Chapter 3: The land called Skyrim
A/N: Thanks for the nice reviews guys! And I also saw some people are following this story; that's so nice of you :3 Well, here's the next chapter! :D (Warning: Contains cheesy goodbye :P)
While we are walking through the wilderness I glance at Ralof. "Sarafina." I say out loud. He stops and looks at me. "What?" I extend my hand. "I'm Sarafina." He grins and shakes my hand. "I'm Ralof. I wish we could've met under better circumstances." I chuckle. "Same here." We walk further, and come across three big boulders with symbols carved in. "These are the guardian stones." Ralof explains. I walk to the boulder on the left, where a hooded figure is carved in. Laying my hand on it, a tingling feeling spreads through my whole body. The whole boulder glows for a second, and Ralof smirks. "Thief eh? It's never too late to change your fate." I shake my head. "No.. I like this one. Feels right." Ralof shrugs. "If you say so."
After a few minutes of walking Ralof points at a big building on the mountain across the river. He tells me it's Bleak Falls Barrow, and how it always gave him nightmares. I just stare at it. It does look a bit intimidating. An half an hour later we arrive in Riverwood. The place seems calm, it looks like nobody heard what happened yet. Ralof gives me the same comment and leads me to the mill, where a young blond Nord woman stands. "Gerdur!" Ralof exclaims happily. The woman smiles seeing Ralof and hugs him. "Brother! Mara's mercy, It's good to see you.. But is it safe for you to be here? We heard that Ulfric had been captured..." She spots his expression and suddenly examines every inch of his face. "Are you hurt? What's happened?" Ralof softly pulls his sister's hands away from him. "Gerdur... Gerdur, I'm fine. At least now I am." He turns to me and smiles. Gerdur looks at me. "And who's this? One of your comrades?"
I smile at her. "I'm Sarafina. Nice to meet you Gerdur." Ralof chuckles. "And she not a comrade yet, but a friend. I owe her my life, in fact." He suddenly looks suspicious. "Is there somewhere we can talk? There's no telling when the news from Helgen will reach the Imperials..." Gerdur nods understandingly. "You're right. Follow me."
She leads us to a calm spot near the river, and calls out for someone called Hod to come down here. A deep male voice calls back. "What is it, woman? Sven drunk on the job again?" Gerdur sighs and rolls her eyes. "Hod. Just come here." I see a man in a white blouse looking down from the mill. As soon as he sees Ralof, his eyes grow big in surprise. "Ralof! What are you doing here? Ah... I'll be right down."
Suddenly a little boy with short blond hair comes running towards us, a grey dog happily walking behind him. "Uncle Ralof! Can I see your axe? How many Imperials have you killed? Do you really know Ulfric Stormcloak?" A smile creeps up my face while I sit down at a tree stump. This boy reminds me a lot of an old friend of mine, Anna, a younger Woodelf girl that never shut up. Gerdur gives the boy a stern look. "Hush, Frodnar. This is no time for your games. Go and watch the south road. Come find us if you see any Imperial soldiers coming." The boy's face turns to a pout. "Aw, mama, I want to stay and talk with Uncle Ralof!" Ralof suddenly begins to laugh and he ruffles the boy's hair. "Look at you, almost a grown man! Won't be long before you'll be joining the fight yourself." Frodnar smiles brightly. "That's right! Don't worry, Uncle Ralof, I won't let those soldiers sneak up on you." He dashes away, the dog on his heels.
Ralof chuckles, watching his nephew run to the edge of the village, where he stands proudly like a guard. Hod comes walking towards us and Ralof sits down next to me on the tree stump. Hod eyes us both, as well as the scars we got from our little adventure. "Now, Ralof, what's going on? You two look pretty well done in." Ralof sighs, taking a hand through his blond hair. "I can't remember when I last slept.." He sits up. "Where to start? Well, the news you heard about Ulfric was true. The Imperials ambushed us outside Darkwater Crossing. Like they knew exactly where we'd be. That was... two days ago, now. We stopped in Helgen this morning, and I thought it was all over. Had us lined up to the headsman's block and ready to start chopping." Gerdur grits her teeth.
"The cowards!"
Ralof smirks lightly. "They wouldn't dare give Ulfric a fair trial. Treason, for fighting for your own people! All of Skyrim would have seen the truth then. But then... out of nowhere..." He falls silent and I decide to tell them.
"A dragon attacked."
Gerdur's and Hod's eyes grow big in surprise. "You don't mean, a real, live..." croaks Gerdur softly. I nod, and Ralof speaks up again. "I can hardly believe it myself, and I was there. As strange as it sounds, we'd be dead if not for that dragon. In the confusion, we managed to slip away." He blinks a few times and turns to his sister. "Are we really the first to make it to Riverwood?" Gerdur nods. "Nobody else has come up the south road today, as far as I know."
Ralof sighs in relief. "Good. Maybe we can lay up for a while." He gives Gerdur a worried look. "I hate to put your family in danger, Gerdur, but..." Gerdur raises a hand, silencing her brother. "Nonsense. You and your friend are welcome to stay here as long as you need to." My eyes grow big. I just met this woman and she's letting me stay in her house? "But what about the Imperials?" I ask. "Let me worry about the Imperials." She smiles. "Any friend of Ralof's is a friend of mine." I bow my head to thank her. Ralof smiles as well. "Thanks, sister. I knew we could count on you." Gerdur cracks her back, and I hear a soft "pop" noise. "I ought to get back to work before I'm missed, but..." Gerdur looks at her brother. "Did anyone else escape? Did Ulfric..." Ralof chuckles. "Don't worry. I'm sure he made it out. It'll take more than a dragon to stop Ulfric Stormcloak." Hod claps his hands together. "I'll let them into the house and, you know, show them where everything is..." Gerdur chuckles.
"Hmph. Help them drink up our mead, you mean." Me and Ralof give a light chuckle at this. "Good luck, brother. I'll see you later." Ralof gives his sister a warm smile. "Don't worry about me. I know how to lay low." Gerdur smiles back and turns to me. "There's something you can do for me. For all of us here. The Jarl needs to know if there's a dragon on the loose. Riverwood is defenceless... We need to get word to Jarl Balgruuf in Whiterun to send whatever troops he can. If you'll do that for me, I'll be in your debt." I nod. "Of course. I don't want that thing coming here and killing more innocent people." Suddenly a loud yawn escapes my lips. Gerdur smiles. "You must be very tired. Come, you can sleep at my house." She leads me to a nice wooden cabin, and hands me a key. "It's the spare one. You're welcome to come any time you like."
I give her a thankful smile. "Thank you Gerdur. You're too kind." She only smiles at the compliment and opens the door. The whole place immediately reminds me of these cosy homes from the stories my mother used to tell me before bed. Gerdur motions to a bed standing in a corner. "Feel free to lay down. I wake you when we have dinner." I sit down on the bed after putting my satchel and weapons on the floor. "Thank you again Gerdur." Again, she just smiles. She walks out and I lay down. After finding a comfortable positon, I close my eyes and let myself drift into sleep.
*Timeskip brought to you by the Riverwood trader; Where junk is a treasure*
I can almost hear my consciousness say "You know what? Let's have a nightmare! Those are fun!" So of course I'm pulled into the twisted realm of Vaermina, and have to relive the worst days of my life again and again. The bullying, the day my dad died, the day my mom died, the day I had to leave everything behind and go to Skyrim. But this time this day visits my dreams as well. How many times do I see the dragon eat or burn people? I see myself wade through the blood of the deceased, hearing the voices of the people cry out every time I step on a head or limb. Suddenly the dragon lands in front of me. I try to run away, but my legs are stuck in the swamp of dead bodies. "Ahnok mal fahliil.. (Hello little elf..) Nuk wah luft zey? (Ready to face me?)" I whimper softly. The dragon throws his head back and laughs. "Hi skem zey fahliil. (You amuse me elf.) Hi vis ni kos gein, fah hi vankar kril zii. (You can't be the one, for you lack the brave spirit.) Nuz tul, Zu'u vis ni saraan wah ken hin slen. (But still, I can't wait to taste your flesh.)" And with those words he pounces on me. Suddenly a loud voice rings through my head.
"Sarafina, wake up!"
I open my eyes to see Ralof standing next to the bed. "Are you alright? You were crying in your sleep." I sit up, and wipe my eyes. He's right, I have been crying. I shiver, and he puts a hand on my shoulder. "Nightmare?" I nod silently. He nods understandingly. "I see. I would've been surprised if you didn't have nightmares about that beast." Suddenly I wrap my arms around him in a hug. At first he freezes at the sudden contact, but soon he hugs me back. "There, there.. It's okay.." I mumble something in his shirt, but he doesn't ask me about it. When I let go, he coughs softly, a faint blush on his face. (A/N: Nope. They are NOT going to be a couple. Shut up and read the story. :P) "What time is it?" I ask. "Around half past 8. At morning." I nod, and get up from the bed. "Well. Better got to go eat some breakfast and go to Whiterun I guess." Ralof nods and we sit down at the table. "Gerdur and Hod are at the mill already?"
"Yup. Since 7 o'clock." I chuckle. "They're hard workers." Ralof just grins and passes me a loaf of bread. After breakfast I pick up my satchel and open it. Finding the little white bag, I give a sigh of relief. I still have my reason to come here in the first place. I put it back and pick up the my weapons. Before I open the door, I glance at Ralof. "You're not coming to Whiterun huh?" He shakes his head. "Too many Imperials. They'll recognize me as Ulfric's guard in no time. Nah, I'll go to Windhelm this afternoon." This makes my stomach hurt for a second. "I guess this is goodbye then?" Ralof nods, and I glomp him again. "I'll miss you.. Thanks for everything"
Ralof chuckles softly. "Don't worry, we'll meet again someday." He lets go of me. "Maybe when you decide to join the Stormcloaks." I grin. "Maybe someday." I hug him for the last time. "Goodbye Ralof." He pats my back. "Goodbye Sarafina. Until we meet again."
*Time skip to Sarafina on her way to Whiterun.*
"Oh, would you stop it already?!" I shout in frustration as I see another wolf running my way. Having no time to speak to the savage beast, I slash at his neck. With a high pitched whine, the animal drops dead. "Ugh. These things don't know when to stop. Can't they see I'm just walking here?!" Grumbling, I sheath my sword and continue walking. Seeing the city walls in the distance, I give a little squeal. I'm almost there! After a while I see the walls up close. By Azura, those walls are high! Nothing like Valenwood at all. When I try to go to the gate, I'm stopped by a guard. "Halt. No visitors with the dragons about. Official business only." I swallow, gathering my courage. "I have news from Helgen." Although his face is covered by a helmet, I can almost see his eyebrows go up in surprise. "You have? You better get in and see the Jarl up in Dragonsreach." I give him a nod, and he opens the gates for me. Immediately I gasping over the city. It looks so.. big! "I hope I don't get lost.." I murmur and I begin walking through the city.
Since it's early, the market has just started. I glance at the few stalls, the scent of warm bread, fruits and meat filling my nose. A shopkeeper smiles at me, and holds up a necklace. "A beautiful necklace for a beautiful lady!" I grin. They are kinda nice here. A dark skinned man stops next to me at a fruit stall. "Hello." I greet and he smiles at me. "Do you get to the Cloud district very often?" (A/N: Wait for it.. XD) Before I can answer, he chuckles. "Oh, what am I saying? Of course you don't." And he walks away. I stare at his back, feeling my eye twitch in anger. EXCUSE me?! Well, there goes my opinion about nice people here. I grumble and walk on to Dragonsreach.
A/N: Yeaaah.. Gonna end this chapter here. Sorry. :D Writers block is being mean to me.. -_- See you guys in the next chapter! ;D
