The Prologue

Just outside of the walls of Whiterun, a small group of refugees have taken shelter on one of the small farms surrounding the city. In this group are two female Nords, Anra and Ileen, whose husbands each left behind a young daughter, a male Redguard that goes by the name of Arro who sold his sword before the war hit home, and an elderly Nord woman by the name of Tsari who lost a son to the war.

There's one more in this group that spends most of her time by herself. Because of her reclusive nature, not many know her name, and she doesn't stick around long enough for anyone to ask it. She bounces from one group to another. Of course, that depends on whether or not they take her in. Many of the groups she has encountered before this one ran her off in fear that she was one of the infiltrators sent out to find a group who had members able to fight. When such a group was found, the infiltrator would signal the nearby Imperials who would ambush the group at night and drag away the able-bodied.

This small group, however, knew she wasn't one of these Imperial infiltrators. Would an infiltrator help kill a group of Imperial Fetchers when they tried to capture Arro, Anra and Ileen? It wouldn't make sense for an infiltrator to attack the ones employing him or her, and Arro knew this. He felt that she had proved herself trustworthy by jumping into the thick of things and cutting down the Imperial Fetchers where they stood despite being initially ran off by them a mere hour earlier. But the rest stayed unconvinced that she wasn't a danger to them. The two Nord widowers believed that she was trying to get them to let their guard down before dragging them to the Imperials to fight in the war.

A week ago in The Pale, deep in the forest

Arro narrowed his eyes at the group that stood before him. "Skyrim may have gone to shit because of this war, but she saved our lives. That's a debt that can't be repaid." He paused and looked at each of them individually. "That being said, the very least we can do is let her travel with us."

"We're not going to let you risk our daughter's lives because of your stupid honor, Arro!" Ileen's grip on her daughter's shoulder tightened slightly as she and Anra pulled both their children closer to them.

Arro exhaled harshly through his nose, his anger rising after hearing their weak protests. "There's a war going on! Your children's lives are already at risk, and so are yours!" He threw his hands in the air. "Imperial, Stormcloak, refugee or otherwise; it doesn't matter whose side you're on or where you are. You're in danger. All of Skyrim is in danger."

It was silent as the two young women let his words sink in. "Arro is right. We don't have much to lose by letting her join us."

Anra, Ileen, their daughters and Arro turned to look at the older woman. She was much smaller than she should be at her age. Her clothes were dirty and in such tatters that it looked as if it would fall apart at any moment. Her hands trembled with the slightest movement, and her eyes looked hazy. Six months of living on the run with little to eat and no place to call home had crushed her both physically and mentally.

Anra seemed to have calmed down after hearing the weak voice of Tsari. She placed a hand on her daughter's head and ruffled her golden locks slightly. "Take Tsari over to the tent. Have Keena help you."

Hilja, Anra's daughter, looked over to Keena, Ileen's daughter, before leaving their mother's sides to lead Tsari to the makeshift tent made from tanned horse hide and bear pelt. The air surrounding Arro, Anra and Ileen grew heavy as their expressions darkened, their eyes downcast.

Anra finally broke the silence, her voice soft and barely audible. "Arro, we know that our chances of making it out of this war alive is slim." Her words only made the air heavier. "But we have children. If…" Anra's throat closed as her next words danced on the tip of her tongue. Ileen could see her struggling, and took a deep breath. She knew what Anra was going to say next, so she spoke for her.

"If we can have them live a little while longer by keeping out strangers, then we're going to do it." Ileen and Anra finally raised their gazes to look at Arro apologetically. But Arro could see past that, and uncover the hint of stubbornness that told him they weren't going to be swayed so easily.

The Redguard sighed. "You're judging her by her looks. If everyone did that, we'd be dead long ago."

Arro spoke the truth, and the two Nord females couldn't deny it. "She's skilled with those steel daggers. She brought down five Imperials with ease, while I had trouble dealing with just two of them. I know you've noticed it too…" Arro became silent as he let his body relax.

Anra's eyes widened while Ileen quickly averted her gaze. "I've protected the two of you, Hilja, Keena and Tsavi since we left Morthal six months ago. We're in the Pale now. We've been running and running with little to eat, and no place to lay down our heads. I'm growing weak. If she joins us, she could help keep everyone alive longer. And maybe…maybe with her, we can survive this war."

Now, Arro had their attention. Their eyes screamed everything they couldn't say aloud: pity for Arro and his health, worry for Hilja and Keena's safety, hope that Arro was right about surviving this war together, and at the same time, bitter acceptance that the likeliness of all of them making it out alive was small, if not nonexistent.

"I guess…I guess we can give her a chance." Anra seemingly sighed in defeat as Ileen placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Arro's once hardened expression softened at their acceptance and understanding, even if they were still reluctant to let the stranger female join them.

Not wanting to push his luck, he left without another word and made his way towards the shrouded woman who sat off to the side, perched atop a large rock that jutted out of the hardened earth.

"I've convinced them to let you travel with us, stranger. We need the extra sword—well, dagger, in this case. What do you say? Do you wish to travel with us? We're heading to Whiterun. We heard it has made its stand as a neutral city among all this fighting, which makes it one of the safer cities for people like us."

The woman with the black hood hiding her eyes seemed to be thinking things over as she watched the weakened Redguard sway ever so slightly, his eyes giving away to how worn out he truly was. Her eyes shifted to the two Nord women before finally looking back to him, her eyes remaining hidden by shadows this entire time. "I'll join you on your journey to Whiterun."

Arro was unsure if she'd be helping protect the small group during their travels like he wanted, but he sensed he'd risk running her off if he asked anymore questions. "Come join us over by the tent. We were able to catch two small fishes and dig up a potato and carrot. It has been a long day. It's time to eat and rest up for tomorrow."

I've played Skyrim on and off after beating it, but recently I started it back up again and have been inspired to write out my character's story. The chapters are likely to be short and updates will be probably once or twice every one or two weeks as I'm busy with school. But once summer break comes around, I'll be posting more often as I'll have time to write.

I hope everyone enjoys this story! Reviews are always loved and appreciated~ Undoubtedly, it will lead to me updating more often. Did that sound like I was forcing you to leave reviews? [/awkward laughing]