I do not own Skyrim or any of the characters or ideas that I do use in this story. The only think I own is Anna. Enjoy!

Anna's small feet slapped against the cold stone. She didn't know where she was going; her legs seemed to have a mind of their own. Her mind was in a daze, she didn't even know why she turned into the warmth of the library. She felt the warm furs that covered this room on the sole of her feet. Slowly she walked into the room, she didn't know what would be ahead of her, but her legs continued to take her forward. She turned; ahead of her was Ulfric Stormcloak, her father, alive. He was hunched over a table, like he often did when he was having war counsel with his advisers. Her face lit up, a smile stretching across her face. She tried to call out for her father, but her voice refused to work. She ran toward him, and yet she never seemed to be getting closer, tears swelled up in her eyes as all attempts to see the face of her father failed. She sank to her knees, defeated, feeling alone. Then the laughing began. That insane, murderous laughing. It echoed through the whole room, even when Anna pushed her hands against her ears the laughter rang through her head. Tears running down her face, she turned to her father, hoping for any type of comfort. Only when she looked, her father's body was on the ground, headless. She tried to scream but no sound came out of her opened mouth. She looked around the room and saw her father's head on a spike, his blood dripping down the stick. The eyes of Ulfric Stormcloak stared into Anna, burning into her. It was as if it was looking at her very soul. It felt as though there was a fire within her, as if she was combusting from the inside out. She couldn't bare the pain. It would be so much better to just die, to feel nothingness. The fire spread throughout her body, she took a deep breath to let out one final breath, one final scream. Finally her voice returned to her as she let out all the pain and hurt in that one scream. Once the last of her breath had left her, she closed her eyes, and let the blackness overtake her.

Anna opened her eyes, her breath was frantic, she could feel the sheets on her bed sticking to her sweaty body. A dream. Of course that was only a dream, and yet she could still feel the eyes digging into her soul and hear laughter ringing in her ears, it was maddening. It didn't even help when she reminded herself that her father had been dead for over five years.

A lot had changed since that fatal day. After her father had died, Anna had no idea what to do. Anyone who had known her identity was now died. Not knowing what to do, she had wandered Windhelm, stealing food and anything else she had needed to survive. She had never been on her own before, so she didn't have the best skills for surviving on her own. Within a week, the imperials had caught her stealing food from one of the stalls. They figured she was an orphan so they sent her in a carriage down to Riften to be taken care of in Honorhall orphanage. It honestly hadn't been bad living there for the last five years.

Shaking her thoughts away from the dream she lifted her blankets from her in one swift motion. She threw her legs off her bed and padded across the room to the front hall. Next to the door was a pile of old leather shoes, each belonging to a different child. Anna dug through the pile until she found her own pair. She had drawn the bear of the Stormcloak on the heel of the shoe to remind her where she came from. It was risky; since Ulfric had been killed the Stormcloak rebellion had been all but stopped. The few soldiers that had survived had no leader to rally behind. For the last five years Stormcloaks and sympathizers had been hunted down and killed. But she wouldn't be ashamed or scared for wearing her father's symbol. Quickly she pulled the shoes on and slipped out the door.

Immediately she felt the cold air of Skyrim bite into her skin, making goose bumps appear all over her body. All she had on was a thin brown dress that only barely covered her knees. Despite the cold, she could feel her head start to clear. Tucking her hands under her arm pits she took off across the stone path. She had no real distention; she just needed to get the dream, and that laughter out of her head. With a quick pace she rounded into the market square. Riften had never been the safest of cities, with thieves and cutthroats often making their bases in the ratways, so whenever Anna went out on these walks, she thought it was safest to stay in the area with the most guards. She walked around the circle a few times, when she saw a light coming from the sewer area. Her curiosity got the better of her as she found herself almost involuntarily approaching the light. She got to the railing covering the edge of the path. The light seemed to be coming from under the water, but she couldn't make out what was making the light from so far away.

She soon found herself flying down the steps to get to the murky water. Normally she would never come to this part of town at night, but for a reason she didn't know the light drew her in. Finally she reached the walkway next to the water and peered into the water. The light seemed to be dimmer from when she first saw it, but no matter how long she stared into the water, she just couldn't make out what it was. She didn't know why she wanted to see what this light was so bad, but something about it peek her curiosity like nothing she had ever seen before. Knowing she would never be satisfied until she knew what the light was Anna slipped off her shoes and slid into the waist deep water. It was freezing and it stuck like none other. Anna wrinkled her nose as the stench of the water hit her. Taking a deep breath she dived into the deeper water and swam toward the light. It looked as though the light was coming from the bottom of the sewer water, however the closer she got, the dimmer the light seemed to become. Soon she could see what was emulating the light. It was an axe, a steel one by the look of it. When she got close enough to grab it, the light disappeared, leaving just a dim glow of an enchantment on the axe.

Anna breath was running out, so she grabbed the axe and kicked off the bottom. The water was not very deep, but the axe added a lot of weight to her small body. She was a Nord, but for some reason she had not inherited the strength and height of most Nords. She had to kick as hard as she could in order to move at all. Her lungs were burning for air when finally her head broke the surface. She gulped up air, but had to continue to kick to keep her head above water. Using all of her strength she threw the axe to the stretch of path along the sewer water. The axe hit the ground with a small cling, than slid next to the wall. With all of that weight removed she was able to swim to the walkway with ease. When she reached the waist high water she threw her arms on the walkway and rested her head on the wood. She let herself take in deep long breaths, despite the smell of the water around and on her. Finally her heart had finished pounding, and her breath had slowed, she now wanted to look at this axe. She was about to lift herself up when she heard footsteps approaching her. Before she could move, a strong hand grabbed her back and lifted her out of the water with ease. Anna started kicking and swinging her arms, trying to make this person with an iron grasp let her go. When she was lifted up to the wood, the man gently set her down. Quickly Anna looked up, wiping her wet blond hair out of her eyes. Above her was a young Imperial guard.

"Are you okay girl?" the man sounded kind, but still had the stuffiness that all Imperials had in their voice. Despite this man's kindness Anna had to intention of talking to this guy, after all he was an Imperial, and it was Imperials that killed her father. So she just looked away and got up. Without saying a word, she started walking to where she had taken off her shoes. "Girl. Are you ok?"

Anna turned and just glared at him, trying to make it clear that she didn't want anything to do with him. She wasn't even in trouble when he picked her up, she was just resting. Stupid Imperial. The man didn't seem to get it, as he followed her to where she had set her shoes. She plopped down next to them and slid them on her feet. The guard was now looming above her. "You're an orphan huh? What are you doing all the way out here?" He sat down next to her as if he was an old friend. Anna didn't even bother to look at him; she just got up and walked toward the stairs where she had thrown the axe. While she was walking, her foot caught on a board. It makes her twist her ankle and fall to the ground. The guard was there before she could get up, "Are you okay? Did you hurt your ankle?" He reached out and grabbed Anna's ankle. When he did, he saw the bear of the Stormcloak's on her ankle.

"You're a Stormcloak sympathizer?" The man's voice grew icy cold. Panic started to spread through Anna's body, "Girl, do you know what this symbol means?"

Anna knew that if she answered this wrong her life could be forfeit, but she would never deny her father's symbol. "Yes." She spoke for this first time. The guards face was emotionless. Anna winced as he grabbed her by the arm. She heard him whisper beneath his breath, "I hate my job sometimes." She tried to pull away from the man, but he refused to let go. He dragged her over so and made her kneel so that her head was forward and she was facing down into the water.

"It is my duty as an Imperial solider so kill any Stormcloak or their sympathizers. I'm sorry girl, but in the name of the Emperor I will take your life." Anna couldn't believe it. What had been the point to live his long only to die because she proudly carried her father's symbol around on the heel of her shoe? She heard the guard draw his sword. Fear flooded into her body as she struggled to free herself from this man's grip. "Stay still girl! It won't be a clean cut if you move so much!" Anna replied with a scream. Of course no one heard her. In Riften, you take care of yourself or you die.

Guard sighed, "Talos let this be a clean kill." He swung his arm down, aiming for Anna's neck. When he did, however, his grip on her loosened. Anna slipped out from his hands, making him miss and cut his own hand. Anna slid from here she was kneeling and found herself next to the axe. With adrenaline running through her blood, she picked up the axe and swung it with all her might at the guard. The steel bit into the guard's chest with a sickening crunch. Blood splashed into her face as the solider stared down at her in disbelief. He looked down at the axe still buried in his chest, then let out a moan. His eyes rolled back as and he, and the axe, fell into the murky water.

Anna didn't know what to think. She had just killed a guard and there was blood all over her. Quickly she looked around to see if anyone had seen her kill the guard, but of course no one was around. She knew she had to get the blood off of her, so she dived in the water. Once she was in she rubbed the blood off of her face and hands. She thought about getting the axe but thought better than that. She jumped back on the wooden path and ran back to the orphanage. No one saw her. No one would know of her crime. She was safe; nothing linked her to the death of that young man. But that didn't matter. When she laid down on her bed the man's face burned in her mind. She knew she was safe, but then why couldn't she stop the tears from running down her face.

Thanks so much for the review! I really appreciate it. If you read this and decide you like it, or even if you didn't please leave a review. This is my first fanfiction so I could use any advice or constructive criticism.