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Frina perched on the edge of her seat before the fire in Roggi and Dardeh\u2019s home, wondering whether there was any possibility that she could feel more uncomfortable than she did right at that moment.\u00a0 She and Roggi sat next to each other, separated only by a low side table. Across from them, on the other side of the fireplace \u2013 a space that was not so very large in physical terms but which felt as though it could have been the other end of Tamriel, right at the moment \u2013 was Dardeh.<\/p>\n
Roggi had kept up a steady stream of chatter and jokes whenever they were all awake, during the carriage ride. Dardeh had dozed and said nothing, looking a million leagues away. Frina had tried her best to keep up her end of the conversation and had tried to remember that this was Roggi, after all; but it had been difficult when each laugh reminded her of the one she\u2019d heard accompanied by screams.<\/p>\n
But we have to hold it together, all of us, she thought. We\u2019re on our way to another important assignment. Ulfric is counting on us.<\/p>\n
She\u2019d seen them smile at each other once, when the carriage driver made an exception to his usual rules. He\u2019d dropped them off at the intersection just down the hill from Mammoth Manor, saying that the Dragonborn earned special treatment as far as he was concerned.<\/p>\n
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\u201cAlways,\u201d Roggi had said, smiling at Dardeh, standing close to him.\u00a0 Dardeh hadn\u2019t said anything in return but the cold expression he\u2019d worn all the way from Windhelm had softened, and he\u2019d given Roggi the slightest of smiles in return.\u00a0 Frina had watched them closely, and had been impressed yet again with how clearly they were bonded to each other.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s something wrong with Dardeh. I don\u2019t know what to think. It worries me.<\/em><\/p>\n They\u2019d had a nice enough meal, all of them working together to make it; and then she and Roggi chatted about inconsequential things while they ate. Roggi showed her the bedroom on the lower level and told her to make herself comfortable.<\/p>\n \u201cDar\u2019s housecarl used to stay here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe one who went back to be with Balgruuf?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. Lydia.\u201d\u00a0 Roggi looked around and sighed. \u201cThis house is just too empty. The last time I was here Lydia was, too, and three children.\u201d He chuckled. \u201cAnd a fox.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cChildren?\u201d Frina had asked him, surprised.<\/p>\n Roggi smiled. \u201cYeah. We adopted two girls, Lucia and Sofie. And the third child is Brynjolf the Younger. He\u2019s Dar\u2019s half-nephew.\u201d His smile faded. \u201cWe sent all of them to his father before we headed off to Windhelm. It doesn\u2019t feel like home here without all of them running around. But at least it\u2019s a comfortable place to spend the night.\u201d<\/p>\n All of that and Dardeh still hadn\u2019t spoken, as far as Frina could tell.\u00a0 She glanced at Roggi; he was staring at Dardeh but getting no response.<\/p>\n Enough of this. These boys need to talk and I\u2019m in the way.<\/em><\/p>\n She cleared her throat and pushed herself out of the chair. \u201cI\u2019m going to call it a night.\u00a0 We leave first thing in the morning, yes?\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi never even shifted his eyes away from Dardeh.\u00a0 \u201cYeah. Night, Frina.\u00a0 We head to Galmar at daybreak.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina had to step in front of the fireplace to leave the room, breaking the line of sight between Roggi and Dardeh for just a moment. When she looked back at them, though, it was as though she hadn\u2019t even existed in the room. Roggi was still staring at Dardeh and he was still staring into space.<\/p>\n She went to the room in the basement and took off her armor and her boots, feeling more than ready to sleep for a few hours. She was just about to slide into bed when she realized that her mouth was dry. It didn\u2019t matter how well Whiterun had gone as a battle, not knowing what Galmar had in mind for them next had her nervous. She sighed and padded barefoot up the stairs, thinking to get a mug of water, and stopped when she heard the voices.<\/p>\n \u201cDar, you have to talk to me. Come here.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina froze as she watched Roggi pull Dardeh up out of his seat and hold him, close, his hands on either side of Dardeh\u2019s face, and for a horrified moment she was afraid she was going to witness them kissing. She didn\u2019t intend to eavesdrop, not really; but she couldn\u2019t pull herself away. Instead, she sank down onto the top step, low enough that she could see them without being seen.<\/p>\n Dardeh shook his head and pushed Roggi away.<\/p>\n \u201cRoggi, no. Enough.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi dropped his hands and sat back down, crossing his arms angrily. \u201cAlright, so I can\u2019t kiss you anymore. Fine. Can you at least tell me what\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n To Frina\u2019s surprise, Dardeh dropped down onto the floor, sitting cross-legged at Roggi\u2019s feet as though it was too great an effort to return to his chair. His eyes once more took on that far-away, almost blank expression they\u2019d had before, and he simply sighed.<\/p>\n Roggi made a disgusted noise.<\/p>\n \u201cSo you heard me doing a job for Ulfric and it was more than you could take. Is that it? Honestly. You. Your sister. Even Brynjolf. All of you have had this picture in your minds of what I am, who I am. Assumptions. Expectations. Of all people, Dar, you\u2019re the one I\u2019d expect to most understand what that feels like. \u2018You\u2019re such a good man, Roggi.\u2019 Bah. I have tried to tell you otherwise, all of you, ever since I\u2019ve known you. I\u2019ve never been<\/em> a good man, Dar. I\u2019ve never been a nice<\/em> man. I told you about it that night in Windhelm after I broke my rib and you didn\u2019t seem to care then, but you do now? Is that it?\u201d<\/p>\n The longer he talked, the more distressed he sounded. Frina wanted to go stop him, to comfort him somehow, but didn\u2019t want him to know that she\u2019d been listening.<\/p>\n \u201cI spent years after Briinda died trying to build myself a little shell that I could hide in. I did a really good job of it, too. Roggi the miner, the latest in a long family line of friendly drunks in Kynesgrove, everyone loves him. I wasn\u2019t expecting to meet Dag, or Brynjolf, or Delvin. I most definitely wasn\u2019t expecting to meet you. And you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n He trailed off. Dardeh glanced up at him for a moment, and it almost seemed as though he was about to snap out of the fog he\u2019d been in. But his eyes glazed over again and he looked back toward the floor, blankly.<\/p>\n Roggi sighed.<\/p>\n \u201cYou. Why, oh why did I have to meet you? Standing outside Whiterun. Oh sure, I had somehow convinced myself that I wanted your sister and I was going to have this normal life again but that was the beginning of the end for me and I knew it, somewhere inside, and so did she. \u2018He likes you,\u2019 she said. I must have turned a hundred shades of red. Dar<\/em>,\u201d he breathed, his shoulders dropping. \u201cI got strong again because of you. I was able to find some\u2026 peace, about what happened to me and who I am, because of you. You made me believe in myself again. You\u2019re the love of my life. And now you\u2019re going to leave me, just because the truth is uncomfortable? Is that it?\u201d<\/p>\n There was a long silence.\u00a0 Frina reached up to wipe away the tears that had formed in the corners of her eyes and that threatened to make her give herself away with sniffles. She had never heard Roggi speak about himself in this way before.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, that\u2019s not it, Roggi. Not at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh glanced up again, just for a moment, but then went back to staring at the floor. It looked almost as if the effort of holding Roggi\u2019s gaze was too much to bear, as though the weight of his own thoughts was forcing his eyes down.\u00a0 He started speaking, his voice a dull monotone.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought about leaving, you know, that night in Windhelm. Barely got any sleep. I remembered going through the torture room in Helgen Keep while Alduin was burning the village down. All I could think of that day was how sick a person had to be, to want to make another person suffer. I remembered that, watching you sleep, and wondered whether I needed to leave you. And I knew that I couldn\u2019t. Even though we weren\u2019t together then and I didn\u2019t think there was a chance we ever would be.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, I see. So I\u2019m sick, is that what you\u2019re saying?\u201d\u00a0 Roggi\u2019s voice sounded like ice.<\/p>\n \u201cNo. Well, maybe a little. But if you are, so am I. I\u2019ve seen too many things since then. And done too many things myself.\u201d Dardeh\u2019s eyes flickered up again, and when he opened his mouth again a torrent of words flooded out.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that\u2019s what\u2019s bothering me. I was so full of myself, thinking that I was above this war, that I would never join the Stormcloaks.\u201d He laughed, a bitter, humorless bark. \u201cThe day Alduin burned Helgen, Ralof rescued me and made me put on a dead soldier\u2019s armor so I could survive and all I could think about was getting rid of it. Because how could men kill each other, knowing that the other guy loves his family just as much? I was so much better than that, I thought. Right. I\u2019m a guy who can Shout people to death and not even know it. I\u2019m a guy who can\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n He paused for a moment, his voice catching in his throat.<\/p>\n \u201cAn assassin came after me once, Roggi, not long before I found you in Kynesgrove. I held her up on my sword and made her dangle <\/em>there just because I wanted to watch her suffer.\u201d He shook his head. \u201cI\u2019m not so different from you. Not at all. Hearing you working that guy over reminded me. It\u2019s not that I ever disagreed with the Stormcloak cause. Obviously. It\u2019s just that I am such a damned hypocrite, Roggi. Such an awful hypocrite. I had convinced myself that all those high and mighty things you told Ulfric about me were true, that I was so good<\/em> for being above it all because if I threw my weight in with one side or the other that side was bound to win. And yet here I am, no better than anyone else. And you stand with me anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n There was another long silence.\u00a0 Frina watched the expression on Roggi\u2019s face soften.<\/p>\n \u201cYes. And I always will.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut why?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI just told you. You\u2019re the love of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n He stood and held out his hand to pull Dardeh up again.\u00a0 He put the other hand on Dardeh\u2019s cheek, made sure they had eye contact, and spoke, very slowly and gently.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t you understand that, Dardeh? After all this time?\u00a0 I should have died when Briinda did but the gods made me live. There was a reason I had to keep going. You\u2026 are my reason. I will never not<\/em> stand with you, my love.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRoggi\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Dardeh\u2019s eyes softened, and even from across the room Frina could see them glistening with unshed tears.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s go get some sleep, Dar. We have more battles to fight tomorrow. We don\u2019t need to be fighting each other. We\u2019re not perfect, either one of us. We need to stop pretending that we are. All we can do is the best we can.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina slipped back down into the basement as they turned to make for the stairs.\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t do for them to know she\u2019d heard their conversation. She slipped under the covers, deciding to forego the drink of water she\u2019d wanted earlier.<\/p>\n Dardeh was wrong, when he was talking to me in Windhelm. He\u2019s not second-best. Not at all.<\/em><\/p>\n She would have expected that thought to make her sad. But somehow, it didn\u2019t. She would have expected to hate Dardeh all over again, for being Redguard and male and for having taken her sister\u2019s place.<\/p>\n But somehow, she didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n The next morning dawned bright and cold. It got colder. They hadn\u2019t gone very far up the road when Frina started hearing an odd, hollow, roaring sound that got progressively louder as they went farther south and east.<\/p>\n Roggi looked up to the sky and groaned. \u201cAre you kidding? Again? How many of them are there in this one corner of the world?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBy the Nine I\u2019m tired of this,\u201d Dardeh sighed, lowering his hooded helmet down over his face. \u201cWell, let\u2019s go do it.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina looked back and forth between the two of them as they started trotting down the hill off the road. \u201cWhat are we\u2026 oh Talos help us,\u201d she said as a huge form swooped down over them, the wind of its passage shaking the trees.<\/p>\n She\u2019d never seen a dragon up close before. This one was terrifyingly beautiful, silver and grey with dark tips on its horns, and it shook the earth when it landed on the side of the hill near them. Frina stood and stared in awe; and then as the creature roared and a cloud of frost billowed toward them she shrieked in fear and rolled aside.\u00a0 Even so, some of the dragon\u2019s breath caught her and she yelped with the pain of it.<\/p>\n Dardeh leaned forward and Shouted \u2013 a huge explosion of force and sound – \u00a0and the beast was suddenly outlined in blue energy.\u00a0 It screamed and pounded its tail into the ground, shaking the trees around them and dislodging small stones from the nearby banks.\u00a0 Frina gasped as she saw a comparatively small figure in drab green armor rushing toward the dragon\u2019s head.<\/p>\n \u201cRoggi, no!\u201d she cried; but of course Roggi couldn\u2019t hear her.\u00a0 Dardeh was near the beast\u2019s tail, slashing at it with a sword that sparked energy with every blow and Roggi was slicing deep gashes in its head and neck with his dragonbone greatsword. The dragon managed to fight its way back into the air, but only for a moment: Dardeh Shouted at it once more; and once it was shimmering with power it dropped to the ground, snapping and snarling.<\/p>\n Frina rushed forward, slashing at the beast\u2019s wing with her war pick, not knowing whether she was helping but hoping that the additional wounds might stop it more quickly. She hadn\u2019t taken more than a couple of swings at it, though, when Dardeh stabbed down into its side.\u00a0 It flailed backward once more and then crashed to the ground, dead.\u00a0 And then Frina witnessed a thing she\u2019d heard rumors of but had never thought to see with her own eyes.\u00a0 The dragon\u2019s body caught fire and its energy, swirling and pulsing visibly, rushed toward Dardeh and into him.<\/p>\n She stood there for a moment, shaking with excitement, and wonder, and fear.\u00a0 \u201cDragonborn,\u201d she whispered.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s really the Dragonborn. Like Tiber Septim.\u201d<\/p>\n As she watched the last tendrils of energy swirl around Dardeh and saw that what had been a great silver dragon was now just a skeleton, Roggi came trudging out from behind the skull and grinned at Dardeh.\u00a0 Dardeh ran to him, wrapped his arms around Roggi\u2019s waist and pulled him forward into a kiss.<\/p>\n Frina froze. A part of her mind wanted her to scream and run away from what she was seeing, a thing that all of her upbringing told her was wrong.\u00a0 The rest of her, though, just watched.<\/p>\n It\u2019s just Dardeh and Roggi.<\/em><\/p>\n Dardeh pulled back and touched Roggi\u2019s cheek. \u201cAre you alright? You were so close in, Roggi. I thought the bastard was going to be the one that got you, finally, and I was scared\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi chuckled. \u201cYeah, I\u2019m fine. It\u2019s going to take more than a dragon to take me away from you.\u201d His gaze slipped past Dardeh and settled on her. She watched Roggi\u2019s face go from the flush of exertion to a flaming red.<\/p>\n \u201cOh\u2026 Frina\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh stepped back from Roggi and turned to stare at her. He looked like he\u2019d just swallowed an insect by mistake and, in spite of his statement to the contrary, he was nearly as red as Roggi. Frina couldn\u2019t help but giggle.<\/p>\n \u201cLook, I can\u2019t say that I was ever expecting to see that. Any of that, but especially this\u2026that. But you are<\/em> married, after all, so whether I like it doesn\u2019t really matter, now does it?\u00a0 Besides, you should see yourselves.\u00a0 You are so very red.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am not,\u201d Dardeh started to protest, trailing off when Roggi pointed at him and started nodding and laughing.<\/p>\n They continued their journey to the Stormcloak camp.\u00a0 Frina noticed that every so often one of them would reach for the other, just brushing their fingertips together in a reassuring touch. She wasn\u2019t even certain that they were aware they were doing it.\u00a0 She remembered Briinda, tiny and blonde, bounding around Roggi like a puppy and swallowing him up into hugs at every opportunity and her heart rose into her throat.<\/p>\n Briinda thought the sun rose and set with that man. I can\u2019t help but think that she would just want him to be happy, no matter what. And he\u2019s clearly happy. <\/em><\/p>\n They stopped for a moment in the ruins of Helgen. Dardeh was somber.\u00a0 He pointed across a collapsed building toward one of the old Imperial towers and said \u201cThat\u2019s where I was the first time I saw Ulfric Stormcloak. I almost ran into him trying to get away from the flames. It seems like such a long time ago, now.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi frowned. \u201cI had forgotten you knew him before you met me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I knew him but we at least got a good look at each other before Ralof herded me into the keep and cut my bindings loose. He didn\u2019t like me then, either. I looked like a Redguard prisoner to him.\u201d He shuddered. \u201cIt was that close, Roggi. One second later and my head would have been in a basket instead of here on my shoulders. I\u2019m pretty sure Ulfric would have been next.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWho would have thought we\u2019d end up fighting his battles for him again?\u201d Roggi muttered.<\/p>\n Frina frowned. \u201cWell I always intended to. I would have, a long time ago, if I hadn\u2019t been just a little girl. And then Ma and Pa took me out of Skyrim when, well. You know.\u201d<\/p>\n He nodded. \u201cIt was a good thing they did. You didn\u2019t need to see what happened after you left. It was hard enough as it was. At any rate, you\u2019re here now and we\u2019re going to finally end this stupid war.\u201d<\/p>\n The encampment was east of Helgen and west of the pass through the mountains, tucked up on the north side of the road.\u00a0 Galmar met them there, looking grim.\u00a0 Some of the brothers were being held prisoner in Fort Neugrad, he told them, and he wanted them to join Ralof and his men and get them out. There was an entrance to the dungeons that might let one of them slip in, he said, but it was underwater and would be tricky to enter.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ll never expect an attack from the inside. Go get them out. Talos be with you!\u201d<\/p>\n They turned and headed back down the road at a trot. The fort was across a ridge from them, on the road that led to the Pale Pass farther up in the Jerall Mountains.<\/p>\n \u201cI hate to say this,\u201d Dardeh said quietly, \u201cbut I really don\u2019t swim very well.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina laughed. \u201cI do. You guys meet up with Ralof. I\u2019ll go see if I can find the back way in.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi glanced at her, looking worried. \u201cYou sure? We can\u2019t\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t keep an eye on me if I\u2019m not with you? Roggi, please. I\u2019m young, but I\u2019m used to fending for myself. I wasn\u2019t expecting you to watch out for me when I came back to Skyrim.\u00a0 Go. Slay some Imperials. I\u2019ll sneak in the back.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi looked embarrassed. \u201cSorry. Automatic reaction.\u201d<\/p>\n She could hear the fighting already as they neared the fort.\u00a0 Dardeh and Roggi ran forward as she scrambled back up into the bushes and around the side of the fort toward the pond behind it.\u00a0 She was scanning the back for the most likely place a submerged opening might be when she heard Dardeh \u2013 the Shout he had used to rally the troops in Whiterun blasted out through the trees and rang off the rocks.<\/p>\n Frina found what she was looking for. There was a large downed tree leaning against the back of the fort, looking conspicuously as if it had been placed there on purpose.\u00a0 She slipped into the icy water, shivering but grateful for her Nord blood, took the deepest breath she could manage and swam forward and down, using the tree as a guide and slipping through a crack in the old fort\u2019s foundation. She came up gasping but almost immediately heard the sound of men calling out in hoarse whispers.<\/p>\n \u201cUp here! The guard has the key!\u201d<\/p>\n To Oblivion with the guard, she thought as she slipped up through a dirt ramp into the lowest level of the fortress. There was a cobweb-filled storage room with a staircase leading to a room that held several cells.<\/p>\n \u201cShh. I\u2019m getting you out. Don\u2019t alert him.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina was far from an expert at picking locks but she did have the tools, and the prisoners didn\u2019t. They weren\u2019t difficult locks, though she did have to try a couple of them more than once for being distracted by the men.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s teach these bastards a lesson!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShh!\u201d She hissed. The men\u2019s gear had been tossed in a nearby chest; as she freed each of them they made for it and got re-equipped.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s get out of here!\u201d she called, making her way up around the circular stairs, assuming that they were behind her. Just as she was pushing her way out through the door onto the roof of this portion of the tower, though, she heard behind her, \u201cI\u2019ll water the ground with your blood!\u201d and wanted to turn back.<\/p>\n But there was no time to turn back.\u00a0 The battle outside was in full swing, with arrows flying, spells being cast across the courtyard from her, and the sounds of screaming and clashing weapons filling the air.\u00a0 Frina drew her bow and took several shots at an Imperial archer on the ground just beneath her position but had to fall back when one of the returning arrows grazed her arm.\u00a0 She hissed in pain and cast healing on herself, and by the time she was recovered the battle had moved away from her, beyond the tower where the prisoners had been and past the other side of a covered archway.<\/p>\n She ran forward, following the unmistakable sound of Dardeh disarming an adversary with his Voice.\u00a0 There was a huge mass of Imperial soldiers before her; she fired her bow into it over and over and could tell by the grunts and cries of pain that she was hitting some of them. Her pulse began pounding in her ears, so loudly that she could barely make out which voices were crying \u201cTalos smite you!\u201d and which were shouting \u201cFor the glory of the Empire!\u201d<\/p>\n Suddenly she found herself face to face with both Roggi and Dardeh as they ran for a door to the interior of the fortress.<\/p>\n \u201cCome on!\u201d Roggi shouted. \u201cRalof says there\u2019s more inside!\u201d<\/p>\n They ran into the fort, Frina trailing.\u00a0 Dardeh sprinted for an opening on the far side of the room, growling \u201cI\u2019ll try to make this quick!\u201d \u00a0By the time she made it to the door Roggi was there, screaming and taking a mighty swing at an Imperial swordsman who did not block it. He fell to the floor yelling \u201cI cannot best you!\u201d and Frina stepped to Roggi\u2019s right and fired an arrow into his chest, ending him.<\/p>\n They ran past the dead man and around a corner, up half a flight of stairs and onto a balcony, where an archer stood in the next doorway looking confused.\u00a0 Dardeh drew his bow and fired at the man, growling \u201cAlright, you wanna go?\u201d<\/p>\n Frina grabbed her melee weapons and ran toward the man; the moment it had taken her to draw them saved her from stepping into the path of yet another Disarm shout from Dardeh.\u00a0 She winced at the sharp, incredibly loud sound; the archer stumbled backward and fell into and over a footlocker at the bottom of a bed.\u00a0 Frina darted for him and finished him off by burying the needle-sharp spikes of her war pick into his chest.<\/p>\n It was suddenly very quiet aside from the three of them panting with exertion.\u00a0 Dardeh lowered his bow and walked toward a closed door, pushing it open.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was a child,\u201d he said, \u201cI dreamed about having a fort like this all to myself to\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDar! Look out!\u201d Roggi shouted as an Imperial swordsman stepped out from the next room and took a swing at him.\u00a0 Dardeh blocked with his bow \u2013 barely \u2013 and Roggi stepped around him and lopped the man\u2019s nearer arm off with his greatsword.\u00a0 The man screamed, and Roggi smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cIs this what you want? Eh?\u201d he growled, lifting the greatsword over his head and bringing it down, overhand, into the man\u2019s chest.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s what he wanted, Roggi,\u201d Frina murmured, astonished once again at her former brother\u2019s ferocity.\u00a0 He glanced up at her and grinned.<\/p>\n As he pulled the sword out of the man\u2019s chest the room shook.\u00a0 Dardeh had run back into the tower and around a corner and Shouted at whatever adversary he had found there.\u00a0 Dishes rattled and dust flew; but by the time Frina reached Dardeh she found his target still scrambling to his feet. Dardeh was advancing slowly, chuckling in a way that made her skin crawl.\u00a0 She ran past Dardeh and buried her axe into the man\u2019s skull, putting him down.<\/p>\n \u201cGood enough,\u201d Dardeh said from behind her.<\/p>\n They made their way out to the courtyard once more. Ralof stood with his hands on his hips, surveying the area, and nodded at them as they approached.<\/p>\n \u201cGreat work,\u201d he told them. \u201cGet back and tell Ulfric of our success. I\u2019ll stay here and clean up the mess.\u00a0 Glad you were here.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina looked around the yard in dismay.\u00a0 A mess it was.\u00a0 The Imperials had poured out of the fort itself and for the most part had massed around the same doorway, having been blocked by Stormcloaks from spreading out. The bodies were piled thick.\u00a0 A few of the dead were in Stormcloak uniform but it had been, without question, an overwhelming victory for Ulfric\u2019s troops.\u00a0 Frina was excited, exhilarated; this is what she had come to Skyrim to do, and she could barely wait to report back to the Jarl.<\/p>\n And then she looked at Dardeh. He looked stunned.<\/p>\n \u201cBy the gods, Roggi. What have we done here?\u201d he murmured.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we had to do, Dar,\u201d Roggi answered.\u00a0 \u201cWhat always happens in wartime. \u00a0One side wins, the other side loses.\u00a0 We were on the winning side this time. In no small part because of you.\u201d<\/p>\n Ralof shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a shame this was necessary, to be sure,\u201d he said.\u00a0 Then he looked past the men at Frina and grinned, his eyes twinkling. \u201cYou were instrumental in freeing the prisoners. I\u2019ll be certain to let Ulfric know. Your efforts should not go unrewarded.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina realized, then, that she was just desperately cold from having been soaked to the skin.\u00a0 Her exertion hadn\u2019t dried her off, and now she was starting to shiver.\u00a0 She walked to one of the dead Stormcloak soldiers and knelt, gently closing his eyes and taking the cloak from his body.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll be happy enough if it\u2019s rewarded with this cloak so I don\u2019t freeze to death,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m really cold.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell let\u2019s get on our way back to Windhelm, then,\u201d Dardeh said.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll stop as soon as we find a good spot and Roggi can make us a fire.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh I can, can I?\u201d Roggi snorted in mock anger.<\/p>\n Ralof laughed. \u201cGet going. I\u2019ll see you again soon, I\u2019m sure.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled at Frina again, and waved them out the gate.<\/p>\n They hadn\u2019t gone too far before Roggi started chuckling.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you laughing about?\u201d Frina asked.<\/p>\n \u201cOld Ralof is sweet on you, I think,\u201d he said with a grin. \u201cWhat do you think, Dar?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019d know better than I do what a guy hitting on a girl sounds like, Roggi. I bow to your superior experience in that department.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina felt the heat rising into her cheeks.\u00a0 Ralof? Likes me? \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure you must be wrong about that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, I don\u2019t know,\u201d Roggi said, grinning ear to ear. \u201cI\u2019ve known Ralof a long time and I\u2019ve not seen a gleam in his eye quite like that one.\u201d Dardeh chuckled.<\/p>\n Frina watched the looks passing between them and felt annoyed.\u00a0 \u201cYou two are just teasing me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, maybe just a little,\u201d Roggi said, putting one arm around her shoulders and giving her a quick squeeze. \u201cBut I do think he likes you. You could do worse.\u201d He pointed to a flat area beside the road. \u201cThat\u2019s a decent spot for a fire. What do you say, Dar? Get this girl warm and dry again before we head back to Ulfric?\u201d<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t wait for an answer, but started assembling a ring of stones and stacking the materials needed to build a fire. Dardeh turned to look at Frina and smiled, his eyes warm.<\/p>\n \u201cNot a \u2018girl,\u2019 Roggi,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a warrior. And yes, it\u2019s time to start a fire. Thank Talos she went for the swim and not me.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina smiled back at him, even as her emotions did a confusing dance in her chest.\u00a0 I wanted to hate this man, but I can\u2019t. He\u2019s one of the most terrifying people I\u2019ve ever met and yet he\u2019s so kind. I don\u2019t understand him. But I am glad to be here with him.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThanks, Dardeh,\u201d she finally managed. \u201cAnd I\u2019m a very cold warrior, as it happens. Now if you would be so kind as to help your husband build that fire, we can do something about that even sooner. My fingers are frozen.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh looked at Roggi, glanced at the firepit, and grinned, his eyes dancing.<\/p>\n \u201cSure, I can do that. Stand back a bit, Roggi.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDar, no, really?\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh took a deep breath and leaned forward.<\/p>\n \u201cYOL!\u201d<\/p>\n Frina jumped as flames shot out of Dardeh\u2019s mouth and, where a moment before there had been a pile of branches and kindling, there was a busily crackling campfire.<\/p>\n \u201cBy the Nine you\u2019re a loud man, Dardeh,\u201d she finally managed.<\/p>\n Roggi took out his bow and snorted. \u201cShowoff.\u00a0 Sit down and get warm. I\u2019ll go find some rabbits. If you haven\u2019t scared them all off, that is.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh took Frina\u2019s hand and pulled her closer to the fire, then sat down. He turned to smile at Roggi.\u00a0 Frina once more saw the love between these two men as Roggi snickered, smiled, and moved off into the woods.<\/p>\n I wonder if anyone will ever look at me that way, she thought.\u00a0 She pictured Ralof\u2019s smiling face, the twinkle in his eyes, and sighed.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is it?\u201d Dardeh asked, giving her a curious look.<\/p>\n \u201cNot<\/em> Ralof,\u201d she said, shrugging.<\/p>\n Dardeh tossed back his head and laughed.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, me either.\u201d<\/p>\n She stared at him for a moment before she realized what he was getting at.\u00a0 And then she started to laugh.<\/p>\n Frina perched on the edge of her seat before the fire in Roggi and Dardeh\u2019s home, wondering whether there was any possibility that she could feel more uncomfortable than she did right at that moment.\u00a0 She and Roggi sat next to each other, separated only by a low side table. 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<\/p>\nPart II: The Storm<\/a><\/div>\nPrevious<\/a> \/ Next<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"