Originally from Ivarstead, Fastred was a young woman who lived at Fellstar Farm with her parents. Described as naïve and immature, Fastred longed to see the world past Ivarstead, and had practically begged her parents to allow her to travel. They had refused, unwilling to let her go off alone into the wilderness of Skyrim.
Then one day, a man passed through Ivarstead. He was an old family friend and, upon hearing his plans to travel to Solitude, Fastred longed to go with him. He was carting wares to sell there in the market – one of the best, he had said. Knowing that Fastred would be in safe hands, her parents let her go, knowing full well that their friend had come from Riften and had a wealth of experience that would prove Fastred was in safe hands.
But, as they neared the end of their journey, there had been a dragon attack. It was a small dragon and one that the guards of Dragon Bridge could handle between themselves. But the fire was dangerous and the plan was to quickly run for Solitude in an attempt to escape. They stopped at a crossroad to read the direction signs, and, with all the chaos of the dragon attack, it seemed the perfect moment for a bandit attack.
They had leapt in and, seeing that Fastred had a good fighter at her side, they swiftly threw him towards a steep drop in the road, sending him to the Stormcloak camp below. He hit rocks as he fell and had died before he had even hit the ground.
Fastred and her cart was all that was left.
Upon seeing that Fastred wasn't the usual meat, the bandits decided to make it a little more worth their while and silently decided between themselves to take advantage of Fastred before her death. As the apparent leader stepped towards Fastred and held a knife to her throat, she opened her mouth to beg for her life, before an arrow shot through his skull, knocking him off his feet and to the ground.
Fastred cowered, too frightened to run or to fight with the given chance. She hid her face with her hands as her legs collapsed underneath her and she knelt on the ground, desperately wishing it to be over. She heard shouts and lame threats, but nothing from the uninvited guest. She heard a dog barking and one of the bandits cried out as the dog apparently bit him. Another clash of metal, a blade slicing through flesh and then, there was silence.
Trembling against the rocks behind her, Fastred didn't open her eyes. She heard footsteps coming towards her, and as she heard them get louder, she suddenly jumped up, wondering where her energy had come from, and went to make a run away from the attacker. Without a word, she felt a fist grab her wrist and pull her back. Terrified that it was the last remaining bandit, Fastred screamed out in horror and writhed against her captor.
A pale green light suddenly enveloped Fastred, and she felt her fear and anger vanish from her completely. Curious of this strange light, she turned to the person holding her, and saw a woman standing beside her holding her hand up that could barely be seen due to the green light surrounding her gloved palm. Her face was partially covered in blood, a stern glare fixed on Fastred's face. Feeling a lot calmer, Fastred became less tense and the woman felt she could remove her grip from her without another escape.
'Who are you?' Fastred asked casually. She looked around her, taking in the corpses of the bandits who had attacked her. She looked upon them with nonchalance, as though they were weeds among a bed of flowers.
The woman lowered her hand, the light vanishing as she did so. 'I'm sorry, there was no other way but to force you to calm down.'
Fastred hardly cared. She shrugged and turned to the broken cart that had tipped over in the attack. She bent down to see if there was anything to scavenge.
'They have destroyed all our goods,' Fastred cursed. 'What terrible human beings...'
The woman looked to her right to see Solitude in the distance, where she had just come from an hour before. She immediately presumed this girl was travelling there to sell what goods she had been carrying, although that seemed pointless now.
Fastred stood up and dusted her clothes off. She had managed to find a torn coin purse, with a few septims still inside. She placed it in her skirt pocket and turned back to the woman and noticed the full effect of the spell wear off as she suddenly realised who she was.
Dragon's bones for armour, an expression that clearly told of the wonders and horrors she had witnessed and a beautiful crown that contrasted the rank smell of wet muck that came from her huge dog. The countless stories Fastred had heard about this woman rushed through her mind, causing her to take a step back in fear and shock.
Realising the spell had worn off, the Dragonborn tried to soften her expression. 'You may as well go home.'
'M-my friend... is he okay?' Fastred asked, although she knew the answer. Perhaps there was still enough time left to save him?
The Dragonborn raised an eyebrow and turned to where the young girl was staring. She walked towards the cliff edge and looked down. Her dog followed her and, upon seeing the mangled body lying motionless on the floor, a pool of blood around his head, he began to bark.
As she turned back to face the shaking girl, she knew that the action of her turning her back against the cliff edge would tell her all she needed to know. In an attempt to get her mind off the subject, the Dragonborn decided to probe into her plans a little.
'There is a cart outside of Solitude,' she said, taking a step toward the confused girl. She dug inside her pocket and held out two gold coins to her. 'He will take you back to Ivarstead.'
The Dragonborn was surprised to see that Fastred was alarmed and confused by this suggestion. Her eyes darted to Solitude, to the Dragonborn, to her dog, to the direction of Dragon Bridge and every which way before she realised what the Dragonborn was trying to say. Solitude was visible in the distance, but she was still frightened from the attack that had just happened. She looked down at her shoes and saw that she was standing in a small puddle of blood. With a sharp squeal, she jumped out of it.
As she looked up again, she realised that the Dragonborn was already walking toward Dragon Bridge, with a dark, armoured horse that had seemingly appeared from nowhere slowly following her. She jumped forward and reached her hand out to gain the Dragonborn's attention before realising what an idiotic idea that was.
'Please -!' Fastred whimpered. She held her hand to her chest and watched as the Dragonborn slowly turned around to face her. Fasted felt a weight in her pocket and remembered she had pocketed a small bag of coins earlier. She dug it out and thrust it into the Dragonborn's face, desperate for her help.
'Please don't leave me,' Fastred could feel tears coming to her eyes as she begged for assistance. 'I'm so frightened. This is my first time away from Ivarstead. My parents didn't want me to leave but I pleaded with them to let me travel to Solitude and I couldn't even do that. Please, please take me back home.'
The Dragonborn looked at the bag of coins. Ignoring Meeko's impatient bark, she took it from the sobbing girl and looked inside to count. She raised an eyebrow at the pathetic payment and considered her options.
Fastred cocked her head slightly to the side, wondering what the Dragonborn's reaction to the amount of coin could be. Was it not enough? 'My father has more coin that he will gladly give to you upon my safe return,' she encouraged.
Fastred wore no fancy clothes, despite her travelling. The Dragonborn doubted she would be getting much more payment. She glanced down at Meeko, who was looking up at her with his large, amber eyes. Then he looked at Fastred and barked.
That was enough of an answer for the Dragonborn. 'Fine.'
She turned and walked away. Despite the acceptance of the job, Fastred hesitated before following her at a distance.
They walked down the cobbled slope down toward Dragon Bridge. Fastred wondered how the Dragonborn felt walking through Dragon Bridge, considering it should feel like home to her, considering the name and all. It was a naïve thought, she realised, as the Dragonborn made no eye contact with anybody in the small village and continued to walk through without even stopping at the inn.
As they neared the bridge, Fastred realised that she was only just recovering from the shock of the attack and began to feel pains in her legs and in her stomach. They walked up a rather steep slope for a bridge, Fastred thought, and as she wondered and thought of childish things, she accidentally tripped and fell onto her hands and knees.
The Dragonborn stopped in her tracks and took a moment to turn around and see Fastred lying on the floor, bemused at her fall. She had no patience for children, least of all young women acting like them. She went to turn around again until she saw more tears come to Fastred's eyes as she moved from her hands and knees and sat down properly to see what damage had been done.
The Dragonborn glowered at the interruption to her schedule, as she had initially hoped to get Fastred back to Ivarstead as quickly as possible. She strode over to and knelt before her, almost making Fastred jump out of her skin as she hadn't noticed her coming. She roughly grabbed Fastred's scraped hands and held them together in hers.
A warm, orange light enveloped both of their hands. It made Fastred feel giddy inside as she felt the sting of the scrape disappear. The Dragonborn lowered their hands to Fastred's knees, where the glow surrounded the wounds on her legs and healed them before her very eyes. Fastred watched in fascination, having never seen anything before like it. And then, as quickly as it had happened, it was over.
The Dragonborn stood up, and Fastred, too shocked at the healing spell to react, let out a small scream as the Dragonborn picked up as easily as if she was a sack of flour. Surprised, she instinctively threw her arms around the woman's neck to secure herself and waited awkwardly in her arms as the Dragonborn took her to her horse and lifted her onto the saddle.
'Oh!' Fastred cried out, as she made herself comfortable and gently picked up the reigns to feel she had something to hold onto. 'Is this okay?'
'It is faster this way,' was all the Dragonborn said.
Fastred swallowed. This woman was different to any other she had met. She had seen men wander through Ivarstead who boasted of their strength. She had seen men who had told stories that they had endured terrible horrors she could not imagine, but there was no scrap of fear on their face as they recalled the event. She had seen groups of travellers make their way up the seven thousand steps, with sheer determination on their face and no hesitation.
But this woman was different. Her eyes were a soft blue and seemed to know no empathy or kindness. The black rings that reached her eyebrows and touched her cheeks made her look almost foreign, although the paleness of her skin told Fastred that she was a Nord, like herself. Her hair was a dark blonde, and arranged into neat plaits above her ears to keep hair away from her face. She was taller than Fastred, but not taller than her father, and her frame was around the same as her mother's. How could such a person, who was so similar in appearance, seem so alien?
And then, Fastred realised she did not know the Dragonborn's name. Did anyone? She had many titles, that was for sure. She had come to learn that when somebody spoke of the Harbinger or the Arch-Mage, that they spoke of the Dragonborn. She certainly had travelled well around Skyrim. Did she have even more titles that Fastred didn't know of?
'Um,' Fastred started. She wanted to address the woman to gain her attention, but felt awkward giving her the Dragonborn title for some reason. She decided to forgo it, and endure the awkwardness. 'What is your name?'
There was no answer.
The dog barked as if answering her for the Dragonborn. They seemed awfully close. Could the Dragonborn speak to Meeko, unlike any other person? She had heard that she had spoken to dragons, although apparently, they could speak. Could she read minds? No, that was ridiculous. Fastred giggled at the thought.
As her childish amusement vanished, Fastred suddenly felt frustrated that the Dragonborn had ignored her question, and that she was so foreign. She wanted to confront and ask her why this was the case. There was always the possibility that the Dragonborn would be so offended that she leave Fastred on the side of the road to fend for herself, but Fastred wouldn't be able to stand such a painfully awkward trip anyway.
'Are you angry at... something?' Fastred asked. 'Your attitude to everything seems unpleasant. Do you know it's unhealthy to live your life like that?'
Fastred blushed as the abrupt statement left her. Why did she say that? What would it solve? The Dragonborn would just ignore it, as she had earlier, and Fastred would seem like an immature child, getting angry at the smallest thing that couldn't be fixed. Did she expect to make a difference by asking that?
The Dragonborn took a while to answer. Fastred wondered whether she would answer at all, and was about to resign herself to accept being ignored when she finally spoke.
'I have experienced very little in Skyrim that would make my attitude pleasant.'
Fastred was confused. She opened her mouth to speak but couldn't think of the right things to say. Eventually, she stammered out whatever came to her mind first, determined to change the Dragonborn's way of thinking.
'How can you say that when we are walking past a beautiful river?' She gestured to the trickle of water beside them. A small family of mudcrabs were hiding underneath the water, nearly out of sight. 'And the sun is promising to come out today. We have also had good weather for crops this year, which is better than last year when we struggled through the winter. You have also slain Alduin, the World-Eater. You have saved us all. You have -.'
'For the amount of 'good' I have done, I have done twice as much damage,' the Dragonborn cut her off sharply.
Fastred frowned. All that she had heard about the Dragonborn was about the good things she had done. She had prevented Alduin from returning and had saved them all from certain death. She had stopped the people of Winterhold from hating the College, and had become Arch-Mage and turned it toward a new direction. She hadn't heard much other than that, but the amount of good those roles did surely cancelled out all other bad deeds she did?
Fastred jumped down from Shadowmere, determined to change the Dragonborn's view of herself and do some good on this journey. Perhaps her good words would be an addition to the payment she had given her, and the Dragonborn might be a changed woman. It was wishful thinking, but it was worth trying.
'I have only heard good things about you,' Fastred said as she caught up to the irritated woman. 'You should think of only the good things you have done, instead of the bad.'
'That's enough -.' The Dragonborn started, suddenly reaching out to grab Shadowmere's reigns and pushing him off to the side of the road. Why she did that, Fastred was uncertain, but she must still try to persuade her otherwise.
'Without you, millions of people would have died. You are even helping to take me home when you could have left me to the mercy of those bandits -.'
'I get it -.' Meeko began to bark, as if he was telling Fastred that the Dragonborn had had enough.
'But why do you still -?'
'Move!' The Dragonborn had been patient for long enough and couldn't stand Fastred's ignorance any longer. Using her whole body weight, she threw herself onto Fastred and they both landed on the floor. As Fastred's head hit the dry soil, she heard an arrow fly over both of their heads.
The Dragonborn was up and crouching, leaving Fastred lying dazed and confused on the floor. 'Stay down,' the Dragonborn hissed. She looked over to where she had pushed Shadowmere off to and, seeing that he had been pushed into the direction of a Forsworn archer, she decided to use her bound bow and arrow instead of the Dragonbone set that was hanging from Shadowmere.
Fastred squealed as the Dragonborn lifted her hand, an orb of purple light glowing inside her palm. The orb of light grew into the shape of a bow, and a quiver of arrows appeared on her back. She moved in front of Fastred, silently ordering Meeko to move to the back of her. She took an arrow from the quiver, arranged her bow to shoot at something in the distance, and in an instant, she had let the arrow go flying. The only evidence that her aim had been successful was a distant pained cry.
The Dragonborn stood and looked around. She turned to Shadowmere to see that he had killed the archer, and that he, too, was on alert for any other attackers. Fastred, unable to move from fear, watched the Dragonborn's face as she looked around for any other attacker. It was fascinating to watch her at work.
'Did you kill them?' Fastred's voice was high and shrill. She tripped slightly as she found her feet and went to stand beside the Dragonborn. She gave her a deathly glare, her silent way of telling her to be quiet, which Fastred didn't understand.
'Can we continue then?' Fastred asked, desperate to leave this area. She wasn't accustomed to death. To be in the same vicinity as corpses was disturbing to her. 'Please – can we -?'
From out of nowhere, a Forsworn ravager jumped from behind a group of rocks. She had been hidden well, and Fastred hadn't known she was there. The Dragonborn had known there had been another Forsworn rat around, but with Fastred's constant talking, she hadn't been able to pinpoint their location.
Because of this, she had been caught off guard. She took a step back into Fastred, pushing her away from the attacker as she did so. Her bow and arrow was of no use to her with the ravager at such a close proximity, and she shook her hand to rid herself of the bow and arrow. She went to reach for her sword that hung from her belt, but the ravager had two smaller swords, and was much quicker.
The ravager brought up two bone swords, with sharp teeth that jutted seemingly from everywhere. She swung, taking a step forward with each one, slowly getting closer to the Dragonborn. Meeko barked furiously, making sure to keep his distance. At one point, Fastred swore that she saw one of the swords catch Meeko's face. Blood dripped from his mouth as he growled with even more ferocity. The Dragonborn, dodging every swing, was simply waiting for a gap for her to enter and attack.
But none came, and eventually, the ravager was too close to Fastred for the Dragonborn's liking. Unable to take a step back, she steeled herself and waited for the swords to swing down toward her. When they did, she caught both of them in her leather gloved hands and gripped them tight. Then, with the ravager stuck in her hold, she pushed her heels into the grass, braced her body and took a deep breath.
'Fus – ro dah!'
The ravager let her grip of the swords go and was sent flying back into the rocks from which she had been hiding behind. Fastred saw as the force of the Dragonborn's shout threw the Forsworn dog into the rocks with such force that their head hit a sharp edge and cracked loudly. As they fell to the ground, a large stain of blood covered the rocks.
There seemed to be an echo, or a residue of the shout still lingering in the air, much like the silence after a crack of thunder. Fastred was too shocked to speak. She didn't even noticed the Dragonborn turning around and lifting her roughly from the ground to her feet. She looked down to dust the dirt from her unclean dress, but when she looked up to thank the Dragonborn for saving her life yet again, she felt a rough hand back slap her across the face.
The force of the hit almost made her think her neck would snap. Her head turned and her body crumpled slightly, but she kept her balance and did not fall. Tears came to her eyes as her cheek burned. She lifted a shaking hand to her face to feel the damage, but her cheek was too hot to touch. That damn dog barked again, as if he was praising the Dragonborn's cruel action.
'...Why...?' Fastred whimpered.
'It is because of your ignorance that you are in this mess to begin with,' the Dragonborn seethed. 'Are you so stupid that you will continue to be so naïve? Your childish nature will get us all killed.'
Fastred felt herself crumple as tears came to her eyes, blurring her view. She was too afraid to look at the Dragonborn, and took a step back in fear. As if she knew what was going to happen, the Dragonborn quickly caught Fastred by the elbow before she managed to run off in tears.
'Did you not hear me?' The Dragonborn asked loudly. 'Why are you still willing to run off into danger?'
'You frighten me!' Fastred wailed, fighting back against the Dragonborn's grip. It was stupid, and she knew she wouldn't be able to escape. 'I want to go home!'
The Dragonborn lifted a hand to summon the green light of a calming spell, but for some reason it did not come. Instead, she grabbed Fastred's shoulder with her free hand and forced her to face her.
'Stop. You need to calm down. I said I would take you home, and that is what I will do. If you run away now, no doubt you will trip over your own feet and break your neck. Do I need to hit you again to calm you down?'
Fastred stopped struggling and went limp in the Dragonborn's grip. Sniffling, she meekly shook her head. Tears ran down her face as she looked into the Dragonborn's furious eyes. But, they weren't as angry as they were when she had hit her. No, they were more... concerned.
Assured that she wouldn't run away, the Dragonborn let go of her, cursing to herself. She went over to Shadowmere and pulled out a cloth and threw it to Fastred, who was confused as to what she wanted. Her arms hurt slightly after being held tight, and when she looked down, she realised they were covered in blood.
Starting, she quickly checked herself for injuries. She hadn't felt an arrow pierce her skin, or felt a blade against her flesh so where could this blood have come from? She wiped it away with the scrap of cloth and it suddenly dawned on her where it had come from.
The Dragonborn was taking her ring and gloves off and inspecting her bloodied hands. There were deep cuts to her palms and fingers that must have occurred when she had caught the two Forsworn swords. She rooted through Shadowmere's bags and looked for a healing potion, but when she gave up and cursed again, Fastred realised she had none left.
She walked over to the annoyed woman and went out to reach her hands to look at them more closely, but the Dragonborn flinched and turned away. Knowing that this was her fault, Fastred suddenly knew how she could make up for her terrible behaviour.
'I can help you,' she said, reaching out again. When the Dragonborn would not willingly provide her hands for inspection, Fastred grabbed them without the invitation. A stupid thing to do, as the Dragonborn could kill her in an instant, but she just stood there as Fastred looked at the damage the Forsworn had done.
Her hands were a bloodied mess. There were several deep cuts to the palms of her hands, grazes to her wrists and her fingers were so badly injured that they looked disfigured. This would take a while to heal, but it was not impossible. Fastred would be able to make a make-shift healing potion in no time once she had all the ingredients.
She could even help the dog out, she thought as she looked over at Meeko, but there was no scrap of blood dripping from his face. He was panting, which made him look as though he was smiling, and seemed completely fine again. Fastred cocked her head as she wondered how this might have happened – did she imagine his injury? - but her thoughts were interrupted.
'I would use my healing spell,' the Dragonborn said through clenched teeth, 'but I cannot conjure it.'
'And who is the stupid one for having no healing potions?' Fastred suddenly snapped. The fact that she had no potions at all on her made Fastred angry enough to retort, especially since she had been called stupid only seconds before. The look on the Dragonborn's face was of seething anger, but she did not reply.
'I can make something that will take away the pain and begin the healing process,' Fastred said, wiping away the blood with the cloth. 'Do you have a blue mountain flower?'
'I'm not much of an alchemist,' the Dragonborn replied.
This really made Fastred's blood boil. There was nothing else to do but clean the wound and wrap it up. 'Well, do you have water? Do you have anything?'
Ripping her hands away from Fastred's, the Dragonborn dug her injured hand into a bag that hung from Shadowmere and pulled out a small glass bottle of water. Before she had chance to apply the water to her wound, Fastred snatched it from her and began to do it herself.
'Do you honestly think you're so powerful that you're invincible to any attack?' Fastred muttered as she poured the water over the Dragonborn's hands and began to wipe more blood away.
'I don't normally let myself get attacked like that,' the Dragonborn was quick to remind her.
Fastred bristled. 'Surely you make mistakes sometimes, oh great Dragonborn. And tell me, how do you expect to cope without healing potions when your spells are of no use?'
There was no reply, and so Fastred looked up to encourage one from her when she saw that her gaze was lowered and she wore an almost pained expression on her face. Her anger had subsided as she looked truly shamed, although Fastred couldn't tell why.
'Well?' Fastred gently urged, not wanting to leave her in this state.
'I have ways of managing.' Her voice was but a whisper, and one that Fastred had to strain to hear.
'How?' Fastred pressed. She sounded like her mother, scolding a naughty child and demanding information from them in order to fix what they had broken.
'Namira has granted me power to do so,' the Dragonborn finally replied. At this, Fastred immediately stopped what she was doing and left her hands hanging in the air. Without another word, the Dragonborn took the cloth from her and ripped in into two parts, and wrapped a piece around each hand. She took the water bottle from Fastred's lingering hand and put it back into Shadowmere's bag and went to place her gloves back over her hands.
'You may run, if you still wish,' she finally spoke. Fastred moved her head from its fixed state to turn to look at her. She was too stunned to speak, for once. She watched as the Dragonborn looked at the Ring of Namira she had obviously been wearing earlier – how Fastred hadn't noticed it, she didn't know – and pocketed it, choosing instead to wear an enchanted diamond ring.
'I-if...' Fastred swallowed. She wasn't certain why she wasn't already running away from an angry cannibal. It would be so easy for the Dragonborn to kill her and devour her flesh. Why wasn't she more scared? 'If that is... how you survive without your spells... why aren't you -?'
'It is a necessary evil,' the Dragonborn replied curtly, gently pulling on Shadowmere's reigns to get him to move. 'Those who have physically injured me are the ones I choose to heal me, but I would rather forgo the meal and spare you that experience. I will just have to be more careful for a while.'
She walked ahead, with Shadowmere trotting behind her and Meeko at her heels. Fastred watched for a brief moment before running to catch up with her. She didn't seem surprised that she was still following, but more saddened that she chose to do so.
'It is one of the many curses bestowed upon me,' the Dragonborn sighed. 'It is because of this that I find it difficult to share your enthusiasm for happiness.'
Fastred gulped. She'd had no idea. She had no clue what it was like to be in the Dragonborn's heavy boots, or what it was like to have so many responsibilities thrust upon her. She pitied her.
'Do not waste your sympathy on me,' the Dragonborn said, as if she was reading her thoughts. 'Though I owe many debts to many of the divines and carry heavy burdens with me, I have the power to do many of things I never thought I could when I was younger.'
'Oh?' Fastred inquired. She was actually having a conversation with the Dragonborn. She didn't want this to end. She had so much to learn about her.
'I can travel anywhere in Skyrim without the fear of being attacked,' she replied, casting a knowing look to Fastred. She then turned her eyes back to the road ahead. 'And if I want something, I usually get it. Materialistic objects, that is.'
'Is that all you wish for, though? Materialistic objects?' Fastred asked. The Dragonborn was beginning to look weary, as though she was getting tired and needed to sleep. 'What about your freedom, or a constant companion on the road? Aren't you lonely, dealing with this burden on your own?'
'I have two constant companions, who give me more than a human could,' she replied. 'You and I see the world very differently, and what you might consider odd, I consider normal. I am foreign to you, and I do not expect you to understand.'
Then, she was silent. Fastred asked her a few more questions, but it was as if she had reached her limit for speaking for the day. They walked in silence. The only way for Fastred to amuse herself was to gaze around the landscape as they walked through the hills and across rivers. Somewhere down the road, the Dragonborn took a package wrapped in parchment and passed it to her without a word. Inside was a slice of cooked meat and some cheese, which she enjoyed eating as she walked. She did not see the Dragonborn eat, though.
She walked on one side of Shadowmere, whilst the Dragonborn walked on the other. Only sometimes, when Shadowmere would stop for a brief moment, would she catch a glimpse of her. Her dark blue eyes were fixed on the road ahead. Her fist was occasionally clenching as if she expected another attack, but it was quiet for the rest of the day.
When the sun began to down in the early evening, and Fastred was becoming weary, the Dragonborn spoke for the first time since their earlier conversation. Fastred had not spoken or complained of her sore feet or aching head, and was glad that she was distracting her for a moment.
'What is your name?' She asked.
Fastred suddenly realised she hadn't shared it with her. She had asked of hers, but had never gotten it. Should she really bother to answer her, when she herself had been ignored?
'My name is Fastred Fellstar,' she replied. 'Can I have yours?'
'We will stop for the night, Fastred,' the Dragonborn replied, still ignoring her question. She stopped walking, and Fastred looked over to where she was indicting. There was a small pond, quite well hidden by the surrounding trees and bushes.
'Outside?' Fastred asked, surprised. 'Do you not stay at inns?'
'You will be at risk if we continue to walk the extra two hours to the nearest inn,' the Dragonborn said, and Fastred blushed furiously at her concern that made her feel like an immature child. She wished she hadn't caused her to be injured earlier. 'I have a tent and will set up a camp fire. You are tired.'
They moved toward the pond where a single mudcrab was lurking. The Dragonborn summoned her bound bow before taking it out with one arrow. She went over to retrieve it and held it in front of Fastred, as though she was giving her a present.
'Can you cook mudcrab?' She asked.
'Y-yes,' Fastred said, stunned at the question. She took the dead crab from the Dragonborn and held it awkwardly.
'The fire will be set up soon. I will set up the rest of the camp while you cook the mudcrab. Make yourself useful.'
Fastred winced at the sore reminder. Once the fire was set up, she busied herself by cooking the mudcrab in a pot the Dragonborn had given her to use. She used a poor selection of vegetables that she had found in a bag hung around Shadowmere. All she had for the stew was a single potato, a carrot and two leeks. There was no seasoning. Did the Dragonborn ever eat properly or did she simply rip off legs from deer and eat them raw?
If she never ate, or never ate healthily at least, then Fastred swore to serve a meal that the Dragonborn would miss when she was gone. She might not be any good at the farm, but she could cook a decent meal.
The Dragonborn had finished setting up the tent and bedrolls quicker than Fastred had expected, and she was still cooking the stew by the time she came over. She sat beside her and there was an awkward silence – or awkward for Fastred, anyway – as they both watched the pot.
Fastred stole a glance at the woman sitting beside her. Meeko was asleep by the fire, too worn out to stay awake and wait for his food. Shadowmere was half-grazing on the floor where he stood, but not really taking any interest in it, as though he wasn't hungry either. She didn't like his glowing red eyes. He wasn't a normal horse.
But the Dragonborn wasn't watching the pot. She was staring in that general direction, but Fastred could tell she was lost in her own thoughts. Her brow was furrowed and her eyes were glazed slightly. She turned her head slightly as she heard a twig snap in the distance. Fastred wondered if she was recalling good memories or trying to shun bad ones.
After a moment, her eyes still fixed on the strange woman, Fastred noticed that the boiling water was beginning to reach the brim of the pot. The Dragonborn had seen it, but had left it to Fastred to fix, it being her job and all. Fastred silently cursed herself for making a mistake on something she was supposed to be good at.
She split the stew into three bowls, and gave two to the Dragonborn, who gave the smaller portion to Meeko. He lifted his head slowly and sniffed at the bowl for a few moment before putting his head back down and closing his eyes. For a moment, Fastred was insulted that not even the dog liked her cooking, until the Dragonborn shoved a wooden spoon into the bowl and began to eat.
'It's too hot for the dog,' she commented as she swallowed her first mouthful. 'It tastes fine.'
Fastred grinned like an excited child. Pleased she had done something right, they continued to eat the stew in silence for a while until Fastred decided to note on something.
'It might taste better if you kept more food.'
The Dragonborn lifted her bowl to her lips and drank down the rest of the watery stew. She threw her spoon into it and placed it on the ground beside her, wakening the dog who seemed to remember he had his own dinner waiting.
'A warrior should eat three healthy meals a day. What do you eat? Aside from...'
'That is a very rare occasion,' the Dragonborn hastily replied. 'I usually eat after a fight to regain the strength I have lost. It is rare that I am simply walking on the road and not hunting something down.'
Fastred shut her mouth immediately. Before, when the Dragonborn was staring at the pot, Fastred thought she saw something different in her. But as she spoke of killing, and it being a common occurrence, she reverted back to the cold, distant woman. Were Fastred's efforts futile?
Seeing that everyone had finished their meal, the Dragonborn stood up and went to walk to the pond to wash the bowls and cutlery. Before she did so, she turned to Fastred. 'Go to sleep.'
Fastred stood up from the campfire and went to walk to the tent, but stopped when she saw only one bedroll.
'We will be taking turns sleeping?' She asked. She might need some waking up, if that was the case.
'No,' the Dragonborn replied, picking up the pot from the fire and taking it to the pond.
'But where will you sleep?' Fastred asked, stunned.
'Perhaps I will find a moment while on watch.'
Fastred huffed and almost picked up her foot to stamp the ground in frustration. 'You do not eat, you do not sleep, you hardly talk. Are you sure you're a Nord, or even human?'
She was suddenly nervous that such an outburst would cause her to take offence and react strongly or to tell her to mind her own business. But what she did made Fastred pale in shock.
A smile crept onto her dark lips as she lowered her head and shook it slightly. Turning to sit on a wooden stump that was located not too far from the fire, she said, 'what a stupid question to ask the Dragonborn.'