As the Dragonborn walked through the dark moonlit woods she wasn't entirely certain of what she was planning to do. Delphine's words held a lot of truth, but Elsa didn't know if she could actually go through with it. The fear of rejection hung over her, and since she'd never approached a man romantically she felt awkward even considering the idea. She continued stepping along through the tall dark pines and in the distance spotted Malborn. He held a small bundle of sticks under his left arm, and he was leaning down to pick up another. The soft moonlight shined upon his form. In her mind she pictured running up to him that very moment and holding him in her arms. Elsa wondered to herself why she could slay dragons fearlessly, yet she felt so weak and powerless to act now. Malborn heard movement behind him and turned around to see the Dragonborn standing there.
"Sorry if I'm taking too long. Even with all of these trees, there's hardly any firewood here. This must be a popular camp site," said Malborn.
"It's alright," replied Elsa. She looked up at the night sky and said,"The full moons look so beautiful tonight, the way they're hanging low in the sky. It almost looks like they're resting upon the mountain."
"I've always wondered if anything lives up there on the moons," said Malborn as he turned to look at the sky.
"Dragons might have flown there," said Elsa as she stepped closer to Malborn.
"Perhaps we should ask one?" joked Malborn with a smile.
The charming look of his smile made Elsa only wish even more that she could hold him. They were alone in the woods together, and she knew she might not have the opportunity to spend time alone with him for awhile. It was possible that tomorrow she'd go into the afterlife itself to fight Alduin, and there was always the chance she might not come back. Elsa wondered if this might be her last and only chance with Malborn. She knew that she couldn't waste time being timid anymore.
Malborn looked and surveyed the ground again in search of branches as Elsa stood behind him. Despite Elsa's fear of awkwardness, she hesitantly reached out and stroked the back of Malborn's brown hair. At her touch, Malborn felt his heart suddenly pound in his chest. He stood still, relishing the brief moment that her fingers playfully twisted his hair. He finally turned to face Elsa, looking into her blue eyes. As Elsa looked back at Malborn's speechless face, she wasn't sure how to interpret his expression. His mouth was partly open as if he wanted to talk, yet he said nothing.
Elsa finally spoke in a quiet voice and said, "I'm glad you didn't go to Morrowind. I would have missed you."
Malborn, still unsure of Elsa's intentions, hesitantly reached out and just barely touched the back of her pale hand. She turned her hand to gently grasp onto his.
He looked at her and said, "I'm glad I stayed too."
They stood there silently for an awkward moment, then Elsa slowly leaned forward towards him. Following her lead, Malborn nervously leaned closer as well, meeting her soft lips in a brief kiss. Malborn looked at the sweet loving smile on Elsa's face and dropped the bundle of sticks from his arm. Wrapping his arms tightly around her, he kissed her again with all the passion he had held back for so long. Elsa had never felt such joy in her life. She held him in a tight embrace, never wanting to let go.
After several minutes Malborn finally parted his dark lips from Elsa's and whispered, "I've dreamed of this for so long, but I never imagined it would actually happen."
Elsa smiled as she caught her breath and said, "I've been been thinking of nothing else for weeks."
Malborn suddenly gave a look of surprise and said, "I just realized something. When you rejected Jarl Ulfric today, you said you intended the amulet for someone else. You rejected the most powerful man in all of Skyrim...for... for me?"
"Yes," replied Elsa.
Malborn smiled shyly. It was almost too much to believe.
"I love you, Elsa," said Malborn as he leaned forward kissing her neck.
"I love you too," said Elsa, happier than she had ever felt in her life.
It was nearly an hour later when they walked back to camp. Esbern was still reading his book like he'd never noticed they were gone.
Delphine looked at them and said, "You two certainly seem happy about something. But where's the firewood? It's freezing."
"By the Nine, I forgot all about the firewood!" said Malborn, "I'm sorry. I can go back and get it."
"Hmm.. an hour in the woods and no firewood? ...Interesting," said Delphine as she glanced at Malborn and Elsa.
Malborn gave a guilty embarrassed smile, and ran back into the woods to get the bundle of sticks he'd dropped.
Delphine looked at Elsa and whispered, "I'm assuming things went well?"
Elsa smiled back at her silently.
Malborn quickly returned with the firewood, though it was only about half as much as he usually gathered. Without a word, he used a flame spell to light the fire, and carried the black iron cooking pot to the nearby stream for water. Swiftly, he cut the carrots, leeks, and pheasant meat from Ivarstead, to prepare their late dinner. Soon each of them were holding a hot bowl of pheasant soup. As the four of them ate, Malborn occasionally glanced up at Elsa with a smile. He could still hardly believe what had just happened. He'd always thought his life was cursed before with all the suffering he had been through. Now he felt blessed by the gods. A miracle had happened, and with it, all the suffering of his past seemed swept away.
He layed out his sleeping roll next to Elsa's. Once Delphine and Esbern had fallen asleep, Malborn kissed Elsa goodnight. She nuzzled her face against his chest, and fell asleep in his arms.
The sun's morning rays began to shine over the distant mountains, and Esbern rolled over to sit up. He'd accidentally fallen asleep on his book, and now his side was hurting. As he stood up to stretch, he noticed Malborn and the Dragonborn asleep, wrapped in eachother's arms. It was a bit surprising to him. He'd never imagined them as a couple, but he figured it was none of his business. He walked to the stream to bathe before the others would wake.
When Elsa woke up, she could feel the gentle tickle of Malborn's chest hair against her nose, and the soft linen cloth of his low-cut shirt upon her chin. She pressed her lips against his chest, feeling his warmth. Her arms held him tighter. He awoke from the movement and smiled, as if happy to see she was not just a dream.
"Good morning, my love," he whispered, still grinning.
"Good morning," replied Elsa with a kiss.
"Would you like breakfast?" he asked softly.
Elsa agreed, and Malborn got up. He stretched his back and walked over to Delphine's bag, to see what she had purchased in Ivarstead for their breakfast. He pulled out a loaf of bread and a small glass jar of juniper berry preserves. With his cooking knife, he cut four thick slices of the bread and began spreading them with the sweet jam. It was a common breakfast for Nords.
Delphine rolled over and rubbed her eyes. Malborn handed Elsa a slice of bread, then handed one to Delphine.
"Where's Esbern?" asked Delphine.
The three of them looked around the camp to see he was no where in sight. Nearby, they could hear the sound of a struggle. Suddenly Esbern ran through the camp pursued by three huge sabre cats. With a sudden a blast of fire he managed to kill one, knocking it against a tree. The other two already looked wounded by his magic. Delphine jumped to her feet and looked around for her sword. One of the sabre cats pounced on her, knocking her back onto her bedroll. As it was about to pierce its giant dagger-sized teeth into her neck, Malborn and Esbern simultaneously hit it with ice spells, knocking the giant cat's dead body flying through the forest. The Dragonborn stood over the dead body of the third cat, and removed her sword from its side.
"Whew... that was close," said Esbern.
Delphine, Malborn, and Elsa started laughing.
"I don't see what is so funny about being attacked by saber cats," said Esbern. He looked down and suddenly realized he was still completely naked from his bath in the stream.
"Oh," said Esbern as he quickly wrapped his bed roll around his waist, "I was bathing when they attacked me. There were actually five of them to begin with... I suppose I should retrieve my clothes now."
Delphine got up from her bedroll and said, "Who needs a rooster's crow, when you can wake up to three sabre cats and a naked old man?"