Other Fan Fiction ❯ A Trip to Tamriel ❯ Pushed and Cheated ( Chapter 3 )

Sore, so very, very sore…

 

*~*~*~*~*Loading Chapter Three….*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Jess looked about her, and after her legs no longer burned and her collar bone ceased to ache so badly, she got up, brushed herself off, and continued off towards the city. She tried skipping at one point, but her legs threatened to collapse again, so she just walked. It seemed to take forever to cross the bridge, but it was still a nice walk. Out on the lake she thought she saw a very large fish jump up out of the water, but the only evidence of it being there was the ripple in the water. A breeze blew and disturbed all of the lake water, and sent her hair flying around her face. Jess laughed and straightened her hair out, pulling it in front of her left shoulder. The bridge itself was very well built, yet at the same time seemed old. Once she made her way to the other side, she looked up at the city's gates. It was an unusually steep climb up the packed down dirt path. To the left of the entrance was a stable, and several horses of different breeds within the fenced off area. She saw a green person, with a protruding lower jaw and sharp teeth. She realized that this was an orc, and to her horror she noted that it was a woman. She averted her gaze, surprised at the ugly features that orcs had. Jess found herself feeling very grateful for her own appearance, even if she wasn't exactly the fairest person ever.

There was a guard standing nearby the entrance, who greeted her as she went through the doors. As she passed under them she wondered how much effort it took to close these massive wooden structures at night. The doors had intricate carvings in them, and reminded her of a combination of Celtic and church influences.

Now that she had passed through the threshold, she gazed in amazement at the city. This was only a small section of it, but it was still a sight to behold. The buildings were made of stone, also white to light grey, and stood two stories tall. Now she was thinking about the different Roman diagrams and models of the cities there, and decided that the theme fit well. The roads were either straight or curved in a very wide arch. The roads were relatively short, and lead to massive wooden doors, which assumedly lead to other sections of the city. There were three other doors, not including the ones she walked in through, and this place was completely covered by shops. Each door to a building here had some sign hanging over it. She read the names of the stores to herself; Merchants Inn, Jensine's Good as New Merchandise, Stonewall Shields… There seemed to be a shop for everything. Some store names confused her, though, like the Guilded Carafe. Curious, she stepped inside to see what it was all about. There was only one other customer here at the moment, but the splendor of the store nearly took her breath away. There were many candles lit, and numerous vials with tiny labels on them. There were also strange glass things, of whose function she could not guess.

The lady behind the counter, who was dressed in a very lovely blue dress, addressed Jess in a dry way, “Good day, and welcome! Do you need help locating anything?” Jess shook her head wordlessly and just darted out of the store. Talking to strangers made her feel nervous, but she still wanted to look around. A store called Divine Elegance also caught her eyes, so she peeked in. There were different styles and colors of dresses, trousers, shoes and pants all over the place. The lady who ran this store was a High Elf, or as they called themselves… Oh, what was it, Altmer? Jess asked herself. Altmer sounded about right, so Jess entered, hoping no one spoke to her. There were mostly women in this store, with the exception of one man who seemed to have been dragged along by his wife. Or girlfriend. Jess couldn't tell. A Breton lady took notice of her, and in an irritatingly high pitched voice exclaimed, “My word! I've never seen such clothing. Where are you from, child? And where on Tamriel did you get such clothing?” Jess groaned on the inside as the lady hustled over to her, and took her off to the side. The outburst had gotten the attention of everyone in the store, and apparently the lady decided to now try and be discreet by whispering, “Goodness, clothes like that are hardly suitable for a young lady. Your clothes hardly leave anything to the imagination! And that shirt, that shirt! I can almost see through it. My dear, I insist that you get something better suited for you. Anything, really. Oh, but I suppose that would explain why you're here, wouldn't it?” Not wanting to argue with her, Jess just nodded. She felt far too awkward to protest or speak any words at all.

The Breton lady led Jess over to a dressing room, and tossed her a more lady-like dress. She also was handed some shoes. At first Jess considered declining the offer, but decided that it would be best if she blended in a little more. She didn't want to get rid of her clothes, and especially not her original shoes, so she did her best to cram them inside of her sack. The shoes still poked out considerably, but it was about as good as they'd be.

She looked over the dress, and was happy that it was green in color. Green went best with her hair and eyes, anyway. The material was cotton, and the exact shade was a dark green. It dipped at the chest a little, but it was square shaped, not a `V'. Around the chest area was black velvet, framed by yellow lace. The skirt part of it had plenty of extra material to it, so spinning around would be fun indeed. It traveled all the way down to just past her ankles. The shoes were also green, with a similar design to it. They weren't as sturdy as her sneakers, but still seemed like they wouldn't fall apart in a few days or anything. After getting dressed, she cautiously stepped out of the dressing room. Again, the Breton's voice rang out to her, “Wonderful! Now you look like a real lady. Well, don't be shy! You had far more to be embarrassed about in that sad excuse of garb you were wearing just a moment ago. Come on, come on!”

Jess emerged fully from the room, carrying her sack with her. She tried again to tuck the sneakers in the sack, but to no avail. People seemed to go back to what they were doing, so Jess felt a little more at ease. The Breton lady began rambling again, and as hard as Jess tried to ignore her she couldn't. She had said something about expecting payment back for the clothes, and how Jess could repay her by helping out around the house. She didn't even know her name, and already this lady was trying to make her an indentured servant? As of right now she only had a year left to be here, and she didn't intend to spend it working for her. In a quiet voice Jess asked how much the clothes had cost. The Breton seemed surprised, and so said, “Oh! You can talk? I didn't realize! You had been so quite, I had assume you were a mute! Well, right, right… Oh, but I never properly introduced myself! My name is Elizabeth Burxton. Samuel Burxton's wife. And who might you be?” Jess felt annoyed that she had dodged the question, but answered her as politely as she could manage, “My name is Jessica Tidwell. But you still haven't answered my question about how much I owe you.”

“Oh, yes…” Elizabeth took a moment to think, assumedly to add up the total of the shoes and dress. She soon said, “About… 15 septims. That should cover everything.” Jess found herself feeling more and more agitated with Elizabeth. “About 15? You mean you don't know?” Elizabeth's face paled a little, and she pouted. “Don't sound so sour! My goodness, I said it's 15, it's 15! No guessing about it. Now, come along, you can help me out today!” Jess needed to ask one last question before she went off with her, “How long will I have to work for you to pay off my debt?” Elizabeth thought on it, and said, “Oh, let's see… Two months should do it. One and a half if you work hard enough.”

It was at this point that Jess solidified the idea that she would most definitely just ditch her, or possibly even kill her. There was no way she'd do that. She wasn't too sure how many units of measurement for money there were here, but 15 septims couldn't be that much, after all, it was just for some clothes. Nice clothes, true, but just clothing all the same. She still followed Elizabeth, since she still wasn't too sure about the customs here and didn't want to start any issues of the legal nature. They walked out of the district they were currently in to one that also had two story buildings, but here nearly every place was residential. There was one inn, and from what Elizabeth said about it seemed a very popular place for the upper class.

They took a turn down an ally and Elizabeth showed her into what Jess could only assume was her home. The place was well furnished with many nice things, right down to the smallest of detail. Colorful tapestries hung on the walls, the table and chairs were made of polished oak, and the silverware was just that. Silver. Or at least a silver alloy. A man, garbed in a set of red robes emerged from a basement door, clutching a book in his hand. He seemed startled to see a stranger in his home, and asked, “Dear, who is this? Don't tell me you're still trying to trick someone into working for you…” A few questions started to buzz in Jess' head, and she could feel the curiosity itch at her tongue. Elizabeth snapped at him sternly, “Samuel! Be quiet! I know how often you complain about your study being a mess, and I never have time to help you with it, but look here! She owes me some money, so she's going to work her debt off by helping out here. I didn't trick her at all.” Jess gave Elizabeth a questioning look and calmly stated, “I beg to differ, you made me feel awkward about my native clothing, led me to a dressing room, handed me these clothes, insisting that I change, and only after we left to store did you tell me that I owed you anything. I'd call that a trick.” Elizabeth was flustered, and Samuel just shook his head at his wife. “I'm sorry you had to be troubled by her, truly. My wife doesn't really think before she acts, and she loves to cook up little plans and schemes. You can change back into your original clothes and just set those ones on a table somewhere. Perhaps Elly can get her money back…” Elizabeth, at this point, just stormed off, offended that her husband didn't appear to appreciate her efforts at helping him.

Jess watched her leave, but instead of changing she approached Samuel and said, “Well, I do like these clothes very much, and I'd much rather blend in than stand out as much as I did before. How about I repay your wife, but just in a different way? I do need to check up on something, though, but you have my word that I'll repay her, does that sound alright?” Samuel placed a hand on his chin and thought about it, and finally decided to trust Jess to really come back and not just skip out on the debt.

“Alright,” he said, “it's a deal.”

Jess smiled and thanked him. She went for the door, but before leaving she quickly informed him of her name, since it was only fair that the man know who she was. Jess made her way back to the shop; luckily they hadn't gone too far, so she managed to find her way back to the shop. On her way through the residential area, though, she saw many, many flower beds and the occasional tree. None of the trees were big, though, so perhaps the city wasn't that old. Or the gardens were just a new thing. Either way this place was fresh, and that was a good sign. Old cities tended to have more crime, but up-kept places had good reputations. It meant that people cared about the place.

After re-entering the store, Jess looked around for the owner. She was in the process of haggling with a customer, so she stood off to the side until they finished. When an agreement was reached, Jess came up to the Altmer and timidly asked, “Excuse me, but earlier today a Breton came by here and bought these clothes for me. She says that I owe her money for the clothes, but I'm not too sure about the price. She said that it cost 15 septims. Is that correct?” The Altmer glanced over the clothes, and fiddled a little with her golden hair as she asked, “Can you recall her name? I know most of the people who shop here.”

“Her name was Elizabeth… Buxton, I think.”

“Burxton,” the Altmer corrected. She smiled and added, “The clothes didn't cost 15 septims. As good a negotiator as I am, I've never been able to sell a set like that for so high a price. Goodness, I don't even ask for 15. It was just today, you said? Then that was… Ah, right, seven. It had cost her seven septims. She certainly was trying to cheat you out.” Jess felt a burning sensation down in the pit of her stomach. Cheated indeed! Jess thanked the Altmer, and left the store. She still didn't like the idea of working for a long time, or working at all for that matter. There should be something that she could do… As she was headed down the street, she noticed someone crouched down in the shadow of a building, trying to be unnoticed. Curious, she went to investigate.