AN: Disclaimer: Bethesda Softworks owns Skyrim and all cities/characters that I may write about in this story, such as Dorthe, Alvor, Ralof, Riverwood and so on.
I only made up the character Erianthe, so I guess she kind of belongs to me.

Erianthe was, as usual, making her way through the village where she lived, Riverwood, heading to the south road. She was on her way to make the trip she had made every Morndas for almost two months now. Erianthe can remember the day very clearly when she made her first trip, on Morndas, 17th of Last Seed 4E 201, when she got the terrible news. She stops for a little while and leans against one of the pillars of the Riverwood Trader.

She remembers that she was just talking to Dorthe, Alvor and Sigrid's little daughter, sitting on the stairs that lead up to Dorthes fathers forge. She and Dorthe were discussing that she will become a blacksmith one day. Erianthe was facing the south road while she sat there and talked to Dorthe, and glanced to it every now and then because she was expecting her father to come home that day. Then she suddenly saw Ralof and some stranger in Stormcloak armor. The stranger, who was a young male nord, probably only a few years older than her. He was very muscular and tall, with facial features that appealed to her. He had chestnut brown hair, pulled back in a sloppy ponytail. He also had golden brown eyes. She remembers thinking that she thought he was very, very handsome, even from afar.

Erianthe quickly finished her conversation with Dorthe and walked up to Ralof, whom she had known her whole life, and who was a dear friend of hers. Ralof and the stranger were just about to cross the bridge to the mill. She had stopped just in front of them, looking at the stranger, who looked back with wide eyes, and remembers thinking that the stranger was even more handsome from up close. Erianthe knew why he was staring. She knew she looked good, with her long, wavy black velvet like hair, which was in contrast to her very fair skin and her sparkling light blue eyes. Many of Riverwoods boys have had a crush on her in her childhood, including Sven, Faendal, and even Ralof, while many of the Riverwood girls had been jealous on her. She had never been interested in anyone in Riverwood, until now...
She had stroke her long hair behind her ear and turned to Ralof, and said:

"Ralof, is everything alright? You look kind of… troubled."

"Aye, but I have some bad news. I have to go see Gerdur at her mill immediately, but I'll come back to you right after and tell you something." Ralof had answered whilst he turned his back on her and started walking before even finishing his sentence, and the stranger smiled to her before turning around and following him.

"Uh, okay…" She had mumbled after him, not sure if he even heard her.

Erianthe had walked back to the stairs of the blacksmith and sat down thinking what the bad news could be. She remembers sitting there and waiting for about 15 minutes, pondering what the news could be, when Ralof finally showed up. She saw the stranger passing by behind Ralof, following Hod in the direction of his and Gerdurs house. She rose and started walking toward Ralof. When they stood in front of each other Ralof said:

"I think it's best if you sit down, Erianthe."

"Okay, come on" she said and took his hand and dragged him along behind her, and sat him and herself down on the wooden floor in front of the Riverwood trader. She let go of his hand and asked:

"So... What is the bad news?"

"I don't know how to tell you this… But your father…"

My father? She had thought.

"What about my father?"

"Your father… He is… He's… dead. The imperials beheaded him. The stranger and I was about to be next, when suddenly a very large black dragon appeared. If it wouldn't have been for the dragon, I would be dead alongside my friend who came with me."

"What?!" She rose, and her eyes got filled with tears. "Is my father…? Dead? He can't be dead! He was supposed to come back home today, he can't be…"

Ralof rose too and gave her a quick hug whilst saying:

"I know it's hard to believe, and I was there. He was as fearless in death as he was in life. I'm so sorry…"

"I… I don't know what to say... I think I need to be alone now, Ralof."

"That's okay, I need to be heading to Hod and Gerdurs house and speak with my friend. Bye Erianthe"

Erianthe hadn't even bothered to say bye, she just turned around in tears and ran away, through the south road. She ran and ran, out of Riverwood and past the guardian stones, uphill on a cobble path. She took right when the path split in two and ran forward a little while, and then she saw a little stepped path and ran on it upward. She remembers crying the whole time. When the path ended she saw a shrine, but she didn't know which gods it was. She saw four worshippers, some in robes and some in regular clothes, and wiped her tears while walking up to the worshipper closest to her.

"What shrine is this?" She had asked.

"This is the Shrine of Talos, child, welcome." The worshipper answered in a mild tone.

"Oh… Do you mind if I sit here for a while? I just found out that my father is dead and I know he worshipped Talos."

"Of course not, child. Take all the time you need"

That was when Erianthe decided to visit that Shrine of Talos every Morndas, in honor of her father.
Ugh, I can't bear to think of this right now. Best I continue my journey toward the Shrine, she thought.

She stopped leaning against the pillar and continued her way out of Riverwood. She liked to take the trip to the shrine, she had become friends with the worshippers and longed to see them again. When she got to the little stepped path she got the feeling that something wasn't right. She touched her steel dagger that was sheathed on her left side, controlling that it was there in case she might need it. The steel dagger was given to her by her father before he died, on her 15th birthday, and she was 19 now. They had trained together sometimes so she wasn't completely useless, should she ever find herself in a fight. When she was done controlling that the dagger was there, she continued upward the path.

AN: Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my story, Two Hearts Bound! Next chapter is coming soon :D I'm sorry for any grammar mistakes or such that I may have made. I checked my text but english is not my native language. Also, sorry if some info is incorrect, like the amount of worshippers by the shrine or the way to it, I don't have access to play Skyrim right now, and what I don't remember I check up on uesp or eldersrollswiki.
The action will start in chapter 3!