Familiar Faces

A tree branch snapped underneath the weight of my foot and I flinched slightly at the sound. I looked down to see the broken misshapen twig and sighed as if the tree branch was a symbol of my resolve and I had had just broken both. My shoulder stung against the rays of the sun where it was singed by the hot breathe of a dragon. Riverwood, a small mill village and the first place I made friends and a reputation in the arctic lands of Skyrim, was no more then ten minutes away from me if I continued on the stone road I was so eerily familiar with. The only problem was that I carried with me the bones and scales of the perviously mentioned dragon and suffice to say, it weighed twice as much as I did. I breathed in and lifted myself once again with the heavy remains in my hands and continued on the road ahead, eager to reach my destination.

Riverwood had remained exactly as I had remembered it. I smiled upon entering the southern gate and Sven's mother sat outside their small home still glaring viciously at every passerby just as always. My good friend Faendal greeted me as he carried a small pile of firewood to a stockpile he was creating outside Alvor's forage.

"Well well! Welcome back. You look exhausted Aria, let me help you."

Faendal greeted me with a big warm smile and kindly took the bones and placed them in a wheel cart for me. I nodded in appreciation and set the rest inside as well, heaving a grateful sigh of relief for my sore muscles. Faendal looked at me with concern.

"Aria, I know this will fall on deaf ears, but you know as a woman you really don't have to be doing so much…"

His voiced trailed off as I stared at him with a mixture of amusement and disregard.

"I'm Dragonborn Faendal. Me being a woman is never going to change that. And to be frank I'm grateful to do these things myself rather then be stuck as a tavern wench or fruit stand girl."

Faendal shrugged sympathetically.

"Of course. I didn't mean any harm. It's just strange to me seeing a woman do the things you do. It's my instinct to help you even though I know you can take care of yourself ten times over."

I nodded in understanding. I had the same instinct for almost everyone else. I cleared my throat and decided to change the subject.

"How is Camilla doing these days?"

I asked with a soft smile, knowing I'd have Faendal's attention diverted with ease. He beamed gleefully at me and hugged me. I was so taken aback I froze in place and awkwardly patted his back.

"We're to be married Aria! I asked her three nights ago and she said yes and even Lucan gave us his blessing, albeit begrudgingly. I've never been more happy in my entire life."

I smiled at him as he hugged me and I accepted the gesture with less reservation. For some reason though I felt a strange feeling in my chest. I breathed in and out to forget the sharp ping of loneliness.

"I'm happy for you my friend. I can't wait to see Camila and you together with children running around. I wonder what they'll look like being half imperial and elf."

Faendal blushed and I laughed at his shyness but I stopped abruptly as the hardened figure of Sven passed by us. He made a dissatisfied grunt in our direction. He has changed much since the last time I had seen him. His hair was once very fair and although his personality killed it, many would have said he was quite handsome but looking at him now that seemed like a far off reality. His hair was dirty and unkept, his once blond hair looking almost grey. His clothes smelled of mead and his once proud walk was now comparable to an unbalanced drunk.

Fendeal shook his head glumly.

"He tried to ask her to run away with him…After we had announced our engagement. Camilla tried to let him down easy but he wouldn't have it so Lucan had to step in. Almost called the city guard. If I was anyone else here I think I would feel sorry for him."

I nodded in silent agreement. Looking at him now I did feel sorry for him. Love was quite a killer. Suddenly I heard Alvor's hammer drop loudly on his anvil. I looked up to see him staring at me and I shifted uncomfortably.

"Aria! You brought dragon bones. Making more arrows? You know you're welcome to use my forage any time." He said trying to sound casual.

"Thank you Alvor, but these are for a friend. I won't be needing a forage." I said smiling politely.

He looked away with clear disappointment. From the corner of my eye I saw his wife nod in satisfaction at me from her porch, although her face was clearly clouded with anger.

Faendal looked at me with sympathy.

"You're a gorgeous woman Aria. It's bound to stir up trouble with men, married or otherwise."

I rolled my eyes at him.

"If said men had any real honor then they'd honor the promises they made to their wives or wife to be like you Faendal."

Faendal nodded in appreciation and I smiled at him. I wished every man was as crazy about his woman as he was.

"Speaking of which, I should give these to Lucas. He promised me quite a bit of gold for them."

I patted faendal's back and grabbed the handles of the cart. He smiled and waved goodbye to me.

"See you at the Sleeping Giant tonight?" he called.

"Of course!" I shouted back.

I was looking forward to that the most. A warm bed, friends, and drinks. What more could a girl ask for? Only a little further down the road and I was at Camilla's home and also Lucan's shop, the Riverwood Trader. I gathered the heavy bundles of bones and scales and headed inside. No one was downstairs but I heard footsteps from above so I took the time to set everything down on the counter. Soon, Camilla skipped down the stairs and grinned joyfully at me.

"Ari!" she exclaimed.

She looked the same as always, minus the glow of warmth on her face. A stitched brown and yellow dress hung delicately on her frame and her hair remained twisted and bundled tastefully atop her head. Her imperial features were defined and her soft skin and bright eyes had always made her the desire of the town.

I grinned seeing her as she crushed me in a hug.

"Oh where have you been! what have you seen? You know I cannot wait to hear all about your adventures."

"Not so fast Velerius! I heard you're about to go on quite an adventure yourself with a handsome young wood elf from town." I teased.

She blushed dark just as Faendal had and I laughed at the similarity.

"You ran into him on your way in didn't you? Oh yes Ari and I cannot wait! We're going to leave a month from now so we can gather supplies and head to Riften for the ceremony. Lucan hired a real carriage driver to take us. It's going to be amazing! You simply have to be there if you can. If a dragon shows up to ruin my wedding I will be needing you there to behead it after all."

I laughed softly at her enthusiasm.

"Of course. I will make my way there in a months time then and bring my sword should any foolish dragon decide to ruin your wedding."

Just then Lucan descended from the staircase and rolled his eyes at his younger sister.

"Camilla you should calm yourself. It's not for a month and the whole town already knows about it so stop yapping so much. Aria is a very busy woman. She hardly gets a moment to herself, why not let her breathe before you bombard her with requests?"

Lucan looked at me with a mixture of sympathy and interest. His eyes trailed from my face down my body and I mentally sighed. Men these days. They used to be more sly when observing a woman curves.

Camilla gave him a bored look and shot back at him.

"Oh, how nice of you to say. You were all too eager for her to retrieve your precious golden claw the first time we met her. And you forbade me from assisting her. You didn't care for her time or well being then brother. I wonder where you found a heart on such short notice."

Lucan glared angrily at her.

"I was too focused on getting our family fortune back Camilla. Besides, she is Dragonborn. You didn't need to accompany her and she offered herself to retrieve it for us. And I remain grateful to you, Aria, for doing such."

Lucan took my hand and kissed it gently before going to the counter to see to the bones and scales.

"These look great. I have a buyer coming in a few days who asked specifically for them. I have your gold right here."

Lucan handed me a large pouch of gold. I nodded kindly and poured them on the table to count them. I never assumed Lucan to rip me off completely but he was a merchant after all. Often times his payments were a coin or two short. As I did so Camilla sat next to me at the table and began catching me up on the town gossip. For the most part I smiled and nodded, listening with slight interest. Alvor and his wife were arguing more frequently now at night. Much of the town could hear it sometimes. Camilla and I spoke briefly of our sympathy for their daughter. Sven was said to soon be leaving town to go back to the bards college. I couldn't help but wonder if Camila's wedding had anything to do with that.

"Oh! and there's a stranger staying at the inn. He's been here for a little over a day now. He's such a handsome man Aria. I heard from Delphine that he's a ranger. Although I don't know if that's true or not since rangers usually have wolf companions."

I lifted my gaze from the table now, curious.

"Ranger?" I asked. I hadn't heard of the term before.

"Mhm. You know, tracker hunters. He seems like a pretty skilled one too. All of the woman in Riverwood are a bit taken with him." She grinned at me.

"If I wasn't with Faendal, I myself would have a go at him. So handsome."

She said with a wink. Lucan scoffed at her from the other side of the room. I laughed her off.

"Hmm I guess I should have a look myself tonight then since he's so handsome it's worth mentioning twice with a wink."

Jokes aside though, I did wonder if the stranger was an excellent tracker. If so then maybe…

"What else have you heard about him?" I asked curiously.

Camilla grinned, seemingly satisfied to have sparked my interest with the handsome ranger. Lucan frowned as he swept and turned his back to us.

"Not much else. He seems to be tracking something right now which is why he's in Riverwood. Why don't you go ask him yourself?"

I nodded in deep thought. I could use a tracker.

"I will." I said as I smiled in satisfaction, assured that every coin I was promised was now accounted for.

Lucan now stood by us and looked at me with a note of disappointment.

"He's not worth your time Aria. Just a hunter at best. Don't let Camilla fill your head with her nonsense."

Camilla glared at him.

"Why don't you let Aria decide that for herself Lucan?"

I looked at them both sympathetically, feeling it was time for me to go before their sibling jabs got more serious on my behalf.

"I should check in with Delphine. The sun is starting to set. I hope to see you guys tonight?" I said rising from my chair before Lucan could shoot a comeback.

"Of course!" Camilla smiled and hugged me.

"I might be there later." Lucan grumbled. I nodded in understanding.

"I hope you both are. Farewell!"