This chapter is all about the feels. Reunions and bittersweet moments. -leaves box of tissues for everyone to use-
I should also mention that my friend BrunetteAuthorette99 author of the very popular fanfic, The Bear and the Wolf, and I have decided to put our writing skills together to bring you a spinoff called The Thief and The Lecher. Its a story all about Lassarina and Finverior and their six months together after she defeated Mercer and decided to run away from her life for awhile. It's really good!
Only two chapters left, followed by the epilogue! Book is almost over people! Start preparing for a very shocking ending!
Start thinking of questions you might have for the next book!
I hope you enjoy this. Please remember to Fave/Follow/Review and be sure to share this story with your friends.
If you want to follow me socially, I have a Twitter account: NikkiNicole159 and I also have a Deviant Art account: Nicky-Nightmare
Chapter Thirty-Four
For several moments, the siblings were trapped in a void of light so bright they were forced to shut their eyes, but even through closed lids the harsh light still caused them pain. It was utterly terrifying; they felt like their bodies didn't exist and the only thing that confirmed whether or not they were still alive was the sounds of their hearts beating, loudly and rapidly. They couldn't feel each other's hands, although they had been firmly clasped together upon jumping into the portal. Both Einarr and Lassarina thought they were alone.
But then they could feel, they could breathe, and the harsh light that had blinded them instantly vanished. The siblings slowly opened their eyes, finding themselves staring directly at the other. They were both breathing heavily, trying to calm themselves down after such an intense experience, but their hands were still intertwined and they were both alive. Without thinking, Einarr pulled his sister into a tight embrace, one she returned, and their bodies shook slightly as they adjusted.
"Did it work?" Lassarina asked, her voice a mere whisper. "Are we in Sovngarde?"
Einarr let her go as she pulled away and, for the first time, took in their surroundings. They were standing at the top of a cobbled path, enormous statues of robed men standing on either side the entire way down. Braziers lit the way in the surreal twilight and all the trees were covered in white leaves. The night sky above was lit up with the same brilliant aurora that illuminated the sky every night back in Skyrim, but the obvious difference between them was that this light came from an intensely bright source straight above. Its light could rival the sun's, but Einarr could sense the almost mystical vibe he got just from looking at it, and it did not hurt his eyes to look upon it.
"I think we are," he finally said to his sister.
Exchanging nods, they started to walk down the cobbled path, taking in the beauty of everything around them. It all seemed like a dream, like none of it was real, but they both knew that they were there and that they were wide awake. As they neared the bottom of the path, they were faced with a fog so thick, they could barely see three feet in front of them. Reaching out with one hand, Einarr swiped at it, curling his lip when he got a feeling of dread.
"This isn't normal," he growled. "This fog was put here."
Just then, a roar came from inside the mist, and he and Lassarina stiffened. Drawing their weapons, they instinctively looked above the fog and could just make out the form of Alduin circling the area in search of prey.
"Think there's a way around it?" Lassarina asked stiffly.
Einarr shook his head. "Nay, it seems to cover the whole valley."
"Then we're just supposed to walk through it?"
"I saw Shor's Hall from the top of the path. It's not far, and if we move quickly we can avoid Alduin and seek shelter until we can come up with a plan."
"What if we get lost within the mist, Einarr? It's thicker than Tilma's stew!"
Frowning, Einarr wished they had a torch or some other form of light that they could use to illuminate the path ahead. Just as he started to look around for a piece of wood he could use, a strange ball of light suddenly formed between them, startling them both.
"What in Oblivion is that?" he growled, annoyed that he was spooked so easily.
A smile appeared on his sister's face. "That's a magelight!"
The ball then began to move into the mist, floating gently away.
"Looks like we're meant to follow it."
Einarr felt a little suspicious about the appearance of the light, but he shrugged a shoulder and stayed close to Lassarina as they followed it into the fog. They were both extremely tense once they were inside of it, constantly glancing over their shoulders and even attempting to see the sky above. They kept seeing shadows moving out of the corners of their eyes, so when an armored man appeared in front of them, they both nearly jumped out of their skins.
He was a Stormcloak soldier, still dressed in his armor and looking at them with abject horror on his face. "Turn back, traveler!" he shouted. "Terror waits within this mist. Many have braved the shadowed vale but vain is all courage against the peril that guards the way."
"What is this mist?" Lassarina asked.
"I do not know–but none have passed through. Alduin, his hunger insatiable, hunts the lost souls snared within this shadowed valley. Can you lead the way to where Shor's hall waits, beckoning us on to welcome long sought?" he asked desperately.
"Of course," Einarr told the man, pitying him for having to wander aimlessly in the fog. "It's at the far end of the valley from here."
"That light is showing us the way," Lassarina added, nodding to the magelight that still floated in front of them.
The Stormcloak soldier thanked them fervently, and they once again followed the magelight as it led them through the mist. The had been walking for only a little while when a roar sounded directly above them and a pair of claws swooped down and snatched the soldier right from the ground. Lassarina screamed, drawing her bow to try and save him, but Einarr shouted at her to run. He held onto her hand, never stopping as he followed the light, which seemed to sense the urgency and begin to move even faster. The light glowed brighter near a rocky outcrop, as if urging them to take shelter there. Einarr didn't protest and pulled his sister underneath the shelter of the outcrop.
"We'll rest a moment and keep going," Einarr panted.
Lassarina knelt on the ground. "Alduin got him."
"There was nothing we could have done."
They both looked up at the sound of footsteps as another soul stepped into the shelter, his face illuminated by the magelight. The siblings gasped in shock when they recognized him.
"Greetings, Companions."
"Kodlak!" Einarr and Lassarina said in unison.
Lassarina was on her feet instantly and threw herself into the man's embrace, laughing happily. "I can't believe it's actually you!"
"It is good to see the both of you as well," Kodlak chuckled. "But also saddening. How was it you died?"
Einarr shook his head. "Nay, Kodlak, we're not dead. We're here to defeat Alduin."
The old man's eyes lit up. "Truly? Then perhaps it will all be over soon and I can finally find my way into Shor's Hall."
"Find your way?" Lassarina echoed. "Have you been lost in this mist since you died?"
"Aye. When I woke from cold death, my doom was lifted. There was Shor's Hall, my heart's desire. But now I wander, weary and lost, and the hunter becomes the hunted. Once such a brave warrior, I now cower in fear as the World-Eater seeks to devour my soul."
Einarr stepped forward and placed his hands on his predecessor's shoulders. "Kodlak, come with us. We can lead you to Shor's Hall. We'll protect you."
But the former Harbinger shook his head. "I'll stay here . . . the mist . . . it confuses the souls that wander through it."
Lassarina and Einarr exchanged a frown and looked at the magelight as it began to move away again. They had to follow it, or they'd be lost too.
"We're going to fix this, Kodlak," Lassarina promised Kodlak. "We'll kill Alduin and you'll be inside the Hall of Valor before the day is done."
"Gods be with you," he told them, smiling sadly. "Thank you for looking after the Companions and after Vilkas."
The continued to follow the light, encountering more souls as they traveled through the mist. Legionnaires and Stormcloaks alike all wandered lost and confused, mumbling questions of if Einarr and Lassarina knew the way or recollecting their final moments of life. They had even been surprised to encounter High King Torygg, who spoke about the fight between him and Ulfric and how it had been his blade and not his Thu'um that ended his life. The young king spoke of how he regretted leaving behind his fair Elisif, but he knew that his death would have been one of the possible outcomes.
"At least now we know it wasn't his Shout that killed Torygg," Lassarina whispered softly, no doubt thinking of Ulfric in that moment.
The light continued to lead them, finally showing them out of the thick mist to stand before a wide bridge made of a whale's skeleton. They could see Shor's Hall clearly now, waiting across the bridge in all its glory, the sounds of singing coming from within. The magelight they had been following disappeared, and before the bridge stood two people. One was an imposing looking man, so tall he could likely dwarf Farkas, who was the tallest Nord the siblings new. Standing beside him was a petite woman wearing white robes.
"Mother," Einarr realized, staring at the robed woman.
Freyja Fire-Song started walking over to them, lowering the hood of her robes and looking at her children, her pale blue eyes filled with love, sadness and regret. Einarr could feel his sister stiffen beside him, knowing that the last time she had looked upon their mother's face was when she had been a tiny girl of four. Einarr had been lucky enough to get a look at her without her envoy robes shielding her face when he had still been asleep in his coma, but he couldn't imagine how conflicted Lassarina in this moment.
"Oh, my darling children," Freyja said, her voice hitching a bit as tears began to form in her eyes. "I can't believe you're actually here . . ."
"Why wouldn't we?" Lassarina asked coldly. "You only tormented us in our dreams and possessed your granddaughter to get us to this moment."
Freyja winced, and a frown appeared on her face. "I know what I did was terrible; I took no pleasure in forcing my own children into such a dangerous mission. But I don't regret it, because you are my children. I knew both of you would be strong and work together to make it this far. There is no doubt in my mind that you two are strong enough to defeat Alduin . . . to end this all. I don't know if you'll ever forgive me for all the grief I've caused you, but believe me when I say I did it for you. Everything I have done is so that you two could live the life you deserve, a life that neither of you can have so long as Alduin lives."
Lassarina had her hands at her sides, clenched into fists and shaking violently. He could see tears form in her eyes and spill down her cheeks right before she let out a sob and threw herself into their mother's arms.
"Mama," Lassarina cried into Freyja's shoulder, letting the soft, white robes soak up all the tears. "Mama, I'm so sorry for what happened to you!"
Freyja smiled sadly at her daughter and held her in a loving embrace. "Shh, love, it's not your fault. It is I who should apologize for leaving you."
"Nay! It was all Mercer's fault you died! But I killed him . . . I sent the bastard into the deepest pit in Oblivion."
Einarr's eyes widened as he listened to his sister's words. What is she talking about?
"Wait, Mother, I thought you died from an illness," Einarr said aloud.
Lassarina gasped and lifted her head from her mother's shoulder, looking at Einarr with fear in her eyes. She had never told him the real truth behind their mother's death, and now she had made the mistake of accidentally saying it out loud.
"Nay, Einarr dear," Freyja sighed. "I died from a poison Mercer Frey had given me after he had me abducted. It slowly ate away at my insides to cause me nothing but pain during my final days."
Einarr's vision went red, and he could practically feel himself boil with rage. "That bastard murdered you?" He turned and glared at his sister. "And you knew this?"
Lassarina lowered her gaze in shame. "Mercer confessed it to me right before he left me for dead. He said he had tired of mother rejecting his advances and he had some of his men take her one night. Then he . . . then he raped her . . . right before poisoning her."
He clenched his teeth and balled his hands into tight fists, wishing Mercer was alive and in front of him at that moment, just so he could murder him all over again. "Lassarina . . . I'm glad you killed him."
"Mercer Frey paid for his crimes in the end," Freyja told them, her voice filled with sorrow. "But not before hurting my family one last time."
Lassarina's hands went to her abdomen and her thoughts strayed to her unborn son, to little Kodlak, who Mercer so cruelly denied a chance at life. The scar from his blade still remained etched on her skin, a constant reminder of the baby she had lost.
"I never even got a chance to see him," she whispered, her voice catching on another sob.
"A chance you may get still," their mother said.
Einarr and Lassarina looked at Freyja in shock, and she turned and nodded to Shor's Hall. "I have petitioned both Aedra and Daedra alike to give you two a gift for all you've done. They agreed to my request. Your gifts wait for you beyond those doors, my loves."
Einarr and Lassarina started making their ways to the doors, only to be stopped by the tall man who stood before the bridge.
"What brings you, wayfarer grim, to wander here in Sovngarde?" he asked them.
"They pursue Alduin," Freyja said, coming to stand beside her children. "The World-Eater."
The man regarded them with a respectful look. "A fateful errand. No few have chafed to face the Worm since first he set his soul-snare here at Sovngarde's threshold. But Shor restrained our wrathful onslaught–perhaps, deep counseled, your doom he foresaw."
"Who are you?" Einarr asked him.
The man placed his fisted hand over his heart. "I am Tsun, shield-thane to Shor. The Whalebone Bridge he bade me guard and winnow all those souls whose heroic end sent them here, to Shor's lofty hall where welcome, well earned, awaits those I judge fit to join that fellowship of honor."
"May we pass and enter they hall?" Lassarina asked, a bit desperately, eager to see what compensation the Gods had for her and Einarr.
"No shade are you, as usually here passes; but living, you dare the land of the dead. By what right do you request entry?"
A difficult question for both siblings as they turned to look at each other. Lassarina, a Nightingale, and Einarr the Harbinger of the Companions. That was who they were, one a thief and the other a warrior. But in that moment, in the past few months, they were neither of those things. They had become something they had fought to accept after so long.
"By right of birth," Lassarina answered.
"We are Dragonborn," Einarr finished.
Tsun turned his gaze to Freyja and gave her an amused grin, as if a private joke were being exchanged between the two. "Ah! It's been too long since last I faced a doom-driven hero of the dragon blood, let alone two of them at once."
"May we enter the Hall of Valor?"
"Living or dead, by decree of Shor, none may pass this perilous bridge till I judge them worthy by the warrior's test."
Without warning, Tsun drew the enormous axe from his back and charged at them. Lassarina easily dodged the attack, using her agile body to roll out of the way and quickly jump back on her feet. Einarr, however, had been distracted by their mother, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her out of the way, but receiving a blow to his back.
"Einarr, do not worry about me; focus on the task at hand!" Freyja scolded him, smacking his hands away and shoving him into the fight.
Lassarina had used Einarr's mistake to her advantage and fired an arrow directly between Tsun's powerful shoulders. But the mighty warrior didn't even seem to feel the arrow as he turned and started charging at her, axe swinging. She dodged and weaved around the attacks, backing up with each missed blow, but soon came to the edge of a cliff and found she could back away no further.
"Shit," she cursed, looking at Tsun's raised axe with wide eyes.
Suddenly, Einarr appeared and barreled into Tsun's side, knocking him off balance and forcing him to turn and fight the other sibling. Blows were exchanged, some so hard they caused sparks to fly off the blades when they met. Lassarina wasted no time and snuck up behind Tsun, having exchanged her bow for her two ebony swords. She had hoped to strike a blow at the bridge guardian from behind, but Tsun had sensed her somehow and blocked the blow with his axe without even having to turn around. He knocked her blades aside and quickly swung the axe back to cover his front to block the blow Einarr had aimed for his side. The siblings were ready to attack once more when he lowered the axe and let it rest on his back.
"You both have fought well," he told them. "I find you worthy. It is long since one of the living has entered here. May Shor's favor follow you and your errand."
Einarr and Lassarina sighed in relief and put away their weapons before turning to look at their mother. Her eyes were glowing with pride and she was smiling at them.
"Mother, are you coming?" Einarr asked her.
To their shock, Freyja shook her head. "Sovngarde is not where I went when I died. I instead ascended to Mara's plane of Aetherius, and as such, I cannot enter the Hall of Valor. I am only here now because I needed to guide you to the bridge and inform you that your gifts are waiting within."
"Then we'll see you when we come out to face Alduin?" Lassarina asked.
Freyja remained quiet for a few second before nodding her head. "Aye, go inside. I will see you when you return. I love you both."
Einarr and Lassarina both smiled at her and turned to the bridge, but right before they stepped onto it, their mother called out their names. Turning back around, they saw a desperate question in her eyes.
"Einarr, Lassarina . . . am I forgiven for everything I've done to you?"
Einarr looked at his sister for a long moment before turning back to their mother. "Aye, we forgive you, mother . . . and we love you too."
The smile that appeared on her face would have rivaled the sun. Freyja was positively glowing with happiness. With a supportive nod, they turned away from their mother and cautiously crossed the Whalebone Bridge across the giant chasm and stood on the other side before the massive doors of the hall. They both looked back one more time to see their mother, but to their shock, she had disappeared.
"Where did she go?" Lassarina asked, looking around for her.
Einarr sighed heavily. "Maybe her duty as the Divines' envoy was finally finished and she's been called back to Mara's realm." He shrugged a shoulder and turned back to the doors. "Come on, she'd want us to finish this, not search for her."
The doors were so heavy that they both had to push them open. They were embraced by the warm light that filled the inside almost immediately. Stepping inside the hall, they took in the sight of the large feast tables in the center of the room, all surrounding a giant fire pit where food was roasting on spits. The scent of the food was enough to make their mouths water, but they ignored the hunger pangs they felt and looked around at all the Nord heroes walking around, completely at ease, drinking mead and feasting upon succulent dishes. Their attention was back on the food when a blond Nord man walked right up to them, a very familiar looking axe on his back.
Einarr made the connection first. "Wait, is that–"
"Aye, it is Wuuthrad, the very same weapon that hangs displayed on the wall at Jorrvaskr and opens the door to my tomb," the Nord interrupted him.
"You're Ysgramor!" Lassarina gasped, realizing who it was they were speaking to.
Ysgramor gave a hearty chuckle. "Welcome, Dragonborns! Our door has stood empty since Alduin first set his soul-snare here. By Shor's command, we sheathed our blades and ventured not the vale's dark mist. But three await your word to loose their fury upon the perilous foe: Gormlaith, the fearless, glad-hearted in battle; Hakon, the valiant, heavy-handed warrior; and Felldir, the old, far-seeing and grim. Seek their counsel when you're ready and meet your destiny." He stopped and gave them a warm smile. "But first, there are some who wish some time to speak with you."
Einarr and Lassarina followed his gaze when he looked over at an area by the doors. From the gloom of the shadows, a Khajiit woman stepped forward. She appeared young, dressed in simple leathers that she wore over the light-brown fur that covered her body. Her golden eyes were framed by darker brown markings and long hair of the same color, bound in many dreadlocks. The woman was a complete stranger to Lassarina and she was beginning to wonder why a Khajiit was in the Nord afterlife, when Einarr ripped his armored gloves off his hands, dropping them on the floor along with his helmet and swept her in a tight embrace before kissing her passionately. It was in that moment that she realized that the Khajiit was Einarr's deceased wife and Kiraya's mother, Faraya.
"How is this possible?" Einarr asked her breathlessly when they finally broke the kiss. "I thought only Nords were allowed into Sovngarde."
"Your mother," Faraya purred in a heavily accented Khajiit voice. "She petitioned Azura and Shor to allow me entry into the hall so long as you remain here. Once you leave Sovngarde, I will return to Azura's realm; to Moonshadow."
"Faraya, I've missed you so much . . ."
"And I you, my love. But let us not waste this precious moment together wallowing in sorrow. Let us enjoy it, for we may never get a chance like this again." She raised herself onto her tiptoes to kiss away the tears that had escaped his eyes. "I would like this chance to meet the sister you always spoke so fondly of, and to hear how our Kiraya is."
"Kiraya is fine," he told her with a happy chuckle. "She's growing like a weed and is starting to develop her mother's stubbornness."
"I'd like to think it's some of yours as well," Lassarina teased, hating herself for interrupting the joyous reunion.
"You are Lassarina, yes?" Faraya asked curiously. "Einarr always spoke of you during his time in the caravan. Always saving coin so he could one day take you from the orphanage and you could live together once more."
"He's spoken of you too, Faraya. He told me how many pranks you used to pull on him when he first joined the caravan . . . and how much he loved you and mourned your passing. He once even told my husband that he's never been with another woman since you died."
Faraya turned her sharp gaze to Einarr. "Is this true?"
"I haven't allowed myself to love another," he told her softly. "For me, you are the only one I can ever love, Faraya."
His wife stared at him for several moments before letting out an annoyed hiss and scratching his arm. "Thjiz jajo!"
"Faraya! Was that really necessary?"
"Do you think it gives me joy that you are alone and won't allow yourself to feel for another?" she demanded. "I would rather you be with someone else than be lonely, Einarr. Don't miss out on another chance to love because you refuse to accept that the moment I died, we were no longer married."
"But, Faraya–"
"No! No 'buts.' Promise me, swear on the life of our daughter that you won't deny yourself another chance at love and happiness!" She took a deep breath and kissed him softly. "I will always love you, Einarr, as much as I know you love me, but please, don't force yourself to be alone because of me."
Einarr shut his eyes and held his wife in his arms, his whole body shaking from joy and frustration. He would be lying if he said that it wasn't hard to have sworn off women the past thirteen years, but his heart had been tied to Faraya's the moment they first came together as only a man and a woman could. The idea of lying with another woman, or even allowing himself to love her, it broke his heart and made him feel sick.
"I just don't know if I can," he finally whispered to her.
"Try," Faraya urged.
He sighed heavily, but nodded. "All right . . . I'll try . . ."
Lassarina felt both thankful and sorry for Faraya in that moment. She was glad she was giving Einarr permission to try and find love again, but at the same time she knew how it must be hurting the both of them. It was like it was a final form of closure that their marriage was over, even if they still did love each other. Just having watched the entire reunion made Lassarina eager and nervous to see what gift the gods had given her.
"Mama!" squealed the happy voice of a child.
Lassarina's heart nearly stopped at the sound, and she turned around to see a toddler running over to her. He appeared to be two-years-old, with a thick mane of black hair and pale-blue eyes. She had seen the child before, though only in her dreams, before she had lost him. Falling to her knees, she opened her arms out to the child and wrapped him in a tight hug when he fell into her arms. This was her baby . . . her little Kodlak. She couldn't stop herself from sobbing loudly any more than she could stop herself from showering his face with kisses.
"I can't decide if this is wonderful or cruel," she cried, all too aware that Einarr and Faraya had turned to watch. "The chance I was denied, only to know that he'll be gone again the minute we leave Sovngarde."
"But at least you know he's being cared for," said a familiar voice.
Lassarina gasped and looked up. "Ulfric?"
But it wasn't Ulfric that stood before her, though he looked a lot like him. It was an old Nord man with gray hair that reached his shoulders. Lassarina stood up, still holding Kodlak in her arms, and stared at the man. He had to be in his late sixties, with the same nose, jaw, cheeks, even eyes as Ulfric. He looked extremely nervous to be speaking to her and turned his attention to the toddler in her arms.
"I have been caring for him from the moment he appeared in the hall," he told her, smiling fondly at the boy. "Everyone here has adored having him."
Einarr clearly knew this man. "You . . ."
"Einarr, the last time I saw you, you were just a lanky lad. I'm pleased to see you've grown into a strong and brave man."
Lassarina already had a nagging suspicion who she was speaking to, but turned to her brother, feigning ignorance. "Einarr, who is he?"
Her brother frowned, but answered her. "This is the Bear of Eastmarch, Fjrokvar Stormcloak. He's your father."
Fjrokvar smiled warmly at Lassarina and reached out to cup her cheek. She allowed him to do so, mostly because she was too shell-shocked to move away.
"You look exactly like your mother," he told her, stroking her cheek with a thumb. "You grew up to be a beautiful woman. I knew you would from the moment I first saw you."
"You mean you actually saw me when I was a baby?" she asked hesitantly.
"Aye, I also held your mother's hand through her entire labor, I cut your cord, and I held you after the healer cleaned you off. Why wouldn't I have seen you?"
"Because . . . I was an accident. I was never meant to even exist. I was just the bastard offspring of the jarl, produced by his mistress."
Einarr stepped forward to interject. "Lassarina–"
Her glare silenced him. "Nay, Einarr. You have to let me get this out. I know I'm glad I was born and everything, I wouldn't have my family if I wasn't alive, but I can't help what I feel sometimes. So, just butt out and let me talk to my father."
Fjrokvar was obviously upset by her previous words. "Why would you think you weren't meant to exist?"
"Then I was planned?" she demanded of him harshly, her grip on Kodlak tightening to the point where the boy was beginning to squirm. "You and my mother fully intended on having me?"
"Nay, I won't lie . . . you were a surprise to both of us, but I had come to care a great deal for your mother in the time we were together and had fully intended on raising you as my own. I had no idea when Ulfric would get out of prison, and having another child would secure Windhelm's throne."
"So I was just a convenient solution then?"
"Nay, your mother said you weren't going to be my heir. She'd allow me to be your father, but no more. As fate would have it, I died only a couple of months after you were born."
"Aye, and then your son returned from prison and banished my entire family from Windhelm."
Fjrokvar sighed heavily. "Aye, I am greatly disappointed in Ulfric for turning his own blood away. I left him a letter asking him to take care of you and your mother in my place, but I guess he chose to ignore that."
"I think Ulfric just read between the lines . . . he sent my mother coin every month, so long as we stayed out of Windhelm."
"Believe me, Lassarina, had I lived, you would have been raised in Windhelm. You may have been an accident, but for me it was a happy one. I had always wanted more children, so I'm eternally thankful to the gods for giving you to me, even if it was only for a short time."
Lassarina turned to Einarr. "Did he really care for me in the time he was still alive?"
Einarr frowned, but nodded. "He had mother and me move into the palace and everything. Whenever you would cry, he would be the one to soothe you."
"I was already old when I died," Fjrokvar explained. "I had a feeling my time was close, so I wanted to spend as much time with you as possible. But I still regret leaving you so soon; there was so much I wanted to teach you, like archery."
Lassarina looked at him, her eyes widened in shock. "Archery?"
He smiled at her and nodded. "I was a master marksman in my time. Nothing more relaxing or better at keeping your senses sharp than firing a few arrows."
She stared at him for several moments before she burst out laughing. Fjrokvar looked to Einarr confused, but only received a shrug in return.
"And here I thought that I inherited nothing from you except your stubbornness," Lassarina laughed.
Fjrokvar chuckled and gently grasped her chin. "Nay, you also have my ears and a slightly smaller version of my nose. But other than that, you're beautiful, just like your mother. And you've become such an important person too."
She smiled a bit and looked down at Kodlak, who had his head resting against her neck. "I guess I shouldn't hate you when you were only in my life for two months, and during that time you took care of me. If you and my mother hadn't made me, my brother would have been all alone, my husband would have married some other woman, and my beautiful children wouldn't exist."
Kodlak looked up at her and gave her a beautiful smile. "Mama, we play?"
"Aye, little one, just for a little while."
No one in the Hall of Valor bothered the Dragonborn siblings for the next hour, letting them enjoy the little time they had with their loved ones. Einarr spent the entire time with Faraya, refusing to let her go, even when Kodlak ran up to roughhouse with his uncle. Lassarina spoke with her father while playing with little Kodlak, chasing him around the fire pit until he collapsed in a fit of giggles. It was a bittersweet happiness the siblings felt in that time, thankful that they had this opportunity, but upset at the knowledge that once they stepped out of the hall, they wouldn't see them again until death came knocking at their door.
Next chapter: The final battle... Alduin vs the Dragonborn siblings.
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and remember to Fave/Follow/Review!
Much love,
Mirage