Strings Attanched

Strings Attached

Lokir grabbed the man atop the horse, yanking him off to the ground. "Hey!" Alleyar shouted out as he ran over. Lokir payed no heed, climbing onto the horse and rearing it up on its hind legs to force its rightful owner and Alleyar to both back away. Lokir raced away, while the other rider dismounted her horse. Alleyar quickly climbed atop it.

"What are you doing!?" shouted the maiden.

"I'll bring them both back, I promise you!" Alleyar insisted, then speeding the horse after Lokir. It wasn't hard to keep pace with the other horse, and though Lokir had a lead, he wasn't as skilled a rider as Alleyar, who was slowly gaining. "Come back, you bastard!" Alleyar roared. Lokir said nothing.

However, Lokir was suddenly forced to halt when he saw something that made him go sheet white. "U-... Ulfric!"

He had little reason to pay heed to a name he knew nothing of, so Alleyar stopped his horse next to Lokir, grabbing him by the collar. "You'll take the horse back, or I'll break your arms!"

"Ul-Ulf..." Lokir pointed towards the blockage. Alleyar looked in the direction of his hand, seeing five other Nords, all wearing matching armor but one, who was dressed in a far more expensive manner. Two of the armored flanked either side of the aristocrat, who rode on a very fine horse. He assumed this to be 'Ulfric'.

"Halt!" was all either of them heard before a rush of twenty Imperial guards came rushing from the trees and bushes. Alleyar saw them approaching from behind, as well, locking Lokir and himself into the fray. The first arrow fired landed directly in the rump of the Ulfric's horse, who reared up before falling over, knocking its rider to the ground. The armored Nords each drew a weapon, but were quickly overtaken by the forces.

"Get off the horses!" One of the guards ordered, his sword drawn. Alleyar looked at him for a while, eyes almost glaring, then yanked Lokir off the horse, and dismounted. Lokir fell flat on his face, and was then hoisted up by another guard. The sword stayed drawn, now poised at Alleyar's throat. "You have three seconds to tell me what you're doing here."

Just before Alleyar could speak, he heard another guard interrupt, who had come rushing from behind on horseback, followed by another guard on his own horse. Behind each of them, sitting on the extra space on the saddles, were the riders the horses had been taken from, "These two are thieves, captain!"

"I'm no thief! I was trying to catch this one and make him bring the horse back!" Alleyar protested, though he was cut short by the tip of the sword poking at his jaw.

The captain, who held the blade, looked to the two riders, "Is this true?"

The maiden gazed at Alleyar, with just a flicker of regret in her eyes. "No. They were both working together. The Nord pulled my husband from his horse, and this Dunmer pulled me from mine." In that instant, Alleyar felt his chest grow chilled. He looked directly into her eyes for a moment longer, piercing her with his gaze.

"Take these two along with Ulfric and his lieutenants." the captain said with a hint of distain. Alleyar kept his eyes fixed on the maiden as he was bound. He only broke eye contact when he was forced to turn around.

"Typical of men to assume a mer has done wrong." he said lowly.

The guard who led him glared over his shoulder, "You be quiet, Dunmer. Your kind are in a bad enough light as it is."

"No doubt you thought I was trying to steal the horse to eat it, right? Because I'm a greyskin?" Alleyar spouted. He couldn't help but provoke. However, it turned out to not be such a good plan, as the hilt of the guard's blade met with his temple, and everything fell into blackness.

It remained that way for a while yet, until the sounds of wooden wheels against stone paved roads pulled him from his forced slumber. He slowly lifted his head, gaining the notice of one of the captured Nords, "Hey, you. Finally awake! You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Imperial Ambush, same as us, and that thief over there." The blonde looked sidelong at Lokir.

"Damn you Stormcloaks..." Lokir grumbled, "Skyrim was fine until you came a long. Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you, I could have stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell."

"Don't think yourself that lucky, swine." Alleyar replied, still groggy from his headache.

"You and me shouldn't be here." Lokir looked to the Dunmer, "It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants."

"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief." The other Nord offered.

Alleyar looked away, out of the wagon they were being hauled in. "In that regard you are right." He said simply, falling silent afterwards.