Lost Legends

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"It can't keep going on like this!" A young woman's voice gasped as two figures dove over a snow drift to avoid detection by passing guards. "We have been fighting for so long that no one even cares anymore!" She added, running her fingers through blue black hair that had already become brittle with the cold.
"Of course they remember, Dex." The young woman's companion replied in an annoyed whisper. "We fight for freedom from the imperial invaders who seek to make us bow down to them!"
The woman who had just been referred to as Dex rolled her grey eyes. "What does it matter who sits on the throne as high emperor? Either way, we're still left down here in the dirt." She added, poking her head up to see if the coast was clear. "The rebellion is just pushing back the tide, sooner or later the imperials will find us all, and execute us as promised."

Ulfric chuckled quietly, finding pleasure in the simple trivialities most Nords would have found anger with. "Think I should tell her who I am?" He asked Bree as he gently set her down on the soft warm bed. "It would be rather amusing to see her reaction."

Dex returned Brynjolf's stolen kiss for only a moment before she turned her face slightly, denying him anything more. It just wasn't the same. In her misspent youth, this man had seemed both exciting and dangerous. But really, how could any mere mortal compare to the desires of a dragon? "I did not come back for this..." She whispered. Draco thought her weak and cowardly, so why was she not falling right back into the arms of the only man to think otherwise?

Bree couldn't help herself. A slow grin spread over her full lips as she covered herself with the sheet. And then as quickly as it came it was gone. "Do that and she'll think me your whore." She said softly, shrugging her shoulders. "Not that I care what she thinks...I simply will not be any man's plaything."

"What?" Brynjolf looked rather shocked at this and stepped back, pushing a hand through his hair. "Dex...I wasn't pushing for it if that's what you're getting at. I just...I thought you missed me like I've missed you. So...if not that...then why did you come here?"

Ulfric had lifted his hand to brush his fingers through his hair when he noticed the blood that was still upon them. His own smile faded, wishing it didn't always come to bloodshed. "Do you really care what a Nord woman thinks?" He asked Bree, discretely trying to wipe the blood on his pants. "Anyway, let us just leave her thinking you are my wife."

Dex wished she could be strong like Brynjolf had always seen her. The truth was, it was Draco who had seen her at her worst, and apparently he could not see past that. Finally she looked back up at her former lover, a fat tear rolling down her scarred cheek. "I don't know." She gasped before sliding her arms around Brynjolf and simply burying her face against his chest.

"I still don't understand your desire to make it true." Bree said, letting go of the sheet as she got up. She moved to the basin and wet down a part of her tattered dress. Surprising them both she took his hands and washed them. When she was done she kissed his knuckles ever so softly.

"Oh kiddo." Brynjolf held her tight against him, burying his face in her hair. "I didn't mean to upset you." He whispered, holding tight to her to let her know she could cry without fear of anyone else finding out or him laughing at her.

Ulfric was certainly surprised by her tender affection towards him, and didn't wish to say anything that would suddenly anger her and send her away. After all, even he had noticed he had an odd knack for annoying the Dunmer woman. "Thank you." He breathed, at a loss for anything profound to say.

And Dex did just that. She sobbed until her entire body shook and there was a rather large wet patch in the front of Brynjolf's shirt. The young woman was so very confused, and was clinging so tightly to Brynjolf that it was as though she thought she would simply float away if she let go.

Bree nodded, offering her protector a tiny smile. "It is I who should be saying that." She said softly. "You've saved my life twice now." She added, still holding onto his large battle worn hands.

"There now." Brynjolf breathed, again kissing the top of her head. He stroked and patted her back, not sure what else to do with her. "Feel better?" He added once she'd gone quiet.

"You sound surprised." Ulfric chuckled softly. "Given the chance, I will save it a great deal many more times." He added, in no hurry to have Bree relinquish her hold on him.

Dex looked up at Brynjolf with red rimmed eyes and nodded. "Is there someplace we can go without anyone seeing me? I... Think I'm ready to tell you what's been going on." She breathed.

"I think you've hit your head, Nord." Bree teased, shaking her head. "Come closer and let me..." She paused, standing on tip toe until her lips were inches from his own. She would have kissed him, probably taken it further than that, if not for the plump woman who burst into the room carrying buckets of steaming water. In an instant the distance between them had returned.

"We'll head to my room." Brynjolf told her, pulling her toward the shadows with him. "That way we can be alone without worry. Well...alone anyway."

Ulfric cleared his throat nervously and ran his fingers through his hair as the other woman entered. It would make for an odd scene, considering he and Bree were supposed to be husband and wife. "Thank you." He told the inn keeper as she brought the water in and he took the heavy load from her.

Dex slipped her hand into Brynjolf's as they moved. Though he would most likely not wish to hear it, the young woman did feel safe with him. The problem was, in a den of thieves, little stayed secret for long. It was a mere matter of time before word of her return spread.

Both women looked at Ulfric in surprise. It was obvious that neither of them was used to a man offering to help, much less saying thank you for it.
The Nord woman finally managed a nod and returned with towels. This time Bree took them from her. "Thank you." She said. "I shall take care of my husband. You rest yourself downstairs." That said she shut the door in the elder woman's face and poked out her tongue. She wasn't overly thrilled with having been interrupted.

Brynjolf shut the door to his room and leaned a chair against it. Once this was done he poured them both a tankard of mead and sat them on the little table in the far corner. "All right then, kiddo. Maybe it's time you started talking."

Before Bree could turn around Ulfric was behind her, his large hands on her slender hips as he again buried his face in her hair. "I am quite certain you could... Take care of me..." He breathed.

For a long moment Dex simply stared down into her mead, as though it really did hold all the answers. "I don't quite know where to begin, other than at my execution." She finally confessed. "Remember how the Stormcloak's forced you to cast me into their ranks after I robbed their leader? Well the Imperial's caught me... I was on the chopping block."

Bree's entire body came alive when he touched her. It did this every time. "Get in the water, Nord." She breathed finally, somehow managing to fight off her desires. "It's time you were given a proper bath."

Brynjolf nodded slowly, as if he'd expected this all along. "Do I dare ask what you did?"

"Are you implying that I am dirty, woman?" Ulfric asked with a smirk, kicking his boots off as his fingers then moved to unfasten his belt.

Dex shook her head. "I was caught off guard... I hit my head, and when I woke... I was in the prison transport." She confessed. "That isn't even the worst of it. It was the day of the first dragon attack. That dragon... It came at the moment they were swinging the axe."

"Aye." Bree breathed, able to catch her breath only after Ulfric had removed his hands. Quietly she turned and helped him with the belt, her fingers quick and sure. "You're a man, aren't you?"

"You were in Helgen?!" Bryjolf cried, nearly falling out of his chair. "You must be joking! The dragon was real?!" He had to catch himself on the edge of the table, sending mead sloshing from their cups.

"I don't know... Maybe you should check?" Ulfric teased with a playful grin as he leaned closer and kissed Bree's lips with a renewed hunger.

Dex snorted quietly at Brynjolf's reaction. "Oh... He was real alright..." She breathed, a somewhat distant look in her grey eyes as she thought about the first night Draco had claimed her. "He stole me away, spoke to me of destiny and soulmates. Then..." She sighed and took a rather large gulp of her mead.

Bree returned the kiss for a long moment, pushing her fingers through Ulfric's hair in an attempt to pull him closer.
"Stop." After a moment of losing her head, the Dunmer woman pulled herself away. The distance between them grew yet again. "I can't...I'm sorry. But I can't." That said she all but shoved the towels in his arm and closed the curtain between them.

"And then?" Brynjolf pressed, now leaning forward as if nothing in the world mattered. Truth be told in that moment, nothing did. He couldn't believe what he was hearing and yet...there was something in her voice that told of truth...

I love dragons !

Comically, Ulfric's pants fell down around his ankles as the curtain was drawn. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath; this woman had no idea the effect she had on him. It was with his pulse still racing that the king climbed into the bath the innkeeper had filled for him.

"Then..." Dex snorted bitterly. "Then I made a bad decision. Then I got the dark brotherhood involved... Then I was tortured and raped for days for information I didn't even have."

Bree let Ulfric relax for a few minutes before she pushed the curtain aside and knelt beside the tub. Gingerly she pushed the sandlewood soap through his hair, massaging his scalp. "Close your eyes, jarl." She breathed, her lips brushing his ear as she spoke.

Bryjolf's fist came down hard on the table and this time even more of the mead sloshed out. "I'll have their heads!" He roared. "No...I'll return the fucking favor!!"

Ulfric's eyes were already closed, as he wasn't sure which was more torture; Bree's gentle fingers in his dirty blond hair, or her soft lips against his ear. "I thought you were staying away?" He breathed.

Dex was shaking her head. "I was found by imperials, they did the job for you." She breathed, genuinely thinking this to be true. Little did she know that the very man who had abused her, was the one who tried to win her trust and act like her saviour.

"You deserved to be bathed in the manner of a king." Bree said simply, now cupping water in her hands and letting it pour through his hair. "After what you did for me it's the least I can do."

Brynjolf sat shaking his own head, all but vibrating with rage. "I'll kill them. I'll end the war myself!" He roared.

Ulfric lifted his hands to push his hair out of his eyes as Bree poured the water over him. "Funny, really... That my own queen never did this for me..." His mood was growing rather melancholy, thinking about what a blind fool he had been.

"We can't change the past." Dex whispered, staring down at the spilled mead. She remembered begging Galmar for death when she woke in the Stormcloak palace. "Brynjolf..." She began. "After I left the Stormcloak's... It was the dragon who saved me. His name is Draco, and... I think I love him." She confessed, not thinking to explain to bBrynjolf that the dragon could take human form.

"That woman was never your queen." Bree whispered. Finished with the rinsing she turned to lather more soap and began to spread it across the expanse of his chest. "She was not worthy of you."

This time Brynjolf did fall out of his chair. The table came crashing down with him, sending a shower of mead down on the both of them. Though he hadn't drank any of it, he was coughing fitfully.

Ulfric's large hand caught Bree's, simply holding it against his chest as she lathered up the soap. "I know... She was not a strong woman. She was a whore in priestesses clothing, and I fell for it."

Dex was on her knees beside Brynjolf, her fingers gently brushing his hair back to check for a lump, given he had hit his head rather hard. "You needn't worry... He doesn't love me. I am beyond worthless to him, no more than a coward."

"You let your guard down." Bree corrected. "Anyone would. It's not so hard to believe that someone can love you at first sight."

"Yes but...a dragon...are we saying that this dragon was in human form?" Bryjolf choked out, his hands shaking as he rested them over hers.

"Is it?" Ulfric asked, turning his head to purposefully look into Bree's face.

Dex nodded, her dark hair swinging down to obscure her face slightly. "An all too beautiful form. I kept him safe when he was weakened... And he called me a coward."

Bree nodded, pressing a kiss to the end of Ulfric's nose. "I used to believe my mother's rantings about Fate. I entertained the notion for a long time that I was going to see my protector and instantly fall in love. More fool me."

"Where is he, Dex?" Bryjolf was sitting up now. His eyes were wide. "Where can we find him..." He was looking around him for a weapon, anything that might help him when he went to capture a dragon. "Is he still weak?"

Ulfric's eyes were sad as he nodded too. "I imagine it must be hard to love anyone after what you have endured, let alone a Nord protector..."

Dex didn't like the look in Brynjolf's eyes and shook her head. "I don't know where he is, or what condition he is in." She replied.

"I'm never going to change your mind about my mother's fate idea, am I?" Bree asked, though she was smiling. She slid her fingers from beneath his and continued washing him. After a while, she lapsed into a gentle hum.

"Well take a guess!" Bryjolf cried, finally settling on a broad sword. "Where did you last see him? We could start there and see what we find."

Ulfric closed his eyes again, the sound of Bree's quiet song more than sweet music to his ears. "You really couldn't picture a life with me?" He asked after some minutes.

"Why do you want to find him at all?" Dex asked, horror in her eyes at the thought of something happening to Draco. "just because he does not share my feelings is no reason to hunt him down!"