Queen of the Blue Palace
"Don't fret. Ulfric's always been a man given too much to his passions. It will show in his fighting, and when he does, I'll pounce" muttered Torygg, High King of Skyrim as one of his attendants helped latch Torygg's last piece of armor on.
Elisif looked on worriedly as she smoothed one of the folds of Torygg's robe that draped off the back of his armor, glancing across the courtyard to the opposing entourage as Ulfric and his lieutenant stood grimly staring at them.
"Please...isn't...isn't there some..other way" she muttered quietly to Torygg, not wanting anyone else to hear, lest they think of them as some sort of cowards.
"Darling...we've been through this" Torygg spoke softly as he turned to catch her eye.
"It's just..." Elisif gulped, trying not to let the terror that was rising inside her creep into her voice.
"Hey..." Torygg dismissed his attendant with a wave of his hand before bringing her chin up to face him with a gentle caress "Don't you be underestimating me too. We've worked too hard to be going back to that. You just wait and see. You've nothing to fear. Skyrim will even stronger once I finish this" He smiled reassuringly at her.
Elisif nodded silently, catching the patient determination in his eyes that was so typical of him when set with a task before him.
She faked a reassuring smile back at him before turning, gathering her skirts up a little and climbing the stairs into the makeshift stand set up for the occasion.
As she sat down and observed the scene in front of her, she felt a brief swell of pride watching Torygg march out into the middle, decked in the finest Dwarven Steel armor and a resplendent fur cloak billowing in the wind slightly behind him.
Then she caught sight of Ulfric again and her heart sank.
The man was out of control. How dare he come to their city and challenge Torygg in such a fashion without a single word of warning or diplomacy?
The look in his eyes was not displeasure, or even anger, like the sort of look she remembered in his eyes during the Moot when he'd chided all the Jarls for continuing to support the Empire.
No, the look in his eyes now was cold, calculating...murderous, and it terrified Elisif in a way nothing else in her life had.
She knew Torygg had practiced his fighting some, but he'd never even been in any real fighting and even during sparring matches spent most of his time moving around avoiding blows. He usually would just spend all his time evading until the moment he deemed the right one, then he would lunge in and attack.
Elisif was no expert in the ways of warfare, but something about it made her feel like Torygg would stand no chance against the seasoned veteran that Ulfric was known to be, having fought in the Great War and driven the Forsworn back.
As Torygg and Ulfric approached each other and someone made an announcement about the reasons for the duel, Elisif briefly closed her eyes and made hurried prayers to whatever gods she could think of at the moment, hoping that her fears were unfounded.
She opened her eyes to see the two in the middle of the courtyard, drawing their weapons and taking up a stance.
Elisif quickly scooted to the edge of her seat, as though her being nearer could will Torygg to victory.
Then something unexpected happened. Ulfric seemed to lunge forward, chest out and face forward, very exposed for someone in a duel.
"FUS!"
A roar burst forth from Ulfric and a wave of force thundered into the shocked Torygg who was thrown backward as everyone could hear the cracks of bone in the unfortunate King's body from the force of whatever Ulfric did.
"NNNNOOOOOOOOOOO!" Elisif heard someone screaming repeatedly, her eyes fixed on the broken, fallen form of Torygg as she felt herself moving from her seat and rushing down the stairs as Ulfric advanced on him.
"NNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Elisif realized it was her that was screaming as she reached the bottom of the courtyard in time to look up at Ulfric standing over Torygg, who wasn't moving at all.
She felt as if she was moving in slow motion, briefly shaking off a guard that tried to stop her from entering the ring.
This was all wrong. It was impossible.
She saw Ulfric raising his longsword.
"NNNOOOOOOOOOOO!" she screamed one last time as she saw the sword come down with what should have been a clang against the courtyard cobblestones, but instead it was a thud of steel cutting flesh that rang fresh screams from Elisif as she froze in horror, watching transfixed as Ulfric reached down and picked up Torygg's head!
Elisif didn't remember much after that. Later, Erdi told her that she had fainted. What little she did remember going in and out of consciousness was chaos, half laying on some chairs on the stands as people all around shouted indecipherable things at Ulfric and each other.
She remembered Falk Firebeard calling to get the Legion and someone else for arrests to be made as the sounds of horse hoofs clopping across the cobblestones echoed in the courtyard.
That had been a year ago to the day.
Imperial City, present time.
Elisif tried to focus on the furnishings of the room to keep her mind from the more painful memory of Torygg's death.
As she sat observing the tapestries and sculptures in the palatial waiting room of the Redoran estate, she couldn't help but notice there was simply too much red and black in everything.
As she pondered the reasons for this, the doors burst open and Colin Redoran, King of Morrowind strode in, clad in the same armor he wore to Council meetings.
While he still possessed the same bony eyebrow ridges common to the dark elves, his face wasn't as gaunt or ravaged by foul magic as other dunmer that Elisif had seen, though there was a barely decipherable scar from a blade slice that ran from his left cheekbone down to just above his jawline.
At somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 years old, he was in the prime of life for a dark elf and Elisif was reminded again of his martial prowess as well as the diplomatic and perhaps devious tact he had to have shown to be the King of Morrowind and current Arena Champion.
After closing the doors, he had marched right past Elisif and eyeballed around the room momentarily before scanning out the window across the vast gardens that they overlooked.
"You're certain you were not followed?" Redoran asked as he leaned against a column by the window and eyed Elisif carefully.
"We made several circuits of different city sections to ensure no one was following" Elisif tried to sound calm, unsure if his scrutinizing her up and down was for more than precautionary reasons.
"You should do the same when you depart to...wherever you're staying" Redoran answered, still fixing her with an uncomfortably scrutinizing gaze.
Elisif nodded before slightly clearing her throat and launching into the discussion she thought was the reason for her being there.
"I presume you wish to know more about the Dragonborn in Skyrim"
"Yes, but not from you" Redoran replied nonchalantly.
"Then...what is this about?" Elisif asked, surprised and a little insulted.
"You showed a lot of fire at the last Council meeting, more than anything we'd seen before" Redoran continued as if Elisif hadn't asked the question.
"I've finished mourning my husband" Elisif replied quietly, but with determination as the memories momentarily returned.
"Reasons aside, it's about time someone showed some fire to get things done" Redoran peaked out the window momentarily as if something had caught his attention.
For a moment, Elisif was going to ask him about who exactly he didn't think had enough fire and why, but figured it was more important to figure out exactly what he wanted first.
As she had been silently contemplating, Redoran had slowly withdrawn a bow that Elisif had thought was only decorative from a display and two arrows with it.
"What are you-?" was all she got out in surprise before Redoran shushed her as he crept over to the edge of the window.
Quickly, he knocked an arrow and fired at something below, his arrow finding its mark as Elisif heard a thud and a cry of pain from below.
Rushing to the window ledge, she looked down to see a plainly dressed Dunmer man writhing in pain between the hedges, the arrow sticking through his abdomen.
"Wh-what was that for?" exclaimed Elisif in surprise as several other Dunmer wearing the Redoran crests on their armor appeared from below them and ran to the writhing Dunmer, picking him up and carrying him away against his protests.
"What do you mean, 'what was that for'?" Redoran scowled at her "He was obviously a spy. No one's supposed to be down there, much less anyone trying to get to the walls at this time of day."
"Is-is that c-common for you?" Elisif tried to regain her composure as Redoran strode back inside the room and replaced the bow and remaining arrow.
"Politics are a never ending game. Thinking you've won only sets you up to lose the next round" Redoran eyed her gruffly again from the bow display as she walked back inside and resumed her seat.
Elisif opened her mouth to resume the discussion before they'd been interrupted, but Redoran cut her off.
"Speaking of spies, that brings me to why I asked you here. You were quite passionate at the Council meeting but lacking in a lot of...relevant information"
"Are you implying I am uninformed?" Elisif bristled again at the apparent disrespect that seemed callously tossed her way.
"You are in the middle of a civil war? no? You plan on being the next regent of Skyrim? no?" Redoran continued, again not answering her question.
Elisif simply nodded yes, clamping down the outrage she felt at being treated like a child.
"And yet, where are your spies?" asked Redoran as he leaned against a pillar and crossed his arms over his heavy armored chest.
"The ones we had when the war started mostly went to Ulfric's side and the couple that didn't either were exposed and slain by Ulfric or fled Skyrim for fear of the same fate. Since then, I've relied on the Legion's scouts and spies."
"The Legion's spies?" Redoran looked at her incredulously "And you wonder why you have trouble keeping Tullius' leash short?"
"Did you only ask me here to berate my efforts? What do you want?!" Elisif snapped.
"I can offer you a network of the best spies available. Spies of House Redoran, planted in Skyrim and would answer to you, not the Legion or any other of the Jarls."
"Wh-why?" Elisif asked, surprised again.
"To aid, of course. I cannot send any troops. The Nords would never countenance an army of dunmer within their borders and anyone on the fence about the war would surely be pushed to Ulfric's side" Redoran replied, finally showing a wry smirk.
"And what do you ask for in exchange?" Elisif queried.
"The same benefits you do, access to knowledge about what's going on in Skyrim"
"Why would you want to?"
"I need to find out about the Dragonborn, remember? Also, Ulfric's forces have encroached into Redoran lands a number of times in the recent months, raiding supplies and weapons. Then there is also the way he treats the Dunmer in his own city of Windhelm, walling them off like vermin and mistreating any request they make."
Elisif couldn't shake the feeling of apprehension to just agreeing carte blanche to his request, but she knew he was right about needing spies and by extension, knowledge about what was going on.
While Dunmer weren't widely trusted or agreeable in Skyrim, at least no one would suspect any of them for being spies for Elisif, and she could probably imagine them getting deep into Ulfric's territory without trouble.
"Fine, I agree to your...assistance then" Elisif replied after a long silence "But I'll need details and I would like a say in what objectives these...spies seek out"
"Of course" Redoran replied smoothly, making Elisif worry even more that she'd made a mistake "It will take me a few days to set things up, but I will contact you again to give you the details. Now, if you'll excuse me. I think I have an enemy spy to interrogate"
Redoran bowed slightly and departed.
Later that evening, at the estate of her good friend Janora Umbranox, Elisif carefully slid her robe and small clothes off and gently stepped down into a large pool-like tub of warm goat's milk and gently sat down opposite of Janora, who was lounging on the far side.
"Ahhhh, I had forgotten how good this felt" Elisif sighed as Janora took a sip from a bottle of something on the edge.
After a moment of silence while Elisif closed her eyes and rested her head on the edge of the pool, Janora piped up.
"Sooo? How did it go?"
"Aahhh, just when I'd started to forget my troubles" Elisif sighed contentedly.
"It can't have been that long since you bathed in goat's milk. You were the one that put me on to this sumptuous practice" Janora replied, taking another sip from the bottle.
"Well, when your province is at war, goat's milk baths are a luxury even I can't afford anymore" Elisif answered before yawning.
"Don't worry. Soon enough the Legions will win a decisive victory and start pushing Ulfric back" Janora tried to reassure her.
"Will they?" Elisif glumly replied "So far, it's just been a stalemate. One win..one loss. We gained something, but wait, we lost such and such place" she continued in her best mock Tullius voice.
"And did your meeting with Colin Redoran help change that?"
"It's a step in the right direction, I think"
"How so?"
"I've agreed to help implant a number of his spies into Skyrim. They report to me and I control the objectives of their missions."
Janora sat up slightly and almost knocked the bottle she'd been drinking off the edge.
"Why would he do that?"
"Presumably, to get information of his own about Ar-uh-the Dragonborn and Ulfric's forces"
"And you believe him?"
"Not entirely, but I do NEED spies of my own, not to mention if he wanted spies in Skyrim, he could probably have done it on his own without any of our knowledge. We know Karis already has spies there."
"Karis has spies everywhere, Elle" Janora grinned "The latest joke is that she doesn't have any subjects left in Skingrad because they've all been scattered everywhere as spies"
"Pshhh" Elisif snorted in disgust "At least when she says something in the Council, she doesn't have to shout and pound the table for people to pay attention."
"Oh my, Elisif, are you jealous of the woman in rags?" Janora chided her jokingly.
"Just because I'm not some powerful sorcerer or fighter..." grumbled Elisif.
"Honey, we let the powerful sorcerers and fighters do the work we need while we sit back and give orders. It's what it means to be a noble."
"But no one wants to do what I ask or even tell me anything!" Elisif retorted sharper than her friend deserved, sending waves lapping around the pool as she sat up suddenly.
"Then make them want to" Janora answered after Elisif had bowed her head in apology.
Elisif looked up pleadingly at Janora's brown eyes twinkling a hint of mischievousness.
"Come now, Elle. We've talked about this before. All men want three things: coin, sex, and power. Just figure out how to get them those things or make them THINK they're getting those things and people will start listening."
"Right now, the only thing men think when they see me, is the sex part" Elisif sighed.
"Well, it's a start" Janora mused as she took another swig.
Elisif scowled at her for a moment before Janora smirked back.
"I didn't say you had to whore yourself away to everyone, but the fact that you're desirable can be played to your advantage"
Elisif looked down at the tips of her breasts poking up through the surface of the goat's milk, absentmindedly stroking over her right nipple sticking out above the surface.
Desirable, yes, but who did she WANT to desire her. Even as she thought about it, the memories of her and the Dragonborn in the pool below the castle came roaring back and once again she was naked and half immersed in the green glowing water, clutching Arn's muscled torso with her arms and legs while he slowly pushed into her as she threw her head back in ecstasy.
Though she wanted to sink deeper in the memory as she deliberately tried to sink herself deeper in the goat's milk, she became aware Janora had said something.
"Gods! You're getting aroused. Aren't you?" she giggled
"No...no I'm not" Elisif lied, quickly sitting up and hoping Janora didn't notice how her body had begun responding to the memories.
"Come on...who is it? Who's got your womanly parts all in a bother?"
"Someone far away who can't help me" Elisif huffed in response after an awkward silence.
"Well, you'll have to find a way to get them closer...or pick a new lover. I do have connections..." Janora muttered slyly.
"I have more important things on my agenda for the next week" Elisif sighed, knowing Janora wouldn't let it go.
"I'm sure we can work in a few plays or parties...maybe even host one of our own. You have to get yourself out there if you want people to remember who you are or pay any attention to you" Janora continued undaunted.
"Yeah...maybe" Elisif sulked, realizing the goat's milk was rapidly losing it's warmth.
Author's notes:
1. Originally meant for this to be in the "He is the Dragonborn" story, but felt it would be too disjointed to be sometimes jumping back and forth and would likely leave some characters grossly underdeveloped. Having said that, there's a high probability that there will be chapters that end up the same in both stories.
2. Being a guy, I have at times been terrified of writing from a woman's perspective since I have often observed characters that are poorly written because the author has no idea that different genders think/feel/react to things differently, but I decided to bite the bullet and do it because I would never get any better at it without practice.
3. Don't expect the same actiony sequences in this fic. It will be a lot more political drama than action.
4. The cover image is Elisif from the Avelyn or Elisif mod by Aberin on Nexus, though I think the hair color should be a little more auburn instead of complete blonde, but I couldn't find an image of an Elisif that fit both the physical qualities and the hair I thought she should have.