Chapter Text
Ulfric Stormcloak
He and Galmar had been in the midst of yet another discussion about the war when the door to the Palace of the Kings burst open.
“ULFRIC STORMCLOAK!”
A small hooded figure was storming toward him, fury rolling off of her in waves. He’d caught a brief glance of her a few days before, speaking to Jorleif about something. He hadn’t thought much of it at the time. That voice though. The thu’um…
“Three days. It took me three days to solve the murders that had your useless guards stumped. And most of that was waiting for it to be the right date!”
He bristled and opened his mouth to argue back, though he didn’t get the chance.
“Tell me Jarl, are your guards truly so incapable that they can’t follow a blatantly obvious trail of fresh blood? Or will you give me the excuse of the war taking up too much time to make your own people feel safe in your city? It took mere hours to find all the clues needed. And now the murderer lies dead in the market because I bothered to ask a few questions and to stake out a potential threat.”
He stood, ready to have her thrown out. Dragonborn or not, he wouldn’t be disrespected in his own home.
“FUS!”
The one worded Shout sent him stumbling back into his seat, unharmed but off balance.
“You’re pathetic Ulfric. How do you expect to rule an entire country when you can’t even be bothered to stop a murderer? One that primarily went after Nords, I might add.”
By now, Galmar had reached Ulfric’s side, seconds away from drawing his axe.
The Palace doors opened again, this time allowing a heavily armored Nord woman to enter. She quickly made her way over to the Dragonborn, who was still speaking, stopping a few paces behind her. Exasperation filled her expression, but she didn’t do or say anything. After a moment, the Dragonborn turned to look at her.
“What? He’s an ass.”
“My Thane, this is the second Jarl you’ve Shouted at. While I agree he and Skald deserve it, my job is to keep you safe. If you keep Shouting at Jarls, that will become harder than it already is.”
“Hmph.” The Dragonborn looked at him, then turned and walked towards the door. “Come on, he’s not worth wasting anymore breath on.”
A moment later, they were gone. Ulfric sighed, trying to make sense of what just happened. It seemed he’d just met the Dragonborn. Rumors had been circling for weeks, though little was known for certain.
It seemed the Dragonborn was a woman. One with a temper and a title.
Something had seemed familiar about her, though he couldn’t tell what.