Chapter One: The Runaway

The arrow sat close to Ezzara's cheek as she pulled it back; the reddish fletching brushed against her brilliant white fur as the bow bending let out a soft creak. She held her breath and the arrow soon straightened out, and as she released her lungs the arrow took flight; just narrowly passing a bush letting loose three singular leaves and embedding its wooden shaft into the side of a doe. The creature let out a pained shriek as it fell to its side but was soon silenced as Ezzara ran over and drove her dagger mercifully and painlessly into the animal, taking its life away.

"May Khenarthi guide your soul." She let out the soft words into the doe's ear as she passed. The pure white Khajiit huntress slung her bow around her arm to support itself and holstered her dagger after cleaning the blood off it. The doe was rather small; small enough for Ezzara to pick up without much issue. The trek through the ankle-high snow back home would be a long one, but at least she wouldn't starve. She looked up through the trees and saw the sun starting to fall, "Just passed mid-day… I should be able to make it back by dark." And with that she started her journey home.

As the sun was setting below the far-off mountains Ezzara managed to make it home, bringing the doe inside and closing the door before the wilderness chill could creep into the humble home. It was a small, single room cabin that was once abandoned. It was only by chance Ezzara stumbled across it running from the Whiterun guards after having nicked a bottle of Argonian Ale for some coin. She did various odd jobs around the different cities of Skyrim, wherever she may be at the time; some jobs unfortunately involved larceny which she detested, but those were the jobs that paid the most. She was once offered a place to call home by one named Brynjolf in Riften, but upon finding out his employment she refused and hasn't been back since. Now she spends most of her days here in this small shack and hunting the various game in the area.

She struck a fire in the small pit in the center of the room, a wooden spit stand above it for the meat she had carved off the doe; the hide would be cleaned and used as maybe a blanket for the colder nights. She took her bow off her shoulder and placed it beside her bed, as well as her leather armor pieces leaving her in thin underclothes; although not the best abode, after she fixed it up it was rather insulated, keeping the temperature of the room to a comfortable degree. She sat by the fire, humming a soft tune as she slowly turned the spit to evenly cook the meat. After she had eaten her fill, she cleaned the remains and used the flame to light a few candles to light the room subtly before killing the fire.

A few hours later she was in a deep sleep in her bed, her paws crossed over her chest and her dagger clutched in the bottom paw just in case. The sound of loud knocking broke the silence and her sapphire eyes opened wide and her head turned to the door slowly to not make noise. She quietly climbed out of bed and got into a defensive pose, gripping her dagger tightly and a soft growl escaping her throat as the wooden door creaked open. Her defensive state soon dissipated into one of ease as she realized who had knocked at such a late hour.

"Put that down, Owaz. We wouldn't want an accident, would we?" a male voice responded with to her with a soft chuckle as he entered the room and shut the door. He was a tall, dark grey Khajiit with soft, pinkish-red eyes, one of which had a nice scar across it.

"I wouldn't have to use it if you didn't come knocking at such an hour," Ezzara moved a curtain a bit to look out a small window to see it was pitch black outside, "Whatever you want, can it not wait until morning?" she added with a yawn as she sat on her bed.

"I apologize for the crude awakening, but no it cannot," Moirr said softly as he sat on the bed beside her, leaving space between the two, "I have received a letter. For you," he handed her a small parchment rolled up and tied softly with aa blue ribbon, "it's from your mother." Ezzara gave Moirr a shocked look as her gaze moved down to the letter he held. She reached for it slowly and took it from him. She went to undo the ribbon but stopped as her claws touched it.

"It's been years... and she just now..." she let out a soft sigh as she ran her thumb across it. She hadn't seen or heard from her family back in Elsweyr for just under ten years, "How- how did she know I was here?" she turned to Moirr with confusion and a bit of anger.

"You've become wanted in a few cities here in Skyrim… you're a bit of a 'celebrity' now," he chuckled softly, "that and… I may have told her." He added softly.

Ezzara growled loudly and dropped the letter, smacking Moirr hard in the face and sending him to the ground. She pounced onto him and pinned him down, "WHY?! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!" She hissed loudly down to him.

Moirr let out a defensive growl as he overpowered her and tossed her off and rolled on top of her to hold her down, "Ezzara breath! Breath and listen, please…" he spoke down to her, his tone gradually becoming soft. Soon Ezzara struggling subsided, and she just looked up to him breathing heavily. Moirr slowly let go of her and climbed off her, giving her space, "You haven't spoken to her or anyone back in Elsweyr in almost ten years. Whatever reason you had to run away; it must be obsolete by now…"

Ezzara scoffed and stood up, brushing her white fur of the dust and turned back to him with daggers in her gaze, "Is that what she told you? That I ran away? Of course, it sounds just like her, the selfish, pompous WHORE!" She roared and scratched her claws into the wall, digging deep. A few splinters fell off her paw to the ground below and she just faced the wall, her forehead pressed against it. A sea of memories suddenly flooded back into her mind and an old, forgotten pain hurt her heart. Moirr only sighed softly and let her feel her emotions, still giving her space, "I don't know what I did to her… why she did this to me…" she said softly, her eyes welling with old tears. She sniffled and wiped her eyes.

"What did she do, Owaz? Why did you run away?" Moirr asked softly, his ears falling back as he saw his least favorite, and rarely seen side of his friend.

Ezzara slowly turned and slid against the wall until she rested on her tail, her eyes unblinking and staring into the room, "I didn't run away… she sold me. She sold me to the slavers… they beat me. Tortured me when I refused any demands given by them. The things they did… the things I had to do…" she wrapped her arms around herself and clung on to her shoulders tightly until it hurt. Moirr gasped softly and sat on the bed to listen, his heart heavy and his head full of rage for what happened to her. "I managed to escape them… I ran and ran until I just… collapsed… outside of Markarth. And that's when I met you and… well I suppose you know the rest," she sniffled softly and wiped some tears from her eyes.

Moirr let out another soft sigh and looked down to see the letter. He picked it up and held it to a lit candle, lighting the parchment in flames before tossing it into the firepit, "It's getting cold. I'll make a fire." He offered a soft smile to her and went to tend the fire until it was once again roaring. She returned the smile for a moment before it melted away again. Once he was satisfied with the fire, he sat beside Ezzara, brushing her gently. As he did, she shifted away from him. He gave her a saddened look as he now realized why she never let anyone touch her. He couldn't imagine the pain she must have been through before he met her… he wished he had been there to help her.

"I'm leaving Skyrim…" she said softly after a bit of silence. This caused Moirr to take his gaze from the fire and turn to her.

"Where will you go? I've heard Morrowind isn't all too bad…" He took a small piece of reed from his pocket and put it in his mouth to chew.

"No. I'm leaving Tamriel." She clarified and stood up suddenly to gather her armor pieces. However, this made Moirr choke on his reed and cough it up into the flame.

"WHAT? You can't be serious, Ezzara!" He stood up just as fast to try and settle her down again.

"I am, Moirr. And there's no use trying to stop me." She turned to him, "There are far too many horrors here for me. I need to get away from them… far from them. Maybe Aldmeris…"

"You say that like it's just a short jump offshore Ezzara… do you have any idea how much a voyage like that will cost? Especially from any port within a hundred miles from here!" Moirr kept presenting reasons the idea was ludicrous, but Ezzara still only strapped her armor on and swung her bow and quiver on before putting her dagger in its holster.

"You can't talk me out of this, Moirr. I have saved up enough gold over the months, it should be just enough to get a voyage." She packed a small satchel full of gold and small items and turned to him, "Please don't try talking me out of it again. Just… you don't have to like it. But it would make it easier if you supported it… please…" she asked him softly, her ears back a bit.

Moirr grumbled softly and shook his head before meeting her gaze, "Moons light your path and smile upon you…" he said softly, forcing a small smile. Ezzara returned the smile and turned away, trekking off into the wilderness, the sun just barely starting to rise in the distance.

By the time she reached Windhelm it was midday. The port was bustling with hardy Nords carrying cargo off large ships. Ezzara had a hood covering most of her face, enough that the guards didn't arouse suspicion as she made it down the port docks to a voyage ship. There was a tan skinned Nordic man on board shouting orders to the crew, obviously the captain. He had a large blonde beard that tied into a knot, same with his head hair, tied into a small ponytail behind his head. He had an eyepatch over his left eye and was adorned with a set of rusted yet reliable silver armor. Ezzara stopped by the ramp of the ship and looked up to the captain, "Excuse me, sir? Does this ship voyage to Aldmeris?"

The man looked down to her and spit out a bit of chewing tobacco before walking down the ramp to her. He was easily a foot and a half taller than her as he looked down at her hooded face, "Aldmeris, hm? That's quite a trip, even for the Ocean's Riches- "Ezzara figured that was the name of this ship, "-and will be costly. Especially for you, thief." Ezzara gasped softly as he recognized her, stepping back a bit in defense, "What you didn't think I would recognize you? You've got a pretty price on you, cat. If you'd like me to keep my mouth shut and accept your voyage, it'll have to be well over your bounty. Let's call it twenty-five hundred septims." The Nord crossed his arms and glared down at her.

"Twenty-five hund- you must be joking!" Ezzara remarked back completely baffled.

"'fraid not, lass. Believe it or not, that's not even much more than your bounty has listed. Now, do you have the coin or am I making a scene, criminal?" He threatened. Ezzara could feel a group of guards watching the two but not engaging. She was speechless, backed into a corner until her head spun around to see a familiar hand on her shoulder.

"Good sir, sorry I'm late got held up! I believe this will cover the charges," Moirr slyly handed a small sack of coins to the captain.

The Nord looked into the bag and chuckled softly, stepping to the side and ushering them up the ramp, "Welcome aboard the Ocean's Riches. I'll be along shortly to show you to your room," He started up the ramp.

Ezzara shivered away from Moirr's grasp and cleared her throat, "Thank you but… but what are you- "

"I have not left you stranded in the six years I've known you. Not going to start now," he smiled and started up the ramp as well. It made Ezzara feel better that her friend was coming along, but she couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt as the two made their way below deck following the captain.

"'ere is your suite, Mr. and Mrs. Enjoy your stay and uh... please keep it down…" he chuckled as he left the two and returned to the top deck. Ezzara growled softly at the man's remark, but Moirr couldn't help but chuckle softly, earning him a glare from Ezzara,

"Men." She scoffed and climbed up into a bunk. Moirr shrugged and kicked his boots off, laying in the bunk below her.

"Temper, Owaz. At least until we make it to Aldmeris." Ezzara only rolled her eyes and got comfortable on the bunk. She started humming the same tune from the cabin softly, "What's that song? It's familiar…"

"It was an old lullaby my father would sing to me; The River Birds."

"Ahh, yes I remember now."