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JASH
I leaned back into the chair and closed my eyes as the light rain fell on my face. Today was a rare moment of peace that I had decided to spend with Derkeethus. The Saxhleel was always ready to leave his job of mining for a month or so of adventuring with me. After many years it had become clear to me that he valued my presence as much as the gold.
My eyes flashed opened as a fish pulled at the line and I began reeling it in. The dock I was on sat on the opposite side of Lake Ilinalta that housed Lakeview Manor. While I had decided to sit on the chair, Derkeethus had decided to perch himself on the edge.
"Not your day, uxith-beeko?" Derkeethus teased as I reeled in yet another catfish.
"At least someone in Falkreath will be happy, beeko." I sighed as I put the fish with my other catches.
Derkeethus chugged the rest of his mead and made a sound in Jel that indicated extreme pain. The subtle movement of his tail indicated the pain wasn't real and he was playing it up for dramatic effect. I chuckled as I picked up a bottle of the same mead.
"You're one of the richest citizens of Skyrim." My egg-brother said and opened another bottle. "It should be yours to get better mead and not whatever you make in the basement."
"Rayya and Brelyna Maryon deserve to enjoy their hobbies without being punished." I replied and had to admit their latest batch was one of the worst. "I also won't have the rest of Skyrim suffer."
"Which leaves us."
My housecarl and steward of Lakeview Manor had become incredibly close over the years. A year ago they had been married at the Temple of Mara. It seemed to these eyes that they liked me being gone most of the time so that they could focus on each other.
"Nine years." Derkeethus said.
"What?" I asked.
"It's been nine years since Scouts-Many-Marshes went to the Hist. Should it not be yours to find a new husband?"
Without wanting to I looked at Lakeview Manor. It had been the place of many moments of happiness with my late husband. It had also been the place where he had tried to kill himself. So it had been an easy decision to bury Scouts there.
Scouts was gone and to the majority of Skyrim it seemed I had chosen the life of a bachelor. Those that didn't believe I was a Daedric Prince surely thought it odd that I hadn't taken someone else into my arms. Many men and women of all races would beg for my attention whenever they saw me. To them I was a way to ensure a grand future for them and their children.
Even Elisif seemed worried that I hadn't even taken another lover. So Derkeethus wasn't the only one urging me to take on another spouse.
"I made a promise to Alex Casey, Derkeethus." I explained as I caught yet another catfish. "It is not ours to break such a thing. Even if I wanted to my heart would not let me. Our love has become too entwined with our very beings. We can't live our lives without the other."
"If I were wiser I could tell if your love of the dryskin or hatred of the Thalmor were greater." Derkeethus said with a hint of jealousy hidden deep in his voice.
My egg-brother wasn't wrong about the comparison. I couldn't stop searching for a way to get to Alex even if I had wanted to. Just like I would never be able to rest until the last Thalmor breathed their final breaths.
Long ago the Blades had been formed and served the Dragonborn. That order had eventually been reduced to two dryskins. They had been strong and clever, but it had not been enough. Delphine and Esbern had decided not to listen to my words even though I was the Dragonborn. The Last Dragonborn who they should have bent backwards for.
Even when they had told me to kill Paarthurnax, egg-brother and leader of the Greybeards, I had let them live. It had been easy to make sure they stayed in their temple deep in the Reach. But then I had decided to form an army of my own tasked with slaughtering Thalmor and preparing for the next Great War.
I had made sure to give Delphine and Esbern quick deaths. They had not been allies at the end, but they had such a great strength which had to be respected. It had taken a month to make Sky Haven Temple a perfect center for the Reforged.
For years, long before meeting Alex, I had freed Thalmor and Imperial prisoners. For the first test I would hand them a weapon and see if they could survive the skirmish. If they did, Stormcloak or otherwise, I would give them a chance to join the Reforged. After that I would direct them in the general direction of Sky Haven Temple where my personal army would judge their worth.
"My love and hatred are balanced." I said. "Not until the Thalmor menace is gone from Tamriel will I be able to rest. It has taken all my will not to tell my devotees to sacrifice Thalmor in my name. I, to this day, make sure that High Queen Elisif is protected from those desecrations masquerading as Mer."
"Are the rumors of your future marriage to her true?" Derkeethus asked and his nervousness wasn't hidden.
There was also something else that only another Saxhleel could recognize. The tip of his tail moved in such a way that I could hear the question hidden underneath.
"Are you more interested in me becoming king or marrying you?" I teased.
If my egg-brother had a crest it would have flattened and tried to hide. Derkeethus would have been a good husband if not for the fact that my heart belonged to another now.
"It's near the end of Last Seed." Derkeethus said quickly.
"The harvest festival." I replied and closed my eyes. "Rorikstead has enjoyed much prosperity in the fall ever since I decided to host the festival at my plantation."
Rorikstead had unnaturally rich soil that was kept rich by a Daedra. The people of the small village never experienced a bad harvest. So the festival hosted at Goldenhills Plantation didn't increase the natural wealth, but it did increase numerous connections to the rest of Skyrim. The factions under my control had a great boon come the harvest festival.
Not to mention the fact that the harvest festival was the time of year when farmhands of my plantation would come, go, or have their pay increased.
"Do you want me to help with preparations again this year?" Derkeethus asked and couldn't keep out a hopeful tone to his voice.
"The Dark Brotherhood contracts shouldn't take that long." I replied knowing I had to make sure he didn't continue to hope. "The last time I'll be serving the Night Mother this year. It helps fill the coffers of the Brotherhood to have a special time for me to murder."
"I wish I could serve Sithis in such a manner."
I looked at Derkeethus and wondered where that sentiment came from. It wasn't the usual Saxhleel devotion but something else. It was as if he thought I would marry him if he joined the Dark Brotherhood. I couldn't let him twist his entire being for a heart that would never be his.
"You're one of the few competent miners." I said. "Darkwater Crossing would lose money. Hardly anyone can both mine and fight as fiercely as you."
"You're right." Derkeethus replied with a barely audible whine under his voice. "Will you hide away in Bloodchill Manor for winter again?"
"I can't spend the season with Scouts-Many-Marshes so I spend it away from the world. I do it in his memory."
"It's not right to spend an entire season with nothing but tears."
"I don't spend it with just my tears. On Mount Anthor my devotees come for my wisdom and gifts. Odahviing even joins in by making sure no dragons interrupt me."
It had quickly become apparent to me that as a Daedric Prince there would be those that would give me their souls. I also realized I wanted to live my life like a mortal for as long as I could. So I had made a season and location for contact.
"And there are those that still doubt you." Derkeethus said and I started to get ready to return to my manor.
"There are those that still doubt Talos was once mortal." I replied.
The rain had picked up again and I thought briefly about using the Clear Skies Shout. No, that would mess with the natural order of things for no reason. It wouldn't take that long to return to Lakeview Manor and I had stood the storm for this long already.
"Dryskins doubt you because in their minds a Saxhleel could never achieve great power." Derkeethus said as he helped me pack. "Talos worship has been shattered because of the Thalmor threat. People have to decide between a deity and their lives. It is a different matter."
"I don't care why they doubt me, egg-brother." I said as we started to walk back to Lakeview Manor. "I just care that, for now, I am able to live a normal life."
"A normal life where you're pining for someone far from Nirn?" Derkeethus teased.
"I've encountered my share of Daedric Princes and I can truly say that my situation is normal compared to theirs."
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