Chapter 2: Take the Leap
Note: Hello again! Thank you all who read and reviewed the first chapter, it really meant a lot! So this next chapter is, again, about the Dragonborn escaping Helgen. I kinda skipped over the whole tutorial part where they go through how to wield a sword and whatnot when they are escaping the village, but it doesn't really need it in my opinion. Enjoy!
I awoke to horrified screams and licking flames.
Standing was nearly impossible, my legs were weak and unstable from the force of impact when I was thrown. Shakily, I was able to struggle to my feet. Some of my clothes were singed and blackened, but the bindings on my hands remained strong.
I started looking around, trying to locate wherever the beast had gone while trying to break through the rope.
"Damn it…come ON!" I swore loudly, whipping my head around to try and find anything to cut through, when I saw Ralof and the Stormcloaks. They were running for their lives with expressions that might have been laughable if the circumstances were different.
Overhead I heard the same unbearable roar. It was so violent it shook the ground, almost knocking me down in the process. I must have made some kind of noise, for Ralof caught my eye.
"Over here, kinsman! If you want to live!" he yelled, running into the safety of a crumbling watchtower. I almost didn't go in, looking to make a flee towards towering trees that had sheltered me plenty of times. They called to me, beckoning me away from whatever chaotic hell I had landed myself in. My heart ached to disappear into them, and as I contemplated battling the flames to reach the shade, Ralof's bark brought me back.
"Marina!" startled he knew my name, I automatically trotted towards the tower. Throwing myself inside, I rolled against the floor and struck the base of the stairs. Groaning, I coughed loudly. The smoke and shock of having my breath knocked out of me left me trembling slightly.
Inside the nearly destroyed tower were the remaining Stormcloak soldiers, Ralof and to my surprise, Ulfric. He watched from the doorway with an awed and…hungry expression. It made me uneasy, the way he looked at the destruction and watched the circling terror above.
"A dragon..can it really be so?" someone whispered, dissolving into a coughing fit.
Ralof looked to the jarl with trust. "Jarl Ulfric, what is that thing? Could the legends be true, my lord?" he asked, wetting his cracked lips with his tongue.
Ulfric stepped away from the doorway and shut the wooden door forcefully. As if that would keep out a dragon. He started to move to the center of the room, his large cloak of wolfskin missing from earlier.
"Legends don't burn down villages." he said firmly, running his thick fingers through his tattered hair. Turning to the winding staircase that led further up the tower, he yelled:
"We need to move, now!" his authority at that moment wasn't to be questioned, and Ralof immediately started to shoo me up the stairs. I leaned agains the wall, wanting to stop to try and catch my breath, but he urged me forward.
"Up the tower, let's go!" he said again and this time, I started to make my way up the stony tower. I picked up speed as I heard the footsteps behind me, rounding up to the first level. Just as I started to hurry to the next section of stairs, the wall on my right burst like an explosion.
I fell back against the Stormcloaks behind me, some of who started sprinting back down the stairs. Ralof, Ulfric and I threw ourselves flush against the wall. We watched in a dead silence as the dragon shoved its long head into the tower. As it moved, I couldn't help tell if I was fascinated or repulsed.
It was easily the most incredible creature I had ever seen. As tall as a mountain and twice as sleek. Covered to head to tail in what looked like armor, sharp and pointed at the ends. Two great horns purtruded from the skull and red eyes that blazed like the fire below. Opening its great jaw, flames shot out of the mouth between black, razor teeth.
Satisfied, it started to draw back, the stones starting to give way as it pulled.
'Damn thing is going to take most of the wall with it!' I thought to myself. When it was gone, relief so intense it nearly brought me to my knees swept over me like a wave. I stepped up onto the crumbled rock and looked out, shivering as I watched the tail of the dragon disappear over the top of the tower.
Ralof clambered up beside me and pointed a burning building below us. The straw roof had fallen in in the middle, flames creeping up the scorched beams.
"Do you see the inn down there?" nodding, I turned to face him. "Jump through the roof and keep going!" he said, starting to push me a bit towards the edge of the hole.
"Let go of me!" I demanded, wrenching myself away from him. "Are you mad? It will be a gods' miracle if I land anywhere in there not covered by flames!" at my outburst, Ralof chuckled.
"So you do speak." I frowned at him, opening my mouth to protest, but he pointed again.
"Go! We'll follow when we can!" He yelled, starting back down the stairs to the others. Turning back to the open window, I swallowed heavily. I had fallen from worse heights.
How bad could it be?
Backing up several paces, I launched myself out of the hole, landing inside the inn on my hands and knees. The impact didn't hurt, but my lungs burned from the smoke and my hands were scrapped from the rough wood. Looking around, I spotted a gaping hole in that led out of the inn to what look like safety. Jumping down through it, I ran out into Helgen.
The village was burning. Every structure had gone up in orange and red flames that licked towards the heavens. Stone, wood and rubble were abundant as buildings collapsed. Bodies lay charred and scorched as I jogged in a daze up the cobblestone path I had been brought in on.
Up the path ahead of me, the same Imperial guard who had been calling out names during the execution was coaxing a young boy away from a body.
"Come on, lad, over here! You're doing great." he promised, and as the boy trotted over I was startled to see it was the same child who had been told to go inside by his father. I glanced over at the body he had left behind, knowing before I even saw who it was, that it was his Pa.
"Torlof!" he roared at an older guard who had the boy safely behind him. "Keep the lad safe."
"Still alive prisoner?" he barked, making me jump. I nodded. "Stay close to me if you want to stay that way." with a taking off towards the barracks of the Imperial army.
—
We had traveled through the underground barracks for what felt like hours. I wasn't entirely sure why I had followed the man who had condemned me to die down into this labyrinth of tunnels, but he felt like a better bet than Ralof, who had charged towards the dragon with the Stormcloaks.
Once inside, he had cut my bindings. "Better you face the gods with a sword in your hands." being handed the weapon was like he had given me back an extra sense I had been missing. Even if it wasn't the daggers I was used to, it felt a lot better than nothing at all.
The barracks eventually opened up to a moist cave, the relief of something cool was tremendous. We both paused to breathe it in and chase out the lingering ash that clouded our lungs. Following a small stream, we sought the light of day that started to become visible as we walked.
Putting my hands on either side of mouth of the cave, I hoisted myself out into the sun. What lay ahead of us was the expanse of Skyrim, lush and unforgiving, but preferable to the fiery hell that raged in Helgen.
Feeling a tug at my rags, the Imperial pulled me down behind a large boulder. Overhead, the loud roar of the dragon echoed as it glided over us and soared into the distance.
"Dragons..in Skyrim. I must get the news back to the Imperial fleet." turning to me, he gave me a crooked grin. "You showed real courage back there. You should head to Riverwood. I have a friend there, blacksmith. He can help you with anything you need."
"Thank you," I said softly. "For everything." he nodded. "We help our own. These are hard times Skyrim is facing. I can only hope someone would do the same for me." And we parted.
The crisp water of the pond I had found soothed my skin, still hot from the flames. Having torn some fabric from the rags the Imperials had clothed me in, I used it to scrub away the soot and dirt that caked my hands and face. I could hear Ahkari's voice as clear as day. "Va'Ri, a little dirt is healthy. Too much is not." Standing up, I looked over myself in the reflection of the pond.
I had always been slender. I had never had much to eat when I was a child, and now I never ate enough to keep up with all that I did. My fair skin had tanned a bit in the time I had been traveling, but my golden-white hair remained the same. It was blackened at the tips from the flames, but a simple slice of a sword could remedy that.
Lifting my calloused hands to my face, I brushed away any lingering smudges or blood. A small amount of tiny freckles dusted my nose, and wide blue eyes observed the reflection. Determining the rest of the cuts and bruises were tolerable, I braided my long hair back and did away with the singed ends. Looking over the reflection once more, I tried to convince myself that nothing had happened. Not the flames or the death or the beast whose roar had awakened something in me that was foreign and unwelcome.
"Riverwood," I said firmly. That was my destination. If I had a destination, I had a plan. Gripping my sword, I made my descent towards the sleepy village. Unaware of all that had been set in motion.
Note:Scene. ;) That concludes chapter 2! So after Riverwood, this is no longer going to follow the storyline we all know and love. There will be recognizable parts and chunks, but Marina's story is going to really start to ramp up. Her backstory, a chance encounter, and more dragons are all on the way! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, it means the world.