21st of Second Seed, 4E 202

Head pounding, I came to with the sound of sobbing ringing in my ears.

With a groan, I pulled myself into an upright position. I rubbed the aching side of my head, trying to recall what had happened. The Silver Hand had attacked. They came after Ylva and Wuuthrad. They pushed me down the stairs to get past me. Someone had screamed just before I lost consciousness.

Ylva. I had to make sure it wasn't her. Headache forgotten, I shot to my feet and rushed up the stairs. There, I was greeted by a sight I wished I could forget.

Bodies lay everywhere. Silver swords littered the floor, blood soaked into the furniture and rugs, and the stench... it was too much to bear. And that was not even the worst part.

Oh, no. The worst part was seeing my Harbinger lying dead, armor stripped from his body and warhammer abandoned at his side.

"By the Divines, no," I gasped, stumbling to his side. I fell to my knees next to his body, beside Farkas. "No, this cannot be."

"They took Wuuthrad, too," said Farkas, head bowed. I could still tell he had been weeping. His voice was thick, and face was shining.

I looked around the room. Torvar and Aela were missing, but I assumed they were still outside. Athis and Njada were on the far side of the room, speaking in pained whispers. Ria knelt across from Farkas, tears running down her youthful face.

And there was no sign of Ylva.

I turned to Farkas. "Have you seen Ylva? Where is she?"

"I... I don't know. I was so caught up in the fight, I didn't—"

I shot to my feet and began to head towards the stairs. I hoped that they hadn't taken her.

Please be all right.

But before I could reach the stairs, I heard it. Her voice, filled with disbelief. "K... Kodlak?"

I turned, seeing her kneeling at the old man's side. She had her hand pressed to his forehead, her own head bowed.

I gaped at her. If she were here, then where had she been? I couldn't stand not knowing where she had gone, why she hadn't been here for the battle. I strode right up to her and touched her shoulder. I scowled down at her. "Where have you been?"

Letting out a little gasp, her head shot up. "I... I..." She opened and closed her mouth, unable to form words. "What happened here?"

Something caught in my throat, and my scowl started to melt. "One of the fiercest battles I've ever seen. The Silver Hand. They finally found enough courage to attack Jorrvaskr. We fought them off, but..." Again, my throat tightened, and I had to look away. "The old man... Kodlak... is dead."

"I can see that."

I turned my gaze back to her kneeling form. I needed to talk to her alone. Without the anger and adrenaline from battle coursing through me, I was beginning to feel something entirely different. I was beginning to feel relief. "Come with me."

"What?"

"You heard me. Come. Now."

"But, Vilkas—"

"Now!"

She gaped at me in stunned silence, stood up, then grabbed a bloodied sack that was laying on the floor behind her. I motioned for her to follow me downstairs, and she jogged to keep up with my long strides. When we passed it, she darted into her room for a moment, coming back out empty-handed.

I stood at my door, holding it open and waiting. She gave me a quizzical look before ducking under my arm and slipping into my room. I followed just a moment later, closing the door behind me.

"Vilkas, what's this about—"

The relied flooding through my system got the better of me. Knowing that she hadn't been abducted by the Silver Hand, knowing that she wasn't being tortured at this very moment made all the anger I had felt towards her melt away. I wrapped her into my arms, holding her and never wanting to let go. She let out a whimper of pain, and worry stabbed my chest.

"Oh, gods, are you hurt?" I loosened my hold and pulled away. "Where? How badly?"

"Vilkas, what are you doing?" She gave me a confused look. "When I left, you said—"

"Don't remind me of what I said, please. I was wrong. I shouldn't have let my anger control me. But tell me. Are you all right?"

"I was fighting some Hagravens, and one of them clipped me with a fire spell."

Hagravens? That was where she had been? Fighting witches? I was still too relieved to ask why she had been there. "Does it hurt?"

"Like dragon fire, but I'll be okay."

My expression softened. "I've been so worried. When the Silver Hand attacked, I didn't know where you were. I looked for you in the fight, but I couldn't find you. And then they killed—" My voice caught then. "They took all the fragments of Wuuthrad, and I thought they'd made away with you, too."

"You've... you've been worried about me?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You were so angry with me before. I wondered if you would've cared if I'd just walked away."

"Of course I would care."

I could no longer hold myself back. And I did not care if this killed our friendship. I seized the back of her head and pressed my lips to hers.

A strange new warmth spread through my chest and up to my cheeks. Like a long drink of mead, the sensation filled me with a sense of contentment. Her lips were so soft, so sweet.

She let out a gasp, body stiffening against mine. But then, beginning to relax, she kissed me right back. I longed to deepen the kiss, to hold our contact forever, but I knew I couldn't. With great reluctance, I pulled away, staring into her eyes.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

She shushed me. "Don't be."

"Will you forgive me, Ylva? For everything I've done?"

"Of course, Vilkas. Please forgive me for all the lies I've given you."

"What lies?"

She chuckled, and her head fell against my chest. My heart started to beat faster.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?"

She nodded. "Physically, yes. But Kodlak..."

Kodlak. The only man I had known all my life, after Skjor and Jergen, of course. With Kodlak's death, I felt as though I had lost a father. A good friend. I laid my chin to the top of her head. "We will all miss him, Ylva. He was a friend to us all."

"How can we avenge him?"

Revenge may not have been the Companions' way, but I couldn't keep the bloodthirsty thoughts from spinning in my head. "By taking the fight to his murderers." I pulled away from Ylva, my gaze hardening and scowl returning. "You and I must go together. Attack their chief camp. Slaughter all their members. And retrieve Wuuthrad. Bring it back home, where it belongs."

She surprised me by nodding. "Yes, we must."

"But first," I laid my hand to the wound on her side, feeling her burnt flesh radiate heat against my palm. She winced. "We need to take care of this."

"Vilkas—"

"I need you at your best. We're going into the jaws of a dragon, and I can't be worried about you. Please, Ylva. For me."

Gaze filled with reluctance, she nodded.

"We should go to the Temple. Then we'll leave for the Silver Hand camp after."

Again, she nodded.

Her silence was disconcerting. I moved my hand from her side to her cheek, tracing the pad of my thumb along her cheekbone. "It'll be okay, Ylva." I leaned my head forward and pressed my lips to her forehead. "Come on. We need to get some things before we go."

"Vilkas, what about the others? Won't they ask where we're going?"

"If they do, we'll tell them the truth. I doubt anyone will stop us."

I gave her a little nudge, then led her from my room and down the hall to hers.

"Grab what you'll need." My gaze fell to the bloodstained sack by her bed. "What's that?"

"It's nothing." She shrugged, grabbing a satchel. "Just something the old man wanted me to retrieve."

I swallowed. Kodlak, the man I should have been there to protect. The one I was supposed to guard. And I failed.

I ground my teeth. Self-blame was pointless. It wouldn't bring the old man back, and it only hurt me worse. I had a task at hand, and I needed to focus on that.

Ylva slung her full satchel over her shoulder, then secured her sword to her belt. "I'm ready."

I nodded. "Then let's go." I led her out of her room, letting an arm fall to her shoulders. I was surprised she did not push me away.

"I doubt Danica is going to me happy to see me again so soon."

I let out a low chuckle. "Probably not. But she'll understand."

"We adventuring types tend to be a little more reckless. Especially the ones with dragon blood coursing through their veins."

"Now, who would you be talking about, hmm? There are so many of those types of adventurers."

She leaned into me for a moment, laughing. I tried to hide the heat rushing to my cheeks. "Oh, stop it."

When we reached the door leading upstairs, I took my arm off her shoulders, then opened the door for her. We walked upstairs, where everyone was gathered. They all turned to look at us as we walked closer to them. I could hardly meet their worried gazes.

"What are we going to do?" Ria asked, glancing back at Kodlak's body. Tears still marked her face. "They took everything we hold dear."

"No, they didn't," Ylva said. She squared her shoulders, and climbed onto the table, where everyone could see her. Athis and Njada were missing. They may have gone to the Temple, where Athis could be healed.

"Those bandits made off with the fragments of our most sacred artifact, and they killed our Harbinger. They took a lot from us, but they didn't take one thing."

They looked at her with confused expressions.

"They didn't take the fire in our hearts. They can't take that from us so long as we don't let them. We are Companions! We are legacies of the greatest fighter's guild in all of Tamriel! Are we going to let this stop us? Are we all pitiful whelps who turn tail and run at the first sign of trouble? Are we all just pathetic milk-drinkers?"

"No!" we all cried in unison.

"No, we aren't! We are Companions! We will fight! And in the end, we will bring honor and glory to our name!"

Farkas pumped his fist. Aela nodded in approval. Torvar and Ria looked at each other, then raised their fists and shouted. I grinned with pride. What a speech. As if she had been born to lead.

"What will you have us do, Ylva?" Aela asked.

"Vilkas and I are going to take the fight to those cowards. We are going to retrieve the fragments of Wuuthrad, and we're going to restore Kodlak's honor. While we are gone, I want all of you to work and get this place back in order. When we return, we will give Kodlak the funeral he deserves." She climbed off the table, face twisting into a momentary look of pain.

"Brilliant speech," I whispered to her as I helped her walk towards the door. "You inspired them all."

"I hope so," she said with a wince. "We need as much inspiration as we can get right now."

I could almost see the old man smiling on her. "Kodlak would've been proud of that."

That brought a smile to her face.

"You are right. We will restore his honor. And we will bring glory to the Companions' name. The mountains will tremble with our call." I gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder. "And maybe when this is over, you'll be the one to stand at our head, guiding us down the path of honor."

"We can't talk about that now." She pushed the doors open. "We have work to do."

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