The Saga of Laprima Donnaugh Options

[Renee]

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Clavicus Vile

When the dream began, she found herself lying in a cart, lying in hay, lying still, half-hiding from the others. Part of her wanted to be out there with them, while another part felt quietly content to stay right there. Right in that haypile. Staying still, and keeping quiet. It's this latter, secondary part which attained.

The scene was heavily pastoral. Lots of trees, green with foliage. Sunlight and blue skies. A few puffy clouds, a perfect sort of day. The sounds of others around her. The cart she was in had been drawn off to the side, placed in shadow. The horse which had brought it here must have been tethered somewhere else. As she lay in the cart, she began to feel rather lonely. Sad, and lonely, despite the others cavorting nearby.

They were there for her. All of them, gaily awaiting her presence. Dressed in finery. The women wearing whites, pinks, and light blues. Maids and maidens. The men, dressed more somberly, but the sounds from their revelries were no less delighted and cheerful.

Where is she? Where is Laprima?

Someone was calling. A man, sounding a bit tipsy with wine, perhaps. Yet his voice contained an edge of concern. And then, the voice of one of the ladies...

We should go find her! She's probably near! She's going to miss out!

She sank lower, hiding within hay. She could hear them coming, getting nearer, occasionally calling out to her. She cowered. Not with fear, but with some sort of distress. Lonely she was, and part of her did want to join the others.

She scrunched within the hay as footsteps approached and circled the cart. She held her breath. Eventually, the footsteps moved on. Small relief; she exhaled. They hadn't discovered her. So she took a chance. Got situated upon her arms, and raised her head about a foot, attempting to peer over the cart's side. As she did so, she noticed there was a knot in its wooden planking. For no reason at all (other than, this is a dream, and in dreams we sometimes do strange things) she pushed upon this knot, and the knot fell out, leaving a hole. She squinted her left eye, viewing outside of the cart, only to see vague shapes of the departing couple, heading off into a cabin. Still calling out, still calling her name.

...And that's when she noticed the man with the dog.
...He stood off to the side of the meadow, nearer to the woods.
...He stood in shadow. He wore a jerkin of white and black. He beckoned to her.

You there! I can see you, he said quietly. Despite using a soft tone, she could hear his voice clearly, in the surreal way which dreams can magnify. I can see you, and I mean no harm. Why do not you approach me?

She felt a stab of fear. How can he view me, hiding within this cart? But then, she relaxed. For the man was merely a boy. A boy she recognized from her youth. And this boy was her brother.

Laprima! he called. Come hither, posthaste!

And so she did.

She rose from the cart, took a moment to brush stray strands of hay from her clothings, and then ran swiftly toward her brother, skirts ruffling below. She noticed that the dog which had been there a moment ago had vacated, or vanished. She looked to her brother as she drew nearer. And her brother smiled up at her in his typically mischievous way. A smile she hadn't seen since they were, in fact, both children. Her previous feelings of loneliness were gone.

You should depart! her brother said to her, dancing around her with gaited elan. Head on! Depart hence toward Solitude! And do as they say! ... These folks you see in their fabled costumes, all of them here, are of nothing to you! ... To us! .. They mean nothing! ... A wretched lot! ... So onwards must you go! ... Your man, he awaits your presence! And you shall be in high company! Just dandy! Just peachy!

She felt elation at his words. Her brother, right there before her. 'Whatever is to come, would be fine,' he was telling her, seemingly tapping within her thoughts, her hopes, her fears.

Elija, she said to him.

Yes, sister!

She was weeping by now.

Her hands raised to embrace him. But just then, a flash of emotion overcame her. A mixture of revolting sickness, and sweet delight. She recoiled, stumbled backwards in disgust...

Laprima Donnaugh awoke, bolt upright, her eyes teary. Her bed quarters around her, her 8 year-old feline dozing by her side. She'd just had a dream. Her thoughts were racing, so she consciously made an effort to remember all she could. ... Her brother .... A cart ... Some people walking by in gay costume ... A dog by the side of the forest ... Slowly, she pieced it all together. After a minute or so, she sat up in bed, inked her quill and began to scribble words quickly in her journal.

After she had recalled all she could, she realized she was in agreement with her brother. She would head to Solitude.

This post has been edited by Renee: Jan 24 2022, 02:42 PM

[Renee]

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Arrival




As Solitude's court waited for her arrival, the poshly-dressed lady who'd traveled to Skyrim entered The Winking Skeever, Solitude's inn and tavern. Dim lighting, the smell of good food. She gazed around a bit. A few patrons were sitting at tables, while a bard played her lute in the Skeever's dining area. Across the room, an innkeeper stood behind his counter. The poshly-dressed lady walked to him. She asked him a question, and the innkeeper took some time to answer. Seemingly satisfied, she ordered a drink, then sat at a nearby table.

A few moments later a man's voice called to her. "Oy, come with me wench!" he said. The voice was coming from a nearby hall. So she stood, turned, and looked round the corner. The man was walking toward her. He wore garb which perhaps looked out of place, here in Solitude's cozy tavern. Fur and bones for armor, with two skulls hanging from his belt.

"Shh!" he spoke quietly. "I overheard what you said to the barkeep. Here. Take this," he said, handing her a note. "Chamany said for you to have it."

The lady took the note, saying nothing.

"Head on to the Blue Palace, they all are waitin' for you. You never saw me, a'right?"

And the man in strange garb was gone.

With this note in hand, she finished her drink, and quickly left the tavern. Back outside, she turned to the left, and began walking briskly away. But something was happening across the courtyard, something serious, which caught her attention. A group of townspeople stood before the town's public podium. Something grim was going on, and the townspeople were watching it.

The lady stopped walking. Turned and moved back to the courtyard, to stand and watch with the others.

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Inside the Blue Palace, Elisif the Fair continued to await the presence of her highly-anticipated guest. As she did so, Falk Firebeard began to shuffle a bit. He'd been standing for over an hour, and was becoming restless. To pass the time he began to speak.

"Has she been to Skyrim before?" he asked.

Elisif's face went momentarily taut, as though her thoughts had been scattered. "She has not."

"Gracious. When is the last time you saw your niece?"

"Oh my." Elisif thought for a bit. "Not since she was a lass, I'd say. Maybe ten, eleven years' past. I was still living in the Imperial City. This was before Torygg and I met, of course. I was about twenty-five or so. Laprima was ten or eleven. We were at some sort of gala celebration, in the White Gold Tower itself. All of us dressed in our very finest. And Laprima went to hiding, or some such. She went missing, that is. None of us could find her. We were all worried of course, looking and searching all over. The little twerp was supposed to join us for supper!" Elisif began smiling as she recalled.

"So what happened?"

"Finally found her. She'd gone off exploring the tower's crypt, wretched place. Her pink little dress was all smudged with dust!" Elisif giggled a moment as she remembered. "Oh, the dawdlings of children..."

"I see," Firebeard said, absently rubbing his sidearm a bit. "Yes, 'tis good we do not remain as lads and lasses, perhaps. Imagine the world if we were all so careless. Well... many thanks for sharing."

"Many thanks," a few others murmured.

Next it was Sybille Stentor who spoke. "Are you at liberty to tell us why she is locating here now?" the court wizard asked abruptly. "In these times of possible warfare brewing about, perhaps this was a bit of a risky move. We know she and Chamany wish to be wed, soon. They could have done so within their homeland, where the lands are safer." Sybille paused, letting her observations be pondered. "And why did Sir Chamany arrive here a month ago, without his bride-to-be?"

Such a set of questions might seem like a set of unwelcome challenges to the authority of Skyrim's new leader; indeed, one of the court's servants nearly dropped her serving tray as the wizard's words sunk in! But coming from Sybille, whose job it was to know and scrutinize and possibly see all likely, upcoming events, for better or worse, the jarl seemed mostly unfazed.

"Are you suggesting Laprima could be in peril?" Elisif asked.

"It does seem odd," Falk said before the wizard could answer. "I must admit, especially the fact that she chose to come to Skyrim upon a literal barge, a cargo ship as a matter of fact. Why not ride upon one of the royal arks instead?"

"Yes, the Katariah has made the journey from Cyrodiil to Skyrim plenty-a-times," Bolgier Bearclaw added, his voice not as sure as those of the others.

"Maybe she wished not to be noticed as she arrived," Sybille spoke, answering her previous question. "This seems so, I believe. A rather mundane journey this would be, without the luxury of fluffings and her well-apportioned cabin. No Cyrodiilic brandy, no caviar'd slaughterfish eggs as she travelled. But her reception would not be heralded at all when she got here, see? ... Because maybe she does not want to arrive here as a noble. Maybe that would be ... embarrassing for her?"

Sybille began nibbling upon a bit of brioche, congratulating herself, it might seem.

"Makes sense," Firebeard agreed. "She arrives, the ship arrives, that is. The dock bursts alive with workingmen, milling about. No reception. No blasts from the bugles. No revelry at all. And niece Donnaugh arrives without fanfare."

"Perfection," the court wizard replied, wiping a crumb from her lip. As always, it seemed she hadn't really eaten the bun she'd nibbled upon, only chewed it a bit with her incisors. "An arrival without fanfare. I applaud the miss."

"We applaud the miss," Firebeard pumped the air triumphantly with his fist. "By the graces of the Eight."

"By the graces of the Eight," murmured Elisif's court.

Silence fell for a few moments, with only the Blue Palace's soothing music keeping the sudden lull of chatting voices from becoming awkward. Until finally...

"What's taking so long?" Elisif asked. "Falk. Are you sure you sent word to the guards that my niece is to be here on this day, Frostfall the twenty-fourth?"

And Falk Firebeard did not have an immediate answer to his lady's query.

It was as if the entire world had shifted a bit, an earthquake had occurred beneath their feet perhaps, the palace's walls had begun to crumble perhaps, the entire natural stone arch which held Solitude over the sea had begun to break apart perhaps. Because for once, Falk Firebeard did not have an immediate answer to his lady's query.

"I uh..."

"Well, listen. It is fine. It is not of any worry or concern," Elisif said soothingly. "Let us not become fussy. It is not as if Laprima has fallen prey to maliciousness, right? Just ... we shall do it now. We shall call the guard now. GUARDS!" she hollered, while Falk began to sulk.

"Yes, milady," answered one of Solitude's finest. He had appeared so quickly up the stairs, it was as if he'd been listening to their words all along.

"Head down toward the docks," Firebeard commanded, taking over. "See and inquire if our lady's niece has arrived. Her name is Laprima."

"Yes, milord."

The guard began to move downstairs just as quickly as he'd come. But before he could get far there was a bit of commotion, coming from the palace's entry foyer. The Blue Palace's doors were heard opening wide, and the sound of footsteps began to echo toward the court.
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