Author's Note: One thing I like to do when I start getting bored in Bethesda games is to think up justifications for my characters actions. Why would a Knight of the Nine become an assassin for the Dark Brotherhood? Why would a Primate of the Imperial Cult join the Tribunal Temple? In the case of this story, why would a Talos-worshiping son of Skyrim side against the Stormcloaks?
Cold Blooded Love
Shahvee took a deep breath and tried to remain optimistic. She knew when she married Aldrik that it wouldn't be a normal marriage but she hadn't expected anything like this. Getting roped into political intrigue, having people come up to her and beg for her husband's help, random thank-you gifts arriving by courier, these were things she expected and accepted; getting kidnapped by vampires, however, was not one of those things.
Solitude was the seat of power in Skyrim, one would think that would make it the safest city in the country but no, somehow vampires had snuck into the city, snuck into her house, and snuck past Jordis to snatch Shahvee out of her bed. It was enough to make Shahvee wonder why she had bothered moving in the first place. Windhelm had been the seat of power for the Stormcloaks so when Aldrik had helped the Imperial Legion stop Ulfric's rebellion a lot of her Nord neighbors were rather unhappy with the outcome (to put it lightly). Because of that, Aldrik had insisted she move to another town. He was worried that someone might attack her out of revenge to get back at him. Shahvee had thought that unlikely given she lived in the Argonian Assemblage (where there were plenty of fellow Argonians to watch her back) and worked at the docks (which was always patrolled by Legionnaires), there weren't many situations where Shahvee would find herself alone. Still, Aldrik had been adamant that she move and she hadn't wanted him worrying about her while he was out fighting dragons so she had agreed to move. She didn't want to leave her friends (that was why she hadn't moved when they first got married) but luckily Aldrik hadn't been particular about where she moved, so long as it was out of Windhelm, so Shahvee had decided on Solitude. Solitude was warmer than Windhelm (though that wasn't saying a whole lot), it was by the water, Aldrik already owned a house there, and the people there were much more accepting of an Argonian being married to a human. Granted, Shahvee had received numerous glares from the single Nord women when they thought she wasn't looking, but that didn't bother her. She was married to the Dragonborn, the formerly most sought after future-husband in all of Skyrim, Shahvee would have been surprised if other women weren't angry at her. But other than those women, Shahvee had found the people of Solitude very welcoming, no doubt in part due to her husband's title as Thane of the city. In retrospect, other than leaving her friends and getting kidnapped by vampires, Shahvee was glad Aldrik had made her move to Solitude.
Shahvee chuckled as she thought about how many people had misjudged Aldrik's intentions simply because he was a Thane of Solitude. So many people in Windhelm had been convinced that Aldrik was just another puppet of the Empire when, in fact, Aldrik was a devout follower of Talos and hated that the Emperor had signed the White-Gold Concordat. When Aldrik had first come to Windhelm it was so he could join up with the Stormcloaks. How different things might have turned out if he had arrived by horse instead of by boat.
Coming in by boat meant Aldrik had to walk past all the Argonian dockworkers as they hurriedly unloaded the ship so Stands-In-Shallows 'accidently' knocked the steel-covered Nord into the water. Luckily, Aldrik was as strong as he looked and was able to stay afloat long enough for Shahvee to throw him a rope. Shahvee had quickly apologized for the incident and Aldrik, rather than being angry, had laughed and said he needed a bath anyways. That was not how most mercenaries would have reacted when a sickly skooma-addict knocked them into freezing water which had intrigued Shahvee so she had invited him to the Assemblage to dry off and warm up. The two of them ended up spending several hours sitting by the fire talking, long past the time it took for Aldrik's clothes to dry. They talked about many different subjects but he was primarily interested in learning about Windhelm and Ulfric. Initially, Aldrik didn't believe Shahvee's tales of the harsh treatment the Argonians and Dunmer received (partially because she was so reluctant to talk about such a depressing subject). Which, to be fair, wasn't actually endorsed by Ulfric, he simply allowed it to happen. Eventually Aldrik left, after promising to visit for another chat. Entering the city via the docks meant Aldrik had to pass through the Gray Quarter in order to reach the Palace of the Kings and that was, apparently, what convinced him that Shahvee hadn't been exaggerating when she spoke of how the Dark Elves were segregated and mistreated. Aldrik returned after his meeting with Galmer Stone-Fist and Ulfric, he was being sent on a quest to kill an Ice Wraith before he could join the Stormcloaks. He didn't say much, but Shahvee could tell his heart was no longer in it. Prior to coming to Windhelm Aldric had clearly had a case of hero worship for Ulfric and it was depressing to discover that the man was just that, only a man. Aldrik had wanted to join the Stormcloaks because he honestly believed that Ulfric was the only possible solution to the problem but after visiting the Palace Aldrik discovered the Stormcloaks were not Knights of the Nine, riding out the rid the world of evil, but just another army with all the problems that entailed. Aldrik didn't want to join an army, he wanted to join a movement, he wanted to help people. In the end, Shahvee didn't have any advice for him so Aldrik set off to the north to kill and Ice Wraith, though he promised he would stop and retrieve an amulet of her's that had been stolen by bandits on his way back.
It was just over a week before Aldrik showed back up in Windhelm, which had worried Shahvee to no end, she had been afraid he had been killed. He had decided after killing the Ice Wraith that he wasn't sure he wanted to follow Ulfric so he had wandered Skyrim, seeking out supporters of both the Empire and the Stormcloaks simply to talk to them and get their opinions on the war. Ultimately, Aldrik had decided that while Ulfric wasn't perfect, he was the best option in a bad situation. He had told Shahvee all of this before handing her missing amulet to her. Shahvee hadn't known how to react, here was the first Nord in ages to treat her as a person and he was going to join the very group that kept her people segregated outside of Windhelm. Shahvee always tried to stay positive, always tried to look at the bright side of things, but she had found that revelation coupled with so nice a gesture to be so painful she did the only thing she could think of: she threw herself into Aldrik's arms and begged him not to do it. Aldrik had been just as shocked at Shahvee's actions and she had. It was just so out of character for the normally cheerful Argonian, neither person had any idea what to do next. After several moments of holding each other, Aldrik had lightly kissed Shahvee on the head and told her that he had to go. And just like that, he left. Shahvee hadn't expected to see Aldrik again after that and it was months before he returned to Windhelm. In the time he was gone, Aldrik had traveled all over Skyrim helping people. He defended Whiterun from a dragon attack and revealed himself as the Dragonborn, became a Thane in multiple holds, joined the Companions and achieved a fairly high rank, and even helped the Penitus Oculatus take out the last remnants of the Dark Brotherhood. What surprised Shahvee was that she never heard anything about Aldrik joining the Stormcloaks. She heard about Thalmor patrols getting killed and of Stormcloak soldiers freed from Imperial clutches by a mysterious Nord that never showed any mercy so Aldrik clearly hadn't changed his opinion on the Empire but he was apparently acting independently of Ulfric because word around Windhelm was the Stormcloaks wanted to track down the mysterious Nord so that they could offer him a position in the army.
When Aldrik finally did return to Windhelm Shahvee didn't even recognize him. She was working at the docks when a man in full ebony mail approached her. All the other Argonians on the dock tensed, wondering what the heavily armored man wanted with her. When the man removed his helmet and revealed himself to be Aldrik, Shahvee had no clue what to do. The two of them simply stood there, awkwardly staring at each other, neither saying a word, neither really knowing what to say. Eventually one of them stepped forward and wrapped the other in a hug, to this day Shahvee couldn't remember who it was that took the initiative. She just remembered the incredible feeling of warmth and safety that emulated from Aldrik's arms. Eventually Aldrik broke the hug and took Shahvee by the hand and led her into the Assemblage. Shahvee hadn't felt like mentioning it but, given the skillset of the Argonians that lived there, locking the door behind them was a useless gesture though she appreciated that Aldrik did it nonetheless. And then they had. . .they had. . .Shahvee burned with embarrassment whenever she thought about it. She wasn't embarrassed that they had sex, everyone on the dock knew why Shahvee and Aldrik had gone alone back to the Assemblage. She was embarrassed because they had broken her bed and Aldrik had decided they should move to the dinner table instead of using someone else's bed. People ate on that table and she had left very obvious marks in the wood. It was just embarrassing doing it there. . .but it was kind of sexy being taken like that. . .but so embarrassing. . .but sort of sexy. . .but embarrassing. . .but sexy. . .
Shahvee's thoughts were interrupted by a menacing growl. She looked up from the floor of the cage she was locked in to see a dunmer vampire glaring at her with his teeth every so slightly exposed. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him. While Nords probably found his fangs intimidating Shahvee had seen bigger teeth on Argonian hatchlings and so was unimpressed by this man's canines. The dunmer glared at her for a few seconds then, apparently decided that she had been successfully intimidated, turned around and walked off. No, walked was the wrong word, he sulked off. Like a child that had been told it wasn't allowed to have dessert. Given that Shahvee was currently in a cave filled with vampires, that was probably a very accurate comparison. She hoped Aldrik showed up and rescued her before the vampires got so hungry that they ignored whatever it was that was keeping them from feasting on her.