Author's Note:

Happy New Year celebrations, my dear readers and I hope the upcoming year is filled with happiness and enjoyment for you :)

And as always, thank you all for still reading and commenting. So many years, it still means the world to me :)

Enjoy the upcoming chapter and some celebrations in the story as well ;)

Chapter LXVII – Nchow

For the first time ever, when they stepped inside the familiar place, they weren't greeted by the loud sounds of cheers and drunken revelry.

Well, that wasn't exactly correct.

There was the usual revelry, but it all stopped very suddenly once they entered the cornerclub.

It was as if the time stopped short. Suddenly all movement and smiles ceased as the Dunmer looked at the newcomers and stared at them, uncertain. It was not unusual for Bishop and Aeyrin to come by the cornerclub, of course. But something was different this time.

Of course it was.

Everything was different now. Everyone just stared like that.

All. The. Time.

"Ugh. Just go ahead and get it all out," Aeyrin groaned in annoyance into the empty room. They were clearly brimming with questions and with things they needed to have 'confirmed' straight from the source. They were clearly both concerned and amazed. They were clearly not sure what to even think.

Aeyrin was still not really sure what to think either. It was hard explaining it all to other people when she had no answers on her own.

But if they didn't get this out of the way, they would be all weird around her all night.

There was still quiet. Nobody knew who should talk first or what to ask. They probably didn't even have actual questions, just… confused emotions that were always bubbling up for everyone around Aeyrin now.

She understood. That kind of fear did strange things to everyone. The doom looming over them all was not a strange concept to the elves, but this was a different one. After all, they were used to dangers on a daily basis, but nothing related to legends and prophecies.

After a few excruciatingly awkward minutes though, it was Idesa who finally broke the silence.

"Is there seriously an actual ancient prophecy about you?" She gaped at her in disbelief.

That was a fair reaction. Aeyrin still wasn't sure if she believed it, even after so long.

"I… guess. I mean… there's one about the last Dragonborn, but I don't know if that's me," she explained a little nervously.

"Are there any more of you?" Revyn raised his brow, clearly skeptical.

"Not… that I know of," she sighed. She still wasn't sure if it would be a good thing if there were more. It could mean that there was someone else who could take on this responsibility. But it could also mean that she might die before she could face Alduin.

That was… a concerning thought. If there was another Dragonborn…

Wait.

Oh Gods! She didn't even think of this before! Could… could the baby be a Dragonborn? That thing was inherited, wasn't it? Though her father certainly wasn't one. Maybe it wasn't inherited. Or… maybe her mother? She knew nothing about that woman, nor did she ever want to. But she was the same wretch as Faldaen was, surely she wasn't a legendary Dragonborn.

Then again, who was to say a Dragonborn had to be some kind of an impressive hero? She certainly didn't feel like one. She wasn't high on skooma somewhere in the ditch, yes, but she certainly wasn't what the Nords imagined her to be.

But more importantly, was it really possible that the baby would inherit these… powers? Would that mean that…?

How long could this dragon mess actually last? And how could she raise someone knowing that this horrible burden awaited them instead of her?

Her head was starting to spin just thinking about this. She really hoped this wouldn't be the case. She wouldn't wish this on anyone, let alone that poor innocent kid. What kind of a life would it be when dragons roamed the lands they would grow up in and when they knew they were supposed to be the one to stop those massive monsters?

Stop thinking about this. Stop thinking about this.

Suddenly she really wished someone would ask another question already, but they were all stuck in quiet contemplation and concern.

"Look, we don't know any more shit than you do by now," Bishop sighed impatiently. "There's a prophecy, a big asshole dragon that wants to kill or enslave everyone and that's that."

"But… what are you gonna do? Have you ever seen that Alduin? Didn't you try to kill it like you kill all the others?" Idesa inquired again.

Aeyrin shuffled nervously on her feet. That was a bad question. She didn't want to freak them out more and she couldn't divulge their crazy plans with the Elder Scroll and the mysterious Shout. Not this publicly.

"We… never got to fight him. I only so him when he destroyed Helgen. I didn't even know what it was. Or what I was," she sighed. That was the best explanation and the kindest lie. Alduin was invincible, from what she'd seen in their one brief battle. There was no way to tell them that gently.

"You were in Helgen?" Ambarys scowled at her note of that. Right. Not many people knew that about her.

"Yeah. I just crossed the border and… found myself there. Then Alduin attacked. And I managed to escape," she explained. The details were not important.

"So… it was just that one dragon? Just him, leveling the town?" Idesa gave Aeyrin a frightened look.

"It's not like Helgen was Windhelm with a fucking army to protect it," Bishop scoffed, but he was being reassuring in his own way. It was a lie though. The Legion was there in force at the execution of Ulfric Stormcloak. Of course they were. And they stood no chance against Alduin.

"You say that, but we heard shit!" Malthyr retorted instantly with a palpable slur in his voice. It seemed like he was always at least a little drunk. "We heard about Rorikstead. And… and Markarth!"

"Nothing happened in Markarth. The dragons were defeated," Bishop shook his head. Again, details were not important.

"Right! Is that true that Markarth has an automaton army?" Revyn's eyes suddenly widened in astonishment. Wow. The rumors really did travel very fast.

"Yes," Aeyrin nodded slowly. It was a good thing to say. A reassuring thing. And it was not like spreading this around would do any harm – if the elves knew, there was no way in Oblivion that Ulfric wouldn't know already as well.

"So, just take those automatons and go kill Alduin, right?" Idesa beamed.

It sounded so simple. And… Calcelmo did promise her his army if need be. Actually… she saw those things in action. A lot of times. If anything could pierce Alduin's scales, the ballistae could. Would that actually be a possibility? Those idiots in here and in the west could still play their war while Aeyrin would have more help than she could ever hope for.

But what would she use the automatons for when she didn't even know where Alduin was? He didn't show himself that much. And he would certainly be careful about Markarth's army. Did he know what happened? One of the dragons escaped and it 'met' with another one. Did they communicate? Were they in cahoots with Alduin? Did they tell him what happened? Or did they go against his wishes when attacking the city?

So many questions and no answers at all. It seemed to be the norm already with this mess.

"We don't know how to actually find him," Aeyrin admitted.

"Well, one day you will. Make sure you have those metal things at your disposal," Revyn winked at her.

If only things could be planned this easily. She couldn't just invite Calcelmo and his automatons to travel through Skyrim with them. For one, it would ensure no dragon would dare to attack her and they would pick easier targets instead. And also, it would leave Markarth entirely defenseless against the Forsworn and Ulfric.

It was all a big mess.

She didn't know what else to say.

"I'll remember that," she smiled at Revyn softly.

"Good. Are we done now? Can you all stop being weird already?" Bishop growled at them. He missed the merry welcomes and relaxing atmosphere. He was looking forward to this so much, even though there had to be some considerations made regarding all their secrets tonight – both the publicly available ones and the new ones.

He just wanted to drown himself in the Dunmer spirits and forget everything for at least one night.

And tonight, he would be drinking for two. Nothing felt more tempting right then.

The elves were reluctant to go back to their merry mood, but Ambarys didn't hesitate. He promptly poured them two drinks of Gods-knew-what and once the two of them seated themselves, he brought them over.

He returned to his bar quickly and got a drink of his own. He raised the tankard to make the rest of the establishment follow suit.

The elves all raised their own drinks in compliance.

"Nchow. To surviving all this shit then," Revyn scoffed and the others murmured in agreement as they all took a deep swig.

Aeyrin pressed the drink to her lips and she could already feel the sting of strong alcohol even from the proximity alone. It made her a little queasy. She could already feel it. She knew she would be sick tonight again. Her stomach and the taste in her throat felt odd for a while now.

She pretended to take a drink too, but she kept her lips firmly closed. No matter what anyone claimed, something this strong would definitely be a bad idea.

That was alright. They had a plan with Bishop though. Nobody would find out that she was pregnant. They couldn't allow that secret to get out.

Besides, even normal people wouldn't let anyone know this soon. She knew from her time at the temple how risky the early months could be.

That thought made an unpleasant jolt go through her body and for a second, she was actually glad that it did. She was feeling so guilty. All the time. She kept thinking how bad of a person she was for not being excited even a little. But that one little jolt was like a small reassurance. That she would care if something happened. She would, wouldn't she? It made her even sicker just thinking about this.

Thinking was hard though. It was confusing. All her thoughts felt so confusing ever since she got that suspicion that day in Dawnstar. She didn't even know for certain yet and it still felt like she knew. Like at that moment she decided it was the only possible explanation, even if she knew that rationally it wasn't.

But it was the right one.

And another unpleasant jolt reminded her that she wasn't feeling too great about that either.

She was glad she was a bit nauseous already. Because if she weren't, she would be very tempted by that drink right now.

"Why don't you tell us something now instead?" Aeyrin suggested. Anything to concentrate on but her own thoughts. "How are things? What's up with Ulfric parading himself around in that stupid crown of his?" She scoffed disdainfully.

"That fucking thing?" Idesa rolled her eyes. "He got that a few months ago and I don't think he took it off since. It might be ingrown into his scalp now by a persistent fungus."

"Yea, we'd know," Malthyr slurred. "We're Dunmer. We know our mushrooms."

Aeyrin had to chuckle at that. It was quite a vivid image and she appreciated anything that made the idea of that proud asshole with his head held high a little more ridiculous in her head.

"Is he still trying to march on the Reach?" Bishop scoffed. It had been on his mind a lot. And for once, these wild ideas that everyone seemed to have about that suddenly felt like it would be a good development. He liked to imagine a Dwemer bolt through that idiot's head, despite that stupid crown. Calcelmo would make short work of him.

"Now? You think he's crazy?" Idesa scoffed.

"He is crazy. Are you new here or what?" Her brother retorted promptly. "But people say he's marching on Falkreath instead. I don't know. What do we care? We're stuck here anyways. We don't have the money to get out of the city."

Well, that brought Bishop to their point.

"I don't know, Falkreath might be a nice place to march to, even if you have no money. Someone might be able to take you there," he smirked and Aeyrin promptly giggled at how he decided to approach this.

"The fuck are you talking about, f'lah?" Ambarys raised his brow. "We said he was marching on Falkreath. Maybe. Some people think. We're not marching anywhere. Alone or with anyone."

"Really? You wouldn't want to take a little trip to Falkreath? It's a nice place," Aeyrin grinned at them.

The elves were utterly confused now and they all exchanged uncertain glances with each other. It was kind of fun teasing them, but they should probably spill it already. They merely shared a brief look and a nod to confirm that it was time to tell them.

"How about for our wedding then?" Bishop smirked, letting it out at last.

The room remained quiet. Everyone still looked a little confused, but some smiles began to form on their faces.

"Nchow. Are you serious?" Ambarys blinked a little in astonishment. "You're getting married?"

"On the eighteenth of Last Seed," Aeyrin beamed. "On Lake Ilinalta. And we already talked to Brunwulf and he agreed to take you all there for it." She knew that not all elves from the Grey Quarter would come. They barely knew some of them after all and there were many who didn't really attend the evenings at the cornerclub. The people usually there were still a solid crew of about fifteen elves. That was a lot of guests already. But how could Bishop and Aeyrin have a celebration without them?

"Wait, wait, wait, slow down," Idesa's eyes widened at them. "You're getting married? Like… Nordic married?"

"Yeah, like with a priest and shit," Bishop smirked. He had no idea how Dunmer wedding ceremonies looked, but it was possible it wasn't that much different. The legal bullshit was all Imperial stuff that he wasn't sure was even necessary for anything, but it was what people did. Morrowind was still kind of part of the Empire so they probably brought that stuff over there centuries ago. It was not like these elves here were living in tribes and huts before they came to Windhelm. Wasn't it all the same then, aside from some different traditions to accompany these ceremonies?

"And… on a lake?" Revyn raised his brow. "Like in the water? Is that a snowberry thing?"

"No," Aeyrin giggled. "There are small islands and we'll get some skiffs. You'll see. Just come with Brunwulf. He'll be taking a carriage and some mercenaries to keep safe on the road." Truth be told, the details of their lake wedding were not exactly worked out yet, but it was all coming. They still had a month. How long could all this take?

"And bring booze," Bishop grinned, more directly at Ambarys. It wasn't the main reason why they wanted the elves there, but it was a small part of it.

"We bring booze everywhere!" Malthyr beamed at them happily. That was the spirit!

"I don't think I've ever left Windhelm since we came here," Idesa still looked a little shocked. "And… Free-Winter doesn't want us to pay for the carriage and shit?"

"He knows you got sweet fuck-all. What do you think?" Bishop snorted at her. "He's been bailing you guys out for months and now you get suspicious about his generosity?" The guy spent a lot of his money on the elves, whether it was helping them out of prison or trying to make things for them better out here. The elves didn't have much beyond what they needed to live here and everyone knew that. They had a friendly economy going on in the Grey Quarter, but there were a lot of necessities they needed from the Windhelm markets too. Those prices ensured the elves wouldn't get too rich from their smaller profits. It was an endless cycle for them. But there were people like Brunwulf out there, trying to look out for them.

"It's just… not something that just… happens," Idesa shrugged uncertainly.

"C'mon now, we got all these… infle… influ… influentic friends now," Malthyr stammered. "We get trips and shit for free!"

It was true that the elves did get themselves some 'influentic' friends by associating with Brunwulf. And with Aeyrin and Bishop too, sometimes. When they had some influence to speak of in some situations.

"Nchow. I'll drink to that," Ambarys interjected into the discussion. "And to a Nord and an elf getting hitched," he smirked.

"He's not a Nord, remember?" Revyn laughed. Clearly he still remembered them awarding Bishop with the title of 'honorary Dunmer'. "It's not that weird then."

"Who cares what they are?" Idesa beamed. She finally seemed to accept the shock and just roll with the news as she raised her tankard high in the air. "To the happy couple and one party we won't soon forget."

As everyone in the room raised their cups again, it was unclear whether Idesa meant the wedding or tonight.

But nobody would surely complain if it applied to both.

…

The evening continued in its usual merriment, after the initial unpleasantness with the dragons and all the necessary information about the wedding.

The elves were as cheerful as ever – drinking, singing, dancing and playing Aeyrin's lute.

Bishop had to sneakily exchange every tankard he emptied for Aeyrin's full one. This was their plan – that way nobody would suspect anything and they would all think Aeyrin was drinking too. He did have a feeling like she was looking at him drinking kind of longingly. He didn't know if he was ever sober in a large group of plastered people, but he imagined it would not be very fun. More annoying than anything. Especially if she knew she just can't drink, even if she wanted to.

He felt a little bad for her for a while, but those feelings quickly dissipated with the intake of alcohol. Soon, he didn't have it in him to process anyone's emotions.

The room was blurry around him way too soon. He was kind of impressed with himself with how quickly he managed to drink all that. He was no stranger to drinking, of course, but the Dunmer spirits were so strong and he was downing them one after another to keep away suspicion.

It worked for what it was supposed to. At least he thought as much. Thinking was getting hard. His mind was mostly focused on Aeyrin, looking so fucking cute as she kept putting his empty tankard to her lips, pretending to drink.

Fuck, he still couldn't believe they were doing this – that she had to sit here, pretending to drink because she was pregnant.

It still sometimes felt like a dream. Pregnant. That was insane. It was scary, but tonight it didn't seem as scary as usual. He couldn't remember many of the reasons why it was a shitty situation. He could only think about how it resulted in her being so fucking adorable trying to be subtle as her eyes darted all over the room while she 'drank'.

"C'mere," Bishop chuckled at her after a while. She was too far away from him. He couldn't touch her like this.

Aeyrin looked around the room once more carefully, as if she felt like moving would somehow give her secret away. After a spell though, she did give him a wry smile, stood up from her chair and moved towards him. She couldn't even give a single thought to what to do next before he pulled her into his lap somewhat clumsily.

She tried to readjust herself in his lap while he wrapped his arms around her stomach and leaned his head on her shoulder. A low murmur in her ear followed next.

"Yer so fucking cute, tryin' to be subtle," he chuckled a bit, mumbling his words in his alcoholic daze. "Can't wait to marry you 'lready."

Aeyrin leaned into his embrace, though that just made the strong smell of liquor from him hit her hard. It wasn't great for her nausea, but she fought through it and gave him a small smile.

"I can't wait either," she nuzzled into his neck, partly to hide from the smell too. His neck still smelled nice, like smoke from their stay at Candlehearth. They got the big room with a fireplace before and spent some time curled in front of it.

The nice moment soon got interrupted though. When Aeyrin's chair was empty, Revyn promptly took her place and sat himself down by their table. The elves just stopped one of the tunes and there was a bit of quiet in the room when they stopped cheering after. Which only made Revyn's question uncomfortably audible for everyone.

"So, f'lah, are you really ready to only ever sleep with one woman for the rest of your life?" Revyn smirked meanly. He was clearly just trying to get a rise out of them.

"Hey! He can always stray!" Of course, since the question was now no secret to the room, Revyn wasn't the only one butting in. Malthyr promptly presented his own idea and a few of the elves chuckled. Most of them, however, were just eagerly watching Aeyrin and Bishop for their reactions.

"Don't encourage that shit, s'wit!" Idesa growled at Malthyr in annoyance. She seemed to have taken that a little personally.

Some elves nodded understandingly in agreement, but Malthyr looked like he wanted to retort something. Before he could though, Bishop decided to interrupt him. For a second, Aeyrin thought he just wanted to dismiss all this uncomfortable teasing, but she should have known better.

"Pfft, stupid," he scoffed. "You 'ave no idea. I've done… done that mindless fuck thing fer… fer years!" He threw up his arms in exaggeration, almost making Aeyrin fall from his lap from the sudden motion before she wrapped her arm around his neck to steady herself. "This… much better. We do all kinds of wild stuff I wouldn' even think… think of before," he smirked proudly.

"Bishop!" Aeyrin's face flushed in embarrassment, though she may have been more disappointed in herself that she didn't see this coming with what state he was in. Bishop only laughed at her distress and squeezed her again in his embrace.

That got a series of laughs from the elves and Aeyrin tried to hide her face into Bishop's chest promptly.

"What? Is true!" Bishop shrugged defensively.

"You don't have to tell them that!" She groaned into his shirt. This was all only gonna make things worse…

"What kind of stuff?" Revyn smirked.

Yep. She knew it. She knew this question would come.

"Well, like…"

Before Bishop could even try to continue, Aeyrin quickly slapped her hand over his mouth to silence him.

"Oh, come on! It was just getting good!" Revyn laughed. By now, everyone was laughing. Except for Aeyrin. Not that she didn't find this a little funny, but she was too embarrassed to laugh along with it. And except for Bishop, of course. He just looked genuinely confused about why he was being silenced.

Gods, Aeyrin needed to shift this discussion. And she had an idea on how to do that.

"Why do you only ask the guy anyway?" She scoffed. Why would it not be something that might potentially bother women just as much?

"It's not because he's a guy," Idesa waved her hand dismissively. "It's because it's not the rest of your life, hla aka. It's like a third of it, at best."

Divines, this again. She hated when people brought this up. For one, she knew how self-conscious it made Bishop. She instantly noticed a shift in his mood, despite her hand still covering his mouth. And she hated thinking about it herself. It didn't matter. None of it mattered when it came down to it. The Gods only knew when their time would come.

"You don't know that! Don't talk like that!" She growled at Idesa somewhat meanly. She was a little resentful towards her for bringing this up.

"It's true though," Idesa shrugged defensively.

"But you make it sound like it doesn't matter to me. Like it's just some passing phase for me. That's not what it is," Aeyrin scowled. She hated how it made her feel like people thought this would be a huge life-altering thing for Bishop and only a stop on the road for her. This was important to her. So important. She couldn't imagine her life any other way than spent side by side with Bishop. No matter what.

Idesa had no answer for her, but Bishop reacted promptly. When he shifted a bit, she instinctively took her hand from his mouth and he squeezed her tighter to himself. Next thing she knew, his mouth moved to her neck and pressed his lips against her. The warmth of his tongue on his favorite spot came swiftly after.

Aeyrin giggled a little at the sensation and a few of the elves only chuckled understandingly. It was clear that this discussion was over. Soon, Aval picked up Aeyrin's lute again and struck up another tune. That only gave Bishop an opportunity to get some semi-privacy with Aeyrin without everyone gawking and waiting for their reactions.

He grabbed her by the waist and spun her on his lap, making her face him properly. The movement was a little quicker than Aeyrin anticipated and she almost fell again, but Bishop's grip was firm. Soon, she was straddling his lap and he instantly dove in once more. First, he sucked on her neck eagerly, then he moved up with hurried kisses across her jaw and ended up pressing his lips to hers and sliding his tongue in.

Oh Gods, the smell was… a lot. She knew she wouldn't have been bothered ordinarily, but she was still a little nauseous from her usual 'evening sickness'.

After only a second, she had to pull back from Bishop a little roughly. He looked at her in disappointment, but she didn't have time to consider his feelings just now. This time, she slapped her hand across her own mouth promptly.

She wasn't sure if that made it seem even worse – like it was because of him. To be fair, it kind of was. She would have fought through it if it wasn't for the alcoholic taste and smell. But it didn't really matter anymore. She just yanked herself from his arms and hopped up on her feet. She wouldn't be able to fight through this one.

As she ran off towards the back stairway with a hand over her mouth, she heard laughter echo in the room behind her. Of course they laughed, but that was a fortunate reaction. It was clear that she got sick, but if they figured out why, they wouldn't be laughing. They probably all thought she was just sick from the drinks which she pretended to down.

Bishop stayed a little dazed on his seat. For a moment, he couldn't figure out what happened. Did she just get sick from kissing him? Why? She wasn't even drinking anything because she was pregnant.

Oh. Right. That.

Thinking logically was hard. But that was very likely what it was again. He should probably go check on her.

He got up from his chair abruptly, but the world started to spin almost violently on him. He stumbled and accidentally hooked his leg on one of the chair's. It only took a second for him to tumble down to the ground.

Luckily, the laughs that rose in the room again were the worst that came of it. He managed to protect his fall with his hands and not fall flat on his face. Getting up from that was even harder though.

"Heh, stay down, f'lah," Idesa chuckled at him. "Shein's a bitch to move after and you had a lot. I'll go check on her."

"No, no, I'm goo'," Bishop swallowed the last sound as he tried to get up. He did have to sit back on his chair right after. He was pretty impressed with himself that he managed to fall onto it and not miss.

He didn't want Idesa to go check on Aeyrin. For some reason, he got panicked that if she did, she would figure out why Aeyrin was sick. Even though that was unlikely.

"You can't even get up," Revyn laughed at him mockingly. Well… he had a point. Everything was still spinning.

"I'm going. Relax," Idesa shook her head and got up from her chair. Dammit, she made it look so easy. The moving in general. She just rushed through the room and headed back.

Well, at least Aeyrin wasn't drunk. She wouldn't have her mind muddied and wouldn't spill anything she shouldn't. He should just keep thinking about that.

It was gonna be fine.

…

"Hla aka?"

Idesa's voice carried through the basement. Aeyrin was sitting there on the ground, next to a bucket, leaning on the wall. The worst of it was usually quick, but the queasiness never passed after she managed to throw up.

She hated feeling like this. Hopefully it would progress as the pregnancy did, right? She honestly didn't know that much about the later stages. She only ever really 'diagnosed' it at the temple. Then it was the priests' job to care for the pregnant women.

But it was just another reminder of how everything was changing so quickly and suddenly. And it was just another pang of guilt that always hit her for being distressed over it.

"I'm here," she announced her presence to Idesa with a somewhat exhausted voice. It was exhausting.

Idesa descended the few more steps she had left to descend and promptly approached her. She squatted on the ground beside her and gave her a slightly amused smile.

"Shein does that to you," she chuckled. "It's a messy drink."

"Tell me about it," Aeyrin smirked weakly. To be fair, she did get sick because of the smell of the drink, so it wasn't even a lie.

"Yeah. And you won't feel better for a while either. It's shitty like that. But fun," Idesa chuckled. "The f'lah tried to come after you, but he fell flat on the ground when he tried. He looks even more drunk than you."

She wasn't even drunk. And Bishop was… beyond drunk. It reminded her of his state when he did those stupid sujamma challenges. Always with the Dunmer drinks. But now he was doing it to protect their secret. It was sweet. And he even tried to come check on her in this state. She couldn't help but smile at that.

"I'm happy for you two," Idesa smiled too when she saw Aeyrin's face light up. It wasn't hard to tell why that was. "And I'm so excited to see Falkreath. And to see you two get married."

"I can't wait," Aeyrin sighed in satisfaction. "And I'm glad you're coming. It wouldn't be a real party without all of you," she chuckled.

"Yeah. You know, it still feels kinda weird. All this… the f'lah and Free-Winter. What Nords act like that? Like… like they don't want to wipe us off the face of Nirn," Idesa scowled a bit.

It was unfortunate that the elves still thought like this. Aeyrin understood, of course. She only felt a fraction of the hate they must have in Windhelm. And even that could get overwhelming. But, still, they weren't all zealous Stormcloaks and assholes.

"Well… there are more people like that," she shrugged. "Not just in other Holds and not just Bishop or Brunwulf. Susanna liked you too. And I'm sure there are others like that here. You just… do you even know any of them?"

"Hla aka, knowing them means only trouble for us. We can't even go to their parts of the city much," Idesa's frown deepened.

"You can't?" Aeyrin's eyes widened. Was this some new insane rule of Ulfric's?

"I mean… we don't," Idesa sighed. "Only Revyn and Amba do for some supplies and they don't talk to anyone. It's dangerous."

"Idesa, I know you've been through something awful," Aeyrin lowered her eyes. She didn't know for sure and the elves wouldn't speak of the revolts during the Butcher's madness. But she knew it was very bad. "But… I know there are people here who don't just want you gone. Maybe you'd be surprised. Maybe you don't have to keep living in fear when only going to another part of town."

It was heartbreaking to see the elves still so scared after those horrible orders. It was heartbreaking to hear the glimpses of these stories. Aeyrin wasn't that naïve. She knew that all the merriment here and all that drinking and singing, it was just the only escape they had from the reality of their lives in the slums here.

But there were people who were willing to help them. And surely those that would tolerate them, at least. The Stormcloaks were too busy with their stupid war and Aeyrin knew elves that lived in the other quarters. Like that Altmer fence she bought her cloak from ages ago. She was an Altmer of all things! If the people here would hate anyone, it would be the Altmer first. But she lived there and managed to have her business thriving there too. She didn't have to hide out in some slums.

If the elves tried to overcome this fear, maybe they would be able to establish themselves here more. Maybe Revyn could sell to people who have more money. Maybe Ambarys could too. Maybe more patrons would come to the cornerclub. And maybe the others would get hired by some Nords for their own jobs.

Someone had to make the first step sometime after that mess. They couldn't just continue living like this. Sure, there would be hurdles and probably some idiots like that lumbering hulk who had been harassing them, but wasn't it worth it to try?

"Hla aka, you're this famous prophecy girl. Of course they don't treat you like dirt. You don't know the half of it," Idesa shook her head.

"I do," Aeyrin scowled. She couldn't reliably say that she knew what the elves were going through on a regular basis because they wouldn't talk about it, but she thought she did. "You think they spare me the hate because of who I am? They might hate me even more for it. They wanted a tall, muscly, Nordic hero and they got an elf. You really think I never had to deal with people who resent that?"

"See? They're all shitty," Idesa scoffed, as if Aeyrin just proved her point.

"They're not," Aeyrin chuckled a little. "I'm pretty sure of it. I'm marrying one. You just can't keep focusing on those few shitty ones that are just louder. You have to live your life. You all deserve a better one."

"It's not that easy," Idesa sighed, but she seemed much more thoughtful now. "It's… hard to try, you know? After everything."

"I know," Aeyrin lowered her eyes. She understood that. But wasn't it worth it to try?

"Nchow, enough of this shit," Idesa suddenly waved her hand dismissively. Aeyrin could tell that she was still pensive, but she forced a smile promptly. "Come on, let's go back, if you got all of that you."

For a moment Aeyrin thought she meant all the 'naïve bullshit she'd been spewing', but Idesa pointed meaningfully to the bucket. Right. That.

"Yeah. We should go back," Aeyrin nodded. Maybe she should be the one checking on Bishop now. Didn't Idesa say he fell or something?

Idesa hoisted herself up on her feet and outstretched her hand to help Aeyrin. She was still smiling, but there was something else etched on her face. Nevertheless, her voice didn't betray anything but amusement.

"Let's go. You need another drink."