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p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpFirst" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"strongspan lang="EN-US"AUTHORS NOTEbr /span/strongI am so so so sorry for how late this is. I'd kind of abandoned writing for a bit, just due to how busy I was. But I'm (kind of) back and I don't promise regular updates but, yes. Hope you enjoy!/p
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p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US" /span/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US""Oh, come here my sweet. Dry your eyes." Ulfric murmured. His face was ashen and he pushed the hair back from his eyes before wrapping his arms around her. He cradled her as sobs wracked her body, stroking her hair and kissing her forehead. It didn't occur to him to be frightened of the beautiful elf he held in his arms: he knew she wouldn't hurt him. If that was her plan of action, she'd have killed him by now. He felt genuine anguish at her distress, knowing how difficult this must be for her. She had been through so much in her short life that she'd become numb to any extreme feelings and he knew this must be hurting her./span/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US""What will we do, Ulfric?" Tavhairi whimpered./span/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US""I don't know, my love. But between the two of us, I'm sure we'll come up with something. Please, please don't fret. I am a Jarl. Oblivion, I was the leader of the rebellion! I defeated the former High King. I am no stranger to hatred, nor am I a stranger to people who wish for my death. Jorleif is an old friend of mine, and I've always acknowledged his counsel. I do not know why he's turned on me now, but I do know he was once loyal to me. I aim to find out what has changed. I wonder.." Ulfric acquired a thoughtful look. Tavhairi sniffed and dried her face with the bedsheets, trying to regain her dignity. She was mortified at her breakdown. She decided to let Ulfric ponder, and stood to fix them cups of tea./span/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US"It was silent in Ulfric's bedroom, apart from the sound of the spoon clinking against the cups as Tavhairi brewed the tea. Abruptly, Ulfric spoke, breaking Tavhairi's trance./span/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US""I know what we must do. You must leave the Palace and Windhelm, suspiciously but not too suspicious as to make it obvious. But you must make sure Jorleif sees you, and you must be distressed. He'll think you carried through, and come up here to check – then I will speak with him. It'll probably be the only way to get him in a room with me."/span/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US""Okay…" Tavhairi said, with distaste in her tone. "There are so many flaws in that plan, Ulfric. Number one, Jorleif might not see me. Number two, he might not come to check. Number three… What happens if he em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"does /emcome to check?"/span/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US""I'm positive that we will be watching for your departure, or at least have someone watching, who will report to him. I am also positive that he'd come to check. When he enters.. Well, he'll be surprised. Taken off guard. I'll use that to my advantage, and get to the bottom of what's going on. Then, depending on his answer… I guess I'll either have to kill him; banish him from the city; or… Maybe we can sort it out."/span/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US"Tavhairi thought Ulfric was deluded. There was not enough logic put into this plan – logic was something Tavhairi very much enjoyed – and she didn't want Ulfric to make any rash decisions when he himself was off guard. This news obviously came as a shock to him, and she knew Ulfric needed control. They stared at each other for several minutes as Tavhairi thought through his plan. She didn't think it would work. Perhaps she shouldn't leave the city. She didn't want to leave Ulfric vulnerable. But then… Ulfric wasn't vulnerable, was he? He could handle it. He would be fine. Why was she so worried? She should trust his judgment./span/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US""Okay, Ulfric, I will agree… Once I leave, when shall I return?"/span/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;""Go on an adventure, and come back when you have a story to tell me." Ulfric smiled. He stood, crossed the room, and swept her up into his arms. "I love you so much, Vhairi. Never forget that."/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US""I love you, Ulfric." She kissed his lips, before patting his shoulders to communicate that she wanted down. When he lowered her to the floor, he kissed her nose in a sweet gesture, before letting her go. She crossed to the nightstand where she removed the pins from her hair, letting it fall to her waist, and pulled on her hood. She wrapped a simple black cloak which brushed the floor around her, effectively hiding her Brotherhood carmour and weapons. Looking at the love of her life once last time, her lips formed a weak smile, before she swept out of the room./span /p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US"She hurried through the halls and downstairs, constantly checking doorways and corners, looking for any sign of Jorleif. When she exited the Jarl's Quarters into the main hall of the Palace, she saw Jorleif sitting at the table, reading a book. He looked up at her when he heard the door open, and slightly tilted his head. She threw him a disgusted glance before all but running to the main doors. A particularly friendly guard greeted her kindly as 'Stormblade' before opening the door for her. She smiled and nodded her head in greeting, before striding down the snow-cleared path. As she exited the city, it occurred to her that she hadn't drank her tea./span/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;" /p
hr /Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter./div
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;" /p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpFirst" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"strongspan lang="EN-US"AUTHORS NOTEbr /span/strongI am so so so sorry for how late this is. I'd kind of abandoned writing for a bit, just due to how busy I was. But I'm (kind of) back and I don't promise regular updates but, yes. Hope you enjoy!/p
hr /
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpFirst" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;" /p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US" /span/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US""Oh, come here my sweet. Dry your eyes." Ulfric murmured. His face was ashen and he pushed the hair back from his eyes before wrapping his arms around her. He cradled her as sobs wracked her body, stroking her hair and kissing her forehead. It didn't occur to him to be frightened of the beautiful elf he held in his arms: he knew she wouldn't hurt him. If that was her plan of action, she'd have killed him by now. He felt genuine anguish at her distress, knowing how difficult this must be for her. She had been through so much in her short life that she'd become numb to any extreme feelings and he knew this must be hurting her./span/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US""What will we do, Ulfric?" Tavhairi whimpered./span/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US""I don't know, my love. But between the two of us, I'm sure we'll come up with something. Please, please don't fret. I am a Jarl. Oblivion, I was the leader of the rebellion! I defeated the former High King. I am no stranger to hatred, nor am I a stranger to people who wish for my death. Jorleif is an old friend of mine, and I've always acknowledged his counsel. I do not know why he's turned on me now, but I do know he was once loyal to me. I aim to find out what has changed. I wonder.." Ulfric acquired a thoughtful look. Tavhairi sniffed and dried her face with the bedsheets, trying to regain her dignity. She was mortified at her breakdown. She decided to let Ulfric ponder, and stood to fix them cups of tea./span/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US"It was silent in Ulfric's bedroom, apart from the sound of the spoon clinking against the cups as Tavhairi brewed the tea. Abruptly, Ulfric spoke, breaking Tavhairi's trance./span/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US""I know what we must do. You must leave the Palace and Windhelm, suspiciously but not too suspicious as to make it obvious. But you must make sure Jorleif sees you, and you must be distressed. He'll think you carried through, and come up here to check – then I will speak with him. It'll probably be the only way to get him in a room with me."/span/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US""Okay…" Tavhairi said, with distaste in her tone. "There are so many flaws in that plan, Ulfric. Number one, Jorleif might not see me. Number two, he might not come to check. Number three… What happens if he em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"does /emcome to check?"/span/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US""I'm positive that we will be watching for your departure, or at least have someone watching, who will report to him. I am also positive that he'd come to check. When he enters.. Well, he'll be surprised. Taken off guard. I'll use that to my advantage, and get to the bottom of what's going on. Then, depending on his answer… I guess I'll either have to kill him; banish him from the city; or… Maybe we can sort it out."/span/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US"Tavhairi thought Ulfric was deluded. There was not enough logic put into this plan – logic was something Tavhairi very much enjoyed – and she didn't want Ulfric to make any rash decisions when he himself was off guard. This news obviously came as a shock to him, and she knew Ulfric needed control. They stared at each other for several minutes as Tavhairi thought through his plan. She didn't think it would work. Perhaps she shouldn't leave the city. She didn't want to leave Ulfric vulnerable. But then… Ulfric wasn't vulnerable, was he? He could handle it. He would be fine. Why was she so worried? She should trust his judgment./span/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US""Okay, Ulfric, I will agree… Once I leave, when shall I return?"/span/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;""Go on an adventure, and come back when you have a story to tell me." Ulfric smiled. He stood, crossed the room, and swept her up into his arms. "I love you so much, Vhairi. Never forget that."/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US""I love you, Ulfric." She kissed his lips, before patting his shoulders to communicate that she wanted down. When he lowered her to the floor, he kissed her nose in a sweet gesture, before letting her go. She crossed to the nightstand where she removed the pins from her hair, letting it fall to her waist, and pulled on her hood. She wrapped a simple black cloak which brushed the floor around her, effectively hiding her Brotherhood carmour and weapons. Looking at the love of her life once last time, her lips formed a weak smile, before she swept out of the room./span /p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;"span lang="EN-US"She hurried through the halls and downstairs, constantly checking doorways and corners, looking for any sign of Jorleif. When she exited the Jarl's Quarters into the main hall of the Palace, she saw Jorleif sitting at the table, reading a book. He looked up at her when he heard the door open, and slightly tilted his head. She threw him a disgusted glance before all but running to the main doors. A particularly friendly guard greeted her kindly as 'Stormblade' before opening the door for her. She smiled and nodded her head in greeting, before striding down the snow-cleared path. As she exited the city, it occurred to her that she hadn't drank her tea./span/p
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;" /p
hr /Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter./div
p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt;" /p