The Elder's Scrolls

Caged

The flickering candlelight illuminated the small room, giving it a warm glow. The lithe shadow of a Mer woman shifted against the wall as she rose from her bed. She approached the lone candle, a yawn escaping her mouth. Using thin, elegant fingers, she extinguished the flame, then crawled back into her bed.

She struggled to get comfortable, sometimes feeling a little too hot, or too cold. With an exasperated sigh, she sat up in her bed, her deep black hair pooled around her shoulders and dipping down to cover her breastband.

She stared into the pool of raw magicka just outside her door. The soft blue light floated to the ceiling, through an elaborately - placed hole, and disappeared into the air on the second floor of the rooms, where the adept - leveled mages slept.

She pulled the snowy sabre cat pelt from across her long legs and rose from the bed. Trying to stay quiet, she pulled open her wardrobe and pulled out the fur robe she'd bought from a Dunmer woman in Dawnstar prior to her enrollment at the College. Closing the wardrobe, she tiptoed from her room, casting a long shadow throughout the Hall of Attainment.

The sound of a grunt stopped her at the door. The young elf turned around, blinking her eyes in surprise to see Onmund, the only Nord mage at the College, standing in his doorway, wearing nothing more than a pair of rugged trousers. There were holes all over the pants, showing patches of his pale skin.

"Faerthurin," he yawned, rubbing an eye. "What're you doing up so late?"

The elf wrinkled her nose at his lack of clothes. "I can't sleep," she whispered in her enriching accent. "So I was going to head down to the inn in town."

He stretched his hands over his head, closing his eyes in the effort. "Tolfdir said not to leave during the night. Gods know what's out there."

"Are you always going to listen to what Tolfdir has to say? The old man's going mad."

Onmund snorted. "How could you say something like that about him? He is possibly the greatest Alteration Mage out there!"

"Then why'd he teach us ward spells on the first day? That's Restoration, not Destruction!" She hissed, her golden cheeks becoming flushed.

"So we can protect ourselves if needed!" Onmund's voice had risen. It was loud enough to wake Breylna, the Dunmer mage who knew adept - leveled spells yet still trained with the apprentices. Within a few heartbeats, she emerged from her room, still clad in her class robes.

"What's all the yelling about?" She murmured, opening her mouth to yawn. "I must've fallen asleep reading this tome I got from Ur -"

She stopped mid - sentence, seeing the tension between the two mages. Her ruby red eyes widened, before blinking back to normal.

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt."

"Oh, you didn't interrupt anything, Breylna. I was just heading down to the Frozen Hearth for a few drinks, and it seems I've awoken our fellow apprentice." Sarcasm dripped from Faerthurin's words, but it was lost to Breylna.

"But that's against the rules!" The Dunmer said, her head tilting ever so slightly.

"That's what I tried to tell her!" Onmund growled. "But the bitch won't listen. We shouldn't worry about her, Breylna. We need to sleep. Tolfdir said we'll be practicing our runes tomorrow, and we'll need our energy."

Breylna opened her mouth to object, then realized the truth in his words. "You're right, Onmund." She gave a slight smile to Faerthurin. "Goodnight. Both of you." She gave a trailing wave before returning to her own room.

Onmund snorted. "Go on to the inn. And don't worry about coming to class tomorrow."

"I don't intend to." The Altmer bared her teeth angrily. In a swift motion, she slipped from the door. With a lingering glare at the Nord, she slammed the door shut, and began to make her way into town.