Yngvar awoke when he heard the echo of a dragon roar from far away. His first thought was Alduin might have returned to his original state. The man jumped to his feet at once then rushed toward his room. As soon as the door slammed open, he caught Paarthurnax jolted in surprise on his chair. The Dragon looked at him in confusion.
"Where is Alduin?" he asked.
"He was here when I meditate," Paathurnax replied but soon they noticed they had lost the black dragon. Yngvar searched around the house and cellar but couldn't find him. At last, he checked Gaihla's room. When Yngvar found her room was also empty, he felt as if his fear came to life.
"No! This can't be." He thought. The only thing that dawned on him was that Alduin might kill her so they could resume their battle. "No. No," he muttered under his breath.
"Dovahkiin, drem. Patience." Paathurnax said as if knowing his fear. "Alduin might be violent, but dragons never side with dishonesty. He heeds your request."
"But where are they now?" He asked desperately.
There was a knock on the main door before Paarthurnax could reply. Yngvar promptly went down to see his guest, hoping it was either one of them. But alas, the stranger was not someone he wished to see.
"We have expected you would be staying here," Delphine said with Esbern standing behind.
"Esbern, Delphine, it's been a while," Yngvar replied. He turned his head inside to see Paarthurnax. As their eyes met, he nodded in silence toward the room, gesturing the dragon to return to his place. Luckily Paasthurnax caught the sign. "What brings you here?" he continued after facing them again.
"The news about you defeating Alduin has been heard anywhere." Esbern started. "We are glad that you made it back safely and..."
"We want to make sure we heard it right." Delphine cut him midsentence. "Is it true that you have killed Alduin? Was it true all that's left is only his subordinate dragons?"
The question gave him a difficult time. "Well, for now, I think the dragon attack would cease." He said, sounding as convincing as possible. He really wished them to leave.
"For now?" Delphine frowned. "What about Paarthurnax? We know that the Greybeards are hiding him. And..."
"How did you know?" he abruptly asked.
"It doesn't matter. The Greybeards have always been siding with the beast." Delphine remarked. "Before we start to eradicate these dragons..." her words were put to cease when Yngvar abruptly walked past her. He saw Gaihla and Alduin in the distance and immediately ran to them.
However, all of their attention was immediately drawn to a yellow-scaled dragon flying above them. It roared and encircled the area. The dragon seemed to put his distance far enough from the range of spell attack, yet also close enough to scan the ground. Except for Alduin and Gaihla, everyone held their ground in anticipation of an attack.
"Thuri," the dragon's voice echoed.
"Leave now! I'll call you when it must!" Alduin replied at once in telepathy which only Gaihla could hear.
The girl immediately turned her head and saw Alduin didn't even bother rose his face up to see the dragon. Instead, he walked casually past Yngvar, disregarding both Delphine and Esbern, then got into the house. The dragon let out another mighty roar and then rapidly flew away. Delphine grunted in annoyance while sheathing his sword.
"Gaihla! Where have you been?!" the girl was taken back to reality when Yngvar grab both of her shoulders and scanned her from head to toe with a worried look on his face.
"Sorry." She said apologetically. "The voices were so strong. I need to unleash some magic."
"Why was Al..why as 'he' with you?" he still realized The Blade's presence.
Gaihla blinked twice. She slightly looked away then gave an ambiguous answer, "He followed me and did not want to listen when I told him to stay at home."
"Wait inside. We'll talk." He said sternly.
To Delphine and Esbern he said his goodbye and promised to see them in a few weeks. He persuaded them to leave. Yngvar did not even bother offering them to get inside the house for warm drinks amidst the cold wintry air.
"Did you see the man?" Delphine asked Esbern after the door was shut before their face.
"Yes," Esbern replied.
"That might be Alduin. Another one must be hiding inside."
"Are you really sure we need to do this, Delphine?" he asked with concern. "The informant might be wrong."
"Your age might have your sense dull, but something told me the man we saw had something to do with the dragons. Didn't you hear the dragon earlier mentioned 'thuri' ?"
"I totally forgot about it. Now your idea started to make sense." He thought for a moment then added. "Normal dragon would have attacked. It would only retreat when it sensed superiority."
"Now you get my point." She retorted, slightly shivering. "It is getting cold. Let's get back to the city and talk. I have a plan."
*****
It was neither anger nor mistrust, yet Yngvar experience a mild agitation. The reason from Gaihla gave him no satisfaction. He told her to wait in her room while he talked with Alduin.
"So, this is your plan, huh? Using another dragon to attack us?"
"I do what I think necessary and I grant you your wish to cease the battle. It is natural for my generals to look for their missing king." He replied. "I have many of them, scattered mountains away. This body locks me and my power. My command couldn't reach the far place where they stay."
It downed now to him why the dragon earlier just left them alone. For a moment he was impressed by his intention yet Yngvar was still upset.
' "I see." That was all he could say. He then turned to Paarthurnax. The poor dragon caught the agitation in his eyes. "You are in charge. Make sure he remained inside the house." Yngvar turned to Alduin again. "And don't get too close to Gaihla."
"Why?" Alduin retorted.
"Because you are a man. No. It is because I said so." he replied sternly and left the room.
He might not speak about it but Yngvar knew the night when Alduin and Gaihla sneaked out from the camp to bury the fallen soldiers. He saw what they did. He might not aware of it yet, but jealousy that any father would feel when their daughter was close to another man slowly grew in his mind. Alduin becoming human might be rather acceptable, but for the dragon to have a relationship with his daughter was a different thing.
"Gaihla." He called her gently from the opened door. "May I come in?" she nodded in reply. Yngvar watched how she closed the book she was reading on her lap. The same blue eyes stared at him intently. He couldn't help but softened and felt as if he was staring at Kynareth herself.
"What is it?" she asked after hearing no words from him.
Yngvar sighed while closing his eyes for a moment. "Do you trust me, Gaihla?" he asked.
She furrowed her brow. "Of course."
In a smooth and respectful way, Yngvar went to kneel on one knee to her level. Gaihla was taken aback when he grabbed both of her hands and looked at her in the eyes with the softest gaze.
"I want to keep you safe from any harm." Said he. "So, could you tell me what happened between you and Alduin?" he caught her holding breath. Her cheeks grew slightly red. But on top of that, he noticed her guilt and internal struggle to answer.
"Well..." she stuttered. Gaihla flickered her gaze from him to the wall and floor. Yngvar smiled and gently tightened his grip. He sensed no fear and sadness from her regarding the topic. So, he thought at least she was not forced by Alduin—even if 'it' happened, at least it left her with no trauma.
"It is fine, you can tell me."
"Alduin said that I should have been dead last night." She began. "I told him to leave, but he insisted on helping me. He wouldn't let me die." She blushed again. "I was paralyzed because of the pain and voices ramming my head. Alduin held my hands the whole night, he well..." at this rate her face was red as a tomato. "He petted my head to sleep."
There was a moment of silence. Yngvar was dumbfounded. He felt stupid for being too paranoid. It seemed both Gaihla and Alduin were just innocents. In addition, this only made Yngvar wonder why Alduin stop her from her death even if that meant delaying their fight. But the topic was put aside for now.
"Hey, I want to tell you something," he smiled.
"What is it?"
"Let's go to Whiterun! You won't believe what I show you." He said to cheer up her mood.