Alesana never beheld so much gold in her entire life. Growing up under modest or privileged conditions would make no difference...There was at least 100,000 gold for that shipment and yet they were being paid so little in comparison.

"Aren..."

"What?" They had started back to Cheydinhal and he was growing tired of being on his feet. Someone stole their carriage, and being in Bravil, it could have been anyone.

"I don't think we should go back." Alesana suddenly stopped walking.

"What are you talking about?"

"There is enough money here...for me to get to Skyrim and to finally live...comfortably. If we split it as it was, we would have 50,000 each. That sounds way better than what, 5,000 each?!"

He smirked. "Never thought you would have that in you."

"You don't understand. I need this, I need to get to Skyrim, and this...was almost like it fell right into my lap."

"Why Skyrim, eh? Why do you need to be there? It's nothing but civil disputes right now."

"I'll tell you once we to the border." The time wasn't quite right yet for her to admit the truth to him.

This was it, they were only one day away from the border. They steered east of Cheydinhal and went straight north, hoping to cross through into Riften. Alesana insisted that they rest instead of traveling through the night. After all, there was no rush. We have all the gold we could need, and we are right near the border. My luck is looking up for a change. She offered to show Aren how to hunt with a bow, since they had the time to spare.

"Draw back...Aim it down...A little to the left." Alesana crouched right next to him, whispering in his ear to avoid startling their prey. Aren obeyed her, aiming his arrow right at the chest of the deer.

"Exhale...and fire." Having her mouth right on his ear hitched his concentration a little more than he would have liked. When he fired, he jerked slightly and the arrow struck the deer near its hind quarters. Aren cursed.

"I hate fucking bows." He quickly tried to place another arrow in and fire it, only to miss. He cursed again. "I really hate fucking bows."

"Looks like we'll have a chase." Alesana stood up and drew her own bow out, and began to trail after the deer, following the blood trail. Aren trailed right behind her. After several minutes of the chase, they found the deer, exhausted, resting beside a stream. She spared no time and relentlessly shot off an arrow which finished it off.

"You nearly ruined dinner!" She teased.

"Whatever." Folding his arms, he watched as she skinned the deer and cut out any desirable venison. Once back at camp, she began to cook it for them along with some vegetables she had picked up at a farm along the way. Aren sat contently and watched her cook, the scent of the meat making him grow hungrier by the minute. They ate together in silence, Aren occasionally stealing a glance at his companion. Nothing sounded but crickets and wolves in the hunt until Alesana spoke.

"My family lives in Skyrim. That's why I want to go back."

"Should have stayed there with them."

"I never felt right. Like I didn't belong. It wasn't them...It was just this feeling. When I was a girl, I would sneak out and travel around the area and hunt the wild life. My father would get so angry. Always said that he wanted a normal daughter who would settle down and marry a decent man." She stared up into the sky and sighed, admiring the stars. "I prayed each night to the divines that something would allow me to leave that life behind."

"You left...So something happened."

Alesana hesitated. "My younger brother...At times, he would come with me to hunt at night. We never went too far, but on this night, we were careless. It was all my fault. Some bandits tailed us and took him hostage. I tried to..." It was too much. She never told anyone, not even her own parents what had really happened that night. Now she here, telling this man whom she only knew for a short time. A man she developed some feelings for during that amount of time. Tears fell down her cheeks, but she continued.

"I couldn't save him in time. I was powerless. Those fiends cut his throat right in front of me...I don't know why. I had not a coin, nothing at all. I couldn't face my parents, so I started to run. I let them think that the bandits had killed me, too..." Now the tears flowed freely, staining her face.

Aren frowned. Alesana's story was similar to his own. He had been glad when his family died since it freed him from that pathetic life. But he knew he couldn't have saved them, or liked to think he couldn't have. He was guilt free while the guilt of running from her problems still plagued her and forever would. Without thinking, he moved towards her and enveloped her with his arms, drawing her close. Alesana sobbed into him, finally allowing her true emotions to surface. "How could I run...How could I be such a coward?!" She choked out between sobs.

"You can't blame yourself for what happened. There's nothing you could do."

"I am to blame...I prayed for something to allow me to leave. And something did. I chose to run away instead of facing my problems."

He heard enough and grasped her chin gently to force her to look up at him. Alesana couldn't place his expression as his eyes locked with hers, then traveled down to look at her lips. Realization hit her. Lust? As he pressed his lips to hers, she trembled. Never before had a man touched her, and she didn't think of herself as being a timid girl, but she definitely was no experienced lover. Living on a small farmstead meant she was relatively alone, minus the occasional travelers stopping by looking for rest and hospitality along their journey. Alesana spent most of her time immersed in the wilderness and personally preferred that to human company. Aren laughed at her reaction.

"Scared, girl?"

She huffed in response and wanting to prove herself a woman, slammed her mouth to his in fervor. What am I doing?

Sorry for the cliffhanger! I never meant for DMW to be very long, just a couple of chapters, which I realize are very short. I promise to make the next ones longer. There will probably only be one or two more chapters after this one. At the current time, I don't plan on writing a sequel. This was just a bit of practice, but if a continuation is something you would like to see, please let me know.