Julianna was looking toward the sky as she walked back toward the inn. The sky was a bright blue, a making it seem a bit warmer than it was. The wind blew and nipped at her ears, causing her to look back towards the inn as she clutched the fur coat tighter to her skin. "Winter's going to be here in a few weeks," she mumbled to herself.

She quickly rounded the corner as she came in front of the inn from the back path and she hurried went up the stairs.

"Julianna!" she heard her father's voice call, causing her to turn and stand on the top step.

"Ye- Oh! Ulfric!" She said, rather surprised to see him next to her father.

"It's good to see you again Julianna!" he said as he walked up the path alongside his father.

"It's good to see you again as well," she replied as he stopped at the bottom of the stairs, "And just in time for a party too!"

"A party?" Ulfric questioned, looking up at her curiously.

"Kjeld's birthday is today, so we are all having a bit of a celebration," her father answered just as he opened the door to the inn.

"It'll be fun, and there will be plenty of entertainment once you and Kjeld start drinking," Julianna said as she walked passed her father and into the warm inn.

"Oh, quiet you," her father said as he entered the Inn, followed by Ulfric.

"Oh, a guest! Would you like a room for the night? Or just some food and drink?" Gwen, the redguard Innkeeper asked.

"A room, yes," Julianna heard Ulfric respond.

"Gwen, this is Ulfric Stormcloak, the Jarl's son," Julianna introduced.

"Oh my, well, it isn't every day we have someone important come by. I'll set up a room for you right away. Iddra, could you please help me tidy up the guest room?" She turned to a little redguard girl who was sitting at a stool in front of the bar.

"Of course grandma," the little said with a smile and hopped off the stool, scurrying ahead of her grandmother as they went to the guest room.

"Kjeld is still probably working the mine; he'll probably be another hour or two. So how was the short trip from Windhelm?" Julianna asked as she took off the fur overcoat.

"Short, I didn't realize how close Kynesgrove was," he said as he looked around the Inn.

"Yeah, it makes it easy to get supplies. Have a seat and I'll be back up in a minute to get you a drink," Julianna said as she went down to the cellar, throwing her coat on her bed before hurrying back up the stairs.

Ulfric was seated patiently at a table, looking through the books that had been stack on top. "Look familiar?" she asked as she sat next to him, placing a tankard and a bottle of mead in front of him.

"These are the books that I bought you back in Windhelm. And from the looks of it you've been doing quite a bit of reading," he chuckled.

"Yeah, I have," Julianna said, "I've been reading every chance I get."

"You are very much a scholar for a huntress," he remarked as he set the books down.

"Yeah, I guess so," she said with a small smile, "I loved getting a hold of my mother's books when I was younger."

"You seem to talk about your mom quite a bit. She must have been a very good mother," he commented, receiving a sad smile from her.

"Yeah. She was a great mother. She taught me how to read and write, and even a bit about alchemy and Nordic ruins. She always would walk me up to the dragon burial site up the path behind the Inn," she said, reflecting on her mother.

"Ah, my mother taught me to read as well, but my father insisted on getting a tutor for, well, pretty much everything. My mother was quite angry that she was being sent away during my lessons. She much preferred to be there and help me learn. She was quite saddened when I was summoned by the greybeards to study with them on High Hrothgar after my tenth winter," Ulfric spoke quietly, reflecting on his own mother, "But she couldn't deny the fact that she was proud, and saw me off with a smile."

"Sounds like your mother loved you a lot, are you an only child?" Julianna asked as she took a sip from her cup of tea.

"Yes, I am. My mother originally wanted more children, but after I was born she was unable to bear another child. I that because of that she cherished me even more," he explained.

"Yeah, that would probably do it," she said, looking over when Iddra came over to the table.

"Your room is ready mister," she said with a wide smile.

"Why thank you miss," Ulfric said giving the child a sheepish smile.

"Hey Iddra, what's Grams doing now?" Julianna asked, a smirk appearing upon her face as the girl's nose wrinkled.

"Grandma," she started, emphasizing on the word, "is making sure everything is ready for Kjeld's party."

"Alright, would you let her know that if she needs help with anything I'm here," she said, chuckling at the girl's temper.

"Yeah," Iddra said and moved quickly out of the large room, disappearing into the cellar.

"Where are the girl's parents?" Ulfric asked curiously.

"Hm? Oh, Iddra's parents were scared with the war rumors going around tamriel. So they brought her here to be with her grandmother in case something happens in Hammerfell," she explained.

"Ah, I see," he murmured softly.

The door then swung open and laughter filled the room. Julianna stood up from the table and took a few steps toward the door, a smile on her face as Kjeld and her father, who had gone to fetch Kjeld earlier, walked through the door.

"Happy Birthday!" she said cheerfully.

"Aye, thanks! Now, where'd my lovely wife run off to?" Kjeld asked.

"She's downstairs with Grams. They'll be up shortly," she answered.

"Well, shout down to 'em and let them know to bring up the good stuff! It's about time we relaxed and had some fun!" her father exclaimed, raising a fist into the air.

"Yeah!" Julianna cheered, copying her father's action. She then turned to Ulfric, "Care to join in on the fun?" she asked.

"I'd be happy to," he answered.

Kjeld watched as Julianna walked down to the cellar, the man keeping his seat at the table. "So, the young fellow is the Jarl's son?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, Ulfric Stormcloak," Julianna's father, Brandr answered.

"From the looks of it, he seems quite fond of your girl," he spoke quietly over to his friend.

"I suppose," Brandr said, shifting slightly.

"Well, wouldn't it be great if Julianna ended up with the boy. It would bring honor to the great 'Ice-Arrow' family name wouldn't it?" Kjeld questioned.

"Perhaps, but Ice-Arrow is not a name of nobility. All the Ice-Arrows were simple hunters, which moved around from one place to another," Brandr replied as he threw more wood into the inn's fire pit.

"True enough, and as much as I hope we'll have an Ice-Arrow around Kynesgrove to hunt for us for the rest of time, I wouldn't be upset if we lost a Julianna to the Jarl's son," Kjeld said, looking back at the man who had stood and was helping Julianna with a couple crates of mead.

"The girl's too young for that, she should be more concerned about making a living and being a young woman rather than falling for some boy," Brandr almost growled.

"The girl's passed her seventeenth winter, in another five or six years the now available men will have already settled down. It's already tough to find a good person to share your life with here in Kynesgrove. Unless of course you considered the day-to-day adventurer as an-"

"No!" Brandr nearly exclaimed, "No. . ."

"Look, just because Eiruki was killed by bandits who were looking to get revenge from you doesn't mean she will be," Kjeld said, crossing his arms.

"I lost my wife to them, I'm not going to lose my daughter too because of another adventurer who would raid bandit camps for a few septims," Brandr hissed.

"So then, would you rather she be with an adventurer or with the Jarl's son?" he questioned quietly.

"What are you two talking about?"

The two whipped around to see Julianna standing behind them.

"Nothing dear," Brandr spoke softly then placed a soft kiss on her forehead. Kjeld watched as her brow furrowed; she knew he wasn't telling her the truth. She was smart like that, just like her mother. But she sighed and handed her father a bottle of mead.

"Here. The good stuff, just as you requested," she said as she handed both him and her father a bottle of Black-Briar Reserve. "Just a bottle for you though, grams doesn't want you drinking the entire stock."

"Why is it me that is being given restrictions?" Brandr asked, feigning hurt feelings.

"Because it's not your birthday," she said, and with that she turned and walked back to the bar, standing next to the Jarl's son.

"Hm, sweet lil' Julie, you sure have grown," he thought as he uncorked the bottle and took a sip.

The party had been thrown and merriment filled the Inn. Julianna had watched as Ulfric relaxed and even joined the celebration, drinking with her father and Kjeld and sharing stories. She was laughing as her father finished his story when Iddra approached her.

"Hey Julie," she spoke in a slightly frightened manner.

"What's wrong?" she asked, ignoring the rest of the group as she spoke to the girl.

"I accidently left something outside in the yard. Will you come with me to get it?" she asked.

"Of course," Julianna answered with a smile as she stood up from her seat. "I'll be right back, I'm going to go outside really quick with Iddra," she explained as she followed the little girl to the front door.

They walked to the open space next to the Inn, Iddra staying ahead of her. She watched as the young girl looked around on the ground. "What are you looking for?" she asked as she kneeled down.

"The amulet that mama and papa gave me," she said as she continued looking.

"Are you sure you didn't leave it in your room? Grams wouldn't be too happy if she found out you took it outside."

"No, I know I brought it out here. And I don't want Grandma to find out, that's why I asked you," she said as she slowly walked in a circle, her gaze never leaving the ground.

"Well then, I guess we'd better find it before Grams figures out what we came out here for," she said and looked around the clearing.

It had taken several minutes, but after asking Iddra to recount her steps they had found the amulet hanging from a low tree branch. Julianna followed Iddra as they made their way back toward the porch. The breeze blew causing Julianna to rub her bare arms. "Should have brought my coat," she mumbled.

"Hey mister! What ya doing out here?"

Julianna looked up to see Ulfric standing next to the door. He held two coats in his arms, one she could tell was hers, and the other one was Iddra's. She stopped next to Iddra, waiting for him to respond.

"You two were taking a bit long, so I offered to check on the two of you when your grandmother asked about you," he answered coolly as he handed her the small coat, "here, your grandmother wasn't too happy to know you went outside without a coat.

"Oh no, Grandma's gonna be mad at me anyway!" Iddra huffed as she took the coat and hurried inside.

"Well, she's in for it," Julianna said sheepishly then took the coat that was extended toward her, "Thank you."

"Mhm, so it would seem," he said.

"What's wrong? Don't like kids?" Julianna asked, noting the way he acted a bit differently around the young girl.

"They're alright I suppose," he answered, "Although, most of the children in Windhelm are not as spoiled, disrespectful brats."

"Oh, I see," she said, a bit surprised at his answer. He stood there quietly as she slid her arms into her coat and wrapped it tightly around herself. "Well then, wanna go up to the dragon burial mound with me?" she asked.

"What?" he asked, obviously having been caught off guard.

"It's just up the path behind the Inn, wanna come along?" she offered again.

"Sure," he responded and followed her as she walked back around the Inn.

Ulfric sat quietly next to her as she laid back and stared at the night sky. She glanced over at him out of the corner of her eye, noting that he was simply staring down at his boots. "Something wrong?"

"Hm?" he looked over to her, "ah, no. I was just thinking."

"May I ask what you were thinking about?" she questioned as she sat up, her legs stretched out before her.

"Well," he chuckled, "It's a bit of a delicate and complicated."

"You could have just told me no," she said with a laugh.

There was an awkward pause between the two, making Julianna pull her legs to her chest and hugged them slightly. She looked up to the sky once again, preferring to lose herself in the stars rather than think of the silent and awkward air between herself and Ulfric.

"I've been thinking about High Hrothgar and the greybeards," he answered suddenly and she turned her gaze back to him. His face was still, and his gaze was to the dirt a few feet ahead of him.

"What about them?" she asked, resting her head on top of her knees.

"The greybeards are fairly reclusive. I don't think any of them really have any normal relationships," he said quietly.

"What does that have to do with anything?" she asked as she straightened up.

"Well, because I've been finding myself thinking of ways to see you," he answered calmly.

"Ways to see me?" her brow furrowed as confusion slightly clouded her mind.

"I enjoy your company, and I'd like to spend more time with you. I just don't see how it would be so as a Greybeard," he said, his brow furrowing in thought as stared at the ground.

"Well, then perhaps we should just take the time we have right now, and enjoy it. And when tomorrow comes and you have to leave for High Hrothgar, at least we won't regret not taking advantage of the few moments we have right now," She answered after much thought.

"You're right, even though, I would gladly enjoy your company for much longer if I had the choice," he replied quietly and closed his eyes. After watching him for a moment more, Julianna closed her own eyes and rested her head back down on top of her knees, enjoying Ulfric's company and the breeze that gently blew past.

She opened her eyes when she heard movement next to her and was a bit surprised when Ulfric's hand cupped her cheek and gently guided her into a kiss. After a moment more their lips separated and Julianna was looking into his eyes, her cheeks tinged pink.

"Just taking advantage of the moment, like you said we should," he said softly as he pulled her closer.

Author's Note: Hey, sorry this is a bit late. I had too many distractions around. Anyway, I've been think of posting a mature extension to this tomorrow (or before the next chapter atleast). It would have sexual content and such. I'll post it if no one would be offended by it, or I'll just leave it out there's someone who would be. Just let me know!

Thanks for reading!

The next update date is a bit iffy, but I'll have it up hopefully in the next 2 to 3 weeks, like usual.