A Lucrezia Backstory

“She’s small.”

“She’s supposed to be small. She was born only a few hours ago.”

“You said I’d have a kid to play with.”

“Shh...you’ll wake her. Cesare, she’ll get older and then you’ll have someone to play with.”

“But I want-”

“Shh.”

“...I want someone to play with now.” he said, much quieter.

She whispered back. “Look at her. She has hair like yours. It curls at the end.”

“No, my hair curls all over.” He corrected her, rolling his eyes. Sure enough, the little boy had a head of thick dark curls.

“Come back and see her tomorrow. We both need to rest, dear.” She sounded tired and weak.

“Come on, boy. Stop buggin’ the help.” A deep, rough voice yelled into the room and woke the baby, making her cry.

“She’s loud!” The boy covered his ears and ran out of the room.

“Keep her quiet. The others are starting to complain.” He warned the new mother.

“Of course, sera. I will do my best.” She said, still sounding weak but now a little worried. “Shh, child. It’s alright. No more loud noises.”

“I mean it, Rillina, not a peep.” The stern sounding man said.

“Sera?” she asked in a weak and timid voice. He answered her with an annoyed grunt. “M-may I name her?”

The very large Imperial stood there for a moment, then finally nodded. “ ‘suppose.”

The tired bosmer sighed and covered the baby up, in her tiny crib. “What to name you, pretty girl? How about...Lucrezia. After my grandmother. She was kind, with a big heart. You would have liked her.”







“What's that say?”

“It says her name: Lucrezia. Isn't it nice? I sew it into her blanket “ Rillina held out the newly sewn blanket out for the young boy, with even longer dark curls now, to see.

“Why does it need her name?”

“In case she ever loses it, child. Or gets it mixed up with someone else's. I made one for you too, while your mother was carrying you.”

“Rillina, its time.” A soft voice said at the door. Another bosmer, younger and shy looking. She frowned as she picked up a small bag by the bedroom door.

Rillina also frowned and stood up. She kissed the top of Cesare’s head. Then she walked over to the crib. The baby was sleeping and looked peaceful. The mother had tears in her eyes but held them back. “Now, you be a good girl for me. Don't make too much of a fuss while I'm away. We'll be together again soon, my child. It will only be a few months, I promise.”

She inhaled a deep breath, then let it out slowly, trying to calm herself. Then the mother turned and left the room, following the other bosmer.

After a few months had passed, the large gruff man stood in the nearly empty room where the baby sat in her cradle and cried. “Would you be quiet?! Shut up!” The angry Imperial screamed at the poor child. “You! Girl! Get in here!”

A young bosmer girl ran into the room, looking confused and scared. “Yes sera?”

The large man jerked the baby out of her bed and roughly handed her to the bosmer woman. “Take it! Get rid of it!”

Even more confused and terrified, the young bosmer looked at the crying baby and then back at the man. “W-what? What do I do with her?!”

“I don't care! Dump it! Just get rid of it! I can't take anymore of that gods awful noise!” The man yelled as he started to storm out of the room.

“But...Sera! It's snowing out! She'll freeze! And R-rillina is expecting her soon!”

The man stormed back in, angrier than ever and slapped the bosmer so hard across the cheek that she stumbled back and nearly dropped the baby. “Don't question me, girl! Just do as I say!” The imperial glared at her, then left the room.

Crying and still scared, the bosmer girl held the crying child to her chest and tried to calm her. She grabbed a blanket and wrapped the child in it. “Its alright. I'll….take you somewhere quiet and warm.”

The bosmer walked with the baby for what felt like hours. Snow covered the ground and it was starting to get dark out. The girl was shivering and she could feel the poor child in her arms shivering as well. She didn't know what to do or where to go. She knew if she left the poor child out there alone, she'd die during the night. It broke her heart to think about. She couldn't do that. She would never be able to forgive herself if she did.

Finally, she came across something that was surely a sign from the gods: an orphanage. She remembered walking past the building a few times before. They'd have to take the child in!

Looking around, she made sure no one was looking as she walked to the front door, which was covered and protected from the falling snow. The girl sat down the baby, gently, thn knocked hard on the door and ran back down the street. It was hard to run in the snow and she heard someone calling after her, but the girl did not stop. She was cold and still scared. How could she ever face her old friend now? What answers could she give Rillina when she saw in her in a few short months? The bosmer stopped just short of the house she served in and cried. She just hoped the baby would be fine. The child was going to be alone in that strange cold place after a few weeks.

The baby only had to sit in the cold for another minute or so before the door opened. A confused Nord woman looked at the crying child and then to the girl that was running in the snow. She would have ran after her, but she was barefoot and didn't want to risk getting sick. The woman sighed and picked up the child. “Ugh, another one...and an elf at that!” she looked the baby over and noticed something on the blanket, the name that was sewn into it. “Lucrezia, hm? Well at least you have all your fingers and toes...that's something. Maybe someone won't mind your ears.”

She carried the baby inside and shut the door behind her.

He pushed her again, knocking her down on the dirt. The little elf started to tear up and clutched her knee. It was bleeding. She heard them laughing. A tear streamed down her face. One called her knife ears. Another tear. She tried to get up and felt a rock hit her leg. The nord boy that was nearly twice her size and age was throwing rocks at her! A third tear.

“Stop it! No throwing rocks, you’ll break out a window and I’ll have to pay for it.” A grouchy sounding woman yelled to the kids. They all turned to look at her and that’s when the girl got up and ran. Another rock was thrown. Another tear fell. She didn’t stop running until she reached the door to the orphanage and ran inside. The girl ran past the grouchy woman in the kitchen and shut herself in the pantry.

“Lucrezia! You come out of there right now! Now, I say!”

She sniffled and wiped her nose with her sleeve. She didn’t answer the woman back.

“Now!” she ordered, more firmly this time.

Slowly, the door opened and the haired bosmer stepped out of her hiding spot. The woman grabbed her by the arm and pulled her the rest of the way out of the pantry. “You cannot hide every time you want to cry. Go to your bed and do that. I have work to do in here. You want to eat, yes?”

The girl nodded.

“Then go. Get out of my way.” She shooed her with her hands. “Go on now.”

Sniffling again, the girl walked by her as the woman disappeared into the pantry. Before Lu left the kitchen, she grabbed a butter knife from the counter and ran out of the building again. She made sure none of the other kids saw her before walking the path down to the run down shack behind the orphanage. The other kids said it was haunted and wouldn't go in there. But Lu thought of it as a safe haven. Inside, it was dark and messy. There were dusty cans and bottles on the floor. Some old faded papers and books. She sat down on the floor and looked at the knife. She knew she’d be in trouble if she were caught with it but she didn’t care. She had to do this. Maybe if her ears were normal then they’d stop picking on her. Then, perhaps, she would finally fit in. She took a deep breath, held the knife up to her ear and quickly tried to cut the tip of it.

“Ouch!” she made a face at the pain and felt her ear. The tip was still there! “Stupid!” She slammed the knife down.

“Don’t do that!”

Lu jumped up and looked around. There, in front of her, was a blonde haired girl. She recognized her as one of the newer kids. “I wasn’t…”

“You’re bleeding.” The other girl walked to her and inspected Lu’s ear. “You scrapped it. Why did you do that?”

Lu shrugged, looking down at her feet.

“Don’t do that again. Or...or I’ll tell.” The blonde said, though in a voice that sounded like she was unsure.

Lu nodded, “Alright...I won’t.” She sniffled again and wiped her eyes.

The blonde girl smiled. “I’m Kenna.”

“I’m Lu.”

“Can I sit with you?”

Lu nodded again and sat down with Kenna.

“Were they picking on your ears?”

Lu nodded.

“I like them.”

“Why?” Lu finally looked up at her.

Kenna shrugged. “They’re different.”

“That’s why I don’t like them.”

“That’s stupid. Don’t be stupid, Lu.”

“I’m not stupid. I just don’t want them laughing at me.”

“Try this.” Kenna took the scarf she was wearing from around her neck and wrapped it around Lu’s head, tying it under her hair. It looked like a silly thick headband but at least it covered her pointed ears.

Lu reached up to feel them and then smiled when she realized that she had covered the pointed tips of her elven ears. “Thank you.”

Kenna reached for the butter knife and stood up. “I'll take this back.”

Lu started to get up too but Kenna stopped her. “No, wait here a few minutes.” then the blonde girl left the dark shed, leaving Lu alone. Lu waited for nearly an hour, but the girl didn't come back.

She sighed and finally stood up, going back to her bed in the orphanage. She didn't get in trouble over the knife and Kenna didn't say anything when she saw her.







“Dad, can we go now?” A curly haired boy, almost a teenager, asked impatiently.

His father, a very large Imperial, grunted at him and then slapped the boy upside his head. “Don't interrupt business, boy! We'll be heading back soon.”

“Why don't you go look for some of your old friends? You haven't been back here in years. Maybe some things have changed.” His mother, a dark haired Imperial said before following her husband inside a small shop.

“Yeah...right.” The boy said and walked off, heading down the road. He walked past a lot of different shops, some new and some old, but the town looked pretty much the same. When he came across the old orphanage, he paused. A group of kids seemed to have formed a circle. Curious, he walked over to check it out.

There was a heavyset young Nord harassing what looked to be a little girl. She had dark hair. The girl was crying. He was about to walk away until the boy said a familiar name: Lucrezia. Spinning back around, he looked closer at the young girl. She had dark eyes, dark hair, and pointed ears. Could it be her? His missing sister?

He was about to say something but the other boy hit the girl. Hard. This made his blood boil. The curly haired boy shoved two kids out of his way and grabbed the younger, shorter Nord boy. He had the boys arms locked behind his back, holding the struggling boy in place. “Get up, Lu! Stop crying!”

The scared bosmer just looked at him in shock. She stayed frozen on the ground, unable to move.

“I said get up! Now! Punch this little punk right in the face! Stop crying and hit him!”

She still didn't move.

“If you don’t get up right now, I'm going to hit you!”

The bosmer jumped up, tears still streaming down her face.

“Now hit him! Now!”

The bosmer girl balled up her fist and swung at the Nord boy’s face. The hit connected and the boy cried out in surprise and pain.

“Hit him again!” The curly haired boy yelled again.

She threw another punch at the same spot. This time, she laughed afterwards.

The Imperial boy also laughed, “ Good! Now one last time!”

Now the girl punched the Nord right in his big belly, making him drop to his knees. The Imperial boy let him go and shoved him to the ground. “There. You feel better, don't ya? Listen Lu, if anyone ever hurts you or makes you sad, you punch them! You hit them until you feel better? Got it? You don't cry, you don't run. You hit back! Or hit them first, don't let them get the first swing!”

The bosmer girl wiped her eyes and nodded. “I hit them if they hurt me.”

The boy smiled and pat her on the shoulder. He was about to say more but he heard his parents calling him. He gave the girl one last nod and ran off.