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The premise of being honored by the jarls in a public ceremony was not something the Dragonborn was necessarily eager for. Understandably, she tended to try and keep a low profile about her status of having saved Skyrim and the people, but it wasn’t like she could say no to them. With a sigh, the Bosmer woman set down the invitation (could it even be called that if it was mandatory??) and finally met the eyes of her family, friends included. “Well, it looks like we’re all invited to the Blue Palace at the end of the week for a ceremony in my honor…Well our honor but they only referenced me.” She said, her tone getting upset at the fact that her friends weren’t mentioned even though they helped her so much. Revyn hummed before frowning, “That sounds wonderful Dear, but why were you so upset when reading the letter?”
“Because we also are invited to a ceremony in Windhelm in a week and a half.”
“Ah. Understandable.” He said, his tone matching his wife’s when he heard the news. The couple’s children looked between them before frowning, confused as to why they were not happy with going to Windhelm; after all, their father lived there for a while and his sister was there as well.
“Why is that a bad thing?” Blaise asked, looking away from the game he had been playing with Lucien and Inigo.
Golden eyes met red and both parents had a silent conversation before sighing, “Blaise…You know how some people have said things to you about us being your parents?” Elruin asked, a strained and fragile smile on her face. The redheaded boy nodded, a frown set on his face at the memories of instances like that, “Yeah…I don’t like people like that.”
“Well, Windhelm has a lot of people like that… They aren’t very nice to us along with Ingio,Lucifer, Xelzaz, Caryalind, and Khash.”
“I’d even go so far to say they barely tolerate Kaidan and I for hanging out with you lot.” Lucien piped up, a frown on his face. The others nodded solemnly and Blaise furrowed his brow as he thought about it. “Well that’s just stupid! You all are amazing and I love you guys, why can’t they just be nice?” The Breton boy declared, arms crossed. Revyn chuckled fondly and pulled his son into a hug, peppering his face with kisses as a way to try and get him out of his sour mood. It worked and eventually the adults were smiling again as they heard the squeals of a child trying to get away from his doting father.
“I’m assuming we’re being forced to go to both?” Caryalind said later when all three children were asleep. Elruin looked up from the wine she had been sipping at before sighing and gave him a nod, “Yeah, they didn’t write it but it’s heavily implied. They want everyone that has helped me defeat Alduin there, but you and Xelzaz are welcome to come as well, you just won’t be mentioned by name.” She paused, before chuckling, “I think it’s probably for the best that you two aren’t mentioned. There may be riots in the streets of Windhelm if they hear that I’m friends with a Thalmor prince and a Telvani house member.” Both men in question chuckled at that. Inigo swirled the juice around his glass before frowning, his tail lashing behind him as he thought. “Inigo, buddy, you’ve practically got a storm cloud over your head.” Elruin called, a teasing lilt to her voice.
“Will they even let some of us into the city for the ceremony? I know they usually let it slide when we’re just coming in and out but for something like this the guards may refuse to let some of us in.” It was obvious what the unsaid context was and the others frowned at that. “If they don’t let us in, we’ll have to just sneak on in. I can make invisible potions.” Xelzaz stated, being one hundred percent serious. Revyn and Kaidan sighed in a way that showed they both agreed it was a terrible idea but knew they’d not be listened to. It was obvious to the Dunmer that of all of his wife's friends (and his friends too) that Kaidan was the voice of reason at times...Though he had his moments.
A week passed and everyone was dressed up nicely and ready to go. As said, only the original members of Team Dragonborn were being honored because of the fact that they had actually helped stop Alduin, but Caryalind and Xelzaz were happy to just stand back with Revyn, Lucia and Blaise to watch the others be honored. Stood along side the six heroes were the Jarls of Solitude, Falkreath, Morthal, Riften and Whiterun. The turnout of the ceremony was immense, so large that the whole event had to take place outside, but no one was worried about bad weather seeing that Elruin, the Dragonborn, could clear the skies with a simple shout. Whispers and murmurs echoed through the streets until General Tullius stepped forward from where he was getting things ready. It was obvious he was not fully on board with the ceremony but it was him against the jarls and so he went along. He stepped forward and cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention, “We’re gathered here today to celebrate the salvation of Skyrim and her people. For months we’ve been terrorized and hunted by a rising dragon threat but for no more. The Dragonborn has saved the world in an amazingly short amount of time, having taken down the scourge Alduin a month ago. But she didn’t do it alone, she had the full support of friends and family. Today, we gather to support her and thank her and her friends in helping protect this land we call home.” He announced, his voice ringing for all to hear. He stepped to the side and motioned for the six to step forward and once they had he motioned for the Jarls to come forward as well. Each of them held medals with the crest of their hold on it, one for each member of Team Dragonborn that had fought against the dragons.
“When I call your name, step over and receive the medals to show our thanks.” He instructed before looking at the list of names briefly to make sure he didn’t mess anything up, “Inigo.” The blue Khajitt stepped forward, his chest puffed out in pride as he graciously accepted the medals being draped across his head. Once he was adorned in the five crests he stepped back and preened at the applause the crowd gave. “Kaidan.” The Akaviri man walked over briskly but with an even stride. Only his friends could tell that he was uncomfortable with such a public ceremony but he accepted the praise and medals like a champ. He stood next to Inigo, his body stiff but he kept his face neutral so he could at least appear as if he wasn’t dreading the whole thing. Tullius barely finished saying her name before Khash eagerly approached the Jarls, an excited grin on her face as she happily received the medals. Once she had skipped her way over to Kaidan and Inigo, she was bouncing on her feet, her eyes sparkling with pride and excitement.
“Lucien Flavius.” The Imperial walked over as gracefully as he could manage with his nerves, his smile wobbly but otherwise kept his posture perfect for such an important event. He made a noise of surprise from how heavy the medals were, loud enough that it got the jarls laughing in amusement but he humbly walked back over to the others, subtly rubbing his neck due to the weight it bore. Lucifer gently nudged Elruin and nodded his head in the direction of their blond friend and snorted, “Poor guy is gonna need a potion to help with that later.” However he didn’t get to hear what his friend had to say in response because his name was called. He managed to calmly make his way over, his face showing no signs of any kind of nerves but his friends could see the tip of his tail was slightly twitching. Once he made his way to stand beside Lucien he was also itching to rub at his neck, “...I teased you earlier with Elruin and I want you to know that I take it all back. These are so heavy.” The Imperial only could laugh, holding a hand up to cover his mouth but his shoulders shook freely.
Elruin couldn’t help but laugh herself as she watched her friends slowly start to laugh in front of her knowing full well that no one else knew what the issue was. Her laugh got swallowed down when Tullius turned to face her, his aged face showing his confusion but when he received a thumbs up from the Bosmer he turned to face the crowd again. “And finally the Dragonborn herself, Elruin Rosegrass-Sadri” The crowd erupted with cheers as she stepped forward to bow and accept her medals with honor, her shoulders set and face adorned with a gracious smile. Once her neck was adorned with the gleaming crests, she stood alongside her friends and shared smiles with them. Tullius's mouth opened to say something but it was quickly cut off by the five friends chanting “Speech!” Over and over. The brunette smiled apologetically at the general before she stepped up further on the make-shift stage and took a breath before addressing the crowd.
“Thank you all so much for coming out here today, it means the world to both me, my family, and my friends. Without their unwavering support, I wouldn’t have managed to defeat Alduin as fast as I had. They’ve backed me up through thick and thin and standing up here with them and getting recognized is a dream come true.” She paused to smooth down her dress, “When I arrived in Skyrim, I had only come in search of academic pursuits while fleeing my own demons. What I got instead was an ancient prophecy and a destiny that felt too heavy for my shoulders to bear, but everyone I have met had each taken a bit off to carry for me, and for that I can never thank them enough. Though they are not here, I wish to publicly thank the Greybeards and Paarthurnax for accepting me and teaching me all I needed to know about the voice and so much more.” She smiled radiantly, “I swear to continue to use the power I have for the greater good.” More cheers came from that knowledge, the residents of Solitude and even further knew of how Ulfric had used the same power for nothing but evil when he killed the rightful king. Once the noise calmed down, the woman turned slightly to face Balgruf, a fond and sheepish smile on her face, “I would also like to thank Jarl Balgruf personally. It was because of him graciously letting me use his palace to trap a dragon that I even managed to get to Alduin in the first place. Without his cooperation and understanding, Alduin would still be roaming the skies today.” The jarl balked slightly at the earnest speech but smiled warmly at the woman before him and bowed to the crowd of cheering civilians.
Once again, when the cheering calmed down, Elruin faced forward to continue her speech, “Lastly, I would like to thank my family. Without their love and support, I wouldn’t have been brave enough to fight.” She turned and motioned for her husband and children to come join her. Revyn hesitated only briefly before walking forward with pride in his steps. Meanwhile, Lucia and Blaise all but ran to their mother with big smiles on their faces before standing on either side of their mother and beaming up at her with so much adoration many of the civilians cooed. Once she was surrounded by her loved ones she placed a hand on her children’s shoulders and once again addressed the crowd, “Like I said, when I came to Skyrim I had only one thing on my mind, and so when I was told of my destiny and the ancient prophecy surrounding it, I was naturally overwhelmed and unsure of it. Safe to say, I was unwilling to give up my life for a place I had only just arrived in…But that changed when I adopted my children and found the love of my life. I was no longer thinking of just myself but for them as well. I wanted Skyrim and all of Tamriel to be safe for them to live in without fear of something coming and hurting them. So because of them, I became brave enough to do the right thing and I will never forget that.” She stated, her words dripping with love and adoration for her family. Revyn looked down at his wife with a broad grin, his eyes twinkling in the mid-day sun before he reached down and gently kissed her in front of the cheering crowd. Once they parted, Elruin smiled at him lovingly and reached around her neck and pulled off three of her medals, bestowing one each to her family; Lucia got Whiterun's and Blaise got Solitude's due to those being the places she found them and adopted them from and Revyn got Riften's since that was where they got married.
Needless to say, the ceremony went off without a hitch and by the end of the day the family and friends found themselves inside Proudside manor having their own celebration.