He'd been away for some time, reaching close to three weeks, which wasn't uncommon for her warrior husband. Most Nord wives expected their mercenary husbands home by week's end, but Aela knew Markus, as the Dragonborn, would spend more than two weeks away from home at any given time. Sure he had stuck around home as much as possible when Dengen was just a baby, and had even taken up errands between Morthal and Whiterun while Dengen was growing, but now that their son was five years old, Markus was back to full-on traveling and fighting. As he was traveling between Morthal and Whiterun, he had spotted a plot of land in The Pale, and had quickly set off to inquire about it's acquisition with the Jarl of Dawnstar.
He had subsequently hired a few mercenaries, who knew a fair bit about construction, to help him build what he thought would be the perfect home for their growing family. Within just a few months, the family had relocated from their shrinking house, Breezehome, and had made themselves comfortable in Heljarchen Hall. Aela was, actually, quite fond of their settlement, and Dengen was always bustling about, finding new places to hide or practicing some very basic sword handling with Gregor, their housecarl.
Aela, at seven months pregnant with their second child, was busy cooking lunch in the kitchen for herself, Dengen and Gregor, when the latter came rushing into the doorway. Since formalities were not necessary between them, he simply called her by her name.
"Aela, grab Dengen and hide! Quickly!" He commanded just as she had turned to face him.
She nodded her head and grabbed her son's arm, leading him towards the cellar, when the front door burst inwards. The sudden chill hit all three of them, and Aela pulled Dengen to her side, quickly pulling her dagger from it's sheath and facing their attackers. A horde of bandits quickly moved into the main room, ransacking the dining area and advancing towards them. Aela pushed Dengen towards the wall and turned back just in time to stab one of the bandits in the chest. He fell forwards onto the floor, but was soon replaced by a second, who was quickly decapitated by Gregor.
Gregor did not know about Markus and herself being werewolves, and even if he did, a transformation this late into her pregnancy would ultimately be fatal to the infant in her womb. She had to fight, but she had to fight smart if this pregnancy were to survive. Gregor was advanced upon by three bandits, and was forced against the wall, separating Aela from his immediate protection. Four more bandits advanced upon her, and try as she might, she was quickly overpowered by a cheap shot to the back of her head. As her world began to fade to darkness, the last image she saw was of their son being bound by ropes and hoisted up by one of the bandits.
And then darkness claimed her.
When she awoke some hours later, she found herself shackled to the wall of some dimly lit dungeon. She shook her head, trying to clear away the dizziness from the blow, and tried to take in her surroundings. Her eyes finally landed on the object of her maternal search: Dengen was sitting in the corner, huddled against the wall with his knees drawn up to his chest. Her heart melted, seeing her pup scared in the corner.
"Dengen..." She called, her voice gravelly from not being used in an extended amount of time.
"Mother?" He turned his head and locked eyes with her, "Mother!"
He stood from his spot in the corner and raced towards his mother, who's leg was chained to the wall of the cell. She embraced him as he fell against her chest, crying tears of happiness that she was okay.
"Hush now pup... I'm okay, you're okay, and your father will find us. Be patient my son."
"I'm scared mother... I want father here..."
"I know, Dengen. I know. I do too." She said, kissing his forehead before pulling him close again.
A bandit came down the stairs towards their cell, looking the pair over before sliding a tray of bread and two cups of water into the cell. Aela stared daggers at the young Nord as he walked away from the cell, but the safety of both of her children kept her from speaking against him.
