The dragons had returned and she had survived it, which not many could say in Helgen. She would not be able to say the same if that imperial Hadvar had not helped her. Ralof had seemed more keen on helping her, but there was too much distance between him and her to close it without being picked up by that big, black dragon. She did not even truly know how she had ended up in the situation she did. She had been captured as she crossed the border on her horse because Ulfric Stormcloak had been passing her at the same time. They thought she was one of them, and had knocked her out, tied her up, and thrown her into the cart of prisoners like she was just a slab of meat.
She thought for sure when she was called up, that when she uttered her name was Acca Septim they would have just taken her back to the Imperial City, but that guard woman had laughed at her and called her a liar. Hadvar seemed to be skeptical of her claim as well, but at least he was more apologetic for the death she was going to face. As she had laid her head on the block, and resigned herself to her death, that dragon appeared and saved her. It did not really mean to save her though, as it more than one almost crushed her, or almost set her on fire.
Hadvar had saved her though, or helped her escape. He seemed surprised she could wield a sword, and more surprised at her archery but she had been raised to defend herself. Perhaps it was not the most ladylike thing in the Imperial City, but her defense was that exercise extended the lifespan of women, and Medes had seemed to fall for that. She almost felt bad for leaving when she thought back of the things he had allowed her to do, and how he doted on her and called her his only daughter. It could not have been real though. He only loved her for her Septim namesake, if he cared for her he would not have slaughtered her parents.
Hadvar had made reference to the face she had said her name was Acca Septim. "If you are the princess, I would be required to turn you in…"
"They would kill me if you turned me in, or probably just kill me on the way back to the Imperial City and say it was Stormcloaks. That would be very convenient. It would force the ordinary people to take up the cause of conquering Skyrim again, right now most people feel it is bleeding the kingdom dry, which this war is."
"You seem awfully suspicious. Medes raised you since you were a child. I doubt he would kill you that easily."
"I am a pawn, and I have made a wrong move. I am useless since I have moved off his plan of marriage into the Medes Dynasty and have caused too much trouble. Also, the King does not have the final say in the Imperial City. He is getting older, his sons are preening to take over and will most likely feel betrayed by me, there are also the counselors that would rather take and consolidate the power to them…there are also the Thalmor"
"I do not know such things. I am just a Nord who joined the Imperial Army for steady pay and adventure." Hadvar had smiled at her in defense, signaling he wanted to stop this conversation.
"You do not want to know such information if you wish to keep serving the army is what you really mean." They had walked in silence after that, it had been awkward, but she had dealt with worse conversation companions.
"I do not think it would be wise if I left you at this juncture. Skyrim is a dangerous place. I need to check into the fort nearby though, and I do not think it would be wise if you came. They will surely have your image at the fort."
"Like you had my image in your records when you went to behead me?" She rolled her eyes. "I am capable of defending myself. I have been hunting before, and I clearly outran a dragon."
"Yeah, yeah." She could tell she was at the end of his kindness, but he did feel bad about leaving her undefended. Perhaps it was his uniform that was just making her agitated in his company. "If you go to Riverrun and see my sister she can give you supplies. I think the best path after that would be to go to Whiterun and inform the Earl of what happened at Helgen. Knowledge is our only defense against dragons at this point, and arrows."
"Thank you for your help." She reluctantly conceded. She was not used to thanking others. They felt like such foreign words on her tongue. It was odd in general her behavior. She had not wanted to spill so much to this soldier but perhaps it was the near death experience that made her feel so close to him.
So she walked to Riverrun. She felt like the conqueror of wolves after how many packs she had slaughtered on the way. They had bitten her a few times, but Hadvar's sister had patched her up and gave her a horse to ride to Whiterun. The children seemed interested at the whispers of dragons, and the blacksmith seemed more than willing to give her a quiver of iron arrows to go with her bow. He offered her a better sword, but she could last until Whiterun.
She had crossed the mountain by walking her horse most of the way, but now that she reached the plains before Whiterun it felt so nice to ride freely. She could see the walls of her destination and she felt relieved that she could finally rest somewhere other than the ground. She slowed her pace though as she saw a group fighting a Giant. She rode closer and pulled her bow off of her back and an arrow. She aimed the target and got the beast in the eye, she had always been the best archer in the Imperial City. The Giant fell in agony and the group of people made quick work of it then. She rode up to them. It was two females and a male in custom Nord steel armor.
"Are you three okay?" She would regret these words and this interaction to come. She would place here the moment her life spun out of control under her, though it was not necessarily neat and orderly since her escape.
"We are fine. We are the Companions. We were being paid to kill the Giant. Thanks for the help though, sister." The one woman was strikingly beautiful, but there was something feral about the way she looked at Acca. "You should come by our Hall sometime. We would accept anyone with an aim like yours." The woman made a gesture to the eye of the Giant and Acca smiled meekly.
"I have not seen a better shot from horseback." The man nodded his head. "I am Farkas, this is Aela, and Ria." So the woman's name was Aela, it sounded nice enough.
She paused for a moment. She did not know what to say for her name. Acca was not a common name, and she doubted she could go by it anymore. "My name is Grey." She smiled using the horse's name she was riding. "It is very nice to meet you three. I may take you up on your offer since I am new to Skyrim, but I have business with the Earl first."
Their talk ended quickly enough and she rode off to Whiterun. She got an odd vibe from them. They smelled like the pelt she wore, or the blood of the wolves she had slain on the way here. There was something strange about them.