The Love of A Dragon
Chapter 3
I wake up on my own- in bed? Wait- the last thing I remember was listening to Mikael's lullaby. Sometime during the night, Erik must've woken up and carried me to bed. I turn and reach out next to me. The bed is empty. Erik must be up already and downstairs. The sound of rain hitting the roof, makes me want to stay in bed. But I know better. We have a quest that we need to see through. I push the furs off of me and walk over to the wash basin. Saadia must've came in, thrown out the old water and refilled the pitcher with fresh water for me. I pour some into the bowl, and wash my face. Instead of my iron armor, I want to put something on that's a little more light, and easier to move around in. One of the bandits we looted from had a full set of hide armor that I liked, so I decided to keep it.
I make my way downstairs, and find Erik at the counter speaking with Hulda. He has a plate of eggs, and sausage in front of him. Hulda notices me and smiles.
"Come on over, dear. Take a seat and I'll get you some breakfast." She says as she walks into the kitchen. I take a seat on the stool next to Erik.
"How'd you sleep princess?" I ask him with a grin. He smiles as he chews his food and washes it down with a swig of juice.
"Like a babe." He finally answers me. I chuckle, resting my elbows on the counter.
"Hulda was just replaying our night for me last night." He says, pushing his eggs around on his plate. "Sounds like you had a lot of fun." He says dryly.
"Me? You!" I gesture at him. "You drank my mead." I accuse him. He smiles at that.
"You body slammed a poor Nord woman." He counters. I raise a brow at him.
"In my defense, she started it, and you and Mikael were being instigators." I elaborate. Hulda returns with a plate similar to Erik's. I immediately dig in. I didn't realize how hungry I was. When we arrived last night, we didn't get anything to eat, we just started drinking.
"Are you even tasting it?" Erik jokes. I give him a gentle shove and open my mouth at him. "Ew, that's gross Ellie." He snickers. I swallow my food and giggle.
"I'm sorry, I thought you liked "seafood." I laugh at my own joke. Erik rolls his eyes.
"Ha-ha, good one." Sarcasm drips from his voice. After we finish our breakfast we decide to head out. We head back up to our room and pack everything backup. I grab the knapsack and pull the strap over my shoulder, before tying my cloak securely around my shoulders.
"Ready?" Erik asks. I nod and we head back downstairs. Hulda waves goodbye to someone as we walk up to the counter. She looks at us with an unreadable expression.
"Aren't you two heading to Helgen?" She asks, her brows furrowed with concern. I frown and Erik answers.
"Yes, ma'am. We're heading there to pick up a case of Vilod's juniper mead for Pa. Why?" He asks, his shoulders tensing up. Hulda shakes her head.
"It could be nothing, but, there are rumors going around that there's been suspicious activities of legion patrols wandering the area." She informs us. Huh, that's weird. Why would the Imperials be lingering around Helgen? It's just a small town. They don't trade, or produce mass amounts of weapons or supplies.
"They're probably just moving positions and decided to rest in Helgen. Helgen is a fairly defensible area, having stone walls and massive gates." Erik shrugs and brushes it off. Something in my gut is saying that he's wrong. No, there's definitely more to it than that. "Alright Ms. Hulda, we'll be off. The bill, please." Erik smiles and gets his coin pouch ready. Thanks to my winnings last night, our pouches are a little bit heavier. Hulda dismisses us with a wave.
"You two get out of here, and hurry home before Mralki has a cow." She smiles at us, her eyes shining with kindness. I smile back, Erik however, isn't having it.
"Ms. Hulda, please. I'm not taking no for an answer." He says keepng his tone even. He crosses his arms. So does Hulda. Erik lets out a sigh. "Fine. Here." He says reaching into his pouch and counting out coins. I'm tipping your girl five septims, and donating fifteen septims to the Bannered Mare." He ties his coin pouch back on his belt. Hulda sighs as she reaches for the gold.
"Just like your father... " She says quietly as she locks the gold away in the strongbox. "You two, please be careful. Gods bless you." She calls out to us as we walk out of her Inn.
"May I have a moment of your time, Ms. Agondray?" I turn and see the Nord I fought last night. Uthgerd the Unbroken. The first thing I notice is her black eye. "I just wanted to apologize for assuming that you were some tavern whore." She says with an apologetic smile. "If you ever need any help while you're out adventuring, I would love to come along and join you on your journeys." She says as she bows her head and pounds her chest. "It seems I've still a lot to learn."
"Uthgerd, it would be my honor to have you accompany me sometime. If I ever need someone to travel with, I'll let you know." I say with my shoulders back and a bowed head. She nods at me.
"Also know that you've a friend in me. Until then." She bows and disappears further into the Inn.
I close the door behind me and follow Erik down the stairs. I pull my hood over my head and continue to follow Erik to Belethor's General Goods. I mentally groan.
"Wait, do we have to go in there?" I whine. Erik sighs.
"Yes, Ellie. We have to sell off a lot of the stuff that we looted." He answers me sternly. I lean against the post under the sun roof, staying out of the rain.
"Okay then, I'll just wait here. You go on ahead, I'll wait." I say and smile at the young guard standing by the post. His back straightens and he coughs. "I'll just chat with the guard." Erik rolls his eyes.
"Ellie, if you go inside with me, we'll get better deals." He urges. I uncross my arms and groan.
"Fine. But I'm going to complain the entire time." I warn him. He stops and looks at me.
"As opposed to the rest of the time?" He asks with a grin. I punch him on the arm and smile.
"Ellie! You know I bruise easily..." He pouts. I chuckle and gesture towards the door.
"Go on. The faster we get this over with, the faster we can leave." I insist. He reaches for the door and holds it open for me. I look inside and see Belethor leaning against the counter looking bored. When our eyes meet, a nasty grin forms on his face. Ugh. Erik ushers me inside and closes the door before walking up to the counter. I make it a point to stand behind Erik and hide from the Breton's beady little eyes.
"Welcome to Belethor's General Goods!" I take a peek from around Erik's shoulder. "Welcome indeed." He winks at me. I slowly slide my head back behind Erik.
"Thanks Belethor." Erik says as he walks up to shake the man's hand. "We got some loot to sell." He states. Belethor's shoulders droop, but just barely.
"Please, do look around, I'm sure we have something you want." He says ignoring Erik. "Everything is for sale my friend, you need visit no other shops today." He proudly declares.
"No, no. We're just here to sell today." Erik says, his voice firm. Belethor nods and leans against the counter.
"I assure you, I'm prepared to make any deal." He says to Erik, but looks at me. I swear this man is the most frugal, and conniving skeever I've ever met. He even looks like one, with his low ponytail being his tail.
Erik and the Breton begin their bargaining, throwing their gold and loot on the counter. Every now and then Belethor glances at me, and smiles. I pretend to not notice him, and look the other way. Finally, they come to a conclusion. Erik is now walking away with about five hundred more gold than what we had about thirty minutes ago. Erik shakes his hand and thanks him.
"Belethor, it's been a pleasure." Erik says stiffly. He can't stand Belethor almost as much as me.
"I was happy to help." He grins. "I'd even buy one of your relatives if you're looking to sell." Belethor grins at me. My hands ball up into tight fists. He glances back at Erik and suddenly pales. I can't see the look on Erik's face, but I'm sure he's super angry. "Ha ha ha… that's a little joke." He coughs nervously. Erik turns and ushers me out of the store, still glaring at Belethor. He shuts the door a little hard and turns to face me.
"You managed to scrape five hundred septims, from that copper-pinchers claws, Erik." I say smiling, "I'm impressed." He beams a smile at me.
"You know what's even more impressive?" He asks. I tilt my head at him.
"What?" I ask.
"You managed to keep your mouth shut and not kill the man." He laughs, we begin walking towards the main gates.
"Aye," I pretend to swoon. "One of the hardest tasks I've ever faced." I grin. Erik chuckles and shakes his head.
"I bet."
"You've tried mercenary work? It might suit you." Amren stops to tell Erik.
"For the hundredth time, Amren. No." Erik says continuing to walk past him. I chuckle at Erik's frustration and the annoyed look on his face. His scowl seems to deepen when we reach the gates. We see two Alik'r warriors being reprimanded by a guard. They spot us walking by and one of them stops me.
"You there. We're looking for someone in Whiterun, and will pay good money for some information." He says to me. Erik stops and listens with me.
"Who are you looking for?" I ask annoyed by these fools.
"A woman- a foreigner in these lands. Redguard, like us." He explains. "She is likely not using her true name. We will pay for any information regarding her location." He looks at his cohort and then back to me. "We are not welcome here in Whiterun, so we will be in Rorikstead if you learn anything." Mine and Erik's back stiffen. That's our home. We don't want any trouble in our hometown. They mentioned she was from their homeland. Maybe she's a criminal?
"Why are you looking for this person?" I ask, wanting to know more about the situation.
"It's none of your concern. All you need to know is that we are paying for information." It takes everything in my power to not laugh in his face. Like gold would ever persuade me to harm an innocent. "If that doesn't interest you, feel free to walk away." He says. And with that Erik and I both turn on our heels at the same time and walk out of Whiterun. We cross the bridge and head down the twisted path, towards the Whiterun stables.
Erik stops and turns to me. A smile on his face and a light in his eyes.
"Me and Pa have been planning this for a while, we wanted to surprise you." He says. "We have enough to buy a horse, Ellie!" He reveals. My eyes widen and I'm speechless. Erik stares at my shocked expression and laughs. He grabs my hand and leads me over to the horse stall. There's a black mare that's already saddled, standing under the shade. Our eyes meet and there's an instant connection. I slowly walk up to her, our eyes still locked. It's almost like we can see each others souls. And they're one in the same.
"We'd like to purchase a horse." Erik walks up to the man, sitting on the chair while eating a piece of bread. He stands up and offers his hand to Erik.
"Skulvar Sable-Hilt." He says proudly. "And sure, we've got the fleetest steeds in all of Skyrim." Erik shakes the man's hand, tells him his name, and looks at the horse in front of me.
"How old are your horses?" He asks the stable hand.
"None of 'em's older than nine, and the youngest is six." He answers Erik honestly. "Now, the horse I got for sale is seven years old, but in fine health. She's got a lot of spirit too, that one." As if she knows the stable hand is talking about her, she bobs her head up and down, and paws the ground. Erik doesn't make a face but I know what he's thinking.
"I want her, Erik." I plead. She sniffs my hair and shakes her mane out. I giggle and watch her, fascinated by her natural charisma.
"We've taken to calling her Queen Alfsigr, or just Allie for short. I expect you can name her anything you like once she's yours." He says to me as he watches the horse with tender eyes.
"Allie is perfect." I smile at him. He looks at me and returns the smile, a twinkle in his eyes. Erik is still studying her. I reach for his arm and stare up at him. "Erik, please." I beg as I squeeze his arm. Something in his eyes melts and he gives me a quick smile.
"Alright." He says quietly. I let go and clap before walking back to Allie. He focuses his attention on Skulvar. "Here's my offer…" he says as they walk further away to talk. Allie looks down at me, her ears twitching.
"I'm going to take such good care of you, Allie. I promise." I say as I pat her neck. She lowers her head until her forehead is at my chest, and gently pushes her face into my breast. I hug her and scratch her chin.
"You ready, lass?" Erik asks me happily. I turn to face him and nod. I don't know what to say, my heart swells with joy. I throw my arms around his neck and kiss his cheek over and over.
"Thank you! Thank you so much." I say in between the kisses I plant on his cheek. He wraps his arms around me tightly and smiles warmly, as his eyes close.
"Aye, Ellie. You're welcome." He says softly. He slowly unwraps his arms from around me and I rush back to Allie. He takes off his backpack and loads it on her. "Hop on, lass. Let's ride to Helgen." He says, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. I reach for the horn of the saddle and freeze. By the nine, Allie is huge. Erik bursts out laughing and watches me struggle to get on Allie. When I finally make it into the saddle, I stick my tongue out at him. I remove my foot from the stirrup, and lean forward so Erik could lift himself up. He mounts Allie like an old pro. I sit back down, trying to fit myself in the saddle with Erik. But my thighs and ass weren't having it. No matter how much I squirmed or tried to wiggle my way in, we couldn't fit in the saddle like how we used to as kids.
"Erik, the saddle isn't big enough for the both of us." I say turning my head sideways to try and get a better view of him.
"Eleora…" He says, sounding almost pained. "J-Just give me a second." He says breathless. Oh no! I hope I didn't hurt him or anything. I try twisting to look at him, but he puts both hands on each of my shoulders and holds me still. I could've sworn I caught a glimpse of him, and he was as red as an apple.
"Gods help me…" he mutters under his breath. He lifts himself up and over our supplies. He's now sitting more on Allie's romp, instead of the saddle.
"Erik, what's wrong?" I ask now a little sad. Erik nervously clears his throat.
"Nothing, lass. We're just not as small as we used to be." He says and I swear I hear a tremble in his voice.
"Ready?" I ask him.
"Yep, let's get a move on." He says, his voice sounds better. I wait for him to wrap his arms around me, but he doesn't.
"You're not gonna hold on?" I ask. He doesn't answer immediately.
"Are you going to gallop the entire way there and push poor Allie?" He asks me. He's right. Now that we have Allie, we have a little more time on our hands. I gently dig my heels into Allie's side, and she eases into a very slow trot.
We pass by the Palegia farm, waving at the farmers as we trot by, and marvel at the Honningbrew Meadery. When we come to the cross roads we take a right and follow the gorgeous stream up river.
"The trees," Erik yells over the sound of Allie's hooves and the sound over the running water. "They're beautiful here." I agree, closing my eyes and welcoming the sun. The rain completely stops and my heart is full. As we follow the winding, stone path closer to Riverwood, the foliage becomes thicker and more green. It's absolutely breathtaking. Right before the bridge, I pull Allie to a halt. Erik's chest hits my back hard, but I don't care.
"Ellie, are you alright?" Erik asks concerned. When I don't answer him, he leans forward and examines my face. He follows my line of sight and sees the cottage that sits just at the river's edge. That's it. That's home. I can't stop staring at the wooden roof shingles, or the stone walls. I don't even realize Erik's hands slide over mine, still holding the reins. He guides Allie over the bridge and closer towards the pretty cottage. I can see myself sitting under the tree, reading a book by the running stream. I see Mralki, Erik, and some of our close friends visiting, sitting under the roof at the picnic table. We're eating and laughing, and just having fun. Erik slows us to a stop. We see a sign that has the name of the home, Whitewood Lodge. It's a pretty name. And just beneath the name, the price.
Fifteen thousand septims.
My heart drops and I look away. Erik seems to sense my sudden change of mood. His hands gently squeezes my shoulder.
"It's beautiful, Ellie. One day it will be yours. I promise." He whispers into my ear. I smile and place my hand over his. I will work myself to the bone for this house. Every single drop of blood, sweat, and tears will all be for my home.
"Let's get to Helgen, Erik." I say with a newfound resolve. I kick my heels into Allie's sides and we trot through the quiet, peaceful, and beautiful Riverwood.
There's an inn called, The Sleeping Giant Inn, with the picture of a snoring giant on their sign. I think it's cute, it makes me smile. There's also a smithy and the Riverwood trader. This place has everything I'd ever need to be happy. Erik and I make it to the other end of town, and pick up the pace. Allie is now cantering alongside the river, I stare at our running reflection in the water beside us.
Life is good.
As we press on, light snowflakes begin to falls all around us. I stick my tongue out trying to catch some. Erik laughs at me and taps me on the shoulder, pointing over my shoulder at three stones.
The Guardian stones.
We both hop off of Allie and walk closer to the stones. We examine each one of them and both decide to pray to the warrior stone, not thinking much of it. Suddenly, the constellation on the stone lights up, and emanates a light that shoots out from the top and into the sky.
"Whoa!" Erik and I exchange wide-eyed glances and then look back at the stone. "That was crazy!" I exclaim. Erik is still quiet. An odd thunder sound shakes us. I look to Erik who's now looking up the sky, confused. "What in Oblivion was that?" I ask him. Erik's eyes widen again and runs towards Allie leaping on her in a single bound. He holds his hand out to me.
"Ellie! Let's go." I run and grab his arm, he swings me on to Allie with ease. We're now racing towards Helgen. I now see what captured his attention, there's a cloud of black smoke that was hidden behind the trees and rocks. It's coming from Helgen.
"Heeyah!" Erik roars, pushing Allie to run faster. We can see the gates to Helgen, and approach them fast. Allie stops suddenly and rears up whinnying loudly. Erik and I fall off of her, landing hard in the dirty snow, before she runs off. Something has spooked her to her core.
Another loud thundering noise seems to shake the ground. We look up into the sky and see black wings pumping from behind the gate. It can't be… a- a…
Dragon.
A dragon, with scales as black as ebony, and eyes as red as blood flies into the sky. I can't move. I can't scream. All I can do is watch in horror and wonder, as the giant winged beast flies away. Erik is in front of me, but I don't see him. He's talking, but I don't hear him. He slaps me across my face. That brings me back. I shake my head and look at him.
"We need to search for survivors, Ellie!" He picks me up from the ground by my arm, and stands me straight. When he deems me well enough, we make a run for gates and push them open.
Uh-oh! Now Eleora's adventure is about to begin! She has no idea that that is the first of many meetings with that dragon. Tell me what you think. I need to know if there's at least one person out there that thinks this isn't complete garbage. lol Have a nice day!