The five of them made their way up the stairs, back into the main hall. Leila stood between the two brothers as Kodlak walked out ahead and Skjor kept his eyes on her and his hand on his sword. "Brothers, sisters," Kodlak spoke, "many of you have come to us for a new beginning. For redemption and honor. And for that reason this woman," he pointed back at her, "Leila has just become your new shield sister. It matters not who you were, but who you decide to be." He finished his speech and walked back towards the stairs, stopping beside her and saying, in a hushed voice, "don't make me regret this," before going on.

Skjor stepped in front of her then, "you heard the man, your training starts immediately. To the yard whelp." He turned on his heel and Vilkas pushed her towards him. She didn't like to be touched, but she thought it best to keep her mouth shut. She followed the bald man out the back door and into a training yard. "Stand here," he told her and she did, standing in the middle of the stone balcony and the Companions flooded out the doors and sat at the tables to watch the show. Farkas stood up against a wooden pillar, watching stoically as his brother stood next to him, arms crossed. "Pick up a sword," Skjor told her, pointing towards the rack. She made her way over before picking one out that she could wield in one hand before going back to her spot. Leila wasn't nervous, she took her stance and bent her knees, pointing the blade and her elbow in the direction of her opponent. One of the Companions spoke up from the table, "not very familiar with sword fighting, are you?" The companions laughed and pointed at her and the way she stood.

He came at her without warning, but Leila was fast, she spun out of the way, her elbow coming up under his arm where there was no armor, causing him to drop his sword. In his shock she was able to bring the blade up next to his face. He put his hands up and growled, "lucky shot, whelp." All the laughter that had been coming from the Companions died quickly.

"Not luck," she responded, "just skill."

"You better watch that cocky mouth of yours," he told her before shouting, "Again!"

Leila took her stance once more and Skjor rushed her, his approach different this time, but it didn't matter. Kodlak was right, she didn't get her scars from planting crops. She knew what she was doing. And in a matter of seconds she left the man, again, unarmed and at her mercy. "Hey, she's pretty good!" A voice rang out from the cluster of Companions enjoying the show.

"I've had a lot of practice," she said evenly, "I assure you, I don't need training." She wasn't trying to be offensive, but it was clear she had wounded the bald man's ego. She backed up as he stood before turning to face her. He looked at her for a moment before swiftly swinging his hand back across the side of her face.

"HEY!" a voice yelled as a figure charged Skjor and knocked him back against the wall. Leila spit blood out onto the ground and glared at the Skjor, who was being pinned by an enraged looking Farkas, who was just about to land his own blow when-

"That's enough!" Kodlak barked, hastily coming down to stand by Leila as Vilkas pulled Farkas away from Skjor. "Skjor, you better start talking."

He pointed at Leila as she massaged the side of her face. It was already starting to bruise. He hit a lot harder than she thought he could and it wasn't as if she expected him to hit easy in the first place. "She has no honor. She does not belong here."

"The only dishonor I see here is result of your action."

Skjor laughed in a way that set Leila's nerves on edge as he walked closer, "that stance of yours," he growled, "I've seen it before," he got close enough to her so he could speak without anyone but herself and Kodlak hearing, "there is no redemption for you here. Farkas should have let you die on that riverbank."

"That's enough, Skjor," Kodlak said, "take a walk." He sneered but turned and walked away. Once he was out of site, the big brute rushed over.

"Are you alright?" Farkas asked.

"I'm fine," she snapped. Leila shook her head, "this was a mistake," she said before pushing past him. He grabbed her wrist, "don't touch me!"

"Don't leave, you just got here. Skjor will be fine, he just needs to cool off."

"He has every right to be angry because he's right. You should have let me die on that riverbank," her words were so full of venom she had to spit them out of her mouth.

"I saved your life," he protested.

"Yeah, well I didn't ask you to."

"Think about what you're doing girl," Kodlak spoke.

"I don't have to. I know my place and it isn't here."

Kodlak sighed as if he were actually disappointed she was going to leave. The other Companions looked confused as they watched the scene unfold and Farkas looked as if she'd struck him. Leila bit the inside of her lip as words danced across her memory. 'The only difference between you and an honorable man is that you're not gonna die first.' Leila snorted and shook her head, "fucking companions."


"You have to come with me!"

"I don't have to do anything. She's clearly more trouble than she's worth."

"She's your shield-sister."

"She was never initiated. She wasn't walking about here for longer than a few hours before she walked out. And I've never seen Skjor act like that."

"Aela, please, she'll die," Farkas begged the huntress where she sat on the edge of her bed attaching new fletching to her arrows. "You can track better than anyone, it's not too late, we can catch her. She didn't steal a horse so she's still on foot."

"We don't know that she didn't steal a horse. Just because she didn't take one from the stables doesn't mean she didn't take one along the road."

"Fine. I'll find her myself," Farkas growled, leaving the room and storming back up the stairs.

"Brother-"

"Not now, Vilkas."

"Brother, are you sure this is truly worth it? You heard her, she doesn't-"

"She's just scared," he told his brother. "We've all been scared. But I'm not going to save a woman's life just so it can be hunted down because we pushed her away." Vilkas watched Farkas as he left Jorrvaskr. This was something he needed to do, but it was a lot to take in. It had been nearly two hours since the ordeal in the yard and Skjor had not returned either. Skjor was a hard man, but never in all the years had he known him had he ever laid his hands on a woman out of turn. He couldn't deny that whatever it was about her that set him off made him uneasy. Everyone seemed rather shocked by the whole thing. And 50,000 gold for the Dark Brotherhood to capture her? Letting her stay here could get the Companions mixed up in a lot of trouble they have no business being in. He was surprised Kodlak even allowed her to stay in the first place, just knowing what he did. Of course, they had always been quick to offer redemption, but they didn't know anything about her. And what they did know was unsettling to say the least. He didn't like Farkas going out there alone, but he doubted his brother would have forgiven him if he tried to stop him.

"So he's really going after her then?" Aela came up next to Vilkas where he stood, still staring at the doorway, lost in his own thoughts as his brother left their company.

"You would not help him?"

Aela sighed, "I don't trust her."

"Neither do I."

"Neither does anyone except your brother and Kodlak."

"I'm not so sure Kodlak does. But the old man does things that seem a bit questionable sometimes. And it always turns out well, but this time… I'm not sure. Farkas is naïve. He thinks because he saved her, he can trust her because he believes in the honor of a person. But that girl. It's hard to say if she has any."

"She made it sound like she didn't want to be rescued. She may hold contempt towards him for that," Aela pointed out.

"Aye and if she is so quick to throw her life away then she must not have anything to lose," Vilkas said, remembering her panic in the temple.

"A woman with nothing to lose can be dangerous. If he doesn't return by sunset, I'll track him down."

"Thank you, Aela," Vilkas gave the huntress an appreciative smile before turning his back on the door and retreating to his quarters.


Farkas sprinted out of Whiterun and stopped at the stables, "hey!" he shouted, grabbing the attention of young farm hand, "you see a woman run by here? Dark hair, about this tall," he held up his hand to indicate her height, "brown pants, black shirt?"

"Yeah, I saw her a while ago. In a hurry, that one. She was heading west from here," he pointed and Farkas thanked him before running off. He wasn't exactly sure how he'd find her. He wasn't as good at tracking as Aela. She was better at finding people than he was. He was a few miles out of the city when, off the side of the road, he found a body, its throat slashed open. It appeared to be just another bandit, but someone had stripped him of any weapons or valuables he may have possessed. And it was a fresh corpse. He wasn't sure if it was her or not, but he scanned the tree line and hoped that it would be. Darting off into the forest, he yelled for her. "Leila!" He cupped his hands around his mouth, "LEILA!"

There was a small snap of a twig behind him and he spun around, "keep it down, would you?" Leila snapped at him, a scowl on her face. She donned a sword belt now and a bow on her back. Her hair was tied up tight and the bruise Skjor left on her face had deepened in color, creating a stark contrast on her pale skin. She glared at him with ice blue eyes that made question whether what he was doing was right. "Why are you following me?"

"That bandit on the road-"

"I killed him. And his friends back there," she pointed deeper into the forest. "Took their gold too. Didn't really have anything else useful."

"Leila, come back to Jorrvaskr," he pleaded.

"No."

"What happened with Skjor… that won't happen again, I promise you. It was just a misunderstanding."

"I don't think so," Leila grinned, "it appears Skjor and I have an acquaintance in common."

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged, "ask him. I don't have time to be questioned. I need to get going."

"Leila," Farkas sprinted forward and grabbed her arm. She stopped and stared back at him, waiting on him to explain himself. "You're scared. I know-"

"I'm not."

"You are, Leila. You're scared and that's why you ran away from us. But if you stay, Kodlak is not going to let anything happen to you. You get the fresh start you always wanted."

"How do you know that's what I want," she asked sarcastically.

"Because that's what everyone wants. You wouldn't have jumped off a cliff or gone against your orders knowing it would mean death if you didn't want out of that life. We can give you that. Don't throw it away."

Leila shook her head, "the things I've done…the things I've seen…that will haunt me for as long as I live. And as long as I remember there is no redemption."

"But there is," he pleaded. "you said that I got to decide where your life went and I told you to stay. I didn't save you so you could be hunted down. Just come back with me. We can help you."

Leila looked away from him and down at the ground, drawing in a shaky breath. At this point she had two options. To run and hide for the rest of her days or ally herself with the Companions and maybe, just maybe, be able to walk away from all of it. "If I stayed, it would put you and your Companions in danger. You can't be willing to risk that."

"We are if it's the right thing to do. Kodlak doesn't make his decisions lightly. I may not understand things the way he does, but I know he didn't offer you a place without considering the risks involved."

Leila pulled herself out of his grip and rubbed her hands over her face with a groan. There was certainly a better chance of survival if she sided with the Companions. And getting clocked in the face was far more preferable than what would happen once the Dark Brotherhood caught up to her. She twisted her fingers into her hair and yanked in frustration. She had to make a decision now and she had to stick to it. With another deep sigh, she nodded, "okay….Okay."

"You'll stay then?"

"Yeah. I'll stay. For now."

Farkas smiled at her and she just folded her arms, suddenly feeling a chill going up her spine. She scanned the trees, feeling a little paranoid after standing in once place for too long. "Great! You won't regret it."

"Yeah, let's just go," she said keeping her eyes on the forest as she backed up.

"What's wrong?" Farkas asked her, suddenly serious.

"Nothing," she told him, quickly making her way back towards the road, Farkas right on her heels, "it's nothing."