Fated (Kaidan x female dragonborn)

Chapter Six

A wispy afternoon mist had settled over Riverwood by the time Juniper and Kaidan reached it, the lumber village was one of the most beautiful in the whole province. Towering spruces, evergreens and pines dotted the bank along the White River leading to Lake Ilinalta, the sounds of song birds and the creak of the lumber mill sung in a natural harmony, the air smelt fresh and salty from the river. 

June inhaled deeply and patted Frost on the neck, Kaidan following on his black mare a few paces behind. June had split the cost on purchasing the horse from Whiterun, having refused to travel another mile squeezed on a shared saddle with the edges of his armor digging in to her back. She rejoiced in the silence the forced distance gave him, being able to lose herself in the ride and observe the wild beauty of Skyrim's nature.

Helgen wasn't far off now as the pair trotted left off the main road and followed the dirt path that snaked the base of the Throat of the World, an enormous mountain in the center of the province that's height couldn't be matched by any other peaks in Skyrim. Juniper kept her eyes peeled for any signs of a bandit camp, or imperial guards for that matter. Jarl Balgruuf's warning played fresh in her mind, despite Helgen being a bit farther up the path. 

"Over there!" She heard Kaidan call from behind, looking behind she saw him pointing at something smoking faintly behind the thicket of forest. She never would have spotted that, but she didn't want to admit that Kaidan could actually be useful. 

Juniper dismounted her horse, keeping her eyes locked on the subtle cloud of grey as not to lose it. She couldn't see any firelight and played it down to a recently deserted camp, upon closer inspection she discovered she was right. 

"Damn it!" She exclaimed, kicking a steel helmet that had been left on the ground. The foliage had been trampled, revealing evidence that a bandit camp had indeed been here. "We just missed them." She examined the smoldering fire that was barely a flicker of cooling charcoal. 

"I'll look around and see if I can spot any tracks, aye?" Kaidan said hopefully.

"Watch your back, there's sometimes stragglers who come picking whatever was left behind." Juniper replied. When she first began hunting bounties, she found an abandoned camp just like this. A sharp blow to the head and a near missed arrow shot taught her to always keep her guard up, especially when an area looked safe. 

June had just begun searching a torn leather sack that had been left on the ground when she heard it, a deafening roar echoed throughout the valley, quacking the ground and splitting her ears. The trees shook against the crash of something incredibly heavy nearby, however the delayed boom of impact suggested it wasn't as close as June thought. 

"By the nine, what the fuck was that?" Kaidan yelled Juniper's thought's out loud. Indeed, what was that?

She stared wide eyed at him, her lips parted as shock halted her words. "It sounded like it came from up there," she croaked after finding her voice, pointing in the general direction of Helgen.

In an unspoken agreement, the pair rushed back to their horses and mounted them in a clumsy haste before galloping towards the town. Another roar sliced through the air, ringing violently in June's ears. An image of a beast flashed in her thoughts, but it was impossible - such things had been extinct for so long it was debated whether or not they ever even existed.

The harsh bitterness of smoke reached Juniper's nose first, followed by a faint glow that illuminated the distant horizon. 

As she drew nearer, she saw a myriad of flames lapping the skies as the small town burnt to the ground in front of her eyes.

From the blinding light of the fire and the thick blanket of smoke, a black mountain rose from behind the town's walls. A huge expanse of wings and scales.