After we had eaten and bathed Irrillia and I went to the room we were assigned and I know I at least slept the clock around. When I finally woke up, I looked around and my Aunt had gone, the two pallets on the floor were empty also. A note from my Aunt, beside the bed told me that I would find some clothing in the dresser and I should bath again and come find her. I choose the better of the outfits in the dresser, figuring if they wanted me to work I could come back and change out of the dress.
I found my Aunt sitting in the sunshine, in a small garden along the fort's walls. She smiled her approval of my choice of clothing and then introduced me to the tall Altmer who had led us here. His name was Decintanor and he turned into the best friend I have had in ages. Decin ( as I called him) took us under his wing, got me training in magic and weapons, found me some good armor and then put me in his own patrol. Ok do putting me in his patrol was a way to keep his eye's on me and made Irrillia very happy, which was very important to him. He had fallen in love with her at first sight, as bedraggled and dirty as we were.
I made another friend in that time also, though she has long since passed away, A Nord by the name of Ammila Snowfox, with her light blue eye's and bright red hair she did her surname proud. Amy and I were almost inseperable in those first months after the Oblivion gates opened up. You wonder at a Nord being in the Summerset Isle's at that time, her family were shipping traders. She was a wonder with her battleaxe and bow, either equally as deadly. She was only a year older than I, but much more mature and world wise.
I learned quickly to use my sword and my bow skills improved, to the point I very rarely missed. When I went out on my first patrol Decin had me stay in the middle of the group, along with Amy and we both put our bow's to good use. With my sword strapped across my back, I kept a knife in my strong hand and used spells in the other. I healed our troupe and used small fire spells on the Deadroth that got to close to myself and my patient. Amy kept them off my back for the most part though, usually shouting "death or Sovengarde", which never made sense to me as one has to die to go to Sovengarde. Then again, my knowledge of the Nordic language wasn't very good back then.
You wonder that I joined Thalmor back then? Well, at that time, they were for the most part, focused on getting rid of the Deadroth and the Oblivion gates that brought them. To me that was a good use of my skills and a way for me to learn more, while keeping myself and Irrillia fed. The children kept to our room's for awhile, until more and more showed up without parents or other guardians, they were put in their own bunk rooms then.
I measured time not by the calendar but by how large Irrillia was getting with child. Also by how agitated Decin was getting, you would think he was the one with child. Irrillia had reason's, she wasn't completely over Harriods death and she wanted to get in touch with her family before she made the next step. I had a talk with Decin about her, I was curious what his family would think. He actually shrugged and then said, in probably one of the snootiest tones I had ever heard from him, " Irrillia Greymore is from very good family, with political and monetary influences". Then he laughed and said, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
Finding out he really did love her, even though one could make the argument for a "political marriage", I told him that her birth family wasn't thrilled with her marring "dirt farmers". He just about choked on his wine and looked at me with astonished eyes... "dirt farmers? they think your family were only farmers?" I said yes, my family were just farmers. To that he looked at me rather oddly and then asked if I and my friend Amy would care to take a trip into Alinor, where Irrillia's family resided.
I replied I was more than happy to do so, but would the fort commander allow us to go their just to visit my Aunt's family? Of course he wouldn't, but weekly the commander sent out letters to his superiors and got some in return. That is what we would legitimately be doing, with a side trip to visit family.
We arrived in Alinor in the early afternoon, having dodged Oblivion gates and wondering groups of deadroth. Amy put up the hood on her armor, her face and ear's being dead giveaways she wasn't Altmer. She tended to dirty looks and words from those who didn't know her. We arrived at the Thalmor garrison and told the man on watch that we had letters for the commander. He showed us the way to go and when we arrived at the commanders door, we found someone else their who took our pouch and said to go find a meal, bath and bed for latter, we would have replies in the morning to take back.
Not wanting to arrive on Irrillia's family's doorstep smelling of sweat and horse, I took a bath and found a clean cloth uniform and the bath attendant said my armor would be on my bed when I got back, clean and mended as needed. Amy said she would wait here as the garrison had it's own inn with mead and wine.
I got directions to the family manor, which had not escaped deadroth distruction, but was being repaired quickly. The man at the door told me to have a seat and wait. Which I did for about a quarter of an hour. Then a servant asked me to follow her, to an office. Their were three men in the room, the oldest asked me why I had come and I went to hand him the letter Decin had written. One of the younger men took the letter and opened it, not reading just looking at it as if to make sure their wasn't poison in it or something.
The old man read the letter and then looked up and asked me what Irrillia wanted. Because of his wording, I didn't think Decin had said anything about my relationship to Aunt Irrillia. " I believe Commander Decintanor wishes to marry Irrillia Greymore and is seaking your blessing. As far as I know Irrillia doesn't know that he sent me here today". I knew darn well she didn't know and I also knew she had sent a letter's each week with the courier, that were never answered.
The old man nodded and told me to go wait out in the hall. After another quarter hour the servant came back and handed me two envelopes, with instructions to give both to Commander Decintanor, even though one was addressed to Irrillia Greymore. The servant handed me two silver coins and winked, I'm not sure if that meant she had taken one or if she had figured out that I wasn't just a courier.
With the coin I had just been given and some I had earned, I went to the market. I had two thing's in mind, the first being some kind of sweet for my Aunt, the second being fabric to make some baby cloths out of. It didn't take to long to find sweet's, but I was their til late in the afternoon trying to find cloth that was soft enough for a baby. Trade with outside towns was very very scarce right now and somethings hard to get.
I stopped a man wearing sailor clothing and asked how shipping was going. He shook his head and said "no where young one. Their are Deadroth in the seas, that you can't see until the start ripping up your ship from under you. No one wants to travel and I can't say I blame them." I said thank you to the man and sighed, Ammila wouldn't be going home anytime soon it seemed.
The next day was a quiet one, Amy and I rode back to the Fort and other than seeing the Oblivion gates we saw not a single deadroth. I gave the courier pouch to the Fort Commanders aide and told him what we had or rather had not seen on our ride back. I then went and found Decin and gave him both letters.
I do not know what was in those letter's, for I never asked, but judging by the rage on Decin's face the one addressed to my Aunt was not nice. He stood their with both letter's in his hands and then balled up the one to Irrillia and threw it in the fire. He looked at me and told me that I never saw or had a letter from her family addressed to her, I just nodded. He turned and looked out the window, which I took as a dismissal and left.
Amy was right behind me as I turned to go, I had forgotten that she had come with me. As we left the building she said in a very soft voice, " I would not want to be on the other end of his anger". Me either I thought and told Amy we should go and give my Aunt her sweets and the cloth I had bought.
It was not til nearly five decades later that I found out what that letter had cost Irrillia's family, Mer live a long time and Decin's family was very powerful before the Oblivion gates opened and twice as powerful in the year's to follow.
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