Song of the Dragon and the Bear

Chapter 61

  Ulfric paced the floor of the war room anxiously. At first, Galmar had tried to get him to sit down, but the general had long since given up. It had been just over a day since Vara left Whiterun on that dragon's back, and they hadn't heard a thing. Not from Vara and not from the dragons. If Alduin had won, he wasn't making himself known yet. Regardless, Ulfric had sent the women and children of the hold with a contingent of soldiers to take refuge in a cave system nearby that his scouts had reported was safe. It was one of the many caves that Vara had cleared out during her stay in Windhelm.

The waiting was killing Ulfric. He had prayed at the shrine until he had nearly fallen asleep in front of the altar, and the priestess had sent him back to the Palace for rest. Of course, he hadn't gotten any. Every time he closed his eyes, even if it was just for a moment, Ulfric saw Vara lying in the snow, her blood staining it from white to red just like it had done on the night when he had first found her outside of Windhelm's gates. But this time, Ulfric wouldn't be able to rescue her. Vara was on her own.

Ulfric had just turned and was about to stalk across the room once more when the door behind him was thrown open, the heavy wood banging against the stone. A soldier burst through, his chest heaving from exertion. It was obvious the man had sprinted here from whatever watch post he had been assigned to.

"Dragon," the man gasped, his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. "There's a dragon flying toward the city."

A million emotions crashed over Ulfric and he shoved them violently to the back of his mind. He couldn't afford to think about them, think about what the presence of a dragon meant. Instead, he turned to Galmar. "Gather the men," he ordered. "If it is a single dragon, we can kill it. Its corpse will serve as a warning to any others who would dare to attack Windhelm." Even Ulfric could hear the deadness in his voice. Galmar nodded and ran from the room, but Ulfric saw the empty look in his eyes before he did. He knew what the presence of the dragon meant.

Ulfric turned back to the soldier. "Gather your wits, man," he ordered. "We have a dragon to kill." The man nodded firmly and followed Ulfric out of the door. Already dressed in his armor, Ulfric strode out of the Palace and down the streets of Windhelm to the large gates. A part of him knew that this might be the end. Soldiers would be lost in this fight, and it was very likely that he would be one of them, but he couldn't bring himself to truly care. He knew he should, for the good of Skyrim, but without Vara... He shook his head, forcing those thoughts back.

Before he could call to the soldiers or give them any words of encouragement, a roar split the air and a red and gold dragon barreled into their view. It circled the city once, twice, before landing on the wall and letting out another ear-splitting roar, its head tilted to the sky. Ulfric was about to order his soldiers to fire when he spotted the figure on the dragon's back.

"Hold!" he yelled, his voice suddenly frantic. "Hold your fire, men!" The soldiers lowered their bows, confusion and fear etched in their too-young faces, but Ulfric ignored them, pushing through them until he stood at the foot of the crowd directly under the dragon.

As he watched, the dragon bowed its head, and the figure on its back slid off, dragon scale boots hitting the ground right in front of Ulfric. For a few moments, Ulfric was speechless, unable to believe his eyes. Then, the woman reached up and removed her mask, tossing it to the cobblestone and letting her snow-white hair tumble free.

"Vara," Ulfric whispered, stunned. "You did it." The woman nodded, tears in her eyes.

"We won," she declared, her voice equally soft. "Alduin is dead."

Suddenly, Ulfric's feet unfroze and he was able to rush forward and envelop Vara in a crushing hug. Ecstatic, he lifted her from the ground and spun her in the air, causing the woman to laugh, and the sound lit up Ulfric's world. Once he had put her down, he pulled her close. "When the soldier told me there was a dragon... I thought I had lost you, Vara," he murmured into her shoulder.