The sound of hooves and wheels of a wagon on cobblestone woke Ylva from her unconsciousness. She shook her head in confusion as she looked down to see her hands bound in her lap. With her awakening brought the realization of how cold and hungry she was, not to mention the dryness of her throat. The clothes she previously wore were gone and in their stead she found herself clothed in a ragged roughspun tunic and footwraps.
"What happened?" Ylva asked weakly as she looked around her and realized that they were back in Skyrim.
She saw her twin brother, Dreki, next to her; dressed in similar wear. Next to Dreki sat a man dressed in Stormcloak garb and furs, hunched over, his elbows on his knees who was bound and gagged. Across from Ylva was another male prisoner dressed in Stormcloak garb and next to him, a prisoner in a roughspun tunic, looking rather distressed. Ylva wondered why the gagged Stormcloak had the furs of a Jarl and the other did not.
"You're finally awake!" Dreki exclaimed as he smiled at his beloved sister.
Ylva heard the man in Stormcloak garb across from her talking but she didn't pay any attention until Dreki answered him, "I guess we'll have to learn how to sneak better next time." He chuckled lightly and Ylva grinned. Dreki was not daft; but she knew that he was just trying to lighten the mood with a little humor.
The Imperial Soldier behind the wagon scoffed loudly, "Next time?" He exclaimed with utter disbelief. "You will all die today. There will be no next time, prisoner."
Dreki shrugged and the prisoner in similar roughspun across from him began talking to the Stormcloak before he suddenly looked Ylva in the eyes; clearly panicking, "We shouldn't be here! It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants." The Rohkeus siblings held their tongues; Ylva prayed that they wouldn't ask where they hailed from. Seeing the way that the soldiers were treating Stormcloaks, she knew that if either of them mentioned that they were born in Winterhold that they could be connected with the traitors. Although the siblings had rebel blood flowing through their veins and were on the side on Jarl Ulfric; they both wisely chose to avoid mentioning such matters.
The Stormcloak calmly replied to the prisoner before the Imperial Solider shouted over his shoulder, "shut up back there!"
The prisoner turned to the gagged Stomcloak next to Dreki and began addressing him in an accusatory tone. It began to bother Ylva, why he was gagged and the rest of them weren't.
She looked to her brother worriedly once more, " Dreki, what happened?"
The Stormcloak across from her addressed the other prisoner sternly, saying that the gagged man was in in fact Ulfric Stormcloak and Ylva couldn't help but stare at him in amazement. She now knew why he was gagged; to prevent him from using his Thu'um to escape. Although Ylva felt honored, she also knew that wherever this wagon was going, it wasn't someplace pleasant.
Dreki turned to his little sister and she broke her gaze from the Jarl. Looking to her brother who appeared grief-stricken as he stared at her binds, "We were ambushed…" He looked up at the trees and the mountainside; lost in his thoughts, "by Imperial Soliders on the border…and…" Dreki cast his gaze down in shame.
"I'm sorry, Ylva. I am so sorry."
She gave him a small reassuring smile, "I know."
"I did all that I could…there were so many…"
"I know, dear brother." She moved closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. "I love you, Dreki," she whispered to him.
He laid his head on hers and replied, "I love you too, Ylva."
The distressed prisoner began to act hysterical, "oh gods, where are they taking us?"
The Stormcloak across from Ylva had accepted his fate as he spoke to his fellow prisoners sorrowfully, "I don't know where we're going but Sovngarde awaits." He turned to the panicked prisoner and asked him where he was from.
"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home," the Stormcloak said.
As the prisoner responded, an Imperial Solider suddenly called out,"General Tullius, sir. The Henchman is waiting."
This brought the nervous prisoner into a full panic as he began to call out to the Divines for help. Ylva then turned to see the entrance of a town she had never seen before although they were clearly in Skyrim.
The biting cold seemed to mirror the bitter welcome that Helgen gave the siblings and their fellow prisoners as the wagon entered the sturdy mountain town. They had lived in Skyrim almost their entire lives before traveling, and now she wished that they never had.
The Stormcloak pointed out General Tulius and a Thalmor; cursing them. He then called the town, Helgen. Ylva instantly knew where they were and began to feel homesick like she never had before. Lifting her head to look around, she knew they were going to die here and she began to thank Mara and Arkay for letting her die in her homeland; she fought back tears.
On the porch of a building she heard a young boy asking his father what was going on before the father ushered the boy inside. She heard other townspeople chattering as the fretting prisoner asked, "why are we stopping?" The Stormcloak harrowingly replied, "why do you think? End of the line."
Ylva turned to her brother suddenly; the realization of the mere minutes she had left on Nirn hit her hard.
"I love you, Dreki. So much," she said again before kissing him on the forehead just as the wagon came to a halt. Dreki kissed her back and smiled briefly, "I love you too, sister."
The soldiers, with their snobbish Empire attitudes, ordered everyone out of the carts. As Ylva and Dreki stood in line, the Stormcloak continued his whinging, "Empire loves their damn lists." The fretting prisoner continued to panic as he rambled, saying anything that might stay his execution.
An Imperial soldier with quill and parchment then addressed Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak as if he had a bad taste in his mouth, "Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm." The Jarl left his place in line, walking towards the block. Even from a distance it seemed Ylva could see it soaked in the blood of all races of Tamriel who had the misfortune of being captured by Empire's soldiers. The Stormcloak then added honorably, "it has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric
The soldier then called, "Ralof of Riverwood." The chatty Stormcloak whom Ylva sat across from stepped forward and walked to the block, owning his name proudly, and for the first time Ylva knew his name. Her eyes watched him go and suddenly the soldier called out again, "Lokir of Rorikstead." He took a step and began pleading with the soldiers, almost babbling… before he ran.
"Halt!" The female guard yelled.
He kept running.
"Archers!" She yelled again.
He fell to the ground a dead man.
"Anyone else feel like running?" She asked as she turned to look at the siblings.
With the attention of the two guards suddenly on the two siblings, the soldier looked at his list for them in confusion, "Wait. You two. Step forward." They did as they were bid and Ylva found herself panicking.
He looked them in the eyes and asked sternly, "who are you?"
Dreki stepped before his younger sister, "I am Dreki, of Winterhold." "You picked a bad time to come back to Skyrim, kinsman." He turned to the female soldier, "Captain, what should we do? He's not on the list?"
"Forget the list!" She snapped, "he goes to the block."
"By your orders, Captain." The Nord soldier gave Dreki a sympathetic look before penning down his fellow Nord's name.
Looking up his sad eyes met Ylva's, "and you are?"
She answered politely, "I am Ylva, of Winterhold as well."
He nodded again, "you aren't on the list either." He sighed heavily, "I'm sorry. At least you'll both die here, in your homeland. Follow the Captain, prisoners."
The Rohkeus siblings followed the ironclad Captain to the prisoner line-up; waiting patiently for death.
A slender grey-haired man by the name General Tulius, stood before Jarl Ulfric smugly, "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." He paused as if he expected a reply from the gagged man, it must have been hell for Jarl Ulfric to be gagged like that. Hence why Ylva wasn't surpassed when the gagged Jarl spoke back, despite it sounding like muffled grunts to everyone present.
The General continued, "You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos, and now the Empire is going to put you down, and restore the peace."
She half expected to hear the Jarl talk back to him again when her thoughts were cut off; a loud roar thundered in the distance. It made her heart stop and her hair stand of end. All who were there looked to the sky in disbelief and confusion. Her gut told her something that she couldn't quite believe; it sounded like a dragon.
"What was that?" the Nord soldier asked.
General Tullius turned to him, "it's nothing. Carry on."
The female captain motioned and answered, "Yes, General Tullius!"
Turning to the priestess present she ordered her to give all the prisoners their last rights, Ylva thanked Mara and Arkay for this. The priestess of Arkay began to speak and as she did, Ylva began to accept her oncoming death.
Unfortunately, the priestess was rudely interrupted by an impatient Stormcloak prisoner.
"For the love of Talos, shut up and let's get this over with!" He yelled as he began walking to the beheading block.
The priestess was justly irked in her tone as she replied to the rude prisoner.
"As you wish."
The Stormcloak prisoner continued to gripe sarcastically, "come on, I haven't got all morning."
The female captain pushed him to his knees and used her foot to lay his torso on the block.
"My ancestors are smiling at me Imperials. Can you say the same?"
The Henchman raised is axe, and with one swift motion the Stormcloak's head fell to the basket below and his lifeless body spilling hot red blood and fell to the side with the help of the captain's foot.
A female Stormcloak prisoner shouted defiantly, "you Imperial bastards!" and someone else in the group yelled back at her, "justice!" Another voice yelled, "death to the Stormcloaks."
These pointless beheadings and cruel behavior were making Ylva's rebel blood boil as she watched the headless corpse twitch on the ground in it's own dark red blood.
"As fearless in death as he was in life," Rolaf reflected.
Before Ylva could think the captain pointed at her and commanded, "next, the female Nord in the rags." Another roar came from the mountains but closer this time. Everyone looked to the skies again.
"There it is again. Did you hear that?" the Nord soldier asked again.
"I said, next prisoner!" The captain yelled again.
The Nord soldier spoke again, "to the block prisoner. Nice and easy."
Ylva panicked and looked helplessly to her brother as she walked to the block, hot tears pooling in her eyes. She bravely stood before the block hoping to please the gods and her ancestors as the captain pushed her down on the block roughly. Ylva turned her head towards the Henchman, she could not look at her brother as she died. The captain kept her foot on Ylva's back and again a booming roar echoed off of the mountains, once again sounding closer.
Ylva prepared to close her eyes when out of the corner of her eyes she saw something fly out from behind the mountain.
"What in Oblivion is that!" General Tullius cried in disbelief.
The ever vigilant captain ordered, "Centuries, what do you see?"
It was too late. The dragon landed on the tower in front of the chopping block before anyone could act. Ylva couldn't believe her eyes. She heard people hollering but all she could hear was the rumbling of the ground under the weight of the jet black dragon. All of the soldiers scrambled to unsheathe their weapons and archer's loosed their arrows but the dragon shouted, using his Thu'um that shook everything in sight. Flying objects hit the ground and one hit next the Ylva's head and impaired her for several seconds. Dreki somehow managed to free himself of his binds and ran for his sister, picking her up as Rolaf yelled, "this way!" The three of them ran to the tower straight ahead.
Once inside Dreki set his sister down and she shook her head, just now gaining her sight and hearing back. Ylva turned to see Jarl Ulfric standing behind them. Rolaf still having trouble understanding asked the him, "could the legends be true?"
The Jarl looked over his shoulder at the closed door behind them, the dragon's sound of destruction roaring in every one's ears; he replied, "legends don't burn down villages. We need to move now!"
Rolaf turned to the siblings, "Up through the tower! Let's go!
The four of them ran for the stairs, Rolaf leading the way. Ylva's mind was still a blur but she ran instinctively, following the Stormcloak as her brother ran behind her. The men shouting to one another as they ran; she heard Rolaf talking about moving rocks out of the way when the jet black dragon hit the tower and broke the wall right in front of them. Ylva leapt back as she gasped for air from the shock and Dreki caught her pulling her backward away from the dragon as he breathed fire through the broken wall.
They all ducked hoping to be spared from the dragon's wrath; they waited a moment once the fire had ceased. The dragon roared again, audibly farther from them now. Ylva, Dreki and the Stormcloaks ran to the landing were the dragon broke the wall looking down at the wreckage.
"See the inn on the other side? Jump throughout the roof and keep going!" Rolaf commanded breathlessly.
Ylva walked to the edge and saw the inn half ablaze. It was the only way they could make it out alive. She took a deep breath and gave a loving look to Dreki before she jumped. She landed harder than she thought as she cried out in pain; Dreki heard her and jumped after her. Ylva stood, her legs throbbing as she looked to her brother who landed the same way she had; he winced at the pain. They jumped through a hole in the second floor of the inn and ran out of the door towards an Imperial soldier. The dragon landed again and the soldier yelled to them, "get back!" The siblings jumped back just as the dragon breathed fire. The soldier turned to the two of them with a rough grimace on his face, "still alive, prisoners? Stay close to me if you want to stay that way."
The turned to a citizen of Helgen and told him that he was going to find General Tullis. Ylva and Dreki looked at each other, concerned about being near the General ever again but they followed the man regardless for they had no other option. The dragon took to the sky and the soldier with the twins were hot on his heels. They ran past demolished buildings, past where the dragon landed and ran in between a wall another half destroyed stone building when the solider yelled out again, "stay close to the wall!" Immediately the dragon landed on the wall a sharp talon separated the siblings as the wyrm breathed fire once more. Just as quickly as the dragon landed, he was back in the air again.
"Quickly, follow me!" and with that they were off again.
They ran through a maze of demolished buildings, dead bodies and Imperial's attempting to take down the dragon. Finally, they were before the keep. Ylva saw Rolaf standing in front of it and smiled with relief.
"Rolaf, you damned traitor! Out of my way!"
"We're escaping, Hadvar. You're not stopping us this time!"
"Fine! I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde!"
The Imperial solider, Hadvar kept running forward as Rolaf ran for the door, yelling at the twins, "You two! Come on! Into the keep!" Without a word the twins followed Rolaf into the Helgen Keep.
Once inside, Ylva could barely hear the carnage outside of the door and she was glad of it but in the muffled carnage outside the door she saw two dead men in the Keep. Rolaf rushed over to one of the bodies; a fellow Stormcloak lay butchered and lifeless. On one knee, Rolaf looked at the body, "we'll meet again in Sovngarde, brother." He got up and looked at the twins, crossing his arms. "Looks like we're the only ones who made it. That thing was a dragon. No doubt. Just like the children stories and the legends. The harbingers of the End Times. We better get moving. Come here. Let me see if I can get those bindings off." Ylva and Dreki stepped forward and he freed them.
The room they were in was round and slightly decorated with Imperial tapestries and the heads of two bears and an elk. Underneath the head of the elk was a small table with tankards and a candlehorn. Rolaf instructed the twins to take the gear off of the bodies since they no longer had any use for them. Ylva agreed but that did mean that she liked stripping a dead man down to his loincloth. Dreki's borrowed gear fit perfectly but Ylva's was a little too big. It certainly wasn't made for the likes of her womanly curves, no doubt.
As they dressed, Rolaf went to both of the other openings out of the room but both were locked. Dreki went to help him try to pry one open when Ylva heard voices, "be quiet! Someone's coming." Footsteps quickly approached the eastern door.
"Hide!" Rolaf whispered loudly.
Dreki and Ylva hid on the right side and Rolaf, the left. The rude female captain was first through the gate and immediately drew her sword at Ylva. She grabbed her new axe and dodged a few of the captain's swings before swinging her axe where it landed in the captain's neck; her lifeblood pouring out of her as she fell to the ground dead. Ylva looked up and saw that Dreki and Rolaf had killed the other man. Rolaf looking at her in amazement as her brother looked at her with pride. Dreki chuckled, "you have a little Imperial blood on you, sister." Ylva grinned maliciously. "War paint," she corrected him humorously.
Rolaf put his hands on his hips as he thought, "maybe on of these Imperials has the key." He began to search the male soldier and Ylva did the same with the captain. In the sidepouch of the dead woman she found the key, "here you go, Rolaf." She said as she held it in the air proudly. Ylva handed it to him and he dashed over to unlock it. Ylva quickly put on the captain's armor, hoping for a better fit, and she took her sword as well; giving it a few swings before sheathing it in the scabbard by her side.
"Let's get out of here before the dragon brings the whole tower down on our heads!"
Ylva followed after Rolaf and Dreki brought up the rear; watching his back. They went down a flight of stone stairs and listened for any sign of danger. At the bottom of the stairs was a small room with a torch on the wall leading to another room; Ylva crouched down trying to sneak up to the door and scout for Imperials. The other two followed her and as they rounded the corner they spotted a group of Imperial soldiers; Ylva drew her sword again, ready to fight. With another deafening roar, the dragon burs throughout the ceiling the large rubble separating them from the soldiers. The dust quickly settled and Rolaf ran up towards the rubble.
"Damn!" He cursed, "that dragon doesn't give up easy."
"Grab anything important and let's move. The dragon's ruining everything in sight!"
The twins followed Rolaf through the door. They heard voices again and Dreki looked behind himself cautiously as Ylva looked ahead and just as she saw Rolaf running towards soldiers with his axe in hand yelling, "for Ulfric and Skyrim!" Dreki and Ylva quickly ran towards the soldiers; she threw her axe hitting one of them in the neck and drawing her sword to help Rolaf with the other one. Dreki swiftly began to search the bodies and Ylva searched the room for supplies and food. Finding several roasted rabbits and pheasants, packing all of the food she could find in a knapsack. "Don't forget the potions," Rolaf reminded. Dreki gathered all the potions her could find and handed them to Ylva to pack.
Dreki held out his hand to his sister and she looked at him puzzled. "I'm stronger," he declared boastfully. "I can handle the extra weight." Ylva rolled her eyes and smirked at him; tying the knapsack shut and giving it to her braggart of a brother. Rolaf was waiting by the door; wiping the Imperial blood off his axe he looked to the twins with a nod, "done? Let's get moving."
They went out the door seeing they were on the other side of the wall of rubble that previously separated them and turned opposite the debris, down another hall that turned right leading down another downward hall. Ylva saw shadows in the candlelight and grabbed her axe again. Rolaf gasped, "troll's blood. It's a torture room!" He ran down ahead of them before whispering, "hear that?" Ylva gulped; her eyes meeting her brothers, nervously. The twins gripped their weapons and followed Rolaf around the corner when they heard him again, "was Jarl Ulfric with you?" Ylva sighed in relief as a female Stormcloak replied, "no, I haven't seen him since the dragon showed up."
The stench of the room was repulsive and it looked even worse. Blood covered the floor, skeletons lay randomly throughout the room but the twins once again went to work searching for supplies. Rolaf pointed out that one of the cells had gold in it but it was locked. Ylva went looking for lock picks. She found another knapsack with lock picks and went for the cell; she unlocked it easily and searched the deceased mage finding gold and potions on him as all as the gold on the ground. Next to him laid a spell tome; at the moment she couldn't see which one but she snatched it up greedily anyway.