Cleo, the Nordic woman rode as hard as she could towards the front gates of Whiterun. She could still smell the burned flesh of the people now dead within Helgen. Or maybe it was her own flesh. Most of the blood that covered her wasn't hers. She had stolen this armor off a dead Imperial inside the tower after the dragon had attacked. In all the confusion, she had ended escaping with one of the captured Stormcloaks. She wasn't sure how it happened, but who would know anything that happened within those walls?
She rode her horse all the way to the stables and handed the reins off to the stable boy and took off running up the hill to get to the front gates into Whiterun, but they were closed.
"Let me in," she demanded. "I need to see the Jarl of this hold." The guards laughed at her.
"We are not allowed to let anyone in unless it official business," he stated crossing his arms. Rolling her eyes, she crossed her arms right back at him. How could it not be official business if she was wanting to go straight to the Jarl? Sometimes she thought the guards were mentally challenged somehow. Sighing, she shook her head.
"If you don't let me in, you'll regret it," Cleo threatened brushing her fingertips across the hilt of her sword. The two guards exchanged looks. She wasn't sure what their reactions were because the helmets covered their entire face. How they could possibly stand to wear those things day in and day out was beyond her.
"Look, woman," he said pointing behind her. She wasn't going to fall for that. He was probably going to kick her in the ass right off the front steps of Whiterun. She needed in those gates and she needed in now. She couldn't be wasting all her time just sitting there while innocent people lost their lives to a not-so-much mythical creature. "Seriously, look." He urged her to look by moving his finger around. She finally gave in looking behind her. Above her, in a watch tower, sat an archer. She followed around the tops of the walls to each of the towers holding at least one archer in each. "You're outnumbered here. You don't scare me. You may kill me, but I know you wouldn't make it out of here alive. Go ahead and threaten all you want."
He was right. She silently wondered why there were so many archers posted out on this night. Maybe the Jarl aleady knew of the dragon. Word somehow traveled fast across the lands. But she was sure he didn't know that there was a dragon headed right for Riverwood just a ways southwest of Whiterun. Riverwood was apart of Whiterun and under the Jarl's protection. He couldn't ignore the fact that his people were being killed by something they didn't stand a chance against. She would have to resort to telling the truth.
"A dragon is heading for Riverwood. They are defenseless. I need to speak to the Jarl about sending more troops out there to protect them." The guards quickly shifted looks between each other and nodded.
"Get to the Jarl immediately " the guard said without hesitation while signaling for the gate to be opened. She stood patiently as the gate was unlocked. She rushed in running for Dragonsreach. The structure was even more magnificent up close. She had seen it from a distance, but it was so much more up close. She walked as quickly as she could not wanting to alarm any of the civilians within the walls. They probably had enough of their minds right now. If they heard there was a dragon so close to their home, they would panic.
There was light and cheerful banter all around her and it almsot made her relax. Children ran through the streets playing tag. Vendors sold their goods in stalls. Someone chopped wood for fires. It was such a homey feeling that Cleo nearly forgot why she had come here. She didn't want these people to suffer the same fate as those poor people in Helgen.
Picking up her pace again, she walked to the far end of Whiterun where she assumed was the market district of the hold. There were stone steps leading up to the next section of the hold. As she walked up them, hearing the water flowing beside her, she felt that she could get really used to staying here. It was so relaxing. And since it was in the middle of Skyrim, there was no place to far. Location, location, location, she thought.
By the time she had gotten to the top of the stairs, her breath was taken away by the sight in front of her. There was an island surrounded by a mote with running water that ran down the stairs she had just climbed. In the middle stood a magnificent tree. Even though it was dead, it was beautiful. Seeing Dragonsreach dead in front of her, she started walking to the stairs leading up to it, but she stopped short when something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Looking up, she saw a building that appeared to be some sort of inn or bar or something, but over top of it, an eagle carved out of the very stone in which Whiterun was built on loomed over it. The craftsmanship was fantastic. She had made it a promise to travel up there and see it up close. Just to see what was up there. Who knows? Maybe she would be pleasantly surprised.
She climbed the steps leading up to Dragonsreach determined to save the people of Riverwood. They had been as much help as anyone could be. They had given her food for the trip and someone had even let her borrow their horse so she could get there faster to warn the Jarl of the danger. Under the circumstance that she was returned as the earliest convienance. Cleo wasn't even sure that she would make it to Whiterun alive with a dragon flying around. She had seen them too much already. Her heart pounded as she finally had reached the doors of Dragonsreach. She wasn't sure what the Jarl was like. She imagined him to be a giant of a man ruling with an iron fist ready to punish anyone at the fist sign of disobiediance. She really hoped that this wasn't the case. She was techically a criminal after all. She put her hands on the doors and pushed them open with all her might.