4E 182, 8th of First Seed...

It only took roughly nine hours to reach Whiterun from Windhelm, just as it had before, but it was night by the time Gwen and Ayasha finally arrived. Setting her mare up in the stables, Gwen took her gear into the city and up to Jorrvaskr.

It was just after ten, but there were still a few people awake when she reached the hall.

"Well, look who's back!"

Gwen smiled, embracing one of her mentors. "Giskur! You look well."

Giskur the Unbroken was the man who had mentored her in two-handed weapons. "I am, though it's only been a few weeks since you left Whiterun. What brings you back so soon? I thought you were returning home."

Gwen nodded. "I did. It's kind of a long story."

"Well, Vireina and Borind are speaking with Askar if you'd like to come say hello. I assume you're staying at least for the night?"

Gwen nodded. "Yes."

"Well, come along then."

Gwen followed the older Nord as he led the way down into the living quarters. Gwen saw that most everyone was passed out, aside from Tilma of course.

"Harbinger, look what the wolves dragged in." Giskur said, knocking at Askar's door.

Askar looked up from where he was sitting with Vireina- who had trained Gwen in archery as well as daggers- and Borind- who had trained Gwen in sword and shield. "Gwen! Welcome back!"

Gwen smiled, setting her things down by the door and embracing the Harbinger. "It's good to see you again, Askar."

"What brings you back so soon?" Borind asked. "Have a fight with the young jarl?"

Gwen blushed, clearing her throat.

"Oh hush, Borind. Leave the poor girl be." Vireina said, smacking him.

"Well, actually we did have a bit of an argument before I left."

"Well, now. Why don't you sit and tell us all about it?" Askar said, gesturing to an open seat.

"You know he's just trying to protect you, right?" Vireina asked.

Gwen sighed and nodded. "I know, but I'm not some exotic bird in need of a gilded cage. It's like he doesn't trust me anymore."

"He trusted you enough to come here to train, didn't he?"

Gwen nodded. "That was before-" Her face turned red and she shut her mouth, remembering the night at Weynon Stones when Ulfric kissed her.

"Before what?"

Giskur saw her face and chuckled. "Did someone make a move?"

Gwen's face turned a deeper shade of red.

"About time. Who made the first move?"

Gwen cleared her throat, ignoring the teasing from her mentors. "That depends on how you look at it."

"Oh?" Askar leaned forward, grinning. "This is getting good, lass. Do go on."

"Well, when I returned to Windhelm after my training here he had asked me to join him for dinner. We ate dinner in his room, talked about things, but there was something off."

"What?"

"I had noticed an assassin lurking in the rafters and at first I wasn't sure if I was the only one to have noticed, so I tried to create a distraction in order to inform him of the assassin without causing a panic."

Borind's brow raised. "What kind of distraction?"

"Well..."

Gwen walked back to where Ulfric stood, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his lips. She knew she caught him off guard, but she knew too that she had to protect him.

They stood there for a moment, seemingly immersed in the kiss, and when Gwen pulled back Ulfric looked down at her. Gwen smiled and pressed her forehead to his, then whispered, "Up in the rafters, north side of the room."

Ulfric knew in that moment that she had sensed the assassin lurking in the shadows of the rafters in his room. He reached up, brushing her hair aside and stroking her cheek with his thumb. "Your family will worry if you tarry much longer." He leaned down and returned her kiss, deepening it for a moment and taking advantage of what she was trying to do.

"And if I wanted to stay?" Gwen asked, trying to keep up their ruse as she reached beneath his cloak for the dagger she knew he kept.

Ulfric chuckled. "Then I'd be mad to deny such a beautiful woman her request." He heard the rustle faintly in the rafters and leaned down to kiss Gwen, spinning them as an arrow shot at them- deflecting it with his bracer.

Gwen drew the dagger as Ulfric spun them and threw it into the rafters as the arrow zipped passed and bounced off Ulfric's bracer.

They watched as the dagger struck and the assassin slumped forward, crumpling into a motionless heap on the stone floor.

"Then the guards came and after everything was situated, I left for the night."

"He kissed you back?"

Gwen nodded. "I had only kissed him to create a distraction and he kissed me back to continue the ruse, giving us the opportunity we need to deal with the assassin. I thought was all it was, but then..."

"There's more?"

"This is getting juicy."

"Hush, lads. Gwen, go on."

Gwen shifted in her seat. "The next day, Galmar and I sparred. I hit my head during the match, which caused my memory to come back. I had remembered what happened before the Cruel-Sea clan had found me."

"You remembered?"

"What happened?"

"I was aboard a ship that belonged to my parents, who were merchants. My father- it turned out- was the son of Skald the Elder, Jarl of Dawnstar, and my mother was an heiress of a trading company that was nearly as prominent as the East Empire Trading Company. My grandfather disapproved of my mother and he and my father had a falling out, so my mother and father left Dawnstar and started their own trading business. They eventually settled in Dagon Fel, where they established a trading post, but when they were set to return to Skyrim, a storm hit and the ship wrecked upon the cliffs after I was thrown overboard."

"I see..."

"It was the Winter War, wasn't it?"

Gwen nodded. "According to what I could find, no one aboard that shipped survived. I only managed to because I was thrown overboard before it wrecked on the cliffs."

"What happened after that?"

"Ulfric took me to Dawnstar to find my grandfather and any other answers that only he could give. When we reached Dawnstar, I found my grandfather but he was none too thrilled to see me. He called my mother a witch for having stolen my father's heart when he was promised to a noble girl in Solitude. The marriage would have brought more prosperity to Dawnstar, a chance for them to return to their glory days, but then my father fell in love with my mother and the rest was history."

"So then does your grandfather still hold anger towards your father?"

Gwen nodded. "It spilled over onto me and we basically disowned each other. Not that I mind, though. For most of my life, the Cruel-Sea clan has been my family and they have taken care of me since I was five, raising me as their own. I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world. They are my family, just as the Companions are."

"So what happened with Ulfric, then? You made it sound like there was something more than just him taking you to Dawnstar."

"During our return journey, another storm hit so we made camp again at Weynon Stones. When I asked why he had decided to take me to Dawnstar, Ulfric said it was because he wanted to spend more time with me alone, to learn more about me and get to know me better. He said I was all he could think of most days and it drives him crazy when he know so little about me."

"I see."

"Well, can you fault a man for wanting to get to know such a beautiful woman better?" Borind said, chuckling.

"What then?"

"I asked if that was why he came for me when the bandits took me, if that was why he kissed me the way he had the night the assassin attacked."

"And? What did he say?"

"He kissed me and asked if that was a good enough answer."

"Aha!"

"So, did you guys, you know..."

Gwen's face turned a deeper shade of red than any of them had ever seen before. "Divines, no! I mean we shared a tent that night since we had given the other to the horse, but nothing like that!"

Everyone started laughing and Gwen sighed, trying to quell her embarrassment. "By the Nine, I don't know why I even bothered sharing all that with you..."

"Because we're your mentors and family and we can help."

Giskur clapped her on the shoulder. "Now, lass. That can't be all there was."

Gwen sighed, shaking her head. "No... there's more..."

"Well, if we promise to behave will you go on?"

"I suppose." She sighed again, giving in. "I do think I could use some advise on the next bit, anyways."

"So then, what happened next?"

"Morning."

"Morning."

"How'd you sleep?"

"Better than I have in weeks." Gwen pushed herself upright and looked down at him. "What about you?"

Ulfric reached up to touch her cheek and smiled. "Better than I have in a long time."

Gwen leaned into his hand. "So what now?"

"What do you mean?"

"What are we going to do about us?"

Ulfric thought a moment, then flipped her onto her back- earning a himself a giggle. "I could marry you."

Gwen blushed, looking away. "Be serious, Ulfric."

"And what if I am?" He replied, looking down at her.

Gwen looked back up at him. "Why would you want to marry me? There's a lot you still don't know about me."

"Let's see..." Ulfric leaned down, kissing her neck. "Because you're beautiful. And you're intelligent. And you're strong."

Gwen giggled and bit her lip as she fought against the sensation rising within her with each kiss Ulfric placed on her neck in between each reason.

"You're confident. You're courageous. You're skilled in battle. You command a great respect even when you don't realize it. And even your secrets give you allure that drives me mad." He glanced at her. "Shall I go on?"

Gwen shook her head. "I think I get it." She cocked her head and looked up at him. "I didn't know you had such a soft and gentle side, Ulfric Stormcloak. I must say I am surprised."

"Teasing now, are we?"

"Only fair, is it not?"

Ulfric chuckled. "That it is." He leaned down and kissed her, pressing into her. "Though, it's hard to resist you." He pressed his knee against her loins, smirking when she gasped and let out a little moan- which she tried to hide. "I want to take you somewhere. It's along the way home, just a bit off the main road."

"Oh? Now you've peaked my interest even further."

"Good." He pressed into her one last time before moving away and getting dressed. "We should get on the road here soon."

Gwen glared at him playfully and sighed, getting dressed herself.

"He said what now?"

"He said that he could marry me, then proceed to give me reasons as to why he would marry me." Gwen sighed.

"So then what's the problem?"

"The problem is that I still don't understand him. How can I marry a man that is so hot and cold? One minute he treats me like a delicate flower, the next he praises me for being free-spirited and outspoken, then the next he's forbidding me from going on a potentially dangerous mission even though I proved I could handle myself when I bested his right hand man."

"Do you love him?"

Gwen looked at Vireina when she said that. "Do I love him?"

"If you love the man, that means that you accept all that he is- good and bad. So again, lass, do you love him?"

Gwen thought for a few moments, just as she had many times before now. "I do."

"Then you must be ready to accept that he will always try to protect you, even if it means forbidding you from going into danger. And I know that he must love you, too, else his actions would have been different. Besides, he'd be mad not to love you- for all the reasons he gave and more."

Gwen sighed. "You're right, as always."

Vireina smiled. "And don't you or anyone else ever forget that." She pulled Gwen into a hug. "Don't overthink it, lass. You're young and it's your first love. You have much to learn about each other and about love in general. All that matters is you take your time and you do what's necessary to stay by each other's side. You protect what you cherish and love, you fight for what you believe in and who you believe in."

"Thanks, Vireina."

"Now, go get some rest. We'll have a big breakfast in the morning to send you off."

Gwen nodded and grabbed her things as she passed through the door. When she had disappeared into the main bedroom where the rest of the Companions- non-Circle members- slept, her mentors and the Harbinger went on to discuss things further.

As Gwen lay back in her bed, she smiled to herself. 'I finally said it aloud. I love Ulfric Stormcloak. Now, I only need to tell him when I return.'