A/N: Helloooo everyone! ^-^ I hope everyone is well and enjoying this so far! Lol. So, I'm graduating in less than a month and I kinda don't know how to feel... Like it's so weird to think no more High School, you know? Haha. Anyhow, enjoy this chappy!

timeywimeyspaceywacey: Thank you for the review, I'm glad you agree with my choice for him xD I really couldn't see him as anything too sweet so I made him a corn muffin. A lil rough but still really num num. Haha. *Gives cookies*

Lvl34potato: I freaking love your reviews! They make me giggle all the time. I hope I didn't damage your butt when you landed on the floor! D: Sorry I didn't take your suggestion this time, but I felt like doing a serious cereal chapter this go around! Feel free to leave the words again :) *Gives brownies*

Katschaba: I'm glad you like my idea on the prompts! Haha. I didn't really know what kind of drunk Ulfric would be, but I assumed either quiet and contemplative on stupid things or roudy and merry. It all depends on environment. *Gives cookies*

mrsmiawallace88: Whoa! You blew up my mailbox with those reviews all in a row! I'm so happy you love it enough to leave one on most chapters! Thank you sooo much! *Gives cupcake*

This is only my second go at anything on FF, so don't mind too much. It has no beta, so if an error is bothering anyone, feel free to private message me or send me an email! :)

Please enjoy and all reviews are valued! It's really encouraging to have feedback!

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit off anything I'm writing. However Koudelka is mine and you may not use or take her for your leisure. Thank you!

Important!: This chaper is based off a 3 word or item prompt from a PM. Their items were Necklace, Crown, and Fire. I will be accepting 3 word or 3 item prompts in reviews! Ill pick one each winning prompt with be rewarded with their own cake! \o/ yay. Good luck! Of course if your item is two words like Dragon Bones for example is, it counts as one.

Important Chapter Notes:

(1 Slight Spoiler, go read then come back!): Ulfric put out the fire constantly burning in his bedroom's fireplace as soon as Jorleif tells him about it. He refuses to relight it until her return.

(2): These items were what she hunted down for all the time she was gone. They are Ulfric's father's own, that have been lost for centuries.

Chapter Rating: K+: It's kinda sad, but nothing high rated happens.

Koudelka knew dread. She knew the feeling of a ball of sickening lead dropping into her stomach. But dread this strong was something foreign to her. It felt like lead simply pierced through her heart, then slowly ripped it's way down to her stomach to settle.

This was despair.

She smothered the feeling with pure anger and cast the forsaken letter into the fire in front of her, reading it helplessly as it turned to ash.

"To all Citizens!

It is a wonderful day to be in Skyrim! For our High King Ulfric Stormcloak is to be wed! To none other than the beautiful, strong, and true Lady Lailia Law-Giver! The wedding will be held in Windhelm on the 10th of Frostfall.

All who will be in attendance are asked to please send word ahead. All are welcome to join us on such a gifted day, a day to watch true love bloom!

Sincerely,

Steward Jorleif."

She stopped being able to read the letter about half way through, reciting the last half from memory. The letter had been turned to nothing but ashes. However the words were burned as an image into her mind. Anger and betrayal pulsed through her body with every heartbeat, she exploded with pure rage.

"YOL TOOR SHUL!"

Fire erupted from the waves of her voice and rode into the forest before her, burning, breaking, and blazing anything in it's path. Shadowmere reared up from the sudden blazing light and heat, letting out a startled grunt but he soon settled, quietly walking over to his master.

"Rider, shall we depart?" He questioned, his ears flicked nervously.

Her voice shook as she replied, her form hunched slightly. The horse could easily smell the salt, but said nothing.

"I- I have to know why. I've been gone for six months... But for him. He knew. I had to find this... For him." The Deadric horse pressed his snout to her damp face.

"We must go... The forest burns around us. We will make it back in a month's time. Gather your things, Master."

The assassin did just that before mounting her horse.

They had made it back to Eastmarch in seventeen days time, leaving Shadowmere haughty and proud, yet completely exhausted. The woman chose to leave her mount and her belongings in her Orc allied fort of Narzulbur. She spoke quickly and softly to Mauhulakh, the Chief of the fort.

"Now, I will care for your horse and protect your items, but please do return quickly. My tribesmen already believe me to be soft enough." He chided softly, taking his brotherly stance to her. The woman was well accepted in the forts. She did not see their tusks, nor their horns, nor their odd colored skin. She saw people, allies, and true warriors. She took the time to know them as individuals.

"I know, Mauhulakh. I much appreciate it. Trust me. I'm sure no one will give you fuss though. They'd do the same for me too," she sighed shakily, "plus... I wanna be in and out of there as fast as possible..."

She waited until midnight.

Koudelka let her perfected assassin instincts guide her through the dark onto the decks attached to the eastern side of the icy city. She was being discrete, she wished to see and be seen by no one but Ulfric himself.

It took her about ten minutes to glide through the shadows into the courtyard of the Palace. The side door before her lead into the strategy room. At this time Galmar would be finishing up his warm honey mead...

The assassin swiftly swiped a phial of fish oil she used on her bow from her hip pouch, silencing the door from groaning as it should. She slipped inside.

Koudelka had been right about Galmar still being in the candlelit room as she slipped in with the shadows, rendering the Stonefist oblivious to her entrance. She tilted her head curiously at the bottle in his hand. The general didn't ever drink hard Nord mead before sleeping. The woman's eyes softened at her close friend, tempted to make herself known. Her mission instinct smashed and tore that desire away like a malevolent wave to a small fishing boat.

The Nord's eyes hardened and she slipped up the stairs to the hall before Ulfric's room. She mourned lightly. This would be the last time she roamed this hall, the last time she walked into his bedroom... A room she once considered 'their own'.

Her heart jumped as she opened the door, a wave of Ulfric's scent washing over her. She felt her anger simmer down. The room was cold and the fire was out. There were no embers in the fireplace, just half charred logs. No candles were lit and she worried for a moment he was absent with his fiancé.

No, his scent was too fresh, and not at all stale. Her werewolf enhanced senses told her the last he was in the room was maybe five hours ago. Koudelka eyed the shelves in the back of the room. She stepped over the room's threshold and walked gracefully over to the ornate wood, jumping to settle on the top one, creating a spitting image of her once leader and mentor, Astrid. She crossed her arms and visually prowled the room from her perch.

She waited for hours, glaring harshly at the door through the shadows.

The hidden assassin assumed it was around three thirty in the morning when the man that hurt her trudged in, putting it lightly. She fought to hold her glare against the man who still held her heart. She tilted his head at his abnormal behavior.

Ulfric shut the door softly behind him, staying in his position facing the door. Some nights were worse than others. It had gotten easier after the first couple of months, but nights like these it was difficult to look at the room, no matter how much he drank.

The High King forced himself to turn and face the room, his green eyes forlornly drawn to his frozen time keeper. The logs were the same as he left them everyday since the moment he had gotten the news from Jorleif. (1)

The Nord took a strong breath before starting a slow walk towards his bed, carelessly stripping layers of his outfit and letting them drop where they may, including his precious furs. He tugged a white common shirt on, leaving him in the shirt and brown trousers. He never noticed the venomous green eyes staring at him from under a notorious hood.

She growled softly at his dulled senses. As he sat on the bed to lay, she could take no more.

She threw the amulet and jeweled crown(2) she hunted down on his bed from her perch.

"You're dull now, but so is the life of a to be husband." Koudelka hissed, voice cold and harsh.

The jolt that went through the man and the sad yet hopeful spark in his previously dull eyes made her growl. He stood quickly and looked over to the back of his chambers.

"No..."

"Oh! Disappointed to see me, love?" She spat the term of endearment with hatred, jumping down from the shelves. The assassin stalked to Ulfric and the man was swifter than a scholar to put two and two together. His instincts kicked back into gear and the large man easily caught the punch aimed at him. The hit was oddly weak.

As was the second with her other arm he caught.

The woman struggled to get herself out of his grip, but he was too strong, just like always.

"Stop." He commanded.

She almost listened.

"Koudelka, please love, stop." Ulfric was pleading.

"How dare you call me that?!"

She kicked at him uselessly, all her instincts and training as an assassin abandoned her as hurt and realization flowed through her. Ulfric growled lightly and could finally take no more.

"I thought you were dead! We all thought you were dead!"

Koudelka froze and her eyebrows furrowed, sadness and hurt tore through her, the fury pulsing through her diminished. "You... What?" She questioned, not believing what she had heard. Was he lying?

The large Nord never released her hands, but reduced his grip from a vice, to a gentle hold while threading their fingers together. To make sure she was real. She was there. He turned them and pushed her to sit on the bed before kneeling before her on the floor. She steeled her eyes and waited for a sign of a lie.

"About one month after you left, word reached the palace that an Elder Dragon had slaughtered the Dragonborn when she left a tomb she was raiding while wounded..." The man's eyes looked broken and glassy in the dark lighting. The assassins eyes softened.

"Ulfric?..."

"We searched for two months Koudelka. I sent every soldier I could. I was so devastated..."

The woman shook her head in disbelief. He had to be lying. She would've heard about hundreds of soldiers looking for her, no matter how far out of the land she was."You're a liar." She accused.

When the pure hurt flashed through him, she regretted saying those words. Meanwhile Ulfric was frantically trying to think of ways to convince her. He was going to lose her forever. She would be gone out of his life. He'd never see her, touch her, joke with her, love her... Ever.

"Please... I'll do anything to prove it to you... I need you."

The words broke her resolve. She knew she was a fool influenced by love, but by The Nine, the man was on his knees about to break and weep. She shook her head, realizing the truth.

"Ulfric, it's too late."

She stood and pulled away from the man who held her heart. She turned before she could see the man break and crumble.

"You're to be married. There is no longer room for me here." Koudelka felt a foreign wetness on her cheeks and wondered if Ulfric was weeping too. The Nord jumped to his feet when the assassin turned to leave. He moved to block the door, boldly cupping her face in his large hands.

"I can't let you go, slow down, please don't leave. Please. I've prayed to The Nine for hours everyday to return you to me. I can call off the wedding. I'll marry you. I do not feel even an ounce of love for that woman. I do not care about what the people will think." He pleaded, not allowing her to look away from him. When her tears flowed more, he tugged her cowl's mask down, kissing her tears away with gentle lips.

The woman finally broke and wrapped her arms around the older man's neck, meshing their lips together with a soft intensity.

Hours into the early morning found the two lovers curled in bed, watching the fire blazing within it's confines, practically dancing at being relit. Ulfric pressed a kiss to the back of Koudelka's neck.

"Why Law-Giver, Ulfric?" She questioned softly. The union made no sense. The woman didn't believe in Ulfric. The woman believed he had selfish motives.

"She was first to step up to present a politically adequate marriage." He answered. The woman sighed and the High King's brows furrowed.

"We'll find a way out of this. We always do." The woman nodded in agreement and intertwined her fingers with his from the arm around her waist.

'But still... Who reported me to be dead? And with such a detailed story?'

Late into the night, days later a letter arrived at Mistveil Keep. Found simply resting upon the Jarl's pillow. No one had saw who delivered it, nor had they seen them infiltrate the Keep.

Lailia had quickly shooed her steward out the door when she first noticed the letter, assuming it to be of secrecy from Ulfric about their wedding.

The woman took her time to change from her normal attire into a sleeping gown before languidly walking to her large bed to pluck the letter from her pillow.

It was nothing from Ulfric.

The pure black hand print was infamous to all as the Dark Brotherhood. Assassins.

But there was no group. There was no 'brotherhood'.

There was no 'We'.

This was personal.

Above the inky dark print was simply two words that wrought fear into every bone in the woman's body.

"I know."

Well! That was different than my normal chapters! I hope you guys liked it anyhow! Please drop a review! And thank you to all you silent readers out there and followers!