A Warming Hearth

A/N: Ulfric has been haunted by the woman who sat next to him on the ride to Helgan. Her voice was like honey to his ears and he never would have expected in a million years for her to show up at his palace, let alone help him take his place as High King of Skyrim. Now a year has gone by and he can't get the Dragonborn out of his mind. Finally he seeks her out, fed up with the pushing of his steward and housecarl to find a queen for Skyrim and bring an heir to the people. He goes off to search for the woman who ever made his Nordic blood run hot.

Note: I was told that the fighting scene seemed a little too short. Truth is Sylvia didn't want to fight, she knew Ulfric could withstand her Voice and beat her in battle. He is after all High King of Skyrim. Her heart wasn't in it because she knew he would claim her anyway, as for the children seeming mature…well mature is nothing to do with physical age…but mental age. A child who is 9 can see the world in a different light after experiencing tragedy, such as tragically losing parents, than say a 16 year old who has had a life where they have only had to deal with petty drama such as a petty fight with friends that is forgotten a year or so later. Age of the children is also never specified in the game. In my mind, the way the children act and talk they are probably in that stage between childhood and puberty, and Rana and Hroar are both orphans, not saying how they came to be like that, but that is going to be addressed in this chapter! Also I promise I am getting to the M related stuff!

::::::::::::::::::Edit:::::::::::::::: Made a mistake earlier when posting this the game has to many cities starting with W and I had a mistake of which one is up in the snow of Skyrim. Thanks for pointing this out!

Chapter 3: It's only Proper

Ulfric found fallowed his new family and stood in the door way of the children's room watching as Sylvia and the children went about their routine for bed. Rana sat in a chair as Sylvia began to run a brush through her hair humming softly. The king watched entrance by the woman he was going to marry and his new daughter and he couldn't help but smile. He had always dreamed of having a family, children roaming the halls of his palace in Windhelm, strong children to carry on his name, a strong wife to help him protect and guard the land he held dear, he knew he now had all of those things. His eyes slid to Hroar who sat on his bed polishing his boots. Ulfric walked over and sat down next to him watching the young man as he did.

"How old are you Hroar?" He asked softly.

The boy stopped polishing his boots and looked up at him. "I'll be turning 13 the 7th of Rain's Hand." He said softly.

"Only 12, such a fine young lad. You'll be coming into your manhood this year; you'll even be able to start training with the guard." He chuckled. "Normally you would train with my Housecarl Galmar Stone-Fist but he was granted a place in the mead halls of Sovngarde, so you will train with my new Housecarl Ralof, a strong Nord from Riverwood, and one of the finest solders under my command. You will do well during your training with him, if your unarmed skills are as solid as they seem to be." He smiled at the boy.

Hroar looked up at him with wide eyes, "really? Do you mean it?"

"Of course I do! No child of mine will be trained half ass by the Capitan of the guard."

"Ulfric language." Sylvia snapped without looking at him.

The big blonde man chuckled and turned his attention back to Hroar. "And Ralof was the one who brought your mother to me; they saved each other's lives at Helgan. Once we get back to Windhelm, I will have something set up immediately and you will begin the preparations for your training, to start on the eve of your birthday."

Hroar grinned broadly and launched himself at Ulfric in a hug. Ulfric blinked and wrapped his large arms around the smaller body of the boy; he closed his eyes and laid his head on top of the boys. After a few moments he pulled back and smiled to the boy. "Alright, get into bed. We are going to have a long day tomorrow; it's at least a full day's ride from here to Windhelm."

"Is mama going to have to sell her home?" Rana asked as Ulfric and Sylvia switched sides, Sylvia going to Hroar and Ulfric sitting down on the edge of Rana's bed as she climbed under the covers.

"No, Sylvia can keep this home, and we can use it as a summer retreat when we get tired of being around fawning servants at the palace. This can be our getaway home, one we can come to when palace life becomes too obnoxious for a while." He smiled at her. "Do you not want to live in the palace Rana?"

She shrugged as she looked up at him. "I just don't like moving around so much. I did a lot of that before I went to the orphanage, I just wanted to have a home and stay there."

Ulfric brushed her hair behind her ear. "You aren't losing a home Rana, you are going to become a princess, your home will be the Palace as we all this estate. I would never dream of taking you away from any home, I merely am offering you a new one." His smile faltered as she looked at him with weary eyes. "How old are you Rana?"

"11, I turn 12 on the 1st of Sun's Height."

"Only 11? I would have thought you older, merely by that look in your eyes." He reached out and cupped her cheek, "Rana, I will do what I can to protect you and give you a new life. I am not taking your mother away; I am giving you a father. You, your mother and Hroar are precious gifts to me, ones that I would never dream of giving up. Yes originally I had only thought I would be courting Sylvia, considering she never once spoke of having a family from all the diners that she shared with my Generals and I at the Palace, but I see myself as being a very lucky man to have such a strong beautiful family to accept me into their lives. My only wish is to give you three all that you desire." He smiled.

Rana sat up in her bed and leaned forward wrapping her arms around his neck as she buried her face in his neck. Her shoulders shook with an effort to keep her tears in. "Thank you." She whispered softly.

Ulfric felt his heart melt and smiled as he laid her back down in the bed and kissed her forehead. "You are welcome Rana, now get some sleep. We leave tomorrow morning." He pulled the blanket up and tucked her in before patting her head and standing up to help Sylvia blow out some of the candles leaving one lantern to burn on the middle table of the room and they bid good night to the children as they closed their doors.

Sylvia smiled at him as he closed the doors. "Thank you for saying that to Rana, she gets very edgy around males, you should have seen how long it took her to warm up to Calder. I think it has something to do with her birth family…although I can't say for certain. Both of the children speak very little about their time in the orphanage." She took his hand and slowly led him up the stairs to her rooms.

Ulfric felt his heart thundering in his chest as her delicate fingers laced with his. He knew that she held the strength to swing a two-handed sword as well as pull back the string on a freshly made bow to test its strength. He had watched her grueling training sessions with Galmar and Ralof. He knew her strength and her power, but it was held within such a delicate body that he was often fooled by it. Even now, her delicate hand in his fooled him into thinking she couldn't handle fighting. He saw her open a door and led him into a small but cozy room. The bed was large and covered in many furs, books and trophies lined the shelves and walls, and there was a large panting of two dragons fighting in the air above a dragon wall along one wall.

"I have never seen a painting like that one."

She looked over at it. "That's because I did it myself. That is what I saw when Alduin and Parthunax were fighting, the battle was terrifying but beautiful."

Ulfric turned her around and cupped her face in his hands, marveling at the softness of her skin under his war weathered hands. "You have picked up many skills my Sylvia." He looked into her eyes and pulled her close. "For the love of Talos never disappear on me like that, I had no idea where you were, none of the Jarls or the guards I had out knew where to find you. The Greybeards would tell me nothing, I looked for you, and I searched everywhere I could think of. Places that you would have been, I even went to old battle grounds and camps hoping to find you." He buried his face in her neck and breathed in her scent. She still smelled of their fight, of roses and lavender, and of pure woman. "I love you Sylvia." He whispered.

His words sent a shiver through her and she wrapped her arms around his waist, her arms unable to wrap all the way around him. "I love you too Ulfric, I have from the moment we met in Helgan."

He pulled back and smiled down at her his hands cupping her face again and his thumb traced her plump lips. "And now, you are mine." His hands slid down to her waist and picked her up. He spun her around and pressed her against the wall, "and I intend to claim you as such." He growled softly in her ear as his lips brushed against the side of her face.

She moaned softly and arched into him as much as he allowed her. "Yes Ulfric please," she whispered.

He smiled and raised a finger to her lips, "Shh love, don't worry there will be plenty of time for everything. Tonight, tonight I claim you as mine. You are going to be Sylvia Stormcloak, High Queen of Skyrim. Once we get to Windhelm the wedding preparations will start. A priest of Mara will be called to the Palace, the children will begin their lessons, you will begin your to learn your place as Queen and the Palace will change, and become warm once again. Like when my father and mother lived there."

She smiled at him and kissed his finger. "Don't you think you should wait until our wedding night to claim me then? It is only proper." She teased him.

He smiled softly at her and kissed her lips. "What a smart little Dovahkiin you are." He stepped back with a smirk on his face. "It is only the proper way the High King of Skyrim would act. So it's settled we wait until our wedding night."

She gaped at him and groaned. "I wasn't being serious you twit."

"Oh no, no, no my love, you are right, it's proper. I've waited for over three years to have you. I can wait a few more weeks." He smirked.

"A few more weeks? Ulfric you are going to kill me. A wedding cannot possibly take that long."

"A normal wedding no, but this is the union between the High King and High Queen. There are protocols that must be fallowed. And since you are not originally of any sort of royal blood you must be blessed by a priest of each of the Nine, you also have to swear oaths to uphold Skyrim and her people, and the children will need to begin education on how to conduct themselves as Prince and Princess of Skyrim." He smiled as he stroked her face. "I want to give you everything Sylvia, and I also want to give your children everything." He cupped her face in his hands again. "I love you Sylvia, but there is much I feel that I don't know about you. I want you to tell me what you have been doing for the last year, I want to know how you met your children, I want to hear your adventures from your voice, not a bards, until then I don't know if I can truly claim you as my Queen, because I wouldn't fully know you as my Queen."

She placed her hands on his and nodded. "Alright Ulfric, I can understand that. Let me get out of these clothes and we can lie on the bed and I will tell you everything."

She moved away from the wall as he sat on the bed and removed his boots and his shirt, setting them both off to the side. He stretched out on the bed and watched her move about her room. His wife to be was beautiful, he watched as she slid out of her training clothing and lipped into a simple sleeping gown of a pale blue. It clung to her curves and she pulled her braid over her shoulder and undid the binding. She undid her hair and it fell around her in soft waves and he longed to run his fingers through her hair. He smiled as she sat on the bed and curled her legs under her. He reached out and curled a lock of her hair around his finger. "I don't think I will ever be able to get over how beautiful you are. I used to dream about you like this, late at night, in a bed with you."

She smiled softly at him, her eyes shining with love. "Ulfric, you do have a bard's way with words." She leaned forward and kissed him, her hand on his chest.

A soft rumble from his chest vibrated her hand and his hand lay down on top of hers. "So tell me about what happened after the War."

She smiled as she leaned back and began to tell him everything. He listened with rapt attention as she described her journey to Sovngarde and her battle with Alduin. He was amazed by her strength to open an Elder Scroll and read from it and come out with her sight intact and her mind as well. He listened as she told him about getting the letter from the orphanage and adopting both Hroar and Rana. Giving them a home as well as a place she could call home. He watched her eyes as they danced as she told the stories. "So the leader of the Greybeards is a dragon." He mused, after she had finished her retelling of the last year of her life.

"Who better to teach the Way of the Voice than one who was born to speak it naturally?"

"And…and you saw Galmar? Was…was he happy?"

She chuckled, "what Nord isn't happy in The Hall of Valor? He regretted dying in the last battle, but he was glad he went out like a true Nord, a sword in hand and an axe in the other. He was also surrounded by the Hall's wenches, drinking up a storm with the Leader of the Companions."

He laughed, "Galmar, that old bear. Drinking and enjoying women in the afterlife. That is a true warrior's end."

Sylvia tilted her head to the side and looked at him, "what about you Ulfric? Once you are gone and in Sovngarde…will you forget about me for mead and wenches?"

He smiled at her as he lifted her hand to his lips. "Never Sylvia, you are my Queen and my love, even in Sovngarde. We will be welcomed there with open arms among the High King and Queens of Skyrim's rulers long past as well as the warriors there."

She smiled and ran her finger along his lips. She crawled forward and laid down next to him her head resting on his shoulder as she curled into his side, fitting like a missing puzzle piece, as if she belonged there all along. "Anything else you want to know?"

"Has Rana had her first bleed yet?" He asked.

She lifted her head and looked at him, "no, not yet. Why do you ask?"

"She is going to be Princess Sylvia, it is important to know this so I can begin arranging for betrothals for her. I am doing the same for Hroar as soon as we get back to Windhelm. They are young enough, and there should be plenty of offers. The children can get to know the prospects and then we can discuss who is liked best and move on from there."

She sighed. "It's tricky being the royal family."

He chuckled and held her close, "only if you aren't used to it. It is a big change Sylvia, but that is what it means to be the royal family. I will do everything to make all of you happy. And even should you and I conceive, it till not hurt the other two, Hroar will be my heir."

She smiled at him and cuddled closer to him. "Thank you Ulfric, I don't know how much of all of this Skyrim will be able to handle…"

He shook his head, "It doesn't matter. I will change the laws if I have to. They will not deny me what I chose, not after everything I have given up for this country. I want a new Skyrim, one that we can all live and survive in. One that honors the fallen heroes of Sovngarde and Talos. Change is coming to Skyrim Sylvia, but I need a strong Queen to back me up. You are Dovahkiin, but you are also the woman who stood beside me during the whole Civil War. The Stormcloaks know you as the one who set the events into motion by being caught by the Imperials and nearly executed in Helgan. You are as much of a symbol as I am. And together we can create a stronger more beautiful Skyrim."

She chuckled. "Always a beautiful dream with you Ulfric, I just want you to be sure that this is what you want. I don't want to be just a symbol Ulfric…I want to be loved as well."

Ulfric groaned in frustration, "By Talos woman you are frustrating, I do love you, more than anything, even more than Skyrim. For the longest time I thought my life was just that, Skyrim…it was cold and harsh and unforgiving, but then you came into it, like the sun through clouds. Now I can see Skyrim through new eyes, I see the beauty that isn't just cold snow and grey skies."

She smiled and kissed him softly. "That is the most beautiful thing any man has ever said to me. But I do think we should get some sleep, as you said we have a long journey tomorrow."

He pulled her close and kissed her soundly as he drew a fur over them. "As you wish my queen." He whispered to her and settled down with her at his side to sleep.

TBC