CHAPTER 6: FROSTFALL
Lucy dreamt of the dragon again.
Like that night in Embershard mine, when she had crawled to her bedroll between the mage and the warrior, visions from Helgen flooded her mind when she closed her eyes. The dream was the same: black wings darkened the skies as dragonfire rained down, turning memories to ashes. Everything and everyone around her burned until she was all alone amidst the destruction, unburnt, unbroken, facing the enemy of mankind on her own with only the hunting bow as her weapon.
Earth quaked below her feet when the dragon landed in front of her, so close she could see her reflection in those age-old eyes, shimmering with an amber glow. Flames stroke between the lines of razor-sharp teeth as the dragon opened its mouth, ready to swallow her whole. She did not lose her stance, didn't succumb to the fear – she draw an arrow, released, and watched it fly to the dragon's throat.
But before she heard the dragon's dying shrill, she woke up to her own screaming.
Sunlight filtered through the tent's open door. Cold air flooded in, stinging her cheeks like needles. Lucy's fingers curled tight on the edge of the bedroll as she struggled to catch her breath, her throat dry from the shrieking. Slowly, the dream vanished into nothingness, but the hollow feeling in her guts wouldn't fade.
The wind howled outside the tent, swaying the snowy spruces and pines, but she heard no other sound. No song of the birds, no distant chatting, only perfect silence. She was alone. She crawled out from her warm bedroll and peeked into the cold outside, squinting her eyes to the bright light. Faint smoke rose from the dying campfire, skyward to where the sun had climbed above the trees. Where were Natsu and Erza? Had they carried on without her?
Lucy picked up some branches and put them to the embers, watched them smoulder without truly setting aflame. She sat down and wrapped tighter into the fur cloak, feeling no warmth. She hadn't known how sturdy the wind was up in the mountains. It blew out every flame which sparked in the campfire, and Lucy wanted to cry. Shaking from frustration and fear, she looked around, trying to find a sign of her companions. The wind had wiped out their footprints as well.
Had they really just left?
'Maybe they haven't' Lucy thought as she saw the mage's backpack laying against the tent's side. 'They probably don't care that much about me, but they wouldn't leave left their belongings here. Maybe they'll get back soon.'
Lucy leant her chin to her knees, weakly stirring the stick in the campfire. She tried to channel magicka down to the fire, set a flame to the wood, but she couldn't sense the energy within her the same way she did last night. Had she exhausted all her magicka? Tiredness made her limbs heavy as iron, as if she hadn't slept at all. She had been so happy about casting her first spell that she'd forgotten, not even realised, the consequences of the practice.
The tiny familiar had existed for only a short while, but somehow she had succeeded at binding the threads of magicka into an ethereal wolf. She had tried to summon it a few times, following the instructions of the spell tome, and after a few attempts, she had made it. A small smile appeared on her lips as she remembered the feeling, like a flash of light in the darkness. Maybe she would become a true mage. At least Natsu had been impressed by her, but also warned her about over-exhausting her magicka – and only now she understood what he had meant.
While she waited for the mage and the warrior to return, she nibbled some sour snowberries she had picked yesterday, and melancholy returned to her chest like clouds of cold mist rolling into a forest. Her mother had always made some oat porridge for breakfast, with butter and berries, with tea from honey and frost miriam. They used to eat together as a family before it was time to open the shop. Now, she felt so alone.
She glanced at the berries on her palm. Compared to her former meals, that was such a tiny amount of food, barely enough to keep her standing. Yet still, she hadn't felt hunger since it all happened, as if a stone filled her stomach. Grimacing, she turned her hand around, and one by one the red berries rolled to the ground. As she watched them sink to the snow, she fell deep into her thoughts, got lost in the memories, and wasn't brought back until she heard noise from the forest.
"That was my fox, you beast!" a familiar voice answered. Lucy gasped at the anger in that tone, lifting her gaze to the trees ahead. "I tracked that all morning!"
"Too late, too bad," a woman answered, and then, Erza appeared from the snowy forest. She carried a dead fox in her hand, hanging it from the tail. "You want to brawl for it? The winner can keep the meat."
There was no answer. Soon, Natsu followed after Erza's trail, empty-handed with a sour expression on his face. Purple bruises adorned his cheeks, and his eyes were still a bit red and swollen. Lucy smiled at him, but he did not answer her smile. Sullenly, he sat down on the other side of the campfire and lit the branches up with a swift move of a hand.
"I had to freeze my ass off without making a single sound for hours, and you decided to steal my prey?" Natsu asked Erza as she began to skin the fox with her blade. "Couldn't you kill some rabbits instead? I'm fucking starving."
If Lucy recalled right, Natsu had refused to take the rabbit Erza had caught yesterday, even when she had offered it to him. He'd rather starve than swallow his pride, it seemed. A stubborn little mage – no wonder he was so scrawny.
"Did you sleep well, Lucy?" Erza asked, ignoring Natsu's complaining completely. "He told me you stayed up late and learned to conjure a familiar. Is that true?"
As Lucy tried to speak, no words came out of her mouth. She cleared her throat to gather her lost voice. "It is," she whispered and coughed from the dryness. Natsu glanced at Lucy and gave her a sip from his waterskin. Lucy took it gladly. "I could've gone to bed a bit earlier, though… sorry I slept so long."
"It's okay. Sleeping helps you heal from what happened in Helgen. You're still in shock, sweet girl," the Companion told while skinning the fox with a small blade, amazingly fast. She separated the meat from bones and put the pieces on sticks to grill on the campfire. "While you slept, I went hunting with the mage. This fox might be our last meal before we reach the Rift. There's not that much game in the mountain pass ahead of us, for the frost trolls eat everything there is to eat."
Natsu stoked the fire with his magic, and so the pale meat began to gain a golden colour. Lucy brought her hands closer to the flame, felt its warmth on her skin, and the frost within her soul began to melt as well. She was glad they had come back, even if they'd just bicker about the damned fox. Her mind had dove into dark, cold waters when they'd been gone.
The silence lasted until the meat had almost cooked. Lucy scrunched her nose at the strange smell. "So, what's our plan for today?" she asked then. "We're going to a mountain pass?"
"Exactly. We leave after we've eaten, and we won't rest until we are on the other side of the pass. So eat well. You too, Natsu," Erza answered, took the grilled meat from the fire, and gave a smoking stick to the mage. He took it reluctantly.
"I don't like fox meat –"
Erza gave him a stern stare. "You eat it, or I will force it down your throat," she told. Then she took another stick and gave it to Lucy with a smile – and Lucy didn't dare to tell her that she wasn't hungry.
They ate quietly without complaints. The fox meat was tough, tasteless, and difficult to chew, but Lucy ate it nonetheless. Her jaws ached by the time she was done, the stone in her stomach feeling twice as heavy as before. When all of them had eaten their share, it was time to put out the camp.
Erza began to pack the tent, and Lucy headed to fill the waterskins from the spring among the woods. She followed the path she remembered threading yesterday, and soon she found the small natural pond. She kneeled by the water, collected icy cold water in a cup made from her palms, and splashed it on her face. She shrieked as the water stung her cheeks, but she did it again and again, until her reflection was clean from dirt and blood.
When she heard snow crunching behind her, she glanced over her shoulder. The mage walked between the trees, his hands tucked into the warmth of his cloak. The grim look on his face hadn't gone anywhere.
"I can't wait 'til we reach an inn," Natsu said and crouched next to her. He gathered a handful of water, but warmed it with magic before washing the bruises on his cheeks. "I fucking reek. Can't remember when I last bathed, but must've been before the Imperials captured me."
In silence, Lucy took the waterskins and filled them in the pond. "Well, the closest inn must be in Ivarstead, right? I'd like to have a warm bath, too," Lucy answered. When the skins were full, she glanced at her reflection again, grimacing at the locks in her fair hair. "Gods, I look terrible."
Natsu glanced at her, his brow furrowing. He seemed to comment something, but then he swallowed his words. "Yeah, Ivarstead seems to be our next stop. With the gold we found from Embershard mine, we should be able to afford a brief stay in the inn," he said then. "Once you get used to travelling, you learn to appreciate small things, like warm food and warm beds."
Lucy nodded with a faint smile. "You've travelled a lot, I assume?"
"All the time," Natsu answered and chuckled. "I and Igneel used to spend most summers adventuring around Skyrim, like now. We always returned to the College when it started to get too cold."
"Oh. I'd love to hear about those adventures," Lucy said, sparkles in her eyes. "Seems like you've got many stories to tell."
"Most of them aren't very good," Natsu sighed, looking down to the water. "But well, if you want to hear something, I can tell you on the road. At least those when I wasn't piss-drunk could be… shareable."
Lucy laughed a bit. "I bet the piss-drunken stories are the funniest ones."
"Definitely," he answered, a small smile on his lips. "Anyway, we should probably head back before that beast of a woman starts to wonder where we went. But I… I wanted to ask if you're alright. I heard you scream earlier when we were hunting that fox."
Lucy's smile died. She turned her eyes to him, surprised that he'd truly asked that.
"Yeah, I am. I just had a nightmare," she said. "It's… it's been the same dream. About Helgen and the dragon. It keeps haunting me, that's all."
Natsu nodded softly, an understanding gaze in his eyes, and Lucy wondered if he shared the same nightmares as well. But before she could ask, the mage stood up, and beckoned her to follow him to the camp.
The day was still young when they set forth towards the mountain pass. The narrow passage went through the bedrock of Throat of the World, the tallest mountain on Tamriel, and was famous for claiming the lives of many unlucky travellers. However, it was the only way to get to the Rift, for in the south, Jerall Mountains lined the border between Skyrim and Cyrodiil.
As they walked, Natsu remained mostly silent. He kept his eyes on the sky. Though he had no nightmares of the dragon – or dreams, overall, for he had lost his ability to dream long ago – he was haunted by it as well. In Helgen, the dragon had appeared so suddenly, as if from nowhere, so why wouldn't it happen again? Fear wasn't a good place to live in, but there wasn't much room for hope, in times like these.
The cold wind bit through the fur cloak as Natsu held tight to his hood, muttering curses under his breath. His fingers were freezing inside the moleskin gloves, and he had stopped feeling his toes a while ago. Natsu had never gotten used to the cold as Nords did. The summers in Skyrim were warm, but winters, these gods-forsaken winters froze his bones solid every year. It wasn't even winter yet, but here in the mountains, it truly felt like it.
Lucy walked beside him, her teeth clattering quietly. She had commented on the beautiful landscapes, but mostly, she seemed too exhausted to speak. Natsu was fine with the silence, but as dark clouds began to fill the bright blue skies, he got restless. The path grew narrow, and steep rock walls began to frame the way ahead. They'd soon reach the mountain pass, but the abrupt change in the weather was a sinister sign. It would snow soon, and heavily.
"Doesn't the cold bother you?" Natsu asked. "I'm fucking freezing. I'd summon a flame cloak if that bastard wouldn't beat me up for it." He glanced at Erza, who walked ahead of them.
Lucy shrugged. The frigid air had painted her cheeks bright red, and a few of her blonde strands had caught frost in them. "It's a bit chilly, indeed."
Natsu chuckled by himself. A bit chilly? It's cold as the ice wraith's breath. "I've always believed that Nords don't feel the cold at all. There's a crazy Nord in the College named Gray, and he can go to a snowstorm naked. He even swims in the Sea of Ghosts during mid-winter. He creates a hole in the ice and all."
Lucy turned her eyes to him, smiling slightly. "Really?" she wondered. "Well, that sounds a bit extreme, even to me. Why does he do it?"
"He says he does that to train his frost resistance, but I think he's short of a few marbles," Natsu answered, then paused as a furious whirlwind swept through the path, forcing them both to halt. The first snowflakes fell on Natsu's pink hair. "Speaking of snowstorms, seems like there's going to be one."
"We'll stay in a cave if a storm hits," Erza shouted through the wind. "It's too dangerous to continue in a blizzard. That's the time when the frost trolls go for a hunt."
Fucking great, Natsu thought. He hated caves. Not only that the outlaws loved to house in abandoned mines and natural caves, many disgusting creatures lived there as well. Above all, Natsu hated frostbite spiders the most. He wore a big scar on his side as a reminder of one encounter with a giant spider, when the hideous thing had suddenly descended from the cave's ceiling and caught him between its poison fangs. Igneel had managed to kill the spider, but the poison had almost killed Natsu. He had been sick for a month afterwards.
The howling winds swept through the mountains as they carried on their journey, pushing slow against the veil of snow. The few snowflakes had quickly turned into an endless downpour, the frostfall so thick Natsu could barely see in front of him. He kept glancing to his side to make sure Lucy was still there and not lost in the snow.
"Well, Erza, do you know any good caves in this area?" Natsu asked with a sharp, sarcastic tone, shouting through the wind. "Because I'm certainly freezing off my fucking –"
Abruptly, a loud growl echoed from the mountain walls. Natsu halted and looked in every direction, but saw no source for the voice. Then he heard it again, louder than before. Lucy stepped closer to him as she heard it too.
"What was that?" she whispered, instinctively reaching for her bow and arrows. Fear spread in Natsu's lungs like frost. I know you're not ready for such a dangerous trip, but I'll try to keep you safe, he had promised. Maybe the time had come to actually keep that promise.
Then, Erza pulled her sword out of the scabbard.
"Two frost trolls right ahead!" the Companion shouted, then disappeared into the blizzard. "We can't escape them, so we have to fight! Natsu, you take the one on the left!"
Intuitively, Natsu put her hand in front of Lucy as the troll's growls sounded again in front of her. She might've struck an axe to a drunk bandit's skull, a lucky hit, but this was a battle she wasn't ready to be in.
"You stay back, we will handle this," Natsu told her and conjured a flame atronach. It appeared through the purple gate and threw a fireball towards the growling noise, showing Natsu where the enemy was. He cast the flame cloak spell, surrounding himself in an aura of fire. Lucy stepped away from him, following his command. Natsu nodded to her before running after his atronach.
Natsu formed the root of the flame spell in his palms when he saw the troll. It climbed on the mountain wall, grunting as its thick, shaggy white fur caught the atronach's fire. It had been a long while since he had last seen a troll – he had forgotten how ugly they were. A third eye nestled in the middle of its forehead and its jaws were filled with jagged teeth, which would surely tear him apart in a second. The troll jumped down and knocked the flame atronach out of existence with its lengthy, muscular arms.
The mage swallowed his fear when the troll charged at him at full speed. Twice as tall as Natsu, the troll towered above him, seemingly invincible, but Natsu knew their weakness. Trolls were vulnerable to fire. Steel, speed, and aggression might work, but not as well as fire. Natsu put his hands together and poured flames directly into the troll's face. The beast's grunts changed into fearful whines. They were aware of their weakness as well.
And suddenly, an iron arrow pierced the air. It struck the troll's arm, evoking the troll's wrath even more. Natsu glanced over his shoulder. The silhouette of the Nord girl stood out through the veil of snow, and another arrow flew right past Natsu's ear, straight to the beast's chest. The troll roared and pulled the arrows from its flesh. The wounds closed in an instant.
"You regenerative bastard..." Natsu grunted and dodged the swing of the troll's arm. Its razor-sharp nails grazed Natsu's cloak, but the aura of fire damaged the troll in return. He leapt backwards as the beast chased him, pressing him closer to the rock wall with no escape. Natsu blasted flames against the troll, but it rushed through the fire with bloodlust gleaming in its three eyes.
Biting his lip, he felt the wall closing in. A few more meters and he'd be trapped. He changed his course to the back right, closer to Lucy. The troll's breath became shallow as another arrow found its back. It must have hit the lung.
I have to kill it now before it regenerates again, Natsu thought. He pulled the orcish dagger from his belt. As fast as he could, he circled behind the troll, seeing strange movement in the edge of his vision, but he was too agitated to pay attention. In a moment's act of insane courage, he jumped into the troll's back, clutching his fingers into the white fur.
Natsu shoved his dagger straight into the frost troll's neck, severing its arteries. It fell on its stomach, howling as it died. Blood sprayed on Natsu's face when he pulled the blade back from its flesh. He turned his head to check on Lucy. He heard her scream before his eyes caught the third troll, who grabbed her from behind.
"Lucy!"
Natsu's shout was left to echo in the mountains as the troll lifted the wriggling, screaming girl on its shoulder and vanished into the snowstorm.
