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“What’s this festival for, anyways?”
“Mama, look! Ms. Valentia is selling some of her holiday tarts! Can we get some?”
“Look how pretty everything is!”
An Argonian woman did her best to answer the chorus of questions from her excited daughters as a large family (her own) walked the streets of Whiterun, heading towards the small market set up by the Inn. Snow littered the sky and started gathering on the ground, a signal that it was starting to get colder across the land. The colder temperatures made the Argonian woman remember her time as a dockworker in the much-colder docks of Windhelm and she suddenly became thankful that, regardless of how cold it got in Whiterun, it would always be colder elsewhere.
Shahvee looked around at the decorations as she and her Dragonborn love walked with their adopted children, glancing at the buildings and the elaborate decorations that everyone had set up on their houses and businesses. The daughters seemed in awe of everything that was set up; even Lucia, whom had lived on the streets of Whiterun herself until the Dragonborn took her in themselves, seemed amazed at the decorations.
“I’ve never seen the festival being decorated this colourfully before!” Lucia said in awe.
“You’ve seen the festival before though, right?” Sofie checked, walking alongside her adopted sister.
“I know, but I guess I never realized how much I missed the decorations until I was gone.” Lucia admitted. “Apparently the festival is to celebrate the end of harvest season and welcome the snow to revitalize the soil for next season.”
“So it’s a food festival?” Sofie checked. “Is that why there are so many stalls with so much food?”
“I think so. This’ll be my first time actually able to eat food here that isn’t scraps.”
The family walked into the market and the girls suddenly saw the kids of the area (both from Whiterun and the nearby settlement of Riverwood) gathering around Carlotta Valentia’s stall, handing small handfuls of septims for what looked to be blocks of cake mixed with various fruit. Curious, the family went over. “What are you selling that the kids are so interested in, Carlotta?” Shahvee asked the shopkeeper.
“Oh! Hello, everyone! This is a recent recipe of mine called ‘fruitcake’. I’m trying to find a bit healthier alternative to something like a sweetroll to have for the holidays.” Carlotta admitted with a smile. “The kids seem to love them.”
“They’re hard as a rock!” Braith admitted with a devious smirk on her face. “We’re going to take turns hucking them at Nazeem!”
Carlotta’s smile faded as the small gathering of children, including half of the Dragonborn’s kids, collected their purchases of fruitcake and rushed up the nearby set of stone stairs, vanishing from sight. “…Oh.” She said dejectedly, realizing the true intent of why the kids were so interested in her wares.
The Dragonborn couldn’t help but chuckle. “Don’t worry about it, Carlotta. You made some sales and…Well, at least the kids are focusing their attention on being active.” They shrugged.
“I suppose so. I just wish that my efforts weren’t being turned into weapons.” Carlotta rolled her eyes. “Well, what can I get you nice folks today?”
“Your fruit tarts look very good, Carlotta. Let’s start with some of those, shall we?” Shahvee pointed out before she felt someone tugging on her dress. Turning and looking down, Shahvee saw Lucia looking up at her. “What is it, Lucia?”
“Mama, I wanna quickly go find Brenuin and say hi to him before I get something.” Lucia asked. “Can I please be excused for a few minutes?”
Shahvee sighed. “Very well, dear. Just…Try to be quick, okay?” She said hesitantly.
“Thanks, mama! Don’t worry! I’ll be right back!” Lucia said as she turned a corner and jogged up a hill, away from the market for now.
Shahvee glanced at her beloved as Carlotta bagged up a few tarts. “Dearest, I still don’t know how I feel about Lucia interacting with that man.” She said.
“Brenuin’s harmless and he was Lucia’s only friend here until I adopted her.” The Dragonborn assured. “It may not seem like it but he’s probably one of few people in Whiterun that I actually trust with Lucia’s wellbeing.”
Shahvee sighed again. “Okay. I’ll trust you, dear. But if Lucia isn’t back with us in ten minutes I’m going to go looking for her.” She warned.
The Dragonborn looked ahead and saw two of their daughters trailing off, glancing around at the snow that was starting to gather with distant, not-so-pleasant looks in their eyes. Sofie, the young Nord girl, glanced at another adopted sister, a young Argonian hatchling named Chases-Starlight, sadly as her sister returned the glance. The Dragonborn was quick to notice the looks and swooped in to provide comfort. “Girls…What’s bothering you? I know those looks.” They asked.
Sofie rubbed her arm. “It’s just…The snow.” She admitted. “It reminds us of Windhelm…”
Chases-Starlight looked down. “The terrible conditions and the way people treated us as well…” She added.
The Dragonborn’s daughters were adopted from what seemed to be every corner of Skyrim, but Sofie and Chases-Starlight were both plucked from Windhelm; where the former was outcast by even the Nords of the city, forced to live on the cold, snow-covered streets as a beggar, and the latter was refused entry to the city anyways simply because she was Argonian, forced to live on the cold, wet docks with the rest of the Argonians there. The two had become close even before the Dragonborn adopted them, with Sofie making regular treks down to the docks to say hi to the Argonians, finding kinship with Chases-Starlight in particular. When the Dragonborn told Sofie that they could adopt her, the first thing the Nord girl asked after the revelation set in was if they had room for one more, and the second thing Sofie asked was if the Dragonborn could adopt Chases-Starlight too. Thus, the Dragonborn entered Windhelm that day with nothing except a rumour about a serial killer and left with two daughters (and a request to find an amulet from their future wife).
The Dragonborn placed a hand on each of their sad-looking daughters’ shoulders and knelt down to their level. “Snow brings back bad memories for you two? I completely understand. I can’t imagine what either of you felt when you two lived alone trying to sell flowers or help lug loads on the docks that were too heavy for someone so young. But neither of you are in that situation anymore.” They reminded. “You don’t need to let the snow affect you anymore. You have a home, a family that loves you very much, and a community of friends that live close by.”
Shahvee nodded and stepped forward. “I know it can be hard to move on from the past like that, girls. Windhelm was terrible to all three of us.” She agreed. “But we’re not there anymore. You two can have real childhoods now and not have to worry about freezing in the streets; you’ll both always have us.”
Sofie sniffed. “I-I’m sorry, mama. I don’t want to cry; it’s just…” She whimpered.
“Shhhh…It’s okay, dear.” Shahvee said as she knelt down beside the Dragonborn and wrapped her arms around Sofie, extending an arm to bring Chases-Starlight into the embrace as well. “You’ll learn to let go of your negative feelings towards snow and the cold. It may take a while, but you take as long as you need. Before either of you know it you’ll be playing in the snow without a care in the world with the rest of the kids.”
The Dragonborn stood up and glanced at Carlotta, whom was standing with a bag of tarts in her hands. “Sorry about this.” They mentioned. “They just…Need a moment.”
Carlotta shook her head. “It’s okay. You told me their story already.” She reminded. “Let me say I’m real amazed that you gave those girls a second chance like you did. They must love you dearly for taking them in.”
The Dragonborn couldn’t help but chuckle. “Indeed they do. All of them.” They replied.
Shahvee broke out of the embrace with her two remaining daughters and looked at them. “Could…Could you two give us a moment?” She asked. “How about you go see what your sisters are up to.”
Chases-Starlight wiped her eyes. “But…Don’t we already know what the other kids are up to?” She asked. “They’re throwing bricks at Mr. Nazeem.”
“FRUITCAKE.” Carlotta corrected with a groan.
“Just…Just give us a few minutes, okay, girls?” Shahvee asked.
“Okay, mama.” Sofie and Chases-Starlight nodded as they went up the steps in the direction the rest of the kids had gone, leaving the market altogether for the time being and leaving their adopted parents alone.
Shahvee turned to the Dragonborn. “Can we…Find a secluded place to sit down for a few minutes?” She asked, though she had a pleading look in her eyes that the Dragonborn seemed to take note of.
“Okay. We’ll go sit down on a bench around the corner over there.” The Dragonborn pointed out a nearby shop; there was a bench around the side of it, away from the market, that the two would be away from everything for a while.
The married couple walked away from the market and around the side of the shop where the bench was. The two sat down, the bustle of the market a lot quieter now that they were away from everything. The Dragonborn looked at Shahvee as the Argonian looked down, wringing her hands. “What’s wrong, Shahvee?” They asked.
“I…Kept a bit of a façade up for the girls.” Shahvee admitted shamefully. “I…Have the same feeling towards snow as they do…”
“Bad memories of Windhelm?” The Dragonborn asked, placing a hand on their wife’s shoulder.
“Dearest, you know I’ve always looked on the positive side of life, especially after I started worshipping Zenithar. But…There are times where I look at the snow and I’m suddenly brought back to the Argonian dock house and spending long, cold days tanning leather and cleaning fish.” Shahvee explained. “I know that I’m in a much-better place now but…I guess seeing the snow reminds me of the treatment my kind and I got back then.”
The Dragonborn took Shahvee’s hand into theirs. “I know that it hurts to think back to then. I saw how the Argonians were being treated firsthand and you know that I made sure that the others are being paid their fare share now.” They reminded. “With any luck, they may be able to move to someplace more-accommodating in a few months if the pay stays the same.”
“I know. I know.” Shahvee sighed, looking down. “But…That’s not going to change how Argonians are treated there in the meantime. The Nords of Windhelm will always hate us. I honestly didn’t realize Nords could be welcoming to Argonians until I met Alvor and Sigrid.”
“Then we’ll try and change things together.” The Dragonborn assured. “We can try and be activists for Argonians. You know I’ll do whatever I can to get Argonians better treatment in Skyrim.”
“I would love to see that, dearest. I was amazed at how well Argonians seem to do in Riften but then I saw how openly corrupt everything else was.” Shahvee admitted.
“You’re doing well with your shop and selling materials to Lucan.” The Dragonborn reminded. “But…Yes. It’s unfortunate but the only real place I’ve seen Argonians working outside of Riften or a few mining settlements was Solitude and…Well, two of them were pirates that tried to kill me.”
Shahvee looked away, clearly uncomfortable with the thought. The Dragonborn sighed and held their wife’s hand tighter. “Look, Shahvee. I know things were…Not the best for you when you first came to Skyrim. That goes without saying. But you’re not in that life anymore. If you wanted you don’t need to go near Windhelm ever again.”
“I know, and I’ll always be grateful for the life I have now, and the fact that you helped create a better life for the girls as well.” Shahvee nodded. “I feel so childish for getting those horrible memories just by looking at something as simple as snow…”
“Don’t even think that, dear. There’s nothing to be ashamed of for being reminded of a horrible memory.” The Dragonborn shook their head. “I’m often reminded of Helgen whenever I see a large fire; every time I glance at a battleaxe I always go back to the time I nearly lost my head. I can’t count the number of times I was brought back to the one time I well and truly lost myself to rage.”
“You destroyed the entire Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary and killed all those horrible people because you were worried about what they may have done to the girls and I.” Shahvee reminded.
“I know, but in that moment I didn’t see anything except the blood.” The Dragonborn admitted. “But remember that it’s natural to be reminded of bad memories, dear. That will make treasuring the good ones that much easier.”
Shahvee couldn’t help but smile. “I suppose you’re right, dearest. I’m thankful for the new life I’ve been given and I love both you and the girls more than anything; you’ve all brought so much joy into my life that I don’t know how to explain it…” She admitted.
“Then don’t explain it.” The Dragonborn replied, cupping Shavee’s scaled face with a hand. “You know I love you more than anything as well; you and the girls are the rays of sunshine that get me up every morning while I’m out in the wild between cities.”
The Argonian woman sighed and looked away. “I’m always so worried that a day will come where you won’t come home.” She mentioned. “You’re so good to all of us and never asked for anything but love in return.”
“And I never will. You and the girls having a good life after everything you’ve all gone through is good enough for me.” The Dragonborn assured. “Whatever problems come up for us, we’ll face it all together. Okay?”
Shahvee gave a shaky nod, forming another smile. “O-Okay, dear. Together.” She repeated.
The two shared a silent moment together on the bench, embracing and giving each other an occasional kiss. After a moment, the Dragonborn pulled away, breaking the embrace. “Shall we go back to the market? The girls may already be back and looking for us.” They mentioned.
Shahvee gave another nod. “Yes, and we still need to visit the rest of the food booths to see if there’s anything left.” She added. “The only thing we have to show for this little festival so far is a bag of tarts.”
“Well, let’s go and mingle again. I’m sure you’d like to catch up with Ysolda while we’re here.”
With that, the married couple stood up, held hands and slowly walked away from the bench, back towards the market in the middle of Whiterun with hopes of meeting up with their children again before they started wondering where their parents were. The festival was just beginning and they knew that they wanted to spend it with family, after all.
After the two had left the scene, however, a familiar Redguard man was seen scrambling by behind a couple of the other houses, covering his head as he tried to shield himself from a barrage of fruitcake bricks.
“W-Where the blazes are these things coming from?!” Nazeem demanded to the sky, looking around briefly to see if he could spot whoever was throwing the rock-hard bricks at him, only to receive another fruitcake to the face, nearly knocking him off his feet. “D-Do you have any idea who I am?! The Jarl will have your head for this!”
The light sounds of children giggling were heard as Nazeem continued to scramble away, struggling to keep himself safe as it continued to rain fruitcake around him. This would be a long night…