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avionvadion · 7 months ago

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Trashahime Rewrite: Forest Deep version

When Towa is four and Airi is six, time portals leading to the modern era began to appear randomly and it swept them away.

(Potentially caused by Kirinmaru in the modern era by messing with the sacred tree) but he has an extreme makeover so he doesn’t look like the dollar store version of Takemaru of Setsuna.)

Seeing the sacred tree in the distance, the pair of sisters make their way to it, recognizing it, but are unable to find their way home and are instead taken in by Sota Higurashi- only to encounter their mother, Irene, like two years later when she is only nineteen years old and about to make her journey back to the Feudal Era after being gone for two and a half months. Despite her younger appearance, her scent is the same, and so is her gentleness and warmth, and Towa clings to that memory of young short-haired Irene for the next decade. Maria stays behind to help Sota and his wife look after them, as they are obviously her little sister's future children.

Maria soon encounters an older Koga, who had survived to the modern era by blending in, and is reunited with her precious wolf, Saun, who has grown old with age and has weary bones.

Back in the Feudal Era, six years after Towa and Airi disappear, a moth demoness, Mayonaka, awakens from her restorative slumber within her cocoon, having suffered terrible injuries over fifty years prior from a war that took place in her territory.

(Her name means "Midnight", and she is a relative of Gatenmaru and Garamaru, but unlike either of them she is a daiyokai)

She's been obsessed with Sesshomaru for over a century, and has always been frustrated that he never once looked her way, but upon awakening learns that not only has Sesshomaru has become a daiyokai... but he has also taken Irene, a mortal, for a wife.

Mayonaka is enraged, and sends her minions after Irene in hopes of getting rid of her, but this does little to deter the human, experienced in the ways of battle with her Shikigami, and having InuKag as neighbors and MirSan as friends. And, not to mention, anytime Sesshomaru discovered demons heading for the village with ill intent, he slaughtered them, as he visits fairly frequently to check on his wife and help look after their children- because he is a father who helps with raising his kids.

After two years of zero results, Mayonaka decides she has to take matters into her own hands and curses Irene.

It was a simple curse really, Mayonaka having some of her little moths spread some dust onto her kimonos while they were hanging out to dry, and it started off with just nightmares. It would make it difficult for Irene to sleep, each nightmare growing more and more horrific and taking a toll on her health, but as days to weeks to months go by she is getting noticeably worse, as the nightmares slowly begin leaking poison into her soul. Eventually, she becomes so ill from the curse that she begins spitting/coughing blood until she collapses, falling comatose.

Time continues to pass, but her body grows weaker and weaker. When the Shikigami spirits sense she’s on the brink of death, they combine their powers to cast a spell, placing her in stasis at thirty-five years of age so she would not take her final breath.

Her body is placed in a shrine within Mount Ryosozan, where Tatsunori, her dragon spirit, once lived as a highly respected Kami. The air there is very clean and pure, and will hide her scent. Sora, the eldest child, stands guard, protecting her mother’s resting body at only fifteen years old while Sesshomaru continues to search for who cursed his beloved.

For the next four years, Irene would remain asleep, and Mayonaka will be taking delight in sending Sesshomaru on a wild goosechase trying and failing to find her. All the while, demons have been going missing- swept away by the time portals into the modern era, and Maria, a much older Koga, Hakkaku, and Ginta, and the descendants of the Kururugi Shrine, work together to take care of these threats. They also train Towa in swordsmanship and martial arts, and Airi in the art of Shikigami and archery- as Airi's human blood and connection to spirits is much stronger than Towa's, who has a stronger connection to their demon side.

Shortly after Towa turns fourteen and Airi sixteen, shenanigans happen that get them sent into the Feudal Era. Potentially separated, with Towa being found by Rin and Kohaku (both of whom had viewed Irene as a mother figure, and have met Irene when she was short-haired and see Towa's resemblance to her) while Airi is found by Kin'u and Gyokuto, who note she has round eyes- much like a foreigner- and decide to take her to the village.

Later, after being reunited, it turns dark and Towa becomes human, as it is the fifth night of the month.

Towa resembles Irene the most in appearance, despite Airi having their mother’s eyes, and Kaede comments on this- especially when seeing Towa in human form. Towa asks why her biological parents aren't around if they're still alive, and Kaede informs her that her mother was cursed, and that her father is on a hell-mission trying to find the one who cursed her so he can kill them.

Towa: "She's cursed? So... does that mean she's nearby somewhere? Can we meet her?"

"That... is a question you need to take up with your sister."

"Shion?"

"Sorano." *Kaede smiles* "One of your older sisters. She is protecting her. Ah, but I do not know where you can find her. Perhaps you should speak to one of your OTHER siblings to find out. Shion, being so young, was not given the knowledge of your mother's location- as she was even younger when sweet Irene was put to sleep. Your great demon father could not risk her being found by his enemies, you see... or by the one who cursed her."

Kaede is aware that Irene was cursed and put into stasis to save her life. She also knows that the eldest child, Sora, is protecting her. But she knows not where they are, only what is being done, and if they wish to meet their mother they must first find Sora- and to do that, they must find Hikaru or Akane, for they surely know of her whereabouts.

InuKag and MirSan know where Akane at least can be found, but state that she never leaves the village and is almost never seen by anyone except her parents, siblings, and spouse. As relatives, they might have a good chance of getting into the Kururugi Shrine to see her… but the villagers are very protective of Akane as they view her as a benevolent saintess/kami, due to when Sesshomaru and Inuyasha helped Irene defeat Anastasia.

Gyokuto, a demon slayer like her mother, brother, and uncle, finds out the girls want to find Akane, so she goes with them because she wants to see Hikaru and because she’s annoyed Hisui is getting all the fun of traveling without her. They discover him lounging about in the valley and he takes them to see Akane, though only Towa, Airi, Shion, and Hikaru himself are allowed inside the shrine where she stays.

Akane reluctantly tells them about Mount Ryosozan, but that it is dangerous to visit. Still, Towa and Airi want to see Irene. They have only one recent memory of her- of when they were children and had only been in the modern era for a short time before Irene, at 19 years old, appeared to try and go back to the Feudal Era. Towa wants to see her again.

Towa and Airi want to help the mother who they remember had looked after them so kindly and gently, even when she didn't know who they were. They hold on to that one day so strongly, and to the photo they were given of her, and to the storybook of the Celestial Prince and his Stolen Love that their Uncle Sota read to them so often when they were small, as it told the (albeit greatly twisted over the years) story of how their father once saved their mother from a human lord and his soon-to-be bride, and how Auntie Maria corrected all the flaws in the story and told them the truth of the tale.

They want to meet Irene, and they want to save her. They want to feel her warmth again.

So they go to the mountain.

It’s Towa’s human night when they get there, and Sora has to do a double take and look behind her into the shrine to see the sleeping Irene. Towa, as a human, has shoulder-length hair, and solely because of the connection to spirits her human blood gives her. (Irene's hair grew because of the Shikigami spirits, even when her body was frozen due to Anastasia's spell, the first time she traveled to the past) Hair is viewed as something that holds a connection to spirits, and when human Towa's connection to the spirits is much stronger, and the growing hair as a human represents that connection.

And Sora has known their mother with longer hair all her life.

Looking back at Towa, she gives her the MOST dumbfounded look. “Here I thought HIKARU took after our mother..."

And Hikaru rebuts with a, “I don’t want to hear that from the one who most looks like our father.”

"I think I resemble Mother quite a bit."

"Absolutely not! In what way!? You can be just as cold as Dad sometimes, you know!"

"Well, I wouldn't have to be if you'd just listen to your big sister..."

"I listen plenty! It's hard being the only son, you know!"

When morning rises, Towa is half-demon again.

She mentions she met their mother when she was little, but their mother was younger and hadn’t even had Sora yet. Towa confesses she based her haircut and style off of what she remembered her looking like back then, as a way to avoid forgetting her, and Airi takes out the photo Sota snapped before 19 year-old Irene left for the Feudal Era to show them.

…

Mayonaka wanted Sesshomaru to look at her, to have her on his mind at all times… and had sent minions to kill Irene at first to get her out of the way, but when that failed, she cursed her in hopes that he would finally glance her way. And it worked, kind of.

By cursing Irene to the point where she is on the brink of death, he is now obsessively searching for Mayonaka- to kill- and has been for four years.

But when Sesshomaru finally finds her, he doesn’t even humor Mayonaka in conversation. He just attacks. This infuriates her, and she realizes that he isn’t even looking at her, more as he is just seeing the “demon who cursed his wife”. He doesn’t even know her name. There’s not enough room in his heart to hate her when all he cares about is Irene.

So she decides to take some drastic measures. Mayonaka believes she has to fully get rid of Irene in order for there to be room in his heart for her, because if she can’t have him she WILL have his heart by scarring it so badly that the memory of her will be etched in his very soul- as the woman who killed his love. So she starts searching for Irene.

(Think a very twisted and obsessed Yandere. That's Mayonaka)

When she finally finds her, Sora is there and in the way- trying to stop her. Sora puts up a good fight, but Mayonaka has more experience and ends up killing her by targeting Irene, tricking Sora into sacrificing herself and taking the blow by shielding her mother’s body. As Sora is bleeding out, she collapses atop the sleeping Irene just as Sesshomaru appears, having tracked Mayonaka down.

Sora had bought just enough time for her father to find them, and passes away holding onto her mother.

Sesshomaru is pissed. He goes full dog mode. Mayonaka laughs with delight and goes full moth mode. Giant daiyokai battle ensues. The Inugang and Kiddos all show up at the mountain to see Sesshomaru and Mayonaka battling it out, and everyone is horrified upon seeing Sora collapsed and dead, her blood pooling at her feet.

The Inugang go to help Sesshomaru, but Mayonaka’s minions appear. Lesser demons who despise the fact that Sesshomaru took on a human wife. They end up battling it out while Hikaru, Airi, Towa, and Shion try to protect what’s left of the shrine with Irene and Sora’s bodies inside. Itsuki and Moroha are working with Hisui, Kin’Gyo, and Kohaku and Rin (she's a priestess) to fend off anymore new arrivals. Miasma is slowly killing the foliage that kept the shrine pure.

Sesshomaru ends up leaving Mayonaka a bloody mangled mess, and tosses her down from the sky and into the river below. With a splash, she’s back in her humanoid form, and she is cackling and laughing with delight, grinning as wide as could be. She’s so happy. Sesshomaru is finally looking at her, and she’ll be etched in his heart forever if he kills her.

But he doesn’t.

A familiar scent has reached the entrance, and with it the appearance of hot blue flames that swallow the area, enveloping the lesser demons and disintegrating them all. As it clears, everyone sees a figure walking calmly towards them, and as the figure draws close they realize… it’s Akane.

Akane in her mortal form. The final sibling, Hikaru’s twin sister, the one that could not blend in with society in her normal form, has finally arrived… and her gaze turns to meet the gaze of her father.

Sesshomaru will not kill Mayonaka. He will not give her the pleasure she so wishes to have of dying at his hands. Her body is already mangled, limbs barely hanging on as is. No, she’ll die at the hands of the daughter that most resembles his wife in terms of power and selflessness.

So he turns away. He starts walking towards the resting bodies of Sora and Irene.

Mayonaka is horrified. She starts screeching, screaming at him, that it HAS to be him to kill her. That she did all this FOR him, but… he pays her no heed. So she pulls herself together with what little remains of her strength and pulls out her moth wings, flying towards Sora and Irene. She is determined to kill the human woman.

But Sesshomaru doesn’t give her more than a glance over the shoulder before a massive spirit (Akane’s familiar) appears and swallows Mayonaka whole, sealing her away. She burns the talisman the demoness was sealed in with a vanquishing flame, and Mayonaka is effectively dead… and the curse on Irene broken.

As she starts to wake up, Sesshomaru uses tenseiga on Sora, and his daughter is very confused until she realizes what happened and watches as color returns to Irene’s face and the woman coughs, groaning and rolling onto her side as the spirits release their spell that had kept her in stasis.

Irene is shooketh, and mildly horrified she’s been asleep for so long that Sora is now 19, Hikaru and Akane 18, and that Airi and Towa have returned and are both 16 and 14 alongside Shion!????? Three of her children are young adults now, and two of her babies have returned and are so much older now, and wait, why is Sora covered in blood?

Irene cries, and Sora is laughing and hugging her, telling her it’s alright, and Irene is like NO, IT ISN’T, WHO CURSED ME, TELL ME THEIR NAME SO I CAN BURN THEM TO CRISPS, and they have to tell her that the demoness is already dead. Irene is pissed and upset and going through all the emotions, and ends up smothering all of her kiddos with affection because it's been four years and she missed so much and two of her babies are back but her other babies are four years older now and oh gods how could she have slept so long???

...

Unfortunately... there's still the case of the randomly appearing time portals and all the demons that are disappearing.

The modern era is an extreme danger now, as with all the demons from the Feudal Era being sent to modern times all the demons of the modern era that were in hiding and blending in have decided they were tired of hiding and reveal themselves, lashing out at the humans that had them hide away for so long.

Kirinmaru is the one leading it all.

Kagome, Inuyasha, Moroha and Itsuki, and Irene, Airi, Towa, Shion, and Kin'u and Kohaku all get zapped by one of the portals. They're reunited with Sota, Maria, and Koga, and they watch as the skies grow dark as hundreds to thousands of demons appear, while others are wrecking havoc in the towns.

In a panic, Kagome remembers something from years ago and reveals that inside Kururugi Shrine is a scroll. Hinami and Ren are there, and they know exactly which one she's talking about, and they send Irene to the shrine to unseal the demon and his allies that are with him- and have been for many centuries.

It is a scroll depicting the demon lord Sesshomaru... who had been sealed by his daughter, Akane, in an effort to save his life, many many years ago, and who lost her life sealing her siblings along with him.

To quote Hinami from my Forest Deep fanfic, "Demons existed once. They were in abundance, living in the wild and in their own forms of civilization. Yet when humanity's weaponry began to grow more advanced, their numbers began to decline. Demons started to lose their place in this world. Those who sought preservation hid themselves, while others were proud and died fighting. The few who could pass themselves off as humans did so, and their demonic bloodlines dwindled until nothing but traces of their powers within their descendants remained."

During the era of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Sakoku Edict, demons began to be killed off. They either learned to blend in or died fighting. Sesshomaru, being as proud as he is, refused to blend in, and fought for years until he was gravely wounded. His half-demon, half-white children were being hunted.

Akane knew he wouldn't survive if he kept going. She knew her siblings would all be killed.

So, in a moment of extreme sacrifice, wanting to protect them all, Akane gives up her life sealing Sesshomaru and all of her siblings away. Her descendants, who lived in hiding within the Kururugi Village, acting as priestesses and priests, worshipping the "Great Kami" of their shrine, prayed to and protected the scroll for the next few hundred years, passing down the stories and legends to each generation.

Sesshomaru, trapped with three of his half-demon children and... potentially a grandchild, ponders over the next few centuries why Akane, the child who could not blend in with society, who lived in hiding, who was the one child he was harshest/most strict with to ensure she could survive, did what she did, and how she died doing so, knowing full well he could not revive her with tenseiga after being sealed away.

And as the years pass...

He gets to see her children, and her grandchildren, and her grandchildren's children and grandchildren. Some look just like her human self or just like Irene or just like him, and then it's Hinami and Ren who are IDENTICAL to Akane and Irene, and he's still TRAPPED with his other children while the ONE IS DEAD but her descendants are THERE, and then...

Kagome's finally come to collect the shard of the "shattered bird".

And Kagome sees the scroll and finally realizes why Hinami and Ren look so familiar, and why something always felt so off about them, because in the shrine she sees a little crescent glowing upon the brunette's forehead. With the jewel shard in her hand, Kagome approaches the scroll, the scroll that has what is so very obviously Sesshomaru painted on it, despite the older appearance and change of armor, and when she reaches out to touch the painting... the image changes so his likeness is looking RIGHT at her.

Kagome is, understandably, freaked out.

She books it out of there after listening to Hinami's story, and Sesshomaru is left waiting again. And again. And…

Miasma.

The doors to the shrine slams open.

Irene?

She's younger, much younger than she was when she had died, and she's dressed in the purple kimono with the blue butterflies he gave her shortly before she originally left the Feudal Era, as an apology for having hurt her. She's... not as young as back then, but not as old as when she died. She's somewhere in between. He hasn't seen her in centuries.

And she's... as beautiful as the day he had lost her.

He watches from within the scroll as she rushes over, muttering to herself. He feels the warmth from her palm as she rests her hand against the scroll, gentle flames peeling away the seal.

And then he was freed, along with those who had been sealed with him.

Five hundred years, and he gets to hold her again.

He had missed her so much.

But it's only temporary, for after the battle she'll have to return to his younger self.

#inuyasha #inuyasha oc #anti yashahime #anti sessrin #Sesshomaru x oc #Sesshoumaru x oc #seshomaru #kagome higurashi #inukag #mirsan #moroha #Towa is literally an Irene baby you can pry her from my cold dead hands #Forest deep #Yashahime rewrite

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nerevar-quote-and-star · 1 year ago

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Yet another wild crackship between my LDB and some Skyrim dumbo, but this time it's General Tullius, and it actually gets madder from there

Look, a lot of this surprised me too. It sure surprised @elder-dragon-reposes and yet it makes sense and that's the strange beauty of it

ao3 | masterlist

He could be forgiven for not seeing her at Helgen. Between Ulfric's capture and the following dragon attack, Tullius had his hands full with escaped prisoners and a town in ruins. Not to mention Elenwen's attempts to take over his execution. One half-elf caught in the crossfire was below his attention at the time. When she came into Castle Dour, a cold wind in her wake as she spoke about fire and death, he had no choice but to pay attention to her. Especially when she brought up things like "peace" and "ceasefire." This Last Dragonborn was out of her mind.

Yet somehow, she led him into an agreement to meet with the Stormcloaks at High Hrothgar.

Tullius isn't quite sure he likes that. She's as double-edged as any Thalmor diplomat with her words. As noble as her intentions appear on the surface, he's not sure he can trust her.

At High Hrothgar, the Last Dragonborn, Leara, leads both sides into an agreement where no one gets what they want, but no one is worse off, and she plans to trap a dragon in a castle.

She . . . plans to trap a dragon in a castle.

Tullius knows he was sent to Skyrim to tame the rebellion, but no one ever prepared him for how maddening the people of Skyrim were. No one is as maddening as the Nords' hero. Tullius cannot understand her. He's not sure he wants to, all things considered.

The Legate is amused by his consternation. He knows this even without her saying anything. But Tullius is worried. This Leara has the power to sway Skyrim in whatever way she chooses, and if she joins the Stormcloaks, then he has a feeling that the Empire might lose more than Skyrim before all is over.

He keeps an ear out for the Dragonborn's movements. His spy network throughout Skyrim is extensive: If she breathes in Windhelm's direction, if she says anything about the Civil War, then he'll need to be ready. This woman has slain dragons. He doesn't want to see what she'll do to a legion of mortal men. Tullius needs to be ready.

Tullius is not ready when Leara walks into Castle Dour again, armorless and prim as she waltzs into his war room. Legate Rikke greets her, but Tullius pretends to give half an ear. He looks like he's going through reports, but he's trying to keep an eye on the anomaly in the room.

Legate Rikke and the Dragonborn talk quietly together. And then the Dragonborn leaves and Tullius finally puts down his paperwork. Legate Rikke is frowning.

"What did she want?"

The Legate's attention snaps to him.

"She wanted to know about our support from Cyrodiil, sir." "Support?" "She mentioned your inability to negotiate a peace settlement, General."

Tullius recalled that. He'd told the Dragonborn he couldn't do more than accept Ulfric's surrender. But why did the Dragonborn want to know about the Imperials' ability to negotiate with the rebels? Didn't she already get her peace treaty and trap her dragon?

Tullius cannot wrap his head around her. Everything his spies have reported paints her as kindness. Even the coldest Nords seem to thaw around her. But Tullius can't base his understanding of such a power player like the Dragonborn on reports and a handful of interactions. He'd have to speak with her himself.

The Winking Skeever is busy when he steps in. A few heads turn, but otherwise, no one pays Tullius any particular attention. The Dragonborn isn't difficult to find, either: She's at a corner table with her nose buried in a dusty book.

Tullius makes his way over to her.

The Dragonborn is surprised to see him but still invites Tullius to sit at her table.

"I assume this is about my discussion with your legate earlier."

She's perceptive. But Tullius already knew that.

"Do you always discuss politics in a bar?"

At his question, the Dragonborn offers a little half-smile, her eyes dancing with amusement.

"Do you?"

No. Honestly, Tullius couldn't recall the last tie he even visited a bar or tavern other than while traveling. Perhaps he was working too late, but between the Civil War, Elenwen, the dragons, and (maybe) the Dragonborn, he couldn't afford to slack off. Why else would Tullius chase the Dragonborn down to the local inn?

"Have you read much about Skyrim?"

Her question surprises him.

"War commentaries mostly. Military history."

The nod of her precise head is measured as if she expected that response. Marking her page, she closes her book and shows him the cover. It's some thick tome he's never heard of, but the knotwork dragon design around the edges breathes of old Nordic craftsmanship.

"As Dragonborn . . . [she pauses for a long moment] . . . As Dragonborn, I am highly invested in the preservation of the Empire and Skyrim."

She chews her lip.

Tullius almost asks if she's about to join the Legion. He can't deny that he'd hoped that would be her ultimate decision, but sitting here across from the Dragonborn as she was now, deliberating over words and tapping her book's cover, Tullius knew she wasn't about to swear fealty to the Emperor.

When she continues, she speaks slowly.

"General Tullius, would you be willing to help me? I need to reach out to people in the Imperial City about a peace summit, and I don't know where to begin."

A peace summit?

"I take it Ulfric didn't put you up to this?"

Her frown is surprising.

"No, he didn't. I asked him."

The Dragonborn asked Ulfric if she could talk to the Empire about a peace summit?

Before he could ask what in Oblivion that was supposed to mean, the server brought a tea service to the table. Just as quickly, he was gone.

"Would you care for a cup, General? I'm afraid all they have is lavender honey." "I . . . would like that--" "Leara."

She supplied. Her lips quirked.

So Tullius found himself ensconced at a table in The Winking Skeever and discussing different politicians and diplomats back in the Imperial City with the Dragonborn – Leara. He's halfway through his second cup when she admits that she's trying to find a peaceful resolution to the Civil War that could please everyone. He calls her a hopeful idiot, but she smiles.

"You can't please everyone." "Well, I don't think I can please the Dominion, but I can tie them in legal knots."

Leara wiggles her fingers at him, her rings glittering in the candlelight, and Tullius finds himself speechless.

If the Dragonborn – Leara – can tie the Thalmor up with a loophole, how imminent would their retaliation be? Tullius is at once intrigued and put off.

She was mad.

"Here, you'll want to write . . ."

But by the Divines, he was going to help her anyway, wasn't he? If Leara could talk Ulfric off his warpath, then maybe there was something to her hair-brained scheme.

Tullius sees Leara a few days later. She's been to the Blue Palace and the Bards College, she tells him when he meets her again at the 'Skeever. She's combing through maps and treaties, drafting letters, and making lists. Her mind is running at speeds Tullius can't comprehend, and yet she keeps looking to him for advice.

As Leara stirs a lump of sugar into her snowberry spice tea and peruses another list, Tullius wonders if she did this with Ulfric when she went to ask him to consider peace.

Her penmanship is as poised as the rest of her. He cannot see her against the harsh stony backdrop of Windhelm, amidst the snow and vitriol. She's too civilized for Skyrim. She's almost too civilized for Cyrodiil, but Tullius won't think of that.

He doesn't have a chance to give it much thought anyway when she's asking him about neutrality and the terms of the Concordat.

It's late when Tullius leaves her the second time. As he leaves, she's carrying a stack of papers upstairs. She has a hopeful lift in her step.

Tullius almost smiles.

Almost.

The next morning, Legate Rikke drops a new report on his desk. It's from Captain Aldis.

"What's this, Legate?" "There was a break-in, sir." "And we're concerned with this, because?"

Legate Rikke's jaw tightens, her eyes are wide. Whatever it is has unsettled her.

"It was at The Winking Skeever."

She sighs. Heavy. It's a familiar frustration.

"General, I believe that the Thalmor were exercising their Concordat-given rights."

A pit settles in Tullius's stomach.

"They took the Dragonborn, sir." "On what grounds?" "It doesn't say. sir. It doesn't even mention the Thalmor at all. But you know–"

Tullius doesn't hear the rest of the sentence because he realizes his mistake. He should never have discussed the possibility of an armistice with Leara in a public room. Who overheard her? Who saw Leara's notes and lists and books? Who ratted her out to the Thalmor?

Tullius's fist clenches, his knuckles pale. The one person with a Divine's chance in Oblivion to bring a favorable resolution to the Civil War and the Thalmor took her like every Talos worshipper the Empire was supposed to turn a blind eye too.

He paces around his office. Legate Rikke has left him alone, and now all Tullius can do is think and walk. Turn. Think and walk. Turn. The cycle repeats throughout his office. He only suspects that the Thalmor took Leara. Without concrete proof, he can't accuse them or he'll risk something far more uncomfortable than paperwork. But if he does nothing, then every hope for peace in Skyrim vanishes in the Dragonborn's wake.

Tullius stopped in the middle of his office, standing at a crossroads. Was it possible to ascertain that the Thalmoor abducted Leara and to request her freedom without bringing Elenwen down on his head? Probably not. But . . .

Tullius recalled the wide eyes, the fear swimming in the teary blue when Leara was faced with Elenwen at High Hrothgar. At the time, Tullius didn't think much of the Dragonborn's aversion to her. Most people hated the Thalmor Ambassador on a good day. But the terror that flickered in Leara's face before she grew cold and distant and manipulated the entire table to her own ends came back to him.

No, Tullius knew Elenwen personally had the Dragonborn. There was a history there he couldn't see, but it peeked at the edges of his vision in brilliant horror.

Elenwen had Leara, and she wouldn't let the half-elf go lightly.

If Leara could cheat an entire room of warring politicians and soldiers while ensuring a truce, then Tullius could sure as Hell try to manipulate Elenwen.

Sitting at his desk, the General ruled out any official Legion channels. Those would be tied back to him and ruin any chance Leara had of negotiating her armistice. Something under the table, then.

Mercenaries were messy. Robbing Elenwen would take a different hand. He grimaces and drafts a letter.

General . . .

The messenger hawk returns the next evening. Tullius doesn't want to think about why the hawk returned so quickly. He just hoped his charade would hold.

(Writing Galmar Stone-Fist of all people to encourage a Stormcloak raid on Northwatch Keep was something Tullius knew he could never live down if it got back to any of his superiors in Cyrodiil. He couldn't trust that General Stone-Fist would take an anonymous tip at face value, but as Leara soliloquised late that last night,)

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

It's four long days of giving only half his attention to his job before an Imperial scout reports that the Stormcloaks attacked the Thalmor fortress of Northwatch. When the Legion got there, nothing was left but smoldering ruins.

"They had a dragon, sir."

Tullius didn't want to know how they had a dragon, but he was optimistic that it meant Leara made it out of there alive.

With the Stormcloaks, but alive.

He sleeps through the night for the first time in over a week. When Tullius wakes up, he wonders how he could turn to the rebels to save the Dragonborn. Effective, yes, but it went against everything he was supposed to represent.

But she's alive.

She would be dead or worse off if he hadn't done it.

Tullius uses that thought to bolster himself through the coming weeks.

Then, a letter addressed to Tullius comes by way of Whiterun of all places. He recognizes the slender script curling his name across the paper. It's a short letter asking him to retrieve her belongings from her room at the 'Skeever. Two things stand out to him: The first is the thank you. Tullius cannot tell what Leara means by it because he knows that Stone-Fist didn't know who sent the tip about Northwatch. And yet there's a tearstain on the parchment, small and alone as if any others were quickly dashed away after the first one fell. The second is that all her books, papers, the things she worked on for her peace talk were all hidden in a panel behind the bookshelf in her boardroom.

Tullius didn't even think of Leara losing all her work. He was more concerned about getting her out. He was more worried about her than anything else.

Tullius buries his face in his hands.

This was a familiar feeling. It'd been years since the last time he felt like this.

Although, Tullius gave himself a wry smile, he doubted he'd have betrayed the Empire for the Countess of Anvil's cousin.

Tullius goes early the next morning to retrieve Leara's things, hidden or otherwise. A member of his spy network is tasked with getting the parcels to a Lydia in Whiterun. Then Tullius watches as every connection he has to the Dragonborn disappears out the doors of Castle Dour.

It's back to the everyday humdrum of war, then.

Until, some months later, a familiar half-elf comes into Solitude. Now, she's accompanied by a dark-haired Nord woman in heavy armor. Her stormy expression and hawkish eyes remind Tullius of Rikke at times. Leara introduces her as Lydia, her housecarl. Then Leara is handing him a folio of papers.

"I've been corresponding with some of the Elder Council. I'm planning a summit in Whiterun."

He takes the folio from her.

"What's this?" "My draft for a permanent peace treaty. I thought that since you helped me, you'd like to peruse it. Of course, I need to get it to Jarl Elisif when you're finished."

That Leara is offering to let him be a part of her peace treaty isn't lost on Tullius. He sets the folio on the table but leaves his hand on top, protecting it.

"I can come back for it tomorrow." "I'll get it back to you tonight."

Legate Rikke coughs, obviously. Tullius adds,

". . . we can discuss it over dinner, if you like?"

Leara's smile is full.

"I would like that."

They don't end up talking much about the draft. But Tullius gives Leara some of his favorite brandy after their dinner of roast lamb and stewed vegetables. Her giggle is light and airy, and her hand is cool like spring water when he takes it across the table.

Perhaps he drank more than he should have, but liquid courage was a reassuring friend.

At the end of the night, Leara, tipsy and yet all grace, presses a petal soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. She pulls away.

His hands slide up her arms, callused fingers catching on the soft linen of her sleeves. And he pulls her back and kisses her, full and properly on the mouth.

Leara tastes of tea and winter and something floral and frosted. There's more than magic in her mouth – there's music and mercy. If Tullius wasn't drunk before, he finds himself intoxicated on Leara.

She strokes his face, smiling, always smiling, and then backs away. Her eyes are bright and liquid and as deep as Lake Rumare. In the low glow of golden orange firelight, she is beautiful.

He loves her.

He doesn't say it, and soon she's gone, slipping through doors into the night. An angel passing from the room.

The next day, he finds that she left him her address. It had been a long time since Tullius even tried to write a love letter. They were never his strong suit, but Leara had a way of inspiring madness in him. He wrote her.

And Leara wrote him back.

Again and again and again.

Tullius doesn't expect for his presence to be needed when the summit is called in Whiterun. The Empire has its own group of delegates to negotiate the terms of Skyrim's division. But still, Elisif the Fair says that General Tullius has been asked to attend. The young queen seems as if she can't quite believe it, but she was often wide-eyed and overwhelmed as it was.

(Maybe Julia was right. He should listen to Elisif more. But pretty soon, it was likely Tullius would never see the Queen of Solitude again.)

Leara is there in Whiterun, laying out the terms of the Armistice with the light and delicacy he'd come to expect from her. How many others here knew she was anxious that things would crumble apart, that things would come to blows, and that the war would escalate for all her efforts to temper the fire?

Ulfric's face is a dark stormcloud, but somehow the Jarl of Windhelm appears to hold his tongue around the Dragonborn. He watches her, defers to her, and in return, Leara smiles at him.

Tullius is simply in an advisory position for the Imperial delegates to mine information on the state of the Civil War and the Imperial Legion. He never speaks to Ulfric, and seldom to Leara during the weeklong summit. But he sees the Jarl speak to her between sessions. Leara is quiet and nods. Her eyes are faraway and thoughtful.

Tullius remembers that when she first brought the idea of the summit to him, Leara mentioned that she convinced Ulfric to agree to it. For the first time, Tullius wonders how Leara went about winning Ulfric Stormcloak to her side.

His chest burns.

When the Armistice is signed and Skyrim divided in two–

"Divided, you can finally be united."

Leara said.

–there is a feast. Leara is in demand all night. Tullius watches from the sidelines, some Cyrodilic brandy in hand as he watches one person after another flit around her, bees buzzing around a blooming rose. After a while, Tullius gets up and retires to the quiet of the Dragonsreach porch.

He isn't out there long when the doors open again. From the dark stairwell where he sat, he saw Leara flit by, orbited by Ulfric.

Tullius's hand tightened on his glass.

"You must be relieved that's over." "I'm glad we could reach a resolution."

She deflected Ulfric's concern with a wave of her hand.

But Tullius knew the truth: She was terrified of the summit. She was terrified she'd fail.

"What will you do now?"

Leara's question broke through Tullius's thoughts.

Ulfric shifted.

"There's much to do. Skyrim hasn't been in a state like this since the Second Era. I'll need to work quickly to bring stability to the east before we can truly reap any of tonight's rewards." "You have a busy schedule, Jarl Ulfric! [her laugh is musical] Even when my work ends, you still have so much to do!" "Leara . . ."

There's a hesitation in Ulfric's voice that Tullius never would have imagined from the man who Shouted High King Torygg apart. Leara's responding,

"Yes, Ulfric?"

is careful.

"I was hoping that you would come to Windhelm with me. To help me." "Help you? As an advisor? Certainly, but–" "Not as an advisor. Not . . . as you're thinking. Leara, surely you must know what I feel for you." "Oh."

If Tullius didn't fear being caught, he'd have stormed from the porch. Or over to Ulfric and pushed him off. Or something. His blood was rushing in his ears.

Certainly, he and Leara hadn't truly defined what it was between them. This week was the first time he'd seen her since kissing her that night in Solitude, and in this week, they'd hardly been alone together long enough to discuss anything beyond the summit and the usual pleasantries.

But her letters were candid and funny and full of ideas. Her mind spilled across the page in curling and shifting lines.

Tullius knew then that while he had Leara's mind, there was every possibility that Ulfric had her heart. She was as divided as Skyrim was.

"Ulfric–" "While Skyrim was at war, I knew I couldn't give you the attention you deserved. But now that we can have some peace, I wish to ask you for your hand. Leara, you ignite a fire in my chest that burns my heart when you are near. Please do me the honor of agreeing to marry me."

There's silence. Long, drawn-out silence. Somewhere on the plains, a wolf howls. Its cry echoes the pain in Tullius's chest.

"Ulfric . . ."

Leara's voice is choked, emotional but she is forcing it down.

"Ulfric, you're very dear to me, but I can't marry you."

It was only Ulfric's loud,

"You can't? Why?"

That covered the sound of Tullius's brandy glass slipping to shatter on the stone stairs.

Leara hesitated.

"I can't give you my heart because it belongs to someone else. I can't take it back." "Who?"

Leara quieted.

"Please, Leara, if you won't marry me, then allow me the courtesy of knowing who I lost you to!" "I–"

Leara choked.

Tullius's heart sped up as his hands shook. He was as anxious as Ulfric to hear her answer.

"You won't like it." "Who is it? Galmar? I know he was the one to pull you from that Thalmor pit."

Divines. That would just be the cherry on top of this entire fiasco, wouldn't it?

"No, not . . . It's . . . General Tullius."

The silence that followed was more deafening than any that proceeded it. Even from the darkened stairwell, Tullius could since the thunder around Ulfric, rumbling silent and yet violent.

"You won't marry me because you're in love with Tullius?" "If that's how you want to put it, yes, that's it." "Leara – I, he . . ."

For once, all of Ulfric's fine speeches seemed to fail him.

"Please don't be upset."

Leara's voice is as soothing as the first spring rain, as far apart from Ulfric's hurricane as possible.

There was a rustle of skirts.

"You are a very important person to me, for more than you can possibly know, but I can't give you the love you want. It's not mine to give you." "But Tullius–" "Has been so vital to me during these last several months. We would not have this peace if not for him. I needed him." "I need you." "I know, but I've given you all I can. I can't give you any more."

Tullius peeks around the corner far enough to see Leara on her tiptoes. She whispers something in Ulfric's ear, then presses a fleeting kiss to his cheek. Tullius ducks back just in time to be hidden as Ulfric turns and leaves the porch. The doors shut behind him with a whisper of finality.

"You can come out now, General."

Tullius's knees are stiff as he gets up from the steps. Leara is waiting for him in the middle of the porch, her red hair a dark contrast against the white gold of her skin and the pale ivory of her gown. She's aetheric in the moon and aurora lights.

"I hope you finished your brandy before the glass fell."

His neck grows warm with embarrassment.

"Is that how you knew I was there?"

Leara's coy smile was her only answer. Yes, then. Well.

"Ulfric Stormcloak proposed to you." "Yes, he did." "And you turned him down." "Yes, I did. " "Why . . ."

Her hand was on the side of his face. She was perhaps a hairsbreadth taller than him, maybe an inch, but her hand felt so small against his face that Tullius couldn't help but reach up and clasp it with his own for fear that it slip away.

"I thought you were eavesdropping." "Well, I wouldn't say that–" "And, therefore, would know why I turned Ulfric down."

Tullius tries to swallow, but his throat is tight. Leara's hand is cool against his skin, and he takes comfort in that.

"You love me." "Yes, I do."

Her smile is radiant.

Tullius's hand slips from Leara's, but then his arms are around her waist, pulling her into him. She is slim and cool and everything a flower in winter might be. He buries his nose in her neck, amidst the frost and flowers.

"I love you."

She doesn't reply. She only tightens her arms around his torso. They stand there in the quiet of the night, away from the celebrations but togehter under the stars.

Later, when Tullius returns to Solitude for the last time, he packs his things for the return to the Imperial City. He takes his bags to the docks.

And there Leara is waiting for him, Lydia her housecarl in tow. She smiles at him, full and vivid.

"You're late. My trunks are already on board. Right, Lydia?"

Lydia rolls her eyes.

"All eleven of them, my Thane."

Tullius chuckles, quiet.

Leara's hand finds his, and he helps her up the gangplank of the Imperial Naval ship. It would be a long voyage, but Leara had never sailed before, so that would be their mode of transportation back to the Imperial City.

"What will we do when we get there?"

Leara's question is teasing and free of the burden of being Dragonborn and peacemaker. There were still the Thalmor to worry about, but after the ruin of Northwatch and the signing of the armistice, Tullius hoped they'd think thrice before going after Leara again.

"I'll buy you expensive teas and you'll drain my accounts on tea and books."

Her giggle rang out amidst the sounds of the ship preparing to leave the harbor.

"Oh yes, that must be why I've gone and married you."

Tullius pulled his wife to his side and slipped his arm around her waist.

"Must be."

It couldn't possibly be that she was the most maddening thing in the world and she drove him mad by proximity.

Madly in love.

What nonsense.

fin

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