Chapter Text
Light talking and hearty laughing, tapping ale bottles on the tables, and the sound of the priest preaching love below all this.
Every night the inn fills with patrons looking for the best ale in the land, while the priest of Mara preaches love in the middle of the controlled chaos. For months it has been routine, serving rude customers and cleaning up after they leave. Loud banging of empty ale tankers pulled the Argonian from her thoughts, “Eutekatan, pay attention! You're too slow, I’m gonna lose my business if I keep losing customers because of you!” The argonian bartender hissed at the young waitress, and pulled her closer. “The Thieves Guild will have my head if I don’t make this month's rent,” She whispered, “And it will be your fault.” the elder spat.
“I’m sorry ma’am, it won’t happen again.” Eutekatan exclaimed, tugging her arm away from her boss.
“Go clean those tables.”
“Yes, Keerava, right away.” the young girl answered, scurrying off to clean tables. As the night grew late, fewer patrons came and went, but the remaining patrons made up the difference in chattering. Longing to stop and sit in silence, the argonian waited patiently until there weren't many patrons left before walking outside.
“Hey Eutekatan, how’ve you been?” A man asked.
“Could be better, Shadr, but right now I just want silence.” she expressed, sitting on the bench across from him, looking up at the stars.
“Well, then I’ll leave you to it.” The man nods in agreement before sauntering off the bridge.
She let out a shaky sigh while gathering her thoughts, the soothing sounds of the waves below calmed her. She could smell a mix of blood and rust from the Rataway below the city where the Thieves Guild was based. The thought of dealing with the thieves alone sent a shiver up her spine. The familiar and uneasy sound of metal screeching could be heard down below the bridge near the docks and the Rataway.
Instead of looking over the railing to check the argonian opted for going inside, walking towards the temple belonging to the Goddess of Love instead of the Inn. Maybe the Priest is getting to me with this ‘love’ stuff. Although the priests and priestess were all in bed the temple stayed open to the public.
Once in the temple Eutekatan sat in one of the back pews looking up at the crying statue of Mara before hearing shuffling from a room in the back. Did I wake someone while coming in? She mentally scolded herself for being loud.
Out comes the Priest in his orange and yellow robes, sloppily trying to fix it before approaching her.
“How may I help you, my daughter?” He takes a seat beside her scaly tail patiently waiting for a response.
‘What do I say?’ The girl frantically starts thinking of random things trying to come up with a good reason for why she entered the temple. “I- uh, I came to seek guidance with love.” She wasn’t fully lying, she did come for guidance, however she mostly came in to get away from the thieves roaming the streets. “Could you tell me a bit more about Mara’s beliefs?” Eutekatan asked the priest curiously.
“Mara's domain encompasses the emotions we strive the most to embrace; love, compassion and understanding. It's difficult to appreciate her gifts in these dark times, but you should consider her light a beacon in the storm." He preaches.
“Oh, so if I found love I could have a wedding here?”
"Yes. If you were ready, of course. Are you familiar with how marriage works in Skyrim?"
“Somewhat, I’ve heard others talking about it at the inn. How does it work?”
"Typically, love in Skyrim is as earnest as the people who live here. Life is hard and short, so there is little room for long courtship. A person who is looking for a spouse simply wears an Amulet of Mara about the neck, showing they are available. When another person shows interest, and the two agree to be together, one of them comes to the Temple and we arrange a ceremony."
“An amulet of Mara?” The girl pushes further.
“Yes, an amulet of Mara symbolizes availability for a partner. You can buy one for 200 gold septims if you wish.”
‘200? I just made that, I could use it on more important things like a house for myself, but finding a partner to split all the costs sounds nice.’ The argonian pondered trying to choose what to do. Before coming to a decision. “I’ll buy an amulet of Mara.” She reaches her hand into the pocket of her dirty barmaid clothes, fishing out a fair sized bag of septims and reaches out to the priest. The priest seemed surprised the young argonian women had enough at the moment to buy one, let alone choose to buy one now, but he happily agreed and gave her the amulet.
“May you return to her Benevolence in peace.” with that the priest got up and went to the back room he once exited, presumably back to bed.