-

Her head was pounding like a giant had used it to play fetch with a mammoth. She didn't bother opening her eyes, she didn't want to yet. Memory of how she had ended up in this situation was slowly coming back to her, and the more she remembered, the less she was ready to face reality.

A perfectly enraged hiss to her right coaxed her eyes open as she slowly lifted her head and look at the figure sitting next to her. A dunmer with red war paint had been bound and was currently having a mental break down over… Something… She wasn't sure what. There was also two norms and some other guy who was having a panic attack.

She went to say something but it came out a garbled, "Umph nigh."

Oh, yes, Elle, what an intelligent comment great first impression, she thought grumpily to herself.

( holy shit don't remind me )

-

Elle shook her head to rid herself of the fogginess that still clouded her mind before looking more intently at everyone in the cart. The dunmer guy already stuck her as a kind of stick in the mud sort of fellow, judging by the disapproving scowl fixed on his face and the way he studied each person.

She turned her head to look at the Nord that spoke, listening as the dunmer guy resounded before she herself replied (this time not making a weird dying animal sound), "Er, yeah, something like that." She paused to look down the road, then at the imperial guards surrounding them before cocking her head at the Nord once more, "They aren't taking us to prison, are they?" she asked.

As far as she knew, walking through the woods wasn't a crime. Then again, she did almost trip over one of the imperial soldiers while they were about to ambush the Stormcloaks. she had almost blown their cover which is why she was probably here in the first place. Lovely. Just lovely.

( omg this were the days )

-

"Alright that's enough," Elle snapped, giving the thief a hard look, "You stop sniveling and you," she turned her attention to the Dunmer, "Calm down a pull yourself together." She brought her bound hands to her head and rubbed her temples with a sharp huff. The throbbing in her head had died down, but she could feel the bump under her auburn hair. She definitely wasn't a tank, and whoever had knocked her out in the first place had landed a good blow.

When she looked up at them again, she tried for a more composed air, her countenance calm and chin up. "Now, shall we try this again or does someone else need a whack over the head?" She more told than asked. Being who she was, she didn't bother giving them time to respond before she went on, "I'm Eilonwy and I'm on this cart because I accidentally stumbled into their little ambush... Thing..."

She found herself losing her confidence as she spoke, now that she had the men's attention. She suddenly felt very small as she looked up at then all, expression wavering for a moment. She found herself wishing that the bench beneath her would open up and swallow her whole. She was already short but this whole situation was making it worse. She clears her throat a little awkwardly and started to pick at the fibers of the ropes that bound her hands out of anxiety, but kept her head up.

( i can literally fit my posts on my pinky geez )

-

Elle shot a nasty glare at the Dunmer, "Well excuse me for trying to lighten the mood a little," she muttered, more to herself than him. Though, she knew he was right. The imperials didn't have time to keep prisoners who weren't worth their time. She was starting to grow worried, but she didn't want it to show. She bit the inside of her lip before turning her attention to the blonde Nord and the horse thief and listening to the conversation that followed.

Having nothing to add, she turned her head to study the scene around her. People on the street either stopped to stare or ushered their children inside. She glanced over at what looked like an Altmer astride a dark brown horse. The Thalmor? What were they doing in Helgen? She didn't dwell on it, she had more important things to worry about. The mood was so tense, it was almost tangible on the still air. Funny that it should be such a nice day.

The next thing that caught her attention was the circle of imperial guards and a man in a black leather mask clutching an axe came into view, all of them standing around what she was sure was a chopping block, judging by the blood on it. She furrowed her brow, keeping the anxiety out of her face by thinking about an escape plan. Though, her mind did drift to the fact that her parents and siblings and friends would never know what happened to her. She would be discarded into a nameless grave and never be spoken of again.

Stop that, Elle, she chided herself, shaking her head slightly. She was not going to make a fool out of herself like the horse thief. She may not be brave, but she sure wasn't a coward. The carts filled with prisoners ahead of them had already stopped and started unloading. They were really going to execute all of them? She hadn't been much involved with the rebellion, but were they really going to be that brutal? Apparently so.

( geez man I'm dying XDDD )

-

Elle hopped down from the cart behind the horse thief and blonde soldier they had been speaking with earlier, standing in line in front of the dunmer, who she had come to the conclusion was a rather snotty individual. Ulfric Stormcloak himself, the gagged one, stepped up first before walking over to stand near the other prisoners facing the chopping block. The other stormcloak gave his name, Ralof, without much fight and stepped away from them.

The horse thief however, was not going to go so quietly. He panicked and bolted, yelling something about not dying or whatever before the woman who appeared to be in charge barked, "Archers!"

The horse thief fell after the guards let their arrows fly, the unfortunate individual falling to the ground, never to move again.

She had been so intent on watching the scene unfold she hadn't noticed the woman beckon her forward. Elle almost jumped out of her rags when the woman snapped, "I haven't got all day."

The man didn't seem in too much of a hurry, however, and asked, "What's your name, prisoner?"

"Uh, Eilonwy," she stuttered, stepping forward, shooting a contempt filled glare at his companion.

The man checked the list before looking uncertainly at the woman, "Captain, she's not on the list, what do we do?"

The captain didn't seem too concerned with this in the least bit, so Elle gave her one last loathing glance before standing near Ralof while eyeing the executioner warily. As much as she wanted to follow the thief's example, she decided she was going to die with some dignity and accept it. There was no way out of this, and her magicka was already so depleted, she wouldn't get far at all.

( yah same XDDD )

-

Elle stood grimly and quietly, clenching her jaw tightly as she stared forward with apprehension in her eyes. She studied the executioner with some disgust, insulted by the fact that this man would be the one to take her life. I mean, if she was going to go, it should have been something more creditable than getting her head lopped off by a sweaty guy with a rusty axe. The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she got. Her face probably looked like she had just eaten something bitter.

The first roar was unsettling, and she looked up at the sky with her brow furrowed, eyes searching for the source of the sound but not finding it. A glance at the dunmer puzzled her slightly. His expression remained rather arrogant, but something in his eyes gave her cause to think he may know what it was.

She jerked her head toward the priestess when she started speaking, then at the fiery haired nord who marched to the block. His last words were almost cut short by the blade falling on his neck. She found herself flinching at the sight, the Stormcloak's heading falling unceremoniously into the crate.

She was starting to wonder if it was too late to ask for Last Rites again.

That same threatening bellow rent the air once more, causing her to glance around once more before the dunmer was called to the block. As much of an äss as he made himself out to be, she still didn't like the idea of him meeting the same fate as the rest of them would.

That was, at least, until that thing appeared.

-

Elle stood petrified when she saw the dragon. Yes, that's what it was, she had read about them and seen pictures. If that wasn't a dragon, then she didn't know what it was. She stood staring at it wide eyed and she swore it was staring right back at her, beady red eyes glowering in her direction before it let out a mighty shout from its mouth, knocking her flat. She smacked her head against the ground, stars dancing in her vision as she stumbled to her feet away from the beast. She was sure her head was pounding, but the adrenaline rushing through her numbed any pain she felt for now.

Her first instinct was to run, but where? The dragon had jumped into the sky again and she was sure it was going to start spitting fire at any second. Everyone was yelling now, but it was all very indistinct in her ringing ears.

Someone to her right shouted, "Breton! Come on! The gods are giving us another chance!"

Elle blindly tripped in the direction of the voice, her vision clearing and the person shouting proving to be Ralof, the one decent person in the cart from earlier. She suddenly stopped and looked behind her at the dunmer before running over to him and dragging him to his feet. "Come on, Nilovas, or whatever your name is, this is our chance," she said her words a little slurred.

Not waiting for his reply, she bolted in the direction Ralof had gone. Nilovas could follow or not, she didn't much care, but she would have felt bad for just leaving without offering assistance.

She ground to a halt inside the stone building most of the Stormcloak captives had rushed into. Her vision had cleared by now, and she looked around slightly dazed before Ralof spoke again.

"Jarl Ulfric! What is that thing? Could the legends be true?" he asked, question directed at his Jarl.

"Legends don't burn down villages," Ulfric replied grimly, before the dragon roared again outside, "We need to move! Now!"

Ralof looked around the room before his eyes landed on the stairs, "Up through the tower, let's go!"

-

If Nilovas hadn't pulled her back, Elle would have been crushed under rocks and fried to a crisp. She let out an audible yelp when it happened, shielding her face from the heat, hands still tied. Then the dragon was gone again, flying off to set the next building ablaze. The stairs were now blocked because of the rubble, and the gaping hole in the wall let sunlight and smoke flood in. Ralof peered through it and squinted to see through the smoke.

"See that inn on the other side? Jump through and keep going," he said, pointing at what she presumed was the inn.

"But-" she began to protest.

"Jump! We'll follow when we can!" he shouted before running back down the stairs.

She would have to thank the dunmer later. Elle looked at the building below, the roof torn off to reveal the upper level. She took a breath and jumped as far as she could, landing on the hardwood and tripped as she landed, rolling to the floor before scrambling to her feet again. She darted to the other side of the room and dropped through a hole in the floor, rushing through the broken door to see the imperial who was reading names off the list, and another man with a boy. The dragon had landed not far from them and the imperial had gotten the boy out of the way just in time.

She stood still and watched as the dragon flew off again before the imperial's voice jerked her attention towards him. "Still alive, prisoner? Keep close to me if you want to stay that way," he said, before ordering the man to get the boy to safety and running off again.

Elle looked up at the dragon wheeling and diving over head before at the retreating imperial. On one hand, he had almost had her executed. On the other, that dragon wouldn't mind frying her to a crisp. She decided to take her chances with the imperial and ran after him. She would make her way to the inn when she could.

The imperial suddenly stopped and pressed his back against the stones at his back and yelled, "Stay close to the wall!"

She obeyed, and just in time too. The dragon hand landed right above their heads, and she had to bite back another scream as its wing almost hit her face. It didn't seem to notice them, blasting the buildings around it with fire before leaping into the sky again with another roar.

"Quickly!" the imperial barked, running forward again up a flight of stairs. Elle really wished she could find a weapon so she wasn't at anyone's mercy, but right now, she didn't have much of a choice. She ran after him once more.

-

Honestly, Elle, wasn't even aware Nilovas had followed her till the Imperial, whose name was revealed to be Hadvar, addressed them both. She glanced back at him before focusing her attention forward again, occasionally looking up to make sure the dragon wasn't about to swallow them whole or something. She was very glad when she spotted Ralof again. Their short exchange, she had to admit, made her curious. Clearly there was some history there, and not the good kind.

She hesitated when they both ran in opposite directions, each one calling for the dunmer and herself. Her instinct made the choice before her mind could, running after Nilovas and Ralof.

"Come on! Into the Keep!" he said, running for the door.

Elle followed behind Nil, rushing in doors after him, Ralof bringing up the rear. Once inside, Elle took a moment to breathe, coughing due to some of the smoke that had founds its way into her lungs as she eyed the door before turning to look at Ralof again, who had walked over and knelt beside two fallen stormcloaks.

"We'll meet again in Sovngarde, brothers," he said sadly, kneeling down next to them and closing their eyes before he turned and faced Nilovas and Eilonwy grimly, "Looks like we're the only ones who made it. That thing was a dragon. No doubt. Just like the children's stories and legends. The harbingers of the End Times." He looked at the door behind them before down at the fallen soldiers, "We better get moving," he said before beckoning to Elle, "Come here. Let me see if I can get those bindings off."

Elle walked toward him hands out, "Thanks for this," she said quietly, rubbing her wrists when he cut the ropes with a dagger.

"There you go," he said, before looking at them both, "You may as well take their gear," he gestured to the dead stormcloaks, "They won't be needing it anymore."

Elle looked down, picking the smaller of the two and taking his fur boots and cuirass, both of which were still large on her, but it was better than nothing. She picked up the axe and gave it a few swings, satisfied with the balance, even if she was more of a short sword kind of person.

-

Elle whipped her head around to face the wooden door before darting toward the wall, gripping the axe tightly. As soon as it swung open, Nilovas had flown at the captain with fire and sword, her head rolling to the ground before she had time to blink. She shook herself into action, hoping the loose armor and boots wouldn't trip her, and charged the imperial soldier, who had narrowly missed hitting Nil. He hadn't seen her coming, so she was able to bring the axe down hard with both hands between his shoulders blades with a yell. Her blow broke the armor, but not enough to do much damage to the skin. The imperial stumbled forward before facing her, narrowly missing a swing from Ralof.

"Is that the best you've got," he spat at Elle before rushing forward, weapon raised.

She didn't have a lot of magicka left, but maybe just enough to catch him off guard and gain the opportunity she needed. She thrust her free hand forward and sent a quick blast of frost right at his face, blinding him momentarily as she sidestepped and slashed the axe at the side of his head, the blade cutting deep as he fell sideways. Elle was about to attack again when she realized that the imperial was dead. Satisfied and honestly rather proud of herself, she let out a small huff of victory and tucked the axe in her belt.

Ralof looked at the gate before back at their deceased enemies, "Maybe one of these imperials has the key," he said.

Elle knelt beside the captain and found the key, taking the liberty of snagging her bracers and smaller boots as well. She walked over to the gate and used the key to open it. "We'd better scram before more imperials come or that dragon decides to smash this building next," she said before turning and hurrying down the stairs.

She had to admit, out of all her adventures, this one had been the most exciting. A dragon! A real live dragon! And that didn't look like just any dragon. There was something about that one that struck her as off, or at least, as off as something could be about a creature that hadn't been seen in so long, it was deemed a legend. She remembered reading about dragons in her books and legends of the Dragonborn, a warrior with the soul of a dragon able to use the power of the Voice. They had always been her favorite stories, and now she was living the myth. Now that she was over her initial terror, she was starting to feel rather excited.