When I finally pull myself from my slumber, I wash up and change my clothes. Lydia comes in my room after I've changed into some commoner clothes, and she looks worried, and is dressed in her steel armor. She stands in the doorway to my room and looks at me, her dark eyes flicking about the room, as if she suspects to see something.
"You okay, Lydia?" I ask her.
"My Thane, I need to get you out of here."
"What? Why?"
"No time to explain. You're in danger, and so I must get you out of here and to a safe place," she says.
"Lydia, what is going on?"
"Ularik. Just trust me when I say that your life's in danger and there are people here in Whiterun who would love to see you dead. But as my Thane, I cannot let you die. Therefore, the only safe place I can take you is Falkreath. We will be in the hold, but I have a manor set up there that we can stay in while we wait for some allies to return."
I honestly cannot remember the last time Lydia called me anything but "my Thane" — she never uses my first name. I just nod and start to shove things in my backpack. Lydia goes into another room, and I finish gathering my things.
Lydia and I then head to the gates of Whiterun. She passes a long, gray cloak to me and tells me to put it on over my clothes, and to use the hood.
We walk into the rainy world beyond Whiterun and I am grateful for the hood I have on. The rain brings with it cold air. Lydia brings me to the stables, and we both mount up on two horses, hers is brown and white, mine is all gray. Both of the horses are female, and both seem fast and strong.
Lydia sets her horse to a gallop, and I do the same. We ride off, down the slick, rainy roads, and off towards Falkreath. As Whiterun fades from our sight, she finally speaks up again, filling the silence with her soft voice.
"Ularik, I.... you're in grave danger. The Imperials want you dead, and if they think they have found you... they will kill you. No hesitation. They don't care that you're the very person who killed Alduin the World-Eater, they only seem to care about your last name. So now ... now, we are heading to Falkreath hold, where we will live in Lakeview Manor. I have some friends who will join us there, and when they do, we will be somewhat safer."
"Why are we running from this fight, Lydia? I've never run from a fight before. I don't want to now, either."
"It's the entire Imperial Legion that wants you dead, Ularik. Not just one person or being."
"So there's a price on my head," I say.
She nods, her short, dark hair bobbing and sticking to her head as she does. "Indeed, it is much like your father, back in Helgen. He was to be executed on sight. So are you."
Great. Just perfect.
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Skyrim's Saviors
FanfictionThe people of Skyrim are in need of a savior. Years after Alduin the World-Eater was defeated, the Dragonborn, a Nord woman named Ularik Stormcloak, vanished. No one has seen her since she defeated the dragon in Sovngarde. But what happens when the...
