Chapter 72 The Truth About Astrid
Inside High Hrothgar, the great stone hall was bathed in the soft glow of firelight. Torches flickered gently along the ancient walls, their flames dancing and casting long, wavering shadows across the weathered carvings of dragons and forgotten words. Outside, the mountain wind howled faintly, pressing against the thick stone as snow whispered across the peaks, but inside the hall, there was a rare sense of warmth and peace.
The sound of wooden bowls touching stone echoed quietly in the vast chamber. Steam rose slowly from the food.
As they ate, Alex began to speak. His voice was steady but animated, his hands moving naturally as he recounted their journey to obtain the Elder Scroll. He described the suffocating silence of the ancient Dwemer ruins, the metallic halls filled with dormant machines, and the oppressive weight of centuries pressing down on them. When he spoke of Blackreach, his eyes lit up he described the endless cavern glowing with eerie blue light, towering mushrooms stretching toward a false sky, and the overwhelming sense of insignificance beneath that vast underground world.
Then his tone sharpened as he spoke of the dragon.
"Vurthuryol," Alex said, his voice lowering with awe and tension. He described the thunderous roar that shook Blackreach, the sudden rush of wind, and the terror of facing a dragon in a place that felt utterly inescapable.
The Greybeards listened in complete silence. Arngeir's eyes were half-closed, his hands folded calmly in his lap, while the others nodded slowly at key moments, as if weighing every word. Their faces held gentle expressions neither doubt nor judgment only quiet pride, as though they were listening to the adventurous tale of a beloved grandchild who had returned safely home.
Beside Alex, Astrid sat close enough that their shoulders nearly touched. She listened with a soft smile, occasionally glancing at him rather than the Greybeards. Her eyes shone with warmth and admiration as he spoke, and at moments of danger in the story, her fingers curled slightly, as if reliving those memories with him. Each time Alex laughed lightly or gestured in excitement, her smile grew a little wider, comforted and proud of the man beside her.
Eventually, the last bites of food were eaten, and the bowls were set aside. The fire crackled quietly as the Greybeards rose one by one, their robes brushing softly against the stone floor. The hall grew still again, filled only with the distant sound of wind beyond the walls.
The night at High Hrothgar settled in deep, quiet, and solemn. Torches were dimmed, footsteps faded into the corridors, and the mountain seemed to hold its breath as everyone prepared to rest beneath the ancient roof, surrounded by stone, snow, and silence.
Later that night, the sleeping quarters of High Hrothgar were wrapped in deep silence. The stone walls held the cold of the mountain, and the faint whistle of wind slipping through narrow cracks was the only sound that accompanied the slow flicker of a dying candle. Snow tapped softly against the small window, as if the world outside was breathing in its sleep.
Alex lay on his back, already changed into simple sleeping clothes. He let out a quiet breath, his body heavy with exhaustion, and slowly closed his eyes, intending to surrender himself to sleep.
Beside him, Astrid lay on her side, facing him. Her eyes were wide open, reflecting the dim candlelight. She hesitated, fingers clutching the edge of the blanket as if gathering courage.
"Alex…" she whispered, her voice barely louder than the wind outside.
"Are you still awake?"
There was no reply only the steady rhythm of his breathing.
Astrid frowned. Her lips pressed into a thin line, a mix of nervousness and mild irritation surfacing. She reached out and lightly tapped his arm with the back of her fingers.
"Alex," she said more firmly. "You said you'd listen to my story."
Alex jolted slightly, blinking as he snapped awake.
"Ah ! Yeah, I'm awake, I'm awake," he said quickly, rubbing his eyes. "What is it, love?"
Astrid searched his face, her gaze lingering on his half-lidded eyes and unfocused expression. A small pout formed on her lips.
"You promised," she said quietly. "You promised you'd listen to my story, didn't you?"
Alex's brows knit together. A second passed then his eyes widened in realization.
"Ah… right." He exhaled and turned fully toward her. "I'm sorry, love. I really forgot. Go on what is it?"
Astrid inhaled deeply, her chest rising and falling as she steadied herself. Her hands trembled slightly beneath the blanket.
"Alex…" she began, her voice low and careful. "You were honest with me about where you came from. About who you really are. And that made me… really happy."
She swallowed hard.
"So… I think I still owe you the truth about my past, don't I?"
Her heart hammered violently in her chest. Thoughts clashed in her mind fear, doubt, old pain. What if he looks at me differently?What if this changes everything?
Alex noticed the tension immediately. He shifted closer, his movement slow and deliberate, careful not to startle her. One hand gently found hers beneath the blanket, his thumb brushing reassuring circles over her knuckles.
"Love," he said softly, his voice steady and warm, "the past and the present aren't the same. No matter what you did before no matter where you came from you've changed. And that's what matters most."
Astrid's shoulders relaxed slightly. The tight knot in her chest loosened, just a little. She looked at him and offered a small, trembling smile.
With a quiet breath, she finally spoke.
"I'm actually… half High Elf."
She hesitated.
"Altmer."
Alex froze. His eyes widened, and his body went still.
"What?" he said, genuinely stunned. "That doesn't make sense. You're not even skilled in magic."
Astrid nodded slowly, having expected the reaction.
"I take after my father more," she explained. "He was a Nord. My mother was a High Elf."
Her gaze drifted away, toward the dark ceiling above them.
"I was born in the Summerset Isles. Back then, I didn't understand politics… or hatred. I didn't know that the world they lived in would make my parents targets."
Her voice softened, weighed down by memory.
"That was when the Thalmor began hunting us."
Her expression darkened as shadows crossed her face.
"When we were still at home, everything was peaceful just like any ordinary family," she said, her fingers curling slightly into the blanket. "Then there was a knock at the door."
She paused, breath catching.
"My mother answered it. From where I was, I heard three voices. They sounded angry… like they were arguing."
Her voice trembled.
"And then… there was a loud sound."
The candle flickered, and for a moment, the room felt colder as if the memory itself had seeped into the stone walls.
Astrid's voice began to tremble, the words catching painfully in her throat.
"My father rushed toward my mother," she said, her fingers tightening around the blanket as if it were the only thing anchoring her to the present. "I was scared… but I was also curious. I ran after him to the front door."
Her breath hitched sharply.
"And I saw her… my mother… collapsed on the floor."
Her eyes squeezed shut, as if the image was burning itself into her mind all over again.
"There was so much blood," she whispered. "It was spreading beneath her, soaking into the floor. I didn't understand what I was seeing. I didn't understand why she wasn't moving."
Tears spilled freely down her cheeks, trailing into her hair and onto the pillow.
"I just stood there," Astrid continued, her voice hollow and distant. "I couldn't scream. I couldn't move. It was like my body wasn't mine anymore. Everything went silent too silent except for this high ringing in my ears, like the world itself had shattered."
She swallowed, her throat trembling.
"I saw my mother lift her hand… weakly. She was trying to tell my father something. I don't know what it was. I never will."
Her hands curled into fists.
"Then my father grabbed me. He didn't say anything he just lifted me into his arms and ran."
Her breathing quickened as the memory surged.
"As he carried me, I looked back," she said. "And I saw them. Three Altmer. One of them wore a black robe. The other two were clad in elven armor."
Her jaw clenched, her expression twisting with both fury and grief.
"They were standing there like executioners. Like my family meant nothing."
Astrid's voice broke as she continued.
"My father didn't stop running. Even when I saw his back… it was soaked in blood. His steps were uneven, his breath ragged but he didn't slow down. Not even once."
Her hands shook violently now.
"When we got outside… there were more of them. Not just three. Dozens. Altmer soldiers pouring through the snow, hunting us."
She sobbed openly, her shoulders shaking.
"When my father realized he couldn't go on," she whispered, barely audible, "he started looking around desperate. Panicked."
She drew a shaky breath.
"He found a large tree. Its trunk was split, hollowed out just enough to hide a child. He pushed me inside."
Her voice cracked.
"I begged him. I grabbed his clothes. I told him not to leave me. But he smiled at me softly. He told me everything would be okay. He made promises he never got the chance to keep."
Astrid pressed a hand over her mouth as if she could still feel the echo of that moment.
"He told me to stay quiet."
Tears dripped from her chin.
"I nodded," she said, her voice small and fragile. "Like a good child. I believed him. I believed he would come back."
She squeezed her eyes shut.
"I covered my mouth so I wouldn't cry. I didn't make a sound. Not a single breath."
Her chest rose sharply.
"My father covered the opening with leaves and snow. And then… he ran."
Her voice rose slightly, trembling.
"He shouted, 'I'm here! I'm here!' to draw them away from me."
At that point, Astrid completely broke down. Her body folded inward, grief crushing her like a physical weight.
Alex moved instantly, pulling her into his arms. He held her tightly, one hand cradling the back of her head, the other wrapped protectively around her shoulders.
"Love…" he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "You don't have to continue. I understand. You don't need to be this strong."
Astrid shook her head against his chest, tears soaking into his clothes. Her hands clenched tightly at his shirt, her expression pained but unwavering.
"No," she said, forcing the words out between sobs. "I promised. I promised I would tell you."
After a long, trembling breath, she continued.
"I stayed there for so long," she whispered. "The snow started falling. It got colder. The sun went down."
Her voice dropped to a fearful hush.
"Then I heard footsteps. Branches snapping."
She lifted her head slightly, her eyes unfocused, lost in the memory.
"I peeked through the leaves… just a little."
Her breath caught.
"There were two Altmer soldiers. One of them was injured. They were talking complaining about how hard it was to fight a Nord."
For the briefest moment, her expression softened.
"I thought… maybe my father escaped."
Then her face drained of color.
"But the other soldier turned around," she said, her voice breaking completely. "And he was holding something."
Astrid choked on the words. Her body went rigid.
"T-that soldier…" she sobbed, clutching Alex tightly. "He was holding… my father's head… ALEX!"
Alex hugged her tighter, his own tears flowing. imagining a little girl having such a past.
Astrid's voice turned cold and empty.
"I don't know what happened to me after that," she said. "Something snapped."
She pulled back slightly, her eyes hollow and dark.
"I came out of hiding. The soldiers were shocked. Power something unnatural flooded my body."
Her hands curled as if gripping an invisible enemy.
"I grabbed the one holding my father's head. I slammed him to the ground. I struck him again and again. I didn't stop. Blood was everywhere until his skull was crushed into nothing."
Her voice was flat now, devoid of emotion.
"The other Altmer begged me," she said quietly. "He begged for mercy."
She shook her head slowly.
"But I couldn't hear him. I was drowning in rage. I ignored his pleas… and I killed him too."
Astrid looked down at her hands.
"My hair turned red," she whispered. "From their blood."
The room fell silent once more, heavy with grief and the weight of a child's stolen innocence.
Astrid finally gave in to the weight in her chest and buried her face against Alex's chest. Her shoulders shook as she breathed him in, as if grounding herself in the warmth and steadiness of his heartbeat.
"After that…" she murmured, her voice muffled against him, "I wandered."
Her fingers curled weakly into the fabric of his clothes.
"My hair turned red," she continued quietly. "Not by dye. Not by choice. It stayed that way… like a mark I could never wash away."
She drew a shaky breath.
"I chose to survive."
She lifted her head slightly, her eyes unfocused, staring past the present and into the years she had tried to bury.
"In the past, I committed many crimes," Astrid said, her voice low and heavy. "I became a bandit leader while I was still young because of the power I had. Because fear followed me wherever I went."
Her jaw tightened.
"I robbed. I killed Altmer. Not because they were all guilty… but because I was angry. Because revenge was the only thing keeping me moving forward."
Her hands trembled as she clenched them into fists.
"That hatred kept me alive," she whispered. "But it also hollowed me out."
She swallowed hard.
"Eventually, I realized what I was doing was wrong. I wasn't just killing enemies I was killing innocent people too."
Astrid let out a long, shaky exhale, as if releasing years of poison from her lungs.
"I grew sick of that life," she said. "Every night felt the same. Blood. Screams. Regret."
Her gaze dropped to the blanket.
"So I decided to leave. I wanted to travel to Skyrim. I wanted to become… someone better."
Her lips curved into a bitter, humorless smile.
"But fate didn't let me choose so easily."
She let out a soft, hollow laugh.
"I ended up on the execution block. Not for my crimes… but for crossing the border with Ulfric's group."
Her shoulders sagged.
"My past never reached Skyrim. No one there knew what I'd done."
She paused.
"And I accepted it."
Her voice softened.
"When the executioner raised his axe… I was ready to die. I thought maybe that was justice."
She glanced up at Alex, her eyes shining.
"Then the dragon came."
A small breath of disbelief escaped her.
"And then you appeared. You saved me."
Astrid wiped at her tears with the back of her hand and let out a faint, genuine smile.
"At first, you were strange," she said softly. "A man who flinched at blood. Who joked in the middle of danger."
Her smile grew slightly.
"A man standing beside me a strong Nord woman and he is yet terrified of a giant spider."
She chuckled weakly through her tears.
"It was kind of funny."
Alex turned his face away, scratching his cheek, clearly embarrassed.
Astrid watched him with warmth.
"I thought… maybe I wasn't meant to die yet," she said. "Maybe I was meant to walk beside this small, strange man."
Her fingers reached for his hand.
"Someone who knew things no one else did. Someone a little perverted."
She smirked faintly.
"But someone who slowly made my days brighter."
Her voice grew softer.
"My past was filled with slaughter and robbery. That was all I knew."
She took a breath.
"But when the people of Whiterun called me a hero…"
Her voice trembled.
"That was the first time I wanted to live for something other than survival."
She looked straight into his eyes.
"That's when I decided to save as many lives as I could to atone for my sins."
Alex smiled gently, his gaze unwavering.
"And I'll help you atone."
Astrid's breath caught. Her eyes shimmered with hope and fear intertwined.
"So…" she whispered, barely daring to ask, "will you still accept me… even though I'm imperfect?"
Alex answered immediately, without a trace of doubt.
"Are you crazy?" he said softly. "Haven't you already proven it?"
He squeezed her hands firmly, warmth radiating through his grip.
"You saved the people of Whiterun. You saved the Reachfolk. And now you're trying to save all of Skyrim by stopping Alduin."
His voice was calm but resolute.
"Isn't that proof enough that you're not the same person anymore?"
He leaned closer.
"Alduin may not be defeated yet," Alex said, "but I'll help you until every debt from your past is paid."
Astrid's lips trembled as a radiant smile broke through her tears. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms tightly around him, holding him as if afraid he might disappear.
Alex gently patted her back, slow and reassuring.
"So keep your spirit strong," he whispered. "I'll always support you."
Astrid finally pulled back, cupped his face with trembling hands, and pressed a tender kiss to his lips. It was slow, soft, and full of unspoken promises.
They rested their foreheads together, gazing into each other's eyes no lies, no secrets left between them.
Before long, the weight of exhaustion and peace settled in. Wrapped in each other's arms, they drifted into sleep beneath the cold stone roof of High Hrothgar, warmed only by shared breath, shared pain, and shared hope.
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