Mychael
The College of Winterhold was smaller than he expected. Mychael imagined it much larger, and more mysterious.
The city…town of Winterhold was also smaller than Mychael imagined. There was an absence of ruins and debris even though the city was supposedly ravaged by the Great collapse many years ago. The people seemed well enough, all though some were disgruntled by their life in the cold of Skyrim and wished to return south to Whiterun or Falkreath. Mychael did as well; he missed the marketplace of Whiterun and looking at the Gildergreen, and the majesty of Jorrvaskr. He missed the Companions and the friends he had made traveling with the Jarl; he wished he could have gone with them to seek refuge in Solitude. But fate seemed to have other uses for him.
Dawnstar was small town, so the citizens that had traveled to Winterhold were a burden to no one except for the inn. While they did not go with empty pockets, the innkeeper certainly had his work cut out for him. Only a few rooms were available, so they had to find bed rolls to place near the fire. All the others had to sleep in the Jarl's Longhouse. It was no problem; Mychael much preferred the comfort of a bed over bed rolls on the cold ground of the tavern anyways, as did Ysolda. Jon wished to stay in the tavern, to hear the bard sing. While Lydia went off wherever she pleased, it was none of Mychael's business where she went. As long as she returned by night time to settle Ysolda's worries than Mychael had no problem.
Ysolda seemed to be warming up to Mychael's company as time went on. At first Mychael could tell that she had felt uncomfortable around him at first, but the more time that passed by, the more she was around him and seemed to enjoy his company. Mychael was more than fine with that, she had been the one to end things after all; claiming she needed to focus on her oath to her parents that she was to become the best trader in Skyrim. A bogus statement to Mychael, but it mattered not; and now that Whiterun was all but destroyed, it seemed that she no longer needed to raise money to buy the Bannered Mare.
Jon and Lydia on the other hand seemed to interact with Mychael and Ysolda less when they reached Winterhold. The two each kept to themselves and Lydia herself was a mysterious one, always venturing off doing her own tasks only to return in the middle of the night. Jon just kept on speaking with the bard, who seemed to be his new best friend. Perhaps he was right, maybe song can bind people in friendship.
This day Mychael had been with Jarl Brina Merilis, and Horik Halfhand. All three were in the Jarl's longhouse this morning. Ysolda still slept and Mychael did not want to wake her, she seemed tired from the long journey through the cold mountains of the north. Jarl Kraldar sat before them on his throne. An average sized man whose hair seemed to be turning grey with age. His beard was thick but not long, and his clothes were of a normal commoner, instead of the majestic rich man's clothes most Jarls wore. He seemed like a nice enough man, and was grateful for some excitement in Winterhold; Mychael could not blame him, it did not look like this city saw much action nor had any excitement.
"I can offer you the protection of this city for only a little while. Supplies for my own people will begin to run dry soon; trade between the holds has gone to a halt ever since Whiterun fell. "
"As long as you can give us, then we will head to Windhelm." Jarl Brina said.
"Haven't you heard? Windhelm has fallen; a message arrived not too long ago requesting aid. But I cannot send what little men I have, all of the Legionnaires were given to General Tullius. I am afraid that your journey will be halted here my lady." Jarl Kraldar said.
"Then where will we go when your supplies dwindle? Will we join with the wolves? Or will we be killed by bandits? I am afraid the citizens of Dawnstar will not be leaving anytime soon. If you run low on food then my men will hunt for you, but I will not lead my citizens to their deaths." Brina Merilis said.
"Ah, it is true you Legionnaires are feisty ones. If your men would care for themselves then I see no need to send you away. Stay as long as you will, but if my food supply runs low, it will be your men that will go hunting in the cold wastes for a lone rabbit or fox. Do we have an understanding?"
"Of course Jarl Kraldar; I hope you enjoy the rest of your day." Brina Merilis said, obviously not thrilled with the Jarl's response to their conversation. All though Mychael expected no different, did she expect the Jarl to favor her citizens over his own? He had a duty to Winterhold that came before the needs of outsiders, and Mychael could respect that.
Jarl Brina turned to Horik Halfhand after the conversation had ended, "Looks like we we'll have to stay her for a while, old friend." She said, "And you should get some rest, soldier. Have a drink at the tavern, you look tired. We will be here for a while, so get some rest."
Mychael had been the only currently serving Legionnaire from Dawnstar, so his importance was magnified in the Jarl's eyes. Mychael found that as only an advantage, the Jarl's were powerful people, even the ones who governed small towns. Having one as a friend would prove useful in the future.
"Aye, I'll get a drink later, my Jarl." Mychael replied.
Jarl Brina and Horik Halfhand soon withdrew to their respected rooms. Mychael himself did not want to get a drink just yet; it was too early in the morning for such a thing. He felt tired and wanted to go back to sleep, but he didn't want to bother Ysolda nor did he feel in the mood for sleeping. For some reason it felt like he had too many things to do to go to sleep, when the truth was that he had no real responsibility. But something was keeping him awake.
He soon went to the inn anyways, leaving the Jarl's to their court affairs. Mychael would have no more part in it; he didn't favor those types of people, the ones that prefer to stay with the Jarl all day and make themselves seem more important than they are; even Winterhold had them. One particular Dark elf had bothered Mychael the most, because he could tell by the way he spoke he was a liar.
He opened the door when he was near the wooden building. The blaring sound of a woman shouting the words to "Ragnar the Red," attacked his ears like a feral rat. He looked around to find Jon and Lydia; Jon was listening intently to the woman sing of the warrior famed for being defeated in battle. Jon Battle-Born seemed to notice him, and Mychael could tell he was in a good mood, drink always seemed to have that effect on him.
"Hello my friend!" something Jon never called Mychael, "Come and join me in song, no finer voice has been heard in all of Skyrim than this fine beauty!" The girl laughed for a second as she sang; Mychael knew the words all too well. The bard at the Bannered Mare had sung the song far too many times for Mychael's liking.
And the braggart did swagger and brandish his blade, as he told of bold battles and gold he had made. Mychael repeated the verse in his head; he knew the whole song by pure memory; although the woman who was singing it was not doing it justice. Mychael took a seat at the stool right next to Jon; as he listened to the girl destroy a great song.
And then he went quiet did Ragnar the Red when he met the shield maiden Matilda who said…the girl continued, and Jon Battle-Born seemed to enjoy every minute of it, and the woman seemed to be happy that someone enjoyed her music.
"Aha, my friend! Revel in the beauty of the old songs of Whiterun, and the bard who sings them!" Jon Battle-Born said.
"Where is Lydia?" Mychael asked.
"Who knows? She is always here or there, or anywhere. I don't know where she is, but she is somewhere, I can tell you that."
That was no clear answer, and Mychael came to the conclusion that Jon Battle-Born was indeed very drunk. But then again, when was he not? Mychael could not remember a time since they had arrived in Winterhold that Jon was sober.
Oh you talk and you lie and you drink all our mead so I think it's high time that you lie down and bleed! The bard continued, sounding no better than before. She was just shouting out the words instead of singing them, even Mychael himself could do better.
"Innkeeper, a drink." Mychael said, he would only drink one. He did not fancy the thought of becoming like Jon. The man soon produced one bottle of Black-Briar mead, setting it before Mychael. The soldier reached into his pocket and pulled out a single gold coin, thanking the innkeeper and giving him his pay. Soon after Mychael took small sips from the mead, it tasted well; he would admit that.
Suddenly a guard ran inside, almost bringing the door down. He seemed in a hurry, "Everyone out, now!" The guard provided no reasoning, and Mychael feared for the worst. The bard stopped playing her songs, and everyone's eyes were on the man.
"I said out, everyone! Take your belongings and head to the College!"
"What's happening?" the Bard asked.
"Draugr, that's what. Now go!"
And then all of a sudden everyone was in a panic, Winterhold so far had been untouched by the Draugr threat, but if what the guard said was true, then they would not be out of the fight for long. Mychael hurried to the door, but the guar stopped him, "The Jarl wanted to see you, both of them."
"Aye, I'll go see them." Mychael said, hurrying. He would leave Jon to himself; it was his fault that he was drunk anyways. Mychael would not look after him. The soldier was soon out in the cold wastes, he did not see any Draugr, but that did not mean they weren't coming. Mychael quickly ran to the door leading to the Longhouse. Inside were Jarl Brina and Jarl Kraldar, along with Horik Halfhand, they were already speaking when he arrived.
"Impossible, how could they have got here so quickly? The mountains and the snow should have held them back much longer." Brina said.
"What do you want me to say? I have no answer for you, just that the Draugr will be here in twenty minutes. Unless my hunters were hitting the Skooma, I trust their judgment." Jarl Kraldar said.
"Whatever is going on, we must investigate." Horik Halfhand said, "Make sure we know what we're dealing with, see if we can defeat them. Or at least keep them at bay inside the College till help arrives."
"Horik is right, let us go and see this host for ourselves, judge the tales and see what we can do." The Jarl of Dawnstar said, and that seemed to seal the deal.
"Fine, ready yourselves and we will go see what is going." Jarl Kraldar said, right before asking his steward for his armor. Jarl Brina soon noticed Mychael's presence however.
"Get ready soldier, you are the only Legionnaire in this town. I suspect you will not shy from your duty, should I and Jarl Kraldar not return, I expect you to take command. Do you understand?"
"Aye." Mychael replied.
"Suit up then, tell the guards you were given command until we return by the Jarl. They need not know which one."
Mychael excused himself from the conversation, heading to the room he was given inside the Longhouse, He opened the door and rushed in, only to run into Ysolda, who was about to leave the room.
"Hey, what's going on?" she asked.
Mychael sped right past her and grabbed the light Legionnaire armor he had been given upon joining the Imperial Legion, "The Draugr are coming, and you need to go to the College."
"The College? What good will that do, we need to leave!" Ysolda said.
"No!" Mychael said, almost shouting, "Go to the College, you will be safe with the Mages. It is the most defensible spot in this place, it's the only hope we have left."
"Where are you going?" Ysolda asked.
"To help the guards get all the townsfolk out, we need to make sure everyone is safe." Mychael said as he rushed to don his imperial armor. It seemed as if he couldn't get his arms through the sleeves since he was in such a rush. But soon enough he got it, and his armor was fully equipped. Along with his sword belt that he had just grabbed off the table.
"Go to the College, okay?" Mychael said in a nicer tone, "Make sure Jon goes with you, he is quite drunk so he may not understand. But you have to try, okay?"
Mychael was headed out the door, his hand on the handle and beginning to open. "Mychael, wait!" Ysolda called out, so he turned around. Whatever she wanted to say had to be done fast, he had to help the guards evacuate all the citizens fast. But Ysolda simply grabbed the collar of his leather armor and yanked him forward, close enough to where their lips could connect. Mychael did not know what had sparked her to do this, but he was not complaining as their lips were locked together. Soon enough though Ysolda pulled away, "You have a job to do." She said while smiling, "Go on."
Mychael withdrew from the room soon after, and Jarl Brina and Jarl Kraldar were suited in their battle armor as well, Mychael turned when Ysolda ran out of the room, and Mychael hoped she was headed to the College like Mychael asked her to.
"Let's go see the truth of this," Jarl Brina said.
"Aye, come on now; let's see how many are coming." Jarl Kraldar replied.
"Don't you have something to do, soldier?" Brina said as she noticed his presence.
"Aye," Mychael said, "I do." He said, as he made his way out the door.
Well, there it is. I enjoyed writing it so I hope you liked reading it!
Remember to review, because believe it or not…I've never written two characters kissing before! It wasn't really much here, but to me it felt like an accomplishment. Since I am REALLY bad when it comes to writing romance, so I hope it was bearable.
ASOIAF quote of the day: "It was the dragons we married; and now the dragons are dead! There sits the only king I mean to bow my knee to, The King in the North!" –Greatjon Umber.