A/N: First of all I would like to apologise for how long this has taken to write. The original version of this chapter died with my old laptop. Since then, I have attempted to write this chapter three times. I hit a massive writer's block, had a lot of important stuff to do for school, and got distracted by Star Wars, Bleach and The Legend of Korra. This chapter has had multiple different incarnations. One involved Ria 'bonding' with Gakken, another ended with Falin running off to Solitude to join the legion.
TheGreatJabberyJamie: Thank you. I try to find relevant references for all my chapters. Falin won't appear much in this chapter, but I will do something about her soon. Agreed, Ram-Ku in the friend zone is funny.
Guest: Dragon Souls do not heal vocal chords, I don't think. The Dragonborn might be Falin, or might not, commenting either way would be spoiler-ish. The Dragonborn's identity will be revealed towards the end of the story. Show, don't tell.
Kai: I try my best to respond fully to all reviews. Don't worry Kodlak will be dealing with the Stormcloaks' new laws.
Machynlleth(C3): Neither had I. That's part of the reason I wrote this story.
Machynlleth(C19): Not on Hiatus, just massive writer's block.
When I returned to the main hall, I found Vilkas and Kodlak discussing what to do about the Stormcloaks.
"I don't like it any more than you do Vilkas, but the fact remains that Aela did indeed commit a crime that she is being lawfully punished for. What I will not stand for however, is the increased bounties for those who are not Nords."
"But master, what can we do about it?"
Kodlak looked pensive for a moment, then he spoke. "Vilkas, fetch a quill and the good parchment, and take down my words exactly as I say them: To the esteemed Jarl Vignar Grey-Mane of Whiterun,
I, Kodlak Whitemane, write to you from my position as Harbinger of the Companions of Ysgramor. I write to tell you that I strongly disapprove of your stance on the bounties for crimes committed within you hold by those who are not Nords. I know that I hold no authority in any court of Skyrim, but I would hope that you still respect my position as Harbinger. I ask you to reconsider your position on bounties. If you do not, I will be forced to take action on the matter. Assuming that the bounties remain double the usual, I shall instruct the Companions to charge double for any jobs requested from your hold-"
"Master!" Vilkas interjected. "I'm all for making a stand, but this violates our neutrality."
Kodlak sighed, "Vilkas, a wiser man than I once said 'If you are neutral in situation of injustice, you have chosen the side of the opressor.' The Companions are indeed sworn to neutrality in this war, but before that, since the days of the distant green summers and beyond, we have been sworn to defend the weak from the strong who would seek to exploit them, we have sworn to stand up for the oppressed against the oppressor. If we do not make this stand, then we need to find a new name for ourselves, for we will no longer be worthy of the moniker 'Companions' and all the honour that goes with it. We will have forsaken our heritage."
"Yes master." Vilkas looked visibly chastened.
Kodlak smiled, "Vilkas, I am nobody's master, finish that letter and take it directly to the Jarl." Vilkas nodded. "Oh, and Vilkas."
"Yes, Harbinger?"
"Try and do it more peaceably than the last time one of the Circle spoke with the Jarl." Here his eyes strayed to Ram-Ku for a moment, no more than a second, but long enough to let Ram-Ku know that Kodlak was referring to the incident that had occurred when Ram-Ku had informed Vignar of his removal from the Companions. Vilkas nodded and left Jorrvaskr, letter under his arm. Kodlak then turned to me.
"Ria, how is Falin doing?"
I shrugged, "As best I can tell, not great, not terrible, she's sleeping at the moment."
He nodded his head sadly, "That's probably for the best, sleep is one of the best healers for this sort of thing." He opened his mouth to continue, but before he said anything, Lucia came running up the stairs.
"Mama, you need to come quickly, I think there's something wrong with Lydia, she's being sick everywhere."
Lucia grabbed me by the hand and began dragging me with a strength that belied her small stature, pausing only to mouth 'sorry' at a bemused-looking Kodlak, I was quickly dragged down the stairs to the sleeping quarters.
Lucia had not been exaggerating, Lydia was indeed being sick everywhere. Tilma was standing next to her rubbing her back soothingly and instructing Torvar to 'go and fetch some more buckets' whilst Athis and Liedan both decided that they had to be somewhere else.
"What's the matter?" I asked.
"The fuck should I know!" Lydia snarled before promptly returning her head to the bucket and emitting a noise that sounded like something Ram-Ku would shout at the Stormcloaks. I turned instead to Tilma, hoping for a more civilised response.
"I'm sorry dear, but I don't know anything either."
I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turned to come face to face with Falin. I was so surprised to say her out of bed again that I almost missed the gestures she made with her hands. I asked her to repeat them, then translated for Lydia.
"Lydia, Falin wants to know when the last time you bled was."
"What?" The Nord demanded.
"When was the last time you had your moon's blood?"
"Why does she want to kno- Oh shit, she doesn't think I'm-"
I had also come to the same conclusion, and turned to Falin for confirmation. She nodded, and signed out 'Pregnant? Probably, yes.'
I turned back to Lydia, "Yes, yes she does." I heard Falin firing off a spell behind me, the blue light and lack of burning smell identifying it as belonging to the school of alteration. Lydia on the other hand, being a Nord through and through, had no grasp of magical concepts whatsoever, and began panicking slightly, having not seen the reassuring golden glow of restoration magic.
"What was that? What did she do?"
Falin rolled her eyes and explained, via my translating, that it was a detect life spell to try and confirm pregnancy, and that she had detected in increase in life energy at Lydia's midriff, indicating pregnancy.
"So..." I said, trying to think of what the best thing to say at this point was, "Do you want a boy or a girl?" Probably not the best line I ever came up with, as Lydia promptly burst into tears, and I received filthy looks from Njada, Falin, and even Torvar.
"Hush, dear, it's ok," Tilma spoke soothingly, I'm sure we'll be able to sort this all out. Do you know who the father is?"
In between sniffles, Lydia spoke, "No, the last time I even lay with a man was..." Her voice tailed off.
"When?" I asked.
"That night with Sanguine."
"You mean when you slept with Farkas and Vilkas at the same time?" Gakken chimed in with her typical lack of subtlety, appearing seemingly from nowhere. Lydia nodded. Into the awkward silence that followed, Njada mumbled, "Kind of makes my tattoo decision seem a lot less serious now..."
Gakken then proceeded to completely eclipse the stupidity of my previous statement with "So, you going to keep it?"
"What sort of a question is that to ask?" Njada demanded.
"Shut up all of you!" Lydia shouted, "I don't really care if its a boy or a girl! Yes I'm going to keep it! And can one of you do something useful and find Vilkas and Farkas so I can shout at them!"
Torvar saw his opportunity to escape and took it, hurtling off up the stairs faster than I'd ever seen him move before. I decided that I too did not want to stick around for the inevitable fallout and turned to leave. As I did, I realised that Falin had also left, disappearing back into Aela's room. I returned to the main hall, passing both Farkas on the way up. Seeing as how he didn't look like he had just been told that he was quite possibly a father, Torvar clearly having decided to leave that job to Lydia. As I reached the top of the stairs, Kodlak smiled at me.
"So what did Lucia want?"
"Lydia's pregnant." I told him. He took it rather well, barely raising an eyebrow in response.
"I see." A pause, "Farkas was it?"
"Or Vilkas. Aedra only- sorry, Sanguine only knows."
A small chuckle. Before either of us could say any more, the main doors slammed open, accompanied by the sounds of Stormcloaks shouting and Ram-Ku barrelling through the doors.
Kodlak stood quickly, "Ram-Ku! What's going on out there?" I on the other hand took a more direct approach,
"What have you done to the Stormcloaks?"
Ram-Ku paused to catch his breath, "Why do you assume I've done something? It's the Empire, they're attacking Whiterun." The sound of something large and heavy impacting outside and more shouting from the Stormcloaks seemed to confirm his statement.
Then we were distracted by shouting from downstairs. "I DON'T BLOODY CARE IF YOU DON'T REMEMBER ANY OF IT, MAN UP AND TAKE SOME DIVINES-DAMNED RESBONSIBILITY!"
Ram-Ku shot me a questioning look.
"Lydia's pregnant."
"Right..." Then a thought clearly crossed his mind, "Are you pregnant?"
"You what?" I thought I'd misheard him.
"Are. You. Pregnant?" Apparently not.
"No! At least, I don't think so." Oh gods, what if I am? Would I lay an egg? What would the child look like? Are eggs painful to lay? Then I looked at his face, saw the grin, heard the laugh, and knew he was taking the piss.
"Humans and Argonians cannot interbreed Ria, did your parents not tell you that?" He laughed again. Then he stopped laughing when I punched him in the face. Hand smarting from where it had impacted on the jaw of an overly-cocky lizard man, I left Ram-Ku rubbing a quickly-forming bruise on the side of his face. I left the main hall, cursing under my breath as I went to inform the rest of the Companions that the Empire was laying siege to Whiterun.
The reactions were, mixed, to say the least. Njada seeming downcast at the news that the Stormcloaks could be forced out, but perhaps not as downcast as she would have been a few days earlier. Gakken had stated that she quite simply couldn't care less as most of the Stormcloaks were far too intimidated by her size to try anything. Liedan had decided that it was quite definitely a good thing. Farkas was too busy taking care of a bruise that was not dissimilar to the one I had just given Ram-Ku. Lydia on the other hand seemed over-joyed at the prospecting of the Empire returning to Skyrim. She explained that this was due to the fact that this meant her uncle could return to Whiterun, but at the same time she wasn't too sure about her cousins coming with him. Apparently they were all either 'spoilt little shits,' or 'creepy little bastards' and she hoped that her child wouldn't grow up to be anything like them. Then she realised that she would have to explain her pregnancy to her uncle and she promptly burst into tears again, causing Farkas to comfort her uncertainly, looking incredibly uncomfortable whilst doing so. In accordance with the decisions made by the Companions at the start of the war, we hunkered down in Jorrvaskr and waited for the fighting to end.
A/N: I aplogise for how short this, but I felt like I had to get out or the story would die. Again please review telling me just how you feel about this chapter. Thanks, and sorry again.