Riding upon Odahviing's back, soaring across Skyrim, was the most incredible thing that Leola had ever experienced. It was exhilarating, and she couldn't help but to grin all the while. Ulfric was sitting on the back of Odahviing's long neck, gripping tightly to the dragon so that they wouldn't fall. Leola was positioned behind him, her arms wrapped around him and the soul gem clutched tightly with one hand. There was no way that she was going to let it fall.
Leola couldn't believe the view of her homeland that she was getting. She could see for miles in every direction, and she took the time to absorb the feeling and the sights. This was, after all, probably the only time she'd ever have a chance to ride upon the back of a dragon.
From the beginning of their flight, she could see the Throat of the World, the majestic mountain that rested in the middle of Skyrim. The landscape was dotted with farms, coated with thick forests, and occasionally, blotted with a town or a city. As they flew, she took care to point out the things that she saw. She saw Solitude, and then Morthal. They drew nearer to the Throat of the World, and she could see Whiterun. In the distance she saw the lake upon which her childhood home was situated, though she couldn't see the manor itself, nor much of Falkreath.
The mighty dragon took a minute to do a dramatic circle around the Throat of the World, presumably seeking to humour his eager young rider. Leola couldn't help but to let out an excited whoop as they circled about.
"That there," Ulfric told her as they circled the mountain, "is where the Greybeards reside. I trained with them as a boy - they taught both me and your mother to use the power of the Thu'um."
"I'm guessing that I can't learn to use it even though both my parents had it?" Leola asked. There was a part of her tht longed to seek out this kind of ancient knowledge, but there was another part that was relieved that she couldn't learn it. She didn't need that kind of drama or power in her life.
"It can be learned, though it takes many years and a great deal of dedication," Ulfric responded. "That is how I was able to learn - your mother, on the other hand, had the skill naturally as a Dragonborn."
"If my mother was Dragonborn, does that mean that I am part dragon, in a way?" Leola asked, laying her head against her father's back and gazing out across Skyrim. It was so beautiful, her home, her Kingdom.
"I don't know," Ulfric admitted. "I do not truly know as much about the Dragonborn as I should, only that I loved her and that her power was beyond compare. That is enough though, is it not?"
"Of course," Leola said. "I just...I just wish that I could have met her. The one you knew, that is. My mother was never anything more than a mother. Everything was so simple then, I never suspected that she was a hero or a warrior or a Dragonborn."
"I'm sure that you would have liked the woman your mother was," Ulfric responded. "She was a good woman. She fought for what was right, for the good and the needy in the world. She was always handing coins to the beggars in the streets, always seeking to help those who needed it. She never turned down a request."
"That does sound like the mother I know," Leola said softly. "She'd have done those things even when I knew her."
"Of course," Ulfric responded. "That is a part of her nature, who she was. She was a good woman, Leola, just as you are now."
Leola grinned, feeling herself absolutely glowing with pride at her father's praise. She couldn't believe that her parents were two such remarkable people - the High King of Skyrim, the man who led a revolution to save the province, and the Last Dragonborn, the woman who had singlehandedly saved the world from the threat of an ancient and dangerous dragon, as well as countless other enemies that had been described to her by her friends and father. She could only hope to shoulder their legacy well and with pride.
"I'm happy that you're my father, Ulfric," Leola said to him in a soft voice.
"And I am happy that you are my daughter, Leola," he responded. "I never thought that I would have a child of my own, let alone one so smart, so kind, and so beautiful."
Leola was quiet for a moment, gazing again across the landscape. It was stunning to behold, and for a few minutes, she longed for nothing more than to just stay in this moment forever. Soaring high above Skyrim, riding on the back of a dragon, having a true heart-to-heart with her father… but there was a job to be done, and they had to reach Skuldafn Temple.
"Father," Leola said in a soft voice, "why did you never have children? Aside from me, of course, and I know that I was unintended."
Now it was Ulfric's turn to respond with silence, presumably considering his daughter's question. "Well…" he started slowly, hesitating. "I, ah…" Leola waited patiently, smiling to herself. She'd stumped him, and she couldn't help but to be entertained by the result. "I suppose," he said finally, "that I just...never got around to it. I was so busy with everything else - first my training, then my service in the army, then the revolution, and then ruling and restoring things to as they should be… I suppose that I simply never got around to it, and that was an error on my part."
"How so?" Leola asked. "I don't mind that I have no brothers or sisters."
Ulfric chuckled at hearing his daughter's words, shaking his head slightly. "No, not because you're an only child," he laughed. "Rather, because until you came along, I had no heir. Of course, all the Jarls support me - perhaps not Elisif, but she's the only one - and I know that any successor would have had Skyrim's best interests at heart as I have...but truly, the High King's blood is supposed to follow them, not someone else."
"But now you have me," Leola said, and again, her father laughed.
"Yes, yes I do," he responded. "I've a wonderful daughter who will make an excellent queen for the land I love so dearly. With the exception of your mother's untimely death, I believe that everything worked out quite well - perfectly, if nothing else."
"I think that you're right," Leola replied, smiling. With that, she returned her attention to the landscape. Appearing in the distance, she could see the shores by Windhelm, and the mighty city itself, though it was barely more than a speck. She grinned as she saw it. "Look, there's our house," she said jokingly, and her father laughed.
She'd not taken the time to look for the Skuldafn temple on a map before they left, so she had no idea where it was. From Odahviing's altitude and speed, though, it seemed that the temple would be on the very opposite side of the province from where they'd been before. She almost felt bad that she'd made him fly this far, but of course, it was her father's bidding, and they could easily have stopped had the dragon grown tired. As a dragon, though, she figured he was accustomed to long flights. Was this even a long flight for him? It would be a long ride or walk for them, but perhaps things were different for dragons because they were so much bigger.
"Are we almost there?" she asked finally, feeling like a small child on a long carriage ride.
"Not yet…" came the dragon's mighty voice from in front of her. It still seemed odd that she could hear a dragon speaking as if it was nothing. It seemed odd that dragons should speak at all.
Leola sighed to herself. The temple had to be drawing near, right? Was it even in Skyrim, or would they be crossing the border? Was it legal to cross the border atop a dragon?
"How did you say you met my mother?" Leola asked, glancing towards her father.
"We were both arrested almost together and we were being taken to be executed together," he murmured in response. "I had been trying to return to Skyrim... I don't know what she was doing, only that she was caught trying to cross the border illegally. I suspect that they thought her one of mine, a Stormcloak rebel sneaking into Skyrim to fight the Empire. Didn't even give the poor woman a chance to talk for herself," he murmured, and Leola could tell that he was off in his own thoughts. She loved hearing him speak about her mother, even if she'd heard the stories before - there was so much love and admiration in his voice, so much affection and respect.
"And then a dragon attacked," Leola said, prompting him to continue.
"Yes, then a dragon attacked," Ulfric responded with a laugh. "Alduin, the Eater of Worlds… I suppose now that I think about it that it was your mother's soul that drew him to Helgen. Perhaps he thought her another dragon for him to awaken from its slumber rather than a human. I don't know. Whatever it was, that dragon saved our lives. It caused enough of a distraction that both of us could escape - your mother escaped with one of my men, who took her back to his town and his family so she could get back on her feet. She had nothing, you see, nothing but the clothes on her back, so this soldier of mine helped her out."
"And in return, she pledged her service to the Stormcloak cause?" Leola asked, grinning.
"No, no - he asked no such pledge of her," he responded, shaking his head. "No, your mother came to us of her own choosing, approached me in my palace and asked to join my army...how could I turn her down? The Dragonborn, of all people, the woman fabled to save Skyrim… and she wanted a place in my army. Of course I let her join, and gave her my most important of missions. She was one of the only people I really trusted to get the jobs done and come back in one piece, and she never disappointed." He paused, turning his head to glance over his shoulder at his daughter. "Leola, if there's one thing you should know about your mother… it's that everything she did, she did well and she did with pride. Fighting, questing, helping people - raising you… She did a damn good job at everything she did."