Okay, so I think I love you guys. There have been 109 views for this story and in 13 different countries. Plus I got two more reviews! Many thanks to OppasYeobo and MadamHyde!

Not much (read: absolutely no) action this chapter, but we do get lots of information from our dear Rysta! Riverwood is in this chapter, and expect a more few familiar faces as we hit chapter four. We'll be in Whiterun the next go around.

Enjoy and don't forget to review!

The Elder Scrolls is © Bethesda. I own nothing you recognize.

We hadn't taken three steps beyond the cave when we heard the dragon's screech. Ralof grabbed my shoulders – I was suddenly very glad I'd healed myself earlier – and hid us both behind a rock.

"Get down!"

I peered out from behind the boulder, watching as the giant black body slowly flew away, back towards the mountains. I released a breath I didn't know I'd been holding as soon as the dragon disappeared behind some clouds far in the distance.

"Looks like he's gone for good this time," Ralof said, his gaze searching the horizon for any sign of the dragon's return. I tapped his arm before starting to walk away.

"Yes, well, I'd rather not stick around to see if he comes back," I replied, starting down the path ahead of us. I heard him jog until he caught up with me, our footsteps the only sound to be heard for a good few minutes.

"Where are we?" I finally asked, my normally excellent sense of direction failing me. I blamed it on the stress of the day.

"Hmm, based on Bleak Falls Barrow, the ruin on that mountain across from us," he pointed towards giant arches that stuck out of the side of the peak, ones I'd failed to notice upon us first getting out of the cave, "and how far out of Helgen we are, I'd say Riverwood is the closest town. Probably a couple hours out by foot."

Riverwood. I'd been there quite a bit when I was younger. Sorex and I had been good friends with the lumberjack there and had used her mill to supply the wood we needed to work on the house we were building at the time. I hadn't been there in years.

"There used to be a woman there named Gerdur." I said as I stopped to pick some blue mountain flowers, putting them into my pack. I would need to make some health potions if we were going to be travelling more and I didn't want to spend what little gold I'd found inside the keep. "She helped me and my husband build our house a few years back. Even gave us a good price on the wood since we bought so much." I finished my picking to notice Ralof staring at me, a smile on his face. I eyed him, confused. "What?"

"Two things. First, I think that's the most you've spoken since I met you," he said, chuckling. I rolled my eyes. "And secondly, Gerdur happens to be my sister. I have no doubt she'll be willing to help you again, especially after today." It was my turn to smile as we continued down the well-worn footpath. I'd remembered Gerdur telling me of her younger brother once and now that I knew who he was, I could see the strong family resemblance. Both had prominent noses and full lips, as well as wide, strong shoulders.

"You know," Ralof said, interrupting my thoughts, "The Stormcloaks are recruiting in Windhelm. I've seen you fight. You're good and would make an excellent soldier. We could use someone like you." His eyes were hopeful as he turned his head to face me. I sighed, shifting the weight of my pack.

"Ralof, I'm not a Nord and this is not my fight. Besides, this war is pointless and will serve no purpose other than to end the lives of twice as many Nords as any other conflict. Can't you just… team up with the Empire to take down the Thalmor? They seem to be the biggest threat here."

The hulking Nord stopped and stared, mouth agape. His face grew angry. "This isn't your fight? How long have you lived in Skyrim? Tell me."

I averted my eyes. "I lived here for nine years before I left for Cyrodiil again."

"So, almost a decade. And have you not seen the oppression the Empire has caused? The banning of Talos worship? The stealing away of innocent people in the middle of the night? The public executions?"

We were walking again, slower this time. "You know good and well that the Empire, if it was as strong as it used to be, would not have allowed any of that to happen. What you just listed are all things the Thalmor have either had their hand in or are responsible for directly." I stared at him. "Besides," I added. "If I joined the Stormcloaks, it would just give the Thalmor one more reason to want me dead."

That seemed to snap him out of his revolutionary thoughts. "When we were on the cart heading to the block, you panicked when I mentioned them and covered your face when you saw their soldiers. Why?"

We'd stopped at a cluster of standing stones, the Guardian Stones. I gazed at the three constellations carved into the rock: Warrior, Thief, and Mage. I laid my hand on the Warrior stone, praying for strength. Warmth ran through my blood for a moment before receding, leaving me with a feeling of contentment.

"My mother, Irinwe, is sister to Ancano, one of the Thalmor agents stationed here. She fell in love with my father, Gaban, a Breton, almost four decades ago. Well, Altmer families, especially those among the inner Thalmor circles, are very strict on keeping a pure bloodline, so they said no to their marriage. Shortly after this decision was made, my parents ran away and eloped. Mother never looked back. Her family discovered some years later that she and her husband had fled to Bruma and had a child, almost grown."

Ralof eyed me as we continued walking, his gaze penetrating. "That was you."

I nodded. "I was twenty when Bruma was attacked by the Thalmor. It was my first time seeing death and destruction, for we had lived a fairly quiet life up until that point. Everything was destroyed- the Chapel of Talos, the homes, the streets. We thought it was just their soldiers taking over one of the last cities in Cyrodiil not in Thalmor hands, and that may have been the reasoning on the surface, but the minute my parents saw Ancano, they knew."

Understanding dawned on the Nord's face. "They were after your family." He was silent for a moment. "Where are your parents now?"

I flinched. What was it with this Nord and his perceptive questions? "They're dead, killed by bandits almost as soon as we crossed the border into Skyrim. I had gone off ahead, having seen a small pond to bathe in. By the time I got back, they were dead, their valuables and the gold we needed for shelter looted off their bodies." A deep sigh escaped my lungs. "I'd really rather not talk about this anymore. But can you see why I don't want to join this conflict? The Thalmor will find me, and they will kill me this time." A sudden thought struck me as we crossed a bridge, making me stop in my tracks. Ralof stopped as well, turning to face me.

"What is it?"

"Those Thalmor agents at Helgen. They saw my face when I was speaking with Hadvar and the captain. I stared them down. They know I'm alive. And if they know, Ancano will know soon enough." I looked up at him, my eyes wide. "Please tell me you had a sudden, fierce hatred for Altmer in black robes while you were running through Helgen. Did you see any of them get killed?"

Ralof looked over my head for a moment, thinking. "I know one of them was killed by a Sormcloak, and another was caught in the dragon's fire. That's two. How many were there?"

I sighed, closing my eyes and pinching the bridge of my nose. "Three. Two men and a woman."

Ralof stepped toward me, putting his hand on my shoulder. I looked up. "Rysta," he said, using my name for the first time. "There is every chance in the world that last Thalmor didn't make it out alive. They wore close to no armor and were standing practically underneath the tower the dragon landed on. A stone probably squished the last one."

I chortled at the Nord, the childish word "squished" incongruous with the large man standing before me.

"You're probably right," I responded as we continued on our way. I smirked. "Too quick of a death, if you ask me." Ralof burst into laughter.

The rest of our journey consisted of friendly conversation, mostly focused on him and his adventures with Ulfric Stormcloak. It wasn't long before the small stone-and-wood gate leading into Riverwood came into sight, the guards posted on either side of the entrance nodding to us as we walked through, like a dragon hadn't just flown by and destroyed a nearby town. It was incredibly surreal.

We found Gerdur hard at work at the mill, just as I'd seen her the last time I'd been here a decade ago. She didn't see us for a few minutes, and Ralof had to clear his throat to get her to turn around. Seeing her brother, her face broke out into a smile and she abandoned a half-cut log in favor of hugging him.

"Ralof! My brother, it is so good to see you again!"

Ralof smiled, hugging his sister back just as tightly. "Gerdur, you have no idea how glad I am to see you. But I'm not here alone. I brought a friend."

I took that as my cue to emerge from the shadows. The Nord woman tilted her head, obviously not sure who I was. I looked around real quick, making sure no Thalmor were nearby, and removed my helmet, releasing my silvery hair and pointed ears. It was at this point Gerdur remembered who I was, for she immediately strode over and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug.

"Rysta," she nearly murmured, the quietness of her voice unnerving me a bit. This woman was rarely silent. "I had no idea what happened to you after your house burnt down. I thought you dead!" She squeezed me tighter at this point, making me squeak. I looked over her shoulder to Ralof, my eyes pleading for mercy. The man grinned at me.

"She will be dead if you keep trying to break her in half like that," he quipped to his sister. Gerdur immediately released me, although she kept her hands on my shoulders, looking me over from an arms' length away.

"You've lost weight again. Come on; let's go up to the house. We can talk more freely there and it'll give me a chance to put some meat on those bones. Hod!" A man chopping firewood not too far away looked up. "I need you to watch the mill for me for a while. I'm heading up to the house." The man nodded. "You got it. Ralof," Hod said, pausing in his chopping to wave, "good to see you again!" Ralof returned the gesture as I placed my helmet back on my head.

"Wait, that's Hod?" I exclaimed, looking back over my shoulder as we headed through town. "He was so skinny the last time I saw him!" Both siblings laughed.

"Being married to me has a way of bulking you up," Gerdur replied. I gaped.

"You married him?" She nodded.

"We have a son, too. Stubborn headed like his father. I'm sure you'll run across Frodnar sooner or later."

Gerdur took a key out of her pocket and unlocked the door to a home on the eastern edge of town, easily the biggest building here, not counting the shops and inn. Walking inside, we immediately faced the fireplace, with a cutting table and shelves taking up the left wall. A dining table sat over to the right, with a dresser, wardrobe, and two beds taking up the second half of the home. It was humble, but beautiful in its simplicity. I instantly adored it.

"Both of you sit down at the table and I'll get you something to eat," Gerdur instructed. Ralof and I eagerly took our seats, our stomachs rumbling. We hadn't had any food since we'd been in the caverns, and the smell of whatever she was making was absolutely divine.

"Okay," she said, placing two steaming bowls of what looked to be beef stew in front of us, "tell me what's going on." So we did. We told her of our capture, "rescue", and eventual escape, leaving out not a single detail, all in between bites of her delicious stew, which she refilled our bowls with twice.

"A dragon? In Helgen? That can't be," Gerdur muttered, taking our bowls and placing them near the fireplace. "Although… it does explain what I saw earlier."

"What did you see?" Ralof asked, wiping his mouth with a provided cloth.

"Well, it was this great black mass flying down the valley from the south."

I nodded. "That sounds like our dragon. He was headed north the last time Ralof and I saw him." Gerdur sighed, her head in one hand and her hip in the other- the absolute picture of exasperation.

"Things just seem to go from bad to worse. First this war, and now dragons. What are we going to do?"

"Nothing for tonight," her brother asserted. "Tonight, we're all going to sleep in warm beds with our bellies full of delicious food and not think on this again until the morning." I agreed with Ralof wholeheartedly and after saying good bye to Gerdur for the night, we soon found ourselves at Riverwood's inn, The Sleeping Giant. The proprietress was an ever-suspicious Breton woman, Delphine, but she gave us our rooms without much fuss. I would have asked to have water drawn for a bath, but I was much too tired and I could always bathe in the river if we ended up leaving early in the morning. Ralof and I shuffled off to our respective bedrooms and I immediately removed my armor as soon as I'd locked the door. Clothed in nothing but my underthings, I slipped in between the blanket and the animal fur mattress and put my head on the pillow. I was out within seconds.