Wanderer

Chapter Twenty-Three

Dedicated to Dragonlord0919 for putting Wanderer into the "Still Waiting for an Update..." reading list. It was the right kind of motivation to get my butt into gear. Thanks 😊.
~~~~~~~??? P.o.v~~~~~~~
The dark and murky cavern was something akin to home for me, regardless of my noble upbringing. I placed a plate of food down on the ground inside of a makeshift, wooden cage. Inside, two bodies shoes away from me, the older boy flowering as the young girl trembled into her older brother.

"Come now, surely you're hungry." I said, grinning at the pair. "You haven't eaten since you got here."

"We do not want any of your poison, monster." The boy spat, holding his sister tightly to his chest.

"That's no way to treat the man who saved your sister's life, now is it?" I replied, smirking as the boy grew irritated.

"You were the one who nearly gutted her!" He shouted.

"And I would soon do it again if it meant you learned some respect, boy!" I reprimanded, banging against the wooden bars.

The girl started sniffling, burying her head in her brother's chest. He shushed her and continued to glare at me.

"We must be brave, Silva. We'll get through this."

"Bravery is often mistaken for recklessness, but by all means, be a fool." I replied quickly, plucking an apple off the plate of food I offered for them.

"Our mother is brave, she'll come save us!" The small girl, Silva, cried as she looked at me angrily.

I let out a laugh, nearly choking on the apple. "Your mother? Please, she's as much your mother as you are my grandchildren. You're just pawns in our game, waiting to be moved into place. Patiently awaiting your ultimate execution."

I threw the half-eaten apple into the cage and turned away from them, my cloak flowing angrily behind me as I marched out of the cave.

"And I'm ready to make my final move. Come for your pawns, daughter."

~~~~~~~Ulfric P.O.V.~~~~~~~

There was nothing I could do to stop her.

Asdis was not just a skillful swordswoman, but she was also a powerful mage. My eyelids feel as I watched her sprint into the woods. She had used a spell to put us to sleep long enough for her to run away. It infuriated me to no end that she constantly ran, despite my efforts to help her. All I wanted to do was help her, but she insists on doing everything herself.

I picked myself up off the ground and brushed my clothes free of moss and dirt.

"I'll be damned if that woman thinks she's going to do this alone." Galmar said behind me, helping Althea up from the ground.

"I'm sure she'll be fine." I replied, not turning to face them. I didn't want them to see the pain in my eyes or the anger in my face.

"No, she won't be."

I turned to Althea who had a disheartened look on her face.

"What is it?"

Althea looks down at her feet, a frown set on her face. "It's not my place to tell you." She said, avoiding my eyes.

"Tell me what?" I asked angrily, marching up to her. Our chests were inches from each other. I glared down at the she-elf, "Althea."

"She- remember when she was sick?" She began, shrinking under my gaze. "A-and she was gaining weight? Well I joked that I should put her on a diet and slip her potions, which I really wouldn't have gotten away with any-"

"Althea!" I snapped, shaking her shoulders.

"She was pregnant."

I stopped, staring at her as I let the information sink in. Pregnant? My child? Or someone else's? It had to be mine, she was far too focused on finding her children to find someone else.

"She's pregnant, with my child?" I asked softly, looking into the small woman's eyes.

Her face changed, a sad expression overtaking her features. "Was pregnant with your child." She answered, a tear slipping down her cheek. "We were attacked. She was injured." She continued, knitting her eyebrows together. "We couldn't save the child."

It felt as if everything I had ever felt came crashing down on me all at once. I was elated I had a child, my own blood, with Asdis. But the joy of new life was quickly taken away by the crushing reality of a miscarriage.

"Ulfric, I'm sorry, I-"

I held up my hand to silence her, turning my back to the group in order to gather myself. I was quickly losing a battle I had never been prepared to fight.

"Ulfric, lad, you-"

"Silence!" I shouted, cutting Galmar off. I felt hot tears run down my face as I lost the battle to compose myself. Everything I had ever wanted had just ran through the woods, abandoning me. And now I find that she had my child, but was lost? I dropped to my knees, a sob escaping my lips as I could no longer hold back. I rested my head against the cooling moss floor as I sobbed, every breath more painful than the last as I thought how my child would never get the chance to breathe. They would never open their eyes and see the sun or the sky. They would never hear laughter or feel the warmth of a fire. The would never experience the love of a mother or the endearment from a father.

A hand rested on my back, gentler than I had expected. I was surprised to see Galmar stooped down next to me, his eyes soft and understanding. He too had lost a child, but several years ofter their birth.

"Ulfric, I understand more than most the time you need to recover from such a loss. But I also know you'll never forgive yourself if you let Asdis go and she goes and gets herself killed. How do you think she's feeling right now?" He said, a tender command resonating in his words.

I nodded, standing as I cleared my face of tears. She was in as much pain if not more than I was, and feeling reckless in her compromised state. She could get herself killed. 

"Come on, let's hunt a Dragonborn."

I'm so sorry I've been gone. I've had so much happen, but I'm happy to be back! Also, if any of this has triggered you or made you think of your angel baby, please do not hesitate to reach out. I can understand. It killed me to write it in but I know that if things like these happen to regular people, they also happen to extraordinary people. But every single parent who comes out of something like this ends up as an extraordinary person. ❤️