Madanach turned out to be in the command tent, nothing unusual there... apart from the heated argument he seemed to be having with her housecarl.
“Look, I'll follow you to the Void and back, you know that, but you don't get to tell me what to do! Not in this!”
“The Void I don't, this is my camp, let me remind you! And if your duty to the Reach needs you to pledge a tie to someone else, you might have to!”
Madanach was standing there in his Forsworn gear, arms folded as he stared Argis down. Argis was pacing, clearly annoyed.
“I'm hardly bound to him! I just like him, that's all. It's simple. Uncomplicated. Enjoyable. We tell stories of our warrior pasts, get wasted together and then we...”
“Spare me the details!” Madanach snapped, looking faintly nauseated. “I don't need to know what you and him get up to in that tent of yours. Bad enough neither of you are skilled enough at magic to hide the sounds.”
“I can't help that!” Argis cried. “Honestly, I didn't think... does it bother you that much, seeing me with a...?”
“With a Nord? Yes, it does!” Madanach seethed. “You're one of us, Argis! Couldn't you have found a nice Reach girl? Or boy, I suppose...”
“Oh that's rich, coming from you. You fancy a Nord and I end up as the bloody courtship gift but when I see one I like, I'm a traitor to my blood?”
Madanach had gone very still and Elisif almost felt her heart stop. Madanach just wasn't a man you talked back to like that, and that he and Argis had let things get that far, that personal, in the first place, was a bit of a shock. Argis seemed to realise it too, because he was turning back to Madanach, starting to apologise, and Madanach was just shaking his head, expression unreadable... until he saw her standing there. Then silver eyes widened and for a split second, Elisif wondered if he'd been afraid.
He would be when she was done. Argis had just confirmed all her fears.
“Courtship gift?” she said softly. “You mean the letters, the words of power, sending Argis... you're trying to get me in bed??”
“It's not like that,” Madanach said quickly, faint blush staining his cheeks.
“Could have fooled me,” Argis muttered. Madanach glared at him, narrowing his eyes – he might be afraid of her, but clearly didn't fear Argis.
“No?” Elisif shouted. “What is it like, Madanach?? Delphine seems to think you'd like to be all over me and Argis just said you're trying to court me! Is that why you're doing all this, you're hoping I'll be so grateful I'll let you do what you like with me?”
“I want my kingdom back!” Madanach snapped, all attention on her now, and if he was nervous, he wasn't showing it. “But after that, I'm going to need to run it in peace and it'd be nice to have friendly relations with the kingdom next door, not to mention someone to share it with! I was going to ask you to marry me after all this is settled!”
“I've already got a husband!” Elisif cried, hazy memory of Torygg's face in her mind as she felt tears come to her eyes. “He's waiting for me in Sovngarde!”
“Your husband's dead, Elisif!” Madanach shouted back, finally losing his temper. “And you are not, you're not going to Sovngarde permanently for decades, gods willing, you're a queen, you'll need heirs, you'll need another husband!”
“I don't want another husband, I want Torygg back!” Elisif howled, even as she struggled to recall the details of his face, and her own body, her fierce dragon blood, whispered how long it had been since anyone had touched her, why not someone else who understood the power of fire and frost?
Because Torygg would never forgive me if I took Madanach to my bed.
She looked up at Madanach, seeing guilt and sorrow and sympathy there, and she could feel her heart breaking again. All she wanted, all she'd ever wanted, was someone to take care of her and love her and raise children with her. Instead she'd ended up with this.
Turning and running, she fled the tent, not able to cope with this any more, not Madanach, not the war, any of it.
Re: The Wolf Queen Awakens 28.5
“Look, I'll follow you to the Void and back, you know that, but you don't get to tell me what to do! Not in this!”
“The Void I don't, this is my camp, let me remind you! And if your duty to the Reach needs you to pledge a tie to someone else, you might have to!”
Madanach was standing there in his Forsworn gear, arms folded as he stared Argis down. Argis was pacing, clearly annoyed.
“I'm hardly bound to him! I just like him, that's all. It's simple. Uncomplicated. Enjoyable. We tell stories of our warrior pasts, get wasted together and then we...”
“Spare me the details!” Madanach snapped, looking faintly nauseated. “I don't need to know what you and him get up to in that tent of yours. Bad enough neither of you are skilled enough at magic to hide the sounds.”
“I can't help that!” Argis cried. “Honestly, I didn't think... does it bother you that much, seeing me with a...?”
“With a Nord? Yes, it does!” Madanach seethed. “You're one of us, Argis! Couldn't you have found a nice Reach girl? Or boy, I suppose...”
“Oh that's rich, coming from you. You fancy a Nord and I end up as the bloody courtship gift but when I see one I like, I'm a traitor to my blood?”
Madanach had gone very still and Elisif almost felt her heart stop. Madanach just wasn't a man you talked back to like that, and that he and Argis had let things get that far, that personal, in the first place, was a bit of a shock. Argis seemed to realise it too, because he was turning back to Madanach, starting to apologise, and Madanach was just shaking his head, expression unreadable... until he saw her standing there. Then silver eyes widened and for a split second, Elisif wondered if he'd been afraid.
He would be when she was done. Argis had just confirmed all her fears.
“Courtship gift?” she said softly. “You mean the letters, the words of power, sending Argis... you're trying to get me in bed??”
“It's not like that,” Madanach said quickly, faint blush staining his cheeks.
“Could have fooled me,” Argis muttered. Madanach glared at him, narrowing his eyes – he might be afraid of her, but clearly didn't fear Argis.
“No?” Elisif shouted. “What is it like, Madanach?? Delphine seems to think you'd like to be all over me and Argis just said you're trying to court me! Is that why you're doing all this, you're hoping I'll be so grateful I'll let you do what you like with me?”
“I want my kingdom back!” Madanach snapped, all attention on her now, and if he was nervous, he wasn't showing it. “But after that, I'm going to need to run it in peace and it'd be nice to have friendly relations with the kingdom next door, not to mention someone to share it with! I was going to ask you to marry me after all this is settled!”
“I've already got a husband!” Elisif cried, hazy memory of Torygg's face in her mind as she felt tears come to her eyes. “He's waiting for me in Sovngarde!”
“Your husband's dead, Elisif!” Madanach shouted back, finally losing his temper. “And you are not, you're not going to Sovngarde permanently for decades, gods willing, you're a queen, you'll need heirs, you'll need another husband!”
“I don't want another husband, I want Torygg back!” Elisif howled, even as she struggled to recall the details of his face, and her own body, her fierce dragon blood, whispered how long it had been since anyone had touched her, why not someone else who understood the power of fire and frost?
Because Torygg would never forgive me if I took Madanach to my bed.
She looked up at Madanach, seeing guilt and sorrow and sympathy there, and she could feel her heart breaking again. All she wanted, all she'd ever wanted, was someone to take care of her and love her and raise children with her. Instead she'd ended up with this.
Turning and running, she fled the tent, not able to cope with this any more, not Madanach, not the war, any of it.