Ulfric felt her freeze, felt her go on guard as her head turned slightly back.
"Astaria-"
She moved, stepping back and ducking and bringing her elbow up. There was a loud grunt and then a man appeared out of thin air, her elbow having landed in his stomach. Astaria didn't hesitate, bringing her knee up and smashing into his nose.
Chaos erupted as more men suddenly appeared, another right next to Astaria.
The man attacked quickly and Astaria cursed, just dodging his first blow in time, her knives quickly in hand and on the defence. She just sees Ulfric about to rush forward, when he too was distracted by another, locked in his own battle.
Astaria was on her own.
The man was quick and Astaria had no choice but to only defend, his own weapons slicing along hers with painful clangs of metal on metal. There was screaming and shouting but she had no time to focus on any of that, the man was clearly only interested in her, his attacks seeming to becoming quicker and quicker and she struggled to keep up.
Her fury burst forth.
"Fus!"
The single shout was enough to knock him and stun him, allowing her the advantage as she went on the attack. She knew she had to be quick, breaking his defence easily, disarming one hand and bringing her other hand up quickly to his throat. He moved, but barely in time as her knife caught the side of his neck as he launched himself backwards.
Astaria went to follow, to finish the attack, but two strong arms grabbed her from behind, locking her arms behind her back. She yelled in shock and struggled as the one she had been attacking advanced.
Ulfric heard the shout and turned to see her being held, he was too trapped in his own battle to help and he felt a wave of panic go over him.
The man's knife glinted as she struggled, trying to get some sort of advantage back, but it was too late. The knife found where her armour stopped just above her hip and dug in deep, Astaria growled in pain and managed to swing her legs up, slamming into the man in front. The man didn't have time to react as a knife flew out of nowhere, burying in his neck.
Astaria felt the grip loosen on her arms and took the chance, slamming her head back, smashing into their nose, she turns and her knife buries into their throat in fury, pain pouring from her hip. She looks up just in time to see another approaching Ulfric from behind, without thinking, she throws the knife, sending them crashing to the floor.
Gasping hard, her world seemed to spin. She groans, feeling her knees weaken and she realised that the blade must have been poisoned.
A strong pair of hands grab her, she tries to for a moment to push them off, but it seems to tip her world drastically so she stops.
"Easy Astaria, the knife was poisoned, you are lucky you aren't dead already."
The hands support her, one arm wrapping around her waist to hold her up, the other bringing out a vial of green liquid.
"Drink. It's the antidote."
She doesn't get a chance to argue, not that she could have, everything seeming to be jumbled in her mind, and the vial was forced to her lips, the liquid burning down her throat. Coughing, she manages to push herself away, drawing in deep breathes as things seem to right themselves.
A hand rests on her back. "Easy. Here."
The health potion gets pushed in front of her and this one she grabs and drinks without thinking.
"Good."
There's a brief moment where she feels the pressure on her hip before they rip the knife out. Astaria roars in pain, leaping away from the one who had been helping, she goes on the defensive until she takes the man in.
He stood there, still holding the bloodied knife, his bright blue eyes looking at her with some amusement. His blonde hair was tied back and his tall form stood almost casually, despite the remaining fights around them.
"G-Gabriel?" She gasped.
He smiles. "Astaria."
Without thinking anymore, she throws her arms around him, locking him in a tight hug, something that he quickly returns.
Ulfric, who'd watched most of what had transpired, his heart in his ears, out of the corner of his eye, was almost stunned when she hugged the man. Angrily, he finished off the man who had been trying to attack him.
It was almost as if this was the final hint, any remaining attackers vanishing in an instant, the Stormcloaks looking wearily around, still on guard. Ulfric started towards Astaria.
Gabriel was still smiling, looking down at her. "Astaria, you need to put pressure on that wound."
She pushed herself away from him. "What are you doing here?"
"Looking after you, as always." He looks at her worriedly. "Astaria, I was hoping that the blood wouldn't be allowed to destroy that beautiful dress."
Astaria goes to apply pressure on the wound but finds a hand holding a handkerchief, already there. She looks up, a little stunned, only to find Ulfric looking both furious and worried.
"Jarl Ulfric." Gabriel said, with a slight bow.
Ulfric stares at the young man. "Gabriel Snow-born? Rumour has it that you are dead."
"Something that I prefer." Gabriel says with a small smile. "Although my sister disagrees."
Astaria scowls but is distracted by the blood on Ulfric's face, a small cut along his cheek. Without thinking, she reaches up and wipes away the blood, drawing his eyes back to her.
Gabriel looks between them. "You're lucky that the blade that got Astaria was the only one poisoned, I only had enough antidote for one person."
"I figured I was their target." She was blushing as she turned back to Gabriel. "Considering I was who they attacked first."
He nods. "I'm glad that you managed to sense him coming, otherwise it could have ended a lot worse."
Galmar approached, covered in blood, looking seriously between the three of them. "The attack was well planned sir, but we have no casualties, a few wounded and a lot of terrified nobles."
Ulfric just nods slowly. "Alright, make sure we get all this cleared up and that all the nobles are alright, we don't want anyone saying we didn't do everything we could against these bastards."
Galmar looked like he wanted to say something else, but he just nods and heads back off.
Gabriel clears his throat. "Well, I should be heading off too, bad for the rumour if more people see me."
Astaria looks stunned. "What? But you only just-"
"Astaria, had anything not happened, you would not even know I was here." He said gently.
She tries to move forward, but Ulfric held her back. "But-"
"You need to recover little sister, if you are well by morning, then come see me in the stables before I leave." Gabriel bows. "If not, then I'm sure I will write soon."
Astaria watches him go, but remembers something else. "Did you see mother and father tonight?"
Gabriel pauses, clearly hesitating. "No…and it is not a comforting notion. They haven't missed a Winter Ball in…well, twenty four years. I will check before I retire for the night and let you know in the morning what's going on, okay?"
"Be careful Gabriel."
He just waves a hand back at her as he disappears out the door.
"Ass." She mumbles as he walks away.
"And here I was thinking you only used that on me." Ulfric growled and started to pull her towards the war room.
"Just most of the time."
He snorts as they enter the war room, keeping pressure on her hip. She tries again to get away, but his grip tightens.
"Ulfric I'm fi-" She yelps as he picks her up and sits her on the table, her cheeks burning. "Was that necessary?"
He doesn't answer, moving away for a moment to grab a health potion, soaking the cloth in it before setting it next to her, his hand returning to the wound on her side.
She hisses for a moment, the wound stinging. Looking back at him, he wasn't looking at her, even though he was standing directly in front of her.
"Ulfric…" He still doesn't move. "Hey…" She says softly, her hands gently touching his face so his gaze met hers. "I'm fine."
Ulfric gaze moves over her face, an unreadable expression in his eyes. He kisses her then, hard, and she has to brace herself back on the table with a muffled gasp. But the kiss was quick and he moves back, his forehead resting on hers.
She looks at him, his eyes closed, her eyes moving over the small cut on his cheek. She moves her hand to the health potion, dabbing some on her fingers and brushing her fingers along the cut.
He opens his eyes as she does. "It's just a scratch." He whispered.
Astaria smiles. "It got you to talk didn't it?"
He hums in agreement, shutting his eyes again.
"Ulfric…you know that this is part of our lifestyle?" She asks quietly.
"I know, but it does not make it any easier."
Footsteps approach and he straightens up, looking back at the door as Galmar enters.
"You will want to see this." He holds out a piece of paper.
Ulfric takes it with his free hand and starts to read.
"What is it?" Astaria asks.
"An order of attack on you, Dragonborn." Galmar said, watching Ulfric carefully. "Set by Elenwen. As a warning."
Ulfric scowls, screwing up the piece of paper. "At least it wasn't an execution order."
Astaria was frowning. "Why use a poisoned blade then?"
Both men say nothing, not knowing what to answer.
Ulfric looks at Galmar. "Are the nobles being sorted now?"
"Yes sir, I wanted to give you that first before heading back out."
"Good." He waves Galmar off, Galmar looking uncomfortable for a moment, but he leaves.
Ulfric sits on the table next to her, rubbing his head, the exhaustion showing in the set of his shoulders. Astaria, unsure of what could be said, just takes his hand and rests her head on his shoulder.
Morning broke cold and fresh, Astaria leaving the Palace of the Kings with a heavy cloak around her shoulders, her breath coming out in a puff of mist. She'd had another rough night, despite being exhausted.
She came to the stables and found Gabriel saddling up a very handsome, proud looking horse, its hair a pitch black and its eyes looking at her carefully, the red full of intelligence.
"Ah, good morning Astaria." Gabriel says brightly, turning to find her looking at the horse. "This is Shadowmere, a very noble steed and a good friend."
"He is very beautiful." She says quietly, staring at the horse for a moment longer before turning to him. "Leaving early I see."
"I did say I would." He looks her over. "How are you holding up?"
"Fine. I almost wish people would stop asking me that." She says with a frown. "I can take care of myself."
"I noticed." He tilts his head. "So you and Jarl Ulfric?"
Astaria clears her throat. "It's not like that."
"Not yet." He gives a small smile at her sharp look. "I'm not judging Astaria, but the look you gave each other was hard to miss."
"Did you check on mother and father?" She changed the topic, not wanting to discuss it with him. He may have been her brother, but she would never trust him with something like that.
Gabriel nods slowly. "Yes, they were not home. I could not say where they were but everything still seemed to be in order."
A disquiet settled over Astaria and she sighs. "Hopefully it means nothing."
"Hopefully." He walks up to her, resting his hands on her shoulders. "You should head back in, it's cold out."
"I can look after myself Gabriel, I am not a little child anymore." She said coldly. "You owe me an explanation."
He sighs. "I've been trying to spare you it Astaria, for a lot of years now, to protect you, but, I suppose, as you are Dragonborn, that you deserve to know." She watches him, waiting patiently. "You know that I asked Brynjolf for help?" She nods. "Well, for a little while there I was with the Thieves Guild, however I found that thievery was not my style, I wanted something more, so I…turned to someone else."
Astaria frowns. "Would it have been different if Bryn was there?"
Slowly, Gabriel shakes his head. "No. I don't believe so, his calling was always thievery Astaria, mine was a much colder path." He frowns and sighs. "I am an assassin with the Dark Brotherhood Astaria, a very important member, and because of that, I have enemies and have tried to spare you from them."
She licks her lips nervously. "An assassin?" He nods and she sighs. "I find myself unsurprised. Worried, but unsurprised. This is why you let that rumour spread? Why you didn't write as much as you could?"
"Yes. I could not risk anyone coming after you, or Mama, or even Brynjolf, although he is more than capable these days. It hasn't been easy…" He trails off for a moment and looks at her seriously. "Did you find out who attacked you last night?"
"The Thalmor. They didn't appreciate me burning down half their Embassy."
He gives a worried frown. "Then they have sought someone outside us, a rival guild. That in itself is worrying. You have a promise Astaria that I will do everything I can to take them down, you also have a promise that we will take nothing involving you, or Jarl Ulfric, for obvious reasons." He gives a smile. "I think that would be giving any assassin a death sentence."
She snorts. "Thank you Gabriel."
He hugs her tightly. "Anything for you little sister, even if I'm not in touch enough."
Astaria hugs him back. "You take care and please, write more."
"No promises." He climbs up onto the back of Shadowmere, smiling. "Hopefully I don't have to come riding to the rescue again anytime."
"Thank you Gabriel." She said sarcastically. "Whatever would I do without you?"
He laughs. "You've changed Astaria, for the better of course."
She doesn't get a chance to respond as he kicks Shadowmere's sides and quickly gallops away. Watching him leave, Astaria didn't know what to feel, she almost felt out of place. Looking back up at Windhelm, she takes in the city, and feels very alone.
Ulfric had told her that he wanted to talk as soon as she came back inside and she knew that he wanted an answer to last night. Biting her lip, she thought, a guard was watching her, no doubt on Ulfric's orders.
"Guardsman!" She calls up, the guard heading down to her.
"Yes Dragonborn?"
"Tell Jarl Ulfric I'll be back in a couple of hours." She ordered.
"W-what? Dragonborn, I have strict orders-"
"I know." She said gently. "But I haven't been out this city for a couple of months now, and, surprisingly, it's a nice day. I am simply going to walk, I am armed and protected and I will not go out of the limits of Windhelm." The guard was terrified but she had no intention of taking no as an answer. "Trust me, please. It will only be a couple of hours."
Astaria doesn't wait, she knows waiting will possibly draw more guards. Walking would give her time to consider everything that had happened and she knew, she needed it this time. She just hoped that Ulfric wouldn't get too mad this time.