Elder Scroll series 1. Chapter 1

**This is the third part of Aurora's adventures, the previous being ****_The Adventures of a Dragonborn _****and ****_The Adventures of a Dragonborn: For King and Skyrim._**** Enjoy!**

* * *

She had been to Morrowind before, but both the woman and the land had changed dramatically since her last visit five years prior. It staggered her how little time it had taken for the details to fade from her memories. Aurora remembered the strange, cave-like architecture, the warm weather and moist air, but rediscovered the arches and odd shapes of the houses. She also rediscovered the icy attitude and inhospitality of the people inhabiting the land. The night she arrived in Blacklight had been rainy and cold, even by the Skyrim standards she had lived by for two and a half years. At least the summer sun offered a few warming beams of light to an exhausted traveller back there in Whiterun. In Morrowind, it stubbornly hid behind the heavenly clouds. The weather changed for the worse as soon as she crossed the Dunmeth Pass almost as if to punish her, and the unhelpful guards did not make her journey easier. The woman shivered as she thought of her awful, weeklong trip, and not only because of the weather and frustration. She did not wish to think of it, though. It was in the past now, and she should be focusing on finding Vilkas rather than building scenarios of what may or may not have happened.

She had no idea of where to look. Blacklight was the capital, and a rather populated one for that matter. There were some dozen professions a traveller could take on to earn a living, some of which required one to hunt out on the steppes and grassland or travel from place to place as a mercenary or merchant's assistant. It would not be easy to find him, but Aurora hoped that she could at least get some clues to where he could be. Two days of searching had gotten her nowhere, but in all fairness; she had not been too persistent. The merchants at the market were really rude towards her for being foreign, and it sickened her. She would forever be rendered an outlander as returning home to Cyrodiil was not an option, but people did not have to make a statement of it every bloody time. The Nords were sceptic when it came to strangers, but the Dunmer were outright xenophobic, and it brought out the worst in Aurora.

The woman sat by the table at her room. The inn was filthy and the food uneatable, but it was the first place she saw as she entered the city and it was cheap. She had met another traveller downstairs the previous evening who recommended a shop that specialised on charts and souvenirs from different parts of Tamriel, and the Dragonborn had bought a map of Morrowind for a few septims. She studied it closely, trying to estimate the time it would take to cover the distance from one city to another. The woman felt nostalgic as she stroke the word "Tear" gently. She could remember it so clearly after spending nine months living and working there after nearly escaping Cyrodiil.

What she was most worried of was that Vilkas would have gone to either Vvardenfell or Solstheim, and it did sound quite like him to go there. She had hoped to search the mainland first as its network of roads and settlements were better. The more people out on the roads, the bigger her chance of finding the man she was looking for. Someone must have heard of him, he would need to buy necessities somewhere and perhaps earn a coin or two eventually.

The woman looked out through the window. It was raining outside, and the muddy pathway that led to the centre of the town was filled with people who did their daily shopping, travellers who made a stop for a day or two in the capital of Morrowind and workers from all corners of Tamriel. Members of all different races were represented in Blacklight, which was by far the most tolerant city in the land of elves. A lot of Nords traded with the locals as Skyrim was close by, as well as some Imperials and Argonians from the neighbouring provinces. It still was not like Cyrodiil, though, which was a lot more urban and civilised. Aurora hated being treated like an outsider, and she disliked the elves for their xenophobia.

Shortly speaking, Morrowind was not her dream destination, but Vilkas was there, so she had no choice but to be there, though she would still avoid the elves as far as she could.

* * *

"An ale, thanks," Aurora ordered.

She had decided against eating at her inn and chosen a pub in a nicer part of the town instead. It seemed alright judging by the first impression, but the woman noticed that the guests were mostly made up of seafarers and merchants. Her entrance caused most of the men to turn towards the door and turn silent. As she stepped inside, she felt their gazes in her neck.

The bartender put a pint in front of her and returned to drying other glasses as if nothing had happened, but as soon as she was about to drink, a group of men approached her. A tall, tattooed Nord in his mid thirties with as much muscle mass as Farkas sat down next to her and leaned towards the woman.

"What does an Imperial woman do this far away from home?" he asked with a gaze that made Aurora rather uneasy.

She wrinkled her forehead and took her glass, sighing as she stood up and took a step away from the man. Just a moment later, she felt his big, sweaty hand on her shoulder.

"Don't go, let's have some fun," he smiled smugly.

"I wouldn't think so," Aurora answered and pulled her lips slightly upward, making a disgusted expression.

"She's arrogant!" the man cried and threw his arms to the sides.

His half a dozen mates laughed at his remark and cheered as they took to their glasses. The rest of the pub's guests had turned their attention back to their ales, but the big Nord's mates seemed very interested in what he would do next. Aurora was growing both anxious and annoyed and tried to break free of the Nord's grip, but he took a firmer hold of her right upper arm as he leaned closer and whispered in her ear.

"Let's just go to my room and no one will get hurt, whore."

He reeked of sweat and ale, making Aurora instantly wanting to draw away, as if the insult was not enough.

"I will warn you only once," the woman said, trying to remain calm. Her heavy breathing must have given some away, but she still complemented herself for handling the situation rather well.

The Nord gritted his teeth and gripped her shoulder bone-length hair, pulling her closer. Just as she opened her mouth to exclaim an "ouch", another man approached them from behind, trying to catch the Nord's attention.

"Excuse me, but the lady doesn't seem to enjoy your company."

Aurora could not see what the other man looked like, but she did not care. Neither did the big Nord, who just ignored the other man who was nothing but an annoying fly to him. The Nord tried to push Aurora forwards, but she was strong enough to withstand. As the man was stronger than her, she had no option but to Shout, even though she remembered Ulfric Stormcloak's anger last time she used it in a non-lethal situation. She could of course have tried to kick him, but the woman did not feel like losing too much of her hair, which already had taken quite a while to grow back since she cut it before her fight with Alduin. The Dragonborn took a deep breath and screamed:

"_YOL TOOR_!"

The Nord was immediately set on fire and thrown back, landing on the man who tried to intervene. The Skyrimer rolled around for a while until the fire died out.

"What in Oblivion..." he exclaimed whilst unsmoothly trying to get off, gripping chairs as he tried to do so.

Aurora looked around the pub. Almost everyone had stopped drinking and was now watching the woman. It would be an understatement to say that that they were surprised as some even had dropped their chins. The woman threw her arms to the side.

"What? He didn't listen. I said I'd only warn him once," she stated nonchalantly.

An angry gaze from the bartender informed Aurora about the fact that she was no longer welcome in there. Apparently, it was somehow her fault that a few chairs and glasses had been broken during the Nord's clumsy attempt to get up on his feet.

"Don't worry, it's not as if I want to be here either," she said.

Holding her head up high, she marched out of the pub and out to the rain. She wanted to get away as far as possible before an impressed guest turned into an intrusive suitor, and as the evening was already turning into nightfall, she decided to go back to the inn she was staying at.

Aurora could not say that she enjoyed her stay in Blacklight even the slightest. The weather was bad, the people's attitude rotten and the architecture did not appeal to the woman. She wanted to leave the town as soon as she could, but not before she had even the slightest lead on where Vilkas could be.

The woman walked through the narrow alleys in the centre of the rather populous town, slowly approaching the water, before she turned left and passed the docks. A ship had just arrived, and the dockworkers were busy unloading the merchandise it brought from a foreign land – Elsweyr, judging by the look of it. There were a lot of bottles, probably containing Skooma and some big, red carpets.

The woman did not feel like interacting with anyone, she just wanted to get back to the inn, but promised herself to get to work the following day. She would go down to the docks once more and ask around. It was her best chance of finding someone who had met or seen Vilkas, and she did not really have a plan B except for the market. At least the merchants coming by sea were of different nationalities and races, so she would probably be able to find at least one good-hearted Imperial who would take pity on her and help the poor woman find a contact.

As the woman reached the inn, darkness had fallen over the capital. The guesthouse was almost empty, and Aurora felt tired after the day's escapades, so she walked straight to her room and collapsed into bed. She did not care about the fact that her leather jacket and pants were wet and needed to be dried in order to preserve their appearance and softness. She was sick of being cold and soaking wet all the time and began to regret that she did not bring her armour with her. Whilst in Skyrim, she thought that the journey to Morrowind would not require heavy protection as she had no intentions of fighting any physical battles. Tonight had proven her wrong, and she promised herself never to go outside without her sword again, even if it was annoying to carry it over her shoulder, which she had to do as her belt had been worn out and she had not had time to fix it.

The sooner she left the town, the happier would she be. She had not seen the sun in almost a fortnight, and the first impression she had of Blacklight had not changed the slightest. Tomorrow, she promised herself, she would not give up as easily as she had the previous days. Someone had seen Vilkas, she just had to find out who it was and force him or her to tell everything he or she knew. Then she would find him and leave this godsforsaken country once and for all.


	2. Chapter 2

Aurora's bad mood had disappeared overnight and was replaced by a nice fighting spirit. The sun shone through the window and warmed her frozen body. Blacklight seemed almost pleasant at that point, and the woman thought it would be better to leave the leather jacket off as the day would be rather warm. She did not completely trust the innowner though, and decided to bring all her possessions with her. The woman took her bags of gold and placed it in hidden pockets inside of her pants and threw her jacket over the shoulder before marching out.

The city was full to the brink with ordinary locals and merchants from as far away as High Rock judging by their goods. Aurora was nearly thrown over as she walked out on the street leading towards the docks. Sighing, she took the smaller streets and narrower alleys to avoid the people. As the woman reached the port, a majestic view opened up before her. Fishing boats and larger ships were docked and arriving, and the workers were in hurry. Merchants commanded their obeying assistants around, and rich buyers and a few patrons inspected the goods from all over Tamriel.

Aurora smiled as she felt smells from her childhood. Many men came from Cyrodiil and brought their cuisine with them. She continued along the banks until she reached the main wharf. A young man in a red kaftan almost knocked her over as he ran past her with exotic fruit in a basket on his head. Aurora managed to grip a wooden stick that was used as a handle for people coming off their boats before yet another young man, this time carrying a carpet, hurried past the woman. The main pier was rather long and had quite a few extensions leading out from it, and Aurora took the first to the left. The first boat seemed to house a few Khajiit, and the woman walked up to them.

"Excuse me! I am looking for a man. His name is Vilkas. Big Nord..."

The oldest looking man just shook his head, and Aurora understood it was hopeless. This group looked as if they just arrived for a short stop, they had nothing to do in Morrowind but to quickly sell some goods and produce before setting back home. Aurora realised it would be more difficult than she imagined to find anyone who had met and remembered the muscular Companion she was looking for.

For most of the morning, she wandered from one dock to another, asking the elves, humans and... monsters about Vilkas, but no to avail. By midday, she decided to have lunch and headed back to where she felt the smell of fresh vegetables being cooked in oils. A young woman, about Aurora's age served her foods of distant memories as they spoke of the current situation in the Imperial lands. Aurora had not been there for more than two years, but a lot had happened during that time. The Empire was weakened after Skyrim broke free, and things were only getting worse. Drastic cuts had been made in the state's budget as Cyrodiil no longer received tax from the northern lands and many Imperials had emigrated to find work in Elsweyr and Morrowind as prices had gone up in their homeland.

It saddened her to hear that, but the woman could not really understand why. Skyrim was her home and she should not care less about the Empire from which she was forced to flee. The High King himself had taken her under his wing, and she was no longer bound to Cyrodiil. Yet, after finishing her conversation with the young woman, Aurora's mood had changed.

Wandering from dock to dock, she asked all the people she met, but most did not even bother answering her questions. The elves were particularly unfriendly towards her, but she did meet a group of middle-aged Dunmer who cared to tell her everything they knew, which was not much. They did, however send her to a customs house not far from their boat.

It was white and very square, not at all like the typical Morrowind architecture, but Aurora attributed that to the fact that the customs house had to be easily spotted. There was quite a line outside of it, where most people wanted to declare their goods and pay taxes. The woman excused herself as she passed the line, being shouted at by some of the merchants.

As she pressed herself through the door, she noticed that the inside of the house was tiny. There was a wide desk at the far end of the room with two men behind it and a lot of elves and humans queuing. The floor was made of wood, something that was rather unusual for the region and reminded her a lot of the south. Still pressing herself forwards, she tried to catch the attention of the Nord or Dunmer who were standing behind the table.

"Excuse me, Nord!" she cried.

He did not even notice her. The atmosphere was rough – some were shouting and puffing at one another whilst a small child cried in its mother's arms. Aurora raised her voice, but was told to get in line by a Redguard. Realising it was hopeless, she got down on the floor and crawled past the warm and sweaty feet of the crowd until she reached the table. She got back on her feet just in front of the Nord, who seemed rather surprised to have someone pop up in front of his face.

"Nord! I wonder if you've seen one of your own kin. Vilkas is his name. Icy blue eyes, black hair, muscular..."

"Why do you ask?" he said suspiciously whilst carrying on and filling out forms and papers. "So you can find and kill'im? Are you a mercenary or what?"

"A lot of suspiciousness in a single sentence, innit?"

The man snorted, but did not look at the woman in front of him. Aurora did her best to search for eye contact, but the man had gone quiet once more as he continued to do his work. She was almost about to give up as the Nord then spoke:

"Had a worker once, good man."

The woman's heart jumped. She was on to something! She tried to calm down and force herself not to anticipate too much as she would just be disappointed if she got too carried away, but it was difficult when it came to Vilkas.

"When... When was this?" she asked, still not completely comprehending the fact that someone knew something about the man she was searching for.

"A long time ago. About four months, why do you ask?"

"He is a friend of mine."

The man had looked up on her, inspecting her face closely. Aurora was calming down and trying to look less intimidating than she normally did. Uneasily trying to look feminine, she brought her right hand to her hair, but forgot about the sword which hang from her belt. The Nord had noticed it and decided against giving out too much information about his old employee.

"He didn't tell me about any friends searching for him."

"Look, I'm not out to hurt anyone, if you would just tell me where he is..."

The Nord turned away from her to help another merchant, but just as he did so, another man approached a disappointed Aurora.

"Good day, Imperial," he spoke joyfully. "Hadrian is my name. Of the Venero family."

She looked at him and wrinkled her forehead. She did not have time for suitors at this point, and she could not care less about them. The woman threw a quick eye on him and noticed that he was of middle height, that he had short, brown hair and dark eyes.

"Uh... Aurora. Stormblade," she said whilst searching for the exit with her gaze.

The Dragonborn noticed it and felt a strong need to go outside. The air was thick and awful inside of the under dimensioned customs house, and she could not wait any longer. People were leaning and pushing on her from every direction, and she excused herself as she tried to escape the man who had walked up to her. As she progressed through the crowd, she noticed that he still followed her; he even tried to stop the woman by shouting her name.

"I know of the man you're looking for!" he cried.

She stopped immediately and turned towards him.

"He was as a dock-worker here a few months ago, a day-labourer..."

"Where did he say he was going?" Aurora asked as she wrinkled her nose and curled her upper lip.

"I don't know for sure," he stuttered. "He didn't really seem to be the type to tell people about his plans."

Fair point, Aurora thought as she examined the stranger closer. He did not appear to be a liar; in fact, he seemed to be rather a rather unsecure man. One that would turn red and be unable to look her in the eyes if he was to tell untruth. Nevertheless, she tried to give a suspicious impression in order to test the Imperial. She straightened her back and raised her head, crossing her arms in the process. The other Imperial still held his gaze as he continued.

"I'd try the south if I were you," the man said. "There are three major towns on the mainland. If you'd be going to Mournhold, I could follow you there."

"Thank you, Imperial, but I travel by myself," Aurora answered.

She had come to this bloody town to find leads that would take her to Vilkas, not making new friends. She did not wish to be delayed just because some weakling had to rest every other mile. No, the faster she would travel south, the better. Every day counted, every mile she walked before setting up camp for the night.

"Of course – y... you decide, but... but I thought it would be a win-win situation," the man stuttered.

"How so?" the woman asked and raised her eyebrows.

The Imperial man raised his gaze and looked to the left, desperately trying to find a few reasons. Aurora could not believe that he was a merchant – they had to have a stone hard face in some situation to get the best possible price for their goods. They had to know how to bluff and haggle, and it was obvious that this man could not. The woman could only imagine how many thousands of septims he had lost over the years, although he had probably only been in the business for a short time.

"Well, I know the lands very well," Hadrian eventually said. "This is the fifth time I make this trip." The man smiled nervously. "And the innkeepers give me a discount."

It all sounded very good, but Aurora had learned that people always had their motives, and she was rather curious to hear his.

"What do you have to gain?" she asked, testing him.

"You appear to be some sort of warrior," he stated shortly. "The roads are dangerous, a lot of bandits lately."

"You want me to protect your goods?"

Aurora wrinkled her forehead, which seemed to stress the man. He obviously wanted her with him on his journey, but she felt that she had less to gain from it than he had. The man could only offer a few tips on where Vilkas could be, and had already shown all of his cards. There was nothing more he seemed to be able to contribute to her search. Just as Aurora was about to decline, however, he spoke a last time.

"Let's put it like this. My wife and daughter live in Mournhold, they are bound to know if the man you are searching for has passed by."

Aurora thought for a while before smiling. Well, it was not much, but he had suggested something at least, and she would not mind the company as the trip was rather long, especially if he had a carriage.

"Fine, come on," she said.

"I'll just gather the last packages and we'll set off."


	3. Chapter 3

The travellers left the town gates at midday. The sun was in zenith and made Aurora very warm. Those years in Skyrim had made her unused to warmer climates, even though she hailed from the Imperial city. The woman removed her leather jacket and threw it on top of some barrels placed on the carriage. She was riding a horse this time, even though she preferred to travel by foot. The thing was, in Skyrim, she could reach basically any place within a fortnight from Whiterun, but it was quite a distance from Blacklight to the southern towns. Her plan was to keep the horse for as long as she searched for Vilkas. If he lived in a city, then she would seek to sell it as soon as possible. If he lived somewhere out in a forest, a horse might just come in handy.

Hadrian seemed rather contempt having Aurora with him. She had caught him gazing at her shiny, new ebony sword, which probably made the man feel protected. He did not seem to be a warrior at all; in fact, he observed the weapon with a child-like admiration. If not for his inability to defend himself, Aurora might just have found him rather attractive. He was of average height and had rather feminine features for a man, but they looked alright on his face. The man had a straight nose and oval jaw-shape, brown eyes and narrow lips and did not look quite like a common Imperial.

They had spoken a little about his goods; apparently he bought fruits and wine from the south and sold it in Blacklight, from where he returned with furs and mead, bought from merchants coming from Skyrim, but not about much else. Aurora could not think of much else than reaching Mournhold as soon as possible, and if that really was a good idea. She might just as well leave the merchant and ride there in her own pace, the woman thought for a moment, but reconsidered when she thought it would be a good idea to ask some innkeepers along the way. If she had Hadrian with her, who was on good terms with them, those damned elves might just open up a bit better than those seamen in Blacklight.

As she looked at the man on the carriage next to her, she noticed that he seemed to be struggling somewhat with asking her something. Trying to be nice, she raised her eyebrows and nodded that it was alright of him to open his mouth.

"Stormblade?" he then asked insecurely. "That's not very Imperial..."

"No..." Aurora began and looked straight ahead. "I fought in the civil war in Skyrim and was given it as a title."

The man jerked slightly in surprise as he heard her speak. "Nobility then?"

Aurora laughed faintly at the absurd assumption and straightened her back, looking down at the road in front of her.

"Not at all," the woman sighed. "I'm from a family of poor merchants," she said, but did not wish to go into details. "You?"

"I'm the only son of a pair of farmers..." he began, but stopped rather abruptly. "Why are you here again?" Hadrian asked with renewed energy.

Aurora did not look at the man, but kept her gaze straight ahead. It was not as much out of shame or the fact that she had something to hide, but rather to stop the man from asking more about her by silently informing him that it was she who wrote the rules. He better not grow too attached to her, for she would leave him and his goods as soon as they reached Mournhold and she had the opportunity to speak to his wife. Her purpose with coming to Morrowind was not to make friends.

The man next to her looked at her from beneath and seemed rather impressed with her, which annoyed Aurora terribly. This is why she preferred to surround herself with warriors rather than civilians; they respected her without idolising or placing her on a pedestal to such a silly extent.

"I'm taking my family to Leyawiin," he suddenly exclaimed. "My... my wife and I've been living here in Morrowind for the past two years, but we're constantly harassed by the locals, and after our daughter was born... We felt it would be safer to move to back to Cyrodiil."

He was rather energetic and keen on telling his story, what made him seem very naïve and inexperienced. The woman chuckled slightly, but did her best not to show this side of her too much. No matter what, she was not a bully, and she should behave appropriate regardless under which circumstances, she thought.

"I know the feeling of being an outcast..." she said and gave Hadrian a quick smile. "How old is your daughter?"

"Four months," Hadrian said and sighed. "Sadly, I've been working a lot. Haven't seen my family for six fortnights."

"Life is hard."

"One has to earn a living," Hadrian said and jerked his shoulders.

They had reached the woods by now, and Aurora began to remember the (to her) outlandish... trees and undergrowth. The trees were not like in Skyrim or Cyrodiil, but giant mushrooms with moss hanging down from the top. Mushrooms – Aurora hated everything about them; from the consistency to the taste and their esthetical appearance. Besides, the Dunmer seemed obsessed with putting those damned sponges into every meal, from breakfast to dinner.

Aurora's thoughts on the undergrowth were not particularly kind either. She could neither stand the violet coprins, nor the muck sponge and the other mushrooms whose names she could not remember. There were a few flowers she was neutral to, but that was it. The flora was not as beautiful as in Skyrim, or even Cyrodiil, and it had nothing to do about the fact that Aurora was bitter. Well, perhaps a little, but she really hated mushrooms.

"It's funny, because when I first saw you, I didn't think of you as a soldier or anything..." Hadrian said with a dreamy expression.

Aurora did not say anything; she merely raised an eyebrow and continued to stare at the ground beneath her. She did not know whether to feel insulted or pleased. How happy she would be if the Imperial could just shut his mouth – there was no need to have it working all the time.

"But when you did that fire-thing. Wow... It was simply... What was it? An illusion? Magic?"

The woman could not help but to look straight at Hadrian. He seemed mentally absent, as if he relived the moments within himself. She could not believe it, that it was he who stood up against a Nord who was two heads taller than himself...

"You were there?"

"Oh... I thought you remembered me..." he said. His head fell slightly as if he was downhearted by her not remembering him.

"I don't need a man to defend my honour," the woman warned.

"I noticed that."

Aurora inspected him closely. His statue was rather thin, and he definitely lacked the charisma of Ulfric. He was like a very brave (or stupid) little dog who instead of running decided to fight the wolves. It was honourable, but it would cause him great troubles in the future to behave the way he did. This did, however force Aurora to revise her opinion of him. He had proven his loyalty, and it was admirable, even if it was to no use.

They continued for hours before they sat down and Hadrian shared his food with the woman. It contained mushrooms, but Aurora did not have the heart to inform him about her preferences. He would probably look through all of his goods and even wander off to the forest to find her something she liked, Aurora guessed. He was the type that would do that.

The woman looked at her map when she was back on the horse and Hadrian on his carriage. There was an inn not too far from where they were, so the woman assumed that would be their destination. Mournhold appeared to be very far from they were. It would have taken her two and a half weeks if she rode on her own, but with Hadrian's carriage, they would not be there until next month.

The woman sighed. She would have a lot of time to think of Vilkas, and since she had not let herself do that properly since she left Windhelm to do something about the dragon invasion, it would mean that it would hit her hard. After all, there were no guarantees that he would even speak to her after all this time. The two-year mark of her departure from Whiterun approached, and a lot had changed since then. It would be up to Aurora to find Vilkas, but it was for him to decide what to do then. She tried not to get her hopes up, but the woman still felt that she would bleed inwardly if he turned his back on her once they met.

What would her words to him even be? How would she approach him at all? One could not simply walk up to him after all this time. The woman still remembered his cold reaction to her from when she carried the Jarl's... the High King's message to the former Jarl Balgruuf of Whiterun. It felt as if he would spit in her face... no, even worse – it felt as if he would not waste that on her.

She still loved him, she would always, probably. One was never granted more than one soulmate per lifetime from the gods. Yet the more she thought about it, the less could she explain why she had those strong feelings for him. It was as if it came naturally for her to love Vilkas, as if it was a part of her that had always been there. In all the other men she had been interested in, there had been a resemblance of one dimension of Vilkas; a small entity that man shared with Aurora's soulmate.

It was comic that although all Aurora could remember them doing was fighting and having sex, both things equally pleasurable, but still smiling as the fool she was when she thought of it. The man was absolutely perfect in every way. It was ridiculous that the gods created a man like Vilkas. One human should not be able to contain all the characteristics Vilkas had, it was not fair against the others. It was not fair to the woman either, those who could not have him or did not know of his existence...

"Hello?" she heard and quickly turned her gaze at Hadrian. The woman had no idea of what he had asked her, but assumed it had something to do about the fact that she had been looking dreamy.

"Are there really that many bandits?" the woman asked after a long silence. It was better to give him the impression of thinking about the journey that lay ahead than to pour her heart out.

"My neighbour is a merchant too, and he was almost killed half a year ago. A group of marauders took everything he had, almost took his life too. Dangerous forests..." Hadrian spoke warningly.

"I don't remember that..." the woman said and wrinkled her forehead slightly in disbelief.

"How long since you've been to Morrowind?" the man asked as if he challenged her.

"Five years."

"Oh, that is a long time. A lot has changed."

Once more, a silence fell over them, but this time, Aurora told herself to give herself a break and not think too much of Vilkas. She would reach him, with time. Perhaps it was for the best, anyways. At least she would figure out what to say to him before she set her foot in Mournhold.

"So what were you doing in Skyrim anyway?" Hadrian asked, keen to keep the conversation afloat.

"Well," Aurora sighed. "I wasn't planning to go there in the first place. I got lost in the mountains, then a group of Imperial soldiers captured me, thinking I was with the Stormcloaks. And then... one thing led to another."

The man nodded enthusiastically whilst hearing her speaking. Once she stopped, he quickly continued:

"Why did you leave Cyrodiil?"

Aurora laughed uneasily and waved with her hand as if to let it go.

"Long story."

"We have almost two fortnights, Aurora Stormblade."

Apparently she must have jerked slightly, for the man looked at her in a funny way and asked "What?".

"Oh, I'm just not used to be called that."


	4. Chapter 4

"My father had a small shop close to the centre, where he sold meat to working people and nobilities' servants. There was this merchant family in the city, not the richest one, but still well off. They had a son who was a few years older than me – I was 16 at the time. I can't remember his name, but I hated his face the first time I saw him." Aurora felt shivers down her spine as she remembered the boy.

She looked at Hadrian from her horse and met his gaze. He was listening carefully; his eyes glowing of proud to be near a fighter like Aurora. The woman laughed slightly within herself as she noticed the man's reaction, but continued:

"His eyes were small and squint-ish, the nose short but wide, and the cheeks round as a swine's arse. His personality was all piggish too. My dad got some issues with the merchant permit, and the family promised to take care of the problem if their youngest son could have me. So I ran."

It did not hurt to tell the story of her departure from the Imperial city anymore. She could not believe it had gone more than six years since that fateful night she had gathered the few items she owned and crept out of a window on the second floor only to fall into the dirty mud on the street below. It had been raining that night, the woman remembered. The teenager had cried all the way to the bridge connecting the city with the mainland. She spent the night below the bridge, hiding from the rain before setting off to Elsweyr the next morning. Aurora knew nothing of Elsweyr apart from the fact that the Khajiit inhabited the lands in the south. She liked the name, though.

"I am sorry to hear that," Hadrian said and looked genuinely sorry.

"I don't need patronising. It's all in the past now," the woman stated and gave Hadrian a reassuring smile.

The highlands caused them quite some trouble in the uphills. Hadrian's horse could not draw the carriage on its own, so Aurora attached her mare in the front and went by foot instead. Her sword hung from a belt and hit her leg for every step she took. It was interesting how quickly she had gotten used to just have it laying over one leg as she rode.

"I'm not patronising you. It's just... I was in the same situation too. That's why my wife Livia and I had to move."

The man did not look at her, but onto the road in front of them. It was a bit too melodramatic for Aurora's taste, but she figured normal people had normal problems and that even they seemed trivial to her, could mean the world to others. She had been like that herself, not too long ago, before she encountered _real_ issues in life.

"I come from a family of farmers hailing from outside of Skingrad. I was twenty when they wanted me to marry a woman I didn't know or love, so Livia and I ran as far as we could. First to Elsweyr, then to Morrowind."

"You've lived in Elsweyr?!"

"Um... yes."

"Where?" she asked, excited.

"Riverhold."

"Just south of Riverhold, there's a moon sugar plantation. Do you know of it?"

"Sadly, no. My wife had relatives working in the town, but they did not wish to know of us, so we left for Morrowind basically within 20 hours."

_What a nasty family_, Aurora thought, but kept quiet for a while. The downhills were almost worse than the uphills as the weight of the carriage pressed on the horses, forcing them into a slight panic – making them difficult to control. Aurora backed off and let Hadrian do something about the situation.

"So you started a new life in Mournhold?"

"At first, we went to Narsis where I found work as a shop assistant. My old boss was a good man, an Imperial like myself. We lived there for two years until he died and his son took over."

"You didn't like his son?"

"Not particularly. He had grown up in Morrowind and learned to hate his own kind. He was very difficult to deal with, so I decided to set up my own firm."

"But why would you leave town if you already had a life in Narsis?"

"Because I learned that the reason to why my wife and I had been left alone was due to the fact that Ulvarius, my old chief was well-respected and told everyone to be kind towards us. As he died, the locals made our lives miserable."

The woman began to sympathise with Hadrian. He did his best after all, and informing her about his life was nothing he did easily. In a way, Aurora envied him, though, for living such an ordinary life. Hers had made her almost cold to ordinary things. She needed to face a dragon or equally disturbing creature for the adrenaline to go up even slightly.

"How's business then?" she asked.

"Can't say that it's been brilliant."

So she would have thought. If the man was as bad at bargaining as he was at standing up for himself, he was in deep trouble. The woman inspected his clothing a little closer. There was nothing wrong with it, but she realised that he probably had worn if for a long while. Someone had done a good job repairing torn edges and holes with a similar fabric, but Aurora would have thrown it away nevertheless. He worked hard, but apparently did not make too much gold. In the old days, she used to make about 700 for one mercenary job. When raiding bandit camps, she could make more than a thousand septims, depending on how much she could carry.

She had not made too much money last year whilst fighting for the Stormcloaks, but she still had more than enough hidden away behind a shelf in Breezehome. It had not even occurred to her that many people had financial issues, being the busy person she was.

"This is the fateful trip for me. I owe a Dunmer some money that I borrowed in order to start my business. I did not know at the time that he has connections in the underworld."

"He's a criminal?"

"Hmpf..." Hadrian snorted. "He's the leader of an organisation called the _Hunting Guild_."

"Hunters?"

"They used to be, but now they're making money by attacking merchants and doing some jobs for the Dunmer."

So that was why he was so keen on having her with him, she thought. She could not blame the man. The first time she killed another person had been a terrifying experience. Being attacked and not knowing what to do was horrible.

"How much do you owe him?" she asked, thinking that she could help him in one way or another.

"783 septims."

"Are you insane?!" she exclaimed. "That's a smaller fortune."

"I borrowed 3000 to start with. I bought different metals for that sum and thought I could sell it to the Orc strongholds in the mountains, but they ripped me off."

"Don't do business with Orcs, they..."

"I know that very well now. So I made a loss and sold it for 900, but then I went into the ale business up in Blacklight. I've paid the Dunmer just over 3000 septims already in amortisation and interest rate."

"What's this cargo worth?"

"About 600, so I'll be able to just make it if I get the price I want in Mournhold. Then I'll be rid off the debt and take my family back to Cyrodiil."

"I see," Aurora said. "Will he let you go just like that?"

"Hopefully. I won't owe him anything, but he might just wish for a hundred or so extra in interest. I'll sell some furniture if that happens."

"But you don't owe him anymore," Aurora complained about the unfairness of it all.

"Anything goes as long as he leaves us alone. I just want to bring my family back home safely."

Hadrian seemed tired. He had probably fought this battle for quite some time and only wished to get rid of it all. He was sick of Morrowind and the elves inhabiting it. With a deep sigh, the man continued:

"Why don't you come home? Cyrodiil is home after all. It is the only place where Imperials are truly accepted in all of Tamriel."

"No... I can't do that," Aurora said, trying to sound as neutral as she could.

"Why?"

"Well... first of all, my parents live in the Imperial city..."

There was no point in spilling too much information of whom she was and what connections she had. Either way, Skyrim was her home now, the home Cyrodiil never was. She was far from a patriot and saw no rational reason to return. The woman already had a life, both in Whiterun and in Solitude to come back to. People knew who she was and respected her, she held titles.

"That is great! You can go and see them, Aurora. It's been years, they have probably come around," Hadrian naïvely suggested.

"They haven't," Aurora insured.

"How can you know?!"

"Because I went back there after visiting Hammerfell and High Rock. I thought I'd join the Legion and start bringing money in to support my parents. It was just before I set off to Skyrim."

"They still hadn't...?"

"No, they shunned me," she said nonchalantly. "I think they had to close the stand because of me not agreeing to marry."

It was her father that made the decisions in the family, but what mother would let something like that happen, Aurora thought. It was not like they were nobility and had a name and reputation to uphold. She never needed them to look after her in that way, and least of all choose a husband for her. If she would have a child one day, she would never force it to marry someone it did not love, but of course, if they did love one another, they might just need a kick in the arse. Some women and men were like that – Vilkas for instance.

* * *

They reached Cormaris two days into the journey. It had been raining the last few miles, but Aurora was in a good mood. She felt productive and that she was on the right path. As they stepped inside an almost empty inn, she headed directly to the counter where a middle-aged Dunmer who did not pay particular interest to her.

"Have you had a guest staying here? A dark haired Nord. Ice blue eyes. A Companion," she asked.

"No, no Nords have been here in the past months."

"Are you sure?"

"Completely."

After looking around a little, she could understand why no Nords had been there for a while. The inn was of considerate size, but it barely had any guests at all. After the woman ordered food and rented a room for the night, she understood that the food was awful and the room disgusting. After only eating a spoonful, she rolled out the map of Morrowind in front of her.

He must have passed Cormaris if he indeed had travelled south. She saw no other reasonable paths to take in order to reach the southern lands. On the other hand, this was Vilkas. He could just as easily stayed in the forest overnight. Especially considering the standard of the inn.

In a way, Aurora was glad. At least she was on the right track after a year and a half. There was no need to rush, for if Vilkas found work somewhere, he would stay put for at least a few weeks at a time. His road was just as long as hers, and if she knew him right, he was on foot. She travelled faster than he did anyway. There was a chance of Vilkas staying for some time in the next town, meaning she would catch up eventually.


	5. Chapter 5

They left the highlands encompassing Blacklight and Cormaris reached the mountains outside of Soluthis. Even Aurora had to admit that she quite enjoyed the view, but she kept longing for the miles to become shorter and the days longer. Morrowind was not for her, and the sooner she found Vilkas, the faster would she escape it. The north of the land of elves was very unfamiliar to her, and she only had Hadrian's experience to fall back on – which was difficult for her, even if she trusted the man.

The road south changed as Morrowind did the same. As they passed Veranis Hall, they had already left the mountains and walked a few miles in the badlands and its horrible roads. Aurora realised that she had completely misjudged how much territory they could put behind them in a single day. The woman had never seen such a terrain before. It was mountainous, but without any trees or... mushrooms. In a way, it reminded her of the deserts in Hammerfell, but the air was not as hot and slightly moister.

It was a challenge even for the most experienced traveller, especially with the carriage and horses. They had stopped by a small oasis just before entering the worst part of the badlands, where Hadrian had filled a barrel with water. Aurora thought he was an icebrain, but when she noticed how much water the horses needed, she changed her mind and thanked her lucky star for having the Imperial man with her.

Nevertheless, the road was rather busy with merchants traveling both towards Blacklight in the north and Cyrodiil and eastern Morrowind in the south. Aurora had noticed how worn and tired the ones travelling north had been, and when she thought about it, the woman realised that it had been a clue of what was to come.

The badlands proved to be quite a trial, and both Aurora and Hadrian sighed happily when they once again entered the plateaus just outside of Omayni. People often bonded rather well under harsh conditions, and this was no exception. Aurora felt that she could always count on her Imperial, and gave signals implying she was interested in hearing about his life. For once, she was happy to hear of other people's lives, it was nice to forget about her own once in a while. At times, it felt as if she had the weight of Nirn on her shoulders, and that financial problems were the largest issues seemed wonderful. She kept in mind that this was a vacation of some sort as she would have to deal with both the dragon and the Thalmor as soon as she returned to Skyrim.

Because of that, she tried to calm down and cherish every minute of her freedom, for it could never be long lived. _Never_ was probably within an erroneous time frame, but that was how it felt. It could take months to destroy Alduin completely, and probably years to defeat the Thalmor (or being crushed by either). That meant that every sunset she saw should be fully appreciated, as well as every dawn.

Night fell as she was deep inside of her thoughts, and Hadrian began to fiddle with the tent he always brought with him in case he had to spend a night outside of a city. As they reached a good place high above a valley with a good view, the woman thought about what she concluded earlier.

"Why don't we sleep in the wild tonight?" Aurora suggested with a smile.

The sky was clear, and the woman wished to fall asleep watching the stars and moons. It had been too long since she last studied the sky at night, probably more than a year. The last time Aurora could remember was just before taking Whiterun with the Stormcloaks.

"Will it... be safe?" Hadrian worryingly wondered. He was not the person who would sleep atop his carriage for no apparent reason.

"I doubt that the tent is much safer," Aurora said and got off her horse.

"Alright, it trust you to defend us against kagouti or nix-hounds, should they assault."

The woman bound her horse to a wheel and got up on the carriage. She needed no soft fabrics or pelts beneath her back to fall asleep – she had managed to rest in caves and tombs on her adventures after all. Hadrian spent a few minutes preparing his temporary bed before he lay down beside the woman who was mesmerised by the beauty of the sky. Neither one of them spoke for a long time, but let their thoughts run through their minds. Aurora thought of the sky she had woken up staring at after her first transformation to a werewolf. Even though she knew of all the worse aspects of having the blood, a part of her regretted finding a cure. It was one of the few things that bound Vilkas to her, and she could not help thinking that losing their beast blood was one of the reasons to why they did not work out.

She had done the right thing, but she was still bitter. The rational and emotional thoughts were at war with one another. There were so many things she could give up to be with Vilkas, but she was not sure about if his happiness was one of them. She sighed. It was too late now, anyway. She could ask Aela to give her the blood again, but Vilkas would never have it, rendering it useless. Aurora would just have to make Vilkas realise that there were other things binding them together.

On the other hand, what did bind them? Her love for him – but was it enough? How embarrassing and hurtful it would be if he did not accept her passionate words once she uttered them to him. They were both Companions, but Aurora was not sure it mattered much to Vilkas at this point in his life if he was not ready to settle down. It would only serve as tinder to awkward silences in Jorrvaskr. Apart from that, they did not have much else in common, meaning that Aurora's only hope of reaching his heart was that he tried to reach hers.

The minutes flew by, but the woman did not notice. Hadrian had put his right arm beneath his head and grown tired of watching the sky. His body language and expression changed to as if he was asking an older sister private questions. It took him a while to form the sounds necessary to mediate the thought, for he lacked the courage to do so. After Aurora noticed this and gave him an annoyed look, he opened his mouth.

"Have you known love?"

"What kind of question is that!?" Aurora hissed, slightly unfriendlier than intended.

Why was it so that so many people thought of emotional ties between people when observing the moons? Aurora soon regretted her harsh tone as she realised that Hadrian wished to know what a friend should. She sighed deeply, but kept her gaze pinned to the sky above them.

"It is the reason to why I'm here in the first place," the woman uttered with a low voice.

"You are lucky," Hadrian stated after a short while. "Most aren't fortunate enough to have met their other half."

"At least you're married to yours."

"That is the easy part. What's difficult is to find it, but then everything will come naturally."

"And if it doesn't?" she asked. "Love isn't that simple," the woman snorted as she realised that Hadrian could not answer the question.

"Oh it is," he stubbornly maintained his position.

"Then why does it happen that two people that are meant to be together separate?"

"Love is easy. Relationships are not. Everyone fights, everyone argues, but at the end, all that matters is that you feel safe and loved by the other person."

Reality stung her. She had never felt loved by Vilkas. No man had ever loved her entirely, relentlessly. Men had found respects of her that they liked, but not her as an entity. The closest she had come was with the King, but she doubted that those feelings were true. If he had really loved her, then nothing else would have mattered, as Hadrian implied. She had walked on Nird for twenty-three years, but still not made herself worthy the true and uncompromising love of a man. Vilkas was the man for her, but she had been such a fool when she had the chance to win his heart, and that made her situation more difficult. She would prove to him how much she had grown, and hopefully, he then would grow affectionate, even loving towards her.

He must have seen her as weak before. It was indeed stupid of her to throw herself at him the way she did before parting with the Companions. The fact that she did not face her destiny as Dragonborn must also have been a contributing aspect, but she had progressed well when it came to that. She knew what had to be done, and she would go to the Jarl of Whiterun as soon as she returned. It was not about postponing something difficult this time. Her last wrongdoing was to leave the Companions without a real Harbinger, but she had learned leadership, at least to some extent. Therefore, there should be no reason for Vilkas to look down on her, could he just forgive her, Aurora thought.

"It's very romantic, what you are doing for that man," Hadrian quietly spoke after a while.

Aurora had gone into her own world by then, with a dozen thoughts running through her mind simultaneously. Was there something about her that made it impossible to love her? Or were her hopes to high? Most people settled for someone they shared a deep friendship with, but not true, romantic feelings. Was she pinning her hopes to a miracle by wishing for something intense, passionate? But on the other hand, with whom would Vilkas settle down if not with her? Aurora saw no other woman more worthy him than herself.

No one was perfect, she knew that, but someone should be perfect for her. Vilkas was. He intrigued her, he fascinated her. He was a very intelligent man with a warrior's fire burning in his soul. Who else but him possessed his qualities?

She did not sleep much that night. The woman could not clear her head enough to rest mentally, and began to feel unsure about her mission. After walking many miles on the Central Plains, she at last decided that she had spent too much time and energy finding the man she wanted to be with to turn back. It could not hurt their relationship, and frankly, she saw no way their relationship could turn for the worse.

Hadrian seemed very joyful, though, as they passed Old Ebonheart, for it meant they would soon reach Mournhold. The plains were much easier to cross than the ashlands, where the carriage's wheels got stuck once in a while, or the mountainous regions where Aurora constantly had to help Hadrian's horse managing the slopes. Therefore, the journey there took less time, but once they went a few miles to the east, they once again encountered the badlands. They lowered their pace and spent the night in the half-desert, before quickly continuing towards their destination in the morning. Aurora was incredibly sick at traveling and promised herself that she would stay at home more often and send the other Companions on raids in the future. There were only so many miles one wished to walk across Tamriel, and the woman had used up all of hers.

This was the last time she ever set her foot in Morrowind, Aurora decided. The only thing good about Morrowind in her eyes was Hadrian – and he was Imperial. She had to admit that she was bitter, but she also thought to be entitled to it after spending a year there in her teens, mostly avoiding mushrooms and pinning her hopes of romance to unfaithful men.

On the other hand, she was incredibly grateful for Amhed's infidelity, for it brought her to Skyrim and the Companions. Not directly, but had she remained in Tear and married a private guard, she would still have been working in a shop, and perhaps carrying a toddler in her arms. A few years ago, she might even have learned to be a good mother (she had to admit that risking life on a daily basis had made her colder and nonchalant in the recent years), but it was not the life for her anymore. After becoming a warrior, she realised that it was a part of her she could not live without. It had opened barriers in her mind and made her self-dependent. It also made her rethink her standards when it came to men. She did not just want anyone anymore.


	6. Chapter 6

She understood, now, why Hadrian could not have married Livia unless they ran away. It also made her realise that the little family had gone through tougher times than Aurora previously imagined. Those of mixed races were looked down upon by most people, even if they came from the same family. In the past, Aurora had seen half-Nord, half-Imperial and half-Redguard, half-Imperial humans, but ever a combination of a human and beast. Hadrian's wife was half-Imperial, half-Khajiit.

"Darling!" the woman exclaimed and jumped into Hadrian's arms.

The couple embraced one another whilst Aurora tried her best to not let her eyes widen. The woman examined Livia's face as she had her face on her husband's shoulder whilst holding onto him tightly. She must have been shorter than Aurora, but probably of average Khajiit/Imperial height. Her ears were typically Khajiit – placed on the top of her head, but had a very interesting colour. The red fur integrated into her shoulder-length ginger hair, and where an Imperial would have her ears, there was nothing. To Aurora, it was difficult to decide whether Livia was attractive or not. For being Khajiit, she would probably have been a beauty, but she was too bald on her body to be considered one, yet she was hairy by Imperial standards. Her face very much reminded of Khajiit; with high cheekbones and a round shape that narrowed by the jaw. Her nose was wider by the brows but very narrow at the tip, and her upper lip reminded of a Khajiit's, being slightly curved upwards in the middle. Aurora did not have time to catch the colour of the woman's eyes as she had closed her eyes as soon as she reached her husband's shoulder, but she did notice four fangs in her mouth.

Just as she retracted, the woman noticed Aurora and backed off slightly. The Imperial woman noticed that Livia had round, yellow eyes just before the Khajiit-Imperial took a step away. Her husband treaded aside and lifted his arm to present the stranger.

"This is Aurora, a traveller I met in Blacklight. She helped me a lot on the way."

"I am Livia, nice to meet you," the woman spoke with a very high-pitched voice. She did not offer her hand, but bowed her head slightly.

"Come, let's go inside," Hadrian suggested and put his hand on his wife's lower back as she turned around.

Aurora noticed Livia's long thin tail sticking out of her very Imperial dress and raised an eyebrow. She had never seen such a combination before, and it was intriguing.

Their house was by no means of adequate size for a family of three as it consisted of a single room with a firepit in the middle of it. To the right, there was a small, quadratic table placed to the wall with three chairs. A bit further in, Aurora saw a bed, and a child's hammock hung thon the left. Between the improvised cot and the adult bed, there was a working table and a few cabinets. It was very dark, and the walls were covered with dark wood. Nowhere could the Imperial woman find anything of value. That was when she realised how poor the couple really were. Hadrian made a decent amount of gold on his frequent trips, meaning that their creditor took most of the poor lad's profit.

Hadrian's wife seemed very nervous, but Aurora thought it had something to do with the fact that strangers turned up on her doorstep more than often, probably with anything but good intentions. Hadrian placed both hands on her shoulders and whispered a few words to her, after what the tensions in her shoulders disappeared. Aurora guessed that the Imperial explained Aurora's intentions. After a while, the man walked up to her and led her towards the hammock.

"This is our daughter, Katia."

The man smiled proudly as he stroke his young daughter's cheek. The little girl looked much more Imperial than her mother, but had the same red ears and ginger hair. She lay on her side, exposing a tail of the same length as her mother's, but other than that, one would not think of her as Khajiit. Her facial features reminded of the beastfolk's, but they were not evident.

"You are welcome to stay as long as you please, but we will head southwest in about a week," Hadrian said.

"Thank you, Hadrian, but I can not lose any time. Beside," she said with a lower tone, "I don't want to intrude..."

The man understood her perfectly and nodded before showing her the way to Livia who sat down on a chair.

"Please help our guest, darling," Hadrian asked his wife.

Aurora told the story about Vilkas; his features and history, but the woman said that she had not seen him in Mournhold. There was something about the things Aurora explained about the man she was looking for that made Livia very nervous. She avoided eye contact almost as if she did not trust the Imperial woman. Aurora guessed that Livia had encountered Vilkas, but could not understand why she would want to hide it. Aurora looked at Hadrian, but he seemed too preoccupied with his daughter to have listened to the women's conversation. The Imperial woman gave up after a while. Livia was obviously too scared to tell the truth, meaning that Vilkas could be part of some criminal or feared gang, perhaps a part of Livia and her husband's tormentors.

She was all but sad to hear Livia say nothing about Vilkas, for it meant that he was close by, and Aurora knew exactly where to go.

* * *

At sunset, she began the not too unpleasant journey towards the most tattered quarters of Mournhold, which was not a beautiful city to begin with. Being with the Thieves Guild for over half a year had learned her one or two things about how to act around people of that sort. She wore her leather jacket even though it was a rather warm evening and tried to hide her sword behind her leg as it was an attention-magnet.

As she walked into the first tavern she saw, not a single head was turned in her direction. She sat down by the counter and ordered a glass of shein whilst sitting next to a middle-aged Dunmer.

"Dark haired. Ice blue eyes. A Companion," she spoke quietly and put fifty septims on the counter.

"No, never seen such a man," the Dunmer blatantly answered.

Aurora examined him closely, but the man did not seem to know. He was staring in front of him with his mind focused on something completely different. Just as she said it, though, she heard a voice behind her.

"I know who you are looking for."

As she turned around, she saw a blond Nord. He was of average height, but muscular, as most of the northern people. Aurora paid little attention to him, but noticed that he wore the standard thieves Guild uniform.

"Excuse me?" she said as she protectively placed her left hand on the gold next to her, knowing his type.

"Yes, I saw him about a month ago. He came wandering up to the tavern a dark night."

"Where was he going?"

"Are you a mercenary or something?" the man asked whilst narrowing his eyes.

"Oh, Gods no! Believe me, I must find him, but for other reasons. Tell me where he went."

"He is a good man. Don't want him to end up hurt... or dead."

"Trust me, that is not my intention. I just need to find him. I'm his Harbinger, see?"

He inspected her closely. "You're a Companion?"

"Yes, I left Whiterun to find our missing shieldbrother."

Aurora realised that he was not completely buying her truth and decided to play the role of a lost maiden once more. She did not wish for Brynjolf to find out that she was hunting a man across all of Tamriel.

"Help me, please!" she cried.

The man looked around before he leaned forwards and whispered in the woman's ear.

"There is a man who matches your description who visits taverns in Mournhold and the neighbouring towns. Don't know where he resides, but I'd try west from here."

The woman nodded and handled over a handful of septims to the Nord before setting off towards the door.

* * *

Her navigational skills in these parts on Tamriel were close to nil. The map did not make sense in the forests at all, and the stars were not in the same place they were in Skyrim. The woman spent the night in the wilderness as she found a small cave that could guarantee her safety for a few hours. The fourth day brought her to what came across as a miserable little village in the middle of nowhere. There were only three houses there, built in typical Morrowind style, and one of them seemed abandoned, or at least in very poor condition.

Aurora saw a short, Dunmer woman who was of about the same age as the Imperial and called out to her.

"Sorry, miss, but have you seen a travelling man here? Ice blue eyes. Strong?"

She turned around and inspected Aurora closely from top to bottom with a disgusted look. The Imperial did not know what she had done to deserve it, but decided against making a scene.

"Cruith!" the woman yelled. "There's someone here who wishes to have a word with you."

A shorter version of the woman Aurora had spoken to emerged from one of the better houses. She appeared to be bitter beyond her years; her eyebrows were naturally tilted forwards and her mouth was sloping downwards. Her entire body language was that of a witch's.

"What is it?" she asked with the voice of a 60-year old.

"I am looking for a man. Dark haired, strong. A Nord told me he passed by not too far from here."

"Passed by, you say? I wish he had," she said with a tone as bitter as her appearance.

"So you have seen him?" Aurora asked and wrinkled her eyebrows.

"I've seen him alright. Spent a night with that bastard."

Aurora's heart sunk as she heard those words from the woman in front of her horse, but did her best to suppress those emotions to when she was alone. It was difficult, for dozens of thoughts appeared in her head whilst she thought of what to ask next. In order to gain some control of her mind, she forced herself to lay her eyes on the woman she spoke to. It was not less unpleasant, for jealousy began to boil inside of her.

"Why do you look for that man?" the Dunmer asked suspiciously.

"I have my reasons," Aurora calmly answered.

"Well, he came out of the forest over there," she said and pointed. "Came dawdling here one evening and offered to help us out on the farm in exchange for hospitality. Well... _hospitality_ is what he got, but then he just disappeared one night."

"When was this?" Aurora asked, trying her best to sound neutral.

"Two months ago."

"In what direction was he..."

"East," she abruptly answered.

"Thank you," Aurora said and turned the horse around, steering it towards the woods.

He was somewhere near. She had travelled west, meaning that she had passed him, but too far north or south. She was close to Silnim Dale, but decided to move in the opposite direction, following the main road this time as walking across the forest was proven useless in these lands. Just as she left the miserable village, it hit her. He had slept with that woman. Aurora again began to question if all this was worth it. What if he had forgotten her completely, entirely?

On the other hand – she was no saint either. So what if he had bedded a woman? She had been carnal with two since they ended their relationship. No, they did not end it. It just... fell apart. Yet still...


	7. Chapter 7

Aurora spent a week walking the main road, head into the forest and back again in the southern region of Morrowind, but to no avail. These lands were not as densely populated as the woman had imagined, and she had not seen or spoken to a soul since visiting the village. She knew she was close, though. All traces led here, it was just a question of time until she would find him.

As she passed a larger rock, she noticed that there was someone moving around in the bushes. It did not bother her, and she would let him or her be if they did not do anything else than just observe. Aurora was not too far from the swamps covering the southern parts of Morrowind, and the trees were much more familiar than the mushrooms in the north, for what she was thankful.

An arrow landed on the ground next to her horse. Judging the angle, it was not aimed to kill. She sighed and looked around, but could not find the archer. The road she had travelled on lay behind her, disappearing behind the rocks, and had it not been a potentially lethal situation, the woman would have stopped a while to look at the beautiful picture. The sun was setting, and the road had a golden shine to it.

"I don't have time for this," she whispered and got off her horse.

From her right side, a man emerged from the forest. Instinctively, Aurora looked for weapons, but could find none – the man appeared to be unarmed, yet she knew that there was space to hide a dagger inside of a jacket or boots and prepared for the worst-case scenario.

"What have we got here?" he smiled smugly as he approached her.

Aurora bit her cheek and looked directly at the Imperial. The man was very tall – Aurora would give him a fathom and nearly a foot, but he was neither muscular nor thin. What caught her eye was his thick, dark hair that reached half way down his upper arms. The upper part was drawn backwards and secured with a leather strip, exposing his short sideburns that reached to the same level as his ears. She would have found him rather attractive had he not been a bandit.

"Things are that bad in Cyrodiil, huh? That you have to rob lone women who travel the roads," Aurora said coldly and crossed her arms.

"You don't fool me, lady. A lone woman doesn't just happen to carry a sword such as yours. You are Nobility, meaning that someone would pay a lot to have you back," the man spoke as he let his index finger stroke her chin.

"That was farfetched, but I understand your logic. However, I..."

Instantly, she was slapped across the face. Annoyed, she prepared to punch him, but the man raised his arm as if to calm her.

"Don't try anything now, missy. I have ten men aiming arrows at you," he said and pointed out in the forest.

She looked around and did indeed see the men standing there with their bows prepared as their leader gestured. Aurora realised that it was useless to fight. She could have the man next to her killed in a few seconds, but it would be enough time for the archers to fire at least twice. The odds would definitely be against her.

"So... What's your plan?" Aurora asked and turned towards the man again.

"You'll see."

He pushed her slightly towards the horse and gripped her hands with one of his, and then bound them. After that, she could feel his hand going down her left side, reaching for her sword.

"Like it rough, don't you?" she asked with a sarcastic tone.

The man grimaced and rolled his eyes before lifting her up on the horse again. Aurora, not being a good rider, found it difficult to balance with her arms bound on her back as the horse began to move. The man appeared to be smiling at her remark.

The man led her horse through the forest, and the other men walked behind them. Aurora observed the man from above and guessed his age to be between twenty five and thirty, for he had thin lines from his nose down to the sides of his mouth. His head was big due to the size of his body, but his face was thinner than his average proportions. He had a prominent jaw, though, and high cheekbones.

They only walked for ten of fifteen minutes before they reached what appeared to be a camp. There were about a dozen high, white tents placed like houses in a small village – along a pathway in the middle. A fire pit was burning in the middle, with bandits surrounding it. As the caravan approached, they stood up to examine what the others had brought with them – in this case, Aurora.

"Here's the thing," the tall, dark-haired man began and turned towards her. "You tell us which family you're from, and we'll send them a letter, informing your husband or father that you've been kidnapped."

Aurora let her right leg swing around the horse and jumped. The man gracefully caught her mid air and then lifted her across his shoulder before setting off towards the others. The woman lay in a very awkward position as her hands were bound behind her back, and she had never felt more like a peace of meat in her life. This was the way she carried deer or rabbits while returning from a hunt.

"And if they don't reply?"

"Then we'll start cutting your fingers off, one by one, until they do."

The man turned his head slightly to catch her gaze whilst smiling smugly, but soon noticed that the woman did not appear to be frightened. He laughed and shook his head whilst carrying her past the tents into what appeared to be a shallow cave. As he did so, about two dozen other bandits followed, and formed a circle around where the leader placed Aurora.

All the woman could think of was that she really did not have time to be stuck with a group of bandits. Almost all of them were young, Imperial men, well clothed for being outlaws but without any armour. Most of them wore clothes similar to Aurora's – tunics and leather jackets and trousers.

The woman felt how the atmosphere became tenser. The bandits examined her from head to toe and tried to figure out what their leader had brought with him. The dark-haired man sat down opposite Aurora and spread his arms, encouraging her to talk.

"Eh... I'm Aurora. Of the Stormblade family."

"Have never heard of them," the man said and raised his eyebrows.

"You'll have a long ride. It's Skyrim," she said and bit her lip whilst copying the leader's gestures.

"What kind of title do you have?"

"I don't carry a title. Oh... except for me being Thane of Whiterun."

Aurora heard someone whisper _lower nobility_ from her left side, as if it was a surprise. The woman once again raised her eyebrows and gave her inquisitor an annoyed gaze.

"What does a girl like you do in the forests of Morrowind?" he continued.

"I'm looking for a man. Perhaps you've seen him? Vilkas is his name."

She had no hopes of a reaction from the gang, yet she had suspected that Vilkas had joined a criminal, or at least semi-criminal mob. However, the leader seemed a bit shocked. His prominent eye sockets were almost entirely covered by his eyebrows when he wrinkled his forehead in distrust. The man's black eyes glittered.

"Are you fooling us?!" he asked and bit his average sized lips together.

"This is why one shouldn't jump to conclusions," she lectured him. "That sword is mine, and I am the Harbinger of a group called the_ Companions_. I also happen to be Vilkas's master."

The man stared at her for a while, and Aurora then realised that she had finally come to the right place. The leader knew of Vilkas, she was sure of that. Some men had very obvious reactions, and the leader of the bandits was one of them.

"Where is Vilkas?" he asked a man behind him.

"He went to town, said he'd be back next month," a deep voice answered.

Aurora's heart began to jump. She would see him! She would finally see him! Again, dozens of thoughts raced through her mind. What would she say to him? How should she greet him? How would he react? The woman then realised that she could chose a better time to think of that, a moment where she was not observed by half of Morrowind's criminals. No matter what, she should not let them understand her situation and what she felt for him, for they could both face problems if it came out. Instead, she forced herself to direct her attention to the leader, who had taken a few steps away from her and turned to face his comrades.

"We messed up," he said with a low tone.

"So, who are you, guys?" Aurora asked loudly whilst stretching her neck.

"Shut it!" he commanded and once again turned away.

"I don't like being bound, could you please...?"

He did not pay any attention to her. Most people seemed disappointed and walked away, and the leader's conversation with the rest was not too long or interesting judging by the bandits' reactions. Happy not being the centre of attention, Aurora began to look around inside the cave. The walls were decorated with furs all the way in to the opposite wall, about ten yards in, but did not contain much else. It appeared to be some sort of gathering place rather than sleeping quarters. Looking outside, she saw that one of the tents had its entrance curtain drawn to the side, exposing a table and chair as well as some pelts that lay in a yard-high container.

The leader was now left alone with Aurora, and the woman observed him carefully. How on Nirn did Vilkas get here? What possessed him to be with people like those criminals? It was against the Companion code of honour... Perhaps he had been forced to join them, but then again... It appeared as people knew him, meaning that they let him go to town for an entire month or longer. The leader was very arrogant, but he had manners expected of a lord. He moved like someone from a good family and held his back straight in a (to Aurora) peculiar way. A warrior had a good posture, but the leader did not appear to be one. He lacked the muscles required for hunting. No, Aurora thought. He was a strange man.

"Give me back my sword," she demanded as he looked at her.

"No way!" he laughed. "If you truly are the Harbinger, we better keep your arms bound."

"It's not like I'm going to wander off before I see Vilkas," Aurora hissed.

"You can't be trusted," the man stated arrogantly.

"How come?" Aurora asked, acting surprised.

"You are terribly antagonistic for being a woman."

"Hello! My hands are bound and I've just been informed that you'll chop parts of me off!" she complained. "Let me go and I won't hurt you."

The man laughed again and shook his head before going down on one knee in front of Aurora and slapping her gently on her cheek. He removed a section of her hair that had fallen in front of her face and placed it behind her ear. He was very smooth, and the woman guessed that he had done it a lot on himself, judging by the length of his hair, which was slightly longer than Aurora's. He searched for her gaze and found it, teasing her terribly.

"Oh, you will. I can see it in your all but hospitable body language."

"Well..." Aurora smiled. "I might owe you a slap in the face."


	8. Chapter 8

The following morning, Aurora woke up as someone cut the rope that bound her hands on her back. She slowly opened her eyes a little and realised it was a beautiful, sunny day, but closed them soon thereafter. She was tired, and her wrists ached. The woman stroke them and noticed deep marks from the pressure of the ropes. It hurt, and her shoulders were stiff after sleeping in an awkward position, giving her a terrible morning mood.

"Oh Gods..." she groaned with her eyes shut as she swept her hair backwards, away from her face.

"Get up," she heard the leader command.

"Shut it, I want to sleep."

The woman peeped a little to judge the man's reaction, and he looked eager to wake her up. Aurora could not be bothered, and sweet tiredness called her back to the world of dreams. The dark-haired man was merely an annoying fly to her.

"I said _get up_!" he repeated, slightly more annoyed this time.

With a clonk, something landed next to where Aurora had slept in the cave. Once again, she opened her eyes and noticed that her sword lay about two feet away. Not knowing what to do, she gazed at the man to see if he anticipated her to be grateful for returning her blade. He did not – he stood _en garde_.

"What? Tired of living already?" she muttered as she pushed herself up.

"Shut it, woman. I want to see how good you really are."

The woman snorted and lifted her sword arm, throwing her blade around in her hand, rotating it in the air. She had not woken up entirely and therefore felt slow in both her body and mind. The man, on the other hand, was keen to say the least. He was fully prepared to attack. Sighing, Aurora turned to the side and raised her right arm too. It felt strange to fight without a shield as the balance was all wrong due to uneven weight distribution, but she doubted that it would cause problems. The leader of the bandits did not appear to be a particularly good swordsman.

The secret to success was to take it easy and let the enemy believe that he was leading and choreographing the battle whilst studying him and finding his weaknesses. It did not take long for Aurora to notice the man's. He was not used to sword fighting at all and made too many mistakes for her to take him seriously. The battle was over as soon as he stretched forwards to attack and Aurora swung her sword to parry. The man lost the grip of his blade, and it landed two steps away from the woman. She raised her arm again to make sure he stayed put before walking up to the sword and stepping on it.

"Don't tell me that you're the best swordfighter here," Aurora exclaimed.

The bandits around them laughed, but the leader threw the woman a mean gaze.

"You shouldn't be so cocky, missy. It doesn't suit you."

* * *

Aurora did not do much else than walking around the forest during her second day with the group. She had no idea how to begin a conversation with the bandits, and their leader, a person she was growing rather fond of, was busy somewhere else. The woman did not wish to follow him around like a shadow just because she felt awkward around the others, and she doubted he would appreciate having her with him all the time. She was a free woman at last and guessed that the dark-haired man trusted her to some extent by leaving her out of sight.

She observed the group from a distance. The vast majority were young men from the age of about sixteen to thirty, but she did count to four other women. One of them was simply stunning, and Aurora guessed she received quite a lot of male attention. She was about a foot shorter than Aurora, blonde with long, straight hair and a more feminine appearance. She did not come across as annoying, though. Aurora saw her work on some hunting equipment whilst most of the others relaxed in the sunshine.

Not far from where the camp was situated, the woman found a small rock with a good view of the surroundings and climbed it. She felt good at heart – Vilkas was on his way, she had done everything right and found out where he lived. The only thing she could do now was to wait for him to return. It felt like a small victory to finally be able to remain in the same place for more than a day or two, and she intended to enjoy her time there until Vilkas got back.

The woman sunbathed for a while until she noticed that someone was coming her way and sat up to see whom it was. Not surprised, she greeted the leader of the group by raising her hand. The man nodded and got up next to her. He smelled of... ink, the woman noticed and inspected his hands, but they bore no traces of him writing anything. In fact, they were completely clean. Suddenly very self-conscious about her warrior fingernails, she hid her hands in her lap. The man noticed it and laughed slightly – after pushing her on the shoulder.

"When I first spoke to you, I thought you were good for nothing, but as it turns out, you know how to fight."

"Should I take that as a compliment or claim that slap I owe you?"

The man smiled at her comment and looked straight ahead. He sat slightly turned towards her with his right arm on his right knee, which was bent. The woman inspected his clothing and noticed that something was rather unusual with it. A bandit living in the forest could be expected to wear an armour, but the leader of this organisation did not. Instead, he was dressed in a similar fashion as Aurora with leather pants and a tunic. The woman had to admit that hers was not in its best state due to not being washed properly for over a month. It had stains from sweat and food as well as dark areas caused by sitting too close to the campfire. For the first time, Aurora began to feel like a hobo. She quickly drew her fingers through her hair and realised it was greasy too. All she could do at the moment was to envy the dark-haired man for his washed, perfect hair.

He had put a lot of effort into his appearance considering the resources he had available. Aurora had not even seen a single mirror in the camp, yet the man was clean shaved and had a well organised hairdo. The woman suddenly felt very embarrassed over the sorry state she was in. If a bandit managed to stay handsome in the middle of the forest, so should a woman of her rank.

"We're the _HL_, by the way," the man suddenly exclaimed.

"What's that?"

"Hunters' League."

Aurora remembered a very similar name of an organisation Hadrian had mentioned and immediately jerked. She had considered joining the group temporarily to pay for staying with them until Vilkas returned, but if they worked for the evil pig that borrowed gold to her friend, she would definitely have to reconsider.

"Hm... Do you have anything to do with the Hunting Guild?"

"That's another group," the man quickly replied. "And we have nothing to do with it."

_Good_, Aurora thought. At least they were not the mafia. Considering that Hadrian had feared for his life, she could have reflected on maybe tying them all to a tree and leaving them to die if they made honest people's lives miserable.

"So what exactly do you do?" she asked.

"Well, we do hunt a little and try to sell the pelts in Morrowind and Cyrodiil, but mostly, we kidnap rich people."

"Same as the Guild..." Aurora said, disappointed.

"No, we don't touch the poor, only nobility, but there are a lot _like_ us. Especially in the south."

"Great," Aurora said. "I want to join you."

The man turned his head and looked at Aurora in disbelief. His heavy, dark eyebrows almost covered the eye socket, like when he tried to kidnap her. His narrow face combined with the stare made him look threatening for the first time.

"What?" he exclaimed.

"You heard me, and you should be thankful."

"You are welcome," he said, regaining his normal expression. "That way you might actually be useful."

He winked at her and smiled as the woman formed a fist and hit him on the shoulder. She giggled slightly and drew her hair backwards with her left hand as she changed the position she was sitting in. The hard rock made her backside hurt, but it was nice to have someone to speak to for a change – someone who did not put her on a pedestal but challenged her by teasing the woman.

"What's your name?" she asked for a while. It hit her that everyone in the group knew hers, but she had not heard a single one of theirs, and as Vilkas was not coming back for another month, it could be useful to have at least one acquaintance.

The man looked away before pinning his gaze to the forest beneath them. He sighed deeply and narrowed his eyes to avoid the strong light from the sun as he looked on a small river that ran some few hundred yards away.

"Spurius," the man spoke after a while.

Aurora almost laughed as he opened his mouth. Spurius? That meant _bastard_ in Cyrodiil, and considering the fact that he was an Imperial, it was probably not a misfortunate attempt by his parents to sound imperial and civilised, but rather a nickname he had picked for himself.

"You were an illegitimate child?" she asked him.

"How in Oblivion would you know that?" he exclaimed looked at her.

"I'm Imperial, duh," the woman answered and rolled her eyes.

It was only after his long silence she realised he had been sarcastic. It got to the woman that she had not made the best impression on him, and she grew more and more self-conscious. She usually had no issues impressing people, but this... Spurius seemed to look down on her regardless of the circumstances.

"Well, which Imperial is called _Stormcloak_?" he said, smiling smugly.

"At least I gave you my real name."

"And I might give you mine, in time," the man spoke with a reassuring tone and smiled cheekily.

Aurora inspected his expression carefully as the man turned his gaze towards the forest again. He appeared to be very relaxed, as if he was in control and enjoying making the woman slightly uncomfortable. She felt it was time to find out some things of his life too, in order to make them more equal in that aspect.

"What, are you a wanted criminal or something?" she asked whilst inspecting his face with wrinkled eyebrows to add to the interrogating aspect of the conversation.

"Do you sincerely think I shall give you my story if I don't even say my name?" he laughed.

"A woman might hope for it."

The man looked at her again, but he seemed to have grown edgy. There was something that annoyed him a lot and made it difficult for him to sit still. To irritate him even further, Aurora decided to lay back slightly and close her eyes, letting the sun warm her as she appeared to rest.

"Oh, come on, why are you a Stormblade?" he asked after a few minutes, unable to hold it in any longer.

"I am not married if that is what you wonder," the woman answered and looked at him, covering her forehead with a hand to protect her eyes against the strong sun.

"Good. Good," Spurius smiled and looked away.

The pair rested on the rock for a long time, about half an hour, without saying another word to one another. Aurora almost fell asleep in the cosy weather as she day-dreamed about reuniting with Vilkas and taking him back to Whiterun, settling down and taking care of Alduin one time and for all. She was comfortable enough not to notice how a man walked up to them from the forest before he spoke to his leader.

"Spurius, a nobleman with two guards coming this way from the west."

"Gather the boys," Spurius commanded without a hurry. "Aurora, you come with me."

"No way!" she exclaimed.

She had no intention of helping them out with kidnapping nobility. Perhaps hunting and going to town to sell the pelts, but nothing illegal. The man took a grip of her arm and pulled her on feet with a warning gaze.

"You better start paying for eating our food," he said. "It's either this way or... in nature."

"You... skeever!" Aurora exclaimed and pushed him on the shoulder.

She did not receive the answer she anticipated, instead of pushing her back or cursing at her, the man laughed. Hysterically.

"Sorry, what?"

It was only then she realised that she had been in Skyrim too long.

"It's a giant rat," she muttered.


	9. Chapter 9

Spurius, worrying that Aurora would not take orders, took her hand and hurried onwards. She cursed him repeatedly until they ran past the camp where she without success tried to reach for her sword. About a dozen archers hurried after their leader through the woods towards the same place where Aurora previously had been kidnapped. It was not a long run, but the woman felt that the two months without any action had taken their toll on her body. She felt stiff and unused to run.

They stopped about twenty yards from the road and got down, looking for a good bush or stone to hide behind. Spurius let go of Aurora's hand and disappeared whilst another Imperial man in his late twenties called for his kinwoman to hide with him. Aurora saw no point whatsoever in being a part of this illegal deed since she had no weapon and had a name to uphold, but it was too late now. She wanted to see how it would turn out.

Looking out through the undergrowth, she saw a well-dressed, young man on a horse and two escorting soldiers. It was difficult to spot any details, but she assumed that the lifeguards were heavily armed, and therefore prayed that Spurius would not just jump out of the bushes like he had done when attacking her – as the man was completely unarmed.

That was in vain. Spurius simply walked out onto the road and informed the men about the archers, after what the bandits stood up and began to move closer until they stood about ten feet from the men on the road. Something was not right, though, and Aurora felt nervous. The young man stepped down from his horse on the other side of it, seen from the forest, and the soldiers casted a quick gaze on one another.

Aurora leapt out of the forest and noticed that the soldiers would not simply give up. The young man stood behind them, probably unarmed, but his lifeguards had drawn their swords. Spurius backed off a bit and was therefore hit with Aurora's momentum as she collided with him. Slightly unbalanced, the pair just narrowly avoided one of the soldier's blades by falling to the right.

The woman quickly got up and tried to catch the soldier's attention. Spurius had no idea of how to handle a situation like that, and she wanted to give him enough time to flee.

He did not, though. The nobleman ran back from where they had come, so Spurius set off after him, commanding two of his men to do the same, leaving Aurora to handle the soldiers. One of the archers shot a lifeguard, but the other one was still on his feet and dangerously close to Aurora. If someone fired an arrow, she would be at risk of getting hit and therefore screamed to the bandits to cease fire.

Meanwhile, the large, Imperial man raised his sword above his head to deliver a final blow, but the woman steered away, making the blade hit the ground. She saw her moment and hit the man in his head, feeling immense pain as her fist stroke the man's metal helmet.

He lost his balance and fell to the ground, after what Aurora backed off, holding her right wrist with her left hand. She hoped that some of the archers would run up to the man on the ground and bind him, but they shot him instead. She guessed that he was easier to kill than to spare, but was very unhappy with it.

She sat down on the ground, still holding her wrist and wrinkling her forehead in pain. There was no doubt about it – she had broken it.

* * *

The bandits took quickly took Aurora back to a tent at the camp and immediately called for a Pinarus – a man who knew some basic medicine and biology. He pulled Aurora's wrist back into place and was just about to finish putting on a bandage on her as Spurius emerged. Aurora did not notice at first, for as she began to relax somewhat, her eyes were drawn to the interior of the tent. It was of considerate size and contained three sacks, hay and smelly substances the woman identified as potions and herbs. Pinarus had offered her something against the pain, but Aurora declined. She was not completely sure of what the substance was, and she did not trust the gang enough.

As the man tied the end of the bandage around her wrist, she suddenly felt another hand on it. Turning around, she saw Spurius cocky, smiling face. He sat down next to her and pulled her injured wrist into his lap and began to examine closely her fingers.

"Spurius, you icebrain! You could have gotten yourself killed!" she exclaimed as she did not quite get a reaction from him.

"Mm... That would be a shame, would it not?" he spoke with a very calm, low voice, still finding her hand extremely interesting.

"What kind of a comment is that?!"

"You were worried," he concluded and turned his gaze towards her. "How intriguing."

The woman looked into his eyes and jerked very suddenly as she did so. His gaze was intensive, as if he would kiss her any moment, yet he showed no intension to. Aurora wrinkled her forehead and leaned slightly to the left in distrust. The man continued to stare at her for another few moments before he broke the eye contact and bust out in laughter before quickly stroking her chin with his index finger.

"I had it all under control."

"_How_?" she asked, sceptically.

"Well I had you, did I not?" he asked and once again intensified his gaze.

The woman slapped him on the shoulder with her left hand before getting up and leaving the tent. As she emerged on the busy "street", she realised that she had nowhere to go. Aurora had not been given a sack in one of the tents, and she had spent the previous night on a pelt in the cave, where the young man whom she kidnapped now was being held. The other bandits waited outside of it as their leader would interrogate the young nobleman in a while, but Aurora decided to talk to him first.

She walked up to the cave and noticed the young man with blond, semi-long hair sitting with his hands bound on his back at the same place Aurora had just a day prior. He was younger than her though – probably still a teen. Calmly, she approached the man before he began cursing her. He called her a spineless, honourless bandit who would be punished as justice would be restored, but his high-pitched voice did not quite match the words.

"I'm a kidnap victim too," Aurora said as she sat down next to him.

"Doesn't really look like it!" he hissed at her.

"Oh, I'm just waiting for a man to return," the woman began, but soon realised it was useless. "Where are you from?" she asked as she wanted to start a conversation.

"Bruma," he said whilst avoiding to look her in the eyes.

"You're a Carvain?"

"What's _your_ name?" the man asked with a very uninterested tone.

The woman answered that it did not matter before excusing herself. She needed to speak to Spurius before he did anything stupid. As she exited the cave, Aurora looked around, but in the midst of the chaos, she could not see the leader. There were loads of people, many of whom wanted to introduce themselves, but no sign of Spurius. The woman pressed herself through the crowd and towards the tent where her wrist had been bandaged. Just as she was about to crawl into it, she nearly collided with Spurius who seemed rather surprised to see her.

"Are you maniacs?!" she hissed at the leader. "His father has an army the size of..."

Before she had time to finish her sentence, the man dragged her inside. Pinarus was still there, sorting his herbs and putting bandages back into small boxes, and he did not seem to care too much about the fact that Spurius and Aurora chose his cabinet and bedroom for private conversations.

"How do you know this?" he asked her, looking her straight into the eyes to make sure she did not tell untruths.

"I've fought his men before."

"What are you? A criminal noble?" he asked, wrinkling his forehead.

"I'm a Stormcloak rebel..." she began. "Seriously, you idiot! As if the name _Stormblade_ didn't give it away?"

"Shut it. It seems as if I have more urgent issues."

"Yeah, you do. They'll kill the messenger if you try to extort gold. It's the Carvains."

The woman remained eye contact with the man and put on a rather worried expression. She knew what the men were capable of after fighting for Solitude. The majority of the Imperial forces came from just across the border – Bruma, and in the aftermath, she had learned one or two things about them. The Carvains never forgave an enemy, especially if the enemy hurt their heir.

"You should let him go," Aurora concluded.

"We can't. He'll make his daddy send some soldiers, you said it yourself."

Spurius placed his hands behind his head and began to march around the room, thinking of a solution to his problem.

"They wouldn't know where to go. That man probably only knows that he is in the south west of Morrowind, and there are a lot of bandits here," he said.

"If you blindfold him, I'll take him to Andrethis," Aurora suggested as she picked up on Spurius's plan.

"You won't go anywhere alone with him! That is out of the question. I don't trust you enough – for all I know, you could be one of them."

The man then proceeded to turn towards Pinarus and carefully placing his hand on the other man's shoulder.

"Drug him. He must not know for how long we travelled," he whispered.

Spurius, who apparently was one of the tent's inhabitants, quickly gathered a few supplies and some clothing before turning to Aurora before crawling out.

"I'll be back in three days, don't worry, missy."

* * *

"Augustine," the woman said and reached for the other's hand.

"Aurora."

"Yeah, I know. I mean... I saw you when you... arrived."

The blonde woman was of about the same age and race as Aurora, something that was quite unusual. It had been a while since the woman last saw an Imperial as fair as the one who just approached her. In Cyrodiil, she would be considered a true beauty, in Skyrim – attractive at least. Augustine had a high forehead and a slim face with a pointy nose and thin lips. She was slim, but not muscular, hinting that she did not actually do much physical work around there. Perhaps she served as a cook or helper, Aurora thought.

"You know my story, then may I ask why are you here?" Aurora asked curiously.

"Spurius..." the woman laughed. "And the rest of the men."

"He attacked you too?"

"No, it wasn't really like that," she assured. "I met him at the Cyrodiil-Morrowind border a few years ago. It was dark and I was putting up a tent when he passed by. We talked and... one thing led to another."

"Oh, you are a couple?" Aurora exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh, no!" she laughed.

It would have made sense, though. Both of them were unusually attractive, and neither seemed to do much physical work around there. Besides, Augustine appeared to be just the type a man like Spurius would drag along with him to be his female partner, and in all fairness, the woman seemed to be one that would follow her man into the abyss if it would be required of her. Aurora did not think much of people like them – people who were in leading positions without either wit or strength.

"Well..." the woman continued after a while. "We're all a bit polygamous here."

Aurora looked upon the other woman with shock and disbelief. Using those words, it seemed as if she had ended up in some perverted sect. They were in the middle of the forest, far from gauging people, mostly men with only a few females... Augustine was not the sharpest tool in the shed judging by her naive gaze and constantly awkward body language.

"You look worried," she noticed.

"Well... I wasn't expecting to hear that."

"Oh, well it's completely without attachment. Most people don't love another here in that way."

"Um... may I ask you one thing?" Aurora wondered. "Does uhm... Vilkas participate in these activities?"

"Sometimes," the woman answered after thinking for a while.

It stung Aurora rather deeply, but she decided that Augustine was the wrong person to confide to. As the blonde woman would not leave, but appeared to have made herself comfortable next to Aurora in the cave, the Dragonborn was forced to hold it in. She tried to convince herself that she was perfectly fine with it. It was just sex after all. It did not mean anything. Vilkas was just a man, and being weak against his bodily urges, just like she was, he would give in easily. Why would she expect anything else from him? Besides, it was not as if he knew that she was waiting for him. That had to be the reason – he did not know that she was there, and the other women were just... to relieve himself.


	10. Chapter 10

"It's been ages already, when is Vilkas coming back?" Aurora sighed as she descended from the rear of the cave.

Spurius was fully occupied reading a book in the middle of the gathering area. He had made himself comfortable amongst the pelts long before the woman entered the cave and began to endlessly wander around in circles.

"You can expect him any day now," the man spoke without any particular interest.

He returned to his book, but the woman sat down opposite him, observing the man. He had been back for nearly two fortnights, but had not found time to pay her any more attention. It was almost as if he avoided her, for as soon as she approached, he found work to do. Aurora did not know why it got to her as much as it did, for there was something she liked about Spurius and she enjoyed his company. The man was cheeky, a nice change to the serious ones she was surrounded with for over two years.

The others had not been too interested in her either, making her rather lonely amongst a group of three dozen people. Therefore, Aurora had spent her days hunting landcrab and making her useful to the gang. Using her left arm felt very strange and awkward, but she had managed. Her only problem was that it did not have the same strength and accuracy in the swings as her right one, but it was still manageable. Pinarus had promised her that it would heal within four fortnights, but warned her against using it excessively as it could potentially cause long-term damage.

Aurora had not dared to stray too far either, as she was afraid of Vilkas returning whilst she was out. She would not dare that, not after everything she went through to find him. Besides, she was not familiar with the surroundings and the forest, and she did not wish to get lost in the middle of nowhere.

Aurora had no real clue of what Spurius did inside of his tent during the days, but when he went outside, he read a lot. At times, he rode away towards an unknown destination with a small bag. That was everything the woman observed him doing. In all fairness though, neither one in the gang appeared to do much but relax in the sunshine and hunt once in a while. Since her second day with them, no new nobleman had been seen, and the pelt stack had only grown a few inches. The man who had treated her wrist used to gather some ingredients in the forest and return late at night and did not have time to merely talk to her. Augustine, the blonde woman was always available to talk to though, but Aurora did not find her interesting enough. In fact, during the last days, she had discovered how boring the blonde really was.

Suddenly, Spurius raised his gaze and looked straight into Aurora's eyes, smiling as he put the book next to him with a hasty move.

"Wish to take a ride?"

He sounded very enthusiastic, as always, but Aurora did not share his excitement. She usually preferred to walk rather than be carried by an animal, which she felt that she could not control. There was also the question of providing food for it, which used to be a headache. Only when traveling far did she opt for taking the four-legged sprinter with her, and Morrowind covered huge areas, but she was where she belonged at the moment and felt no need to ride just for the sake of having _fun_.

"I don't ride unless I have to," she stated but held her gaze.

Spurius's eyes widened in even hungrier exhilaration and a smile stretched out across his face as he heard the woman speak.

"Is there something the almighty warrior can't handle?" he asked and winked at her.

"I have never claimed to be a rider," the woman spoke calmly.

"Come on, I'll teach you."

He got up and held out a hand, dragging Aurora towards him. As she stood next to him, he placed a hand on the lower part of her back and steered her towards the entrance. He walked with confident, long leaps and a childish grin that made the woman laugh.

"It should not be too difficult for you. There are a few simple commands, the main thing is to know your own body and calm down. When the rider is tranquil, so is the animal."

Aurora crossed her arms and gave Spurius a semi-warning look as he indicated that he wished to take her hand. Unsuccessful in his attempts, he slapped her arm and continued towards the area where the group had stationed the horses. It was situated a minute away from the camp, further into the forest and consisted of a small enclosure that could be seen from the cave. Next to it, there was another tent belonging to the man who was responsible for the four-legged creatures. Aurora did not know his name, but he was one of the only Dunmer in the group.

Spurius raised his hand to greet the man and opened the gate to the enclosure, leaving Aurora a few steps away. He took the equipment necessary to ride a horse (the woman did not know what it was called) and a saddle, placed it on Aurora's horse and on what appeared to be his, before taking them outside. The animals seemed rather untroubled by his presence and way of leading them, and it became obvious that he was a good rider. He had to have other qualities, Aurora thought, as he was a useless fighter.

As man gestured for Aurora to do something, she immediately became very aware of the fact that she had no real clue what to do other than try to get up. Some men said something to their horses, others petted them on the neck, but the woman did nothing of that sort, something Spurius noted. He also objected to the way she put one foot in the stirrup and dragged her up on the horseback.

"No, you don't get up like that," he complained.

"This was the way I was instructed," Aurora defended herself.

"You are young and fit, crawling up on the horse is undignified for a soldier."

Aurora casted an irritated gaze on the man on the ground as he turned around and stepped up on his horse as if to show off. As he was positioned on top of his dark-brown stallion, he gestured for her to follow him and immediately began bashing her.

"You don't crawl up on the horse like that."

"With a 60-pound armour, yes I do," Aurora answered.

"How come you use heavy armour when you are that good with the sword?" he asked, this time without the same level of judgement.

"Because I'm tall and strong enough to carry it," the woman answered confidently.

"Then you should learn how to ride. A heavy armour is best accompanied by a horse."

The woman knew that the man was right, but she had never found the time or energy to learn how to control a horse properly. Neither had she had access to a good tutor, so she appreciated that Spurius was there to give her a few tips on how to improve. A good soldier had to be a decent rider too, even if she did not have a horse with her at all times. There could come a moment where it could mean the difference between life and death, even if the risk was rather small.

The man took them closer to the road, so Aurora assumed that would be the place of practise. They went there in silence, but the woman observed the man carefully. She did not fully understand yet whether if he liked her or not. At first, he had been rather flirtatious, to an annoying degree even, but after that came a month of nothing. Now he seemed to have found a new interest in her.

He was a peculiar character, that man. _Mysterious_ was the wrong word considering how open and impulsive he seemed; yet there were many unanswered questions about him. She barely new anything, the woman realised. He was some sort of leader for a group that usually hunted in the forests between Morrowind and Cyrodiil, but whose main income came from kidnapping rich people's children. He was not a fighter, but obviously knew how to handle a horse. Spurius read a lot, yet she did not understand where he got all the books from as he did not appear to visit the towns that often. In fact, he was probably wanted, and that was the reason to why he sent the others there to do the work for him. If he was wanted, that must have meant that he had done something criminal _before_ becoming the leader of this bunch.

Was he a murderer? Probably not. He did not appear to be the type who could do something like that. Perhaps he had stolen something expensive – that would explain all the gold he had. The more Aurora thought about it, the more did she believe that theory to be accurate. He was not with the Thieves Guild, though, for they would have protected him if that was the case.

"May I ask you one thing?" the woman spoke after a while.

"If you must," the man answered shortly but rather... regally.

"Spurius can't be your _real_ name. Who names their child _Bastard_?"

The man chuckled, but did not tear his gaze from the road in front of them. By the time, they had already passed the place where they met at first. The road looked the same, though, and only a local could tell exactly where they were. It was about six o'clock in the afternoon, and the sun was already golden as they continued west.

"It's convenient to use it instead of my birth name."

"So what _is_ your name?"

This time, the man looked at the woman next to him. He observed her from top to toe for half a minute before turning his gaze forwards again. He appeared to be balancing, not knowing whether to tell her or not. Meanwhile, Aurora awaited his reply with impatience. The man did not hurry, though, but continued to look straight ahead for a few minutes. The sun reflected beautifully in his dark hair, which he had put up the way it was when they first met. It fell softly onto his shoulders, which were pushed forwards to retain a majestic posture. Aurora could not understand where he got the grace from, who had formed him into being the way he was, with the manners but slight arrogance.

"Vecheslav," he said after a while.

"That's Colovian!" Aurora exclaimed before realising that it would have been better to restrict herself from such remarks.

"You know your geography."

"How can I not?" Aurora asked, hinting about her race. "Which town do you hail from?"

"Anvil," the man said, almost sighing.

Oh, the Gold Coast! It's beautiful there, Aurora thought. She had passed it on her way to Hammerfell and seen truly mesmerising nature. The sun had a golden shine to it every evening, just like the current day in Morrowind. There were beaches with sand as fine and soft as the King of Skyrim's bed, and trees high and downy. Life seemed so slow and calm there, not at all like in the Imperial city.

"Why does no one call you Vecheslav?" she asked after a short while.

"Because most people here don't know it," he muttered.

"Oh..." the woman exclaimed.

She felt favoured for a second or two before she noticed that the man had broken out in laughter. He rode two or three steps ahead of her, and the woman noticed how he bent backwards as he giggled. A few moments later, he looked back at her with a grin that reached from ear to ear.

"You are easily manipulated, womenfolk. Felt charmed, did you?"

The woman tried to lean forward to hit him on the shoulder, but did not quite reach. Instead, she straightened her back and shoulders, mimicking the man in front of her and loudly proclaimed:

"I love Vilkas."

"Oh, there's no doubt about it," Vecheslav quickly answered.

"Are you being sarcastic?" she laughed.

"That, milady..." he said as he stopped his horse and reached for her broken hand and kissed it gracefully. "... is for you to figure out." A mere second later, he added "Now catch up."

He set away before Aurora had time to properly realise what had happened. All she could do was to see him disappear behind what could only be described as a corner in the forest. The woman leaned forwards to make her horse go faster, but it took her a while, and the man had probably gone too far for her to catch up. Nevertheless, Aurora did not give up, but managed to get the horse galloping within a minute or two. She was absolutely terrified about the speed, but she would prove herself to be a warrior in all aspects, not just the ones she was comfortable about.

She clung onto it as it followed the road towards an unknown destination and hoped that she would not fall off. The medicine man had told her to be careful with her wrist, and this certainly did not count as gentle exercise.

As she was taken forwards, it felt almost as if she rode a dragon. At least that was what she imagined it would be like. The power and strength the horse possessed was truly amazing. For the first time did she begin to respect the animal. It was absolutely frightening to let it use its potential, but it tickled her nerves in an astonishing way.

As she came out of a semi-sharp corner, she only managed to see that there was something of considerate size blocking her path, frightening the horse into staggering. Aurora's heart jumped, and she held on even tighter around the animal's neck, desperately clinging onto it.

"Let go!" she heard Spurius's familiar voice shout at her. "Let it throw you off!"

Aurora felt that she would come to regret it, yet she let go. The woman fell hard to the ground and landed on her backside in the mud. The man hurried towards the horse and began to calm it down as the woman gripped her broken wrist. She had not made it worse – it was just an instinctive act. Her clothes, on the other hand, were completely covered in the disgusting sludge that smelled horribly of rotten roots.

"Now you know how it is to fall off. Wasn't too bad, was it? You won't be as afraid the next time," he said with his back against her.

She got up and began to inspect the damage done to her clothes. She had mud all over her trousers and the back of her tunic, but she was in a good mood. The man was right – it had not been too bad, and there was really nothing to be afraid of, except for a few bruises.

The woman approached the man from behind and hugged him as he was tying the horses together. Laughing, she span around to rub her back against his to do as much damage to his clothing as possible. He remained calm for a while before turning around, screaming intensely and whole-heartedly with his arms out to the sides. He leaped forwards and picked up the woman, swinging her up on his shoulder and spinning around in circles. She laughed, and for a short moment, everything felt right about her life. In this particular instant in time – everything was as good as it could be and her heart was light and cheerful.

"Damn it, you're heavy," he complained as he pushed her legs upwards, making her fall into his arms.

"You didn't complain when you carried me to camp that day," she stated as she looked into his eyes, smiling.

"That was in front of the others," he said and wrinkled his eyebrows. "Didn't wish to embarrass you."

"Would you've embarrassed me or yourself?" she giggled.

"_You_, as no man can possibly find it comfortable to carry you around," he said, arrogantly.

"Yet you're still holding me."

"You are right – why am I carrying you again?" he winked at her before dropping the woman on the ground.

"Oh gods! What a relief, I almost lost my arms to numbness," he loudly complained.

Smiling cheekily, he gave her his hand and pulled her up. She landed on her feet, barely an inch away from him. She realised by then that he was the kind of man who enjoyed flirting with women, regardless of whom they were. Therefore, she was up for the challenge by the time he intensively looked into her eyes. He laughed again once he realised that he was busted.

"Do you have any other clothes?"

"I travel lightly."

He led the horses back towards the camp with the woman walking next to him. His gaze went from the road to the woman and back again for a few moments as he appeared to ponder on a myriad of different thoughts. Aurora felt very calm. The silence with Spuri... Vecheslav was not awkward, but meant that they were both inside of their own minds.

"A dress would suit you better than what you wear now," he stated.

"I can't fight as well in a dress, you icebrain."

"Such a shame that fighting is all you seem to think of."

"What do you suggest is a more proper subject...?"

"The eternal."

"The eternal?"

"Yes. In us and in nature. In the written word and in the unspoken thought."

"And your naivety," Aurora added, making herself deserving of a hit on the shoulder.


	11. Chapter 11

Those were the words she had longed to hear, spent many sleepless nights pondering about and lived through much heartache for. Yet they terrified her in a way even Alduin could not. A part of her thought it to be easier to face the World-eater a million times over than what was to come. Her legs trembled. Her heart felt like a beast desperately trying to escape the prison that was her rib cage. Her instincts told her to run, far, far away. Even after so much time and effort... It disappointed her. She still found it incredibly difficult to face him.

"Vilkas is back!"

To the man exclaiming those words, they probably meant little more than that a fellow group member returned from a journey, but to Aurora, it opened an Oblivion of anxiety. Spurius stood just behind her, understanding that the situation was not as simple as most would have imagined. He put his hand on her right arm and stroke it to calm her, just the way he did with the horse.

"Why don't you run up to him?" he whispered.

"It's not that easy."

She looked up at him and the man met her gaze, nodding. They stood just by the entrance of the cave, knowing that the man she had been looking for was at most a minute away. The seconds crept forwards, feeling like an eternity, but for the first time, Aurora felt that she needed more time. At that moment – at that precise moment, Talos must have listened to her again, just like he had done the day on the top of the mountain.

"You stay here," Vecheslav, sent by Talos, said.

The man took determined steps forwards as Aurora sat down on the ground, not knowing what to do. She did not know how to approach him after all this time, not just that she did not know... She had no clue at all. She had dreamt of this moment so long, but as it finally arrived, the woman found herself unable to speak or think. It was if her mind suddenly decided that she had no need of a language as a tool of communication.

She saw him. By the Nine, there he was! Ten or fifteen steps away. His black, shoulder-length hair, his Nord statue, his ice-cold blue eyes. It had been so long since she last laid her eyes on him, and it felt as if her heart would break a thousand times over the second she did. He walked through the forest so casually, as if there was not a single problem in Nirn that rested on his shoulders. Vilkas greeted Spurius with a typical, male handshake but did not appear to look around. If he did, he would have noticed the woman who looked completely broken, sitting by the entrance to the cave with a lowered head and arms that hung on the sides, touching the ground.

"Did you sell anything?" she heard Spurius's voice.

"Aye, but it took a while."

He handed over something that appeared to be a bag of gold. Spurius took it and placed it in a pocket in his trousers before scratching the back of his head in a rather uncomfortable way.

"So I've noticed," he began. "There's a girl here who has been waiting for you for two fortnights."

Aurora could see that his words shocked Vilkas profoundly. He understood. He must have. It would not be Aela or even Farkas, neither one of them would stop him from fulfilling his dream of visiting Morrowind. Ria would not dare, and the other women lacked the ability. Yes, Vilkas understood perfectly that it was Aurora, and that was why it hurt to hear his:

"Who?"

Spurius crossed his arms and moved to the side, exposing the woman. Aurora could only look at Vilkas as she somehow managed to get up on her feet and walk those endless twelve steps towards him, each tread felt like it was seven miles long, going through swamps and wasteland, badlands and dark forests. Her mouth was slightly opened as she breathed heavily and her gaze as blank as her mind. He looked at her. He looked straight at her with big, widened eyes that radiated nothing but shock.

"Aren't you going to say anything, Vilkas?" Spurius asked. "She must have gone through quite an ordeal to find you."

His words seemed so distant. All the woman could do was to look Vilkas straight into the eyes, mesmerised as she was. Nothing existed in that moment but the man in front of her. The beautiful man she never managed to forget. Two years had gone since she left Whiterun, but she loved him as much as ever. She loved him beyond sanity, beyond time and place – into the perpetual infinity. He was the epitome of everything she found fascinating and endearing.

Vilkas soon found himself. His gaze was not as lost as it had been a few moments earlier. It would be better if he never overcame the rude awakening, for his look froze her blood with its coldness and distance. He looked at her with such abhorrence and hostility that the woman felt it would be better if she had never been born.

"To utter even one word to that woman would be a dreadful waste," he spoke with a voice as cold as his eyes.

"Don't be rude – the lady wants a word with you," Spurius said.

Without casting another gaze on her, the man marched away, back into the forest. Aurora did not know what the reason behind her bravery was, but even mentally broken, she felt the strength to carry herself after him. He almost leapt forwards, trying to escape her, but her voice cooperated with her this time.

"Vilkas! Stop!" she cried.

"I have nothing to say to you!" he yelled without turning his head.

"Just please let me speak. I've walked across the whole of Skyrim and Morrowind to find you."

The man stopped for a moment before turning to face her. A thunderstorm could as well have broken out on his face – it would have made no difference. It boiled with anger, but Aurora was struck by desperation, which ironically gave her strength. She had nothing more to lose.

Thinking did not work, though. There was so much unsaid between him and her that it would take an eternity to explain. There was so much she wished to tell him, that she could not gather the thoughts into an opening sentence. Where would she even begin? What would she explain and apologise for first? Was there even anything she could say that would make things good between them? A minute of internal chaos and two years of grieving resulted in absolutely nothing.

"I've been looking for you."

"For what purpose?"

For what purpose? She was blank once again. She did not know. Every cell in her body longed for Vilkas, but what for? The woman did not know. The only thing she could come up with was that she needed his presence.

"... To accompany you on your journey," she spoke and lowered her gaze in shame.

The banality of her words annoyed her terribly, but she could not come up with anything better even if her life was depending on it. Vilkas, obviously neither amused nor impressed, crossed his arms with a smug expression.

"Why in Tamriel...?"

"I returned to Jorrvaskr to reconcile with you, to be near you. And then, when I returned at last... you weren't there. Vilkas, I've... I wanted to go with you."

"Sick of Skyrim already?" he said and jerked with his neck to remove some hair from his face.

"What? No! That is not the reason. I..." Aurora began. She was desperate and humble and could not possibly tell untruth. He must have known it, and therefore Aurora concluded that his words were aimed at torturing her. She was about to say 'needed' but did not dare. "... wanted to see you. To be your companion on the journey."

Vilkas looked away towards the camp, avoiding the woman's gaze. His hostile tone and body language gave away more information of what was going through his head than he knew, the woman thought. He was hurt too. She had only seen him as bitter once – when she returned home to Jorrvaskr after the Silver Hand attack only to find Kodlak dead. Vilkas reaction at their camp had frightened her – he transformed into a cold-blooded beast, hitting the Silver Hand harder and more times that it was necessary to kill them. He butchered them, and Aurora felt that it was the destiny he wished for her too.

"I'm doing fine myself," he said after a short while.

"Are you?" she asked.

"I am."

"To the extent that you had to join a gang of bandits?"

The woman did not know where she found the ability to come up with something to say, but after realising that Vilkas was as broken as she was, it became easier. If he felt that much hatred for her, it must have meant that he was genuinely upset, and that perhaps... Could it mean that he loved her still? The woman's heart began to beat faster, reminding of a Dwemer engine. There was still hope after all!

"They aren't bandits! They just..." Vilkas began, not being able to finish the sentence. "Question is – how did _you_ end up here?"

"They kidnapped me," Aurora calmly stated and even managed to smile a little.

"For Gods' sake, woman..."

The man threw his arms out in the air before turning around and marching away. This time was different, though. There was hope, there was hope! It felt like the weight of Nirn was lifted from her shoulders. She could make everything right again, in time. Aurora was ecstatic.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching from the camp. She turned around to see Spurius dawdling towards her, scratching the back of his head as he walked forwards. She gave him a little smile, but it only seemed to confuse him even further.

"Did that go well? You looked absolutely broken," he asked her and casually leaned against her by placing an elbow on her shoulder.

Aurora looked at Vilkas as he disappeared into the forest. Her gaze shone of longing and appreciation. She thanked the Gods for creating a man as wonderful as him. From now on, she would strive to become as perfect as Vilkas was. Time took her further into her own thoughts, and after a while, she barely caught Vecheslav's

"Come."

* * *

"Don't worry, he'll come back after gathering his thoughts."

Spurius handed her a cup of warm tea prepared by Pinarus. The leader had convinced him to use his personal stack of herbs with calming effects, for what Aurora was grateful. It was hot and burned slightly as she was holding it, so she picked it up with her broken, right hand instead as it was protected with a bandage.

The sun was setting outside, and she was alone with Spurius in his tent. The others sat around the fire pit and drank whilst singing songs, but Vilkas had yet to return.

Vecheslav was very quiet and appeared to be almost worried for Aurora, who was overwhelmed with emotions. She had not seen him that serious or quiet before, but she appreciated that he was there to keep her company.

The man had let his hair out, and the part that he usually put up in a ponytail at the back created a wave that framed his face. He let his fingers comb it as he sat down on a pelt next to Aurora and watched her drink. His dark, almost black eyes glittered in the soft light of a few candles. Most women would say that he was beautiful, but what caught Aurora's attention about him was that he seemed very loyal and genuine, regardless of his sarcasm which was too much at times. Vecheslav created a tranquillity around himself that erased other people's worries.

"Let's think of something else," he suggested with a low, darker voice than normal. "Hm... Have you been to Morrowind before?"

"I've lived here," Aurora mumbled as she brought the cup to her lips.

"You've _lived_ here?" Spurius asked, still very quietly for the calm atmosphere to prevail.

"In Tear," the woman answered with a low tone, still focused on her tea.

"Is there anywhere in Tamriel where you haven't been?" Spurius asked with a sarcastic smile before lowering his head to catch her gaze. "Tell me about those adventures of yours."

"I'm not here to make friends," Aurora spoke whilst looking towards the far end of the tent.

"Be very careful, woman, or I might just have you bound again."

He leaned forwards and touched the tip of her nose with a smile. She was not in the mood, though, and did therefore not appreciate his joking gestures too much. Aurora did appreciate his presence, but she wished that he would lay low with the pranks.

"You asked me if I were a bastard," he began.

"I didn't ask," the woman stated arrogantly.

"No, I mean... Sod off, I'm not going to stand here and..."

The man was about to get up on his feet, but Aurora took a grip of the tunic sleeve and pulled him back down with a small, approving smile. Vecheslav winked at her and got himself comfortable among the pelts once again.

"Fine, but only because you are such a pain in the arse," he laughed. "I hail from Anvil. My mother was a maiden at the court of the Count Janus, and my father..." he began before wrinkling his eyebrows, giving his face a very angry expression. "My father sent her away as soon as she gave birth to me." The man looked at Aurora who nodded, silently asking for him to continue.

"He had raped her and wanted nothing to do with her after she had given birth to me," he spitted.

"Is she still alive?"

"I don't know, but my father sure is. He always looked down on me, had everyone rub it in that I had neither a mother nor a title."

"Your father was the duke?" Aurora asked in surprise.

Spurius nodded silently and lowered his gaze. He would not have had to, for now everything made perfect sense to Aurora. She now understood where his fine manners and etiquette came from, his education and interest of fine literature. It also made her slightly aggravated about the fact that he looked down on her for not being as cultivated as he was. Aurora had never seen the use in reading a lot as her life had been and was about survival – not about finding a handsome, rich man from a fine family to marry. Her spare time was non-existent.

"And now you take revenge on the nobility?" she asked with quite some judgement in her tone.

"Yes. I will not rest until the Duke's son Maximilian is in my hands."

"Where does all the hatred come from?" she asked with a wrinkled forehead, sending all possible signals about the fact that she was not impressed.

Spurius looked at her without any offence in his gaze, but his mood had been affected by the woman's indignation. Aurora could not honestly say that she did not care about the man, but she was true to her principles, and killing (that was what she assumed at least) one's half-brother broke every rule the woman lived by. From this moment, she felt the need to alienate herself from him as she could no longer turn a blind eye to his occupation. If a person carried the burden of hatred towards another being, his mind was bound to be corrupted, Aurora thought, and in this case, it manifested itself by forcing the man out into the wild forest, far from the cultured life he adored.

"You would not ask that if you'd know what I've been through," Vecheslav almost whispered.

There was more to the story, but Aurora did not want to barge in. Neither did she feel the need of knowing the source of the abhorrence as she figured that it could not justify the man's dark feelings for the matter. There were people in her life that had done their best to break her, and she did not wish for them to strengthen their grip of her by holding on to the destructive emotion that hate was.

"So," Spurius continued. "I went to Narsis and learned to know Fabius. He was selling some pelts to a local merchant and asked a fellow Imperial to join his group of hunters. There were only five of them to begin with. I made sure to attract all the lonely, young Imperials traveling the forests between Morrowind and Cyrodiil. Now there are thirty two of us."

"How's business?" the woman asked coldly.

"It's going good, but to me, all the gold in Tamriel is not enough to compensate for the humiliation and torment I suffered by my father and the nobility. I wish I wasn't born into that insane family – a farmer's or a merchant's would have been much better."

"Every family creates its own problems for their children," Aurora stated.

"True, but the seriousness of the issue is of a varying degree."

"Were you ever forced to worry where your next meal would come from when you grew up?" she asked. "Have you ever been so alone that it felt like the entire Nirn was against you? Because if you haven't, you have had a much more privileged upbringing than..."

"Let's not judge one another too harshly, Aurora. It is evident that the circumstances of your life have moulded you into a very strong-minded, self-dependent woman, but I also understand that there are aspects of you and your behaviour that I find less appealing, but that does not affect... What I meant to say is that the crossroads you've encountered has formed you – both your good and inadequate sides, and that they are interconnected. If I would remove from you a characteristic that I disapprove of, I would also eliminate a part of what I respect and cherish," he spoke with a serious expression. "I have noticed that you feel repelled by my visions for the HL, but what good is it to remove, by force, a bottle of Skooma from an alcoholic if he has no intensions of sobering up?"

"Tell me one thing, Aurora," he continued with a piercing gaze. "What were _you_ forced through?"

"It is a long story," she said to win time.

The man knew how to argue for his cause, and it left Aurora unsure about her attitude towards him. In a way, she opposed both the anger and the way he let it manifest itself, but at the same time, she felt that he had put a considerate amount of thought into it and that in a way, it was justified. Vecheslav appeared to be such an intelligent and interesting man who did not inflict unnecessary harm to people, unless they belonged to the privileged group of nobility. It was difficult to pin him to the bad, but he did not do uncompromised good either.

"That is not an excuse not to tell it," he said and gave her a reassuring smile.

"No... just... I've never really told it to anyone completely," Aurora began.

"I see. May I then ask for a peak?"

The woman looked on him, but could not find a reason to inform the man about her life. He had opened up about his, and she knew that if she wished for his friendly manners to prevail, she owed him a story.

"Ask what you want."

"How come you came to Morrowind the last time?" he quickly asked.

"A contact."

"No... Tell it properly."

She did. She told him about how she had been working on a moon sugar plantation in Elsweyr as a... season-employed slave. She told him about how there were a lot of young Imperials living under one roof, and how she worked side by side with a Nord man aged about 20 and called Thorsten. She told him about her first fling and about the wonderful man he was; kind, funny, strong... but that the longing for his homeland became too much. Aurora told about the sixteen-year-old's heartbreak after he departed, and how she set off too, but I did not know where to go at first. She told Spurius that she did not like the job too much, meaning there was no reason to stay.

And the man listened. Carefully, not to miss a single word that escaped the woman's lips, silently to let her speak and pour her heart out. He wrinkled his forehead as she told him about how it felt to reach the Black Marsh and celebrating her 17th birthday miserable and alone at a bar, homeless and penniless. He understood that she had suppressed it for a long while and felt with her, but in a non-patronising way.

He laughed with her as she described how a Dunmer contact in Black Marsh promised to set her up with a company in Tear and how she reached the border after walking across the swamps, rainforests and other places only found in Oblivion.

By the end, she was absolutely exhausted. The myriad of memories that had been put away under the carpets of her mind decided to step forwards, armed to their teeth. She had told too much, but it helped her to overcome some of her anxiety. The man had not expected for it to occur, but he sat patiently by her side and stroke her shoulders. And listened. He listened.


	12. Chapter 12

As the woman woke up, she realised that she had spent the night in her own tent, but could not quite remember how she got there. The last thing she remembered was that she sat in what could only be described as Vecheslav's lap, embraced by him as she poured her heart out. She was ashamed. She had definitely gone too far the previous night, and she had told him too many personal details of her life. The woman felt that it would be embarrassing to face Spurius, and she covered her eyes with her hands, hoping it would all go away.

There was no point hiding in the tent, though. At some point, she would have to face the mess that her life was. She brushed her hair before sticking her head out and noticing a very busy group of people. The fire was lit, and someone was cooking both tea and meat on it, and someone carried a deer over the shoulder. Aurora had found Spurius leaning against the stone outside of her tent with a book in his lap.

"Good morning, Aurora," he said neutrally as he saw her.

"Morning," she answered whilst avoiding his gaze.

Slightly awkward, she took a step out but figured that she had no idea of what to do. Spurius, on the other hand was quick on his feet. He stood up and turned towards the cave, framed his mouth with his hands and yelled:

"Vilkas, go and fetch some water. Take Aurora with you, she'll give you a hand."

Aurora looked towards the direction in which he had shouted and noticed the Companion standing by the firepit. She immediately realised that Spurius was trying to help her, and threw a thankful gaze towards him. The man nodded before setting off towards the forest, leaving the woman alone in the far end of the "town".

She looked at Vilkas, who approached her with four buckets and soon stood next to her. Aurora studied his face carefully, but did not find the same hatred she had seen the previous night. Instead, she noticed that he seemed rather tired and worn-out. He could not have slept many hours.

Vilkas gestured that they were to go south, and the woman followed. The man hurried onwards, and Aurora had a slight problem keeping up without running, even though she carried no buckets.

She was in the same situation as before, where she did not know how to begin a conversation without sounding either gawky or nonchalant. After being through what they had, no icebreakers would work, yet she needed to begin somewhere.

"It's not like you to take orders," she said with a soft tone.

"Spurius is a friend of mine, and he spent last night begging me to listen to what you have to say. He is convinced it is something of value, so let's hear it."

"I-I don't even know where to begin..." Aurora stuttered. She had not anticipated the straight-on approach.

"Why did you come?" Vilkas asked with his forehead wrinkled.

How could he be so cruel to her? She came because no matter how hard she tried to convince herself otherwise, she never forgot him. Because she loved him so dearly that she would give her swordsarm for him. But she could not just utter those words, for he would most probably only laugh at them. With regard and contrition she then answered:

"Don't worry. I'm not here to be your woman. Just your companion, or hunting sister or whatever you call one another here."

She cursed herself for saying what she just did, but there was never another option. It was perfectly clear to Aurora that Vilkas was all but lovable in his approach to her, and that it would take time for him to overcome it. She remembered how it had taken him more than half a year to bind together more than four words to her.

Nevertheless, she had to be sincere with him and let the man know of the practicalities. She swallowed hard before clearing her throat and continuing the conversation.

"Also... I _am_ the leader of the Companions, and in a way, I've come to take you back home."

"Sadly, you'll have to go home empty handed," he answered with an angry tone. "I like it here."

"I'll stay here until you're sick of Morrowind and your heart starts to long for Jorrvaskr," Aurora stated whilst trying her best to come across as confident.

The man continued forwards without looking at her. They had already reached far into the forest, away from the camp, and Aurora had no idea where they were heading. She had never been the one to carry water before. As she turned her head to look around, she suddenly noticed that the sunlight was a bit different from what it had been when she arrived in Morrowind. It was of a more golden tone than before, indicating that it was either end of Last Seed or early Heartfire. Aurora had forgotten what time of the year it was. She had even forgotten for how long she had been away from home and abroad. Asking Vilkas seemed to be a rather bad idea as they had a hundred of unsaid things between them, so the woman decided she would ask Vecheslav as soon as she returned.

"How are the others?" she suddenly heard Vilkas say.

"I..." Aurora began, but soon realised that she had no answer. "I don't know. I only spoke to Aela."

"She could have told you anything," he said sarcastically and even managed a little smile. Smug, but still a smile.

"Aela has always had my best interest at heart, I was a fool to think otherwise," answered diplomatically.

"Realised that now?" he asked as he took a few steps forwards and jumped over a fallen tree.

"Vilkas... I'm terribly sorry," Aurora muttered as she followed him.

Before she had time to look up, the man exclaimed "Oh, water at last!" rather loudly to interrupt her. He was right, though. A narrow river flowed through the landscape from the northwest. It probably came from the mountains on the border between Cyrodiil and Morrowind, the woman assumed. A moment later, she thought about pushing him in, but decided against it as it was too early.

"At home in Cyrodiil, we used to..." she began.

"No one wants to hear the depressing stories of your childhood, Aurora," he answered coldly.

That was harsh, even from him. She wondered what Vecheslav had told him the previous night after the leader had gone after Vilkas and immediately felt betrayed. Aurora knew that she had told him too much, but she had not given him permission to explain everything to Vilkas of all people. The woman never meant to complain about her situation and history; especially to a bandit she only recently met.

He probably presented it in a way that made her look absolutely pathetic, considering Vilkas reaction. Once again, she was ashamed of herself for lowering her guard around Spurius. He was criminal – that should have been the first reason for keeping quiet about her past. The fact that he chose the name _Bastard_ for himself would be the other. How could she be so naïve?

Red faced, she approached Vilkas who held the buckets and took two of them from him. She should not let the incident with Spurius affect the relationship between her and the man she loved, and the sooner things went back to normal between them, the better. After spending two years in Skyrim, where water, which was not ice-cold, was not common, she felt her inner child grow ecstatic upon seeing the river. She put the embarrassment to the side and exclaimed:

"Where is the joy, Vilkas? Undress and have a swim!"

The man turned his gaze and looked at her like she was an utter fool. It was not just disgust and smugness in his gaze this time, but also condescendence. Yet again, she felt how nice it would be to just fall into a hole in the ground. She had completely misjudged the situation in her feeble attempt to break the ice. The man only shook his head and leaned over the sandbank to gather water. Aurora stood by and looked around, trying to come up with something new to say.

"Remember last time we both saw water? You fell into that damned stream..." she laughed nervously. "Where would you be without me?"

* * *

"If I'm a burden to you, you should have said so," Aurora spoke coldly as she entered Spurius tent.

He was sitting by his table in the far end, but soon turned his head as the woman emerged. After looking at her for a few seconds, the man closed the book he had been writing in and put the feather pen on the table.

"A burden?" Vecheslav asked in surprise as he stood up and approached Aurora. "You are anything but. In fact, I consider you to be quite an asset to us."

It would take a bit more to convince her of his innocence, so the woman crossed her arms and put on a very sceptical expression.

"_No one wants to hear the depressing stories of your childhood, Aurora_," she quoted Vilkas.

"I think someone might be a bit jealous that he wasn't the one to hear it from you," he smiled.

"And someone else – a bit cocky," Aurora answered.

"The word you are looking for is 'arrogant'."

The freedoms he took were too much for the woman. She slapped him across the shoulder to let him know before continuing her interrogation.

"What did you tell him?"

"Nothing special. Only that you've walked far to find him," Spurius shrugged. "_He_ on the other hand informed me about your promiscuity and about your previous relationship."

The man pointed at her chest and leaned forwards with the same smile as before. As he was now a mere foot away from her, Aurora steered his hand to the side and looked at him with a wrinkled forehead. She had no reason to believe that he was lying, as it was a behaviour of Vilkas that she recognised. At times, Vilkas had a tendency to be rather unfair. It usually became evident when he was upset or annoyed, and it would not surprise her if he had been the one to tell all sorts of things about her – how else would Spurius have known about her... looseness. It was not fair to call her that, especially since Vilkas was ten times worse, but she understood that it was due to the emotional wounds she caused him. If he cared enough for her to be able to cause him those wounds so to say...

"He then asked me, rather aggressively about what we spoke about last night, and he was convinced that you had spoken badly of him. I explained how wrong he was, so he wanted to hear it all."

"So what did you say?" she asked again, this time with a worried tone.

"That you told me stories from your past, and that I did the same. Not in detail, though – only how you ended up in Elsweyr and Morrowind. In fact, I was rather surprised that he had not heard it before, considering you were... Either way, I quite enjoyed our little chat last night," he said to change the subject. "Sit down, please."

He walked up to the table and took the chair, turned it around and offered it to Aurora. She quietly sat down and watched Vecheslav making himself comfortable on a few pelts. The woman still felt embarrassed about pouring her heart out the previous night and awkwardly sat with her hands on her knees.

"I'm sorry about yesterday night. I wasn't myself," she began but was interrupted by Spurius.

"There is nothing to apologise for. As I told you – I quite enjoyed it."

He seemed to be a bit distant, as if he tried to remember long lost memories from his youth and childhood, so the woman sat quietly to let him think. For about a minute or two, he gazed into the floor as if it was the horizon before looking at Aurora with a smile.

"I don't have a surname. My father is an Umbranox, but I don't know what my mother was called. I don't have a family as I'm neither of _good blood_ nor an average citizen," he said after a while, trying to repress the bitterness it caused. "Before I came here, I didn't fit in anywhere... but to be honest, I hate this forest. I hate the lands, even though they saved me. But I can't go back to the loathing in Cyrodiil, for everyone would know whom I am. The nobility would not let me anywhere near their company, and ordinary people would treat me with disdain. I lack the privileges of the rich whilst experiencing the hatred of the poor."

He let go of Aurora's gaze and stared into the floor again. Vecheslav did not look particularly glum, but it was obvious that it still affected him greatly. Aurora thought about the problems Hadrian and his little family struggled through and compared them to hers and Vecheslav's. Everyone one's issues affected everyone almost equally, no matter of the problem's seriousness, she realised. How silly she had been all those years ago when she, like every other teenager, thought that her troubles were allowed to affect her more as they were different to those of others at the same age.

"You see now, Aurora, that I would not ridicule you for what you told me last night. It is never humorous to see or hear about how others have been tyrannised, picked upon or talked down to. Trust me, I have experienced it all, and it is never dignified. I have cried to the loud thunder on cold floors in empty chambers – alone, rocking back and forth to the music of my own sobbing," he said and searched for her gaze again. "But that was in my past, as in yours. So explain to me now, why did you leave these lands?"

The woman felt much better at heart. Vecheslav was sincere, and she started to feel that she was gaining a new friend in him. It was he who had talked Vilkas into listening to her, and it was not Spurius's fault that she had messed it up. Until Vilkas had time to properly think the situation through, she would not stand a chance, but with time, he would reach out to her, she thought. In the meantime, she had every right to enjoy Vecheslav's company, and the fact that he was interested to hear about her life.

"Well," she began. "I fell for a Dunmer I was working with. I was a shopkeeper's assistant, and he was some kind of guard. This is so embarrassing..." she giggled.

"It was a long time ago, we've all done things we aren't proud of," the man answered with a calm voice.

"Well, I thought we were a couple. He took me out, treated me well and all. He was even the one suggesting marriage. Not directly, but you know... hints like asking me in which area of the city I wanted to live when tying the knot, if I wished for a Dunmer or more of a Imperial type of furniture. I was saving up money to buy a house. Everything seemed wonderful, and then, one day... He married another woman. An elf, like himself. As it turned out, he had four other women, who all knew about one another" she laughed. "It is custom for their young to be in more relationships than one, but I didn't know. Then I was too embarrassed to stay in Tear, and I wanted nothing else to do with Morrowind, so I went back to the Imperial town."

She looked at the man whose smile stretched from ear to ear, and once again cursed herself for being too talkative. "Oh Gods! Did I look pathetic?" she giggled.

"Yes," Spurius answered and was instantly hit over the shoulder.

The woman had leaned forwards and was about to lose her balance as she slapped the man, so she reached for the first thing behind her back, which happened to be the book. With two fingers, she managed to regain her balance and tip the chair backwards, but the object had caught her attention.

"What's that?" she asked and turned her head to look at what hid under her hand.

The man did now answer, but gestured with his hands that she was free to open the book. So she did, and realised that it was not a diary or journal of some sort, but rather a collections of poems. She only casted a quick glance in it, before looking at the man.

"_You_ write poetry?"

"Why does it come as a surprise to you?" he laughed.

"Well... You're the leader of a criminal gang..."

"For your information, I am a very cultured man."

"Mm... It helps you out a lot, I assume," the woman joked with a wrinkled forehead.

"In sooth, it does," he answered with a much more serious tone. "You should try reading some time, merchant's girl. Nothing reveals that you don't belong in the intelligentsia or among nobility more than being illiterate."

"I can read! I had a tutor for five years," she answered, upset about his erroneous remark.

"I doubt that you have read much literature," he said and crossed his arms whilst putting on an expression of patronising.

"Knowing poems by heart has never helped me kill an enemy."

"Well, it probably doesn't. But it should help living with the consequences. Don't you ever feel guilt? You've must have taken more than one man's life," he challenged her.

"I am not claiming it to be easy, and I try to avoid it if possible. And you would not be the right person to educate me on morals!"

"Then it means that you close your eyes to the horrors you do."

"Are you saying that I'm in denial? Look at yourself, Spurius."

Angry, the woman stood up, threw a warning gaze at him and left.


	13. Chapter 13

It was almost midday when she woke up, and the woman cursed herself for making it a custom to begin her day much later than everyone else. She had done nothing useful for the group since Vilkas arrived – except from carrying two buckets of water from the river, and she started to feel uneasy with it. They fed her twice every day and gave up a small tent for her to sleep in, but did not openly tell her to do anything in return. She assumed that Vecheslav had something to do with it, for the other members of the gang seemed to distance themselves from her, probably finding it wrong of their leader to let her get away from work. It was no loss to her as the only person she felt a connection to was Spurius, but it made her rather awkward around the others, and as she could not hang after one person for the entire day.

How she wished for Vilkas to say a few words to her! It would be a small, but very important start. She had been away from Skyrim for more than three, closer to four months, and the autumn had already fallen over Tamriel. If they were to cross the mountains before the winter, she would need to buy more clothes as her leather jacket was inadequate in sub-zero temperatures. The woman did not have too much gold left either, for she had never thought that she would sleep at inns as often as she had whilst travelling south. The stable fees contributed to her lack of capital too. She would have to be careful with the spending on her way back, the woman realised.

There would be no need to return home if she could not convince Vilkas to follow, though, and it had already taken longer than she thought to even get a minute of his time. It hit her that she might be forced to stay with the group for the entire winter. Her heart rate increased as she realised that she still had the Alduin issue to take care of, as well as being unsure about what Ulfric was planning when it came to the Thalmor. He had let her know that a war was approaching, and where was she? In the middle of a forest in Morrowind without as much as a news pamphlet.

"Aurora," she heard Vecheslav as she emerged from the tent.

She looked for him with her gaze, but it took a while to find him as he had changed into his warmer clothes. He wore a knee-long, green-ish coat and high, dark-brown boots. The man's hair was let out and played in the wind as he carried some firewood towards the pit.

"Good morning," the woman answered and tried to hide her surprised smile.

He was even more charming in this elegant outfit, but she could not understand why he wore it considering the fact that he lived in a forest. No one else bothered dressing up as they would only be seen by their fellow group members – unless they went to town. As she approached him, she even noticed a white cravat on his chest.

"Where is Vilkas?" the woman asked as she followed him.

"He isn't here," Vecheslav answered, looking straight ahead.

"But... where is he?" Aurora repeated.

She understood that something was wrong by simply looking at the man. He seemed very distressed – and Vilkas was the cause of that. For the next few moments, a dozen thoughts ran through the woman's head, building up scenarios of what could have happened, but at the end, there was need. There was only one possible explanation to the man's worried look.

Vecheslav shook his head before placing the wood next to the fire pit. He then proceeded by taking the woman's arm and pulling her with him. He nearly leapt forwards, dragging Aurora with him until they reached the outskirts of the camp. There, he stared at her with a sorrowful, yet anxious gaze, which only contributed to Aurora's worry.

"I don't know, but his tent is empty," he declared whilst holding both her arms. "Did you have an argument last night?"

"_He left_?!" Aurora exclaimed.

"He does that from time to time – he is a rather impulsive character, but considering the circumstances... Did you..."

"No!" Aurora cried out.

She could not imagine that their short conversation could be interpreted as an argument. Even if Vilkas left them – it could not have anything to do with it. The woman sighed. She knew that the men were fond of one another, and Vecheslav would not forgive her if she drove his friend away.

"I should go after him," she stated quietly.

"No. If you didn't send him away, he will probably return in a few days. Give him time to grow accustomed to the new situation."

She observed the man. He had calmed down a little, but remained very much in his own world. There was something on his mind that he did not utter, but Aurora deemed it to be better to leave him alone.

"I-I will. You are probably right," she spoke after a while.

The man suddenly looked at her and put on a smile. It was genuine even this time – he had obviously thought of something cheeky, the woman reckoned.

"Now, follow me. Let's go riding," he exclaimed and pulled her with him.

* * *

Darkness had already fallen when they returned to camp as heavy clouds covered the sky. The air was chilly by Morrowind standards, but far from as cold as it was in Skyrim. Aurora always suffered during the winters there, as she lacked the Nord extra layer of subcutaneous fat. She constantly shivered whilst living in the castle of Windhelm as well as the underground sleeping quarters of Jorrvaskr, and the extra layer of clothing made movement uncomfortable.

Every muscle in her body ached from the day's exercise. She had not trained for four months, and her body had already begun to adapt to the new circumstances. She should have been more careful as she knew that as soon as she returned, Alduin would be waiting for her. Their last encounter had nearly resulted in her death, and she needed every gram of muscle mass she could gain.

"Livano!" Vecheslav exclaimed. "Some soup please. We've been out all day."

"You are almost like a Jarl," the woman laughed and hit him on the arm.

"Being the leader has its privileges," he smiled and turned to her. "Now, would you like to accompany me to my tent?"

"It's late, and your... room mates are probably preparing for the night. Let's go to mine instead," she suggested.

The man stood quiet for a while, thinking, before agreeing with an _after you_ and bowing his head slightly to the side. The woman laughed at his pompous manners before leading the way to her little tent. As soon as she entered, the warm light from a single candle struck her. It had raised the temperature to a rather comfortable level, but with two people in the small shelter, it would soon become too warm. Turning around to look at the man, she realised that he had similar worries as he tried to discretely smell his armpits.

"I think we should wash," the woman laughed.

"I'll take care of it, one minute," the man smiled and left.

Aurora, still smiling due to catching Vecheslav doing something deemed inappropriate by himself, awaited the man outside of her tent. She noticed how he disappeared into his tent at the far end of the little road but emerged a few minutes later. In the light of the fire, Aurora could see that he had taken something long, made of textile with him. She figured it had to be his coat as he only wore a tunic and trousers. The man did not turn towards her though, but reached for something from the campfire. A moment later, it had caught fire, and the woman realised that it was a torch.

He approached her with a smile and pointed out into the forest, the same way Aurora and Vilkas had walked towards the narrow river. As they walked side by side, he gave her something semi-hard that smelled wonderful, wrapped inside of a cloth. The woman had not used soap for three months and was overwhelmed with the moment. Something that small could do wonders with the morale deep in the forest.

"I have a half-brother and half-sister," he nearly whispered.

"So?" the woman asked.

"Do you have any siblings?"

"No."

"It is strange to know that you have people out there who are your own flesh and blood, but still so different from you," he spoke, pondering. "My father's side of the family was often visited by Sheogorath. Father is only half-mad, but my sister is a complete maniac. She has always been. Some claim it is due to inbreeding, some that it is a curse of Sheogorath himself. Perhaps I only avoided it by being a bastard, I am not entitled to any of the _privileges_ a crown gives," he chortled bitterly.

"But you want revenge," Aurora stated.

"Yes, but not so much the crown as vengeance. As I said, my father has an heir."

"How is he?"

"He is a good man, to be honest," the man answered with a low tone.

"And you want to kill him?" the woman complained.

"I never said that. I want revenge on my father, it does not include killing Maximilian."

Aurora was confused. She did not fully understand Vecheslav's intentions, but assumed that she never would. Too many of his motives were based on hurt and anger rather than reason according to her. Therefore, she found no reason to argue with him on that theme. She had a hard time finding somewhere to put her feet as there were multiple roots and stones whose intentions was to make her fall to the ground and embarrass herself, and that only contributed to her not wishing to ponder Vecheslav's unreasonable arguments.

"How old is your brother?" she asked instead.

"He is thirty one, my sister is twenty six."

"And unmarried?"

"My brother has a wife, but no heirs that I know of. My father tried to find a husband for my sister, but no one wants to marry a cuckoo."

"And how old are you?" she laughed.

"Twenty eight."

"You are older than your sister? I feel sorry for the duchess."

"Infidelity is not uncommon in those classes."

"I know..." Aurora sighed as she thought of Ulfric.

"Sure you do."

The man stopped as they reached a glade and the sound of flowing water became hearable. Aurora looked at him and realised that he was carrying more than just a coat – he had a fresh tunic, a pair of pants and undergarment as well as socks with him. The woman could not have brought anything else even if she would have remembered. Thinking of how to solve the situation, she took decisive steps towards the water.

She undressed with her back towards the part of the forest where Vecheslav stood, but she could barely see anything as he held the torch and the sky was dark like a dungeon. Aurora took her clothes and covered her private parts before turning around. Vecheslav stood about twenty feet away from her and was just about to remove his pants. He had leaned the torch against a rock and seemed too busy to notice the woman. She noticed that his trousers only reached to the calf, and that he had long, white socks on. Aurora smiled – she found his obsession with looking presentable absurd.

Just as the man removed his last piece of clothing, the woman gave him privacy and looked away into the darkness. It only took a moment for the curiosity to get the upper hand, though, and she soon found herself peeping. What caught her attention was not his naked body, but the fact that he carefully folded his used clothes on a rock. When he was done, he took the torch and looked straight at Aurora.

"I gave you the soap, did I not?" he asked loudly.

"You did," Aurora stated and searched her pockets.

Vecheslav looked to the ground as he walked towards the water, probably to avoid stepping on a conifer cone or a small stone. He buried the shaft of the torch in the sandbank and carefully stepped into the water. He jerked slightly as he did so, but Aurora simply sat down. The water in Morrowind was warm enough for her considering her experience in Skyrim, and she immediately began to wash her hair.

"You're twenty-eight, isn't it time to start a family?" she asked the man.

"I... I'm not particularly fond of children. A wife perhaps, but... No."

"You don't want children?"

"No. There are but a few adults whose company I can stand, let alone treasure. I detest the naivety of the young, the screechiness, their games and conversations which require no intelligence."

Vecheslav spoke softly – he most certainly knew that it was a delicate matter, and whilst Aurora agreed with him to some extent, she found his words a bit harsh. In silence, she continued to wash herself before giving the soap to the man.

"May I ask a lady about her age?" he spoke after a while with the same soft tone.

"So I'm a lady when you want something from me?" she laughed. "I am twenty three."

"That means you have been working for... ten years now?"

"Yes."

"How did you end up in Hammerfall?"

"Um..." Aurora began. "After I found out about Amhed, I just wanted to get away from Morrowind. I decided to try something new, and went to Hammerfell through Cyrodiil. I was an idiot trying to cross the desert. Almost died."

She heard a small, ironic chuckle escape the man, but she knew it very well that she deserved it. At least she was more experienced now than she was six years ago... hopefully.

"A group of young men picked me up and took me to their camp", she continued. "Nomads, the lot of them. They gave me water and nursed me back to health. I didn't want to leave them once I recovered, and decided to stay and work with them to pay off my debt. I had hunted a little before, and I did have some talent with the sword, and the Redguards are excellent warriors. I spent half a year with this group before I set off to find myself a new master."

She looked at him. He had finished his procedure and seemed to observe her facial expression very closely. The water reached to Aurora's shoulders, yet it felt necessary to draw her knees to her chest.

"And..." she continued, unsure if the man was still listening. "I trained for two years. Travelled around to meet the best swordsmen of the country. When I didn't do that, I worked to gather some gold. Mercenary work mostly."

"High Rock?" he asked, slightly in his own world.

"Only went there and back. I didn't like the weather."

"So you went to Skyrim, that makes perfect sense," he laughed.

"I got lost in the mountains!"

Without a warning, he got up and gave Aurora the soap before pointing at her clothes, which she had left on the sandbank. He then climbed up and disappeared behind the edge. The woman sat still for a moment before reaching for her sweaty, disgusting tunic and undergarments.

She took as much soap as she could and did her best, but her tunic never fully recovered after the first riding lesson. Aurora gave up a few minutes later when she could no longer feel a reek from the clothing and looked up towards the sandbank. He stood there, fully dressed with his coat in his hands, offering it to the woman whilst looking the other way.

Aurora felt bad for taking it from him, but she would freeze if she would wear her wet tunic. In silence, she stepped forwards and let him put it on her shoulders. Just as he was to take a step back, she pushed her arms through the sleeves and turned around with a thankful gaze.

"Spurius?" she asked him.

"I hoped to be just _Vecheslav_ to you," he interrupted with a teasing tone.

She thought about embracing him, but decided against it considering the circumstances. Besides, she did not know if he found it acceptable, and as she already was in debt to him... The last thing she wished to do was to barge in on his personal space.

"What should I do about Vilkas?" she asked with an upset tone.

"I don't think there is much else than you already have," he answered calmly. "You've reached out to him, now he needs to do the same."

"What if he doesn't? He just went away!"

"I firmly believe that he will be back," he stated with the same calmness, but with a hint of self-deception.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I... He is the first person I have trusted. And I hope that I am to him what he is to me. He would not just leave without notifying me."

"Y-you are companions, and he didn't even mention me to you before I came."

"Calm down, Aurora. Vilkas was never talkative. He has barely mentioned anything about himself – let alone the people surrounding him."

"Oh, I know that. It's just... I thought... I hoped that..."

"Don't be too naïve. That is all I can say to you."


	14. Chapter 14

A very annoying chatter awoke Aurora, and with closed eyes, she began to feel around for her pillow. It would have been a morning familiar to all others – if she did not find it hanging in the air. The woman jerked and quickly opened her eyes only to find Spurius hiding in her tent.

"What are you...?" Aurora began, but quickly found Vecheslav's hand pressed against her mouth.

He gestured for her to remain quiet before returning to his previous position by the entrance, listening to the conversation that took place outside. Aurora, intrigued, sat up and eavesdropped too.

"I just felt that I should warn you," a female voice was heard.

"Warn me?" another one asked.

"Spurius is a very charming man, every woman here has noticed that, but he is very harsh."

"I can't say that I agree with you, but..."

"You think you have a chance, do you? Oh, poor soul."

"No, Claudia, that is not..."

Upon realising what and whom the conversation was about, Aurora threw her pillow on a giggling Vecheslav. He reminded her of an impudent teenager whose ego had been natured to an ostentatious degree, and that picture did not float together into a homogenous entity with the man's physical appearance.

"Don't you think that he fancies you just because you spend some time together. He has a very specific taste in women, and you are not his type."

"Excuse me!? What is this nonsense...?"

"No offence, but he is out of your reach."

"If you want him, please, Claudia, I'm not the one to object, for _I am not interested_!"

"Sure. Sure. But I've warned you now."

One of the women had turned around angrily, for Aurora heard decisive steps heading away. She looked at Vecheslav, who had calmed down a little and remained quiet, afraid to catch anyone's attention. That should not be too difficult, though, she thought as she noticed what he was wearing – a bright, blue jacket made of shiny silk and beige, cotton trousers to his high boots. Not even Ulfric, with his enormous ego wore anything like it.

"She's at it again," he laughed. "Come."

Vecheslav took her left, functional hand and pulled her to him, prepared to drag her out of the tent, but Aurora resisted as she had not had time to put her shoes on. She twitched out of his grip and pointed at her feet, after what the man smiled and gestured that she should follow him when she was done. A moment later, he exited the tent and called for Augustine.

"Has Claudia been bothering you again?" he asked.

"You should speak to her," the same female voice answered. "That woman really annoys me."

"It won't make anything better if I speak to her, but I can't give her the boot either. She too has nowhere to go but here. Besides, I want cultured company once in a while."

"Isn't it fairer to be honest?" Aurora asked as she emerged.

The pair looked at her after hearing her speak, and Aurora immediately recognised the pretty, blonde woman she has spoken to a while ago but not seen very much of lately. She wore a regular dress, clean but nothing special, yet she looked as stunning as ever.

"I've been as honest as I can, she didn't acknowledge 'Claudia, you are a good woman, but I do not and will never share your feelings' as something final. It took her two days, then she became as tiresome as ever," Vecheslav told the woman, looking at her rather than Aurora.

Augustine rolled her eyes and quickly disappeared into a near-by tent whilst Spurius remained outside with a cheeky gaze and his hands on the back. He stood there for a moment, pondering on something before looking back at Aurora and taking a few steps forward, encouraging the woman to follow.

"May I ask you something?" she began.

"As you please," he answered whilst casually dawdling forwards.

"You mentioned that you find Claudia to be a cultured woman, that would mean that you find her to possesses the right qualities, yet you..."

"She isn't Noble, Aurora," he answered shortly and looked up to the sky, squinting at the bright sun.

"And...?"

"I have no intention to live in this forest for longer than I have to."

"You want someone with a title?"

"Indeed, and hopefully someone who doesn't stick to me like a shadow," he added, laughing.

* * *

The sat alone on the rock on which she used to sunbathe with Vecheslav. Looking at the endless forest that disappeared into the horizon, she thought of the fact that Vilkas had been away for more than a week. It broke her. If he did not return, the reality would be that he did not wish to forgive her, no matter how much she chased him. She would have to give up. At this point, Vecheslav was the naïve one – believing that Vilkas would not simply disappear without saying goodbye. He did not know him.

He had distanced himself from her life without informing her. Even if he found her clingy, he could have just told her instead of silently burying their relationship. Aurora doubted that Spurius meant enough for Vilkas to deserve a different fate.

The more she thought about it, the more she realised that Vilkas had hurt her – fair or not. She had been living with an unbearable sense of guilt for such a long time, yet she was not alone to blame. The man she loved had his peculiarities, and this was one of them.

If he had really left, and she had a feeling that it might be the case, it would mean the end of it. There was nothing more she could do but to wait for his potential return, and this was more horrifying than to search for him across the entire Tamriel, for there was nothing she could do to change her fate. The power was all Vilkas's.

For the first time, the thought of having to emotionally leave him struck her. If he did not return, she would have to mobilise her energy for a different reason – she would have to do her best to forget him. The woman teared up. All she could do was to wait for her destiny to catch up with her.

Suddenly, she heard Vecheslav calling out her name. She turned around and saw him happily, yet calmly walking towards her from the camp. Aurora turned around to wipe the tears from her eyes without him noticing and put on a smile before facing him again. He was about twenty steps away when she noticed that he held a candle in one hand, and a small basket in the other.

"I have a favour to ask of you," he said as he sat down next to her.

The man put the candle on his right side and the basket in his lap whilst the woman looked at it with suspicion. Inside it, she noticed a pair of needles, a small bottle, a stone and something with a golden shine. Aurora raised her gaze at Vecheslav, who then presented her with the golden ear piercing. It was of a round shape, like a small, flat stone but apart from the metal, nothing special.

"Pinarus won't do it," he chuckled. "I assumed you would have some sort of relevant experience."

The woman reached for the needles and examined them carefully. One of them was slightly thicker than the other, but both were of about the right size considering the thickness of the piercing. She had never done this before, though – she did not even have holes in her own ears, but she guessed how the procedure would look like.

"Can you do it, with that broken arm of yours?" he asked, nervously awaiting a positive answer.

"Um..." she nodded. "It is possible to use an anaesthetic..."

"A bit of pain once in a while to remember that we are human," Vecheslav simply stated.

Aurora did not understand him and let her facial expression state it clearly whilst she reached for the small bottle, which she assumed contained something alcoholic to clean the tip of his ear with. Vecheslav sat there in complete silence for a while whilst thinking for an answer. The woman, meanwhile, had cleaned his skin and begun to heat the needle in the fire from the candle.

"There are few things more beautiful than melancholy and pain, for it brings avid emotions that turn into the most passionate words," he proclaimed.

Just after he had spoken, Aurora pressed the thicker needle through. The man jerked slightly but had a mysterious smile, reaching from ear to ear. He groaned slightly before expressing that he was alive.

Aurora left the needle in his ear and took the piercing from the man. With a quick move, she pulled out the needle and inserted the piercing in its place. After the procedure was over, she sighed heavily and once more reached for the bottle. It was half-empty by then, and she poured the rest over the man's ear just in case.

"You have softer hands than I imagined," he suddenly spoke.

Shocked, the woman pulled back quickly and gripped her broken right hand with her left. The man laughed at her impulsive reaction.

"I am sorry, did you interpret that as an insult, merchant's girl?"

"No... I just... What kind of comment was that?"

"Well, you consider yourself to be a warrior, and I simply stated that your hands are like every other woman's," he answered with a nonchalant tone.

A silence occurred between them. For the first time, Aurora felt uneasy around Vecheslav. A tension had arisen, and she did not know what to do with it. Instead, the man took her left hand and kissed it.

"No illusions, Aurora. I can kiss your hand, but I shall never aim at your lips. They are not for me, and mine are not for you."

"Mine have waited for two years to touch the one's I love, but now I doubt I'll ever kiss him again," she spoke in shock, trying to change the subject.

"What do you imply?" he asked, wrinkling his forehead.

"It's been a week, Vecheslav," she answered, raising her voice. "I think he left for good."

"He hasn't!" the man almost yelled.

"How can you be so sure?"

He was silent – he had no answer. Vecheslav was almost as hurt as she was by the thought of losing Vilkas, based on his reaction at least. They did not say anything more on the subject, for neither one of them could be sure of anything. Aurora sighed and looked at Vecheslav, remembering the moments with Vilkas she treasured.

"There is a saying from Cyrodiil, that the Gods created man with four arms, four legs and one head with two faces. Fearing their power, the Gods split the humans into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves."

"And Vilkas is your other half?" he asked downheartedly.

Aurora slowly nodded and looked at the man next to her. His knees were drawn upwards, and he leaned his arms against them. Vecheslav looked miserable – as if he was about to make a very difficult decision. For a minute, he stared on the ground in front of him, and for those moments, Aurora's gaze remained pinned to him.

"He's probably close to the border by now, stuck in the swamps," he began with a calm, deep voice. "If this is what he means to you, go and find him," he said, lifting his gaze to the woman. "This doesn't mean that I believe that he deserves you. It's the man's job to chase the woman, not the other way around."

"I am a practical woman," Aurora stated and got up on her feet.

"One is without spirit if one does not secretly praise romance," the man answered with a serious tone.

"And what? _You_ do?"

"I am a poet, my lady," he said. "Don't think that you can change him. He will be the man he is until his last breath."

His gaze was intensive, and Aurora had no doubts about the truth of his words. For a moment, she wondered if there was a point to continue fighting for Vilkas. She had almost given up. At this point, everything seemed so gloom – if Vilkas had left, he would have done it for a reason, and the woman could only stand there and do nothing. She probably would have – had she not heard a familiar voice from the camp.

She turned around and ran towards it. The campfire casted a soft light upon the people and the tents, and in the middle of it all, she saw _him_.

"Why do you keep running from me?!" she cried out as she reached the camp, pushing other people to the side to get close to Vilkas.

"I went to town to get something to drink," he answered with a distant tone and gaze.

"And?" Aurora asked, not knowing what to say. "Give it to me," she continued, reaching for whatever he had behind his back.

"No," he protested.

"I need a drink too."

"I drank it all."

"You're drunk?"

"Maybe a little," he smiled.

A moment later, their gazes met, spreading a smile across their faces. And so he kissed her – passionately and joyfully.


End file.

Elder Scroll series, Adventure, Romance