Fendros was already furious. Seeing his sister walk into the room with a welt developing on her cheek only made matters worse. Ahnasha's hands on his diverted his attention enough to cool down somewhat.

Llarasa crept up to her seat and sat down, staring into space and still palming her sore cheek. "Um...mother should be available in a few minutes, maybe?" Llarasa was speaking quickly and clearly trying to stay calm. "Monderyn just took her to calm her. She...she gets into hysterics, like I have said in the letters before."

"Llarasa," Fendros spoke up gently. "Are you okay? Father never hits any of us unless we misbehaved as children, what changed?"

"He does that sometimes," Llarasa bowed her head and scrunched her eyes shut. "Ever since he gave up hope trying to find you, he hits us whenever we mention you in his presence."

Fendros swallowed another wave of anger and stood up. "Sister, come here," he said as he faced Llarasa and spread his arms.

Llarasa peered up with teary eyes and stood up to embrace Fendros tightly.

"That's not fair. He shouldn't be doing that." Fendros said all he could without exploding in anger.

Underneath his outward expression, Fendros needed the acceptance from at least one family member for comfort as well. They stayed hugging for another minute until Llarasa pulled away.

"Llarasa, you..." Fendros sighed nervously. "You never mentioned that mother had damaged her eyes. Is she blind, or...?"

The reaction from Llarasa was a mix of her previous sadness and embarrassment. "Oh, that. That has been recent, actually. She's become prone to bouts of melancholy since you left. Sometimes she does...awful things. Two weeks ago, she tried to drink a poisonous magical fertiliser. It didn't kill her, thank goodness, we found her passed out before she could take a lethal dose, but...she can hardly see any more." Llarasa broke eye contact with a few blinks. "She has been taking medicine and recovering, but the healers say that she will not regain her eyesight without a medicine that cannot be found in Cyrodiil."

Fendros nodded slowly. "I see."

He was silent for another moment, but Fendros seemed to be holding his breath. Stepping back, he flopped back onto his seat and closed his eyes. One of his hand's found Ahnasha's again and it was his turn to squeeze on her fingers. "Ahna...are you sure I should talk with my mother?"

Fendros' guilt caught up to his face and he pinched at the bridge of his nose with his other hand.

Llarasa didn't sit down just yet, despite the mark on her cheek still looking painful. She clasped her hands together and regarded Ahnasha. "Mother will listen, I think. She is just shocked. I'm sorry she and father...you know..." Llarasa bit her lip and took a quick breath in and out through her nose. "Disrespected you."

[hr]
Harriet tensed her brow and frantically began looking left and right across the floor with frustration. When Lorag spoke, she looked at him and nearly lost her temper again. "Hircine's hounds, Lorag, the kid's your daughter." She leaned forward, widened her eyes, and rattled her finger against her pointed ear. "Are you even listening?"

That much attention was all Lorag got before Harriet went right back to Meesei. "And you, champion, what in Oblivion do you expect me to say? Do you want me to go up to Caleb and Vera and say sorry? Do you want me to pick my own jail senten-" She cut herself off and gestured wildly with one hand, looking around. "Do y- What is- What to you want!? I'm not gonna abandon Narsi, whatever you think I might do. I'm kinda stuck, alright?"