Soo. . . I've decided to write a prequel to this story. It'll start off at Helgen and Terah will go on to discover she's dragonborn and whatnot. However, I will not start on it until this one is finished, so it'll be a while before that happens. Hopefully my dragonborn isn't totally lame, because I wouldn't wanna waste the effort writing it lol.

Cold. Unbearably cold.

Terah's eyes slowly fluttered open. A wooden ceiling filled her vision, which in turn filled her mind with confusion.

Where am I? How did I get here?

The events of the black book shot back into her memory, and her heart started to race. She tried to sit up, but found herself only being pulled back down by the heavy force of gravity. She noticed that she was wrapped in warm furs in a bed that was in the corner of a large, highly furnished room. She was also, much to her horror, as naked as the day she was born.

"Good, you are awake."

She turned her head to see a brunette woman approach the bed, a warm smile on her pretty face. "I knew you would come around."

Terah did her best to prop herself on her elbows. "Where am I?"

The woman put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, pressing her back down onto the bed. "You are in the Greathall of Skaal Village. I am Finna."

"Why am I naked?"

Finna giggled. "We bathed you. You were quite in need of it."

She cringed at the thought, not wanting to think about who has possibly seen her naked. Now aware of her wet hair stuck to her skin, she breathed, "I'm so cold."

"I know," said Finna sympathetically. "Just relax while I go let the others know that you are awake."

Terah was left with the sound of footsteps followed by squeaky door hinges, and finally, silence. She let out a heavy sigh; this Solstheim problem is much larger than anyone could understand. She knew she would need to tell her companions who she really was, and she most certainly was not looking forward to it.

The sound of squeaky door hinges filled the room once again, and Terah could hear two pairs of footsteps. She saw Finna move to the fire pit, and the heavier pair of footsteps walked right up to the side of her bed.

It was Teldryn. He said nothing, and only looked her over before letting out a deep sigh. His helmet was missing, so she could see pursed lips and a hint of concern in his dark eyes.

Finna appeared at Teldryn's side. "Here," she said as she removed her outer furs, leaving her with nothing but thin underclothes on. "You need to stay warm."

She proceded to get under the covers with her, making sure not to expose her body to the man in the room. Finna was sitting up and wrapped her arms around Terah's shoulders, pulling her close. It made her a bit uncomfortable, but the woman was kind and didn't seem to care. Plus, her body heat was definitely helping.

Teldryn had grabbed a chair and was bringing it back to the side of the bed. Once he sat down, he finally spoke up, "You look a little worse for wear, but I'm glad to see you're alive. How are you feeling?"

"I don't have the faintest idea of how to describe how I'm feeling," she answered feebly. "I feel as if I am near death, yet I know I'm not going to die. It's like I'm trapped an inch away from death. Does that make sense?"

"I suppose it does," he answered quietly, casting down his eyes. She couldn't quite read the expression on his face.

"I saw Miraak."

Both he and Finna snapped their heads to look at her. "You saw him?" they asked in unison.

"Yes," she sighed. "He wants to return and take over Solstheim. But I guess you could've figured that out on your own." She paused before asking, "Where's Frea?"

"Frea is outside," Finna answered next to her. "She is helping her father with our protective barrier. It shields us from Miraak's influence."

"Where did you see him?" Teldryn asked, returning to the subject.

"I don't know. When I read the book, it took me somewhere. That's where I saw him. Teldryn. . ." she shook her head, "It's bad. It's really bad."

His brows furrowed, "What is it?"

"He isn't just some dragon priest," she explained. "He's dragonborn. And he is more powerful than you can imagine. This is on a much larger scale. . ." Her eyes started to water, but she immediately blinked it away. Terah never thought of herself as being high and mighty, but she did indeed believe that she was very powerful. Her encounter with Miraak, however, gave her a reality check. Now, she felt downright weak and pathetic.

"Dragonborn, hm?" Teldryn pondered as he stroked his chin.

"This is big news. Our Shaman should know about this," Finna said as she slid out from underneath the covers. She gave a quick, "I will return," before heading outside.

"Well," Teldryn started. "If you wanna head for Skyrim, I'm right with you. I've spent enough time on Solstheim to last a lifetime," he drawled.

"Why would we go to Skyrim?" Terah asked with a shiver. Finna's absence left her feeling awfully cold again.

He raised a brow at her, "To contact the dragonborn, of course. If what you say is true, then I'm sure the almighty 'Hero of Skyrim' should know about it."

Oh, by the gods. Now I really have to tell him.

Setting her worry aside, she asked, "You know about the dragonborn?" She was curious to know how much the people of Solstheim actually knew.

"Oh, yes," he drawled. "I've heard of many 'mighty deeds' the dragonborn has been so 'brave' to carry out, but it could all just be Nord talk," he said, rolling his eyes. "I don't actually know anything credible about her. All I know is that she's a woman."

Slowly nodding her head, she struggled to hide how offended she was. Teldryn obviously didn't have a very high opinion of the dragonborn, which made her even more nervous about telling him. For the first time in a long time, Terah had made a friend that accepted her for who she was as a person. Revealing her true identity would change everything, and Teldryn may not want anything to do with her anymore.

"Well, I can tell you this," she paused as she debated on what she would tell him. "The dragonborn is indeed a Nord woman. She's powerful, but Miraak has the upper hand. I'm certain of that." That's all she needed to tell him for the moment.

He scoffed. "Figures."

All Terah could do was sigh, unsure of why she cared so much about keeping this new found friend of hers. This is going to be difficult.

Teldryn turned his attention to her face. He unashamedly studied it for a moment, leaving Terah slightly uncomfortable under his scrutinizing gaze. "Why don't you paint a picture? It'll last longer."

He chuckled, and she found warmth in his smile. "I can see it now. The bit of Mer in you," he clarified.

She pathetically waved a dismissive hand, "I hardly have Mer in me. If any at all."

"I can see it," he said with a nod. From the small smile on his face, Terah figured he considered this a good thing. "It's just a small shadow in your features, but it's there."

With a weak laugh, she joked, "It's funny how you notice Mer in me when I look like a pile of horker crap."

This provoked another chuckle out of him. "You don't look too bad, considering what you've been through. And it's not so much in your appearance, but more in the way you handle magic."

"Anyone can use magic with a bit of practice."

He just shook his head. "Magic doesn't come so easily to Nords. From what I've seen from you, one could easily mistake you as Mer."

She didn't really know what to say to that. Coming from him, she supposed it was meant as a compliment. He was basically telling her that he considered her as one of his own kind, and she was flattered by the notion.

"Fine," he shrugged. "Don't accept the compliment."

"I'm sorry," she said, pulling herself from her thoughts. "I just don't really know what to say. I'm flattered."

"Normal people say 'thank you.'"

She pathetically slapped him on the shoulder. "I am normal!" she exclaimed, but she knew that was a lie. Sighing, she corrected herself, "No, that's not true. I am far from normal."

This was a small window of opportunity to tell him the truth, but every force in her body kept her from doing so. She couldn't really figure out why. Teldryn seemed to notice her discomfort and sat there patiently, as if he was waiting for her to voice her thoughts. The silence that fell between them was interrupted by the familiar sound of squeaky hinges. This time, Frea had come inside to check on her.

"How are you feeling?" she asked warmly.

"Still terribly cold, but I'll manage I suppose," Terah answered with a shiver. She had been trying to ignore it, but she was still chilled to the bone, and it was starting to really get on her nerves.

Frea looked Teldryn square in the face. "Your blood runs hot. I think it is best for you to keep her warm for the night."

Seriously, Frea?

"Uhhh," Terah started. Teldryn rose a brow and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "I am totally putting clothes on first."

Frea just let out a laugh. "Of course. I have clothes for you."

Teldryn found his way to the other side of the room to leave the women some privacy as Frea helped her put some clothes on. He could hear Terah scoff, "You call these clothes?"

Frea replied with, "The less you wear under the covers the warmer you will be. I promise."

He just smirked and shook his head as he removed his trademark chitin armor and dropped it in a careless pile on the floor. Once Terah was decent, he returned to the side of the bed.

Teldryn was down to black cloth pants and a light shirt. It was odd to see him without his chitin armor for the first time, and she found herself considering him to be more on the handsome side. Frea had insisted that she wear nothing but her small clothes, but Terah convinced her to at least give her a pair of thin cloth shorts.

"Now, both of you get some rest," said Frea as she moved to leave. "If you need anything, you know where to find me."

And with that, Teldryn and Terah were left alone for the night.

He grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled it up and over his head, exposing his bare, gray chest. Terah found that most mer were on the slender and toned side, but Teldryn was much more muscular than she would've expected. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't hide her blush; being around attractive men was no problem for her, but she actually had to share a bed with this man. Half naked.

Stendarr's mercy. What did I do to deserve this?

Grinning from ear to ear, he teased, "Look at you. You're warming up already."

She merely scowled at him. "Shut it, Teldryn. As much as I value my modesty, we're both adults here," she said before scooting over to make room for him. With a wave of her hand she beckoned him, "Get in here."

He smirked as he got under the covers. "At least there's some color in you now. I don't think I've ever seen a human being look so pale."

The moment his gray skin made contact with hers, it almost felt as if her skin was on fire. "By Ysmir, you are warm." She relished the intense heat radiating off of his body, and suddenly she wasn't so uncomfortable with him anymore.

"And you are an iceberg."

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him so she could bury her frozen face in his chest. He smelled of fire and ash, but it was a much more appealing compared to the smell of the ash scattered across the island. It had a hint of something else that she couldn't put her finger on. Terah didn't expect him to be so comfortable with their proximity, but she quickly reminded herself that he is indeed male. Of course he isn't going to mind lying in bed with a half naked woman.

"You seem tense."

She let out a laugh. "And you seem far too comfortable."

"Should I not be?" he asked. "I dislike seeing you ill. I'm just doing my best to help."

Teldryn may not have seemed like it at first, but he was surprisingly kind in his own way. He just wasn't very forthright about it. Unable to form a reply, she wondered, "How long have I been out?"

"A little over a day."

"What?!" she snapped, leaning back to look at him in the face. "No. . ."

"Yes," he confirmed.

The way his blood red eyes bored into hers, almost reading through to her very soul, was unnerving. It drove her crazy how he seemed to be at ease with their predicament, so she settled back down into his chest, not wanting to have to look at him in the eyes. "You could've gone back to Raven Rock, you know."

He chuckled, "And just leave you here? What kind of a man would that make me? Besides, you heard Frea. There probably isn't anyone left."

She sighed. "I hope there's something we can do about this."

"As do I. But for now, get some rest. And please, avoid throwing up on me," said as he shifted a little to get more comfortable.

Smiling into his chest, she replied. "I will."

Silence. All that could be heard was the crackle of the fires lit around the room. Sleep evaded her, for there was far too much on her mind to allow herself to rest. Teldryn must've sensed her restlessness because he started to quietly hum. The tune was unfamiliar to her, but she found herself comforted by his deep baritone voice, the soft rumble in his chest lulling her to sleep.

Awwww how sweet.