As much as this stubborn Nord hated admitting such a thing, Lazarus was right. If she hadn't lashed out at the man by breaking her lute, this would have never happened. Valkari felt almost ashamed, because she knew deep down it was HER fault for that man stabbing her, and HER fault for starting the fight. Even though that bastard deserved every punch and every burn from the dagger, it still was not worth her life.

A sigh escaped her lips as she bent down and took his chin in her hand and kissed his lips softly. "As much as I hate admitting I'm wrong, which I am, there's a time where I must face the facts and be a big girl. This considers as one of those times." she admitted to him softly with a kiss on his cheek. "You are right. I need to be more cautious with where I am and who I strike ..."

That was when she remembered her lute. A soft curse left her lips and she pushed her blood tainted hair back. "Dammit ..."

Her lute, her originally decorated lute, had been in her family for generations, her father being a bard before he became a merchant. She had found the lute inside of her old abandoned home next to an extinguished fire pit. It had saddened the young Nord, and it saddened her even more that the one thing from her family's past had been destroyed. Valkari didn't take such things very well, and it showed in those gorgeous icy eyes of hers.

"I started the fight though," she finally said after a while of cleaning up the blood off of the hard wood floor, "I started it because he broke my lute. Just ... took it from me and broke it ..." Valkari felt like she overreacted, but she knew she didn't. That lute was precious, and just as irreplaceable as her own life. She didn't expect Lazarus to understand how much that lute meant to her, but it would be nice if he didn't lecture her about how stupid it was to fight over a broken lute.

Lazarus heart melted and relaxed when his wife showed understanding for his concerns. When she broke off from the kiss, he had kinda been disappointed. But when she realized she could be a bit more careful, Lazarus placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Thank you for understanding my pain, my dear. Bard on! And Bard carefully!" He began pulling his armor off the rack and tying off the bags of 'meat'.

He heard Valkari swear, and turned to see a disturbance in her blue orbs...one of loss and regret. He started to ask what was the matter, but she told him anyway.

"As far as I'm concerned, Val, HE started the fight first whenever he had the audacity to smash your property. Had I been there, I would have been surprised had you not stood up to thrash him. You lute...it was one of your greatest treasures. I would have behaved the same way if someone molested my greatest treasure....you. But I only ask you to be aware. Some people are malicious for no reason. He smashed your lute..and he stabbed you when you retaliated. He deserves to have been killed."

"And a pretty damn good shot! I don't think I could have done any better. And good idea with the hot dagger. Most impressive."

A small smile curled up on her lips as she finished cleaning up the blood on the floor. She was happy that he ... semi understood how much that lute meant to her, even though she still hadn't told him that he wasn't going to have any mother or father in-law. The last thing she remembered of them was watching them being dragged away by a group of bandits while she sat up in a large tree. Before? It was just little snips of her past, the lute reminding her of when he father played for her at night before bed.

Valkari gave him a light laugh and stood up with the help of the table next to her. She leaned against the table and gave him a light smirk. "Well, I am the best archer in Whiterun, excluding Aela anyway." she told him with a laugh coming from her soft lips.

Aela was Valkari's friend, as far as she knew, and they always went hunting together. Every time they went hunting, however, they always made it a competition, and somehow Aela kept shooting more game than Valkari herself. Ah well, didn't bother the young Nord too much. It was just always nice to compete against the woman.

The fiery redhead watched as her husband picked up the sack of ... uhm ... 'meat', and took his armor from the rack. A devious smirk fell on her face as she quietly sneaked behind her dark husband and wrapped her arms around his torso from behind. Valkari was at least a foot shorter than Lazarus himself, so it took a lot to kiss him when he was standing at full height.

"Mmmm you don't have to go now do you? ..." she asked him, smirking up at her husband and looking to him with soft, icy blue eyes that could melt the toughest of men into a puddle. Hey, it was her secret weapon when she needed it.

Aela....

Lazarus didn't like Aela. She seemed far too obsessed with spilling the blood of some vermin in the wilderness. If he wasn't halfway sure she was a werewolf, he would suspect she even drank that blood. She was also always 'checking him out'. Not wanting to deal with her most of the time, he often avoided the Jorrvasker.

"Perhaps we can build you a new lute, instead of buying one. I think it could be...um...fun? Then if I go out and die you have something to remember me by! And perhaps we put a pound o' steel in it, both for durability and Mikael's head!" His rolling laugh carried throughout the house as he started to gather the sacks, when he felt Val on his waist.

"Well, I--" she made eye contact with him. He was a goner. "--I suppose if you really really want me to stay...."

That wasn't actually a bad idea, making a new lute. The problem was, she had no clue how to make one, and her carpentry skills were as bad as her skill to keep out of trouble. Not very good to put it lightly. But, she would worry about that later. Right now, right now Valkari had Lazarus locked onto her. It was easy, since he loved her so much.

A laugh escaped her, but she didn't try jumping up to kiss his cheek. The gash was semi still there, and if she tried anything that involved moving a certain way, it would re-open the gash and she would pass out from blood loss ... again. Instead, she moved in front of him and made him bend down so she could kiss him.

"I haven't seen you in almost a week. Of course I really really want you to stay," she told him with a sweet smile, wrapping her arms around his neck and gave him another smirk before kissing his cheek. "Will you stay? At least for a little while?

Lazarus dumped the sacks to the floor, pushing them aside. To hell with them for now. He had really missed Val, and he supposed there was enough time to spend some quality time with her before he went to dump this shit before it began to stink. Returning her kiss, Lazarus smiled and complied. "I cannot resist such a face. Of course I'll stay awhile."

He gently lead Valkari to a soft mat near the fire, and sat her down. No need for her to stand now. Her ankles were weak and she still needed to heal--but she was making a miraculous recovery so far. Still, one couldn't be too careful. And he didn't mind playing, "doctor" when there wasn't too much pain involved...hehehehe

Sitting down next to her, he watched the flames flicker and dance across the wood, an endless dance of destruction. That was the only difference between fire and Val. Like fire, Val was free spirited, dangerous, and inspiring. But she was not destructive. If anything, she was enlivening.

"I'll have to get rid of our friend soon. I think he's had enough of our company." he said, gesturing to the four 'body bags'."

Valkari smiled and let him carry her to the mat beside the burning, but comforting, fire that crackled with fiery light. She watched as the flames danced around randomly, making a beautiful scene of destruction. It wasn't what Valkari liked to do, cause destruction, but she did like fire and it's luminous oranges and bright yellows. To bad she couldn't actually use fire ... it would be quite useful if she was out in the colder regions or maybe needed something to cook meat, or to burn a few bandits ... yeah that would be very useful indeed. But, thankfully Valkari was not the type of person to go running around burning things in her way. It just wasn't in her nature. She liked being compared to fire, with her spirit and fiery hair, but not in a way of destruction. She felt insulted when someone did that, and it made her feel like she did something destructive in order to be compared as such.

As she laid by the fire, Valkari looked up at Lazarus with a smile and brought him down next to her. "Well he won't be bothering us anymore, as far as I can tell," she told him softly as she kissed his lips, the gash on her waste slowly turning into a weak scar. The young redhead looked down at it and frowned slightly. "Another scar to add ... I thought it would be the last time a man gave me a scar like this ..." And she bit her tongue after. Why did she say that? Now Lazarus was going to freak out and ask who treated her so badly ... even if it was five years since the incident. Ohhh Valkari and her big mouth.

The redguard was actually thinking about how and where he was going to dispose of the body. The Whiterun guards were notably stupid and he probably would walk past them no problem, but what if they asked to see the bag? Of course he could probably just pay the fee of 1000 septims and get on with his life without sneaking out. But where was the fun in that? Also, he would store it in a place near the giants outside Whiterun. That way they could be blamed for the attack and everyone could be more careful staying out of their way. Eventually he decided on hiding it near the giants, sneaking out with the bodies, and paying the 1000 murder fee anyway whenever he saw fit.

Once he had sorted that out, he went back to enjoying the rare beauty who lie next to him...that was around the time when she said another man had hurt her in the past.

Lazarus truly didn't understand it. How the males of Skyrim seemed so....abusive. Never in Hammerfell would anyone do such a thing. In some cases, it was punishable by hanging. Whatever happened to chivalry? Was it truly dead? Where were the good men in Skyrim? Are they all running around with poisoned daggers and heckling young bards because they cannot court in a respectful and courteous manner?

He calmly sat up and stared downwards for a while, and after what seemed like forever, he said: "Valkari...what do you mean? Tell me."

"It was five years ago Lazarus, and that man is long gone, trust me." Valkari replied as she turned on her side to face the fire and watch as the flames danced around carelessly. She couldn't face him. She also couldn't tell him about her last lover ... of whom abused her worse than any man that had ever hit her, started a brawl with her, or the simple bandit. Non of them add up to the pain endured by that one man. Lazarus ... he would try to hunt down the bastard if she told her, and she would not want anything more than that, but Valkari didn't want Lazarus getting himself killed over ... over her ex lover.

With another sigh escaped her lips as she looked back at her husband. He ... he deserved to know. He was her husband for Talos's sake! She could tell him anything ... well almost anything. She still hadn't told him about her getting in a bit of trouble in Winterhold, but it was a petty misunderstanding, so she didn't bother telling him. Valkari turned on her other side to face him, her elbow keeping her up instead of lying down.

"You ... you deserve to know though I guess. He was an ex lover ... a year after I arrived in Skyrim. I met him in Riften, and he was a bard just like me. We talked, had a good time, and a week later we were together. It was pretty normal until a few months later. We got into this giant argument that turned into a physical fight real fast. He ... he was drinking at the time, and he was stronger than I was ..."

Valkari couldn't do it. She turned back to face the fire and just stared at the flames. If she told him that she was raped, he would lose it, and Valkari was so scared that he would get angry and go out to find the man. That wasn't what she wanted to happen, and so, she fell silent and continued to stare at the destructive dancing fire that burn through the fire wood.

He couldn't understand why Valkari was so hesitant to tell him things. Was he too simple? Would he not be able to handle the truth? Of course he never pushed her on things, lest her shut her off from sharing anything else, but he thought for sure he was easy to talk to. After all, he didn't have any secrets with Val. But it seems as if she had a major one she had been keeping for a while.

Soon she let up and started to tell him the story of her ex lover. He listened intently as she casually spoke of him like he was just another boyfriend...and then when the memory got too painful...

"Valkari...." He gently moved her face to make eye contact with him. "Did this man...did this man take advantage of you?"

God help him.

Valkari sighed and gave him a light nod, looking up at him softly. "Yes, Lazarus ... he ... he did ..."

It was a painful memory, of one she thought she would never share as long as she lived. She had vowed to herself to keep it bottled up, but I guess after a few years it builds to the point where she had to tell someone ... at least one person. Valkari was thankful it was her own husband that knew of that awful night inside of that bastard's house. A shudder traveled through her spine as she took his hand with her smaller ones, giving him a small smile before kissing his hand and saying,

"I'm so sorry I ... didn't tell you. You deserved to know, and I didn't say a word about it either way."

Now, that didn't mean she was going to blurt out that she didn't have parents. That was for another time, and she assumed that he figured it out by now that they were either not in her life anymore or dead, for she never spoke of them like he did his. Valkari just was not ready for that yet. Like they say, one step at a time.

The young redhead laid her head down onto the mat, her hand still in his, as she looked up at him. "Don't be mad or ... or go try to hunt the man down. It would be pointless because he's probably already dead from that gaping wound I gave him before he sailed off to Talos only knows where." she said to him, informing that he was long gone and wasn't in her life anymore.

Lazarus said nothing. What could he say? This was painful for him to even think about. He couldn't imagine someone being so brutal to someone so kind. Needless to say, he had thought about exacting punishment on this wretched soul. But his wife had requested he not do so, as the cut wound she inflicted on him would have surely killed him.

But what if he had gotten to a strong health potion first?

He may have looked calm on the outside, but a thousand things were racing through his mind, making him sad, angry, and confused all simultaneously. He truly had no idea what to do. Stumped. Sighing, Lazarus spoke.

"If you truly do not wish me to go after this man, I shan't. I agree that such a thing is in the past, and perhaps we should try to move on....but this man does deserve some kind of punishment. EVERYTHING catches up with you....one way or another."

He wondered what kind of other stuff she hadn't yet told him? Was he truly not the trusting type?

"Perhaps we should get you to bed, my love. You've had a long day. Unless of course you're fine right here. It is rather comfortable by the fire."

Valkari let out a soft sigh and put her hand on his cheek. She did not want him to think that she did not trust him, for she did, but it was the fear of rejection and the seclusion she was already used to. Valkari loved Lazarus, she really did. Loved him more than her own life, her own possessions. But, there were some things she'd rather not tell him, for the fear of angering him. This Nord had seen him angry before, and it was not pleasant, rather frightening in fact. Of course, he wouldn't know because she looked calm the whole time on the outside.

"Lazarus D'Scari," she said to her dark husband softly, placing a few kisses on his cheek, "It is not that I don't trust you with my past life, because I do. I trust you with my life. It's ... just that some things I'd rather not talk about right now."

She looked into his deep and kind brown eyes with her sharp, but all the same soft, icy blues, hoping that this would put his mind to ease and stop worrying about his wife. Valkari loved making him jealous, though. In fact, that was one of her promises in her vows. Originally it was just something to liven the wedding a bit, but it was still fun to do all the same. Of course, she knew that her husband would never get mad at her, for he knew that he was the only one she loved. It always would be.

The freckled Nord pondered for a bit, then shrugged and smiled at Lazarus. "I don't mind it here. The fire seems to make your muscles stand out more anyway." Valkari let out a light chuckle and she gave him a wink. Yes, this was supposed to be a serious moment, but that didn't stop this firecracker from making it more ... happy. It was her job, basically.