The Lost Heir (Skyrim Fanfiction)

Chapter One: A New Life

ONE YEAR LATER

"Would you like some pheasant, Ms. Nala?" Jergo asked as he held a plate with the cooked bird on it, his dark, blond hair in his eyes. Jergo was a boy, about fifteen years old, that Nala had met several weeks ago and one of the very few people to know her true identity. There were not many people she could trust in Skyrim anymore. The queen had offered a reward of one hundred-thousand septims to anyone who could tell her about the princess's whereabouts. But that had been almost a year ago. Maybe she's already given up the search. Something more important must have come up by now.

She turned to her friend, "You don't have to be so polite and sophisticated. I am not the princess anymore. I'm a dirty thief living in an abandoned cottage in the woods. There is absolutely no reason to treat me like I'm better than you." Nala cut off a piece of pheasant and sat on her bedside. "Thank you for dinner, Jergo."

Jergo sat down next to her. "Well I am probably doing better in life than you are," he laughed. "but that does not mean that I'm not allowed to think you're important." The boy patted her shoulder. "If you really want me to, I will just refer to you as Nala."

"And if we encounter any strangers?" Nala asked.

"Then I will call you Camille. I didn't forget, Nala; we've gone over the drill several times." Jergo went to get a piece of pheasant but froze when there was a loud knocking on the door. "Nala, check the window upstairs." He said as he grabbed his sword from the wall.

Nala ran upstairs and looked out the window. She was shocked by what she saw. Standing a few feet from the front door were a man and a woman that looked to be a couple of years older than her. The man's red hair was stuck to his face with sweat as he struggled to hold up the woman. His sister, she guessed from the fact that they had the same red hair, had half of her arm missing. They were both covered in blood.

On her way downstairs, she yelled, "Jergo, let them in!"Talos, please help them. She ran to get the healing potions and readied a healing spell.

Jergo opened the door; only to find that nobody was outside. He shut the door and held up his sword. Before he could walk away, there was a knife at his throat.

All Nala could do was watch as the man she saw moments ago held the knife that was threatening her friend. He gave Nala an amused smile. The man snapped his fingers and Nala began to feel the calm spell. Alright, I can do this. I've been under this kind of spell countless times. Nala and her mom would occasionally practice Illusion spells like that one when they had nothing important to do at the time. She and her mother were used to being put under calm spells. Why is it so hard to break through this one?

"Don't even try breaking out of that spell. My brother is quite the illusionist." It was the woman. She must have been using magic, too, as her arms looked perfectly fine. As Nala started to settle down, she noticed that there was not even a speck of blood on either of them. Nala glared at the duo. "I see you don't like our little tricks, girl. I can assure you that that knife my brother is holding is very real, wickedly sharp, and extremely deadly." She said the words as if Nala wouldn't have believed her, had she not put the extra emphasis on the word "deadly".

The man let out a long, low laugh. "Sister, dear, I think she knew that already." He cleared his throat. "So this is how it's going to go: First, you and the boy are going to gather a few of your most needed items. Second, you are going to be escorted to our cart by my sister. Third, my sister and I will take turns going through your house and taking whatever it is that catches our eyes. And lastly, you will be taken to our home, where we will further discuss what we plan on doing with you. Now, are we clear?" The man was starting to push his knife in.

"Yes," Nala was exhausted from trying to push her mind out of the spell. "we're clear."

"Wonderful." The woman grinned. She and her brother exchanged a few silent words and the woman dragged Nala upstairs so she could grab her much needed possessions. She didn't have many things in her room to take with her; the journal she had been writing in, a hairbrush, her flute, and her mother's old dagger, crafted out of only the finest ebony in Skyrim. "I'll be taking that, thank you." The woman said as she swiped the dagger from Nala's hands.

After stuffing Nala's and Jergo's possessions in the back of the cart, the twins pushed Nala and Jergo into the passengers' area and drove away from the house that the former princess had thought was the safest place to be.

Nala must have fallen asleep on the way to the pair's house because the sun had set and a spring night breeze had caused her to shiver. Jergo was wide awake and sat across from her in the cart. She was so glad to see that he had not been hurt when he had had a knife to his throat. "How long have I been asleep for? Do you know where we are?"

"Well judging from the fact that we were deep in the woods of Falkreath and heading northwest, I think, and it had been about eight hours, I'd say that we are somewhere near Markarth. Ever been there? I have, and I hope that's not where we are traveling to. My whole family was killed by those nasty Forsworn." Jergo had never mentioned his family, Nala thought he had run away from them.

"I've been to Markarth several times. In fact, I have been to all of the holds at least once. It won't do you well to dwell on the past, though, you need to think about the future. That is if we get away from these thugs." Nala could almost make out the mountains that surrounded the old city from where they were.

The cart finally came to a stop just as Nala was about to fall back to sleep. She could see part of a medium-sized house through the window. The man and woman stood outside of the door. "Alrighty, it is now time to say what we have planned for the two of you nords." The man said as he opened the door of the cart.