It was in the middle of the night when Ulfric finally made his way to his quarters, prepared to disrobe for the night for sleep. The Palace of Kings was quiet this time of night, the usual din of soldiers, guards, and his advisers having died down long ago in favor of the owners of said noises gaining some shut eye. The room was cold, as per usual and the furs on his bed were inviting. He let out a long suffering sigh, shrugging off his armor and cloak. His bones and aching muscles, past their prime had seemed to breathe out their own sighs of relief as soon as he hit the plush surface.

His mind wandered a bit, as was normal for him before he got any sleep whatsoever. That day had been spent fretting over a Stormcloak patrol that had been ambushed by Imperial soldiers around Whiterun. He was worried that Balgruuf had been swayed to join the Empire's cause. He scoffed, thinking about it. The Empire's cause was a dead one. The mighty beast that the Empire used to be was but a weary shell of its former glory, gnarled and ragged with being stripped of much of the soldiers, honesty, and loyalty it once had with Tamriel. If Ulfric had his way, his people wouldn't be subject to such a pitiful ruling party any longer. Skyrim was a fierce land, and it deserved a fierce leader. Fair. Determined. One that loved her people.

In the midst of his thinking, a bright light shone to him from behind his eyelids. His eyes shot open but the light was still there, blinding him. He growled, holding up his forearm to shield him from the light. Sitting upright, the light followed him.

"What is this?" He demanded. If someone else was in there with him, they were going to pay for trespassing.

"Do not be angry, my child." A soothing, womanly voice rang out in his ears. It reminded him of his mother before he went to live with the Greybeards. So comforting. Like warm honey. "I simply have something I must ask of you." He knew better, and yet he couldn't stop himself from asking.

"Mother?" His voice was barely registered above a whisper as his forearm slowly dropped. The light was much better to look at now. A low chuckle resounded in his ears and his heart sank. Of course not.

"Not quite, my child. Skyrim has been enveloped in a shroud of hate and bloodshed for too long. It is crippled by a lack of compassion and warmth. I need help restoring that, even if only a little." At this, he scoffed.

"Easier said than done. I'm a man of war, not peace. Perhaps you should look somewhere else." He retorted, his eyes squinting against the shimmering luminescence in the quarters.

"You'd be surprised of what you're capable of, my dear. All I ask for now is this; Go to Ivarstead. There will be someone there who can help you. Do that, and we'll see if what you say is true." Ulfric worried his lip between his teeth. What would he do? His mind was torn between heeding this stranger's words and staying put. He leaned forwards, his elbow propped up on his knee, face hardened as he asked:

"Who are you?"

The wilderness of Skyrim tested the mettle of even seasoned warriors. Bears could tear you apart, giants could send you flying to Aetherius and if those didn't kill you, Spriggans, vampires, or even the weather were all fairly hard to overcome as well. Vylie clutched at her black fur trimmed cloak, draped over her like a secure blanket. Her Guild cuirass moved easily with her form as she crept through the snow, attempting to avoid being seen by a sabre cat. She had already narrowly avoided being caught and thrown behind bars back in Windhelm. Just thinking about it was embarrassing. She was next in line to lead the Thieves' Guild, gods dammit! She should've been more careful than she was. She was glad that she managed to escape though.

Her boots sunk in the snow, careful not to make much of a crunch, lest she alert the hulking cat to her presence and be mauled for dinner. Once she was far enough away from said animal, she took off, running as fast as she could through the frozen expanse, remembering that her horse must be out here somewhere. She didn't trust the stables to take care of her horse, especially in case of situations like this. Sure enough, she found her faithful steed right where she'd left him.

He blew out a breath of greeting at her when she approached him. She smiled wryly, petting his muzzle before mounting his saddle and turning him around. A bright light caught her attention. Squinting, she weighed in her mind whether she should follow or stick to her plan and return to Riften. She had just narrowly escaped imprisonment, so perhaps this was Nocturnal's way of letting her know that tonight wasn't her lucky night. As such, she lightly kicked against her stallion's sides and urged him into a gallop.

They rode away from Windhelm, hoping to make it to her safe haven by morning. Of course, she wasn't so lucky and had to make camp in the wilds. She found a decent place to set up camp and lit a fire. Warming her hands, she sat down and let out a weary sigh. She shrugged off her quiver, arrows jostling within, and leaned her head back to rest against a boulder. Her horse began to snort and make nervous sounds. Naturally, Vylie looked to her companion before looking off in the distance, seeing that light from before. Jumping to action, Vylie grabbed her bow and an arrow from the quiver resting by her and aimed at the intruding light source. A light laugh invaded her ears and she frowned, her grip tightening on her bow.

"At ease, dear one. You needn't be afraid." The voice said. Letting out a breath, Vylie lowered her bow, scrutinizing the light.

"Who-"

"I am the goddess Mara. I have an important favor to ask of you."

Ulfric left a note on his bed simply explaining he had business to take care of and he'd return shortly. Galmar or one of his guards would undoubtedly find it. He didn't care much. He just wanted to make sure people knew where he was in case he wasn't back within the next day, maybe two. He redressed in his usual attire, not bothering to find something else. Striding out to the stables, he mounted his horse and made for Ivarstead.

He rode for hours. His horse was tired. He was tired. The cold wind wore at him without his sleep. He had to face that he wasn't what he used to be. Not exactly an old man, but not in the prime of youth any longer. Wouldn't be long until hair started to fall out of his head, he thought to himself with a small smirk. He finally made it to the outskirts of the small village when the sun was about to begin its ascension into the sky. The expanse above was a healthy dark blue, with hardly any clouds in sight. A breeze brushed past, blowing hair away from his face, along with slightly bending various flora around him. A growl came from nearby. Ulfric's eyes followed the sound, only to settle on those of a hungry looking bear.

The animal charged at he and his horse, the latter of which panicked and reared up, Ulfric nearly losing his grip on the reins. The poor creature let out a frightened neigh before coming back to the ground and bucking Ulfric off and bolting off in a dead run away from the bear, which gave chase. Ulfric landed on the ground harshly, his face scraping against the trail, his vision blurred.

"I'm sorry." Mara's voice rang out in his head once more.

"What is this?" Ulfric demanded, his voice low as he tried to crawl forward. Just a little further and he'd be in the town line. Just a little further and he could rest there before returning back home the following day.

"She'll be here soon." She simply stated.

"Who? Who'll-" The sound of another set of horse hooves interrupted him. Coming from behind. His vision blackened at the edges.

"Rest, my dear." The voice soothed. He could almost feel a warm, ethereal hand smoothing over his hair before fading away at the nape of his neck. The horse hooves grew louder and louder before slowing down. It was all he heard before sleep overcame him.

A/N: This is a fill for SKM. The prompt is on part eight, page seventeen, if anyone else wants to take a crack at this.

I hope you like this one, guys. I just finished Jeweler and the Young Maiden and wanted to move onto a new project for Skyrim. I've never written a fanfic with Ulfric in it before, let alone with him as a main focus, so I hope I can do this one justice.

Vylie is a new Dovahkiin I made special for this fic, and I hope she's well received. :)