Still-Born Shout [#wattys2017]

Chapter Nine

"Of course I'm going to Whiterun!" Ulfric shouted, throwing his hands in the air in a gesture of complete and total frustration. Jorleif stood in front of him; he had descended from his throne. "My men need me out there! What will they think when they find their leader absent from the ranks?"

"They will think nothing of it, Ulfric," Jorleif reasoned, raising his hands in a submissive, yet calming gesture. "You must remain here. Plans have to be made in case Whiterun is not taken. We must begin strategizing for our move against Solitude. The Emperor is dead and it is time to act, before they name a successor."

Ulfric angrily went into the war room, bringing his hands down on either side of the map and sighing. He looked up when Jorleif came in after him.

"I should be out there with them. I should be out there with Galmar." And Snow-Blood, he added to himself. He had yet to see the Dragonborn in action. He had hoped that he could be in Whiterun for the privilege.

"My lord, it is better if you remain here. We need you to be alive when we have the general's head on a spike." When Ulfric didn't respond immediately, Jorleif spoke again. "They marched days ago. It can only be a matter of time before there is news."

"That's the unbearable part," Ulfric said, chuckling. "The waiting."

Ulfric had spent his time very carefully in the past few weeks. His Stormcloaks had accomplished the impossible; they had liberated almost all of Skyrim. Of course, Haafinger hold still remained under the control of the Imperials, but the Emperor's murder had greatly weakened them. Ulfric would've liked to have thought that his army would've succeeded merely on strength and tactics... But he knew better.

He knew, in his heart, that his loyal men and women would not have succeeded if the Imperials hadn't been hurt by the Emperor's assassination. He also knew that they couldn't have gotten anywhere without Snow-Blood's help.

Ulfric remembered when he first met the strange woman at High Hrothgar. He thought a lot of it, actually. The more he thought of it, the more confused he became. Why was she trying to help them?

He better understood when he first saw her face and recognized her as the prisoner from Helgen. She was the same one that had escaped with Ralof, when that black dragon attacked the tower. He was surprised that he didn't first recognize her; her eyes sent chills down his spine and made his skin crawl. He didn't like feeling transparent.

Regardless of what she was keeping from him, he knew that she wanted revenge on the Imperials, and she wanted to hurt them in every possible way. That was easily known. Her cause seemed almost as strong as Ulfric's, but she had not been imprisoned under false pretenses. She had not lost her father while he was just out of reach.

Ulfric laughed to himself when he realized his falsehood. She had been imprisoned, and she had lost her father, before she even knew the man. If that wasn't pitiful, he didn't know what was.

Ralof, Gonnar, and even Frorkmar had spoken of Snow-Blood's intimidating skill in battle. She must've truly been distinguished if Ulfric's impervious commanders were noticing her fighting among the ranks. He wondered if she had been using the ice blade he had given her, and he wondered what it looked like coated with Imperial blood.

He didn't know why he was so interested in Sif Snow-Blood. He had wanted to question her, but every time she was near him... He felt anxious. He had revulsion in his eyes that he did not intend to project. It was almost as if she brought an energy with her that made everyone nearby raise their defenses.

Despite her strange aura, Ulfric had remained curious. He had done as much digging as he could to find something on her that he didn't already know. He was largely unsuccessful, save for a bit of trouble in Markarth a few months ago. Ulfric remembered thinking to himself, so that's why she let us have the Reach over the negotiating table. It was to dissolve a bounty she had amassed there; a bounty for murder. She had killed someone in Understone Keep. He didn't know how they could determine it was her, because he had no doubt that her face was covered. It must've been that damn aura of hers.