The Wolf Queen Awakens

Chapter 45

Nearly a month after the fall of Ulfric Stormcloak, and the Imperial Legion was returning home. Troops had headed to the Rift to accept Jarl Maven's oaths of loyalty and provide aid to the dragon-ravaged Hold, the volunteers were returning home and the regulars were all returning to their usual bases. Including a large detachment returning to Solitude, led by Legate Rikke... and including as guests three armoured warriors who weren't part of the Legion but who were too important to be allowed to wander Skyrim unsupervised. The returning Jarl of Solitude, her adventures done, Alduin dead, dragons still around but being successfully hunted by guards and Legionnaires and dedicated bands of dragonslayers operating out of the Reach who were definitely not Blades, was sitting in the back of a carriage, watching Solitude loom up ahead of her.

"There it is! Solitude!" Lydia gasped. She'd visited the city once or twice but it never failed to make an impression. How the arch stayed standing was beyond her, but it looked beautiful. So why was the Jarl looking so pensive?

"Er, my lady?" Lydia asked, concerned. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," Elisif sighed. "I suppose. I mean, yes of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Hey. El. You're gonna be fine," Argis said, voice surprisingly gentle for a heavily armoured six-foot-tall Nord warrior. "Lydia and I, we got your back."

"Thank you," Elisif said softly, staring at her hands, and the Slayer of Alduin did not look the part of the returning hero. Lydia had seen Elisif's mood decline since leaving Windhelm, and despite the lengthy cuddle Elisif had shared with Madanach before boarding the carriage, Lydia didn't think this was because she missed her lover.

"Don't you want to go back to Solitude?" Lydia asked, frowning. "I mean, you're Jarl, don't you want to get back to your palace?"

"My husband died horribly in that palace, and I never really got the chance to be Jarl, Falk did all the governing," Elisif said, voice barely varying from the soft monotone that sounded nothing like the insistent young woman who'd demanded Balgruuf's assistance in trapping a dragon, or who'd demanded the Empire honour the agreements she'd negotiated. The contrast couldn't have been more marked.

"But... you're Dragonborn," Lydia said, scratching her head. "You saved the world. You stopped the war! You're a hero! They'll be lining the streets to welcome you home! My lady... High Queen... Solitude needs you!"

"I know," Elisif said quietly. "And I'll do my duty to Skyrim and Solitude. But that doesn't mean I like the idea."

Lydia turned to Argis, really not having expected this for a second. She'd heard Elisif came from humble origins, had neither sought nor expected the power, wasn't ambitious, and of course all Skyrim knew of how Torygg had died. But to hear she was quietly dreading being Jarl again, as opposed to roaming Skyrim having adventures and killing dragons... it wasn't at all what Lydia had anticipated.

"Is she serious?" Lydia asked Argis, lowering her voice. Argis nodded.

"Yeah. She hated being Jarl before. Sure, she was grieving Torygg, but she was also really lonely and no one was really supporting her. Course she's not looking forward to going home. When she had all the Blades together, it was different, it was High Queen this and Dragonborn that. Now she's leaving it all behind. Can't blame her for being unhappy."

"I didn't know," Lydia breathed.

"Not many do," Argis said, sympathy in his eyes as he watched his dejected Jarl stare gloomily at the Blue Palace. "Keep it to yourself."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Lydia said, hoping her desperation wasn't showing too much. Skyrim couldn't know how unhappy its High Queen was. Now more than ever, Nords needed a leader they could rally behind.