Chapter 19: Trouble at the Temple
The priests at the new temple listened to the Nord’s story with great interest and agreed to help Mara the best that they could.
It was hard for Mara to be around all those people. She only really trusted the Nord and only liked him and Igor. Most of the priests had stern faces and looked at her almost if she were some sort of demon in their midst.
One time when she was climbing on the beautiful dragon statue in the midst of some broken pillars in a plot next to the temple, they yelled at her so sternly that she was afraid to come near them. The Nord found her on the city wall staring out into the sunset, crying her little yellow eyes out.
“You’re trying to kill me…” he muttered as he looked beneath him at the many rocks and the steep fall. “Why did you run away?”
“Mara afraid.”
“Mara we’ve already been there four days. They haven’t hurt you in anyway so far. Why would you be afraid?”
“Priest yell at Mara.”
“I told you he has a name. What was it again?”
“Claudius.”
“That’s right. Do you know why Father Claudius was so mad? That big statue you were on, do you know what it was?”
“Rock? Dragon rock?”
“Well it was in the shape of a dragon and it was made of rock, but, actually, it was originally a man: our last emperor, Martin. He saved the empire from Lord Dagon nearly twenty years ago.”
“Emperor is dragon?”
“Well, he wasn’t exactly a dragon. He just became one.”
“How?”
After explaining the story of the life and death of Emperor Martin, the Nord told her, “Do you remember how important it was for you not to steal?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I want you to put this on your list of important things not to do: don’t climb on things. People think you’re weird when you climb up every wall and statue you come across. Do you understand?”
“Mara not have any fun. Mara never have fun. If no climb then no fun.”
Smiling a little, the Nord told her, “Don’t worry, we’ll find some fun stuff to do.”
“We climb this wall?” Cringing a little, he agreed. “We climb this wall,” she confirmed. “Just Mara and Nord. Look at sky. Talk. No one else bother. Just Mara and Nord.”
But it was not to be just Mara and the Nord. For right away, the priests realized that Mara clung too much to the Nord. Every decision she made had to be confirmed with the Nord: when she ate, when she slept, etc. They had a hard time teaching her when she tried to confirm everything they said via the Nord. It couldn’t be the proper way to write or pronounce something unless he said it was. And she would need his constant approval and admiration for everything she did. If he wasn’t there and couldn’t confirm or admire what she did, she’d fret and fuss and want him around.
The Nord agreed that he slowly had to work himself out of her life in order for her to become an independent woman. First he would tell her to obey Father Claudius, and then he would disappear for a half hour to an hour. If she was good when he came back, he’d congratulate her and listen to all the stuff she was doing: learning to write, learning to cook, learning to clean, learning to draw, learning to sew, etc.
If she was not obeying as she should, he would scold her. This usually made her obey again, and, after cheering her up a bit, he’d leave again.
Thus a few hours turned into half a day and half a day turned into a full day. And a full day turned into a week and then a month, and then a year. In the time he saw her, she learned to read and write. She learned to talk properly: no longer was she ‘Mara’, but ‘I’. The names ‘Four Ears’ and ‘Master’ were forbidden to be used, thus she never said them.
Full Version: The Nord and the Four-Eared Khajiit
Even on the second read I cried when her mother died. These next chapters Nord begins making huge mistakes (IMO) that I just wanted to kick him for. Never let a monk tell you how to conduct your life, they live in a cloister and know nothing that didn't come from a book!
@ Rachel. Ahhh, good, you had better. 
Hmm... didn't even see that comment earlier...
@ mALIX Well, it seems to me that they were both right and wrong... They were right in that she was too dependent on him, yet they made him stay away too long.
Chapter 20: Life without the Each Other
At first Mara thought she would die if the Nord did not come back sooner than a week, but the priests kept her so busy that she got distracted enough to forget about him. Still, though, when he did come back she jumped onto him, clinging, kissing and hugging. After disappearing for a couple more weeks and then a month, though, she soon started to learn to expect and accept his comings and goings.
Her dependence on the Nord soon waned until when he disappeared for an entire year, she did not even remember when he was coming back. In all this time, she learned to stop relying on the Nord for approval and instead looked to the priests for it. She learned to read and write, and so eager was she for praise and approval, that she began to learn old scripts and languages. She mastered everything they gave her and when they taught her some magic, she strove to learn more and more of it.
Her desire took her to join the Mages Guild and then the Arcane University. At first, everywhere she went, her half-breed appearance and four ears made people stare and gawk, but soon she became such a familiar sight in the temple and Arcane University, and she knew and taught herself so much to impress the monks and her teachers, that she became well respected and liked by the elites and scholars of the city.
She had a small gathering following her. Because she was so much better at magic than most of the other mages, she had the smartest and most skilled of them as her personal friends. She also had a big gathering of other ‘misfits’ like herself who followed her. Then she had a gathering of city officials and higher-ups, scholars and thinkers, and priests and monks who appreciated her honesty, wit and education.
When the head of the Mages Guild died and appointed her in his stead, there was no great surprise at the choice. She had worked under him for two years, rising significantly in the group as soon as she entered.
Mara had been in the Imperial City for three years, and the Nord had only been with her for barely one year. He had the priests write to him often to find out what was happening in her life and if she needed him.
The priests would often laugh at how much concern he wrote with regarding her. In fact, his letters were the most entertaining things the men had. They highly anticipated his letters to hear what he had been fretting about now: Has Mara been brushing her teeth? Has she stopped climbing on the ceiling rafters yet? Does she still cry in her sleep? New friend? Don’t let her get too familiar with him. Explain to her that not all men have honorable intentions. I hope you are watching them. You should restrict her time out with him, etc.
There was also a hint of sadness in some of his letters. He’d occasionally confided that he missed her and thought of her often. He confided that he wished he could see her, though he knew that he had to stay away as they discussed. He also confided that her courage at going out into the world shamed him into doing the same, so he traveled across the empire, cloak down, defying all the stares and comments. Still, though, he found no peace; he remained ashamed; he was still a monster in everyone’s eyes.
Hmm... didn't even see that comment earlier...
@ mALIX Well, it seems to me that they were both right and wrong... They were right in that she was too dependent on him, yet they made him stay away too long.
Chapter 20: Life without the Each Other
At first Mara thought she would die if the Nord did not come back sooner than a week, but the priests kept her so busy that she got distracted enough to forget about him. Still, though, when he did come back she jumped onto him, clinging, kissing and hugging. After disappearing for a couple more weeks and then a month, though, she soon started to learn to expect and accept his comings and goings.
Her dependence on the Nord soon waned until when he disappeared for an entire year, she did not even remember when he was coming back. In all this time, she learned to stop relying on the Nord for approval and instead looked to the priests for it. She learned to read and write, and so eager was she for praise and approval, that she began to learn old scripts and languages. She mastered everything they gave her and when they taught her some magic, she strove to learn more and more of it.
Her desire took her to join the Mages Guild and then the Arcane University. At first, everywhere she went, her half-breed appearance and four ears made people stare and gawk, but soon she became such a familiar sight in the temple and Arcane University, and she knew and taught herself so much to impress the monks and her teachers, that she became well respected and liked by the elites and scholars of the city.
She had a small gathering following her. Because she was so much better at magic than most of the other mages, she had the smartest and most skilled of them as her personal friends. She also had a big gathering of other ‘misfits’ like herself who followed her. Then she had a gathering of city officials and higher-ups, scholars and thinkers, and priests and monks who appreciated her honesty, wit and education.
When the head of the Mages Guild died and appointed her in his stead, there was no great surprise at the choice. She had worked under him for two years, rising significantly in the group as soon as she entered.
Mara had been in the Imperial City for three years, and the Nord had only been with her for barely one year. He had the priests write to him often to find out what was happening in her life and if she needed him.
The priests would often laugh at how much concern he wrote with regarding her. In fact, his letters were the most entertaining things the men had. They highly anticipated his letters to hear what he had been fretting about now: Has Mara been brushing her teeth? Has she stopped climbing on the ceiling rafters yet? Does she still cry in her sleep? New friend? Don’t let her get too familiar with him. Explain to her that not all men have honorable intentions. I hope you are watching them. You should restrict her time out with him, etc.
There was also a hint of sadness in some of his letters. He’d occasionally confided that he missed her and thought of her often. He confided that he wished he could see her, though he knew that he had to stay away as they discussed. He also confided that her courage at going out into the world shamed him into doing the same, so he traveled across the empire, cloak down, defying all the stares and comments. Still, though, he found no peace; he remained ashamed; he was still a monster in everyone’s eyes.
Chapter 21: Returning to the Imperial City
When the Nord came back to the Imperial City, he found the old leader of the Mages Guild was dead and buried, and Mara was the new leader. They would have an official ceremony to welcome her that evening.
An elderly mage led the Nord to their leader’s chambers, where Mara and a group of fellow mages gathered around a table. Mara, the smallest of the group, sat at the table reading various scrolls and parchments, while the others stood behind her, either talking to each other or looking over her shoulder, whispering stuff to her. All were in black to show the sorrow for the old leader’s death.
“This man claims to be a ‘friend’ of yours, Mara,” the elderly mage introduced the Nord.
Mara and the others looked up, perplexed at the sight of the huge, cloaked man in front of them, covered entirely in furs. Then recognition shown in Mara’s eyes.
As her friends began whispering, with much distain, “Who is this?”, she jumped from her seat, over the table, and onto the Nord, knocking him onto the floor.
Laughing a little, the Nord pushed himself up. “Mara, you’re going to kill me,” he teased. Mara ignored this, but instead threw his cloak back. She paused for half a second when she saw the scarring: she had forgotten just how bad it was. She rubbed her hand across the deep grooves of flesh for several seconds, then brought her face against his in a passionate kiss. Her arms wrapped around his throat to bring him even closer to her, and, laughing, she kissed all over his face.
The Nord smiled deeply, trying to tell her how happy he was to see her, but unable to talk because of all her kisses. He wanted to tell her that he missed her. He wanted to tell her that he loved her. He wanted to tell her that being apart from her was one of the hardest and most miserable experiences he had to go through in life. He wanted to ask to be a part of her new life. But all of this seemed to fade from his mind as he looked up at the friends behind her.
When she had thrown the cloak off him, they gasped and drew back. But now, seeing their leader and friend kissing and hugging this monster in front of them, their looks of horror and fear turned to disgust and loathing. In some faces, even jealousy.
How could he expect to be part of her life when he scared and disgusted her friends and acquaintances? They had finally accepted her despite her appearance. They had accepted her because she was smart and brilliant. He wasn’t. He was well taught, but had little patience for books or learning. He preferred to be always active, hunting, training, or fighting. Perhaps what they were whispering about him was right. Maybe he was a barbarian. Maybe he didn’t belong with her.
Gently pushing her off him, he slowly rose. She rose also, not quite sure what had made him do that. “I’ve come to see that you are all right and to congratulate you. I will be leaving in a few more days, so I wanted to make sure that you were happy and didn’t need anything.”
His cold attitude made her realize that there were others watching, so, standing up a little straighter, with a friendly yet business-like voice, she answered, “I am fine, thank you. You came all this way to just leave again?”
“Yes. I think… I’m not sure yet.”
Her face softened a little. “Have you had anything to eat yet? Do you have a place to stay the night? We’re having a celebration tonight in my honor. You must come.”
Looking over at the other mages, the Nord began to protest, “I…I…”
“No, you will stay here tonight. I will have a bed and bath prepared for you, so that you may rest for now and join us at the celebration later. Then we must talk.” Turning from him to the older mage who brought him to her, she gave a few instructions and then they both left.
When the Nord came back to the Imperial City, he found the old leader of the Mages Guild was dead and buried, and Mara was the new leader. They would have an official ceremony to welcome her that evening.
An elderly mage led the Nord to their leader’s chambers, where Mara and a group of fellow mages gathered around a table. Mara, the smallest of the group, sat at the table reading various scrolls and parchments, while the others stood behind her, either talking to each other or looking over her shoulder, whispering stuff to her. All were in black to show the sorrow for the old leader’s death.
“This man claims to be a ‘friend’ of yours, Mara,” the elderly mage introduced the Nord.
Mara and the others looked up, perplexed at the sight of the huge, cloaked man in front of them, covered entirely in furs. Then recognition shown in Mara’s eyes.
As her friends began whispering, with much distain, “Who is this?”, she jumped from her seat, over the table, and onto the Nord, knocking him onto the floor.
Laughing a little, the Nord pushed himself up. “Mara, you’re going to kill me,” he teased. Mara ignored this, but instead threw his cloak back. She paused for half a second when she saw the scarring: she had forgotten just how bad it was. She rubbed her hand across the deep grooves of flesh for several seconds, then brought her face against his in a passionate kiss. Her arms wrapped around his throat to bring him even closer to her, and, laughing, she kissed all over his face.
The Nord smiled deeply, trying to tell her how happy he was to see her, but unable to talk because of all her kisses. He wanted to tell her that he missed her. He wanted to tell her that he loved her. He wanted to tell her that being apart from her was one of the hardest and most miserable experiences he had to go through in life. He wanted to ask to be a part of her new life. But all of this seemed to fade from his mind as he looked up at the friends behind her.
When she had thrown the cloak off him, they gasped and drew back. But now, seeing their leader and friend kissing and hugging this monster in front of them, their looks of horror and fear turned to disgust and loathing. In some faces, even jealousy.
How could he expect to be part of her life when he scared and disgusted her friends and acquaintances? They had finally accepted her despite her appearance. They had accepted her because she was smart and brilliant. He wasn’t. He was well taught, but had little patience for books or learning. He preferred to be always active, hunting, training, or fighting. Perhaps what they were whispering about him was right. Maybe he was a barbarian. Maybe he didn’t belong with her.
Gently pushing her off him, he slowly rose. She rose also, not quite sure what had made him do that. “I’ve come to see that you are all right and to congratulate you. I will be leaving in a few more days, so I wanted to make sure that you were happy and didn’t need anything.”
His cold attitude made her realize that there were others watching, so, standing up a little straighter, with a friendly yet business-like voice, she answered, “I am fine, thank you. You came all this way to just leave again?”
“Yes. I think… I’m not sure yet.”
Her face softened a little. “Have you had anything to eat yet? Do you have a place to stay the night? We’re having a celebration tonight in my honor. You must come.”
Looking over at the other mages, the Nord began to protest, “I…I…”
“No, you will stay here tonight. I will have a bed and bath prepared for you, so that you may rest for now and join us at the celebration later. Then we must talk.” Turning from him to the older mage who brought him to her, she gave a few instructions and then they both left.
So now we see the paths of Mara and the Nord begin to diverge.
Will they come back together on the same path or forever travel alone? Only time (and patience on our parts) will tell!
Will they come back together on the same path or forever travel alone? Only time (and patience on our parts) will tell!
You show the gamut of the lower end of true human spirit in the reactions of the mages to Nord. It is an ugly truth, and you captured it with clean precision.
Chapter 22: Troubled Sleep
The mage brought the Nord to a nice little room and gave him some wine and food. As he ate, a bath was prepared for him. As he bathed, a bed was made for him.
The Nord welcomed a chance to sleep and clear his head. Maybe when he woke up, he’d know what to do.
Sleep came very quickly, though it was not very relaxing. He kept seeing Mara in his dreams. First she was the Mages Guild leader, in her robes of state, tall and proud, and he knelt in front of her, offering her a little ring. Suddenly they were transported back in time to the traveler’s cage when he had first seen her. She stood in the little cage, looking down in horror at him, laughing and jeering people all around her.
“Marry me,” he again asked.
“No…no hurt poor Four Ears,” the noble Mage Leader begged, tears spilling from her eyes.
Again he asked her, this time more threateningly, as he walked outside her cage with a whip. Laughing and snickering came forward from the jeering audience.
“Why would she kiss something like that?” they asked. “He’s a monster,” another voice agreed. “Shhh... I think he’s waking up.” “Don’t worry, this will keep him asleep.”
The Nord felt a sharp bit of pain as more snickering and talking past through his mind, and suddenly he found himself at the altar in Hackdirt. The group of half-naked fanatics seemed to merge into well-dressed mages, and in front of him, towering over him with a boar tusk in her hand, was little Mara. She neither smiled nor frowned as she recited her ritual prayer.
He called out to her, begging her to stop, but she did not. She didn’t even hear his words. He tried to fight back, to run. He couldn’t. He couldn’t even move. She slowly brought the boar tusk down against his face, just under his eyes. He saw blood. He felt pain. He screamed and screamed, struggling to break free.
The mages stopped their work with great wonder as they saw their little leader run through their midst, an elderly mage following after her, calling out to her. The other mages followed the two. They ran to the barracks area, where they were met with a very odd sight: a huge, horrifically scarred Nord ran around the court yard, in a sleep trance with his eyes closed, screaming and crying with so much pain that it sounded as if his soul were being tortured in Oblivion. Two horrified young Mages stood back, afraid to go near him. They had obviously put whatever enchantment it was on him.
“What happened here?” their leader cried, her voice angry and panicked.
“I’m sorry,” was all that a young mage had for his defense.
“He’s a monster! Look at him!” was the other’s.
“What happened?” she again demanded. “What spell have you put him under?”
“It…it was just a joke. He was sleeping so we thought we’d scare him.”
“But we didn’t want him to get up and hurt us, so we…”
“We subdued him so he couldn’t move.”
“He broke through both of our spells, so we put him to sleep, but he’s breaking through that, too.”
“Help us!”
There was silence from the mages as Mara cast a spell on the Nord. His screaming and stumbling ceased as he lost momentary consciousness and lay on the ground.
Again Mara cast anther spell and this time the Nord opened his eyes. His breathing was heavy as he looked up at all the mages above him. Mara fell to her knees beside him, causing the Nord to instinctively cover his face.
Realizing that he was still panicked from whatever trance or spell they had put him in, she did not try to touch him.
The Nord, still covering his face, quickly slipped away from Mara and ran out of the courtyard, out of the mages’ complex and into the city.
He ran for such a long time that he didn’t even realize where he was going. He had made his way around the city several times before he paused by the city gate. But he didn’t want to leave just yet. Climbing from rooftop to rooftop until he found his and Mara’s old way of getting up onto the wall, he surveyed the sunset and scenery before him.
Reliving the horrors and pain of the Hackdirt ritual was too much for him, and he hid his face in his hands and cried bitter tears.
Yes it was just a dream, but it was worse when he thought that Mara – sweet little, scary Mara, half tamed and half feral Mara – would do something like that. When they first met, how many times had she threatened him? But she never took up her promise. And then before he had to leave her, how sweet had she been to him? How many times had she kissed him and told him that she loved him? How many times did she promise to marry him? Yet none of it was to be.
Fresh tears fell from his eyes. When he left for a month, she stayed up here on this very wall, every night until he came back. But then, when he left for a year, she did not spend one night waiting for him up there. She was willing to let him go. She was happy without him.
Wasn’t that what he had hoped for? Why did it cause him so much pain knowing that she was loved, respected and happy without him?
A selfish, evil side wanted to go back in time to when she was scared and socially inept, but his. What if he had, against everything he knew to be right, married her as she wanted? What if he had never taken her to the priests to be educated? She would be unhappy? Yes – no one but he would have loved her. They would have nowhere to go but Skyrim, which she hated. No matter how much joy it would be to have her, if she wasn’t happy, there was no point in anything else.
The Nord closed his eyes and let the salt water run through the many channels on his face, stinging his flesh.
The mage brought the Nord to a nice little room and gave him some wine and food. As he ate, a bath was prepared for him. As he bathed, a bed was made for him.
The Nord welcomed a chance to sleep and clear his head. Maybe when he woke up, he’d know what to do.
Sleep came very quickly, though it was not very relaxing. He kept seeing Mara in his dreams. First she was the Mages Guild leader, in her robes of state, tall and proud, and he knelt in front of her, offering her a little ring. Suddenly they were transported back in time to the traveler’s cage when he had first seen her. She stood in the little cage, looking down in horror at him, laughing and jeering people all around her.
“Marry me,” he again asked.
“No…no hurt poor Four Ears,” the noble Mage Leader begged, tears spilling from her eyes.
Again he asked her, this time more threateningly, as he walked outside her cage with a whip. Laughing and snickering came forward from the jeering audience.
“Why would she kiss something like that?” they asked. “He’s a monster,” another voice agreed. “Shhh... I think he’s waking up.” “Don’t worry, this will keep him asleep.”
The Nord felt a sharp bit of pain as more snickering and talking past through his mind, and suddenly he found himself at the altar in Hackdirt. The group of half-naked fanatics seemed to merge into well-dressed mages, and in front of him, towering over him with a boar tusk in her hand, was little Mara. She neither smiled nor frowned as she recited her ritual prayer.
He called out to her, begging her to stop, but she did not. She didn’t even hear his words. He tried to fight back, to run. He couldn’t. He couldn’t even move. She slowly brought the boar tusk down against his face, just under his eyes. He saw blood. He felt pain. He screamed and screamed, struggling to break free.
The mages stopped their work with great wonder as they saw their little leader run through their midst, an elderly mage following after her, calling out to her. The other mages followed the two. They ran to the barracks area, where they were met with a very odd sight: a huge, horrifically scarred Nord ran around the court yard, in a sleep trance with his eyes closed, screaming and crying with so much pain that it sounded as if his soul were being tortured in Oblivion. Two horrified young Mages stood back, afraid to go near him. They had obviously put whatever enchantment it was on him.
“What happened here?” their leader cried, her voice angry and panicked.
“I’m sorry,” was all that a young mage had for his defense.
“He’s a monster! Look at him!” was the other’s.
“What happened?” she again demanded. “What spell have you put him under?”
“It…it was just a joke. He was sleeping so we thought we’d scare him.”
“But we didn’t want him to get up and hurt us, so we…”
“We subdued him so he couldn’t move.”
“He broke through both of our spells, so we put him to sleep, but he’s breaking through that, too.”
“Help us!”
There was silence from the mages as Mara cast a spell on the Nord. His screaming and stumbling ceased as he lost momentary consciousness and lay on the ground.
Again Mara cast anther spell and this time the Nord opened his eyes. His breathing was heavy as he looked up at all the mages above him. Mara fell to her knees beside him, causing the Nord to instinctively cover his face.
Realizing that he was still panicked from whatever trance or spell they had put him in, she did not try to touch him.
The Nord, still covering his face, quickly slipped away from Mara and ran out of the courtyard, out of the mages’ complex and into the city.
He ran for such a long time that he didn’t even realize where he was going. He had made his way around the city several times before he paused by the city gate. But he didn’t want to leave just yet. Climbing from rooftop to rooftop until he found his and Mara’s old way of getting up onto the wall, he surveyed the sunset and scenery before him.
Reliving the horrors and pain of the Hackdirt ritual was too much for him, and he hid his face in his hands and cried bitter tears.
Yes it was just a dream, but it was worse when he thought that Mara – sweet little, scary Mara, half tamed and half feral Mara – would do something like that. When they first met, how many times had she threatened him? But she never took up her promise. And then before he had to leave her, how sweet had she been to him? How many times had she kissed him and told him that she loved him? How many times did she promise to marry him? Yet none of it was to be.
Fresh tears fell from his eyes. When he left for a month, she stayed up here on this very wall, every night until he came back. But then, when he left for a year, she did not spend one night waiting for him up there. She was willing to let him go. She was happy without him.
Wasn’t that what he had hoped for? Why did it cause him so much pain knowing that she was loved, respected and happy without him?
A selfish, evil side wanted to go back in time to when she was scared and socially inept, but his. What if he had, against everything he knew to be right, married her as she wanted? What if he had never taken her to the priests to be educated? She would be unhappy? Yes – no one but he would have loved her. They would have nowhere to go but Skyrim, which she hated. No matter how much joy it would be to have her, if she wasn’t happy, there was no point in anything else.
The Nord closed his eyes and let the salt water run through the many channels on his face, stinging his flesh.
You catch human emotion as well as you do feline - but I could just kick Nord for this chapter, he isn't thinking about who she is, just what he has endured. ARGH !!! Lol.
Chapter 23: The Mages’ Celebration
A mage informed Mara that the Nord was back at their compound, and that he was gathering up his supplies to head out.
Mara quickly left the party and went to his chambers, just as he had gathered the last of his belongings. “You are leaving?” she asked him, blocking the doorway with her little frame.
“Yes.”
“Just like that? You barely even said hello, and now you’re leaving? Where are you going? When will I see you again?”
“I’m going back up north to my home. I don’t think we’ll see each other again.”
Pain shot through her face. “…Why?”
“Because I don’t belong here.”
“Where? The Mages Guild? There are plenty of other houses and inns around town. You can rent a room and we can talk again, just like old times. We can catch up on everything. Why did you never write to me?”
“Why didn’t you write to me?”
Flustered a little, Mara explained, “I didn’t know where you were going; all the letters I sent were sent back because no one could find you. Anyway, with the way you just up and left, I didn’t think you wanted me to write.”
“You’re right – I didn’t want you to.”
“Why not?!”
“Because you were happy living the life you should have. And I don’t belong in it.”
“Why not? Because you don’t know magic? I can teach you.”
“Look at me!” he exclaimed. “Look at me! I’m a monster – a freak. That’s why your friends hurt me earlier. Because they didn’t want me here. Because they didn’t want me near you. Don’t you see? Just by being your friend I taint you. If we are seen together, people will start thinking of you again as a freak. It will be ‘Four Ears and the Nord monster’.”
Mara cringed when she heard the long forgotten name. “I… No, my friends wouldn’t betray me like that.”
“Wouldn’t they now? I was raised in the Blades fortresses. I lived with them, I laughed with them, I ate with them, I hunted with them, I slept with them, I did everything with them. I was a part of their family, and then this happened –” he pointed to his face, “and suddenly no one wanted to see me again. They wouldn’t even look at me, Mara. They wouldn’t even look at me. They sent me away.”
Mara was silent for several seconds. “I love you,” she finally whispered.
“You shouldn’t.”
“Why not?!”
“Because I am not good for you.”
“Then who is? Huh? Who is? Marry me, Svein. I don’t care what people think. I’m still a bit of a monster in many people’s eyes. I don’t care. We can be monsters together.”
“No…that’s…I…” He was silent for several seconds before he finally said, “I’m leaving tonight. I will stay for your party if you will let me – I would like to see you smile and dance as Head of the Mages Guild – as someone important as I knew you could be – but then I have to leave.”
“Yes. Yes, you may come to the party. I already invited you. But we’re missing it now.”
He dropped his bags and followed her to the main hall where everyone had gathered. There was a large commotion, with lots of dancing, drinking and eating going on. Some mages were too excited to wait to display their magic until after the dancing, when there would be a big display of everyone’s talent, so a sudden explosion of color and noise was emitted in the air every now or then. Sometimes the illusion of a large, frightful creature entered the dance floor, and with great excitement and laughter from the on lookers, it would dance with its creator until he or she was finished with it.
Mara sat down at the table opposite of the Nord. She saw behind her in her glass of wine all of the excitement going on. The mages split into two groups – one of all males and the other of all females – to participate in a dance competition. It was the girls turn now to dance, and what a dance they did, too! Shiny dresses and ribbons, illusion clones of themselves, giant clouds of colored smoke rising from the ground…it was a grand and beautiful sight.
But the Nord didn’t notice. Or at least he didn’t show that he noticed. He looked into space, as if were preoccupied with some distressing thought.
“You told me that I would never be able to climb to the top of the White Gold Tower,” she finally spoke, her soft voice even softer as she continued to stare at him. “I went to the High Chancellor and begged him to let me, and he did.”
The Nord looked up. His eyes narrowed as the colorful magic disappeared, leaving the room much darker now. His square jaw set in a petulant form and his forehead tightened with aggregation, he leaned forward on the table, pushing his weight onto his elbows. Mara swallowed deeply. He had bulked up since last year. She didn’t know why she hadn’t noticed it before, but he had added a few more inches to his shoulders and arms. She didn’t think that was possible.
Everything he did seemed intimidating, especially to a frail little Khajiit such as she. And the way he leaned over toward her and the face he gave her was very intimidating…and yet, she knew that he’d never hurt her. So what was this she was feeling?
“You didn’t really?” he asked, his deep voice laced with surprise and annoyance. “Mara…” He sighed heavily. “Mara, what did the High Chancellor say when you asked him that?”
For three years she lived in the Imperial City, so now she began to recognize accents, and his was a deep one. She ignored this thought for the time being, and answered, “He laughed. I told him how I would wait for you on the city wall, but the tower was much higher. I told him that I really wanted to see the world from way up there, so he let me. He’s at my party tonight if you want me to introduce you to him.”
“No! No!” the Nord quickly assured her. “I told you, I don’t want to embarrass you tonight.”
“Eat something,” she whispered.
“Huh?”
“Eat something. You need to eat something.”
The Nord frowned, but, at the sight and sudden recognition of all the smells around him, he nodded. He reached his massive arm across the table and stabbed into a fat piece of red meat.
He didn’t look up, but he could feel her eyes on him watching him intently. He didn’t like it. Was she mad at him? Did she want him to leave right now? He didn’t want to look up at her, in case there was hate or betrayal in her eyes. How could he face that? Was it not bad enough that his heart felt as if it were about to tear free from his chest? How then could he survive the pain of having someone he loved so much be angry at him? Worse – hate him.
He nervously tore at the steak in front of him, shoving all fat and gristle to one side to leave the perfect, juicy meat at the other.
He cut the piece of pure meat into fourths, shoving one of those fourths into his mouth, and then immediately downing half a glass of red wine.
If he were not so busy tearing at the food in front of him to him to vent his frustration and confusion, he would have seen that the look he was getting was not one of anger or betrayal, but of a weird mix of love, lust…and, something else. There was almost a hunter’s look in the Khajiit’s eyes. The pupils of her eyes slowly began to thin; her ears began to fall to the side of her head; her tail twitched anxiously; and her body tensed.
He didn’t see any of this as he put the wine glass down, a little steak juice and red wine dripping from the corner of his mouth.
Mara pounced onto him from across the table, knocking him off his chair and onto the ground. She pinned his shoulders to the floor and licked the bloody wine off the side of his lips.
A soft purr emitted from somewhere in her chest as she looked down at her prey.
“M…Mara! W,what are you doing? There’s people around…I…”
“Marry me.”
“What?!”
“Marry me. You promised that you’d marry me when I saw more of the world and understood it. Well I have. And I do. Now marry me,” she demanded as she pushed her body weight against his shoulders.
“But Mara…I…Mara, get off me now. You’re making a scene.”
“No one can see us.”
“Get off or I’ll push you off.”
“Marry me or I’ll make you.”
Slightly amused, he asked, “How?”
In response the four-eared mage, pinning him to the ground with more vigor, pressed her lips against his in sloppy, yet domineering kiss.
Gasping a little to catch his breath, and sighing heavily, he whispered, “Mara, don’t do this to me. I love you too much.”
“Then marry me.”
“Don’t you see, if I married you, people would think of us as freaks. Our children would come out as freaks.”
“No. We’d have beautiful, hairy children. Some with beautiful yellow eyes and beautiful yellow hair, and some with scary, thin, black eyes and thick black fur. Some might even have four ears like me.”
Mara kissed him again, and pulling on his shoulders for him to sit up, sat cross-legged in his long legs. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she whispered, “Marry Mara? Poor, poor Mara.”
“I...But, I…” The Nord thought of one hundred and one reasons all at once, many of which he had already told her. He finally picked one: “We’d need to have a priest. There’s no priests here.”
“Yes there is. Father Claudius is here. So are most of the other Brothers.”
“And then…You don’t have any dress.”
“I don’t mind being married in my Mages Robes. It’s a sign of honor.”
“I don’t have a ring.”
“You can buy me one later.”
“But…”
“But?”
“I haven’t asked you to marry me yet.”
“So?”
“So come on…” Suddenly his voice was full of authority and determination.
He rose and helped her to her feet. He led her to the middle of the great hall, where everyone stopped dancing to part for them.
There was quiet whispering as the Nord fell to his knees before the Four-eared Khajiit, and taking his family ring of his hand, offered it to her.
His proposal was short and simple. It was the only way he knew how to do things. “I love you, Mara. I am unworthy of you, but I love you nonetheless. Be my wife?”
Giggling, Mara slipped the big ring on her thumb.
The giant Nord, scarred and haggard, knelt at the feet of the noble little Four-eared Khajiit, taking her tiny hand in his and kissing it front and back, as a group of colorful spectators watched on in amazement at the odd couple.
THE END
A mage informed Mara that the Nord was back at their compound, and that he was gathering up his supplies to head out.
Mara quickly left the party and went to his chambers, just as he had gathered the last of his belongings. “You are leaving?” she asked him, blocking the doorway with her little frame.
“Yes.”
“Just like that? You barely even said hello, and now you’re leaving? Where are you going? When will I see you again?”
“I’m going back up north to my home. I don’t think we’ll see each other again.”
Pain shot through her face. “…Why?”
“Because I don’t belong here.”
“Where? The Mages Guild? There are plenty of other houses and inns around town. You can rent a room and we can talk again, just like old times. We can catch up on everything. Why did you never write to me?”
“Why didn’t you write to me?”
Flustered a little, Mara explained, “I didn’t know where you were going; all the letters I sent were sent back because no one could find you. Anyway, with the way you just up and left, I didn’t think you wanted me to write.”
“You’re right – I didn’t want you to.”
“Why not?!”
“Because you were happy living the life you should have. And I don’t belong in it.”
“Why not? Because you don’t know magic? I can teach you.”
“Look at me!” he exclaimed. “Look at me! I’m a monster – a freak. That’s why your friends hurt me earlier. Because they didn’t want me here. Because they didn’t want me near you. Don’t you see? Just by being your friend I taint you. If we are seen together, people will start thinking of you again as a freak. It will be ‘Four Ears and the Nord monster’.”
Mara cringed when she heard the long forgotten name. “I… No, my friends wouldn’t betray me like that.”
“Wouldn’t they now? I was raised in the Blades fortresses. I lived with them, I laughed with them, I ate with them, I hunted with them, I slept with them, I did everything with them. I was a part of their family, and then this happened –” he pointed to his face, “and suddenly no one wanted to see me again. They wouldn’t even look at me, Mara. They wouldn’t even look at me. They sent me away.”
Mara was silent for several seconds. “I love you,” she finally whispered.
“You shouldn’t.”
“Why not?!”
“Because I am not good for you.”
“Then who is? Huh? Who is? Marry me, Svein. I don’t care what people think. I’m still a bit of a monster in many people’s eyes. I don’t care. We can be monsters together.”
“No…that’s…I…” He was silent for several seconds before he finally said, “I’m leaving tonight. I will stay for your party if you will let me – I would like to see you smile and dance as Head of the Mages Guild – as someone important as I knew you could be – but then I have to leave.”
“Yes. Yes, you may come to the party. I already invited you. But we’re missing it now.”
He dropped his bags and followed her to the main hall where everyone had gathered. There was a large commotion, with lots of dancing, drinking and eating going on. Some mages were too excited to wait to display their magic until after the dancing, when there would be a big display of everyone’s talent, so a sudden explosion of color and noise was emitted in the air every now or then. Sometimes the illusion of a large, frightful creature entered the dance floor, and with great excitement and laughter from the on lookers, it would dance with its creator until he or she was finished with it.
Mara sat down at the table opposite of the Nord. She saw behind her in her glass of wine all of the excitement going on. The mages split into two groups – one of all males and the other of all females – to participate in a dance competition. It was the girls turn now to dance, and what a dance they did, too! Shiny dresses and ribbons, illusion clones of themselves, giant clouds of colored smoke rising from the ground…it was a grand and beautiful sight.
But the Nord didn’t notice. Or at least he didn’t show that he noticed. He looked into space, as if were preoccupied with some distressing thought.
“You told me that I would never be able to climb to the top of the White Gold Tower,” she finally spoke, her soft voice even softer as she continued to stare at him. “I went to the High Chancellor and begged him to let me, and he did.”
The Nord looked up. His eyes narrowed as the colorful magic disappeared, leaving the room much darker now. His square jaw set in a petulant form and his forehead tightened with aggregation, he leaned forward on the table, pushing his weight onto his elbows. Mara swallowed deeply. He had bulked up since last year. She didn’t know why she hadn’t noticed it before, but he had added a few more inches to his shoulders and arms. She didn’t think that was possible.
Everything he did seemed intimidating, especially to a frail little Khajiit such as she. And the way he leaned over toward her and the face he gave her was very intimidating…and yet, she knew that he’d never hurt her. So what was this she was feeling?
“You didn’t really?” he asked, his deep voice laced with surprise and annoyance. “Mara…” He sighed heavily. “Mara, what did the High Chancellor say when you asked him that?”
For three years she lived in the Imperial City, so now she began to recognize accents, and his was a deep one. She ignored this thought for the time being, and answered, “He laughed. I told him how I would wait for you on the city wall, but the tower was much higher. I told him that I really wanted to see the world from way up there, so he let me. He’s at my party tonight if you want me to introduce you to him.”
“No! No!” the Nord quickly assured her. “I told you, I don’t want to embarrass you tonight.”
“Eat something,” she whispered.
“Huh?”
“Eat something. You need to eat something.”
The Nord frowned, but, at the sight and sudden recognition of all the smells around him, he nodded. He reached his massive arm across the table and stabbed into a fat piece of red meat.
He didn’t look up, but he could feel her eyes on him watching him intently. He didn’t like it. Was she mad at him? Did she want him to leave right now? He didn’t want to look up at her, in case there was hate or betrayal in her eyes. How could he face that? Was it not bad enough that his heart felt as if it were about to tear free from his chest? How then could he survive the pain of having someone he loved so much be angry at him? Worse – hate him.
He nervously tore at the steak in front of him, shoving all fat and gristle to one side to leave the perfect, juicy meat at the other.
He cut the piece of pure meat into fourths, shoving one of those fourths into his mouth, and then immediately downing half a glass of red wine.
If he were not so busy tearing at the food in front of him to him to vent his frustration and confusion, he would have seen that the look he was getting was not one of anger or betrayal, but of a weird mix of love, lust…and, something else. There was almost a hunter’s look in the Khajiit’s eyes. The pupils of her eyes slowly began to thin; her ears began to fall to the side of her head; her tail twitched anxiously; and her body tensed.
He didn’t see any of this as he put the wine glass down, a little steak juice and red wine dripping from the corner of his mouth.
Mara pounced onto him from across the table, knocking him off his chair and onto the ground. She pinned his shoulders to the floor and licked the bloody wine off the side of his lips.
A soft purr emitted from somewhere in her chest as she looked down at her prey.
“M…Mara! W,what are you doing? There’s people around…I…”
“Marry me.”
“What?!”
“Marry me. You promised that you’d marry me when I saw more of the world and understood it. Well I have. And I do. Now marry me,” she demanded as she pushed her body weight against his shoulders.
“But Mara…I…Mara, get off me now. You’re making a scene.”
“No one can see us.”
“Get off or I’ll push you off.”
“Marry me or I’ll make you.”
Slightly amused, he asked, “How?”
In response the four-eared mage, pinning him to the ground with more vigor, pressed her lips against his in sloppy, yet domineering kiss.
Gasping a little to catch his breath, and sighing heavily, he whispered, “Mara, don’t do this to me. I love you too much.”
“Then marry me.”
“Don’t you see, if I married you, people would think of us as freaks. Our children would come out as freaks.”
“No. We’d have beautiful, hairy children. Some with beautiful yellow eyes and beautiful yellow hair, and some with scary, thin, black eyes and thick black fur. Some might even have four ears like me.”
Mara kissed him again, and pulling on his shoulders for him to sit up, sat cross-legged in his long legs. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she whispered, “Marry Mara? Poor, poor Mara.”
“I...But, I…” The Nord thought of one hundred and one reasons all at once, many of which he had already told her. He finally picked one: “We’d need to have a priest. There’s no priests here.”
“Yes there is. Father Claudius is here. So are most of the other Brothers.”
“And then…You don’t have any dress.”
“I don’t mind being married in my Mages Robes. It’s a sign of honor.”
“I don’t have a ring.”
“You can buy me one later.”
“But…”
“But?”
“I haven’t asked you to marry me yet.”
“So?”
“So come on…” Suddenly his voice was full of authority and determination.
He rose and helped her to her feet. He led her to the middle of the great hall, where everyone stopped dancing to part for them.
There was quiet whispering as the Nord fell to his knees before the Four-eared Khajiit, and taking his family ring of his hand, offered it to her.
His proposal was short and simple. It was the only way he knew how to do things. “I love you, Mara. I am unworthy of you, but I love you nonetheless. Be my wife?”
Giggling, Mara slipped the big ring on her thumb.
The giant Nord, scarred and haggard, knelt at the feet of the noble little Four-eared Khajiit, taking her tiny hand in his and kissing it front and back, as a group of colorful spectators watched on in amazement at the odd couple.
THE END
Aww!
I thought you rushed things a little in the middle when Mara was on her own in the Imperial City learning the mages' art. But the ending more than made up for it!
So love triumphs again. After watching a bunch of tragic romances where the couple never gets together to live happily ever after, it was good to have a positive ending!
I thought you rushed things a little in the middle when Mara was on her own in the Imperial City learning the mages' art. But the ending more than made up for it!
So love triumphs again. After watching a bunch of tragic romances where the couple never gets together to live happily ever after, it was good to have a positive ending!
I could kick Nord in the last couple chapters, but he finally wakes up and smells the Kitty - thank goodness!!! I LOVE THIS STORY !!!!!
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