Chapter 5: Moving In

I just want to say ahead of time that I wrote this chapter a few months back, and as I was typing, I was trying to figure out how to possibly extend or change it, but I was only to make small changes compared to the original. Ah well, I still like how this turned out.

I awoke the next morning to find Kara resting her head comfortably against my chest and sleeping contently. The real question is how it had gotten to this point.

-The night before-

I returned to Kara's room to find her sitting on the bed looking through some of her father's books. I also noticed tears in her eyes, "Kara, are you okay?" I asked out of concern.

She wiped her eyes and said, "I'm fine."

I could already tell that she was lying. "Then why are you crying?" I asked softly. When she didn't respond, I walked over to the bed, sat next to her and said, "Kara, you can tell me if anything is bothering you?"

Again she was quiet for a minute before she wrapped her arms around me and started crying into my shoulder. "Shhhhh, it's okay Kara. It's okay, I said soothingly, returning her embrace.

"I miss him so much Navarre." Kara said as she continued to cry.

I felt that all I could do was gently stroke her hair to try and calm her down, which seemed to help a little as she was still crying, but at least her breathing was starting to slow down. "I know Kara. And I'm sorry that I did that in front of you. But I promise that I will always be here for you." I said, trying to give her some sense of security.

Once she had calmed down, Kara looked at me and said, "Thank you Navarre. You truly are the nicest man that I've ever met." She then moved a little close to my face until her lips were pressed to mine in a very passionate kiss. I wanted to stop her and ask why she was doing this, but my body didn't want to, so I kissed her back instead.

She somehow managed to overpower me, causing me to go onto my back and her lay on top of me as we continued to kiss. When she separated from me for air, she looked deeply into my eyes and said, "Navarre, I think I might be in love with you."

-back to present morning-

For some reason, that was all I could remember last night. Did I hit my head on something and pass out? Well, at this point I'm not too concerned about it. Instead I just looked down at Kara as she slept soundly. 'By Talos, she's so beautiful.' I thought to myself as I gently brushed away a few loose strands of hair that was in her face. The tips of my fingers must've grazed her forehead, because as soon as I moved the hair from her face, she started to stir and wake up. "Morning Kara."

"Mmmm, morning." Kara said as she yawned.

"Sleep well?" I asked.

"I always do when your close by." She replied, snuggling closer to me.

"Kara, we need to talk about what happened last night." I said calmly.

"What about last night?" She asked, looking up at me.

'Wow. She has the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. How've I not noticed the beauty of them before.' I thought as I looked into her crystal blue eyes.

"Navarre?" Kara said, getting my attention.

"Sorry, I um, got distracted for a minute." I replied quickly.

"By what?"

"It's not important right now. I need to ask you something about last night. And please, don't take what I'm about to say the wrong way. Do you really love me, or did you say that because you felt vulnerable and needed comfort?" I asked carefully.

"I… I did feel vulnerable, and I did need that comforting feeling. But I do love you Navarre. I feel safe around you. You've been there for me since you rescued me. I've been feeling more and more love toward you every day since then." She moved a little closer so that she was resting her head on my shoulder and said, "Something inside me just wants to be close to you. To be with you."

"Kara…"

She then looked at me and asked, "What about you Navarre?"

"What do you mean?"

"….How do you feel about me?"

I took a minute to properly think of what to say, until I finally told her, "I've… been unsure of my feelings lately. You haven't judged me since learning that I'm a vampire. You make me feel whole, and comfortable when I'm around you. My feelings have been conflicting, but one thing I do know, is that I love you Kara." I finished as she leaned closer to gently kiss me. I couldn't help but kiss her back. The kiss was very brief, but I didn't mind, and I don't think Kara minded either. "Let's get what you need together so we can move you into my home."

We gathered everything that Kara wanted to take and made our way to my home, where Ophelia was waiting for us outside of the house.

"Kara, this is my housecarl Ophelia." I said when we got to her. She was wearing a casual shirt and pants, something she only wore when we weren't out travelling or on a quest.

"It's nice to meet you Ophelia." Kara said kindly as Ophelia seemingly inspected Kara.

"It's nice to meet you too Kara." Ophelia said politely, but I swear I could sense a bit of jealouy in her tone. Or was I just imagining things again?

Deciding to dismiss the thought, I asked, "Ophelia, is everything ready?"

"Yes my Thane. Your room had been adjusted accordingly." Ophelia responded.

"Thank you. And I told you last night, stop calling me- wait a minute, did you just say 'my room'?" I asked.

"From what you told me last night, it seemed appropriate."

"What did you tell her Navarre?" Kara asked as we walked into the house. All I knew was that this wasn't going to go well.

"Just that he wants you to be as close to him as possible when he decides to take advantage of you."

"Ophelia!" I yelled.

She of course fell right to the floor, laughing hysterically and trying to say that she was only kidding.

"This isn't funny Ophelia! Kara, I swear to Talos that those words never came out of my mouth." I pleaded, hoping and somewhat knowing that Kara would believe me over Ophelia.

"I believe you Navarre, but why would she say something like that?" Kara asked, blushing bright red.

"Because she gets a huge kick out of pissing me off." I said. "Ophelia, are you going to help us or not?"

After her little laughing fit, she stopped and, still chuckling, said, "Yes, I'll help."

After a few hours of getting everything of Kara's put away and organized, it had turned to dusk, Kara, Ophelia and I talked over dinner, Ophelia sharing stories about hers and my past when she, my brother Mathias and I were younger, and some of her jokes that she played on my brother and I.

By about 10:30, Ophelia decided that she was going to go to bed, having tired out after everything we did today. Kara and I decided it would be a good idea to get some sleep as well, starting upstairs to the master bedroom.

"I think she's starting to warm up to you Kara." I said as I removed my armor.

"She does seem very kind. But I still get the feeling that she doesn't like me very much." Kara said shyly.

"I placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Don't worry Kara. Ophelia was the same way with my brother and I. She'll change toward you, don't worry."

"I know she will. But hearing you say that makes me feel better about it." Kara smiled, placing her hand on top of mine.

"Get some sleep. You'll have a lot to do for that journal to give to Ulfric." I said as I started toward the door to leave the room.

"What about you?" She asked.

"There's something I need to take care of first. I'll be back shortly." I replied as I left the room and went back downstairs.

I went into the living area and sat down in my chair next to the fireplace. Ahhh, how the warmth of the fire feels against my cool skin. That's the one thing I've missed the most since my transformation so many years ago; my skin is always so cold. I miss being able to take in the heat. But that wasn't the reason I came back down here. I opened the drawer of a small table next to my chair and remove the book that was in it. It wasn't just any book, it was my father's personal journal, one of the few things Mathias and I have left from our old home in Hammerfell. The one thing that has bothered me the most about it is that there were quite a few pages torn out. Must've been something that father didn't want anyone to read.

As I reached the end of the journal, I noticed that a folded piece of paper was in a pocket in the back cover. How I've never noticed it before is beyond me, but that wasn't my primary concern. I removed the note, opened it, and started reading it.

'Navarre and Mathias,

If you're reading this, then I or both your mother and I have, more than anything, been killed by Imperials. Your mother and I have done everything we could to keep you two safe. If you've been trying to find out why the Empire killed us, it was because Imperials came to the house demanding taxes to fund the Thalmor campaign to ban Talos worship. I kindly refused, but they wouldn't listen. I started getting aggressive, eventually killing them with my war hammer. More are bound to show up, and if that happens, you two deserve to at least know the truth.

I'm sorry that you boys had to find out about this this way, but you two a have right to know the reason we were killed. The only thing I can say, is look for Ulfric Stormcloak. He became a close friend of mine after I saved his father from a frost troll. It had killed all of his body guards and had him pinned to the ground. I happened to be travelling by when I saw what was happening. I attacked the troll with my war hammer, shattered it's skull, and saved the High King. He then brought me back to Windhelm and introduced me to Ulfric. We became almost inseparable, and I became that High King's personal bodyguard.

Sorry to bore you two with that old story. Your mother and I wish the best for both of you, and we love you both very much. Take care of yourselves boys.'

I felt my eyes begin to burn as tears formed and ran down from my eyes. Mother and Father died protecting us and fighting the Talos ban. Mathias and I are fighting for the same cause, and to bring down the bastards who took our parents away from us. I couldn't help but break down into tears of pain after reading the letter a second time.

"Navarre?"

I looked up to see both Kara and Ophelia looking at me, concern clear on their faces. "Are you okay?" Ophelia asked as they walked over to me.

I handed Ophelia the letter, and she started reading it, while Kara read it over Ophelia's shoulder. After reading it, I noticed Ophelia's eyes start to well up before she asked, "Where did you find this?"

"In the back of his journal. In a small pocket in the back cover." I answered, taking the letter back.

Kara then leaned next to the chair, wrapped her arms around me and asked, "Are you going to be okay? I mean, after reading that letter?"

Ophelia sat on the opposite arm of the chair, place her hand on my shoulder and said, "You need to find Mathias. He needs to know this. And don't forget, we're both here for you." She finished saying as she placed her head on my shoulder.

"Thank you. Both of you." I said as I got up and we all left the living area and went back upstairs for some much needed sleep.

Phew, almost midnight. Must, upload, before, bed. Aaaaannndd… done. Now, if nobody minds, I'm going to go to sleep. Oh, and before I do, don't get too used to me doing quick updates like this anytime soon . I just felt like this story was getting neglected, so I needed to do something more to it. Okay, now I'm going to bed. Good night everyone, hope you're enjoying my Skyrim fic so far.

I'm My Own OC

9/3/12