A Fool's Blade

Chapter 43 - Shipwrecked

"Mama? When's Pa coming home?"

Alva rubbed her hand cross her daughter's dark, black hair. A trait from her father. "Soon darling. Papa said he'd be back in a couple of days." She spoke calmly not wanting to worry her child. She hide the worry that was in her dark blue eyes, a trait her daughter shared with her. She wonder how she would tell her if...no...she couldn't afford to think like that.

A few days ago, Alva had received word that a large ship had collided with another ship just east of Solitude. Her husband's boat, the Icerunner, had been out fishing in that area and a crash out there in this kind of weather...a Nord would be just fine, but Ganir was a High Elf. She laughed a bit to herself as she thought about it. A Nord and and Elf happily married with there daughter. That was a pairing you didn't see often in Skyrim. Especially with all the bad blood from the Great War.

"Mama! Papa's back! Papa's back!" A little hand was pulling on hers leading her to the front door. Looking into the darkness, she could make out the line of her husband. She lit the fireplace, but seeing the look in his eyes told her to send Jade to bed. This was going to be a conversation she shouldn't have to hear. It was going to be a conversation about finances, because her husband was never going to sail again.

"Hello sir." She said politely as she opened the door to a man in a red uniform.

"May I come in?"

Ganir pushed Alva away from the door and shouted at the officer, "Absolutely not! You destroyed my ship! You killed my crew! So if you you think that you can just waltz up to my home and give me money to make up for the death of so many men, you're sorely mistaken!" The scent of ale and mead surrounded him like a thick cloud.

"The Penitus Oculatus is offering compensation for the incident we caused. I believe that you wise up and take it."

"I refuse to take your blood money! Good day!" Her husband slammed the door in his face.

"What!?!"

"You know what I said woman! We need money!"

"We're not going to get it by selling our daughter! How could you even think that this is a good idea! Maybe if you quite that filthy drinking habit of yours and helped my around the farm, we'd do just fine!" She knew she shouldn't have said it. Ganir was drunk; if he just sobered up then maybe...

He grabbed a knife off the table "Why you pig!"

She felt a searing pain across her neck, her last sight being her ten year old daughter cowering on the stairs, her dark blue eyes filled with horror.