Four days had already passed with no answer from either Delphine or Lydia. Minerva feared something had happened to the courier but hoped they had at least received her letters. Jorleif had promised to inform her of their decision regarding the Dunmer as soon as they made up their minds, but for her it couldn't be soon enough. They needed to act, otherwise they could lose potential allies.

Minerva was tapping her foot nervously as she sat by the hearth downstairs in Hjerim, watching the flames consume the wood. The strength had returned to her and she was ready to continue her quest to slay Alduin, but without word from Delphine she couldn't know whether they'd already planned their next course of action. On the other hand, she couldn't leave Windhelm just yet because she was impatiently waiting for word from Jarl Ulfric, and if he didn't come to a decision soon Minerva would go to him and speak to him personally.

Or I can just go to the palace right now.

Minerva contemplated for a few seconds but decided to do just that. She disappeared upstairs and decided to put on her ebony armor. Somehow, she felt like she would need it.

Once the armor was in place, she glanced at the mirror and took in her reflection before she headed out. The guards she met along the way acknowledged her with a nod, Minerva doing the same, and it didn't take her long to reach the palace. She stepped inside the grand hall and was disappointed to find the Jarl absent. Her brows furrowed in suspicion as she noticed Jorleif talking to several guards. She headed to him.

"Dragonborn," he greeted once she stopped close to him, sounding as disturbed as he looked. There was a shadow over his features, one she had never seen before. The guards dispersed in different directions, she hoped to find out why Jorleif had talked to them in the first place.

"Jorleif, where is the Jarl?"

He sighed heavily and his shoulders slumped. "He's been acting strange for the past couple of days," he started, "He said he wasn't feeling well and retreated to his chambers after he barely ate something of his meal this morning. I have a bad feeling, I doubled the patrols throughout the palace."

"We should check in on him," she suggested, "Will you come with me?"

"Of course."

The two made their way towards the war room, then up the stairs that would lead them to the Jarl's quarters. Minerva had a strange feeling knotting her stomach. They reached the door to his chambers quickly and gently she turned the handle but found the door locked. Her alarms went off, the Jarl had no reason to lock himself inside his room.

"Laas!"

Minerva used the Aura Whisper shout, but was relieved to find just one life essence in the room. She lockpicked the door and turned to Jorleif, showing with her hand to stay behind her. She held her breath as she opened the door as silently as possible.

If they were wrong, the Jarl would reprimand them for their stupidity, but at least they would know he was safe. When the door opened completely she didn't find anything suspicious at first. Jorleif appeared next to her and gasped. It took her a second longer to find the Jarl sitting on the chair at the desk, unmoving, the meal in front of him untouched. No candle or torch burned close to him, the shadow was too dark for them to clearly see his face.

"Jarl Ulfric?" Jorleif called out as he stepped further into the room with Minerva following. No reaction came. Minerva felt a draft grazing her face and her eyes found one of the windows wide open. She frowned and they headed closer.

They noticed he sat strangely with his head hung and his hands on his lap. Jorleif stopped on one side and Minerva on the other. He still didn't react to them.

"Ulfric?" Jorleif called worriedly and placed his hand on the Jarl's shoulder. The gentle touch was enough to nudge the Jarl in Minerva's direction. She caught him just as he was about to slide from the chair, taking her almost with him.

As her arms wound around his torso, she noticed something warm and wet on her gauntlets. She lowered him on the floor and slid on her knees as she placed her hand on his cheek. He didn't react.

"What's wrong with him?" Jorleif wondered as Minerva removed the pieces of dark fur and clothes from his stomach. She undid the last few buttons of his shirt and pushed it open to reveal the many wounds on his stomach.

"Mara's mercy! Ulfric!" Jorleif gasped as he fell on his knees as well.

Minerva removed her gauntlets and brought her bare hands to his wounds, casting her healing magic. Her shout had shown his essence earlier which meant he was still alive, even though he'd probably lost a lot of blood. There was no telling how long he was like this or who had caused his current state.

She healed everything she could see but she wanted to make sure she didn't miss any life threatening injuries so she undid the rest of the buttons, completely unveiling his torso. The wounds were caused by a dagger, they were narrow but deep and whoever had caused them didn't hold back. His entire torso had been stabbed. It made her wonder who'd done it and how they managed to get so close to him.

"When was the last time he left the room?" she inquired, her eyes on his, noticing how he breathed more calmly and how his eyes focused on his surroundings. He would live.

Jorleif was quick to answer, "This morning before breakfast, but he seemed ill and he said to bring the meal to his room."

"Who brought the meal?"

Jorleif was silent for a heartbeat before admitting, "Eyla did."

Hundreds of thoughts piled in her mind, each of them presenting her a scenario how Eyla tried to murder the Jarl. A snarl tensed her features.

"But she returned quickly," Jorleif added as though he sensed her thoughts. "And she wasn't stained with blood."

Every injury was healed and Minerva took a closer look at his face. He was looking at her and breathing calmly, and the rosy undertone of his skin slowly returned but his lips remained pale.

"Are you in pain?" she inquired softly, noticing how his eyes ran over her face.

He merely shook his head, he seemed too weak to speak, and Jorleif called for the guards. They helped him up and guided him towards the bed. Minerva walked towards the open window, wondering how anyone could have climbed the steep walls of the palace to enter the Jarl's quarters. The draft cooled the room and she closed the window, making a mental note to look outside as soon as possible.

"Dragonborn?"

Jorleif called from next to her and Minerva gave him her undivided attention. He glanced at the window and she saw the question in his eyes.

"Whoever did this must have used the window to get inside," she elaborated quietly but it only stirred more questions.

"But Ulfric said he wasn't feeling well. Does that mean he was also poisoned?"

Minerva shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I guess they used a poison to weaken him so they could finish the job." But that didn't make any sense to her. If they had access to the Jarl's food they could have used a strong poison to kill him, but that would make the cook and whoever was working in the kitchen the main suspect.

Minerva didn't want to think like this, but she couldn't shake the thoughts of Eyla trying to murder the Jarl.

Maybe Jorleif could tell her more. "Who else has access to the kitchens?"

He was quick to answer, "The guards make sure only Sifnar and Eyla enter the kitchen."

"Do you think any of them could have poisoned him?" she wondered bluntly.

Jorleif was taken back by her question. "We all trust them. They have been faithful to Ulfric's family for years."

"So that is a no, then?"

The tension in his face showed he wasn't happy with her questioning. "I don't think any of them would have poisoned him."

They all trusted that elven woman, it should be enough to assure her she could be trusted and that Minerva's paranoia was simply because of her past. However, she couldn't blindly trust the woman, or any Altmer.

"I will investigate, this cannot go unpunished," she stated sharply and was glad when Jorleif agreed with her.

"Should you have the need, Eyla and Sifnar are both in the kitchens preparing dinner." Jorleif informed, although he didn't sound as enthusiastic about it.

Minerva headed for the door and kept her gaze on the Jarl of Windhelm on her way out. His back was to her and she could faintly see a lot of diagonal scars, old scars as she could tell. Seeing the Bear of Markarth like this was shocking, but he would manage and he would be as good as new in a few days. To think that he would have died if they didn't arrive turned her stomach unpleasantly. Everything they fought for would be lost.

Quietly she headed out of the room and headed towards the kitchen. Luckily she didn't get lost in the hallway and she approached the lone guard standing near the kitchen entrance.

"Dragonborn," he greeted with a nod.

Minerva asked for permission to enter and the guard stepped aside to grant her entrance. As Jorleif predicted, the two were immersed in making everything for dinner so they didn't notice her immediately.

"Yes, Dragonborn. Is there something you need?" Sifnar inquired, deeply immersed in cutting the venison to slices.

Minerva's eyes were on the Altmer woman as she did her task without ever looking at her. She looked at Sifnar as she declared, "There has been an attempt to kill the Jarl."

Both of them stopped and gasped as they looked at her, wide eyed and shocked. Both their reactions were genuine, however she couldn't exactly tell if the Altmer woman was lying.

Minerva continued, "We suspect his meals were poisoned."

"Divines mercy," gasped the elven woman.

Sifnar's face tensed as he thought, muttering, "Come to think of it, he was ill the last few days."

"Yes," agreed Eyla while looking at him, "If I remember correctly, he started feeling sick since we used the new spices."

"What spices?" Minerva inquired sharply.

The elven woman swallowed nervously, her eyes wide but Sifnar calmly explained, "Eyla and I bought spices from an Imperial in the market. Usually we buy them from Hillevi Cruel-Sea, but the Imperial bragged about his spices to be the best in Cyrodiil. So we bought those."

"But the Imperial left," Eyla inserted and Minerva averted her focus on her, "He wasn't there the other day. I wanted to buy more since the Jarl liked the new spices."

Idiots, Minerva thought and immediately headed out towards the market. She would ask the rest of the stall owners if they knew where the Imperial had gone to. But if he was a Thalmor spy as Minerva suspected him to be, he was already beyond the borders of Skyrim.

She was quickly at the market and headed to the only food vendor there, Hillevi Cruel-Sea. The usual number of stalls were open which meant the Imperial was gone.

"Hello, fine lady," the Nord vendor greeted, "Care to buy some freshly grown crops?"

Minerva looked over the offered vegetables, wondering, "Do you grow all your own crops?"

Hillevi chuckled, "Everything you see here is grown at my family's own Hollyfrost Farm."

Smiling, she nodded and decided to get on with her task, "I was wondering if you could help me. I'm looking for a friend. He was here a few days ago, an Imperial selling spices."

"Oh yes, I remember him. He wasn't fond of talking and wasn't even trying to get the customers attention," Hillevi admitted.

"I owe him some money," Minerva lied in hope to find the Imperials location, "Perhaps someone knows where he went?"

Hillevi shook her head, smiling apologetically, "He wasn't talking to us at all, he refused to speak and only made notes in his journal. One day he sold a bag of spices to Sifnar and left afterwards. A strange man."

Her suspicion proved to be true, the Imperial was a Thalmor spy and by selling the spices to Eyla and Sifnar, he'd completed his task and left.

"Sorry," Hillevi apologized. Minerva smiled and turned to leave.

"Excuse me, Minerva?"

She stopped to find a young man with a cloak and hood talking to her. She addressed him with a nod and he took out three letters which she accepted from him, and without saying anything he left.

Defeated, Minerva decided to head to Hjerim to read the letters and spend a little time with Sofie. She was inside quickly and was warmly greeted by Sofie and Nora, and was spending some time with them before she headed upstairs.

The master bedroom was flawless, as was the rest of the house. Looking at the clean room made her smile and she sighed in content as she took her seat at the desk, opening the first letter.

Meet me in Riverwood. This will take longer to finish.

D

She folded the letter and threw it on the desk, sighing. She would head to Riverwood but she first needed to finish her things in Windhelm.

Curiously she opened the second letter.

I've received your letter and packed everything necessary. We're ready whenever you send the carriage. We're both fine.

Lydia

The letter pulled Minerva's lips into a smile. Lydia was always straight forward and never danced around the issue. Minerva still needed to arrange a carriage for them, but would do so as soon as she found the time to.

She folded the letter and threw it next to Delphine's, and with her brows furrowed she opened the third letter. She couldn't recognize the handwriting, but continued to read nonetheless.

I hope you are well and out of bed. I didn't receive any news yet and not knowing is weighing heavily on my soul. If you read this, I hope you can forgive me. I never meant to hurt you. I hope to see you soon so that I can apologize personally.

Take care,

Ralof

Annoyed, she folded the letter and threw it next to the others. Of course he didn't know if she was awake yet, she'd refrained from getting in touch with him. She wasn't even certain if she wished to see him again. Thinking about him made her stomach turn unpleasantly, as if she was disgusted by him. She couldn't understand why she felt that way because she'd been the one who had overreacted. Perhaps she was disgusted by herself?

Right now, she didn't want to think of him, everything seemed much more complicated whenever he crossed her mind. She admitted she'd developed feelings for him, but since their argument those feelings had diminished. The times they'd slept with one another crossed her mind from time to time, but they didn't make her feel any more thrilled to see him than they did before. Ralof was a good man, she knew he had a pure soul, but somehow that wasn't enough.

She also knew they would eventually see each other again and she didn't look forward to that encounter.

She shook her head and freed her mind from Ralof and everything regarding him before she stood up, and headed downstairs. She spent the next couple of hours with Sofie and Nora, only removing her boots and gauntlets so she could enjoy the sweets Nora prepared earlier. She didn't know how much time had passed but was surprised to find the sun already setting.

When a knock sounded on the door she grew even more surprised. She slid on her boots without securing the leather straps and hurried for the door. A Stormcloak guard appeared in her view when she opened the door.

He bowed his head and smiled faintly as he greeted, "Good evening, lady Dragonborn."

"Good evening."

"The Jarl's steward has sent me."

She became alert with his revelation, asking, "What happened? Was there another assault?!"

Thankfully, the guard shook his head, "No, my lady. But the Jarl seems better and the steward has sent me to bring you to him, to have a look."

"Alright," she sighed, "I'll be ready in a minute."

"Of course."

Minerva closed the door and crouched to tighten the leather straps on the boots. She gathered her gauntlets from the table and informed Nora she would head to the palace and would probably miss dinner. Sofie kissed her cheek and told her to take care, pulling Minerva's lips into a smile as she left.

The guard escorted her to the palace, their walk accompanied with a comfortable silence. They reached the palace quickly and Jorleif spotted them as soon as they entered. Minerva gave him a quick update about what she'd found out earlier, told him about the spices and the mysterious Imperial, and a frown darkened his face. He then told the guard to escort her to the Jarl's room. It didn't take them long to reach the Jarl's quarters and the guard opened the door for her, allowing her to step inside first.

Her eyes fell on the bed, expecting to find the Jarl laying there but was surprised to find it empty. Instead, he was standing by the windows, his attention from the outside now pulled to them.

The guard followed her inside, but the Jarl dismissed him with a sharp, "Leave us."

A deathly silence filled the room after the guard closed the door, leaving the two alone. Minerva held her head high as she approached him, taking in his form shamelessly.

"You should rest, my Jarl," she stated calmly, erasing the rest of the distance between them. She took in his complexion as she stopped in front of him and noticed he looked indeed better.

Silently he let his eyes wander over her body and she blinked at his bluntness. She was happy that she chose to wear her armor so he couldn't see past it, and decided to disregard the way he looked at her as she wondered, "How do you feel?"

He stretched his neck as he breathed out, "Better than the days before," and he took a small step in her direction, as if they weren't forbiddingly close already.

Minerva's heart started to race at their proximity, she swallowed her nervousness as she tried to keep her thoughts straight and calm, and tried to remain unfazed by the fact he was standing right in front of her.

"Still, you should rest for the next couple of hours. Your body needs to process the poison and recover."

"Poison?" he sounded surprised and suspicious of her revelation.

Minerva nodded, "Aye, we suspect your meals have been poisoned. Eyla and Sifnar bought spices from an Imperial and unknowingly poisoned your meals. I assume the Imperial is working for the Thalmor and someone else has used the windows to enter your room."

"I was in a maze," he added, realization dawning upon him. "There was a cloaked figure, stabbing me several times and I couldn't defend myself. Where is the Imperial?!"

"He's gone. He left as soon as he sold the spices to them."

"So… Eyla didn't try to kill me."

It wasn't a question, he was rubbing the fact in her face. She could hear the smirk from miles away even though he appeared serious.

She looked at him, a warning in her voice when she admitted, "I still do not trust her."

She was annoyed when she lowered her eyes to his chest as she removed her gauntlets and placed them on the windowsill, wondering, "May I have a look?" wanting to get this over with quickly. She only wanted to make sure that she healed everything properly.

The Jarl remained silent for a while but she could feel his eyes freely roaming her face, as if he waited for something. It felt like ages passed until he finally moved; he grabbed the hem of the shirt he wore and pulled it up above his head. The torso of the Bear of Markarth was exposed and it took her entire willpower not to gawk or drool over him.

She had seen his torso when she'd healed his wounds before, but there was too much going on for her to really admire him. Now as they were alone in his quarter's, she could stare at it and admire his build. She knew she looked unaffected by him, but her heart beat in all directions and her mouth watered.

She tried to convince herself he wasn't handsome, but as she lifted her hands towards his stomach she realised that lie would quickly fade.

The Jarl was well trained, there were several small scars on his skin, each with their own story. Minerva swallowed the gasp when her cold fingers touched his stomach. He was so warm, the muscles underneath her palms were as hard as stone but his skin was unbelievably soft. Her fingers moved over his skin slowly as she searched for any internal injuries possibly caused by the poison, but concentrating became harder the more flesh she explored.

"You saved my life," he spoke suddenly, his voice a little too intimate for the moment.

Minerva kept her head in the game even though her heart threatened to explode as she commented, "You command the rebellion, and you're the Jarl of a hold. We cannot allow the Thalmor to succeed."

Her fingers moved over the soft skin and the patch of chest hair, her heart beating so loud she was certain even he could hear it. Her nervousness grew and her hands started to tremble as she leaned her palms flat against his skin, feeling the muscle and bones of his ribs.

"The divines must have sent you to me."

The statement pulled her eyes to his and everything around them became non existent. Her hands remained glued to his skin as her wide, pale green eyes ran over his face bluntly.

She couldn't stop herself from wondering, "Do you believe in fate?" and noticed how raw her voice sounded.

He held her gaze when he admitted, "I believe that every stage of my life, everything that happened, has brought me here." He silenced for a heartbeat, then added, "We are both here because of what we have survived."

Minerva was fully aware of the way he was looking at her, like a man captivated by the being standing in front of him; a man who was looking at the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Blinking, she finally managed to break the spell and lowered her gaze to her hands as she resumed searching. It was obvious he was fine, that she didn't need to look further because there were no wounds, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to stop. It felt as though her hands were glued to his skin, as though she was unable to move away from him. A spell had befallen both of them, one she didn't know what to think of.

"My Jarl," she spoke finally and withdrew her hands, her voice raw and small, the moisture gone from her mouth, "You are recovering well, but do not strain yourself."

It took her a second to realize he'd cupped her chin with his forefingers. He moved her face up, forcing her to look into his eyes. His thumb was just below her lower lip, she could feel the tip of it on the edge of her lips. She couldn't move or blink, she was afraid to breathe as she stared right back at him.

"I have a name," he spoke softly, yet she couldn't ignore the order behind his words as he added, "I want you to use it."

"Doing so would be inappropriate," she whispered back automatically.

He was unfazed by her statement and stubbornly countered, "I say what is inappropriate."

She was speechless. It scared her to realize he could do almost everything to her and she would have no strength to resist him. Minerva wasn't normally like this, she could put men into their place and reject them. But not Jarl Ulfric. He was no ordinary man.

However, thinking of doing something forbidden with him made her head spin. Only a few seconds had passed with them staring at each other like this, but it felt like a lifetime. Minerva could imprint his irises to her memory, could even count the wrinkles around his eyes. Divines but he had beautiful eyes, and he was handsome.

Whatever spell had befallen them both broke when a soft knock sounded from the door. He withdrew his hand and straightened up, and Minerva couldn't help but divert her eyes at his torso. Her mouth watered at the thought of licking every little muscle to the inviting patch of dark blonde hair just under his belly button.

"Yes?!" the Jarl demanded, sounding beyond irritated. The air between them shifted because of his loud, irritated voice.

Whoever had entered informed plainly, "Brunwulf Free-Winter is in the great hall and demanding to speak with you."

The Jarl looked as though he would explode, his jaw was working and temple pulsing, but he silently nodded. Minerva decided it was time to leave so she spun around and headed for the door past the guard. Never did she run away from someone like this before, but she couldn't help herself. What had happened mere moments ago felt wrong, forbidden, as though she would hurt herself by staying. His presence was suffocating her for an unknown reason. Yet, she felt as though she belonged here, with him.

Once in the great hall she noticed Brunwulf standing near the throne, arms crossed and face tight. She wondered what he wanted to discuss with the Jarl.

When she stepped out in the courtyard, she pulled the cloak tight around her neck and noticed her bare hands.

She cursed inwardly and ground her teeth in irritation. She'd left them on the windowsill in the Jarl's quarters. As much as she wanted to get them back, she wouldn't go back to him, not after what had transpired. She would get them back another time.

Minerva headed back to Hjerim and found Nora clearing the table. It made her wonder just how much time had passed since she left.

Nora asked if she wished to eat, but Minerva refused and headed upstairs to her room, stripping off her armor once she was inside. The Jarl was on her mind even as she lay in bed, wishing for sleep to claim her even though she was too nervous. It was good that the guard had arrived when he did because she dared not to think what would have happened if they remained alone.

She dared to take a glimpse of the possible outcome and ventured deep into a fantasy of hers. A fantasy where the guard had not arrived and where the Jarl had taken the opportunity and kissed her.

She stopped right there and shook her head, and pulled the blanket up to her chin as she shut her eyes. She refused to think of him for the rest of the night, but somehow he always managed to flash before her mind's eye.