A dull ache spread from my temples on both sides. The pain would occasionally become sharp and cause my stomach to turn. I groaned as feeling started making its way through the rest of my body. It still ached from sleeping on the cold stone floor in my cell. I shook my head and the room span. One side of my head got hit by the bandit leader and the other side hit the bedframe. The resulting headache spread through my entire skull. Instinct told me to wake up and move around. Trying to move my arms around, I found my hands and feet were bound apart. My eyes shot open and panic set in. I was laying on a simple straw made bed. The room I'm is different and the be is much bigger than the one in the cage. My guess is that it's the bandit leader's bed. A cold chill crept up my spine as the realization of what is about to happen hit me. Talos, I don't know if I can make it through this again.
The door opened and the leader strode in. He had traded the steel plate armor for a pair of simple leather pants. Like any Nord, he was tall and muscular. He was more wiry like Vilkas, though. His head was shaved on both sides save a strip down the middle and a braid off to the side. His gait was confident as he strode over to the bed and looked me over viciously. Another chill made its way through me but I shoved it off and met his gaze.
"Hmmmm, it's been a long while since I've had a good strong Nord woman in my bed. I think we will have some fun. You women are hard to seduce and even harder to trap." I growled in response. He smiled evilly and climbed into the bed, straddling my hips. He tangled his fingers through my hair. Tightening his grip, he pulled my head to the side sharply. A pleased growl came from his throat as he spoke. "Good, I like them tough. Makes it much more fun to break." His accent came in thicker when he spoke.
His breath repulsed me and I pulled against the rope with my full strength. By Talos I am not letting this wretch of a man touch me. I'd rather be sent to the depths of Oblivion before I let him have me. He smiled a vile grin as he sat back up and looked down on me. I watched his hands slide down the the hem of the leather pants he was wearing. His thick fingers quickly worked on the ties that held them to his waist.
I am the Dragonborn, how did I end up in a situation like this?! That's it; I'm Dragonborn. A loud commotion similar to the one I heard earlier came from the other side of the door. The sound of weapons being drawn was new, however. The yelling grew louder and louder coming closer to the door. The man above me growled deeply.
"Damn good for nothing sons of bitches. I'm not going to let their stupid fights interrupt my fun," he muttered as he finally got the laces to his pants undone. I sucked in a breath and freely let the power I kept under a tight rein grow in my chest and throat. He started to slide his pants off his pants and he smiled disgustingly as he licked his lips. This time I smiled in return as I felt the raw power of my shout come off my lips.
"FUS RO DAH!" The power of the shout was so strong and sharp it shook the room. Everything that was loose went flying, including the bandit leader that had been looming over me. He hit the wall with a sickening thud that rang in my ears. A thick trail of blood and body tissue followed him down the wall as he slid to the floor. The commotion outside the door came to a sudden stop and everything became eerily silent.
Several moments passed steeped in the silence before the sound of footsteps heading towards the door echoed off the stone walls. I had shouted with as much power as I could muster and there is no way the rest of the bandit clan did not hear my shout. I tugged vehemently against the ropes that still bind me to the bed. Desperation painted my actions and the rope rubbed my joints raw. The only reason the rest of the bandits hadn't laid waste to me was because they knew their leader would want me. Someone started turning the handle to the door and immediate panic set into my bones. I desperately struggled to sit up and a gasp of pain forced itself out of my lips as I pulled on my shoulder to hard nearly pulling it out of place.
The door swung open and I glanced up to find Farkas standing there. Relief washed over me and I flopped back onto the bed. I bit down on the embarrassment that was threatening to engulf me and let the relief take over. The entire situation is embarrassing, but it's just Farkas and not the rest of the bandit clan.
"What did you get yourself into this time, little one," he asked as he pulled out a dagger and began cutting the ropes that held me to the bed. His rough voice roiled over my skin and I struggled to keep a blush from creeping its way up my cheeks. I grumbled a little at the pet name he gave me. He's called me that since I got myself trapped in Dustman's Cairn.
"Damned poison arrow. I'm getting that fucking armor that actually covers my arms as soon as I get back to Whiterun. Dammit. I hope I have enough since I won't be getting paid for this job." I pushed myself off the bed and rubbed at my raw wrists. Farkas walked over and draped his cloak over my shoulders and set to tying it around my neck. He chuckled.
"IF you're short, I'll pay for the rest." I looked up at him. That is the last thing I expected to come out of his mouth and I had to beat down that blush again.
"You don't have to do that Farkas. Besides, I want to work for it." He smirked and shook his head at me while finishing up the tie.
"You have. It's not your fault these bandits were smarter than the normal brutes. Vilkas will probably give me hell for it, but I don't care." I groaned and ran my hand through my hair forcefully.
"Fuck. For the love of Talos don't tell your brother what happened. I feel stupid enough and I'll never hear the end of it from him. He already thinks I'm incompetent and he'll try to get me thrown out of Jorrvaskr." He laughed and the sound filled the room. He clasped his hand on my shoulder.
"I won't tell him, but I don't know how in Oblivion you're gonna cover this up. Vilkas doesn't think that lowly of you. He just acts like it. Trust me. He's not the most open person in the world." I buried my face in my hands, trying to hide my shame. This is without a doubt the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to me.
"He sure as hell acts like I'm less than any of the other members of the Companions. It seems like he wants me out." He frowned deeply.
"I know he doesn't. You're still a whelp and he'll see you as such until you prove yourself to him. Trust me that's no easy task. It took Ria years before he stopped calling her a whelp and giving her the cold shoulder." I huffed and pulled the cloak tighter around myself.
"Let's go find my armor and get the hell out of here," I stated dropping the subject. I stalked past him and out the door into the main area of the cave. It took a few minutes before I found my gear stashed away in one of the many chests filling the room. I turned to check to make sure Farkas wasn't looking before pulling off the cloak and quickly pulling on my armor. Smiling, I shook out my shoulder. It feels good to be in armor again. My mind wandered back to Farkas and I paused.
"What are you doing here? Why did you come looking for me?" I asked suddenly. It makes no sense. He looked at me sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.
"I got worried. You've been gone nearly a week and you told me you were going to go do the job then immediately come back. This cave is only half a day's walk from Whiterun so it didn't make sense for you to be gone so long." I quickly turned to look at him.
"I've been gone almost a week?" a hint of shock tinted my voice. He sent me a curious look and my stomach tied itself in knots.
"You didn't know?" Panic washed over me again.
"I've only been awake for a day or two max!" my voice shook and cracked at the end.
"You said they poisoned you. You must have been unconscious for the rest of the time." I groaned and put my face in my hands. The room was spinning. I feel weak for the first time in a long time. I swore to myself years ago that I would NEVER let myself feel this way again. Tears threatened to make their way down my cheeks. The weight in my chest was nearly crushing as memory after memory flooded my mind again. Things I never wanted to think about again.
A strong hand on my shoulder snapped me out of the spiraling depths of my own memories. I looked up to find Farkas looking at me with concern on his face. My heart stuttered a beat despite nearing the depths of a self-pitying downward spiral.
"Are you alright?" his normally rough voice was somewhat soft. I nodded and forcefully shoved the tears back down. I will NOT be going there again anytime soon.
"I'm fine. Let's get back to Whiterun."