**No sex- yet. Just wait.**
*
There weren't many locks in Tamriel that she could not pick, but it seemed this was one of them.
Talon threw the broken lockpick onto the floor in disgust and sank back wearily against the unyielding bars of her cage. Luck had not been with her the last few days. She ran her hand through her thick auburn hair as she tried to figure out where things had gone wrong.
She would have gotten away with that horse near Ivarstead, had the Guard not turned the corner at the precise moment lightning had blazed overhead. The sudden clash of thunder and bright illumination had given her away, and she had just barely managed escape with the beast. Had it been anything less valuable, she would have been free and clear. But the client had wanted that horse- the Jarl of Riften's prized stallion. The Guard normally would have chalked it up to an unfortunate loss of property. But this horse was expensive, to say the least. A search party was formed almost immediately. She was able to elude them for a few days. It would have been longer, had she not been attacked in the night by a pack of hungry wolves. They scared off her new horse and then began hunting her. In the flight for her life, a patch of rocks under her foot came loose. She fell, tumbling down the steep hill, hitting branches and rocks all the way down... where she landed on the road- in the midst of the search party she had been trying to avoid.
Since she no longer had the horse, the Guards moved her to the Imperial prison in Helgen, a prison normally used to house rebel Stormcloak soldiers and other traitors to the Empire. A prison in Whiterun Hold. She was stripped of her belongings, but she was allowed to keep her clothes. Finally, she had been graced with some luck! She always kept a spare lockpick hidden in the seam of her pants for just this sort of occasion. As soon as the guards had left her alone in her cage, she ripped it free of the fabric and began maneuvering it into the lock ever so gently. She found the pins, turned it toward the right direction... slowly and carefully until... snap! It broke. Talon was aghast. This NEVER happened to her! It had been her only chance, and she had blown it!
What was she going to do now? In any other town, she would simply spend a few days in jail... maybe receive a public whipping... but here? Talon had no idea what was going to happen to her. Talon curled her knees to her chest, burying her face in her arms. She had never been good at staying positive, especially when things were looking so hopeless.
Somewhere, beyond the walls of her confine, there was a long bellow, as if from a large animal. How that could be an animal, however, was a mystery to her. She had never heard anything like that before. It must be huge to make a sound loud enough that she could hear it through the keep walls. The bellow came again, closer it seemed. And that's when the walls around her cage began to shake.
The roaring continued, now punctuated by the sound of explosions and collapsing stone. The walls shook violently, and Talon was suddenly afraid the keep would come crashing down on her steel cage. Would steel be enough to keep her from being crushed? Panic took a hold of her. She didn't know the answer, but she did know she didn't want to be here to find out. Talon scrambled to stand, her cramped legs protesting against the sudden movement. She ignored the slight pain as she pressed her face against the bars.
"HELLO!?" she yelled, her dry throat making her voice sound scratchy and weak. Footsteps sounded on the stone stairs. "What's going on?"
The men who entered were not Guards. His hood and the odd style his uniform suggested the older gray-haired man was an Imperial Torturer and the younger brute of a man, his assistant. They both were moving with an urgency that seemed... concerning. Talon was really starting to panic now. The Old man was speaking frantically in hushed tones to his large-framed friend as the two of them began gathering things from the shelves and stuffing them into a knapsack.
"Excuse me! What is happening?" She reached her hand out from the cage to try and catch their attention. The Assistant glanced at her briefly, but did not bother giving her a reply. On he went, gathering what looked like potions, weapons and documents.
"Luca. Let's go." The Old Torturer snapped. Slinging the knapsack over his broad shoulder, Luca the Assistant moved to leave.
Talon's heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. They were just going to leave her? She may be a criminal, but she didn't deserve whatever horrible thing awaited her here. She was scared. And pissed.
"DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME!!" she screamed at them. It was a useless command, she knew, but what else was she going to do? She was locked into a steel cage, with no way of getting herself out, a great beast roaming about somewhere, and a building about to collapse on top of her. Could her luck get any worse?
They ignored her and headed for the stairs, walking right into a group of Stormcloak soldiers coming down them. Everyone started for a moment, as if unsure what to do. Then everything erupted into motion.
Steel rang out as axes and swords were drawn. There were a few brief yells, and then the fighting began. Luca dropped the knapsack just in time to block the sword of an attacking Stormcloak. Blades were flying, blood was spurting, and two of the Stormcloak assailants dropped, blood pouring from various wounds.
Talon instinctively backed away from the front of her cage as soon as the fighting started, but she darted forward as the knapsack was kicked toward her in the slaughter that was unfolding. Another deep roar shook the stones around her, as she stretched as far as possible trying to reach the pack. A loud crash rang from above the stairwell, sending small shockwaves through the stone. Somehow, the keep was managing to stay together, despite whatever was trying desperately to knock it down.
From the stairs, two more Imperial soldiers, swords drawn, rushed to the aide of the Torturer and the Assistant. The rest of the fight was over quickly; the Stormcloaks falling within seconds of the newcomers' arrival. The immediate danger over, the Imperials searched for whatever could be scavenged from the bodies of the fallen. Ignoring them, Talon's hand closed around the soft leather of the knapsack. She felt a small surge of glee. With her limited range of movement, she worked on opening the pack. Until a shadow extinguished her only light.
An Imperial soldier stood over her, a Nord of medium build, streaked with blood. He was dark, his long hair almost jet black in its plaited tie. His angular face was streaked with blood, but she could tell that the roughness of those angles were beautifully smoothed by the gentle curve of his lips.
Talon shook her head to clear it. She was being so ridiculous. One of his dark eyebrows shot up for a moment, an almost amused look on his handsome face. Well, handsome if blood and sweat were appropriate accessories, that is.
"Hadvar." He said, his voice low and gruff, but not without a pleasantness to it. A singer, maybe... Talon shook her head. Stay focused!
The other Imperial looked good-natured enough. A rough face, with a boyish air about it. He had auburn hair, like her, though his was short and framed his face.
Talon slowly released the knapsack as the one called Hadvar approached. He looked her over once, and then motioned for Luca to open her prison. Talon moved away from the door, allowing Luca to unlock it. She vaguely heard the Old Torturer complaining as she slipped cautiously from the cell. She wasn't safe yet...
Stone grumbled and shook around them, reminding her of her previous panic. Hadvar and the other were already moving.
"There is nothing down that way!" The Torturer yelled.
"There's death the other way. Liam and I will chance it, I think," Hadvar looked to the handsome Nord, who nodded in agreement. Then he looked at Talon, "You coming?"
She didn't need to be asked twice. Hurrying to catch up, she grabbed the knapsack and a pair of steel swords off of a dead Stormcloak. She momentarily considered changing into a set of their leather armor, but the bellowing from outside caused her to reconsider.
"What is that?" she asked.
"A dragon, believe it or not."
"A... dragon..." She didn't believe it.
He nodded.
The three of them made their way through a cell block and into another interrogation room.
Hanging cages decorated the walls, some with a few stale bodies still imprisoned and rotting. The sight of decaying flesh made her stomach wrench a little. Thank the Divines that wouldn't be her. The rest of the room was bare, save for the chest against the wall. Chests held valuable things, things she could sell when she got out of this predicament. Talon started to move toward it, and then she saw it.
On the far side of the room, there was a hole where the tremors had collapsed the stone.
"Well, that's convenient," she mumbled under her breath.
Pushing past Liam and Hadvar, she moved into the small cavern beyond the hole. The two Imperials followed behind, the warmth of their bodies an almost welcome reassurance.
Voices broke the silence ahead of her.
Talon looked back over her shoulder, questioningly. Hadvar shrugged. She took a steadying breath before straightening up and walking toward the voice, being sure to keep her hands resting on the sword she had buckled at her hip.
The cavern she walked into must have been part of the original keep. The stone steps and small walkways over the underground stream were definitely Nord build. The voices had been coming from a band of Stormcloaks. They all froze a moment, taking in the three of them. Apparently, the sight of Imperials overcame the need to escape the dragon attack.
Once again, swords were drawn; shouts rang off the rocks, echoing slightly. Two Stormcloaks directly in front of her moved forward, their swords leading their path. Their intension was more than clear.
"Damn it."
She heard Liam and Hadvar draw their own weapons, their large frames brushing past her, readying to take the rebels head on. Sighing to herself, Talon drew her own steel. Liam and Hadvar rushed ahead together, but Talon turned, having sensed others. Three more Stormcloaks were moving through the streambed; two more stood on the walkway opposite her.
