Chapter 10

The two female warriors stared at the beast that stood in front of them in fear. The dragon growled deeply at the two warriors showing his long white teeth. Kili stood in front of Roxanne with her arms open wide to keep the dragons' hungry gaze away from her friend. Roxanne gulped and started to shake behind Kili.

"Rox…when I give the signal…pull out your bow…" Kili whispered gently to her nervous friend.

Roxanne nodded and readied herself for Kili's order.

"I will distract him…you make sure he stays on the ground." Kili whispered.

"Got it…" Roxanne muttered.

Within seconds the battle began, Kili jerking her sword off her back and Roxanne readying her bow. The dragon roared and snapped his jaw at Kili, her being the bigger threat. Then he reared his head back and shouted out a stream of ice. Taken back from the cold Kili covered her face with her arms, causing her sword to absorb the sudden cold.

"Kili," Roxanne's voice filled the air as she screamed the name at her friend's peril.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself Kili mustered up enough strength to shout back, "I'm fine, just keep shooting!"

Kili shuttered as the frost covered her body. Yes she was Nord, and she was adaptive to the cold, but with Thu'um of the dragon forcing on to her. There wasn't much she could take.

"Kili watch out!" Roxanne screamed as the dragon snapped at Kili again.

'Damn!' Kili thought as she raised her sword up to block, since her hands were currently stuck to her blade. The dragons jaw snapped down on to the blade, and with a quick jerk to the right her blade snapped in two. Being thrown with the force of the massive jerk, Kili was forced to the ground.

"Damn you…" Kili growled as she rolled on to her back.

Kili heard Roxanne's screams as time seemed to slow down, but nothing could be done. The dragon crawled over to her, digging its clawed wings in to ground as it stalked over her. The arrows that Roxanne where hitting the dragon but they didn't seem to go deep enough into the skin to do any real damage. She had to think fast, she was running out of time.

The dragon opened his mouth for one final strike at Kili, when Kili remembered her training.

"FUS RAH!" she shouted out.

The force knocked the dragon back, giving Kili the opportunity she needed to pull out her dagger and drive the blade into the dragons' throat. Hissing in pain the monster fell forward in a dead weight over Kili forcing her move out from under the massive beast. In doing so she twisted her left leg the wrong way and toppled over.

"Kili!" Roxanne shouted as she ran over to add her. "You okay...?"

"Yeah…just freezing and twisted my leg like an idiot…I think I broke it…" Kili growled out in pain as she scrolled herself.

Roxanne put her bow on her back and slung Kili's arm over her shoulder to help her up.

"Wait…I can't leave yet…" Kili hissed out.

"How come?" Roxanne asked.

The wind picked up and gust of white light surrounded Kili as the dragons' body burned and its soul become one with Kili's.

"That's why…" Kili said softly with a smile.

Roxanne shook her head at her, "This is going too hard for us to explain to the others, you realize right?" she muttered out.

Kili forced out a chuckle, "I'm more worried about Farkas not killing me for putting you in danger…"

They both just laugh as Roxanne walked Kili back to Whiterun.

Roxanne held Kili close to her, as she helped her friend limp through the city. A few of the citizens started whispering and gathering around the two women. Kili shivered as the ice took a toll on her body and the winter winds gusted through the town.

"Kili, you all right?" Roxanne asked as she stopped in front of the stairs of Jorrvaskr. "Think you can make it up the stairs?"

Kili sucked in a breath and looked up at the stairs, "I can try…"

Roxanne shook her head at her friends stubbornness, "I don't think you can…" she muttered. Taking action she helped Kili to sit on the steps. "Wait here." She ordered and ran up the stairs.

Kili sat on the steps shivering as the frost melted on her body. The throbbing pain pulsed through her leg as she tried to stop thinking about the pain.

"Kili!"

The wounded warrior looked up and saw the children running towards her. Panic and fear written all in their faces. Kili took a breath and steadied her voice to talk to them.

"I'm all…right l-little ones…" She shuttered out.

"What happened, Kili?" Lars asked her as he and Mila run up and sat next to her on the steps.

"Fr-frost dr-dragon…Really cold…" she whispered out.

"Can we help?" Mila shouted out.

"Go…to dragons-re-reach…and get Lydia…" Kili shuttered out again.

The children nodded and scurried off to find the housecarl. Kili fought to keep her eyes open, not that the dragons attack hurt her; she felt the dragon itself calling out to her. To her soul to learn from it. She resisted the call, not wanting the Companions to worry if she didn't wake up later.

"Kili!"

Kili turned her head to see Farkas sprinting down the stairs to her. He scooped her arms around her back and her legs and picked her up. She wrapped frozen arms around his neck as he carried her in the warm hall of Jorrvaskr.

"Lay her down by the fire Farkas, hurry," she heard Kodlaks' voice barking orders at Farkas, then at everyone else, but she could make out the words.

"I-I'm sorry…for the trouble..." Kili huffed out as Farkas laid her on the floor.

"Your okay Kili, you did nothing wrong." Kodlak said softly as mover the wet hair from her face, "You kept Roxanne safe, as well as your own. Just relax we'll take care of you,"

Kili nodded a response, too tired to talk. She felt warm hands gently grab her face and prop her head up. She moved her head back a bit more too look up see was holding her head. Her sky blue eyes, met the stormy gray eyes, of Vilkas. She managed to form a small smile on her lips. He gave her a sad smile of his own and shook his head.

"Not…wh-what you expected…huh?" She shuttered out.

Vilkas shook his head once more and whispered to her, "Save your strength,"

Kili felt the others feeling her leg, to see if she really had broken it. She hissed in pain and arched her back. Vilkas gripped her shoulders to keep her still.

"Kili, you're freezing…" He whispered softly as he stared at her with a shocked expression on his face.

"Frost dragon…"

Vilkas gave her a worried look, and then quickly tuned his attention to the others who were checking her leg. Kodlak gave him a nod, saying that it wasn't broken. Seeing that her leg was fine, Vilkas finally released his breath.

'Why…are you so worried Vilkas…?' Kili asked herself as she gave in to the call of her soul.

Vilkas turned back to Kili to find her eyes closed as he lay in his lap. His eyes grew wide with slight panic. He pressed his fingers to her pulse, and sighed when feeling that it was beating strong against his fingers.

He turned his attention back to her face and moved some of the stray hairs from her cold forehead, 'Must have been too much for her…'

The front doors flung open and Lydia stepped in, in a huff. Vilkas and the others turned to face her as she looked at her Thane in fear.

"Is she..?" the housecarl couldn't finish.

"She's fine Lydia, just tired," Roxanne said softly.

The housecarl sighed in relief, "Another dragon I'm guessing?" she asked as the two children caught up to her as she stood in the door.

"Dragon!" The Companions asked, astonished.

Farkas turned his attention to Roxanne as she scoffed her foot cross the floor.

"It happened as we were heading back…Kili's the Dragonborn…"

"You can't be serious." Skjor said in a gruffly voice.

"Why wouldn't she tell you?" Aela asked in disbelief.

"Look, she was scared that we would treat her differently. She wants to be known as Kili, nothing else." Roxanne snapped.

Farkas put his hand on Roxanne's shoulder to calm her down. Her ears, flattened against her head, fearing that she had over done it.

"It doesn't matter now, I'm sure for whatever reason she didn't tell us about her being Dragonborn, we will all come to respect her reasons," Kodlak said firmly as his gaze fell upon everyone in the room. "Now, the girl needs to rest, Vilkas, take her down stairs. The rest of you, go back to duties."

Vilkas moved out from under Kili and picked her up bridal style. He shuttered slightly when her cold forehead touched his neck, she was still freezing. He turned to Lydia as she approached him, with two children at her heels.

"They won't go home until they know she's okay…" the housecarl muttered motioning her head towards the children.

Vilkas sighed and shook his head, "She's fine, I promise to look after her for you if you promise to go home," he said in a quiet tone.

He watch the as the two children nodded and then ran out of Jorrvaskr. Lydia chuckled and looked back her Thane.

"She will be asleep for a while…" she muttered.

Vilkas swallowed hard at that comment, "How long would you say…?"

"She was out a week last time, but she was badly wounded in the last fight she had with a dragon, so I would guess a few days at the least," Lydia said softly, "Don't worry Companion she'll be back on her feet in no time,"

Vilkas watched the housecarl turn on her feet to leave before he headed down stairs with Kili.

After he had carried the sleeping women down to the living quarters he found an open bed and gently laid her down on the furs and did his best to cover her with what blankets he could find to keep her warm. His eyes softened at her weak shivering state.

"Vilkas?"

Vilkas turned to see his brother in the door way, giving him a skeptical look.

"Not what I was expecting…at all…" Vilkas muttered.

Farkas just chuckled and shock his head at his brother. "Gods are testing you…"

"Well, they shouldn't," Vilkas snapped. "It's hardly fair."

"And now you know how I feel," Farkas said as walked over to his brother.

Vilkas snorted and rolled his eyes, "You have more patience than me,"

Farkas placed his hand on his brother's shoulder, as he held back a chuckle, "Calm down brother, you can apologize later. And I'm sure she's forgiven you."

Vilkas' stern look turned sad, as his gaze turned from his brother, to the sleeping women in front of them. "You didn't smell her tears as she left…"

"Vilkas, let her rest, she'll be fine," Farkas said softly as he turned to leave his brother in his thoughts.

"I wish I could share you optimism…" Vilkas mumbled, as his brother left him.

He looked at Kili's face again, look for any signs of discomfort. After seeing none, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration as he took a seat on the bed next to her sleeping form.

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead gently, as he ran his thumb over her slightly warmed cheek.

"Please forgive me…" he whispered sweetly to her, before getting up and walking out to Kodlak's study. It was time he and the old man talk about something, other than the beastblood.

To be continued…