Chapter 3
“Titus?”
Titus rolled over in bed, exposing his naked body from under the blankets. The 7:00 a.m sun shined through his and his brother’s window and he did his best to block out his mother’s voice. He knew it was a futile gesture but he liked to try.
“Titus!?” Amy yelled, louder this time and after opening his door.
“…What?” Titus answered groggily.
“Get up.” Amy barked, needing none of her son’s lip after last night. “And put some underwear on man. You don’t need all your business all over your sheets.”
“Those sheets have seen so much of his business you might as well burn ‘em.” Stephen said while sitting on his bed trying to wake up. He was in a soft pair of shorts but no shirt, exposing his flabby but strong chest.
“Shut up dick.” Titus said irritably.
Amy sighed and rolled her eyes. Both of her boys, and Alice, had a problem getting up in the morning, mainly because they all stayed up too late. Titus was the worst because half the time he was out with a girl at all hours of the night or was out drinking on the weekends. Most of the family enjoyed a good glass of beer or mead but Titus took it a bit too far. He wasn’t a drunk but he loved to socialize and be with people and drinking was the best way to do both of those. It was great for a boy his age to have so much fun but it was getting in the way of his studies and that was a big problem.
On the nights he went out he’d get up sometime in the afternoon and that made it very difficult to keep a good sleep schedule for the next day. This was one of those cases. Yesterday was Sundas and he hadn’t gotten up till 12:30. Now it was 7:00 Mondas morning and he was dragging his feet. Most of the time his parents would have to tell him three or four times to get up and sometimes as a warning they’d just let him sleep through and be late. That, along with steadily decreasing spending money and several weeks of grounding seemed to help the responsibility message sink in but he had a long way to go.
“Stephen, please make sure your brother’s out of bed in the next five minutes. That’s when breakfast is on the table and it won’t last long.”
“We’ll be right down mom.” Stephen said.
Amy left to let the boys wake up and headed over to the girls’ room. Cilla was already up and downstairs but Alice had yet to rise. Titus rolled his legs over to the side of the bed, gave his package a good scratch and got up to find a pair of pants. “Gods she’s annoying. I was gonna get up on my own.”
“Yeah, right.” Stephen said. “Just like last Loredas when you slept in till 10.”
“Hey that wasn’t my fault.” Titus said. “Everybody left early that day. Mom should have gotten me up.”
“There are these things called clocks you know. They tell you what time it is so you know when to get up? You might have heard of those.” Stephen said, giving a cheeky smile. Clocks were one of the few Dwemer inventions cheap and practical enough to be reverse engineered and widely manufactured by modern Tamriel. They allowed more efficient use of the day than telling time by the sun, even though most people did that anyway, and they made for more precise meeting times. Particularly for things like appointments, meetings and when children should be at school. Whether or not they met that time was another matter.
“Yeah, yeah, shut up smartass.” Titus growled back, finding a pair of brown cloth pants and a red shirt to go with it. “C’mon. I’m up. Let’s just go get some breakfast.”
“Sounds good.” Stephen said, throwing on a simple black mage robe over his shorts. “How’d you sleep?”
“Pretty well, given the circumstances.” Titus answered. “How ‘bout you?”
“I slept okay.” Stephen said. “Spent a lot of time thinking about today. About what might happen to mom and dad, or maybe us if we’re unlucky. I’m worried Titus.”
“We’re gonna be fine Stephen.” Titus said, his grumpiness replaced by genuine concern for his brother. Stephen was a lot like Alice in that he thought about the future a lot. He didn’t have any divination powers but was utterly fascinated by his sisters’ and made every effort to understand what was going on with her. Alice and Titus were identical twins and were closer to each other than to Stephen but they both greatly respected the power he wielded and they both loved him very much. He was the eldest child of the family and had been a good big brother. He helped teach Alice and Titus from time to time and in return they helped him with other things. Stephen was a relatively quiet and introverted guy and he hadn’t been able to find any love in his young life. He had a few good friends but wasn’t incredibly popular. Many times this caused him to doubt himself and to doubt his value in comparison to other, more popular young men his age. Next to his parents, Alice was the best listener and she was always happy to listen to whatever was on her brother’s mind. She was a muse, a counselor and sometimes a shoulder to cry on for him. It did good for both of them. It helped them relieve each other’s tensions by giving them a non-parental figure to vent to and someone who would really listen to what was going on no matter what. And someone who really understood how the other felt.
Titus helped his brother socialize more. He took him out to taverns and pubs to help him meet people and helped him exercise to stay in shape, along with their dad. They didn’t talk as much as Stephen and Alice did but they were able to talk about guy things, things that they couldn’t talk about with anyone else. After they got dressed Stephen and Titus headed downstairs to join the others. The smell of crispy pork bacon, peppered scrambled eggs and fresh biscuits greeted them as soon as they entered the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Amy headed over to the girls’ room to wake Alice. She had had a hard night and was probably tired. They were both tired, as was Simus, but they all had work to do. They would go to their meeting and get this over with and Stephen, Titus, Alice and Cilla would all go to school and go about a normal day. Alice was slow to get up after a having a vision during the night and sometimes she woke up sick or drained of energy but she most of all needed to go to school today. If she just sat here at home she’d desperately try and see how this would turn out and all she’d end up doing is divine herself right into a worry spell. That would drive her crazy and any rest she would say would happen wouldn’t end up happening. Amy could not and would not have that for her. She loved her little faerie far too much to let her do that to herself. She’d go to school today, be with her friends, be around people, learn things, be happy and engaged.
Amy thought over these things as she got to the girl’s room and knocked on the door.
“Alice?” Amy called. “Sweetheart, you need to get up. Breakfast is on the table in a few minutes.”
Alice was snug in bed and very reluctant to wake up. She was exhausted from last night and rolled over on her side against the bedroom wall to block out the rays of sunshine coming in through her window. She loved to sleep, much more than anyone else in her family. She actually enjoyed sleeping and slept in her footy pajamas and curled up in bed under her two quilts and soft cotton sheet whenever possible, especially on rainy days or mornings. Most of her family did take naps to a degree however. Titus loved gorging himself due to an active lifestyle and needed to sleep it off for a bit. Cilla was too young and energetic for naps most of the time but Titus had the bad habit of encouraging her to eating contests and that produced a nap with her right and proper. Sometimes they would nap together and that was always a cute sight for their mother. She enjoyed naps on the weekends when she didn’t have to work and sometimes took a nap with Alice and Cilla on rainy days or when Simus was away on business. He only ever took naps in special circumstances but he liked to doze for a few minutes when he got home. Stephen was the same way.
Amy opened the door and walked into the room, softly stroking Alice’s hair. She stirred under the covers and rolled in such a way as to get hit by the orange sunlight.
“Alice?” Amy asked softly
“Mmmmm…” She moaned, slowly opening her eyes. “Hi mama.” She said groggily.
“C’mon sweetheart, it’s time to get up.” Amy said.
“I don’t wanna…I’m too tired. Please let me sleep.” Alice mumbled.
“You’ve got to get up Alice. You staying in bed isn’t going to help anybody. Breakfast is on the table and you’re gonna be late for school if you don’t get moving. Now get up missy.”
Amy yanked the quilts off of Alice’s bed in order to “encourage” her to get moving. She gave an irritated groan and stretched out her now exposed footies-clad body but reluctantly got up. She could feel that her hair was a mess, something she could never get away from while in bed. She needed to comb it before she allowed herself to be seen by other humans and she also needed to put on some foundation so she didn’t look like the walking dead. Probably some black mascara and eyeshadow too, to create that cool dark look she liked that complimented her skin well. Not lipstick though. She always wanted to try and lick it off and then it got all flaky and gross as it peeled off her lips and it was just something she didn’t want to deal with without a special occasion. Like a meeting with an imperial official, or her birthday, or the few times she went out with Titus to a tavern in order to try and meet guys. That was something surprisingly hard for her given her popularity with the teachers at the Arcane University and all the students who weren’t extraordinarily shallow. There weren’t many of them since teenage boys were idiots and teenage girls fed off of drama, but they were there.
Sighing, Alice reluctantly got out of bed and headed over to the bathroom across the hall. After giving a big yawn and examining herself in the mirror she decided she at least needed to wash her hair and face. She unzipped her pajamas and tied them at the waist after doing her morning lady business in the covered chamber pot. As she was brushing her hair, her mother called out again.
“Alice!?”
“Yeah?!” She answered.
“That water in the tub is cold. Dad and Cilla were the last to use it. Go ahead and undo the drain plug and I’ll run you another bath while you’re downstairs okay?”
“Okay.” Alice answered. “Thanks mom.”
“You’re welcome sweetheart. Come down soon okay? You guys need to leave in about fourty-five minutes.” Amy said.
“Okay! I will! Make sure Titus doesn’t eat everything well you!?” Alice said.
“Don’t worry, he’s just now getting moving. There’s enough for everybody.” Amy said.
“I could have slept at least another fifteen minutes.” Alice mumbled to herself as she started putting on her two shades darker foundation. “Oh well, it’s nice to have a bit of time to wake up I suppose.”
“You’re talking to yourself!” Amy called from downstairs.
“Gods dam…sorry!” Alice called. “I’m almost done!”
After combing her hair reasonably well and splashing some water on her face, Alice decided against putting on her makeup right now. She was going to bathe and get dressed after breakfast and she’d have to doll herself up all over again afterwards. She capped the jar of foundation and rinsed the brush, then put it away for later, next to her mascara, eyeshadow and lipstick. She rubbed her eyes to get a few crust spots out, than opened the door to head downstairs. Titus was leaning against the wall across from the bathroom, waiting for her to be done.
“Took you long enough,” Titus said cheekily. “Especially considering you haven’t put your face on yet.”
“Well that’s a fine ‘how do you do?’” Alice said irritably, in no mood for her brother’s antics. He stepped aside to let her by but didn’t head into the bathroom right away. He lingered and she thought that was odd. “You waiting for something?”
“Just need to do some business.” Titus said. There were bags under his sister’s eyes and he felt a little bad for her. She hadn't slept well and he didn't need three guesses to figure out why. He didn't want to provoke her though, so he played innocent. “Is that water hot?” He asked, gesturing to the stone tub in the bathroom.
“No.” Alice said “It’s cold. Dad and Cilla used it, probably fifteen or twenty minutes ago. Mom’s gonna run some more while we eat. Would you mind if I took the first crack at it?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.” Titus said, running his right hand through his smooth shoulder length hair and pushing it back behind his ears. He did that when he was worried. “How’d you sleep?”
“Not so great.” Alice said, seeing no point in lying to him. Titus was a fool sometimes but he was trustworthy and his heart was always in the right place, even if his head was in another place altogether. “I was in bed for eight but I only got six, maybe six and half hours of unbroken rest.”
“You uh…you have a vision?” Titus asked, careful not to antagonize his sister. She was sensitive about discussing what she had seen and didn’t like to talk about it with anyone besides their parents. She got defensive when pressed and would shut someone out if she felt threatened. Titus asked more often than their other siblings and he had learned to ask in a nonspecific way. It made Alice more willing to talk and she knew he only ever asked because he wanted to help her. Most of the time he couldn't but it was sweet that he tried and Alice wanted to reward her brother for that. They bickered and pranked on each other like all siblings did but at the end of the day they trusted each other and so far neither had betrayed that trust.
“…Yeah. I did.” Alice said.
“You allright?” Titus asked.
“Yeah. I’m okay. I talked to mom about it last night.” He said.
“That’s good.” He said. “What um…what did you see?”
“I’d…rather not talk about it.” Alice said honestly. “Mom and I talked it over and I’m okay. I promise Titus.”
“Okay.” Titus said, nodding his head. “Just…looking out for you, you know?”
“And I appreciate that.” Alice said with a smile. “Let’s go get some breakfast okay?”
“Yeah.” Titus said. “That’s a good idea.”
The twins headed downstairs to the kitchen to find the rest of their family attending to breakfast. Simus was in a collard green shirt, a tan pair of blacksmithing pants and a brown pair of boots over those. He was at the table sipping a cup of coffee and there was half a plate of eggs and bacon next to him. He ate half-heartedly while he scanned his broadsheet of the Black Horse Courier. The story about rising crime in The Waterfront and the minor recession in the Temple District due to the ban of Talos icons didn't interest him. He was just trying not to think about today, despite being up since six thirty and tossing about most of last night thinking about it. Amy hadn't slept much better, even without Alice coming to get her. It was more of a relief than a burden really, as she had something else to focus on. They both put on a brave and calm face for their children though. They would get through this day.
Cilla sat across from her father with a plate of eggs and toast, not worried at all about today. She was the only one who had truly slept soundly. Partly because of her absolute faith in her parents and partly because of the warm glass of milk her mother gave her before bed and the overfeeding her mother gave her at dinner. She had gotten good, comfortable rest after her mama’s cuddling and had gotten up refreshed for it. She was the first to get up today besides her parents and her mother had helped her bathe and get dressed while Simus woke up. She was in a long olive green dress with short sleeves today and a soft long sleeve blue shirt underneath that as well as a matching pair of blue leggings under her dress and a brown pair of ankle length boots. It was a cold fall morning so Amy had given Cilla the shirt and leggings to keep her warm, as well as her brown leather jacket to put on before she headed off with her siblings.
Titus walked over to the stove and greeted them both as he got a plate of food. Alice shuffled not far behind, the only one still in her pajamas. She had time so it wasn't a big deal, but it was indicative of how tired she was.
“Morning Dad, morning Cilla.” She said, pouring herself a cup of tea from the pot her mother had prepared for them.
“Hi Alice! Hi Titus!” Cilla chirped between bites of toast.
“Hi sweetheart.” Simus said, putting down his coffee and smiling up at his elder daughter. “You get to sleep okay after you and mama talked?”
“No, not really” Alice said, sitting down with her food. Her pajamas tightened up in the butt as she sat and loosened up in the front. She was thankful they didn’t have a drop seat because the straps closing it tended to become undone when she sat. It was more practical to just not have a back door and undo her pajamas completely when nature called. A drop seat was an extra expense added onto an already expensive article of clothing so it was good that she didn’t like them.
“I’m pretty tired today.” She said to her dad.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” He said. “Well, just try and get through the day and you can take a nap when you get home. We’ll probably all need one before the day is out.”
He took another sip of coffee.
“Mama told me you were pretty shaken up from your vision last night. You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay.” Alice said. “Mama and I talked about what I saw last night and I’d rather not go through it again. I’m sorry I woke you guys up. You would have slept better if I had just kept to myself.”
“It’s all right honey.” Simus said, smiling at her and rubbing her shoulder. It felt good and she smiled up at her father. “Your mom and I need to know what’s going on with you, and if you have to get us up at three in the morning to talk about it than that’s okay. Granted I wish you didn’t because we would indeed sleep better but it’s okay if you have to.”
He gently placed his right fingers under Alice’s chin and lifted it up so they were eye level. “It’s never something we get mad at you about, so don’t you start feeling guilty about it. Okay?”
“Okay.” Alice said. “I won’t. Maybe later I’ll feel like talking about it, just not right now okay?”
“Okay.” Simus said. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. Right now just eat your breakfast and get ready for school. We’re gonna be just fine today."
“Do you want some more tea Alice?” Cill asked, now done with her breakfast and out of her chair. She was getting ready to take her plate and cup over to the sink to be washed later. “I can get some for you while I’m up?”
“Awww, thank you Cilla.” Alice said, smiling at her little sister. She was so sweet and she was cute as a basket of kittens. She didn’t understand what was really going on here but that was a blessing, not a determent. It gave her clarity and peace of mind that the rest of her family didn’t have right now. “I’d love some more tea. No sugar though, just make it plain.”
“Okay!” Cilla said, putting her dishes away and getting her sister’s drink.
“Thanks.” Alice said. “Can I have a hug too?”
“Sure!” Cilla said. She loved hugs and cuddling just as much as her sister and as the baby of the family she got plenty of both. She was chubby enough to be cute and huggable, but not enough to be overweight or unhealthy. It was mostly baby fat that would go away when she hit puberty. Even though their mother taught and enforced good eating habits for everyone she had a big soft spot for Cilla. They loved to snuggled together and have tickle fights with Alice. It was a sight when all three of them were in their pajamas and the sight of Cilla’s in hers, which were tight enough to emphasize her chubbiness, was nothing less than heart-meltingly adorable. On rainy days, Cilla and Alice would stay in their pajamas all day and read or color together. Sometimes Alice would nap and Cilla would color by herself and Amy would watch from their bedroom door, savoring the moment as only a mother could.
Cilla was slowly growing up though. She was still very much a child and would be for some time but she wasn’t a little baby anymore. Amy still filled her with enough bread and cake to keep her just a bit too chubby and her round little belly just a bit too big big but it was a delicate balance. One that really couldn’t be maintained as Cilla got older but right now she was her mama’s little bunny and by Talos she would be stay that way forever!
Alice finished her breakfast and the two sisters hugged, enjoying each other’s warm, safe arms on this cold morning. Amy came down in time to watch and smiled. She got her daughers’ attention and all three of them hugged, Amy using an arm to hold each of them close to her and the girls hugging her chest and waist. Stephen allowed them their moment and Titus didn’t care but Simus looked on and smiled. The moment of love reassured all of them, reminding them that the bonds of love and family were too strong for even the Thalmor to break. That was one thing they could never take away.
Over the next forty minutes everyone had finished their breakfast and gotten ready to leave. Alice got to the clean warm bath her mother had prepared for her and was in there a bit longer than she should have been but was able to make it out and get ready in time. She was the last one out the door. She had nearly forgotten her brown leather book bag and purse but she had made up for it by looking good for today. She had gone with the black mascara and eyeshadow as planned along with the foundation and some light pink blush on her cheeks. Not so much that it looked fake and tacky but enough to give her white face a little colour. She was in a blue dress similar to the one she wore with her outfit yesterday but the short sleeves had a bit of puff to them and ended at above her elbows in a small ring of pretty white lace. The three buttons were silver instead of brass and the top was left undone and there was no shirt underneath this dress. The skirt was a bit longer; going down to just above her knees and was looser than her skirt yesterday. Not loose enough to be baggy or hoopy. Alice wore a pair of footed blue leggings under the dress with alternating dark blue and light blue stripes and a black pair of knee high riding boots over them. Unlike her boots from yesterday, which were the same length but brown and relatively plain besides the zipper, these had a golden buckle at the ankle to spice things up a bit. Alice also wore her regular jewelry consisting of a polished silver sapphire ring and a pair of polished silver sapphire earrings. They were her favorite pair, a birthday present when she was twelve. She looked damn good today and that gave her energy, confidence and a bounce in her step as she caught up with Titus, Stephen and Cilla.
Amy waved them all off as they made their way to the Arcane University, then Simus joined her at the front door of the house.
“Well, looks like we got everybody out in the face of extreme whining and feet dragging. Congratulations mama.” He said, smiling at their four children in the distance, their four babies.
“Yep, mission accomplished.” She said, turning to her husband of equal height. “I guess we should get ourselves out now?”
“Maybe.” Simus said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t know. We’ll only be at the shop for an hour or so before we have to leave. You really think we should go in today?”
“Well, I guess we don’t have to. Not before the appointment anyway.” Amy said. “We might want to stop by there thought. Let Lucius and Arianna know what’s going on. They do open today, right?”
“Yeah, yeah they should be. That’s what we told ‘em last week considering the busy season’s coming. Games and all. We don’t know how long we’ll be at the Embassy, do we?”
“No, no we don’t.” Amy said. “It all depends on what they want from us but I don’t expect us to be done any time before noon, then we’ll have to get some lunch.”
“Then I guess we could go to the shop in the afternoon, work for a few hours. Did we get that order of steel swords done last week?” Simus asked.
“We did.” Amy said. “Lucius and Arianna are supposed to run those over to the Arena today. They’ll probably take care of that this morning. They know what to do.”
“Well…okay then.” Simus said. “It’s eight now, we don’t have to leave till about nine-thirty…we’ve got about an hour and a half to kill.”
“Yeah, I guess we do.” Amy said. “Kids are off to school, chores are done. What do you propose we do?”
“Well…” Simus began with a mischievous look. “We could…fool around.”
“Eh…We do that I’ll have to change and get ready again. We’re dressed and ready to go now. Let’s just keep it that way.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Simus said. “Well, let’s at least go inside for a while.”
They headed inside and stayed idle for the next hour and a half, doing whatever pleased them and could keep their mind occupied. Amy did the dishes and activated the self-cleaning enchantments on the girls’ footies while Simus tinkered with the alchemy table and experimented when how hot the boiler could get before it started to smoke. Neither distraction worked very well and by the time nine-thirty rolled around they were relieved to get going. Simus threw on his light gray cloak, Amy buttoned up her think black overcoat over her long blue work dress, she grabbed her black purse and both of them were off.
The Imperial City was as large, broad and whitewashed as it had been during the Oblivion Crisis and before the Great War thirty years ago but it wasn’t the same. The Aldmeri Dominion had destroyed much of the city during the war and ransacked the White-Gold Tower itself. The city was in ruins when the Empire returned to retake it. Simus and Amy remembered that day, being greeted by crumbing, pockmarked walls and the ruined tops of buildings. Their once great city provided no welcome after that bloody and terrible morning on Red Ring Road. Even now, when everything was rebuilt and the City’s wealth restored, the memories lingered. The eternal capital of Tamriel didn’t feel so eternal anymore. It just wasn’t the same.
For fifteen minutes Simus and Amy walked side by side in silence, concentrating on the sights and sounds of the city. The footsteps of people going to and fro, the babble of a dozen different conversations at once, the hustle and bustle of traders and customers in the Market District. This city, their city, was always alive, always moving and thriving. They loved this city. The have fought for it, they had bled for it, they had raised their children here and hopefully they would die here.
Soon they reached the prison district and there was a marked change in the scenery. High Elves were rare anywhere else in the city but here they had an entire enclave to themselves. Bosmer and Khajiit were also here in appreciable quantities but Altmer made up the majority. There were just as many Thalmor soldiers and robed mages as there were Imperial Watchmen, Legionnaires in heavy imperial armor and some of the Empire’s finest troops. Beggars lined the streets asking for food or a coin and many were being led in and out of the prison. A circular stone wall with an arched gateway was in front of the Thalmor Embassy, separating it and it’s carefully tended grounds and fountains from the rest of the district. The gateway was guarded by two soldiers in elven armor and a mage in Thalmor robes. The mage was in a small building in front of the gateway that had a side window for him to look out at anyone trying to enter and a large crystal that activated and deactivated the invisible enchantments barring entry in and out of the gateway. When the Imperials came up to the window, the soldiers had their elven swords and shields ready and stopped Simus and Amy as they tried to enter.
“Halt.” The mage said from his window. “State your business.”
“We have an appointment.” Simus said. “Simus and Amy Psyrakon.”
The mage looked at a scroll and wrote something down with a quill. “Very well, you’re clear to go in. Wait just a moment while I lower the enchantments.”
He waved his hand at the crystal behind him and an invisible layer of air shimmered in front of the gateway. “Go on in.” He said.
“Thank you.” Amy said.
Both of them took a deep breath and walked through the gateway and walked towards the oak doors that were the entrance to the embassy. They held hands, realizing that they were really here and had done all they could to prepare for it. The rest was up to the gods.
