4E 201, 12th of Last Seed
In northern Cyrodiil, just south of the Skyrim border sits the Jerall Mountains. Snow blankets the towering hills as far as the eye can see. The summer thaw has made the ground damp; the base of the mountains surrounded by puddles of melted snow and slush. Piper leaned in close to her horse, urging him faster down the muddy path, "Keep on, you great hairy beast. If they catch us, you're just as dead as I am!" Looking over her shoulder, she tightened her grip on the reigns. Having lost sight of the Bruma guards not long before, she was reluctant to slow her pace through the pass, wanting to get as close to the Skyrim border as she could. The further away she can get, the better. She knew the guards would stop chasing her eventually. They do have a town to protect after all. The horse had spotted a tight bend up a head, and had begun to slow, causing Piper to anxiously dig her heels into his flank and snap her head to the front. On the other side of the bend, in the distance was an uncomfortably large entourage of red and silver uniforms, most likely Legionnaires. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, the imperial yanked the reigns back, her house giving a startled whinny in protest. "Hush boy, it'll be ok. We just need to calmly go around. They should leave us alone. They don't know we've done anything wrong." The horse snorted as he slowed to a trot. "If I should be so lucky," she thought, taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart, "They'll leave us alone. They'll let us pass. They have to."
As Piper and her companion closed in on the slow-moving company, she could make out the distinct emblem on the flags they carried. They were indeed Legionnaires: thirteen men on foot, covered in mud from the knees down, and two on horses leading the company. Wrapping herself tighter in her cloak, the imperial attempted to fend off the slight shake she had, that had nothing to do with the cold. "Keep calm girl. Just pretend that you belong. If they ask, you're just a traveler, trying to reach family. Keep calm and breathe." Her inner voice had taken on her fathers' slow and deep diction, as it always did in times of great stress. Piper hated when it did that. Never being surprised or overwhelmed, her father always had a way of making her feel like she was overreacting. More often than not, she was, but she would never admit to that.
Nearing the rear guard, she pushed the thoughts from her head and tried to loosen her death grip she had on her cloak. The soldier at the back of the formation turned his head to face her, red faced and shivering. Piper watched as the soldier looked her over, taking note of the sword sheathed at his side, bow and quiver on his back, and shield on his arm. "They're on edge, as if they are expecting to be ambushed?" she guessed. Before she could pass, keeping as much distance as the path allowed, the uniformed man called out to her. "You there! What is a young lady like yourself doing all the way out here with no escort? Don't you know there are rebels about?" The men next to the speaker had their eyes on her, while a few ahead of them turned and scanned the area suspiciously. Directing her horse closer to the troops, Piper slowly counted to three before answering in a polite tone, "Heading to Skyrim. My aunt has fallen ill and needs a bit of help. With my brothers' away in service to the Empire and my father too old to make the journey, I'm the only one able to help. Rebels or no, I've got to get to my Aunt." The men's faces relaxed into various expressions of pity and approval. "Where are you headed, miss…?" the guard inquired, as he finally took note of the large travel pack Piper carried and the seemingly full travel bags mounted to her horse. Piper resisted the urge to smirk. Predictable imperial men and their damn patriarchy. They would never suspect a young woman, travelling by herself to do her familial duty. "Thisa, sir. My Aunt has a farm near Whiterun." The soldier shared a look with the man next to him before turning back to her, "Thisa, let me to speak to the Legate. Surely she will allow you to travel with us, at least until we reach the border. You shouldn't be out her alone-" "I appreciate your kind offer, truly, but I fear I must make haste," she interrupted, trying her best to sound sincere.
Piper did not want to get stuck travelling with these men. Should the Bruma guards catch up, she would be caught and arrested for sure. She had to get a move on, and soon. "I don't mean to seem ungrateful, but my father specifically said I was to hurry." Relief blossomed in her chest as the soldier nodded. "There we go. Can't let the dutiful daughter disobey a direct order from father, now can we?" "Best get a move on then. Whiterun is about a five day march." Without hesitation, she thanked the men and nudged her horse into a trot.
No one else bothered with her, having gotten past the rear guard without anyone raising the alarm. Piper spared a curious glance at the Legate heading the company. "Since when do they let women into the Legion, much less promote them," she wondered. "I thought for sure I had misheard the guard." The Legion turned women away on a daily basis, only wanting "good, strong men" to serve the Emperor. As far as she could tell, the women were meant to stay home, keep the cities and counties running. The only place for a female warrior was the Arena. Or bandit clans if one was so inclined. The city guards wouldn't even employ women. The fact that the Legate was a female was definitely a sight to behold.
Keeping her head down, hands visible, and eyes on the path, Piper led her horse down the trail that would eventually lead her to Skyrim. Once she was sure she was out of sight on the company, she nudged her horse to get a move on. She had to make as much time as she could. Her visit to Bruma hadn't been nearly as prosperous as she had hoped it would be. She only managed to steal enough provisions for a couple of days before the shop owner had seen her and raised the alarm. Thankfully, she had enough gold stashed away, but if she was going to make that last, she had to get to her destination as fast as possible.
Riften was rumored to be the home of the Skyrim Thieves Guild, an organized group of misfits who took what they wanted, when they wanted, propriety be damned. The Cyrodiil chapter was far too soft for Pipers tastes, having turned into a charity over the years. While not being against helping those in need, she was against giving a majority of her take to the guild and only walking away with a small trinket or two. She had told the guild master as much, and was promptly barred from ever joining. The Riften chapter was supposedly nothing like their sister guild, and Piper had shifted her focus to getting into Skyrim as soon as possible. She had a decent collection of gold saved up, a few choice pieces that should fetch a good price, and a handful of lock picks should the need arise.
"The soldier said it was a five day journey." she pondered aloud, smiling to herself. "I bet I can make it in three." Piper would later swear she heard her horse sigh in exasperation at her words.
A/N: My first ever fanfiction I feel to be readable is finally seeing the light of day! I am as excited as I am terrified.
I have 90% of the story outlined, and about 15 scenes written so far. Sadly, only this one belongs in the beginning. I swore to myself I would finish and post the whole thing, and not bitch out, so here we go.
I won't promise to post regularly, but I do promise to post.
I won't include an authors note every chapter, and I will do my best to communicate with reviewers via PM.
I am an avid reader on this site, and I finally decided to improve my own style. With that said, if anyone wants to be my beta, PM me and we'll talk!
As for this story, there really isn't a shipped pair. I don't want to explain and maybe ruin it, so I won't.
I am preemptively rating this M. This story WILL get dark, but we've got a long way to go yet. Any possible triggers will have a warning at the start.
My word count goal is AT LEAST 1000 words/chapter. I love reading long stories, so I am aspiring to write one. I already regret it.