CHAPTER 40: FORWARD!


"Ow fuck!" Natsu screamed all out of a sudden. "I'll neveh geth used tho thes!"

"What, did you bite your tongue again?"

"Naw shite aye ded!"

Lucy sighed, shaking her head. "Was that like the third time today?"

It was the early afternoon of 28th of Frostfall, and they were supposed to reach Whiterun today. Erza, who was sitting at a small distance away and picking meat from the steamed mudcrab they had caught from the river that flowed nearby, raised her eyes to them. Natsu held his hand over his mouth as he cursed the names of the gods, blood dripping down his fingers.

"Hm-mm," Natsu hummed while he tried to regain control over his slurred speech. As the worst pain faded, he almost spoke clearly again. "I whasn't even eating, and thihs shtill hapwhened!"

Erza couldn't tell which one of those two was getting more annoyed: Natsu when Lucy wouldn't stop fussing over him, or Lucy when Natsu never learned to be more careful with his new teeth. As Erza had watched it happening over and over again for the last five days, she was starting to believe that Natsu was doing that on purpose.

"Have you tried not speaking?" Erza joined the conversation. She hadn't really listened to what they had been talking about before he bit himself – again. "That could help."

"Shut uph," Natsu hissed and spat blood to the ground. "Aht this rate I'm gonna rhun ouht of magicka by just healing mah fwucking mouth."

"Come on, just… let me take care of that," Lucy said, caught him from the chin and cast a quick healing spell on him, stopping the bleeding. Well, Natsu didn't seem annoyed at all. Erza chuckled by herself.

Yep, he had totally done that on purpose.

"And she's going to run out of patience," Erza stated and sighed.

They had been on foot since dawn, and had now stopped to rest and eat. The lands around them were silent and calm today, no wind, no clouds in the blue sky. A river ran joyfully beside them as they seated on rocks on its shore, crows singing their raspy melodies in the distance. In front of them rose the last hills from where they would sight Whiterun in the horizon, standing tall and strong in the middle of the vast, endless tundra. Erza couldn't wait to see it again, for coming back home alive was the best part of any adventure. Not everyone was granted the same privilege.

"Well, you can never practise restoration spells too much," Lucy answered and turned back to Natsu when she was done with the healing. "But you seriously must learn to remember you have fangs now!"

"Like it is that easy!"

As they continued bantering and arguing whose fault it all was to begin with, Erza shut herself out of it. She continued nibbling the small pieces of meat from the mudcrab, hoping those two would actually focus on eating for a while. They had to keep going soon, but their mudcrabs were still cooking in the fire, soon getting charred. The mages didn't seem to be giving each other a break. Erza had felt tempted to ask them when their wedding would be held, but knew they'd just punch her for that good.

It had been five days since they left Morthal. They had passed through the ruins of Labyrinthian and then travelled onward the endless tundra. The journey went on peacefully until yesterday, when the mages' training with flame atronachs disturbed a bear, remembering Erza of one certain event in the past. Yet this time, those two fools managed to solve the problem fully on their own. Natsu had been teaching Lucy to cast a fireball, so they had both cannoned flaming bolts on the beasts until it moved no more.

Though the last days had been almost suspiciously serene, something gloomy loomed in the atmosphere that made Erza nervous. Like the calm before the storm. Her travelling companions seemed to sense it too. Natsu had been one grim bastard since leaving Morthal. Yes, he kept teasing Lucy all the time, cracking one terrible joke after another, but behind that laughter was a lot of anguish. He tried to keep the mood up at all cost, even if it meant concealing his pain.

Erza guessed it had something to do with what Alva had said about his brother. There wasn't much the fire mage had told Erza about his family, she just knew that he had an older brother, who now supposedly went by the title Lord Zeref. And having heard that from a vampire, Natsu hadn't taken that easy. Whatever his brother had been up to, it couldn't be anything good.

As if that wasn't bad enough, confronting the vampire woman had not gone according to their plans either. They hadn't been supposed to kill Alva, but considering everything the vampire put him through, Erza had just let the fire mage kill her. She could've stopped him, Gray could've stopped him, but deep down they all knew he had to do this. Almost turning him into a vampire, hurting Lucy, then uttering the name of his long-lost brother, it wasn't a surprise that he just flipped. Erza had never seen him so angry.

Erza wasn't sure, but she hoped Natsu had talked to Lucy about that. When he wasn't teasing her, he had been very quiet and withdrawn, but hopefully Lucy still managed to make him speak. Lucy had been there too to witness his rage explode. She had been the only one brave enough to pull him out of it, but even though it had made her uncomfortable, she hadn't been afraid. He probably thought she had been, but she hadn't feared him. She understood. Erza didn't know if there was anyone in the world more understanding and forgiving than Lucy was. Would it be her undoing, or would it keep her sane through this ordeal fate had put her through? That was still left to see.

However, even though Natsu had killed the vampire without mercy before hearing the reasons behind haunting the people of Morthal, the aftermath hadn't been so hopeless as it first seemed. After they all had caught their breath, they explored the cellar where Alva had been hiding at. It had been a real vampire lair indeed, with a coffin as a bed and large splatters of blood on the floor. Gray hadn't been a fool – for once – when he wished to find a diary of a sort from there. There had, indeed, been a journal that somehow explained what had happened.

They had brought the journal to the Jarl with the condolences over Hroggar and Alva. They explained that Hroggar had been enthralled to be Alva's guard, and that Alva had indeed been a vampire, as they had suspected. With that knowledge, the Jarl hadn't minded that they had killed them, she even called it perfectly justified. So, Natsu escaped two murders with no bounty gained. In fact, the Jarl had rewarded all of them with bags of gold for finally ridding Morthal from the vampire menace.

But, according to Alva's journal, it seemed there were still more left to it. Most of her texts were just incomparable blabber of her dreary life as she waited for a bold Nord warrior to come and sweep her off her feet. And one she had met. She had described meeting a mysterious man in the night, a man named Movarth, and she had fallen in love. Alva had most likely been just a puppet in the vampire's game of turning entire Morthal into cattle for vampires. But unfortunately, there hadn't been any further note on Alva's journal about Zeref, so they had to carry on in uncertainty about his fate.

The information spread as fast as a wildfire, and at nightfall, the townspeople began working on a revenge plan for Laelette and many others who deceased due to this. Gray had agreed to help them find out where Movarth was hiding, but Riften called for Lucy, Natsu and Erza. The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller was apparently in there, and Erza had promised to come there with them. It was suspicious for such a tightly-sealed artefact to just simply be stolen away. Whoever they'd face in Riften, they'd better be careful.

Even though Gray stayed behind in Morthal, Natsu's mood hadn't improved much. There seemed to be another reason behind the fire mage's grimness – Erza had sensed the growing tension in him the closer they made it to Whiterun. He wasn't looking forward to seeing Jellal again, Erza knew. Every time 'the scholar' was brought up in a conversation, Natsu went silent. Even Erza felt bad for lying to Lucy, because in the end, it wasn't even necessary to lie to her. While Lucy had once heard the truth about Jellal, she couldn't remember it now, and it didn't matter to the assassin. In his books, Lucy already knew. Telling her wouldn't make a difference.

However, Erza understood why Natsu hadn't told her. It was the same reason she hadn't told her either. The true damage would come from breaking her trust, possibly breaking their friendship as well. Erza, knowing it was her fault all along, had to accept that. While it would be sad to lose Lucy, she knew she could live through it. But Natsu? It would be the same to just let Jellal kill him. He just couldn't lose Lucy. The stakes were too high for him.

Maybe that's why they said that ignorance was bliss. It was the breaking of the illusion that made things ugly. However, Erza had begun to wonder which one of them would face the ugly end. There had been one thing that Jellal, despite all his ingenious wickedness, had forgotten to calculate.

It was Natsu's rage.

It seemed that Natsu had two lists for his enemies: the shit list, and the kill list. Erza had been on his shit list, where she got treatment as cold as the grave. Gray had been somewhere there, too, probably still was. Alva had been sent straight to his kill list, and the only way out of that was through burning to death. Erza feared when Jellal would find himself on Natsu's kill list too. Even an assassin from the Dark Brotherhood should be wary of getting there. The fire mage's wrath was a force to be reckoned with, and even Jellal's cunning wouldn't prevail against that fiery explosiveness.

Sometimes Erza thought that Natsu would actually be a very good assassin, especially now with his half-vampiric senses. Any assassin would kill for a better night vision, sharper hearing, silent footsteps. It was strange how so many vampiric features had remained even without the actual vampirism. He had been just an hour away from fully turning, and seemed the disease had almost managed to alter his body to the full vampiric extent. His case had to be unique of a kind. Not so many were saved from the verge of undeath like that.

But, after seeing how terrifyingly strong the fire mage could be when truly angered, Erza knew that if she wanted to keep both Natsu and Jellal alive, she must talk – or beat – some sense into Jellal's head. He was walking on thin ice with his strategy. That might've worked earlier, but Erza was now certain that if Jellal would hurt a hair on Lucy's head, he'd become a pile of ashes faster than the vampire woman had seared in sunlight. Honestly, Erza was surprised Natsu hadn't killed him already. Maybe that's why he had been so quiet all the time. Nobody ever planned a murder out loud.

For that very reason, Erza had to talk to the fire mage before they'd be inside Whiterun's walls. In other words, as soon as possible, since they would reach the city tonight. The thought had appeared on her mind many times in the last days, but she never got a chance to speak to him privately. But unless Erza indented to include Lucy into that conversation, she had to somehow separate the lovebirds for a minute.

There was one way to do that. It was brute force.

Upon that decision, Erza stood up from the rock she had been sitting at. She stretched her arms and legs, noticing that their mudcrabs were still cooking in the fire, utterly neglected and forgotten, the red turned to black. Sighing, Erza grabbed Natsu's arm and dragged him out of Lucy's sweet company. Their banter was cut off as Natsu cursed and fumbled after her, unable to understand what was happening.

"I'm gonna borrow you for a moment," Erza said to the mage and glanced over her shoulder at Lucy, who stared back with widened eyes. "I'll return him soon enough, don't worry."

"Borrow me? Man, what the fuck?" Natsu asked annoyedly. "Oh crap, you're gonna beat me –"

"No, I'm not –"

"Lucy, help!"

Lucy laughed into her sleeves, not caring of his pleas for help. "Actually, I just thought it would be a good moment to meditate a little… So no need to hurry, Erza!"

Natsu mumbled profanities as Erza dagged him farther away by the river until they were out of Lucy's hearing distance. Then Erza let go of him. "Let's go for a little walk," she told then. Natsu rolled his eyes but continued walking beside her.

"We've been walking for five straight days –" Natsu started his complaint, but silenced as he saw Erza's stern expression. "Okay, what is it?"

Erza wondered for a while how to put her thoughts into words. She had been thinking for the right thing to stay for the last few days, but now it seemed impossible to say anything. While she and Natsu were on better terms now, thanks to the events of Ustengrav, she still didn't want to push his buttons. They began walking towards the hills up ahead. Getting there and back would be enough to go through this conversation.

"Before we go to Whiterun, I want to talk to you about one thing," Erza began and took a deep breath. There was only one way to get this done. She had to be straightforward and honest. "Are you going to tell Lucy?"

Natsu glanced at her with a deep frown on his forehead. "About what?"

"About Jellal."

The mage fell deathly silent, his walking pace slowing down as he stared into the rushing stream. A moment passed on in silence, only small rocks rumbling beneath their steps as they carried on.

"Damn, what were you expecting?" Erza asked then. "That I'd ask you when you're going to tell Lucy that you're sweet on her?"

"What?" Natsu snorted and rolled his eyes, his frown just deepening. "Goodness, no –"

"Well, that's completely your own business. What I meant was if you're going to tell Lucy about Jellal or not."

"But I'm not sweet on her –"

"That wasn't the question, Natsu."

He fell quiet again and continued to stare at the ground. Some fish jumped in the river as it began gushing louder when they reached the base of the hill. Natsu glanced over his shoulder. In the distance, Lucy was still sitting by the rock, probably enjoying this moment of peace Erza had granted her. As if relieved to see she was okay, Natsu turned his gaze back to the front and sighed.

"I… I don't know," he mumbled quietly. "I tried to tell her the morning after the feast, but she wouldn't listen. Then that fucking son of a bitch made her fall right into his lies, and I just couldn't tell her anymore."

Erza lifted her brows. "You tried, but she wouldn't listen?"

"I don't know what was the matter with her, but she wouldn't even let me speak."

"Well, how did you start it?"

"How should've I?" Natsu asked, a shiver of suppressed guilt in his tone. "Just normally, saying that I have to tell her something. Then she just snapped."

On the night of the feast at Jorrvaskr, after Erza had taken Jellal to her bedchamber, he had explained the whole scheme to her. And of course, as much as a romantic Jellal was, he had to explain it during their urgent lovemaking, for the hundredth time causing her to question what kind of a monster she had fallen in love with. Before that, she hadn't known what he would do, only that he'd figure something. His plan had been a lot worse than she had expected, and he had been just proud of it.

Jellal might've wanted to make them square, but he had overdone it. Such drastic measures weren't even needed to maintain a trustful relationship, but they were a certain way to sabotage it. She almost wished she had never spoken to him about the idea of a disguise, but what was done was done. At least she had managed to talk him out of killing these mages, as it had been his first solution to the problem. But, Jellal had believed that Natsu would tell Lucy right away, thus binding her into the same silence, but he didn't. It was still surprising to hear that he had tried to tell her, tried and failed.

Erza thought for a moment, and then her mind connected the dots. "And what did you tell her the last time you said you had to tell her something?"

Natsu knit his brows as he tried to remember. "… that I'd join the Stormcloaks," he said. Then he realised it himself and slammed his palm to his face. "Oh fuck, she must've thought I'd still want to join the damned rebellion! That's why she didn't want to hear it!"

"Exactly," Erza agreed and nodded. She remembered how Natsu had told her that Lucy was mad at him. That was the same morning he had brought up the whole disguise idea. "Maybe she thought that if she wouldn't let you say it, you wouldn't leave her."

Natsu kept pressing his face into his hands. "I never even thought that thing through, I was just so angry because Igneel died, and thought I could avenge his death and kill some Imperials… And I fucking forgot that Ulfric Stormcloak hates Dark Elves, probably Bretons too, basically anyone who isn't a Nord…"

There had never been much sense in his plan of joining the rebellion. Erza could understand why he had thought that way, but in the end, it would've ended terribly. But it wasn't what they were supposed to talk about – the deal with Jellal was.

"It's eating you up from the inside, isn't it?" Erza asked.

Natsu didn't say anything, and Erza knew the answer was yes. She had seen it herself how something in his eyes died a little whenever he had to lie to Lucy. Her eyes sparkled when she talked about the scholar and his brilliant knowledge, how she talked about the wonders of the Imperial City, how she wanted to see the White-Cold Tower one day, and all of that was a lie. It had to be strangling him alive.

"Look, Jellal already thinks that Lucy knows, and he's planning everything while keeping that in mind. He expected you to tell her, and not letting her know will make things more complicated," Erza said when the silence stretched on. "Just because she seems to have forgotten it doesn't mean she wouldn't remember it one day."

Natsu halted and turned towards her, ire beginning to gleam in his gaze. "And how would she react? She wouldn't trust him, you, or me anymore. She probably wouldn't trust anyone ever again. We've all lied to her. And we all keep lying to her, because –"

"Because you couldn't tell her right ahead. Jellal saw that you didn't, and changed his act. And he's going to keep pretending until you tell her the truth."

Natsu shook his head. "I… I seriously don't know what to do."

"She's going to find out sooner or later, one way or another. You know that yourself. The later she'll find out, the greater the damage will be," Erza stated, her voice growing cold and harsh so he would believe her. "You're afraid of losing her, aren't you?"

As Natsu refused to keep walking, they stood there in silence for another while. He stared down, then raised his gaze to the top of the hill up ahead. From there they would see Whiterun, but seemed Natsu didn't want to reach that point. As if staying right here would keep him from facing the problem, but he knew very well they wouldn't stay.

"I was thinking…" Erza started, not even attempting to gain his eye contact. "Maybe I should tell her. I could take all the blame. I could explain everything to her, make it my fault, because in the end, it is. You never asked for the secret I slipped to you back then. You're innocent of this and got dragged into this mess unwillingly. I'm sorry for that. I should take responsibility and –"

Natsu shook his head. "No. It has to be me," he whispered and finally looked at her, his eyes glistening as if he was holding back the tears. "I'll have to be the one who tells her, not you, not anyone else."

Erza smiled softly. "I'm sure she would understand."

"I'm not that sure," Natsu answered grimly. "I mean… She already has a lot on her plate. You know, killing the frost dragon haunts her. Even I don't know how bad it is, or how she manages to pull this through, but it's rough. She keeps screaming every night in her sleep and still pretends to be okay, but she's not. If I tell that to her, she'd just… I don't know. There's too much shit right now for her to take."

Erza was aware of Lucy's nightmares. They had spent last night in an abandoned iron mine, and she and Natsu had woken up when Lucy had started crying. They had tried to wake her, calm her down, but nothing had helped. The terrors she had to endure just wouldn't let her go, and when she finally awakened, she couldn't remember anything, or at least claimed so. How much would Lucy's mind keep forgetting for the sake of protecting her heart?

That night, Natsu had said something about how Lucy was going through the memories of the dragons she had slain. Erza deemed those were too difficult for her soul to entertain and got rejected from her consciousness – and considering the horrors the dragons had caused for mankind, it was completely understandable for her mind to reject those memories. Lucy was a good person, friendly and warm-hearted by every measure, and carrying such contradictory darkness within her was a great burden to bear. It was reasonable for Natsu not to add anything to that load, but he couldn't evade this forever.

"Lucy is a strong woman. She could take it," Erza assured him. "And I know she would forgive you."

Natsu nodded faintly, yet still did not believe it. Erza took a few steps forward, and Natsu followed her, and so they began climbing to the hill.

"The longer you keep it as a secret, the longer it will haunt you. And don't disrespect Lucy by thinking she wouldn't notice that. She already sees you're hiding something and suffering from it. Even at the risk of her not forgiving you, you should tell her the truth," Erza continued. "Because it's going to be a lot worse if she finds out any other way. Not telling her is a guaranteed way to lose her, but if you tell her, there's a chance you won't lose her. Take your pick."

"I know. You're probably right. It's just that…" Natsu tried to say something, but failed. He pressed his mouth into a thin line and let out a deep breath. "I've tried to keep pretending it didn't happen. Or that deal we made is just bullshit, that Jellal wouldn't really do that, but it's only me bullshitting me."

"Remember when you called me a coward?" Erza said, glancing at him with a grin. "You're being a coward now, and a liar."

"I –"

She interrupted him. "You've got to man up, Natsu. Man up and tell her the truth. You can't hide it forever. If you're so afraid of losing her, it's a good thing. Fear is not evil. It just shows you what your weakness is. And when you know your weakness, you become stronger, and kinder as well."

Natsu smiled shortly, but then his face grew grim again. To Erza, this journey had been full of lessons about facing fears. No matter how great the difficulty would be, or how frightening the situation seemed, they weren't so overwhelmed when faced together with comrades. She hoped Natsu would realise this too. How deeply seated may be the trouble, how hopeless the outcome, how muddled the tangle, how great the mistake, it could all be overcome by the side of a good friend.

And as Natsu still wouldn't say anything, Erza realised what his weakness was.

It was being alone.

Erza turned her eyes from the fire mage to the hill. They were getting closer to its top. "Remember, as long as I'm alive, Jellal will be happy. He won't do anything. He just gave you an ultimatum that would make sure you'd never tell anyone about us, and we could continue to live our lives. He's got as much to lose as you have."

"And what if you die?" Natsu asked harshly. "Is he still gonna sell us to the dragon cult, huh, even if your death has nothing to do with us?"

That was the cruelty here. Even if Natsu kept his part of the deal, nothing would stop Jellal if she died. Erza wasn't sure what he would do – she just knew that there was nothing more dangerous than a man who had nothing left to lose.

"Exactly," Natsu spat out as Erza grew silent. "That idiot would kill us for no reason and doom the whole world. You talked him out of killing me, right? Then talk him out of killing Lucy if all of this goes to shit. I don't really give a fuck of what happens to me. Let him send a fucking army at me, I don't care, but Lucy must be left completely out of this mess. You better make him understand that, or I'll kill him. You said we need him, but I have no need for a person who even threatens to have Lucy tortured and killed –"

When they finally reached the top of the hill, Erza's heart fell to the bottom of her body.

On the horizon, columns of black smoke rose skyward from where Whiterun was supposed to be. Only faint glimpses of the mighty walls could be seen amongst the flames and dust, the palace of Dragonsreach reaching above the dark clouds of smoke. For the smallest moment, Erza feared the city had caught fire, but then she saw the catapults arranged around the walls, their flaming bolts flying through the air, and she knew what was happening.

The Stormcloaks were sacking the city.

Natsu halted beside her too, slack-jawed as he stared into the destruction ahead of them. Now they heard the siege weapons tolling like thunder as they ripped asunder the walls of Whiterun, screams of hundreds of soldiers filling the fields as they died. Burning arrows rained down from the watchtowers, steel clashed against steel as warriors met each other on the battlefield – how long the battle had raged on, Erza couldn't know, but Ulfric's army had already fought their way to the gates. A few escaped warhorses were running towards them with no riders, frantically searching for shelter.

While Rorikstead had been burned to the ground by a dragon, it hadn't been her home anymore. Whiterun was. She had just wanted to go home. Everyone was there, all her dearest Companions, her beloved Jellal, they were all there, and now the city was being plundered by the bloody rebels.

Slowly, Erza and Natsu exchanged one terrified glance, then they charged down the hill back to the direction where they had come from.

"Lucy!" Erza shouted as loud as she ever cloud, cupping her hands over her mouth. "Whiterun is under attack!"

Lucy looked so small from there as she stood up. "What!?" her shout echoed in the air.

"WHITERUN IS UNDER ATTACK!"

Even across the distance, Erza could see how Lucy's face lost all colour. They reached her fast, and so did the horses that had been running behind them. Erza whistled at the horses, who fortunately stopped, obedient creatures as they were. With her heart drumming rapidly in her chest, she caught the reins of the brown horse, stroked its head a few times. Lucy couldn't understand what was happening, Natsu tried to explain to her, but he didn't know either. They were just stammering panicked words upon one another until it became incomprehensible mess.

In all the confusion, there was only one clear thought in Erza's mind.

"You're not going near the city!" the warrior commanded as she walked the horse to the mages. "Can you ride? Because today you will. Take this horse and ride as far from Whiterun as you can, all the way forward to the east until it drops dead!"

Lucy shook her head, refusing to take the reins. "And what will you do, Erza?"

"I'll have to go there and fight!"

"We won't let you go alone!"

"It's too dangerous for you!" Erza yelled at them, grabbed Lucy from the waist and lifted her to the back of the horse. It whined nervously, but remained still as Lucy seated in the saddle. Blood had stained the brown fur, and Erza knew its previous rider wouldn't mind if they borrowed the horse. "You cannot risk your lives for this stupidity! It has to be Ulfric, that damned bastard! Only that idiot would wage war while the dragons are scorching this country! I'm gonna go there and kill him!"

"Erza –"

"And you, fucking midget, can you just climb on horseback?" Erza shouted at the fire mage who stood there frozen, blankly staring into nothingness. Flinched, he glanced at the warhorse and attempted to mount it. Erza caught him from the thighs and pushed him up, seating him behind Lucy. Shaking her hand, she forced the reins to Lucy and slapped the horse to the back to make it turn around.

Then Erza mounted the other horse, the white one, even though it persistently tried to throw her away. "You just keep riding and don't look back until you're in safety, do you understand?" Erza told the mages, tears welling up in her eyes. "Then you go to Riften, take that fucking horn, and shove it to the ass of the one who took it! Let them know not to mess with you!"

Both of them nodded as they accepted her orders like soldiers. Erza turned her gaze away, not knowing if she would ever see them again, yet she still stoned her heart. This wasn't the time to be afraid.

This was the time to be brave.

"Farewell for now," Erza whispered, gathered the reins into her hands and whipped them, urging the horse to gallop back to the destruction it had just escaped. Hesitantly, and after a few harsher strokes, it finally set forth towards the horizon filled with burning pyres, leaving the mages behind.

Then, with burning courage rushing through her veins, she shouted,

"FORWARD!"


A/N: Hi guys, hope you liked this chapter!

This chapter was shorter than usual because it worked as a bridge between Ustengrav arc and the next arc, but the next chapter is going to be the most massive chapter I've ever written. Probably the most challenging one, too. I'll have to read a lot of old fantasy books to make this great fight as good as I want it to be. So, be prepared for the next chapter to take a bit longer to be posted. Actually, I'm a bit afraid of writing that chapter, but I hope it goes well xD

So, who expected this to happen? The events of chapter 30: Diplomatic Immunity have now bitten everyone into the arse. That's all I can really say without spoiling anything. Please, let me know what you thought of this plot twist, and what you think is going to happen next! :D

Next up: Victory or Sovngarde