Disclaimer: Still don't own Skyrim. Never will.

A/N: Thanks to all the reviewers. I almost cried reading the reviews I got because I'm weird. Sue me. Lol. Anyway, this chapter's out sooner than I thought it would be. Reviews make me want to write more. :) So a big thanks to all of you awesome peeps who gave me their two cents. I'm glad you all like it. If there are any mistakes, please let me know. Anyway, we continue the adventures of Freya the Dragonborn and Silas the Mysteryman. Enjoy. :)

Chapter 4

Alduin swooped over my head, so close I could feel the wind from his passing. His roar was like the crashing of a raging sea, deadly and powerful. I was drowning in the mists, unable to see more than three steps ahead of me, panicking in my solitude.

I ran. I didn't know where I was going, or what I might find. I just ran. But my fear was gaining on me. Tears streamed down my face, my breath came in short gasps, my feet stumbled on the path. I was hopeless. All alone in this nightmare, unable to escape. Alduin roared again, closer this time. He was coming for me.

There was something ahead in the mist. I couldn't see it, but I felt that it was there. Something terrible. I stumbled to a halt, too afraid to move. The mists began to clear. A great horned head rose above the straggling water droplets, a gout of hot fire erupting from its mouth. I screamed.

I was still screaming when I woke up, thrashing around on the bed. I sat bolt upright, quivering and drenched in sweat. Just a dream, I told myself. The same dream you've been having since High Hrothgar. Just a dream.

My heart pounded, threatening to break out of my chest. I put a hand to my forehead, wiping away the sheen of sweat that had formed there. After disentangling myself from the sheets, I stood gazing around the room. My armor was in a heap on the floor next to the bed, and my weapons left a trail towards the door.

I collected my things and decided to get some breakfast. The smell of food wafted into my nostrils as soon as I opened the door. I swallowed, deciding that I would treat myself to a sweet roll if the innkeeper had any. And I was in luck. Mralki handed over the sweet roll, and I took one look at it before wolfing it down as quickly as possible.

"Someone's hungry," I heard from behind me. Silas walked towards where I was sitting at the bar, a grin spread across his lips. "You've got some, uh…" he trailed off, pointing to his chin. I swallowed the last mouthful before rubbing my sleeve over my mouth and chin.

Truthfully, I was embarrassed about being such a messy eater. I hoped Silas couldn't see the blush forming on my cheeks. I asked Mralki for some water, and he slid a cup over the counter towards me. I nodded my thanks before gulping it down.

"So when do you want to leave for Markarth?" Silas asked. I stared at the wood of the counter, following the grains with my eyes as they swirled and danced around each other.

"What time is it?" I asked, looking over at Silas.

"It's a little after midday," he replied.

"WHAT?" I screamed. "You let me sleep that long? We should have been gone HOURS ago!" I jumped up from the counter and ran to my room, slipping my armor on and collecting my weapons. I ran back to the counter, brought out a handful of gold coins from a pouch at my hip, threw them on the counter, and then ran outside.

The sun, always a show off, was extremely bright. After the dim interior of the inn, I was blinded. Why does this always happen to me? I stood just outside rubbing my aching eyes when Silas walked out of the inn. I cursed his ability to be so calm about everything.

As I regained my sight, I checked to make sure I had all of my things. After I'd checked and double checked, I walked down the steps of the inn and into the sunshine. I headed left, down the path we had come by, intending on taking a shortcut I had discovered a few weeks ago. I checked to make sure Silas was behind me. Our eyes met as I glanced back, and I sensed that he was greatly amused by the events of the day.

"Is something funny?" I asked, raising my eyebrows as I spoke. He laughed.

"Just you." He replied.

"And what is it that's so funny about me, hmm?" I stopped and turned towards him.

"Just about everything." My eyes narrowed as I bristled at his comment.

"Really now. Just because I panicked because I overslept and I'm a slob when I eat doesn't mean I'm funny." I stuck a steel-covered finger in his face.

"It's not just that," he said. "It's everything."

"Well I'm glad I'm so hilarious," I snarled. "Let's get a move on. We're wasting daylight."

I turned away from him, only to hear soft laughter. I whirled around on him with my gauntleted fist raised, intent on breaking his pretty little nose. But that only made him laugh harder. I shook my fist threateningly, and he raised his arms to cover his face.

It's not worth it, I told myself. I turned and stalked away. I could hear him behind me, gasping to regain his breath. My blood boiled. I desperately wanted to kill something. Just keep walking. Just keep walking, I repeated the short sentence in my head, and eventually my rage subsided.

We had turned right onto the shortcut a while back, and the steep dirt path we walked was beginning to disappear. I knew Serpent's Bluff Redoubt was somewhere on our right. It was probably packed full of Forsworn, and I really didn't feel like wasting energy fighting them.

"Silas," I whispered, turning to him. "We have to be careful right here. There's a Forsworn camp just up on the other side of those rocks, and I don't really feel like fighting them. Be quiet and keep low." He nodded, a serious look on his face.

I shifted my stance to a crouch and crept forward, trying to be as silent as possible. So we moved on, and the dirt path we followed disappeared. We passed by some jagged rocks, and I knew that the camp was on the other side. I tried to move faster while staying quiet, and eventually we left the camp behind.

When I felt it was safe to do so, I straightened from my crouch, stretching my cramped leg muscles. Silas, who had been silent as death the entire time, heaved a sigh.

"That was fun," he stated. I shot him a glare and set off farther up the mountain. When we came to a cliff, I angled left and headed down the part that was less steep. The dirt path picked up again about halfway down, and we followed it to the bottom.

"Ta da!" I said excitedly. "There's the road to Markarth." I smiled at Silas, my earlier anger forgotten. We took a right on the road, and as the sun began to color the sky in shades of rose pink, orange, and red, we followed the path to Markarth.