Everyone froze.

The bandit, who was just about to slice Tao’s throat open, had stopped his action, staring at Tao with wide, scared eyes with a hint of pain in them. Tao didn’t know what to do, his throat felt really dry all of a sudden, too dry to say anything, and too dry to scream from the sight in front of him. The bandit was bleeding from his chest and down, having a knife right through his heart… Not breathing anymore.

“Killing him would be a very, very bad idea,” said an unfamiliar voice against the bandit’s ear, right before the dead man fell to the ground – the knife still in his chest, and his dark eyes wide open.

Tao felt like screaming in shock, but his throat was still making it impossible for him to say a word, so he just looked at the unfamiliar person in front of him – this stalker of his.

A stranger, dressed in dark leather clothing, and a hood over his head, covering far the most of his face in the shadows, since it was still dark around them. The stranger was very tall – even taller than Tao, who wasn’t that tiny either.

The man, or guy, shot Tao a short glare, Tao gulping slightly as he saw the small glimpse of pure and completely hate in his stalker’s eyes, making the Dragonborn’s eyes flinch a bit as he looked away.

“Who the hell do you think you are?! You bastard!” the female bandit yelled at Tao’s savior, as she furiously ran against him, he dagger being drawn from her belt, ready to stab the out of him for killing her companion.

“Mind your ing own business!” growled the stranger coldly at the girl, who was immediately swung against the ground. Just with a simple hit from the stranger in her stomach, and the girl was on the ground, coughing up blood from the large impact.

Tao’s eyes grew wide, and now he was seriously scared. The bandits didn’t scare him anymore, no. Now it was the tall stranger, who scared him, since he clearly didn’t know whether or not he could even trust this person! He had been following him around for days, after all, right?

Were his intentions good or bad?

The last bandit, who hadn’t dared fighting against the stranger, just ran to his companion’s side – the girl, who was still alive, but coughing like crazy. This made the stranger believe, that he was no big deal and no threat, so instead of going after him…

He just turned to look at Tao one more time.

“Get on your feet,” the stranger said coldly at the poor boy, who just tried to stand, struggling a bit against his binds, which kept him down on his knees.

“I-I can’t. I’m tied,” Tao murmured, making the stranger hiss quietly as he drew yet another knife, making Tao shake slightly in fear as he looked the stranger up and down with wide eyes.

“W-Wait up?!” Tao exclaimed as he started struggling against his binds once again, wanting to scream for help, but being too frightened to do so. He honestly thought, that the stranger was about to slice his throat open. The way the stranger looked at him, made him shiver in fear, even though he couldn’t help but get just a little bit lost in the stranger’s dark eyes. It was quite dangerous, considering he looked like he was about to kill him.

However, the stranger frowned slightly as he cut Tao’s binds, making Tao get up very quickly, and even back a few meters away from his stalker, not turning his back against him at any time.

“It’s no fun killing someone who’s tied,” frowned the stranger as Tao searched around for his weapons, that the bandits had taken earlier – of course, he still had an eye on the stranger, who was looking Tao suspiciously up and down.

“W-Who are you?” Tao asked, as he saw, that the bandits were on their way away from the stranger, who apparently seemed a bit too strong for the both of them. However, the third and dead bandit just laid there, still. Forgotten and left behind.

“It’s none of your concern, you should be more worried about yourself,” the stranger growled quietly, his eyes never changing from cold as Tao found his weapons and other belongings – apart from the food, since the bandits had already eaten it.

“What do you mean by that?” Tao asked with a small frown, “You’ve been following me around for the last two days! I have the right to know who the you are!” Tao stepped closer to the stranger, with threatening steps, not seeming to scare the tall stranger one bit, as he just kept his plae.

“You don’t have the right to know anything at all! You don’t even deserve those powers you’ve been granted!” the stranger exclaimed as he grabbed the collar of Tao’s shirt, making the smaller gasp softly in surprise, as his feet left the ground, and the stranger lifted him as easily as breathing.

“H-How do you know…” Tao asked quietly with wide eyes, making the stranger smirk slightly.

“Oh, I just know things, trust me.”

“T-Then why did you save me?” Tao bit his lower lip slightly in confusion as he now got a slightly better look at his savior’s face. His chin was a bit sharp, and his cheeks thin. His eyes were cold, and very threatening, probably being able to make any person bow down in fear in front of him. The stranger’s eyes were dark, too. Just like Tao’s, but that was quite normal around there, so that wasn’t really a surprise.

Suddenly, the stranger walked against Tao, making him back away from him immediately. However, his back soon met the wall of one of the many cliffs around him, preventing him from backing further away – making it possible for the stranger, to stay right in front of him, and looking at him with those threatening, cold eyes of his.

Tao, with his back pressed against the stonewall, couldn’t do much but stare at this stranger, who still had a knife in his hand. Quickly, with one swift movement, the stranger had pressed his knife against Tao’s chest – the tip of the knife, already gone through Tao’s rather thin shirt, and was now being pressed against Tao’s soft skin, making him gasp quietly in fear as he just looked at his savoir.

“W-Why are you doing this?” Tao asked with a quiet whisper, making the stranger smirk slyly at him, almost laughing.

“How could such a weak person like you possibly be a Dragonborn? That’s pathetic,” whispered the stranger with a deep, and yet slightly beautiful voice, against Tao’s face, “I might as well just kill you right here, right now.”

“Bring it on,” growled Tao quietly as he immediately swung the tree staff in his hand, and actually succeeded in knocking the stranger to the ground in just two seconds, knocking the tall guy onto his back while he looked up at Tao with wide, surprised eyes. Tao didn’t hesitate one second, and quickly placed his right foot right on top of the stranger’s chest, moving the most of his weight onto him – making him unable to move.

“I might be scared at time, but I’m not weak, bastard,” hissed Tao while pointing his staff threatening against the throat of the stranger, who swallowed thickly without knowing what to do at that time.

He was just utterly surprised by the tricks he could do.

“If you’re able to do this… How come three simple bandits could kidnap you, huh?” the stranger asked with a small smirk on his lips. His smirk, however, just made Tao add more weight onto his chest and press the tip of the staff harder against his thin throat.

“There’s a difference between fighting, and being surprised by an attack from behind! If I attacked them back, do you honestly think I would’ve survived with a cut in my throat?” Tao asked sarcastically, feeling his rage rise slightly within his body.

“You have my thanks, though, for saving me, but that’s all,” the Dragonborn hissed quietly at the taller guy, who was still quite surprised about Tao’s change of appearance. The face, that earlier looked lost and confused, yet innocent, had turned into a cold face, with a pair of threatening eyes, that showed no mercy.

The stranger quickly understood, that he might not be that easy to defeat as he thought – he quickly understood, how this guy could’ve been a part of the killing of a dragon.

The stranger, who just lay there, looking up at Tao while thinking about what to do, wasn’t scared of the younger guy, but he was clearly impressed. He thought the things a bit through, before he found a way out of this trouble, well knowing that he was in serious danger.

Something he hadn’t experienced in years.

Somehow, it actually thrilled him a bit.

“You’re headed for the White Mountains, aren’t you?” the stranger asked, making Tao look down at him with a pair of suspicious eyes, having a slight idea where this question was heading.

“Yes, why do you care about that, Mr. Stalker?” Tao asked, not moving his body one inch. The stranger under him just smirked slightly at him.

“My guess is, that someone from the Green Valleys doesn’t know the way to the White Mountains?”

“So?”

“Well,” the stranger chuckled quietly, “I could show you the way, since I’ve been to the White Mountains many times before.”

Tao frowned slightly and pressed the tip of his staff harder against the neck of the stranger, “How can I know, that I can trust you, huh?”

“You can’t,” he smirked, “But it’s your only choice, if you want to get there before the dragons find you.”

Tao growled in the inside, knowing that this stranger was right. It was only a matter of time, before the dragons would be gathering around him, killing him. He was able to kill a dragon with the help of the guards, but he definitely wasn’t able to kill a hundred of dragons on his own – all at once.

“And I come with some benefits, too,” the stranger suddenly said, making Tao raise an eyebrow at him at the word ‘benefits’.

“Like what?”

“You see, I know quite a lot about these Dragonborn, so I guess I could share a bit of my knowledge with you?” the stranger suggested, finally making Tao interested in actually joining up with him, since he knew nothing about being a Dragonborn. So if this stranger knew how he could use this gift of his, he would gladly accept any kind of advice from him.

“Fine, you can come along,” Tao groaned quietly as he finally removed his foot and staff from the guy, who was still being pressed against the hard ground.

“My thanks,” said the stranger as he stood again, brushing some of the dust and dirt off his black clothing.

“However, there is one condition,” Tao said, leaning a bit on his staff while looking at the stranger whose attention he fully had, “Reveal your face! Oh, and unless you want me to call you ‘Mr. Stalker’ for the rest of the journey, tell me your name, too.”

Tao could clearly see, that it wasn’t in the stranger’s biggest interest to reveal himself, but in the end, he accepted the condition, and did as he was told.

“As you want,” he groaned slightly as he finally decided to remove the hood from his head, revealing his looks.

To be short and very exact: Tao was stunned.

Not only was he stunned by the incredible good looks of his stalker, but also by his hair. Never in his young life, had he seen a person with blonde hair. Where he came from, everyone had black hair – the blonde hair being such a rarity, that the people with it, would always be seen upon like some kinds of gifted, chosen people by the gods.

The stranger’s skin shone slightly in the light of the full moon, and his eyes had a faint, golden glow in them, as if they consisted of the purest gold in the world. Of course, his eyes were cold, but incredibly beautiful, just like the rest of his face – his thin cheeks, slightly sharp chin, perfect shaped nose as well as lips.

“I don’t have a specific name,” he sighed, looking a little bit away from Tao, who hadn’t said a word since his looks got revealed. The stranger smirked slightly at Tao’s reaction.

“Those few people who know me, call me Kris.” 

___________________________

A/N: 

UPDATE~! OuO/~

WIIIH! KREASE IS HERE! *Throws confetti* ~

One of the reasons I like Taoris, is probably... That well... They can be both REAALLY adorable and lovey-dovey, but they can also be cold (mostly by their looks... eue... I mean look at them...) which is just incredibly hot...~ 

But well... They aren't really the best of friends, as you can see... Well, Kris DID threat to kill Tao ... And has been stalking him like some crazy fanboy for 2 days (not that I would mind being stalked by such a handsome guy, but apparently Tao does) ...

Kris' identity has a HUUUUGE importance to the rest of the story!! So PAY ATTENTION! ~ OuO/ huehuehue~

Oh, and personally I kinda liked this chapter... OwO Yesh...~ I'm quite satisfied to be honest... Are you? ~

Please tell me what you think, and comment~! ^o^/

Comments are love~! Please tell me what you think of this chapter~