7th of Sun's Height, 4E 208

Haggling was not my strong suit.

Last night, my brother and I had returned from a hunting trip in Falkreath, and it was quite successful. We'd killed enough to last the Companions for at least a week, and I had killed enough to sell to the butcher in the marketplace for a few extra septims. My children's birthday was coming soon, and I needed to get them each a present, sooner rather than later.

I had been standing with Anoriath for the last several minutes, the summer sun beating down on our heads. I had already sweated through my thin tunic, and my hair stuck to the back of my neck in damp clumps.

"Last time, what can you give me for them, Anoriath?"

He scratched his chin, tilting his head to one side as he retrieved one of the rabbits from my hunting satchel resting on his stall's table. "Well, they're fine rabbits. A little on the small side, but..."

I raised a brow. "But?"

Anoriath crossed his arms, lips pulled in a tight line. "How's ninety sound?"

My eyes bulged. "Ninety each?"

"No! Vilkas, of course not! Ninety for all six of them."

I scoffed, nudging my hunting sack with my hand. "Ninety septims won't even cover the cost of the hunting endeavor."

"Ah, but you bagged more than the rabbits, did you not? Where's that meat?"

"Up at Jorrvaskr."

"I'm sorry, but I won't get many cuts off the carcasses. You did a good job with the kill, but I have to make a profit. Ninety-five is as high as I can go."

Grunting, I bent over to hoist the bag over my shoulder. "Fine. I'll just take this back to Jorrvaskr. At least I can feed my family with it."

Just as I started to walk off, the elf stuttered out, "Wait!" and I turned to see him waving me back. "Look, I'll give you an extra thirty septims if you promise me that you'll bag a buck for me the next time you and your Companions go hunting."

I nodded, putting the bag down and shaking Anoriath's hand. "Deal."

I had just traded the rabbits for the heavy purse of coins when the telltale giggle of a mischievous child lifted through the marketplace. I turned, as everyone did, towards the sound and watched in silent horror as my son streaked down the stairs from the Wind District, wearing nothing but a white loincloth, his hair half-cut and face red with laughter. He weaved around the onlookers, that giggle never stopping.

I dropped the coin purse in front of Anoriath and raced to grab Jergen before he could get too far. I seized his arm, just as he was about to leave the market altogether and head towards the gates. I spun him around and dropped to my knees in front of him, hands on his shoulders. "What on Nirn do you think you're doing, boy?"

"Playing with Mama!" he said in a delighted tone. He giggled and pointed over my shoulder. "See her run, Papa!"

I looked over my shoulder, seeing my wife, skirt wadded in her hands, as she ran straight for us. I stood, still holding onto Jergen's shoulder.

"Thank the Divines," gasped Ylva, shaking her head. A few strands of hair had come free from their braid, plastered to her forehead with sweat. "Don't you ever run away from me again, Jergen! Do you hear me?"

I laid a hand on her arm. "Ylva, please. You don't have to yell. He's just a child. A boy, no less."

"Well, being a little boy is no excuse to run away from your mother." She fixed our son with a cold stare, and I felt Jergen tense under my hand. "You want to tell your father what you did?"

I cast my gaze down to him, seeing him staring at his bare feet. "Son?"

When Jergen stayed quiet, Ylva cleared her throat. "I had just given him and Embla a bath and had decided I would cut their hair today. Give Embla's a trim and get Jergen's back to a manageable length. I was cutting his hair first, and I had to put the scissors down for just a second. You know what he did in that one second? He chopped a whole section of his sister's hair off! Then, having decided he didn't want to face the consequences of what he had done, he dropped the scissors and ran. Wearing nothing but... well, you can see that part."

"So that's why one side of his hair is shorter than the other, hmm?"

Ylva huffed in exasperation. "Don't ignore the fact that he brought scissors close to his sister's face. What if he'd cut off one of his fingers, or poked Embla's eye?"

"I'm not joking about this, Ylva. Look, take him back to Jorrvaskr and wait for me. I have to finish haggling with Anoriath, but when I'm done, I'll help you deal with him." I pushed Jergen towards Ylva, who then scooped him up into her arms and marched away.

My poor wife. She didn't understand. She didn't grow up around boys, had no brothers or cousins to show her what little boys were like. She had no idea just how troublesome they could be.

"Boys will be boys," I muttered under my breath, taking slow steps back to the market and Anoriath. "Could've been worse. Could've done what Farkas and I did when we were that young."

And with that embarrassing thought, I shook my head, collected the purse, and left for home, thankful that my wife knew nothing about the time Farkas and I had decided that it would be a good idea to play in the rain stark naked.

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Do not ask me where I got this idea. You don't want to know. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this little snippet. I enjoyed writing it. It was fun, silly, and maybe a little heartwarming.

Just a reminder: I am always taking requests for this book. I haven't had an requests in a long time, but I hope to get some soon. I'm running out of ideas for stories to write while I'm in between chapters of other books. I need your help to keep those gaps filled. Your aid will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Until next time, my lovely readers! Love and sweetrolls!

~WG 💙