Eriah Quintence stood in the Palace of the King's great hall. Ulfric Stormcloak had died early that morning, after ruling Skyrim as High King and successfully defending the province's independence from the Aldmeri Dominion. He was lying in state, his hands folded on his chest, as if he was only sleeping. The Jagged Crown remained on his head but it would soon pass to his heir. Eriah was in a black dress and her face was devoid of emotion as she beheld her King and former commander. She, too, was older now. She was well into her sixties and was done with her travels. She had come all the way from Solitude with her family to pay her respects to the man she had fought for. Farkas and their two children had already paid their respects and they had left her there to continue her vigil. The Dragonborn was grateful for her husband's understanding. He knew that her heart had remained torn between him and the late High King. Farkas was as confident as ever that her love for him had been first in her thoughts and he was right. But they both knew that now with Ulfric gone, Eriah needed time to process how she was feeling now. Past regrets welled up in Eriah's soul and she could hear the cruel laughter of Miraak in her ears.
His soul had been dormant for decades and Eriah wasn't sure if she was actually hearing him or if her mind was just messing with her. Either way, she found her eyes growing bleary as she choked back sobs. "My King...I pray your soul is at peace in Sovngarde but I feel like I'm drowning." she choked out. She reached out and brushed her fingers across his brow. She had never touched him this way in life. The only ones who know she had harbored love for Ulfric Stormcloak was herself and Farkas. At least in the physical world. Eriah was quite sure the Divines and quite a number of Daedric Princes did, too. Now he was gone and she felt her soul cruelly twist as she struggled to cope with the fact she had outlived him. Her words died in her throat as her knees gave out and she collapsed before the stone table. Her hands were braced against it as she let out her sorrow. Her mourning was just a drop in the sea of sadness that swept across Skyrim as news traveled to each corner of the province. There was no shame in openly grieving the loss of a great man.
Eriah managed to pull herself together enough to get to her feet, though she still leaned against the stone table for support. "I wish...I wish I had told you how I felt, Ulfric. Though I don't regret how my life has turned out and I know how deep my love for Farkas goes, my greatest regret is that I never gathered the courage to tell you. I know you saw me as a close friend and fellow veteran of our two wars. I know you didn't see me the way I saw you. I loved you. I always have. Until I learned how much I love Farkas, you were the one I cherished most in my heart. It is wrong of me to love two men. I know this but I can't help myself. With you gone, I feel a hole in my heart. I dread what will become of me if I outlive Farkas. I...I don't think I could live without him. My love for him is deep and true. But the fact that I loved you just as deeply remains true. I can only pray for your forgiveness, my King. It was so wrong of me to harbor these feelings. I hope that my restraint these past decades is enough to absolve me in the eyes of the Divines." she said.
She didn't hear Samuel, her grown son, enter the Palace. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. As he beheld his mother at the side of the High King, he felt his anger at her subside a bit. He had overheard her conversation with his father as a lad. He knew of her feelings for the man lying dead before her now and his anger had festered over the years. Still, Samuel was not without compassion. His heart ached to see his proud, strong mother so emotionally drained and devastated over the loss of a close friend. She had been like this only once before when his Uncle Vilkas passed on. Samuel wondered if there was a place in Sovngarde for Imperials such as himself. He had lived in Skyrim his whole life and he had been raised in the Nordic way of life ever since he was adopted. In his family, he was the only one who wasn't a Nord. Still, he had the heart of one. His father had said so. Despite his own feelings regarding his mother's emotional attachment to a man who wasn't her husband, Samuel resolved to give her his strength. Now wasn't the time for him to feel animosity. He, too grieved at the loss of the King. He never denied that Ulfric was a great man and he became a soldier in hopes of serving him. Despite being an Imperial, Samuel's thoughts on the Civil War were aligned with the Stormcloak cause. His anger flared a bit when Eriah kissed Ulfric's cheek but he wrestled it down and opened the door. He closed it without leaving, to give the illusion he had just arrived.
Eriah looked over her shoulder to see her grown son standing there, tall and proud in his armor. "Samuel..." she said. He approached and wrapped his arms around her. She held onto him as if he were her lifeline in a stormy sea. "The hour is late. Father and Sofie are waiting. Are you ready to leave or do you need more time?" he asked. Eriah just sighed as a couple tears hit his armor. "I'm ready." she said, quietly. Samuel guided her to the door where Farkas and Sofie had entered. The aged Farkas took Eriah from him and held her tightly to his chest. Sofie, also teary, leaned against her mother's back. "I'll be at Hjerim in a moment, Father. There's something I need to do here." he said. "Sure thing, son. See you at home." Farkas replied, wrapping his other arm around his daughter and leading them both out. Samuel waited until the door closed before closing the distance between himself and Ulfric. As he paid his own respects, the Imperial came to the conclusion that he didn't actually didn't fault Ulfric for the duality of his mother's heart. He had never known that the Dragonborn had felt the way she did. "My King...Mother grieves heavily for your loss. I sometimes wonder if life would've been different if she had actually spoken up about her feelings for you years ago. It was an honor to serve you and I can only hope Mother comes to terms with your passing. I'm not proud of how she's carried her longing for you into her marriage with my father but still, I swear to Talos I will give her strength. One day, though. One day, I will confront her on it." he swore. Fist over his heart, Samuel bowed his head. "May the blessings of the Divines guide your soul, King Ulfric. If my heritage as an Imperial bars me from Sovngarde, then I will live the remainder of my life in the true Nordic way." he said before departing the Palace to rejoin his family.