The next morning, Izra dressed in one of her dresses. It was a simpler dress, blue and patched several times. She brushed her hair out carefully, even though she had to take breaks because she was so weak from being sick. She was still sick, although her fever had long since broken. Sorex took over, once she was dressed, and insisted on braiding her hair. She let him without much protest. "Would you like to come with me to the Blue Palace? I really need to report back to Elisif," she asked, smiling up at him. "I'd love to," he answered, and Izra linked her arm in his.
It took them a long time to get to the Blue Palace. Izra had to stop a few times and catch her breath, and she was leaning on Sorex more than she should have been. If Sorex had not been afraid of offending her (because he wouldn't dare risk offending her, he was in too deep,) he would have teased her about how frail the Dragonborn was. As it was, they talked more than they probably should have.
They reached the Blue Palace around mid-day. Izra was ashamed for taking so long, but she was probably pushing herself too far already. Sorex didn't seem to mind, though, and the guards at the Palace treated her with respect. "I'm here to report to Elisif and Falk Firebeard," she said, and a guard led her up the stairs. Sorex hung back, now, hovering just behind her. "Izra, do you have news for us?" Falk asks, cheerfully, when he sees her. "Yes, it's regarding Wolfskull Cave. It is unpleasant news, though," she says, slowly, choosing her words carefully. "Well? Out with it," the steward says. Sorex brushes his hand against Izra's lower back, and she relaxes. "There was a group of necromancers. They were trying to bring back Queen Potema," Izra explains, forcing herself to stand straight. Her skin ached with tiredness, just from walking to the Blue Palace, and she felt like death warmed over.
There was a flurry of movement and activity, where Falk burst into action. The priest of Arkay in the Hall of the Dead was notified, and sometime during the ensuing whirlwind, Elisif pulled Izra aside. "Could you do something personal for me?" the Jarl asks, her big eyes glistening with tears. "Of course. What is it?" Izra asks, giving her full attention to the other woman. "When my husband was killed, we offered prayers to all the gods aside from Talos. I...I know Talos worship is illegal, and I know this is very dangerous, but could you take my husband's war horn to one of his shrines?" she asks, pulling the horn out of a hidden pocket in her skirt. Izra felt for her, she really did, even though she harbored no love of the Empire. "Of course. It will be awhile until I am well enough for proper travel, but I'll go as soon as I'm able," she promised, taking the horn. She hid it in her own skirts, and Sorex joined her just then. "Thank you for your service. I see a Thaneship in your future," Elisif said, bowing as she backed away and disappeared into the crowd.
Izra spent another week in Solitude. She spent her mornings with Sorex, helping around the inn, and she had wanted to spend her afternoons with him too. But the inn got busy around lunch, and he was needed. She'd asked if she could help around, and Sorex had playfully chased her outside so she could get some fresh air. "It's good for the healing process," he'd said, and so she spent her afternoons with the smith, watching him work with rapt attention. She didn't quite feel up to the task of hammering out the metal just yet, but she helped him by sharpening swords and she even offered him a few pointers. The first day she did this, Sorex had followed her up to the smith's shop, standing back in the shadows as she worked. When she joined him back at the inn for supper, he took a moment to observe her. She looked too...soft, for such demanding work.
"I didn't know you can smith," he said.. Izra looked up, her mouth full of bread soaked in the stew. She started to answer, her words muffled by the food, before she blushed and swallowed her mouthful. "I learned when I was young, back in Bravil. The smith's furnace was always warm in the cold months. She offered me an apprenticeship, if I was going to continue to hang around. I've learned much more since I came to Skyrim. I studied with Eorlund Grey-Mane for a week or so in Whiterun, once," she said, the tips of her ears turning red. "What kind of things can you smith?" he asked, genuinely interested. Perhaps, in another life, if she weren't the Dragonborn, the two of them could have had a life together. He would have inherited the inn one day, and she would have ran a smith's shop, and they would have lived a happy life in Solitude away from the end of the world with nothing but them and their future children. The worst thing would be rude customers or sick children. Sorex's face burned as he ducked his head, intently observing his meal. It wouldn't happen, couldn't happen, and where had the thoughts of children come from?
"I can make weapons and armor. Arrows are my favorite thing to make. I can make some jewelry too. Mostly rings and circlets. Necklaces are far too delicate. I'm learning, though," she said, and she wondered for a moment if she could make an amulet of Mara. She knew she could easily travel to Riften to pick one up, and help out in the Hold for another couple weeks, before coming back to Solitude. The notion was a foolish one indeed. She was the Dragonborn, and there could never be a future between a hero of legend and an innkeeper. Sorex deserved a peaceful life, didn't he? After all, the Dark Brotherhood had already come after her twice. She couldn't put him through that. "I...might go to the chapel tomorrow," she said, suddenly. Maybe a priest or a priestess there would be able to offer insight. After all, they served the Divines, didn't they? And who was she to deny Mara's will?
The meeting with the priestess was frustrating. The woman just told her to pray on the matter and listen to her heart. Izra couldn't tell her that she needed something more, someone else's actual opinion. Did the Dragonborn have a right to marry, while the world was in danger and destiny waited for her? She sat and prayed, but the gods didn't reveal anything to her. She left the temple feeling far more frustrated and confused than she had ever been.
Perhaps Maramal could help her. She had fire salts for Balimund, which had taken awhile to collect, and she could use that as an excuse to visit Riften and the priest. She had no idea why this bothered her so much; she had never before dreamt of a family while she was young. All she had wanted was a life where she had more than enough, enough that she could ensure others would also have enough. She had that now, didn't she? She had a houses in Whiterun and Riften, and she was close to having one in Solitude. She didn't need that many houses, but there were things that Izra had begun to hoard like houses and gold and fancy gems. She hoarded friends, too, but those were few and far between, and she made sure they were worthy of being hoarded.
At the end of the week, she was brave enough to kiss Sorex's cheek when she said farewell. "I'll be back soon," she promised, and then she was gone again, a few pounds thinner and a little happier and a lot more confused, leaving a man behind who was just as confused as she was.
