Things were more or less quiet for the next few weeks. Rayla took on as many jobs as she could, trying to stay busy and keep her mind off of Velanus, but after seeing Velanus in Whiterun she was terrified he would find her once again. She did find some peace of mind, however, with Farkas as her bodyguard. And as their contract came up on its fourth week, Rayla was greeted with a familiar face and she couldn't be more pleased to see who it was.

"Gerdur, it's Ralof!"

Gerdur looked up from where she and Rayla were working, smiling as she saw Ralof coming around the bend and across the river. "Ralof, good to see you, brother!"

"Gerdur!"

Rayla watched Ralof embraced his sister, then offered him a warm smile and accepted his embrace when he turned to her.

"Rayla, good to see you smiling, lass." Ralof held her for a moment, relieved to see her doing well. When he stepped back, he looked her up and down. "You look like well!"

"I've been much better since Gerdur took me in."

"You were right to send her to us, brother. Rayla has been a huge help around the mill and the village."

Ralof noticed a burly man sitting nearby, eyeing him curiously. "And you have a new friend, I see."

Rayla nodded. "This is Farkas. He's a Companion."

Ralof greeted Farkas. "It's an honor to meet you, Companion. Rayla is lucky to have a friend in you."

Farkas could smell blood on him, though not recent, as well as steel and knew immediately that he was a soldier. "Rayla's mentioned you."

"Good things, I hope?"

"I told him how I owe you and your sister for saving me." Rayla said, giving Farkas a look of annoyance at his comment. She made to say something else, but her gaze was drawn towards the bridge near the northeast gate of the village and her heart skipped a beat.

Farkas and Ralof saw her go white as a sheet and Farkas caught a familiar scent on the wind.

"What's wrong, lass?" Ralof asked, looking concerned.

Crossing the bridge was Velanus with a large group of men accompanying him and they were heading into the village.

"Farkas, take Rayla and go." Gerdur said, seeing the group of men nearing the northeast gate. "Get to the house, gather whatever supplies you need, then get her out of here."

"Gerdur..."

Gerdur shook her head and offered Rayla a smile. "Go, Rayla. Get out of here while you have the chance. We'll take care of things here."

"I can't just-"

"She's right."

Rayla looked to Farkas and saw something similar in his body language to what she had when they first met, only this was different. She knew better than to argue and turned to Ralof as he spoke next.

"Send word when you're safe, lass." Ralof said, understanding the situation. He squeezed her hand, then gave Farkas a curt nod before watching the Companion take the young woman he had met months ago away from the mill as quickly as he could.

"Well, Gerdur, how will you handle this one?"

Inside Gerdur and Hod's house, Farkas packed their provisions while Rayla gathered her things. When she was ready, Farkas took her by the hand and snuck her out of the house and through the gate behind it, taking one of the more secluded roads leading south out of the village. He had taken the time to scout the area immediately around the village of Riverwood just in case something like this happened and he was glad that he had.

Rayla looked back down at the village as it started to disappear behind the boulders lining the path and her heart sank, hoping that she hadn't doomed everyone just by coming into their lives. But Gerdur was the de facto leader of Riverwood and Ralof was a Stormcloak and Rayla knew that they- along with everyone else in the village- could handle the situation. She sent a silent prayer to the Divines, asking that they protect Riverwood and its people from Velanus and his thugs, then turned her attention back to Farkas- who still had a grip on her hand.

Farkas took the path through the mountains until it met up with the forked road that led into Falkreath Hold. He chose the path that would take them directly to the capital city of the hold and they pressed on as hard as they could manage before Rayla needed a break. He stood guard while she caught her breath, his beast blood a blessing for sure in this situation as his senses were heightened and he could detect the slightest change.

"I'm so sorry..."

Farkas looked back at Rayla, seeing that she was wiping away her tears. "You have nothing to apologize for."

Rayla felt so ashamed that she had to rely on Farkas to protect her, she was worried sick about the people of Riverwood, she felt guilty for getting innocent people involved in her troubles, and she was terrified that Velanus would somehow catch up and find them. She felt so lost and unsure of what to do or where to go next, and she feared that Velanus would follow her no matter where she went.

Farkas could see her fear and guilt even in the darkness of night and for some reason, he didn't pity her as he would have weeks ago but instead sympathized and was worried for her sake. He turned to her, kneeling down in front of the fallen log she was sitting upon, and took her hands in his.

"Listen to me carefully, little mouse. You have nothing to feel ashamed of, fearful of, worried about, or sorry for. You are just trying to find a new start, away from an abusive marriage. You hired me to do a job and I intend to see it through, no matter what obstacles we have to face."

Rayla met his silvery gaze with wide eyes, surprised that he was genuinely trying to make her feel better. He had always come off as standoffish, more concerned about the job than anything else, like he didn't even want to be there.

"But I'm just a burden to you... to everyone..."

"You're not a burden, Rayla, and even if you were, it's one that I'm happy to bear for as long as it takes."

Rayla felt her cheeks begin to burn at that last bit, wondering why he would say something like that.

"We need to get back on the road. Are you ready?"

Rayla nodded and let Farkas help her to her feet. She didn't say another word the rest of the journey and just pondered on what he had said to her.