[i]6th Day in The Imperial City; The Merchant’s Inn[/i] A room with a view. If by view, they meant the back alleys of The Imperial City - then yes, this was a room with a view. This was just one of the many gripes that the young Bretonian Mage had with her current dwellings. Still, they had provided her a larger bed and had been able to find softer pillows too. It could be worse, she could be in Riverwood again, a place she had spent far too much time lately. If she thought on it hard enough she could still smell the livestock, shit, and sweaty farmers. She scowled up at the ceiling before rising from the bed. She made her way to the dresser, opening the first drawer to find her latest procurement's - a small vial of lavender essence. She opened the vial and tipped it against her wrists, massaging it against the delicate skin until she could smell the subtle fragrance. Her hair too, was a mess - a tangled mess of long blonde locks to her waist - something would need to be done about it. For a while longer than a normal denizen of Tamriel might admit, she sat running her fingers through the waves, tucking, braiding, and fastening until it all came together in a delicate knot of plaits at her shoulders, the bottom layers cascading down her back. Time for the piece de resistance - her new garment. A half robe with an asymmetrical hem, in an ombre wash of lilac to violet to maroon at the very bottom. She fastened the buttons at the front of the decolletage neckline - noticing that it gave her breasts a slight lift - she admired her overall silhouette. Coming to The Imperial City just for a robe - but it wasn’t [i]just[/i] a robe. This was haute couture - a blend of velveteen and silks. This truly was an exquisite creation, down to every last detail. There were magenta threads spun through the back to create the shapes of flowers. The trousers were not quite so exciting, a beige colour with thicker fabric padded over the thighs and calves - providing a touch more protection from anything sharp. The final touch was a filigree gold corset belt around the middle. Delicate - the handiwork of the Altmer. She smiled as she ran her hands down her own body, feeling effervescent - like the Lady of a Manor. She was ready to be on her way out of the City now, and she gathered her things, packing away her bag with efficiency - everything had its place in there. Her staff slipped so easily into the back of the robe too. As she sauntered down the stairs of the Inn, she caught a glimpse of Cassius, and she made sure that he saw her too - alerting him to her presence with a soft clearing of her throat. “I’ll be taking my leave now, good barkeep. Thank you for the stay and your hospitality... “ she let her steel grey eyes scan the room, and she spotted an older looking gentleman - a Redguard sitting on his own in the corner, nursing an ale. “I just, I wanted to visit a few more landmarks but I’m not quite sure how to get there…” her voice raised a little - the Redguard’s ears pricked and he looked up at her “I’m a local Ma’am… I can show you…!” The ale was slurring his speech but that was perfect. She could see from his attire that he was an adventurer of sorts - perhaps even Military. He probably didn’t have too much gold to his name but he might have a coin or two to buy a true Lady a decent meal… After all, the food in the Inn was shit. Cassius took Raelynn’s hand as she descended the last step - his touch repulsed her but she smiled through it, taking from her bag a small pouch of Septims with her left hand, as she pulled away the right from the Barkeep’s grasp - she passed him the pouch, to which he responded; “Err, Miss Hawkford this feels a little lighter than wha-” “I’m sorry my friend” she began softly, cutting him off, her voice like honey “I thought we had agreed to this, I did take a look at your back and gave you a treatment did I not… Was this not to be counted towards my stay?” she tilted her head to the side, eyes widening like a little girl. “Oh, yeah… err, I forgot about that…” the disappointment sounded in his voice. She had looked at his back, yes, and maybe she had laid a hand on it but for some reason it actually felt slightly worse… “I’ll be on my way then Cassius...” The Redguard stood to attention as Raelynn approached, a faux naive glimmer in her eye as she recoiled inside while he bent out his arm for her to take. “So… my friend, where shall we go to get some [i]real[/i] food around here…” [center]_____________________________________________________[/center] Stuffed full of pheasant roast, and peasant soldier out of sight, Raelynn began to make her way out of the City - she had gotten what she came for - and yes it had been worth it. She was turning heads; people were even gasping at her beauty. She felt radiant. It wasn’t until people began screaming that she realised the reaction wasn’t for her at all she turned on her heel to face an onslaught of airships coming her way. There were Dwemer bursting forth from them, and suddenly Dwemer Spheres were rolling through the very same alleyways that had been her peaceful view. They now ran with blood. It all happened so quickly. A Spider lunged at her - set to kill, a City Guard stepped in with his sword; a fool. “Run M’lady - RUN! ALL OF YOU!” he yelled out - barely seconds had passed that he had finished the Spider, a Sphere ambushed him, the sword carving right through his midriff - pavement painted crimson as his insides tumbled outside. It had happened too quickly. A tidal wave of people came crashing towards the Breton, in her shock she could only do the same, run and run - eventually growing tired she dipped into an empty alleyway - a chorus of screams and violence. She could hear lightning somewhere, but couldn’t see anything. [i]"What is the meaning of this?"[/i] No idea of where she was, how far from the city gates, or how soon her demise was to be, she stood with her back flat against the wall of the alley - looking to her left and right while breathing heavily, getting her breath back. She had only seconds to decide her actions now. Nobody was going to save her this time, for the first time in her life, she might have to save herself.