For a moment, Uhther was completely stunned. This was something that did not happen often to him. The first time he had seen the walking dead, faced down a dragon, even when he had learned of Miraak and that there had been other dragonborn before himself, he had still been able to shake off the surprise.

Now though, he simply stood there. His body felt numb, his mind was blank. Except for one thing. The Courier's words echoing inside his head like a stone thrown into a cavern. Lucia had taken Riften? But how? How could that be possible?

They were all looking at him. The Courier, Delphine and Ralof and their soldiers, all previous animosity forgotten. Their faces all seemed to carry the same mixture of shock and concern. Were they worried about how he was going to react? Were they expecting anger? Should he be angry?

These new thoughts crept slowly into his head and, as they did so, seemed to eat away at the shock that immobilised him as curiosity overcame stunned disbelief.

He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking around, he saw that it was Lydia. Though her face was mostly covered by her dragonbone helm, he could make out her expression. It was concern but he could tell it was not the same as the that on the others' faces. She had been with him from the beginning, serving as his housecarl since the day he had known himself to be the Dragonborn, and she had never seen him so shocked by anything. And it unnerved her as much as it did him.

Noticing his mouth was slightly open, Uhther closed it with a snap and gave her a quick smile to show her he was alright before turning his attention back to the Courier.

'When did this happen?' he asked, surprised at how level his tone was.

'Last night,' the Courier answered, 'in the hours before dawn. She and a small group entered the city and went straight to Mistveil Keep. They then took Maven Blackbriar into custody and declared her reign at an end.'

Where before it had been blank, now Uhther's mind was racing. Who, exactly, was this group who had followed Lucia in this? And how had they got in? A warband big enough to take power from Maven Blackbriar must surely have been stopped at the gates. Unless, of course, they didn't come in through the gates.

Uhther had commanded enough battles to have an idea how Lucia would have got herself and a warband into Riften without needing to worry about the guards. Thinking about it, it was probably what he would have done had he needed to infiltrate the city. And if they had come in at night, of course they wouldn't have been seen. But he had to check.

'My housecarl, Iona,' Uhther said, 'was she with my daughter?'

The Courier hesitated before nodding.

'Yes,' he said, 'witnesses saw them together when they went to the keep.'

Uhther heaved a sigh. So he had been right. He could see it all now. Lucia leading this warband of hers around the city walls in the dark, all the way to the staircase that led up to the porch of Honeyside. His home. Normally that door was kept locked and bolted, but of course Iona would open it for Lucia. Uhther wondered how much convincing Iona had needed to go with her. Had she gone out of loyalty to Uhther, to make sure his daughter came to no harm? Or had she been more than willing once she heard the reason they were there?

'And what did the Riften guard do about this?' Uhther asked. The Courier met his eye, shiftily.

'They did not put up much of a fight in truth, Lord,' he replied, 'there were not even any casualties. It was, perhaps, the easiest takeover in Skyrim's history. As soon as Lucia had Maven in custody, all guards laid down their arms.'

That did not surprise Uhther. The Blackbriars, though rich and influential, had been incredibly unpopular since before the Stormcloak Rebellion. Something about their smug superiority and friendliness with the Thalmor and the Thieves Guild had always rubbed the people of the Rift the wrong way. Maven's rule as jarl had done nothing to improve their opinion.

Uhther wondered how Llirvalie and her colleagues had handled this news. It was Riften's worst kept secret that the Thieves Guild had an understanding with Maven that the guards would look the other way regarding the Guild's activities. This had allowed the guild to flourish in recent years but that would likely now be at an end. The thought alone was enough to make Uhther wince. He was no fan of the Thieves Guild but the agreement he had made with the Nightingales was unlikely to hold if his daughter ruined their operations.

'So no one was hurt?' He asked. The Courier shook his head.

'Some cuts and bruises,' he said, 'but it did not last long enough for anything serious.'

'So where is Maven now?'

'In the dungeons,' the Courier replied. He seemed to be getting anxious now, as if there were something he was holding back but knew they were arriving at the point where he would have to tell. After a moment, he finally went on, 'by order of the new Jarl.'

The new Jarl? Oh gods, Uhther thought, tell me she hasn't. If Lucia had declared herself jarl of the Rift, the Moot would come down on her like an avalanche. As if he had read his thoughts, the Courier now shook his head.

'Saerlund Law-Giver had been named Jarl of Riften, Lord,' he said.

Saerlund? Uhther vaguely recalled the name. A surly man, barely out of his youth. The youngest son of the old jarl, Laila Law-Giver. Yes, now he remembered, he'd spoken out against Ulfric during the rebellion, urged his mother to side with the Empire, and so had been disowned.

He'd been sent to the Palace of Kings after the end of the war, with the rest of the dethroned jarls and their families, but had been allowed to return to Riften after pledging his loyalty to the Empire. Uhther supposed it made sense for him to be chosen, only...

'How has he been named already?' Uhther demanded, 'if this all happened last night then surely the Moot can't have met already.'

This was apparently it, the thing that the the Courier had not wanted to say but now knew he had to.

'Saerlund was named Jarl by Lucia, Lord,' he said, 'she did it in your name. By the authority of the Lord Dragonborn, Imperial Legate of the Northern Legion.'

For a moment, Uhther felt as stunned as he had when he had first heard the news, then he closed his eyes. He did not know if he wanted to groan, rage or laugh. The sheer audacity of the girl really was quite remarkable. Done in his name, indeed? He would be having a sharp word with her when they next met. And Talos only knew how he was going to smooth this over with the other jarls. There was a good chance they wouldn't mind too much. Saerlund was the son of a jarl, after all, and he was loyal to the Empire so Tullius likely wouldn't care. It would be the break from tradition that he would have to soothe. The Moot would not like this decision being made without their knowledge or blessing.

Though, despite all that, Uhther could not help but feel a flare of pride. Taking over a city, at her age. The bards would make a great song of this.

'Did she send me any note, or letter?'

The Courier shook his head and held out the message he'd been reading from.

'Jarl Saerlund sent these out to all the other jarls, but Lucia wanted one sent to you as well. She seemed quite insistent on that.'

Uhther took the message and gave it a quick glance. It was, in truth, no more than what the Courier had told him.

The Fangs, led by Lucia the Young Dragon, (was that what they were calling themselves?) had removed Maven Blackbriar from the Rift's throne. By the order of Uhther Stormfist, the Lord Dragonborn and Imperial Legate (Uhther really did wince upon reading this), Saerlund Law-Giver had been named Jarl in her place. He now commanded the Riften guard and had at his side Mjoll the Lioness, who had sworn him fealty as housecarl.

The courier had left out that last part and Uhther could not pretend it was not a blow. Mjoll had been his friend for years and also one of the strongest of his sworn swords. He had rather been counting on her help in the trials ahead.

He let the message fall to the table where it was snatched up by Lydia before anyone else could take it. She stuffed the page into a bag on her belt and, when Uhther did not speak, gestured for the courier to leave. He did so, bowing and then running back the way he had come.

Lydia then turned her attention to Uhther.

'So what should we do, my Thane?' she asked, 'to Riften?'

Uhther only considered that for a moment before shaking his head. He could not risk it. It was a three day journey to Riften, and he had lost enough time already. He turned back to Ralof.

'Two days,' he said. His voice was flat, without emotion. Uhther himself did not know if he was angry, proud or excited, 'on the morning of the third, we march north.'