Stuck Midst the Peasantry (Non Canon, R, for Aviaris)

Elise scrutinized the bridle in her hands, testing the suppleness of the leather, "Hm."

"Tis a fine piece, miss. 'Twil last many years," the shopkeeper encouraged, before spitting a long line of chaw juice in his tankard.

"I'll take it," the elf gave the agreed upon coin before leaving with the new piece. It was late afternoon, the sun warm through her soft homespun gray tunic and riding breeches. The marketplace was just beginning to settle down. It being one of the first warm days of spring, many people had gathered in Whiterun to trade their wares and stock up their supplies. Whiterun was by no means a city, but the main road leading to the nation's capital ran straight through, bringing many trade goods from far off places to the growing village. All and all, a place worth the two hour ride from her home, Bramble Farm and Stables.

She added the new bridle to the pack on her trade mule, Daisy. Just a few more supplies and she could head home. Elise patted her dog, commanding him to keep guarding her horse and mule, before walking past the stalls of general goods. A noble was perusing the stalls, flanked by guards. She averted her gaze, not wanting any trouble. Unfortunately, by trying to avoid them she nearly ran into a manure wagon. She leaped back to keep from being trampled by the oxen, landing squarely against one of the guard's backs.

Lucas Kurzwell, nephew to the King of this very land, was not exactly sure why he was here. He knew why he'd been passing through by carriage, to get to his family's second estate, but he wasn't sure what compelled him to stop and look around. Against the advice of counsel, at that. Still, it was what he wanted to do, so he did it. And now... now he was a bit bored, wondering what on earth had possessed him to walk around this boring village. He was just about to tell hs guards he was ready to go back to the carriage, when something bumped into one of his guards, causing that guard to bump into him, setting him off balance, and causing him to stumble, trip over a rock, and fall.

Naturally, as far as the guard was concerned, this was not his fault, but the fault of the person who had bumped into him. And naturally, as far as the guard was concerned, this was a deliberate attack meant to make a fool of him. The guard turned to the woman, ready to chew her out, only to notice... it was an elf. Well, that changed things. He immediately grabbed her arm, brow furrowing. "Trying to make a fool out of your better's, bitch? I'll see your head on the block for that!"

Now, this was hardly just, or even understandable, but it was how the world was. She was low class. Worse than low class, she wasn't human. She was, by royal decree, lower than trash. She was alive because they allowed her to live... until she messed up. The other guards didn't hesitate to join their comrade, moving to help detain her for the execution they felt she deserved... that is, until a rather irate young man spoke up.

"Let go of her, now! What kind of idiots are you!?" Lucas had pulled himself to his feet and, seeing what his idiotic guards were trying to do, was a bit fed up. He came over, and pried Elise away from his guards, before getting in their faces. "Were you fools actually about to execute a woman over bumping into you? Are you insane!?"

"I-I'm so sorry, I," Elise stammered as she jumped to her feet--her natural grace belying her race again. Not that her ears were hidden at all. She winced as one of the noble's guards grabbed her arm, knowing she'd have a pretty bruise there later. "I meant no harm, really. I was just..." her voice was drowned out as the guards surrounded her. Elise started shaking, trying to keep her magic bound inside herself. An elf could be tolerated by some, but a mage elf? She'd seen what happened to other so called 'knife-ears' who had the Gift.

Her violet eyes flew open, staring at the young nobleman berating his guards. The vise grip on her arm loosened as she was pried away, being pushed behind none other than the young nobleman himself. She watched as he yelled at them some more, while she tried to calm herself down and gather her wits. Her ebony hair, wound in a long plait, found its way to her fingers where she twisted it subconsciously.

Lucas, when he finished berrating his guards, eyed them carefully. They looked ashamed... but of being chewed out by a young man much younger than them. He doubted they regretted their actions. He sighed, and turned to Elise, crossing his arms. "Are you okay, ma'am? They didn't hurt you at all, did they? I'll pay for any healing you may need."

"What? Young Lord, if you say something like that, she will take advantage and rob you bl-"

"Shut. Up." Lucas turned to glare at the offending guard, before looking back to Elise. "Sorry about that. Anyway, are you okay?"

Elise dropped her braid as the nobleman turned to her. "I'm alright, thank you my Lord. I really must learn to watch to my step better," she couldn't hide the hot glare she sent to the guard. Lie through her teeth to survive, yes she could do that. But never had she swindled a man of his gold. "I won't require any healing, although, I thank you for being so kind as to ask. If it pleases you, my Lord, I would be on my way." Elise gave a short bow, wincing again as she brought her bruised arm across her waist in the process.

Lucas could be a bit thick at times, but he was observant when he was paying attention. He caught the wince, partly because of his older sister's interest in medicine. He frowned, and held out a hand to the guard who had caused all of this trouble. "Your coin purse, now." The guard, gritting his teeth in anger, directed solely at Elise, handed his full coin purse to Lucas, who then quickly took Elise's hand, setting the coin purse in her palm. "Take it. For your trouble." He smiled, then turned to his guards. "Come on, we should be going. Father will be angry if I'm late for dinner again." And with that, he and his guards left.

They would not make it to their destination.

"It's not..." Elise gaped as he placed the purse in her small palm. She couldn't find her voice and swore at herself once the nobleman and his party were out of earshot. How could she have just stood there and not have said anything? She should have refused it, handed it right back to the guard. This was sure to haunt...except she'd never seen that noble before, nor the emblem his guards wore. The colors were of the royal house, true, but the crest was different. It was highly unlikely she'd ever see them again. She took a calming breath, looking up only to blush at the staring crowd. Pocketing the purse, she finished her shopping and was on her way home in the next hour.

Lucas... was in a great deal of pain. His carriage had been travelling almost until dusk when that attack came. Rebels. He wasn't sure why they came after him exactly, but he knew full well their intent when one of them tried to remove his head. He'd escaped, however. Barely, and he'd taken an arrow in the back of his shoulder and through his side, but he was alive. Falling into the river and being swept downstream had helped that. And now... now he was washed up on the bank of the river, battered and bruised by the rocks along the river. He could barely move, and as it reached midday, he felt conciousness slipping away again.

"Rosie, take Erik and feed the chickens would you? Don't forget to gather any eggs you find," Elise watched her niece and nephew skip away towards the coop. Rosie took after her human mother, blonde, tall, and through the spattering of freckles you could see the 8 year old would turn into a great beauty one day. Five year old Erik, on the other hand, was small and dark haired like Frandir and herself, his ears showing the slightest point to them. The ears were present on the youngest as well, two year old Dawn, although her hair was wispy gold. Gods only knew what the next babe growing in Susanna's belly would look like. The children hadn't yet felt the sting of their half-blood heritage, but that may have been because their closest neighbors were Susanna's father's farm to the north and her two brothers to the east and south. Elise often worried what trouble they kids might run into should they go into one of the larger villages someday.

Today though she was heading to the woods. She'd finished her share of morning chores and now had to gather Fennel plant - an odd small flower that only bloomed in early spring along the watersides. It was a powerful aneasthetic and essential for any medicine cabinet. She saddled the pride of her personal project breeding program, a beautiful light bay paint stallion she'd named Ghost Dance, and rode to the river a short distance from the farmstead. Scruff, the large bearded black dog shadowed her as always.

She stayed in the saddle, keen eyes on the riverbank until she spotted the first pink Fennel blossoms. Down and a quick slash of her knife and she collected the precious petals. Scruff ranged about, finding scent trails and leaving them so he could stay near his mistress. Elise startled when she heard Scruff's booming bark, followed a worried whine. "What is it, boy?" she jumped a large river rock and ran over. On the other side of a fallen tree, she saw the bedraggled form of a young man. Her eyes took in the fine, blood stained clothes and the arrow protruding from his body. "Oh gods, it's him!" She fell to her knees by the noble, checking and finding his pulse. "Hold on, we'll get you patched up, kid." She whistled Ghost over, the horse laying down at her gentle command so she could pull the noble over the horses back and lead him to the farm.

A half hour later, Susanna and Elise had the noble laying near the warm fire, in just his underclothes beneath a woolen blanket. The elf kept on eye on the boy's face, in case he woke up. Her sister-in-law broke the fletching off the arrow, "Frandir, hold him still. I'll have to pull this out." Elise's brother held larger human as the offending weapon was pulled from him. Elise petted his hair, "Shhh, it'll be over soon enough. Susanna will have to put in stitches and you must remain still." The elf didn't know if the boy could hear her, but she spoke to him just the same. Her voice the same soothing tone she used to coax spooked horses to her side.

Lucas remained on the edge of conciousness throughout all of this. When they arrow was actually pulled from his body, he struggled, but the garbled, calming words helped calm him. He had no idea what was being said, but he understood they were helping him. "Th-...thank you... whoever... you are... I'll make sure.... Father gives you.... your weight in gold.... and what....ever else you want..." He was a bit out of it, but otherwise calm. "Ah... and... whatever... whatever I have on me... too... it's yours... thank you..." He quickly slipped back into unconciousness after that.

The three adults shared concerned glances at the boy's words. They stitched and cleaned him up, before sitting at the table nearby to share tankards of mead.

"You know this could mean trouble for us, Elise. That boy is high blood. If someone dared shoot an arrow at him, they wouldn't think twice of wiping our whole family out to get to him. This is trouble, a whole stinking load of it," Frandir shook his head before a taking a swig. He was Elise's senior by a century and she looked up to him a lot.

"I know," Elise admitted, looking between him and her sister-in-law, "and I never wanted to endanger any of us. I love you both and the kids, but he just..."

Susanna gave her a kind smile, one hand on the belly that was just beginning to swell, "We know you'd never do that. The noble saved you, and honestly," she gave a small glare to her husband, "we owe him for letting you come back to us. I wouldn't expect anything less than for you to have saved him."

Elise smiled back at her, "He can stay at my cabin until he's well. It's farther from the road and won't be underfoot of you and the kids. If he was attacked, then he's definitely still in danger." The words left a chill in the room and all fell silent, listening to the playful shrieks of the children outside.

Elise stayed by the noble's side through the night.

The next morning, Lucas slowly opened his eyes, glancing around. He didn't remember much, aside from being attacked. He was about to panic, when the more logical side of his mind kicked in. The people who attacked him had wanted to kill him, not capture him. It was someone else who had him right now. That was good, most likely. He slowly sat up, wincing a bit from the wounds in his back and side, as well as all the bruises, but he wanted to get a good look around.

Elise started from her sleep. "You're awake!" She managed to it to a whisper, knowing her family slept in the adjoining rooms. "You shouldn't move yet," she put her hand on his shoulder to hold him back, "you might pull the stitches. You're safe here. We're humble farmers, not bandits." She smiled before dipping a glass in a water bucket, "here, you must be thirsty. I doubt you'd recognize me, but I'm the one who ran into your guard in Whiterun." She held the glass to his lips for him to sip, "My name's Elise."

Scruff kept a keen eye on them from beneath his brows from his place on the floor nearby.

Lucas gladly accepted the water, forcing himself to not try and guzzle it down. He laid back down as wanted, and grinned weakly. "Yes, I remember you... Elise. My name is Lucas. It's... nice to see you again? Would be nice if it wasn't in this way though... I'm sorry about this, though. I hope you didn't have to spend any money on me..." The way he heard it, the commonfolk were not exactly well off, and the elves were generally barely surviving due to how people treated them. He didn't want her to be spending money she'd need, on him.

Elise lifted a brow. "We had supplies in stock, don't worry about it. And it's nice to return the favor, so to speak. Let me know if you have to go the outhouse, my brother Frandir can take you. Other than that, you'll have to stay in bed until my sister-in-law Susanna gives you the okay." She frowned as she looked at the pile of his bloodied clothes. "Lucas, do you know who did this? I realize you may not want to think about it right now, but if someone attacked you it was very likely because of your rank. I know you'll want to get back with your family, but the implications..." she bit her lip, making her look younger than she already did.

Lucas paused, and then sighed heavily, thinking of the implications himself. "Ah...well, from the look of them, it was a band of rebels. You know, that have been causing trouble up and down the kingdom. Not that I blame them, the way my uncle runs things, everyone supporting his bigotted beliefs... I'm not sure why they went after me, though. I'm not even in line for the throne, and me and my sister are almost outcasts, with how we don't 'act as true pureblood nobility should'. I don't see how I'm a favorable target... then again, maybe it's just cause of who my family is... either way, I shouldn't be here. I'm pretty sure they think I'm dead, but if not... I don't want them to hurt you or your family for helping me."

Elise gave a brave smile, "I covered our tracks from the river, so they shouldn't be able to follow you here. Hopefully they'll think you were swept all the way to the falls. But once you're strong enough to be moved you're coming to my cabin--this is my brother's and mine's more in the woods--when you're fully healed we'll think of where to go next. At this point, you need to lay low. I can tell you're a good kid, we'll help you in any way we can." She forgot how ironic her calling him a kid might seem. By looks she was barely an adult. "Think you can drink some broth?"

Lucas smirked slightly, nodding. "Yeah, I can. I'm not quite so beat up that I can't swallow, heh..." ...and then something occured to him, and he started to turn red. "Wa-wait... your cabin? This isn't... that sounds like you live alone, and... b-but that would mean that... but... I... that is...." He was bright red, and rambling in circles before finally shutting his mouth, turning an even deeper shade of red, looking down at his hands. He certainly was nothing like his father or uncle.

Elise had gone to the cooking pot over the fire and hid her smile, although she couldn't hide her laugh. "I have an extra cot I can set up in the main room. My own bed is in the loft. It'll be fine. Here," She helped him sit up so his stitches wouldn't pull. Her small hands were warm on his bare skin, "drink the broth." She handed him the bowl and spoon, trusting his strength had come back enough for him to feed himself. "If you finish that, then there's some bread you can have too. I have to take care of my chores, but I'll be back around noon. Susanna will be in the house today, I can hear she's already getting up."

Of course, while her words about an extra cot calmed him a bit, the warmth of her hands finally triggered the realization that he was not fully dressed, which just made him more embarrassed. He tried to ignore it, and proceeded to eat... hands shaking horribly the entire time, which was rather comical. He'd never been good at dealing with women for more than the briefest moments. He always got flustered like this. His father... well, his father was humiliated by him. His sister had once tried to get him to loosen up, but... well, they pretended that fiasco never happened.

Soon after Elise and Scruff went out the door, the rest of the Bramble family emerged into the main room. Susanna bustled the eldest children outside after their morning porridge was finished. The five year old kept his jewel bright elven eyes on Lucas the whole time, obviously bursting with curiosity. "Shoo now, do your chores," their mother chided as she set Dawn on the floor with a few wooden toys. "How are you faring this morning my Lord?" Susanna checked the color of skin and felt his forehead to make sure he hadn't caught fever. Frandir rolled his eyes before heading to the fields. "I've some of my nephew's clothes from when he stayed for the harvest last fall. Should fit you well enough. I'm afraid your clothes are too badly stained." She muttered as she checked the stitches, "All's good as can be for now. Did you want to change?"

Lucas tried to ignore the fact that any woman was touching him while he was wearing barely any clothes, but it was slightly easier because of the fact that Susanna was married. "Ah... yeah, I would like to... have clothes on." And that, that was when something clicked. "Wait, hold on... how did I get out of my clothes anyway?" He was trying to convince himself it wasn't the way he thought.

Susanna lifted her brows, "We had to remove them, of course. You were sobbing wet and bleeding. Had to get you warm and make sure we found all your wounds. Now here," she lay a pile of neatly folded clothes on the stool she'd been sitting on to check him. Gathering Dawn in her arms, she went to the door, "I'll be just outside," and she left the young noble to change.

Susanna came back in after giving him plenty of time. She set the toddler back on the floor before bringing her supplies to the table to clean and ready herbs for storage.

At noon time, Elise came back as promised. "Doing well?"

Lucas was needing to adjust to his clothes. They were rougher than he was used to, but oddly more comfortable. It was wierd. His usual clothes were more elaborate and hard to deal with, yet the difference would take some getting used to. "Eh.. yes, I'm fine. I'm used to dealing with some bruises." He grinned despite this... partly to help hide just how embarrassed he still was over the fact that at least one of these women had stripped him in his sleep.

Elise smiled at the sight Lucas in light brown homespun tunic and trousers. Even the extra farmboots they'd found managed to fit him decently enough. Susanna must have lent the boy a comb too, his wet rat's nest of hair now fell down his back in a blue black cloud. "Here, sit," Elise took a leather strip from her pocket and stood behind him, deftly pulling his hair into a neat queue. "Think you're ready for a bit of a walk?"