Vilkas

"Any sign of them?" I asked Eirik as I came down from the Underforge and into the broken watchtower. We had been expecting Ylva's rescue party back for the past two days, but so far, they had not shown. I was beginning to fear the worst.

Eirik shook his head, just as anxious as I was, although for different reasons. These people were his friends, his family, once upon a time, and he was worried for their safety. "No, but if Ylva was hurt by the Thalmor—which she probably was—they may be taking their time to get back. She probably can't ride hard and fast in her condition."

I clenched my teeth and nodded. He was right. Ylva was more than likely a victim of the Thalmor's torture, and as such, would not be able to handle a hard horseback ride.

We waited. And waited. And waited. I paced back and forth, chewing my lip raw, as Eirik remained planted at the watchtower's entrance, eyes plastered to the horizon. Perhaps it was not that much time, but it felt like an eternity. I just wanted to see my wife again, to hold her and make sure she was all right. Was that too much to ask?

Then, at the sound of hooves clip-clopping over the ground, I raced to the tower's entrance to investigate. Three black horses trotted up the grassy hill towards the watchtower, carrying four figures cloaked in black. The horse in the middle, the one with two people on its back, rode ahead, and the person in front lowered their—her—hood.

Ylva.

There she was, in all of her beauty. Her cheeks were sunken, her eyes shadowed by purple circles, her hair wild, but she was alive. That was all that mattered to me.

"Vilkas!" she cried as I raced towards her. She threw off the furs bundled around her shoulders and slid off the saddle, straight into my arms. I held her, buried my face in her hair, and took in her scent. Gods, how I missed her scent. The intoxicating aroma of fir trees and mountain flowers. It was her. She was here, with me. She held me as I held her.

"Oh, my love..." she breathed against my neck.

"Dear one," I said as I pulled back to look at her face. Tears sparkled in her bright eyes. It was then that I noticed the streak of snow-white hair falling from its place behind her ear. I curled it around my finger and shook my head. "What have they done to you?"

She said nothing, choosing instead to bury her face in my chest.

Then, still holding her to me, I reached into my satchel and grabbed the three coin purses that contained the rest of the thieves' payment for the job. It was not easy to get the extra five-hundred septims that they wanted, but I managed. It was worth it. "The rest of your payment, as promised," I said as I handed Brynjolf the gold.

Ylva looked up, eyes going wide at the amount of gold I passed to the thief. "Vilkas—"

"Hush, Ylva. It's all right."

The red-headed thief studied the coin purses, weighing them in his hands, before tossing them to Femke. She set them in her saddle bags, then retrieved a bulging satchel. She handed it to Brynjolf, and he handed it to me.

"The rest of her gear," explained Femke with a nod of her head. "Don't suppose you need us anymore."

I shook my head as I pulled the satchel onto my back. "Thank you for bringing her home."

The thieves shared a look, then each gave me a salute and turned their horses around. With a command from Femke, the trio trotted away.

For a moment, Etienne turned his head around, glanced at Eirik, then grinned. "See you around, friend."

Eirik nodded and waved. "Shadows preserve you!"

When they were gone, I turned back to my wife, who remained crumpled against my chest. Without a word, I scooped her into my arms and clutched her close to my body. "It's okay now, Ylva," I said as I gently kissed her scalp. "You're home."

She hid her face in the side of my neck and said nothing, only holding onto me tighter.

It was not like her to be so quiet. "Love?"

"Not now, Vilkas. Please. Just take me to see our babies."

The twins. Of course. I kissed her temple before turning on my heel and carrying her towards the watchtower. Everyone would be happy to see her, but she wouldn't be able to handle too many visitors at the moment. I would just have to watch over her and be sure she wasn't becoming too stressed.

"Eirik, run ahead and tell the group I have Ylva," I said as we made our way into the Underforge's hall. "Make sure they know not to be too loud or wild. Also, make sure this doesn't get to Marina or Ulfric yet. She has to recover before we focus on the war."

"Ulfric's here?" asked Ylva. "Why?"

"Not now, love," I said, holding her closer to my body.

"But—"

"Rest first. That's an order."

She relented, once again burying her face into my neck and hugging me close.

That was when I knew how bad everything was. For Ylva to just give up without a fight.... This wasn't like her.

When I stepped into Jorrvaskr, I stepped into silence. Everyone in the dining hall, frozen, mouths agape and eyes wide. Eirik stood closest to me, watching the others to make sure they did not rush towards us or startle Ylva in any way.

Then, with tears in her eyes, Tyra broke from her trance and quietly walked towards us. I let Ylva down easily, but kept my hand on her elbow for support. Tyra wrapped her arms around Ylva and held onto her as though her life depended on it. "You're home," she whispered, voice cracking. "You're home."

One by one, the rest of the Companions stepped forward to lay their hands on Ylva's shoulders, pat her on the back, or, like Tyra, hug her. Whispers of astonishment, joy, and shock spread through the group as everyone realized that Ylva was back. After everything that had happened, after all the worry and fear and pain we as a whole endured, it was over. We had our Harbinger back.

I had my wife back.

After everyone had pulled back, I picked Ylva back up to take her downstairs where the children were napping. They should be waking up soon.

"Was that too much?" I asked her as we, along with Farkas and Tyra, descended the stairs.

"No," she whispered. "No, it wasn't."

"Good."

Farkas pushed the door open for me, and we stepped into the hallway downstairs. As we drew closer to the children's bedroom, Ylva's grip on me tightened, and her breathing became shallow. Was she afraid?

"What's wrong, love?"

"I don't want to scare the children."

"You won't. They'll be so happy to see you. They won't care about how you look. They've missed you too much for that."

With no warning, her shoulders quaked, and a sound like a sob escaped her. "I'm so sorry, Vilkas."

I stopped, brow furrowing. "Sorry? What in the world are you sorry for?"

"For leaving you. For getting captured. For making you worry. I promised I would be safe, and I—"

I shushed her. "Look at me."

With a second's hesitation, she pulled her face away from my neck and looked at me. Her eyes sparkled like sapphires, the tears dancing on the edge of her eyelashes.

I leaned down and kissed her for just a moment, then pulled back to press my forehead to hers. "Do not apologize, Ylva. It's all right. You're here now, and that is all that matters."

As we stood outside the children's room, I set Ylva down and told her to wait until I made sure the children were awake. I opened the door to the room and stepped inside. Both of the children were awake, though they had not been that way long. They were still blinking sleep out of their eyes.

"Papa?" asked Jergen. "What's..." He paused to yawn, "going on?"

"I have a surprise for you two," I said, barely able to keep the smile off my face. "Close your eyes."

They did as I said, putting their heads in their hands.

Grinning, I took Ylva's hand and pulled her gently into the room with me. She had a weak smile on her face, but her eyes were bright with excitement. I helped her kneel down, and I dropped to one knee next to her. "Jergen, Embla, open your eyes."

They did, and as one, they leapt off their beds and raced towards Ylva. "Mama!" they cried in unison, rushing straight into her open arms.

Ylva held them with all her might, kissing their foreheads over and over. "Oh, my babies. My sweet babies." She pulled away from them for just a moment, gazing down at their tearstained faces as she cried as well. "Look at you. Just look at you."

"We missed you, Mama," said Embla as she wiped her runny nose on her sleeve. "We missed you so much!"

"And I missed you." Ylva pulled them into her chest, pressing more kisses to the crowns of their raven heads. "Come here, my little pups."

"Don't leave ever again, Mama," said Jergen. "Ever, ever, ever."

"I won't, my darling. I'll always be here with you."

I wrapped my arms around every one of them, kissing Ylva on the lips as we held one another. Finally, after weeks apart, we were all together again. We were safe and sound. I wasn't even aware of my own tears flowing down my face until Ylva reached to wipe them away. I kissed her palm as she did so, then tightened my hold around my family. My two precious children and my wife, all in my arms, where nothing could harm them.

"Welcome home, my love," I whispered into Ylva's hair as she stroked one hand over Embla's curls. I cupped the back of her head in my hand and brought her in for another kiss. I could worry about her condition later. For now, all that mattered to me was that she was safe. For now, I could let tomorrow take care of itself. I had more important things on my mind.

"It's good to be home," she whispered back against my lips, the faintest hint of a smile on her face. "I'm so glad to be back."

"We're glad you're back, Mama," said Jergen.

I chuckled at the boy, the joy within my soul overflowing. "Yes, we are, son." I pulled them all close to me and smiled down upon them. "We are glad."