A/N: Merry Christmas everyone! I figured I needed to crank out another chapter as a gift for you guys, cuz I love you all. So here it is. As always, please tell me if anything is wrong with it (typos, grammar, etc.). Enjoy, and please drop a review telling me what you think!

Chapter 20

I sighed. Silas had gone to sleep while sunbathing, and now I was bored. I didn't want to wake him up, but itched to do something. I watched a hawk fly over, and sighed again when it disappeared from view. I rolled onto my side and slid from Silas' back.

I walked a ways, glanced over my shoulder to make sure Silas was asleep, and then took off at a run. I wanted to visit Whiterun and gather some supplies. I didn't want to go to High Hrothgar and have to live off of the Greybeards.

My sword tapped rhythmically against my thigh as my feet pounded the ground. It felt good to run. My lungs expanded with each breath, filled with crisp Spring air. I suddenly felt very alive. I smiled for no reason, happy for the first time in what felt like years. I was light and airy, my head up in the clouds.

I ran towards the mountains, intent on following the road leading to Whiterun. Eyes on the ground, I did my best to pick a safe path up and down the rocky hills. The sounds of my heavy breathing filled my ears, and I jogged on, unaware of the danger lying ahead.

I slowed to a stop, a strange sound meeting my ears. It took me a few seconds to place the sound, but when I did, I immediately dropped into a crouch and ducked behind a boulder. The sound continued. It was indistinct, but I would recognize it anywhere. Dragon speech.

I chanced a peek over the top of the boulder. A dragon burial mound lay ahead, surrounded by hills and a few trees. A large, dark form was hovering in the air over the mound, speaking words I couldn't understand. My breath left me in a rush, making my head spin. I slowly retreated behind the rock, cursing myself for leaving the relative safety of Silas' side.

Alduin. Here. Now. Alduin here now. ALDUIN HERE NOW! Three words echoing in my head. More followed. I'm going to die. This is it. I'm done for. My eyes slid closed. Calming darkness. Alduin's words continued, but they didn't make any sense to me.

Stop him, my brain commanded. Stop him before he resurrects another dragon. I forced myself into action. I took a deep, calming breath, opening my eyes slowly. The sun shone brightly, casting a light sheen over the world, bleaching all the colors into paler shades of their former selves.

Everything moved so slowly. I felt my body move of its own accord. My legs straightened as I stood, my hand reaching for the hilt of my Daedric sword. I drew it slowly, watching the sun glint off of the dark blade. My head turned, and I watched Alduin as he hovered.

My body turned, and soon I was walking. My eyes slowly rose and rested on the ebony scales of the mighty dragon before me. My legs carried me faster, and I broke into a jog, heading straight for the burial mound. I screamed at my muscles to stop, to turn and run to Silas, far over the hills. And yet I still charged towards the dragon.

Something else had taken control. Something screaming an unheard challenge at the black dragon. Something strong and powerful. I was getting close, and I could see that Alduin had noticed my presence. His head turned, agonizingly slow, and his bright crimson eyes sliced into mine.

"Zu'u lost daal, Dovahkiin. Daar Lein los dii." With that, he flew towards me. Whatever had taken control of me rose up, and as Alduin neared me, burst forth in the form of a shout.

"Yol toor shul!" Hot flame engulfed Alduin's body. I rolled, narrowly avoiding being crunched between his toothy jaws as he snapped at me from above. I stood, focusing on anticipating my opponents next move.

O.o.O

The ground shook beneath me, forcing me awake. A strange feeling swept over me. "Freya?" I called. No answer. I searched around, hoping to find her curled up somewhere, safe and asleep. The ground shook again, more violently.

"Freya!" Please, let her answer. Please, Mara. Let her be safe.

Nothing.

A glint of golden yellow at the edge of my vision caught my attention. I whipped my head around to look, and couldn't believe my eyes. At the foot of the mountain, far over the hills, I could barely make out Alduin's form circling over the forest edge. The trees were on fire.

I leapt into the sky, urgency causing me to fly as fast as I could towards the black dragon. I pushed myself hard, gaining speed quickly as I raced to the burning patch of forest.

Hurry, Silas, Mara spoke. I pushed harder. As I neared the dark dragon, I caught sight of Freya on the ground, doing her best to fight back. I roared, catching both her attention, and Alduin's. He looked surprised yet pleased, and opened his vile mouth to speak.

"Zeymah!" Alduin roared as I approached. "Drun me ek-"

I slammed into him before he had the chance to finish his sentence. I took advantage of his surprise, sinking my teeth into his shoulder just above his wing. We were suspended for a moment, but I managed to get my talons into the thin membrane of his right wing. They cut through like a knife through warm butter.

We fell from the sky like stones. I landed on top of Alduin, once again trying to get my claws into flesh. I felt him wriggling beneath me, his legs kicking, trying to find purchase on the smooth scales of my underbelly.

He roared in pain as I bit down harder on his shoulder. Warm blood seeped into my mouth, flowing like a river between my teeth. He was struggling desperately now, and finally managed to kick me off. We rolled, gathering our bearings before clashing again.

This time, Alduin managed to get his teeth into me, just beneath my wing. It didn't last long. I unleashed the fire within me, and he recoiled as the wave of heat buffeted him. We fell apart from each other, choosing to circle for a moment.

"Traitor!" Alduin shouted towards me. I chose not to answer, roaring at him instead. And then Freya chose to make her entrance.

"Fus ro dah!" She Shouted. Her Voice crashed into Alduin, knocking him off balance. I jumped onto him, pinning him to the ground and driving my teeth into his throat with as much force as I could muster. He shrieked, clawing at every inch of me he could reach.

"Slen tiid vo!" Alduin Shouted. I hesitated, wary of the effect his shout might have. But nothing happened. I bit down harder, eliciting another shriek, before I heard it.

The burial mound exploded, sending rocks and large chunks of earth in all directions. There was a deep, guttural growl, and a skeleton clawed its way out of the ground.

Alduin took advantage of my surprise, thrashing violently and throwing me off of him. I landed hard on my back, the breath sent quickly from my lungs. I rolled over, aware now of the painful gashes along my side, and faced Alduin.

He was focused on the other dragon, but watched me warily. I felt a hand on my side, providing gentle comfort and strength.

"Krii daar pahlok meyye!" With that, Alduin took off. I braced for another attack, but he merely turned and flew away. Coward, I thought. The dragon that had been left behind crawled forward to attack.

I wasted no time. I jumped, using my wings to sail farther, and landed on the ground before the dragon. I pounced, landing on the smaller dragon's back, twisting so that I had a clear shot at its neck. Just as I was about to sink my teeth in for the killing blow, something unexpected happened.

The dragon threw his head back, ramming the sharp points of its horns into my skull. The blow wasn't hard enough to break through the tough scales, but it caught me off guard. I recovered as quickly as possible, but by then the dragon had slithered out from beneath me.

And then, once again, Freya made her entrance. Just as the dragon was about to unleash its breath upon me, Freya came from the side and ducked underneath its head, ramming her sword up through the dragon's skull.

It was over before the dragon even realized it. It fell, and in that moment, I wondered if Alduin felt remorse. He had left this dragon alone to fight us, knowing very well that it would die by Freya's hands or my fire.

I knew that he didn't care. He cared only for himself. How could you kill something that felt no guilt? Something that could send thousands to die in his place with no second thought?

Translations: "Zu'u lost daal, Dovahkiin. Daar Lein los dii." - "I have returned, Dragonborn. This World is mine."

"Zeymah!" "Drun me ek-" - "Brother!" "Bring me her-"

"Krii daar pahlok meyye!" - "Kill these arrogant fools!"