Elaine's POV
'Damn this guy is a jerk… even if he is handsome.'
The trip to and after Bleak Falls Barrow, back to Riverwood to return the claw, and halfway to to Helgen. All of it has been nothing but his bitter looks and snarky remarks. He says it's his way of handling things. But obviously someone has really done him wrong. Whatever it is he obviously won't light up.
The worst part about the whole time she's been with him, is his so called 'lessons'.
She would try to sneak, then he tells her to stand up and attack head on. With only a dagger?! She thought there was no possible way… till he proved her wrong. The other times he just used his bow, he was a really good shot. He would hit his target before she had time to see another one coming.
She thought she was doing pretty well on her own before him.
Thanks to him though, she was able to get her hands on more types of ancient nordic weapons. It took her months to complete her armor set. Now she has her own bow and quite a lot of arrows, she always wanted to learn to use one.
Now she had her chance, that is if this Bishop guy would actually start being a teacher instead of a grouch.
Her favorite thing growing up was learning of the ancient nordic ruins and the Dragon priest. Of course she's never faced one… luckily but unluckily.
She always had a fascination for them, never fully understanding why. She finally grew the courage and faced the draugr in their ruins for her own first hand research… How they learned to use the voice of the dragons when they were once alive was absolutely fascinating, oh and not to mention the dragons…
Her top favorite on the list with the ruin puzzles a close second.
She only wished she could learn everything they knew. They are long dead now unfortunately. Even if they were alive, they would soon light you up with their fire breath or bite your head off before they would think of stopping for a chat.
Most say they are myths, but she believes wholeheartedly that they existed. How else would the draugr deathlords know how to shout. Their Thu'um was proof enough. She only wished she could see a real life dragon.
...
She was excited to find anything about this stone tablet she found. It looked important, so she was going to find the only person willing to give information if he had it...
Though she could get the info from someone else, it was a good excuse to pop by and say hello. He was one of her... few friends. She wouldn't say the Ranger was a friend yet. If he'd lighten up a bit, then maybe.
She was thankful for him regardless of his attitude. He really watched her back, back there. She might as well thank him.
"Hey Bishop."
She turned to face him, not realizing how close he was behind her. He collided into her as she stopped on her path.
To support them both from falling he wrapped his arms around her waist. It made her heart skip and her face burn hot. Looking into his wolf-like eyes made her breathless. He looked deep into hers as though he wanted to say something about them.
Only for her to be pushed off of him once he collected himself.
"What do you want?"
"Oh, well I was going to say, Thank you for having my back in the Barrow. With all those bandits and the draugr… I just appreciate that you were there, it probably would have taken me many more months to get all the research I got today."
"Oh trust me ladyship, if I weren't there you'd definitely be in worse conditions. But might I ask, why do you want to learn about those walking dustbags?"
"Because there is so much to learn from them. Like how they can use a dragon's Thu'um."
"Yea, okay, that's interesting and all but why make me carry their junk?"
He said, pulling the ancient bow from his back. So roughly that it snapped the string.
"Hey!"
"Oops."
She grabs it from him. Pouting at the condition the bow was now in.
"Cause they fascinate me… learning of them at my age helped me through the roughest times in my life… you wouldn't understand."
She could see he was looking at her deep in thought, with a slight trace of guilt.
"Well I can't really understand the fascination with the dead. But I do understand the rough times in life. Sorry… about the bow."
"It's fine, I'll just have to find another one so you can teach me how to use one."
"You really want to learn archery?"
"Yea, that is if you don't mind teaching me."
"I guess I can give you a tip or two."
"Oh, no you don't, you're going to actually teach me not just sit there and hope I figure it out."
"Alright, alright. Fine if you so wish, princess. But what makes you think I'm going to hang around long enough for you to know how to properly use one?"
"Oh, you plan on leaving soon?"
"Well don't get me wrong Ladyship, having your company is fun and all. Buuut I was just here to help teach you to properly handle yourself when you decide to explore those ruins or go rescuing wolves from pits. I don't plan to keep this up for long, I can't constantly risk my life for someone I just met."
"Oh, okay. I understand."
She continued walking down the road to Helgan.
"W-wait you aren't going to fight with me on it?"
"Why would I, you think your company is all that and more, ranger?"
"Hey now, don't go answering my question with a question. I'm serious. You're not going to ask me to stay?"
"If you wish to leave, ranger, I won't make you stay."
"Well, if you say so…"
He went silent for a bit. After a couple more steps he spoke up once more. Though, this time she couldn't hear him, not after seeing the sight before her.
Bishop's POV
"So you never told me why we are heading to Helgen. What exactly are we here for?"
Silence.
She stopped in her tracks completely unresponsive.
He walked up to her and got a little louder.
"Hello? Are you even listening?"
She looked forward in complete shock. He followed her gaze, and instead of seeing the sturdy gates of Helgen. The walls were crumbled and smoke rose from the inside of the city. Ashes started to shower over them the closer they got.
Then the ground shook and a large black creature took off from the ground and roared as it flew off into the sky.
"W-Was that a-"
"A dragon!"
She looked as though she was beaming with excitement but it only lasted a second as it changed to worry. As did his own worries began to cloud him.
"Shit!"
A hand ran through his hair nervously as he began to pace.
"We are so lucky it didn't see us, we could have been giant lizard food. C'mon ladyship, there's obviously nothing we can do. We are better off leav-"
She charged up the road trying to force the gate open.
"Ladyship?! Are you mad?"
"There could be people inside who need our help. Not only that but we have to find out what happened here."
"Well let's just wait till someone else decides to be stupid enough to do it for us. We should be running in the opposite direction, before that, THING comes back."
"I'm not going to *grunt* run away and do nothing. Somebody could die if we don't help."
She still tried to force the gate open.
"I HIGHLY doubt anyone survived that attack."
The gate wouldn't budge so he watched as she tried to find another way in.
"Why were we even coming here in the first place?"
"A friend of mine is… was stationed here. I wanted to ask him about this stone tablet we found. To get information about who would know something about it. He was in it good with the imperials he would have at least heard something… oh, there!"
She pointed to a big enough gap in the wall to be able to clear over if someone was given a lift.
"Well he's not here anymore so why are you still trying to get in? It was obviously a mistake coming here. If you have a death wish, don't make me a part of it. Personally, I think we should leave whoever is left to die, they don't deserve to live."
She turned her attention to him and looked him dead in the eye with pure fire.
"Would you say the same thing to me if you or Karnwyr were in there? Would you tell me to walk away then, to walk away from saving you?"
He shut his mouth and contemplated her words.
"That's what I thought. Now help me up. That's the last thing I'll ask of you. Once I'm up you're free to leave."
He said and did nothing, hesitating on what it is he should decide to do. Then he clasped his hands together and kneeled down to do as she asked. He effortlessly lifted her up. She climbed up and then watched as her form disappeared.
'By the eight… What am I doing?'
"Ladyship!"
He looked up as her head peaked at him from above the crumbled stone.
"Help me up…"
"Wha-"
"Just shut up and help me up!"
She did as she was told and helped him up on the crumbled rock. He heard Karnwyr whimper from down below, wanting to follow.
"Stay, we will be back, I promise."
Karnwyr whined in defeat and did as he was told.
They jumped off onto the other side. As he looked around he found out why the gate wouldn't open. There was a pile of rock and wood that collapsed over from a once standing building.
As it turns out the other gates looked fine and would have opened.
The more destruction he saw the more he began to fear this dragon, it took out an entire town... and its booze. The air stunk of burning corpses and soon after his vision fell on the charred bodies that produced the smell.
"The cannibals have an entire picnic ready for them, it's already precooked."
He froze from the icy stare he received from the Elf before him. He raised his hands in surrender.
"Horrible timing, my bad..."
She continued on investigating the carnage and went through what was left of Helgen. He continued keeping watch making sure nothing could sneak up on them… or fly above them.
He heard her voice shudder as a scorched body she was going to search turned to ash and only a book remained. A miracle that it survived. She read the last thoughts of the owner before his demise.
"Isn't that kind of personal?"
She ignored him, then her eyebrows furrowed as she read what seemed to be the shocking part.
"Ulfric was here."
"Ulfric Stormcloak?! The jarl of Windhelm was here?! Please tell me he's dead and this damn war is over."
She kept her eyes on the book reading it's contents as she spoke.
"No… he was captured… he was to be beheaded… but the dragon intervened and he escaped."
"Damn… convenient for his sake, the lucky bastard. Anything else?"
"Yes it looks like an Imperial and a Stormcloak escaped through a passage in the hall. The tunnel leads just outside of Helgen. It seems the writer was unsure if they made it or not."
"If they haven't already killed each other."
She continued reading.
"The man was trying to escape, he was going to try to get help and tell others that he saw a dragon. It's such a shame he didn't get that chance…"
She placed the book on the ashs and whispered.
"Thank you for your help, even though you didn't get to tell them in person. Your message will be passed on, that I can promise. May your soul find peace in that."
Her honor was blinding. He couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"So, what's the plan?"
He should have already known that answer. They investigated the tunnel outside of Helgen. They entered the cave and discovered two wounded. The Imperial and the Stormcloak.
"Hadvar!"
She raced towards the Imperial, she kneeled down to the man and then pointed to the other.
"Help him, please."
He rolled his eyes but did as she asked and knelt to the man.
"You alright?"
cough* "What… What are you doing here, man!? Are you mad!? There's a dragon outside!"
The injured Stormcloak spoke, shaking from his injuries, trying his best to speak.
"It's gone now, can you stand?"
"N-No I-"
A roar thundered and with it the cave shook as the rocks began to crumble above him.
"LOOK OUT!!!"
He heard the voice of his companion shout. He looked up to see that his fate was to die crushed by rocks.
Then something collided into him making an 'oof' escape him. He thought for sure he was dead, but what was on top of him was a lot lighter than a boulder. He looked down to see silver hair draping his chest, then the beautiful eyes of his companion full of worry as she gazed up at him.
"Are you okay?!"
Her arms were wrapped tightly around his large figure. He looked over to see where the man was, completely covered in rubble.
"You… You saved my life…"
"I wasn't going to let you die."
"But, you could have died."
"Then at least I would've known I tried my best to save you. Even if it meant losing my own life I wouldn't have regretted it at all, if it meant you got to live."
'This woman…'
She saved him, when she didn't have to. She risked her life for a stranger. It made him wonder, would she still have done that if she knew he probably wouldn't have done the same? But that was about to change. She did it for him, it would be cruel to not do the same for her.
"Oh divines!"
She finally got off of him and looked at the damage before her. There's no way that Stormcloak survived.
"If only I could have gotten over here sooner… I should have-"
"Labyship, there was nothing you could have done. He would have died from his injuries even if you did save him. You used your last healing potion on him did you not?"
The man called Hardvar... Hadvier…? Whatever his name was, walked up to them, his injuries were gone.
"But he could have had a family…"
"Along with everyone else, princess, maybe his won't miss him."
"What if he had a wife and children?"
"Elaine…"
The plan placed a hand on her shoulder, which for some reason rubbed him in the wrong way.
"You have a kind heart, but we are in the middle of a war. If he didn't die here he would have died in battle. Who's to say he wouldn't have tried to end my life to save his own."
"That still doesn't mean he deserved it."
She looked for comfort in the man, and did so in a hug. That made him feel like he better say something before he threw some fists.
"And you are?"
He said in an ill tone. She finally left his embrace to look at him with a smile as she brought forth introductions.
"Oh, this is my friend, Havdar. Hadvar, this is Bishop my companion."
BARK*
"Oh and I can't forget about Karnwyr."
She knelt down and patted him, as Bishop shot daggers at this… Hadvar. Who seemed to do the same back.
They left the cave to head on to Riverwood. Both Hadvar and Ladyship were conversing and laughing together as they caught up from, what he guessed, a long time spent apart. Leaving him and Karnwyr to follow behind. Then it finally got to the serious stuff.
"What do we do about the… the dragon?"
"Oh I know that look Elaine, you can't deny you want a chance to study it up close. Hopefully you decide to do it after someone finds out how to kill it. Rather than chase after it."
"Wait a minute, you-"
"Oh I know better than to do that!"
Completely ignored…
inhale* *exhale*
'Calm…'
He wanted to know why she would be so interested in dragons as to put herself in danger to see it again. He figured it was enough when they first saw that flying lizard leave Helgen.
"We will definitely have to do something but for now we better speak to my uncle in Riverwood."
"Sounds better than any plan I could come up with."
That's what happened, they met the uncle, they talked about the dragon, he thanked her, and then he asked her to go speak to the jarl of Whiterun. Of course, she didn't say no.
He offered his home to her whenever she liked and gave her some things for the road.
After a, very necessary, goodbye with Hadvar and his uncle. They were now on their way to Whiterun.
'Hopefully this will be a quick in and out mission.'
A/N
Sorry if it bothers you that I skipped the same old boring opening scene and stuck to the Alternate life mod. if it doesn't bother you, great. if it does you don't have to read it.
It's as simple as that. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Until next time my lovelies!