A/N I'm not dead! It's been awhile since I updated, which I apologize for. I got to a point where I was kind of stuck in this chapter and the plot wasn't moving, but today I had an epiphany and completely changed the way this chapter was going to go. This version is MUCH better than the other one would have been.
Vara gave a deep sigh and stood back, admiring the work she had done. In the glaring light of the winter sun, the Grey Quarter was illuminated. The houses shone with snow on the rooftops and fresh wood on the walls. Vara had spent the last three days helping wherever she could in the Grey Quarter. Some had refused her aid until Ninesea had spoken to them in that soft voice of hers and explained what Vara was trying to do. Most of the dark elves accepted her help after that and some had even provided her with ways to help others in the Grey Quarter.
For some people, help meant patching the walls or roof so that the cold wind of Skyrim wouldn't whistle through their house. For others, help meant talking to the people they worked for and asking for better working conditions. For many, help meant only listening, listening as they told their tale of how they traveled from a desolated land to Skyrim and stopped at the first city they reached. They told Vara of how optimistic and prideful they had been, only to find that the nords did not respect the ancestry of an elf born into a Great House. To them, it meant nothing. To the elves, it meant everything.
Some of the Dark Elves believed that everything that had happened to them was the fault of the nords. They believed that they deserved better, and it was only Nordic oppression that kept them from bettering their lives. Others admitted, often in the same soft tone Ninesea had used, that their current state was as much their doing as it was the Nords. They said that there were problems that were caused by a lack of care by the Nords without a doubt, but most were the effect of too much pride and an unwillingness to try something new. Vara listened to each person who spoke, and she saw truth to both sides. Something needed to be done about the state of the Grey Quarter, but she couldn't see a way to make that happen, not on her own. She needed the support of someone important, someone like the Jarl. But that would never happen.
Regardless of whether or not she could help the Grey Quarter further, Vara needed to pay a visit to the Palace of Kings. She had more than completed the task that Ulfric had given her, and she needed to ensure that her debt was paid.
Ulfric surveyed the men in the courtyard with dismay. He knew that these men were little more than farmers, but that didn't change the fact that they were going to be the ones fighting for the freedom of Skyrim, and their form was terrible. Many of the men moved slowly, as if it took their bodies a few moments to catch up to what their brains were telling them to do. If he had to, Ulfric could have fought and slain them all with one hand tied behind his back, never uttering a single word. It was depressing.
"Don't worry so much, Ulfric. They'll whip into shape soon enough; all the others have," the gravelly voice of Ulfric's close friend spoke up from next to him.
"Under your direction, my friend, they'll have little choice in the matter," Ulfric stated. Galmar was well known, even to the Empire, as being a general who could make a soldier out of anyone. "I simply fear they won't be ready soon enough. War is on the horizon, and I worry that I will have the blood of these men on my hands for sending them off to fight a battle they cannot hope to win."
Galmar gripped Ulfric's shoulder. "They will be ready, Ulfric, and they will fight, and those who fall will join the throng of Sovngarde. They couldn't ask for a better fate.". Ulfric didn't reply, but turned his attention back to the courtyard and the men in it. One man, in particular, seemed to be doing poorly, and as Ulfric watched, he stabbed himself in the foot with his practice sword. Ulfric sighed heavily and rubbed his temples, where a headache was beginning to form before waving for the guards to take the man to the healers.
"You have a lot of work to do, my friend," Ulfric stated dryly. Galmar shrugged, the bearskin he wore over his shoulders moving as he did, and then strode out into the middle of the courtyard and began to bellow orders and instructions.
Ulfric sighed again, his frustration escaping in an agitated breath only to be breathed in the next second. He turned towards the door that led back inside, but as he did so, a figure caught his eye. He turned back around, focusing on the figure and saw that it was a woman. She was standing off to the side of the courtyard, watching the men train. Ulfric's first thought was that she was a citizen who had wandered into the back courtyard on accident. His second thought was that she was a spy, a thought he dismissed quickly; he had guards stationed at the two entrances of the courtyard, so she couldn't have entered unless they thought she belonged. So who was she? The woman wasn't facing towards him, and all he could see was the outline of her profile.
The thin layer of snow on the ground crunched under his booted feet as Ulfric made his way around the edge of the courtyard toward the woman. On the way, he was almost hit by no less than four different trainees, all of whom quickly apologized. He waved off each apology and offered words of encouragement, but on the inside, he was becoming more and more certain that these men were going to get themselves killed.
Finally, Ulfric made it over to the woman's side and saw that the woman was, in fact, Vara Oaken-Song. "My jarl," she said, nodding to him respectfully before turning her attention back to the men training in the yard. They stood in a silence for a few moments both watching the men in front of them. After a few moments, Vara broke the silence by saying, "The problem is their stance. With those stances, they'll never be able to control the power that they are trying to use," she paused then blushed slightly and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "My apologies, my jarl. I did not mean to insult your soldiers."
Ulfric waved the apology away. "You're right. These men are farmers and have only been training for a few days; they haven't learned yet that their feet are just as important as their fists," Ulfric stated simply. He made a mental note to tell Galmar to review proper stances with them tomorrow. It wouldn't do to have soldiers falling over on the battlefield because they didn't place their feet properly before they swung their battleax.
There was silence, other than the sound of men cursing under their breaths and metal clanging against wood, for a few more moments until Ulfric asked, "How did you find yourself here, Miss Oaken-Song?"
Vara started, as if she had forgotten his presence for a moment. "My apologies. I came to the Palace to find you, and your steward directed me here. The soldiers distracted me."
"So I can see. Why did you need to see me?" Ulfric asked. It was rare for someone to seek him out if he was not on his throne, people would often simply wait for him to return rather than try and find him. He had a feeling that this was only one of the many things that made Vara Oaken-Song different from others.
"I completed the task you gave me and repaid my debt, if you will accept my payment," Vara replied. "I aided your citizens as you asked."
Ulfric nodded. "Jorleif told me that you were hunting a bear a few days ago for Reyyl and his wife Ninesea. May I ask why?"
"I hunted the beast that injured Reyyl," Vara explained. "I hoped it would give them some form of closure."
"Did it?"
"I believe so, my jarl, but there is no giving back a life that was taken. Reyyl did not die, but his life now consists of his house only, as he can't walk very far."
Ulfric nodded thoughtfully. "Who else did you aid?" he asked. He did not doubt her word, but he wanted to hear her reasons for helping the people that she did.
"Sorisi Meloth, Madsvin Rarara, Teryysa Galrethi, and Adilond Ieniran," she replied immediately.
"Why?" Ulfric asked simply. He tried to sound simply curious, instead of sounding like he was interrogating her. In reality, he didn't know why he was asking, but he had a feeling that the people were all connected somehow, besides the fact that they were all dark elves.
For a moment, Vara hesitated, then she said, "Sorisi needed his roof patched. I'm not a carpenter, but neither is he, so I did the best that I could. Madsvin arrived in Skyrim only a few days before I did. He asked me to find the knapsack he had carried with him from Morrowind, and I did. I know what it is like to lose all you have. Teryysa needed an escort as she traveled to her husband's grave outside of the city. I couldn't leave a woman without the ability to visit her husband in her grief," she paused for a moment and glanced at Ulfric's face before looking away again. "Adilond needed minor healing that I provided. I helped him for purely selfish reasons.". She didn't expound any further, and Ulfric didn't press her; she had already surpassed his expectations.
"Your debt is more than satisfied, Vara Oaken-Song," Ulfric declared. He turned away from the white-haired woman and back to the men in the courtyard before adding, "If you plan to stay in Windhelm, I have a request that would put me in your debt, if you accept.". Vara tilted her head in curiosity, and Ulfric took that as a sign for him to continue. "I would like you to visit the Palace every now and then and listen in on meetings between my advisors and I. I feel like, as an outsider, you will have a different view. After the meetings, I would like you to share your thoughts with me.". Vara looked stunned, and Ulfric took her silence as acceptance. "I'll see you tomorrow night," he said by way of goodbye and then walked away. Galmar owed him a drink.
Vara watched Ulfric Stormcloak disappear from her view, too shocked to move. The jarl wanted her input on matters of the city. Hers! Why? Once again, Vara couldn't help but wonder what Ulfric Stormcloak was planning. He had to have some kind of motive. Vara shook her head, her loose hair falling back into her face. There was no use in worrying about it now. Instead, Vara began to walk back around the courtyard toward the gates she had entered through. She had to see Wuunferth.
The wizard was mumbling to himself when Vara walked in about ingredients he needed for a potion. "Perhaps this will help," Vara said from the doorway, causing the wizard to lift his head from the alchemy lab.
"Ah, Vara. I wasn't expecting you to come by for a few more days," Wuunferth said, standing from the table.
"I came by to tell Ulfric I repaid my debt. I also brought you a few herbs I found yesterday," Vara said with a smile, pulling out a plant from the satchel at her side. Wuunferth took the plant and examined it closely.
"Bloodgrass. How did you keep it fresh?"
"Ice. I encased it in ice as soon as I picked it and then thawed it out before I walked over to the palace," Vara responded.
Wuunferth nodded and placed the plant on a shelf next to his alchemy lab. Then he turned back toward Vara and gestured to a chair. "Take a seat," Wuunferth said. Vara did so, and the court wizard turned back to the potion he was making. As he worked he asked, "How did your conversation with Ulfric go?"
Vara thought for a moment. "Well, I suppose. He asked me to sit in on a few of his meetings and give him my opinion on things afterward," Vara said. "I don't know why my opinion would mean any more than the opinions of his advisors though.". Wuunferth snorted in response.
Wuunferth finished the potion he was working on and placed it carefully on the shelf before saying, "Ulfric can see that there is something different about you. He wants to keep you close while he figures out what that is," the wizard spoke in a thoughtful tone, with only a trace of his usual sarcasm.
A frown crossed Vara's face. "There's nothing special about me."
Wuunferth raised a bushy eyebrow in disbelief. "You're a half-nord orphan whose parents were murdered by Thalmor. You can cast more complicated magic than most wizards in Skyrim and you've lived in the woods for most of your life. Yes, there's nothing special about you at all," he stated, sarcasm dripping from his words.
Vara shook her head. "Being an orphan whose parents were murdered by Thalmor is becoming increasingly common and most hunters spend their lives in the forest. The fact that I am a half-elf means nothing; if anything it will anger Ulfric. As for the magic, it's hardly the kind of thing the jarl would want in his strong nord army," Vara said dismissively. If that was all Ulfric was looking for, Vara didn't have anything to worry about as far as his motives went. Wuunferth only snorted again before changing the subject to different alchemical plants that he had seen and used. They spoke for another hour or so before Vara stood.
"It was good to see you, Wuunferth. Are there any plants in particular that you need? I'll try and bring them to you the next time I find myself at the Palace," Vara asked. Wuunferth rattled off a list of a few things, which Vara wrote down. After saying goodbye to the old wizard, she left the Palace and headed to Candelhearth Hall. It had been a long day, and she was eager to crash into her bed.
Ulfric grinned as his old friend grumbled and handed him a mug of mead. "I told you she would turn out to be something special, Galmar," he said.
"So you keep reminding me," the grizzled general replied. "I still don't understand why you asked her to sit in on the next meeting. We know almost nothing about her. How can we be certain that she won't spill our secrets?"
"Relax, Galmar. The next meeting is only about the plans for the New Life Festival. I doubt that would be of any interest to the Empire. Besides, I don't think Oaken-Song would do that.". Galmar didn't say anything in response, but Ulfric could tell his second-in-command wasn't convinced. "Patience, Galmar, patience. Vara Oaken-Song may turn out to be an asset to the rebellion in ways other recruits are not.". The thought brought up the memory of the conversation Ulfric had had with the woman earlier that day. "By the way, have you gone over proper stances with the newest batch of recruits yet?"
Galmar shook his head. "Not yet. They need it, but I haven't found the right way to teach it to them yet. This batch has less military experience between them than the recruits normally have. They don't understand why standing around is going to help them fight."
Ulfric nodded thoughtfully. "I might have an idea."
A/N I hope you enjoyed that chapter! I had fun writing it.
Question: What do you think Ulfric is up to? What secrets does Vara have?