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Vilkas left the kitchen of the castle of Windhelm with arms full of food. The cooks have been more than generous for the breakfast. He had not expected such a warm welcome after the defeat and death of Ulfric. Maybe people were simply glad to see the Civil War ending, even if the Imperium had won. Or maybe people were kind with him because he was with the Dragonborn. At last, he could have some fresh bakeries.
He climbed the stairs leading to their chamber, Kali was still asleep. The war, the fights, the wounds had exhausted her. She may had been a battlemage in her element, but winning came with a price. She had been badly wounded on her back, fortunately Gwen, her healer sister, was here to heal the wound.
And once the wound was tend, Kali had rushed back into fights, calling Odahviing for one last fire blow. Seeing a dragon against them had terrified the Stormcloaks, many had fled leaving their weapons on the snowy ground; same as they did when they had attacked Whiterun. But this time in Windhelm, they had also seen the unleashed power of the Dragonborn and understood that if she had stopped Alduin, she would stop them without a flinch.
Vilkas knew how much Kali hated to use her draconic powers against humans and mers, but it was the best tactic on the moment. She had wanted this madness to stop, she ended it. She tried to avoid picking a side, but the attack on the Whiterun by the Stormcloaks had made her blood boil with anger. The Stormcloaks knew she was not in town when they attacked. She was with her sister in Winterhold. Fortunately, Vilkas and the Balgruuf succeeded to reach her with the help of Farengar; Gwen used her genius in magic to create a portal to bring them both in Whiterun. Kali was furious beyond words and the only ones that crossed her mouths were the call for Odahviing.
The red dragon came shortly after her call, following the fights from afar. He landed on Dragonreach and Kali ordered to burn the Stormcloaks. She used another dragon shout to be on the battlement when Odahviing swooped on the hostile troops. The Stormcloaks understood she had called him when they saw the guard of the town going back into safety behind the walls.
For the battle of Windhelm, once the dragon over the town, they had worked together like claws of fire and ice, a terrifying and inescapable trap.
And now the terrible Dragonborn was asleep for nearly three days in a row after her sister had threatened her in their mother language. When Vilkas managed to open the door, he saw her still in the bed, her quiet breath indicating she was still sleeping. He put the plates of food on the shelf in the most silently possible way. He took the book on the night-stand and watched the asleep form in the bed, how such a tiny person could take so much place ? At last, she began to look rested, the dark circles under her eyes had begun to vanish. He smiled, he liked seeing her in a better state.
He sat on the chair, his book in his hands. He read for a moment, not wanting to disturb her sleep and hoping the smell of fresh cooked bakeries would awake her. Gwen had told him she needed to eat. But for the moment, her sleep was winning against the food.
“Vilkas?”
He rose his head from his book when he heard Kali’s sleepy voice. He did not know how much time had passed, but she was at least awake.
“I’m here.”
She sit on the bed, messy brown hair falling around her shoulders. She yawned a few times, Vilkas closed his book and sit next to her. She took his book he had the bad idea to keep in one hand.
“Princess, you need to eat, not to read…”
“No, no. Don’t want. Where did you find this book about Snow Elves? I don’t think…”
He took the book back and throw it on the chair he occupied earlier, she was impossible sometimes. Kali frowned a bit and slowly began to realise where she was.
“How long did I sleep ? “ She finally asked.
“Three days, you needed to rest. And don’t worry, your sister went to reunions with Tullius, she’ll give you a lecture about it once you’ll feel better. I brought you pastries, the cooks were generous. Do you want something ?”
“I want a hug first.”
He obeyed without hesitation and she nuzzled her head against his torso. He kissed her hair and tried to tame it a bit.
“Good morning, sleepy princess.” Vilkas said.
“I’m sure you said it already.”
“I said it a few times when you have awoken briefly during these three days. I just hope you won’t sleep again.”
“I don’t know, I could fall asleep again in your arms.” Kali joked.
She left reluctantly his embrace and moved towards the plates of food and took a sweetroll, still warm. She was hungry after a battle and three days with no meal. Eating her second sweetroll, she handled a plate to his companion if he wanted to eat something before she devoured everything. He refused, saying it was for her and he would eat if she let something. She suspected him to have taken the opportunity of being in the kitchen to fill his stomach. But she like the idea that all these pastries were only for her, she did not insist.
Vilkas went back to his reading while she enjoyed her meal, a comfortable silence between them. As he was focused on his book, Kali took a moment to detail him. He tried not to show it, but he looked weary, she bet her sister was not the only one to go to reunion with the General.
They both needed days of break and rest, these last month had been exhausting. She had defeated Alduin to fall in the horror of the Civil War. Wars were always dirty, but civil wars were on a different level, tearing families and towns from inside. In a certain way, she felt lucky to be a Breton, her choices may have been less difficult to make and she had to admit that the intrigues of the court in Daggerfall had helped her during the Nord civil war. But she never wanted to live this again. She hoped Skyrim would be calmer, because she did not want to leave this country. Despite its apparent roughness, she had learnt to like it and of course to love some people here.
Once her belly full of good food, she left the bed to find Vilkas, who closed his book when he saw her approaching. He opened his arms and let her sit on his laps, her arms around his neck, she let her forehead resting against his.
“Do you need something, my love ?” Vilkas asked, putting his arms around her hips.
“I… just want to talk about something.”
“I’m listening.”
“What are we going to do now ? I mean… I’ve fulfilled my great Dragonborn fate, the War is over.”
“We can leave Windhelm, return home, maybe visit your home country ? I’m a bit curious about it. But I can see you already have an idea in your mind, right ?”
She nodded in agreement, biting her lower lip. She was afraid to talk about it, but she did not want to avoid the conversation any longer.
“I thought that maybe we could… expand our family.”
Vilkas’ eyes suddenly widened.
“Do you want children?”
“Well, one to begin with, but yes. I know we have briefly talked about children when Alduin was not defeated yet…”
“Kali, you don’t need to give me long explanations. I want a bigger family with you.”
She was so happy to hear him she was not able to form coherent sentences, she crashed her lips on his, a muffled laugh escaped him. When she broke the kiss, he saw one of the bracelet she wore hanging in front of his eyes; the one containing the contraceptive spell.
“With this one is off, we can even start to try now.”
“Go back to bed,” Vilkas ordered with a teasing smile.