The Last Soulmate

18-Love

I was looking right at the World Eater. There was a flush on his face and I could feel the heat creeping up on mine. He then walks away, like I did something wrong.

Huh?

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Alduin walked into the room, slamming the door behind him, not saying a word. How could someone, especially a joor, make him feel like many things at once?

"Are you finally coming to terms with what you're feeling?" Paarthurnax was reading something.

"Of course not." Alduin crossed his arms. He was not going to open himself up to that traitor ever again. Because of him, Severine had destroyed him. Because of him, Lia had reduced him to this form.

"You know after all this time, I have never stopped grieving what we had." Paarthurnax looked at him with golden eyes. "When you used to tell us tales of our father's deeds, of the things you saw. When you hunted with us or played with us."

"Didn't stop you from betraying me, did it?" Alduin sighed. "When you preferred men over the dovah."

"You had lost any sense you may have held once. You were so wrapped up in your pain that you didn't see what you were causing. Many dov and mortals died trying to keep your temples safe, as did many of your subjects from famine or you destroying their settlements." Paarthurnax spoke.

"They didn't matter."

"But Aemma did. As does Lia, no matter how much you deny it." Paarthurnax was looking at the door.

"When I see Lia, I see Aemma. I see how soft I was. How weak. How she made me feel warm. How her hair smelled of mountain flowers. How green her eyes were." Alduin could feel his voice tremble slightly.

"Maybe our father has returned her to you. And he has now given you a chance to fix what you broke." Alduin hated that Paarthurnax made so much sense. He had always been the calm, collected one. Alduin had been the exact opposite.

"You think that?" Alduin couldn't deny the similarity between them. Except Aemma was far more weak willed and fragile while Lia was fiery and defiant at every turn. Maybe Aemma had learned something.

"Maybe there's a reason you were sent back to this time was her." Paarthurnax spoke. Alduin sighed. He thought of Lia standing defiantly in front of him as a dovah. Lia angry, Lia smiling at her friends, half-asleep, training with him, and Lia staring at him with glassy eyes and thanking him.

"Thank you." He walked out. Lia was nowhere in sight. He searched the castle to find Bryan counting money in Nightingale armor. Serana was training with Lydia.

"Where's Lia?" He asked Serana.

"She's on the lower level with Odahviing, I think." Lydia dodged a blow from Serana's flame attack.

Alduin continued until he heard the Thu'um.

"Fus ro dah!" Lia shouted as Odahviing landed on a pile of hay.

"Great job, your Thu'um is getting a lot stronger, Lia." Odahviing was trying to get hay out of his red hair.

"Lia." Alduin spoke. Lia looked at him.

"What? You want some too?" Lia asked, jokingly.

Alduin had to stop himself from smiling.

"I think I'm good." He crossed his arms. Odahviing got up.

"I'm going to go check on Serana and Lydia." Odahviing walked away. What was that idiot doing?

"So you're trying to improve your Thu'um?" Alduin asked her. "You should be training with me."

"I thought you were upset at me." Lia looked at him, her face slightly pink. "I didn't want to bother you."

"You wouldn't of bothered me, Lia." Alduin almost wanted to throw up. He was being too honest with her.

"Really?" Her eyes had the same puppy eyed look Aemma's had when he offered her snowberry crostatas or when they were stargazing.

"I do not lie. You should know that by now." Alduin was getting closer to her. "Lia....how do you feel about me?"

Lia's eyes widened and she looked away, eyes gazing away from him and then back to him.

"You heard me talking to Serana." Lia sighed. "I guess I've grown to appreciate you, maybe even more than that." She was now bright red. "But you probably still think of me as a worm under your feet."

"I don't." Alduin spoke. "You've grown on me, Lia. Despite every attempt to stop myself from caring for you, it seems like you've won me over."

Lia smiled at him. "Did I? I didn't think I was particularly interesting, especially to the World Eater out of all people."

"You're powerful and...beautiful....intelligent....strong.." Alduin sighed, looking at her. His face was feeling hot. "And you have no idea...of the power you have over me."

Lia leaned in closer to him. Alduin leaned closer to her and they met in the middle with a kiss.