Author's note:
My dear readers, here I am with the latest chapter of my story. First of all, a huge "thank you" to Maddy and Valtieri for their lovely reviews.
As for Maddy, I'm really glad you enjoyed my story up to chapter 12 - and hopefully I didn't let you down in the following chapters.
As for Valtieri/KP, don't worry: your nickname is funny in the right way (I meant to say it was "fun", but then the English language betrayed me and had me say "funny" instead). I'm glad you liked Adaeze's choice to join the army and I completely feel the same way about Delphine. Luckily for us, Steinarius shares our very same opinion on that woman.
I had no idea Fultheim carried a Blade sword! As usual, your fun facts always teach me something new and interesting.
Speaking of interesting things: here's a chapter about Agda's misadventures in the political world of Tamriel. I wrote it in just one day, so I'm not sure about the result. Enjoy and let me know what you think!
14th of Sun's Dusk, 4E 202
Saying goodbye to Steinarius was as difficult as always. The Dragonborn departed from Winterhold with a promise and a request: he swore to Agda that he'd visit her soon, then he asked her to be careful during her meeting with Ulfric.
"You have no idea how dangerous that man can be", Steinarius sternly said, his usually placid eyes full of worry. "Also, you have no idea how tricky he can get".
Agda swore she'd be careful, then smiled as her best friend enveloped her in a tight hug and finally left for the warmer hills of the Reach.
When Steinarius and his horse became nothing but a black spot on the snowy coast of the North, however, the new Archmage of Winterhold sighed: for the umpteenth time in her life, she was forced to stand back and watch as her best friend set off to save the world from destruction.
The following days went by very rapidly for Agda. The young girl was busy rebuilding the houses Ancano and his magic anomalies had destroyed, she was busy sending letters to all the magic institutions of Tamriel in order to present herself as the Archmage of Winterhold, she was busy writing a list of all the mages who lived in Skyrim - but most of all, the young Nord was busy forcing her colleagues to follow her orders.
That latter task was much more difficult than Agda had imagined. Savos Aren had been a great mage, sure, but he'd never really bothered to ask obedience from the people of the College - as a consequence, when Agda used her new position to give her colleagues a few tasks, most of them weren't happy at all.
Despite Enthir's claims, Agda's interest for those tasks didn't depend on the fact that she enjoyed making life difficult for the others - simply enough, the woman wanted the College of Winterhold to gain more importance on the international scene. The young Nord knew that her goal was very ambitious, but she also knew that she had the means to achieve it; that's why, in the first days after Steinarius' departure, Agda provided her colleagues with many challenging tasks - she asked Tolfdir to study a substance that could help wooden houses to survive a close encounter with a dragon, she gave Drevis the money he needed to investigate Doomstones all over Tamriel, she forced Colette to look for a cure against the most common diseases of Skyrim... In that way, the girl made sure that all of her friends could work on interesting and demanding projects that were of great interest to all the scholars of Tamriel.
As well as forcing her colleagues to follow her orders, after Steinarius' departure Agda also tried to improve the lives of the people of Winterhold. First of all, the young Nord striked a deal with Birna and Haran: the two women would provide the College with food and clothes and other trivial things - and in return, the mages would offer them potions and items for their customers. Moreover, Agda asked Erandur and Frida to organize a little healing and alchemy course for the inhabitants of Winterhold. Despite the initial skepticism, the lessons quickly proved to be very successful, a fact that annoyed Jarl Korir to no end. The man hated magic with all his heart and his mind and his soul, but he was helpless against a resourceful woman like Agda - and when the people of Winterhold starting claiming that the young mage would make a much better ruler than him, Korir could do nothing but suffer in silence and hope that Ulfric Stormcloak would finally bring an end to the negative influence that Agda the Cold had on their subjects.
Although Agda had always hated politics, her new role as the Archmage of Winterholdsoon forced her to meet both sides of the Civil War - and just like she'd mentioned to Steinarius, her first political encounter brought her face to face with the supporters of the Empire.
Agda would have liked to meet with Elisif the Fair herself, but the young Jarl was seemingly too busy to welcome her in Solitude - that's why, much to her annoyance, the Archmage was forced to talk to a few Imperial soldiers in a snowy camp right outside Dawnstar.
The meeting left the woman baffled and confused: her interlocutors were very young soldiers who had just joined the army and who considered all Nords to be bearded stinky barbarians - and when Agda stated that she wasn't going to take sides in the war, one of them even asked her how it was possible to sleep with a former Imperial captain and to refuse to help the Legion at the same time.
Annoyed by that question and by the lack of respect the Legion had showed her by forcing her to meet with those recruits, Agda left the camp without bidding anyone goodbye. On her way to Winterhold, however, the woman cursed herself for her naivete: Elisif and the Legion probably had nothing to do with what had happened - actually, the mage was sure that her encounter had been organized by the Thalmor without knowledge of the Jarl of Solitude. The Dominion didn't consider her a threat and didn't need her help to win the war - and they'd tried to make that clear by organizing that insulting meeting. Elenwen and her gang had probably hoped for Agda to snap and cause a diplomatic accident with the Legion, but the Archmage had been clever enough to avoid that trap. After that meeting, however, the young Nord started feeling very worried: if the Thalmor had so much control over the army, an Imperial victory in the war was likely to cause tremendous problems to the whole of Tamriel.
A week after her adventure in Dawnstar, Agda found herself staring at the threatening walls of Windhelm. It was a cold and snowy morning and the Archmage felt very nervous; at the same time, however, she was curious to meet the man who had ripped her land apart with just one gesture.
As she approached the gates of the city, Agda was amazed by the sight of the former capital of Skyrim. Windhelm was a glorious and proud city with a long and bloody history and the girl just couldn't wait to find out more about it. Sadly enough, Agda's expectations about Ulfric's hometown were soon disappointed.
From the outside, Windhelm looked great and powerful and majestic; from the inside, however, it was a complete mess. The streets were full of mud and melted snow, beggars were always ready to stop the passers-by, the air had the disgusting smell of too many humans living together - but most of all, Agda was immediately greeted by a terrible scene involving two Nords and a Dunmer woman.
"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!", a visibly drunken Nord accused the unlucky Elf.
"But we haven't taken a side because it's not our fight!", the small Dunmer replied.
"Hey, maybe the reason these gray-skins don't help in the war is because they're Imperial spies", another man chimed in.
Before Agda could intervene, the other drunkard took a step towards the Dunmer and raised a threatening finger.
"Maybe we'll pay you a visit tonight, little spy", he hissed. "We got ways of finding out what you really are".
Confronted with that surreal dialogue, Agda blinked twice. In that moment she was very thankful for two things: first, she'd asked Brelyna to wait for her in Kynesgrove. Second, she'd hidden her Archmage robes beneath a heavy dark cloak. Somehow, she had the feeling that the people of Windhelm despised mages almost as much as they despised Dunmer.
While walking through the city, Agda noticed other signs of tension between the Nords and the other races of Tamriel. Not only was a Dunmer man accused of stealing the golden ring he was wearing - a few seconds later, a loud commotion accompanied the efforts of three guards who were taking an Argonian towards the docks of the city.
"Argonians aren't allowed in the city, you filth!", one of them shouted.
As she saw the hatred in the eyes of that guard, Agda shivered. Had she been forced to choose between the Thalmor and those people, she would have rather voted for Alduin to destroy the whole of Tamriel.
At least, dragons weren't racist.
As she walked towards the Palace of Kings, Agda didn't even stop to read the interesting engravings in the walls of the buildings. She'd already had enough of Windhelm and wanted to leave the town as soon as possible. Sadly, in order to do so she had to meet Ulfric Stormcloak.
Upon reaching the courtyard of his residence, Agda asked a guard to introduce her to the Jarl. Much to her surprise, the young boy already knew who she was and led her inside the Palace of Kings with no protests.
As she set foot into that magnificient structure, Agda's jaw dropped to the floor. That place was warm and massive and had a beautifully engraved ceiling; it was made of stone, had great windows and a table full of food, was lit by many different candles. But most of all, that place was the home of Ulfric Stormcloak.
The Jarl of Windhelm and leader of the rebels was standing near his throne and talking to his Huskarl, Galmar Stone-Fist. Agda had heard a lot about the man, therefore she immediately recognized him. As she got closer to him, the Archmage noticed that Ulfric was very different from what she had imagined: he had a mane of blonde hair, a short and bulky figured dressed in spartan but elegant robes, a honest face full of scars and lit by a couple of piercing blue eyes. It was those eyes that impressed Agda more than everything else. They weren't the smug eyes of a ruler who was fighting a war for himself: quite on the contrary, they were the sad, grief-stricken eyes of a warrior who was challenging the Empire for the sake of his people - and the first words Agda ever heard from Ulfric's lips completely confirmed that thought.
"I fight for the men I've held in my arms, dying on foreign soil", the Jarl was telling Galmar when the Archmage first entered his halls. "I fight for their wives and children, whose names I heard whispered in their last breath. I fight for we few who did come home, only to find our country full of strangers wearing familiar faces. I fight for my people impoverished to pay the debts of an Empire too weak to rule them, yet brands them criminals for wanting to rule themselves. I fight so that all the fighting I've already done hasn't been for nothing - but most of all, I fight because I must".
Galmar made to reply, but stopped as soon as he saw the small Nord woman at the other end of the hall. Only then did Ulfric turn to face Agda.
"Who are you?", the Huskarl of the Jarl asked in a low hiss, his hands going for the hilt of his hammer.
Before Agda could reply, Ulfric stopped Galmar with a gesture.
"This woman, Galmar, is the newest Archmage of Winterhold", he told him. His voice was low and booming and perfectly matched his incredible charisma. "Her name is Agda and I have invited her here because she's a true daughter of Skyrim".
As she listened to those words, Agda blinked in confusion. She was born in Anvil, had grown up there, had never set foot in most of the cities of Skyrim; yet, Ulfric was calling her "a true Nord". Was he really talking about her?
The woman made to voice her doubts, but Ulfric immediately stopped her.
"I trust your journey to Windhelm was pleasant", he said while walking towards her. He shook hands with Agda, then he showed her the way to a little room with a large table full of food. "Please, have a seat and eat something. It's almost lunch time".
Agda hesitantly sat down, both shocked and surprised by Ulfric's kindness. The man was nothing like she had imagined him - but most of all, he had a charisma that made her head spin and her mouth unable to speak. All of a sudden, however, the mage remembered what Steinarius had told her: Ulfric is a tricky man, Agda: do not let him work his spell on you - and as she remembered those words, the girl also recalled the scenes she'd witnessed across the streets of Windhelm.
"My journey to Windhelm was pleasant, Jarl Ulfric", she said while timidly accepting the tankard of mead the man was offering her. "I had a Dunmer friend with me and she kept me excellent company. Unfortunately, I didn't feel like leading her inside the city. After all, people in Windhelm seem very nervous when they're around Elves".
When Galmar turned to look at Ulfric, Agda realized she'd struck a raw nerve. Much to her surprise, however, the Jarl sighed in what sounded like embarrassement and sheepishly ran a hand through his hair.
"Windhelm does have a problem with strangers, I'll admit it", he said. "Yet, you cannot blame my people for hating the Elves. The Thalmor..."
"The Thalmor are Altmer, not Dunmer. And they're not Argonian either".
There was a moment of silence during which Agda cursed her bluntness. She'd been with Ulfric for less than five minutes and she was already provoking him - and that wasn't good at all.
"My fault", Ulfric said after calmly bringing a tankard of mead to his lips. "I've expressed my thoughts poorly. I perfectly know the difference between Altmer and Dunmer - my people, unfortunately, aren't that precise. I know that Grey Elves and Argonians don't have a good time here in Windhelm and believe me, I wish things were different. Unfortunately, right now I'm too busy with the war to solve their problems, but I promise that one day I'll do it. At the same time, however, I must underline that Windhelm isn't a racist city: there's a successful Dunmer farmer living nearby, just like there are many Imperials who currently reside within our walls. Also, the Empire isn't that good either when it comes to dealing with strangers: after all, your parents had to flee to High Rock because of some racists who burnt down their shop. Apropos, do you think things will be different once the Thalmor win this war?"
Agda was shocked by that last question. She hadn't expected Ulfric to know about her past - and she clearly hadn't expected him to turn the tables on her so fast.
"No", the Archmage was forced to admit. "If the Thalmor win the war, it will be a tragedy for everyone".
"That is something we agree about", Ulfric stated. "And that is the reason why I'm asking for your help in the war".
Confused by those words, Agda frowned. She hadn't expected the leader of the rebels to be so blunt.
"I'm not planning to take sides in the war", she immediately clarified. "I'm a mage and I'm not..."
"We don't want to force you to do something against your will", Ulfric stopped her with a gesture. "Actually, we invited you here because we're curious about you, Agda. Jarl Korir told us a lot about you and, even if he hates you, he couldn't prevent his admiration to transpire from his letters. It's unusual for a Nord to become Archmage of Windhelm and, since our army doesn't have any wizard, we'd be glad if you could train some healers and some battlemages for our troops. We're not asking you to openly side for us: we are simply asking you to let us use the College as a base for our men".
"I don't want to get involved in the war at all", Agda repeated while shaking her head. "Winterhold needs some peace - and I need peace too. If you want to train some healers, you can ask your court wizard or have someone sent here from another city".
"Or we can send a few boys to attend your free healing courses in Winterhold", Galmar edged himself into the conversation. "It wouldn't really make a difference, girl".
"They won't learn much during those lessons", Agda replied. She didn't like the grin on Galmar's face, just like she didn't like his snobbish attitude. "Erandur doesn't teach how to treat deep wounds or severed limbs or broken bones - he simply explains how to deal with common diseases".
Ulfric didn't say anything, whereas Galmar broke into a snort.
"See? I told you, my Jarl: meeting this woman won't get us anywhere. She's untrustworthy and she clearly doesn't want to help us. Also, she's a liar at heart".
Agda narrowed her eyes in anger.
"I'm not here to be insulted", she warningly hissed.
"Of course you're not: you're here to spy on us on behalf of your lover, right? You don't wish to help your country, but you're ready to spread your legs for a disgusting man like..."
"Galmar, enough!"
Ulfric's booming voice echoed through the large room, thus causing his Huskarl to shut up immediately.
"Leave us", the Jarl added. "You've brought shame over yourself today".
Galmar made to speak, but a piercing glance from Ulfric had him change his mind. Grinding his teeth and flaring Agda one last gaze full of hatred and disgusts, the man left the table and disappeared from the room.
"I think it is clear that I do not share Galmar's opinion of you", Ulfric calmly stated once he was alone with Agda. Upon hearing Galmar's insult the girl had been about to storm out of the castle, but had stopped when the Jarl had asked his Huskarl to leave the room. "My friend had no right to speak to you like that. You come across like a very honorable woman, Agda - and though it pains me to say it, Steinarius Crepusculus is a decent man too, so I won't allow Galmar to insult him".
"You know Steinarius?", Agda asked in confusion.
"I know his father, and I know him very well too", Ulfric revealed with a nod. "Actually, Steinarius Crepusculus was the one to capture me at Darkwater Crossings - and had it not been for the dragons, the war would have ended thanks to him".
"Steinarius doesn't like you, Ulfric", Agda cautiously said. She was surprised by the man's respect for the Dragonborn and wanted to find out more about it. "He considers you a traitor and a murderer".
"I am very well aware of that", Ulfric replied without losing his calm façade. "Unfortunately, my choices have caused me to lose the trust of many people I highly appreciate - and Steinarius Crepusculus was one of them. Yet, even if he and I are on different sides of the war, that doesn't prevent me from admiring him.
"Crepusculus is a brave soldier who went through a lot and who's been loaded with a very heavy burden. Actually, I'm sincerely thankful to him: all our destinies lie in his hands - and that is why every night I ask Talos to preserve the Dragonborn from any danger".
Agda narrowed her eyes at that. Something about Ulfric's words rang false to her - yet, his blue eyes were incredibly sincere.
"Actually, I'm not surprised that Crepusculus fell for a woman like you", the Jarl of Windhelm suddenly added, thus snapping Agda out of her thoughts. "When he was asked to save the world, he immediately answered his calling - and when you were asked to save Winterhold, you answered your calling too. We could really use someone like you, Agda: you're a true daughter of the North and you'd be really useful as my war advisor".
Agda blinked her eyes in confusion. She was both shocked and flattered by that proposal.
"War advisor? But I don't have any experience in fighting! I..."
"You don't have any experience, it's true, but you are clever, strong and smart. You've gained the trust of the people of Winterhold and you've risked your life to protect what you believe in. Together, Agda, we could create a better world - a world where one's heart is more important than their race and their religion and where people value freedom above everything else".
"That sounds beautiful", Agda skeptically agreed. "Yet, I am mage. Even if I decided to help you, how would your supporters react to that?"
Much to Agda' surprise, Ulfric simply shrugged.
"The world is changing, Agda, just like it's changed so many times in the course of history. Nords aren't choosy when it comes to using enchanted weapons, they aren't choosy when it comes to talking to a healer, they aren't choosy when it comes to following the timeless magic of the Thu'um - and they won't be choosy when they see that you're a capable leader who can help them towards the better world we all dream about".
Once again, Agda was flattered by Ulfric's words; yet, his mention of the Thu'um caused her to think of Steinarius' words. A murderer, he'd called Ulfric - and Agda was now determined to find out more about the death of King Torygg and Stormcloak's role in that sad fact.
"You don't consider the Thu'um 'a timeless magic'", Agda carefully pointed out. Ulfric could use words like a master, but she could see right through them. Actually, you even used it as a weapon to kill your rightful king".
"I used it to challenge Torygg, Agda", Ulfric corrected the young mage. The girl was surprised at how calm he sounded. "And believe me when I say that I deeply regret that mistake, as it caused me to lose the esteem of Master Arngeir and the Greybeards. Yet, Torygg had no chances against me: Thu'um or not, I would have defeated him anyway. He was a weak king and needed to be deposed. I'm sorry it happened like that".
There was a poignant silence during which Agda carefully eyed Ulfric. Was he really the murderer Steinarius had described her? Was he really a ruthless man who just wanted to be king? Right then, the girl had no answers.
The Jarl sighed, then made to pour some more mead into his tankard. Right then, however, a guard came running inside the room.
"Your Highness, there's been a battle near Morthal", he announced. "We've just received news".
Ulfric gave Agda a long look, then he slowly stood up from the table.
"I apologize, but this needs my attention", he told the woman. "If you decided to stay in Windhelm for the night, I'd be glad to resume our conversation later".
Much to her shock, Agda found herself accepting that request - and only a couple of hours later, when she found herself in a comfortable bedroom in the Palace of Kings, she understood what kind of troubles she'd just fallen into.
Agda didn't see Ulfric for the rest of the day. The news coming from Morthal was bad and that explained his absence. Well after nightfall, however, when the woman was getting ready to sleep, someone lightly knocked on her door. Agda had expected it to be a servant who wanted to provide her with a sleeping gown, therefore she was extremely shocked when she found herself face to face with Ulfric Stormcloak himself.
"I hope I'm not too late to apologize for my absence", the man said while slowly walking inside her room. "It's been a long day".
As she took in the man's tired appearance, his haunted look and his sad eyes, Agda immediately understood that the battle in Morthal had been lost.
"Fifty brave soldiers died today, and all because of me", Ulfric confirmed as though he'd just read her mind "Because of me, fifty children won't return to their mothers, fifty parents won't return to their kids, fifty spouses won't return to their loved ones. And because of me, Skyrim has lost fifty of her most loyal sons and daughters".
Confronted with the man's words, Agda stilled on the threshold to her room. For some reasons, she felt Ulfric's grief as it were her own and felt the odd desire to make him feel better.
"It wasn't your fault, Ulfric", she tentatively said. The Jarl of Windhelm looked completely distraught by the news. "Those soldiers knew what they were doing. And then, they trusted you: I'm sure they do not regret losing their lives for your cause. They wanted their children to live in a better place and you should keep on fighting to honor their sacrifice".
Ulfric looked Agda in the eyes when she said that, the he kindly smiled. The mage, on the other hand, felt very weird: she'd always despised Ulfric because of his extremistic ideas about Skyrim beloging to the Nords, but now she could see that there was so much more than that to the charismatic man.
Ulfric didn't want the throne for himself: he wanted the throne to make Skyrim a better place.
"Thank you, Agda". When the man spoke, the mage was actually startled. "I needed someone to tell me that. Also, I'm sorry for bothering you: it's very late and you probably need to rest. I hope you'll get some sleep and think about our conversation from this morning. Just know this, Agda: even if you decide to stay neutral in this war, I won't mind: to me, the most important thing is to show people that I'm not the monster they fear".
As Ulfric spoke, he grabbed a candle from Agda's desk and went for the door to her room. As soon as he moved, the light fell on his tired face, thus underlining an ugly scar on his cheek. Agda immediately recognized the shape of that wound: after all, that mark looked exactly like the ones she had on her face.
"That scar...", she hesitantly said while pointing at Ulfric's cheek. At first the man seemed confused, but then he stopped in his tracks and nodded.
"That's how the Thalmor mark their victims", he said with a loud sigh. "Yet, I'm sure you already know about it, Agda".
Before the mage could do anything, Ulfric had returned towards her and gently laid a hand on her cheek. The girl' scars were hidden by the usual ointment, but no potion could prevent people from touching her skin and feeling the weird texture of those old wounds under their digits.
"Those bastards", Ulfric hissed when his callous fingers found one of the scars on Agda's cheeks.
Silently, the man began exploring the mage's face with the soft touch of his hands. He traced the scars on her nose, the ones on her forehead, even the one that crossed her eyelids. When he reached the one at the corner of her mouth, however, Agda stopped him.
"Don't", she said. The mage had never allowed anyone to touch her scars and was visibly unease because of that unexpected gesture on Ulfric' side. "I don't want to remember...".
"Agda, you need to remember", Ulfric softly broke her off. As he spoke, the man cupped the mage's face in his hands and leant towards her until his mouth was just an inch away from hers.
"Agda, look at me", the Jarl said at that point. "I've been tortured by the Thalmor too, so I know how you feel. Here, let me show you..."
As he spoke, Ulfric unbuttoned his heavy robes, then he gently took one of Agda's hands and brought it on his chest. The girl immediately noticed the many gashes and burnings and marks that marred his skin.
For some reasons, the evidence of Ulfric's past and of the tortures he had endured caused something in Agda's mind to break - and when the man leant towards her and seized her lips in a kiss, the mage didn't pull away. Ulfric immediately deepened the contact and kissed her roughly, passionately, with growing force and fierceness - but when his hands seized the front of Agda's robes and began tugging at her shirt, the mage stopped him.
In Agda's opinion, kissing Ulfric was different from kissing Steinarius: the Nord knew exactly what she'd been through, he knew what she had suffered, he knew the strength it had taken her to slowly go back to her normal life - all things that, try as he might, Steinarius would never understand. That fact also showed in the way those two very different people kissed her: Steinarius' ministrations were gentle and loving, almost as though he was afraid to hurt her. Ulfric's instead were rough and passionate - because, after all, he perfectly knew what Agda had been through and perfectly knew that she was strong enough to get over her tortures.
When the man made to shed her clothes, however, Agda felt hesitant. The memories of Ancano were still too vivid and she didn't want to wipe them away with a man she'd just met - that's why, when Ulfric tugged once again at her belt, she immediately broke their kiss.
"We should wait", she breathlessly said.
"We shouldn't", Ulfric groaned in reply. His voice was hoarse and Agda was almost scared by the threatening light she saw in his eyes. "I know what you've been through, Agda, and I'm the only one who can help you forget".
"We've just met", the girl timidly replied. "I need more time to..."
"Agda, no one else can help you: I know what the Thalmor have done to you - actuallt, I know it because I've felt it on my skin - and from my experience I can tell you that this is the only way. You and me, together: for our sake and for Skyrim's".
When Ulfric made to resume his assault on her belt, Agda took a step back. Right then, as the man let out an angry growl and cursed, the young mage understood everything.
Ulfric wasn't helping her forget Ancano - quite on the contrary, he was trying to be sympathetic in order to gain her support for the war. That's why, when he closed in on her, Agda completely lost it.
There was a loud explosion, then Ulfric Stormcloak flew a few meters away from the mage and landed heavily on his back. At that moment the look on his face was shocked and scared and outraged.
A long moment of perfect silence followed. During those many seconds, Agda almost burst into a hysterical laughter. Not only had she caused Ulfric Stormcloak to fly through a room of his own castle thanks to a spell - said spell had also caused his unzipped trousers to fall along his legs and pool around his ankles. Because of her, the most powerful man of Skyrim was now trying to hop awkwardly in her direction.
"You!", the Jarl shouted as he got back to his feet. His fake calm had suddenly disappeared. "You've just thrown away your only chance to forget about the Thalmor! No one will ever be able to understand you: not your colleagues, not your friends, not even your stupid Dragonborn friend! Your pain will be yours and yours alone and it will slowly eat you from the inside - and when the Thalmor win this war because you refused to team up with me, I'll watch from Sovngarde as they kill you and torture you again!"
Agda watched in shock as Ulfric threateningly walked towards her. That's why he'd been so kind to her, that's why he'd shown so much sympathy, that's why she'd visited her so late at night, that's why he'd made sure the light of the candle would shine on his scars, that's why he'd kissed her, that's why he'd likely poured a few drops of a charming potion in all of her drinks: because he wanted her help for himself. Agda, however, was much cleverer than him.
"I didn't know I would be the one decide the outcome of the war", she shrugged when confronted with Ulfric's accusation. "By the way, I'm afraid I'll team up with Steinarius Crepusculus: he's never been tortured by the Thalmor, sure, but he's never tried to force himself on me either".
And with those words, Agda cast an invisibility spell and left Windhelm for good.