Valleri rubbed the cold out of her arms in a desperate attempt to stay warm. The sun had gone down not even an hour ago and now her ears and fingers began to sting. Vilkas didn't seem to be bothered by the sudden drop in temperature. Whether it was because he was a werewolf or just a Nord, she couldn't be sure. She was jealous either way.

In moments, Valleri felt her stomach drop as the lights of the city came over the hill. The silhouette of Windhelm in the distance was almost impossible to make out in the distance without them. Just the thought that the the city was looming in the distance would always cast a shadow of foreboding over Valleri. Now especially after her last run in with the Stormcloaks.

Even if the rebellion didn't remember her, she remembered what they did to the city. The memory only instilled the same feeling of mistrust and disgust she held for the Legion. Valleri felt sick thinking about.

Vilkas must have seen the scowl on her face. He sighed and looked down, "You look like you're having fun."

Valleri stared pointedly ahead, "Hey Vilkas? You know how you hate Markarth?"

"Yep."

"That's exactly how I feel about Windhelm."

Vilkas grimaced as he saw the exhausted look on the Imperial's face. "It can't be the worst place in the world."

"No, it is! Last time I was there, I saw two men run into some sort of the back alley way with swords and clubs. We both know they were going after the Dunmer, Vilkas. And that seemed to be a daily occurrence."

"I wasn't saying Windhelm wasn't full of its own problems."

They both paused for a moment, but Vilkas could feel Valleri's shivers getting more intense. She shot him a dissatisfied smirk, "And, it's fucking cold here too."

A grin grew over the Nord's face, "Warm blooded Imperial." He clicked his tongue, "Almost eight months in Skyrim, and still not used to the cold."

"Oh, give me break," Valleri said with a laugh. Gesturing wildly with a hand, she continued, "The snow is gone for the most part, but the wind here is horrible. As soon as that sun goes down, the temperature just drops."

Vilkas shrugged, "That's just what it's like here."

"I know." Valleri paused and stared at the ground ahead of her. "Gosh, I can't wait to see how well you do in Anvil. You'd melt right on the street."

Vilkas rolled his eyes. He knew she was challenging him. And Valleri had a point. She knew she did. And all Vilkas could do was to accept the fact he would eventually end up in Anvil and indeed die from heat exhaustion. What a way to go. He could imagine Valleri laughing when she would finally find him melted on the floor.

He didn't speak further on the subject. Valleri suddenly stopped on the road and looked forward. In moments, she pointed to the horizon. "Speaking of extreme temperatures, it's getting colder and I see the city in the distance."

Vilkas paused and looked up. Indeed, he could see yellow lights on the distance. They shimmered in the distance, making the Imperial feel just a tad bit warmer. The silhouette of the city was hardly visible against the sky. Without the lights flickering in the distance, Valleri never would have spotted it.

Tilting her head, she stopped Vilkas again. "Hey, stop for a minute."

"Yeah?"

"What do you see? When you look at the city?" Valleri asked with a grin, pointing to the horizon.

"Well, it's a bit hard, but I can see the mouth of the port and the mountain behind the city." Vilkas paused, crossing his arms. "Then there's the bridge across the river. Then at the very top, I can barely make out the top of Palace of kings."

"No kidding?" Valleri sighed and shook her head in awe. "I'm still always gonna be amazed you can do that."

"It's not amazing. It's just how I see things. Come on, let's go before you turn into an icicle," Vilkas muttered. He gave Valleri a pat on the back and the two of them made the final stretch to the main gate.

They slowed when they saw the two guardsmen sitting in boredom next to a closed gate. Both Valleri and Vilkas were confused. Usually, even the dead of night, the gate would have been wide open.

It wasn't long before one of the guards noticed them approaching. They stood up and walked to meet the two newcomers.

"Halt and state your business."

Vilkas narrowed his eyes while Valleri stared at them numbly. "We're here for a bed and a meal. What's it to you?"

The guard shrugged, "Nothing to me, but the Jarl wants travel into the city restricted. There's been some dubious looking people lurking about."

"Dubious?"

"Mostly nothing, I think. Galmar thinks it's Legion spies or Thalmor agents." The guard paused when Valleri groaned. They shot her a disappointed stare. "What's wrong with you?"

"Isn't the Jarl just being paranoid at this point?" Valleri asked with exasperation thick in her voice.

The guard crossed their arms and huffed. "No, he isn't. After all, he is trying to take back what's rightfully ours. If someone gets into the city and runs amok, well that's just bad for everyone. You're not some sort of Imperial dog, are you?"

"Well, I'm an Imperial from Anvil. But that doesn't mean that I'm with the Legion, "Valleri sighed, pulling her cloak closer around her neck. "Geez."

Vilkas stepped forward and started talking, forcing the guard to take a step back. "We haven't slept in actual bed for a few days. Are we going to waste more time out here, or can we go in?"

"Fine, you've made your point." The guard relented. After a moment of hesitating, they signaled up to the watchtower above and the gate slid open. Vilkas nodded his head as he and Valleri stepped in. The guard grumbled all the while.

…

Thankfully, the inn was right across the street. They made a beeline for the building and burst inside much to the chagrin of the owner. She glared at them when the duo threw open the door with a bang, letting in a gust of cold air.

Valleri looked up with a smile, "Sorry. It's cold outside."

"Yeah, exactly. It's cold outside. Close the damn door!"

Vilkas muttered a sorry to the woman and walked up to the counter. Valleri wasted no time in shutting the door. It slammed with an ugly thud, making the Imperial wince. She watched Vilkas from the corner of her eye as he talked with inn keeper. The woman regarded both of them frustration.

"Please tell me you only need a room."

"Just for now," Vilkas answered.

The woman breathed a sigh of relief, "Good. It's late and I'm not in the mood to start cooking again." She waved the newcomers to follow her. "Right this way. You two are lucky I have a lot of room tonight. The city's been under some sort of lock down recently. I get it. After the loss at Whiterun, people think it's the end of the war or something. But I'm confident we'll pull through."

Valleri sighed and shot Vilkas a tired glance. He shook his head without a word. The inn keeper spun on her heel and shot them another exasperated glare, "Well here's your room. Don't destroy anything or I'm charging double."

Valleri furrowed her eyebrows and bit her tongue, "Listen, I just want to sleep."

The inn keeper shrugged and left the room. Valleri could hear her grumbling down the hall. The Imperial couldn't care less though. Throwing her cloak on a nearby chair, Valleri didn't hesitate to get into the bed. Vilkas was slower, neatly folding his own cloak before placing it on the chair next to the red pile of fabric. He snuggled down next to her in the smaller than comfortable bed. But at least it was bed and not just an abandoned shack.

Valleri relished the inky dark warmth. She was about to drift into sleep, but Vilkas was still fidgeting next to her. Eventually he wrapped an arm around her waist and nuzzled his head into the back of her shoulder.

"Someone else just got a room," Vilkas muttered.

"What?"

"They said the city was on lock down, but someone just walked in."

Valleri rolled over and opened an eye. "What the fuck?'

"I dunno. I can smell them in the other room. Smells like they haven't seen civilization for two years."

"Vilkas?"

"Yeah?"

"Please go to bed."

…

Valleri waited next to the door while Vilkas stopped by the counter in the inn. It was still early in the morning and they were both eager to leave. Still the Vilkas' curiosity loomed over him. Valleri couldn't blame him. It wasn't as though Vilkas was going to take long anyways.

The inn keeper twirled on her heel to face the taller Nord. "Is something wrong? Cause I don't give refunds."

Vilkas furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "What? No. Everything's fine. I was just curious about something."

"Oh gods."

"Did another customer come in after us?"

"And what's it to you?" the inn keeper snapped. Vilkas reeled back in surprise.

Valleri scowled and stepped in. "We thought the town was under lockdown or something. We found it curious is all."

"Well, one more person did in fact come in. A Breton." The inn keeper paused, "Strange thing though. It looked like they hadn't bathed in three years. Beard like a cave bear and I know that's not saying a lot. If they'd been just tiny bit dirtier, I would have taken them as a beggar"

Valleri stared up at Vilkas. He exchanged an equally exasperated glance with her. "Are they still here?" he finally asked.

The inn keeper shrugged, "Nah, they left an hour or so go. Good riddance."

"Well, thanks I guess," Valleri muttered. Without another moment wasted, she followed Vilkas out the door. The day was bright and clear, but Valleri still felt cold seeping into her bones. Maybe it had been just the general coldness of the city. The near black cobblestones were still slicked over with ice and didn't exactly exude warmth. The people here didn't alleviate the condition either.

Vilkas must have noticed the downcast look on her face. He tilted his head with smirk and started talking. "I'll have to agree. Windhelm is horrible."

"Thank you," Valleri said, eyes going wide for a moment. "Everyone here just seems so full of it. I shouldn't say too much more."

"No, probably not," Vilkas agreed. "We won't be here for much longer at least."

Valleri breathed out sharply, furrowing her eyebrows, "One can hope." Neither of them spoke further. In the back of her head, she felt watched again.

"Die Companion!"

Valleri barely heard the noise when she turned to look up at Vilkas next to her. Or was he behind her? She only watched in disbelief and shock as a hooded figure had taken hold of Vilkas, hand covering his mouth. It took Valleri an extra second to notice the silver glimmer of the knife at Vilkas' throat.

"You'll pay for what you did at Driftshade!"

Valleri watched in horror when the hooded figure began to draw the knife across the Nord's neck. Valleri could only focus on the red. In another flash of confusion, Vilkas threw his elbow against the figure and the knife fell to the ground.

The Nord turned on his heel and stepped back to Valleri. "What in Oblivion?"

The hooded figure unsheathed a hidden sword and started charging after Vilkas. The figure screamed, loud and terrifying, calling attention to the sudden brawl. Vilkas had no trouble sidestepping the figure's haphazard attack. He unsheathed his own sword reluctantly.

The hood fell from the figure's face as he stared upwards at Vilkas. Valleri could see a dirty Breton with a scraggly beard. Vilkas exchanged a hurried glance with Valleri. Apparently, he was thinking the same thing.

The Breton yelled once more and went after Vilkas again. He stepped back and waited for the Breton to move again. When he did, Vikas didn't hesitate to bring the hilt of his sword down on the man's head. The Breton fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

Vilkas was breathing heavily as he glanced from the Breton back to Valleri. "That must have been the man the inn keeper was telling us about earlier."

"Yeah, but why would he just attack you?"

"I take it you didn't hear him yelling about Driftshade?"

Valleri shook her head, "No, I'm afraid I was a little bit more preoccupied. I thought you were going to be gutted when he grabbed you. How's your neck?" Vilkas shrugged absentmindedly then gestured to behind Valleri. The Imperial turned around only to be met with a guard approaching her. They drug their feet on the cobblestones below despite the obvious rush.

"What's all this then? Why in Oblivion do you think having a brawl in the middle of a busy street is okay?" Valleri didn't say anything and just looked over at Vilkas. They couldn't see the guard's face, but Valleri and Vilkas were sure the guard was scowling. "Well?"

"This man grabbed me from behind," the Companion explained.

"It looks like the other guys on the ground. How am I to know you didn't just attack them?'

Vilkas blanched, "What?"

"Well, do you have a witness?"

Valleri spoke up finally from behind, voice sharp, "Yeah! I was right here. I saw the entire thing!"

The Imperial was sure that the guard was rolling their eyes when they didn't answer her. They took a step closer to Vilkas. "Listen, I can't get a full statement from the guy I just saw you knock right there," the guard continued, his voice becoming more erratic with each word. "Who is he anyways?"

"Hell if I know!" Vilkas snapped. "Look, he was yelling a lot of stuff. But he mentioned he was looking for me or something. I don't know."

Vilkas looked back Valleri for support. She only shrugged. They could hear the guard take in a sharp breath before continuing, "It's too early in the day for this shit. Just take your friend and go. If I see the three of you in this city again for the next month, I'll drag your asses to dungeon myself."

There was a long pause before anyone said anything. Vilkas stared at the guard for a long while, his face contorting from confusion, disbelief. Finally, Valleri could see an expression annoyance bordering on anger. "Wait, can you repeat that?"

"I'm kicking you out of the city. All three of you."

Valleri rushed over to Vilkas before the Nord would lose it. "Hey it's fine we were just leaving anyways," Valleri explained through rushed words. She looked up to Vilkas with a stern glare and the Nord finally relented with a sigh. He gestured to the Breton still knocked out cold on the ground. Valleri rolled her eyes, "And, I guess we'll take him too."

"Good. Now scat."

The Imperial watched as the guard promptly left. Meanwhile, Vilkas sheathed his sword and knelt down to pick up the Breton with a groan. "You certainly don't seem too upset," he said.

"Not really," Valleri paused, turning back to face him. "I have an excuse to not come back to this backwards city for a while. I am, however, a bit sorry we have to take him with us," Valleri finished pointing to the Breton man slung around Vilkas' shoulder.

Vilkas mustered an entertained grin. "This isn't the worst thing that's happened. When he wakes up, we'll get some answers."