Unbound

I intake a deep breath as I take aim at the deer about twenty yards away. Releasing the iron arrow, I also released my breath. The arrow flew through the air, hitting the intended target. I place my bow on my back and jump down from the branch I perched myself on. My father taught me although hunting from the ground allows you to chase your prey, it also leaves you exposed to the predators. Being above ground keeps you hidden, and gives a clear view of your surroundings.

I carefully put the young buck onto my back, still aware of my bow. Within an hour, I find myself at the two-story wooden lodge. I walk into my hunting shed that was behind the outdoor blacksmith workshop. Once the door was closed and the candles were lit, I got set to work for preparing the meat to sell in Skyrim. After that, I started sharpening the iron weapons that I would also be getting money for. Only when the sun fall did I finish up my work and pack for the morning.

I washed up inside and made dinner for myself and my mother. It was frowned upon, but my father married a Khajiit. I mostly look like a Nord, but my cat-like eyes and slightly larger and sharper canines give away my parentage. Not to mention my heighted senses that got me out of many situations since I was a child.

Once the stew was finished, I brought a bowl to the room where my mother rests. Her eyes crack open when she hears the floorboards creak slightly. Placing the bowl on the night stand, I help her sit up. When I reached for her bowl, she grabs my arm. I give her a questioning look. She just shakes her head. Tears begin to flood my eyes.

"Na'Jai, it is time for me. Do not worry, my child, I will always be with you," she whispers. She leaned back and once again closed her eyes. Her breathing stopped and loud sobs wracked my body. I carried her outside and buried her beside my father. I ended up staying up all night staring at their graves.

I slowly stood up and took on last gaze at the reminder of my dead parents. I mounted my pure snow white mare and made my way to Skyrim. Night had already fell when I made it through the boarder. I found a small clearing in between some trees and set up camp for the night. I had just started my campfire when a group of soldiers dressed in leather armor with red tunics underneath surround me.

"You halt!" what I guess their commander ordered. "You're under arrest!"

"But I didn't do-," I try to argue, but was cut off with a hard hit to the back of my head. Darkness surrounded me. Red eyes bore into my closed ones. Smoke filled the air and a maw of sharp teeth appear. Soon a large dragon is shown, chaos and destruction surrounding the large being.

"Dovahkiin, hi fen ni kron," he growls out.

"We will see, Alduin," was my response. Who's Alduin? Sithis, my head hurts…

I open my eyes and rapidly blink my eyes to get used to the light. I raise my head and see three men in a cart with me. I try to move my hands, but found them bonded together with a well knotted rope.

"Hey, you. You're finally awake. You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us, and that thief over there." I was going to respond to the Nord till the said thief interrupted.

"Damn you Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you, I could've stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell. You there... You and me, we shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants." They continued to argue, and my temper raised. The typical Nord temper mixed with a Khajiit's is something you don't want to experience at full.

"Okay, shut up!" I started. "I have a name, its… Nefertiti. But I guess it doesn't matter since they're probably going to execute us. So you, horse thief, stop being a bitch. And you, whatever your title is, stop bragging. And Ulfric-," my rant stops there when I realized I didn't have anything against him. He started chuckling through the gag in his mouth.

I turn my attention back to the other two men when I hear the blond Nord mumble about being put in his place with someone with a weird name. The horse thief tried to shrink into the seat when my gaze turned towards him. Finally, the carts stop and we begin unloading. A soldier comes up with a list.

"Ralof of Riverwood, Lokir of Rorikstead- "

The latter man takes off running, yelling about no one being able to kill him. An archer shoots him and he falls face first, dead. Despite the serious situation, it was still funny and I let out a laugh. Some of the soldiers gave me horrified looks, but I didn't mind. To be honest, the act of killing would turn me on, and provide entertain, hence is why I picked up hunting and blacksmithing. It allowed me to make better weapons for the thrill of the hunt.

The man calls my attention and tells me to step forward. "Who are you, kinsman?"

"I am Nefertiti, and I am not a complete Nord. I am also part Khajiit." I explain. A shocked look crosses his face. He then tells his captain something and she completely blows him off, leaving no room for argument. The priestess started to recite our rights only to be interrupted by a Stormcloak soldier. Sithis, what's up with everyone interrupting everyone?

He hastily kneeled at the block. The dismemberment of his head was swift and seemed painless. A distant roar sounded through the air. Everyone searched the skies trying to locate the source. After a few seconds the woman calls for the next the next prisoner.

"Next, the half-breed!" Again, the roaring returned, but louder. It was almost as if it was closer. The female captain only takes a glance at the sky. "I said, next prisoner!" she growled out. I step up to the block. The woman pushes me to my knees and into a position where my head would be removed cleanly.

As the executioner raised the axe above his head, and I closed my eyes, but death never came. Instead I open eyes when the ground shakes and an ear-deafening roar fills the air.

"STRUN BAH QO!"

Meteors start raining down from dark clouds that had suddenly appeared. The people of Helgen ran around in fear, trying to find escape of the wrath of the beast. The dark mass on top of the watchtower seems so familiar, but I can't pin it…

"Half Breed! Get up, the Gods might not give us another chance!" Ralof yells standing by another tower. I pick myself up and run to the temporary safety of cover. There were a couple of injured Stormcloaks on the ground.

"Jarl Ulfric, what is that thing? Can the legends be true?"

"Legends don't burn down villages. We need to get out of here. Get up the tower," he ordered. The people who were able to move ascended the spiral step. All of a sudden, the dragon's head breaks through the wall.

"YOL TOOR SHUL!"

The brief attack left burnt corpses and a smell of burnt flesh. I saw an opening to get out the tower by jumping into an inn. I took a running start and jumped. I tucked and rolled upon reaching the other side. I jumped down from the second floor and ran through the maze of the burning village, sticking to the walls.

The dragon landed and continued to destroy the surrounding buildings. The man that was reading off the list found me and led me to the keep. We had a brief run in with Ralof, but I was closer to the part of the keep the Imperial soldier was going into.

With the door to the keep now locked, I sat down in a chair for a breather. A few minutes pass by and the soldier offers to cut me free.

"You should search around some for supplies. I know for sure that there's armor and weapons in here." My only response was a nod of my head. True to his word, there was leather armor that was surprisingly a snug fit and a couple of iron swords. There was an iron shield, but that was unnecessary weight. I also grabbed a knapsack and placed the gold and potions I pilfered inside.

"I'm all set." I didn't wait for an answer and pulled the chain that led to a round room.

"Wait, you hear that?" he whispered. "Stormcloak soldiers. Maybe we can reason with them." I scoffed and gave him an 'are you stupid' look. I walked out and stabbed the soldier that was standing and was quick to use my other blade to slice the neck of the other. I patted down the blue clad Nords and found a key. I open the door and went down the stairs. I was almost turned into mush by the falling rocks that made me go the long way around, dispatching two more soldiers.

Soon we reached the torture room, where the Stormcloaks seemed to slip in and a fight between the torturer and his assistant was taking place. The Stormcloaks were disposed of and I once again, went searching for more useful things. I found a couple of lock picks and more gold. One of the cages had a book and a dead man in robes, so I tried out my luck in lock picking.

The lock popped with a few careful wiggles and turns of the tools. Fortunately, I didn't break any picks. Collecting the few coins, the book and the clothes around the room I continued further into the keep. The assistant decided to follow us out. We came into a large cavern with Stormcloak soldiers standing guard. I motioned for the men to halt as I scanned the room. I ran out and stabbed one in the back. Almost immediately, another comes up to me, wildly swinging his great sword.

He tried a power swing and was flown off balance when I evaded and found my way behind him. While he was still stumbling, I kicked him down. The assistant brought his mace into his head, then was shot down by an arrow. A deadly smile crossed my face. They have a bowman in here. The bowman's hand hastily reached for another arrow. I took notice of the oil under her feet.

I guess it's time to see if my magic practice would actually help. I tried to think of the feeling of the heat of fire. I was reminded of the dragon running rampage above and the burning fire that resides deep inside it's stomach. The flames came out stronger and brighter than I remember.

Still, it served its purpose and lit the oil on fire. The bowman threw her bow in a fast attempt to stop the fire. She was smart enough to step out the fire before it was too late. Before she got her bearing together, ran and swung my blade at her neck. She quickly fell back and only came away with a nick. Well, at least my opponent will probably put up a fight.

I let her draw her swords. I outwardly smirk at her choice of duel wielding like me. I could feel Imperial soldier's eyes on us. Like the amazing hunter I am, I waited till she charged at me. I dodged and went to strike and was excited when she was able to block the hit with one sword and swung the other at my legs. I dropped mine to meet hers.

I moved to the opening she created. Before she even noticed the move, her head was rolling on the floor. I release a deep breath to calm myself. I didn't miss the wide eyed stare of my 'escort' before I picked up the bow and arrows that were laying around. When I had the quiver snug around me, I continued my voyage forward.

We came to another cavern, but only after rocks fell behind us, enabling us from turning back. There were two frostbite spiders crawling around. I quickly knocked two arrows and turned my bow to the side, then let them loose. Two more come down and the man behind me charges at them, loudly I must add. He was able to take down one as killed the other.

I searched around for an empty bottle and wasn't surprised when I found one. I collected the poison from all four spiders, filling up the wine bottle. I carefully placed in the knapsack. Further on, there was a bear, which was no problem at all. I skinned the bear, cut off some meat and its claws. We reached the end of the cave after another couple minutes of walking.

Just as we step out, the dragon flew above us. We took cover till we were sure he wasn't coming back. The sun was starting to set and I suggested camping for the night. I ordered the man to stay by the cave while I go get need supplies for the night. When the campfire was started, I asked the man a question.

"Imperial soldiers aren't going to come at me again, right?" He chuckles at the question I asked so seriously.

"No. The name's Hadvar by the way," he said sticking out his hand. I hesitantly shook it. After a brief silence, I asked where he was going to lead me in the morning.

"My home, Riverwood." I nod my head and take the bear meat off the spit. I pass some to Hadvar and pack the rest of the away. I laid back and stargazed till I fell asleep. It only felt like a couple of minutes when I was woken up my travel partner.

"Come on Half Breed, it's time to go." I just turned away from him and tried to mumble out five more minutes, but ended up falling back asleep.

"BANDITS!" I hear him yell and I jump up, unsheathing a sword. I franticly search around for a group of thieves and only found Hadvar rolling in the grass laughing. A scowl replaces my confused face as I straighten myself. By the time I was done, he was done and still trying to catch his breath.

The Nord glances at me and starts at it again. I huff, and walked over to his prone form. He shut up after a swift and hard kick to his gut. This time he wasn't trying to catch his breath because of excessive laughter. He slowly stood up grumbling. I motion for him to lead the way.

Going down a hill, I heard a light buzzing. I ran to the sound and was met with three stones. "Ah, looks like you found some standing stones," Hadvar shouts from the top of the hill. I study the stones until he makes his way down beside me. "They say they contain a little bit of powers from the Gods. Apparently, only those worthy or strong enough can use it. I never tried it, but I guess you could."

I snort at his explanation. I might as well. I walked up to the stone with a crouching man. I put my hand on it and a tingling sensation runs up my arm and I snatch my hand from the stone. I mentally make a note to come back. We continued forward and were me with a small pack of wolves. We were once again delayed by my hunting practices. We made it to Riverwood by midday.

When we passed the mini wall, my eyes immediately landed at the blacksmithing workshop. I was broken out of my daydream of how many things I could make with the materials that could be found in Skyrim by Hadvar's constant yelling.

"Uncle Alvor!"

"Hadvar! Are you on leave… Shor's bones, boy! What happened? Who's this?" he asked upon studying his nephew and then me.

"Not here," Hadvar whispers into his uncle's ear. "Inside." The older man nods and leads us inside his home. He closes and locks the door after I step inside.

"Sigrid! We have guests," he calls for a woman I guess is his wife. He motions for me to take a seat at the table. I toned out the men's talking when said woman came up the stairs. She was about 5'7" with long reddish-brown hair in a braid. Her eyes were a light forest green, but seemed kind of sad. She also looked around my age if not a couple years older. Too bad she was married.

That's not even a problem for me. Even in my young age of 20, I was known as a 'home wrecker'. I had to have a way to pass the time other than hunting and blacksmithing. When the woman turned around, I studied her in a not so appropriate way, and then her body language. She never made eye contact for long, and didn't seem to have the confidence of the typical Nord woman.

"Nefertiti." I turned back to the table and gave a questioning look to Alvor. Hadvar must have told him my name.

"Careful lass, that one's mine," he said in a joking manner but his eyes said something different. I decided to back down for now. I didn't like what his eyes were telling me. After a bit of conversation, I asked to use the smith.

"You know how to smith?" he asked surprised. I throw a smirk his way. "Well, who am I to stop you." I say my thanks and was about to bid a goodbye till Sigrid stopped me.

"Hold on, let's get you something to change into if you're going to work." She pulled me down the stair and walks to a chest. Digging around a bit, she gave me a pair of black trousers and a red tunic. She gave me an expecting stare that told me I wouldn't be able to leave until I changed.

Won't have trouble with this one. I decided to tease her a bit. I slowly unbuckled the strap to the armor the pulled it over my head. I wasn't able to find any tunics, trousers, or armor bottoms, so I was left in my bindings and underwear that men wear. I never felt comfortable in anything 'girly'. A devilish smile crosses my lips when I catch her staring at my lightly tone body.

I pulled on the given pants and her brow furrows in disappointment. I chuckle lightly, and step to her. I had to look down at her from my 5'10" height. She closes the gap between us, and I place my lips on hers. It started off with a feeling of discovering, but was completely forgotten when I asked for entrance. The kiss started to heat up and my hands start to run her body. I noticed, she flinched each time my hand passed certain spots on her sides. I break the kiss and stare into her nervous eyes.

I hike her dress up till I can see the cuts and bruises that cover her midsection. My insides heat up, and not in a good way. I meet her eyes again.

"Does he abuse you?" I ask. She turns her gaze away, trying to find something else to turn her attention to. I held her face in between my hands so she wouldn't try to break contact again. I repeated my question. Tears started to fall from her eyes, and I tried to sooth her. I may be a 'home wrecker', but I'm not an insensitive person. At least not towards women.

Within minutes, she calmed down. She went into a different room, and I grabbed this opportunity to pull on my shirt. I waited till she came out to leave. I once again sent reassurance to her before returning back upstairs. When Alvor caught sight of me, his eyes were wondering in a lecherous manner that automatically pissed me off.

I don't like many men. Especially ones that mistreat women as if they were their property. I made my way out the door and to the side of the house. He had two weeks' worth steel and iron ingots each underneath his workbench. There was a pile of leather on a table. I used three and a half steel ingots and three leathers to make a new bow. I used a carefully crafted thin piece of a leather strap for its string. If it's too thin, it'll snap; too thick and the bow won't work properly.

It was well into the night by the time the bow was done. I went across the small road into the inn. I rented a surprisingly cheap room to stay in for the next couple days. After buying dinner and buying a bottle of ale after that, I sat by the fire. The bard was singing a song that tells of the legendary 'Dragonborn'.

Our Hero, our Hero, claims a warrior's heart

I tell you, I tell you, the Dragonborn comes

With a Voice wielding power of the ancient Nord arts

Believe, believe, the Dragonborn comes

It's an end to the evil of all Skyrim's foes

Beware, beware, the Dragonborn comes

For the darkness has passed, and the legend yet grows

You'll know, you'll know, the Dragonborn's come

I tipped the bard then made my way to my room. If only my life could be as adventurous and I could be as powerful as the Dragonborn. I don't think a daughter of an old Nord war general and a Khajiit blacksmith will be very high in life…

AN: I know you guys hate me for making yet another story without updating the others. I'm working on chapters for BFRE and RIP. I just don't know how to end the next chapter for RIP and I'm just now starting another for BFRE. Then again, I may disappear again. I have two 'Broken Arrow' missions I have to take care of… (See what I did there? Hehe)