I want to give a HUGE thanks to my Betas Lyonene and Croatin, who both have AMAZING stories that are so awesome, you probably already have them in your favorites. But if you don't, go check them out!
If you read chapter 3, Croatin and I completely re-wrote the dialogue between Ulfric and Elisif, and I would ask that you read it because we worked hard on it and I think it sounds 10 times better than before. I would totally apreciate any reviews and critiques for it!
Someone asked if the main quest is still around and if Alduin is still alive. The answer is yes he is.
I hope everyone had a great holiday!
Edit: I re-uploaded because I added another part to the end, so if you haven't read it, go check it out! I wanted to move the story on next chapter so I went ahead and got this out of the way.
Chapter 4: Plan
Ulfric Stormcloak stood at his desk, glaring hard at the man in front of him. The man did not belong here. He was a part of the Penitus Oculatus, a special guard for the Emperor himself. Ulfric disliked this surprise requested meeting from the Imperial.
"The Emperor is ready to depart this country very soon," The officer informed Ulfric, "In light of your...victory, he feels it is appropriate to leave."
Ulfric rudely chose to avoid the man's gaze, instead keeping his eyes set on his map. "Not soon enough can his filth depart my people's land."
The officer glared at him. "I still represent the Emperor, mind you! I was simply tasked with informing you."
"Liar." Ulfric said.
"I beg your pardon?"
Ulfric's head rose at last to meet the officer's eyes. He stared at the officer challengingly. "I said 'liar'. You would not come here just for a petty message. Spit it out."
The Penitus Oculatus officer clenched his jaw. He knew Ulfric was never an easy man to converse with. "We wish to bargain for Elisif the Fair." He could hear the cynical laugh of the leader in front of him.
"Bargain? What for?"
"Elisif is apart of the Empire, Ulfric. She swore an oath even after Torygg's..." He stopped to caution himself, knowing whom he was speaking to. He lowered his voice and finished. "...Demise. We believe- no, we know-that she has no wish to be here."
"I don't know what you are proving by coming here and making a bold demand. She belongs to no one-"
"And she doesn't belong to you, Ulfric!" the man cut in, but quickly adjusted his tone. "If the Thalmor are truly after her, then with us she'll be safer."
"Safer?" Ulfric scoffed. "Safe where, Imperial? In your White-Gold tower? You think you're more successful in defending that tower than before?"
The officer stood silent, annoyed at Ulfric's caustic words. He took a deep breath to give them both time to cool down.
"I understand your frustration, I really do. What happened to you during the war was...awful. Terrible. Words cannot describe how the other's and I felt when you were taken. But think of Elisif, Ulfric. She's just a child. Think about the agony they would put her through if they were to take her."
Ulfric said nothing, but the officer could tell from the anguish in his expression that he was thinking about the situation and what to do. For a moment, Ulfric stared at the ground.
Should he let the girl go? Back to her precious Empire? Surely it's what she wanted. And when Ulfric told Balgruuf that he didn't care about her, he was sure that he meant it. Maybe letting her go would rid him of the nuisance.
Then he thought about the Elves. They would do anything to get their claws on her, just to prove a point. Just like they did to him. Ulfric's thoughts were taken back to time of the war.
During those days, Ulfric was younger and much more foolish. Like an Unblooded Stormcloak, Ulfric was rash in situations, charging into battles with no strategy. He never thought of the consequences.
Then the Thalmor abducted him.
He couldn't remember how he was captured. All his thoughts around the time were hazed together. Ulfric had always wanted to keep the terrorizing memories fresh to fuel his anger and remind him why he fought. But his subconscious mind repressed them deep.
He knows, however, that the Thalmor captured him, interrogated him. He tried with all his might to resist, to keep everything in his mind and reveal nothing. Then he broke. He told them everything they wanted to know. Within days, the White-Gold tower was taken by the Elves.
After all the humiliation, torture, and shame, Ulfric wanted to die. He wanted the Thalmor to strike him down. But the Thalmor wouldn't even give him that. They did the worse thing they could. They let him go.
No.
The Empire turned its back on him. As much as his hatred grew for Elisif on a daily basis, Ulfric wouldn't let the Empire do to her as it had him.
"Leave this place, Imperial," Ulfric ordered in a low hoarse tone. "Leave. You'll get nothing from me this day."
The officer sighed in defeat. For a moment, he stood there, hoping Ulfric would change his mind. After waiting in silence, the officer cleared his throat, and left the room without a goodbye.
Elisif wasn't able to get any rest. The nurses told her countless time to sleep, but she was far too restless and excited. Outside of her window, she could see a large ship from afar docked at Solitude's harbor. She recognized the type of ship and its flag immediately. It was an Empire ship. They had come for her.
She expected to leave as soon as she saw the ship, but it instead sat there for many hours. No doubt the Imperials were negotiating for her, knowing how stubborn Ulfric was. Elisif could even hear people outside her door pass by and use words like 'Empire' and 'Imperial officer', so she knew she wasn't wrong. However, nurses still checked on her and chefs still catered to her without a mention of the Empire agent being there.
Then, she saw the ship part ways from the harbor, and her heart sank. Elisif wanted to cry. Hadn't they come for her? Of course not, why would they? Elisif would be stuck in that room for the rest of her life.
The next day, Elisif was being escorted back to her room after her nightly bath. Without a word, her guard handed her extra clothes. When she grabbed them, she felt a folded piece of paper beneath them. When about to question the guard, he put his finger to his lips and shushed her. Elisif immediately went to her room and her guard stood outside the door as normal.
Inside her room, she quickly ran to her bed, sat down, and unfolded the note.
E.
Loredas night we go home. We await your reply.
A short, nearly cryptic and unsigned note was all Elisif needed for her heart to race. Loredas was the next night. She got up and walked to her desk where a parchment of paper and an inkwell laid. She thought for a moment what to write without revealing too much. If the Stormcloaks got their hands on her note, then she needed to have written a carefully as possible so they had little to accuse anyone with. Elisif sighed, and started to dictate her scribe. Just a single word, and a small letter.
Yes.
E.
It was short, but they would understand. She got the message, she was ready, and they would take care of the rest. Elisif folded the note neatly and walked to the door. She knelt down, and silently tapped the door just once, then waited for the Imperial spy to signal back.
Knock, knock.
With the confirmation Elisif hastily slid the note through the bottom of the door and felt the pressure of it being pulled from her.
Elisif got up, feeling the excitement throughout her body. She sat on her bed and smiled, her heart thumping fast. She was finally going home.
Except, the letter never made it out of the Imperial spy's hands. By the time he made it into the woods after he was relieved of his guard duty, the spy was halted by two hooded figures. He demanded for them to reveal themselves, and that's exactly what they did. It was an Altmer and a Bosmer, who called themselves Thalmor, and they both had been searching for him. Before the spy could say or do anything at all, the Bosmer proved far more quick than him and the elf sealed the Imperial's mouth with his hand. He then drained the life out of his body. Within seconds, the spy was dead.
The Bosmer carefully placed the body on the ground, and searched thoroughly through the satchel. Inside, he found two notes, and handed them to the Altmer to read while he continued to scavenge the man's body. The Altmer read the first short note.
"What's it say?" The Wood elf asked while still searching.
"It says, "Yes", he replied, and the Bosmer looked up, "And it appears to be signed by the girl."
"You're sure?"
The Altmer sighed and nodded. Then he remembered the second note, and quickly unfolded it as well.
"Ah!" He exclaimed, "This one contains much more valuable information..." he read it thoroughly, then explained it out loud. "I believe it's directions, to where, I do not know."
"Should we go there?" The Bosmer got up and glanced at the note.
The Altmer nodded. "Yes, I think we should. If I'm right about this, I believe it's where the Empire is taking her."
The Thalmor agents knew Ulfric was keeping Elisif from the Empire. For what reason, they didn't know. Perhaps he didn't want to give the Thalmor the glory of capturing her.
"Then what do we do now?" The Bosmer asked, looking at the dead body. "I don't think he'll be escorting anyone like this."
The Altmer laughed at this shorter acquaintance. "You should know me better than that, my brother. Him being dead won't stop him from doing his job."
Ulfric sat at his desk as usual, thinking of his plans. To his surprise, with Galmar talking and boasting in the background, Ulfric couldn't seem to focus at all. He had the image of Elisif the Fair taking over his busy mind, and every thought of war made him go back her. The woman, who believed she had the rights to the Jagged Crown with little to no effort, was everything he hated. She was weak, foolish, and deserved no such rewards. Still, as much as he tried to list all the reasons to hate her, he could never truly feel genuine hatred for her. Ulfric would be a lair if he said he liked her as a person, for she was selfish to no end, and the incident with the stagecoach just proved it. But he'd also be a liar if he said he didn't steal a glance of her every now and then whenever he could. Little things about Elisif made her stand out to him. She was young and naive, even spoiled. But she was defiant. Though she caused nothing but problems for Ulfric, he secretly admired her determination and the will to fight. In that sense, she was just like him.
Elisif was beautiful, and no one could deny that, even if her surly attitude sometimes overshadowed it. She had pale Nordic skin, long blond hair, and a small frame that made him often wonder what other racial blood she possessed in her. Even many of the Stormcloak soldiers, who once vowed to have her head on their stakes, would gossip about her physical looks amongst themselves. Yes, Ulfric was well aware of her beauty, but if anyone was to ask him about it, Ulfric would have to brand himself a lair and deny it all.
Ulfric's thoughts and with Galmar's senseless talk were soon interrupted when a Stormcloak Spy quickly rushed in.
"My King!" he quickly bowed his head, "I have troubling news."
Ulfric turned his full attention to the boy, his eyes pressed on him hard. "Speak."
"Elisif the Fair was taken by and Imperial Spy about a quarter of an hour ago."
Ulfric could hear Galmar grunt beside him, for they both expected her to do something foolish again.
"No surprises," Galmar simply put, "Just let her be, Ulfric. She's no use to us unless we want something to look at. She was distracting the men, anyway."
"If only I wouldn't feel her blood on my hands if the Thalmor were to catch her. Otherwise, I would."
The spy respectfully waited for his king to stop speaking before finishing his report.
"It's more urgent than that, I'm afraid." Both Ulfric's and Galmar's eyes looked back at the well-mannered boy, who spoke rapidly. "One of the Stormcloaks that guarded her door was the Imperial Spy, and he escorted her to a disguised ship. We apprehended him after he took her there," The boy stopped for a moment to clear his dry throat. "However, something very bizarre occurred…he…well…"
"Spit it out boy, we don't got all day!" Galmar ordered. The boy jumped back from the sudden outburst, then searched for his words.
"The spy…died. When we confronted him, he-I don't know, he passed out on the spot! We felt for a pulse, but he was freezing like he had been dead for a good amount of time."
When the boy stopped telling his story, Ulfric and Galmar stared hard at each other, both wondering the same thing. How could that be possible?
"Necromancy."
Everyone turned their heads to the door to see a woman in mage's clothes crossing her arms. It was Solitude's Court Wizard, Sybile Stentor, with her usual cold face and mean attitude.
"And who in Talo's name are you?" Galmar spoke up. The Wizard rolled her eyes.
"You don't pay very well attention, barbarian," she insulted, "and neither do your men. I've been in this castle since the takeover, hiding in the shadows. It's a…specialty of mine. But what's important is my Lady Elisif." She turned her head to Ulfric, more serious. "It was a Necromancy spell that was cast on the… poor spy's body. Why whom, I'm sure you know."
Ulfric found the woman's gaze unsettling. He tore from it to turn to the Spy.
"How long till the ship departs?"
"W-we have time," the boy nervously replied, "The ship couldn't be properly docked, as its hidden, so maybe an hour or so."
Ulfric sighed. "I was hoping you'd tell me not long. The Thalmor will have as much time as us, maybe more." He turned to Galmar. "Tell Mortan he's in charge of Solitude for now." He then looked at the wizard. "And keep a good eye on her."
The woman gave Galmar a snotty grin as she stepped to the side for Ulfric to leave.
Next chapter, the actual action begins, with both Elisif and Ulfric, and the Thalmor.