Tell me, would you kill to prove you're right? - 21st of Sunsdusk - 4 E 201 - Windhelm - The Palace of the Kings
It took her half the day to reach back Windhelm. She crossed the White River Bridge by the early hours of the night and stumbled to the Palace of the Kings.
Her hand softly caressed the doorknob when she closed the massive bronze door behind her. She found herself lost in the contemplation of the blue bear-headed-hangings, of the golden light of the braziers upon the high stone walls… In the warmth of the ancient palace of Ysgramor, she felt safe…
A wave of heat surged through her veins when a voice she held dear echoed through the air, coming from the war-room.
"You were right, Galmar."
"Again?"
"I'm in no mood to joke.", the jarl sighed.
"Give the word, my lord, and Whiterun is yours.", Galmar solemnly said, trying to reassure his friend's confidence. "I've toured our camps. We're ready, Ulfric. Whenever you are."
"Whiterun won't go down without a fight.", a familiar voice stated.
The jarl and his housecarl looked-up to the new incomer. Eliana respectfully bowed before the both of them before she explained her words further:
"Back from Whiterun so soon, half-elven."
"Hardly.", she sighed, weariness finally getting the better of her. "Whiterun won't go down without a fight.", she repeated. "Jarl Balgruuf asked me to deliver the message."
Noticing how pale and weak she looked, Ulfric invited her to take a seat before she reported any further. He did his best to secrete how relieved he was to see her back. After he sent her to Whiterun, he started having second thoughts. Balgruuf was known for his temper… And betrayal was the only thing he never forgave. What if he decided it too dangerous to let her go? What if he ordered her to be killed? What if he made the betrayal mutual and handed her to the Legion? His angst was fading, now that he saw her, safe and sound, and finally back to him.
"You were right.", the young woman confessed, staring up at the jarl. "Another courier might not have made it out alive… The Legion occupies Whiterun.", she reported, her voice firm and dead serious again.
The jarl's jaw tensed and he clenched his fists.
"It's a shame Balgruuf chose the wrong side… You're certain we're ready?", he asked, turning to his housecarl again. "If Whiterun's army is bolstered with Legionnaires… And those walls around Whiterun are old, but they still stand."
"I might be old myself, but I'll kick those damn walls down with my bare feet! - if you would only ask me to do it! And these men and women - they call themselves stormcloaks because they believe in you... They're the meanest, toughest sons of bitches Skyrim has to offer. And they want this. They want this as much as you do. Perhaps they want it more."
The jarl nodded.
"Alright. This is it."
"Yes!"
"Send the word.", the jarl ordered. " 'A new day is dawning and the sun rises over Whiterun.' "
"Aye, and the sons of Skyrim will greet that dawn teeth and swords flashing."
2nd of Evening Star - 4 E 201 - Whiterun Hold
Ten days had passed since. Ten days gathering men, preparing battle-plans, moving artillery. But it was worth the wait.
From their camp down the slopes of the city, catapults fired an endless storm of fire and rock upon their enemies. Whiterun was in flames before the stormcloaks even set foot within the walls.
Fists clenched, jaws tensed, eyes burning, heart freezing, Eliana stood her ground, watching the place she once called 'home' burn. Conflicting thoughts and feelings plagued her mind. She prayed for victory, of course, she prayed for her sake, for Ralof's, even for Galmar's, and for every soldier wearing proud the colors of the true High King of Skyrim, but her heart was burdened with worry for the people of the city they were about to sack; for the guards of the hold, for their wives and children, for the merchants, farmers and innkeepers, for the priests and priestess, for Hulda and Carlotta, for Adrianne and Belethor, for Elrindir and Heimskr, for Danica and Severio, for Balgruuf and Irileth…
A hand patted her shoulder, making her jump on her feet.
"Nice day to die.", Ralof smiled sadly, looking at the blue sky, clouded by the black smoke of the artillery.
"Nicest day to live.", Eliana answered. "And you still owe me a drink!"
The blond soldier let out a loud laugh.
"Hurry!", a third voice interrupted them, "Galmar is gathering the men. We're marching on the city."
"This is it men!", the familiar hoarse voice of the general encouraged. "They say that our cause is false and that we are nothing more than thieves, thugs and murderers! But no! We are farmers! We are craftsmen!", he enumerated, looking straight to each one of the soldiers in his sight. "We are sons and daughters of shopkeepers, alchemists, maid servants and soldiers! We are the sons and daughters of Skyrim! And we have come this far because our cause is true. Because we fight as one. And because our hearts are bursting with anger! What we do here today, we do for our country!", he reminded, voicing then quashing the doubts of many in their ranks. "For all the true Nords of Skyrim! Whiterun's walls are tall, but they are old and crumbling, like the Empire whose Legion lines them. They've barricades to block us, but we'll tear through them and the Imperials behind them! Our objective is the drawbridge.", he explained. "If we can find a way to drop it, the city will be ours!"
Dozens of voices clamoring covered the deafening noise of the catapults and explosions around.
"Everyone on me. Let's show these Imperial milk drinkers what true Nords look like!"
The line of stormcloaks spread around in the crops to surround the soldiers guarding the barricades. Eliana and Ralof followed Galmar at the center. The blond soldier aimed his bow at the three imperials shouting arrows from the ramparts while the bear warrior and the Dragonborn charged the line of soldiers ahead.
Eliana stopped dead at a good distance.
"GALMAR, STAND ASIDE!"
The general automatically obeyed, only to see an ignited projectile swoop on the barricade. The fireball exploded on the impact, engulfing the wooden barrier and the guards standing behind in a fire storm.
The general curtly nodded and reinsured his grip on the hilt of his warhammer before he threw himself in the battle. Eliana and Ralof focused on the archers up the ramparts.
"Evergreen!", the general called out. "Find a way to open that bridge!"
"Yes, my lord!"
The young woman threw one last fireball at the Legionnaire aiming Ralof and found herself a path in-between the chaotic fighting crowd and up the wooden rampart up the northern side of the road to the city. She noticed too late the two archers crouched behind the stone wall. The first arrow missed, only just, but the second swept on its target with deadly accuracy.
"FEIM!"
The arrow passed right through her chest. Still shaken by her near-death experience, Eliana hardly gathered enough magicka to return the favor.
The two soldiers raised their shield to protect themselves of the ice spike storm raging on them, forgetting only for a second the threat of the Dragonborn before them. One fatal second.
"FUS RO DAH!"
The broken bodies of the two soldiers crashed against the closed drawbridge and fell in the stream below. Eliana took the shield one of them dropped when shouted, and advanced through the lines of red and ochre armored soldiers.
"Die, traitors!"
"By Ysmir, you'll pay for that!"
The young woman spotted a bunch of archers hidden in the smoke and the shadow, constantly assaulting the stormcloaks soldiers below.
"Here's the Stone-Fist! Get him!"
"FO KRAH DIIN!"
The three of them were frozen to their death before they could even aim a bow at the general, unaware of the threat above him until the ice-cubed soldiers fell down the rampart. Galmar looked up only to see Eliana summon a fireball and aim it at another group of Imperial soldiers.
"STOP BRAGING AND GET THAT BRIDGE DOWN, EVERGREEN!"
The wood panel fell to the ground with a deafening thud, allowing the stormcloaks to enter the city. The remnant of the garrison outside ran to the safety of the city to join the second line of defense.
2nd of Evening Star - 4 E 201 - Whiterun
Whiterun was on fire. The shops and houses, drowned in a thick layer of black, foul, smoke. In this burning mist, it was hard seeing anything, moreover discerning the colors of an uniform.
Fighting noises and battle cries echoed ahead, on the marketplace and up the stairs, in the Wind district. Eliana ran ahead upon hearing voices calling out for help.
The blood of Imperial and stormcloaks covered the ground, the Bannered Mare was on fire, civilians were running for their lives and soldiers found themselves dispersed, disunited and leaderless.
"PLAN ON BURNING EVERYTHING, FOOLS?", Eliana yelled gaining immediate attention of the soldiers scattered around the marketplace. "GATHER ROUND! You two, get that barricade down! The four of you, there are civilians trapped in there", she said motioning to the flaming inn. She gathered all the magicka she had left in an ice spell that slightly smothered the fire. "Help them out! The rest, with me! Up to Dragonsreach!"
The stormcloaks brought the barricades upstairs down and spread out across the Wind district. The battle raged on the main place, around the Gildergreen. Galmar and Ralof were there, fighting a wave of hold guards guarding the way up to the Cloud district and the palace of the jarl.
"Damn it, Evergreen! I thought we'd lost you!"
"And I can't imagine how pleased you were at the mere thought.", the young woman teased.
Galmar let out a laughing snort, and swung his warhammer upon two of his foes while Eliana backed-up Ralof a little way up the stairs.
"Get down!"
Ralof pulled Eliana to him. Two arrows bounced on the stone floor right where she was standing only a second before.
"Thanks.", she smiled as the blond patted her shoulder. She left the shelter of the stone slope to face their foes before they could arm their bows again. "FUS RO DAH!"
The archers on the last stairs flew backwards and into the water behind the shrine of Talos. Galmar gave the Dragonborn a content nod and turned to his soldiers downstairs. "Spread out! Make sure civilians are safe. Try and contain this fire! If you find Imperials, put them down. Hamah", he ordered to a tall red-beard soldier, "find Vignar Greymane and send him up. Evergreen, Ralof, up with me!"
2nd of Evening Star - 4 E 201 - Whiterun - Dragonsreach
Unexpectedly, the doors of the palace were not barricaded, nor were they locked. The three stormcloaks entered the main hall without any resistance. Two hold guards waited for them up the wooden stairs to the throne floor, and three more guarded the jarl along side with Irileth.
"It's over, Balgruuf.", Galmar's hoarse voice announced. "The city is ours. Spare the lives of your men, and surrender."
"Protect the jarl!", the Dunmer housecarl ordered, unsheathing her short sword as the three stormcloaks closed the gap between them and Balgruuf. "At all costs, protect the jarl!"
The soldiers didn't need her to say it twice! The five of them unsheathed their weapons and placed themselves between the stormcloaks and the jarl.
"Jarl Balgruuf!", Eliana intervened, stepping forward. "Please… there's been enough blood today! Accept our victory and step down!"
"I'll be damned if I let this rabble take my city without raising my own sword."
A short imperial sword swept on her, missing but only just. The five guards and Irileth engaged Galmar and Ralof while Eliana fought Balgruuf on her own.
Unable to gather any magicka, she unsheathed her daggers and desperately blocked one hit, avoided a second, but couldn't stop the third. Her fire-blade broke in half, leaving her with only the hilt in hand. Balgruuf took advantage of her shock. His elbow slammed hard against her jaw, sending her to the ground. The young woman recovered just in time to witness Balgruuf's sword swoop over her.
The sound of metal against metal was the only thing she heard when the hilt of the sword met the hilt of a warhammer. Galmar blocked Balgruuf's sword and violently head butted him, sending the jarl crashing into a table.
"Morron."
The jarl's sword fell off his hand with a thud. "Enough!... That's enough… I… I surrender."
Using the nearest table for support, Eliana got on her feet and gave her surrounding a disgusted look. The guards who had stood with the jarl until the very end were dead. Irileth, knocked to the ground, bleeding, Ralof's axe under her throat.
"Tell me, Balgruuf…", she hissed. "Was it worth it?"
The jarl shot her a dark glance but it never reached her heart. The young woman turned her back on the man kneeling before Galmar and walked up to his housecarl to heal her.
"BALGRUUF!", a hoarse voice echoed through the wooden hall, shortly followed by the sound of the doors closing.
"Vignar Gray-Mane!", the jarl spat. "Your family was noticeably absent from the walls. Now I know why. Wouldn't a dagger in the back have sufficed?"
"You think this is personal?", the eldest of the Greymane family asked. "The Empire has no place in Skyrim... not anymore. And you, you have no place in Whiterun anymore."
"A convenient position to hold now.", Balgruuf stated, his voice weak from exhaustion but still firm and sharp. "But mark my words, old man: in the days to come, Ulfric will spread his rebellion thin. And what then? We need the Empire, as much as it needs us. We Nords are the Empire! Our blood built it. Our blood sustains it! You of all people should know that."
"If this was my Empire, I'd be able to worship whoever I damned well pleased. You wish to see an Empire without Talos? Without its soul? The Emperor is nothing more than a puppet of the Thalmor. We should be fighting those witch-elves, not bending knee to them.", Vignar growled. "Skyrim needs a High King who will fight for her, and Whiterun needs a Jarl who will do the same."
Balgruuf let out a dark chuckle.
"Tell me, Vignar. Was all this worth it? How many of those corpses lining our streets wear the faces of men who once called you friend? What about their families?"
"Enough!", Galmar's voice stopped them. "Both of you! There is a burning city out there that needs a government."
Vignar Greymane solemnly nodded.
"You're right, Galmar. Come, let us restore order."
"This isn't over.", Balgruuf hissed as Hamah and the other stormcloak soldiers escorting the new jarl seized him to take him to the dungeons. "You hear me you old fool! This isn't over!"
He then turned to the Dragonborn, former Thane of Whiterun and, once a trusted friend.
"You'll all come to regret this day, half-elven.", he threatened, earning a loud gasp from Ralof. "Damn it!", he cursed under his breath. "Why can't Ulfric see he's tearing Skyrim to pieces? I've been a son of Skyrim all my life.", he added, his anger slowly vanishing, replaced by quiet resignation. "I love this land and her people. So do all the Nords that serve the Empire. Ulfric, too, once… He wasn't always a self-serving ego-maniac… And now look at the man you serve… 'stormcloaks'... even the name of your rebellion stinks of Ulfric's vanity. He wants to be king. That's all this is about. One man's ambition." He sounded deeply hurt by his own saying. "Is that really what you want to be? His puppet? A tool? A stepping stone on his way to power? I'd thought better of you."
Eliana blinked.
"I am well aware of the man's flaws, jarl Balgruuf.", she whispered, her voice low, yet unyielding.
"And still you choose to side with him."
"And still, I choose to side with him."
Balgruuf stared at her, with question-filled eyes. "Why?"
"Because… I believe in him. I believe in what he can become."
3rd of Evening Star - 4 E 201 - Whiterun
A new day is dawning, the sun rises over Whiterun.
Whiterun was in flames, and tears burned her eyes. She had escorted Balgruuf to the gates of the city, leading him and his family in exile, under the gazes of stormcloaks soldiers and imperial prisoners, hold guards and citizen. He would next be escorted to the border of Haarfingar hold, on his road to Solitude.
Civilian casualties were still unknown and Eliana could only hope no one she knew, none of her friends, had fallen that night. But she would not be answered for now Galmar sent her back to Windhelm to report their victory to Ulfric.
Pfiouuu! Had to play through the battle over and over again to get this straight but it was totally worth it! :)
The title of the chapter is from the lyrics of the song "Hurricane" by "30 seconds to Mars" on their album "This is war". I thought it fitted quite well! ^^
Again, I'm sorry for the way I depicted Balgruuf! I actually like this character in game, I like him a lot! But I absolutely hate that he sides with the Empire... But then again, as I said in the previous chapter, this isn't the last time we get to see the (now 'former') jarl :)
Hope you enjoyed that! :) Stay tuned! More fluff and more action to come in next chapters :) Don't forget to review! :) And talking about reviews...
Thanks to Banana Man for his review ;) I'm really glad you like my fic! I promise, won't be any 'dirtyness' in later chaps (sorry if that disappoints some of my dear readers ^^ I warned for fluff! not anything else ^^ ) , so, stay tuned, if you have an account, don't hesitate to connect to review, I'll be more than happy to reply by PM :) I always do ;)