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Forged In Fire	By : prongsdeer Category: +A through F > Elder Scrolls - Skyrim Views: 2249 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Skyrim, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Aela chose a close-fitting, black leather armour for Adara – it was something like assassins would wore, not warriors. But it was light, easy to move in it, yet enough to protect someone in a fight. For Adara, it was the perfect choice; they highly doubted she could even stand up in a heavy armour.
Since the armour was old and once belonged to the Huntress, it was shabby here and there, and didn’t fit perfectly for Adara, as she was much shortet than Aela. “I suggest you to take this to Adrianne Avenicci. She’s the best in town with armours. She’ll fix it for you.”
Adara gave a short nod and smiled, while undressed once again. “Thank you.”
She noticed Aela was watching her, but tried to ignore it and stayed in silence while took her blue robes on again. Only when she pulled the soft material closer around her neck, the redhead woman spoke up finally,
“Who did that to you?”
Adara snapped her head up, frowning.
“Your neck,” Aela explained, pointing her small knife towards her. “It’s all bruised.”
Involuntarily, she placed her fingers around her wounds. Of course it left marks too; the Imperial soldier who nearly choked her to death. She didn’t even think about that until now. Without giving her an answer, she pulled the cape tighter around herself, so she could hide all the bruises from curious eyes.
“Alright,” Aela shrugged, as she recognized the girl won’t reply her question. “I’d say I’ll show you some things, but I think you don’t need that,” she smiled, and Adara gave a small chuckle as well. “You are very skilled with a bow and arrow. Who taught you?”
A smile lifted the corner of her lips as remembered the old, kind face, but Adara shook her head. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Try me,” she shrugged and stood up from her chair, slipping the knife back into its sheath.
“The Black Arrow,” she replied after a little pause, and the smile vanished from Aela’s face. She stood in silence for a while, her look intense and piercing.
She slowly crossed her arms over her chest, letting out a short, breathy chuckle. “He’s dead. He probably died before you were even born.”
The girl let out an annoyed sigh. “I’m not that young.”
Being short and having those big, blue eyes made her look a couple years younger than her real age, and she wasn’t always happy about it.
“It is true he is dead, but he only died two years ago. Before that, he settled down in Winterhold. I guess everybody thought he was dead by then. He taught me everything I know.”
Aela didn’t look convinced, and Adara couldn’t blame her. The Black Arrow was a true legend in Skyrim, famous for his archery skills; he never missed a shot. For decades, he worked as some kind of silent protector of the kingdom – always trying (and usually succeed) to save people everywhere he went. Only when he got older, he stayed in the woods and hunted. And even when that was too much for him, when he was too exhausted to chase a deer, he put his bow down for good and went up to Winterhold. His hands got weak, shaky, and he didn’t want to wait until he’d miss a shot. He trained Adara for years, and not just how to use the bow—he also gave her some lifelong lessons.
The Black Arrow died in peace, in his bed, alone, and Adara never learned his real name.
“You really knew him,” Aela spoke up suddenly, just when Adara thought about to change the subject. Her voice was quiet as she went on, “You are very lucky, I hope you know that. You learned from the best.”
Adara nodded in silence, a nostalgic smile on her lips. She wished he could be still there. Even though she knew his death was unavoidable due to his old age, it still hurt to think of it. She lost so many people already…
They left Aela’s bedroom together and walked up from the basement to the long hall. Most of the companions gathered here during the afternoon, or were out in the courtyard to train – if they weren’t in a mission. Adara looked them for a while in silence, and fear gathered inside her again; what if she could never fit in here?
“Any question?”
She looked up at Aela and gave a small shrug. “I don’t know… maybe if you could… give me some advice? About the companions.”
Aela smiled and grabbed two goblets and a jug of wine from the long table, then waved to the girl. “Follow me.”
The courtyard was big, and seemed empty with only the few warriors who trained there. Everyone could tell it was designed to take into a lot more people. They sat down by a small table on the porch, and Aela poured some wine into their goblets before she started,
“Let’s see. Kodlak. You won’t see the old man a lot. He mostly sits in his room and reads. He became quiet and distant in the past year. If he wants to talk to you, that’s something serious,” she took a long sip from her wine, then went on. “The twins? You’ve met them already. Farkas is nice, but his huge heart can be dangerous. Vilkas is the complete opposite. It’s hard to earn his trust, but he has his reasons. He—he lost a lot. You have to be patient with him. Skjor,” she nodded at a bald, handsome man across the courtyard; he stood next to two younger woman, watching them training and giving them instructions. “His strength isn’t just in his arms. He’s definitely our strongest though, but he’s also a good strategist. He’s one of the smartest man I’ve ever met,” there was a shift in her tone, and she quickly emptied her goblet before she went on and told a few things about the other companions too. They weren’t there as long as the ones she mentioned first, but even the latest, Ria joined them about a year ago.
“And there’s Njada. I think you’ll remember her for a while.”
Adara’s ocean blue eyes fell on the companion with long, midnight black hair. She was a pretty woman, and from the look on her face, she was very well aware of it. She sat not so far away from them, talking with Torvar. “I think she doesn’t like me.”
“If it makes you feel better, she doesn’t really like anyone. Well, maybe expect Farkas,” she said with a smug smile, and Adara narrowed her eyes,
“Are they together?”
It made the Huntress to burst into a loud laugh, but then she cleared her throat and turned her voice down. “Oh, no. Farkas and commitment? That would be a miracle, that is,” she said and rolled her eyes with a shake of her head. “Besides, it’s forbidden.”
“Why?” she asked even though she knew why. She used to read a lot about the companions.
Aela sighed. “We’re all brothers and sisters here, Adara. Fall in love with one of your comrade… it’s… it would be irresponsible. You’d care for each other more than the others, and we cannot let that happen. If you’re out in a mission, you can’t leave everyone else behind so you could save your love, because you favour him above the others.
“But what if you fall in love anyway? You can’t do much about it, can you?”
Aela’s grip tightened around her goblet, and didn’t look into Adara’s eyes. “Then you keep your mouth shut about it and suppress your feelings. It will end sooner or later. You can’t risk lives because of a romance.”
“That’s maybe true, but—“
“I said it’s forbidden,” she cut her off suddenly, her voice cold, her green eyes flashing angrily.
It caught Adara off guard and she didn’t say anything for a couple seconds. She saw Njada looked over her shoulder, threw a sniffy glance at them, before whispered something to Torvar that made him laugh.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Aela sighed. “No, I’m sorry,” a smirk lifted on her lips, trying to hide her nervousness behind a joke. “Thought I just warn you, you know. In case you’d fall in love with one of the twins. Or both.”
Adara gave a nervous chuckle. “No, I don’t think I will.”
“You wouldn’t be the first. There was a girl we needed to send away because she was obsessed with them.”

The rest of the day went by quickly. Adara found the blacksmith, the one Aela suggested to her, and she gave her the armour; she promised she’ll make a quick work on it in the moment the word “companion” left her mouth. After that, she went up to the palace to talk to the jarl—it was a short conversation. She merely thanked him the hospitality, but Balgruuf seemed troubled and barely said a word. Even though she could ask a question or two, she didn’t want to bother him.
It was a strange feeling, that she could leave the Jorrvaskr whenever she wanted without asking for a permission. She knew the Arch Mage only wanted to protect her, but now, when she could go anywhere she pleased, she wasn’t scared. The taste of freedom was delicious, and she didn’t think she could ever get enough of it.
She spent the rest of the afternoon with Ria and Athis. They were helpful and friendly, and didn’t seem so distant like the older companions.
It was late night when she finally got into her bed, and didn’t take long until she fell asleep. Just as the day before, she was exhausted again, but this time, she didn’t wake up so late. Even though she felt herself well-rested, she wished she could stay in bed for another hour, but she knew she couldn’t; her training starts today.
The building was quiet all the way she walked up, and only a few people sat by the long table. Kodlak and Vilkas next to each other, talking in a low voice. When Adara walked past them, the Harbringer gave her a small smile, but Vilkas barely looked at her. Aela were up too, but she seemed busy, discussing something with Skjor; she walked further and sat down next to Ria. She had a short, brown hair, tanned skin, dark eyes; a smile almost always on her lips. She wasn’t much older than Adara. From her features, it was easy to tell she was an Imperial.
“You’re early,” she said, eating an apple. “Couldn’t sleep?”
Adara shrugged. “We always woke up early in the college. Guess I get used to it,” she poured a goblet of fresh water. “And my training starts today. Have you seen Farkas?”
Ria raised her eyebrows. “Farkas? So early? I think you have to wait another hour or two.”
A disappointed sigh left her mouth. She could have just stayed in bed for a while, as she wanted to…
“So… what is it like?” she asked with a lower voice. “I mean, training with him.”
But Ria shrugged. “I don’t know. He never trained me. Actually, he barely trained anyone. I was surprised when you said he’ll train you.”
Adara frowned hard. After all, she heard when Kodlak talked to Farkas.
“Maybe the others are too busy.”
“Or no one wants to train me,” Adara said bitterly, causing Ria to roll her eyes and bump her shoulder against hers.
“Don’t be stupid. Do you think they were kinder to me when I got here?”
Adara smiled sadly. One part of her understood well why they were all so careful, but on the other hand… she wished they would be at least a bit friendlier. She did no harm, after all; she just wanted to learn.
An hour later Farkas was still nowhere, so Adara went down to Adrianne. She didn’t want to rush the blacksmith at all, but she seemed so eager a day before; and she wasn’t surprised at all when she saw her leaving the shop.
“I was just about to bring you this,” she smiled with the armour in her hands once they walked closer to each other.
“That was… very fast,” Adara replied with her eyes widen in surprise, examining the leather – it looked perfect.
Adrianne waved. “I couldn’t sleep last night anyway. Now come on in and try it on!”
The girl went into the shop and up into the blacksmith’s bedroom to take the leather on—it fitted on her body perfectly. It looked new, and it was surprisingly comfortable. “Thank you so much. You did an amazing job.”
She gave a proud smile. “It’s always an honour to work for the companions.”
After Adara payed her, she left the shop and walked back to the Jorrvaskr, hoping Farkas finally climbed out of his bed. She didn’t even have to walk inside the building to find it out; she just reached her arm out towards the door, when Farkas opened it from the other side.
He raised his eyebrows in surprise, but smiled as well. “Mornin’. I was just looking for you. I see you’re ready for the training,” he said, his almost black eyes running up and down on her body in a quick motion. “How do you like it?”
“I feel myself like an assassin,” she said with a smile, making Farkas laugh as they walked to the training area. She saw as his eyes stopped on her neck, her bruises now exposed in her new clothes, but he said nothing about it.
Adara spent half of her life with different trainings in the college. Being a mage was a lifelong commitment – it meant learning until the rest of her days. She get used to it, she even liked it… yet she was nervous now. It was something new.
“Alright,” Farkas said as they stopped next to a set of practice weapons. He placed his hands on his hips, pulled his elbows back and arched his back to stretch out his muscles, a low growl rumbling his chest. “I haven’t done this in a while, to be honest.”
Adara swallowed hard. She wasn’t sure she should ask it, but she couldn’t hold it back. “Why Kodlak chose you to train me, then?”
Farkas looked away and clenched his jaw, but when he looked back at her, he forced a smile. “Don’t think we could ever figure out what’s going on inside his head,” he joked, but Adara knew he was keeping something. “Choose a weapon.”
Frankly, Adara had no idea what she should choose, but she didn’t want to seem too hesitant. She grasped the closest to her; it was a great sword, and much heavier she thought. She needed to hold it with both of her hand, and her arms were still shaking from its weight.
Farkas watched her with an amused smile for a couple seconds, before he stepped closer and took the great sword out of her hands. She felt herself relieved immediately. “I think that’s too big for you.”
“It isn’t that big,” she mumbled, causing Farkas to laugh. He easily put the heavy weapon back to its place with one hand.
“Setting your expectation a little high, don’t you think? I don’t envy the men you’ve met,” he grinned, and Adara rolled her eyes. “Not that I have a reason to complain.”
“Look, Farkas—“
“Just kidding, relax,” he cut her off, hearing her annoyed voice. He pulled a short sword out of the holder and leaned down a bit as he gave it to her, so their eyes were in one line. “Size doesn’t matter, sweetheart. I mean, it does. In something—what does matter though,” he added quickly, as he noticed Adara wanted to cut him off, “…is to find your strengths and weaknesses.”
He stepped back and straightened himself. “You’re small. Short and skinny. Not the best qualities for a warrior,” he said. Adara knew very well she wasn’t that skinny, Farkas didn’t mean that – he meant she wasn’t muscular at all. She was physically weak, too weak, and she knew it. “But it can be your strength too. You can be sneaky and fast. Actually, in that way, you can be even more lethal than with raw power.”
“I’m gonna show you a few steps and the proper way to hold that sword. But first, I have a rule. Just this one,” he added, his tone more serious than before, and Adara gave a short nod. “No magic. Or we're done.”

The way Farkas trained her was completely different she experienced so far. In the college, she needed to spend almost a year with reading books before they let her to do anything. The Black Arrow had her practice her balance and composure, her patience and concentration for months before he gave her a bow. But not Farkas; he put a sword in her hand from the start.
And he was amazed. Her moves weren’t clumsy, and despite of her physical state, he could do everything if not the first try, than the second one. He has never seen anyone learning so fast.
The afternoon passed too quickly; the setting sun was giving out its last red glows when they finally stopped.
“Well, I’m impressed,” he said after hours, slightly out of breath. “You’re a quick learner.”
Adara smiled proudly and excitedly (even though her muscles were aching already), so Farkas quickly added,
“Don’t get too confident though, what I showed you so far were just the basics. You have a lot to learn.”
“I know,” she nodded, still smiling. It was a small step, but she succeed, and she was inexpressibly happy about it. “I’m ready to learn more.”
Farkas chuckled. He found her positivity adorable, enviable even, and pure. Too pure… too pure for us, he thought sadly. He couldn’t even hide the fact she liked the girl from the moment he set his eyes on her; he even told her, after all. There was something about her spirit that couldn’t be overlooked easily; especially someone with the beast blood. Farkas knew the others felt it, too. There was something special in her. Something more.
But she was young, probably too naïve as well. Farkas wanted Adara to become one of them, but for now, he wasn’t completely sure she could fit in their halls.
“That’s enough for today,” he said finally. “It won’t be so easy everyday though, but I don’t want you to…”
Adara couldn’t hear anything else he was saying. She spotted Irileth in the distance, slowly walking up on the stairs to Dragonsreach– she returned from Helgen.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled and barely looked at Farkas as she shoved the sword into his hand, before she ran across the courtyard and down on the stone stairs. Farkas shouted after her, but she didn’t stop, so he followed her.
“Irileth!”
The dark elf looked over her shoulder, but only turned around when she recognized the familiar face. She stopped, waiting for Adara, and when she got closer, she could read nothing good from her face. They stared each other in silence for a few seconds, before Irileth shook her head. She knew what the girl wanted to ask. “No one. We found no one, only ashes.”
Even though Adara counted on this, there was a tiny spark of hope inside her heart. Maybe some people ran away. Maybe some people found a shelter. Maybe it wasn’t just her and Ralof.
Irileth shook her head again. Worry crossed her strict face, and it was easy to tell how exhausted she was from what she saw. “I have to talk to the Jarl.”
She left, but Adara couldn’t move a muscle; her feet froze to the ground. It felt like a piece of her was destroyed, gone. She stared off into the distance, forgetting about her surroundings, until she felt a hand on her upper arm.
Turning around, her gaze met with Farkas’ kind eyes. She let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding, and along with that, a teardrop rolled down on her cheek too. She quickly wiped it away and looked up at Farkas again; his brows furrowed in concern.
“When you said you’ve lost everything… that… you’re… you lived in Helgen?”
“It’s—“Adara started, but fell in silence immediately. Yes, it was more complicated than that, but she didn’t want to reveal all of her secrets; not yet. Considering this, she decided she’ll go with it, and nodded.
“I’m terribly sorry,” Farkas said quietly. “But is it true, then? It was really a dragon?”
Adara nodded again. “Yes. It’s true, I saw it.”
They walked down on the many stone steps slowly. “How did you manage to escape? I heard Irileth saying they found no survivors.”
“That’s a long story,” Adara sighed, and suddenly, she felt herself exhausted again. She had so many long stories behind her back already.
Farkas’ heart was aching for her; as always, he was so emphatic, and he wanted nothing but than cheer her up. He stepped closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “We have a lot of time. Why don’t you tell me while we share some wine? Wait, are you old enough to drink?”
Adara rolled her eyes while Farkas grinned, and she pushed him away with both of her hands. “Stop treating me like a child! You aren’t much older than me, are you?”
Farkas shrugged. “I’m twenty nine. But I look like twenty nine. I don’t have this cute face,” he said, brushing his thumb along her cheek. They just reached the end of the stairs and Adara sighed, trying to sound annoyed, but she couldn’t hide her blush so easily. “So, what do you say? Forget the wine though, you can drink the best ale in the Bannered Mare.”
Adara bit the inside of her cheek; she wanted to go back to her quarter and fall asleep, but staying alone now maybe wouldn’t be the best decision. She smiled then, giving a nod. “Alright.”
They walked down to the main square of Whiterun together; Adara’s heart full of bittersweet pain.
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Forged In Fire