Biography of Barenziah , v 2 Summary . This book is part of a three - volume series on the Biography of Barenziah . Content . The first volume of this series told the story of Barenziah ' s origin - heiress to the throne of Mournhold until her father rebelled against His Excellency Tiber Septim and brought ruin to the province of Morrowind . Thanks largely to the benevolence of the Emperor , the child Barenziah was not destroyed with her parents , but reared by Count Sven of Darkmoor , a loyal Imperial trustee . She grew up into a beautiful and pious child , trustful of her guardian ' s care . This trust , however , was exploited by a wicked orphan stable boy at Count Sven ' s estate , who with lies and fabrications tricked her into fleeing Darkmoor with him when she turned sixteen . After many adventures on the road , they settled in Riften , a Skyrim city near the Morrowind borders . The stable boy , Straw , was not altogether evil . He loved Barenziah in his own selfish fashion , and deception was the only way he could think of that would cement possession of her . She , of course , felt only friendship toward him , but he was hopeful that she would gradually change her mind . He wanted to buy a small farm and settle down into a comfortable marriage , but at the time his earnings were barely enough to feed and shelter them . After only a short time in Riften , Straw fell in with a bold , villainous Khajiit thief named Therris , who proposed that they rob the Imperial Commandant ' s house in the central part of the city . Therris said that he had a client , a traitor to the Empire , who would pay well for any information they could gather there . Barenziah happened to overhear this plan and was appalled . She stole away from their rooms and walked the streets of Riften in desperation , torn between her loyalty to the Empire and her love for her friends . In the end , loyalty to the Empire prevailed over personal friendship , and she approached the Commandant ' s house , revealed her true identity , and warned him of her friends ' plan . The Commandant listened to her tale , praised her courage , and assured her that no harm would come to her . He was none other than General Symmachus , who had been scouring the countryside in search of her since her disappearance , and had just arrived in Riften , hot in pursuit . He took her into his custody , and informed her that , far from being sent away to be sold , she was to be reinstated as the Queen of Mournhold as soon as she turned eighteen . Until that time , she was to live with the Septim family in the newly built Imperial City , where she would learn something of government and be presented at the Imperial Court . At the Imperial City , Barenziah befriended the Emperor Tiber Septim during the middle years of his reign . Tiber ' s children , particularly his eldest son and heir Pelagius , came to love her as a sister . The ballads of the day praised her beauty , chastity , wit , and learning . On her eighteenth birthday , the entire Imperial City turned out to watch her farewell procession preliminary to her return to her native land . Sorrowful as they were at her departure , all knew that she was ready for her glorious destiny as sovereign of the kingdom of Mournhold .