Alexis grunted as she tore her blade from the giant's head. She cleaned it by plunging it into the ground and slowly pulling it back out. She then sighed as she gazed at the five dead bodies in front of her; two giants and three mammoths. She had been watching these two giants since they had first set up their camp, two years prior. She had been reluctant to kill them as they had not posed an immediate threat to her family, safe inside her home, Lakeview Manor, half a mile away. But recently the mammoths had begun wandering off, and the giants would search dangerously close to the property. Alexis had decided she had no choice; if the giants wandered too close to the house one day and were provoked, her family could be at risk.
Alexis sheathed her Skyforge Steel sword, which she always carried with her and which she had named Gray-mane, after her late mentor and the creator of the sword, Eorlund Gray-mane. The best blacksmith in Skyrim, Eorlund could have made a wooden sword effective in combat. His skill, along with Alexis's membership into the Companion's, a group of morally guided mercenaries for whom Eorlund forged weapons, had prompted her to seek him as a mentor.
Alexis quickly scanned the surrounding area, and upon perceiving no additional threats, searched the giants' chest, managing to scavenge nearly five-hundred septims. This, in addition to the large amount of mammoth cheese and milk she had earlier obtained, would help Alexis feed her family for several weeks.
As Alexis began the journey back to her home, she thought of her family. Her husband Farkas, a former Companion, who loved Alexis far more than she could ever love him back. Alexis was unhappy with Farkas, something for which she hated herself, as he was kind and respectful to her and desired only for Alexis to feel for him as he felt for her. He did not deserve her cruelty, yet he had continued to be loyal to her for the last three years. Then there was Lucia, Alexis's eldest daughter, who would be eighteen in three days. She dreamed of enlisting in the Imperial Army, to fight in the war against the Aldmeri Dominion, and though a person was only required to be fifteen, Alexis had demanded she wait three more years. Sofie, the middle daughter, who was sixteen, wanted simply to stay at home and find a husband and start a family. Then there was Blaise, Alexis's only son, who was already eighteen and had moved into Breezehome in Whiterun to be closer to his girlfriend, Dagny, the daughter of Jarl Balgruuf. And then there was Astrid, four years old, and Alexis and Farkas's only non-adopted child, named after Alexis's preceding leader of The Dark Brotherhood whom, unbeknownst to Farkas, she had been in love with prior to her betrayal and death. There was also Sven and Lydia, Alexis's steward and housecarl, respectively. Sven served the family in their home, making meals, cleaning, and watching over the children. Lydia assisted with this, but had at one time been Alexis's traveling companion.
As Alexis approached her home, Lakeview Manor, she could see Sven tending to her horses, Allie and Shadowmere, and Lucia's horse, Swift. Alexis had always thought it funny that at fourteen years old Lucia had given her horse a name that would, in a few years, prove to be so accurate. Swift, now four years old, was likely one of the fastest horses in all of skyrim, and perhaps even Tamriel.
Alexis warmly greeted her loyal steward, who did the same in return, as she entered through the front door. As soon as she entered the house, Alexis was greeted by Astrid, who was holding Ella, her pet fox. Alexis deposited her loot in proper storage containers, and then she picked up her youngest daughter, hugging her.
"Mommy, did you bring me back anything?," Astrid questioned.
"No sweetheart, not this time," Alexis replied, exhaustion clearly showing in her voice. "But tomorrow I am traveling to Whiterun to help Blaise and Dagny prepare for their stay here. I'll bring something back for you." Alexis set Astrid down, gently so as to not upset Ella.
"Yay. I love you mommy," Astrid squealed in excitement as she ran off the play with her fox.
Astrid entered the kitchen where Farkas was preparing dinner. "What are we having honey?".
"Mammoth stew. It's your favorite," Farkas said with a smile as he leaned to give Alexis a quick peck on the lips.
"Yes, that it is. Thank you," Alexis said, smiling half-heartedly, as she pulled away from the kiss early.
Farkas frowned for a second, but quickly smiled again. Alexis knew that he was fully aware of her lack of feelings for him, yet he was always patient and kind to her. But Alexis could see he was suffering. All he wanted was for her to return his feelings, and while she did care for him deeply, she could not love him as he loved her.
"So how did your hunting go? Did you take care of the giants?," he asked.
Alexis just nodded. She kissed Farkas on the cheek and left, claiming "I'm going to go say hi to our daughters."
She went across the hall to the training room, where she could hear blades clashing on the other side of the doorway. She entered to find Lydia training Lucia in dual wielding.
"In the Imperial Army you will have a shield, but if for some reason you ever lose it in battle, knowing how to dual wield may save your life," Lydia was telling her as she swung one sword, which Lucia blocked, and another which prompted Lucia to duck.
"Yes, because my second sword can be used both for blocking and fighting," Lucia grunted as she, still ducking, swung one sword at Lydia's leg, knocking her down. She then stood and swung her other sword at Lydia's head, stopping before the blade touched her.
As Lucia helped Lydia to her feet, she noticed Alexis standing in the doorway. "Hello mother," she said, grinning.
"That was very good Lucia. If you continue like this, you will be a valuable soldier. And both Lydia and your father have taught you very well," Alexis said, smiling proudly at her daughter.
"Thank you Alexis," Lydia stated, accepting the praise.
"Thank you mother. But you also have taught me a lot," Lucia stated.
"Yes, well I want to ensure you have the best chance when you are fighting the Aldmeri Dominion," Alexis said. "Well, I just wanted to check on you, and now I'll go find Sophie."
"She is in her room, I believe," Lucia claimed as Alexis left.
Alexis headed toward Sophie's room, but upon reaching the door, she could hear crying on the other side. She entered the room, set on finding out what was wrong. Sophie was sitting in her bed, sobbing.
"Sophie, what is wrong," Alexis asked, sitting next to her.
Sophie looked at her, startled by her appearance in her room. "Nothing mother, I'm fine."
"No, Sophie you're obviously not. Explain to me what you're crying about," Alexis said, hugging her daughter.
"I don't want to die," Sophie sobbed.
"What do you mean? You're not going to die anytime soon Sophie," Alexis looked at her daughter, confused.
"With this war, Skyrim has become a dangerous place to live. We are in constant fear of attack. I have so much that I have not done in my short life and I don't want to die. I want to get married and have a family, and perhaps even travel Tamriel," Sophie cried.
"And you will get to do all those things and more, Sophie. I would give my life to ensure that you get to live yours," Alexis said, hugging her daughter more tightly.
"You might not be able to protect me," Sophie said. She pulled something out of her pocket, a piece of paper. "This was posted all over when I went to Falkreath this morning." She unfolded the paper and placed it in Alexis's hands.
It stated that as of that day anyone of at least sixteen years of age who had not previously served in the Imperial Legion could be forced to serve, effective until the end of the war.
"Sweetheart, i had no idea. Look, I won't let it happen. I will protect you always," Alexis said, holding her daughter's hand tightly. "No matter what."
Late that night, Alexis awoke to the sound of her horse, Allie, whining in terror. She looked over, seeing that Farkas was still asleep. She quickly got dressed, wearing lightweight hunting clothes, and rushed downstairs and out the front door.
She could hear the terrified screams of the horses as she rushed to the stable, but it Allie's screams ended as Alexis grew close and she already knew what she would find. As she approached she could see Swift running around his section of the stable, whining, while Shadowmere stood and mourned over the body of Allie.
Alexis knelt down next to her fallen horse and stroked her face, tears falling from her eyes. She searched for the cause of her death and found that she had been shot through the heart with an arrow. Alexis forced herself to get up, still crying over the death of her first horse.
As she turned back towards the house, Alexis noticed that her front door was wide open, just as she had expected after finding the arrow. This was an attack.
So this was the first chapter. I hope you all enjoyed, the story is going to become quite interesting from here. By the way, I encourage you guys to try and guess who the attacker is. You can pm me or state it in a review if you want to share. Not a whole lot of clues yet, but I feel like some of you may be able to guess.