Braith didn't like her much at all. She didn't seem to like anybody much, though, even Mila and Lars. Folding her arms and standing with a glare on her face, Braith liked to look and be cruel to everyone around her.

"What are you looking at?" Lucia watched with wide eyes as Braith looked up at Aneira, little fists clenched at her sides. "I don't care if you're the Dragonborn. I'm not afraid of you."

Biting her lip in worry, Lucia saw Aneira raise her eyebrows.

"My, my."

She said nothing else. Her guardian looked at her, and Lucia swallowed nervously. Was she going to be in trouble for the way Braith acted? Did Aneira think she spoke to her elders like that?

"I'll be home for a few days now, Lucia. We're having a guest stay with us, as well. Come home in time for dinner, alright?" Aneira had gestured to a woman some ways behind her, wearing a black hood and beautiful magenta dress and black corset. She looked like a princess, but Lucia couldn't see much of her face.

She hoped Braith hadn't upset her adoptive mother or embarrassed her in front of their new guest.

"Yes, Mama. I'll be home in time to help you and Lydia."

Aneira smiled more warmly, reaching out to stroke her hand over Lucia's head. The young girl smiled in relief, holding onto the Dragonborn's hand for a second before letting her walk away with her newest companion. The cloaked lady hurried past, giving Lucia little more than a glance before following Aneira past the market.

"You're just a big baby."

Brows furrowed, Lucia looked back at Braith. The Redguard girl stood behind her, arms crossed across her chest and lip curled in distaste.

"No, I'm not," Lucia denied, walking past her playmate to head back to marketplace. She was supposed to be looking for Lars and Mila, since she found Braith hiding near the main gate.

"Yeah, you are," Braith teased back, following close behind when Lucia went past the alchemy shop. "You're just a sad little baby and a Mama's girl."

"No, I'm not. You're just mean."

There. Mila was hiding behind Ysolda's house. She just had to sneak up behind her and-

She gave a low grunt of pain as her hands skidded on the ground. The rocks in the grass dug into Lucia's palm, not rough enough to make her bleed, but hard enough to leave little tears in her skin. Her knees hit the ground hard enough that dirt and grass stains marred her blue skirt when she turned over to sit on her bum.

Tears burned in her eyes as Lucia looked at her hands, bits of grass and dirt clinging to the new indents in her skin. They stung when she wiped them against her skirt, trying in vain to stem the new soreness.

"See? You're just a big cry baby. Now you're gonna run off and cry to your fake mama." Braith was bent over at the waist, hands resting on her knees while she taunted the younger Imperial.

"You pushed me!" Lucia cried in outrage, stumbling clumsily to her feet again. The tears slipped onto her cheeks and she wiped them hastily with her sleeves.

"So? I can do whatever I want. You're not the boss of me." Braith walked past, a bounce in her step as she approached where Mila was still crouching.

Lucia watched her leave, mouth gaping and trembling at the unfairness of it all. The world around her seemed sharper, the colors brightened slightly by her personal fury.

Braith stuck her fingers into Mila's sides, causing the other Imperial girl to jump with a shriek. She laughed off Braith's attempts to tickle her, lamenting that she was already found. The two girls giggled together before Braith darted away from Mila's hands, teasing the other girl that she wouldn't be able to catch her.

Folding her lips together, Lucia turned away to head back to Breezehome through the market. Her face felt puffy, and she worried everyone would be able to see she'd been crying. She'd rather wash up now and help Lydia prepare for dinner than stay and let Braith make fun of her in front of the whole city.

Mila had been her first friend because she, as luck would have it, liked to read as well.

Her mother was always working at the fruit stand, so Mila had to help her put away the fruits and vegetables into straw baskets at the end of the day. But from morning until evening, Lucia had always seen her running with the other children through the streets, playing tag or hide and seek. She hadn't asked Lucia if she'd wanted to play back then, but that wasn't what Lucia remembered about her now.

"We can play princesses and Jarls. Or mages!" Mila tucked a strand of dark hair back behind her ear, setting her doll in front of her lap. Lucia adjusted her doll's hair, frowning at the frayed strings.

"Do you wanna play that we're the Jarls in Dragonsreach? We could play feast day." The child's-sized tankards and tiny plates were already set up on Lucia's chest, left from her hurried cleanup before she was scolded for leaving her toys on the floor.

"But there's only one Jarl, Lucia." Mila helped the other Imperial girl set up the play plates. "So one of us has to be someone else."

Lucia thought on that, trying to think if she'd ever read anything about more than one Jarl ruling a hold. Nothing came to mind. "I can be a visiting Jarl," she said matter-of-factly, setting the doll in front of her small tankard. "I'm visiting to celebrate a feast day in Whiterun with you."

Mila was fine with that set up, her doll happily welcoming Lucia's to the capital.

This brunette girl now filled Lucia's head with memories like this; playing with their dolls, reading together from Lucia's new books, or even showing Mila the longbow and how she had improved in archery.

Mila's dark eyes would widen and her mouth open in smiles at Lucia's stories from Jorrvaskr, asking questions about the Companions and the Dragonborn and whether it was true that Aneira brought home dragon meat for dinner. Her caretaker hadn't, but Lucia had shown Mila the dragonbones in one of the chests upstairs, much to the other girl's delight and awe.

Some days, Mila would show Lucia how to cook her fruits and vegetables under Lydia's watchful eyes. Now both girls could make applesauce to share with Aneira and Mila's mother at the end of the day, and Lydia had promised to show them how to prepare venison steak with carrots and lettuce next time they wanted to cook together.

On other days, the Imperial girl came to Breezehome downcast, eyes and cheeks red, and it was always about her mother and their food stall; more fruit and vegetables had rotted without anyone buying them, or another man was rude to her mother. The former is a bigger problem in Lucia's opinion, because she understood very well how bad it could be to waste food or need more coins at the end of the day. And honestly, she didn't have any idea why some men were so unpleasant to Miss Carlotta. Even when Lucia was homeless, the vendor had always been nice.

Regardless of the type of day, Mila loved to sit on Lucia's bed and read books with her. Carlotta tried to do story time with Mila before bed, just as Aneira did, and so Mila was even farther along in her words than Lucia. The other Imperial helped Lucia sound out all the tricky words in A Children's Anuad, so now she could read most of it with Aneira and ask what the words all meant. And even though she could read better, Mila had had just as much trouble with Kolb as Lucia, so maybe Aneira was telling the truth about that book being tricky.

And when the days grew warm enough that Lucia didn't mind going outside, Mila came to knock loudly on her door and ask Lydia if Lucia could come out to play.

"Lars and Braith are already at the Gildergreen. We're gonna play tag. Are you gonna come with us?"

That was how Lucia came to have a group of children to play with, instead of only one.

"It's alright," Aneira soothed her, letting Lucia rest her head over her heart. "It's alright, my sweet girl."

"S-she's so mean. And she's always saying mean things and hitting people and never gets in any trouble."

Aneira ran a hand up and down her back, letting her young daughter spend her tears until it passed into short hiccups.

The housecarl and Aneira's strange guest, Serana, had both stayed away from Lucia's room, giving she and her adoptive mother some privacy behind the closed door. Lydia had noticed her tears and scraped hands almost as soon as Lucia had returned home and had tended to her carefully with a handkerchief and warm water. But shortly after dinner when Lucia had retired to her room, Aneira had followed.

The Dragonborn pressed a kiss onto the top of Lucia's head, as she often did whenever the young Imperial was upset.

"I don't wanna play with her anymore," Lucia said pitifully, wiping her nose on her handkerchief.

"Then you don't have to," Aneira assured her, letting them both lean back against the wall next to the bed. "But I would like you to tell me what happened. You didn't seem upset when I saw you this afternoon."

"No," Lucia mumbled, wiping a sleeve across her eyes. After the full dinner of venison and vegetables and her crying fit, the young girl felt exhausted. "It was after. We were looking for Mila when Braith started calling me names. And then-" Lucia sniffed, whining as the tears threatened to flow again. "Then she pushed me over. My hands and knees hurt, and my skirt got all dirty."

Her guardian's arm tightened around her shoulders, fingers squeezing Lucia close to her side. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, Mama." Lucia tucked her face against Aneira's shoulder. There was a pause as Aneira took a breath, her chest moving Lucia slightly up then down.

"You know I don't approve of you fighting with anyone, right?"

Lucia blinked in surprise. "Yes, Mama." She stuck her lip out, pouting a little. "I wouldn't start any fights. I'm not like Braith."

"I-I know that," Aneira replied slowly, letting her fingers move on Lucia's arm. "But, if Braith ever lays a hand on you again, or anyone, for that matter," Aneira turned so her head was angled down toward her daughter, and Lucia looked up to meet her eyes, "you have every right to defend yourself. Do you understand that?"

Now the little girl was confused again. "I thought hitting was bad," she said uncertainly. "Mama told me not to hit people just because I'm upset with them."

"That's right," Aneira agreed. "But when someone hits you first, you don't have to stand there and take it. If it's a grownup, I want you to run away," her guardian leaned forward, "as fast as you can. But if it's someone like Braith, or one of the other children, I want you to know that you can defend yourself. If they are hurting you, you have a right to try to make them stop."

Lucia fiddled with the hem of her shirts, nailing scratching at the fabric. "I'm not sure I can, Aneira. All I did today was cry. Just like Braith said."

"Well, from what you told me, Braith seems like the type of girl who will do it again now that she's done it once." Aneira tilted her head. "If she or anyone else tries to strike you, I just want you to remember you're allowed to fight back until they leave you be."

Lucia nodded, unsure and tired, and Aneira sighed.

"Is there something else bothering you, Lucia?" The little girl bit her lips, small fingers worrying at her skirt. "You know there is nothing you cannot talk to me about."

"It's," she sniffed once, hating the burning in her eyes, "it was something Braith said. She called you my fake mama."

Aneira breathed deeply, and Lucia swallowed while she waited.

"You know," her adoptive mother began slowly, "sometimes people will say things to you that are cruel." Aneira's hand moved up and down Lucia's right arm. "It won't make sense to you, and most of the time arguing or fighting with them won't do you any good. Cruelty is not logical." The Dragonborn paused. "Just because someone said it, doesn't make it true. And it's okay," Aneira punctuated that statement with a playful jostle of Lucia's shoulder, "to be upset by it."

Lucia took a moment to think about that, trying as she often did to emulate her beautiful guardian and think through all her decisions. One thing Aneira had said stood out.

"Isn't it true, though?" Lucia mumbled against Aneira's dinner dress, wishing she could hide her face more in the green fabric. "You're not my real mama? My mama died."

Aneira inhaled a little shakily.

"I am not you first mother," she said gently, moving away from the wall so that she faced Lucia head on. "I did not carry you in my belly." Lucia squeaked in surprise when Aneira gave her stomach a quick tickle, smiling past her tears. "That does not mean that I don't love you as my daughter. It doesn't mean your Mama wasn't real, or that you should forget about her, either." Aneira paused again. "Do you remember that paper I showed you when you came to live with me? Jarl Balgruuf had signed it."

"Uh huh," Lucia agreed, wiping at her cheeks one more time. The tears seemed to have finally stopped. "It said I was your 'heir.'"

"Aye, it did say that," Aneira ruffled the Imperial girl's dark hair. "But it also said you were to be my daughter from that day on." She cupped Lucia's left cheek, giving her face a little pinch. "And so you are. That makes me your real mother. So, you've had two mothers in your life. And neither of us is 'fake.'" Aneira rubbed her thumb across the apple of Lucia's cheek. "Does that make sense?"

Lucia nodded sleepily, reaching up to hold Aneira's hand between her fingers. "I think so."

"Good," the Dragonborn said primly, giving Lucia another kiss on the forehead. "Now go to sleep. It'll all look better in the morning."

"Do-do you ever like to read?"

Lars was usually quiet, even after they became friends. He only liked to speak when asked a question, and it left some of their conversations a little one-sided. Lucia or Mila usually suggested a game, and Lars would go along with it.

But really, Lars didn't need words to let his friends know what he was feeling. His red-blonde hair was always combed away from his face, and it left his wide blue eyes open for the world to see when he was sad or afraid. Lars's was usually one or the other when his father or Braith were around.

Aneira said he was someone who wore his heart on his sleeve, and it meant he didn't try to hide things from people. Lucia had asked if that was a good thing, and Aneira had smiled in that way she often did.

Apparently, her quiet new friend liked her after a few days spent playing tag or hide and seek around the city; enough that he asked that question one day at lunch.

"Of course," Lucia said brightly, ripping off a piece of her horker jerky. Aneira liked to bring home the meat for her now, ever since Lucia had admitted it was her new favorite. "Aneira reads with me every night she comes home. And she brings me paper to practice my letters."

It hadn't surprised her that Lars enjoyed reading as well. What was surprising was the way the young Nord's face had lit up when Lucia said she read every day. The boy had looked so happy Lucia thought he was going to cry.

"You have to come over to my house! My grandmother sometimes brings me back books from the market. They have really beautiful pictures! And even stories from other places, like High Rock and Hammerfell." Lars's eyes were lit up in a way Lucia hadn't seen much before.

She asked which book Lars's favorite was, and he'd hurried to finish his chicken so that they could go to his room and he could show her.

But, the boy added quickly, Lucia couldn't tell Braith about it.

"She'll just laugh and make fun of us. One time she even knocked my book into the water at the Gildergreen."

Lucia promised to keep it between them, even if she still couldn't understand why Braith could do such mean things and still be invited out to play.

Lars had buried his face against his knees, wetting his trousers as he cried.

Lucia felt her eyes prickle as she looked at him, sitting on the bed with her hand against his shoulders.

"Lars, don't cry. It's okay."

"It's not okay!" Lars yelled, lifting his head up only to turn it toward the wall away from his newest friend. "It's not fair!" He sniffled heavily. "Sh-she hits me all the time and then I get in trouble with my father for being a milk-drinker. Why doesn't she ever get in trouble?"

Lucia thought it was probably because no one ever actually told Amren or Saffir that Braith kept making Lars give her money or do whatever else she said. Braith had even said once that if Lars tried to tell on her, her parents wouldn't believe him.

Frowning, Lucia wondered if now was the time to bring up Aneira's advice from the other day. They hadn't had the chance to talk about how to defend yourself with honor, even if Lydia had explained to Lucia that to the Nords, one blow deserves another. Aneira had recommended trying to talk to Braith first, to see if telling her to stop would be enough. The young girl planned to ask Aneira more about it when she was back from fighting vampires. She could talk to Aela, but their lesson wasn't until tomorrow.

"I don't know," Lucia said quietly, rubbing her palm against the weeping boy's back. "I'm sorry."

Reaching into her pocket, Lucia brought her handkerchief to Lars's cheeks, wiping carefully until he turned obediently and let her clean his face.

"Even my mother takes his side," the Nord mumbled, letting fresh tears trail leak out and hastily clearing them. "She's always disappointed in me because I can't fight back. And Mila always says I'm her best friend but she still lets Braith play with us."

Lucia's lips quirked to the side in sadness, and she moved her feet to the floor to stand up against the side of the bed.

"Do you want to go to Breezehome with me?" It was a flimsy offer at best, but staying in the Battle-Born house didn't seem like a good idea anyway. Lars spent too much time cooped up in his room. "We can spread out a blanket and read in the grass behind the house." Her friend looked at her, eyes still puffy and red. "Aneira gave me a new book a few days ago," Lucia added. "It's a recipe book. She said it was written by a really famous chef." The Imperial girl nudged Lars's knee with her hand. "You could make some of the recipes with your Grandmother."

Lars sniffed one more time, using Lucia's offered handkerchief to clean his nose.

"Okay," he nodded, uncurling from his position and wiping the cuff of his sleeve against his cheeks.

Unfortunately, the two children did not get far from the mansion.

"Hey, Battle-Born!"

Lucia's hair whipped around her neck as she spun around, watching Braith stride toward them with a scowl. Lars stiffened beside her, groaning lightly under his breath as the other girl stopped in front of him.

"Finally done crying, milk-drinker? Gimme your money."

"No." Lars clasped his hands over his stomach, fingernails biting into his skin. "I gave you gold yesterday. I'm not giving you more today."

Braith laughed unkindly. "I don't care. I want another two gold before dinner, or I'm gonna punch you."

Lars's face started to flush as he backed away, thumb digging into the meat of his palm.

"Braith," Lucia said, a nervous quiver in her stomach as she pushed the words out.

The other girl didn't look at her, still trying to loom over Lars even though the Nord boy was taller. Her hands were clenched at the end of her straight arms.

"Braith, leave him alone."

Now the Redguard turned her head around, lip curled up in an ugly sneer as Lucia took a step closer.

"What'd you say?" Braith turned away from Lars, leaving the pale boy glancing quickly between the two of them.

"Stop it, Braith." Lucia answered, taking another step until she was standing next to Lars. Their shoulders touched slightly. "You're being mean."

Braith scoffed, laughing as she came up to the Imperial girl again. "I'm being mean? What's it to you, you little baby? I can do whatever I want!" The older girl's arms came up, palms out, and Lucia braced her legs against the cobbled road without thinking about it.

The Redguard's hands shoved against her shoulders, making her bend her back but not enough to take Lucia off her feet. Her own arms came up to smack Braith's hands away, sending them to the side while Lucia righted her balance.

Watching Lars flinch back in the corner of her eye, Lucia pressed her lips into a thin line before speaking. "No, you can't. And-and you can't play with us anymore unless you stop it."

Braith's mouth was open, lower lip curling over her bottom teeth in indignation. She'd stumbled herself from the force of Lucia's block, and her eyes had darkened.

"You'd better go away, orphan, or I'll punch you, too."

Now Lucia's face changed, flushing red with anger. "I'm not an orphan, I have a mother. And we're going to my house now, and you are not invited. You're just a big bully!" Lucia reached down, letting her left-hand wrap around Lars's wrist as she started to tug him away. "And we're not giving you any gold, either!"

Marching away toward the steps near the gate, Lucia turned to look Lars in the face. Her Nord friend was still red in the face, methodically chewing on his lip as they walked down the stairs. Lucia used her free hand to push her hair out of her face as the wind from the plains whipped past them for a moment. She and Lars thumped down the stairs hurriedly, still gripping his wrist until they reach the road. Lucia looks back up the stairs, watching to see if Braith would follow them.

She didn't, so Lucia smiled and brought her shaken friend inside Breezehome for applesauce and her new book.

"You're-" Lars began nervously once they were back outside on a blanket, still looking around anxiously at the road. "You don't think she's going to come bother us again?"

Lucia sighed, sliding over to sit next to him with the book spread across their laps.

"If she does, I'll tell her the same thing. That she can't play with us until she's nice. So don't worry," Lucia passed Lars his bowl of sweet yellow dessert with a smile. "I'll defend both of us."