Lost Legends

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"It can't keep going on like this!" A young woman's voice gasped as two figures dove over a snow drift to avoid detection by passing guards. "We have been fighting for so long that no one even cares anymore!" She added, running her fingers through blue black hair that had already become brittle with the cold.
"Of course they remember, Dex." The young woman's companion replied in an annoyed whisper. "We fight for freedom from the imperial invaders who seek to make us bow down to them!"
The woman who had just been referred to as Dex rolled her grey eyes. "What does it matter who sits on the throne as high emperor? Either way, we're still left down here in the dirt." She added, poking her head up to see if the coast was clear. "The rebellion is just pushing back the tide, sooner or later the imperials will find us all, and execute us as promised."

Ulfric was smiling as he watched Poppy walk on ahead of him. "Now, little princess... getting rid of you as far from what I want." He breathed softly to himself.

"And then what?" Dex asked. "You will eat me while I sleep?" She added, daring to glance down at the deep red blood that now seeped through her fingers from the wound.

The wedding was over before Poppy knew what to do with herself. She'd been hoping to convince the priest to keep her true name out of it but soon enough Ulfric and his lot of men knew exactly what a horrible name she truly possessed. She was being led to kiss her king when the door to the cottage burst open.
"Ulfric...sir..." The young Stormcloak was gasping as he tumbled to his knees before them. "She was right...a dragon...the whole town...nothing but flames..."

"Nonsense." Draco snorted as if she'd just deeply offended him. "I like my prey to be up and running. It is for children to eat weak prey." He added, moving toward her and yanking her hard against him.

Ulfric resisted the childish urge to whine that he never got what he wanted, and calmly turned to face the breathless soldier. "Then send word to Whiterun, we shall hunt the beast with our full forces!" He declared.

Dex was all too aware that she was too weak to push any man away right now, let alone one with all the strength of a Dragon. "You like the chase?" She found herself breathing as she looked up into those golden eyes.

Once again the cottage was a bustle of activity and Poppy was all but pushed aside as Ulfric's men began making her home a base camp.
Like her husband she resisted the childish urge to tell him she'd told him so. Instead she found herself climbing the stairs alone.

"Isn't that the best part?" Draco breathed, sweeping her up into his arms before she had a chance to protest. "Tell me you don't like it when your own prey runs."

Ulfric was ever aware of his duties to the Nord people, he was their leader in their fight against the invading imperial army. Despite this... He wanted to know his bride. He wanted that first kiss, the chance to sweep her off her feet. It was bad luck that this dragon chose now to show itself.

"I'm not a hunter." Dex replied, though her head rested lightly against Draco's shoulder as he carried her. "I'm a thief. I hunt gold and jewels, so as a rule... They tend not to run."

By the time the planning was done and the runners were in place to send their messages, Poppy had long been asleep in her bed. Her mother had not stopped apologizing for the state of things since Ulfric's men had quit speaking. Silence in this place seemed to be rare.

"Then you are missing out, my dear." Draco breathed, his lips touching her forehead. "Rest now. For a while, you are safe with me."

Ulfric could take no more of the elder woman's voice, and so sought his bride out. He shut the door to her bedroom behind him when he found her, thankful for the peace her room seemed to hold. He didn't wish to disturb her, so simply sat in a chair by the window, watching over her with the same vigor he had once reserved for slaying imperials.

"No one... Is ever... Safe..." Dex breathed, seeming to fall to slumber the moment Draco's lips touched her forehead. Despite her claim, the young woman found genuine rest right there in the Dragon's arms.

Poppy slept peacefully until almost dawn. Her dreams had reached a cresting point about then and she sat up in her bed, a scream tearing her throat raw.

The next time Dex would wake she would find herself lying in a bed at an inn. Oddly enough she did not sleep there alone. Draco lay beside her, resting in what seemed to be a peaceful state. But Dex probably knew better.

Ulfric had zoned off in the chair no more than a few moments earlier, then Poppy's scream jolted him awake. The Stormcloak Jarl was on his feet, his sword drawn, expecting to find an intruder.

This time when Dex woke, her clothing was not where it had been when she had fallen asleep. She could feel the warm animal furs against her bare skin, and then she felt the weight on the bed beside her. The slender thief was no blushing virgin, but even she had her modesty. As she sat up, she realised her wound had been stitched again, but this time a bandage had been wrapped tightly around her entire midsection to keep the wound closed.

Poppy stared at her Jarl wide eyed, her chest rising and falling violently. "That sword..." She gasped, terrified by the sheer size of it. "Is not needed...a dream. Just a dream."

Draco sensed a movement and gave a soft groan, turning onto his opposite side. It would have been so easy to run him through right then, but he'd tactfully placed her dagger beneath him.

"No village girl should have dreams that make her scream like that." The Jarl breathed. "What happened?" Ilfric carefully sheathed his sword and moved closer to his new wife. "What could make you see such awful things in your dreams, little one?"

Dex was t making a sound as she moved around the room, all part of her training in the thieves guild. She couldn't find her own clothing, as it had been covered in blood when she arrived here anyway. She pulled Draco's own shirt on, though it was more like a dress on her lithe frame. It was only as the Dragon rolled over that she saw the ebony hilt of her dagger poking out from under him.

"Those men...that dragon..." Poppy whispered, pushing her fingers through her hair. "I didn't know such things existed. And what's worse...I didn't get the mushrooms. No wonder everything went so badly." That said she buried her face in her hands, feeling rather humiliated.

Draco snored softly, stretching like a cat as he turned onto his back and continued to sleep. For once he wasn't wary thinking someone might be trying to kill him.

"Hey now..." Ulfric gently pulled Poppy's face out of her hands and tipped her chin up slightly. "Anyone would be scared of that dragon, and as for the mushrooms... Would it be awful of me, if I told you I cannot stand mushrooms?"

Dex had been trying to carefully slide the dagger from under Draco when he rolled over, effectively trapping her arm beneath him.

"Really?" Poppy gave her new husband a genuine smile. "You're not just saying that in case I begin to cry are you?"

The well built man was wearing little more than Dex herself had been and he seemed to be well aware of this fact as he stretched again, allowing the sheet to slid away from his lean hips.

Ulfric shook his head, still holding onto both of Poppy's hands. "Fungus? Who would want to eat something so disgusting? Well, except maybe a Hagraven." He told her with a playful smile. "Now snow berries... Those I could eat all day. Between you and me, I did eat them all day once, when I was a boy... My vomit was blue."

Dex groaned quietly at the obscurity of her situation, giving up on trying to free herself and simply laying next to Draco. The dark haired woman couldn't even reach the sheet to cover her companion over again. "You know... I could have all kinds of wicked fun with you right now..." She remarked, testing whether or not Draco was just playing at being asleep.

Poppy's laughter was like a tinkling bell. "Oh my goodness! I thought I was the only one who felt that way! I did the same thing as a child." Her grin brightened her face considerably. "My mother hasn't let me eat one since. Oh what a shame. I could make the most wonderful pies with them."

"What's stopping you?" Draco asked, his words cut through with a snore. He may have been waking but not enough to realize what they were talking about.

"Well... You are married woman now, there is nothing your mother can keep you from doing." Ulfric told his wife with a grin of his own. "We could eat nothing but snow berry pie... With snow berry juice, and some snow berry ice cream!"

"You are lying on my arm... How can I please you, if I cannot move?" Dex asked, turning her head to drop feather light kisses along Draco's jaw. Her only hope was that he didn't fully wake up and realise what she was doing.

Poppy laughed all over again, already at ease with Ulfric. "I must confess that too much snow berry would lead to a similar situation like when we were kids. Perhaps we should save them for special occasions?"

"Indeed." Draco purred, his voice still heavy with sleep. Opening one eye he moved his body, freeing her arm. However, this created another problem as the sheet slid completely to the floor.

"Would our eventual honeymoon be considered special enough?" Ulfric ventured. "Oh, and... There is one more thing I must confess... I intensely dislike your family." He added, as though that it was the kind of thing he told someone every day.

Dex averted her gaze, silently chastising herself for staring too long at Draco's well built frame. Once her arm was free, she slid back to her feet, taking her dagger with her. Dex's problem right then was that she didn't bolt for the door. Instead the nubile thief leaned back over the human form dragon, capturing his lips as he had done hers only nights previous.

Poppy nodded, having suspected as much. "Stand in line." She teased. "I am sorry for the way they've acted, your majesty. I just don't think they know any other way to be. My mother says she was born for my wedding day. I don't really feel bad for disappointing her...Are you leaving to hunt the dragon soon?" She asked, changing subject in the middle of her sentence. "Will you take me with you?"

Draco's golden eyes shot open in surprise but this only lasted until he acclimated himself to the warm full lips possessing his own. This time he knew better than to touch her, though he returned her kiss with a wild abandon no one had ever seen from him before.

"You didn't disappoint her, and yes, I will take you with me." Ulfric replied. "However, you won't be joining the hunt. I shall take you back to the hold, you can familiarise yourself with your new go e then." He added with a smile. "You shall want for nothing, I promise you that."

Dex very nearly lost herself In that kiss. Draco tasted like nothing she had ever known before, and yet he was... Familiar. Her tongue was teasing his own playfully when Draco would suddenly find his wrists bound to the bedpost by shackles the previous tenant had left behind. They were of imperial design, maybe the owner of them had been transporting a prisoner. The dark haired woman pulled away and looked down into Draco's golden eyes. "Thank you for saving me, but I can't have you following me." She explained, heading for the door, still wearing only Draco's shirt.

Poppy wanted to argue this point but again she was interrupted by the opening of the bedroom door.
"Jarl," This man was the one she'd seen with Ulfric from the beginning, the one they called his right hand. He glanced over the two of them, obviously surprised by their state of full dress, before he looked away as if he'd found something more interesting. "The dragon was spotted a few hours ago in the dragon graveyards. I suggest we leave now and inspect it while the trail is still warm. They say...he was carrying a passenger..."

"You little..." Draco's scream of rage could be heard all the way out into the road. "I shall not forget this, girl! You remember that!!" Dex would be allowed to get out of the town before the tiny inn that she and Draco had rested in exploded. The enormous red dragon that sat on the site threw back his head and roared, the sound shaking the very ground. In mere moments there was nothing left of the village at all save the walls of flame that marked where a home once was.

"Passenger?" Ulfric asked with a frown. "Don't you mean prisoner, or prey, Perhaps?" He added, already beginning to pass. "Either way, you are correct. We must get there before next daybreak. Have a team of men escort my queen back to the hold, she will be safe there."

Dex has witnessed the explosion, and yes, she felt guilty. All those lives lost... It was her fault for trying to contain a dragon. She knew very little of the link between dragons, and the Dragonborn. If she had paid attention at all, she would know that a Dragonborn was a mortal body... With the soul of a dragon. It would explain her blind attraction towards the man with the golden eyes.

Ulfric's man noticed the deep scowl on Poppy's full lips but said nothing about this. Besides, he was too busy trying to finish his story about the dragon. "The beast...the rumor is that he was holding the passenger in his hands...or whatever you'd call them."

The enormous dragon lifted himself into the sky, another roar announcing his departure. It wouldn't be for certain but golden eyes locked on Dex for a long moment before the creature flew over the horizon in the opposite direction.

This troubled Ulfric greatly, and it showed in his deep blue eyes. "For a dragon to carry someone that way... They must be of great matter to it." He pondered out loud. "We must find this creatures home, find the person it carried."

Dex sat down on the grass by the roadside, feeling completely lost. Her life had seemed to spiral out of control so quickly, and now she was left wondering what to do. At the very least, she knew she needed new armour, and something bigger than her dagger. Like it or not, she would have to returns home to Riften.

"it won't be too hard." His man responded, his gaze again on Poppy as the short blonde began to gather things she wanted to take with her. "Are you sure you won't leave this one to us, Jarl?" He asked after a moment. "After all, you have yet to..." He didn't finish. He didn't have to. Everyone knew that nothing had happened between the newlyweds that night. In fact, her mother was downstairs wailing about it.

Draco returned to his graveyard home, never knowing that it was soon to be invaded. He lay among the bones, keeping his true form.

"Yet to what? Hang one of my own men?" Ulfric asked thinly, quite aware of what his man was commenting on.

It had taken Dex the better part of a day to steal new armour and liberate herself a horse. The shop she had 'borrowed' the leather armour from that she currently wore, had also sold extremely beautiful even glass armour. Strange as was, she hadn't felt she deserved such finery, even if she was stealing from the very same store anyway.

Poppy cringed as a loud wail came floating up the stairs, assaulting her ears. "Worthless!" Her mother moaned. "I should have been blessed with a son!"
"I'm ready." She said after a moment, deciding she really didn't want anything more than the clothing she was currently in.

Ulfric took hold of Poppy's hand and squeezed it tightly. "You, madam, are fortunate I have taken your daughters feelings into consideration. We're it not for her, I would have you hanged for being such a vile, pathetic excuse for a woman!"

Dex sat atop her chestnut coloured mare, simply staring at the wooden sign that had been populated in the middle of the crossroads she was currently at. Riften was a three day ride, and for some reason... She didn't want to start. Something felt wrong, and she didn't understand it.

Both Poppy and her mother looked at Ulfric in shock. Her father merely grunted and waved a dismissive hand at them. "We are forever in your debt, Jarl. I believe your men told me something about a fee...you know, for giving you the only heir to my family?"

Draco again slept soundly, the silence here a great comfort to him. He was alone in this world, this graveyard. There was nothing that could hurt him.