...
I crash through the forest, leaving snapped twigs and tattered leaves in my wake. I dodge fallen logs and protruding roots. Finally, my boots heavy with accumulated forest detritus, I stop and slump against a giant oak. It takes what feels like hours for my heart to calm down, but really it can't be more than ten minutes. Unless I want to freeze tonight, I'll have to get a fire going. I rummage through the brush for kindling. The fire will be small, but I don't need to attract attention. Once I have it smoldering, I wander to a nearby stream. Salmon streak through the clear water. I catch two and take them back to my makeshift campsite. I'll have to stay here for a couple days, to make sure the killers are long gone when I venture back home.
They said it might happen like this, but I didn't believe them. That was my worst mistake.
…
I awaken before dawn to hushed whispers floating between corners of the room. Everyone else is armoring up. I shove off the covers and stand to help Ria with hers. She's unusually quiet. Poor girl has barely been here three months and she's already going into battle. I guess this is what she – we – signed up for, but she's trembling as I hand her my dwarven sword. "For good luck," I whisper, and she smiles. "I wish I could fight next to you today."
The others file out of the room, and Ria hugs me before following them out. I crawl back into bed. None of the merchants will be out this early, and with everyone leaving for Winterhold there's no one else to talk to. So I bury myself under the hide blanket, willing myself to calm down. It's not ideal, but there's nothing else to do.
Some time later, a door shuts down the hallway. From the light, steady footsteps I can tell it's Aela. I get up to find her striding towards the stairs. "You're still here?"
"Someone from the Circle always stays behind. We can't leave the place unattended, not with Kodlak and Tilma here."
"When do you think they'll all be back?" I shift from one foot to the other.
"Hopefully in a week or less. We don't want any casualties but the Stormcloaks won't go down without a messy fight."
I nod, retreating towards my bed. I don't want to think about this.
"If you don't feel like going back to sleep, you can come gather supplies with me. We're almost out of mountain flowers and thistle, and you whelps need to be shown what the wilderness has to offer besides game."
"That sounds great," I reply, feeling my heart lift at the prospect of not worrying for a few hours. I throw on some leather armor and follow her outside. It's cooler than usual today, with a light mist to the wind. Three pheasants chase each other through the air above the Dragonsreach steps. A lone blue butterfly flutters down towards the marketplace. So much life around us, and yet sometimes all we can think about is the death. I don't want anyone to be killed in this fight. Damn Stormcloaks just couldn't accept that their side lost.
"Are you coming?" Aela calls from halfway down the stairs. I need to focus. Worrying won't help my friends or myself. I trot to catch up with her, swerving to avoid crashing into a sleepy guard on patrol. As we approach the gate, Adrianne stops us to chat about new items she's just forged. A glass dagger catches my eye, and I have enough time to pick it up and turn it over in my hands before Aela bids Adrianne goodbye and we're on our way again. "Come back if you want to test out that dagger!" Adrianne calls after me. I wave back at her.
The guards let us through and now it's just us and the wilderness. I picture the party of fighters leaving this morning, their dark boots trekking over the worn stone paths, and I wish more than ever that I could've fought at their side. Instead, Aela and I gather more than we know what to do with, just to keep ourselves preoccupied. The sun is starting to disappear behind the trees when an arrow whizzes past my left ear. I catch a flash of fur armor through the foliage.
Bandits.
