1. Introduction

A long groan reached my ears as I slowly returned to consciousness. Funny, as I didn't remember falling asleep. As I slowly tried to open my eyes, it occurred to me that I was reallysore, and my head was pounding. Warning bells started going off in my head; there was no reason for me to wake up from a sleep I couldn't remember entering, feeling like I fought a troll. Renewed confusion and apprehension in me, I forced my eyes wide open, waiting a few seconds for the world to get into focus.

To my utter bewilderment, I came to realize I wasn't completely stationary. In fact, I seemed to be in some sort of moving vehicle of sorts. The next thing I realized was I couldn't move my hands. They were apparently bound together- Wait, they were what?!

PANIC MODE INITIATED. A string of confused curses loudly left my mouth as I sat up and whipped my head around, taking in my surroundings.

House drawn carriage.

Other bound people surrounding me.

To my left, two of my best friends also appeared to be stirring into consciousness, in the very same predicament.

Across from me, Three men, two of which seemed to ring a bell of recognition in my mind, but I couldn't place my finger on it.

"Hey, you! You're finally awake." One of the men I seemed to recognize said to me. He was stocky, well built, had blonde hair hanging around his face, and admittedly wasn't terrible looking. He glanced to my left and raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, and your friends are coming around too.."

I should explain that while I was completely flabbergasted by my own position in this bizarre situation, I was even more befuddled by the fact that my two close friends, Ian and Drake, had found themselves in the same. Drake seemed to be slowly struggling to sit up straight and get his eyes open. As I opened my mouth to say something to get his attention though, the blonde man started talking again.

"You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked into that Imperial ambush, same as us and that thief over there."

For some reason, nostalgia was stirring within me, as though I had heard these words before… which was completely ridiculous, as I had no recollection of ever riding, hands bound, in house drawn carriages with strange men and unconscious friends. However, these words seemed to call some sort of attention in Drake, as he immediately stopped struggling, and snapped upwards, a slow look of horror making its way onto his face, I observed in my peripheral. Before I could send a confused reply to the blonde man, the "thief" he had indicated before spoke back, a scowl on his face.

"Damn you, Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you, I could've stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell. You there-" At this point, I realized he was addressing me. "You and me - we don't belong here. It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants."

The blonde haired man became immediately preoccupied with the "thief" person, so I was left to whip my head to my side, mind reeling, watching as Ian slowly sat up as well, a pale look of terror on his face, apparently having heard them speak. Drake looked just as horrified, a slow hissing moaning sound escaping his lips. They both turned towards me, and I was sure my expression mirrored theirs. The mention of Stormcloaks made me figure out why I recognized the two characters sitting across from us; I could even go as far as naming them. Ulfric Stormcloak and Ralof. And also… that thief guy whose name never mattered to me.

Apparently, none of the three of us knew what to say, so instead we just kept exchanging silent looks.

I noticed that both of them seemed… different somehow. We all appeared to be covered in dirt, yes, but they both seemed rather taller and bulkier, Drake in particular. Beyond that, just the very aura around them… something was different. It seemed they thought the same thing with me, as whenever I made eye contact with them, they seemed really alarmed.

I didn't realize something was off with myself though until Drake mumbled to me, "Jesus, Allena, is that really you?"

The men across from us didn't seem to take notice of our conversing.

I wrinkled my face in confusion, "Uhm, yes? How would it not be me, Drake?" Ian looked gravely at me, before switching his gaze to Drake, and back.

"Well... for starters… your ears…" As his voice drifted off, my hands immediately shot to my ears. I was unpleasantly surprised to find them pointy and long. I took another long look at both Ian and Drake before I pieced it together.

"Skyrim... I picked my race to be wood elf…" I mumbled, eyes widening. They both looked rather uneasy.

"Drake... you were a Nord, right…? I can tell, your hair's lighter… and Ian, I watched you play, I know you were a Breton…" They both nodded, fear in all of our eyes. I fell silent. Ian was the one that voiced what was on all of our minds.

"What the bloody hell is going on…"I silently agreed with his words. I was utterly confused, and while my first conclusion would usually be I was dreaming or completely batshit insane, I highly doubted my brain was imaginative enough to come up with everything so realistically, as well as nail Ulfric and Ralof's appearances so well.

Maybe my dreams just went HD?

I stayed silent, but Drake spoke up.

"I have no idea what's going on, but I can tell you it isn't good. All being Skyrim veterans, I think we all know how the game starts off…" he muttered grimly.

We all fell silent at that point, lost in our own troubled thoughts. I'll give you a preview of mine.

'HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT WHAT THE MIGHTY FUCK IS GOING ON, THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A VIDEO GAME. VIDEO GAME. HOW IS THIS HAPPENING, WE'RE GOING TO DIE, OH MY GOD, AND THAT'S ULFRIC STORMCLOAK AND OH GOD OH GOD THIS IS SO WEIRD AND BIZARRE MY HEAD'S ABOUT TO BE CHOPPED OFF AND THERE'S A DRAGON COMING AND OH DEAR LORD WHAT IS GOING ON'

Yeah, something like that. To my utter horror, we slowed to a stop, a soldier yelling gruffly, "General Tullius, sir! The headsman is waiting!" I glanced anxiously at my best friends, biting at my lip. This was not the sort of situation I'd pick for them to be in. I wasn't big on friends being in life threatening situations. I mean, if I had to pick any two people to count on, it'd be them. Ian had been my closest friend and confident for years now. He was like my brother. Drake had been a close friend of mine too, and no one could make me smile quite like he could. I had known him for longer than Ian, thought our friendship was put off for a few years, as neither of us took interest in getting to know each other for a length of time. Know though, he was who I spent most of my free time around.

While we spent a lot of time together, I didn't think heading to the chopping block with FUCKING ALDUIN due to arrive any minute was considered good quality time.

I could feel myself panicking, this situation seeming far too real for the fact that it SHOULDN'T EVER BE REAL.

The carriage slowly rolled to a stop and we were filed out of the cart, the thief still freaking out. I was ready to freak out right with him, but somehow, screaming my innocence and running around didn't strike me as the right thing to do at this point in time. What brought me back to attention was an important looking Imperial soldier shouting out an order to us. "Step towards the block when we call your name. One at a time." I blanched.

"Empire loves their damn lists…" A voice muttered beside me. I glanced at Ralof. In any other situation, I think he and I could get along real well. For now though, I was a little worried about my imminent death. If not by chopping block, then by giant ancient dragon with fire and stuff.

I turned behind me to see Ian and Drake obediently waiting silently. All of us knew there wasn't much else we could do except hope to the gods we were dreaming and wouldn't actually die in some sort of alternate fictional universe.

"Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm" the soldier called out. Ulfric silently stepped forward as his name was called, head still held high with pride. Ralof muttered beside me again, "It's been an honour, Jarl Ulfric."

"Ralof of Riverwood" the soldier called next. Ralof exchanged some sort of unreadable look at me before he proudly walked past, going to stand beside his Jarl. I immediately found myself troubled by this. I wasn't in the mood for watching people die. Drake and Ian immediately both stood forward, one on either side of me. I glanced at both of them, petrified beyond belief. There was nothing I could do to control the situation, and that bothered me. A lot.

"Lokir of Rorikstead."

Well, we all know what happens next. The thief, who was apparently named Lokir, screams he was innocent and starts running. Next thing I knew, he had an arrow lodged in his back, and lay dead in the streets. I didn't know him. Wasn't at all fond of him. And yet, I couldn't help but audibly gasp, and bring my hands to my mouth, somehow managing to experience even more terror at witnessing my first death. I heard similar uncomfortably shifting and noises of distress come from either side of me.

"Wait, you there, step forward.." The soldier called next, eyes locking with Drake. I immediately froze, while Drake kept his head about him enough to take a few steps forward, not even looking at me or Ian.

"Who... are you?" the soldier asked, frowning as he glanced at his list.

Drake was a tall, well-built Nord (apparently), with light sandy hair and blue eyes to go with his fair skin… though, far fairer than before. He was one of the people who mattered most to me in the world, and had interests like video games, hockey, rugby, and science class; all interests he shared with me. He had a tough exterior, and was snarky and sarcastic, and nearly appeared uncaring to most, but deep down, cared deeply about those close to him, as I learned the times he truly was there for me. He was a good friend, and a fierce rugby captain, I should add. And as he was faced with this perilous situation, with an Imperial asking his name, preparing to send him to the chopping block, where he'd either get beheaded or attacked by a dragon, I was overwhelmed by both the sudden want to burst into hysterical distressed tears, or run to him and shield him from the world at all costs.

Neither of which I did.

Of course, all he said was "My name is Drake" and an exchange occurred between the soldier and captain, in which it was decided that, predictably, Drake should probably be slaughtered even though they didn't know who he was.

I apprehensively watched the sky, vaguely noticing I was shaking like a leaf.

"Wait… you two… Who are you both, as well? Neither of them are on the list either, captain!"

I could tell them who Ian was too. He was extremely tall, even for a Breton, standing at about 6'10, with dark hair, and equally dark eyes, contrasting with his pale skin. He was lean, though not as lanky as I remembered him being pre-waking up in video game world. He had little interest in sports and going outside, preferring the world of video games and fantasy books. He was witty, hilarious, and would keep a secret with his life. I had known him for years, and he was like my brother. The expression he wore, with humongous dread in his eyes just added to my distress, and I was surprised I wasn't hyperventilating at this point.

And then there was me, Allena. Long dark brown hair and light brown eyes, usually worn loose to my mid back, bangs getting a little too long and making a habit of getting into my eyes. Apparently had elf ears, and upon glancing down at my arms, had much darker skin than before. I looked like I had a really great tan was all though, in comparison to my stark paleness before. Mostly, I just liked sleeping and staying out of trouble, and somehow, I managed to get myself in such a situation. Yeesh.

I stepped forward and joined the line of those condemned to die after giving my name with a shaky voice, still with little clue of how to get the hell out of here in the next 30 seconds.

There was an ominous sound in the distance.

A priestess started going on about eight divines, bless us, yadda yadda. I wasn't really listening. I did pay attention, however, when a Stormcloak soldier interrupted her and urged them to get on with his death, acting as casual as anyone as they placed his head on the block.

Just as I registered I was about to witness a horrifically gruesome sight, they cleanly chopped his head off.

Needless to say, my stomach churned and I had to turn away, gagging. There was blood everywhere. Now, I wasn't the sort of girl to squirm at gore, but watching live beheadings was a little much. The soldier's lifeless body collapsed, and they quickly glanced into the line of prisoners for the next victim.

"Next, the Bosmer!"

There was another ominous sound in the distance. Something that made me think of burning villages and flying beasts that could breathe fire.

I hesitantly stepped forward, not daring to look at Drake and Ian. Cold sweat was on my neck and back, and I felt fear like I had never known as I came into contact with the Stormcloak's lifeless body, still at the block as I was forced to kneel over it.

"Just my fucking luck…" I muttered, shutting my eyes as I got ready to breathe my last breath.

Of course, it didn't come, but instead I got the pleasureof hearing shouts of "DRAGON! KILL THAT THING, BY THE GODS."

A mighty noise the reverberated in my whole body knocked me back from the block by sheer force of it, sending shudders through my body, a quiver in the earth, and causing everything to black out for a second while my head spun.

xxx

Annnnd, this is the start to a new story! I was surprised to find I haven't read any shameless cross-world Skyrim fics, so I took it upon myself to create one. Here it is!

I'm going to start it off as an adventure, and yes, it will follow the main quest line, as well as some of the others (Companions, etc). However, there will be some romance later, yay. Pairings undecided, so as this story progresses, if you have any input you want to share on such, please do so! I'm open to ideas, and would like to know what the public wants to see, so... yeah!

I was a little apprehensive about this… adding more characters than just the Dragonborn, that is. Hopefully it goes over well and you all aren't overly disgusted. Anywho, this was just the prologue, hopefully you'll stick around for more! Any feedback is greatly appreciated, and thanks for reading!

(Also, please excuse any typos or mistakes, it's 2am, and I'm a little tired. I'll spellcheck it later, promise!)

-Irelia