Chapter One: All Through the Night (Sundas, 17th of Last Seed; Morndas, 18th of Last Seed)
The woman watched helplessly as her unconscious sister was practically tossed into the back of a wagon, her hands bound behind her back. Why was she a prisoner? Were the Thalmor behind this?
The light was fading. It would be dark soon. They'd barely set up their camp, and she had no idea where her other sisters and brother had disappeared to in the fray. She knew Aerenwen was the only one who had been captured, but she realized there was chance any of the others could've been killed.
She had climbed a tree, stayed in the shadows, to avoid detection and avoid getting mixed up in the fighting. It looked like Aerenwen hadn't been so lucky.
The carriages began moving, rolling forward through the snow covered ground. She followed, quietly, sneaking behind them. Tracking, sneaking, stealthiness . . . they were all skills of hers. Her father had often joked that she'd do best if she made a career of thievery, and although she saw nothing wrong with that herself, she knew he would never seriously condone that lifestyle. His moral compass was too strong. Hers, however, not so much . . . it was something she and her sister, Elain, had in common as opposed to the rest of their family.
Through the night, she followed, avoiding detection, ignoring the cold and the hunger pains that caused her stomach to roll angrily. The sun rose, and now she could see her sister again, still unconscious, slouched over on the bench on the side of the carriage. Was she even alive?
From a distance, the woman saw her sister finally stir. Her eyes were opened, and she seemed to be speaking to one of her fellow prisoners. She tried to think of any way she could get Aerenwen's attention, to let her know she wasn't alone, that she would, somehow, get her out of this, but there was no way of doing so without alerting the rest of the caravan, Imperial soldiers included.
A fortified town came into view, and the wagons disappeared inside its gate. The heavy wooden doors closing tightly behind them and watched over by several guards. She knew there was no way she could get in without speaking to them. Perhaps she could feign being lost, ask if there was an inn inside the walls where she could get a decent meal and some rest before continuing on her journey. . . it sounded believable, but then what?
They had successfully broken their brother out of Thalmor custody, but that had been all five sisters working together. Aerenwen was the weapons expert and warrior. She was better with a sword than anyone else her sister knew. She, herself, could barely lift one of the heavy metal things let alone wield it. The best she could do in hand-to-hand combat was a dagger. Mari was the mage. Sure, they all knew a few spells. It was hard not to pick up a few tricks over the years when your mother was a master at the arts of magicka and alchemy, and you were of the Altmer race, born with a naturally affinity for those sorts of things. However, it had never interested her much. She'd grow bored with all the concentration involved, so her knowledge consisted of some restoration magic and a few very basic destruction spells. Without Mari, her magic was nearly useless in such a feat. Elain was the cold-blooded killer of the family. Although the rest of them were more than capable of taking a life when it meant their own survival, it was something they avoided and always carried with them. Elain didn't seem to have that problem. Their mother had always said she had a darkness within her. Needless to say, during their adventure thus far, Elain had shed the most blood. She was ruthless. Then there was Glenys, the brains of the family. All of the siblings had above-average intelligence and excelled in their various areas, but Glenys outshone them all when it came to smarts. Her photographic memory and lightning fast reasoning skills made her a fountain of knowledge, and she could've sat there, stared at the walled community for a few moments, and had a plan of entry just like that. Without her sisters' help, she just knew there was no way her talents alone were going to free Aerenwen.
Her only hope was to convince the Imperials that Aerenwen's arrest had been a mistake, that she didn't belong with those other prisoners. It was possible. She'd always been told she had the ability to talk anyone into anything, but if the Thalmor were involved . . . well, then her sister's capture wouldn't have been a mistake, and there was an excellent chance she would find herself a prisoner behind those walls as well.
The Altmer woman had sat there, perched on a large boulder, feet so cold in the snow they were numb, thinking over all of this and all of her options for quite some time when a terrible roar echoed from the mountains. She looked toward the sound, alarmed, and her blonde eyebrows slowly raised as a great, winged beast flew down toward the town. As it flew, flames shot from its mouth and fireballs rained down from the now overcast sky.
A dragon!
She didn't know how it was possible, but there it was. All those years her grandmother had spoken of the return of dragons like it was something she knew would happen someday, they had never believed her. They attributed it to an old elf who was tired of this world and let her imagination run away with her.
"Nesta, you'll see someday. Mark my words. The sky will fill with dragons again, just as it was in days gone by," she had told her. "Aerenwen will be important. You all will. I've seen it."
Nesta laughed dryly. "Crazy old Nan was right, after all."
She watched as the dragon roared and swooped over the town, causing the destruction of everything in its path. Nesta was terrified. She had no idea where Aerenwen was nor how she would survive this attack, and she knew there was nothing she could do. She'd been worried about a few soldiers before. With a dragon thrown into the mix, she felt completely useless.
"I'm sorry, sister," she said as she stood, staring at the plumes of smoke rising from the village and listening to the screams of terror.
"Nesta, you're such a coward," she whispered to herself.
Then she began to run.
Author's Note: Here is the start of Nesta's story. I will be posting six different stories (Skyrim Book I, Skyrim Book II, etc.), each following the lives of one of a group of siblings as they arrive in Skryim and follow different paths in the game. We will be following Nesta until the end of the month of Last Seed, then we will move on to the fourth sibling. If you haven't read the first parts of the stories following the first two siblings, Aerenwen and Mari, I have already posted them. Each story will exist independently, and it isn't necessary to read them all, nor does the order in which you do so matter much. But their tales will all eventually cross.