How long had it been since I'd taken up residence with the old man? How long since I'd wandered further than the nearest town to steal what I thought would least be missed. A bite to eat from a cart of fruit, a clean shirt buried in the back of a wardrobe to replace one that had too many patches to keep wearing, perhaps a few coins of someone's pouch appeared full enough to spare them.

I missed the thrill of a day spent stealing something bigger, something with actual value to it. I missed the feeling of scouting out a job for days, checking for escape routes and sniffing out traps while avoiding the paths of guards wandering the area nearby. I didn't feel like being Patience any longer, as I'd run out of such a thing over the passing years.

Sure, it had been nice to have a place to belong, someone to teach me the skills I'd needed to learn and refresh the ones that had faded during the time I'd spent focusing so strongly on increasing my skill with needle and thread. It had become a careful balancing act to keep each skill sharp without another falling to the side, but after the passing of so much time, I had finally mastered the art of juggling my time between thieving and sewing. Even if it had Agrane giving me strange looks at times when he caught me throwing recently finished caps into the fire after Ellery refused yet another attempt.

But the worst time had been when he caught me stitching a new pattern into my skin. Oh, how he had looked at me in horror as his eyes trailed over each piece of thread that wove across my skin. When he'd gotten to the area I was working on, he'd looked ready to rip the needle from my grasp if he could do so without ripping the thread from my flesh with it. Instead, I'd slowly tied the thread off and put the needle away as I tried to avoid looking at the tears rolling down his cheeks. I'd never, ever felt bad for what I did to my skin before and I never wanted to feel such again.

I got very good at hiding away when I felt the need to change or add to the patterns I'd made.

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I felt trapped here, no matter how welcome he tried to make his home. When I had finally asked for the date, realizing that time had slipped my by for too long, too long as seasons passed with hardly any notice from me beyond feeling too cold one day and realizing what seemed hardly a few weeks later that it was getting too warm for me to wear my heavy woolen cloak any longer... Oh had I been shocked to realize how many years I had missed while practicing my skills but only performing acts of petty theft.

I was wasting away without even realizing it! Ellery, why hadn't you told me life was passing us by?!

Oh, but oh how could I forget that he was still mad at me. I'd failed yet again to make him happy. Glancing at the ashes sitting within the now cold hearth, I sighed and moved to begin packing away what things I had that would be useful in my travels. I could not stay here any longer. The world outside beckoned to me and I would not allow myself to miss out on what it had to offer one such as I. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see Ellery and my Assassin, who I had decided recently to finally give the name of Amicus to, hiding within the shadows of the old man's room.

"So, you are finally leaving, are you? I wondered how long you could stand staying cooped up with an old man like me, no matter how much I had to teach you," his tired voice came from the small home's entryway behind me. "You are far too alive to stay in one place for so long without it pulling at you to escape anything that would bind you. No, you have yet to meet the one you will allow to become tied to you. If such a one still lives in a world such as this."

I ignored his words as best I could, knowing that he still couldn't see the ones who I had tied myself to. Ellery and Amicus were all I needed in this world for companionship. Where I went, they followed and vice versa, as we led each other across the face of Tamriel. It was all I needed and all I wanted. Anyone else would just be a distraction. Right?

I could feel the warm breath of Amicus, my sweet, faithful Assassin, brush against my ear as he whispered to me, "This one can never be family to us. Leave, before we become lost alongside him. Before it is too late to find things to collect and new books to read. Leave before we are too old to seek out treasures to call our own."

Nodding, I rushed faster to gather my things, stuffing a spare shirt into my pack before grabbing my cloak and clasping it around my shoulders before turning around. Seeing Ellery slipping out the door, I took a step forward, watching carefully as the old man stepped further into his home. His home, not mine. Not any longer.

"Run! Before he traps you here! Run, you foolish girl or you'll never leave!" And run I did, Ellery's words chasing me down the pathway as I tried to ignore the memory of Agrane's tears once more trailing down his wrinkled cheeks.

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Ellery, Amicus, I can't be Patience anymore. I have none left to spare and I don't feel like going back to being either of my previous selves. Neither of them fit me now. I don't think they will ever fit me again. Who can I be that I will be able to accomplish everything I need to do? What kind of person must I become?

"Have faith in yourself. You are becoming stronger, even if he holds you back at times. We will still take care of you, just as you do us. We will find our treasures. Just have faith," my Assassin's soft voice whispered from behind me.

Have faith in myself? Faith... Yes, that would work. Faith. I could become Faith and I am sure that as Faith, I would be able to accomplish all the tasks set before me. Faith sounds like a lovely person to turn into.

With a silent laugh and a smile, I picked up my pace as I matched down the trail leading towards the snow-laden mountains in the distance. I am positive that Skyrim would hold many treasures for a thief like myself to collect during my travels. I had a long, winding road ahead of me and I was eager to see where it would take me.

I refused to admit that a part of me missed the company of Agrane. My companions had been right that he'd almost trapped me there with him. Thankfully, they had warned me before it was too late.