This second pair are two of my characters. Probably the most unusual pair and not entirely healthy as the bases for the relationship is pretty much a man with a very broken psyche being overly dependent on a young woman being defenseless as a reason to keep living. I personally love exploring the relationship dynamic between these two in mine and Stary's drabbles because while they don't start out with the healthiest of partnerships they are probably the cutest couple.

Xal-Kee (male)

Argonian

A mute assassin that was sold into slavery after his previous master found him of no further use. He has devoted the rest of his life on protecting a 17 year old run away who was captured by the same slavers that he was sold to. He has an unhealthy obsession with keeping her depended on his protection as her magika was sealed by said slavers. When they crossed into Skyrim's boarders they escaped together.

Laelette (female)

Breton

A conjurer and nobleman's daughter who ran away from her college after learning her father set her up in an arranged marriage. Neive and a bit spoiled she takes a liking to Xal-Kee despite eventually becoming aware he is not quite able to be a safe member to society.

EXTRA WARNING: I do not promote abusive relationships or abuser forgiveness, if the way Xal-Kee acts now and in later chapters is at all uncomfortable to any reader or has a chance for triggering a negative reaction to possessive/obsessive behavior, moments of near unwanted sexual advances, or demeaning thoughts towards a woman please skip.

Kee's and Laelette's drabbles are a mix between questionable and honest fluff and I will put a warning before their drabbles where the content could probably make people uncomfortable

There is also an age gap. While Kee is 28-29 in these stories, Laelette is 17-18. In the U.S you are not an adult until 18, but as the Elder scrolls takes place is a more ancient fantasy civilization I am making head canon adulthood the age of 16. And while I have explored the nature of a large age gap before in a less than flattering light, this couple is an end game pairing for me because despite the darker aspect to their relationship, they do both care deeply for each other.

He heard her high pitched cry of pain before he could register what he saw when he turned around to search for her. It was like being dunked in ice cold water without a chance for his blood to adapt. He felt weighted down and fuzzy headed like he would loose consciousness. He wanted to scream, scream loud with all his strength, call out her name to let her know he's here and she wouldn't have to look so shocked.

Laelette stood in the back, as she always did when covering him as he snuck around to the backs of their enemies to slit their throats. But there was something wrong, so, so, wrong, and it made him wish for a voice.

Laelette staggered until her back hit the stone wall of the bandit hideout they were raiding with Breyela and Khepri. An arrow was pierced through the stupid, stupid girls' shoulder, another impaled her in the gut. Xal-Kee felt his gut wrench. This wasn't suppose to happen, no, no, no! She was his, his stupid girl, his needy little burden that he wanted to keep needy. Because then she couldn't cast him aside like some argonian slave. He wanted her to need him, and she can't need him if she dies.

Somewhere, Khepri is hissing up a storm, calling for the 'kitten'. And then their enemies were dead in a blur and Xal-Kee was running to her. His breton, his charge.

She had slid to the ground and had confused, pained tears in her eyes. He knows this is the first time she's been hurt like this. She was a sheltered noble, a princess of High Rock if he understood what she would tell him or her life before right, she'd never felt what it was like to be stabbed before. Yet here she was, impaled and reaching out to him like a child, calling him 'Kee' as if he could make her feel better...

He wanted to make her feel better, gods, he wanted to take her pain away, stop her tears.

His pale scaled hands hovered over her, even as she gripped his upper arms. Her grasp was so weak.

"K-Kee, it hurts, make...make it s-stop." she sobbed. Xal-Kee's icy blue eyes looked into her helpless face, surely those lovely green eyes of hers were reflecting his own helplessness.

He opened his mouth, he wanted to tell her she would be fine. He had tasked himself with protecting her. But his damnable throat rejected the very notion of speech and he was left with cupping her face between his hands.

His hands are bigger than hers, everything about him was bigger than her. She was so small, was she always as such?

His thumbs brushed her tear stained cheeks as the panic began to set in. She was so scared.

And then a clawed hand shoved him away from her, Laelette protested, Xal-Kee wanted to as well. But it was Khepri there in his place, and Breyela, laying the smallest of the group down and shouting at each other.

Breyela was ashen, Khepri's tail was fluffed up and her ears flat.

Xal-Kee watched in a daze as they removed the arrows and told him to apply pressure to the wounds to slow the bleeding.

His hands were soaked in her blood as she looks at him with those big, watery eyes of hers. And damn it, it isn't fair! He doesn't know what to do for once-even though he knows how to treat arrow wounds. But everything he knows goes out the window because its her. His stupid, naive, beautiful Laelette. She makes him stupid, possessive, desperate.

He tears his eyes away from her for just a second and maked contact with Khepri. The khajiit's intense teal eyes glow in the dim light.

"She needs a healer of Kynareth. They can heal her best."

Xal-Kee doesn't even have to think, he wraps his only reason for not keeling over in some rats nest, or rich man's slave quarters and bolts for the exit, to their horses. Whiterun was too far away for his liking.

"Kee...Xal-Kee..." Laelette murmured. He looked down at her with a desperate, wild look to his pale blue eyes. A dainty hand strokes at the tender flesh of his neck where his white scales don't cover. He shivers, and curses himself.

"You'll save me, r-right?" she whispers.

He holds her tighter as a response.