Author's Note: Sorry about the wait again. School was...well, it was getting difficult, to put it one way. Now that I'm on Christmas Vacation, I'll probably be able to write a lot more. Not sure at this point.
"Alright, men" said the Jarl once the two boys had returned to the palace. They stood with the town guard in the main hall, waiting for their orders. Being one of the few Imperial soldiers in a room with about sixty guards dressed in the same outfit was a bit strange but they said nothing of it. "The Stormcloaks will be attacking the city any minute. Barricades have been placed. I need some of you to guard each of these areas. One is at the main gate and one is before the bridge. Several have been placed inside the city as well. I will leave Commander Arnmeir in charge of who is stationed at what area. There are about a hundred troops at the most so this should not be too hard. Ulfric clearly thinks he is more powerful than he is and is far too confident. Are there any questions?"
The soldiers remained silent. The only sound was that of the fire crackling or the sound of armor shifting. The Jarl nodded. "Good. Now get to your positions and good luck. May the Eight Divines protect all of you" he said. The soldiers immediately left the city while Commander Arnmeir gave orders.
"...stay at the start of the bridge, and the other half at the end. The rest of you, stay with me on the front lines. Archers, stand at the overlook unless I tell you otherwise" he commanded. "Oh, and Imperials? Stay at the far end of the bridge. I do not doubt your capabilities but I would rather you stay where it is safer"
The rest of the soldiers left Leif, Darvak and ten other guards at the final barricade. Three of the guards pulled out their bows and stood overlooking the field while the others drew their swords or axes.
They waited in silence. They could not hear any sounds other than the fire from the torches and the nervous rustling of the other soldiers. Occasionally, Leif opened his mouth to ask if anyone else had heard anything but each time, he decided against it. He figured that if the archers had heard or noticed anything, they would have started to fire arrows by now.
"...do you think the Stormcloaks are really going to attack?" asked one of the guards after an hour of complete silence and no word from the others.
"I don't know. I wouldn't put it past them to use this as a diversion so they could attack some other city" replied Darvak, who was leaning against the stone walls. "Then again, I'm not sure that would work. I suppose we just have to be patient"
The guard nodded and went silent again. Another half hour passed before anything else was heard.
Leif was pacing back and forth, wondering if the guard had a point. Maybe this was a diversion. True, it wouldn't do much, but since when was Ulfric known for being smart?
He probably knows just enough about war and strategy to make it look like he knows what he's doing and nothing more he thought. He had just considered asking the archers if they saw anything when a shout of "Stormcloaks!" rang across the area. Darvak jumped away from the wall and readied his sword. Leif and the guards tensed up. Despite being the farthest away from the battle, they couldn't help being anxious.
"Brace yourselves. They could charge up here at any moment" said a guard.
"Let's hope that doesn't happen. If it does, they are strong enough to beat the others. In that case, I doubt we stand a chance" said another.
The previous guard turned to him sharply. "Look, we're all worried but you can't be negative so shut up and focus!" he snapped. Leif sighed and stood between them. Despite that they were both wearing helmets it was obvious they were glaring angrily ay each other.
"Both of you, stop. I understand you are scared but you do not need to yell at him. He has a point. It would not be good if they made it here" he said, looking at the first guard. He then turned his attention to the other one. "And you need to be more positive. I hope they don't get this far either but if they do, it's up to us to defend the city and we can't do that if we don't keep a good attitude. Besides, they're Stormcloaks. They're idiots and idiots don't make good warriors. They have to figure out a way to lower the bridge first anyway. So get back to your positions and sop arguing"
"And who are you to tell us what to do, kid? I agree with you, but it is not your place to order us around" growled the first guard.
"I happen to be a Quaestor in the Imperial Army. Not a high position but probably higher than you, correct?" he said politely. The guard stared at him for a few moments before grumbling something under his breath and returning his attention to the bridge. Leif back to Darvak and whispered "either that guard is stupid or I really do have a higher position than he does. Either way, glad that worked." The Breton smiled but didn't respond, staring at the bridge as well.
Another hour passed but all they could do was listen to the fighting. Every so often they'd hear a terrible scream of pain or a battle cry but obviously, it was impossible to tell what side they were from. Much to their horror, they even heard "fall back! They've broken the first barrier!"
"Oh gods...that isn't good" mumbled Darvak.
"We still have another barricade before us and the bridge. We'll be fine" said Leif soothingly. Darvak nodded but still looked worried. Soon after, they heard a shout that said the second barricade was broken. They braced themselves immediately, waiting for the Stormcloaks to lower the bridge and charge at them.
Minutes passed but no soldiers appeared. They could still hear fighting so they assumed that the others were doing everything they could to hold the rebels back. The sounds of steel on steel and the cries of pain were getting louder though and all too soon...
"There!" said a guard, pointing to the walkway to the left of the bridge. A single Imperial soldier with a steel battle axe was running towards them frantically as though something was chasing him. Suddenly, he froze in mid-step, his eyes wide. He fell face first down the ramp, an arrow lodged in the back of his head. Behind him was a tall Nord holding a bow who was grinning widely.
"Let's go! For Ulfric! For Skyrim! For Talos!" shouted the man He moved the lever and the bridge lowered itself to reveal a dozen more Stormcloaks. They immediately rushed at us with a loud battle cry.
Everyone fought their own Stormcloak. Some had more success than others and were able to quickly subdue their opponents while others took a sword through the skull rather early. Every time a Stormcloak fell, a Whiterun guard fell soon after. Leif tried to defend himself against the two warriors who had just finished killing another guard but was just barely able to keep his sword in his hand, let alone defeat the two swordsmen.
"Leif! Hold on, I'll-" began Darvak, having just killed his opponent with a stab to his stomach. He was about to run over and help when an arrow seemingly from the shadows struck him in the shoulder, causing him to scream in pain and fall to the ground.
"Darvak!" shouted the Nord. Another attack from the warriors brought him back to the fight. Anger coursed through him as he blocked the attack and viciously tried to kill the Stormcloaks. Soon, they were the ones having to defend themselves.
"This is why I hate you Stormcloaks..." he growled, driving his sword into the skull of one of them. He pulled it out and the soldier crumpled to the ground. "You resort to using low tricks to get your way. I thought you would have enough of your so called "honor" to fight a man in person but you instead choose to stick to the shadows...you cowards"
"Sometimes it is necessary. I would not expect a child like you to know this" he said, smiling and blocking each attack with apparent ease. Behind them, the Whiterun guard was trying to protect Darvak and was also taking on two soldiers though he was having less luck. Besides him, Leif was the only one fighting at this point.
"Oh, no. I agree" said Leif, his voice still filled with anger as he continued his attacks. "Sometimes it is. But if you cannot defeat two children and a Whiterun guard, it is rather sad that you have to resort to such tactics to win. Ulfric must be more of a coward than I thought"
The warrior's eyes widened in anger which was exactly what Leif wanted. "Do not talk about the true High King like that, you filthy milk-drinker!" he shouted. He increased the speed of his own attacks but they were not aimed well. His rage, unlike Leif's, was not caused by the desire to protect another, rather by blind hatred. It allowed the younger Nord to easily block or dodge everything.
"This has gone on long enough" he growled after a few minutes. He avoided yet another blind swing to his head and stabbed the man through his neck, killing him instantly. He pulled his blade out and watched as the man fell to the ground, motionless. Just as he did so, the guard killed off his last opponent as well by beheading her. He was not as lucky as Leif, however. The younger Nord had gotten away with quite a few bruises and a mild cut, but nothing more. The guard had a much larger gash across his face and his armor was in bad shape. On his left side was a large stab wound and an arrow was stuck in his right arm. His light brown hair was streaked with crimson blood and the helmet was with his shield ten feet away, both in several pieces.
"Are you alright?" asked Leif, sheathing his sword. The man nodded.
"This is nothing. I am more concerned for him. That arrow was poisoned. Not with a particularly a deadly one, but it will kill him if we do not get him healed soon. I have seen this kind of poison before, you see" he said, picking up Darvak, who seemed to be knocked out. The guard didn't make a sound but his eyes showed that he was screaming in pain on the inside. "It knocks you out and if you aren't healed...you never wake up. Luckily, a simple cure-poison potion is all it takes. We need to get him back into the city"
Leif nodded and looked at his unconscious friend. He had a few cuts on his face and his armor was in fairly bad shape as well but aside from the arrow still in his left shoulder, he seemed to be alright. He followed the man back into the city, exhausted and worried for his friend but also happy in knowing that the Stormcloaks had lost and he was one step closer to beating the man who had killed his family.