Work Text:
Erina Caro hummed happily to herself as she bent over to gently pluck another sprig of lavender. The gentle breeze coupled with the bright, sunny day made it impossible to stay inside the walls of Whiterun proper today. She’d tried to convince Ahlam to come out with her today but she’d been met with the usual excuses.
The Temple is in disarray. Perhaps tomorrow.
I’m exhausted. Too many have needed me today.
“Oh, well,” she shrugged, her small basket lightly bouncing against her hip. “She’s missing out.” With a content smile, she stepped over a few loose boulders and continued to search diligently for the flowers Ahlam had instructed her to find. It wasn’t that the plants were hard to identify; Erina just had trouble finding so much so close to Whiterun. Maybe if she’d felt safer traveling out further from the city and the farms, it would be easier. Twisting the cord of her necklace absentmindedly, she frowned a little at the thought.
It wasn’t that she had absolutely no talent for restoration magic. In fact, she could easily cast a basic healing spell and a ward without feeling any strain on her magicka link. Ahlam even complimented her on how quickly she was able to pick up some of the apprentice spells. She just didn’t feel like those compliments reflected her actual ability. Picking flowers for potions, salves, and ointments put her mind at ease from such troubling thoughts. There was something about the way her fingers could gingerly ask permission from the blooms for their talents that made her blossom with warmth inside. Sometimes it made her heart pound thinking about other types of magic, how dangerous and forceful they were.
Suddenly, she stopped in mid-step and her mind immediately flew to the Dragonborn. Anytime she came back to Whiterun, Erina would hesitate to leave the Temple out of fear of being met face to face with the dark lady. She shook her head to clear her mind. Looking down at her hand, she found her knuckles strained white and clutched against her amulet. “Stop being silly, Erina,” she chastised herself. “The Dragonborn isn’t here right now.”
The walk back to the gates calmed her nerves. The soft breeze and soothing warmth reminded Erina of how satisfying her day had been so far. She’d woken up at the Temple to the lull of singing, eaten fresh fruit thanks to a large gift from some of the patrons of The Bannered Mare, and healed no less than five people before heading out on her errand. Even now, getting back into town, it seemed like an unusually large number of people were interested in smiling and waving at her as she danced around back to the Temple.
“My, Erina, I know I asked you for some ingredients but didn’t expect you to come back with a meadow,” Ahlam greeted.
She smiled shyly and brushed back a loose lock of auburn hair. “I’m sorry. I thought that it might not be enough.”
The priestess laughed a little. “You’re too hard on yourself.”
“I’m sor—” Erina’s hands clasped over her mouth to stuff the words back in as her eyes widened. “I mean, I…”
“Don’t worry!” Ahlam wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder and gave her a quick squeeze. “It is getting late though and I think you’ve done more than enough to help us today.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.” The Redgaurd woman shooed her off. “Now, go out and have a little fun. Maybe get some dinner and spend some time out of this temple.” Erina began to open her mouth but Ahlam closed her eyes sagely and held up a finger. “No, no. Don’t argue with me. If you ever plan on living in Solitude, you have to get used to being out.”
The apprentice healer gave her teacher a look of uncertainty. “I know, it’s just…” Her fingers turned her amulet over and over, running against the ridges of the circles that adorned it. Erina took a deep breath. “You’re right. I think I’ll go out to The Bannered Mare. At least thank them for their donation to the temple.”
Ahlam chuckled at that. “If it makes you feel a little better knowing you’re doing some good there, then by all means. Just remember to dress accordingly.” She gave her a wink
A look of puzzlement knotted on her face but she didn’t spend too much time thinking about what that meant. As she made her way to the inn, she kept looking down at her simple blue dress and white shirt. Was it too plain? Too dressy? “Maybe my hair?” Erina mused aloud, her hands smoothing out any spots that felt messy. Perhaps Ahlam was hinting that she should have pinned it up or braided it.
Oh well.
Slipping quietly into the noisy inn, Erina couldn’t decide where to sit. If all of House Gray-Mane and Battle-Born wasn’t here, she would be shocked to discover it. With so many people by the fire, she settled on a place at the bar near a man dressed in guards’ armor but clearly off duty. As she ordered her dinner and sipped at her ale, he would often catch her eye and give her a lopsided smile in response. She would give him a friendly smile in return but thought nothing of it. Just as she was about to order another wedge of cheese, he slid into the chair next to her.
“Is anyone sitting here?” he asked, giving her another disarming smile. Running a hand through his messy, copper hair the off-duty guard leaned against the bar.
She could feel her face heating up slightly. “Um… no. No one’s here.” Her heart leapt into her throat.
“Jon Fire-Tamer, of the Fire-Tamers of Riften.” Jon kept grinning at her in such a way to make her stomach feel light.
“Oh, I…” Erina realized she kept whispering and talking down at her cheese. Looking up at him, she cleared her throat. “Erina Caro of Cyrodiil. You’re a guard here in Whiterun?”
Jon beamed. “Indeed I am! Part of the patrols in Dragonsreach at that.”
“Oh, that’s impressive,” she smiled good-naturedly while twirling another lock of hair. “I’ve heard it’s hard to find work with the Jarl.”
He gave her a solemn nod. “I’ve been doing this for years. Y’have to prove yourself trustworthy before they’ll let you start working on the mound.”
“The mound?”
Jon nodded towards Dragonsreach, “It’s our name for being on the hill.”
Erina laughed. “That’s quite clever.”
“We thought so,” he smiled but began to look nervous. “So,” he cleared his throat.
She was glad Ahlam had convinced her to get out. It always surprised her when she was reminded how much fun being out of the temple could be. “So?”
Jon cleared his throat again, clearly hoping that whatever he had to say would leave on its own. “Well, I… uh…” suddenly he burst out laughing.
She was now genuinely curious as to what it was that the guard couldn’t get out. He’d been so easy and talkative until now. What could it be that possibly had him tongue-tied and giggling? “What?” she smiled. “Let me in on the joke.”
He rubbed the back of his neck but continued. “Well, I’ve never met a fire-haired woman like you so I never thought I’d have the opportunity to try this.”
Erina sipped at her ale, “Try what?”
Once more, he cleared his throat before finally leaning close and whispering in her ear, “As a Fire-Tamer, I’m guaranteed to satisfy you.”
Her face lit up and she spit out her ale. Pulling back, she stammered, “I… oh… what? Sorry,” she began frantically wiping the sleeve of her shirt against the counter as Hulda, the owner of the bar, gave her a gentle look that asked if everything was alright. “I’m sorry, I—I…” Oh, damn her. Nothing was coming out right. Her heart raced, her stomach knotted itself in and outwards.
But no one appeared as shocked as Jon Fire-Tamer. His hands flew out, his grin vanished, and he began apologizing profusely. “No, no. I’m sorry. I just thought, what with…”
Erina stared at him, her face still hot from the blood rushing through it. Her hands flew to her necklace again, turning it over and over until the cord wound in on itself. “I’m sorry?”
He pointed at his chest. “You know, your necklace.”
Confusion replaced her mortification. “My…?” Glancing down, she realized what Ahlam had been jesting at. Erina wore her Amulet of Mara strictly to help with her magic. She’d forgotten to take it off and forgotten that it had other meanings as well. “Oh, my gods.” Her hands whipped around to the clasp and deftly undid the bind. Stuffing the necklace into the pouch attached to her belt, she began trying to explain. “I’m so sorry! I just wear this for my spells and—well, I mean, it’s not that you aren’t—oh, I mean, uh,” she slumped back into her seat and buried her face into her hands. “Akatosh save me.”
Surprisingly, Jon laughed.
Erina bit her lip. “Oh, don’t make fun of me,” she begged.
“I’m not, promise!” he smiled widely at her. “I just feel like such a fool now for saying such a thing to you.”
She smiled slowly. “It did sound pretty foolish.”
“Well, how about I apologize by paying for your meal. You can tell me more about your work. You said you’re a healer? That’s remarkable.”
Erina smoothed out the lap of her dress and gave him a quiet smile. “Well, I guess I can let you pay for my food. But I’m not a master healer yet.” As she kept talking, her hands kept running over the lump in her pouch where her troublesome amulet lay. Tomorrow she’d find something else to help her with her magic.