The next morning my squire gently shakes me awake, dressed in gleaming legate armor. At first I'm confused about why she's in my armor, then I realize it's brand new. My squire sees my questioning glance and tells me, "The two smiths crafted us some new armor when they heard of Tullius dying.". It's only then that I notice the bundle in her arms. When she hands it to me I unwrap it and see new general armor. The fact that I'm now a general hits me like the mammoth I killed. No more taking orders, giving advice, or being referred to as 'legate'. In a way it's terrifying, but I feel excitement in the pit of my stomach. I'll be the one in charge of Castle Dour once the snow thaws, I'll get to decide where our men are stationed, and I'll gain a thousand other rewards for becoming a general.

I quickly put on the armor, light boots, and light bracers. I reach for my helm, but find it missing. I turn and see my squire holding it, but it's painted to match my new armor. My squire, legate I suppose, throws me my helm. I grab it in midair and slide it on, my outfit complete. I walk over to the basin of still, dark water and look at my reflection. I look ten years older than when I left Solitude. I sigh and run my hand along my face and feel things that were never there before. The fine wrinkles around my eyes are more prominent, my skin around my eyes is thinning, and the grey in my hair is beginning to rise up against my natural color. I feel my squire's strong arms wrap around me and her nose begins nuzzling against the back of my neck.

A sudden thought hits me and I ask, "When's the funeral?". My squire stops nuzzling and tells me, "In his will he wished to be burned and have you scatter his ashes. They should be ready by now, if you wish to scatter him.". I nod and take my squire's hand, leading her out of the room. As we walk I ask her, "What else did he say in his will?". My squire tells me, "It was a small will, he left everything to you.". I nod. I'd expected that, Tullius had no kin. When we're almost there my squire asks, "I saw Sissel and Britte today. What ever happened to them?". This brings me up short and I stop. I think for a minute, then tell her, "I gave them to Nameless during the march, Mjoll in Riften, and Lydia when we got her. Why do you ask?".

My squire sheepishly looks at the floor and says, "It's nothing.". I gently raise her head by the chin and tell her, "You can tell me anything. Trust me.". My squire blinks, considers what I said, and tells me, "It's just, Tullius left you a small house in Solitude. And, I don't want to assume anything, but I thought that I might be allowed to stay with you. If you even wanted to use the house, you don't have to!". I cut her off with a kiss, then tell her, "I'll use the house, Castle Dour is too crowded. And, of course you'll be allowed to share my home. It'd just be a empty building without you.". My squire looks like a little kid who just got a piece of candy for free. I smile, take her hand, and tell her, "Come on.". My squire suddenly splutters and tells me, "That wasn't all!".

I chuckle and ask, "What else?". My squire looks more embarrassed than ever, but says, "From what the will says the house is gigantic. And, we found the girls, then just kind of passed them to whoever wanted them. I was kind of wondering, if the house has enough room for them, could you let them live there?". This pulls me up short. I was never fond of the children, but my squire seemed to be attached to them. So I tell her, "I guess it couldn't hurt.". My squire quickly traps me in her arms and kisses me. I chuckle when she releases me. My thoughts return to Tullius and I tell my squire, "Come on, I want to scatter Tullius before breakfast.". My squire nods and takes my hand, following me into the morgue.

When I enter the embalmer greets me by saying, "General.". Then, he hurries off and returns with the urn Tullius is in. The urn is a deep, rich black with gold designs. On the top the sigil of the legion is made of diamond. Such a beautiful thing to hold ashes, especially ones that are about to be scattered. In all honesty I think a simple wooden one would have sufficed, but I thank the man all the same before I leave. "Where are you going to scatter him?". This pulls me up short. Where will I scatter him? Tullius was an Imperial, but he told me he thought of Skyrim as his home. As if on cue my squire says, "Would you like to scatter the ashes over the battleground? It seems fitting.". Tullius never got to fight his last battle, so it does indeed seem fitting. I nod and begin walking.

The gates are being rebuilt, but right now there's simply a gaping hole where they once stood. I walk through and out onto the battle ground. When we're in the middle of the fighting ground I ask my squire, "What now?". My squire shrugs and tells me, "We can say a few words, but scattering the ashes is just that. Open the urn, throw them in the air, and allow the wind to take them.". I chuckle and tell her, "Tullius was a man of action, not words. Besides, I couldn't say anything to honor him properly.". I unscrew the top of the urn and do as my squire advised, allowing the northern wind to carry the last of Tullius away. While I watch my squire comes up beside me, wrapping one arm around my shoulder as I watch my mentor blow away.

I suppose I should cry, but I mourned enough last night. I remember Tullius once told me, "Crying won't bring back the dead, it only upsets the living.". As we walk back my squire says, "Does it seem warmer to you?". I'm about to disagree when I notice I'm not freezing, and the sun is actually out for once. "Well I'll be damned.". I tell my squire as I look up at the sky. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, winter has lasted far too long already. But I'm still shocked when I see the snow and ice around me appears to be weeping, a sign that it's melting. It'll take weeks for all of the snow and ice to melt, and even longer for plants to begin to grow. But it's a start. I laugh, pick my squire up in my arms, and spin her around. When I drop her I challenge her by saying, "I bet you a hundred gold I can beat you back to Dragonsreach!". We both laugh as we run.

In honor of the first 'thaw' the citizens of Whiterun are throwing another feast. I want to tell them to stop, but allow them to have it. I sit in the seat Tullius use to, my now official legate sits in my old seat. I sent a letter telling the emperor of Tullius dying and me taking my fellow legate as my official legate. If I hadn't made her official the emperor might have ordered her back to Cyrodill. As if on cue my squire jingles her coin purse, one hundred of my gold inside. I roll my eyes and keep eating, ignoring my gloating squire. I nearly beat her here, but ran face first into Lydia and fell flat on my ass. By the time I was done snarling at the housecarl, my squire was inside enjoying a large mug of mead and happily waiting for her one hundred gold coins.

The feast consist of every food imaginable, most of them similar to my nightmares. But unlike my nightmares the food is delicious and not the least bit strange. Bread, hogs, deer, soups, fish, and every other dish under the sun. I'm almost sad when the feast comes to a close, but the tiredness in my back quickly makes me glad. As I walk upstairs with my squire I notice she seems a bit on edge, even nervous. But that's probably just left over anxiety from the battle yesterday. It's only as I'm stripping for bed I realize how wrong I am. When I turn to ask what she wants to do tomorrow, my squire instantly attacks me. Her kisses are usually timid and sweet, but this one has pressure behind it. I enjoy the kiss, but I'm confused why it's so urgent. Then, my squire pulls away and whispers, "I'm ready.".

Of all the things in the world she could have said, this was the last one I expected. I pull back and look into her eyes, and see the fear in her one real eye. It's clear why she's nervous and on edge. But the main question on my mind is, does she really want to? I keep examining the nervousness in her face as I ask her, "Are you sure?". Just yesterday she told me she wasn't ready, what could change her mind so fast? My squire nods and says, "I realized something today. Nameless did horrible things to me, but she's gone. I'll never see her again. By holding back I'm letting her win, and not moving on. So yes, I'm ready.". I lean in and kiss her, suddenly aware I'm half naked in preparation of going to bed. I chuckle and keep kissing my squire, the nervousness gone from her eyes.

I break away and quickly lock our door, I don't want Lydia bursting in for the third time. As I lock our door my squire closes our window and pulls the cloth down over it, so the cold air doesn't freeze us. Now the only source of light in the room are the cracks in the ceiling and our weak candle, which is better at sputtering in its own wax than lighting the room. As my squire sits down on the bed I blow out the candle, drowning the room in near darkness. Something I learned long ago is being in the dark takes some of the pressure off. There will be plenty of other chances for me to see my squire in the light. As if on cue my squire asks me, "Rikke? You're aware that I can see in the dark, right?".

Damn. Well, I'm not taking the time to relight the candle. I quickly cut off my squire's next question with a kiss. She purrs in content and relieves me of my last few articles of clothing, leaving me bare for her to see. I barely make out her flipping her eye in a peculiar way, then humming in approval as she looks over my naked body. I refuse the urge to roughly strip my squire of her armor, instead gently relieving her of each piece. Once we're both stripped of our armor I push my squire down, the Khajiit chuckling as I climb on top of her. But her chuckling is cut off as I once again kiss her, a desperate need now fueling my actions. Once I'm done kissing her lips I break away and attack her neck, my squire's hands running down my back.

I smirk and bring a hand up to play with her breast, but gasp when my squire's claws come out and she accidentally (I suppose) scratches my back. I release her neck and leave a large bruise, then begin trailing down her body. I kiss, bite, or suck whatever catches my attention. I'm around her stomach when my squire desperately pushes on my head, urging me lower. I smile and oblige, going to where my squire needs me the most. When I part her thighs my squire squirms and I instantly stop, afraid she's once again changed her mind. But then she arches her back in encouragement, and I rub her thighs as I lean forward. I've never slept with another woman, but I know what I like well enough. I can only hope my squire likes it to.

My squire squirms as I use two fingers to enter her, but tangles her clawed hands in my hair when I attack the fleshy nub above her entrance. I gently take the flesh in my mouth and suck, but use my fingers to roughly penetrate her. With all of the tension my squire had this evening I'm not surprised when she quickly hisses, and her hips rise up to meet me. Once her muscles stop contracting I gently ease my fingers out, my squire giving one last pulse as I remove my fingers. I'm climbing off of her when my squire roughly grabs me and pulls me down, pushing one of her thighs between my own. My squire pushes me halfway off and sits up so I'm now seated on her thigh. I don't know what she's planning until she grabs my ass, then yanks me forward.

I let out a small groan as my squire repeats the action, forcing me to grind against her thigh. As she continues to run me along her thigh, my squire leans forward and begins biting my neck. I can't help gasping as her fangs nibble my skin and her claws dig into the flesh of my ass. Eventually my squire bores with my neck and leans down to capture one of my nipples in her mouth. It's already too much for me after years without sex. Her teeth, claws, and thigh quickly push me over the edge. I let out a satisfied hum when I dismount my squire's thigh, her chestnut pelt slightly wet. It's only then I realize it's well into the night. I'm already stripped, so I climb into bed. I pull back the covers and motion for my squire to climb in, planning on wrapping her in my arms.

It's only then I notice my squire is still at the edge of the bed. It's clear she's tense, uncomfortable, and is avoiding eye contact. A stone seems to settle in my stomach as I move to the edge of the bed, reaching out for my squire. As my hand touches her shoulder I ask, "Is something wrong? Were you not ready?". Fear fills my heart at the thought of my squire regretting her decision. My squire makes eye contact and I see the worry in her one good eye. "No, it's just. You aren't upset are you? It was,". My squire looks like a terrified fifteen year old as she finishes. "good?". I push down my laughter and take my squire in my arms. She was simply terrified I would be displeased with her. As I hold her I tell her, "It was amazing. And, it was with you, which means even more.". My squire's face lights up with happiness and I pull her under the covers, wrapping my arms around her. As I fall asleep I smile, feeling like the queen of Skyrim.

The winter left as suddenly as it came, it seemed overnight the world changed. Slowly the snow and ice melted, leaving soggy ground and wood in their place. For a while mud and water ruled Whiterun, then they to dried up and left. The first official day of spring Whiterun had another feast, the bandits ran home, and I showed my squire how much I loved her under the starry night sky. Eventually the citizens of Falkreath and Winterhold returned home, and a few people went to rebuild Rorikstead. There was major damage to a few structures in Whiterun, but a few good men had the city back to its former glory. When my squire saw the first flower blooming she happily plucked it for me, not knowing it was one of the few plants I'm allergic to.

After the healer sought to me, my squire brought me a few more flowers. Ones that wouldn't cause my skin to itch. We stayed in Whiterun as long as we could. I won't lie, I thought of the city as my home. But eventually Elisif sent a letter asking us to come back, and we sadly said goodbye to the city where so many things had taken place. I thought we would be heading back to Solitude alone, but I was wrong. Britte and Sissel came with us after my squire officially told them we planned on 'adopting' them. I made it very clear that they weren't allowed to touch, break, or look at any of my things. Right before we left Lydia came running up, and refused to stay in Whiterun. Then, at the gates my squire found a guard about to kill a puppy.

Where he got the hound I'll never know, but my squire quickly took the dog and kicked the offending man in the knee. Finally, our group was completed and we were able to start heading out. The road was long, but was more boring than hard. Lydia tried to keep our spirits up when there were hours of silence, but I quickly found my contempt for the housecarl growing. The puppy was still drinking milk, but thankfully my squire had a few jugs. Sissel and Britte quickly took a liking to the dog and named him Lemkil. I didn't bother asking. The only thing I have to look forward to are the nights when I manage to sneak away with my squire. But the times get rarer the closer to Solitude we get. Thankfully we arrive at the city soon enough.

Dovahkiin POV:

Sissel and Britte rush through the mighty gates, Lydia running after them with Lemkil in her arms. Our horses are at the stables. It's funny, really. We left with a army, but returned with a family. Inside is food, warm beds, and our new home. Which is why I can't understand why I can't bring myself to walk through the gates. Then, Rikke says something that makes me realize why. "No going back.". She whispers. I nod and she continues. "Children to look after, a house to take care of, and a thousand new duties to see to.". I whisper, "Yeah.". We're silent until I tell her, "Kind of scary.". Rikke chuckles and tells me, "I'm twice your age, imagine what it's like for me!". I chuckle a little, but fear fills my heart.

"What if I'm no good?". I ask my lover. Rikke chuckles, turns towards me, and tells me, "Being a parent, owning a house, being a legate. All of those are scary as shit, but you're lucky.". I turn to face her as she tells me, "You're still young, but you have enough money to live the rest of your life. You have a housecarl to help you take care of the kids and the house.". Rikke slowly reaches out, offering me her hand as she says, "And, you have me to help you when you have no idea what to do.". She smiles and asks me, "What do you say? Want to go start this crazy life with me?". I smile and take her hand.

The End.

Thank you all so much for reading this, it means a lot to know others enjoy my stories. I think this story was my favorite to write. The wonderful reviews kept me going when I managed to write myself into a corner (which happened more than I'm willing to admit). So, once again thank you all so much for reading and I hope you liked it.