It had been almost a month since Falkreath. Amberia and I retired to Jorrvaskr as we were welcome by all my shield-siblings. The warm feeling of home had finally settled in as all the problems that presented itself and caused this little adventure had finally come to an end. We were still waiting for the response from General Tullius about the letter I sent to him asking him for Amberia's pardon. It was the twenty-fifth of Evening Star. Today was the day of the New Life festival. Everyone was passing gifts around and celebrating. We joined my siblings in song and drink as the halls of Jorrvaskr could be heard all throughout Whiterun.

Around mid-day, a courier entered the doors and began asking for me. I raised my hand and called out to the man to get his attention. He searched through his satchel and pulled out a letter bearing the Imperial seal. I knew this was from Tullius. Finally, after a month of suspense, we would finally get our answer.

~Karrick,

I hope this letter finds you by the twenty-fifth. After long investigation and consideration at council, we've decided that, with her great assistance to the Empire and protection of the Emperor, she is hereby pardoned of all accusations. She is now a free citizen of Skyrim.

And as for you, I hereby name you Champion of Skyrim, and dismiss you from the Empire's services indefinitely. We all thank you for your sacrifices and loyalty. Legate Rikke sends her best and we all wish you two a happy New Life.

~Tullius

After reading the letter, I looked over at Amberia with a look of shock. I handed her the letter so she could read it. When she finished reading it, she quickly began to cry and jumped on me, wrapping her arms around me into the biggest hug I've ever received. When she finally let me go, I called out to all my shield-siblings.

"Brothers and sisters. This has been one hell of a year. We've all had good and bad times. We've even lost one of our own. Let us now drink in Aela's memory."

Amberia and I each picked up a bottle of mead and took a large swig along with everyone else. Once we finished, I continued;

"Now, furthermore, we have also gained an honorable sister in our hall. Amberia has helped me through one of my most difficult missions. She has shown valor and courage. I can speak for her strength and bravery in battle. Are there any here who object to this?"

The room remained silent as I looked around for any to speak up.

"Then it is settled. Amberia, you are a Companion now. I know you'll bring us further honor."

Her eyes lit up and began to tear as the entire mead hall of Jorrvaskr erupted in cheers. She quickly ran up and hugged me again as she kissed me. Once again, the cold chill shot through my body. When she finished, we both joined the rest of the companions in song, dance, and drink. Farkas even convinced Amberia and myself to sing some of the old bard songs. But everyone preferred to hear Amberia sing "Tale of the Tongues."

As the rest of the group continued to pester Amberia to sing more songs, Vilkas and I stepped out for fresh air.

"It's been a wild ride this year, aye, brother?" He said with an exhausted tone.
"Indeed." I replied.

Vilkas sat down at one of the tables and I proceeded to join him. As we continued to drink our mead, Vilkas asked me something that I knew would come up sooner or later.

"So what really happened to Aela?" He asked.
"What do you mean?" I asked with a noticeably stupid look on my face.
"You know damn well what I mean!" The words spewed out with a sharp tone of anger.
"Very well, brother." I said as I sat my bottle down to begin telling the story.

As I told Vilkas the story, his eyes stared hard on his mead bottle as though he couldn't bring himself to believe my words. His silence was not like him. I didn't know if he was angry, or just upset from what had happened. But I knew one thing, this story couldn't leave the two of us.

"I can't believe it." Vilkas broke the silence with a disgusted tone. "After everything, she did not only throw away her life, but her very soul in a fit of jealousy?"
"Yes, brother." I replied in almost a weep. The images of what happened rushed through my head. The look on her face as her life left her body. "But I had to do it. She was not only going to kill Amberia and myself, but she was going to hunt the Companions, as well."
"I thank you for telling me." He replied as he placed his hand on my shoulder. "But you are right, no one can know of this. Better to remember her for who she was, and not what she became.

I nodded in agreement just as Farkas and Amberia busted out the doors. The two of them stumbling over themselves from drinking too much. They were laughing and singing songs way off key as they made their way over to Vilkas and myself.

"Why are you two out here?" Farkas asked with a boasted, drunk voice.
"Indeed!" Amberia added while dropping into the seat next to me. "You should be in there helping me sing these damned songs and drinking more!"

I had never seen this side of Amberia before. It was kind of nice to see her have this kind of fun since we met. Her spirit was high, and she was smiling more than usual. It was a sense I wanted her to feel every day.

"Perhaps we should go back in." I said while smiling wildly at Vilkas.
"Yes," he replied. "it seems we were missed."

As we all stood up to walk back inside, Amberia reached around and grabbed my shirt and spun me around to face her and hugged me to bring me in close.

"I think we need to go to the bedroom." she slurred as she ran her finger down my chest. "I have a present that I would like to give you. It is New Life after all."

She had a wicked smile on her face as she grabbed my hands and pulled me inside. We managed to sneak past the drunken crowd of Jorrvaskr and made our way to the bedroom. She quickly shut the door behind her and locked it once we got inside. I sat on the bed and watched her as she made her way over to the small table in the corner of the room. There was a piece of cloth on the table folded several times. When she unfolded it, a necklace was inside. She picked it up and brought it to me. It was silver and in the shape of a horn.

"This is an amulet of Stendarr. My father gave it to me and said it would protect those who wore it. I'm pretty sure he would approve of you having it now."
"Oh no," I replied. "I couldn't take this. I'm sure it's important to you."
"Well it is." She said. "But my father passed a couple years ago, and I never wear it. I want you to have it, to show how much you mean to me."
I put on the amulet and looked up at her, noticing the tears in her eyes. "Are you ok?" I asked. "You never mentioned your father before."
"That's because he's dead." She replied.
"I'm terribly sorry." I said to comfort her.

She shook her head and wiped the tears away. Standing up to blow out the candles and prepare for bed, she looked over at me before blowing out the final candle.

"Let's just make this a night to remember." She said as she blew it out.

(About a year later)

I finished getting ready for Farkas and Amberia to return from Windhelm on the job they were hired to do. Pretty decent coin too just to shake some milk drinking, wife beating rabble out of town. But that's what the Companions were there for.

I wore my best clothes to look presentable for her. This day, I had something big planned to surprise my year long love with. I picked up a large amulet and tucked it inside my shirt as I put it on. Once I was finished getting ready, I made my way upstairs to wait for the two to return.

Several hours later the door burst open and the two shield-siblings, Farkas and Amberia, came running in laughing trying to shake the snow off of their armor.

"So, how did it go?" I shouted across the mead hall.
"Perfect!" Farkas shouted back. "I think our shield-sister here will end up giving me a run for my money on completing jobs if I'm not careful."

Amberia quickly ran across the room and jumped into my arms with a large hug. As she hugged me, she could feel the necklace with her face. When she noticed it wasn't her father's amulet that she gave me, she looked up at me with almost an angry confused look. She reached into my shirt to pull it out and reveal an amulet of Mara. Her eyes grew large with shock. Once everyone else noticed what I was wearing, the entire hall of Jorrvaskr grew silent.

"Karrick..." Amberia gasped. "Is this what I think it is?"
"Indeed." I replied with a chuckle. "I've been planning this for a few weeks now."
"Are... are you sure?" she started to choke on her words.
I smiled at her as I placed my finger under her chin and my thumb over it. "I've never been more sure about anything in my life. I promised you I would always be there for you, and I couldn't think of a better way to seal that promise."

The room remained quiet as we all waited for her answer. I must admit, I began to sweat as I stood there in the suspense. I was worried that she would say no and leave. Of course, I could understand if she was scared to do this because of what happened to her. But I continued to hold my stance and patiently waited.

Tears began to run from her eyes as her mouth finally started to open as though trying to gasp for air. It was as though words were trying to come out but something was holding them back. I felt her swallow hard as I still hand my hand on her chin.

"Yes, Karrick." She finally spoke. "I will."

She jumped into my arms and gave me the biggest kiss I've ever had. All of Jorrvaskr erupted into applause. Cheers and cries could be heard throughout Whiterun. When she finally broke the kiss, I stood out and shouted across Jorrvaskr to my brothers and sisters of the Companions.

"Then it is settled. Tomorrow morning, we all leave for Riften to the temple of Mara. Amberia and I shall be married!"

Everyone continued to clap and cheer and the two of us smiled at one another again and hugged. For tomorrow, we leave to make our lives as one.

(END)

I want to thank those who took out the time to read this. And thank you all for the positive feedback. I hope to see you all in future stories. :)