Child (Book 2)

Chapter 11

I open my fist over the map on the table that Jarl Ulfric and Stormblade Galmar are pouring themselves over and let the two ice wraith teeth fall out. They're so focused on it they didn't even look up to me until the sudden noise of the fangs hitting the table startles them out of their trance.
The teeth look and feel like they're ice, but they must be something else since they don't melt. The ice wraith looked just the same, a flying serpent that seemed to be an ice sculpture brought to life. I look at Stormblade Galmar, shaking the ice and snow out of my hair.
"Good enough for you?" I snap at him, nodding to the teeth; one of which has a blood stain on it.
"We last saw you over a week ago, Novariana. We worried you were dead. What's kept you?" Jarl Ulfric says quickly. I don't take my eyes off Stormblade Galmar, the focus of my rage.
"First of all, you marked the wrong island on my map. Took me two days to correct myself, and another two to get to the right one. A lot of trouble for a little snake." I boast. In all honesty, if I'd let down my guard for even a second, that ice wraith would've killed me.
"Novariana, you're hurt." Jarl Ulfric mumbles as he reaches for my face, his eyes directed to the cut on the slope of my jaw. Without thinking, I slap his hand away, still enraged, and raise my own hand to heal it. The two men stare at me in stunned silence, then Stormblade Galmar chuckles.
"I suppose I owe you a drink, Ulfric." He says to the Jarl, a small smile on his face. "We could use people like you calling themselves Stormcloaks, Novariana. Are you prepared to take the oath?" He asks.
"I am." I say quietly as I heal the cut.

~
After I take my oath, Stormblade Galmar gives me a set of definitely-used Stormcloak armor, as well as my new rank of Unblooded, yet another insult. As an added touch that he bothers to explain, he tattoos a thin line in black ink around my bicep. Jarl Ulfric, however, insists I stay and rest in the palace for the night. I take the Stormcloak cuirass upstairs to the bedrooms and walk to the one where I last saw Sofie sleeping peacefully. She's sitting on the bed, playing with her doll. I notice she has a new dress instead of the ragged one she wore before. Her face seems a little less hollow, for which I'm grateful. I enter quietly.
"Sofie..?" I ask softly. She looks up suddenly and jumps off of the bed, charging at me and hugging me tightly.
"I thought you weren't coming back..." She mumbles through her tears.
"Of course not. Didn't Jarl Ulfric tell you I had to leave?" I ask her as I kneel to wipe her little face.
"He said you were going to fight in the war soon. My pa went to do that too, and he never came back. You can't go!" she cries.
"Sofie... I will come back, I promise. Until I do, you can stay here with Jarl Ulfric, and he'll take good care of you." I promise her.
"I wanna go with you." She says.
"No, Sofie. It's not safe."
"I don't wanna be here. No one will play with me, and Jarl Ulfric won't let me sleep in the bed with him." she complains. I think for a moment.
"Did Jarl Ulfric get you this pretty new dress?" I ask her, rubbing the white lace attached to the blue silk sleeve.
"Yeah. He got me this too." She tells me as she grabs a toy wooden sword out of the chair beside her. I notice a training dummy in the corner of the room, the one that previously resided in the courtyard in front of the palace.
"Isn't that nice? Maybe someday you'll be a warrior too." Her sad little face lights up.
"Really?"
"Oh yes, but not yet. You should stay here and train, and get big and strong before you go off into battle." I tell her. She nods excitedly and runs to the dummy with her sword and begins slashing away at it. As I'm watching her, I notice that her stance is actually excellent and her strikes are precise. Watching the child move and strike actually reminds me of Vilkas; I'm overcome with a wave of sadness, but also a slight chill of fear. Who taught her that? She's only a child. My first thought is Stormblade Galmar or Jarl Ulfric, and I shake my head. After I change into my Stormcloak armor, I ask her.
"Very good Sofie! Who taught you that?" I ask sweetly.
"My pa." She mumbles. No simple Stormcloak grunt, then,
"I see. Sofie, what was his name?" I ask gently.
"Pa's name is pa!" She giggles. I laugh with her, and notice the Jarl appears in the door. I step out into the hallway with him.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd send her out to Solitude right now. She could surely take down the Legion fighting like that." He's obviously joking, but he doesn't smile.
"She says her father taught her. Any idea who he was?" I mumble.
"According to my steward Jorlief's records, it was a Nord named Roggi that enlisted just a week after the rebellion began. He went missing in action about three months ago, and hasn't been seen since. We believe he was captured and taken to one of the Imperial's forts. Which one it is, I'm not sure. He could be dead for all we know." The Jarl sighs.
"If he fights anything like his daughter, he's not dead yet."