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<\/p>\nThere were a number of hours during which he was aware of absolutely nothing.\u00a0 He knew that, when he emerged from the coffin, because he could feel the pangs of hunger stirring inside him.\u00a0 It was time to go.<\/p>\n
He wandered over to the alchemy station and saw that there were several blood potions stored there.\u00a0 But those belonged to Agryn and Vyctyna, and he knew how much effort went into getting or making them.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want to simply help himself; and he didn\u2019t know whether he would ever see either of them again to apologize for taking them.\u00a0 So he thought about it for a moment, and paced back and forth for a bit, and then made his way to the false cabinet that opened onto the stairs down.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The thralls were there, swaying back and forth in their cages, confused as usual.\u00a0 He opened one of the cage doors and stepped in behind the man, looking him over and shaking his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know,\u201d he said as he prepared his calming spell, \u201cI know this is the right thing to do. But by the Eight it\u2019s a shame I enjoy being a vampire so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
He cast the spell on the man, who cried out in surprise. \u201cOh! What was that? I\u2026 don\u2019t\u2019 feel any different.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brynjolf grinned.\u00a0 \u201cHere goes. One last time.\u201d\u00a0 He pushed the man\u2019s head to the side and sank his fangs through his flesh, drawing out the sweet blood.\u00a0 It was a struggle not to drain the man; he knew he would never do this again and, sadly enough, the act of feeding was one of the things he\u2019d missed when he was human for that time in\u00a0 between.\u00a0 But he took only as much of the man as he needed to; enough that he could tell he would not evaporate in the sun that surely had to have risen high into the day by now; enough that he would not feel any temptation to rip out Ulfric Stormcloak\u2019s throat for abusing Roggi all that time ago.\u00a0 He needed to be calm, and at peace.<\/p>\n
As he walked up the stairs and out of the Crypt, casting his illusion spell, he realized that indeed, it was the case that he was at peace.\u00a0 His dream, or vision, of Vitus the night before had been what he needed to make a decision.<\/p>\n
We did what we needed to do. Mercer is long gone. Serana has the castle, as she was meant to. Agryn and Vyctyna are free to be themselves, as they were meant to be; and I suspect that they will have many centuries of joy to come doing just that. Edwyn is gone. Vingalmo is gone, too, and that\u2019s a shame; but the crisis is over. Ulfric is High King. The dragons are either dead or easily slain.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s time for me to have a life, too.<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s time for us to have a life.<\/em><\/p>\n The sun was, in fact, high in the sky and burning bright and hot as he crossed the fields north from the Crypt to Lake Ilinalta.\u00a0 He peered up at it, thinking that someone he knew altogether too well would have been shooting at it with a cursed arrow.\u00a0 He grinned. He knew where to get the Bow, and those arrows; but there was nothing he could imagine that would convince him to ever bring that blood-red light down on the land ever again. He stopped at the roadway, roughly where he\u2019d run across Agryn and Vyctyna the night he\u2019d burned the bee farm to the ground, and looked out at the sparkling water, grinning at the thought of what Maven\u2019s face must have looked like when she discovered it.<\/p>\n You\u2019re stalling, loverboy.<\/em><\/p>\n There was no sound, but he laughed, hearing the voice in his head.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I\u2019m stalling. You\u2019re right. I\u2019ll go in now, lad. It\u2019s going to be quite a day.\u201d<\/p>\n He checked carefully to make certain that the guard standing beside the gate was daydreaming just as much as he had been himself.\u00a0 Then he ducked behind the foliage and around the corner, in through the crevice that led to his Riftvale estate.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Ulfric Stormcloak watched Brynjolf the Younger \u2013 or Brynjolf Brynjolfsson, or \u201cChip,\u201d depending on how one preferred to address the child \u2013 and smiled.\u00a0 The boy was a whirlwind.\u00a0 He never seemed to sleep; he ran his nursemaid Iona practically ragged, as far as Ulfric was able to tell. At the moment he was fairly quiet, diligently rolling the stems of long grasses together, making a sort of crude string.\u00a0 Ulfric thought he knew what the boy was doing, but he watched carefully as the tiny hands worked, the tiny brow furrowed in concentration, and then each end of the string went onto a slender but supple stick he\u2019d found at the edge of the small lake behind Brynjolf\u2019s home.<\/p>\n Next, the child picked up another, shorter stick he\u2019d found.\u00a0 He stood up with a cry of triumph, and then held what was \u2013 as Ulfric had suspected \u2013 a crude, toddler-sized bow up in front of him.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat have you got there, son?\u201d he called to Chip.<\/p>\n Son. Soon I will be able to say such a thing and have it be real. I hardly know what to think but my heart swells with love just imagining it. Perhaps I will be able to be the father to Harald that I lost when Hoag passed.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cA bow.\u201d\u00a0 The boy crouched down into a stealthy position and crept toward the house. \u201cBe quiet, Ulfwick. I am a hunter.\u201d<\/p>\n Ulfric burst into laughter at the boy\u2019s serious face, happy that the stems of the \u201cstring\u201d could never withstand the stress of a real bow.\u00a0 It was only a stick, but it would still put out an eye if fired well enough; and there was something about this child that said he was, indeed, a hunter who would be worthy of respect some day.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you hunting, lad?\u201d he heard from just behind him, and turned to see Brynjolf emerging from inside the house.<\/p>\n \u201cBear,\u201d Chip said, sneaking closer to the porch where Ulfric sat.\u00a0 He pronounced it with two syllables \u2013 \u201cbay-uwh\u201d \u2013 but it was clear what he had meant, and Ulfric laughed again.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not a bear, Chip, that\u2019s King Ulfric. And you shouldn\u2019t be hunting people.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh I don\u2019t know, Brynjolf. People have been known to call me the Bear of Markarth, after all, and not necessarily in a flattering way.\u00a0 I think your son is going to grow up to be a great hunter, and I mean that sincerely.\u00a0 I was watching him crafting that bow.\u00a0 He\u2019ll do better once his hands are bigger and he has the correct materials, of course, but he has the knack.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell is that so?\u201d Brynjolf said, scooping Chip up onto his hip. \u201cI\u2019m impressed, lad. But right now you need to go with Karliah and Iona.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause they are going to take you into town for the day. When it\u2019s time for your nap you can sleep over at Honeyside, alright?\u00a0 And if you ask them nicely I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll take you for a swim in the big lake.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYay!\u201d Chip said, his face breaking out into a grin. \u201cBut why?\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf ruffled his hair. \u201cBecause, you nosey little reprobate, the big people have an important thing to do today and we don\u2019t want little people around to be in harm\u2019s way.\u00a0 Besides, you\u2019d be bored. OK?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOk, Da,\u201d Chip said, his face falling.<\/p>\n The boy is clearly aware that weighty matters are afoot and he\u2019s not to be a part of them. I wonder if my son will be so clever.<\/em><\/p>\n He rose from the steps and entered Brynjolf\u2019s home.\u00a0 It occurred to him that it was in fact a gift, that he was able to come here and be just a man \u2013 without a steward bowing and scraping at every moment, without Galmar hovering and growling about matters of supply, and defense, and all the other things he did so well but which were, in the end, a burden.\u00a0 Here he was just a man, among friends.<\/p>\n As soon as he entered the living area, though, it became obvious that one of his friends \u2013 in fact, possibly his dearest friend aside from Galmar \u2013 was in a fair amount of distress.\u00a0 Dardeh, Frina, Roggi and Sayma had been clustered together, clearly in the midst of a serious discussion; and when they saw him the conversation stopped.\u00a0 Dardeh looked at him; and that was all Ulfric needed to know that things were not well with Roggi.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure what I should do, here, aside from hold my tongue for once.<\/em><\/p>\n Brynjolf came in from the opposite doorway.\u00a0 \u201cAlright, I\u2019ve sent Chip off with Karliah and Iona.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo, Brynjolf,\u201d Dardeh said, as the others filtered back into the room. \u201cHave you decided?\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf nodded, solemnly. He moved to face Sayma and took her hands. Ulfric saw her flinch a bit, and decided that Brynjolf\u2019s cold hands probably were shocking to the touch; but in spite of that she looked up at him with an open expression.<\/p>\n \u201cBryn?\u201d<\/p>\n He nodded. \u201cYes. I want this. I made a mistake. Sayma, will you still have me? Even though I did this stupid thing?\u201d<\/p>\n She gazed up at him and, with a small smile, said \u201cof course I will.\u201d<\/p>\n Ulfric found Frina in the room and smiled at her; and she smiled back at him with the same expression of unshakable faith that she always extended to him.\u00a0 It humbled him, every time he thought of it.\u00a0 It humbled him even more than the crown he\u2019d been given to wear.<\/p>\n \u201cThen I\u2019m ready,\u201d Brynjolf said, turning to Roggi. \u201cI\u2019ll get the ashes.\u00a0 I have all the confidence in the world in you, lad.\u00a0 Let\u2019s do this thing.\u201d<\/p>\n It was then that it became obvious that there really was something wrong with Roggi. Ulfric knew every nuance of the man\u2019s movements, and his body language at that moment held a message of fear.\u00a0 Self-loathing, lack of confidence, perhaps; but mostly fear.<\/p>\n Roggi was afraid to make the potion.\u00a0 Ulfric didn\u2019t know whether he should speak, or not.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is it?\u201d he said, finally, as quietly as he could.<\/p>\n A part of him wanted to go to Roggi, to touch him, to reassure him. And he was annoyed with himself that such impulses still remained in him after so very many years.<\/p>\n He is not mine. He never was mine. <\/em><\/p>\n Frina is mine. She is my love. She is my future. Roggi \u2026 is my friend, and that is all.<\/em><\/p>\n And still, it breaks me to see him struggle with himself so.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know whether I can do it,\u201d Roggi said, shaking his head. \u201cIt\u2019s been too long since I\u2019ve tried to make anything this powerful. I\u2019m afraid I will muck it up and then where will we be? We have only one chance to get this right.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course you can do it, Roggi,\u201d Ulfric said quietly. \u201cI\u2019ve seen you do things that were far more difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi turned his head to glance at Ulfric and gave him a wry smile. \u201cIt\u2019s true that I have made some pretty startling potions, and I have been practicing recently. But you know that I\u2019m right. Complex, yes. Far more difficult?\u00a0 No. This is going to be the hardest concoction I\u2019ve ever tried to put together and if I fail\u2026 This is Vitus we\u2019re talking about. Everything that\u2019s left of him. If I fail, he\u2019s completely gone and, truly,\u201d his voice thickened with emotion, \u201cI can\u2019t be responsible for that. I would never be able to forgive myself. And if I fail, Bryn will be a vampire forever. And if that happens, you may as well find a vessel for me as well.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRoggi,\u201d Brynjolf said quietly. \u201cI will be a vampire forever if you don\u2019t <\/em>try. If it fails, we\u2019ll be in no different a spot than we already are.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut Brynjolf.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you know that Vitus wanted me to be human. That was the last wish he ever made. I should have honored that wish to begin with. I should never have done this. Trust me; he would want you to make this potion.\u201d<\/p>\n A dark form moved across the room; quiet, solid, and to Ulfric\u2019s sensibilities thrumming with power. He pulled Roggi up to his feet, laying his wide, brown hands on Roggi\u2019s shoulders and running them down his arms. He leaned forward and placed his mouth next to Roggi\u2019s ear; and while Ulfric could not hear what was being said he felt the force just behind the words, the energy aching to escape from the bounds of mere human language.\u00a0 Roggi sighed.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t do it, Dar. I\u2019m afraid I\u2019m going to fail. I\u2019m\u2026 afraid.\u201d He was barely speaking in a whisper, but Ulfric knew every subtle tone of that whisper and heard the anguished words as clearly as if they\u2019d been shouted aloud. Roggi\u2019s gaze drooped toward the floor.<\/p>\n \u201cRoggi,\u201d Dardeh said quietly.<\/p>\n The hair on Ulfric\u2019s neck began to rise. Just that one word, just the man\u2019s name, had enough power in it to raise a glowing glyph from the floor if the man\u2019s name had been a word spoken by the Greybeards. Roggi looked up at Dardeh again.<\/p>\n Dardeh leaned forward and brushed his lips lightly across Roggi\u2019s, without the slightest bit of self-consciousness in being surrounded by his odd, extended family.\u00a0 When he broke their contact he spoke quietly. Quietly, yes; but the sound was overlaid with layers upon layers of immense tones that gave Dardeh\u2019s already deep voice a completely different quality, hollow and yet seemingly infinite.<\/p>\n \u201cZu\u2019u hin dii ahmul.\u201d<\/p>\n The room shuddered. Ulfric swallowed hard.<\/p>\n By the gods. I should not be witness to this declaration. I, of all men, am not worthy to be here. <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cHi rel dii sil.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina\u2019s eyes grew round as the walls shook, and she grabbed Ulfric\u2019s arm. He looked at her and patted her hand. Nothing horrible was going to happen. He knew the meaning of those words and wanted to share them with her. Yet he knew he would never have the power to form this beautiful phrase himself.<\/p>\n \u201cDahmaan un hahnu.\u201d<\/p>\n A book that had been resting at the very edge of a side table slipped to the floor; and the sound of it striking the floor caused Frina to flinch.\u00a0 But Roggi and Dardeh stood gazing at each other as if nobody else in the world existed.<\/p>\n Ulfric sighed, a deep, soul-wrenching sigh that seemed to finally, finally release all of the unresolved feelings he had left in his heart for Roggi.<\/p>\n It is finally finished. This is as it should be.<\/em><\/p>\n The dust settled, and Frina leaned toward him and whispered in his ear. \u201cWhat was that, Ulfric? What happened?\u201d<\/p>\n Ulfric smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cThough I understand them, I cannot speak the words myself. I have only a glimmer of the power the Dragonborn possesses. But what he has just said is this.\u201d He closed his eyes and spoke what he had heard, and a part of his heart lamented at the flatness, the mediocrity of his own utterances in comparison to Dardeh\u2019s.<\/p>\n \u201cI am yours, my husband. You rule my heart. Remember our dream.\u201d<\/p>\n He opened his eyes and smiled at Frina. Then he looked at Roggi and Dardeh, who continued gazing at each other as though the world could end then and there, and nothing else would matter.<\/p>\n \u201cIs that what I said, Ulfric?\u201d Dardeh asked quietly, without looking at him. \u201cI hadn\u2019t realized I was speaking Tamrielic.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, Dragonborn. You said it far more eloquently than that, but that is the barest meaning of the Dovahzul words you just uttered. I\u2026\u201d He caught Roggi\u2019s gaze for just a moment, and knew that Roggi had somehow understood Dardeh without his translation.\u00a0 He smiled. \u201cI cannot recreate them myself. I am humbled by their beauty.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou truly are the Dragonborn, Dardeh,\u201d Roggi said. \u201cAnd I thank you. I will remember our dream.\u201d He leaned forward and kissed Dardeh again.\u00a0 Then he straightened, and pushed back his shoulders in a determined stance and grinned at Brynjolf.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember their dream, too. So let me see if I can help it survive.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf nodded and pushed open the doorway to his and Sayma\u2019s bedroom, disappearing inside.<\/p>\n Frina smiled up at Ulfric. \u201cThe power of it. He sounded like a dragon roaring.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. He has the Voice of one with a dragon\u2019s soul.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut basically, what all of those words meant was \u2018Dardeh loves Roggi.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n And believes in him, and trusts him, in spite of all the damage I did to him so many years ago<\/em>. And he confessed that Roggi has a power much greater than he knew \u2013 the power to rule the Dragonborn. Remarkable.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s get going,\u201d Roggi said, as Brynjolf emerged from their bedroom holding the ornate vase that held Vitus\u2019 ashes and handed it to Dardeh.<\/p>\n Sayma nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThe alchemy table is outside. It\u2019s in a space of its own, which is good when you have curious little hands roaming around the place.\u201d\u00a0 She turned to Frina and said \u201cI hate to ask, but would you be willing to watch the baby for a little bit?\u201d<\/p>\n Ulfric saw Frina\u2019s face light up.\u00a0 She opened her mouth to agree; but Brynjolf interrupted her.<\/p>\n \u201cNo need. I\u2019ll stay here.\u201d\u00a0 He sank into a chair and chuckled. \u201cBut if you want to keep an eye on me, lass, that might be a good thing. I\u2019m finding that my legs don\u2019t quite want to hold me up at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina giggled.\u00a0 Then she left Ulfric\u2019s side and moved to give Roggi a hug. \u201cTalos be with you, big brother. I know you\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi smiled at Ulfric.\u00a0 Ulfric nodded at him, but said nothing.\u00a0 At that moment, for possibly the first time ever, he didn\u2019t trust the voice that had served him so well all his life.<\/p>\n __<\/p>\n Brynjolf sat staring at the embers in the fireplace.\u00a0 It was hard to simply wait while Roggi worked, with Sayma and Dardeh watching over him.\u00a0 He\u2019d been shaken by the force of Dardeh\u2019s voice.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know what the man had said \u2013 at least until Ulfric had rendered his rough translation \u2013 but it hadn\u2019t mattered.\u00a0 What he had heard, loud and clear, was the fierce conviction in Dardeh\u2019s voice, his utterly unshakable belief in Roggi, and the faith that this endeavor was not going to fail.<\/p>\n But his legs had still given out from under him.<\/p>\n He\u2019d gone into the room he and Sayma shared to pick up the vase that held Vitus. And he had hesitated.\u00a0 It was still the last remnants of the man who, he had long since needed to admit, had changed his life completely and forever.\u00a0 He closed his eyes and laid his hands on either side of the vessel, and he\u2019d felt it warm beneath his touch.<\/p>\n This being showed me things about myself that I\u2019d never realized before, both good and bad. He showered me with the most unwavering, pure love I\u2019ve ever had anyone offer.\u00a0 He gave everything he was to me, without hesitation \u2013 except for his name; and finally he gave me that as well.\u00a0 And now I\u2019m going to give over the last physical part of him for my own benefit.<\/em><\/p>\n Yes.<\/em><\/p>\n He heard the sound in his mind as clearly as if it had come from someone standing next to him.\u00a0 Strangely, it was more than one voice he heard; it was clearly Vitus\u2019 sarcastic Imperial voice, but it also held the more lilting, playful tones he remembered from Dynjyl, from so many years before. And over all of these sounds he heard something wider, vaster, and perhaps female.<\/p>\n Nocturnal?<\/em><\/p>\n There was no answer; but as usual he didn\u2019t expect one.\u00a0 He felt the warmth building in the vase he held, and nodded, picking it up to carry out to Dardeh, who would take it with them to the tower in their yard where they kept alchemy ingredients and supplies.<\/p>\n And then he\u2019d sat.<\/p>\n Ulfric sat quietly beside him.\u00a0 Frina was in the bedroom, humming a lullaby to Qaralana, and both of them smiled at the sound of it.<\/p>\n \u201cFrina will make a good mother.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d Ulfric said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd a good queen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. She already does. She anchors me; and I cannot think of a more important thing for a king to have at his disposal than a good anchor.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTrue. And you will make a good king, Ulfric. I think that\u2026 hmm, how to put it.\u201d He paused for a moment. \u201cThere may be ways in which we can help each other in the years to come. My businesses stand to make a great deal of money. I expect some part of that to make its way to the crown\u2019s treasury, even if it\u2019s done quietly.\u201d<\/p>\n The older man smirked. \u201cAnd you will continue to run your business ventures with the discretion and honor that you have shown thus far, Brynjolf.\u00a0 I do know who you are. That has probably been obvious. But I also recognize the vital role your organization plays in the affairs of Skyrim. We will never admit it, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course. You would be a fool if you did.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I am many things; however, a fool is not one of those.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know.\u201d Brynjolf chuckled. \u201cDamn the waiting. I don\u2019t mind telling you that I\u2019m afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n Ulfric looked at him thoughtfully for a few minutes, green eyes gazing into the illusion of green eyes. And then he smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you are also one of the bravest men I\u2019ve known. It takes a great deal of fortitude to give up the power you are about to relinquish.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, your Majesty,\u201d Brynjolf said. \u201cAnd if you ever tell anyone I called you that, I\u2019ll deny it.\u201d<\/p>\n Ulfric was in the midst of one of his hearty belly laughs when Roggi, Dardeh, and Sayma came back in from outside.\u00a0 Roggi had a sheen of sweat on his forehead, and looked pale.\u00a0 Dardeh kept giving him surreptitious glances, clearly worried but not wanting to nag.\u00a0 Sayma looked as though she was going to be ill.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you alright, lass?\u201d he asked her, concerned.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I\u2019m fine, Red. But I\u2019m worried.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo am I,\u201d Roggi said. \u201cI made it well. That much I\u2019m sure of. But we really don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen when you drink it, Bryn.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know anything at all about bloodgrass aside from what you were told, and I didn\u2019t sample any of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf took the flask from Roggi. It was a large flask \u2013 not surprisingly, really, given the volume of materials that had gone into its concoction.\u00a0 He felt it warming in his hand, and nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, there\u2019s one way to find out.\u201d\u00a0 Before he could hesitate, before anyone could stop him; before they could all talk their way out of it somehow \u2013 he unstoppered the flask and downed the potion.<\/p>\n For a moment, nothing at all happened aside from an unfortunate gurgling in his now-overfull stomach.\u00a0 Then it seemed as though the sounds around him began to be distorted.\u00a0 It was the same sort of sensation he had when he consumed skooma, except auditory rather than visual.\u00a0 He shook his head.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you ok, Red?\u201d he heard Sayma say; but it was as if he was hearing her from under the surface of a lake; muffled and distorted.<\/p>\n He heard Frina say something from the door of the bedroom, but he couldn\u2019t make out what it was that she was saying.<\/p>\n Things around the periphery of his vision began to blur.\u00a0 Ah, so it is like skooma after all, he thought as his eyes fluttered shut.\u00a0 He wanted to laugh, and tell them the great revelation that he\u2019d just made, but he couldn\u2019t seem to make the sound happen. He thought he heard Roggi exclaiming, but he had no idea what had just been said.<\/p>\n And the world went black.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Sayma was on the porch, rocking the baby, and regretting the entirety of the time that had passed since she had agreed to accompany J\u2019hall and his carriage of materials across Skyrim.\u00a0 It had been one tragic mistake after another, ever since that moment.<\/p>\n \u201cI should have stayed in High Rock,\u201d she muttered. \u201cI could have helped raise those twins. I\u2019ll bet they\u2019re causing havoc everywhere they go by now. They must be, what, four years old? Five?\u201d\u00a0 She shook her head and stared out at the yard. \u201cI would never have gotten hit over the head. I\u2019d have never wandered into Kynesgrove and met Roggi.\u201d\u00a0 She found her voice thickening. \u201cI\u2019d have never met Brynjolf.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you\u2019d have never met me, either, Sis,\u201d a deep voice rumbled from the doorway.\u00a0 \u201cSo don\u2019t go second guessing your own life so much.\u00a0 Those twins were something else, weren\u2019t they? You should have seen me trying to hold them. I had no idea what I was doing.\u00a0 Easy on that cradle, by the way. You\u2019re going to make the poor kid seasick.\u201d\u00a0 Dardeh came out and sat down beside Sayma, putting one arm around her and giving her a quick squeeze. \u201cI can\u2019t blame you, though. This has been the longest three days I can ever remember.\u201d<\/p>\n It had helped, having Frina there. She and Frina actually had a great deal in common, in spite of her being a good deal older than the new Queen.\u00a0 They\u2019d swapped pregnancy stories, and she\u2019d given Frina some tips on what to expect when the labor started; and when she and Ulfric had left, as they needed to do a day after Brynjolf fell into his sleep, the two of them had embraced like sisters.\u00a0 Then it had been just Iona and the men. Roggi was beside himself, at first, thinking that he had somehow killed Brynjolf; and then he sat silently by Brynjolf\u2019s bedside, watching, just in case there was some change.\u00a0 Even Dardeh hadn\u2019t been able to budge him except for a few hours at night, when Sayma had tried to get some sleep herself.<\/p>\n But it had been difficult to sleep, with the unresponsive man in the bed beside her. She would have known immediately if something had changed, and yet sleep eluded her anyway.\u00a0 And now it had been three full days, and her mind was starting to find new and ever more cruel ways to torture her, somehow convincing her that the entirety of this was her fault, somehow.<\/p>\n She tried to muster a smile, but that wasn\u2019t exactly what happened with her face. She wasn\u2019t sure what she must look like.\u00a0 She did, however, peer over the side of the cradle to check that Qaralana was still alright. She was; she was fast asleep, her light tan cheeks ruddy with the energy a baby always put into the business of growing.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s going to be too big for this cradle pretty soon,\u201d Sayma said, her heart constricting as she remembered the sound of Brynjolf banging through the doorway to surprise her with it. \u201cI\u2019m glad we have a house with so many beds.\u201d<\/p>\n Something about that thought was just too much.\u00a0 She put her head down in her hands and started sobbing.<\/p>\n I kill people for a living and never shed a tear but one man lingering between life and death has the power to break me.\u00a0 What is wrong with me?<\/em><\/p>\n Dardeh slid an arm around her once more. \u201cSayma. It\u2019s ok. This is just the worst thing. I felt the same way when Roggi was hurt and I didn\u2019t know whether he\u2019d make it. But try to hold on. Chip needs you, and so does Qara.\u201d<\/p>\n She sniffled, and nodded; and for a moment she wrapped her arms around Dardeh\u2019s wide chest and laid her head on his shoulder.\u00a0 He was huge, and solid, and she could feel his power even when he wasn\u2019t using it.\u00a0 Dragonborn, indeed. And some day we will have to talk about the baby and her dragon. But today isn\u2019t that day.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Dar,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m really grateful that you and Roggi are here. I don\u2019t know what I\u2019d do, otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what to do, either,\u201d came an oddly-constricted but familiar Nord voice from the doorway.\u00a0 She turned to see Roggi standing there, frowning, and her heart started to pound in panic.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s the matter?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know where you keep any of the food, Sayma, and there\u2019s someone who\u2019s complaining about being really, really hungry.\u00a0 Maybe you can talk to him.\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma\u2019s mouth fell open and her heart felt as though it stopped beating for a moment. Then she gasped.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s\u2026 Roggi, Bryn is awake?\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi started laughing and nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, he\u2019s pretty disoriented still, but he\u2019s\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWatch the baby, Dar!\u201d she shrieked as she ran past Roggi, through the living area, and into the bedroom.<\/p>\n Brynjolf was sitting up in the bed, running both his hands through his hair and making a face as he smacked his lips.\u00a0 \u201cShor\u2019s beard, my mouth feels like I drank a barrel of goat piss.\u00a0 And I\u2019m really hungry. How long have I been out?\u201d<\/p>\n She threw herself onto the bed and wrapped herself around him, unable to keep herself from sobbing.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re awake.\u00a0 Thank the gods you\u2019re awake.\u201d<\/p>\n A moment went by before the familiar chuckle she\u2019d learned to love from her first job with the Thieves Guild sounded over her head, and his two very warm hands took her by her shoulders and pushed her back.\u00a0 His eyes were green, and clear, and twinkling with amusement.<\/p>\n \u201cAye, I\u2019m awake. And I can tell that the potion worked, but by the Eight!\u00a0 Not only do I taste like a goat, I smell like one, too. Whew.\u00a0 Go toss me in the lake, lass. I\u2019m ripe.\u201d<\/p>\n She laughed at him. \u201cThree days, Bryn. You were out for three days.\u201d<\/p>\n He nodded. \u201cMakes sense. Three days in, three days out. I\u2019m sorry if I worried you. It was quite an experience.\u201d\u00a0 He looked around at the room and sighed when his gaze rested on the spot where there used to be an ornate vase.\u00a0 \u201cWell, he told me it was what I needed to do and I guess he was right. I hope so, anyway. You\u2019re stuck with me now, lass, like it or not. And,\u201d he said, patting his chest and stomach as if to make certain they were still there, \u201cI think we\u2019re stuck with him too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cVitus told you that?\u201d She didn\u2019t know whether he was serious, or imagining things. She didn\u2019t care. He was sitting in front of her, talking calmly, looking human; and that was the best thing she could imagine right then.<\/p>\n He nodded. \u201cYeah. He did. I had a dream of him, the night before Roggi made the potion. Almost a visitation.\u00a0 He convinced me that I needed to do this because you needed me to be with you. I hope he was right?\u201d he repeated quietly, reaching up to push a chunk of hair out of her face.<\/p>\n Sayma nodded. \u201cOf course he was.\u201d\u00a0 She hesitated for just a moment and then decided that she had to say something, needed to clear the air before they could move forward. \u201cBryn, I\u2019m so sorry. I wish I\u2019d been able to just accept you the way you were. I guess I found the limits of my courage.\u201d\u00a0 She frowned. \u201cBut I\u2019ll always be grateful to Vitus. Always. He and I love you most of all, you know. And I don\u2019t mind that.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf touched her face, and she leaned into the warmth of his palm. \u201cI know,\u201d he said quietly.<\/p>\n They sat there for a moment, not speaking.\u00a0 Then his stomach rumbled, so loudly that they both stared at it for a moment and started laughing.<\/p>\n \u201cOk, ok,\u201d she said, thanking all of the gods she could think of that she was able to say this again. \u201cSo what do you want to eat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBread and cheese, to start out with,\u201d he said without a moment of hesitation. \u201cAnd ask Roggi if he\u2019ll come help me out to the lake. I\u2019m a wee bit wobbly and I really do need a bath.\u201d<\/p>\n She left, calling for Roggi to help Brynjolf, and laughed at Dardeh\u2019s loud protestations that he had no idea what to do with a baby.\u00a0 She stood in the kitchen slicing cheese and bread, and meats, and pouring tankards of ale that everyone deserved in spite of how high in the sky the sun still was.\u00a0 She mentally thanked Iona and Karliah for caring for Chip while she\u2019d fallen apart, and Frina and Ulfric for helping Roggi do what had needed to be done.<\/p>\n And she sighed happily, knowing as she had the day she had emerged from the Twilight Sepulcher that she was alive; the forest and the birds were alive; her family and friends were alive \u2013 but most of all, so was Brynjolf.<\/p>\n And life would continue.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/5-2-24-2.png\")
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<\/p>\nPart II: Resolution<\/a><\/div>\nPrevious<\/a><\/div>\n
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To be continued in