The Love of A Dragon
Fire. Everything around me is set ablaze. The smoke is suffocating me, scratching my throat and blinding me. I can barely breathe. I rub my eyes with my small hands, as I cough and wheeze. The heat is unbearable, and I can't stop crying. I scream for help. I scream for mother. I can hear the sound of laughter over the roar of the fire. I don't understand. Why are they laughing, when I need to get out of the burning house? I hear her scream out my name.
"Eleora!"
"Mama!" I yell back.
The side of a wall collapses, making a hole big enough for me to escape out of. I make a run for it and crawl out of the tiny hole. I hit the ground hard, struggling to stand. The sudden coldness of the snow stuns me for a moment. Fresh air hits my face and I painfully breathe it in. A piece of wood that helped support the ceiling falls and hits me on the head. I fall over on the ground, my vision blurring. I see someone swinging from a tree by a rope. I don't understand. I feel awfully sleepy and weak, I try to keep my eyes open.
I hear mama scream again. A long wail that reminds me of the howl of a hurt wolf. Out of the corner of my eye I notice movement. I see her! I see Mama. I see men in steel armor pushing her to the ground. They grab her hair, her arms, and her legs. At least six men are pinning her down.
"Don't hurt my mama!" I try to yell. But it's no use. They don't hear my feeble attempts to stop them. They start ripping her clothes off, their laughter growing louder. I don't understand what they're doing to her. But I know it's wrong. I try to crawl towards her but I hurt all over.
The man pushes himself between her legs and starts grinding into her. Mother's yells are painful. She screams at them to stop. They don't.
She suddenly stops screaming. She stops fighting and she lies still, as each man takes their turn getting in between her legs. She stares up into the starry night, her eyes lifeless and her expression blank. Her beautiful face dirty with soot, and streaked with her tears. One of the men slaps her across her face, but she doesn't cry, or yell, or even wince. Her empty eyes find mine. And life pools into them for a brief moment. Time slows and nothing else in the world matters. I try to pick my head up to see her better, but it falls back to the ground. She smiles the most beautiful smile I've ever seen. All of the sunsets that we've watched, all of the rainbows that we've followed, and all of the butterflies that we've chased were put into that smile. My eyes start to close... no not yet. I can't sleep yet. I blink once. Her lips are moving. She mouths something to me. I blink twice. I close my eyes, not able to hear anything anymore. And then I plunge into the peaceful darkness, the simple nothingness, slowly at first and then all at once.
I love you too, mama.
I jerk up from my bed, now in a sitting position. The cool breeze feels even cooler against the wet stains on my cheeks. I'm trembling. I wipe my cheeks and the beads of sweat that formed on my forehead. The bed creaks as I swing my legs over the edge, letting my face fall into my hands. I sit like that until a knock on the door captures my attention.
"Ellie?" Erik calls from the other side of the door. The door slowly creaks open and he pokes his head in. He frowns when he sees me. "Did you have the dream again?" He asks me concerned. I nod my head and sigh.
"You know, it must be a terrible dream if I wake up with tear stained cheeks every single time," I say, "I wish I could just remember the damn dream." I mutter. He enters my room, closing the door behind him. He kneels in front of me, until his face is level with mine, his expression is sympathetic. He wipes my cheeks with his thumbs, and gives me a small smile.
"Maybe it's a good thing you don't remember. If it's that terrible, do you really want to know?" He asks. I look away from his compassionate gaze.
"I suppose not." I answer him. Even though it's not true. I want to know what I dream about. Maybe- maybe I can come to terms with it and it'll help me sleep better at night… I don't know. He taps me on the nose and gives me a bright smile. He stands up and heads for the door.
"Are you ready to go? Father said we should get going soon." His eyes are bright with excitement. Erik loves adventuring, and leaps at every opportunity to get out of Rorikstead. He's been this way since we were children. I even came up with the name, Erik the Slayer, for him when we were children. His excitement is contagious and I forget all about my bad dream.
"Yes, just let me get into my armor." I stand and walk over to my chest and pull out my iron armor that Mralki bought for me. Erik and I saved up whatever gold, silver, and copper we could find for armor. We would help Reldith on her farm. We would do extra chores around the inn that Erik's father owned. Mralki is against our adventuring. He hates it when we leave. But I know it's just because he worries for us. The Frostfruit Inn wasn't doing so good one winter, and Erik and I decided to help out his dad by giving him all of our savings. We were able to save the Inn, but there went all of our savings. Two summers later, Mralki surprised us with two sets of iron armor and two iron swords. The excitement and joy we felt that day is indescribable.
The sound of the door closing pulls me from my memories. I dress quickly and pin my long ash brown hair up. No matter how I pinned my hair there was always flyaways, and tendrils of curls that framed my face and fell behind my neck.
I sheath my sword, and exit my room into the main room of the Inn. Erik is leaning against the counter talking to his dad as he wipes down the bar.
"Remember. Straight to Helgen to pick up the mead with juniper berries mixed in that Vilod always talks about in his letters that he sends." Mralki instructs Erik. I giggle as I see Erik's face. As usual Mralki's orders went in through one ear and out the other. Mralki knows this all too well. "I mean it, Erik. No heroics. And watch over Eleora."
"I can watch over myself, thank you." I jest as I walk over to stand beside Erik. The hardness in Mralki's eyes melts when I smile at him. Erik turns to me his arms crossed as he smirks.
"She's right. She's capable of handling herself. I'm the one that needs to be looked after." He says playfully. I grin at him.
"Ain't that the truth." Mralki mutters under his breath. I burst out laughing.
"Hey!" Erik exclaims. "I was only joking." He pouts. Mralki shakes his head at his son.
"Of course you were son. Of course you were." Mralki says as he bends over to grab something from behind the counter. "Here," he says as he hands us a knapsack, "There's 30 gold in there for the both of you. It should cover you for a night at the Bannered Mare, in Whiterun. I also packed four health potions, two apples, a loaf of bread, four cheese wedges, cooked beef, two handfuls of berries, two sweetrolls, two ales, and two meads." Mralki explains. "It should last you until Whiterun."
"I think it'll last us the whole trip to Helgen, there and back." Erik says sarcastically. Mralki grimaces. Whenever we went out, Mralki always made sure we were well supplied for our journey. It warms my heart that he cares so much for us. I smile at Mralki.
"I call dibs on the sweetrolls!" I exclaim. Erik scoffs and glares at me.
"You ate both of them without me knowing the last time! There's no way I'm letting you eat mine again." Erik argues. Mralki laughs as Erik and I bicker.
"Alright you two. Go get my mead." He sighs with a smile. Erik is already walking towards the door.
"I'll see you later, Pa!" Erik yells and waves, leaving me behind. I turn to see a sad expression on Mralki's face. He really worries for us when we leave. I run up to him, hug him, and give him a peck on the cheek.
"We'll be back before you know it!" I smile. He returns the hug, tightly. He let's go and smiles. Watching as we walk towards the door. I hear him say something before I reach the door.
"Gods, watch over them."
I close the door to the Inn and turn to see Erik standing at the stairs. He takes a deep breath in and exhales.
"What a beautiful morning for an adventure." He says enthusiastically. I roll my eyes and grin at him. Before I can open my mouth to respond I hear the pitter-patter of little feet running towards us. I glance up in time to see Sissel running from Britte.
"You're gonna get it Sissel!" Britte yells. The expression on Sissel's face is heartbreaking. Anger rises in my chest and I start grinding my teeth. Erik follows my line of vision and frowns.
"Why? What did I do?" Sissel yells back breathlessly. Britte snorts.
"I told you to weed the garden by sunset, and you didn't do it. Now you're in big trouble." She yells at Sissel. Sissel runs past me and keeps running to find a hiding spot from Britte.
"Papa told YOU to do that, not me! Now leave me alone!" Sissel exclaims. Britte, however, stops in front of me.
"If you beat up my sister, Sissel, I won't tell." Britte whispers to me and Erik. I raise my hand to slap her but Erik catches my arm. Britte runs away and searches for Sissel once again. I turn to face Erik, angry, and tears prickling the back of my eyes..
"Why-" I begin, but he cuts me off.
"They get enough of that from their father, Ellie. Don't you think?" He calmly enunciates, as he let's go of my arm. I suddenly feel like skeever droppings.
"Yes, but Sissel gets it the worst and her soul is one of the kindest out there." I half shout at Erik. He lets out an annoyed sigh and grabs my wrist, pulling me with him along the road towards Whiterun. He lets go of me when I stop struggling against him. He finally breaks the silence.
"I know how you feel, Ellie. Trust me." He says softly. When I no longer feel the threat of tears wanting to escape, I respond.
"One of these days I'm going to take Sissel away from here." I say quietly. Erik stops and turns to look at me.
"What about Britte?" He asks.
"She's awful. She's mean, and cold, and- and…" I say trailing off. Erik studies me for a moment. His piercing hazel eyes staring deep into mine. It overwhelms me when he does that.
"Sometimes, people like Britte are the ones that need love the most." He says while staring deeply into my eyes. He's right. As if he feels the message got across, he turns and begins walking again.
We walk in silence for a long while, until he speaks again. "Broken Fang Cave is just a little ways ahead." He implies, wanting to start a new conversation and get rid of the negativity from earlier.
"I told you to leave me alone!" A woman's voice drifts towards us. Erik and I exchange wary looks and pick up the pace. We see two Alik'r warriors speaking to a Redguard woman. When Erik and I approach, they begin to walk away.
"Hey!" I shout. "What's going on here?" I demand as I cross my arms and narrow my eyes at them.
"Foreigners, what a nuisance." The Redguard woman gripes.
"We're looking for a Redguard woman, we think she's hiding somewhere in Whiterun." One of the warriors simply says. A new flame of anger flickers inside of me. So that just gives them the right to corner and antagonize whoever they want? Before I could rip them a new one, they're already walking away.
"Are you alright? What was that all about?" Erik asks the woman.
"They thought I was some other Redguard woman! They wouldn't just leave me alone." She huffs, and begins to walk away. "I hope they get lost in the wilderness." She mutters under her breath. Erik and I watch her storm off, glance at each other and shrug.
We continue walking and see Broken Fang Cave. Before I could say anything, Erik whispers quietly under his breath. I barely hear him.
"Just keep walking no matter what." I look up at him confused. What's wrong? He's staring straight ahead, relaxed expression.
"What's a milk drinker like you doing out here?" A Nord woman clad in iron armor like ours, asks. She towers over me. Well a lot of people do. I'm unusually short for a Nord woman. But she's tall, even for a Nord. She's probably the same height as Erik. Just like he said, we continue to walk past her without acknowledging her. Honestly, things like this don't bother me. I'm great at ignoring people like her. "Go home to your mother." She huffs, disappointed that we didn't stoop to her level. My back stiffens and I stop dead in my tracks, turning to face her. Nobody talks about my mother. I don't know why, but for some reason, I completely lose it when someone speaks ill of my unknown mother. Before Erik can grab me, I walk up to her and get in her face.
"You shouldn't talk to us like that." I growl, having to look up to her. The bitch has the audacity to smile.
"Why? What are you going to do, cry?" She taunts me. I smile a slow menacing smile. She has no idea. Erik walks up behind me and grabs my arms, tugging me away from her. I don't take my eyes off of her.
"We don't have time for this." He warns me. He spins me around and practically drags me away. The Nord woman doesn't appreciate that and screams.
"Don't you walk away from me!" The sound of her sword being drawn puts me in a frenzy. All the anger pent up inside of me is rearing to be released. I turn while drawing my sword out in time to stop a blow from behind. Our swords collide, causing sparks. The loud metallic clang echos through the trees, bouncing off the rocks. Our faces are inches apart, the woman and I lock eyes. I let out a feral growl and push her back. Surprised, she staggers back a couple of steps. Not expecting me to have the strength to do that. I hear Erik draw his sword too.
"No!" I yell at him but not taking my eyes off her. "She's mine." I snarl. Erik doesn't make an attempt at her, but he still has his weapon drawn. I swing at her and she blocks it with her shield. The Nord bashes me with her shield, and takes another swing. I block it with my sword, causing more sparks to fly. Our swords clash as we swing and block each others attacks. She has brute strength, but I have speed and agility. Our swords connect again once more, her sword slides down mine towards the hilt and she manages to slice my arm with as she withdraws. I hiss and grab my arm. I look down at my bloody hand. I think about Sissel, and her abusive family. I think about the Alik'r warriors pestering that woman, and how this Nord has nothing better to do than bully others. I let out a scream as I rush the woman and swing my sword. She staggers back and I use the opportunity to shove my blade through her stomach. Her eyes widen with surprise and she lets out a choked sob. Blood spurts from her mouth. I spin and swing my blade across her neck, decapitating her. Putting an end to her suffering.
I stand there for what seems like an eternity, breathing hard, staring at the lifeless body.
"Feel better?" Erik asks. I sheathe my sword and sigh. I wish I didn't have to take her life, but she wasn't going to stop until one of our lives ended. And it wasn't going to be mine.
"Much." I respond. Erik takes out some clean linen and bandages my arm. "I'm fine, you know I don't need that... it's just a scratch." Erik ignores me and focuses on bandaging my arm. He pulls out a health potion and hands it to me. "Seriously?" I ask.
"Just take sip at least." He sighs. I open the bottle and take a swig of the fizzy potion, instantly feeling a lot better. I the close bottle and shove it into my knapsack. Erik checks the Nord womans' body for anything valuable we could use. He takes her iron war axe, a brown cloak, a few gold pieces, and a health potion. He hands me the cloak and tells me to put it on. My Nord blood helps me resist the cold, but I still take it anyway.
We continue walking again. "Gods, so much has happened already and we're not even halfway to Whiterun yet." He jabbers. That's just the way things are here in Skyrim. It's a dog eat dog world. I wish it weren't so. But it is. Erik and I realized a long time ago that we're strong. We have the strength to stand up for ourselves. And we made a pact to stand up for those that couldn't stand up for themselves. I glance at him and catch him staring at the tall mountains. His face peaceful. He really loves adventuring.
We pass Bloated Man's Grotto and see a pack of wolves lurking in the tall grass watching a giant and a cow painted with blue markings. Whatever that's all bout. Erik and I stop and crouch, and get ready for the show. The wolves make their move and attack the giant. They're no match for the giant. We watch as the wolves fly in the air and feel the vibrations of the giants club hit the ground. It was crazy to watch.
"We should take the wolf pelts and sell them." Erik suggests. I nod in agreement. After we're sure the giant is gone. Erik gets his dagger and gets to work on skinning the wolves. I, on the other hand, sit back and eat a sweetroll. I watch Erik work with his blade, I'd offer to help but I'd probably just get in the way.
Erik washes his hands in a nearby pond and rolls up the wolf pelts, setting them on his backpack. He glances at me, raises a brow and smiles.
"Ready?" I ask. He nods and does a double take.
"If you ate my sweetroll... Gods, so help me, Ellie!" He shouts. I give him a sweet smile and show him his sweetroll. He exhales and relaxes. "Good." What he doesn't know is that I plan on taking it at the Bannered Mare.
The sun is starting to go down, painting the tall trees and fields in orangey-pinks. The winds caress and tickle the the tall grass, causing the fields to look like an ocean. The sound of the birds, the rustling grass, and a waterfall in the distance calms my heart. Skyrim is the only place I've ever known. I never want to leave. It's utterly gorgeous.
"Hey!" My eyes fall on three Imperial soldiers resting on a boulder. "Any one of you have an ale or mead you're willing to share." I reach into my pack and toss over an ale. The man catches it and smiles. "Thanks, lass! Divines bless you." He calls out. I smile and nod, continuing to walk.
"That was nice of you." Erik comments. I forgot that he doesn't care for the Empire. Me personally, I don't care for the war, period. I think all of this unnecessary violence and bloodshed is dumb. I peek at Erik for a second, his jaw muscles twitch.
"I'm a nice person." I respond quietly. I don't want him mad at me.
"Just be careful." He warns. I frown at him completely confused now. What did I do? He tenses when I look at him. The unasked question lingering in the air.
"You didn't do anything wrong, Ellie… It's just sometimes people will take that for more than just simple kindness." He explains uncomfortably. "You didn't see the way they were looking at you." He says softly. He doesn't look at me.
"I can take care of myself, Erik." I reiterate. He groans and looks at me.
"Ellie. Just… please? Be careful? If anything were to happen to you. I don't know what I'd do." He professes. And as if on cue, an arrow lands right in front of me. Confused, Erik and I look up from our conversation and see the marksman sitting on the edge of the battlements.
"Hey pretty lassie, my bedroll is a little chilly! Why don't you come warm it up?" A bandit drunkenly yells from the battlements of Fort Greymoor. His friend pokes his head out from behind the stone rail the Ranger is sitting on, and waves his bottle of wine.
"Mine too!" They both begin laughing. I roll my eyes and turn to see Erik taking off his backpack and putting his on iron helmet. There's a fire lit in his eyes and I know something not good is about to happen. He begins walking towards the old fort. Oh no…
"Erik, wait! Stop!" I beg as I tug on his arm. It's useless though. He's too strong. The men suddenly perk up, watching Erik like the wolves watching the giant earlier.
"That's close enough!" The one sitting on the battelments exclaims. Erik grunts, ignoring him and continues stalking forward, and draws his sword. Shit! Shit! No telling how many bandits are holed up in this old fort. There's nothing I can do but follow Erik, and pray to the Gods that we don't die. I unsheathe my sword and listen to them blow on their horns.
Hey guys! Hope you're liking Elle's adventure so far! We all know there are endless ways to play Skyrim, so let's see how and where Elle's adventure takes her. :) Please comment and let me know how I'm doing! Thanks. (Disclaimer- I don't own Skyrim or it's characters. Only the characters I created.)