WIP Story

Chapter One (WIP)

Wood creaked and groaned as it bent under the weight of its passengers. The sound of hooves, the rolling of wooden wheels over uneven stone, and the songs of birds gently pulled Tylaina from her unwanted rest. Tylaina Hestonis was a Redguard woman from the shadowed sides of Cyrodiil, the capital city of the Empire. A thief at heart, this woman had gotten herself into quite the situation.

            Her surroundings were blurry, so she slowly blinked her eyes. She gently tossed her head from side to side, trying to shake away the lightheaded, dizzying feeling that crept through her mind, and instead focused on something simple, her wrists. She could not move them apart as they were bonded together by a ratty-looking rope. She then noticed the itchy rags she now brandished. A sour, bile-tasting sensation crawled up her throat at a single thought: She did not put those rags on herself, or could not remember doing it. She stopped, kept her gaze down, and began surveying herself for other differences. A throbbing sting beat steadily above her brow, a sticky, cooled substance had dried on her face, and a soreness in her limbs cried out for relief and rest.

            "Hey. You. You're finally awake," spoke a male's voice. Tylaina drew her gaze up slowly and glared at the man she assumed had spoken to her. He was a Nord of sturdy stock, built to take a hit. He did not bend under the woman's glare and instead flashed her a smile trying a different approach. "That's a nasty wound you got there. It'll scar up nice for sure." Tylaina made sure not to touch the wound he spoke of; she was careful not to do anything in front of him. She remained hunched over with her elbows resting on her knees and a nasty, unimpressed glare on her face.

            "You were trying to cross the border, right? Ran right into that imperial ambush. Same as us and that thief over there," he continued, tossing his head at the other people seated with them. Tylaina glanced over just as another man began to speak. She did not catch what he said nor did she care much; she was busy studying the finely dressed man seated to her right. He was another Nord who wore thick furs and fine linens. His wrists were not the only thing in binds, for he wore a cloth tide over his mouth. Tylaina raised a brow at him. The man glared at her from the corner of his eye. She lightly scoffed and gave him one of her own. His expression changed seeing her response; his eyebrows relaxed, and his shoulders fell slightly. He continued to watch her in amusement. The way his eyes squinted led her to believe he was amused.

            "You and me. We shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants," said the thief to Tylaina. She glanced at him, studying him curiously. He wore rags as she did. Tylaina pulled back and sat up straight, rolling her shoulders back once. The man's eyes were shiny. Something cold and reactive hid in them. Something animalistic. He was not as built as the other Nords; he was skinny and dirty. Fear or sleep loss had sunken in his eyes and made him look almost sickly.

            "We are all brothers and sisters in binds now, Thief," hissed the blond-haired man. The way he said "thief" so sourly caused something mean to grasp at Ty's heart. She glared at him from her seat but remained silent. It was not as if she could have fought him bound the way she was. Tylaina glanced toward the driver of the cart, after he told them to be silent, and noticed another cart of prisoners in front of their own. There was a soldier on a horse in front of the traveling coaches and another behind them. She blocked out the men she rode with as they continued their conversation.

            They were riding down a beautiful path with trees and rocky hills on either side of it. The sun peaked through the tops of the trees as it slowly climbed higher over the mountains. She assumed it was late morning due to the song of the birds and the light fog that hung in the air, chilling her skin. Before them, the path started to clear out and the sun touched the road. She saw people walking around a corner she could not yet see past and noticed a signpost on the edge of the road. The closer they got, the more she could see.