Rise of House Sigeweald Book One (Skyrim Fanfiction)

Chapter Twenty-Two: Falling is Like This

After bathing and changing her clothes, Elspeth went back to her room to sit for a moment and collect her thoughts. She took the amulet from her pocket and examined it. Apart from its sentimental value, it was very beautiful. It was a brushed silver circle engraved with a Nord knot pattern and held a dark sapphire. Her hands trembled as she held it—she had been so excited to give it to him and now she was terrified. After the purge she hadn't given much thought to men. She went back to Bruma, enacted a minor rebellion, fought with Xeri, and was consoled by Runa. Then Xeri threw her back into training, isolating her in the mountains for months on end. The trauma of the purge was replaced with—or rather, accompanied by—renewed physical strength and vigor.

In all that time, however, the pain of losing Andil's affection and friendship wasn't touched. It was assumed she would mourn his death but nothing was ever said about the pain he caused before he died. As a result she simply let herself believe that her increased physical strength had also endowed her with the ability to control her heart. Yet, here she was, feeling vulnerable. She swallowed hard. Recovering the amulet was more than a gesture of friendship; she knew that returning it would inevitably involve giving something of herself to him as well. This scared her so much that she briefly considered asking Brelyna to return it for her. But when she realized how ludicrous such a request would sound—and that he would come find her anyway—she took a deep breath and went up to his room.

She found him reading on his bed and when he looked up and saw her standing in the doorway, he smiled and looked a little relieved. "You're here. I didn't think you would be back for a while."

"Why would you think that?" she asked.

"I asked Tolfdir if he'd seen you and Enthir overheard and said you went to Riften and would be back, maybe in three weeks. I wasn't sure if I believed him but no one knew where you were."

Elspeth pursed her lips and shook her head in annoyance. "Oh for the love of Talos! He knew exactly where I was." She closed the door and walked over to the bed where Onmund had made room for her to sit.

"How did he know where you were?" he asked as he leaned over for a kiss.

"He sent me on an errand," she explained as she took the amulet from her pocket. She turned over his hand, which he had rested on her leg, and placed the amulet there.

"My amulet! I didn't think I would see it again." Later Elspeth would tell Lydia that she wished she could take back that moment and give him the amulet again, just to see the look on his face. In his life, Onmund had experienced few acts of kindness and now his heart swelled for the nicest thing anyone had ever done for him. He paused to catch his breath and ran his thumb around the knot pattern. "My grandfather forged this and gave it to my grandmother on their wedding night. When she died, my mother was reluctant to give it to me. But she did anyway." He paused and looked back up at her. "I don't...I know they always disapproved of what I wanted in life, to learn magic instead taking over the forge or even becoming a farmer or a hunter. But no matter how poorly they may have treated me, they're still my family. I didn't consider that until after I'd made the trade."

He placed the amulet in a small box on his bedside table. When he turned back, he put his arms around her. "Thank you," he whispered, nuzzling her ear softly before pressing his lips to her mouth for a long kiss. She put her hands up and cupped his face—running her fingers along his cheekbones, the first thing she ever noticed about him, the first part she ever wanted to touch. Elspeth could feel her heart racing as she as she undid the strings on his hood. After tossing it on the ground, and with trembling lips, she dropped her mouth down, gently biting his bottom lip and nibbling his jaw, his ear, his neck.

With each nip, he grew a little more assertive, a strong hand rubbing her back and the other tracing the curves of her breasts and hips through her robe. But when he grasped just below the shoulder blade—the sensitive area where the storm wizard had injured her—she yelped and pulled away, startling him. "What's wrong?" he asked nervously.