Hello All!

I'm Andrea and fairly new to Chorrol, so hey!

I wasn't going to post anything too soon, but Jessika insisted I at least give a teaser of her story, so i've decided to post an Introduction. But first, I shall introduce you all to Jessika.

Jessika is a 21 year old nord who was born and raised in Cheydinhal, Cyrodill. She excells in Blade, Heavy armour and Light armour (which she is convinced makes her 'unique')

Five yeare before our story starts her parents died, leaving her to raise her little sister, Mya, on her own.

Now, that's enough of that Here is the introduction to our tale:



INTRODUCTION


“Jessika, where are we going?” My baby sister, Mya, asked me. Her youthful eyes delicate. So innocent. She had no idea what had happened. No idea at all.

I wasn’t sure whether to tell her the truth or not, so I decided to lie.

“The basement has been infested with mudcrabs, baby, so we had to leave. Don’t worry, though. We will find somewhere else to live.”

What I told her was partially true. Our house did have an invasion of mudcrabs, although those mudcrabs could also be called ‘debt collectors’.

Money was tight. Too tight. Not enough was coming in and what money was coming in was spent quicker than you could say septim. Our gorgeous home in Cheydinhal had soon become another broken memory

That was the last thing Mother and Father left to us… now it’s gone.

I didn’t know where we were going to go. Ever since our parents died that house was the only thing we had to our name. We managed to stay there for five years; now we had nothing.

As we headed out of the city we were stopped. My good friend Shelley shouted my name and beckoned me over as she stood outside the Bridge Inn.

“Wait here.” I instructed Mya as I kissed her on the forehead. I walked over to Shelley, a forced smile etched across my lips.

“Are you okay?” She asked. A sheet of concern covering her face.

“Yeah…” I lied. A lie that was given away instantly as my eyes began to flood with tears. I wouldn’t let Shelly hug me, as Mya would know something was wrong, so I shook my head gently at Shelly to halt her advance.

“We got thrown out of our house. I just couldn’t keep up with the payments.”

“Oh, honey…” Shelley replied, genuine care in her voice.

“I just don’t know what I’m going to do…” I sobbed. “It’s Mya’s tenth birthday in two days and we have nowhere to go.”

“Why don’t you come stay with me in the inn?” She invited. “I’m sure Mariana will understand-“

I immediately cut her off. Her offer was generous, but preposterous. I simply couldn’t bear to have anyone in the city know I was broke; even though chances were that the news of my eviction would spread like wildfire anyway.

Despite that inevitability, I couldn’t let it happen. I had my pride and my family name to respect. If I was to be the source of embarrassment in my city, I at least wanted to hold my head high.

“Thank you for the offer, Shelley, but I really can’t.”

I didn’t have to say another word as Shelley’s expression seemed to suggest she knew what I was thinking.

“Well at least let me give you-“she started as she reached into her coin purse.

“Shelley, please.” I said, rejecting her offer.

“Okay,” she said softly. “You do what you have to do. But you HAVE to promise me that you will let me know when you find somewhere to go okay? If you don’t I will have no choice but to hunt you down and kick your behind for making me worry, okay?”

I laughed, wiping my tears away. “I promise.”

Shelley looked at me for another second before forcing me into a gentle embrace- an embrace in which I reciprocated. Once we let go I smiled at Shelley, nodded and then headed back to Mya. My eyes met hers and she smiled. I grabbed her hand gently and squeezed it as we headed to the city exit. The large gate signifying the end of an era for us.

I knew we weren’t going to be back for a while, but I also knew that I wasn’t about to let me and my baby sister go homeless.

I was willing to do whatever it took. Mya needed me and I wasn’t going to let her down.

As the guards opened the gate I turned my head to Mya, smiled and did a small hand gesture, a hand gesture that she repeated back to me. A hand gesture that my sister and I had invented.

It meant ‘I love you.’


*

Welcome to the Arena! It is such a pleasure to see you starting this. What a wonderful introduction to Jessika! Without the slightest hint of a data dump, you tell us much here. Her strong and loving nature in the face of hardship. Her devotion to family and friends. Her pride and determination. All of this was crafted with a superb skill that makes Jessika leap right off the page – that is, your writing is top notch.

Congratulations on such a fabulous debut and I so look forward to seeing Jessika continue her adventure.

Oh wow! That is such a huge compliment to me! I have been writing for quite a long time and it's my biggest passion, but nothing i've written as ever been read by anyone other than my mother :/ Posting here was rather nerveracking, but i'm so glad you liked it!

I'm also glad that I managed to portray Jessika's personality and morals clearly; she will be thrilled ;P

You have given us a wonderful sketch of Jessika, her circumstances, and her personality in these few paragraphs. Welcome to you and to your story. I am so glad you have overcome the "stage-fright" which most of us have experienced before pushing that "Post" button.



Yes- crusty, grasping, and smelly.



The “little things” are what make a story work for me- and that was a perfect example.

Firstly: Welcome to Chorrol Andrea, Jessika, and Mya !!

I am in AWE of this intro! You have given us a bit of background, some very strong character development, personality with touches of wry humor - and what Treydoggie pointed out, little details that personalize the story to such an extent that we can visualize the scenes and feel attachment to the characters already. Did I mention you have a knack for dialogue so natural it feels like we are there hearing it?

AWESOME Write !! I am very excited about your story and can't wait to see more of Jessika and Mya!

Hey there!!... ...

Loving the sound of Jess...As for the Light/Heavy Armour...I have a shy-retiring Argonian character who did much the same... ....It's a cool thing!!...

Aaamywho, the story is most excellent!!...Love it from the start...

Definately looking forward to following her adventures further... ...

Nice one!!...

*Applauds heartily!!*...

WELCOME!!!
( I totally understand the nerve wracking part, lol, but that's another story)

I do believe my wonderful friends here have said it all so I will simply say "ditto" to everything that has been said already and I look forward to seeing more of you AND Jess and Mya too

Woah, this is deep. It shows a simple struggle of debt and getting kicked out of the house which serves as the last memory of her parents. I like how you started with this simple yet overwhelming fact, and the constant lying from the protagonist to her younger sister is understandable. The hand gesture in the end was sweet as well.

Welcome to the Arena! This was a good start. You always want to grab the reader's attention with the first few paragraphs. You certainly did here, with Jessika's ominous thoughts about what her sister did not know.

Jess and Mya are out on the street? Ouch. You did a good job of catching us up with the important things, without it feeling like an infodump. Not to mention you painted us a pair of characters whom we can feel empathy for. I hope that Jess can turn things around!

One suggestion, is that think of just what that hand gesture at the end is, and describe it with more detail. Like the shaka sign, or the ILY. I have the feeling we will be seeing it more in the future, and knowing just what it looks like will give it more depth.

BAM! Excellent intro, Andrea, hope you come back soon for more. Please? Pretty please? with moonsugar on it?

WOW! Everyone thank you so much for your wonderful comments! I am THRILLED that so many of you want more, but unfortunatly I'm waiting untill I do a bit more catching up, but seeing as there has been such high demand (Here's looking at you Lady Saga ;P hehe) I'll consider having the next chapter up next week. Maybe. Watch this space.

THANK YOU ALL!!!

you're so welcome.

Excellent stuff!

The writing is fluid and, Jess' character is already well established and I'm compelled to find out what happens to her. This paragraph, especially, was excellent.



It told us a lot about her, in just three lines, and the final touch with Jess and Mya's hand signal was sweet. It felt...real, I guess. Human.

This isn't an update, sorry, but I thought I'd share a couple of photos of Jessika for you all

Sorry for the quality, I am not on PC (although the quality is pretty good for a console user:P)

ALSO, i've decided that I WILL post a new segment of the story by next friday.

Jessika I

Jessika II

Are those cell phone pics? Yaah, I'm not the only one!

Sorry. Anyways, Jessika's story is awaited with bated breath. Looking forward to Friday.

They most certainly are, Lady Saga. It's just a shame that the pictures really don't do Jessika any justice to her true beauty

It's tough isn't it? *hugs* I know, honey...

For every pic I post here and at Bethsoft, there's usually 2 or 3 that look okay on my cell-phone, but when I get them on a real TV or comp screen something looks off...

....but ya know...sometimes it's the feeling of the pic that counts. I can tell Jess is hot. She'll have her perfect pixel moment eventually. Just keep at it.

Oh yes! It's like, for every 10 pics I take of Jessika, only two turn out looking okay. Haha. I simply cannot WAIT for the day I upgrade my PC to be able to play Oblivion on that. PC screenshots will make Jessika very happy

Well I have to say that I think Ann is beautiful, espiecially in your Bethsoft profile pic!

Jess is looking good. Those are pretty good pics, especially considering the difficulty taking them with a phone, of a tv screen. It seems the biggest problem you are having is reflected light sources on the tv screen. Maybe you could try turning off all the lights before taking a pic, and see if that makes a difference?

Jess is looking good. Those are pretty good pics, especially considering the difficulty taking them with a phone, of a tv screen. It seems the biggest problem you are having is reflected light sources on the tv screen. Maybe you could try turning off all the lights before taking a pic, and see if that makes a difference? Or closing the curtains if your tv is next to a window.

Aww thank you Hmm, I think you might be right about the light sources. I didn't really notice that until you mentioned it. I will take a couple of pics with the lights off and see if it makes a difference

Aww thanks, hon. ..I think what I did was zoomed in on Ann's face real close, just after I created her. That's one of my favorite pics, too. Everytime I look at it, I catch a different emotion from her. It's weird.

YES! I totally see what you mean! There is definatly something on Ann's mind in that picture. To me it's almost as if she's just woken up from one of her dreams about Kvatch, recoiling from the horror she experienced all over again... but that's just me

For me, my favourite pic of Jessika is the first one. The way she just looks at me, it's beautiful. Her eyes look so deep. Truly beautiful in my eyes

Don't worry about the cellphone pic. I have that too -_-. Many of us aren't given the opportunity to take high quality pictures. I myself can't do it from a console.

Oops! By 'next friday' I actually meant this friday!

Andrea, those are great shots of Jessika. She's beautiful, regal and best of all, a BLONDE!

Ha ha. Don't make me tell another "blonde Bosmer" joke!

Here it is! The next instalment of the story.

First of all I want to that you all on your kind and heartwarming comments on the introduction! I didn't ever thing it would garner such incredible Critique, so thank you!!

Anywho, on with Jessika's tale...






It was night time. The stars shone their almighty glow and the two moons stared at us with their enormity. Mya and I were laying on the grass, the gentle breeze sweeping over us with its silent song whistling through the trees.

We’d always had such shelter in our lives, such protection; it was easy to forget that we were actually rather small, miniscule, even. We really are nothing but the size of insects. But that was what made the world beautiful. The simple fact that we were so insignificant was amazing to me.

I turned my head and looked at my sister. As I looked at her gazing at the sky in awe I remembered that the world was still too big for her. There were things outside our secured lives before that I didn’t want her to see just yet. The world may be beautiful, but it’s also violent, cruel and unforgiving. She didn’t know how to take care of herself in a world like that.

I pondered that thought, frowning to myself - What had I done to her? So young and precious. She’s lost so much- too much. We may have both lost the same things, but it was different when it came to Mya. She was five when our parents died and I was 16. I had my chance to get to know them, laugh with them and love them. Mya didn’t… and she never will.

I stared at Mya for longer. A small smile formed on my lips as I saw her beam a toothy grin.

“WOW! A shooting star!” She cried with glee. She then closed her eyes tightly.

I looked where she was looking and laughed.

“Hon, that’s not a shooting star, that’s a firefly.”

“Oh…” She sighed, opening her eyes. “Does that mean my wish won’t come true?”

“Wish?” I wondered.

“Yeah… I guess I can tell you, it’s not going to come true anyway…” She said.

“What did you wish for?” I asked. I thought it might have been something silly like a new pony or an amazing birthday present.

“I wished that we could be together forever and ever. Never leave each others side. That means that when I get married and you’re old, you can come and live with me.”

I laughed at her remark and then smiled at her wish. I grabbed her hand and held it softly, looking back up at the sky. I closed my eyes, memories of the day swamping my thoughts and I struggled to drift off to sleep.

Then I felt Mya come closer to me as she snuggled in my arms as she began to fall asleep. I smiled, slowly kissed her head and then tried to drift off again, the memories suddenly starting to melt away.

*

“….mmr…. ummm….”

I could hear someone speaking as I tried to open my eyes. The words were indecipherable. I sat up and rubbed them, looking toward the direction of the sound as my eyes began to adjust to the sunlight.

“We’ve been here all night, sir.” I heard Mya speak.

“And why is that, little girl?” I heard a man reply.

I immediately shot up, my vision hastily returning to normal as I subtly charged over to my sister. She was sat on a bench just outside the Roxey Inn of which we slept on the grass opposite.

I approached Mya and the man, a Redguard and smiled at my sister.

“I didn’t hear you wake up?” I said to her, standing close and looking closely at the man. He looked harmless, but I couldn’t be sure.

“Pranal was just telling me about his days as an adventurer. Did you know that there are actually REAL trolls in some Ayleid ruins?” Mya informed me with such amazement.

“No, I didn’t.” I lied, smiling again.

“I’m sorry.” Pranal started before standing and offering his hand to a handshake, of which I obliged. “I came outside for some fresh air and your daughter was stroking that there horse and-“

“She’s my sister.” I corrected him, slightly insulted. He looked horrified at his mistake.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean… I mean you look great, not old! Oh no…um…”

I scowled playfully at him whilst Mya laughed.

“It’s fine,” I assured him. “Simple mistake to make.”- Not really.

“I’m so sorry.” He blushed with embarrassment. At least I assumed it was with embarrassment.

“Let’s start over. I’m Jessika, and this is my little sister, Mya.”

“Pranal. Good to meet you.” He nodded, before offering me a seat.

We all sat on the bench, although Mya sat on my lap.

“So you slept outside last night?”

“Um… yes. We did.”

“Jessika wanted to show me what it was like to sleep under the stars.” Mya stated.

That was another lie I had told her. The truth was that I had gone into the Roxey Inn and tried begging for some kind of deal on a room, but I was refused. I could have tried harder, but I wasn’t willing to beg any more than necessary.

Pranal looked at me with concern in his eyes. He then looked at Mya.

“Mya, why don’t you go and play with the horse? I think he misses you.”

Mya looked at Pranal, then me and then back at Pranal.

“Okay…” She sighed, before jumping off my lap and trotting off toward the horse. Once Mya was out of earshot, Pranal turned back to speak with me, edging closer.

“I think you need to go to the Imperial City.”

I looked at him with confusion at the random demand, “Why?”

“The waterfront district. It’s where all the homeless people go. It might provide a roof over yours and little Mya’s head.”

I took immediate offence to his offer, horrified that he would just assume that we were homeless. Although we were, that was besides the point.

Who did he think he was? Sitting there all high and mighty, passing judgement on other people who he has only just met. It wasn’t like his opinion mattered, anyway. I mean, he lived in a shabby little in for the love of Arkay!

“How dare you assume such things about me? You know nothing about me!” I scolded.

Pranal put in hands up in apology, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

I stood up and headed toward Mya, who was open armed hugging the side of the horse. I grabbed her hand and led her back to the road.

“Jessika, where are we going?”

I ignored her. I didn’t mean to, but I was furious as Pranal’s comment and I didn’t want to take the chance of accidentally letting my anger out on Mya.

“Bye Pranal! I’ll see you soon!” Mya waved as I led her to the road.

*

We continued to walk along the road, crossing a surprisingly empty looking village as we walked. Empty, eh? If it’s abandoned maybe we can stay there the night? Maybe for a while…

I knocked the ridiculously idiotic thought out of my head almost immediately. It was one thing that I was homeless, but now I was willing to turn into a criminal? Breaking and entering wasn’t my thing.

No, I was going to find something and I was adamant about that. Looking at Mya as she walked by my side, singing, I realised what I had to do.

I thought that maybe I should have heeded Pranal’s words. If there is free accommodation in The Imperial City then I needed to think about making that my next stop.

However, once again, my pride wouldn’t let me. That annoying, vicious thing that refused to allow any kind of common sense sinks in due to the fact that it might make me appear weak and petty. But If I didn’t have my pride, what would I have? I could have easily given up by now, easily could have taken Shelley up on her offer and easily could have broken into the abandoned inn in the village for a place to stay. But that just wasn’t me.

I knew what I had to do. This wasn’t just my decision anymore and I needed to accept that.

I stopped. Mya continued walking a few paces ahead not realising. Once she did, she turned and walked over to me.

“Are you okay, Jessika? Did you step on something?”

I chuckled to myself.

“No,” I started before kneeling down to be at her level. “Look…”

I looked at her face. Her angelic features made it almost impossible for me to want to tell her the truth. Almost.

“There’s something I haven’t been completely honest with you about…” I began, still wondering if telling Mya the truth was the right thing to do.

...wow....that's deep.



another wow...



heh heh heh heh...clever!

A beautiful night under the stars.

What a masterful job you do hear of showing us poor Jessika thrust into the role of ‘mother’ – even as she resents Pranal assuming that to be the case. In her own way Jessika is struggling to grow up as well, and you portray that with a subtle grace in your style.

These are clearly two sisters who adore each other and, even though we are still getting to know them, I can already see why.

An abandoned village? Not too far a walk from the Roxey Inn? Why am I thinking Aleswell and that all may not be as it appears?


I hope you don’t mind if I mention some minor objective ‘nits’. The quality of your writing is so good that I assume you are striving for perfection -

‘Mya and I led on the grass,’
I think perhaps you meant ‘lay’?

‘Once Mya was out of earshot, Pranal back to speak with me, edging closer.’
There seems to be a word missing between Pranal and back – perhaps ‘turned’?

‘If there is free accommodation in the imperial city then I needed to think about making that my next stop.’
I would capitalize the name of a city – the way you did when Pranal first mentioned it. Your call of course whether you like 'the Imperial City' or the game's convention of 'The Imperial City'.

There were things outside our secured lives before that I didn’t want her to see just yet. The world may be beautiful, but it’s also violent, cruel and unforgiving. She didn’t know how to take care of herself in a world like that.

There lies the unfortunte truth. The world is a wilderness of horrors masked by beauty and splendor. This part intrigued me because one again her inexperience and dependence. Makes for an enjoyable character.

“Hon, that’s not a shooting star, that’s a firefly.”


“I wished that we could be together forever and ever. Never leave each others side. That means that when I get married and you’re old, you can come and live with me.”
Aww. That is touching! . Jessika's maternal role is truly playing out in this chapter, it seems. The more I think of it, the more I find this to be true in many cases where the mother dies and the older sister is left to take care of the younger sibling.

"Pranal was just telling me about his days as an adventurer. Did you know that there are actually REAL trolls in some Ayleid ruins?”

She's so naive! And later on, Jessika had her button pushed when she was mistaken for homeless! Ahhaha. Not the forgiving type, is she? And the abandoned village is...creepy! Very creepy! And you left us with a nice cliffhanger on Jessikas possible reveal! Good chapter. And I curse myself for not being as enlightened as Acadian when it comes to grammar. I never pay attention to the details unless a large word is spelled incorrectly. Acadian notices everything

Oh WOW! Thanks guys!

I was a little bit terrified of releasing this chapter so early after the introduction as i wanted to wait a while to give it more time to flourish, but Jessika was proud of what we had written so she urged me to release it I'm glad you liked it

I'm looking forward to the next chapter. The fact that you've noted the Waterfront is a good place for "homeless" hits home with Ann's story, too.

write! write! write! write! write!

Another wonderful addition to the story of Jessika and Mya. You do a wonderful job of juxtaposing Jess' pride against her growing desperation, and her need to shelter her daughter younger sister from what is often a cruel world. I am looking forward to the next installment.

Moar, I say. Moar.

This is such a powerful passage!



Loved how awkward the meeting with Pranal was, you knocked that out of the park!

Jessika's inner thoughts and emotions are so real throughout both of your chapters, I am loving this story!

... ... GAAAAH! A cliffhanger !!! LOVED this chapter, LOVE this story! MORE !!!

My fave is the top screen, Jessika is beautiful! Sorry I was so late getting to these, my internet was down for weeks!

Thank you everyone so much for your kind words! Each and every one of you have made me so happy by the simple action on giving Jessika's humble story minutes of your time! Acadian, thank you for the nits! Sometimes my computer doesn't recognise things that should be spell checked. Lady Saga, as always your comments are always very welcome






Mya looked at me, awaiting some form of revelation from me. I could feel the words wanting to leave my mouth, but they wouldn’t. Every time I tried to speak my mouth refused to open.

Mya looked at me with that expectant look still on her face. I knew it wasn’t fair to keep her waiting, guessing, running all these thought’s through her head about what it was that I had to tell her. Would it be serious, she’d wonder? Was she in trouble? She could have thought all these terrible things, but I knew that it was only me that could tell-

“I know what it is anyway; you don’t have to be so nervous.”

My jaw hit the ground. I certainly wasn’t expecting her to know anything, but I wasn’t surprised. Mya wasn’t an idiot. I was constantly undermining her in my head about what she knew about the realities of life, but this had just proved that-

“You’ve left my birthday present at home, haven’t you?” She asked.

Thank Arkay! She doesn’t know the truth.

But just because she didn’t know the truth, didn’t mean she wouldn’t have to be told. For some bizarre reason what she had said urged me more towards not telling her the truth. It was strange.

“Yes… yes I have,” I told her. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” She said, smiling. “We can just get me another one later on!”

I laughed, looking at her. I stared for a moment. This little girl had such a graceful aura about her. I wasn’t willing to ruin that with the truth. Not just yet, anyway.

I grabbed her hand and hoisted myself up onto my feet. Suddenly, almost instantaneously, we heard the bleating of a sheep. It was silent, but it came from the direction of the abandoned village. I noticed a grim beam across Mya’s face as she looked at me. I knew what she wanted.

“Go on then!” I said before Mya ran toward the village, giggling. I slowly followed behind her. Mya had always loved sheep, any animal really; but sheep were defiantly her forte. She’d constantly remind me of her love for their fluffiness when we had our pet sheep Woolson –what were we thinking.

I approached Mya who was stood on the wooden fence of the sheep pen in the village. There was nothing inside. There was no one around the village at all. It was eerie. It was like even though the village was empty, it felt like we were being watched.

“Jessika, where are all the sheep?” Mya asked me.

A look of ponder grew on my face as I wondered the same question. But again, we heard another bleat from the non-existent sheep.

“Did you hear that!?” Mya asked me. “There is a sheep in there! It’s probably hiding! I’ll find it!”

Before I could stop her Mya leapt over the fence and ran to the back of the pen into the little huts at the back.

“Mya, come back here now!” I ordered with a hushed tone; which was odd considering there was no one around that my whisper would benefit.

“I can’t see it Jessika!” Mya said, ignoring my demand and looking around some more.

I looked behind me and to my sides in a panic, which again I had no idea why. I then looked at Mya. She was running around the pen, franticly looking for the source of the bleating.

“JESSIKA! WHERE IS THE- OW!”

Mya screamed, falling to the ground after colliding with something. But the strange thing was she didn’t actually collide with anything. Nothing I could see anyway. It was almost like someone had placed a glass wall in from of Mya at the wrong moment. I opened the gate and ran to Mya’s aid, kneeling beside her.

“Are you okay, hon?” I asked her. She nodded her head.

“Yeah, I’m fine. That was weird.” She said. I chuckled. She was a brave one my sister.

“Come on, we have to go.” I said, holding Mya’s hands and pulling her up.

“Okay, I wonder where-“

“HEY YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THERE!” Bellowed an unseen voice.

Without looking or even thinking Mya and I sprinted out of the pen, out of the village and down the road we were previously walking. We ran as far as Mya’s legs could carry her, laughing the whole way. It was exciting. The thrill of danger.

Once Mya needed to stop we sat by the roadside, resting on the grass against a large tree. It took us a little while to stop laughing. Once we did stop, Mya turned to me.

“Jessika…” She started.

“Hmm?” I looked at her. She looked serious, which made me rather worried. I don’t know why.

“Do you actually know where we are going?”

Her question baffled me. She obviously knew that I had no idea what our next move was, but whether or not she knew everything was the real question. The truth was I still had no idea where we were going. So that’s exactly what I told her.

“If I’m honest hon, no. I don’t,” I revealed, a small weight being lifted. “But I promise you we will find somewhere before the sun goes down, okay?”

Mya turned silent. Her eyes suggested she was angry about something.

“You’re always lying to me.” She stated.

I was too shocked for words. I had no idea whatsoever how to respond to that. So I decided to ask her what she meant, even though deep down I knew.

“Lying? About what?”

“You lied about the mudcrabs in the basement! And about why we didn't stay in the inn last night!”

Again, I was shocked. How was I supposed to react to her revelations? Instead of retaliate with more lies, I decided to let her continue.

“I’m not a kid anymore, Jessika. I know we’ve been thrown out of our house and that we have no money. I’ve seen all the letters that you’ve been burning!”

She stunned me. She knew everything. She knew everything and I was too warped into thinking she was an idiot to realise.

I didn’t argue. I didn’t lie. I didn’t try to untangle my way out of the confrontation. Instead I cried. I cried with shame about the fact the my little sister had known all along and not said anything. She was trying to protect me by acting as if she knew nothing – NO! no, don’t do that again. Don’t assume what she’s feeling. Talk to her about it.

“I’m sorry,” I said, collecting my tears. “I’m so sorry, Mya…”

I tried to say more but my sobs wouldn’t let me. But Mya knew this. I think she knew how sorry I was as she cradled her arms around me in an embrace. She wasn’t a child anymore, or rather she didn’t act like one. She comforted me. She knew more than I ever could realise.

After a moment she eased her embrace.

“Can I ask you a question?” She said.

“Of course you can, what is it?” I responded. A rare response which didn’t leave me with any form of fear.

“What did Pranal say to you earlier? You know, when you shoo-ed me away?”

I knew my response would come easily. There was no reason to lie or shelter her anymore, however much I hated that fact.

“He told me that there was a place for the homeless to go in The Imperial City.”

“And that made you angry?”

“No,” I corrected her. “The fact that he assumed we were homeless made me angry.”

A look of cheeky guilt appeared on Mya’s face. I knew exactly why.

“Did you tell him we were homeless?”

“…Yes.” She admitted, immediately covering her tracks afterward. “But I told him to promise me that he wouldn’t tell you that I said anything. But he did.”

I smiled, looked at her guilty little face for a moment before putting her in a playful headlock. She laughed as she tried to escape. She grabbed my hair, forcing me to release her before she jumped on my stomach. We wrestled for a while before an Imperial Soldier rode by on his horse, forcing us to stop. He stared at us as he rode past, a childish snigger on our lips. Once he was away from us Mya laid on her back with her head on my lap. I began to play with her hair.

“I’m really sorry I lied to you…” I said.

“I know you are. I understand. I just wish you didn’t”

“I know hon…”

She was so grown up, and I couldn’t see it. Or maybe I didn’t want to see it. But this made me realise something. Something I really should have figured out a while ago.

Pride isn’t always a good thing. And it was pride that stopped me from going straight to The Imperial City, where it would be safe, secure and sensible to go.

Well not anymore.

What a wonderful understanding is growing between Jessika and Mya - changing over from being big sister to parent is a huge step, and Jessika just had her first lesson in it, lol. AWESOME Chapter !!!

A simply beautiful episode of great revelation and transition, told with great skill.

We open with Jessika viewing Mya as a helpless little girl – a protective love almost like mother for young daughter:
’I laughed, looking at her. I stared for a moment. This little girl had such a graceful aura about her. I wasn’t willing to ruin that with the truth. Not just yet, anyway.’

Then, through the revelations of how much Mya knows, Jessika allows her ‘baby’ sister to become a friend and even source of comfort. But it gets better still. . .

As each revealed the folly resulting from trying to ‘protect’ each other via their selfless actions, I was reminded of ‘The Gift of the Magi’. Each of the two so willing to sacrifice and try to provide for the perceived needs of the other, yet thwarted by a lack of communication. This whole episode was a joy of rich interaction to read.

I love the backdrop of Aleswell and its 'unseen' problems.

I must ask your indulgence again as I note a couple tiny nits:

'We ran as far ad {as} Mya’s legs could carry her, laughing the whole way. It was exciting. The trhill {thrill} of danger.'

'She knew everything and I was to {too} warped into thinking she was an idiot to realise.'

“I know what it is anyway; you don’t have to be so nervous.”

My jaw hit the ground. I certainly wasn’t expecting her to know anything, but I wasn’t surprised. Mya wasn’t an idiot. I was constantly undermining her in my head about what she knew about the realities of life, but this had just proved that-

“You’ve left my birthday present at home, haven’t you?” She asked.

This is perfect! There is so much truth in the way you show Mya and Jessika interacting. I’m enjoying this story very much.

oh no! Jessika gets knocked off her high-horse! That little kid is not so little anymore. It's good I read this, it probably is foreshadowing what will happen eventually with me! Not that I tell lots of lies to my kid; but let's just say I don't always expand on the truth. Or I'll side-step it.

Anyways, MAN I liked the unseen village part! It's great you took the opportunity to stop by there, without getting involved in the entire quest itself. I know I've done this with several of my characters. Ya know...one character (or 2) did the actual quest where the town is saved from it's "curse", and the rest of my characters who've passed by that town simply ignore, or otherwise don't get as involved with their concerns.

And the bit where the Imperial rode by on his horse! I was thinking he would say something corny "Stay safe, citizen, these are dark times..." but he was one of the strong, silent types!

As always, looking forward for more. Will Jess & Mya go to the I.C.? Willl they go to Chorrol? Will they go somewhere else? hee hee hee....

Dammit!!...Missed these... ...

Fantastic stuff...So heartwarming and heartaching at the same time...Brilliantly done...There's great depth of feeling in your writing...I salute you!!...

One teenie thing, if I may?...*Ponders problems with waiting for permission...*...

Hmmm...Aaaamywho...

This sentence made my head hurt...



The bleating sheep was silent?...Or the village seemed silent from where they were?...Ummm...

I did absolutely love these two chapters...And am really looking forward to more...Much more...

Nice one!!...

*Applauds most heartily*...

The world may be beautiful, but it’s also violent, cruel and unforgiving.
Especially a world like Tamriel. I like that line. I’ve thought it many times myself.

Pranal was just telling me about his days as an adventurer
I was an adventurer like you…

“You’ve left my birthday present at home, haven’t you?”


Aleswell! They’ve traveled some distance already then.

I had a feeling that Mya knew what was happening to them.

Well it’s off to the Imperial City. I wonder if we will be seeing the inside of a very familiar prison cell?

A lovely spillage of the beans between Mya and Jessika. It is a relief that Jess no longer has to keep up the pretense anymore. Although I can sympathize with her desire to protect Mya's innocence by keeping the truth from her.

And a hilarious romp through the unseen residents of Aleswell!

Sorry for the he late reply! I've been caught up with many things recently.

Okay, so we come to realize that Mya was not the naive girl we all imagined her to be. She knew exactly everything! That was a little twist that made my eyes widened, and also a small laugh. Poor Jessika, the emotional toll was also too much for her. It's obvious with all the tears. I can imagine you trying to keep things a secret to not burden the other, but then the act itself is frowned upon later on. It was a relief to see that it all was rectified by the end of the chapter, with sister and sister both coming to terms rather quickly and understanding each other! After all, they only have to look after themselves right? No use in bickering!

Wow! Thanks again everyone for your kind words! it is great that I have so much support and I appreciate each and every reader that stumbles across my little tale.

I've been super busy this week and I really hope it didn't affect my writing. It wasn't rushed or anything as I've spent the best part of two weeks writing the whole chapter, It's just my mind has been so frazzled getting the words onto the page has been a challenge. none the less I hope you enjoy reading it







I stood outside the main gate to the Imperial City, still wondering whether or not accepting whether going to the Waterside District was the best option for Mya and I.

Mya was more than willing to go, claiming that she didn’t care where they stayed as long as she was with me and although I felt the same I was still in two minds as to whether or not it was really the best course of action.

I ceased my thoughts and looked over to the horse stables where Mya was admiring the equestrian beasts. I sighed at my thoughts and headed over the stables, plastering a smile on my face as I approached Mya and her new friend.

“Well who do we have here?” I asked Mya as she turned to me, the biggest grin on her face.

“This is Valerie. Restita let me name her.”

I looked over at the Breton woman who smiled at me. I assumed this was the woman Mya was speaking of.

“Right, are you ready to go?” I asked Mya.

“Aww why! It’s not like we actually have anywhere we need to be.”

I smiled at her comment. She was right, we didn’t, but the truth was horses had always made me nervous ever since I was nearly trampled by one in the Cheydinhal stables when I was little.

But despite my wariness I gave in. I knew that Mya didn’t have anything to look forward to or be excited about once we move on, so I decided to let her have some time with Valerie.

“Okay, ten more minutes, okay?” I said. I kissed Mya on the head as she giggled with glee. I smiled and walked over to the barn to take seat. Once I was sat down Restita approached and sat next to me.

“Hello there!” She said.

“Hi.” I replied.

“You’re sister seems to love that horse over there.” She smiled. I was thrilled that she didn’t assume she was my daughter.

“Yes, she loves all animals. It’s hard to tear her away from them most of the time.”

“Well you make sure to let her know she is welcome here anytime. She is a delightful child.”

I smiled at the compliment. “Thank you.”

We both turned to look at Mya who was trying her best to jump on the horses back. She was unsuccessful.

“Although…” Restita started as I turned to look at her. “I cannot promise you that Valerie will be there after today.”

“Oh?” I said with wonder in my tone. “Has somebody bought her?”

Restita laughed as if I made the most ridiculous assumption she had ever heard.

“Oh no, quite the opposite! The horses have been going missing recently.”

I really couldn't care less due to my distaste for the creatures, but I thought I'd show some form of compassion for Resitia's predicament.

“Oh that’s a shame. Where have they gone?”

She looked at me with disbelief.

“If I knew that they wouldn’t be missing would they?”

Awkwardness ensued after this comment, so I decided the best thing to do was return to Mya. I stood up, bid farewell to Restita and headed over to Mya. However while I was walking I was stopped by an orc who appeared as if from nowhere.

“Are you interested in buying one of the horses?”

“What? Oh, no, we are just simply admiring them. They are beautiful.” I told her. Her next comment seemed to be a though said out loud.

“That they are, and they’re tasty too…”

“Excuse me?” I asked, confused and a little bit shocked.

“Add a bit of onion and…” She suddenly looked at me, realising what she was saying. “Oh, what? Eat the horses? That’s disgusting.”

“Um… I don’t mean to speak out of place but… did you eat the horses?”

“NO! Of course not! I told you that is disgusting!”

I smiled sheepishly and slowly backed away towards Mya, waving at the orc as I did so.

Once I reached Mya I grabbed her hand and began to lead her off. In reality I was slightly unnerved by the orc’s subtle confession.

“Okay, come on honey, we have to go now.”

“Aww, okay…” Mya sulked. She patted the horse one last time and kissed it’s neck. “BYE!”

We walked out of the stables, Mya waving to Restita as we left.
We walked until we were out of sight before sitting beside a tree near the main entrance to the city. I pulled out two apples that I had salvaged on our walk to the city and handed one to Mya. As she tucked into it I spoke to her.

“Now… are you sure you want to go to the Waterfront district? I’m sure we continue to travel someone will take heed of our situation and offer us a place to stay?”

“Stop being so queenie.” She ordered me, using a word I had never heard before in my life.

“Queenie?”

“You’re so snooty about everything.”

“No I’m not; I just… don’t trust the poor.”

“See! Snooty!” She laughed.

She then leaned the front of her body over my legs and raised hers in the air.

“We’re poor now Jessika. Beggars can’t be choosers.”

Her statement shocked me. She was so grown up and opinionated. For a moment I felt like the little sister.

“I’m sure the people who live there aren’t that bad. They’re probably in the same boat as us.” Mya continued.

“I guess so…”

“A free house is a free house isn’t it?”

“Okay, okay, you’ve made you’re point!” I laughed. “I just worry for you.”

She looked at me, a baffled look on her face.

“Why?” She asked.

“Because…” I started, not wanting to be to direct in my reason. “We don’t know that we can trust those that are living there, and I don’t want to get involved in anything that might land us in trouble.”

“Like what? Getting arrested because we have no money?”

“No…” I said. I wanted to say more, but I didn’t. There was obviously more on my mind than what she said, but I didn’t want to scare her.

“Besides, I’m sure that we won’t be there forever. I trust you and I think you’ll get a good job and we will be back home before you know it.”

“You think so?” I smiled.

“I know so. Anyway, I’m going there whether you like it or not, so It’s up to you whether or not you want to come with me.”

I laughed. She was a tough cookie, my sister. She refused to take no for an answer. She reminded me of my mother at that point. She was always a strong lady, always willingn to look on the brightside and never back down. She always used to say 'If you don't stand for anything, you'll fall for nothing'. I just wish I could have heeded those inspiring words.

I looked at her a for a moment before standing up. Mya stood with me.

“Right, how about we explore the city for a little while before we go to the Waterfront?”

“Stop stalling Jessika!”

“I’m not stalling,” I lied. “I just want to explore the city.”

Mya had a look of disbelief in her eyes.

“Okaaaay.” She said.

“Okay?”

“Yeah.”

I grabbed her hand as we walked to the main gate of the Imperial city. The truth was I hoped that taking a walk through the city would give us some kind of plausible reason to not go to the Waterfront.

But knowing my luck, all I could do was hope.

Mya may take care of Jessika just as much as Jessika takes care of Mya when all is said and done! I like how she saw her mother's strength in Mya too.

The Orc at the stables was a hilarious touch, I've always been afraid to leave my horses in that stables, lol. Glad to see someone bring up her dietary habits when it comes to the steed you are trusting to her care, lol.

Awesome Write !!!

‘For a moment I felt like the little sister.’
The build up to this conclusion was perfect. I had to smile when I read it. Mya is quite the grown up young girl. Despite the age difference, these two seem more like friends than older and younger sister. They are quite the complementary pair. Wonderfully done!

How exciting that Mya is a horse-crazy girl! I hope Jessika gets over her coolness toward the animals. Great fun reminding us of that Snack Grabbing orcish ostler!

Jessika clearly has concern about being among the poor. Mya is a good counter to this. The interaction between the two is marvelous.


Nits. Your normally solid editing seemed a bit off for this episode. Please let me know if you would rather not be picked on for typos etc. Some writers want these things pointed out, others do not.

‘I stood outside the main gate to the Imperial City, still wondering whether or not accepting whether going to the Waterside District was the best option for Mya and I.’
Perhaps just me, but does this seem confused and/or perhaps redundant? You might just want to delete the bold part.

‘Mya was more than willing to go, claiming that she didn’t care where they stayed as long as she was with me’
I think you want ‘we’.

“You’re sister seems to love that horse over there.”
‘Your’

‘Her next comment seemed to be a though said out loud.’
‘thought’

“I’m sure we continue to travel someone will take heed of our situation and offer us a place to stay?”
You need an ‘if’ in front of we.

“Okay, okay, you’ve made you’re point!”
‘your’

‘She was always a strong lady, always willingn to look on the brightside and never back down.’
‘willing’ (and you might want to split 'bright side' into two words)

‘I grabbed her hand as we walked to the main gate of the Imperial city.’
Capitalize ‘City’ here since it is part of the proper name – just like you did in the first sentence of the episode.

I've been reading this for a while now but haven't had time to comment, but now I do!

I LOVE this!

I love how real you portray the relationship between Jess and Mya. I often find my self feeling what Jessika feels, which doesnt happen often.

I also love your little subtle quirkyness when I came to Aleswell. You don't make it clear about what's really going on in the village, and I loved that!

I have to agree with everyone when I say that i love the strong little girl Mya has become; but will she be too strong for her own good!

Can't wait for more! I love them girls!!