Why did her head hurt so much? And why was it so cold? Her eyes weren't open, and her mind wasn't very clear, but she could tell that this wasn't home.
The last thing she could remember was riding her horse, Shula, through the Imperial Province...
She was sent to gather some real Imperial wine for her family, but along the way, she became distracted by the sights. She had never been more than 10 feet away from her house for more than half of her life, so she was finally given the chance to be trusted enough to go to Cyrodill...
On horseback...
Alone...
She rode for days, surviving with the elements by her side, and her bread and water. The wind coursing throughout her, tingling her body, while the sweet flowers blossomed and filled her nose with incredible scents. The animals were less than friendly, but the short time she was allowed to see them live was good enough for her. Everyone in her family-well, not everyone in her family...the menin her family were hunters. Her mother and older sisters were too, but she would group them with her whenever mentioning their daily hunting because she didn't like being singled out as the 'delicate flower' of the family who couldn't fend for herself. They all thought she was so precious that they didn't want her to be harmed. Her siblings were stronger than her, and older, so they could be trusted. But the most fragile child in the family had to be kept safe, for obvious reasons.
She loved her family, but she felt ready to explode with all the protection.
By day five, she spotted some majestic mountains surprisingly close by, and when she came close enough to the edge, she decided to camp out for the night, after riding almost non stop the entire trip. She hadn't even gotten the wine.
The poor girl was so new to all this, that she hardly acknowledged her horse, who was whimpering loudly in hunger and pain. The poor animal was exhausted and ready to collapse. She looked over and saw its state, and she removed several small carrots from her sac, and one apple.
"Um...I don't know if you can eat these but...here..." She said, handing them over to the horse, who practically inhaled the offerings. She blinked momentarily at the apple core and small greens left over from the carrots and apple and she tossed them to the ground, watching her horse lower itself to rest. She sat down beside it after attempting a small fire. In secret, her sister Shagar would teach her how to make fires, while her other older sister Sherna would teach her tiny spells, which she learned surprisingly quickly...four weeks, in fact. Surprising for her, anyway.
She shot a small blast of fire at the pile of wood she had placed and watched the flames rise as her eyes began to feel dry and her eyelids drooped. Her head hung until it rested on her knees, which were pulled halfway up to her chest. Then she grew uncomfortable and changed her position until she was curled up on her left side and her head was lying against the pillow-like side-stomach of her horse. Shula made a soft grumble as she felt the girl snuggle into her warmth.
Her sleep was interrupted about three and a half hours later, when it was still dark out and no signs of morning were evident. She awoke when the horse stood in a panic and began to whinny in alarm. The girl rose after smacking her face against the ground and once she stood, she was pushed to the ground by a strong hand. Her mouth connected with the earth once more and she couldn't make a coherent sound. After a quick, painful moment, she was pulled back up by her hair and she glanced around, blinking her right eye as it twitched from the dirt caked onto her face. Shula, the horse, was bound and held onto tightly by a man in red, flared armor. The girl spotted a whole troop of these armored men, mixed with soldiers in blue armor, who were being bound by the red soldiers. The girl whimpered slightly as terrifying thoughts suddenly overcame her and she worried consistently as her whimpering grew, which eventually turned into a whine, which turned into a growl, that turned into a loud, rumbling scream. She shrieked and she could have sworn that she felt the ground shaking when she did so, through her mind numbing terror.
The soldiers quickly grew irritated with her noise and motioned for another man to step forward, uttering something, as the girl felt a sharp pain in the back of her head...
Her horse was gone, her bag was gone, and she was finally brought back to reality when the carriage shook roughly momentarily as it began to go downhill. She jerked up and looked around fearfully.
"Hey...you...you're finally awake..." Said a heavily accented voice. She looked across from herself and spotted a blonde soldier in one of the blue uniforms she saw before.
"You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked into that Imperial ambush...same as us...and that thief over there." He gestured to the 'thief' next to him, and she glanced over. She saw the supposed thief, as well as a man whose mouth was covered as well as his bound hands.
"H-huh?" She could barely speak. She had no understanding of what was going on.
"Damn you Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along. The Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you, I could have stolen that horse and been halfway across Hammerfell." The thief spat at the younger soldier next to him, then looked over at her.
"You there. You and me. We shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaksthe Empire wants." He growled. The girl reeled back- well, she reeled back as much as she could in a crowded carriage with her hands bound.
"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief." The man next to him spat. The girl looked next to her again, and gazed at the man next to her, who just glared at nothing in particular. She bit her lip in worry.
"Shut up back there!" Commanded the Imperial Soldier driving the carriage. The others didn't even listen, or didn't care.
"And what's wrong with him, huh?" The thief said, gesturing to the man whose mouth was covered.
"Watch your tongue. Your speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King." The first soldier spat.
"Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm? You're the leader of the rebellion..." The thief said, staring at the muffled man. The girl watched as his eyes widened in some type of realization and she bit her lip.
"But if they've captured you...oh Gods...where are they taking us?" The thief exclaimed in fear. The blonde men rolled their eyes at the thief's fright.
"I don't know where we're going, but Sovngarde awaits." Said the first soldier as they entered a small village.
"No. This can't be happening, this isn't happening." Denied the thief.
"Hey...what village are you from, horse thief?" The first soldier asked.
"Why do you care?" The thief responded harshly.
"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home."
"Rorikstead...I'm...I'm from Rorikstead."
"General Tullius, sir! The headsman is waiting!" Called out one of the Imperial Soldiers.
"Good, let's get this over with." Mumbled the general.
"Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh, Divines...please help me..." Prayed the thief.
The soldier glanced over the rim of the carriage as they passed a middle aged man on a horse with a bored expression and his arms folded. The blonde soldier scoffed as they passed by.
"Pft, look at him. General Tullius, the military governor. And it looks like the Thalmor are with him. Damn elves. I bet they had something to do with this." He grumbled, then looked around.
"This is Helgen. I used to be sweet on a girl from here. I wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with juniper berries mixed in...Funny...when I was a boy...Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe." He murmered as the carriage passed by a house with a young boy watching the prisoners.
"Who are they, Daddy? Where are they going?" The boy asked. The father stood over him and glanced at him.
"You need to go inside now, little cub." He said affectionately. The boy gave a pained expression.
"Why? I want to watch the soldiers." He whined. His father gave him a sharp look.
"Inside the house. Now." He commanded. The boy stood and hung his head as he sluggishly walked to the front door.
"Yes, papa." He mumbled before walking in.
"Get these prisoners out of the carts! Move it!" Commanded the Imperial Captain below. The carriage came to a halt at the edge of town.
"W-why are we stopping?" Asked the thief, terror in his eyes.
"Why do you think? End of the line." Growled the other soldier. He glanced at the girl across from him.
"Let's go. Shouldn't keep the Gods waiting for us." He said before they all stood and jumped off the carriage.
"No wait! We're not rebels!" Protested the thief. The blonde man rolled his eyes and scowled.
"Face your death with some courage, thief." He growled.
"You've got to tell them! We weren't with you! This is a mistake!" He yelled. The Imperial Captain and Soldier that stood side by side in front of the lot were already irritated enough. They pursed their lips before scowling in unison.
"Step towards the block when we call your name. One at a time." She said. She looked to the man next to her, and gestured for him to begin. He looked at his name board, and cleared his throat. The blonde man rolled his eyes and mumbled, "Empire loves their damn lists..."
"Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm." Said the soldier. The man with his mouth covered walked up and around the others, and up to the chopping block.
"It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric." Said the young blonde man.
"Ralof of Riverwood." The young blonde man gave a vexed look as he repeated his superior's actions.
"Lokir of Rorikstead." The thief jumped and panicked before running up to them.
"No, I'm not a rebel. You can't do this!" He protested loudly. He ran past the Captain, ignoring her commands for him to stop, and she called for the assistance of her archers, who killed the man with one blow before he could run five paces.
The girl was the only one left.
"Anyone else feel like running?" The Captain threatened. The man next to her glanced at the young girl and paused.
"Wait. You there. Step forward..." She did as he said. He paused again, then continued.
"Who...are you?" He asked. It was then that he took a moment to look her over, as he did with the other prisoners. The girl seemed very young, and paler than any normal Nord. She had brown hair so dark it seemed black, and brown eyes so vibrant unlike anything he had seen. She had slight muscle on her arms, and she had thick legs. She was short, too. Seemed no taller than five feet. She had the slightest under-bite, nearly impossible to notice at all. Two small teeth parallel to each other almost protrude at the tip of her lower lip. Her rosy lips were crafted into a nearly permanent pout shape because of her teeth. By Nord standards, she was stunning. But there was something about her teeth. They were too thin to be tusks or fangs...But they really looked more like fangs that were misplaced on the wrong side of her mouth.
"Anika Nagorm...of Orsinium." She whispered in fright.
If the soldier had been drinking at that moment, he would have spilled his entire drink everywhere in shock. He blinked momentarily, then eyed her along with his Captain, and asked her to repeat herself. She did exactly that.
"I don't understand...you don't look like an Orsimer..." He said. She gave him a questioning glance.
"My mother is a Nord...My father is Orsimer. And together, you get...me..." She faltered a bit when she spoke. The man raised his eyebrows a bit but asked no more. He turned to his Captain.
"Captain, what do we do? She's not on the list." He said.
"Forget the list. She goes to the block." She commanded.
"By your orders, Captain," He turned to Anika, "I'm sorry. We'll make sure your remains are returned to Orsinium." He said. Anika swallowed as her face fell. Her mind fell into nothingness. Her body went numb, as if it was preparing for her impending death. Her hands started to shake, while her stomach turned as if she was about to throw up. Her legs felt ready to slide off and her mind was falling slowly.
"Follow the Captain, prisoner." The man commanded. The Captain walked over to the chopping block as Anika followed. Anika stopped as she stood in line with the other prisoners. She saw the Imperial Governor walk up to Ulfric Stormcloak and scowl at him.
"Ulfric Stormcloak...some here in Helgen call you a hero, but a hero doesn't use a power like the Voice to murder his king and usurp his throne." He spat. Ulfric fidgeted as his muffled response was barely heard, let alone understood.
"You started this war! Plunged Skyrim into chaos. Now the Empire is going to put you down, and restore the peace!" The General hissed once more. Anika flinched at his tone.
Suddenly a loud roar was heard, and Anika gazed around the sky along with everyone else. She was curious, and she stood on her toes to try to get a better view. The other prisoners eyed her strangely. She stood straight in an instant, feeling embarrassed.
"What was that?" The Captain's adviser asked. General Tullius waved a dismissive hand.
"It's nothing. Carry on." He said as he walked back to his original place near the guard tower. The Captain slightly bowed to him in respect.
"Yes General Tullius," She said as she walked back over to the chopping block and motioned for the Priestess of Arkay to begin speaking. "Give them their last rites." She commanded.
"As we commend your souls to Aetherius, blessings of the Eight Divines upon you, for you are the salt and Earth of Nirn, our beloved-" The Priestess stopped when she was interrupted by the first prisoner to step forward. A seemingly fearless and impatient man. Anika's eyes widened.
"For the love of Talos, shut up and let's get this over with." He growled as he stepped up to the block.
"As you wish." The Priestess snapped back as she walked away and switched places with the headsman.
"Come on, I haven't got all morning!" He growled once more as the Captain grabbed his shoulders and pushed him down until he was on his knees. Then she placed her foot on his back and pushed until his neck was on the block.
"My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?" The prisoner grumbled before the headsman's axe collided with his neck and beheaded him.
Anika, for some reason, couldn't shield her eyes, or even close them on her own. She couldn't even blink as she watched in horror and excitement as the man's head was cut off and rolled around the ground, smearing blood everywhere.
"You Imperial bastards!" Shouted one prisoner.
"Justice!" Called out a watching citizen. The Captain turned and eyed Anika.
"Next up, the Nord in the rags." She announced. Her adviser coughed.
"Orc, you mean." He corrected her. She growled at him.
"What about 'Norc'?" Joked the headsman. The Captain's adviser laughed out loud with the headsman while Anika cringed. How could they joke around so easily while preparing to slay all these seemingly innocent prisoners?
Another roar pierced the air, alarming the Imperials once more. The Captain's adviser glanced up again.
"There it is again. Did you hear that?" He asked.
"I said 'next prisoner'!" The Captain hissed. The man shook his head in exasperation and looked towards Anika.
"To the block, prisoner. Nice and easy." He said. Anika bit her lip as she walked over and the Captain made the same movements as she did towards the prisoner before Anika. Anika closed her eyes tightly as she saw the headsman's axe raise above his head. Another loud roar ensued. Suddenly a scream was heard as the ground shook.
"WHAT IN OBLIVION IS THAT?" Screamed the General as a gargantuan black dragon perched atop the tip of the guard tower. It roared and produced a weird form of magic that sent everyone flying backwards. Anika rose hesitantly while fear was plastered on her face. All she could do was gaze at the horrid clouds swirling in the sky as the dragons eyes pierced her own. It let out a stream of fire from its mouth before rising. Anika felt something touching her arm.
"Hey, lass! Get up! Come on! The Gods won't give us another chance!" The blonde soldier from before was unbound and grabbed her bound wrists in one hand as he pulled her reluctant form to the next tower. Ulfric was inside, guarding the door until they entered safely.
"Jarl Ulfric, what is that thing? Could the legends be true?" The man asked. Ulfric pursed his lips and gave a serious look.
"Legends don't burn down villages, Ralof." He said. The tower shook once more as Anika eyed the bleeding prisoners on the floor, still alive, but badly wounded.
"We need to move now!" Yelled Ulfric. Ralof, the blonde soldier, grabbed Anika's elbow and led her up the stairs. They saw another soldier trying to move some leftover debris.
"Up the tower! Come on!" Ralof yelled. The prisoner continued to struggle with the rubble.
"We just need to move some of these rocks to clear the way..." He said, but it was nearly lost in their minds as the dragon's head burst through the towers' wall and burned the man to death, creating more rubble to fall on top of him. Ralof stumbled back a few steps down the stairs, nearly tripping and falling all the way back down, if it weren't for Anika keeping her ground. Her upper body was shaking with fear as her feet were planted on the stone. Ralof led her up to the hole in the wall as the dragon flew away to another part of town.
"See that inn on the other side?" He asked, pointing to the burned inn below. Anika swallowed and nodded.
"Jump through the roof and keep going." He said. Anika's eyes grew wide as she looked at him and shook her head, pleading with her eyes.
"Go! We'll follow when we can!" He said, and gave her a slight push so that she wouldn't stumble over the edge, but that she would have no choice but to make the jump. She had backed up against the wall, and when he pushed her, it almost gave her a running start as her feet rose from the tower and she soared through the air.
The burnt roof could barely take her weight as she landed with such brute force. She felt pain coursing through her body as she glanced down. Her left ankle and right arm was on fire. She whimpered loudly and stomped it out before it could spread. Her entire foot hurt now as she then proceeded to roll on the roof to put out the flames upon her arm. They left a slight mark around her shoulder blade and her wrist once it was put out.
She rose and fell through another hole in the roof as she made it out, head spinning. The smoke made her gag, and the heat made her ready to pass out. She almost wished for the numbing cold she felt before to return. She heard the Captain's adviser yelling for a boy named 'Hamming' as an old man hid behind what was left of the house nearby. The little boy from before was standing next to his wounded father, ignoring the advisers screams.
"Hamming! You need to get over here, now!" He called. The boys' father gripped Hamming's hand slowly.
"Torolf!" The adviser yelled for the boys' father. Torolf winced as his son hugged him tighter while crying. Anika saw the dragon overhead. It was going to land in front of them. Hamming still wouldn't listen.
Anika took a deep breath, and ran over to Hamming and twisted her bound wrists enough to just barely grip one of Hamming's hands with both of hers. She heard Torolf murmur "That's it son, make me proud." As the child protested while still allowing himself to be dragged over to the old man and the adviser, who glanced at her in shock.
"Still alive, prisoner? Keep close to me if you want to stay that way." The adviser commanded as he glanced from her to the old man, who embraced Hamming.
"Gunnar, take care of the boy. I need to find General Tullius and join the defense." He said. The old man gave a worried expression.
"Gods guide you, Hadvar." He replied. Hadvar led Anika over to a burning wall as they dodged the dragon twice on their way to the defense team. The General told Hadvar to get inside the keep, and so Hadvar led her to Helgen keep before the dragon could burn them once more. They ran into Ralof in front of the keep.
"Ralof! You damned traitor! Outta my way!" Hadvar growled. Ralof scowled at him.
"We're escaping, Hadvar. You're not stopping us this time!" He responded. Hadvar's face fell.
"Fine. I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde!" He yelled, and ran to one of the two entrances to the keep. Ralof ran to the other. The two of them proceeded to call for Anika to join them. She felt dizzy. She was badly burned, she couldn't fight back, and she couldn't use what little magic she knew. As the dragon finally closed in on them once more, Anika couldn't take it anymore. She finally allowed the actions in her mind to take over, and just like her mind, her entire form fell into nothingness as her thoughts crept inside her head.
Hey...it doesn't hurt anymore...When I'm nothing...I feel nothing...
I'm so tired...I want to sleep forever...
Mother...father...my family...I love you all...
I'm falling...
Wake me when it's over...