Thorunn woke naked, nestled in a mess of blankets and pillows and limbs not her own. Ulfric's leg and arm were strewn over her as he lay on his side, with her head resting on his neck. It was as uncomfortable as it sounded. She winced when she tilted her head and a shot of pain sizzled through her spinal cord from the crane in her neck. Thereon, she was a lot more gentle with herself while she untangled her body from the blankets and Ulfric.

She yawned and stretched her arms out once she was finally free, then leaned down to pick up her cloth shorts. She pulled them over her legs, finding no need to clothe the rest of her body for the time being. She got no further than that before she heard Ulfric's voice, raspy and deep with exhaustion, from behind her.

"Thorunn," he said crackly. "I've a gift for you." His voice got progressively more distant, like he was falling back asleep mid-sentence.

She turned to face him, her thick dark eyebrow arched. His eyes were still closed, but there was the faintest of most genuine smiles on his lips. The only sorts of gifts they exchanged were, essentially, rewards. Said rewards usually involved pristine steel, sharp edges, and leather hilts. No gift was better than the kind that killed people.

But no gift he'd given to her before was offered while he lay naked in bed, streaks of light peaking through the painted glass on the walls and cascading an eerie multi-colored light over the room. Ulfric's eyes opened and he blinked himself awake, squinting in that multi-colored light, then sat up.

He pointed to the vanity. "Open the box. The jeweled one."

Thorunn obliged, still too groggy with sleep to question it. Yawning again, she walked to the vanity and picked up the small black box; jewels were encrusted around its edges. Thorunn's years of raiding and pillaging didn't leave her clueless to gems. These were real, which meant this was going to be an expensive gift if it was priceless right down to the very means of giving it.

Slowly, she lifted its tab and opened the lid. Inside was an amulet, gold in color with a blue gem in the middle of its circular charm. Intricately designed waves protruded from the gem. There was no mistaking. This was an Amulet of Mara. Confused, Thorunn turned to face Ulfric, the necklace's chain in her fingers. She stared at him expectantly, waiting for an explanation.

He merely smiled. "Well?"

Her brows knitted together. "I do not revere Mara." And Ulfric knew that, which left only one reason as to why he would gift her with Mara's amulet.

"It is still a pretty piece of jewelry, no?" He stood and began dawning his finery, one piece at a time. "You're not required to wear it. Not unless your hand is open for marriage, anyway."

The pieces started sliding into place. Thorunn dropped the amulet out of shock and he turned around to see what had thumped the ground. When he saw it laying on the ground, he gave Thorunn a look of malcontent. "A simple 'I don't like it' would have sufficed." he said.

She hastened to pick the amulet back up. She placed it back in the box, where it would be free from potential damage. "No, no, that's not it. You just surprised me." She closed the lid of the box and put it back on the vanity's surface. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He finished lacing his finery, then started approaching her. Or, what she thought was her. He was actually going for the mirror of the vanity to fix his hair with its usual braided untidiness.

Thorunn watched him, for a time. "I need to go hunt before the sun completely rises," she announced.

"Very well. Be back in time for a more... domestic breakfast." He patted her shoulder dismissively.

She suppressed a dry chuckle and dawned her fur cloak, tying it at her chest to make sure it covered her body that was completely nude apart from the shorts she wore. There was no point in wearing clothes for what she was heading out to take care of. She slipped her boots on, and she was off.

Thorunn returned to the Blue Palace by noon. She'd taken the clothes off of one of her prey and changed into that, despite how ragged and dirty those clothes happened to be. The outfit consisted of brown trousers and a loose tunic with a laced bodice, all three sizes too big for her. She liked meaty prey.

Voices could be heard the moment she stepped over the threshold of the palace. "-caught fleeing from battle at Fort Ingstad," someone with a feminine voice was saying. Thorunn ascended the staircase into the throne room, watching the scene from afar. She leaned against the railing, crossing her ankles. Ulfric sat slouched in the throne, cheek resting on his fist.

There was a Stormcloak at his feet.

"This Fort Ingstad- it was under Imperial control, correct? And this soldier of mine fled the invasion to retake it?" prompted Ulfric, sounding interested despite his lazy appearance.

"Yes," confirmed the woman, also dressed in Stormcloak armor. "Fleeing a battle is punishable by death."

"Do not insult my intelligence, cadet, I am aware of the law." Ulfric snapped irritably. He looked over the kneeling, shackled soldier part of the guilty party. "What is your name?"

"Hrognar, sir."

"Hrognar, what have you to say for yourself? You took an oath, and you are well aware the Stormcloaks do not accept cowards into their ranks. By fleeing, are you insulting the judgement of my second?" Ulfric gestured to Galmar, who looked completely disgusted with this Hrognar.

"No, sir," said Hrognar. His voice was wavering, his bottom lip quivering. He kept his head down. "I admit my cowardice and I accept whatever punishment you deem fitting. I got cold feet at the last second, I... It was my first battle, sir. An ice wraith and a human being are two very different things when it comes to killing."

Galmar scoffed. Meanwhile, Thorunn stood with arms and ankles crossed, head tilted slightly and a passive look on her face. She had somewhat of an amused smirk; this kind of trial was child's play. It wouldn't be hard to decide if this man was guilty or not.

"Such human beings are Imperials. One could argue that both intend to oppress and kill." argued Ulfric.

"They had families, sir," Hrognar retorted, his voice barely above a whisper now. "One of them... As she was going down, she said... she said to her friend, 'tell my son I love him.' Her friend said back to her, 'I don't think I'll be making it out of here to do that, sister.' My Lord, they suffer just as we do. I am in awe of the Stormcloaks, I truly am, but not for their cause. I am in awe because they are able to kill their brothers."

"They are not our brothers!" Galmar shouted. His rage had long since been building up. The natural deep to his voice punctured the air like steel against steel.

Hrognar flinched, while Ulfric seemed unphased. "Galmar, compose yourself," he said with a wave of his hand. "While my companion may be loud in his way of expressing it, he is right. The Imperials are not our brothers. You should have understood that before taking your oath."

"I..." The Nord looked like he might argue, but he clamped his mouth shut and raised his chin. "I understand." His tone had gone surprisingly strong in contrast to his earlier desperation.

"Guards, take him to the prisons. His execution will go through on the 31st of Sun's Height." That was in three days.

The guards did just that, yanking Hrognar up by the forearms and carrying him away. He didn't struggle. The Stormcloak woman who'd brought him in saluted, bowed her head, and took her leave. Ulfric's eyes finally passed to Thorunn and he waved her over. She pushed her weight off the railing and did as gestured, stepping up to the staircase that led to the altar holding Ulfric and his throne. His eyes glazed down to her chest and Thorunn knew what he was looking for: The Amulet of Mara.

And, much to his visible pleasure, the gem glistened in the candlelight. When his gaze touched Thorunn's once more, he was smirking.