A/N: Sorry for the delay! My life has gotten crazy busy. I've basically got 3 jobs now. Hopefully I'll be better about posting new chapters in the future but I don't think it'll be once a week like I was shooting for.
The beast thundered above them, raining fire in their direction. It was no question; the dragon had targeted them. There would be no escaping the fight, no hiding while the beast flew overhead until it grew bored and moved on.
Raven's secret would be exposed.
"Lass!" Brynjolf shouted for her attention. "We must force it to land. Draw yer bow and injure the bloody creature!"
Shadowmere shuffled under her as if to jostle her into action. Drawing her bow and an arrow, Raven leaned back and took aim. With a deep breath she lined up her shot as the dragon swooped down at them.
Raven struggled to remain cool and collected but failed miserable. On the outside she appeared just to be focusing on the battle, on the inside she was a mess. She felt like a rabbit pinned down with no way out. If she fought the dragon, Brynjolf would discover her secret. If she didn't, they'd both wind up dead.
The arrow sliced through the air. The two Nords watched its path towards the raging dragon. Raven held her breath, waiting for the familiar sound of her arrow hitting its target.
Miss.
Raven's shoulders drooped. She hadn't missed a shot in longer than she could remember.
"Come on!" Brynjolf shouted in frustration. "Hit the bastard!"
The horses darted out of the way as the dragon snapped its teeth towards its intended meal. The beating of its wings were close enough to knock a less skilled rider from their horse but both Nords kept their grips and dodged to either side.
"Here he comes, lass! Take yer shot!" Brynjolf was playing the bait, luring the dragon towards him to allow Raven to injure the beast.
Brynjolf was right; they had to force the dragon to land. Brynjolf's battle skills lied in his swords. With the beast in the air, he was practically useless. On the ground, the odds were in their favor.
The second arrow soared overhead, through the air hitting its target square. Raven allowed herself a grin as the dragon roared in pain, clawing at its face. The arrow stuck out from the dragon's right eye, impeding his sight. As the creature tried to pull out the arrow, its flight faltered, causing the dragon to hit several trees before landing to the ground, shaking the woods surrounding them.
Brynjolf released a triumphant shout and raced towards the wounded creature with his sword drawn, leaving his horse safely behind. With a word to Shadowmere to stay put, Raven reluctantly joined him and the two Nords fought side by side with ease. The fight was a dance to them as they dodged and ducked, protecting one another as each took a strike. While Raven was skilled in swords, Brynjolf was no match and soon the beast let out its final cry, crumpling to the ground in a large heap of wings and scales.
Brynjolf grinned and jumped down from the dragon's back where he had delivered the death strike to the dragon's head. He seemed almost childlike with his giddiness. It must have been his first fight with a dragon and he'd lived to tell the tale.
"Did ye see-" Brynjolf's question was cut short as he stared at Raven with confusion written all over his face.
Raven froze where she stood. Here it was; the moment that she had been dreading but couldn't avoid. Brynjolf would discover her secret and it would all be over.
Too late. Raven thought to herself. Once her body began to absorb the dragon's soul, it couldn't be stopped. It had only happened once before but the sensation was all too familiar. Fire raced through her veins until her body felt as if it would explode from the sheer heat. Just before she was sure she couldn't take one more second, the fire cooled as quickly as it had built, leaving her body feeling warm and strong.
"Dragonborn," Brynjolf breathed.
His voice sounded far away to Raven's ears. The strength of the dragon's soul in her body was short lived. What would Brynjolf do now that he knew her secret?
"The bloody Dragonborn?!" Brynjolf snarled. "Yer the bloody Dragonborn!" His voice was full of disbelief but under the surface, Raven could hear just the hint of betrayal. "So the rumors are true then? A bloody Dragonborn has returned. How long have you known?" He glared at her, waiting for a response.
There was no use playing innocent. Rumors had been spreading through Skyrim for some time now, ever since Raven had discovered her identity alongside the Whiterun guards. The High King had been the one to try and silence the rumors but even his money couldn't buy complete silence on something like this. It had only helped keep Raven's name from being tied to the title Dragonborn.
"Awhile," Raven replied. Her cool stare met his fiery one as the silence between them dragged on.
"Why did ye not tell me?" he asked in a strained voice.
"It was dangerous."
It wasn't a good enough answer even if it was the truth and Raven knew it. But how could she explain to him her fear of being the Dragonborn, of having Skyrim's future rest on her shoulders? It was one thing to lead the Guild, but this was an entire land full of people who had already had their strength tested by a civil war. The last thing they needed was a scared girl as their hero. The High King was right; Raven needed to let him handle the Dragons. He had armies, men who could battle the dragons and save the land and her people. All Raven needed to do was stay silent.
"For who?" Brynjolf glared. "You or me?"
Raven shook her head, not wanting to answer the question. As she opened her mouth, hoping an answer would come to her, the clouds rumbled overhead and released the torrential rain they'd been holding back all day.
"We should find some shelter," Brynjolf brushed past her to collect his horse. He didn't wait to see if she would follow him as he searched for a nearby cave to get out of the down pour.
By the time they'd found a small cave to make camp in, the sun had set and they were both soaked through to the bone. Even with her heavy armor, the cold had seeped through and chilled Raven so that she had to clench her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering.
Without a word, Brynjolf left Raven to tend the horses while he tried to find dry wood for a fire, though Raven suspected he mostly just wanted to get away from her for a bit. When at last he had returned, empty-handed, Raven had already unloaded the packs and saddles from the horses, laying things out as best as she could for them to dry. She'd removed the black leather Nightingale armor and laid it out to dry as well. Her underclothes were damp but it was better than sitting in wet leather. As she directed her attention to cleaning her weapons, Brynjolf stepped in through the mouth of the dark cave.
"Well, we've no bloody wood for a fire," he grumbled as he threw back the hood from his head and shook out his shoulder-length hair. Water droplets flew to either side, splashing Raven's cheek in the process. She glared at this but decided not to say anything in response.
They were on thin ice. Brynjolf saw Raven's secret as a betrayal to him and the Guild. It was something that could put the Guild in danger. Dragons were attracted to Raven like a moth to a flame. They could sense her likeness to them, putting a target on not only her own back but the backs of those close to her.
As if reading her mind, Brynjolf said, "We need to talk, lass."
The dark cave made it difficult to see one another as any more than black shapes moving around even with their trained eyes.
"Brynjolf-" Raven began.
"I don't want no excuse, lass," Brynjolf cut off her prepared protest. "I agreed to trust ye on this quest but the situation has changed. Ye owe me an explanation."
"It's not like I asked for this!" Raven shouted defensively. She'd pent up her emotions for so long, now they were slowly leaking out and Brynjolf was the closest one to take the brunt of them.
"Start at the beginning, lass," he instructed as he settled down away from the mouth of the cave and the biting wind passing by it.
Raven's eyes watched his movements as he took off his boots and laid them out to dry though she was hardly focused on the dark motions.
"When I discovered this about myself," she began, "I wanted none of it. The Whiterun guards who had fought next to me cheered when my body absorbed the dragon's soul. It was like they thought a prayer had been answered." Raven closed her eyes, recalling how they had pleaded for her to use a shout, to further prove she was in fact the Dragonborn. They'd been excited, to excited to notice the fear and dread in her eyes. "I raced back to the city and heard this terrible shouting from the mountains. The Jarl explained I was to go to High Hrothgar. It was my destiny," Raven spat out the word, hating the way it sounded. Didn't she have any say in her own destiny?
"Then what?" Brynjolf asked before the silence could drag on any longer.
"The High King sent a messenger and a few guards after me, intersecting me before I even reached the steps. He said he would aide me." Raven shook her head. She'd been so foolish, thinking the guards had been sent to protect her. She'd been naïve to think the High King wanted to help her. But what choice had she had? Looking back on it now, Raven was sure if she had refused the offer, the guards would have turned on her and escorted her back to the king anyways.
Brynjolf took a breath but before he could speak, Raven cut off his words. "I can tell you no more!" Her tone of voice silenced any rebuttal. The horses shuffled their hooves in the cold silence.
Part of her agreement with the king was silence on her end. No one could know all that she had agreed to.
Brynjolf sighed. "It's cold and I'm tired lass. But this discussion is no over," Brynjolf's voice was steel slicing through the tension in the small space. "We'll need our rest if we're to continue on this quest." He turned his back on her to prepare his bedroll for sleep.
His words told her much more than he had said. Brynjolf would go on with her as he had promised but she would have to give him more answers if he were to continue risking his life alongside hers.
Raven knew he was right. She couldn't keep everything from him. Sooner or later the truth of the agreement between herself and the High King would be revealed. Once it was, any chance of repairing the damage already between them would be gone. Brynjolf would never look at her the same. Raven knew because she couldn't even bare to look at her own reflect. It was just a reminder of how much she hated the person she had become. What would she do when Brynjolf looked at her the same way as she saw herself?
I know this chapter was a bit on the short side but I had to cut it off here or it would have been much too long and I wouldn't have had time to upload it today on my day off.
One quick update for any of my regular readers: I deleted my Tumblr so if you want to ask any questions or contact me, you can do that on here in either a message or a review!
Let me know what you guys thought about the story so far and any theories you have! Your feedback gives me the kick in the butt I need to post new chapters.