Northbound Pilgrimage II

Chapter LIX - Negotiations

"Alright. Ready?"

Bishop asked without even looking over at Aeyrin. He only kept peering ahead across the bridge leading to Windhelm. There wouldn't be much time for talking later. The second the soldiers spotted them approaching, they would surely usher them straight to Ulfric.

"I guess..." Aeyrin sighed. There was not much else to do but face the man. And as much as she would wish to postpone this, it was really not a smart option.

Bishop threw her a concerned glance after that uncertain response. Well, it was understandable. He himself was really unnerved about what awaited them in the city.

"Hmm, just remember," he reminded her again, but he was promptly interrupted.

"I know, I know. Don't talk about Alec," Aeyrin sighed again. Bishop knew her well and he had warned her not to bring up the subject ahead of time. He was right. They had no idea what was going on and it was safer for both them and Alec not to meddle. But she was still dying of curiosity and concern.

But Ulfric was an unstable man. Who knew what he could do to the bard if he knew that the secret was out? Well... in a way. They still didn't know enough to be sure of anything. It was best to keep Alec out of it today. Ulfric was not one to make threats idly.

That was what worried Aeyrin incessantly.

"I still think that you should have gone with Karnwyr," she grumbled at Bishop. When they were nearing Windhelm, they had sent Karnwyr away on a hunt again. Aeyrin remembered Ulfric's threats all too well – how he would use Bishop and Karnwyr as bargaining chips to force her to do his bidding. It was safer for the wolf to stay away. And it was safer for Bishop to stay away too, but when she tried to convince him, he had been adamant.

"No. We've been over this. You're not going in there alone," Bishop narrowed his eyes in the direction of the city. "Whatever that fucker wants, we'll deal with it. And if all else fails, we'll just run the fuck out of there." He smirked, but there was an unnerved edge to his words.

He was not going to suffer somewhere in the wilderness, worrying about her being imprisoned and lashed again. And if Ulfric thought that he could break Bishop with such tactics, he was sorely mistaken. Worse men have tried. He had years of honed resilience under his belt already as a courtesy from Thorn.

"Alright," Aeyrin sighed in defeat. There was no convincing him before and there was no convincing him now. She understood. In his place, she wouldn't let him do something like this alone either.

"Let's get this over with."

...

They were marched through the city, surrounded by a group of five soldiers.

Windhelm was as empty and eerie as ever and they could not help but catch sight of the notice board by the tavern, with a myriad of papers stuck to it. There were so many that some of them were even littering the ground beneath after they had fallen off, replaced by new ones.

But the few people that were around had certainly taken note of Aeyrin and Bishop's arrival. Everyone was staring at them with wide eyes and quiet whispers, curious about what was going on.

However, none of that was more daunting than what awaited them.

They were led into the Palace of the Kings in silence, and ushered right towards the throne where Ulfric already waited for them. He was seated there in a haphazard way and he almost looked bored. As if he was trying to seem casual about all this. As if they were barely worth his notice.

When the soldiers dispersed to the sides of the room, leaving them standing in front of the throne, Ulfric finally addressed Aeyrin with a curt nod.

"You are lucky that you have arrived here now, elf. I almost had my soldiers search for you," he scoffed arrogantly. The emphasis on the word 'elf' has made it perfectly clear. He was still not willing to acknowledge her as the Dragonborn in front of his soldiers.