Cearbhail: Short chapter, but I loved writing it. Somewhere in writing the journal, I just thought of something and that something has just solidified the plot for this book and the sequel that follows. The ultimate sequel of every Elder Scrolls book I'll ever write, well until the books over at least. I have a lot of planning to do now. A lot of considerations to consider. Anyway, enjoy.

Dear journal,

The last few hours have been exhausting and a little scary. I never knew how much preparation went into a war. Swords being sharpened are a normal sight, but hundreds of men and women lining up afterwards and having their blades inspected and then tested on a hair of straw? That's a little stressful to watch. My own blade that I sharpened for an hour straight did not pass. They said my blade was too blunt to cut through a Stormcloak's armor, let alone six or seven without dulling completely. They had to take my weapon away, heat it in the cinder pit, and then their forge master had to fix my blade. By the time I got it back, I could barely tell it was my blade. It was so light.

After the swords were inspected, our armor was next. My steel armor was acceptable; even though they started that I needed a helmet. So, they threw one of their helmets on me and told me to keep my head down. After everyone was passed for combat, we were gathered around an Imperial Seer, an Illusion magic caster who could not only cast a live image of the fort that we were about to attack, but also show us how many men they had (56), magicians (zero), and conjurers (zero).

The image of the fort was amazingly clear. The seer was good at her job, even though she was a little ten year old. Her name was Cecilie. She had white eyes, stated that she was blind when I asked her about it. I would not believe it with how she walks around. She also talks like an adult. I cannot believe some of the things she told me. One of which was that… she was my future daughter. For some reason, she saw herself in the past: directing the Imperial army, talking to me, so…she decided to travel back in time using a portal technique that the Psijic mages used. I almost lost my mind, but then she hugged me and I was lost in a world of comfort. I sure hope she's my daughter. Then, she did the weirdest thing…she looked over at Asger and called him 'daddy'.

(sigh) … That confirms it.

… For now, Lydia.

I closed my journal and looked at the sunset. We were camping outside the fort, just far enough away that the Stormcloaks don't know we're here. We were scheduled to attack from the east as soon as the sun broke the horizon. Our plan was to use the sun to blind the archers until we broke through the walls. We were going to use Asger's Ice Form to freeze the wall and then use his Unrelenting Force to smash through the wall. It was a solid plan and I was sure with Asger and M'aiq leading the assault we'd be done soon.

Asger…

He was Cecilie's father. And, she was my daughter. As hard as it seemed, she did have my black hair and Asger's round face. So, that meant eventually I would have gotten together with Asger and gotten pregnant.

I sighed. That was good news. I was hoping that I would become a parent one day and to the Dragonborn's child? That was just a bonus. But, that did not help the fact that I was not currently interested in Asger. He was just too childish and immature. I do not mind helping him, but sleeping with him was not on my current agenda. Sleeping with Hadvar…that might be a possibility. There was one other problem. If I became pregnant, I could not serve Asger as his housecarl. I would have to take care of my child instead. And, I could not do that without his permission. I was forever his housecarl, as are my children, unfortunately. We were forever the Dragonborn's servants and his direct generation as well. My daughter would serve his son as a servant. After that, any connection with serving the Dragonborn's family would be broken. It was some weird rule that kept a family from being servants their whole lives.

"Mother?"

Cecilie walked up from behind me. She was dressed in heavy armor with an armored mask that covered her face. A seer was an honorable role to play in wars, so she was to be protected at all costs. If I had any doubts about which side I had to choose, it had to be the Empire. Two people I loved were involved: Hadvar and Cecilie. I could not leave these two to fight the Stormcloak Rebellion by themselves.

I nodded to Cecilie and said, "Yes?"

I think she smiled. She sat down next to me and placed her head in my lap. "I just came by to tell you why I came back in time."

I nodded. "Ok."

"You and father needed a lot of convincing to be together. So, a lovely girl had to intervene and put you two together. It was a long and complicated story that involved a lot of fighting, growing close, then distant, and then close again. It was a very long chapter in my mother's life, of learning to love, hate, and serve to her death. Then, earning the right to live again. I know what has to be done so I've come back to see that I am born. In a sense: I am here to see that I am able to come here to see that I able to come here to see that I will be born three years from now."

My head started spinning. "Ok…thanks. It is true that Asger and I get…married?"

She tilted her head. "Married? Maybe…I think you two are. I think you're still his housecarl and that I'm a bastard child…but I'm not sure. I've never asked and I'm afraid to find out by looking into my future. I try not to dabble in my own life…because life is so nice that I do not want to ruin it for myself. I only saw me coming back here because you told me to. You told me that you would tell me what I've always wanted to know when I get back. This is my wish. When I come back from the past…I want to know if you and daddy are married. A lot depends on my social standing, including the Aldmeri Dominion and our war with them."

I nodded. "Ok, I'll keep that from you until you come back from this current time space." What the heck was I getting myself into? My head was swarming with thoughts, questions, and almost everything you could think of. I found myself just relaxing as Cecilie fell asleep in my lap. So, this was my daughter? I smiled. I could not wait to have her. Well, at this moment, she was here. This was my daughter. My cute daughter. Since we had to be up in less than several hours, I decided that I had to turn in for the night and get my rest. I rolled out my bear pelt sleeping mat and put both myself and my daughter in the sheets. I closed my eyes and let the rhythmic beating of the Stormcloak's drums put me to sleep.

Ok, I guess I left that detail out. The Stormcloaks are known for their late-night parties. They had a whole band playing inside their fort and we could hear cheering and them talking. That was good for us. Tomorrow morning, they'd be sleeping on the ground, hung-over, and wore out from partying. We were just going to charge in and capture them all and kill any resistors.

"So…Lydia has a daughter?" I heard M'aiq's scratchy voice. I jumped through the sheets, grabbing the handle to my sword. It wasn't because it was M'aiq, but it was because he just woke me up as I was falling asleep. It took me by surprise.

I looked up and saw that M'aiq standing over me. He had that weird smile that he had whenever he wanted to play a prank or joke.

I rubbed the weariness from my eyes. "What makes you think that?"

He smiled. "M'aiq can scent the girl in your covers. She shares your scent. As well as Asger's. This one wonders…is she perhaps the daughter of you and the Dragonborn?"

I was speechless, but once again my pale face was my weakness. My face lit up bright red, which threw M'aiq into a wider smile. "He thought so. She did look like the cub of the two Nords and the girl smells like one as well. Since Lydia and Asger just met…this one thinks that the girl is from the future. Does this mean that M'aiq is right in his conclusion?"

I shrugged. "Yes…it's true. But…Asger cannot know about this. Understood? No telling him, at all!" I stood up and jabbed a finger at him.

M'aiq nodded. "He understands. If he tells Asger about his daughter, she may not be born and then this time-space will be interrupted. Whatever has happened will disappear and we will be reset in this time with some other blind seer directing us, or perhaps we will just all die in the attack."

I sighed my relief. I was glad that M'aiq understood just how desperate this situation was. At least I had one person I could rely on.

"Asger!" M'aiq screamed as he sprinted away. "This one has something to tell him!"

My eyes bulged out of my head but I should have expected it. I tore off my sheets and sprinted to catch up to M'aiq, who was now running as fast as he could, laughing back at me as he continued to gain distance. M'aiq was the fastest runner I've ever known, no one could catch him and he was using that trait against me now.

I finally caught up to M'aiq. He was talking to Asger, who looked surprised by what he was just told. I bent over to catch my breath but managed out, "My Thane…please…understand…" I said between breaths.

He looked down at me, mildly surprised. "Understand? What is there to understand? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

I shook my head. I forced myself to stand up and slow my breath rate. "I just found out. It wasn't like I planned it."

He smiled. "Sure you did! There is no way you could not have planned it. Otherwise, this would not be a great plan. Cecilie told me earlier but I figured it wasn't a good plan. But now that you've told me, I can put some serious stock in it."

Legate Rikke walked up, nodding. "I agree. This plan is perfect." She looked over at Asger and said, "You should begin, Dragonborn. We cannot wait to chance fate."

My face blushed over. What the heck was going on? Was this all one giant cosmic joke about me and Asger getting married and having sex, or was there something else that M'aiq shared with Asger?

I decided to bite my tongue. I cleared my throat and said, "So…just to be sure…what plan are we talking about?"

M'aiq smiled. He patted me on the back and said, "Has this female Nord forgotten? She gave this one a great idea. She suggested that we create a giant fake army of ice Imperial soldiers dressed in our spare armor. The Imperials are setting the sculptures up on the west side of the fort to draw the attention of the Stormcloaks away while the real Imperial Legion attacks from the east as planned."

I nodded, taking M'aiq's wink as a command to play along. "Yes…I remember now. I did think of that." I pulled M'aiq in and whispered, "What the oblivion did you say that it was me? I did not even think of that!"

He smiled. "Liar…that is what M'aiq is. He lies and very well too. M'aiq is making the Dragonborn see the lady Nord as a strong tactical thinker. It will prepare him for the moment that he falls in love for the lady Nord." He patted me on the shoulder. "M'aiq knows best. Trust the Liar." He winked again.

Rikke looked over at Asger. "Dragonborn, we'll need at least twenty of them. You'd better get started."

Asger nodded. "Sure thing but…can I go over to the fort and join the party? It sounds like they're having a blast over there."

She rolled her eyes. "The only blasting I want to see is you blasting ice out your nose. Now…get started." Then she walked away.

I chuckled a bit before turning to go back to bed. I did not need to be out here and watch him sneeze out ice soldiers. I was sure to be very busy tomorrow, especially after the battle.

Cearbhail: Yes, Cecilie is Lydia's daughter. Cecilie is actually Latin for 'blind'. I thought it was a cute joke to play on a blind girl who can see the future. She is also the main character in her own sequel coming later on, once this is done. Keep you eyes open for it, no name for the book yet.