Happy Reading!

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When I woke Jora was standing over me. I blinked in confusion and it took me a moment to realize I was laying in a bed in one of the guest rooms upstairs in Ulfric's palace. The last memory I had was the smell and feel of Ulfric picking me up as I lost consciousness down in the kitchens. Which meant he had carried me unconscious across his palace, again. I huffed out a frustrated breath and flopped back down against the pillow.

"My lady, are you quite all right? Is the pain terrible?"Jora asked in a gentle voice that was laced with concern.

I sighed a second time, frustrated to find myself once again injured in Ulfric's palace. It appeared the knife wound was worse than I realized and in waiting to be healed I had passed out from blood loss. I was never going to hear the end of it.

"The pain in manageable," I assured Jora and it wasn't a lie. I was frustrated with the situation but didn't want the kind healer to think I was angry with her.

"It appears Windhelm does not agree with your constitution Dragonborn," Jora said gently if a little reproachfully.

"You' may be right," I agreed. I moved a little, testing my wound. I grimaced as it pulled painfully with the slightest movement.

"I'm waiting for the healing potion before I close it," Jora said apologetically.

I nodded and pushed myself up on my elbows, gritting my teeth against the pain. The blanket slid down. The beautiful dress was gone and I was left only in my undergarments. My entire stomach was wrapped in bandages, already I could see where the blood was soaking through the clean white linen. I was more hurt than I realized.

The door swung open and a young man rushed in with a red potion bottle in his hand. He held it out to Jora. His eyes flickered to me and widened when he recognized my state of undress. He quickly backed out of the room stammering apologies. I rolled my eyes. There wasn't much to see. The bandages covered most of the exposed skin.

The young man stumbled over his feet in his haste to get out of the room. As he turned to make his escape he slammed into Ulfric's chest as he appeared in the doorway. I feared the young man might wet himself on the spot. Ulfric's face was a cold mask of fury. The young man bowed repeatedly and slid to the side. Once he was free, the door slammed shut behind him.

Ulfric had not taken his eyes off of me the entire time. His rage seemed to fill the room. I quickly looked away, hating that I felt vulnerable and exposed when he got to be mad. I wanted to be mad. I was the one who got stabbed.

"You didn't have to scare him,"
I growled at him. Maybe if I provoked him I could become mad enough that I wouldn't feel vulnerable anymore.

Ulfric's jaw however was set and angry. He said nothing in response.

"It's not his fault I failed to save Arivanya," I growled. "If you're going to be angry with anyone be angry with me."

"Oh I am," Ulfric assured me.

I turned back to Jora. Jora uncorked the bottle and moved to slide her hand behind my shoulders to help, but I waved her off, snatching the bottle from her hand. Pain flared through my stomach and I nearly fell. I set my jaw against it as I drank the entire contents down.

"Lay back," Jora ordered gently.

I did as I was told although my muscles gave out against the onslaught of pain when I was inches from the mattress. I grunted and I could hear Ulfric shift and make a disgusted noise in the back of his throat. If he was here to yell at me he was going to have to wait his turn.

Jora shot me a disapproving look but she didn't say anything. She moved her hands over my stomach and a warm, golden light came from her fingers as she cast a healing spell. I frown as the skin in my stomach warmed and tingled. She stopped and her shoulders rose and fell from the effort of the spell. Then she began again. It took three healing spells to finish and when she was done Jora looked exhausted.

I sat up and reached to unwrap the bandages. Jora helped me with calm, patient hands. Once I was free of the bandage I swung my legs over the side of the bed.

"My lady you should rest," Jora said gently. I ignored her and climbed to my feet any way.

Jora stepped back and stared at me with disapproval shining in her eyes.

I ignored her and looked down at my stomach to survey the damage. The skin was pink and tender but it was healed. It would scar impressively, but I had a whole collection of those. I had stopped being vain about my skin a long time ago.

I could practically feel Ulfric's gaze from the doorway, but in pointedly ignored him as I reached for my clothes. I didn't want to face him in nothing but my undergarments. I snatched up my breeches and shrugged into my loose fitting shirt. I wanted to be wearing my armor when he started yelling.

"I can't," I told her a little sharper than necessary. "I need to go."

In the doorway Ulfric made a sound of frustration in the back of his throat. He turned to face the healer instead of dealing with me directly. At least he was learning.

"Thank you for your help Jora," he said, and he met and held my gaze, proving to me he had listened when I told him her name the last time I had been injured. Now it felt like he had flipped the tables and was shaming me for my  poor manners.

Jora bowed her head respectfully to Ulfric as she slipped out the door. "Thank you Jora," I called after her, although I felt like it was too little too late. I hated that I had been rude to her when she had shown me nothing but kindness the last few days.

I blew out a frustrated sigh and turned back to my armor. I began strapping it on, trying to ignore the large Nord looming menacingly in my doorway. At 6'2" and with a personality that could lead armies, Ulfric wasn't the easiest person to ignore, but I was doing my best. I pulled on my boots and stepped over to my knapsack leaving my cowl and gloves sitting on the table. I began to shove my belongs into the pack.

"Are you really leaving?" Ulfric asked finally.

His voice was deep growl that told me he didn't have as good of a hold on his temper as I had hoped. If Ulfric wanted to fight than we could fight. I was at the end of my patience. Yes, I had failed to save one of his people, but I would have to live with that. He hadn't been stabbed, and I had found the killer.

"I'm sorry about Arivanya," I told him.

"You think that's why I'm upset?" He challenged.

I didn't understand what he meant so I bought myself time to think and stepped over to the blood soaked blue dress I had been wearing earlier that evening. I pulled the couriers note out of the pocket. I shoved it into my knapsack, slipping it inside one of the few books that I bothered to carry.

"I don't pretend to know the mind of a Jarl," I finally settled on saying. It was obviously the wrong thing because he growled in frustration. "But I need to leave," I said without looking up at him.

"You need to heal," Ulfric said tightly.

I scoffed, pulling the cord on my knapsack to close it. "Windhelm has not been terribly good for my health," I snapped a little impatiently. I didn't like Ulfric thinking he could tell me what to do. I pulled on my cowl and my gloves. With the last pieces of armor I felt more confident, like the armor protected me mentally as well as physically.

"And your promise to Wuunferth?" Ulfric prompted.

"I'll just have to explain to him," I muttered. "Sorry about the dress," I added, my voice softening slightly so he would know I was being sincere. "I know it was your mother's."

I swung my knapsack over my shoulder and headed towards the door.

Ulfric shook his head. "I don't care about the damn dress," he said, reaching out and grabbing my arm as I moved to step past him.

I stopped, going very still under his hand. He wasn't hurting me, his hand was loose, not holding, just resting against me as though he were being mindful of his strength. It reminded me of when he touched my face out under the stars and I thought he might kiss me. He stared intently down into my cowl as though he would be able to see through it and tell what I was thinking. I had never been more grateful for the protection of my armor.

"Where are you going?" he asked. He was calmer now, his tone resigned.

I took it as a victory. I snorted and lifted my chin defiantly, wishing for just a second that he could see the defiance in my eyes. "Wherever I want," I told him and I pulled away.

Ulfric growled in his throat but he let me go. "Freyja," he snapped.

I was too petty to not take a certain level of glee seeing him flustered. I had at last broken through that icey mask of control and gotten him to show some emotion. It was more satisfying than I cared to admit.

"Duty calls," I told him stiffly.

"As the Dragonborn?" he pressed. "Or is it Guildmaster or Shield-sister this time? I believe both the Companions and Thieves Guild will be able to function without you for a few more days while you heal."

"I'm healed," I snapped. "And last time I checked I was the only Dragonborn."

Ulfric's jaw ticked as he ground his teeth. I wished it didn't make his features that much more appealing. I quickly looked away.

"At least wait until morning. It is foolish to begin a journey in the middle of the night when you are not yourself."

"Worried I can't handle myself?" I challenged.

Ulfric's jaw ticked again but he said nothing.

"Tell Wuunferth it couldn't be helped, tell him I'll be back, I give him my word."

Ulric's jaw flexed, and I could feel the tension radiating off of him. "So you'll be coming back," he said.

Beneath my cowl I smirked, but I did feel a little bad for pushing his so hard. "You won't get rid of me that easily." I told him and I slipped away mysteriously, pleased with myself for managing to keep at least a small amount of dignity.

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It was the middle of the night by the time I left the palace. Ulfic wasn't wrong. It was a little crazy to set off now instead of waiting until morning, but to be honest if Delphine had gone to the trouble of using a courier she needed me now. I hadn't heard from her in several weeks while she worked out how exactly we were going to get the information we needed. She must have found a way.

I crossed the icy bridge under the dancing auroras and tried not to think too hard about the moment with Ulfric only a couple hours ago. Although it felt like it had been days ago and like it happened to someone else. Now that I was back on the road I felt
much more like myself. It was easier to put what happened in Windhelm behind me with every step I took.

I was glad I had caught the murderer. I felt like I had at least done something to help the people of Windhelm. I wasn't sure what I would have done if I hadn't killed the Butcher tonight. Could I have honestly walked away while I was hunting him, knowing he would continue to kill? Probably not.

It was exactly that type of scenario that made me work to keep a distance between myself and others. I couldn't afford to have my focus divided. I was the Dragonborn. Nothing could get in the way of that. I had managed to squeeze out a life for myself with the Thieves Guild, but no one there expected me to stick around. No one there expected me to show up every day. If I was gone for a couple weeks at a time they all assumed I was out on a job. There was nothing tying me down there. Just like I liked it.

I felt better once I was on the road. It was cold and I set a fast pace to warm up. I headed southwest, towards Riverwood. If I hurried I would be there a little after dawn. I wondered briefly if Delphine would let me catch some sleep before we went on to our Blades business. I doubted it. She was a grueling task master.

The trip was fairly uneventful and the sun was just rising as I stumbled into town. The guards glanced towards me, but didn't acknowledge my presence. I had a lot of friends in Riverwood and the guards had never given my trouble. I had no doubt however that they would be reporting my presence to the Jarl. That was fine with me. Balgruuf and I had adopted similar stances when it came to choosing sides in the war. He was one of the few Jarl's who had let me come and go from his hold even when the Imperials and the Stormcloaks had considered me an enemy.

I climbed the stairs of Dephines establishment, The Sleeping Giant Inn, and pushed the door open. Several of the patrons glanced my way but no one seemed surprised to see me. I frequented Riverwood enough they were no longer excited to meet the Dragonborn.

I stepped into the room to the right of the counter and closed the door behind me, turning the lock. I pulled the bookcase, swinging it open and opened the hidden door behind it. I pulled the bookcase closed behind me, and descended the hidden stairs.

Delphine was bent over her desk in the hidden basement headquarters of the Blades. It wasn't much, just a bed and a desk with a weapons chest in one corner and alchemy lab in the other, but it was safe.

Delphine looked up from her maps. "Where have you been?" she snapped impatiently.

I cocked my head to the side but said nothing. I wasn't going to let her bait me into a fight. She was one of the last surviving members of the ancient order of dragon hunters. The Thalmor had hunted down and murdered the rest so I understood her intensity.

"Well, I suppose you're here now," she huffed and she looked back down at the map in front of her. She was dressed in her armor instead of the inn keeper garb she normally wore to keep up her cover. When she wore a dress and served ale to the good people of Riverwood no one would guess the middle-aged woman was a fierce warrior in hiding.

"Have you heard from your contact?" I asked. I was too tired to deal with Delphine right now. I had pushed myself hard through the night to get here and I didn't appreciate her passive aggressive attitude.

We had been trying to find a way into the Thalmor Embassy for months. We needed to find out what they knew about the return of the dragons. Delphine seemed positive they were behind it but I wasn't so sure. The Thalmor's operated outside the laws of the Empire and their embassy was probably the most secure building in Skyrim and I was going inside.

"Yes, he works in the Thalmor embassy. He told me they have a party coming up. All the who's who of Skyrim will be there. It's the perfect opportunity for you to slip in unnoticed amongst the guests. He has agreed to meet with you. But I warn you, he's scared. Watch your tongue. If you scare him off we won't get another shot at gathering this information."

I blew out a breath. I wasn't that bad. She was acting like I regularly scared away valuable contacts. When in fact I had only done it twice. "Where am I meeting him?" I asked.

"The Winking Skeever in Solitude, he's there every day after work," Delphine said. "Once you meet with him, give him the items you need once inside. Then meet me at the Solitude Stables, I'll have an invitation for you."

"You don't have one yet?" I asked in disbelief.

"I will," she snapped impatient with my questioning her.

I nodded and my eyes fell to the bed sitting in the corner. At this point I would have killed for some sleep.

Delphine shifted impatiently when I didn't immediately head for the door. "Melbourne is waiting," she reminded me sharply.

I nodded and resisted the urge to sigh. "See you soon," I called over my shoulder to her. It was frustrating to have had to come all the way south to Riverwood only to have her sending me up to Solitude. I left the Inn wearily and set off down the road once again.

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