
"And to really rub it in, they hired a Dunmer girl to sing Ulfric's praises in there."
"Really. How did they get her to do that?"
"Damned if I know. I heard she's got a crush on the young Nord blacksmith. Maybe it is love that blinds to a degree that's just unhealthy."
Brelyna looked at her love who was looking all around, taking stock of all the people she saw. For a moment she considered where she was before they met, and where she was now. "She isn't welcome with the Nords, she isn't welcome with her own people either. They feel strongly about 'collaborators'. Azura, I'm just doing the accounting for a Nord's business and I'm not going to hear the end of it anytime soon."
"Want to buy some flowers? Please?" A Nord girl, maybe eight years old, suddenly stood in front of them. Her hair was unkempt, her dress dirty and showing wear and tear, she had a flower basket in hand.
Both Nephiah and Brelyna stopped, Suvaris continued on without looking. After a moment she noticed her followers had fallen back and turned around. "Leave the Nords to themselves, sera! They wouldn't lift a finger to help one of ours!"
Nephiah made fists, looking upon the defenseless creature. A fire was burning inside of her, it demanded action. But she didn't know what to do, she just wanted to hit somebody.
Brelyna crouched down so her eyes were at level with the girl. "Hey.", she said softly. "What's your name, little one?"
"Sofie?", the girl said, unsure why someone would want to know.
"What are you doing out here all by yourself? Where are your parents?"
"They... they're dead. My Mama died when I was little... I... I don't remember her very well. My father was a Stormcloak soldier." Seeing Brelyna's compassionate face, a kindness she hadn't seen in a long while, the girl opened up. "When he left he told me not to worry. Because he would follow a man named 'Head-Crusher'. He said he was as tall as a giant and would protect him. But he never came back."
"Azura..." Brelyna looked up at Nephiah who's face had frozen as she listened to the girl's story. A tear rolled down her cheek.
"I'm all alone... I... I try and sell flowers so I can buy food. It's not much but... what else can I do?"
"Um... so..." Brelyna tried to compose herself. "How much for your flowers?"
"One gold piece? Will you buy one, please?"
"Actually, I think, I'll buy all of them."
The girls face lit up. "Really?!" "Really."
Brelyna opened up her belt pouch and handed over a small bag of coins.
"This is great!", the girl said like this minor act of kindness was the best thing that ever happened to her.
Brelyna took a fist full of mountain flowers and stood back up. She put her free hand on Nephiah's shoulder. She flinched. "Do you have a place to stay?"
"Niranye lets me sleep in her yard."
"Her yard?" Brelyna looked up, dark grey clouds covered the sky, big snowflakes calmly falling onto her face. "Yes, if you sleep close to the window, it's not that cold! Thanks again!"
With that she left, eager to spend the coin on something that would fill her belly.
Brelyna's eyes followed her until she was out of view. She then looked at her love. She knew that look. Guilt was eating her up, not long until she'd look for a fire to hold her hand into.
She gently touched her cheek, smearing the tears away. Nephiah opened her eyes and looked at Brelyna, pleading for forgiveness, saying all the things she said before, how she had been made a monster, how she hated herself for it.
"I know...", Brelyna whispered. "Come on, let's find some place warm."
Suvaris had already gone ahead so they were following the footprints in the fresh snow. Eventually they found the tavern. Song and chatter was heard through the door, Nephiah stopped. Brelyna just looked at her, giving her a moment. After a short while Nephiah took a deep breath and grabbed the hand of her mage. They stepped through the door.
It was lively inside, filled to the brim, exclusively with Dunmer. They had gotten a couple of looks as they entered but everybody went back to their conversation quickly, not paying much mind to the new arrivals.
"Well.", Brelyna said to her side, "If we wanted to blend in, this would be the place."
They worked their way past the filled tables and found a place to sit at the bar. They spotted Suvaris at a table in a corner, Brelyna gave her a short wave, she nodded back.
"Welcome, sisters." The barkeep settled his forearms on the counter in front of them. "I see you already met our most famous slave to the Nords." The last part he said in a volume that would reach Suvarises ears. Nephiah looked up, she instantly noticed the scar beneath her glove.
"Leave me be, Ambarys!", Suvaris yelled back, "I just want to drink in peace!"
The barkeep smiled as he looked back at Brelyna. "I don't think I have seen you before, what brings you here?"
Brelyna quickly checked how Nephiah was doing. She had her eyes firmly fixed on her fists which were being pressed down onto the counter in front of her. Her breathing was deep and steady.
Brelyna looked back at the barkeep. "Actually it was Suvaris who recommended the place if a couple of Elves wanted to find some peace for a night."
"Did she now?" He looked to the back of the room. "Maybe some Dunmer lives in her yet."
He looked back at Brelyna. "This isn't an Inn, mind you. I don't have beds for rent."
"Yes... I don't suppose we could occupy one of your tables? It's just for tonight. I don't want any trouble with the Nords."
"Yet.", Nephiah interjected. She slowly looked up to Ambarys, she didn't mean to say it out loud. Surprised he scanned her, taking note of the scar on her face, her muscular build, the severity in her eyes. Even in common clothes and unarmed, she was menacing. He didn't envy the one with whom she actually wanted trouble.
Brelyna nervously looked back and forth between the two, this could escalate quickly. Her reaction didn't go unnoticed either.
"Who did you say you were?"
"J-just a couple of farmers from down south."
Ambarys began to smile, seeing right through the lie. "Farmers, huh. Well I don't see a problem there. Make yourselves at home."
Both of them began to relax.
"What'll it be?"
"I don't know, what do you have?"
"The best Sujamma you're likely to find this side of the sea. It'll keep you warm with thoughts of home."
"Got anything to eat?"
"How about some Horker and Ash Yam Stew? My recipe is..."
"Yes two of those please!" Brelyna interrupted him.
He laughed. "Coming right up. That's your table over there." He pointed at two patrons who vacated their seats and went for the door.
As they settled down on their simple wooden table, Brelyna noticed the ever growing restlessness of her opposite. She put her forearms on the table and moved her head forward as far as she could. "I know you don't like it here. Just focus on me, all right?"
Nephiah looked up at her, her pained, frowning eyes wide open.
Brelyna put her hands on Nephiah's fists. "Remember why we're here. If we are going to have any chance at getting to Wuunferth, we must not be noticed."
"Here's your food, enjoy." Ambarys had approached with two bowls that he put down on the table.
"You know what?" Brelyna stopped him as he was about to leave. "I think we will try some of your Sujamma."
He smiled. "You won't regret it. Your friend certainly looks like she could use some." He left for the bar.
Nephiah had been staring into Brelyna's eyes for the entirety of the exchange. As their eyes met again, she turned her wrists and took her hands. Brelyna looked at her with big eyes. The pain on her face was gone but she was very alert.
Something was about to happen. Nephiah moved her hands up and placed a quick kiss upon them. "Wait here."
Brelyna did not like the sound of that. Her warrior, out there, alone, any number of things could go horribly wrong. "As you wish, just don't forget about me..."
With that Nephiah stood up and rushed to the door.
Brelyna stood up but didn't follow. "Neph... Nevrith!"
The door shut behind her warrior.
"Damnit!" She sat back down, feeling very uneasy about the immediate future. "I should have come here alone. Stupid stupid stupid!"
The snow had settled, stars were twinkling in the clear night sky. The air was bone chillingly cold. Nephiah began to run, retracing the steps that brought her to the tavern. Eventually she reached the spot where they met the girl. She stopped and looked around, found the direction Sophie ran to and followed. Eventually the faint traces of little footsteps disappeared in the snow. She looked around in panic and began jumping walls, looking into people's yards.
Passing house after house, the cold began to get to her. Finally she spotted an empty flower basket sitting on a storage barrel in one of the yards. She jumped over the wall and stayed low as she looked around. There she was. Curled up under a window, eyes closed, faint breaths forming little puffs of steam in front of her face. She moved up and shook her shoulder.
Sophie startled as she opened her eyes, she hadn't been sleeping.
"Shhh." Nephiah said reassuring her. "I have a place that's warm. Want to come?", she whispered.
Sophie looked around in confusion.
"My friend is there too, remember her?"
No response.
"You'll freeze out here!"
Finally the girl nodded and stretched out both arms.
Nephiah took hold under her arms and lifted her up to carry her back. She was practically weightless, her body gave off no heat. Nephiah took a deep breath and began to run.
Brelyna was nervously poking her stew with a wooden spoon, waiting for the trouble Nephiah would inevitably bring with her as she returned. And sure enough, the door swung open, Nephiah stepped in, carrying the flower girl. Then she kicked the door shut.
"Ohnonononono." Ambarys immediately stepped away from the counter. "We don't want their kind here."
Nephiah ignored both him and the looks of the other patrons, she went straight for her seat and sat down, continuously rubbing the girl's back to get the cold out of her.
"What are you doing?", Brelyna whispered as Ambarys arrived at their table. "We don't want anything to do with Nords in here, all right? Just as they don't want anything to do with us."
Nephiah didn't look at him. She just kept trying to get the girl warm.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!"
He put his hand on her left upper arm to try and get her to stand up. Nephiah's movement instantly stopped, she slowly looked up. She looked at him like a predator would look upon its prey. He was startled and let go of her arm.
That was it. Whatever was going to happen, would happen now, there was no stopping it.
Resigning to the reality of the situation, Brelyna crossed her arms and leaned back. "I wouldn't have done that. She killed people for a lot less than this."
Ambarys believed her. "Alright listen! You can stay the night, tomorrow morning you're gone! All three of you! Deal?"
Brelyna instantly stepped in. "Deal!"
She then quickly reached across the table and took her warrior's hand.
Nephiah slowly removed her gaze from her target, directed it forward and continued to rub the girl's back. Both relieved and disgruntled, Ambarys returned to his place behind the counter, the conversations in the room flared back up.
Brelyna laughed with relief. "Look at you, being so very civil. I'm so proud of you!"
Nephiah was cradling the girl who had finally stopped shivering. Her entire attention was focused on her.
Brelyna leaned back again and smiled at the tender scene. "I knew you were somewhere in there."
