Epilogue: Girls Like Us

  

Previously: Dreams Deferred

 

"So...this is Lakeview Manor."

 

Eyvindr didn't care that it was a manor out in the middle of nowhere. He didn't care that compared to the halls and palaces they'd been visiting, it was but a humble homestead. He was tired of the road, and wanted to sleep in a proper bed that he wouldn't have to abandon come morning.

 

"Are you sure Rayya will give it up?" he asked, as Zahra unlocked the front door and led him. "It's a fine home."

 

"If we offer fair price," she said calmly. "Rayya is a Thane, and ambitious one at that. After everything we've seen these past few days, do you really think she'll be satisfied with this place as her home?"

 

The manor was cozy, as he'd expect from a Skyrim home, but what he didn't expect was how relaxing it was. It suddenly occurred to Eyvindr that he'd spend most of his life in castles. While he had enjoyed his childhood at Mistveil, he would've preferred to grow up without stone walls or the heavy footsteps of castle guards. 

 

  

Zahra introduced Eyvindr to the household by name, and that was heartwarming; Eyvindr had long had a hard time remembering servants' names at castles. It probably helped that Lakeview only had few and appeared to be comfortably settled in, instead of the usual type of servants who usually had one foot out the door. The bard, Llewellyn, played some Breton tunes while the cook Farida, made the best meal he'd had in days. Anisa, the maid, showed the carriage driver where to put their things.

 

"How far is it from court?" Eyvindr asked after their meal, when they went out on the balcony. It was a beautiful afternoon, with clear blue skies and the sun shining brightly. Birds chirped and the wind blew clear and crisp. The view of the land from the balcony was uplifting, breathtaking, and all-encompassing.

 

"Not far," Zahra shook her head, leaning over the rail. Eyvindr soon joined her. "We normally have a carriage here, but it seems Rayya and Kaidan are still in Hjaalmarch."

 

"Kaidan? He's the Akaviri warrior, correct?"

 

"Rayya's lover and housecarl," Zahra nodded. "And old friend. They're supposed to be getting married but they've been taking forever."

 

"What's the delay?"

 

"I'm not sure," Zahra replied honestly, but she had her suspicions. They were the same suspicions that made her confident Rayya would be willing to sell her house.

 

"Anisa can warm some water for your bath," she said suddenly, standing straight up. "As for me, I've been gone from home too long, and I need a swim." 

 

It was a perfect day for it, after all. It was hard to describe Falkreath weather to those unfamiliar; crisp and cool, with traces of snow still visible, yet also warm and fair, at least compared to places like Dawnstar, Windhelm, and especially Winterhold. The familiar waters of Ilinalta tenderly caressed her flesh like an old friend welcoming home. Despite aching all over from travel, a swim was just what she needed.

 

There would be time later for weddings and consummations and haggling over property, but today...today, there was just swimming. 

***

 

They spent the next few days settling in, with Bjorn and Eyvindr reviewing their accounts to see just how much the trip had bled them. Unsurprisingly, the cost of the journey was substantial, which meant no more traveling for pleasure after the wedding. Zahra moved about Lakeview like she owned it already, making notes of what she wanted to change. She noted that Rayya seemed to be taking an awfully long time returning home, and surely enough, it was Kaidan who returned first.

 

The towering swordsman was in a grim mood when he arrived early one morning. He was curt when greeting the household and denied an invitation to breakfast.

 

"I'm not staying," he told Zahra brusquely. "I'm just here to get the rest of my things before Rayya gets home."

 

Eyvindr and Zahra exchanged fleeting glances. So, she raised an eyebrow. It's happened.

 

"Kaidan, this is my betrothed, Eyvindr," she finally introduced. "You remember? The one everyone was so insistent that I marry?"

 

Kaidan's eyes returned to the young blond man. "Congratulations," the Akaviri blinked. Have you set the date?"

 

"Two weeks," Eyvindr nodded, unsure of how to feel. "We've, huh, decided to marry at the Temple of Kynareth. Jarl Balgruuf offered us his personal estate for our honeymoon."

 

"Smart," Kaidan nodded. "It's best to get these things over with as quickly as possible."

 

"Where is Rayya?" Zahra pointedly asked.

 

"On her way," Kaidan told her. "She can answer the rest of the questions I know you're dying to ask."

 

Zahra watched him walk past her. Such a shame. I always liked him. 

 

Rayya arrived mere moments after Kaidan left. Unlike Kaidan, she was in a better mood. Not only that, she was wearing a new gown in the Imperial fashion, and her scimitar was nowhere to be found. If not for her shaved head and faded warpaint, she would've been completely unrecognizable.

 

She was surprised to see Zahra, but her gaze relaxed once she realized Eyvindr was also present.

 

As the servants came to collect her things from the carriage, Rayya stood with the young couple in front of her house. It was a dreary day in Falkreath, which in and of itself was a beauty, with the fogs hanging low and thick, shrouding the trees. There were a moist chill in the air as birds chirped in the distance.

 

"Kaidan just left," Zahra said almost gleefully. "But not before he congratulated us on our short engagement. Wedding's in two weeks' time."

 

The Thane's eyes lit up. "Congratulations! Have you decided where to marry?"

 

"Not only that, we've decided where to live," Zahra smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes.

 

There was a tense, awkward pause before Eyvindr cleared his throat, determined to keep negotiations calm and smooth. "Lady Rayya, we were hoping--"

 

"You want Lakeview," Rayya blinked, caught off guard. Her gaze swiveled between the two. "You want my house."

 

"We are prepared to pay fair price," Eyvindr hastily assured her. "We think it would be the ideal location to raise our children."

 

"Oh, 'we' do, do 'we'?" the Thane snapped. "Your audacity truly knows no bounds, Zahra."

 

"Oh, please," Zahra snorted. "You're hardly ever here. You may have coveted this place when you were younger, but now that you're a Thane, you've clearly set your sights ever higher."

 

Eyvindr's heartbeat quickened as he realized things could very much blow up in their faces. "Ladies--"
 

"You," Rayya suddenly barked at Zahra. "Walk with me."

 

Zahra smugly followed Rayya round the manor to the back, and Eyvindr had no choice but to watch the women go. 

"You want my house?" Rayya rasped lowly, even though they were out of earshot. "I'm going to need a lot more than just septims."

 

Zahra was unfazed, her tone iron. "Name it."

 

"The truth," the older woman hissed. "I want to know where you really were when the murder occurred."

 

Zahra scoffed. "The same place everybody already knows I was," she shrugged irreverently. "Right there, at the Shrine of Dibella, killing Betrid Silver-Blood." 

 

Rayya's head snapped to the younger woman finally, eyes wide in shock, dismay, disgust, and alarm. She had known, but she had also hoped, and though she already knew, she still couldn't believe what she was hearing.

 

"I followed her there," Zahra recounted simply, as though rattling off her morning routine. "It was early morning, chilly as fuck, but beautiful and sunny, much like the day I escaped my last guardian. Betrid the Barren was at the shrine, crying her little eyes out, offering food and wine and whatever else to a goddess who doesn't even govern fertility. Bless her heart.

 

"I thought she would hear my boots crunching against the ground, but Silver-Bloods are notoriously self-absorbed. The bitch never saw me coming. Which was best for both us; I loathe small talk, and I didn't want to have to explain who I was or what I was doing there--not that she'd remember me. Besides, death is so much easier when they don't see it coming.

 

"My usual method is a spell, mind you," Zahra casually continued, ignoring the horrified look in Rayya's eyes. "Flames, or sparks if they're wearing armor. You should see what sparks do to someone in metal armor." She snickered. "But on that day, I was feeling particularly aggrieved. I wanted to feel blood, flesh, and bone...so I went with a dagger."

 

Rayya was truly shocked. "You...stabbed Betrid?" She would've never guessed Zahra capable.

 

"Right in the back," Zahra nodded, fondly gazing into the distance. "And it was so satisfying. In fact, it felt so good I wondered if I'd been doing it wrong this whole time."

 

Rayya turned away from her, tears choking her voice. "I can't believe I didn't see it."

 

"You did see it," Zahra told her, giving her a meaningful look. "Just like Kaidan saw it. And Nenya, and Siddgeir--" 

Rayya was suddenly tense. "Did you tell Eyvindr?" she asked lowly.

 

"Of course not," Zahra chortled. "And you won't either. Because if we tell him this thing, we'll have to tell him that other thing...you know, about the real reason Siddgeir made him marry me." 

 

Rayya stared at her, not recognizing her anymore, like she was seeing Zahra for the first time. "Why?" she whispered. "It wouldn't have brought your husband back."

 

"No, but it made me feel better, which is something I desperately wanted," Zahra sighed blissfully. "And you know as well as I do that when we desperately want something, we sacrifice anything...or anyone."

 

The Thane was indignant. "I have never--"

 

"Oh, please," Zahra rolled her eyes. "You killed a lot of people to get where you are, Rayya, far more than I. And just when you finally had it all, you gave up the love of your life in hopes of getting even more." She cackled mercilessly, then got down to business. "Now pay up. I gave you want you want."

 

Rayya's voice was tight as her head hung down. "Lakeview is my home."

 

"No, it's not," Zahra shook her head, serious now. "Your home is still out there somewhere waiting for you, a proper castle with a proper lord. And you better get them both. Because Kaidan loved you, Rayya, hard and out loud. He gave you the kind of love girls like us don't usually get in this life, and you threw him away. It can't be for nothing."

Zahra looked back out into the horizon as the fog continued to roll in. "We don't risk everything in our lives for nothing."

The women watched the fog for a time in silence, contemplating their lives and everything which got them to this point. Zahra was at peace, as she would be. Once again she was home.

 

But for Rayya, the quest for "home" would continue, and for the first time since she arrived in Skyrim, she had to really think about the cost.

 

~ FIN ~

 

A/N: Don't worry. These stories aren't over. Not by a long shot.