20th of Morning Star, 4E 190

Mama and Papa didn't like getting out in the cold like this, but when we ran out of salted meats, we didn't have much choice.

"Make sure you stay bundled up, Ylva," Mama told me as we walked down the icy steps toward the docks. "It's going to be colder down here."

"Why, Mama?" I asked. I fidgeted while she tried to keep my scarf pulled over my face, but I knew she wouldn't stop until I let her.

"The docks are colder because the sea air can blow over them without being stopped by the city walls," said Papa. "The wind has to blow past the ice caps before it gets further inland."

"Oh." Already, I could feel the drop in temperature, and I didn't fight Mama anymore as she made sure my scarf rested secured on my face. "But why are we down here at the docks? Couldn't we buy fish in the market?"

"It's fresher here," said Mama. "So it'll taste better."

"And you like your seafood fresh, don't you, pup?" teased Papa, rubbing his hand across the woolen cap on my head.

I giggled and tried to get away from him. "Papa!"

We headed toward the merchant ships docked at the far end of the bay, walking past the Argonian and Dunmer dockworkers,  bundled up in thick furs and quilted sleeves,  as they unloaded crates and barrels full of goods from Solstheim. Bottles of liquor clinked together as the workers transferred them from the ships to the storehouses inside the city walls. Boxes full of strange produce, barrels of fish, and bags of spices all came off the boats, filling the air with a cacophony of smells that assaulted my nose even through the knitted scarf.

We made it to the end of the dock, where a Dunmeri man had set up a makeshift stall to sell the fish he'd brought in from out at sea. He smiled as we approached, though a sharp gust of chilly wind made him hunker deeper behind the crates he used as shelter.

"It's good to see your faces, Tolvar and Aldia," he said. "I assume your harvest was good this year?"

"Always is, Trilon," said Papa. "Good enough for us to fill our pantry and still have enough to sell, but our growing pup needs to put some meat on her bones, so here we are."

"Ah, yes, children need all the help they can get to grow strong." He waved his hand over the open barrels filled with various kinds of fish. "If you brought some of your carrots to trade, I'd be happy to knock ten percent off my prices."

Mama laughed and held up a small knapsack that we'd filled with some of our produce stores. "We'd never dream of coming to your stall empty-handed."

While my parents perused Trilon's selection, I ventured away from them to watch the waves lap at the edge of the dock. The air filled with the sounds of the ships' wooden hulls creaking as they bobbed up and down on the sea, the coarse shouting from the dockworkers, the songs that crewmates burst into while they swabbed the decks of their vessels. Overhead, a pair of gulls cried to one another, and I glanced up to watch as they seemed to freeze midflight. It seemed that the wind was proving to be a challenge for them to overcome, as well.

Something in the water caught my eye, and I crouche down to look at it. It appeared to be an empty bottle, clinking against the stony dock. Was there something in it? I got onto my hands and knees, leaning over the edge of the dock to see if I could reach it. My fingertips passed over the lip of the bottle, and the tide took it just out of my reach. Then, it splashed back against the dock, and I reached once again.

"Ylva!" shouted Mama behind me. "Get away from the edge right now!"

I startled at her voice, but my focus remained on the bottle. I almost had it in my grasp. I just needed a bit more reach...

The wind came back, a strong gust of icy air wrapping around my body and seemingly lifting me off my knees. I gasped, then screamed, and slipped off the edge of the dock and into the frigid waters below.

I can't swim!

My entire body seized up at once. My muscles locked into place as the cold waters wrapped around me. My eyes froze open and a scream lodged in my throat. The current of the sea pulled me further out to sea, and I fought with my mind to make myself move.

I broke out of my shock and started thrashing wildly, trying to break through the water's surface. My lungs burned with their need for air, and my mind moved slower than normal.

Finally, I managed to splash around enough to get my head above water, and I took a deep, sharp breath that seemed to burn my lungs worse than running out of air. I coughed as salty water got in my mouth, the tang stinging my tongue and throat. "Help!" I cried, voice ragged. "Help--!"

A wave rolled over my head and pushed me back below the surface of the water. I screamed, and the air I had fought so hard to get left mu body in an explosion of bubbles. I tried to turn my body around, but I couldn't tell which way the dock was through the murky water. Worse, the longer I stayed in the water, the heavier my clothes got. I started to sink further down, and no amount of crazed thrashing would pull me closer to the surface.

I was drowning.

The salt burned my eyes as I fought to find my way back to the docks. If I could just get close enough, then my parents could reach in and pull me out. I just needed to find my way back.

Exerting what little strength I had left, I pushed back above the surface and took another deep breath. But when I swiveled my head around to gauge my surroundings, my heart sank. I was further out to sea, well out of my parents' reach.

Another wave pulled me back below the water's surface, but I stopped myself from screaming. I needed to save my breath.

But save it for what? I was being pulled further out to sea, and with how heavy my clothes felt now, I wouldn't have the strength to get back to shore.

As my clothes pulled me deeper into the murky depths, a pair of strong, scaly arms wrapped around my midsection and pulled me above the water. I gasped, and spluttered, salty water spewing from my mouth as the person who grabbed me swam us back to shore. I looked over my shoulder to see one of the Argonian dockworkers, his slitted orange eyes locked on the edge of the dock. His legs gliding through the water underneath us, and it seemed like he was using his tail to propel us forward even faster.

"Th-thank you," I sputtered.

"Let's get you back to your parents, little one," he said, reaching the dock in no time. He hoisted me into the arms of another pair of dockworkers, who snatched me up and wrapped me in thick woolen blankets to shield me from the wind. Then they ushered me away from the edge of the dock and toward one of the fiery braziers nearby.

"Ylva!" shouted Papa as he and Mama came around the other side of the brazier. They took me in their arms and huddled close to me, blocking the wind even more. "We thought we lost you, pup."

"Oh, sweet child," whispered Mama, tears flowing freely from her eyes. "What possessed you to do such a thing?"

"I-I saw a b-bottle in the w-water," I said, shivering, tears of my own falling. "I thought I c-could r-reach it."

Papa took the sodden cap off my head and let it fall to the dock's stony surface. "You scared us half to death!"

I nodded. "I'm sorry."

"The important thing is you're safe."

As Mama kept me wrapped in her tight embrace, Papa moved away from the brazier and approached the Argonian who had saved me. "Thank you for saving my little girl." He pressed some coins into the dockworker's hand. "It's a small price, but it doesn't come close to repaying what you did for us."

The Argonian man shook his head, then gave Papa back the septims. "I can't take your money. It was the right thing to do."

"All the same, there must be something I can offer as payment. You should be rewarded."

The Argonian wrung out the corners of his coat with his scaly hands, shaking his head. "Save your money, or use it to pay the healers to make sure your daughter doesn't get sick. And don't bring her back down here. It's no place for a child."

Papa nodded. "Again, thank you."

"Now, get her out of those wet clothes. She'll catch her death of cold if you stay here any longer."

Papa came back to us, then scooped me into his arms. "I'll stay to finish haggling. Aldia, take her and the cart. I'll walk home." He passed me to Mama, then gave us each a kiss, me on the cheek and her on the lips. "Keep her warm. These winds could kill her in her state."

I burrowed deeper into the blankets, trying to cover my head and face. Partially because of the cold, but the other part was because I didn't want to look at Papa. I had messed up, and I was  bound to be punished when he returned home.

Mama headed to the stairs leading back into the city, and once we left the docks, the winds died down. It was a little easier to stay warm, but the cold still seeped under my skin and into my bones.

"Straight to bed when we get home, child," said Mama, tone stern. "We'll discuss punishment when your father gets back."

"Y-yes, Mama."

Oh, am I going to get it.