My Random Skyrim Stories

The Mage Harbinger (Vilkas) 3

As he carried the small woman, Vilkas's tired mind plagued him with memories of watching Lystrid in action... and with memories of the dreams he'd been denying to himself that he dreamed since then...

She seemed so innocent and vulnerable in his arms like this... and he couldn't even blame the wild instincts of his beast spirit for how much he enjoyed it. He wanted to be frustrated with her for passing out without giving him any explanation at all... wanted to be irritated that he was stuck carrying her home like this...

... but he just couldn't be. He trusted that she'd tell him when she woke...

And that was when the thought struck him— trust. Did he actually trust her?

He trusted her to tell him the truth when she woke... but was that all?

He'd just watched her throw a mage's hood over her head, drink several magica potions, heal her own grievous injuries, and summon her familiar over and over again...

...and...

None of that had bothered him...

In fact, he'd been relieved to see her casting healing magic...

And he could see now that her familiar, Ylsa, was clearly not a subjugated spirit, but her truly caring companion... he remembered now something she'd said shortly after joining; that conjuring her familiar was one of the few spells she wasn't annoyed with her grandmother for making her learn, because she summoned Ylsa who'd become her best friend. Vilkas had scoffed at that thought back then, assuming summoners all subjugated the poor spirits they summoned, but now he could see that she'd been honest about that. He'd never seen or even heard of her casting necromanctic spells of any kind, but now he found himself imagining that even if she did raise a corpse she'd be asking the dead soul's permission first...

The eastern sky was just beginning to turn a few shades lighter by the time Whiterun came into view. Without the stamina and endurance of his beast spirit, even with the stamina potion he'd taken, Vilkas was barely on his feet by the time he made it back to Jorrvaskr. He stumbled exhaustedly into the Harbinger's chambers, and just managed to set Lystrid gently into her bed instead of dropping her.

Vilkas had no memory of even sitting down in the Harbinger's room... but then he had no memory of making it back to his own room either...

So he was confused and disoriented some hours later when he woke, sore and stiff from having passed out in his armor, but lying on an otherwise very comfortable bed. Then he realized what had woken him had actually been Lystrid shifting beside him... he'd still had her gently cradled against him.

He sat up with a start, startling Lystrid more fully awake as he pulled away from her. "Apologies Harbinger," he said quickly, "I didn't mean to..." he trailed off as Lystrid flopped tiredly back on her pillow.

"So you passed out too?" She asked understandingly.

"Aye, so it would seem," Vilkas sighed, feeling relieved she hadn't jumped to conclusions and taken offense.

"Thanks for getting me home," she smiled softly, "I guess now I really owe you."

"That explanation would be nice," Vilkas agreed with a nod and a slight smirk.

"Mmm," she nodded absently as she pulled the hood back over her head.

But Vilkas froze and his breath caught in his throat then... under the hood, splayed plainly across her leather breastplate, was the large, unmistakable round pendants of an amulet of Mara...

"Vilkas?" She asked, looking confused by his reaction. "What... what's wrong?"

Vilkas took a slow breath and tore his gaze away from the amulet to look her in the eyes... there was no way she intended that amulet for him... was there?

He cleared his throat. "That amulet," he began carefully and he could hear his blood pounding in his ears, "are you..." he swallowed and shook his head, "are you showing that to me... on purpose right now?"

"Should I not be?" She asked, looking down at it in confusion.

"I... I'm certainly not complaining if you are..." Vilkas heard himself stammer awkwardly—

Wait... he wasn't? His heart skipped faster as his brain caught up with where his emotions had gone... no, he wasn't complaining, not at all— he was hoping... wanting...

"...I just didn't expect it," he added nervously, watching for her reaction. He couldn't believe he had fallen for a mage, but now that he'd realized it there was no going back... now that he'd realized it he knew it had happened a while ago— it was the answer to all of his frustrated pondering the night before.

He'd told himself he'd never trust a mage... but he realized now that he'd just been in denial— his heart had made this one exception the moment she saved Kodlak's soul.

Lystrid looked back up to meet his gaze in baffled confusion. "Why?" She asked, "what is it with this amulet?"

Vilkas felt like he'd been sucker-punched. In the back of his mind he told himself he was an idiot to have not expected something like that reaction.

"I see," he mumbled, his eyes falling in embarrassment as he tried to get his pulse back in check. "You don't know."

"I don't know what?" She asked in frustration.

"That's an amulet of Mara," he explained softly. "In the Nord tradition, a person wears one when they're in the market for a spouse."

"In the market for......" Lystrid gasped softly as the meaning of his words sank in. Vilkas looked back to see her staring back at him in wide-eyed embarrassment. "Vilkas, I... I had no idea... I just found it at the college, it... it amplifies my restoration magic, I..."

"I know," Vilkas nodded, trying not to feel too dejected, "your grandparents never let you learn Nordic traditions."

"Right," she nodded with a grimace, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

"It's fine," he shook his head, "I understand." He stood up slowly, stretching a little stiffly as he did. "Why don't you give me that explanation another time though," he said, trying to remain stoic, "I need to get out of this armor and get some proper sleep first."

"I... you, I mean..." Lystrid stammered, still looking flustered before she shook her head and took a deep breath. "Ok," she replied quietly. "I'll... see you later today I guess."

"Aye," Vilkas agreed curtly as he made for the door, but he paused and glanced back to her... she was sitting on her bed, still in her leather armor, looking tiredly down at her amulet. And... was it his imagination, or was she the one looking dejected now?

"I'll be in my room, if you need me," he added a little more gently.

She looked back up at that, giving him a sheepish nod, and the expression in her stormy blue eyes made Vilkas's heart just a little hopeful again before he made his retreat.