Jess of Valor, The Diary of Jessika Andrea #1 Options

[Andrea]

Hello All!

I'm Andrea and fairly new to Chorrol, so hey!

I wasn't going to post anything too soon, but Jessika insisted I at least give a teaser of her story, so i've decided to post an Introduction. But first, I shall introduce you all to Jessika.

Jessika is a 21 year old nord who was born and raised in Cheydinhal, Cyrodill. She excells in Blade, Heavy armour and Light armour (which she is convinced makes her 'unique')

Five yeare before our story starts her parents died, leaving her to raise her little sister, Mya, on her own.

Now, that's enough of that Here is the introduction to our tale:



INTRODUCTION


“Jessika, where are we going?” My baby sister, Mya, asked me. Her youthful eyes delicate. So innocent. She had no idea what had happened. No idea at all.

I wasn’t sure whether to tell her the truth or not, so I decided to lie.

“The basement has been infested with mudcrabs, baby, so we had to leave. Don’t worry, though. We will find somewhere else to live.”

What I told her was partially true. Our house did have an invasion of mudcrabs, although those mudcrabs could also be called ‘debt collectors’.

Money was tight. Too tight. Not enough was coming in and what money was coming in was spent quicker than you could say septim. Our gorgeous home in Cheydinhal had soon become another broken memory

That was the last thing Mother and Father left to us… now it’s gone.

I didn’t know where we were going to go. Ever since our parents died that house was the only thing we had to our name. We managed to stay there for five years; now we had nothing.

As we headed out of the city we were stopped. My good friend Shelley shouted my name and beckoned me over as she stood outside the Bridge Inn.

“Wait here.” I instructed Mya as I kissed her on the forehead. I walked over to Shelley, a forced smile etched across my lips.

“Are you okay?” She asked. A sheet of concern covering her face.

“Yeah…” I lied. A lie that was given away instantly as my eyes began to flood with tears. I wouldn’t let Shelly hug me, as Mya would know something was wrong, so I shook my head gently at Shelly to halt her advance.

“We got thrown out of our house. I just couldn’t keep up with the payments.”

“Oh, honey…” Shelley replied, genuine care in her voice.

“I just don’t know what I’m going to do…” I sobbed. “It’s Mya’s tenth birthday in two days and we have nowhere to go.”

“Why don’t you come stay with me in the inn?” She invited. “I’m sure Mariana will understand-“

I immediately cut her off. Her offer was generous, but preposterous. I simply couldn’t bear to have anyone in the city know I was broke; even though chances were that the news of my eviction would spread like wildfire anyway.

Despite that inevitability, I couldn’t let it happen. I had my pride and my family name to respect. If I was to be the source of embarrassment in my city, I at least wanted to hold my head high.

“Thank you for the offer, Shelley, but I really can’t.”

I didn’t have to say another word as Shelley’s expression seemed to suggest she knew what I was thinking.

“Well at least let me give you-“she started as she reached into her coin purse.

“Shelley, please.” I said, rejecting her offer.

“Okay,” she said softly. “You do what you have to do. But you HAVE to promise me that you will let me know when you find somewhere to go okay? If you don’t I will have no choice but to hunt you down and kick your behind for making me worry, okay?”

I laughed, wiping my tears away. “I promise.”

Shelley looked at me for another second before forcing me into a gentle embrace- an embrace in which I reciprocated. Once we let go I smiled at Shelley, nodded and then headed back to Mya. My eyes met hers and she smiled. I grabbed her hand gently and squeezed it as we headed to the city exit. The large gate signifying the end of an era for us.

I knew we weren’t going to be back for a while, but I also knew that I wasn’t about to let me and my baby sister go homeless.

I was willing to do whatever it took. Mya needed me and I wasn’t going to let her down.

As the guards opened the gate I turned my head to Mya, smiled and did a small hand gesture, a hand gesture that she repeated back to me. A hand gesture that my sister and I had invented.

It meant ‘I love you.’


*

This post has been edited by Andrea: Apr 12 2012, 12:38 AM

[Andrea]

Thank you everyone so much for your kind words! Each and every one of you have made me so happy by the simple action on giving Jessika's humble story minutes of your time! Acadian, thank you for the nits! Sometimes my computer doesn't recognise things that should be spell checked. Lady Saga, as always your comments are always very welcome

Chapter 1.2 - Decisions

Mya looked at me, awaiting some form of revelation from me. I could feel the words wanting to leave my mouth, but they wouldn’t. Every time I tried to speak my mouth refused to open.

Mya looked at me with that expectant look still on her face. I knew it wasn’t fair to keep her waiting, guessing, running all these thought’s through her head about what it was that I had to tell her. Would it be serious, she’d wonder? Was she in trouble? She could have thought all these terrible things, but I knew that it was only me that could tell-

“I know what it is anyway; you don’t have to be so nervous.”

My jaw hit the ground. I certainly wasn’t expecting her to know anything, but I wasn’t surprised. Mya wasn’t an idiot. I was constantly undermining her in my head about what she knew about the realities of life, but this had just proved that-

“You’ve left my birthday present at home, haven’t you?” She asked.

Thank Arkay! She doesn’t know the truth.

But just because she didn’t know the truth, didn’t mean she wouldn’t have to be told. For some bizarre reason what she had said urged me more towards not telling her the truth. It was strange.

“Yes… yes I have,” I told her. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” She said, smiling. “We can just get me another one later on!”

I laughed, looking at her. I stared for a moment. This little girl had such a graceful aura about her. I wasn’t willing to ruin that with the truth. Not just yet, anyway.

I grabbed her hand and hoisted myself up onto my feet. Suddenly, almost instantaneously, we heard the bleating of a sheep. It was silent, but it came from the direction of the abandoned village. I noticed a grim beam across Mya’s face as she looked at me. I knew what she wanted.

“Go on then!” I said before Mya ran toward the village, giggling. I slowly followed behind her. Mya had always loved sheep, any animal really; but sheep were defiantly her forte. She’d constantly remind me of her love for their fluffiness when we had our pet sheep Woolson –what were we thinking.

I approached Mya who was stood on the wooden fence of the sheep pen in the village. There was nothing inside. There was no one around the village at all. It was eerie. It was like even though the village was empty, it felt like we were being watched.

“Jessika, where are all the sheep?” Mya asked me.

A look of ponder grew on my face as I wondered the same question. But again, we heard another bleat from the non-existent sheep.

“Did you hear that!?” Mya asked me. “There is a sheep in there! It’s probably hiding! I’ll find it!”

Before I could stop her Mya leapt over the fence and ran to the back of the pen into the little huts at the back.

“Mya, come back here now!” I ordered with a hushed tone; which was odd considering there was no one around that my whisper would benefit.

“I can’t see it Jessika!” Mya said, ignoring my demand and looking around some more.

I looked behind me and to my sides in a panic, which again I had no idea why. I then looked at Mya. She was running around the pen, franticly looking for the source of the bleating.

“JESSIKA! WHERE IS THE- OW!”

Mya screamed, falling to the ground after colliding with something. But the strange thing was she didn’t actually collide with anything. Nothing I could see anyway. It was almost like someone had placed a glass wall in from of Mya at the wrong moment. I opened the gate and ran to Mya’s aid, kneeling beside her.

“Are you okay, hon?” I asked her. She nodded her head.

“Yeah, I’m fine. That was weird.” She said. I chuckled. She was a brave one my sister.

“Come on, we have to go.” I said, holding Mya’s hands and pulling her up.

“Okay, I wonder where-“

“HEY YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THERE!” Bellowed an unseen voice.

Without looking or even thinking Mya and I sprinted out of the pen, out of the village and down the road we were previously walking. We ran as far as Mya’s legs could carry her, laughing the whole way. It was exciting. The thrill of danger.

Once Mya needed to stop we sat by the roadside, resting on the grass against a large tree. It took us a little while to stop laughing. Once we did stop, Mya turned to me.

“Jessika…” She started.

“Hmm?” I looked at her. She looked serious, which made me rather worried. I don’t know why.

“Do you actually know where we are going?”

Her question baffled me. She obviously knew that I had no idea what our next move was, but whether or not she knew everything was the real question. The truth was I still had no idea where we were going. So that’s exactly what I told her.

“If I’m honest hon, no. I don’t,” I revealed, a small weight being lifted. “But I promise you we will find somewhere before the sun goes down, okay?”

Mya turned silent. Her eyes suggested she was angry about something.

“You’re always lying to me.” She stated.

I was too shocked for words. I had no idea whatsoever how to respond to that. So I decided to ask her what she meant, even though deep down I knew.

“Lying? About what?”

“You lied about the mudcrabs in the basement! And about why we didn't stay in the inn last night!”

Again, I was shocked. How was I supposed to react to her revelations? Instead of retaliate with more lies, I decided to let her continue.

“I’m not a kid anymore, Jessika. I know we’ve been thrown out of our house and that we have no money. I’ve seen all the letters that you’ve been burning!”

She stunned me. She knew everything. She knew everything and I was too warped into thinking she was an idiot to realise.

I didn’t argue. I didn’t lie. I didn’t try to untangle my way out of the confrontation. Instead I cried. I cried with shame about the fact the my little sister had known all along and not said anything. She was trying to protect me by acting as if she knew nothing – NO! no, don’t do that again. Don’t assume what she’s feeling. Talk to her about it.

“I’m sorry,” I said, collecting my tears. “I’m so sorry, Mya…”

I tried to say more but my sobs wouldn’t let me. But Mya knew this. I think she knew how sorry I was as she cradled her arms around me in an embrace. She wasn’t a child anymore, or rather she didn’t act like one. She comforted me. She knew more than I ever could realise.

After a moment she eased her embrace.

“Can I ask you a question?” She said.

“Of course you can, what is it?” I responded. A rare response which didn’t leave me with any form of fear.

“What did Pranal say to you earlier? You know, when you shoo-ed me away?”

I knew my response would come easily. There was no reason to lie or shelter her anymore, however much I hated that fact.

“He told me that there was a place for the homeless to go in The Imperial City.”

“And that made you angry?”

“No,” I corrected her. “The fact that he assumed we were homeless made me angry.”

A look of cheeky guilt appeared on Mya’s face. I knew exactly why.

“Did you tell him we were homeless?”

“…Yes.” She admitted, immediately covering her tracks afterward. “But I told him to promise me that he wouldn’t tell you that I said anything. But he did.”

I smiled, looked at her guilty little face for a moment before putting her in a playful headlock. She laughed as she tried to escape. She grabbed my hair, forcing me to release her before she jumped on my stomach. We wrestled for a while before an Imperial Soldier rode by on his horse, forcing us to stop. He stared at us as he rode past, a childish snigger on our lips. Once he was away from us Mya laid on her back with her head on my lap. I began to play with her hair.

“I’m really sorry I lied to you…” I said.

“I know you are. I understand. I just wish you didn’t”

“I know hon…”

She was so grown up, and I couldn’t see it. Or maybe I didn’t want to see it. But this made me realise something. Something I really should have figured out a while ago.

Pride isn’t always a good thing. And it was pride that stopped me from going straight to The Imperial City, where it would be safe, secure and sensible to go.

Well not anymore.

This post has been edited by Andrea: May 4 2012, 01:15 AM