For the most part it was a sleepless night. The party going on upstairs seemed to last all night long, with singing and dancing and other loud noises. Everything seemed to die down sometime during the dark hours of the morning and the two mages finally got a little peaceful sleep. At one point, Onmund lay awake in his bed, wondering if it was time to get up. He heard Danielle stir in her bed on the other side of the room, and she finally sat up.
Onmund turned over to look at her and said softly, "Good morning, beautiful."
She turned towards him but it was too dark to see her face. "Good morning, handsome."
He smiled and then slowly got out of his bed. She followed suit and they converged in the center of the room to greet each other with a few kisses before gathering up their stuff. "Well, shall we head out now?" he asked her when they had everything.
"Yes, let's go," she replied, and followed him out of the room.
The main hall of the tavern was empty, so they just left a few septims on the counter as a tip, and then they went outside. A grayish light was showing in the east and heavy snowflakes were falling. Danielle shivered, so Onmund held her close to him as they exited the city and crossed the bridge. They followed the path south that ran along the western banks of the Darkwater River, and at one point he pointed to the plateau on the eastern side of the river and said to her, "Up there are some hot springs. Nord warriors like to go up there and relax in the healing waters after long battles."
"Have you ever been in them?" she asked.
"No," he replied. "I suspect those waters feel pretty good, though."
After a while, the mages crossed the river over a bridge and came into a small settlement along its banks. It had a single farmhouse, a few tents arranged in a circle nearby, and a mine. As they entered the settlement, several of the inhabitants looked up and saw them. Onmund saw a little girl look up at them in surprise, drop what she was doing, and run to an older lady. "Mama!" she exclaimed. "There are mages here!"
Two tall soldiers dressed in Stormcloak garb walked up to them and one of them asked, "What is your business here, mages?"
"We don't mean any disturbance," Onmund proclaimed warily. "But we just wanted to inquire whether a courier passed through here on his way to Winterhold."
The soldiers looked at each other and then back at Onmund. "We've seen no such courier."
"All right, thanks," Onmund said to him and then he and Danielle turned to leave.
"Halt!" the Stormcloak soldier shouted to him.
The two mages froze and turned back around to face him.
"Where is this courier coming from?" the soldier asked them.
Onmund opened his mouth to respond, but wasn't sure if he wanted to tell him the truth.
"From Riften," Danielle quickly responded. "We had ordered a supply of enchanted items from there, but we haven't received them yet. So…it looks like we will just have to go pick them up ourselves."
"Very well, then," the soldier replied. "You'd best be on your way then. We've got nothing of interest to you here in this mining town."
"Thank you very much," she said to him, and they left them.
Onmund's pulse immediately began winding down as they crossed back over the bridge, leaving the settlement out of sight. "Thank you for your quick thinking there!" he remarked, putting his arm on her shoulder and pulling her close to his side. "I didn't see those soldiers there until it was too late. Who knows what they would've done if we told them that the courier was actually coming from Morrowind?"
"It probably wouldn't have mattered," she surmised. "But I didn't want to take any chances of being detained."
"Me neither," he agreed. "Any mention of Morrowind or its inhabitants seem to stir up a lot of suspicion and animosity among Nords. You're a lifesaver!"
"You're welcome," she smiled.
He laughed and leaned down to kiss her. As they walked further along, he said to her, "I don't think we'll make it to Ivarstead before it gets dark. We're going to have to make camp somewhere."
"Uh-oh. Are you going to 'hunt' again?" she teased.
Onmund shook his head shamefully. "I still feel guilty for killing that rabbit the way J'zargo and I did. I should probably practice my archery again."
"Don't worry," she assured. "I don't mind eating what I brought. Do you have enough food?"
"I've got enough," he confirmed. "I'm fine with just my bread and cheese."
Soon, they found a good spot to set up camp. First, they set up the hide tent that Onmund brought along. Then, as he had done before, he gathered and broke up some dead branches and piled them up so that Danielle could work her magic (literally) and start a campfire. Within a couple of hours, they had a mini-settlement all built up. They both sat at the fire and ate their bread and cheese as the night chorus around them went into full swing, talking and laughing together like old times.
When they had finished their meager meal, they just sat and watched the fire in silence. Onmund scooted closer to Danielle and wrapped his arms around her, glad to have his best friend with him throughout the night. After a while, she declared that they should probably call it a night, so he said to her, "All right. Let me throw some more wood into the fire and we'll turn in." They both stood up and he went to go get some more wood. After he had thrown some into the fire and got it burning brightly again, he joined Danielle in front of the tent where she stood, watching him, and said to her, "It'll be pretty cramped in that tent with the two of us. I can sleep outside if you want more room."
She smirked at him. "Don't be ridiculous, Onmund. I don't mind being cramped with you." She then gave him a flirtatious smile, and his heart began to race.
He gazed down at her lovingly, but her face was partially obscured by her hood, so he gently pushed it back and down to her shoulders, admiring the Breton beauty standing before him. She mimicked the gesture and pushed his hood away from his head, and then her lips met with his. Enjoying her sweet kiss, she pulled away too soon, but then he was surprised when she brought her face to his again and began kissing along his lower jaw down to his neck. His skin was more sensitive there and the feeling was electrifying, just like it had been in his dream. Desire began boiling up from the depths of him once again and this time there was no excuse to stop it. He tilted his head towards her and began kissing her more passionately, trailing his lips down the side of her face like she had done with him down along her neck. He heard her sigh, which awoke an acute carnal sense within him. He reached up and removed the buckle from her shoulder that was holding the outer part of her robe in place and began unraveling the fabric. He turned her around and the fabric loosened. Now with her back to him, he kissed along the side of her neck some more and began pulling the robe off of her shoulders, revealing delicate skin as soft and smooth as clay. She uttered more sighs of pleasure as he continued planting gentle kisses down her bare, right shoulder, pulling the robe further down as he went. She shed the fabric off of her and for Onmund, it was a wholly new and exciting experience as he ran his hands along her bare skin, feeling every soft curve of his lover's body. She now turned around and faced him, and began removing his robes, as well. He helped her with the buckles and then eagerly shed all the layers of his thick robe, his heart pounding and breath quickening as his desire for her could not be contained much longer.
She took his hand and pulled him into the tent with her and lay on the ground, embracing him as he climbed on top of her to shower her with more kisses. They began to make love, and for Onmund, there was no other experience comparable and he had never felt so close to her as he did then. Afterwards, he lay with her on the bedroll and they fell asleep in each other's arms.
Onmund opened his eyes as light began showing in the tent the next morning, and he remembered that he still had his girlfriend in his arms. They lay in a spooning position, and he squeezed her tight as he smiled to himself, thinking that this was the best feeling ever. He kissed her along the nape of her neck, and this caused her to stir a little as she was gently being coaxed awake. He heard her sigh groggily but her voice sounded content as she murmured, "Onmund…"
"Good morning, love," he said softly into her ear.
"Good morning," she breathed back, placing her hand over his which was on her belly.
He planted some more kisses along the back of her neck and shoulders, relishing the softness of her skin, and he sighed, "I wish we could wake up like this every morning."
"Me too," she agreed.
"Really?" he asked her, as the wheels in his head began turning.
"Mmhmm," she replied. "You feel so warm."
He continued to talk softly into her ear, "You know it could happen."
"What could happen?"
"This. Waking up like this every morning."
"How's that?"
"If…you married me…"
There was a moment of silence, and he began to worry that he may have said too much. But then, she turned around and faced him now, studying his eyes. "What are you saying, Onmund?" she asked tentatively.
"I'm asking you to marry me," he replied. "Will you?"
Slowly, her face broke out into a smile, and to top it off, she uttered, "Yes. Yes, I will marry you!"
He couldn't help but smile wide himself. She threw her free arm over him and he squeezed her tight, feeling like he was on top of the world, now. They lay like that in the tent for a long while, enjoying amorous moments here and there before they got up to continue their main mission. They didn't forget about their two friends, J'zargo and Brelyna, who were probably wandering around somewhere in the Rift in search of the same courier that they had been inquiring about. They wondered if they perhaps had better luck than they had finding him. Nonetheless, it was time to pack everything up and head on to Ivarstead to wait for them. Then, they could also tell them about the good news that they were planning to get married.
"We should arrange our wedding at the Temple of Mara as soon as we tell the others," Onmund said to his fiancée as they started walking up the path leading to Ivarstead. "I can't wait."
"You think they'll come with us, too?" Danielle asked. "Even though they were just in Riften?"
"I hope they will," he replied. "It would be nice to have our friends be there for our wedding."
"Yes, it would," she said with a smile.
They finally reached Ivarstead by mid-afternoon, and they went and had lunch at the inn. They passed the time by shooting the breeze with Wilhelm, Lynly Star-Sung, and the various visitors coming in. Needless to say, no one there had seen or heard of a courier passing through on the way to Winterhold. When evening came, who should show up but none other than their two mage friends, J'zargo and Brelyna!
"You guys are back already?" Brelyna questioned, removing her hood and joining Onmund and Danielle at their table. "Did you find it? Did you find the parcel?"
"No," Danielle shook her head. "I take it you didn't either?"
"Dunmer and Khajiit searched all over the Rift but did not find it," J'zargo replied.
"Yeah. We asked around in Riften, Kynesgrove, and Shor's Stone but no one has seen or heard of a courier heading up to Winterhold," Brelyna explained.
Danielle sighed. "Unfortunately we had the same luck asking around in Windhelm and other places in Eastmarch."
"Well, that's strange," Brelyna remarked. "Maybe the courier never made it out of Morrowind, then."
"It's possible," she agreed.
"Then, I guess we should just head back and tell Arniel the bad news then," Brelyna sighed.
"Yes, but before we go back, there's something we oughtta tell you," Onmund piped up.
"What is it?" Brelyna asked.
Turning his head to Danielle and putting his arm over her, he asked her, "Do you wanna tell her, or me?"
"You go on ahead, darling," she said softly.
"What is this?" J'zargo questioned curiously.
"We're getting married!" Onmund proclaimed.
J'zargo's eyes widened and Brelyna gasped. "You are?" she asked. Then, she grinned. "That's great news!"
"So!" J'zargo exclaimed. "Striker thinks he can handle being married! That's something."
"I can handle it!" Onmund cried.
"Then, the question is, can Danielle handle it?" he continued. "Especially with this boy?"
Danielle giggled and replied, "I don't know…perhaps we will see." She gave her fiance a jocular look, which made J'zargo and Brelyna laugh.
With a snort, Onmund stated ruefully to her, "Well, you still have time to back out."
She gave him a playful shove and cried, "I'm not backing out! I gave you my word and I'm sticking to it."
"Aww, I wish I was there when you proposed to her!" Brelyna gushed. "How did you do it? Did you just come right out and ask or was there some sort of big speech?"
Onmund exchanged glances with Danielle before answering, "Let's just say I eased her into it."
J'zargo snickered. "This one can't imagine how that unfolded."
"So when will you have the ceremony?" Brelyna asked.
"Well, we're hoping to have it as soon as possible," Danielle replied. "We were thinking of heading to Riften tomorrow!"
"Riften? We were just there…" J'zargo declared.
"I know," Onmund acknowledged. "We want you to come with us but…if you don't then we understand. But we want to get married right away!"
"Don't be silly," Brelyna said. "Of course we'll go with you. Right, J'zargo?"
J'zargo sighed. "This one supposes he can venture back there. It wasn't a bad town."
"Then it's settled," Onmund declared. "We're getting married tomorrow!"
One more chapter left! I got a suggestion to start posting some random trivias and artifacts from this story- things like interviews with various characters and such. So I want to solicit some feedback from everyone. If you have questions that you want to ask Onmund, Danielle, or any other characters from Fire and Lightning, please submit them! (I don't mind random-sounding questions, but please keep it clean, though). And also any other ideas for postings are welcome (I'll only do one-shot-type writings; I'm saving my serial writing chops for the sequel).
I admit I didn't care for magic or the College questline during my first playthrough of the game. But then I fell in love with Onmund and the rest of the characters after about a year and I just can't get enough of their universe now! Thank you for the comments!
I totally forgot about telling this story before, but during my actual playthrough of the battle with Morokei, Onmund ran out of magicka and instead of running away and hiding like he usually does, he started throwing punches at the powerful Dragon Priest! I was like, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Yes, it's hard to choose sides in the civil war when both sides have things you hate. But interesting that you bring THAT up too because here's another tidbit about the sequel- it won't be about the Dragonborn questline, but it WILL be centered around the civil war questline!