Triumphant Victory.

—

It has already been an hour since the ceremonial thanksgiving for returning from the sea, and William has indulged in a variety of delicious treats. Cupcakes filled with cream made from Moon Sugar, flatbreads filled with cheese grated from Moon Sugar, muffins sprinkled with toppings made with Moon Sugar— you name it, William has tasted all kinds of Moon Sugar varieties.

Even though his legs are sore from the dancing, he is satisfied with the festive treats that the Khajiiti brought into this place, making him wonder why on earth this ingredient is banned in most of Tamriel. Perhaps it's due to prejudice or its close association with Skooma, William doesn't know and doesn't care, for his belly is full and ready to sleep.

Wanting to get up from his seat and call it a day, he then saw the lady running toward him, who had, for the majority of the time, been his partner in the moon dancing ceremony. She was carrying a hidden jug of milk that he was sure was made from Moon Sugar also.

Eyes sparkling because he thought the lady would fail in her endeavor, William then asked enthusiastically to the golden-haired Toussaintois, who was wearing very thick silk winter clothing, "Did you manage to get it?"

Stopping in her run and revealing the jug of milk hidden inside that thick winter clothing, the green emerald-eyed lady answered with her triumphant chuckle, "Hahahah, yep, this is the last one. I managed to secure it before other Khajiit went crazy."

Taking the two used tankards from his side that they had used for the wine earlier, William got up and said, "Hurry, give me, give me."

Receiving the tankard for her own, the lady that had the smell of wisteria flower exclaimed, "Okay, okay, just a moment."

Seeing the orange milk that had been poured out and filled to the brim in his tankard, William quickly downed the beverage, afraid some of the Khajiit would jump up and steal their drink. 

This had happened to them multiple times, making them very vigilant to this cat that is very expert in sneaking and thieving about. Luckily, the wine earlier, which is the best drink according to the Toussaintois lady, they managed to get and drink it, thanks to his blaring instinct. But it seems their luck has run out, since…

…

Noticing a blur of shadow from the corner of his eyes, William shouted to his dancing partner, "Vivienne, quick, to the side!"

Instantly following her dancing partner's instruction, Vivienne saw the fur of a paw almost land on her beverage. Without wasting any time, she downed the tankard with one mouthful gulp.

Tackling Za'bil to the ground, making the cat meow in protest, William locked him up like an American football player. But, noticing many Khajiit running toward them, even using all four of their limbs, William quickly instructed Vivienne.

"Pour some into our tankard and leave the jug behind! We are leaving this place!"

Wanting to sigh in relief upon seeing Za'bil fail to steal her drink, Vivienne's mind snapped back to the many Khajiit behind. Shivering and following William's instructions, she quickly poured the drink as best as she could, placed the jug behind, and started escaping from their hideout.

Releasing Za'bil from his grasp, who instantly went for the jug of milk, ignoring Vivienne, William quickly caught up to his dancing partner. Knowing that they had three minutes left before all those crazy bastards got near them, he quickly received the tankard that Vivienne gave to him.

Without wasting any time, both of them started drinking the beverage like their lives depended on it. Finishing before the lady, William quickly moved to protect Vivienne, who still hadn't finished her drink.

S'ia was the first one to catch up, his mind thinking at a rapid pace on how to slow down the Senche-raht. Finally, looking at the snow below his feet, William started to scoop them into a ball and threw it, aiming for her eyes.

One throw, two throws, three throws; on the fourth, he managed to blind the Khajiit saber cat. Then, without any hesitation, he dove down into a sleeping position in the direction where S'ia wanted to run. And sure enough, not expecting a block of human in her path because she couldn't see clearly in front of her, she stumbled in the snow, giving enough time for Vivienne to finish her drink.

"I am done!"

Spitting the snow out of his mouth and looking up to see Vivienne gasping for breath with the tankard up in the air, William laughed and congratulated her, "Hahahah, nice job Vin!"

Smiling triumphantly with her dancing partner, the lady just basked in her glory, for being able to steal a full jug of milk from the expert thieving Khajiit and drink two tankards and live to tell the tale.

—

[Forty minutes later.]

Walking out of the mansion gate on this chilly night with two katanas strapped to his waist, a shovel on his shoulder that he found in one of the mansion warehouses, and a snow sledge that he had used earlier in the morning to drag his sea chest, William's line of thinking couldn't help but be drawn to his new colleague who would enroll in the same year as him.

Vivienne de Tabris, his dance partner earlier, who happens to be a small character in the Witcher franchise, is the name of his new colleague. Well, soon to be a colleague anyway, knowing she will fill out the form tomorrow morning, since she and the entourage just arrived in Skyrim this evening.

Cursed since birth by an unknown creature to be a Lycanthrope of an orioles bird, she has no choice but to hide herself from society every full moon, like other werewolf people. Even though she did not tell him the specific details of how she got infected, William knows that it happened while she was still in the mother's womb, from the Blood and Wine lore that he played one time in his first life.

Well, tragic stories like many other quests in that game, she was supposed to be suffering from the infection for another decade or so until Geralt arrives in Toussaint. But, like many others driven out of the fixed timeline, such as Sylvia Anna who was supposed to be in Nazair or Margarita Laux-Antille who wasn't supposed to be that desperate, Vivienne's timeline became flexible too.

After receiving news four months ago that the soon-to-be Duchess she will serve is returning with all kinds of mysticism, her conclusion is that she simply must try her luck on this new branch of mysticism. There are no other complex motivations behind it, rather than wanting to cure the disease that has plagued her since she was a child and always brought sadness to her parents.

So, begging her childhood friend Anna Henrietta for old times' sake, the unofficial Duchess agreed to send one of the three ladies-in-waiting, who essentially acted as a secretary, to study at the College of Winterhold.

And as it happens, this is also a timeline where Sylvia Anna is driven out of the Toussaint royal family by her parents because of the supposed curse that makes her bloodthirsty and a bringer of misfortune. Which, in turn, made Anna Henrietta anxious, wanting to look out for her sister who was on the other side of the world, feeling betrayed and left out.

—

Arriving at the location where he buried one of his baby-chest treasures, William quickly gets to work shoveling the snow away. Dragging the chest onto the snow sled, he then starts doing the same routine for the three other spots that he hid this morning. Finished with everything, he then starts his trek up into the city in the direction where Anna's mansion is located.

But after about thirty to forty minutes into his journey, he suddenly feels uneasy, as if someone is tailing him from behind. Immediately releasing the sled's rope and connecting his fingers, his eyes are then filled with numerous scrolls dancing all around him. Focusing his mindset so that he is able to see beyond the form of Magicka, as Auntie Ezabi taught him earlier, he is now able to see freely, as normal sight should've been.

Then, improvising the very first-ever created spell, which he had wanted to make since Auntie Ezabi told him that he is a natural diviner, always nagging him in the back of his mind, William just follows the flow according to his intuition.

Even though he has never learned anything about the construct of the spell and how the elements of magic are connected to one another, he tries for the first time to create his own personal spell, his own method, and his own magic in this desperate situation that he takes advantage of.

Adrenaline flowing through him, his mind filled with many instinctive inspirations on how to do it. Two fingers up, hand signs, the scrolls of Magicka all around him starting to move and organize themselves according to the immediate need of William. Three words coming out of the front scrolls into his brain, he manages to glimpse who the attacker is before the spell fizzles out from the failure of the integrity of the construct that he has no idea about.

'Skooma addict?'

Sighing in realization, William then turned around to where the person was located. He couldn't help but feel ironic over the situation. Here was a person desperate for money to buy Moon Sugar to cook Skooma, attempting theft against someone with two swords strapped to his waist, armed only with an iron dagger, ready to give his life on the line. Meanwhile, William had just consumed a significant amount that Moon Sugar, without a care in the world – so much so that he felt nauseated and couldn't even keep count of how many.

"I-is t-that gold chest?"

Shaking his head upon seeing the Imperial person pointing a dagger at him, William drew his steel katana, saying, "Drop your weapon."

"It is. R-right?"

Once again, he warned the person, "Drop your weapon."

"Haha. Hahaha. Hahahahaha. I-i am lucky."

One word at a time. "Drop. Your. Weapon."

"Finally, finally. I can, i can drink again. Now. DIE!"

Slashing the incoming wrist halfway to the bone, unable to travel further, William quickly followed with a kick to the chest. Not waiting for the person to register the pain, he drove his katana down into his brain.

Taking a deep breath, gazing at the fourth person whose life he had taken since coming to this world, William released the breath he was holding. Taking the shovel from his sled, he then started digging a pit large enough for the Imperial person to be buried. Spending thirty minutes shoveling the snow and soil away, he then buried that person and gave a short prayer to the Eternal Fire and resumed his journey into the city.

—