Pride and prejudice - 5th of Evening Star - Windhelm
Eliana rested her back against the bronze door, in amazement. A stormcloak officer. She… was… a stormcloak officer.
Her hand softly fondling the hilt of her sword, she replayed her conversation with Ulfric in her mind.
'No victims.'
Whiterun was safe.
'…saved countless lives…'
Despite her betrayal to the jarl, she remained true to her oath of protecting the people of her hold.
'I am proud of you.'
She somehow knew these five words shouldn't mean that much to her, but they did. She saw the relief in the jarl's eyes when he announced the absence of civilian casualties. Ruthless at war… but not heartless. She found herself biting back a chuckle upon remembering Balgruuf's words about the future king. 'He wasn't always a self-serving ego-maniac.' Pinching the bridge of her nose in an attempt to keep a nervous laughter at bay, Eliana quickly dismissed this definition of the man she served.
Ulfric sure had his flaws, but he cared deeply for Skyrim and her people, of that she was sure.
The young woman let out a heavy sigh and sat on the edge of the stairs to the Candlehearth, watching the white snowflakes fall in a thin layer upon the ice.
Raised voices coming from the nearest street, one going to the Gray Quarter, broke the quietude of this early afternoon.
"You come here where you're not wanted. You eat our food, you pollute our city with your stink and you refuse to help the stormcloaks."
Only advancing in the street, Eliana witnessed two uneasy-going Nords in a heated conversation with a Dunmer woman.
"But we haven't taken a side because it's not our fight.", the dark-elf defended herself.
"Hey", the second man elbowed his comrade. "Maybe the reason these gray-skins don't help in the war is because they're Imperial spies!"
"Imperial spies? You can't be serious!"
"Maybe we'll pay you a visit tonight, little spy. We got ways of finding out what you really are."
"Oi!", Eliana intervened. "Is there a problem?"
The three of them turned to her, the two men quite threatening. She was suddenly glad she still wore her uniform for the sight of the blue tabard seemed to take them aback.
"You.", the first man pointed. "You a Dark Elf lover?"
"I'm a bully-hater.", the young woman responded, her voice hard and unyielding. "Now… You'd better have a very good reason to threaten a citizen of Windhelm.", she hissed, staring at the man dead in the eye. She couldn't yet point out why but the tall salt-and-pepper-haired Nord somehow looked familiar.
"Dark-Elves?", he spat. "They're parasites. They're living in our city, under our protection, but what do they do for us? Nothing! They've done nothing to help in the fight for Skyrim's freedom."
"And is that enough a reason to call them 'Imperial spies' ?"
"Those Thalmor are elves, too.", the man pointed. "I bet they're working together."
"You blithering idiot!", Eliana hissed. "Dunmer have nothing whatsoever to do with the Aldmeri Dominion!"
The man clenched his fists and Eliana started gathering magicka in her palms in case she'd have to defend herself.
"Siding with the grey-skins", the second man spat, "Dare call yourself a daughter of Skyrim! You're dishonoring the uniform you wear!"
"Maybe I should round up some men", the first one hissed, "and take us a few prisoners to interrogate…"
"Is that a threat?", Eliana hissed, her voice low and dangerous, magicka surging through her hands, chilling the air around them.
"Just a piece of advice.", the man growled, stepping forward.
He was about a head taller than Eliana but the Dragonborn stood her ground proudly.
"Stay out of that or we might pay you a visit too."
Her fist flew before she could even stop herself, sending the man a few steps back in shock.
"There's more where this came from.", she growled. "Now, bugger-off!"
The man shook his head to regain focus and adopted a balanced fighting stance. By the looks of it, he was no soldier but still got military training. Eliana jumped back to avoid the first punch and hit her adversary twice in the ribs. Her punches were weak but fast; his, slow but devastating. She had to stay away from his stone-like fists and keep hitting as soon as he got in punching distance. As she walked back, she didn't realize the man had her at a dead-end until her back hit a pile of barrels blocking entrance to a small courtyard. She blocked his fist with her arm and retaliated, avoiding a second punch that went right through the wood. Thrown off balance, the man fell forth on the barrels as the young woman jerked away from his grip and started gathering magicka in her palms.
"Are we done, there?", she offered as her adversary fought to get on his feet.
He stumbled out of the wreckage and attempted one last surprise attack, only to be thrown down the stairs leading to the Grey-Quarter by a summoned snow-storm.
The man shook the thick layer of ice weighting on him and tried to get on his feet before a last punch sent him to the ground.
"I said: Are we done there?"
The man reluctantly nodded.
"Good."
She outstretched her hand to help him stand. The man let out a snort and stumbled up.
"Now get off and leave the Dark-elves alone."
He and his friend walked out of the Gray-Quarter with their tail between their legs, under laughter and applause from the small crowd - mainly Dunmer but also some Nords - that had gathered around at the sound of the brawl.
Eliana brushed the dirt off her uniform and healed her left arm before a bruise got a chance to form.
"Sorry… about the barrels.", she apologized to the woman she had stood for.
"It's all right.", the Dunmer woman answered. "They belong to the lizards down the docks."
Her voice was colder than the bite of an Ice-wraith when she mentioned the Argonians but soon a smile lightened her face. "Thank you for your help."
"You're very welcome. I'm surprised no guards came to stop us, I must say.", she added as the crowd started dissipating.
The woman let out a disdain snort. "You've seen what Nords think of us. Guards wouldn't lift a finger for us."
"Do these men give you a lot of trouble?"
"Rolff is the worst of them all. He likes to get drunk and walk around the Gray Quarter, yelling insult at us in the small hours of the morning."
"A real charmer, I see…", Eliana chuckled, causing the Dunmer woman to laugh.
"You're new around here, aren't you?", the elf asked.
"Just settled here… kind of…"
"You don't look like one of those 'Skyrim for the Nords' types.", a third voice, male, elder, pointed out.
Eliana turned around to face an elderly Nord clad in a rich scaled armor and stood her ground proudly.
"I'd have trouble being so; I'm only half-Nord, myself."
The man cocked an eyebrow.
"And still, you claim yourself a stormcloak."
"Indeed, I am.", she responded proudly. "And as such, I believe in Skyrim unity and integrity; in her right to govern herself, free of the grip of a dying Empire, clinging to a past glory, in hope of keeping a deadly foe at bay when they have already us at their tooth and claws; in the freedom of her people, Men and Mer alike. Not in the superiority of one race over the others!", she spat. "Only the Thalmor have such a biased ideal! The sons and daughters of Skyrim are better than that!"
"And you're right, at least as far as I'm concerned.", the elder man nodded. "Don't let Ulfric or some of these other short-sighted Nords convince you otherwise."
The young woman was taken aback by such a reaction.
"Brunwulf Free-Winter, at your service.", the man introduced himself.
"Eliana Evergreen. At yours."
5th of Evening Star - 4 E 201 - Windhelm - The New Gnisis Cornerclub
"Things have been a lot worse around here since Ulfric took over."
"You mean the jarl doesn't care about the outsiders?"
"Well you see where we have to live.", Ambarys Rendar, the innkeeper pointed out. "This forgotten alley! All the filth from the upper quarters flows downhill, like they say."
The young woman frowned. Of course, she already knew of the rumors that spread all around Skyrim about the wrenched condition of Dark-elves and Argonians in Windhelm - secluded in a slum-of-a-quarter for the first ones, kept out of the city for the second - but something didn't quite fit: for a stronghold governed by a jarl who hated Elves, Windhelm had quite a population of them.
"The Grey Quarter wasn't always as you see it now.", the dunmer woman - who introduced herself as Suvaris Atheron - Eliana had rescued from the two Nords bully deplored. "It's always been hard - the Nords of this city are, at best, suspicious of outsiders - but things really started to get worse since the beginning of the Civil war."
Brunwulf Free-Winter took a sip of his mead and let out a sigh.
"I tried to get Ulfric to even come down here to see the squalor but…"
"The High Lord of His Mightiness couldn't find the time.", the bartender spat.
The young woman clenched her fists under the table. She did not like the tone of the innkeeper.
"Didn't it occur to you, he might have more important matters in mind, like say… the fate of all Skyrim?"
The dark-elf shot her a death glare.
"Sorry… That's not how it was supposed to sound.", she apologized. "But the war demands much from everyone. It is our independence, our very freedom that's at stake. Means and men grow thin; and within every hold, the well-being of citizens must sometimes be sacrificed, for the sake of something greater."
"Spoken with much conviction and loyalty.", Brunwulf Free-Winter admitted wryly. "But you wish things were that clear… Fact is… whenever a group of marauder attacks a Nord village, Ulfric is the first to sound the horn and send the men.", the elder man explained. "But when a group of Dark elf refugees gets ambushed? A group of Argonians, or a Khajiit caravan? No troops. No investigation. Nothing."
The last word felt like a knife in her heart. If he ever wanted to be the High-King Skyrim desperately wanted and deserved, he first had to conquest the heart of the people. She started realizing winning the civil-war might not be the greatest task at hand. She couldn't leave things in this disastrous condition. She had to do or say something. Anything!
"There's a group of cutthroats out there right now that Ulfric doesn't lift a finger to bring to justice, as long as they don't threaten Nord land. He contented himself to place a bounty on their heads, and wait for mercenaries to do the job."
The young woman's eyes lightened.
'I suspect you'll be of greater use with a greater freedom…'
She sure would be… but maybe not the way he expected her to…
Ah! Finally done! ^^ I intended to place the brawl with Rolf Stone-Fists waaaaaay back in the story (the chapter A matter of pride was supposed to be entitled Pride and Prejudice, but I figured out it would be better if I placed it when Eliana would have joined the stormcloaks ^^); then I thought I would place it a few chapters ahead, after the capture of Falkreath... but ... obviously, I decided to put it now ^^
Sorry I didn't post more these last two weeks but I am working hard on the chronology! :/ There are four or five chapters that were a total mess in my mind, I didn't now where to place them, in what order, at what time of the year (in game XD) etc. ... But now everything is sorted out! Si I should be able to post more often :)
The title is an obvious reference to the masterpiece of literature, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen :)
Next chapter coming soon ! :) 'Brace yourself! Winter is coming!' ;)
Answer to Banana Man : Thanks for your reviews ! :) And awwwww! Thank you for naming your ferret after my character! It's soooo nice! ^w^ I love ferrets! They're cute! :) They're not really common pets where I'm from, but I hear they are quite affectionate pets :)