"A month?!" Dominae exclaimed, staring hard at the lounging Jarl. Fists clenched at her side, she fought her hardest to maintain her anger at the lazy Nord, who barely had the grace to look apologetic. He only nodded his head again, sitting up a little straighter.
"When we'd finally found the contraption, it wasn't in the best of shapes. Hundreds of years have passed since the thing has been used. The wood had started to rot, not to mention the very important metal pieces are close to turning into rusty dust," Balgruuf sighed, rubbing his temples, "I can't even begin to imagine the work that's going to have to go into this. However, I have both Adrianne as well as Eorlund working together to speed up the process."
"Had you not waited until the Peace Negotiation had ended, this could have already been done, my Jarl!"
"Not that I ever question your great persuasion skill, Dragonborn, but I wanted to be absolutely certain that both sides would not interfere before I started. Are you honestly against a month of rest from battle?"
"If it wasn't for the fact that Alduin is out there somewhere, killing the people I'm meant to protect, maybe I wouldn't mind. Just… try and get this done as quickly as possible."
Without another word, the blonde left Dragonsreach, closing the doors behind her with a heavy sigh. Just fantastic. Idle hands were the Dremora's workshop. She had said she was going to train before finding and killing Alduin, but could she really do that for a whole month?
Maybe taking a few days off here and there wouldn't be such a bad thing.
Dismissing the thought, Dominae trotted off, making a beeline for Jorrvaskr. Even yards away, through the heavy doors, the Nord could hear the happy commotion going on from inside. Smile gracing her face, the Harbinger swung the doors opening, entering home to be greeted by her family.
Apparently Farkas, who had left her to speak privately to the Jarl, had just come in. Neither of them had seen their friends for quite a while. She could already hear the whelps asking him to recount their story. They only stopped badgering the man when the doors shut, bringing their attention to her.
"Harbinger!" the crowd yelled, and some even came over to hug her and pat her on the back. Dominae laughed and shooed them all away. They only gave her enough room to breathe, their eager faces demanding to know what had happened on their adventure.
"Like a pack of blood thirsty sabercats, you bunch are!" Aela exclaimed, crossing her arms, "give your Harbinger and Shield-Brother some room! Don't some of you have some jobs you're supposed to be doing, anyway?"
The newer bloods kicked the floor out of embarrassment, and some were about to go back to their jobs, but Dominae stopped them. Motioning for them to sit down, she gave them all a kind smile.
"There's no need to leave yet, younglings. I'm sure Aela and Vilkas have been working you to the bone. Sit, eat, and drink, and we'll tell you our story,"
"Sure, make us out to be the bad guys," Vilkas grumbled, having just come through the other set of doors. His serious façade cracked once he'd gotten to his brother. They hugged in that manly way Nord men seemed to do, and Vilkas held him out at arm's length.
"You look better than the last time I saw you," he mused, "I had thought that beating might make you look a tad more handsome, but you're still as ugly as ever."
Farkas barked out a laugh and slapped his twin on the back. "I've missed you brother. Please, join us for the story."
Farkas was the first to leave their group, leaving Vilkas and Dominae alone. The man turned to his Harbinger and nodded her way with a ghost of a smile on his face.
"Thank you for keeping him safe. We missed you."
Dominae's heart swelled and she returned his nod and smile. "And we've missed you, brother."
"Come, Harbinger! Don't make us wait for the tale any longer!"
"Coming, coming."
She was hurt, sore, and tired—so very tired. Each bone ached to the very core at the pain she was in, like they were close to breaking any moment. She wanted to rest, to lie on the ground and just sleep, but the sounds of an angry dragon in the foggy sky was the reason that she couldn't. Breathing heavily, she held up Wuuthrad as best as she could, while successfully hiding her grimace of pain. She had to be ready for him. If she wasn't, her life would be forfeit.
She heard the sound of his wings before anything else. Whipping around, she readied her blade to slice into his scaly skin. He, however, was quicker than her mortal form. He knocked into her, sending her skidding and rolling yards away. During the tumble, she'd lost her weapon, and the hope of even fighting back. As soon as she stopped rolling, she didn't even try to get up. This was the end. She knew she couldn't do this alone.
With a deep, husky laugh, Alduin landed right on top of her, his foot going to hold her in place before she could even think about trying to get away. His pointed smile was gloat enough, showing her that he had finally won.
"This is how it will really end," he hissed into her ear, he hot breath making her sweat, "you will fall to me. No matter how hard you try, hin fen funt."
With one last laugh, the beast stuck its claws right into her gut and tore her piece to piece.
Awoken from her nightmare, Dominae bolted up out of the bed, her skin covered in sweat and her breathing heavy—as heavy as it had been in her dream. The sudden movement caused Farkas to stir from his own dream. Looking at his lover with sleep still in his eyes, he gave her a questioning glance.
"Is there something wrong, love?" he asked her tenderly, moving to brush his hand against her arm.
The blonde gave him a fake smile, one she hoped he couldn't see through in their darkened room. "It's nothing, Farkas, just a bad dream. Go back to sleep."
Nodding his head, he rested back again, though this time on his back, welcoming her to use him as a pillow unconsciously. That was enough to make her smile.
But it went away as soon as a sharp pain in her belly made her wince. Confused, she lifted up her gown to see if there was maybe a bug that had bitten her tender flesh. What her eyes met, however, was enough to make her gasp.
Red, irritated welts slid from just under her breast all the way down to the opposite hip. There were three altogether, and the one in the middle seemed to have dug far enough in to make her bleed, even if only a little. In an instant, the dream came back to the woman and she felt herself pale.
"Hin fen funt," she whispered to herself, her body starting to shake, "You will fail."
Sorry for the short chapter, but this one had to be made before we got on to the next one, which I've mapped out in my mind to be a long one. One which I think (and hope) you'll very much enjoy.