The Bound - A Tale Of Tamriel

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i. Tilly.

She had more than enough of the Argonian children. Anyone would think they'd never seen a Dunmer before. It was possible they hadn't? But she wasn't some freak for them to poke with those ridiculous little spears. She had managed to find a quiet spot, away from everyone, under a squat tree with wide overhanging branches that hid her from the rest of the village.

She needed time to think.

Now, leaning back against the tree, she laid the walking stick beside her and closed her eyes, breathing the humid air that smelled only a little bit less like rotting turnips than it had in the more watery region they had arrived in.

She didn't remember anything from the last two weeks, except for that dream. The last thing she remembered was the Kotu Gava hovering behind Itagaki, its distended body swelling before it launched its larvae at the Redguard. She remembered pushing her one-night lover out of the way and then everything had only been pain. Pain and screams, her own screams, followed by deep blackness. Until the dream.

She reached in to her pocket, pulling out the lovers charm necklace, opening her eyes and dangling it before her. The charm turned this way and that before settling with the side with the two hearts facing her.

She had carved it so well, so beautiful. Revna had talent as a woodworker, that was certain if she ever wanted to stop caving in the heads of trolls with those ridiculous, big weapons of hers. Revna! Ha! She'd even started calling the big oaf by her name now! Still, she did appreciate the gift even if she wasn't sure what she would do with it.

The dream, however, had disturbed her. Before the Kotu Gava attack, she would have given half of the charm to Itagaki without hesitation. Whether the Redguard would have accepted it or not was beside the point. She was ready to take that chance with her. To take a step she hadn't even considered with anyone else. Not even ...

She twisted the leather string, making the charm turn once again, watching the colours change as the light hit it different each time it turned. A beautiful gift for a beautiful woman. The charm and Itagaki would compliment each other so well. She could imagine the charm hanging between the sun-kissed breasts of the Redguard. Imagine their real hearts coming together as one.

The dream. It had brought back memories that she had hidden deep inside her mind. Memories that had stopped disturbing her long ago and now were once again running continuous through her mind. Unremitting.

The Breton Tilly had not been the last person she had betrayed, but she had been the closest. The first person she had ever loved, or, at least, thought she had loved. Yet, she had betrayed her Breton lover in a heartbeat to save her own skin and for gold. And the dream of the Breton telling her she would betray those she was now bound to?

Would she? Could she? What made the feelings she had for the Redguard any different from those she had with the Breton?

She gathered the string of the necklace, turning her wrist several times to entwine it around her fingers, and then replaced it into her pocket. She would not give the charm to Itagaki. If she couldn't stop her baser nature, if she did betray them all as her dream foretold, she would not do it by breaking the heart of the woman she loved. Not again. Better to break a heart for a noble reason than due to betrayal. She'd rather people hated her for doing the right thing than for any other reason.

It was pure coincidence that she now saw Itagaki walking towards her, the sunlight emphasising her staggering beauty. Her silky black hair shining in the light. Her determined, precise strides closing the distance between them like a metronome, timed with perfection.