Ugh, what in the hells? Did Bella slip something in my drink again?

My head pounded, my body ached with every breath.

Head contusion, possible broken ribs, definite bruising. I mentally catalogued my injuries, but when I went to start feeling for cuts, I found my hands to be bound. Slowly, I forced my eyes open.

"Ah, you're awake." I ignored him for a second, focusing on my surroundings. I was in the back of a slow cart trundling down a dirt road. My hands were bound with simple rope, so that was something. Judging by the surroundings, we were definitely still in Skyrim. There were three men in the cart with me, one dressed in dark blue and grey light armor, another dressed in threadbare rags similar to the ones I was wearing, and… Oh Julianos.

Next to me sat a man in a long fur cloak and a coat of mail, he had long brown hair and a gag covering the lower half of his face. Even if I wasn't up to date on all of the Empire's enemies, even if I hadn't sat at the dinner table with my sisters listening to my father quiz us on the various hotspots of the Empire since I could speak, even if there wasn't a gallery in my family's estate with oil paintings of all of the Empire's most wanted, I would still know that face anywhere.

I was sitting next to the most wanted man in Skyrim, murderer of High King Torygg, leader of the Stormcloak insurrection, and known war criminal. I was sitting next to Ulfric Stormcloak.

The others in the wagon were talking but I was too busy in my head. On the one hand, this news elated me, we had captured the leader of the rebellion. This was the beginning of the end for the rebellion, after this there would be infighting among the Jarls, the fair-weathers and the moderates would switch sides, those that were left would be scattered and in disarray fighting over who would be Ulfric's successor. They would be easily brought to heel by the Legion's forces, the Legion had won, everything after this was clean up and peacekeeping. That would make my life a lot easier since I wouldn't be working in an active warzone.

On the other hand, if I was in the same wagon as him, that left only two options for our destination. Either this was the first leg of a long journey to Cyrodil, unlikely based on the apparent fact that the man in rags was a horse thief. And that left only one plausible possibility, we were going to an execution site. Tullius was the general in Skyrim, a good one too, he wouldn't risk taking Ulfric all the way back to Solitude, the rebels would expect that, right now they would be rushing together a rescue effort, there was too much of a risk that the rebels would ambush the convoy on the way. Tullius would have the execution at the nearest viable location, a town or village within a few miles.

Since I was with them, that meant that I was slated for execution too…

At that thought my heart started pounding, I closed my eyes, trying to follow the breathing exercises Idrosu taught me. It would be alright, this was all just a big misunderstanding. When we got to wherever we were going, I would just explain who I was and how I got here.

I closed my eyes and tried to relive the path that led me here, I needed to get my story straight.

Six Hours Ago…

"I need to see Bleak Falls Barrow, Oh, and Korvanjund, and I need to get some rubbings from the standing stones." I was sitting in the back of my carriage books and manuscripts spread over my lap.

"I'm going to be roasting Draugr and holding you by the collar to keep you from tripping every trap conceivable for the next few months." Idrosu scowled, but the amused tone told me otherwise.

"Probably," I nodded, grinning, I'm careful on my archaeological expeditions, but I don't have Idrosu's eyes or her skill with a sword.

Idrosu chuckled, dropping her pretense of irritation, "Still, you need to be careful Aurelia, the Stormcloaks would love nothing more than to capture the daughter of an Imperial General, especially the commander of the Vi Tempestatis."

"Don't worry Idrosu, I'll be careful, and in any case you and an entire century are protecting me." Father had insisted I keep a large escort for this trip. I didn't mind that much.

"True enough, still, put your books away, let's practice your mental exercises." She pulled the book on the Jagged crown from my lap and gave me a stern look until I put the rest of them away.

I held out my hand in front of me focusing, extending my will over reality, tapping into my magicka and making it pliable. A small flame burns in the center of my palm, it had too, it was undoubtable that a small flame was in the middle of my palm. I kept telling that to reality, and a small flame burst from the center of my palm, only to fizzle out a second later.

Idrosu shook her head, "Destruction magic is a matter of will, you cannot try and convince reality to bend, you have to command it, and you have to know that it is yours to command. Let it use your anger as kindling, now try again."

I nodded and focused again, a small flame burns in my palm. This time I didn't add anything to it, I just focused on my palm, there was a flame there and I demanded reality catch up, I offered it my indignation to burn. After a second, it honored my wishes. The flame emerged, and this time it didn't fizzle, though small, it burned hot, and bright, and strong.

My caretaker smiled, "Good, now frost."

I let the flame die out and refocused, ice was harder, it required calm rather than anger. A lack of emotion, I cooled my mind, letting my emotions slip back into the lower reaches of my mind, and I commanded the ice to come. My hand chilled, and a small ball of freezing energy hovered over my palm and mist poured from it.

"Very good, and lightning."

Lightning was an interesting one, it didn't require anger, or calm, it required pure concentrated will. I channeled the Magicka from within me, not bothering with emotions, giving it form and letting it flow. And within a second, lightning crackled across my hand.

"Very good, that should be enough for now." I knew I could expect a lot more of that in the next few months. Of course it would have been much easier if I'd used the proper incantations, but Idrosu was very insistent that I be able to use all of my spells with nothing but my mind.

I leaned back in my seat and relaxed. "I'm really looking forward to this trip 'Drosu." This was a once in a lifetime chance for a full study of the massive amount of ancient ruins within Skyrim. The plan was to base ourselves in the College of Winterhold, where I would be attending lectures and classes in between my expeditions. It would be at least three months, I was estimating more along the lines of a year and a half.

"I know my Sunna Varla," her old nickname for me, her blessed star. "But I still worry, we should have brought Tempest forces with us, slipped over the border with a small contingent of the Masser Unit. We're painting a massive target on our backs by coming in this caravan."

"You shouldn't worry Idrosu, General Tullius gave us assurances that this area was secure." If I was being honest with myself, I was saying it more to convince myself than anyone else. I agreed with Idrosu, and even if I didn't, I didn't understand why we were coming through the Rift rather than Helgen. We were dangerously close to Eastmarch and Windhelm, the capital of the Stormcloak rebellion.

"It is my job to worry-worry about you Aurelia." Idrosu ran her hand along the lacquered nightwood scabbard that contained her sword, Blooddrinker. Though it was not out, I'd seen it enough to know it well. It was a long two handed blade in the Akaviri style, a curved, slender, single-edged blade with an extended round grip. The most distinctive feature of it was the red glow it held that grew brighter when the blade was used. It also grew longer and sharper the more lives it took, I'd kept a measure of it since I was five and in the interim years it had grown three inches. Most interesting, it seemed to have some form of consciousness of its own, probably the reason why Idrosu never left me alone with it.

Before I could respond, the carriage came to a sudden, jolting stop. Idrosu immediately moved, putting herself between the door and myself, her hand on the hilt of her sword. I gripped the seat tightly to keep the jolt from being knocked over, I raised my hand towards the door, a spell on my lips, ready to blow away the first person to try and break in.

Idrosu opened the eye slit behind the driver's seat, "Quaestor, what's going on out, why have we stopped?"

The driver kept his eyes front, training having been pounded in his head through years of training. "A tree fell in the road ma'am, they're moving it now."

Idrosu gave me a look, I knew immediately what it meant. I went for the small chest under the seat that was kept for emergencies. I slid off my robes and took off my specially crafted leather boots, replacing them with the rough spun garments of a peasant. This could be nothing, but I had a bad feeling biting in the back of my head. From the look on Idrosu's face, I wasn't the only one.

Almost immediately after I had changed, we were proven right. Metal rang against metal and arrows thunked against wood, it was an ambush. Idrosu bolted out the door, I waited for a second to let her deal with any enemies immediately outside the door, she didn't need me distracting her, then followed her out.

I was immediately flung into a warzone, a rain of arrows came down from the hills, the archers hidden by the trees. I could see men in dark armor engaging the legionaries all along the caravan. I cursed under my breath, "Stormcloaks." I scanned the battlefield around me, the driver was taking cover behind the carriage, I sprinted over to join him, but my eyes were on Idrosu.

She was moving to deal with the three men with axes running toward us, she leapt forward, drawing Blooddrinker with a horizontal slash, cutting the first man in half. The sword glowed dark crimson and seemed to absorb the blood as it passed through the man. Sidestepping past him, she spun, holding the blade above her head, then bringing the blade into a downward slash on the man's collarbone, cutting him from neck to armpit, taking off his head and arm. Then she spun again and bounded forward, lashing out with the sword in one hand, driving it through the final opponent.

This all occurred within the space of five seconds.

Her opponents eliminated, she retreated back to my position, "Quaestor, give me a status report."

To his credit, the man was completely calm under the hail of arrowfire. "We're heavily suppressed by archers in the hills, and we have Stormcloak forces pushing in on us. I'd estimate about two to three hundred." Then he said the one thing no soldier ever wants to say, "We're going to be overrun ma'am. I don't mean to overstep my rank, but I would suggest you and her ladyship take your leave. We'll hold them here for as long as we can."

The man spoke with a grim determination, I knew what he meant. They were going to die to give me time to get away. Idrosu nodded, "What's your name Quaestor?"

The officer blinked, "Vivex ma'am, Quaestor Caius Vivex, Fourth Century of the Seventh Cohort of the Third Imperial Legion. My family lives above our jewelry shop in the Gardens District."

Idrosu nodded, "You and your century's sacrifices will be honored, and your families will be well cared for." The man had been specific for a reason, my father would shower the families of these men with gold for doing this, and they would earn a monument in the memorial district

Still, I paused, looking into the man's face for the first time. He had stone grey eyes and a pale, angular, face devoid of wrinkles and scars. He couldn't have been more than six or seven years older than me. I couldn't take my eyes off of him even as Idrosu grabbed my arm and pulled, guiding me away, throwing up wards to shield us from arrows.

Caius gave me a small salute before breaking from his cover and charging the nearest Stormcloak, sword drawn. He took up a shield from a fallen comrade, the rebel swung at him with a one-handed axe. He caught the blow with his shield and stabbed the man through the neck, then shoved the man off his blade with a blow. That drew the attention of three of the Stormcloak's brethren, then the trees blocked him from my sight.

I looked forward, where Idrosu was guiding me through the woods. It was dark and misty, the sounds of battle still carried from the road, but they were slowly fading as we put distance between ourselves and the ambush. This wasn't my first time in battle, but it was the first time that I'd had to abandon an entire century, committed to die for my sake.

"Aurelia, focus now my Varla, you know what to do if we get separated?" Idrosu's bright red eyes met mine and I nodded. We'd gone over this, if anything happened on the journey that caused us to be separated, we would meet up in Solitude as soon as possible.

I nearly ran into her when Idrosu came to a sudden stop in front of me. Then I saw why, dark figures emerged from behind trees and the mist. As they moved forward, I could see the distinctive markings of Stormcloak armor. There seemed to be twenty of them in total, they must have circled around for a sneak attack on the century's position from behind.

"Looks like we've found some elf trash, and we all know what we do to elf trash, don't we boys." A huge man in furs, apparently the leader, stepped forward. "I am Gellir Oak-Breaker, your killer Darkie, tell me who is this waif and what makes her important enough to save."

Idrosu let go of my arm and stepped between the rebels and me. "She's nobody, just the daughter of my handmaiden." She whirled her blade in a slow figure eight in front of her, "Let her go, I'm the one you want." Her tone grew steely as she spoke. "Unless you traitors' have sunk to murdering innocent children."

The Stormcloak commander fixed me with a cold gaze, I looked back with not a little genuine fear. After a few seconds, he nodded. "We're no child killers, not even with Empire lackeys. Get out of here child, and if you can find some steel for your spine, go to Windhelm and join a cause worth following."

I looked to Idrosu, she nodded and whispered, "Go, I will see you in Solitude."

I did as I was told, I ran. I ran as fast as I could, almost immediately after, I heard the clashing of steel and the screams of men. It took everything I had not to turn around, but I knew that Idrosu could fight better if she didn't have to worry about protecting me. Eventually, the sounds faded and then it was just me, running alone through the woods. I had no idea where I was going, all I knew was that I had to keep moving, get away from the battle, get to the nearest settlement.

I caught my foot on a tree root and ended up falling, feeling decent sized rocks jab me in the chest. As I dragged myself up, I knew from the feeling in my chest that I'd hurt something, and it was getting harder to breathe as I ran. I needed to heal, but I couldn't stop.

Eventually I lost track of everything. All that remained was the pain and the woods.

Finally, I saw a small collection of buildings in the distance, slightly obscured by the trees. I emerged from the woods and saw a large group of men and women in imperial armor. They had surrounded a group of… Stormcloaks. Was there no escaping them? Still, I kept pushing, I had to reach the Imperial troops.

Unfortunately, I must have angered some divine in one way or another, for my luck ran out. Everything that I'd just been through, the shock, the battle, the running, my injuries, all of it chose that moment to catch up to me.

I collapsed just as I reached the village, the last thing I felt was my legs buckling and darkness overtaking me.

Present.

I needed to get out of these restraints, get away from these criminals, and get to Solitude. I probably wouldn't need to, but I mentally drew some energy out of the Aetherian realms, picturing what I wanted and molding the energy to my mental picture. An ethereal knife appeared in my hand, held in a reverse grip. I subtly began weakening my bonds, they must not have known I was a mage or they would've taken extra precautions.

I felt a slight ache in the back of my skull, not from the concussion. I was overextending my magic, after everything that had happened, it shouldn't have been a surprise. Reluctantly, I dropped all of my passive spells, keeping only my bound dagger. I needed to conserve my power, but as everything faded to black, I felt that same helplessness I always felt without my magic. Without it, I was nothing more than a dependent babe, and my caretaker was nowhere to be found.

I suppose I forgot to mention…

I'm blind.

…

Hey guys, I know I said I'm taking a break from Frigid Warrior for a while to work on the next chapter, and I am, but I want to keep my account active and content producing, so I've been digging around some of my old unfinished stuff and I figure I'll just publish them in the interim to keep content coming out and test the waters.

This is the first chapter in a Skyrim story I was working on, Sunna Varla, my Christmas story is a prequel, an Imperial Lily is a tie in. I've only got about three or four chapters of this done, but I'll post those in the coming weeks to see what you guys think.

R&R people.