Aurora awoke from her bed in the temple of Dibella. The minute her eyes opened, she knew something was wrong. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood before making her way out of the sanctuary. There were no priestess', Lydia was not there and the more she listened, she realized the city was empty. She made her way through the rest of the temple, now running, only to walk outside into a world she did not know.
Ash fell from the blood red sky like snow. The air smelt of soot and sulfur and the silence was eerie. This was not Skyrim. Had she died in her sleep? Had she been too far gone for the priestess to save her? She walked through the city, towards the market at the entrance. There was no soul to be seen in what was usually a bustling center of town.
She walked to the city gates, pushing through the large Dwarven doors into an unchanging scene. She followed the path towards Whiterun. This was all wrong. What had happened here? The farther away she was from the city, the silence began to dissipate. Roaring in the distance echoed through the mountains, now covered in burnt trees and stone rather than the beautiful pines and snow they once held. Her anxiety rose, fear seeping into her blood, making it run cold.
She was sprinting now, to where she did not know, but she ran and ran for Talos knows how long. She continued towards Whiterun, towards the center of this land she once called home. Suddenly, she was not running any longer. Whiterun stood in front of her as if her thoughts had taken her there. She was not prepared for the vision she saw. Dragonsreach loomed over the city, a fire erupting from its peak. The rest of the city was also burning, and she could smell the burning flesh of the residents within. She darted up the path to the city, hoping to find anyone still alive but she stopped just before she reached the stables.
She fell to her knees when she saw the pile of corpses, far more than those who resided in the city. The large pile was nothing she had ever seen, with more people than she could have imagined. It had appeared there suddenly just as the town had. She scooted over to the mound of death and gasped when she placed familiarity with many of the faces. The companions, the Jarls, the shop owners, the Kahjit she met in her travels, the Stormcloak and Imperial soldiers she had seen in passing, the Greybeards, even Delphine, and many more she could not name. She stared at the mass of faces in awe of the death that emanated from them, the lifeless look in their still open eyes.
A large roar rung through the air and she turned to see something moving within the large clouds of smoke and ash the covered the air. Finally the dark, blurry silhouette took form. Horns sharper than a blade, scales more jagged than the rocks on a mountain and blacker than the depths of any crypt. But it was the eyes; the red eyes that were so sinister it only reflected the blood they had seen shed from the multitude of people that have been killed by the beast that held them. She knew this dragon, she knew him, had seen him before but she did not know the words that came from her mouth next.
"Alduin…" She whispered.
"Daar los leini Dovahkiin." She black dragon's voice seeped of menace, the thu'um rumbling in its throat. Aurora had never once understood the dragon language…until now.
"Daar lein fen neh kos hin." She countered, the words tumbling from her lips. "Zu'u fen helt hi." She commanded at him. A low chuckle escaped the dragon, something she had never heard a dragon do. Was he mocking her?
"Dovahkiin, daar los lein tol fen kos fod Zu'u luv hin slen nol hin qeth ahrk du sil do nahl ahrk dilon. Nid vis helt zey, suranmiik hi." He roared at her, rising to his full height. "Hi nunon lost wah frolok undin hi wah koraav dii vahzen" Aurora startled at his words. She turned, as he said, to the accumulation of corpses behind her, only to be met with dead, golden eyes like her own. She gasped at the sight of her own body amongst the others and she felt the tears welling in her eyes. "Hi fen ni prunt" The dragon spoke once more behind her and as she faced him once again, a fire erupted from his mouth and consumed her, along with the bodies behind her all while he laughed in victory at their deaths.
Aurora shot up to a sitting position from where she was lying in her bedroll on the ground. She gasped when she awoke, breathing heavy with sweat glistening on her skin. She stared at the campfire in front of her and focused on the flames, seeing the visions from her dream swarm in front of her. She closed her eyes tight trying to shake away the nightmare. She took deep breaths as she calmed herself, tuning out the rest of the world as she focused on the air coming and going from her lungs.
When she calmed, she came to her senses, and opened her eyes to take in the environment around her. She saw the fire once again but scanned the bedroll nearest it, to see Lydia sound asleep. She also noticed the other bedroll across the fire from her. For a moment she had forgotten it was not just Lydia and herself on this trip. She saw Ria, without her helmet and appearing just as happy in her sleep as she is when she is conscious. When Aurora looked to her left she saw she was not the only one awake. Vilkas sat on his bedroll with one knee up and bent, his elbow resting atop it as he stoked the fire with a long stick. He glanced at her and her breath hitched when his silver eyes met hers. He looked back to the fire and she felt her cheeks warm from the encounter.
"You were having a nightmare. I thought of waking you but was unsure of how it would be taken." He said to her, not tearing his gaze from the fire. "Though I know all too well what restless sleep is like." She found his last statement peculiar but decided it was best to not question him about it.
"I am unsure of how I would have reacted had you awoke me. It felt so real, the pain and misery, the smells and sounds. It was more than terrifying, it was…" she paused, thinking of the right words. When she looked to him, his gaze was on her. "… a realization." She finished. "Do you trust me?" She asked him. He seemed slightly taken aback by her question and narrowed his eyes in confusion.
"Why do you ask such a thing?" He replied, trying to gauge her mood.
"I feel as if, many think it is some joke the gods have played making me the Dragonborn. A half breed who belongs to no family or faction."
"You belong with the Companions." He countered.
"That was not until it was known I was Dragonborn. Not that I am stating that was the only reason why because I know the circle sees some sort of value in me, but… I fear the people of Skyrim see no hope in me." After this the words flowed from her mouth. "I want to prove them wrong. I have only truly killed a single dragon, I find it pathetic that I have not been able to cause the finishing blow to the other dragons. Though I was not without courage in those situations, I fought as much as I could. I am no warrior, but Skyrim is my home and I will defend her.
"Before all of this, I was just some rogue huntress traveling the Rift and Eastmarch. I had no friends, no family, no one I could call a companion. If I would have died fighting a bear, or a sabrecat or gods forbid a damn spider, no one would have cared. No one would remember me; no one would know who I was or the life I lived." She paused and took a deep breath. "I was alone and I thought I enjoyed that life. But then I met Aela and Farkas and Ria fighting that giant. When I came to Jorrvaskr for the first time, I had felt welcomed, something I had never felt before and none of you even knew who I was.
"Everything is different for me now. I am something important. I now have importance to my life, something to live for and fight for. The population can believe this half breed will let them down but I will only smile upon them when I have risen above the challenges that face me." Vilkas was practically staring at her as she spoke and she gave him a small smile before she finished. "There was a black dragon at Helgen, the one that saved me. We saw him once again when I fought that second dragon in Kynesgrove, but he looked at me as if I was just a bug that could easily be squashed. I dreamt of him tonight, I spoke with him in the dragon tongue, I spoke his name. Alduin." She saw Vilkas stiffen at the name and she narrowed her eyes at him. "You have heard the name before?" Vilkas hesitated before answering.
"Yes, he is the Nordic god of destruction. There have been many tales spun about him and many books written with his name."
"You have read these books?" She asked, her curiosity spiking. "What do they say?"
"Alduin was the first dragon among many that ruled over men and mer. The dragons viewed humanity as a lesser species, and kept a tyrannical hold on mankind, but soon, in an event known as The Dragon War, men stood up to their dragon overlords." She became awed at his knowledge, never having done much reading herself, but it was as if he recited the words like they were in front of him.
"Did they win?" She asked.
"Not long ago I would have told you yes, but seeing as he has returned with many other dragons I will tell you no." He replied, something grim in his voice.
"I am going to finish what they could not." She said confidently. "I am Dragonborn, and I will prove myself. Tonight I dreamt of a world where I failed and I refuse to let that become a reality. I told you I had never felt important until recently and I will hold steady to this feeling. I may have been overwhelmed at first but now… it is as if I was always meant to be this. I could never truly stand the loneliness but maybe that life groomed me for what was to come. My mother always told me before her death that we are all meant for something greater. That I was meant for more than the life she could give me. It makes me wonder if she knew what I was." Aurora surprised herself in bringing up her mother. She had not spoken about her in many years.
"What happened to her?" Aurora did not want to answer, and her eyes grew dark from the question.
"I do not know. She was taken in the middle of the night when I was still young. I was about fifteen summers old when she left and I only hope it was not by choice. I loved her more than anything in this world and I have never truly recovered from her disappearance." He nodded in understanding.
"When Farkas and I were still young pups, are supposed father, Jergen, left for the Great War. He promised to Farkas his return, but he never came back to Jorrvaskr. Farkas held on to the hope he was still alive for some time, but I always knew the reality of it." Farkas had never spoken of their father to her. She was surprised to see Vilkas opening up in such a way. Ever since she met him, he was distant and only seemed to speak when words were necessary. She felt something warm inside her at his admission and she suddenly felt closer to him.
They sat in silence for a few long moments, both staring at the fire, maybe sparing a glance or two at the other. She finally broke the silence with a quiet voice. "You should get some rest, I will take watch."
"Rest does not come to me so easily any longer, I will be fine." He replied.
"Is it the wolf blood?" She asked, hoping she did not sound to prying. His eyes shot to hers and he nodded. "Farkas had once tried to explain to me what it was like. He said it's like something always battling inside of you, trying to get out."
"Farkas handles it better than most, or better than I. Aela and Skjor have always accepted it and embraced what they are. When Kodlak spoke of finding a cure, I was immediately agreeable to it. I had anger within me before I took the beast blood but after it grew to an uncontrollable amount. I have lost myself to it many times and I stray away from turning if I can."
"What made you turn the other day? I do not remember much, but I remember the sounds. I remember…" She paused and he stared, waiting for her to continue. "I remember you saved me. I suppose I never thanked you. So… thanks." She said with a small shrug.
"Anyone would have done the same." He replied nonchalantly. She felt a pang of emotion in her chest at his words, she did not understand why.
"Was it difficult? To turn I mean." She asked, not wanting to end their conversation.
"Yes, but I do not wish to speak of it. I did what I had to get my shield sister to safety, nothing more. Farkas would have changed much easier than I." He replied, but she felt there was some sort of confliction in his words.
"He did once." She said.
"You had mentioned that when I was carrying you before. He had never mentioned it. Does anyone else know you are aware of the curse?"
"Yes, Aela. I spoke to her about it that night, among other things." She replied.
"What things?" Her breath hitched at the question. She did not think speaking about them to Vilkas was all that great of an idea. She slowly nodded her head and he quirked his in response, but let it be. "I will continue to keep watch, try and get some sleep." He said to her. She sighed and lay back down on her side, facing away from him.
He stared at her, with her back turned to him and he badly wanted to be next to her. Her caramel colored hair was beautiful in the fire light and he wanted to run his fingers through the soft strands. He lied to her. He would not have changed for just anyone, he changed for her. He would never let anything happen to her. Not only would he hate himself, but his brother would too. His heart ached at the thought of his brother. When they returned to Whiterun, he worried about his reaction to his brother and the woman beside him cozying up to each other. Yes, she always felt distant from him, but things could change. She experienced a very traumatizing near death incident and it would drive anyone to be closer to those they cared for. If she chose to be with his brother, he would not interfere, regardless of the pain it would bring him. A small voice brought him from his reverie, still staring at Aurora's back.
"Vilkas…" She said softly.
"Aye."
"Good night." She said simply, and it warmed his heart.
"Good night Aurora." He replied, hoping his voice sounded as soft as hers. He heard her sigh and he smiled to himself at the sound. He was unsure of how this came to be, but it almost made him happy. His love was growing stronger for this woman and though it brought him pain in a way, there was still a light in the once dark world of his life.
A/N: I know this was a short chapter and I'm sorry it had taken a bit for me to update. I'm still getting used to my work schedule and all but I will try my best to make sure I finish this story.
The chapters probably will be a bit shorter from now on, but do not fret this story will be well over 150,000 words by the time I am done. I do plan on doing the Dawnguard and Dragonborn expansions as well so that may make it a bit longer.
Anyways this was a scene I had thought of at the beginning of the story, I was unsure of where to put it and figured I'd just throw it in a chapter here by itself. Anyways, you guys know what to do Review/Fave. Thanks!
