Chapter 8 - Dragon

                                    

                                          


                          
(4E 201 24th of Sun's Dusk) 
                          
I strolled into the palace with the crown in my hand, shutting the huge brass doors behind me. I turned to face the hall and saw Ulfric sitting on the far end of his banquet table.
                          
The table was lit with numerous white candles and there was a whole roasted pig in the middle along with vegetables, cheeses, and a whole lot of mead. I swear I could feel my mouth starting to water. The Jarl stood up to greet me, wearing a gentle smile on his face. I was surprised when he enveloped me in a strong hug.
                          
"I'm glad to see you safe" he murmured. 
                          
His concern for my well being made me grin and I pulled out of the hug and smiled at him. "What's all this?" I asked, gesturing to the banquet table. 
                          
"I thought you deserved some proper food for your efforts. Welcome to the rebellion" Ulfric returned my smile.
                          
I welcomed his gift and took my seat at the table. I didn't hold back, I hadn't eaten properly for days. I carved a huge slice of meat from the hog and took a large swig of mead. I could see the Jarl looking at me from the corner of my eye so I looked up at him with a questioning glare. Ulfric simply pointed to my left side and I looked down to see a large piece of meat in my hair. I felt my face turning scarlet. 
                          
"Excuse me" I apologized even though my mouth was still full of food. 
                          
"It's quite alright" Ulfric chuckled "Did you come across any trouble on your mission?"
                          
I swallowed a mouthful of food "The imperials were there before us, but it was nothing we couldn't handle"
                          
"I'm glad to hear it" The Jarl smiled at me. "Galmar tells me you're skilled on the battlefield, I'm quite impressed. A compliment from that old bear is not to be taken lightly". 
                          
I felt myself turning a darker shade of red and I smiled at the compliment. I wasn't sure whether I was happy that Galmar had noticed my efforts, or whether I was happier because I had impressed the Jarl. 
                          
We finished our meal and I felt like I'd eaten enough food to fill me for the next 3 months. The Jarl stood up and took my arm as he escorted me to the door of my room. 
                          
When we arrived at the door I looked up at Ulfric. The narrow corridors in the palace caused us to stand close to each other, but i wasn't complaining. "Thank you my lord" I said, smiling "I've enjoyed this night".
                          
 "Not half as much as I did" The Jarl placed his warm hands on my shoulders and looked at me "Oh and please, call me Ulfric".
                          
Ulfric pulled me towards him and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead before turning his back to walk away. I felt electric. I sighed happily and started to open the door to my bedroom when I heard a terrifying screech that was similar to the one I heard in Helgen all that time ago. 
                          
All at once, alarm bells started ringing and I heard steel being unsheathed. Townsfolk were screaming "Dragon!" 
                          
Why now?!
                          
Ulfric spun around and shot me a concerned glare before we both began to dart out of the palace and onto the chaotic streets. 
                          
When we got out, Ulfric took one look at the huge fire breathing beast in the sky and turned to me. He held my face in his warm hands.
                          
 "Get back inside" his voice was barely audible over the chaos in the city, but I could hear his panic "We can handle this".
                          
I shook him off "You've dragged me into this rebellion and I've gone to all this trouble for it, I'm not letting you die out here!" I shouted over the noise in the city below and tried to sound reassuring, but a part of me knew that the rebellion wasn't the only reason I wanted to protect the Jarl. 
                          
Ulfric didn't answer me; instead he unsheathed a steel war axe from his belt and started running towards the flames. I wasn't sure if he intended for me to follow him, but I did anyway, taking out a pair of ebony daggers as I ran.  
                          
We reached the chaotic part of Windhelm where the dragon was circling and braced ourselves. The dragon swooped down and fire started pouring out of its enormous scaly jaw, the heat melted the snow on the ground and I realized daggers weren't going to be much use against the beast. We needed to get it on the ground. 
                          
I took a huge risk by running away from Ulfric and towards the blacksmiths in the market square. I arrived and saw exactly what I wanted to see, a long bow and a quiver of around 30 arrows. I picked the weapons up and then noticed the blacksmith, cowering beneath the forge, staring at me. 
                          
"You'll thank me later" I said to him sternly before sprinting back to where I last saw the Jarl.
                          
Ulfric was gone, but the dragon was still circling overhead. I looked around frantically but I couldn't see any sign of him. There were scorched bodies on the ground, so bloody and burnt that I couldn't even make out their faces. I drew an arrow and shot it far into the sky, it hit the beast right in the belly but the dragon didn't even seem to notice. I shot arrow after arrow, and the beast wasn't getting any weaker. This is bad. 
                          
After over a hundred arrows and almost all of Windhelm's guards running to join the battle, the dragon was forced to the ground. But it still wasn't dead yet, it was still breathing fire and wreaking havoc across the city, and there was still no sign of Ulfric. 
                          
I took out my daggers and threw them with all of my strength, one dagger landed in the dragon's eye and it roared with anguish. We were getting somewhere. The guards saw that the beast was weak and began attacking it with their swords, and after what seemed like a lifetime of blood and chaos, the dragon died. 
                          
It fell to the ground with a thud. I looked onward, on the other side of the dead dragon, there was Jarl Ulfric; he stood bloody with war axe in hand. His eyes met mine and he smiled weakly, I felt happy that we had saved the city until the dragon's body began to turn orange; its skin started peeling off to reveal a magical substance beneath. Shit. How could I forget?!
                          
The substance began pouring itself into me and I fell to my knees. The guards started to whisper "Dragonborn". 
                          
I looked up at the Jarl, my eyesight starting to blur. His eyes were wide with awe for a second, and then his face twisted into an expression of disappointment and betrayal. He turned and began to walk back towards the palace. I reached out a bloody hand. I whispered "Jarl Ulfric", before my vision blurred and I faded out of consciousness.