Victory or Sovngarde

Chapter Seven

Mila leaned close to Sofie and whispered in her ear. Whatever she said made the Sofie blush. Mila giggled at this, and Sofie jabbed her in the arm.

"Well, this is interesting," I said as I approached them. They all looked up at me and smiled. Mila, Braith, and Lucia all ducked their heads in respect, while Sofie just looked on.

I waved my hand and fought off a laugh. "You don't have to bow to me, girls. I'm not royalty."

They picked their heads up, then Braith stood. "I have to help my mother with something. See you girls later."

Mila and Lucia left soon after, giving me some time alone with Sofie. I sat in the grass next to her, taking my cloak off and letting it lay in the grass next to me.

"This is so much nicer than it was in Windhelm," she said after some time of silence. "There weren't any other girls there. Just boys, and mean boys at that."

I smiled. "When I lived there, before my parents died, there were a few girls. The Shatter-Shield girls were my friends. Nilsine was not as nice to me as Friga was. I don't seem to remember there being that many boys my age." I chuckled a little. "That made my father happy."

Sofie laughed with me. "There are plenty of young men here. Like... Eirik." Her cheeks flushed red at the mention of his name.

"You like Eirik, do you?"

"Why wouldn't I? He's strong, he's a Companion, and.... You won't tell my papa, will you? I don't think he would like it if he knew I liked Eirik. I know Papa doesn't exactly like Eirik right now, anyway."

"Eirik is just going through a tough time. We all are. Grief makes a man do strange things. He'll be over it soon. Back to his old self." I patted her shoulder. "Maybe if he knew you were there for him, it would help."

Her face reddened even more.

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks, Ylva." She smiled at me. "How's Embla? Still sick?"

"Yes." I patted my satchel. "I need to get her this medicine." I got to my feet and grabbed my cloak. "Sorry to run off like this."

She shook her head. "I'd better go help my mother with the stand. You know her eyes aren't so good anymore. It's hard for her to tell what's what." She stood, then headed towards the marketplace. "I'll see you later."

I nodded. "Hope you've been practicing. Vilkas isn't going easy on you today."

I made my way to Jorrvaskr, pushing the doors open with practiced ease. The air still did not feel right. Without the sounds of Ria's gentle laugh and Torvar's drunken singing, the hall seemed so much emptier. It would be a long time before the echoes of their deaths faded. Before we could move on and celebrate their memory instead of mourn it.

I went down the stairs and into the quiet halls below. I headed straight for the children's room, where Vilkas sat next to Embla's bed. He ran a hand over her sweat-dampened hair, shushing her.

"How is she?" I asked as I knelt down next to them. I pressed my hand to her face. Her skin was clammy and hot from her fever.

"She can't sleep. She keeps hallucinating. I think it's the fever."

"Embla?" I sat on the bed next to her, and she turned over to look at me.

"Mama, I just want to sleep." She had tears in her eyes. It broke my heart.

"I have something that's going to help you, sweetie." I helped her sit up, then reached into my satchel and grabbed the loaf of bread I had bought. "See what I got for you?"