Chapter Sixteen: An Almost Drowned Kitten
Anjaarra could faintly hear the lapping of water and the crackle of a fire, trying in vain to open her exhuasted eyes. She panicked and tried to sit up but a reassuring hand was placed on her shoulder and gently laid her back down. A woman's soft voice quietly spoke to her but the Khajiit couldn't understand a word of it. She opened her mouth and tried to speak but only a muffled squeak escaped her mouth. The cat-woman whimpered pathetically before trying again.
"H-Hulgar…?" She stammered weakly, finally finding the strength to open her eyes. Her vision was blurry but she could barely make out the outline of a Nord woman looming over her. She could see a black hole open up in the woman's face and she guessed it was her mouth. Again, Anjaarra could hear words but they seemed too far to hear and were garbled to her ears. With extreme effort, the cat-woman slowly shook her head, closing her eyes again.
Even though it felt like her eyes were closed for a second, hours had passed by. When the Khajiit opened her eyes again, the Nord woman wasn't there but the blurriness had almost entirely disappeared. Slowly sitting up, Anjaarra winced and grimaced as her entire body seemed to pop and crack when she sat up. She could feel bruises and scars all over her body but her fur covered them, along with a plain night gown. Probably the Nord's, Anjaarra thought as she slowly turned to dangle her legs off the side of the bed.
Glancing around the room, the cat-woman found herself inside an open room cabin. It seemed to be of the common sort, with the dining room, kitchenette and bedroom all crammed into one space. But it still had a homey feel to it that Anjaarra liked. A fire was crackling in the fire place and a stew pot was hanging over the glowing flame. Someone must be around then, the Khajiit thought quietly as she slowly slid out of the bed and shakily stood up, placing her hand against the bed stand.
With a few shaky steps, the Khajiit walked around the room and glanced at her surroundings. There were a few things of clothes placed around the place and a few books but nothing else to suggest how many people lived there. She cautiously peeked into a closet and saw clothing for just women. Maybe she's a hermit…
"You know, they used to say curiousity killed the cat," A woman's voice said behind the cat-woman. Anjaarra jumped and quickly looked back at the Nord woman she had seen hours ago. Anjaarra quickly raised her hands up and tried to stammer out an answer.
"I… I… You… It…" She stammered, her tongue seemed to be tied as she stared at the woman. The Nord watched her before laughing at her, softly patting her arm.
"It's alright, Khajiit. I'm only joking with you." The Nord woman smiled warmly, her Nordic accent thickly covered her words as they rolled out of her mouth. Anjaarra relaxed, smiling softly and sighing with relief. The Nord woman motioned for the cat-woman to sit down, walking over to the cooking pot. Anjaarra quietly sat down, watching the woman.
"So, um, thank you, um…" Anjaarra paused for the woman to say her name before she continued. "Um, Hert, for taking me in. But, how exactly did I get here?" The Khajiit asked cautiously, afraid to hear what happened to Hulgar. Hert looked over to Anjaarra as she tapped the spoon against the side of the pot before stirring it some more.
"You mean, you don't remember anything?" Anjaarra stared at her before slowly shaking her head. "Well, where to start then? Um, well, I was out gathering up my nets for the night and I was laying them out to dry like I always do every night. It was a little after dark when I heard some sort of screeching in the distance. I could hear the sounds of battle and I wasn't sure if I wanted to get mixed up in it. But my curiousity got the best of me so I took my row boat out and I started to go towards the river when I saw a flash of a light a bit up the river. I had seen something fly off into the water. I wasn't sure what it was so I quickly rowed over to it and saw that it was you." The woman explained, grabbing a wooden bowl and pouring the soup into it.
Hert took the bowl over to the table and placed it down in front of Anjaarra along with a spoon. The Khajiit thanked her quietly, staring down at the salmon soup. Hert sat across from her, watching the cat-woman slowly and quietly eating her meal.
"But while I was looking over your wounds, you woke up for a few seconds. You still looked dazed but you said a name. I think it was Huggard or Holgur or something like that." Hert said to Anjaarra. The cat-woman looked up at the Nord with her bright orange eyes.
"Hulgar… I was traveling with him when we were attacked…" Anjaarra said quietly, trying to remember the last moments of the battle. It must have been when she hit the machine's soul gem that Hert had seen. And that must have been what knocked out the Khajiit. Her eyes focused again as she looked at Hert's face.
"Did you see him? Is he still alive?" Anjaarra's ears drooped in sorrow as the Nord woman shook her head sadly.
"No, I'm sorry. I didn't look for anyone else. After I dragged you out of the river, I quickly came back home to help clean you up. I didn't think there was anyone else around." Hert explained. Anjaarra nodded slowly, staring down at her soup. Hert sighed sadly and reached across the table and patted the cat-woman's furry hand.
"Don't worry, I'm sure he's just fine." Hert said softly, hoping to cheer her up. Anjaarra smiled weakly, glancing up at the Nord woman. "I'm sure he's on his way right now to find you." Anjaarra smiled more as she looked up at Hert.
"Yeah… I'm sure he is… But, where am I, if you don't mind me asking?" Anjaarra asked quietly. Hert looked at her before smiling.
"Oh, I did forget to mention that, huh? I'm the owner of the Half-Moon Mill." Hert told the cat-woman. She laughed softly at the cat-woman who gave her look that read "And where is that?". "We're just off the road that leads west to Markarth. So I'm sure that your Hulgar won't miss us when he walks this way." Hert said with a smile, seeing Anjaarra flick her ears in an embarrassed fashion, looking away with a soft smile.
"Thank you, Hert… For everything." Anjaarra said as she looked back up at the Nord woman. She nodded and smiled, pushing her dirty blond hair behind her ear.
"Your welcome," The woman smiled. "But I think you forgot to tell me what your name is." Hert said, watching the Khajiit smile.
"Its Anjaarra." She told the Nord. The pale woman nodded and stood up.
"Well, Anjaarra, if you'd like you can change into one of my spare dresses until your man comes along and rescues you." Hert smiled at Anjaarra's embarrassed smile and demeanor as the Nord woman walked to her dresser.
"H-he's not my man," Anjaarra stammered out uneasily, eating a couple more spoonfuls of her soup. Hert glanced back at the Khajiit over her shoulder before pulling out a worn looking red dress with brown patches sewn into it.
"Really? Because I could've sworn that you two were married." Hert carried the dress over to the table and draped it over the back of one of the chairs, looking up as the cat-woman shook her head.
"No… I used to be married before but my husband died over a year ago… And Hulgar doesn't like me in that way. Or in any way for that matter." Anjaarra said quietly, staring down at the murky red contents of her soup. Hert looked at her sadly before standing beside the Khajiit and gently rubbing over her back with a hand.
"I'm sorry to hear about your husband, Anjaarra… But you can't assume that there is no one else out there for you."Hert said to Anjaarra. The Khajiit looked up at the Nord woman, staring into her eyes as she continued. "The Divines always have a way of making their followers' lives content. Sure, times can be tough and even though it may seem like no one is on your side, maybe your not praying to the right aedra." The Nord spoke quietly, her hand still rubbing over the cat-woman's shoulders.
Anjaarra stared into the Nord's eyes for a few seconds. Maybe she was right. Maybe Mara wasn't helping her in a way that she wanted help. She averted her orange eyes and looked back down at her wooden bowl of soup. Or maybe, she was practicing her belief in Mara in the wrong way. She had heard that the Nordic tradition for marriage was that an aviable person would wear an Amulet of Mara.
But is that something I really want, Anjaarra thought. Do I really want to devote myself to an entirely different man than my S'Baadar. And a man that I don't even know if he likes me… I mean, I risked my life for him and I doubt he's even out there looking for me. He's probably lost too much time because of me that he probably left and is already in the Reach Hold by now…
Hert stared down at the Khajiit. She could tell that the cat-woman was mulling over some pretty tough decisions and knew that the best way to deal with it was to wait for her to finish. But seeing that the end may not come very soon, the Nord woman decided to sit down next to her thinking companion. The quiet sound of the chair legs rubbing against the wooden planks of the floor snapped Anjaarra out of her thinking.
"Do you miss your husband?" Hert asked quietly, staring at the solemn face of the woman. Anjaarra nodded slowly, her ears flattening back slightly. "Do you think he'd want you to stay alone for the rest of your life?" The Khajiit looked up at the question, her ears flattened back completely against her head. She knew her rage was probably showing in her eyes but she tried to keep control of emotions.
"I… I don't know. I never thought about it like that…" Anjaarra said quietly as she broke the eye contact with the Nord. Hert sighed quietly, staring down at the table. "I always felt like I would be betraying him if I tried to marry another man, let alone if it was another creation of the Divines…" Anjaarra said quietly, staring down at her soup as her eyes glazed over in tears and memories.
"I wore an Amulet of Mara once when I walked into Whiterun to buy some supplies. It had been about five months after S'Baadar, my husband, had died. I was feeling lonely and a pilgrim of Mara had given it to me a few weeks back. So, I decided to wear it just to see what kind of reaction I would get. For an entire I day, I roamed around Whiterun, making sure all of the aviable men saw the amulet. I even waited around in the Bannered Mare for a few hours to see if anyone would come by to talk to me… But no one came…" Anjaarra said quietly, clearing her throat as tears threatened to spill out of her eyes. Hert was even blinking several times to keep her emotions at bay. The Khajiit waited a few moments before continuing.
"On that day, I took it as a sign that I wasn't supposed to wed again. I thought that my husband had made a deal with the Divines so that I would never fall in love again… And I've thought that for the past few months now." The Khajiit explained, her tail swaying sadly off her seat. "Of course… Until I met Hulgar." This time, a slight smile tweaked the corners of lips up as she thought of the Nordic man.
"I don't know… There's just something about him that makes me feel different. He just seems different than most of the Nords that lived in Whiterun. Well, he didn't like me at first but… But I can tell that his feelings have changed." Anjaarra told Hert, looking up at the Nord woman. She stared back at the orange eyes before a soft smile played across her lips.
"Do you still feel like the Divines are against you?" Hert asked quietly. Anjaarra's ears flicked back in slight embarrassment before she slowly shook her head no.
"No, I don't. But I don't know how to tell him any of this. He'd probably just laugh at me." Anjaarra sighed and looked down at the wooden table. Hert stared at the furry woman before sliding out of her wooden seat and walking over to her nightstand.
"I think I know how you can get his attention." Hert said. She opened open the drawer in the stand and rummaged through. Anjaarra watched her with her bright, curious eyes. A triumphant smile crossed the Nord's lips as she pulled something out of the drawer.
"Here we are." She said as she walked back over to Anjaarra. The Nord held out her hand and revealed an amulet of Mara. The Khajiit began to shake her head but Hert spoke before she could reject the medallion. "Take it, please. I have no use for it and my husband keeps worrying that I'll use it next time I go to the market." The Nord woman laughed softly at her joke as Anjaarra stared at her.
"Are you sure? I've already taken so much from you and I have no way to repay you." The Nord shook her head and placed the amulet in the furry woman's hand.
"I'm sure. And if you're willing to help me work until Hulgar comes to get you, I don't mind at all." Hert said to Anjaarra, smiling softly as the Khajiit slipped the medallion over her head. The circular medallion was covered with interlocked ovals and a few light blue stones covered the pendant and it seemed to lay comfortably against her chest. With a soft smile, she looked up at Hert.
"Thank you again, Hert. I will try and repay you as best as I can." The Khajiit told her. Hert only smiled and nodded as Anjaarra lgihtly fingered the amulet. She watched the furry woman for a moment before taking a step back and walking towards the door.
"Now, I should probably get back to my work. So, if you're feeling up to some labor, feel free to change and join me outside." Hert told the Khajiit. Anjaarra nodded her head before the Nord left the house, closing the door behind her. Anjaarra looked back down at the amulet laying against her chest, running her fingers over the design.
Maybe I didn't come here by accident… Maybe, maybe the Divines had this planned all along and the final part of it all is Hulgar, Anjaarra thought to herself. She picked up her spoon and began to finish her soup, her mind still in thought. I guess I'll know how he truly feels if he comes looking for me…