Skyrim One-Shots

Ancano x Reader(Female) ~Lessons At Midnight~

The bickering of who was the strongest mage among the group of apprentices in the College of Winterhold was often, and most times, the two arguing would be J'zargo and Brelyna. Onmund and the rather quiet student who kept to herself rarely got into turmoil, in fact, the newest scholar had not gotten into it once. The ends of her lips would curl into a little smile and she'd gather her things and move away without a word. She was always in a book, that one. Always was ahead of the class, though she never flaunted it like the others did. She was a humble and peaceful mage who had the attitude of a restoration master- sweet beyond belief and very polite. The last person to put someone down and the unlikeliest to get herself or others hurt or killed.

She went unnoticed most times for she was good at acting average and simply followed the rules and didn't express her opinion on much. She'd have lunch talks with Colette where she listened to the woman with a kind smile and a soft laugh here or there and occasionally visited Tolfdir for short periods with a question on a spell. 

Otherwise, her time was filled with classes, studying, sleeping, or researching. And now, as the end of the year trials came up, she (just as all the other students were) had been holed out in their rooms or the Arcanaeum, practicing spells and studying until the could focus no more or had to eat or rest. The day of the trials was in two days, and the group had been in study mode for the entire week. Sundas was the big day where they would test their skills and see if they could make to apprentice to adept in their skills.

Tomorrow morning, there would be small bowls set out with the symbols of each school in the Hall of Elements and small sheets of paper. The students would put their names in charcoal on the papers and put their names into the school they wanted to test in, or for the adventurous, schools plural. Brelyna and Onmund were attempting two schools, and J'zargo was sticking with what he was best at- destruction. ____ hadn't said any word of which ones she would be doing, she'd barely been out of her room the whole week and put up the infamous tarp at her door that meant not to disturb her unless someone was dead or about to be dead.

When she did come out of her little den, it was for bathroom breaks, food, or for a nap outside at the resting place at the top of the college and then she'd be gone once more. When she was seen, she looked exhausted but still was polite and kind, but she never stayed for too long.

And now, she sat at her desk, elbows against the wood and fingers intertwined above her forehead while her palms covered her eyes. Darkness filled the bags under her eyes (she had to really overwork herself to get it to that point) and her skin was speckled with clogged, swollen pores at her temples, jaw, and forehead from stress and her lack of washing her face. Her hair was starting to get good and greasy from her avoidance of the bathing chambers and although she didn't smell, she really did need a wash. A wipe down with a wet cloth was okay for a few days, but not for over a week. Tomorrow morning would be her little spa session at least, so she'd make it through the night.

That was, if she could get this spell right and not oversleep. Alteration was always her weak spot, and these damn spells she just could not do right. Either she'd put too much effort or not enough and it would backfire, fail, have no effect, or have too much effect.

Letting out a soft, exasperated sigh, she leaned back in her chair and heard the loud snoring of Onmund in one of the rooms nearby, the soft lulling purr of the Khajit, and then Brelyna's occasional mumble.

It must've been late for them all to be sleeping this hard. All the masters would be asleep, and she would fail at trying to become adept at Alteration, or expert at the least. If one passed onto adept, they could have a brief test at expert level spells, just to see what it was they would be working towards. ____ was trying to do all the schools in one big heap- Mirabelle would be fainting if she knew.