Ondolemar opened the door, with Crystal behind him, quiet.

"Hello, Ondolemar..." Elenwen said, a slightly seductive tone.

"What do you want?" Ondolemar asked with a deadpan expression.

"Is this how I'm greeted?" Elenwen asked, attempting to arouse him. She continued, "After all, didn't your parents agree with mine that we would be bred together? We could make some superior offspring..."

"It doesn't mean I want to adhere to it..." Ondolemar said as he gently pushed her off.

Elenwen was surprised, and somewhat angered by the rebuff.

"It's that little Nord woman..." Elenwen said, a twinge of paranoia in her tone. She continued, "She's making you doubt yourself, making you go soft..."

"It's not that...!" Ondolemar said defencively, before he was pushed onto a couch by Elenwen in a sexually agressive way.

Elenwen then placed a forced kiss on Ondolemar, forcing her tongue into his mouth. Revulsed, he pushed her off of him.

"Get off me...!" Ondolemar cried. He then said, "You're a vile, cruel woman, with whom I want nothing to do with! You tried to kill an innocent woman's family and friends!"

With that, Ondolemar felt something flat and swift strike him. A sharp sting and a feeling of intense heat followed immediately. Elenwen had struck him out of anger at his declaration of disgust.

"How can you say that?" Elenwen spat out of rage. She continued, "I lavish you with love and adulation and you want to be away from me!"

"I want you to eject yourself from my home..." Ondolemar said to her.

"You're not getting me out that easily..." Elenwen said as she made another attempt at seducing him by rubbing his side.

Ondolemar pushed her away again, his face flushed with anger.

"This isn't the end of me, Ondolemar..." Elenwen said, her voice dripping with vitriol. She continued, "You will be mine..."

"OUT!" Ondolemar screamed at the top of his lungs, enraged at the Altmer woman.

The scream elicited a jolf and cringe from Crystal. Elenwen bolted out of the mansion and got out quickly.

Ondolemar was panting through his teeth as he seethed with anger. His clothes were disheveled from Elenwen's attempts at seduction. He winced as he felt the pain from his wounds coming back. He then felt a pair of tiny hands timidly touch him.

"I'm sorry if I frightened you..." Ondolemar apologised, feeling sick with a headache.

"You didn't..." Crystal responded. She then asked, "Is it true? That you were... promised to her?"

"It was against my will..." Ondolemar replied. He continued, "I didn't want to spend my life with someone so cruel... But I was also desparate for their approval..."

Crystal felt a great deal of sympathy for him wash over her.

"Unlike you..." Ondolemar started. He continued, "Neither of my parents loved me... As a child, I wasn't as gifted as most Altmer children in the arcane arts..."

Flashback

A young Altmer boy sat by himself under a tree. He tried to do some form of magic, only for it to fail. Some of the Altmer children laugh at him, all except a young Altmer girl, who had white hair and blue eyes.

"Hi..." The young Altmer girl said.

The young boy hid behind a tree, shy.

"It's okay..." The young girl reassured. She said, "I won't hurt you... I'm Eilonwy What's your name?"

"Don't bother with him..." One of the boys said. He continued, "He can't even do a simple spell..."

"Mara doesn't like bullies, Nindriel..." Eilonwy spoke back. She then turned to the shy boy by the tree.

"O-Ondolemar..." The shy boy had spoken.

"Nice to meet you..." Eilonwy said as she extended her hand to Ondolemar.

Ondolemar shyly shook it, then hid behind the tree again.

"I'd stay away from him if I were you..." Another Altmer girl said.

Eilonwy ignored her and sat down beside Ondolemar, who remained quiet out of shyness. She spotted a bruise on his arm that was hidden on his sleeve.

"What happened?" Eilonwy asked.

Ondolemar promptly hid the bruise, scared that she would do something to humiliate him.

"It's okay... I won't hurt you..." Eilonwy murmured soothingly.

She then gave Ondolemar a kiss on the forehead, unknowingly eliciting disgust from some of the other Altmer children, and a flush of red from Ondolemar's face.

"I... I have to go home..." Ondolemar said. He continued, "... I don't want to get in trouble again..."

"Okay..." Eilonwy said in response. She then said, "I hope to see you again... Oh, and the reason why your magic needs improvement is because you're scared... Clear your mind of your fear, and it'll get stronger..."

"O-okay..." Ondolemar stammered as he started walking away, looking back to see Eilonwy smile at him.

Present

"So you found comfort in a young Altmer girl by the name of Eilonwy..." Crystal said as she poured Ondolemar some tea. She then asked, "Were... were you in love with her?"

"Indeed I was..." Ondolemar replied. He explained, "You reminded me of her... Your kindhearted ways, your skills in magic... and... those beautiful blue eyes... Eilonwy had those same eyes you do... If it wasn't for Eilonwy... I would have given up on life..."

"W-what happened to her...?" Crystal asked.

"She died..." Ondolemar replied, a tear streaming down his cheek. He continued, "My parents told me she had committed treason... But I found out the truth... They had her killed... To keep me bound to their agreement with Lord Naarifin..."

"The marriage agreement?" Crystal asked.

Ondolemar nodded, near the verge of tears.

"I'm so sorry..." Crysta said, feeling a great deal of pain for Ondolemar.

"I was intimate with her once, when I was a young Mer..." Ondolemar said, his face wet with tears.

Crystal hugged him close, comforting the weeping Mer. He returned the gesture of affection with a deep kiss, his inner animal wanting more of her.