It was summertime. The sun in Whiterun was warm and there was a cool breeze. I looked beside me, and I saw Vilkas. His arm was around Lissa's shoulders, and she was looking at me with my favorite smile of hers. Their children, two boys and a girl, were walking ahead of us. My brother looked so happy, and as I smiled back at him, I felt a tap on my left shoulder. On the other side of me, Aela stood with Skjor, hand in hand. I was happy to see him, and he was so happy to be with Aela. He held her against him, her head resting perfectly below his chin. She reached out to me, and I took her hand. She spoke to me, "Farkas?" But the voice wasn't hers.

I blinked, only for a second, and her hand was now Jergen's. He stood above me and my brother, now small. He smiled like a lie, then left us. Vilkas started to cry, and when I asked him what was wrong, he spoke. "Farkas?" But the voice wasn't his.

I blinked again, and now I stood in a field with Kodlak. The sky was beautiful and purple, and a great rhythmic chant rang out around us. I looked up at him, my father, and he smiled. I asked him where Vilkas was, and he told me my brother would be with us soon. Just not now. Then he touched my face. "You have to wake up."

I jolted awake. I was chained to a wall by my arms, unable to move. The walls were stone, and a fire was burning low in the corner. I remembered then that the Imperials had taken us. They hadn't hurt us yet, but they asked a lot of questions about Jarl Ulfric. We hadn't spoken yet.

"Farkas?" The voice was here, beside me. I looked left, and saw Lissa. Her eyes were swollen and puffy, and I remembered that when I fell asleep she had been crying. She was chained to the wall too. Both of us were resting on our knees.

"Lissa. Are you still okay?"

She nodded. "Are you?"

"Yes. How many days has it been?"

She looked around. There were dark circles under her eyes. "Four, I think." She looked at me. She looked scared. "Farkas, I heard them talking. They're bringing torturers."

I looked at her for a moment, then I nodded. "Tell me what to do, Lissa. Do I talk, or do I fight?" She didn't answer as we heard footsteps in the hall. She didn't have to. Her eyes said fight.

The door opened, and a bunch of Imperials walked in. They lined the room, but waited quietly as a group of high elves walked in. A man stepped toward us. No one else spoke while he did.

"Well, I see we'll be having fun today." He said, looking at us. "Two Nords unwilling to speak. Luckily for you, I make a living off of getting people to talk." He signaled for two men to step forward, and they did. One stood in front of each of us. "I'll make this very simple for you. I'll ask questions, and all you have to do is say 'yes' or 'no'. If you refuse to cooperate, you'll be shocked with several thousand volts of electricity."

I looked at Lissa, but she stared at the elf. Her jaw was locked. Ready for the pain. I sent a silent prayer to Kodlak, asking him to help.

"Alright then. We'll start easy." The elf said. He looked at me, then pointed to Lissa. "You. You live in Whiterun."

She stayed silent, staring at the elf still. He waited a moment, then nodded to the man in front of her. His hands started glowing, and then he zapped her. She screamed and her head flew back, but she didn't speak. Once the sparks stopped, Lissa coughed and spit, but she straightened back up, ready to take it again.

The elf laughed. "Ah, a tough one." He walked forward, and then he knelt beside her. "I'll let you in on a little secret, Nord. We already know the answers." Lissa laughed at him. We both knew it wasn't true.

The elf stood, and moved toward me. "Are you both Companions? You were found outside of Jorrvaskr, so we made assumptions." I ground my teeth together, ready to take the pain. It came quickly, and felt like it lasted for a year. I couldn't think, and all I felt was fire in my chest and in my brain. It stopped, and I pulled my head up. I looked at Lissa, nodding to her that I was fine. Her face was horrified.

The elf looked at Lissa again. "No cooperation? Not even on the easy questions." He clicked his teeth. "Fine, fine. No matter. We'll just move on to the harder questions." He took a breath. "Which city will Ulfric Stormcloak march on next?"

Neither of us answered because we didn't know, and we were both zapped. I could hear Lissa screaming over the buzzing in my brain, and when it was over, we both sat back up. The elf laughed.

"Alright, clearly we have to change our tactic. We're running out of magicka, and we'll need that later." He sent the mages away, and signaled for a new man to come forward. He had a dagger. "Perhaps, they're mute. Maybe they can't speak at all." He pointed to me, and the man walked behind me. I felt him press the blade to my ear, ready to cut it off.

"Who is the leader of Ulfric's advances? Who makes the plans?" The elf waited, but neither of us said anything. He shook his head, like he was disappointed, but then he nodded to the man behind me. He grabbed my ear, and I yelled as the sharp blade cut the top of my ear.

"Galmar! Galmar Stone-Fist." Lissa screamed beside me. The elf signaled for the man to stop. The man walked around to stand in front of us again, and I looked at Lissa. She looked at me like she was sorry, but her eyes told me what to do. Fight, but don't let each other get hurt. I nodded as the elf laughed.

"So she does speak." The elf kept laughing as he pointed to Lissa. The man stepped toward her, pinching her nose between his fingers and pressing the blade against it. "Alright. Do the Stormcloaks have a camp in Whiterun Hold?"

Lissa looked scared, but she didn't say anything. I didn't know the answer. When Lissa gasped, and I saw blood trickle down her nose, I spoke. "Yes."

The elf in charge stepped forward, pushing the man at Lissa's nose aside and replacing the blade with his own. He grabbed her nose hard, and looked at me. "Where?"

"Don't tell him." Lissa said. The elf shrugged at me, and began to cut the side of her nose again. There was more blood. Make something up. Make something up.

"The bottom of that big mountain." I told him, and he let go of Lissa's face. He crouched down beside her, running his hand against the side of her face. Lissa tried to move her face away, but she couldn't get too far away from him. He ran his fingers over her lips. "Get away from her." I said through my teeth, shaking against my chains.

The elf laughed, then patted Lissa's head. He ran his hand through her hair. "Very pretty." Then, he grabbed a fistful and cut it off with his dagger. Lissa winced, but recovered after a moment. The elf held the wad of Lissa's hair in front of her face, then tossed it at me.

He signaled for a big man to come forward. I felt my chain coming loose around my wrist. I took a second to count the amount of people in the room. Seventeen. If I could get loose, maybe I could fight enough off to give Lissa a moment to get free.

The big man stood in front of me, waiting for the elf to speak. He did after a minute. "What city will the Stormcloaks march on next?" I looked at Lissa, and she shook her head. She didn't know. I waited for the pain.

The man punched me in the face. My head whipped to the side, and I heard Lissa gasp. After a moment, I lifted my head again. The elf asked again. "What city will the Stormcloaks march on next?" No words.

He hit me again. I blinked, trying to make the purples and blues go away. Things were blurry, but I could mostly see. Lissa opened her mouth to speak, but I grunted at her. There would be no right answer. She would have to make something up. The elf asked again.

He hit me again. This time was very hard, and the purple came back. I heard blood hit the floor, flying from my mouth. Lissa started screaming for him to stop, and the elf laughed as he asked again.

Hit again. Lissa was yelling. "The Reach! Ulfric will march on the Reach next." The purple was everywhere, and I could smell something. My brother? Was my brother here?

Again. No, it was the dream. Vilkas was with his children in the dream. I was playing with hide and seek with them, and Lissa was laughing as she tried to find us. Even Vilkas was laughing along.

Again. Lissa was screaming, "Stop! Please! You're killing him!" Were they killing me? I saw Aela and Skjor, standing with each other. Then it was only Skjor, waiting for me with the wolves.

Again. A memory. Kodlak took us fishing, because Jergen never did. Kodlak showed us how to bait a hook, and how to cast a line. We never caught anything.

Again. Lissa was crying, but all I could see was Skjor. He stood in the field, his hands on his hips. He held his hand out for me, helping me get to him. A big man stood behind him. He had a skull for a head. Lissa read about him, Hircine. The Hunting Grounds.

Again. I was dying. Lissa was screaming and growling. I could hear her chains shaking. So loud. Too loud. I heard a laugh from somewhere in the room.

Again. A memory. I was holding Aela in my arms, kissing her neck. She laughed quietly against my bare chest. She was warm. But Skjor could see us from where he stood in the field. His heart was breaking. It was hurting him to watch. I was hurting him.

Again. A memory. Vilkas was crying. Kodlak was dead. Vilkas loves Lissa. Vilkas told my secret. I love Aela. Gods, I love Aela.

Again. The ground beside me shook, and I heard the chains rip from the walls. There was a howl. Was it the wolves, waiting for me?

There were no more hits. No more blows. All I heard were screams.

Then, it was black.