Despite it being early afternoon, it felt like late evening. The skies were a heavy gray filling with huge flakes of snow falling to cover the world below. Instead of making the world brighter, the white material seemed to absorb all color from it. It was a picturesque version of a perfect winter day, made for snuggling under a handful of furs and sipping cocoa by the fire.

Ulfric and Elenwen had the snuggling part well handled. The two were watching the snowfall, Ulfric's chin resting on Elenwen's head as she wrapped her arms around him. She loved how warm he always felt. Even the draft from the window held no chill for her as she wiggled against her lover.

She wondered if the pure white of the outside world during winter reminded him of the white room she had locked him in for two years. Or what if it was the other way around? What if the white room with its lack of color and sound had reminded him of home and had helped fortify him against the worst of the sensory deprivation?

The interrogator part of her wanted to know. She wanted to drill him, dive deep for answers he didn't even know that he knew. But she pushed the curiosity away. Talking about his time as her prisoner would just put up a barrier between the two of them again, and she didn't want that. The messenger with her ransom had to be coming soon. They had so little time left together, and Elenwen wanted to enjoy every second she could.

"I should go." Ulfric shifted to move, but Elenwen wouldn't let him. She hugged him tighter, burying her face in his chest hair.

"Don't. Stay here with me. Just a little longer."

He brushed his fingers along her hair, pulling the fine strands away from her face until he could kiss her cheek and work his way up to the tips of her ears. The gentle brush of his breath followed by the warm touch of his lips against those sensitive points made her shiver with want. "You know I can't stay. I've been here too long as it is."

"I know, but it's just too short," Elenwen sighed. "For you it's an hour a day, but for me it's just an hour a day. You're literally all I have, and it's not enough."

"Should I be apologizing?" Ulfric smirked.

"No." Elenwen made a rude noise against Ulfric's arm. "But it would be appreciated."

"I'm sorry I made you have a taste of your own medicine." He didn't really sound apologetic at all, but his kisses made up for it. She moaned as he traced his thumb over her lip. "It won't be much longer now."

"No, it won't."

"You don't sound happy."

"I'll miss you," Elenwen admitted. Her gaze flicked away. "This has been absolute torture. Loss of my magic. Loss of my status. Loss of companionship. But at the same time," she bit her lip, "I'm with you again, and it almost makes it worth it." She smacked Ulfric's arm when he laughed. "I said almost!"

"We have now. It has to be enough."

"I'm not used to only worrying about now! I plan for later. I live for later. Now only matters when completion of a plan is finally coming true. You wouldn't understand. You're human."

Elenwen knew she had said the wrong thing by the way Ulfric stiffened. "Well, that will always be a problem, won't it?" He pushed her away when he got up to get dressed.

She bit her lip as she sat up. She didn't want him to go away angry. She touched his hand. "Don't be mad. I wasn't putting you down. I just meant elves measure time differently."

Ulfric jerked away. "We can't be together, Ellie! It's impossible."

"What if it wasn't?"

He laughed bitterly. "Are you suggesting that you'll give up being a Thalmor Justiciar or that I give up being High King?"

"Why not both?" It was an insane idea, not even a plan, but she had to try.

"You can't mean that."

"I do. Listen. I don't think I'll have much political clout by the time I go home. My mother took too long for whatever reason. She was mad at me or wanted to make a point, but now I will have lost most of my connections within the Dominion." She drew closer to him. "I plan to go to Alinor for a while. To recuperate, and…" She paused.

"And?"

"And you could join me."

"You really think I can just leave Skyrim now? After everything I've been through? After everything she's been through? How could I possibly leave after all those people have died for my cause? After everything that has been sacrificed. Could you possibly give me one good reason?"

"It wouldn't have to be right now, Ulfric. Wear your crown, sit on your throne. Enjoy the fruits of your labor. Make Skyrim what you want it to be." It wasn't as if the Thalmor had any investment in it other than further breaking Cyrodiil. Even the heretical worship of Talos could be stamped out in a few generations when a leader like Ulfric was no longer around. It wasn't as if the Dragonborn was going to take responsibility. "Join me in five, ten years. You can't rule forever. Spend your retirement with me somewhere warm. I can wait."

"Do you really expect me to think you would want me when I'm old before your time? Why would I think you wouldn't tire of me when I'm too old to play your games?"

"I could never tire of you, darling," Elenwen said. She could see in his eyes it wasn't enough. Love was one thing, but love and duty for his homeland was too ingrained in him. But what about love and duty for family? Would it convince him? She didn't know if she could tell him. She had promised herself she never would. "There's another reason."

She could tell he was intrigued. Something about the tone of her voice or her body language had gotten his attention. She felt like she was on a precipice and might as well jump off. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could a crash distracted her.

Galmar came flying into the room, the door slamming into the wall behind him. "Get your dick out of that trash right now, Ulfric!"

Ulfric gave a little scream as he stepped away from Elenwen. "Galmar, how did you get in here?"

"It doesn't matter! I need to get you away from this fucking bitch," Galmar snarled as he grabbed Ulfric's arm. "I knew it was a bad idea to leave you alone with her. Well, it's over." He looked at Elenwen with contempt. "You'll never see him again, Thalmor whore."

Never see Ulfric again? Be left here alone? No! Red filled Elenwen's vision. How dare this human call her such things? How dare he try to take her wolf away? Never!

With a scream, Elenwen launched herself at Galmar, knocking the housecarl away from Ulfric. She landed on his prone form and started punching him over and over. She could hear Ulfric yelling in the background, but the words didn't make sense. All she knew was she suddenly had Galmar's sword in her hands and she was holding it above her head ready to bring it down on his.

"ZUN HAAL VIIK!" The sword flew out of her hands, clattering to the stone floor. She turned towards the source of the Shout. "Ellie, stop right now."

"He's going to keep us apart," Elenwen cried. "How can you just let him?"

"He's my best friend," Ulfric said. He took her hands and pulled her off Galmar. "I can't let you kill him."

"He knows, Ulfric. Can you trust him?"

"Yes. I can trust him with anything." Ulfric glanced at Galmar who was standing up, wiping at his face to clear the blood that was running down his face from the scratches. "Or I should have."

"She's dangerous, Ulfric," Galmar growled. He picked up his sword. "Let me run her through here and now before she can cause any more sorrow."

"I'd like to see you try," Elenwen snarled. "Give me the slightest chance to finish what I had started."

"Enough!" Ulfric stepped between the two of them. "Galmar, we're leaving. Come on."

Galmar flipped a rude gesture at Elenwen before following his jarl. Elenwen listened to their heavy steps fade away and the door slam shut behind them.

She became aware that she was naked and wrapped her arms around herself as she sat on her bed. She pulled the furs up around her, breathing in the scent of Ulfric. She fought back tears that threatened to fall. She didn't want to lose the ability to smell him. She had a horrible feeling that he wouldn't be coming back.

"By the Nine, what in Oblivion were you thinking?" Galmar demanded. The two Nords were in the outer room to Ulfric and Elisif's room. All the doors were closed, but the housecarl checked them again before continuing. "Seriously, Ulfric, I never knew you to be the type to think with your dick. Fucking Elenwen? Your sworn enemy? The bitch who tortured you? Could you imagine what your political enemies could do with that information? I shudder to imagine Maven Black-Briar finding out."

"Galmar, it's complicated," Ulfric sighed. He poured himself a glass of mead, but before he could drink it Galmar snatched it away and downed the whole glass. When he slammed it on the table, Ulfric refilled it before pouring another cup for himself. "I never intended to start sleeping with her again."

"What do you mean 'again?'" Galmar glared at Ulfric.

"Like I said, it's complicated." Ulfric sat in a nearby chair and placed his head in his hands. "Remember when I came back from Cyrodiil? The mess I was? A lot of it was from the psychological games she played, but the worst part was she sent me away. I never escaped on my own. She let me go. Told me that I was nothing to her, that she had used me for her pleasure. She had made herself the center of my world, and then she took it all away."

Galmar pulled another chair next to Ulfric's so he could sit facing him. He took Ulfric's hand and leaned forward so their faces were inches apart. "I don't understand any of this. You always acted as if you hated her more than anything else in the world."

"She always told me that hate is just misplaced passion," Ulfric chuckled darkly. "I'm not very good at telling stories as much as I love imagining them. Let me try to start over." He took a deep breath. "They held me in a small room that was completely white. The walls, the floors, the bedding, my clothes. Even my food. I was in there alone for gods' know how long. Then one day an elven woman was thrown into my cell. It was impossible to ignore her. Not only was there nowhere to go, but I found myself drawn to her.

"I had stopped talking to avoid their interrogations. I guess that's why she was implanted, to become my confidante. I didn't speak to her for a long time, but that didn't stop her from speaking to me. She never asked me any questions. She just talked about her life, her family, ordinary stuff. Things I never had. And then one day, months later, I talked back."

Ulfric leaned back and closed his eyes, lost in his memories. "She was so beautiful, Galmar. Funny, smart, charming, understanding, and a fellow prisoner. We even conspired to try to escape a few times, as ridiculous as that idea was. Then one day, I kissed her, and shortly after made love to her. It was everything I could have hoped for when losing my virginity. Being in love with the perfect woman who understood me better than anyone in the world.

"The next day they dragged us out to be tortured as usual. Until then I had always been blindfolded while Elenwen silently beat me. She would always open with 'Let's begin, shall we?' and end with 'That's all for today.' Then she would leave and let her assistants question me for hours. That last day was different. They tied me to the wall, but instead of torturing me, they brought Ellie in and beat her. I knew they would kill her if I didn't talk. So I did. I told them everything. Gods help me, I told them everything."

Ulfric paused to wipe the tears trailing down his cheeks. "I felt justified. I saved the woman I loved. Only to find out that she and Elenwen were the same person. She played me for a fool. After that, she took me with her as her pet. Made me sleep on the floor with nothing more than a set of pillows, forced me to wear a collar. Treated me like a pampered dog." He snarled at the memory. "But she still made me feel special, wanted, loved. It was easy to fall into the role, especially think I could never get away. I tried, but she proved that she held all the power, and I had none.

"Then one day, out of the blue, she took me on a ride. I thought it was going to be some sort of special, private picnic. Instead, she told me that she didn't want me-that she had gotten what she wanted, but she would let me go because I had amused her enough. She forced me to leave. I felt like I wanted to die. I had given up everything for her, and it hadn't been enough. I had been a distraction, and she had cast me aside. I swore I wouldn't let her get away with it. I wouldn't let the Thalmor treat us like some pet they could adopt and then leave on the side of the road when they bored of us. I would never let Skyrim become infested with their racist ideals."

"Yet, here you are, fucking her," Galmar said solemnly. "I don't understand."

"It was easy to hate her when I didn't see her, didn't talk to her. It was easy to hold all the insults and hurts close to my heart when she was far. But gods, being in the same room as her. With her suddenly giving me every indication she wanted me again. It was impossible to resist her. Because for all my anger, all my hate, I still loved her, Galmar." He smiled sadly. "I guess it was like how you felt with Rikke. She was with the enemy, but the heart wants what the heart wants."

"That's such bullshit!" Galmar jumped to his feet. "Rikke was nothing like that Thalmor bitch! She fought because she believed that she owed some sort of allegiance to the Empire and to fight for her country. She was wrong, but I never believed that she didn't think she was as patriotic as us. And she never presented herself as anything less than honestly. She never lied or deceived anyone. Elenwen used you. By the Nine, she raped you."

"No!" Ulfric stood up too. "I was the one who initiated it. Both times, in the cell and when I was her pet. It was my fault. Not hers."

"It doesn't matter, Ulfric," Galmar sighed. "You were her prisoner. You couldn't give consent. She had all the power and control. She knew she was lying to you. And even if she had told you, and you agreed, it was still rape. Besides, she's like, what, three hundred, and you were eighteen? Still creepy and still rape."

"Bah, by that logic, you're saying that I've been raping her. That's ridiculous. We're two consenting adults having very enjoyable sex."

"The problem is that it's not consenting. You couldn't then, and she can't now. No matter how much the two of you want to smash uglies. It's illegal. And it has to stop."

"I make the law," Ulfric snapped.

"Not yet, you don't," Galmar reminded him. "And you're not above it. You've used Nordic law the whole time for your platform against the Thalmor. You can't discard it because of some crush."

"It's not a crush!"

"I don't care what you want to call it, but it's not love. Love is not based on lies and deceit. Even if I could forgive how that bitch mindfucked you when you were just a kid, I can't forgive the trickery she's pulled now." Galmar looked away. "I've lost a lot of respect for you, Ulfric. I've always thought you were better than other people. And now I can see you're not really different at all."

"I never claimed to be."

"Maybe, but it always felt that way." Galmar sighed. "Maybe it's better this way. Reminds me that you're just human like the rest of us." He shook his head. "It doesn't change the fact that this has to stop right now. What if she had gotten pregnant? I can't hope that you had the sense of mind to pull out every time."

"She thought of that. I've been providing her with Nirnroot tea."

"Small favor there," Galmar huffed. "There would have been no denying it either. Not with her locked up and you the only one access to her. It would have ruined you completely."

"Elenwen would never have a non-pureblooded child," Ulfric said. "She had just as much at stake as I. Possibly more given the Thalmor's attitude towards breeding."

"All the more the reason I'm confused as fuck about this whole thing." Galmar held his hand out. "Now give me your key."

"She needs me, Galmar. You haven't seen her. The solitude is affecting her more than I ever thought it would. If I don't see her, she might do something drastic."

"Unlikely, since it would be doing me a huge favor," Galmar scoffed. "One less Thalmor to worry about."

"We need that ransom. No one pays for a corpse."

"I know that's not your main concern, but it is a valid one. Fine, I'll check in on her periodically if you like."

"She's just as likely as to kill you as talk to you. I wouldn't be too surprised if she ambushed you with a chair. No, it's too dangerous."

"I could go. Elenwen will talk to me." The two men turned as one to the sound of the new voice. Elisif was standing in the doorway to her room, clasping a sleeping robe closed. "We are… were sort of friends."

"That explains certain questions I had," Ulfric said. He gave Galmar a judging sidelong glance.

"Don't change the topic," Galmar coughed, turning red.

"A conversation for later then," Ulfric conceded as he gave over his key. "But I hope you realize I'm going to be trying to convince you to let me see her. I don't have much more time with her, Galmar. After this she's going home. I don't have a lot of time left."

"We never do for the likes of them, Ulfric. We never do."