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I left the palace and headed to Calixto's House of Curiosities. I had never visited the museum before in all of my time in Windhelm. I had always found Calixto to be a little strange and had avoided him. The chance to ask about the amulet however was too good to pass up. I slipped out of the palace and set off through the dark city, leaving the liveliness of the party behind.

I stepped out into the cold and shrugged deeper into my cloak. Halfway to the museum I was regretting my rush to leave the palace. The cold bit through the pretty dress and I missed my warm and very functional armor. If I wasn't in such a hurry I would have returned to the palace and changed. Hopefully I wouldn't be out long.

I knocked on the door.

The door opened and Calixto blinked at me in surprise.

I flashed a smile that I hoped was charming. "Is the museum still open?" I asked hopefully.

Calixto seemed surprised but quickly recovered and flashed a smile. "Of course my lady," he said and he stepped back with a theatrical bow as I entered. "Welcome to the House of Curiosities! I offer a brief tour for a few coins, or you can simply browse at your leisure."

I stepped inside and glanced around. Calixto may call it a museum, but it looked mainly like a bunch of junk jumbled together on a few bookcases. I turned back to Calixto. "How did you assemble this collection?" I asked, feigning interest.

It was the right question to ask. The Imperial man smiled happily. "My sister and I inherited a modest sum of money. We decided to travel and seek out whatever adventures we could find. As we journeyed across Tamriel, we encountered tales of exotic and wondrous artifacts. We decided to collect as many as we could. My sister passed away some years ago, so I settled down here and opened the House of Curiosities. I think she would be happy to know that our collection has brought smiles to faces both young and old."

I would have been surprised to hear anyone, young or old had ever come to the House of Curiosities and smiled, but I kept my opinion to myself. I reached into my pocket and palmed the amulet. "Do you know anything about this amulet?" I asked him, holding it out for him to see.

Calixto stepped close. There was something about him that made me want to have more space between us, and maybe have my hand on a knife. I couldn't say what it was, maybe it was just because he seemed slimy.

He took the amulet from me and I worked harder than I needed to in order to make sure our skin didn't touch.

He held the amulet up to the light. "Let me see... ah, yes. This is the Wheelstone. It's an heirloom symbol of power in Windhelm. Traditionally it's carried by the court mage. I would... eh... be interested in acquiring it. If you're willing to part with it, that is. For a piece like this, I could pay... 500 gold?"

I frowned at that. Once again someone had mentioned Wuunferth, the court mage. I was going to need to have a conversation with him. I turned back to Calixto. "If it's a Windhelm heirloom traditionally carried by the court mage, shouldn't the court mage have it?" I asked, blinking up at Calixto innocently.

Calixto frowned and he closed his fist around the amulet. He wanted it but if I didn't agree to sell it he would have to make a scene. "Wuunferth?" he said casually. "Bah. It's purely ceremonial, and he has not use for it. Besides my lady," he said. "I wouldn't want to be the one to give it to him. He gives me the creeps," he leaned close to me and I fought the urge to lean away from him. "They say he dabbles in necromancy," he warned me conspiratorially.

"Well thank you," I said holding my hand out for the amulet. "I'll keep that in mind."

Calixto's jaw tightened and his eyes went flat for a second and on instinct my hand moved to my waist but I didn't have a sword. Then the moment passed just as quickly as it came and he flashed me a smile that left me wondering if I had even seen the moment at all. "Suit yourself, but I'll warn you, if you don't bring it to Wuunferth, it's only of value to collectors. Good luck finding anyone else who would appraise it so highly." I nodded but was already moving towards the door. "Thank you for visiting My Lady, come back again soon," he called jovially.

I took my first real breath once I had stepped out into the cold night air. I leaned against the icy stones of the house and exhaled.

"Trouble Dragonborn?" I jumped and whirled towards the voice. Ulfric was leaning casually against the wall just three feet from me.

I cursed myself up and down for letting my guard down so low as to not notice the bloody Jarl of Windhelm. "No trouble," I replied briskly.

I wasn't willing to allow Ulfric to see how shaken Calixto had gotten me. It was rare for me to go anywhere without my armor and swords, I was becoming too dependent on them. I headed down the stairs, heading towards the Grey Quarter, hoping the poor section of his city would discourage Ulfric from following.

"You know," he said trailing behind me like a silent shadow. "I appreciate all you've done for my city, but I'm not willing to allow you to use yourself as bait."

I frowned at Ulfric's words, not following. "I'm not using myself as bait."

"No?" He asked. His eyes dropped to the dress I was still wearing under the the cloak.

"No," I snapped impatiently. "I just needed to meet with Calixo."

"By yourself? At night?"Ulfric asked pointedly.

"I'm hardly the helpless victim The butcher has been attacking," I pointed out.

Ulfric took a long stride and whipped around in front of me, forcing me to stop walking away from him. It was a dark corner of the street where we wouldn't be easily interrupted. "That is not the way you are presenting yourself Dragonborn," he said and his eyes raked over the form fitting dress once more.

I cursed as I realized he was right. Without thinking about it I had slipped out of the palace without my armor and facing Calixto as little more than a Nord noblewoman had not afforded me the show of strength I was accustomed to. That was obvious when he had considered keeping the amulet. Had I shown up in my Nightingale armor as the Dragonborn and Guild Master he would never have even considered not returning what was mine.

"I-" I started to say. There was a scuff of movement behind us and we both whirled towards it. I jerked the dagger out of my boot, but Ulfric only dropped a hand to the hilt of his ax.

When nothing moved in the still night I let out a breath. Ulfric wasn't so quick to release his ax as his sharp blue eyes scanned the darkness. His breath came out in a cloud of white vapor as he spoke in a low, tense tone. "Young women are being murdered on the streets of my city at night. You are a young, beautiful woman wandering the streets at night. You are exactly the type the killer has been pursuing."

I felt a blush warm my icy cheeks as Ulfric called me beautiful for the second time that night. Unwilling to let him see it however I snapped at him. "Isn't it dangerous for you to be out here?" I challenged. I hated that he was right. I hated even more that I had made a foolish mistake in front of him again.

"Me?" Ulfric asked incredulously. "I don't believe I'm the killers type," he said sardonically. His face was as ever an expressionless mask, however I could hear the undercurrent of humor in his words.

"For The Butcher perhaps," I allowed, then I gestured to the dark street. "What a perfect opportunity for an assassin."

Ulfric chuckled once humorlessly. "This is my city," he told me self-assuredly. "Besides," he added, tipping his head in my direction. "I have the Dragonborn here to protect me."

I blew out a frustrated sigh. I was never going to win with him. I didn't know why I even bothered.

There was fast movement behind us and the two of us whirled towards it in the same moment. I dropped into a crouch and jerked the dagger out of my boot. Ulfric's ax cleared his belt as I drew Unrelenting Force to the forefront of my mind.

I reached with my free hand and grabbed Ulfric's arm as soon as I recognized the young Bosmer. The courier looked back and forth between us, his eyes wide as he seemed to realize I had just barely stopped Ulfric from planting his ax in his chest.

The Bosmer courier looked back and forth between us, as though checking to make sure it was safe for him to move. He seemed to decide I was the safer of the two of us and faced me, bowing his head once respectfully. "Ah...I've been looking for you. Got something I'm supposed to deliver - your hands only," he added glancing towards Ulfric.

I looked at Ulfric and realized I was still holding onto his arm. Ulfric didn't seem to have noticed either, either that, or he didn't mind. I quickly snatched my hand back. For his part Ulfric hadn't taken his eyes off of the courier as though he might suddenly turn into The Butcher at any moment. I slid my dagger away and when I relaxed so did Ulfric. I hadn't realized he was paying such close attention to me.

The courier seemed encouraged when we weren't overtly threatening him. "It's from a woman in Riverwood, she was adamant I find you as quickly as possible, and she didn't seem like the sort I should upset," he said as he dug in his satchel. He pulled out a crumpled letter and held it out to me.

I took the letter with a frown. I knew a number of women in Riverwood, but only one who could have put the fear of the gods into the courier so completely.

"Looks like that's it, got to go," he said nervously and he retreated into the darkness of the streets, leaving us alone.

A cold breeze swirled the snow around our boots. I stomped my feet as I broke the seal on the letter.

Ulfric was standing a little in front of me, staring after the courier with a scowl on his face. "If your identity is so secret, how do they find you?" He asked turning back to me.

I barely heard him. The letter was, as I suspected, from Delphine.

Heard from my contacts. Meet me in the attic room to discuss the next step. 

I looked up as Ulfric approached and quickly folded the letter. Not that he could have discerned much from reading it, but as a Blade, she was in hiding. I would respect and honor her trust in me to keep her secret.

When Ulfric continued to stare at me expectantly I scowled at him. "Is there something else?" I asked him rudely.

Ulfric snorted and there was a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. He only seemed to smile or laugh when I was rude to him and he seemed to be bored with the ladies of the court who fawned all over him and sought his favor. There was definitely something wrong with him.

"I didn't ask you to come and protect me," I snapped impatiently as I snuggled deeper into the cloak. I was being crabby, but in my defense I was cold, there was a killer on the loose, Delphine was summoning me and there was a six foot two inch egotistical shadow following me around the city laughing at me.

Amusement glimmered in Ulfric's eyes as he looked down at me. "You didn't need to Dragonborn," he assured me and then the jerk winked at me.

I huffed impatiently and stomped back towards the palace. I wished I had already moved out of the palace back into the Inn. It was hard to keep face when I was literally storming away angrily back to his palace. I stomped up the icy steps, but instead of turning the corner to go towards the palace I headed towards the Stone district. I needed time to think and my thoughts were always a jumbled mess when Ulfric was around.

"This is not the way back to the palace," Ulfric said trailing behind me, his amusement clear in his voice.

I scowled at him. "Don't you have things to do?" I snapped at him, sounding more impatient than I wanted. I hated that he was getting to me and hated even more that he knew he was and it only seemed to amuse him. "People to lead, a war to fight, a country to govern?"

"Not tonight," Ulfric said looking up at the cloudless sky. "Tonight I'm free," he said and he spoke the last word with such reckless longing that I couldn't help but turn to face him. His chin was lifted and his eyes were upturned to the clear night sky above us. The stars overhead were stunning, my breath came in a puff of white as the auroras danced. I opened my mouth to say something but stopped, staring up in awe.

Ulfric took a step closer to me, but I barely noticed as I watched the beautiful colors paint across the sky. He was only inches away and close enough I could feel his heat in the cold night air. "I have always thought our night sky to be one of the most beautiful in Skyrim," Ulfric observed. "I think it has to do with the cold."

I opened and closed my mouth a few times but didn't know what to say. I was fighting to hang on to my anger, but staying mad at Ulfric was absolutely useless when he wouldn't fight back. Instead he just chose to ignore it and move past it like he did everything else he didn't like.

Ulfric lowered his chin to look down at me and caught my eye. I swallowed as his intense ice blue eyes bore into mine. I tried not to think about the dance we had shared earlier that night. It already felt like such a long time ago, and yet I remembered exactly the way his hands had felt. I tried to look away and his hand came up and the tips of his fingers touched my jaw gentle as a whisper.

"Ulfic-" I started to say but there was another scuffle of movement behind us.

We whirled together once more. We were both on edge. This time a young woman came around the corner. Her eyes widened as she saw us although her entire focus was on Ulfric. "My Jarl," she said and she curtsied quickly in surprise.

Ulfric nodded back imperiously but said nothing. He had already wrapped himself in the emotionless mask of leadership his position required. The young woman bit back a smile and hurried away. I felt a blush heating my cheeks. Nothing had happened, but the rumors would be spreading through Windhelm by morning. She disappeared quickly around the corner. I didn't want to think about what had almost happened, what may have happened. What maybe a small part of me had hoped was about to happen...

I couldn't quite meet Ulfric's gaze.

"Freyja," Ulfric started to say and his voice was soft once more, so different from how he spoke to his subjects.

"Go back to your palace Jarl," I said bitterly and I spun away from him, disappearing into the darkness.

He didn't follow me, for which I was incredibly thankful. Instead I wandered the streets angry at myself for being charmed by the Jarl of Windhelm. I would never hear the end of the rumors. The best I suppose I could hope for was that no one would know I was the Dragonborn. If the rumors were only about a young Nord noblewoman than Ulfric would have to deal with the fall out. The thought of being a thorn in Ulfric's side cheered me up considerably.

I was moving through the Stone Quarter approaching the empty market stalls when I saw movement in front of me. It took me too long to realize what I was seeing. The young woman who had spotted us was being attacked by a hooded man.

I pulled the slim dagger from my boots and ran for them. I kicked the man back and the woman's body hit the ground like a sack of potatoes. The man spun towards me and slashed at me with his knife. I hissed as the knife sliced across my abdomen. Had I been wearing my armor it wouldn't have mattered. The beautiful blue dress however was quickly soaked in blood.

I kicked the man's knee sideways and he shouted in pain. I whipped my knife across his throat, feeling it bite into the skin, and then planted the blade in his heart just to be sure. He fell to the ground, dead.

I stepped back, and drew in a shuddering breath as pain radiated through my body. I pressed a hand against my stomach and used the toe of my boot to push back the man's hood. It was Calixto.

I tightened my jaw, angry at myself. I should have known. Had I not been so distracted by Ulfric I would have listened to my instincts and done...what? I sighed. There was nothing I would have done differently. Certainly Calixto had made me uncomfortable but I had never imagined he was The Butcher.

I bent down over the young woman's body, but she too was already dead. Old habits died hard and I quickly searched Calixo's pockets. He only had a small amount of gold and I palmed a key from his pocket as a voice called from behind me.

"Hey you!" a guard called as he ran towards us. It didn't look good. I was standing holding a weapon over two bodies. I only hoped the fact that I looked like a slight female would stop the guard from attacking me without question.

I was grateful to see it was the young guard I had spoken to the night before. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to recognize me without my armor. His eyes widened as he saw the bodies at my feet.

I lifted my chin authoritatively. "You there," I said. "The Butcher is dead," I told him and I motioned to Calixto. "I stopped him."

The guard looked from me to the bodies on the ground. "You were at the feast tonight," he said.

I nodded, although I didn't remember seeing him there. I was a little ashamed at that. It was important to notice everyone regardless of station, and this particular guard had been kind to me. Once again Ulfric had distracted me.

The young guard frowned down at me for a moment and I could see him taking in my height and perhaps the sound of my voice. "It's good you were here," he finally said. There was noise coming up the quarter. "Why don't you head up to the palace and let Jorlief know what happened. Get yourself cleaned up...and covered up," he added and he winked at me. "We don't need to make a scene, eh Dragonborn?" he asked in a low voice.

I flashed him a grateful smile but hesitated a moment, staring down at the woman I had failed to save. "What was her name?" I asked gently.

"Arivanya," the guard said.

"Arivanya," I repeated, looking down at the Altmer woman. I lifted my eyes back to the young guard. "I'll remember her," I promised.

"That would be good," the guard agreed.

And I would. She would be added to the list of names of the people I wasn't able to save.

I slipped away into the darkness. I needed to head to the Palace of the Kings, tell what had happened and see a healer, but the weight of Calixto's key in my pocket was too great to ignore.

Instead, I found myself heading back to his house. I unlocked the door and stepped into the dimly lit room. The pain in my abdomen was beginning to radiate through my whole body and I knew I only had so long before the need to see a healer became emergent. I pressed a hand against the shallow cut and tightened my jaw against the pain. I had certainly suffered worse.

I searched the house and it didn't take me long to find a chest upstairs. There was dried blood flaking around the lock and I opened it. Inside were two more journals and bloodied rags. I flipped through the journals and they had enough information to be considered a confession that even Ulfric couldn't argue.

I had all the proof I needed to back up the killings and headed back to bring the information to Jorlief. With the journals under one arm, I pressed the other against the pain in my abdomen. I blinked back against the bright lights as I stepped into the Palace of the Kings. I was shaking as I stepped into the large room. There was no one in sight and I headed to the kitchens where I knew Jorlief often rested.

He woke with a start and I handed him the journals. "The Butcher is dead," I told him exhaustedly.

"Freyja!" He exclaimed in shock as he looked down at me. He shoved the journals aside and reached out to grasp my arm.

Now that I was in the light I looked down at myself and realized that Calixto's knife had cut deeper than I realized. The whole front of the dress was covered in blood. I pressed a hand against the wound and grimaced when my hand came back covered in blood. It didn't really hurt as badly as it should have though.

"I-" I started to say and my head spun as black spots appeared in my vision.

Jorlief grabbed my arm and helped me down into a chair by the fire. Despite the warmth of the blaze I was shivering. Jorlief tossed the journals aside carelessly. "Stay here," he ordered and he ran from the room shouting.

I leaned back into the chair and let my eyes droop closed. I was so tired.

"Freyja!" I heard someone else exclaim and it was followed by a long string of curses. I felt large warm hands grasp my shoulders and I collapsed forward into his soft wolf skin cloak as everything went black.

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Hope you enjoyed the update!