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Karys dove behind a boulder to shelter from the dragon's frozen thu'um, drawing her sword as she went. She was a mere half day's journey from Windhelm, but it was far enough that no guards would hear the dragon's screeching and come to assist her. She couldn't evade the flying beast long enough to make it to the city, and loath as she was to the idea, she knew she was going to have to face the beast on her own.
She rolled out from her hiding spot, standing straight in the face of the foul beast as she took in a deep breath, feeling the heat of her shout sizzling in her chest.
"YOL!"
The great fireball scalded her lips and left her mouth feeling parched, but staggered the frost dragon, giving her the opportunity to dash in and hack at its scaled face. It writhed in fury, cursing her in the language of the dov. He snapped his jaws at her and she jumped back with a snarl, the dragon's huge teeth missing her by mere inches. She saw the thick length of the tail swooping towards her a second too late.
The long whip of muscle caught her in the chest, sending her skidding across the frozen ground and leaving her breathless. She threw an arm up to protect her face when the dragon took off, stirring dust, snow, and pebbles. She tried to ignore the blinding pain in her middle as she stood, preparing for the dragon's next onslaught.
Within seconds the beast was upon her, beating his wings to tread the air as he lashed out with his talons. Karys dodged, waiting for an opening, for her opponent to show some sign of weakness. She shouted again, the force of her fireball leaving her chest aching as the dragon was knocked to the frozen earth.
There was no time for her to catch her breath. She had to finish this now or she wouldn't last. She launched herself upon the neck of the beast, grabbing hold of one of his spikes to steady herself as the dragon thrashed beneath her.
"You will know death, wyrm!" She cried, thrusting her sword into the soft spot between neck and skull, using both hands to drive the weapon home.
With one last bone chilling scream, the dragon fell, writhing, never to rise again.
Karys dismounted the scaly beast, sheathing her sword and rubbing her sore ribs with a wince. She sighed when she pulled her hand away and it was sticky with blood.
Before she could cast a healing spell on herself, the body of the dragon began to burn and its scales curled to ash that flitted away on a newborn breeze. A rushing wind filled her ears, and white swirling tendrils of light reached from the dragon, which was now only a bleached skeleton, to swirl around her, filling her with warmth.
Before she could even think about continuing on towards Windhelm, Karys fainted.
"Now, Galmar. I'm sure everything is fine." Ulfic chastised from his seat on his throne as he watched his housecarl pace back and forth at the base of the dias.
"A dragon, Ulfric! I dragon!" Galmar hissed, rounding on the Jarl impatiently. "The boy saw a dragon heading for our city and you sit there as if it can't destroy us!"
"I will not send my men out on here say!" Ulfric growled, slamming a fist down onto the arm of his throne as he leaned forward to glare at the older warrior.
He was growing impatient with Galmar's grumbling. It had been hours since the farm boy had entered the Palace of the Kings shouting about a dragon he had spotted in the outer reaches of his hold. Ulfric hadn't recognized the boy and, worried over an Imperial trap, chose to send only a scout on a fast horse to analyze the situation. He had sent Ralof, since the younger man had been one of the few to survive the dragon at Helgen and had been chomping at the bit since their return to prove his worth to the Jarl.
The double doors at the other end of the Palace flew open with a bang and all eyes turned to the entrance as Ralof staggered in, carrying the limp form of a woman in his arms. His blue cuirass was stained dark with blood, as was the woman's armor.
Ulfric and Galmar strode the length of the hall to meet the young officer, Ulfric's heart plummeting when he recognized the strawberry blonde color of the woman's hair. Karys.
"I found her next to the dragon." Ralof panted, shifting under the dead weight in his arms. "It was dead, nothing but a pile of bones."
Galmar gasped, but Ulfric was too worried about Karys' lifeless body to be worried about the dragon, and the fact that its empty skeleton confirmed the rumors of the Dragonborn's return.
"She's alive, my lord." Ralof assured him, seeing Ulfric's worried gaze. "But she's lost a lot of blood."
Ulfric nodded, stepping forward to carefully take Karys from Ralof and holding her up to his chest protectively.
"Go take some rest, boy. You've ridden long and hard today." Ulfric intoned, dismissing Ralof without a backwards glance as he strode back down the hall towards his war room with Galmar following.
"Galmar, bring me warm water and linens. As well as healing potions." Ulfric ordered as he took the steps from the war room to the living quarters two at a time.
"Ulrfic, she needs a healer." Galmar protested, huffing to keep up with his Jarl.
Ulfric rounded on Galmar, his eyes burning with anguish for the unconscious woman in his arms. He had been angry with her all over again after her appearance in Helgen. How could she just leave him like that? When she had known how difficult it was for him to ever confide in anyone, much less a silly maiden he had been arranged to marry. But damn the Nine if he was going to let her die.
"Do as I say." He ordered, his voice dangerously low. "Now."
He continued on up the stairs and heard Galmar stomping back down the opposite direction. He chanced a glance down at Karys' face as he carried her to his own chambers at the end of the hall. Despite the torches in their brackets casting a warm glow, she was deathly pale, her body cold as the Sea of Ghosts. He felt a thrill of fear at the thought of her never waking again and jogged the rest of the way to his room, setting her upon the bed as gently as he could manage in his haste.
He had to get her armor off, so he could better clean and inspect her wounds. He cast a wild glance about his chambers, spotting a dagger displayed on his bookshelf and quickly grabbed it. He set to work slicing through her armor, cursing her even as he tried not to jostle her battered body.
Idiotic woman. Fighting a dragon wearing nothing but boiled leather. No helm to speak of.
He decided he would have to equip her with better armor if… No. When she woke.
Her torn armor peeled away and he gasped. Blood had completely soaked the front of her light tunic, the fabric hardly held together by threads in places across her stomach and chest. He could see a horrible gash across her upper stomach, just below her breasts.
"Here's your damned water and potions." Galmar grunted, tramping in and setting down a basin of water and linens, as well as a basket of red healing potions onto the bedside table. "I still say she needs a healer." The man chastised, peering at the woman's torn body with indifference.
"Get out." Ulfric grumbled, reaching for a rag and dipping into the warm water.
"Ulfric, really! You're being-"
"I said OUT!" The Jarl roared, whirling to face the house carl, a Shout building in his throat.
Galmar wasn't intimidated, but relented none the less, putting his hands up in front of him in surrender before turning on his heel to leave, slamming the door behind him.
Ulfric set to work cleaning the blood from Karys as best he could around her tattered tunic. After a moment he growled in frustration and tore the garment down the middle, the dagger he had used to cut her armor away forgotten. So deep was his concern as he labored that he didn't even stop to admire the woman laid bare before him. What good would it do to see her nude if she didn't wake? If his last thoughts of her were like this, the swells of her full breasts blooming with blood and barely rising as she struggled for breath?
Once he had cleaned away the blood and flushed any dirt from the wound, he moved to sit on the edge of the bed, on hand cradling Karys' head as he reached for a potion, unstoppering it with his teeth. He spit the cork onto the floor and slowly poured the healing liquid into her mouth, willing her to swallow it and not drown in the potion her body to desperately needed. He sat the potion back on the table and gently massaged up and down her throat, stimulating the muscles, encouraging her to swallow. She swallowed most of it, sputtered a bit, but did not wake.
He waited, and was relieved when the wounds on her torso began to knit themselves back together. The skin stretching to meet itself anew across the muscle that was just visible. He heard her shallow breathing become stronger and smiled, satisfied at his own work.
Healers be damned.
He removed the rest of her clothing and the ruined armor to a basket by a door, to be discarded later by the servants before moving to his wardrobe and pulling out a simple white tunic and trousers, laying them over the back of a chair by the bed. They would be too big but they would do for when she woke up.
He pulled the covers up over Karys' naked form before leaving the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
Karys groaned, rolling over and then hissing in pain. Her abdomen ached and her throat was on fire, her tongue felt like an old piece of leather. She stretched carefully, and opened her eyes slowly, peering around the unfamiliar room. She was on a large, soft bed that was raised on a triple tiered dias in the middle of a stone room. Shelves lined the walls, stuffed full with books and display cases. A fire crackled merrily on the hearth against one wall. Sitting up slowly, she tried to figure out where she was. The last thing she remembered was the dragon, and then nothing after absorbing its soul.
She stood slowly, feeling dizzy and wondering why she was naked and who had undressed her. She spied a tunic and some trousers draped over a chair nearby and moved to put them on, still moving slowly to keep her head from spinning. The tunic swallowed her, falling to her knees, so she decided to forgo the trousers that she was sure would be a mile too long. She found a belt beneath the trousers though, and tied the leather around her waist since it was too large to buckle.
She emerged from the room quietly, the stone floor beneath her bare feet sending goosebumps up her legs. The hall before her was empty, the torches lining the walls throwing dancing shadows on the floor. She peered from side to side as she walked towards the stairs at the other end of the hall. They were all sleeping chambers, none so resplendent as those she had just left. And they were all empty, as though they were guest rooms.
She padded silently down the stairs and found herself in what was undoubtedly a war room. There was a map of Skyrim laid out on the table, red and blue flags pinned seemingly helter skelter throughout the holds. As she moved closer to peer curiously at the documents strewn across the table, the fall of a booted foot behind her startled her, causing her to jump in surprise and whirl.
Galmar Stone-First stood before her, a rare smile on his grizzled face.
"You gave us quite the scare, Karys." He told her as she gaped at him as she realized where she must be. "Come, surely you're hungry."
So how was that action scene? I feel they're one of my weak points, so I'd enjoy some feedback on that! And AWWWW Ulfric being sweet and taking care of Karys. But don't worry, things won't be getting too cozy any time soon. Important question, would you guys like for me to warn you if there will be gore or sexual themes at the beginning of a chapter or would you like to be surprised?
As always, thank you for reading!