"What in the hell are you doing to me?! Let me go!" I thrashed against the two captors as they fought to get my hands in bounds. I was scratching at the two men, not exactly sure where I was aiming but hoping to catch something other than air. It was not going well at all, especially whenever I had felt my wrists touching and I was beaten. Whenever my wrists, including my hands and arms, were unusable, I felt one of my captors grab my hair and pull hard. He or she was not gentle with their actions, though. My teeth were showing and my ears were flattened against my hair at this point. My body was now on display for the other to see. I wasn't naked but I wasn't exactly wearing anything that covered everything up as well. Being a female, I felt a little self-conscious having myself in this position with two men around. I have orange fur with accents on my arms and legs of black but it just made those spots look browner. My face has the markings of a wildcat like a bobcat or leopard. The pattern was white, making them stand out from my normal fur color. I didn't really resemble a housecat in looks at all, making my intimidation that much easier. My eyes are a gold color, matching my fur more than my markings on my face. I have a generously full head of hair, thankfully. I like my fur but I am fonder of my hair on my head. It is one thing that I make sure to keep well groomed more than anything. It is a shiny auburn and it reaches just below my neck line. The top layer is put into a ponytail while the rest is not held and free flowing.
"Stupid cat thinking you can leave alone. I hate your kind so much and seeing one of your heads rolling will make me so happy." I could see the one in front of me currently talking clearly. He was a stereotypical beast hating Imperial that seemed to get joy from seeing another person die if they didn't like them. I couldn't stand those but I held my tongue until a time whenever I could escape.
I was then put on a cart with a few other prisoners that were surprisingly not the same race as I. They were Nords but they didn't look at me with hate or disgust like I was expecting. They seemed to be respectful of myself but I couldn't tell for sure since it was silent except for the movement of horses and the carts wooden wheels. I was okay with silence but I couldn't help but move my wrists to try and get them into a more comfortable position then they were at the moment. The Imperials who took me were not generous with giving me comfort. I wasn't expecting to be loose but they seemed to gladly have the rope burn me with every slight move.
There were three other men in the same cart as I and they all seemed to act the same way. Quiet and didn't look like they had any plans to escape. I knew that even if I were to get out of the predicament and try to run, I would more than likely have some kind of weaponry in my back that would most likely kill me easily. Being unarmed myself and having armed guards around the cart would only spell my death instantly if I were to make a scene. I couldn't help but notice a second cart as well filled with even more Nords. I seemed to be the only one that stuck out.
"Hey, Khajiit. You were trying to cross the border, right?" The Nord man directly in front of me spoke, breaking the silence with a question that I was less than willing to answer. To show that I wasn't ignoring the man, I answered but very vaguely.
"I was trying to leave, yes." My voice gave the hint of annoyance and anger but the Nord didn't ask anymore, rather talking to the others in the cart. The man to my right couldn't talk, though. He had a cloth over his mouth tied tightly to stop him from making any sounds other than grunts. The last of us was a less than bulky Nord that looked like a weaker version of the other two. In fact, he seemed to have less courage than them as well. He was spurting out some details of trying to steal a horse and how he shouldn't be in the cart and all sorts of things but one thing caught my attention. He spoke towards the man with the covered mouth and called him 'Jarl of Windhelm' and the 'True High King'. I was not in Skyrim very long, in fact I was not supposed to be here at all but I had to return to do some business but I didn't bother to catch up on the current politics or anything of the sort so I didn't know what a 'Jarl' or a 'High King' was. I was hoping it wouldn't come to figuring out what they were but with how guarded these carts were, it didn't exactly seem like anyone who was bound were going to somewhere pleasant. It really didn't look good whenever the carts eventually made their way to a small town with only a handful of people. It may have been a small section of somewhere bigger like the Imperial City in Tamriel but I couldn't see pas their walls and didn't want to get up to try and look at the scenery. I didn't know where we were at the moment, anyhow. Even more, the Nord directly in front of me seemed to recognize somebody as being named 'General Tullius'. I wasn't sure who that was again but I didn't exactly think I was going to be figuring out so much today about a place I had no intention of staying in. There were people coming from a smaller path to the town but the main path was absent of anyone, probably not wanting to get trampled or hurt. It was excusable since I would do the same if I were not in this situation. If I were no tin this situation, I would probably be looking at the others here with less of a caring attitude as well. I would have never thought I would be bound and forced to be driven to who knows where. This could be a way to a jail or, if things were not looking my way, to my death. I was not given any details, just thrown in the cart and knocked out before waking up where I was now.
"This is Helgen." I guess our location was revealed from the Nord in front of me. I didn't know where Helgen was but it seemed to have less of a population than most other places I had seen in my last day in Skyrim, not counting the time this had all happened.
The Imperials driving the carts ended up parking them so the horses were looking at a wall and the back of the carts were looking towards the houses. There were two Imperials dressed in heavy and light armor. One was a male holding a list, looking through as we were ordered to evacuate the cart. No one was going to defy them while they were bound but the Nord that was labeled as a horse thief seemed to object highly with words. The Imperials had no intention of paying any attention to his pleas. The women in heavy armor looked to be a higher rank than the other's wearing light armor and was probably there for keeping control over the situation and, knowing some Imperials, for the enjoyment. I don't think it was for me but instead for the ones called 'Stormcloaks'. I didn't know who or what the organization or people were but they seemed to be a problem for the Imperials around here. Still, execution was a quick and unneeded punishment.
"Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm!" The male Imperial called out and the muffled man walked past the two towards the executioner and the chopping block.
"It's been an honor, Jarl Ulfric." The man that was in front of me in the cart spoke and called Ulfric a 'Jarl'. I still didn't know what a 'Jarl' was but I knew Windhelm was a hold in Skyrim. It could be some kind of leader but I didn't understand what a leader of a hold was doing about to be executed.
"Ralof of Riverwood!" The man who sat in front of me in the cart was called up next and he was silent but he had no fear. Like Ulfric, he walked with honor and no fear in his steps. I didn't know if I was going to be the same given how I had no reason to be here but maybe that would come to my advantage.
"Lokir of Rorikstead!" The horse thief was called up next but he didn't go up with an attitude of honor. He was pleading his way out but the woman was unmoved. He did something pretty extreme next, trying to run while bound. Not only was it hard to run while being impaired to start with, there was something I didn't notice right away. The woman called for archers and from the top of buildings came a half a dozen arrows that struck the man down before he got to the exit of Helgen. He was killed on the street but no one said a thing. They all looked at the man like he deserved it when it didn't seem like it. Still, maybe being by an executioner would have the same outcome but more messy.
"Wait, you there. Step forward." I wasn't ready to die right now until I knew there was no way I was getting out of this alive. I didn't plan on dying today but if I were to run, the archers would shoot me down and I would be in the same position as the horse thief. At least following their orders would give me more time to escape. If not, then today would just be the end of my life. I wasn't exactly enthusiastic to die but I still wasn't ready to say I was expecting it, either.
"Who…are you?" The man didn't mark anything on his list. It was obvious that I wasn't on it and was not supposed to die. There could still be a chance that I could get out of this alive by not being on their list of prisoners. That was the hope at the moment.
"I am Isabel; original name is Is'ma, from Tamriel." I wasn't going to divulge any information about my reason for being in Skyrim to these bullies but the man with the list didn't seem too eager to see me dead like some of the others. Maybe he could be the one that gets me out.
"You with one of the trade caravans, Khajiit? Your kind always seems to find trouble." I would not lie that it was true. Even when I was doing nothing but walking, like now, there always seemed to be some sort of trouble coming. This was, by far, the worst situation but I had others. He wrote something down, probably my name, and turned to the woman.
"Captain, what should we do? She is not on the list." So, the woman with the heavy armor was the captain. That meant the ones with light armor were probably normal soldiers. That cleared a couple things up but in this point in time, it didn't matter who was who. All that mattered was getting out with my head still attached.
"Forget the list, she goes to the block." The Captain was stern but not on my side. If the man was in charge, I would have probably been off with my freedom. Unfortunately, I wasn't one for good luck.
"By your orders, Captain. I'm sorry. We will make sure your returns are returned to Elsweyr." Of course this would go this way. Sure, I wasn't going to expect an easy way out but this surely wasn't their first execution. I willingly followed the Captain to where the other prisoners expecting death were. There seemed to be confrontation between Ulfric and a man dressed in light armor as well. He surely was in a higher position than anyone here, even the Captain. No one else looked like they had the nerve to walk up to a prisoner like Ulfric and command his attention.
"Ulfric Stormcloak. Some here in Helgen call you a hero. But a hero doesn't use a power like The Voice to murder his king and usurp his throne." The Imperial spoke like he stood. He mentioned something called 'The Voice' but I have never heard of anything like it. No books or scrolls mentioned anything about this voice power. Even more, maybe this Ulfric wasn't such a good guy. I wasn't one to believe things I heard right away but hearing something like this was pretty extreme. If Ulfric did kill a king and take the throne, that would explain how he became a 'Jarl'. It must have been some kind of leader of a large city but not of an entire land. At least, I assumed as much.
"You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos, and now the Empire is going to put you down, and restore the peace." There was a part of this story I didn't believe. There was a chance that one man could start a war but there must have been another reason, one that these Imperials didn't think of. Not to mention killing a king or anyone in high power would cause riots and more war than simply solving the problem by talking or another peaceful strategy. At the very least, they should do something more subtle than a public execution.
After the man had finished talking to Ulfric, a loud roar came from nowhere. It was obviously loud enough that whatever made it was close but nothing was in sight. My ears easily caught it and perked up to search for its source. My eyes looked above and in front of me and they focused on something flying. I wasn't sure exactly what it was but I knew it wasn't a bird. It looked far away and I could barely make out details. That, I assumed, meant it wasn't close and was a lot larger than any bird that existed in any land I have been to.
"What was that?" I was obviously not the only one to notice the roar. Even the Imperials looked for its source. Sill, nothing shown itself and the execution when on without interruptions. The first prisoner that went up to be killed was probably one of the 'Stormcloaks' that Ralof talked about in the cart. He was dressed differently than the Imperials but it was in armor, not in normal clothing. The man was speaking with courage, though. He insulted the Imperials while even staring at the man that was about to chop his head from his body. He seemed to be unfearful of death and continued his insulting words until he was eventually silenced and his head was in a basket and his body on the other side of the block. It was a clean but blood was still there and both the body and head bled from their fatal injuries. After the body got moved to clear the position for the next dead man, there were a couple mixed phrases being thrown about. Some were cheering for the death of a Stormcloak while others were cursing the Imperials for killing one of their friends. I, as expected, kept silent as I didn't care who was killed as long as it was not I.
"Next Prisoner!" The Captain called up the next prisoner and I couldn't help but look to my right. I didn't know how they were going about this with order but when the man didn't move and everyone looked at me, the worst outcome came to light. I didn't have enough time to get out, find a way to escape and now I was going to join the Stormcloak in death. I wasn't ready for this but it was either a quick death or being shot by archers. Granted, both were pretty painless but it wouldn't matter. I was starting to walk forward when the roar came from nowhere again with the same response from the people. This time, though, they looked more worried. If it came twice, that meant either something was going to happen or it was my time to escape. Unfortunately, the Captain easily regained order and I finished my walk to the block. The executioner was waiting patiently and I clumsily got onto my knees above the dead body of the Stormcloak before me. I was not one to have a weak stomach with death and blood but being this close was unusual, especially with being part of an execution. I cringed as the Captain forced my head onto the block and I could see the head in the basket below me. It truly was gruesome when one was looking close rather than looking from far away. I sighed, ready for death when the roar came back for a third time but this time it also brought forth the beast that made the sound. I was not interested in the execution at this point because from the angle I was currently in, I saw the beast that made the roar. It was coming right for us! My eyes grew wide as I almost immediately recognized it. Everyone was told about dragons and it was common knowledge that they all were wiped out hundreds, if not longer, of years ago. I was speechless and my eyes grew wide as it landed hard on the tower just behind the executioner. I wasn't the first to notice the beast since the second it came into the town boundaries, everyone started moving in fear. The civilians were going back into their houses and the soldiers and prisoners were getting ready to run. Even the archers weren't looking at the prisoners, rather aiming their bows at the dragon. The dragon made a large force when it landed; knocking the executioner forwards and his axe barely missed my neck. It fell just in front of me. I still stayed where I was, not ready to move out of absolute fear. The dragon then did something that sounded like talking or at least saying some phrase or word and a storm appeared above Helgen, fireballs assaulting the ground from the sky. I summoned the courage to at least stand up whenever the dragon lifted itself back into the air and left me standing in place, witnessing a very destructive scene. Not to mention I was the only one standing out of half a dozen dead bodies that included the executioner and some prisoners and imperials. My hands were still bound and I stood motionless, thinking I was going to die by this dragon instead of a blade.