This is Our Home: A Collection of Skyrim Short Stories

Storytime (Femke)

The lovely LittleMissyMolly requested this short story. It turned out longer than I expected, but I had lots of fun writing it. Hope you enjoy!

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5th of Morning Star, 4E 203

"You've been awfully still today, little one. Are you sleeping? Resting?"

I smiled and rested my hand on the pronounced curve of my belly. The infant inside me had kept me up most of the night with her kicking and punching, but now she was still. She had such odd sleeping patterns.

"Why won't you kick now? No one believes me when I tell them your roughhousing keeps me up at night."

"Not true, lass," said Brynjolf as he stepped out of the kitchen. He had been busy proving to me that he could cook, and he was doing a good job at it. This week alone, he had made garlic bread, some wonderful potato soup, and a batch of sweetrolls that would make the town guards drool in their helmets. On the menu today was fresh-baked loaf bread. Bryn's hands and chest were covered with flour, and—no surprise, really—some of the white powder had found its way into his beard.

"You're such a messy cook," I said with a chuckle. "You should wear an apron."

"I'm not wearing one of those pansy things. I'd prefer to keep my manliness, thanks."

I scowled at him. "Aprons aren't feminine."

One of his eyebrows quirked. "Oh, really?" He turned on his heel and walked into the kitchen, coming back a few moments later with my aprons in his hands. "These aprons aren't feminine?" He held each up. "This one, with the flowers stitched into the hem isn't feminine? What about this one, with the lace? Or—"

"As dramatic as you are, those aprons would suit you. By Nocturnal, you are such a woman sometimes."

He gave me a disdainful look. "Thanks, lass."

I readjusted my position in my chair. As I did so, the baby gave a sharp kick, and I gasped involuntarily.

Bryn's brow knitted. "Everything all right?"

I nodded, rubbing my stomach where the baby had kicked. "You woke the baby."

"She's awake now, eh?" Dusting his hands on the hem of his shirt, Bryn crossed the room and knelt beside me. His large hand rested atop mine, his fingers slipping into the spaces between mine. "Maybe she'll sleep tonight."

As he said that, our little one kicked again, towards the sound of his voice. I smiled and guided our hands over the spot. "She knows your voice. Say something, honey."

His green eyes sparkled. "You can hear me, can you? Well, hello there, little lass."

She gave two solid thumps.

Bryn chuckled softly. "Divines above, you're a very strong little one, aren't you? No wonder your mother can't sleep at night. You're giving her quite a walloping."

I laughed under my breath. "She's definitely a Nord."

"Yes, she is." Bryn pressed a gentle kiss to my belly, his thumb stroking the spot out baby was still kicking. "You want me to tell you a story, little lass?"

"Bryn, what about the bread?"

"The dough still has to rise. I've got a little time. Besides, I can't deny our baby girl a story."

I smiled at him. "We keep calling it a girl, and we don't know if it is a girl or not. Wouldn't it be awful if she turned out to be a he?"

"Oh, no, lass, it wouldn't be awful. I'm certain she's a girl, anyway. No way a boy can kick like that." He then turned his gaze back to my stomach. "Now, about that story...." He took a moment to clear his throat, which made the baby kick again. "Once upon a time, there was a handsome rogue. He lived outside the law, but he was never caught. One day, this rogue came across this poor lass in rags. She had been turned out of his city, and had fallen into the cold mud. She was shivering, frozen to her bones, and she was only days away from starving to death. She needed help, so the rogue did not hesitate to help her. He was very generous like that."

I gave him a look. "Bryn!"

He glanced at me, grinning cheekily. "Shush, lass, I'm telling a story." He cleared his throat again. "Once the lass had been cleaned and fed, the rogue saw that she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Her eyes shone like the purest of emeralds. Her hair was black as the shadows. She had the ears of an elf and the body of a goddess. 'Who is this lass?' the rogue asked himself. 'She cannot possibly be mortal.' He fell in love with her instantly, not just for her outward beauty, but her inner beauty as well."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Bryn."

"Stop interrupting! This is the best part."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine."

"Now, the more time the rogue spent with the lass, the harder he fell for her. Everything about her was perfect. 'I'm going to steal her heart, even if it's the last thing I do,' he said one day."

I listened as Bryn told our little one the—albeit greatly exaggerated—tale of how we fell in love. He left a few things out, like Mercer trying to tear us apart, and the spat we had before I left for Snow Veil. I lost myself in his voice, in his soft, melodic lilt. This was not the voice he used to charm unsuspecting victims out of their septims. This was a voice only few got to hear. I felt honored just to listen to it.

"Shortly after they were wed, the rogue and the lass became the king and queen of a small but profitable kingdom, and they had a baby girl together. She looked just like her mother, and everyone adored her. So the king, queen, and princess lived happily ever after." Bryn looked up at me and kissed my cheek. "Pretty good, eh?"

"You exaggerated."

He scowled. "Of course I did. The real story wasn't near as interesting. I didn't want to bore her to sleep." He kissed me again, but this time on the lips. "Did you like it, though?"

"Of course, Bryn. You did a wonderful job." I stroked my belly gently. "She liked it, too."

"Glad I could make both my lasses happy." He wrapped me in his arms, then stood up. "I'd best get the bread started. And you should try to get some rest. Don't want you passing out in the middle of dinner."

I shook my head. "If you insist."

"I do. I'll get you when it's ready."

I stood on my tiptoes, steadying myself by holding onto his shoulders, and kissed him. "I love you, my rogue."

"And I love you, my lass."

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Oh, I'm such a sucker for fluff. It always makes me feel better. It's like a reset for my brain. Like I'm telling myself, "Just enjoy the cute and relax for an hour."

Anyway, I've stayed up longer than I should have to write this, but I needed something to calm me down before I went to bed. I've had a stressful day, and I'm afraid a stressful week lies ahead of me. But, as the great Hal Mason once said, "Nothing to it but to do it."

Until the next adventure! Love and sweetrolls!
~WG 💙