Raised by Wolves: chapter six

I did not turn my head but instead stared directly into the fire. "Does every room have a hidden passage or just mine?"

He laughed. "Oh, I am sure there are many hidden passages in this old castle."

A chill crept down my spine, and I pulled the fur tighter around me. "How do I warrant a midnight visit from our future High King?"

He crossed the room and stood near the bed. "You are a powerful woman, Dragonborn. What man wouldn’t want to sneak into your chambers?"

I snorted a laugh. "Too many right now, my jarl. So I ask again because I am tired; what brings you to my chambers in the middle of the night?"

"All right, Dragonborn," he agreed. "I will not play the game with you; I’ll get to the point instead."

"Arianna," I said shortly.

"Um, I'm sorry, what?" he asked, distracted by my sentence.

"My name is Arianna; Dragonborn is a title, one I get tired of having to answer to all the time. If we are no longer being formal, you may call me Arianna."

"Oh, Arianna, that is a very pretty name." He smiled, and I was slightly charmed by how handsome he was. "Truth is, Arianna, I have watched you grow into this powerful young woman." He turned his head toward the flames, the firelight playing off his features. This was the closest I had ever been to him when we weren’t in the midst of battle with full armor on. His corn-colored hair hung in long locks around his face. His eyes were weary; instead of the jarl, tonight the man behind the crown stood next to me.

"The people love you," he said, wiping his hand down his face tiredly. "Many respect me and support my claim for the throne, but most—if not all—the settlements and their people genuinely love you. There hasn’t been this much mutual affection and appreciation for a single person since Tiber Septim himself, and he was a true Nord."

I bristled at his comment but bit my tongue. I may not have been a "true Nord," but I loved this country. How many times had I bled for it, and how many times at the request of this would-be king? "My lord—" I started.

"Ulfric," he said softly, gazing back at me. "Let us be true equals here in the wee hours of the morning, in the dark of your room, clad only in our night clothes."

"Ulfric." I blushed at his valid description of our states of dress. "I am unsure what your point is, and I am sure you exaggerate."

He crossed over to the bed and cupped my face with his large hand.

"I do not exaggerate. This level of devotion the people of Skyrim have for you is staggering. I fear if we were to hold a moot, the people would vote you High Queen out of their love for you." His fingers tightened on my jaw.

So this was his true purpose for being here. He feared the thought that I would usurp him and his claim to the throne.

I swallowed shallowly and spoke carefully. "A pretty but unrealistic thought. I am no queen."

He chuckled. "You underestimate your charms, but you are correct; you are not meant to be High Queen. You are too rough behind the ears, content to do your own dirty work instead of commanding others to do it for you." He released my chin, and I fought the urge to rub it. He stepped back from me, his back to the fireplace and his gaze thoughtful. "You are most pleasant to look at, and I would be lying if I said I didn't wish you into my bed.”

My head snapped up abruptly, "My lord—"

He reached for my hands through the fur blanket, drawing me to my feet and letting the blanket fall to the floor. "I asked you to call me Ulfric," he answered, pulling me into his embrace. His arms slid around my waist.

I stood frozen.  Why couldn’t I fight? I did not want him touching me, yet I did not offer any resistance.

"You are a very sturdy woman with curves in all the right places," he purred, slipping his hand down my back cupping the curve of my buttock.

"I…my…I…I would like for you to release me," I asked, stuttering through my words.

"And if I refuse?" he whispered, lowering his head towards my lips.

"Then I will remove your arms with my blade," Vilkas growled from the darkened doorway.

Ulfric's head snapped up before they made contact with my lips, and my head swiveled towards the door. My knight in shining armor stood there, covered in snow and mud from head to toe, his hair plastered to his head and fury ablaze in his baby-blue eyes.

"It would seem your housecarl wasn’t lying when she said there was competition for you," Ulfric drawled, put out by Vilkas's sudden appearance.

"Vilkas," I warned softly, struggling to pull myself from Ulfric's embrace.

"Ah, the mighty Companion," Ulfric said snidely. "I have heard of some of your adventures, my fellow. Is it true you have fought one of every type of predator in Skyrim?"

"Yes," Vilkas growled, his hands reaching for his blade. "And I'm going to add a new one to my list if you don’t release my mate."

"Are you threatening me? Your king?" Ulfric demanded.

"I see no king here, just a royal pig putting his hands on something that doesn’t belong to him," Vilkas snarled.

"Enough!" I shouted, twisting from Ulfric's arms.

Both men eyed each other warily, but their focus shifted to my underdressed form. The firelight danced across my tan skin, illuminating my silhouette through the flimsy nightdress I wore.

"My jarl,” I said, glaring at Vilkas, “you must excuse Vilkas. We have…a complicated relationship. In fact, I think he and I should be left alone to discuss said relationship."

Ulfric watched our faces carefully before his expression softened. "I understand. We will finish our conversation another time."

"No, you won't," Vilkas rumbled gruffly.

"Vilkas, back off!" I snapped, scowling at him. I bowed to Ulfric. "Another time, my jarl."

Ulfric and Vilkas glowered at one another and began circling, neither letting the other pass.

"Tell your dog to stand down Arianna," Ulfric demanded.

I stepped between them, shielding Vilkas from Ulfric, who exited the room from the main door instead of the hidden passageway. If there was anyone in the hallway, or if someone had stuck their head out after hearing the commotion in my room, they would see him leaving. I didn’t really care in this moment. What mattered was that he was gone and Vilkas was shivering in the middle of my bedchamber.

His arms encircled my waist, pulling me against his soaking wet, freezing form as he turned me to face him. "Lass, are you all right? He didn’t harm you, did he?"

I slapped my hand on his chest. "Now, you listen to me. I am fully capable of protecting myself. I was killing things that sought to harm me long before you and I knew each other."

I pulled my hand, now coated in mud, away from his chest. I helped him remove his armor and, using the last of my water, washed the dirt and mud from his face and body. When I finished, Vilkas stood before me, freshly scrubbed and clad only in his breeches. "I don’t know what you were thinking, challenging him like that. He is the jarl, for Talos’s sake! He also knows the Thu'um. He could have shouted you to pieces, and you would have been helpless to stop him. And why were you covered in mud?"

 He flashed me a heart-stopping grin. "I might have hitched a ride on a carriage with some farm animals."

My breath caught in my throat as my gaze traveled up his well-muscled chest to his pouty lips and met his gaze. I swallowed repeatedly, trying to clear my throat. "Why are you here, Vilkas?" I managed to choke out.

Vilkas stood in front of me awkwardly, a look of vulnerability crossing his beautiful face. "I couldn't breathe," he answered.

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked with confusion.

He smiled sheepishly, swallowing audibly. "After Farkas and I stopped fighting and you weren't there, I just couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t be without you; I had to see you again, to be near you, to assure myself that even if you were mad at me, I would someday be able to touch you again."

My eyes went soft, my heart melting. I reached for him, my hand cupping his whiskered covered face gently in my palm.

"Arianna…" he whispered, closing the distance between us. My other hand found its way into his hair, and I intertwined my fingers through his dark locks and brought his lips to mine.

Our mouths met in a soft press of lips against each other. He stood still, letting me take the initiative. I kissed his lips with a tentativeness that might be expected of one as inexperienced as I was. I moved along his jaw slowly, down his neck and across his collarbone, my mouth as soft as a butterfly's wing. I pressed my face against his chest, wrapping my arms tightly around him and burying my nose in his scent.

"Vilkas?" I purred.

"Yes my love?"

"How did you get to my chambers without raising an alarm?"

He chuckled, "It wasn’t that hard my dear. I merely told the guards you were my Harbinger and that I had important news that had to be delivered in person."

"Oh," I replied. Though I was happy he was here, it was unsettling how easily he had been able to bypass the jarl’s security. It was something that I would have to discuss with Ulfric while I was here and must remember to lock my door against.

"Arianna," he murmured.

"Yes, Vilkas?" I whispered, content in his warm embrace.

 His hand lifted my chin, drawing my face up to meet his gaze his eyes dark with lust. "Last time when we were together, I wasn’t as gentle with you as I should have been."

"It's all right," I said softly, trailing my nails lightly down his back.

He held me tight against him before leaning back to look down at me. "No, it's not. A woman's first time should be special. She should be, I don’t know, cherished and taken slowly. Not ravaged like an animal up against a door."

I frowned. "I thought it was special."

He shook his head, his long mane of hair fluttering around his face. "It was; that’s not what I meant. Why is it when I am around you, I can't do the most basic things like think or talk?"

"Then don’t do either." I laughed softly, rising up on tiptoe and kissing him fiercely.

Dear Talos, please let me have this one perfect moment.