Skyrim- Memoirs of a Housecarl

It was, once again, two in the morning when he came stumbling in through the door of Breezehome. He had a glowing sword on his hip and was clothed in strange, evil-looking armor. A quiver of Ebony arrows was askew on his back, and he was muttering about draugr and hands and nightingales.

Believe it or not, I am used to this. “Hello, my love,” I said. “Back from some adventure, I bet.”

He continued to mutter, a bit dazedly, while he began unloading several new weapons onto the rack on the wall. Most of them were also glowing. Then he crossed over to the fire and sat down very tiredly, the wooden chair creaking and settling under him. He stared into the fire for a minute, before finally looking at me.

“Lydia,” he said, “Would you mind cooking something for me?”

“Here,” I replied, ladling a bowl of stew from the ever-present pot on the fire (as a housecarl, you have to be prepared for your Thane to come in at any moment). “This is fresh.” I handed it to him, studying his face. He accepted it silently and ate it in practically two bites. He does seem to eat everything very quickly.

We’ve been married for almost two months. I’ve grown accustomed to the way he comes and goes- sometimes I don’t see him for days, sometimes he stays home for a while. Sometimes he drags me along with him. It’s not easy to be a wife and a housecarl to someone like him (you should have seen Jarl Balgruuf’s face when he found out we were getting married), but I do my duty to make sure he is welcome and protected while he’s with me.

Premature lines crease his forehead, and he seems to have a perpetual frown. I can’t imagine life as the Dragonborn and the Archmage is pleasant, and he does have a knack for stumbling across very strange organizations and getting roped into dangerous quests. Tonight, though, I can tell there is something else that’s wrong with him.

“Are you alright?” I ask. “You look a bit… peaked.”

He regarded me quietly with those soulful Imperial eyes I fell in love with, but didn’t say anything. I put my hand on his forehead- he was burning up. Of course, that’s normally not a huge deal, as he has a penchant for lighting his hands on fire every time someone (or something) confronts him, but as far as I know, he hasn’t taken to lighting the rest of himself on fire. Unless he used one of J’zargo’s flame cloaks again.

“You have Bone Break Fever, don’t you?” I said. He nodded, and I sighed. Another lovely aspect of being a housecarl. I helped him up the stairs and into bed, where he fell into a fitful sleep almost immediately.

Part of the training you undergo to become a housecarl includes disciplining yourself to stay awake for long periods of time. Oftentimes, when you’re traveling with your Thane, there is no time to rest or stop between bandit ambushes and Daedric lords wanting the Dragonborn as their champion. I employed this skill now, to keep watch on him for the rest of the night.

As soon as morning broke and the shops were open, I ran to the Apothecary to get a potion of Cure Disease. I wasn’t feeling the best, myself, but pushed it aside. Fresh air would help clear my head.

In her shop, Arcadia greeted me and said, “You look a bit pale. Could be Ataxia. It’s quite a problem back home in Cyrodiil.” I cursed quietly, and hoped Bone Break wasn’t contagious. “Actually,” she said, frowning a little, “there is something different about you. You kind of have a glow…”

“Thank you, Arcadia,” I said quickly, putting the potion I needed onto the counter. I wanted to get home before some hired thug or assassin with a grudge decided this was the perfect opportunity to exact revenge on my Thane (it’s happened before).

But of course, right outside Arcadia’s Cauldron, who should I meet but Ysolda. I hate this woman, she’s always unbelievably happy. She sees me and immediately starts chattering on about how she’s going to buy the Bannered Mare someday. I smile and try to push past her, but she stops me, suddenly serious.

“Lydia,” she says. “I wanted to talk to you about your husband.”

“What about him?” I replied.

“Well, a couple weeks ago, he came up to me and wanted an engagement ring. He told me about this girl he met in Witchmist Grove, Moira was her name, and it was all very romantic. Well, I hadn’t heard that you and he had gotten married yet, so I sold him a ring. He came back the next day and returned it, but once I heard you had gotten married, I thought that I should tell you anyway.”

“Why did you wait so long to tell me?” I could feel an angry heat beginning to stir in my chest. Would he cheat on me? Am I not good enough for him? I have to admit, I don’t know what he gets up to when he disappears for days at a time.

She shifted nervously. I’ve been told I can be rather intimidating, since I am always armed and armored. “Well… you know how these things can be… I guess I had to work up the nerve.”

“I see,” I said. “Thank you for telling me, Ysolda.” I started walking back to the house.

“Oh, and Lydia!” she called, her disposition changing dramatically from serious back to sunny again. “If he has any more Sleeping Tree Sap, tell him to bring it to me!”

On the way back to Breezehome, I passed a guard who stopped me and said, “I used to be an adventurer, like you. Then I took an-” He paused, and looked at me more closely.

“Oh, sorry. I thought you were someone else.” He kept walking towards the Plains District, whistling tunelessly. I shook my head and reached Breezehome without being accosted further.

My Thane was still asleep, so I woke him and helped him sit up (a little less gently than I would have if Ysolda had not told me about this Moira, I’ll admit). I considered confronting him about the engagement ring and Moira then and there, but the protection of my Thane must always come first, before personal issues. Instead, I uncorked the potion of Cure Disease and bade him to drink it.

When he had emptied the bottle, he looked much better, and actually smiled at me. “Thank you, Lydia.”

“I am your sword and your shield, my Thane,” I replied.

He shook his head. “Do you always have to be so formal?”

Just to spite him, I replied with, “Honor to you, my Thane.” He made a disgusted noise.

“Here,” he said, reaching into the drawer of the bedside table. “I need to trade some things with you.”

“I am sworn to carry your burdens,” I said, albeit less than enthusiastic. This usually means he has some twenty-pound battleaxe or a bunch of dragon bones that he wants me to lug around. Granted, this does give me more inventory for the store (once he gives me something to carry, he almost never asks for it back, so I take advantage of that fact), but it is still a bit annoying. I am not a pack-mule.

This time, however, instead of handing me a large and obtrusive weapon, he gave me a ring. It was an emerald set in a gold band, and when I touched it, I could feel it has some sort of enchantment on it.

“I made it for you a few days ago,” he said. “It will help you resist magic attacks.”

I was touched. But… “Who is Moira?”

Confusion crossed his face, then recognition, then remembrance. “Oh Fus,” he swore. A gust of wind rattled through the room, sending a candlestick flying off the nightstand.

“Hey, watch it!” I said. “I hate it when you Shout in the house.”

“Sorry,” he said. “Are you familiar with Sanguine?”

“We’re not on speaking terms, no,” I said warily. If it has to do with a Daedric Lord, I know it can’t be good. I still remember that whole Vaermina debacle. I’ve never forgiven him for making me wait outside for that one.

“Well, it’s a long story. Basically, I was challenged to a drinking contest by some guy named Sam-”

“Which, of course, you accepted.”

“Well, yes, I had just been running for my life from an angry giant, and I needed a drink. Anyway, I got drunk, trashed a temple, stole a goat, and asked a Hagraven to marry me. When I woke up, I tried to set everything to rights again, and it turns out that Sam was actually the Daedric Lord Sanguine who just likes to mess with people, apparently.”

I blinked a couple times. “A… Hagraven?” I was a bit upset. Even if he was drunk at the time, what does that say about me?

Amazingly enough, he seemed to pick up on this. “Lydia, listen to me. You know I love you. If I had been in any right state of mind, it wouldn’t have happened. I’m sorry.”

“So you’re not going to do anything like that again, right?” I said.

“Um, well-”

“RIGHT?” I may not be a Dragonborn, but I can be just as forceful if I need to be.

“Yesma’am,” he said quickly.

“Good,” I said. “Because our child is going to need a responsible father.”

He stared at me for a minute. “W-what?”

“Use your Aura Whisper,” I said. “See for yourself.”

“L-laas,” he whispered, and glowed briefly. As he looked at my stomach, a smile began to spread across his face, and I knew he was seeing two auras.

“I told you, love,” I said. “I am sworn to carry your burdens. In this case, it is my honor to do so.” Then I frowned. “But if it’s a boy, we are not naming it Sam.”

“This is wonderful, Lydia, I-” He paused. “I need to finish saving the world.”