Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

By Auri-El, this city is frigid Ondolemar thought. Somehow, despite not being as far north as the Thalmor Embassy, Windhelm managed to bring a chill to his spine as no other place had. He wasn’t even supposed to be in this city, the mission was to establish a Thalmor presence in Windhelm and to curb any lingering Stormcloak sentiment. Elenwen had explained to him as a formality and had intended to go herself. Ondolemar had no interest in traveling across this wretched province, filled with even more wretched Nords, in order to stabilize their equally wretched city.
That was until Elenwen let slip that it was the Dragonborn who ended the human war, apparently shouting Ulfric Stormcloak to death. So Theodora will be there, he hated how quickly the thought came to him and he hated even more that he acted on it; telling his superior that he would be happy to take the assignment in her place because after all, her Ambassadorship is already so busy that as her subordinate, the least he can do is ease her burden and support their cause. He lets out a long sigh I should have just said I want to go because I’m fucking the Dragonborn, that would have been less embarrassing.
However on his way back to the city center, after leaving the debrief at the Palace of Kings, he spots her, right there in front of him. Well perhaps not right in front of him but she is close enough in the distance that he can make sure it is her. She’s wearing Imperial Armour which unnerves him slightly. Branded in the enemy uniform, it is once again made clear to Ondolemar that she is the enemy. Theodora is not only the enemy, but also the Dragonborn; and even though he still hasn’t grasped what that truly means he knows that he should most certainly not be seen with her. Under any circumstances. Yet it would be a shame to come all this way for nothing.
Theodora is talking with someone, another Altmer man, causing his eyes to narrow in suspicion. He’s dressed rather plainly but one can never know for sure. As he’s contemplating whether or not he should feel threatened, she waves goodbye and turns to the left; the area he learned was known as the Gray Quarter, due to the Dunmer population residing there. Against everything he’s been taught and his better judgment, Ondolemar follows her. As people pass her, many wave in her direction or take to yelling their thanks. She did save the city for a regicidal leader seeking to make himself King but this was his city? Surely he could not have been this disliked in his own city. More thoughts of her plague him well; it's mostly Dunmer offering praise and they’ve never been known for their judge of character. He keeps following her, not too closely for him to see him before he’s ready but not too far that he misses her going into a building.
As he approaches the building he reads the sign that says “New Gnisis Cornerclub”, what is she doing drinking with a bunch of Dunmer? If this is the kind of liquor she prefers he will stop wasting his good wine on her. Continuing his pattern of acting against his better judgment, Ondolemar enters the Cornerclub.
This was a mistake. Upon his entry, the entirety of the place turns to see who’s there and promptly shoots him a hateful look. Except her. Instead she looks quite surprised and smiles at him, before a confused look appears on her face.
“Ond-” Theodora stops herself, realizing she is in public. “I mean Commander Ondolemar, to what do we owe the honour to?” She puts her drink down on the bar and walks towards him.
“You know this N’wah Theo?” The Dunmer behind the bar says to her, while staring at him. N’wah, a Dunmer’s favourite word he thinks, rolling his eyes.
“Yes, Yes! Don’t worry Ambarys, he’s with me.” Seemingly not convinced, Ondolemar watches the barkeep wrestle with this, about to kick him out until Theodora flashes him a warm smile. The kind of smile that is pleading gently to an old friend.
“Fine, only because it’s a celebration.”
“Oh, thank you!”
“But just make sure he knows that he may be in charge out there, this is my establishment.”
“Absolutely Ambarys” Theodora dealing with the barkeep seems to have put the rest of the bar at ease, with all the others turning back to their drink and each other. She is so close to him, although it’s only been two months, he can’t help but feel eager around her. Everything in him wants to reach out, pull her towards him, capture her mouth with his and take her right on top of the bar. But they are in public and not hidden away in his quarters in the Understone Keep. So he finds restraint.
As though she can read his mind, she grabs his hand, intertwining them together.
“Ondolemar, I never expected to see you here, to whom or what do I owe the pleasure?” She cannot make this easy for me can she?
“A mission to ensure the city is stabilized following the death of Ulfric Stormcloak” he gives her a smugish smile “congratulations on that by the way. News has traveled about your escapades.”
“Never something I expected to have to do but it was clear it needed to be done.” Noticing Theodora’s mournful expression, Ondolemar changes the topic. “As well as to whom do you owe the pleasure, that would be Ambassador Elenwen.”
“Although I disagree with involving the Thalmor in this matter, I must confess I’m not completely disappointed you’re here.” She moves ever so slightly forward, her gaze bores into him and leaving the gap between them nearly non-existent. She makes it so difficult to do the right thing.
He lowers his voice, tempting fate by whispering in her ear “how could I ever disappoint you?”
Theodora bites her lip, desperately trying to stifle a sound from escaping her. “Careful Commander, don’t start something you don’t intend to finish.” Before he can tell her exactly what he intends, she is already pulling him by his robes towards the bar.
“You’ll disappoint me by not being able to handle your Sujamma! Ambarys, could we get a round.” Tossing a few septims on the counter, she gets him to sit on the stool beside her, while the barkeep fetches the drinks.
“I’d like to see his pompous ass try this, I bet he cannot even make it through one!” I refuse to prove a Dunmer right Ondolemar thinks. Without any further thought. He takes the jar out of Ambarys hand and immediately starts chugging. By the Eight, no wonder the Dunmer like this, it tastes like hot ash. Yet, he persists, if for nothing else than to show Theodora that he can belong in her world.
“My, my, my, Commander consider me impressed. I thought it wasn’t from Sumerset, you wouldn’t drink it.” She takes her jar and chugs it as well, with such an ease Ondolemar can only wonder how many nights she's spent here.
“You wound me Theodora, I’m not culturally clueless.”

And with that one round became two and two turned into five and before they knew it they were leaning off each other, stumbling outside as the Cornerclub closed.
“Thanks again Ambarys”
“My pleasure Theo, least I can do for giving your friend a hard time.”
“Even intoxicated this city is still freezing” Ondolemar grumbles, “a proper city shouldn’t be frozen.”
“I’m inclined to agree, I still haven’t gotten used to it.”
“Now Sunhold, that’s a city!”
“That’s the port city in the South, correct?” Theodora asks.
“Precisely.” He answers.
“Is that where you’re from?”
Even intoxicated he knows it is not a good idea to open up too much about himself, she is still an Imperial-aligned human after all. Any information he reveals could be used against him and the Dominion at large. Yet, as he looks at her now, cheeks flushed underneath the starlight, he truly can’t imagine it ever coming to that.
“Yes, I spent my youth there” there’s a peaceful silence after that, as they are walking, before Ondolemar realizes in order to be polite he should ask her where she is from. Not at all because he desires to know more about her. “Where are you from in Cyrodiil?”
Theodora laughs and though it may be the Sujamma, there could never be a more beautiful sound in all of Nirn. “Who said I’m from Cyrodiil?”
Now it’s his turn to laugh “You, you say it all the time! Anytime I ask your opinions on Skyrim politics you always say ‘I am not a Nord nor from Skyrim so it is not my business’ therefore the only other option is Cryodiil.”
‘That’s not the only other option,” she says in a smug manner “I could be from High Rock.”
“People from High Rock normally know how to use some magic, no offense” he kisses her hand to soften the blow of the insult.
“Oh you are terrible.” Another laugh “fine, you’re correct, I am from Cyrodiil, along the Gold Coast in Anvil.” Anvil. Why must it have been Anvil? Could she not have been from somewhere in Cyrodiil he had not been, any other city then the one he helped destroy. He should tell her, tell her now before she finds out through some other means. What means he is unsure of. But it should come from him. Yet, she has just finished fighting, it is dark and they are rather wasted; so he diverts, hopefully of a better time to have such a discussion. The sinking fear in him that it'll change things between them is pushed down when he speaks.
“So we are both from port cities?”
Looking at him she says “it would appear so.”
“I miss Sunhold terribly some days, or perhaps it is less missing the city and more missing the time when I did live there.” He pauses, “do you miss Anvil? Have you been gone for long?”
“I’ve been away for over ten years.”
“Ah, so not very long.”
Theodora stops “in the eyes of mer maybe but for me it has been a good portion of my life.”
Ondolemar feels guilt come on, despite how often he reminds himself of their differences, it never feels prominent until suddenly it is. “My apologies. Do you miss it?” They are walking now and with it being so dark he can’t tell where they are going, trusting that she will not lead him astray in this vulnerable state.
“I miss it terribly, most days I’m fine but every once and a while the grief crashes over me like a wave.”
“Why don’t you go back, just for a trip? Isn’t the benefit of being the Dragonborn that no one can tell you what to do?” He offers her a smile but Theodora is just dead silent, but they keep walking. Ondolemar cannot tell if it has been long or it just feels like an eternity to him.
“I would if there were much left.” He feels a lump in his throat. Looking down at his robes-no, uniform and he is given the grim reminder of just how different they are. She is everything he was taught to hate, taught that the races of man needed to been shown the light of Elven supremacy; it was for their own benefit. But here he is, walking at night, drunk and holding exactly what he was trained to fight against; and all he wants is to hear her laugh.
Taking a leap of faith, he breaks the silence “I’m sorry.”
“Do not say that” she responds.
“I would never hurt you” he says.
“Do not say that” Theodora narrows her eyes at him “you will not hurt me until you are ordered to.” They keep walking, still holding on to another but she won’t look at him. They stop in front of a house, a rather nice house Ondolemar thinks.
“But I don’t expect you to disregard an order either.” She removes a set of keys from her pocket, placing a large iron key in the key hole.
“I would not be able to do it.” The door is open now and she is standing to the side of the entryway. “There was a time when I would have, without hesitation.”
“And now?” He hears a glint of hope in her voice and it crushes him. Ondolemar, what has happened to you? Push her away, have her arrested now, you can’t let her be free with this information. She can’t be free as long as she has the grasp on you. She-
“I am only happy when I am with you.”
Pulling him by the robes, their lips meet and it feels different this time, there is hope, hope for a different outcome. Their meetings always had a dark cloud over them, encompassing them even more as they fell further, into their own demise. He picks her up, hoisting her legs around him and shuts the door behind them. And in between feverish kisses and the reunion of bodies, a future together is born.

Chapter Text

Hjerim was a large property and Ondolemar found himself unsure where her bedroom was. Thankfully before he can go in the wrong direction, Theodora removes her lips from his long enough to speak.
“Forward, up the stairs.” Ever thankful for her instruction, he practically runs up the stairs, to find her bed, a sleigh bed of nordic design that he places her on; sitting up with her legs over the foot of the bed.
“Gods, I’ve missed you.” He removes his gloves as she kicks her boots off to the side before her hands are on him again. With the mission of getting him out of his robes quicker.
“The feeling is mutual.” The commander’s hands find her armour, removing piece by piece, with their respective uniforms pooling on the ground beneath them. Now that they are both bare, Theodora takes the initiative and pushes the Altmer onto her bed.
“Ah, so you would like to do the hard work tonight?” He shoots her smug expression. Theodora moves to straddle his legs.
“Well you, did come all this way” Her hands run down his chest “it would be a shame to make you work as well.” Ondolemar lets out a slight moan as she shifts her weight, grinding into him. “But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna make it easy this time.” Theodora shoots him a sultry look, one Ondolemar counters with a look of his own.
“You’ve never made it easy for me” His hands find her thighs and she shivers at his touch, hands still cold from the streets of Windhelm.
“Forgive me for not submitting so easily Commander.” The use of his title causes another moan to erupt from him.
“Then I’ll have to make you.” His hands now grip into her thighs now causing Theodora to moan. This game they played was like a dance. She would entice him, the same as she did the first night, pushing him just enough to fracture his composure and free him from the confines of his better judgment. Only then would she give into his desires, his desire to make her submit, to break her. Which of course, was her intention all along.
He loosens his grip on her thighs to firmly slap her left one “come on darling, sit on my face.” And she does so, moving up to engulf his head with her core. Even with just his breath on her, she moans. Her hand runs through his shaven head, humming as he gently licks her inner thighs. They are slow, painful slow which makes Theodora grind into his face, desperate for more. Her desperation makes Ondolemar chuckle, the vibrations making the Imperial on top of him shudder, clearly trying to hold her whimpers back. He taps her thigh again in order to get her to move up slightly.
“Do not tell you are ready to submit? So soon? I haven’t even begun.” Thedora takes a moment to gather her words.
“It’s just been a while, that’s all.”
“So there is no one else then? Excellent” he chuckles darkly as he brings her back to his mouth. Wasting no time he licks directly across her slit, before pressing his tongue directly on her clit. As he begins circling her clit, she lets a moan out.
“No, no one else.”
This spurs him on, hands firmly holding her in place as he devours her center.
“I tried” Theodora manages between heavy breaths “after the week in Markarth, no one comes close to you.”
Oh she is evil he thinks, another moan escaping. Who’s trying to get who off in this scenario? His teeth slightly touch her clit, combined with the sensation of his hands, cause her to ride his face. Something to which Ondolemar is all too pleased with.
“Ondolemar, I’m going to-” the sentence remains unfinished as she comes, violently riding his face. After she comes down from her high, Theodora moves off him, laying beside him, frantically breathing. The commander looks at her, hair tousled, eyes half-lidded in the heat of her afterglow. She’s divine he thinks as he kisses her. But never one to forget anything, he says “So no one comes close huh?” he raises an eyebrow at her “so you’ve accepted Elven supremacy, I suppose my work is complete now.”
“I thought you were going to make me submit” His cock was thoroughly hard now and as her hands trail closer towards it, he feels himself succumb to her.
“Oh I am.”
Before she can begin stroking him, he barks out an order “On your knees, in front of me”. A wicked grin sweeps across her face as she gets in position beside the bed. Swinging his legs over the edge, he gets his cock a few pumps. The slight of her alone, on her knees in service would be enough to make him cum; but it is how she looks at him, a mix of hunger and adoration, that causes a moan to escape from him. Regaining composure, at least as much as he can with the amount of sujumma in him, he speaks. “Open your mouth and come closer, I’m going to fuck your throat.” And fuck her throat he does. Hands gripping the back of her head, he thrusts deeply into her mouth causing her to choke. Knowing her as well as he does he knows she can handle it, in fact prefers it when he’s rough with her. But that doesn’t stop Ondolemar from pausing, giving her a concerned look to check if she’s okay. In response, Theodora forces him further down, until the tip of his cock touches her throat. Oh you naughty whore he thinks as he begins thrusting in and out of her warm mouth. Her hot salvia has completely coated his cock and he feels as though he is no longer on Nirn, when he’s alone with her it’s as if the rest of the world no longer exists. His mind drifts to what she said earlier, that she tried with someone else but he couldn’t compete.
“So you tried to find someone else hmm?” He thrusts harder, hands gripping her braids. “But he couldn’t fuck you like I can, could he? No one can put you in your place like I can, I’m the only one who sees you for what you are, a filthy whore, my filthy whore.” Eyes rolling back in her skull, the woman at his feet begins moaning around his cock.The noises that she makes send a shiver down his spine. He’s getting close, too close, he doesn’t want to be done with her yet. In an effort to delay his release, he pulls out of her. Theodora struggles to catch her breath as the commander asks “What are you?”
“A whore” she finally answers.
“Whose whore?”
“Your whore commander, I’m nothing but a filthy Thalmor whore.” Her vulgarity almost causes him to finish right there, wasting no time he shoves himself back into her greedy mouth.
“That’s right” he huffs, knowing he’s nearly spent “all of Skyrim sees you as a hero, their Dragonborn, but little do they know you crumble before the supremacy of mer. You just needed to be put in your place” his hot seed shoots down her throat, between his pants and moans, praises also leave his mouth. Strings of darling girl, yes, your mouth feels amazing, swallow it all. Theodora laps up his praises, giving his cock a few sucks before he pulls out completely, the commander’s hands find her face, stroking her cheeks softly.
“It wasn’t too much was it darling?” he asks concerned, passing her a tankard of wine he poured from the jug on the beside table. Taking a large swig, she reassures him.
“Never Ondolemar, it’s always just enough.” Helping her up, he then pulls the blankets back before spooning her and placing kisses all down her arm.
“How lucky am I, to be in bed with the most beautiful and powerful woman in Skyrim.”
“I could say the same, I’ve entranced a Thalmor Justiciar to Windhelm just to see me.” The moment is nice, it is a rare moment of peace in their busy lives. Sheltered from the cold, unforgiving weather of Windhelm, Ondolemar felt lucky. They had been able to see each other more often the past few months. Though they were still sneaking around, he’d be lying if he acted like it didn’t bother him. Theodora was different, different from any woman he had ever met and how he longed to court her properly. Take her for walks along the port, introduce her to his family. In another life perhaps. Maybe it was the sujumma, or maybe he was just drunk on her but the Atlmer let’s slip a confession.
“I love you.”
Silence. The air is thick and suddenly he feels warm, too warm, as though he may need to run out in to the cold to rid himself of this feeling. After what feels like an eternity, the Dragonborn speaks.
“You’ve had too much sujumma” a half-hearted laugh leaves her mouth until she realizes that despite the liquor he is dead serious. Her eyes move to meet his and a question leaves her lips “Will you still love me in the morning?”
“Yes.”
“Will you still love me when I’m old and grey?”
“Yes” he answers again, eyes never leaving hers.
“Will you love me even if I have to stand against you, even though I’m everything you seek to eradicate?”
“Even more so” Ondolemar says,“You surprise me, every day. I imagine I will only grow to love you even more." She puts her arms around his neck, pulling him even closer to her, desperate to have his warmth.
“I feel the same.”