Fate's Games
(A/N: Fourth up today. Based on his glitch with the Investor perk, before it was fixed, and on something his sister once said. Again, as I'm going for continuity this will be one of the few Dragonborn's that I've named directly in the oneshots throughout this series.)
The Riverwood Trader
She'd met him for the first time when she had walked in on him and his sister arguing. The fight had caught her attention. "Well one of us has to do something!" the woman, Camilla, insisted.
"We are done talking about this," the man, Lucan, replied.
"Well what are you going to do then, huh? Let's hear it!" Camilla challenged.
"I said no! No adventures, no theatrics, no thief-chasing!" he yelled at his sibling. She harrumphed and angrily stomped away from her brother. He sighed deeply and looked over. "Oh, a customer. Sorry you had to hear that," he stated, blushing in embarrassment. Ooh, this just wasn't his day.
She smiled at him and laid a group of gems on the table. "What will you give me for these?" she questioned. He looked the jewels over with a ponderous eye and then handed her a fair sum of gold. He was all too willing to buy such things. He could turn them over for quite a profit.
"Thank you for your business," he said.
"What was all that about?" she questioned, looking pointedly over at Camilla.
He awkwardly began to shift from foot to foot, obviously uncomfortable with the topic at hand. "Yes, we did have a bit of a… break-in. But we still have plenty to sell. Robbers were only after one thing. An ornament, solid gold. In the shape of a dragon's claw," he admitted.
"I could get it back for you," she offered. His eyes immediately lit up.
"You could?" he eagerly asked. Excitedly he continued, "I've got some coin coming in from my last shipment. It's yours if you bring my claw back. If you're going after those thieves, you should head to Bleak Falls Barrow, northeast of town."
"Then I'm off," she replied, smiling at him.
ES
"So this is your plan, Lucan?" Camilla asked, having heard the conversation.
He frowned, looking over at her in annoyance. "Yes. So now you don't have to go, do you?" he replied victoriously, smirking and folding his arms almost challenging her to argue.
"Oh really? Well I think your new helper here needs a guide," she replied, smirking devilishly. He started, challenging aura vanishing.
"Wh- no… I… Oh, by the Eight, fine. But only to the edge of town!" he relented.
"Now, if you're going to get those thieves, you should head to Bleak Falls Barrow, northeast of town," Camilla said, turning to her.
ES
The two women walked through the streets of Riverwood together. She'd allowed Camilla to be her guide out of mercy, really. She seemed so eager to have a little excitement, after all. "Those thieves must be mad, hiding out there," she remarked. "Those old crypts are filled with nothing but traps, trolls, and who knows what else! I wonder why they only stole Lucan's golden claw. I mean, we have plenty of things in the shop that are worth just as much coin." She was hardly listening to Camilla's narrative. Her mind was on Lucan. There was something about him… Something that said there was more to him than he let on. She snapped back to attention on hearing Camilla mention his name. "Lucan found the claw about a year after he opened the store. He never quite explained where he got it. He's a tricky one," she said.
A tricky one? She raised an eyebrow, curiosity peaked. He had appeared absent minded and easily flustered, yet here his sister was saying the opposite. She wondered very much about Lucan. What was his story? What did he know? What did he hide? She hoped to find out, one day. "Is he now?" she asked. Camilla smirked mysteriously.
"We have to go through town and across the bridge to get to Bleak Falls Barrow. You can see it from here, though. The mountain just over the buildings," she said, gesturing towards the outline. "This is the bridge out of town. The path up the mountain to the northwest leads to Bleak Falls Barrow. I guess I should get back to my brother. He'll throw a fit if I take too long. Such a child…" she mused, heading away. Once more the young woman was left wondering very much about the man who ran the Riverwood Trader.
ES
She cut free one of the bandit thieves who had taken the claw in the first place. After, might she add, fighting a Giant Wounded Frostbite Spider, nearly dying about ten times, and being poisoned around twenty. Thank the Divines for Resist Poison potions, which Lucan had been all too happy to provide if it meant getting the claw back into his possession.
"Hah, did you really think I would share the claw with you? It's mine!" this bandit, Arvel the Swift, declared. With that he ran.
"Hey, get back here!" she shouted, racing after the man. She chased him into a burial chamber and gasped, paling as draugr rose from their sleep and attacked the bandit who screamed in pain as they tore into him. She ducked low into the shadows quickly, pale and afraid. This was bad. They began searching for her. They knew she was nearby! She took a deep breath, swallowed, and leapt up as they found her, quickly attacking them with no mercy until the creatures fell at her feet.
She had slipped through the last chamber. She hadn't so much as bothered with the Word Wall there. She hadn't trusted the coffin that had been so prominently displayed. Somehow she felt that one wrong move would spring whatever lurked inside to life. She neared Riverwood and crossed the bridge to which Camilla had led her with Lucan's permission. It was dark now, midnight. She doubted that the Riverwood Trader would be open so late, but she would at least try.
Shivering—it was absolutely frigid out here this late at night—she went to the door and turned the handle. She was surprised when it actually clicked open. She entered curiously and saw him standing behind the counter looking about ready to fall asleep on his feet. "Lucan?" she greeted.
He looked quickly up. "Trina! It's about time. Do you have any idea how long you were gone?" he exclaimed.
"I believe this belongs to you," the Dragonborn said, bringing out the golden claw and presenting it to him.
"Th-the claw! Haha, there it is! You found it! Strange, it looked bigger before. Funny thing," Lucan remarked, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "I-I'll never forget this, never. My sister and I are forever in your debt." She beamed proudly, grinning at him. "Here, take this as a token of my affection. Uh, this doesn't mean we're engaged or anything."
Smirking playfully and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she said, "I have to go. I need to find a place to sleep tonight. She shivered and sneezed, covering her mouth. "The inn's not far."
"Stay here, I don't mind," he replied. "You can have my bed." She started, looking at him. He immediately blushed, stammering, "I-I mean y-you can sleep in my bed. Like not share it with me or anything, it's just somewhere warm for you. Not that I wouldn't like to sleep next to you. Wait, that came out wrong! Uh, you know what, I'll make camp on the floor." Awkwardly he shuffled off and swiftly made up a makeshift bed by the fire. "I'll, uh, tell Camilla that you're staying the night. Not with me!" Swiftly he hurried away. She laughed amusedly at the word trap the man had captured himself in.
ES
She returned to them regularly from that day on, most of what she acquired being sold to the two siblings. Camilla would teach her some things about cooking and sewing or about bookkeeping and trading, and Lucan would greet her with his deepest thanks. The two of them had become her dearest friends in all Skyrim. As time went by Camilla began to take a special interest in the way her brother watched the young heroine as Trina visited and helped around the shop. To say she was intrigued would be an understatement.
The Dragonborn came towards her, giggling at something Lucan had just said. She sat across from Camilla and said, "He works so hard. How can he do it?"
"It's how he is. He's always been willing and eager to work. The Riverwood Trader is the first shop to open and the last shop to close. He stays awake here even longer than me," Camilla replied. "My brother may not show it openly, but he's a shrewd one. If we had the gold to invest, he could make something of this shop."
"How much would you need?" the Dragonborn questioned.
"Even if we only got 100 gold, Lucan would turn the Riverwood Trader into one of the most profitable businesses for both you and us," Camilla replied.
The Dragonborn thought a moment then rose, going to the counter. Lucan was busy polishing the claw. "Are you looking for an investor?" she questioned, startling him from whatever he had been thinking.
He turned to her curiously and replied, "Well the thought has crossed my mind, once or twice. Err, do you have someone in mind?"
She drew out a small coin purse and dropped it on the counter in front of him. "Here, see what you can do with this," she said. His eyes widened in shock. He looked up at her hardly able to believe what he was seeing, gratefulness and caution in his eyes.
"Is there a catch?" he asked.
"No," she answered. With that she waved and walked out.
ES
She quickly realized that Camilla's words had been very, very true. She could hardly believe the amounts of gold he had amassed, around 10,000! He was now officially the one she would be selling everything she came across to. "Lucan, how did you do this?" the Dragonborn asked.
"Luck, I guess; and a little ingenuity," he replied, shrugging, but his eyes were sparkling brightly as if he knew something that no one else did and had no intentions of sharing the secret.
"This is amazing; wonderful for your sister and you," Trina remarked, eagerly bringing out a variety of objects to sell to the man. "You must be the only man in Skyrim who can afford all that I have to sell."
"Humph, you only come here for the money," Lucan said, frowning. A smirk playing across his lips, he asked, "I'll bet that's the only reason you like me. Tell me, Trina; what would happen if I were a poor beggar on the streets without a coin to give, worthless to you?" She wondered if she should be offended, but the teasing smile disarmed her. She thought over his words. He had said them jokingly, but part of her felt that his words had, at least in part, been serious. She was silent a long moment. His smile fell to a concerned frown. "Did I offend you?" he asked, immediately uncertain.
She folded her arms on the counter and leaned against it, looking up at him ponderously. Her eyes scanned his face appraisingly as she judged how to answer. Finally she smiled and replied, "Were you the poorest man in all of Nirn, your life would be worth more to me than all the riches of the Emperor himself." Lucan started, blushing deeply. "Were you a poor man, riddled with sickness, I would take you under my wing and I would tend to you with everything I had. I would administer a Potion of Cure Disease every hour if I had to… Because I would sooner die than see life fleeing from you…" His lips slowly parted. She stood up straight and left before he could even find his voice to speak.
"You let that opportunity slide?" Camilla incredulously asked.
"Apparently," he replied, still shaken and cursing himself for his stupidity.
ES
She had never been more afraid than she was when she saw her very fear coming to fruition. Tears burned in her eyes as she watched life threatening to fade from his. There had been an attack on her by a band of hired thugs. He'd happened to be outside at the time. He'd happened to witness it. He'd happened to have a knife. He'd happened to throw his characteristic shrewd caution to the wind as a searing surge of desperation drove him to leap forward and race between her and them. He made himself a barrier for their blows as she regained her bearings after the sneak attack. Immediately she drew her weapon and began to fight as well. By then, though, it was too late to save him any harm.
He had taken multiple blows from the swords and the axes and the maces until he had fallen to his knees, very nearly succumbing to the injuries. She was fighting now. He was attempting to crawl away. His injuries wouldn't allow it, and as the last of the thugs fell dead at Trina's feet, he collapsed to the ground gasping for breath and clutching the dirt painfully. She was there the next moment. She gently rolled him onto his back as Camilla raced from the Riverwood Trader screaming her brother's name. Faendal leapt forward, holding the sister back from her brother and the Dragonborn. Quietly he tried to sooth her with Sven's help; one of the rare times the two could be seen on neutral terms. Trina could hardly take the time to marvel on that, though.
"You're a fool," she teased softly, forcing a smile as she gently stroked his cheek, tears shining in her eyes.
"Don't I know it," he wryly agreed, grimacing distastefully. He'd never been a fan of pain. Her stroking his cheek so tenderly almost made it bearable, though.
"You shouldn't have done that," she said, all hint of teasing gone as her voice broke ever so slightly.
"Shouldn't have but willingly did," Lucan replied.
"Do you know you could die?" she asked, examining his injuries, pain coming upon her features as she realized that the damage was worse than she'd originally thought.
"I have no regrets, because I would sooner die than see the life fade from your eyes," he replied, paraphrasing her words to him hardly a week ago and covering her hand with his.
"You can't leave me. You can't leave your sister," Trina weakly stated.
"Do I have a choice anymore?" he asked.
"Don't give up. You are not the fool you make yourself out to be. You are tricky and shrewd. You will fight," she said.
He was silent a long moment. Finally he smirked and wryly chuckled. "I guess we'll just have to see now, won't we?" he asked. She bent, then, and before he could understand what she was doing she had softly taken his lips, tenderly, though not intimately, kissing them. She drew back, sniffing, and gazed into his stunned eyes.
"I guess we will," she replied, smiling fearfully. She shifted his upper body to a position against her chest and held him tightly to her. He wouldn't die. She wouldn't let him. She would never let death take him from her.