Oblivion Hath No Fury Like A Woman's Vengeance
By: PheonixWolfGirl
Chapter 1: How I Met Her
"Uch. Been tending your hounds? You smell like a wet dog." Inquires some random Stormcloak guard as I pass under the pathetic excuse for a gate to Falkreath.
"Something like that." I tell him when I stop to look at him. He's a scrawny one, not even a grown man yet. At this point he finally realizes just who I am.
"Wait, you're Stormblade! You're the reason that High King Ulfric was able to liberate Skyrim! By Talos, it's an honor to meet you!" he starts gushing like an obsessed schoolboy. Oh joy, another suck up. Maybe I should scare him a little bit; hopefully it'll put some hair on his chest and chin.
"How old are you soldier? And how long ago were you recruited?" I ask him with a stern look. He counts using his fingers before answering.
"Umm, 18 winters, sir. And I joined up earlier this month. They assigned me to Falkreath, so here I am." He says, bouncing on his heels with an idiotic grin on his face. I run my hand through my obsidian-colored hair. Yep, he has no experience. I don't think that Ulfric or Galmar would've recruited someone so green. It was probably Ralof who recruited this little whelp of a soldier. I'm surprised that he ain't recruited his nephew Frodnar yet. Of course Gerdur would probably murder Ralof if he let Frodnar join. I look back up at the guard and realize that he's looking at me expectantly, waiting for me to continue the conversation. Time to make him soil his loincloth.
"They assigned a 18 year old fresh recruit to guard FALKREATH at night?! In the RAIN?! What in Oblivion are they thinking?! I'm gonna have words with your commanding officer in the morning, if you're still alive." I declare rather angrily. He shrinks back at my outburst. Good, I need to uphold my reputation for being unapproachable. Hopefully it will keep the fangirls from bothering me. Most of them are only interested in me because I'm the Dragonborn, and I happen to be King Ulfric's heir should he die before he has children, though I doubt that he will die before fathering an heir.
"May I ask why I might not survive, sir?" he asks rather timidly. Good, he's starting to be intimidated by me. But my work here isn't done yet.
"Werewolves. You won't see or hear them coming at night in this weather. But they can still sniff you out just as easily as if it were a bright clear day." I see him pale as I tell him this. I don't want to scare him so much that he deserts. Ulfric and Galmar would be irritated at me. "But you should be okay for tonight. I ain't heard any howling tonight, and it's raining hard enough to keep even the man-beasts inside." I reassure him before I start to walk toward Dead Man's Drink to get a pint and a bed.
"I thought that you said that you wouldn't hear them coming? How would you know if they are howling or not?" he calls after me. Damn, he's a little bit smarter than I expected. I can't let him know too much.
"I said that you wouldn't hear them coming. I have much better hearing than most." I reply without even looking back. Hopefully that will satisfy his curiosity for now. What he doesn't know is that most unfamiliar werewolves I find hunting in my territory end up on the wrong side of my teeth and claws. I continue walking to Dead Man's Drink; Talos knows I need a stiff drink after dealing with that milk-drinker of a boy. I slam open the tavern door, causing Valga to turn her head towards the sound and to bite her lip at the sight of me. Looking around, I notice that the common room of the inn is empty except for Valga and me. Even the bard is gone. On second thought, it's late, so maybe I'll skip the mead and go straight off to bed. I turn to address the innkeeper.
"Valga, I'll take the usual room for the usual rate." I announce as I drop a coin purse on the bar and start walking towards my room.
"Sorry, Stormblade, but someone else has already rented that room for the night." She states exasperatedly. I give her an incredulous look as I stop in my tracks and do a 180° turn to face her once more.
"Who had enough coin to rent the best room at the normal rate?" I ask as I give Valga one of my best glares.
"Actually, this adventurer paid double the normal rate. Some people are better at hanging on to their coin than you, oh mighty Dragonborn!" she says with a sarcastic eye roll. She is one of the few people who is unaffected by my intimidation factor.
"Well then, who is this adventurer that can pay double the normal rate? I'd like to meet him." I say rubbing my hands together with a mischievous glint in my eye. "I can't wait to rip him a new one." I think to myself. My inner thoughts are interrupted by a female voice that I don't recognize coming from behind me.
"She's right behind you." Says the voice. I turn around to the sight of the most beautiful Nord woman that I have ever seen in my entire life, which is saying something since beautiful women are throwing themselves at me all the time being like "It's a fine day with you around, Dragonborn." My jaw threatens to drop as my eyes take her in. She wears a typical blacksmith's apron and is tall even for a Nord. I notice the thick, powerful muscles in her arms and legs. "She could probably rip a fox or a hare limb from limb with her bare hands" pipes up my inner wolf, licking his chops as he fanaticizes about her. "Down boy" I mentally chide him. Her hair is a gorgeous reddish-brown, and she has soot marks on her face and hands. I couldn't tell you anything about her chest area because I got lost in her sea-blue eyes. She speaks up again bringing me out of my thoughts once more. "My name is Anija Ehrendottir, and I am searching for the Dragonborn. Are you him?" she explains, tilting her head a little bit at the end. I realize that she is asking me a direct question, so I pick up what's left of my confidence and get ready to see what this strange but beautiful woman wants.
"Yes, I am the Dragonborn. You can call me by my name though." I say flashing her a hopefully smug grin.
"You'd have to tell me first. And I'm not here to get buddy-buddy with some self-important player, Divines know I had to deal with enough of that with Eurik back in Ebonfield." Anija says rather dryly. I decide that it might be time to get serious about this conversation.
"My name is Wulfric Bjornson. And if you aren't here to vie for my affections, thank the gods, then why are you here?" I ask her while she gives me a puzzled look.
"You mean to say that you, Wulfric Bjornson the Dragonborn, actually dislike attention from your 'fangirls'? And I'm here because I was told that I might find be able to find you here." She says, still giving me a peculiar look.
"Of course I dislike all the attention that I get from women; they may be beautiful, but they are far too desperate for my tastes. Plus, they all smell too flowery and sweet. And why did you need to find me?" I ask while shooting a glare at Valga, who's standing in a corner laughing at the whole scene. Damn her to Oblivion, she shouldn't be laughing at me and my awkwardness.
"I need you to teach me how to kill a dragon." Anija finally says as a fire lights up in her eyes. I am dumbstruck for a moment before deciding that I either heard her wrong or she is touched with Sheogorath's madness.
"Excuse me, Anija, but I don't think I heard you right; it sounded like you just said that you wanted me to teach you how to kill a dragon." I tell her while sitting down at one of the bar tables and gesturing for her to sit by me. She sits down before continuing the conversation.
"You heard right. It's kinda a long story, but I need to kill a dragon. But not just any dragon; I need to kill the dragon that destroyed my home and murdered my friends and family." She explains with clenched teeth and fists. I watch her take a breath and slowly relax her hands and jaw before speaking again, "I need you to train me and then assist me in bringing down that winged terror." Anija looks at me with an almost pleading look in her eyes. Damn her, I've just met her and already I feel like I would do anything to make her happy. "There's a reason for that you know. Her soul calls out to us." States my inner wolf. "Shut up! We can't fall in love, not when we might accidentally hurt our lover." I think back to him. "The grohiik has a point. This joor punahro sil calls for us to jaaril her. We will not aax her." Comments Sahrotaar. "What'd he say?" asks the wolf. "He says 'The wolf has a point. This mortal female's soul calls for us to protect her. We will not harm her.' And Sahrotaar, who invited you into this thought argument? I gotta go, Anija is looking at me weird." I explain irritably. I decide that there is no way that I would get away with not helping her, and finally give her an answer.
"You want to train, then I will train you. But right now you need to get some sleep. We leave in the morning for Whiterun. And we'll be taking the long way." I tell her before laying down on one of the benches to try and get some sleep for myself. Hopefully the wolf and the dragons will let me sleep. Anija looks shocked for a moment before she nods her head in agreement and goes back to the room she rented to get some shut-eye.